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THE HISTORY OF THE MONTH. 



Melbourne, January -'4, 1912. 



The event of the month lias been 



Federal Labour the annual meeting of representa- 



Conference. fives of the Federal Labour Party. 



ll is an e\ent which may mean 

 murh, for hert- were gathered together representa- 

 ti\es of the Laboiu' Party who were entrusted with 

 the duty of the |)reparation of a programme whirh 

 followers of the i)arty throughout the Commonwealth 

 are expected to follow obediently. 'J'his conference 

 is the High ( ourt of the partv. It is rather a 

 strange thing that the part\ wliich contains so many 

 cLamorous elements should \»- l;il by a small gather- 

 ing of some thirtv-six nun. M the s.mie time it 

 must be rememlx'rei.l that they were there as dele- 

 gates, so that the feeling of tfie party in the States 

 was fully represented. The proceedings were closed 

 to the Press, and a kind of Hansard report was 

 issued dailv. There was little flamboyance about the 

 reports. 'I'he leaders are getting wi.se in that they 

 ha\-e dropped the spread-eagleism of earlier days, 

 and sit hard ujion Mr. O'Malley, who still occa- 

 sionally indulges in if. when he can no longer endure 

 the pressure of his colleagues, and goes in for a 

 bout of wordy dissipation. 'Whatext-r may have 

 been said in conference as to the ini(iaity of a man 

 i)eing an employer, no breath of it reached the world 

 outside-. The re|K)rts that were issued wciv ilrab in 

 colour anil were models of modest bre\ it\ . 



for all that, the position is staled 

 The Referendum (•Icarb. N'othing has been modi- 

 ^fi'"*'"' \'n'i\. The most important feature 



of the conference was the decision 

 to re-suhniil thV' pi-opositions of the referendum with 

 regard to .an amendment of the ('on.stituti<in. Much 

 as its wisdom may be ijuestioned, one cainiot but 

 a<lmire the pluck of the conference in determining 

 to resubmit the [iroposals in face of the overwhelm- 

 ing defeat that the ])arty suffered at the lirst time 

 of asking. It was the kind, of beating that should 

 ha\'e given the combaf.mt the assiu'ance that his 

 cause was hopeless. Iliil tlir ]iartv is going to 

 tackle the light again, and in the same way and 

 on the same ground. It is not even going to accept 

 anv ytart of the scheme from the States as a gift. 



■After the defeat of the referendum, Mr. HolmaP;, 

 of New South Wales, who with Mr. McGowen, had 

 strongly ojjposed it, and who had received the .severe 

 condemnation of the New South \\'ales conference, 

 proposed that the States should voluntarilv hand 

 over certain powers, such as the restriction of mono- 

 jxjlies, to the i-'ederal Government. At the time, 

 the Government did not withuse over the jiniposal, 

 but it was persisted in. by Mr. Holman. Out of 

 that proposal, the conference of Premiers really 

 arose. Primarily, it was summoned to discuss that 

 important suggestion. But the Hobart conference 

 took the ground away from the Premiers. There 

 was no doubt that the Premiers' conference would 

 yield certain powers, but even with this probability 

 in view, the Labour conference went on its way, 

 quietly ignoring the hand that was held out. 

 " Really," said the party in effect, " we do not 

 want any gifts, thank you. If we can, we are going 

 to take the.se things, and a good manv more, whether 

 you like it or not." 



Moreox'er the Hobart conference 

 Federal passed some strong n-.solutions con 



*''"S- c, rning loyalty to the decisions of 



the conference that may have the 

 elfect of making Mr. Holman and Mr. McGowen 

 i-tmsider their position. Clearly there is to be na 

 rcom fill- anv \ariation in ojjinion. Mr. Holman's. 

 |)roposals lav in the line of — (1) giving the Federal 

 Go\ernment jxjwer to contiol or acquire monopolies, 

 beyond the boundaries of any State; (2) provid- 

 ing that an award of the Commonwealth Ar- 

 liitration Court should suiiersede that of any 

 other industrial authority, in order that new pro- 

 tection might I)ecome operative, and inconsistencies, 

 among State awards rectified. But the Federal 

 CioN-ernment wants much more than diat. It aims. 

 ,at controlling transport, aiul a resolution of the- 

 Hobart conference as to the desirability of the Com- 

 monwealth owning lines of steamers is oiil\ a corol- 

 hir\ of the power it is seeking through constitutional 

 amendment. (5ne can of course quite apprei-iate 

 the |]iisilion the Labour Party takes up. If they 

 acce])ted any offers of olive branches from State 

 Governments, they emphatically stateil that the posi- 

 tion .assumed bv'Mr. Holman, Mr. McGowen and 



