MR. HUGHES RESIGNS

Taranaki Daily News, 8 November 1935, Page 4

MR. HUGHES RESIGNS

With the resignation- of Mr. W. M. Hughes from the Commonwealth Ministry political tension in Australia will no doubt relax, as there appears no sign of any of the supporters of the Government being sufficiently sympathetic with the retiring Minister to vote against his dismissal. Mr. Hughes maintains that the wrong construction has been placed upon his written statements in regard to the support of the League of Nations by Australia, and that they were written to awaken the Commonwealth to the need for adequate defence as well as belief in the efficacy of the League. In his earlier terms of office Mr. Hughes was either the leader or a sufficiently powerful member of the Cabinet to speak and act much as he felt disposed, and. apparently he forgot when issuing his recent statements that loyalty in public from all its members to the declared policy of a Ministry is essential under the British Parliamentary system. Possibly the views held by Mr. Hughes could have been accommodated to those of his Ministerial colleagues had they been discussed in Cabinet. The error he committed was in publishing, while a Minister, individual conclusions and an appeal for public policy to be shaped in accordance with those conclusions—without consulting his colleagues. The essence of successful administration by elected representatives is that the Executive shall speak with one voice on policy matters, and the amazing feature of the Australian trouble is that so old a politician as Mr. Hughes should have made the error he did—and for which he has received condign punishment.