LATHAM’S LITTLE ARMY

Taranaki Daily News, 21 August 1930, Page 8

LATHAM’S LITTLE ARMY

A DULL PARLIAMENT. XO PERSONALITIES. Two priceless political maxims fell from the lips of Lord Rosebery when lie was in his prime:—“lt is the duty of an Opposition to oppose,”, and "The people will follow any man that will show them fight.” His Majesty’s Opposition in the Australian House of Representatives has not profited by the wisdom of the famous English Prime Minister, says the Sydney Sun. It has neither the will to oppose nor, apparently, any hope of producing on its benches a man that is a leader who will show serious fight. It is a drawing room wrestler* confronting "Strangler” Lewis. In the history of the Commonwealth Legislature there has nefer been 'so little contention; so little leadership; so little audacity, and so little pugnacity as to-day in the House of Representatives.

The thin ranks of the left of the Speaker have given up any idea of compelling the Government majority to listen to them. And this tremendous preponderance of voting strength has in its turn deprived the Labour Caucus of the joy of' battle, because sportsmanship demands that a man shall not be kicked when he is down. And the Nationalist Opposition is very much down. It cannot even irritate or exasperate the Labour Party.. It lias not the instinct for provocative interjection. Senator "Jup” Gardiner, when he was the only caucusite in the Senate, was .able to make a better show of party feeling than the. whole of the National Party in the Representatives. Going back still further, if Sir Joseph Cook had never been Prime Minister or High Commissioner, ho would still have gone down in history as the man who could enrage his opponents and work them to a more acute state of exacerbation than any other man who has been in the Federal Parliament. The present Opposition simply does not know how to put soap in the geyser.

It is impossible to study the Chamber -without realising that it is sadly lacking in commanding personalities, and particularly on the left. Mr. Latham, the present Leader of the Opposition, can never’ divest himself of the chilling atmosphere of the Equity Court. His thin, reedy voice. carries to the furthest confines of the Chamber, but is not persuasive. Listening to him, one pines for the silver-tongued men of the past. Even the voice o‘f Mr. Rodgers, who represented the Western District of Victoria in the last Parliament, was infinitely more alluring than that of any of the men who grace the front Opposition bench to-day. Mr. Latham unconsciously emphasises the legal atmosphere in which he moves and has Iris being. Ho rises from his seat at the table with extraordinary celerity—sort of just suddenly appears on his feet. Then ho pushes in his chair, leans gracefully on his right elbow on tho brass-bound despatch box on tho table, rests Ins left hand on his left hip, with his fingers catching- al something which eludes them, and commences quietly to address the Court. Unihspired, and uninspiring, despite his very splenlid intellect, he is not truly at home in the political game. At his elbow sits the deputy-lead er, .Mr. Gullett, fretful about tho w.’iigs of his tie, rest!o=s, keen, and searching his brain 'or some cutting obseivation. Never sweeping into debate without some acid and acrid observation, he jumps upon tho loud pedal from tho moment that he catches the Speaker’seye. “If Johnson were to write a fable about little fishes, he would'make them talk like great whales, v Goldsmith said. So would Mr. Gullett. Next him, Mr. Parkhill —dapper, round, and no longer a featherweight, sets out to sting, but, like a gnat, is easily brushed aside. Dr. Earle Page, having a group of his own, is more assured than his fellows, but still does not impress. He tears ahead at such a pa-’e chat even the Hanserd ni'fi a: o oft-times unalflo ti follow lii.s speech. The pleasant smile and the gossipy manner which commend him to rural electorates do not leave much impress in tho House. On tho other side, there are no giants, but there are many men with pep and ginger, who are just aching for a fight, and, not getting one, are wearied of the whole show. The figure of Mr. Theodor© can still be seen in ghostly outline on the front bench, and, though tho Prime Minister (Mr. Scullin), is doing tho work of ten men, and accomplishing the miraculous at the table, yet the personality of the ex-Treasurer cannot be banished.

The party, as a ■whole, has not re-ad-justed itself to tho withdrawal of its hardest hitter. And though there is a great deal of talent on its benches, there is none to take his place. To this general sense of depression, more thany anything else, perhaps, must be attributed the more courtly conduct which has of lato been displayed by the Caucus. Lacking Rafferty rules, it has found some solace in acquiring and practising good manners. Which, after all, is something gained. The Opposition to-day, disheartened and enfeebled by its inability to make even a good display in debate, is looking to the Senate to discipline the Caucus, and, like the youngster’ who has just got a drubbing, is metaphorically saying, “Wait till my big brother catches you!”