688 AUSTRALIA 



Another attack came from another quarter. In the various states there were 

 labour parties of varying strength, very influential in New South Wales, Queensland 

 and South Australia, weaker elsewhere. These combined in a Federal organisation, 

 and, as a third independent party, went to the polls under the leadership of one of the 

 remarkable men of Australian public life, Mr. J. C. Watson. Born of poor Scottish 

 parents in 1867 whilst on the voyage to Australia, Mr. Watson was in boyhood deprived 

 of nearly all the advantages of education, but taught himself enough to become a 

 printer. Sagacious, tactful, resolute, he came to the front in the Australian Labour 

 movement and was elected first leader of the Federal Labour party. The success 

 of the Labour party under his leadership at the polls was extraordinary. The first 

 Parliament of the Commonwealth was divided as between the Government followers 

 and Mr. Reid's Opposition party almost equally, but with the Labour party (16 strong 

 in the Representatives, 8 strong in the Senate) holding the balance of power, ii 



This made a position of grave difficulty for the Government. The common-sense 

 and moderation of Mr. Watson saved the situation to some extent. He gave a general 

 support to the Government and assisted them in their most pressing tasks. Never- 

 theless the first Parliament was hampered by party fighting, the opposition seeking 

 to win the Labour party over to their side, and the Government being forced to post- 

 pone a good deal, to modify a good deal, in order to keep in office. Sir Edmund 

 Barton was deeply disappointed. He had looked to a first patriotic Parliament com- 

 pleting without any " scuffling on the steps of the temple " to use his own phrase 

 the measures necessary for the stability of the Federation. He experienced a first 

 Parliament in which party rancour had been extraordinarily rife. He retired to accept 

 a Federal judgeship, and Mr. Deakin took his place (September 1903). 



Mr. Alfred Deakin (born in Victoria in 1856) had cherished an enthusiasm for 

 Federation not inferior to that of Sir Edmund Barton. But he had resolutely put 

 away from him the idea of competing for the Federal leadership, recognising that it 

 was best in the hands of a citizen of New South Wales, the chief citadel of anti-Fed- 

 eralism. He now took over the government at a time of great difficulty. Mr. Watson 

 had led his Labour forces with moderation and with a sense of patriotism as distinguished 

 from " partyism." Nevertheless the Labour member, and even more exigently, the 

 Labour voter, had to be placated with some "Labour legislation." One of these 

 Labour measures, the Industrial Arbitration Bill, had almost wrecked the Barton 

 Government. The opposition fostered a point of division, between the Government 

 and its Labour allies, and on this point there arose a crisis, which was interrupted by 

 the General Election of 1903. 



Mr. Deakin met the Second Parliament of the Commonwealth in 1904 with his 

 own following reduced, the following of the Labour party increased (23 in the Repre- 

 sentatives, 14 in the Senate), and with party feeling embittered by the 

 Second recriminations incidental to a contest at the hustings. Business was 



1903-07. impossible, though Mr. Deakin proved to be an able and tactful leader. 

 In April 1904 Mr. Deakin went out of office and was succeeded by Mr. 

 Watson. In August of the same year Mr. Deakin gave his support temporarily to 

 Mr. George Reid, and a Reid-McLean coalition administration supplanted Mr. Wat- 

 son's. This lasted through a long recess and a few days of Parliamentary life, and in 

 July 1905 Mr. Deakin came back to office with the support of Mr. Watson. Mr. 

 Watson was even at that time determined on resignation. But he was strongly con- 

 vinced that a measure of tariff reform was necessary, and determined to remain in 

 Parliament until it was effected. The first Federal tariff had had to make concessions 

 to Free Trade sentiment. The second tariff was completely protectionist, and intro- 

 duced a new principle into Australian politics by granting a " preference " to British 

 imports. At the third General Election in 1907 the Labour party again improved 

 its position, mostly at the expense of its allies. 



Mr. Watson kept the leadership of the Labour party, and kept that party solidly 

 behind Mr. Deakin, until the tariff was settled. Then he retired and Mr. Andrew 



