AUSTRALIA TO-DAY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16953, 15 March 1917, Page 6

AUSTRALIA TO-DAY.

CFgou Oob Own Correspondent.)

A 1 , SYDNEY, March 7. Almost every week, for tho last three months, there has been some astonishing development in tho Federal political situation, and tho amazing cliain of events of tho past week, ending in the announcement that thero is to be a. general election, is the climax to what is, iu some ways, the inost discreditable chapter in Australian history. Actions that arc tho reverse of pretty must bo debited to all tho parties concerned, but tho responsibility rests primarily with the arrogant Political Labour League. Mr Hughes, and all tho ablest men in tho Labour .party, realising that all petty considerations must be subverted to tho national need, advocated conscription, in doing so, they defied the political organisation of the trade unions, which opposed conscription. Tho Australian people, in a referendum, refused conscription. The Political Labour League, furious with the men who had defied- it, insisted that they come _ and bow tho knee. The conscriptionists refused, formed another party under Mr Hughes, and allied themselves with the Liberals, ultimately forming a ' National" Government. Appeals to the Political Labour League .to join in the Government, and put aside petty squabbling for the remainder of ttie war per ocl. wore met with derision. The new Cabinet had a majority in the House of Representatives, but the _ Political Labour League rejoiced in a majority of two in the Senate, and it declared it would use it to force a dissoluThe war crisis, national interests, public decency—tho Political Labour League put before all these things its lust for revenge. It was out to destroy Mr Hughes and men who had defied- it—political Pruss:anism in its worst form. I

Then Mr Lloyd George called urgently the Imperial War Conference, and Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa appointed their delegates. Thero was an insistent request. almost a demand, that Mr Hughes should represent Australia. Mr Hughes pointed out that he could not leave Australia _ until his Government was soundly established. The British Government showed n _ oaHonable inability to appreciate tho situation; surely Australia could put its affiiirs temporarilv in order, so t'.at ; rvp"H v,„ acfrquitelv wwespnted at the most important Imperial Conference ever convened. Mr Hughes made another attempt to arrange a truce w'th tho Political Labour League. He was simply jeered at. Then Mr Hughes, a master of intrigue, attacked the Senate problem. 'He announced that he, Sir John Forrest, and Sir William Irvine would represent Australia in London. People asked, What about the hostile majority in the Senate? Mr Hughes smiled, but said nothing. Suddenly a P.L.L. Senator from Tasmania became ill-, and resigned. Within 20 hours the Tasmanian Premier hiid made a recommendation to the Tasmanian Governor, a new Senator (a Labour follower of Mr Hughes) was appointed, and —since by some extraordinary chance 'he happened to be m Melbourne—had taken his scat in the Senate. Result, equal division of voting power in the Senate, with two P.L.L. men' .-way ill, giving the- Government a temporary majority of two. A Bill to prolong the life of Parliament was introduced in the Lower House; the two sick Senators started for Melbourne, with' doctors and nurses in attendance. Then it became known that another P.L.L. Senator was about to resign on 'account of illhealth, and that another Hughes nomination was ready. This would have given the Government a Senate majority of two. Australia sighed with lelief at the prospect of a period of political peace and the certainty of beiiig_ properly leprcsented at the Imperial j Conference, there -were roars of fury from the P.L.L., and formal, if impassioned, charges of corruption against Mr Hughes and other leading men. The whole business certainly had an unwholesome appearance; but the general opinion 'was that the desirable result tli&t' was attained justified almost any means. The code of political morals in Australia is not a high one. Then came the bombshell. When ---.verything seemed- to have been arranged, it was suddenly announced that there would be a dissolution and a general election, and that the Imperial delegation would not proceed to London at once, as intended. Tho reason given was the persistent hostility and obstruction of the Opposition. As a matter of fact, it is now known that two Government- Senators—their names have been freely mentioned—declared that they were disgusted with the tactics employed to secure a Senate majority, and they would vote against the prolongation of Parliament.Thus Mr Hugnes's carefully-constructed political edifice fell to the ground. -The election campaign has not commenced yet. It will probably be one of the most bitterly fought on record. The events leading up to the dissolution, even thus briefly narrated, will show the intense hatred, that exists between the two parties. ' THE MODERN NERO.

To say that the spectacle of ,Australia as the modern Nero, fiddling' while Komo buras._ causes disgust among the great majority of Australians, is to put it mildly. As one prominent Sydney man put it, "It would bo a fine day for Australia if we could round up the whole lot of them, Liberals, Hughesites, and P.L.L., and chase 'em right off the landscape." Th ere is a bitter election campaign proceeding in N,ew South Wales, and it will be nothing td the Federal campaign, when it starts. There is great' turmoil in West Australia, the result of office-seeking and intrigue; there is pronounced unrest in Queensland, where a Government of very advanced views is antagonising big sections, of the people; and there are the usual industrial disturbances everywhere. The appeals _ and arguments of the recruiting organisation are almost drowned amid the clamour—and these local disturbances are persistently turning public attention away from the war,_ where the very fate of civilisation hangs in the balance. It is an extraordinary sight, this of a country quarrelling furiously within its own Borders at such a time, and it will do nothing to lessen the unpleasant impression created abroad by the result of the conscription refcrond'un. It appears to be all the result of a vicious system that has its root in the professional politician. Uneducated, potty, bitterly prejudiced men have entered Australian politics in great numbers, am! -heir limited vision does not permit them to appreciate the fact that, with civilisation in the melting-pot-, Australia's parochial affairs, in all decency, should be set aside temporarily. Tile people realise it more clearly than the politicians, and the feeling of disgust is so strong that if, in the opinion of, the public, aAy one of the political parties is more blameworthy than another, that party will feel tho wrath of the voters. The trouble is that the intrigues of Mr Hughes—although there i? much to be «.ani in his defence—have caused almost as much resentment as the operations of the incredible P.L.L. Tho Liberals, perhaps, appear in a better light than any, but the Liberals arc at present united vtith Mr Hughes. It remains to be seen how the bond that weds them will stand tho fierce test of the coming campaign.

FILCHING SOLDIERS' CONSTITUENCIES.

About tho only remarkable feature of the election campaign now going on in New South Wales is what is generally regarded as tho despicable conduct of the Political Labour League in nominating candidates for seats now represented by men absent on active service. These latter represent both the Nationalists and the P.L.L", but while the- Nationalists have scrupulously avoided putting up candidates against P.L.L. members who are also soldiers, the PJL.L. has shown no _ such delicate appreciation of ethios. It is out to win at least three seats whose soldier members are out of Australia.

These tactics, judging by the expressions of indignation heard everywhere, arc going to do the P.L.L. a groat deal of damage. The record of the two sections of the Nationalist party is not, perhaps, completely unsoiled, but it has " played the game" in relation to soldiers' seats. Three soldier members, who are also P.L.L. adherents, were returned unopposed, and Mr Holm an is calling upon his followers to vote against an "Independent" who is running against a P.L.L. soldier candidate in another electorate, even though the "In dependent" would probably prove Nationalist in the event of his election. Referring to the P.L.L. nominations, Mr Holm an, 'in tho course of a speech, said: " Probably in no other portion of the British Empire can so disgraceful a spectacle be witnessed ... One can always find individuals capable of such actions, 'but when a party with pretences to political rectitude and to national scope should do the samo thing, it is indeed deplorable, and marks the' rapid descent which has characterised the later years of the labour movement. I do not suppose that in Canada, England. South Africa., or Now Zealand a man who had left his seat to risk his life in the firing line_ would bo the subject of any stealthy tactics of assassination such has have been displayed here. - So far as the election is concerned, tho Nationalist chances seem to be improving. Tho P.L.L. now has only 22 seats in a Ho;ise_ of 90. To get a majority, it has to liold its 22, and gain 24 new seats. The P.L.L. is without either a platform or leaders capable of making any appeal to 1 the general public. If the voting goes according to the old narty lines, the chances should favour the Nationalists. But the recent referendum vote shows that prophecy in relation to Now South Wales electors is very risky I

THE BATTLE OP THE BORDER. New South Wales and West Australia o, each, in turn, been "the mast socialistic State in the commonwealth," and each, to-day, has on its hands a number of nail-paralysed; money-eating State industries. Now, the coveted title is held by (.Queensland, and, perhaps becausc Queensland has tried to out-Herod Heiod, tilo northern State is reaping more than ita usual share of trouble. Soveral of the most important industries are beginning to groan under the weight of extreme Labour legislation—but the most remarkable example of State interference is afforded by the pastoral industry. > Early in its coruscating career, this Government entered into the business of producing and selling meat. Already, throughout Queensland there are State cattle farm 3 and Stato butcher shops. War conditions sent the price of meat soaring; but the "Government insisted that no "criminal piofits" should bo reaped Dy the Queensland stock-growers. It fixed by law the prices of stock and of meat, in the handling of which it practically secured a monopoly. There were high prices and no restrictions in adjoining States; stock began to travel aoross the border. Tho Queensland Government found that, under the War Precautions Act. it could commandeer all' stock for the purposes of export to Britain, and it acted accordingly, and closed the border. If the Government had been honest about it, there would have been nothing more than tho usual wail from opponents of all new things. But the Government used the border embargo to fill the butcher shops at its own price; and it wrung the highest price it could get.for meat from the British war authorities.

For many months, stock owners fought for the right to cross the border. A few days ago, tho Commonwealth Government at last acted, and declared that it had tho solo _ right to pontrol the movements and distribution of stock. It readily granted permits to stock-owners to cross the Queensland border. The Queensland Government lias taken the decision very badly, and appears to have adopted a policy of passive resistance. It has discovered that some of tho stock waiting to cross is infested with ticks, and it has invoked an Act which gives it power to forbid tick-infested stock to cross the border, and -it is refusing to allow any stock to cross. The position at the moment is that numerous droves of cattle, " cldan " and recently dipped, and having tho \ authority of the Federal Government to cross, are held up by State officers at tho border.' Lengthy litigation is talked of. ' _A cattleman of the aggressive type arrived at the border gate with 500 head last week. A State officer tried to prevent his crossing, and demanded a deposit of 10s per head before he -would agree. " I've got Billy Hughes's pass, and to with you and the ten bob business," he said, and "without more sdo forced a way through the border fence. It is expected that the example "will be followed.

A FROG FARM. Tho only frog farm in Australia is situated at Balgowlah, near Manly, and is conducted by a man named Leon Gebebr. Tho reptiles are raised not for culinarv but for scientific purposes;' they are sold" in large numbers to the universities.

A recent visitor to the farm found stocks ' somewhat depleted—there were only about 4000 all told, —but he was given much interesting information • about the creatures' and_ their habits. The frog farmer's chief anxiety relates to the weather. The frogs are kept in a, huge, "grassy place, completely enclosed in fine wire netting, where there is a series of ponds. Inside the enclosure, scattered about, are many shelter boxes, like beehives. At the first breath of the i cold southerly which comes up so "suddenly in this region in hot weather the frogs rush to the boxes, _ and remain there until the temperature rises. Mr Gebehr told dole fully how last' April a sudden, slight frost wiped ' out some hundreds of his charges. It would seem that the Hawke's Bay peach grower and the Manly frog farmer havo something in oonjinon. During the summer the .frogs eat voraciously. Everything in insect form, is fond for them. Mr Gebehr chops ,up overripe fruit, and leaves it in the enclosure. The ' bait attracts myriads of flies, and on them 1 the frogs wax fat. Swarms of ants also come in after the fruit. Few return. , The frog farmer's job during the winter is a sinecure. The fattened frog, for three or four months, retires into obscurity and a : state of somnolence.

Visitors to this uniquo farm are greatly struck by the fact that the frogs know their master. They show no fear of . him; .. some even hop after him. But the advent of a_ stranger creates prompt alarm and a hurried disappearance. The frogs have a hundred etnemie&j-cat&; eels, fowls; snakes, lizards, and many kinds' of fish and birds. Stocks are replenished by breeding . and by introducing trapped strangers from outside 'Mr ' Gebehr declares they are good Australian frogs; a certain number of immigrants, are received without question, but . \ if the established community thinks tho number excessive there presentlv arises a .. fearful hullabaloo, and only ,active • human interference prevents a general massacre. ■ There is not yet anv demand ini Australia for frogs for table purposes. The ."nail finds its way into many dining rooms, however, and a number of men, it is said.: are now engaged in raising these succulent creatures for the market.