BY CAUCUS.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LVII, Issue LVIII, 10 May 1910, Page 3

BY CAUCUS.

I A NEW POLITICAL EXPERIMENT. SYDNEY, April 30. Apart from results, the Parliamentary rule of the Labor Party in Australia of will fascinate students of politics. I tie have emphasised the point (writes the o- ' Wellington Post correspondent) that alof though several times we have seen Labor in office, wo now for the first time x- see Labor in power. We shall watch the [y operation of government by caucus. | ] G "What woman wills, God wills," says !n a French maxim. In the new Commona l wealth Parliament, what Labor wills, 1 . Australia wills. For three years. Alrjl ready there are signs that three years , n | will be enough for the present. Mr l( j ' Fisher may have to break too many se e SSs in order to make his omelette. a The agreement of Labor representa5_5 _ tives simply amounts to an agreement )p) p to vote in Parliament upon questions t i affecting the party platform and Minisn i terial office as a majority of the party > r meeting in caucus shall decide. In ope j position, the agreement has worked (j without much friction. The platform r really represents members of the party individually: most of them sincerely s i share their common aim. On most mat- _ i ters of principle, ,they are unanimous t by virtue of their calling and election i to Parliament. _ I In practice, the Labor members rej tain more individual authority than _ i most members of a political party work- . ing according to usage. They may be . outvoted in caucus, but at least they t have voted. Said the New South , Wa'es Premier the other day: "The , rule in Liberalism is for the party to j I follow the leader." In practice, that rule may sometimes involve a still '. greater loss of individual self-respect than the rule of following the caucus. It is true that the average represen- ;! tative considers himself free to criticise j his leador ; but on vital issues he must ! vote with the leader or leave the party. The compulsion is scarcely less than the compulsion of the caucus. Yet the non-Labor representatives can be driven only up to a certain point; after that point is reached, he is. likely to kick over the party traces. The Labor re- | prosentative pledges himself to- bo driven " .' all the way by tho majority ; and, if he i rebels, he may consider his political life ' i clo&rd. The elections have shown that • there ( is very seldom a career for independence. Tho effect ■of the caucus plan upon ■ the existing Parliament will be that . everything will be cut and dried. The ; Labor majority in both Houses makes it certain that whatever the caucus decides behind- the scenes will be acted on the stage, of Parliament. AH vital debates will have a predetermined conclusion. The Opposition may be coaxed s along or dragged along, but it must come along. Nor is there any chance of altering the balance of partias during the three years. The Opposition can only wait and work for the next elections; emphasise before the public the blunders of tho dominant party and hope fondly) that the Government, 1 having .been 'given i all the rope there is, will presently Bang itself, .t, j >. Caucus or no 'caucus, that is precisely ' V I the state of tho [Opposition in New I Zealand.- . Ivs ' < ■ >