Manawatu Evening Standard. MONDAY, JANUARY 5, 1920. THE FEDERAL ELECTIONS.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIII, Issue 1715, 5 January 1920, Page 4

Manawatu Evening Standard. MONDAY, JANUARY 5, 1920. THE FEDERAL ELECTIONS.

Tkf. final results of tlie Aiistralian Federal Elections leave the Labour Party in a decided minority. So\far as the Senate is concerned, the Labour representation is almost as negligible a quantity as was-ihat of the Nationalists, prior to the dissolution of 1917, when the Nationalists held only seven seats in the Upper Branch of the Legislature. In the Lower House, the Nationalists have won 35 seats, 'the Farmers, or Country Party, 14, and the Labourites 26. The position, so far as the Labour Party is concerned, is, therefore, no better than it was in the last Parliament. On «the other hand, the Nationalists have to reckon with a new factor in political life—the emergence of a Party placing country and rural interests first, and, while the natural alliance of-such a Party must be with the Nationalists, its influence can hardly fail to materially affect the political situation in the near future, and have a steadying effect upon both expenditure and legislation. In the early days of the Commonwealth, the elections were fought out between the Liberals and the so-called Conservatives, the great difference between the two parties being that the former stood for a Protective tariff, and the latter for. Frectrado principles. Sir Edmund Barton, the late Sir William Lyne, and the lath Mr H. M. Deakih were the great champions of the former policy, and the late Sir George H. Reid and the Rt. Hon. Sir Joseph Cook wore the leading exponents of Freetrade. ’ Such representatives of Labour as found their way into the Federal Parliament were ranged on either side of the House, in accordance with their predilections in favour of either policy. When the Labour Party emerged as a distinct entity, and, through the divided counsels of its opponents, gained possession of the Treasury benches (though really forming a minority in both Houses), Mr Donkin, whose administration was defeated by Mr J. C. Watson in 1904, referring to the political situation, as liq then saw it, declared that it was impossible to play cricket with three teams in the field. Four months later, when Protectionists and Freetraders aljke united tq give the Watson administration its coup do grace, an attempt was made to reconcile the differences of the two parties, by the formation of the Reid-MoLean administration, in which both were equally represented'. Mr Deakin himself holding aloof from the coalition, until he felt he was in a sufficiently strong position to challenge its existence, in turn. The result was that the coalition abruptly ended in July, 1905, but. while Mr Deakin regained control of affairs, and held office for the next three years, he simply placed the three teams in the field again. The parties remained divided, thence out,. until the formation of the National ’Ministry in February, 191,7, successive Labour administrations holding sway in public affairs for six out ol the intervening nine years. The split in the Labour ranks, with the expulsion of Mr'Hughes and some fourteen of his Supporters in the House of Representatives from membership in the Party, led directly to the Union of the somewhat contradictory elements thus placed in direct opposition to the so-called official Labour Party, and to the formation of the National Party, consisting of Labourites, Liberals and soValled Conservatives. That Party simple swept the boards at the General Election of 1917. During the life of the la’to Parliament, the Farmers’ Party came into existence as a distinct political entity seeking to obtain direct representation! in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Its candidates successfully contested by-elec-tions in three or four constituencies, aiu) have now followed up those successes by emerging fourteen strong in the new House ofi Representatives, thus forming a Thin) party,-. It* whose opinions Mr Hughes '"and his

- ’ ■■ " T Ministers {n't; bound to defer if they ■w ish to retain the Government, of the country. This Third party represents those great national industries on which the existence of the nation depends, and which have scarcely lift'd fair play meted out to them by . the < Commonwealth or State Governments. The distribution of population in Australia has been described as paradoxical, if not actually absurd. With a smaller population than London, it has a proportionately larger city-dwelling population than even the old and crowded peoples of Europe. Out of every five Australians three are dwellers in the cities, and these produce absolutely nothing, but consume a very great deal. The city populations carry their manufacturing industries, no doubt, and they offer the means of exchange, but, so far as production is concerned, they are absolutely a negligible quantity. The whole of the primary or natural industries of Australia .are consequently carried on by a minority of the population, and they have to face all the perils of a minority in a democratic community. They may suffer injustice; they may bo neglected: it is certain they have received little or no consideration at the hands of the Labour Governments, who have taxed them to the fullest possible extent in order that they might further the welfare of the town and city worker. As a‘ Third party in the new' Parliament the farmers’ representatives will hold the balance, between the two great opposing forces, and they may be depended upon to cast all their weight in the scales against either revolutionary legislation or administrative extravagance. To New Zealanders, anxious to restrain both, it must be n matter ot profound satisfaction that the Australian elections have turned -out so satisfactorily.