Vol. XXIX.. Xo. 2. 



The Rev 



AUGUST I, 1906. 



EVIEWS 



EQi:lTABLH BVIKUIJ^G, afELBOl/RJVE. 



THE HISTORY OF THE MONTH. 



Melbourke, July nth, 1906. 

 In the Federal House the Anti-Trust 

 federal Politics. ^'" '^ absorbing what spare atten- 

 tion there is, but there is little of it 

 available. The eyes and ears of 

 members are towards their constituencies, and, 

 seeing that their hearts are there, it is little wonder 

 that they find them more attractive than dry poli- 

 tical discussions. The Tariff Commission still sits 

 (how tired of it the members must be), although its 

 investigations have been voluminous. Much specu- 

 lation exists as to what attitude is going to be 

 assumed by the Labour Party in certain consti- 

 tuencies. As far as present appearances go, how- 

 ever, the Labour Party is in each case going to 

 oppose all and sundry who have not signed the 

 Labour pledge. This is in direct antagonism to the 

 ^advice of the Parliamentary Labour Party, and in 

 antagonism, too, to the party's best interests. The 

 working classes have no better advocates than some 

 of the members of the Liberal Party, and it will be 

 the height of folly for the party to oppose men like 

 Mr. S. Mauger, Mr. Higgins, Mr. Hume Cook, etc., 

 simply because they will not sign the Labour pledge. 

 Wherever questions affecting the well-being of the 

 people are concerned, the vote of these men has 

 invariably been on the side of the people. 



w.^. cn„.i. Matters in New South Wales are 

 New South 11 I .^ u 1- 1 r 

 Wales likely to be lively for some time. 



Matters. Mr. Crick provides material enough 



for countless explosions. He has 

 been removed from the Chamber, and has created 

 more than one incident discreditable to any Legisla- 

 ture. However, for this the House as a whole is 

 not to be blamed. Two members of the House have 

 resigned as the result of a challenge on the part 

 of one of them, and members must be devoutly 

 praying over the result. The Government has come 

 safely through a motion of censure, and the most 

 interesting thing before the people is the court case 

 in which Mr. Crick is concerned. The extradition 

 of Mr. W. N. Willis has at last been put through, 

 and he is on his way back from South Africa. Every- 

 body will be glad when the question involved has 



been thoroughly sifted. There is an amazing reluct- 

 ance on the part of some concerned to have an 

 investigation. Dr. Danysz is trying to soothe the 

 fears of those who view his virus experiments with 

 trepidation, by assuring them that it is quite pos- 

 sible to demonstrate its hurtful properties. 



" The King 



is 



Dead." 



The obsequies of Mr. Seddon are 

 over, and his body rests on the hill- 

 side overlooking Wellington, and 

 just above Parliament House. The 

 whole colony went into mourning, and with it Aus- 

 tralia, and, indeed, ever)' part of the Empire. The 

 funeral ceremonies were such as they should have 

 been, and not the least impressive and touching 

 were those in which the Maoris took part. The 

 crowds that gathered in the capital city were im- 

 mense; the tributes that were sent from all parts 

 of the colony and from the States testified to the 

 soirow experienced. 



., 1 1 . " The King is dead ; long live 



j(|g ' the King !" This applies to Pre- 



King!" miers as well as Kings, and no 



matter how powerful and well-be- 

 loved a leader may have been, his successor must 

 step into place at once, for the vast and complex 

 machinery of the State moves relentlessly, resist- 

 lessly, and the new circumstances have to be met. 

 Had Sir Joseph Ward been in the colony at the 

 time of Mr. Seddon's death, he would without doubt 

 have taken up the reins. No one w^ould have raised 

 a discordant note. He was the recognised succes- 

 sor of Mr. Seddon. But by some freak of fortune 

 he was at the other side of the world, and received 

 the sad news in England. He is now on his way 

 out, but what will happen when he returns no one 

 can )et foresee. The reins of Government were 

 assumed by Mr. W. Hall Jones, who is now Premier 

 of the colony. He has not hitherto been regarded 

 as an aggressive man, but then he was not chief, 

 and no one can tell what is in anyone till his oppor- 

 tunity comes. Mr. Hall Jones may develop charac- 

 teristics unthought of. 



