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EVIEWS 



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THE HISTORY OF THE MONTH. 



titvernment's 

 Position. 



Melbourne, July 30. 1912. 



Needless to say, the Federal Gov- 

 ernment, having the necessary nuni- 

 liers. won the day over the censure 

 debate, and by a majority of 10 

 votes stdveJ on the Vienches. There are indications 

 already that the session will be a barren one, as far 

 as debatable subjects are concerned. The elections 

 are near, and it would Vie poor policy for the Gov- 

 ernment to precipitate strife. There has been 

 enough of that, for the safety of the Labour 

 cause, from industrial sources. Moreover, it 

 has been successful in reducing the time limit of 

 sjieeches in open session. That will help it still 

 more to ward off discussion. But in this matter we 

 are entirelv in accord with the Government. The 

 time that is wasted in needless discussion is enor- 

 mous, and an hour and thirty minutes ought to be 

 enough for anyone to deliver his stwl in, excepting, 

 of course, the Prime Minister and the leader of the 

 Opposition. 



.Sparks flew in the House of Re- 

 prestnitatives on the 23rd inst.. ovt-r 

 the appointment of Mr. H. Chinn 

 as supervising engineer on the West 

 Australian section of the trans-Australian railway, 

 at a salary of ;£750 a year, with 17s. 6d. a day 

 travelling expenses when called more than tiftv miles 

 from headquarters. It seems th.it Mr. O'Malley 

 had appointed Mr. Chinn, and then .nlvertised the 

 ]josition ; that he had flouted a protest made by the 

 ■civil .service associations against this irregularity ; 

 and that most of Mr. Chiun's testimonials 

 were from people who invariably finished uj) 

 by saying that they thought his services "to 

 our yjarty " (the I«ibour Party) at the last 

 elections ought to be recogni.sed. Mr. (^hinn 

 is tiot an engineer qualified hv examiiiaticm, but, 

 having due regard to '' the services he had rendered 

 the party." and thoroughly believing in the prin- 

 <:i])le of "spoils to the victors," Mr. O'Malley 

 I)romptly appointed him. The question of getting 

 the most highly qualilied man evidently did not enter 

 the Minister's mind, otherwise he would not have 

 done what he did. " An ugly, discreililable piece 

 of work," were the strong terms in which Mr. 



Mr. H. 

 China. 



Fow'ler denounced it, and. indeed, this is not a whit 

 too strong. Our public life, prior to the advent of 

 the Lalx)ur Party, was singularly free of anv sug- 

 gestion of political corruption in the appointment of 

 jiarty men to Government positions, but this latest 

 .ippointment is startling in its bald impudence. 



Of course Mr. O'Mallev defended 



The Tactics of it, but in what a way I ' The posi- 



the Skunk. ^■^Q^ i^^ ^^^ ,jp ^^.^^ ■^Y^^^ ]^g could 



do no wrong, but the manner of his 

 defence has left e\ervone with a .sense of decency 

 disgusted. He started off with a -reference to some 

 \'ile Indian custom 'to which he was pleased to com - 

 liare the action of those who were seeking to con- 

 found him. but the illustration was of such a dis- 

 gusting character that one would have believed that 

 the only place where it could be used would be at 

 a gathering where men were so much in their cups 

 that they did not know what they were saying, and 

 in whom the filthy had mechanically and unwit- 

 tingly come to the top of their befuddled 

 mentalities. It is safe to say that Parliament has 

 never before lieen so dLsgraced. The " Age " news- 

 paper, having regard to the fact, evidently, that its 

 <'olumns were read by women and children, did not 

 give publicity to it, except in a general way that 

 gave no clue to the meaning of it. For this it 

 deserves public thanks. ,\nd then, after giving 

 \ent to his powers in this directio^^Mr. O'Mallev 

 showed what he could do in anollw bv describing 

 the attack ujion him, the result o* the combi'ied 

 efforts of his critics, as ,1 " miserable, sulking, para- 

 lytic, one-eyed, one-leggod, muck-worm, a creature 

 with no pride of ancestry, and no hope of posterity 

 — a cross between a city guinea-pig and a blowfly." 

 Where are we when things like this can happen in 

 our halls of legislature? To the credit of some of 

 the memlxM's of the Goxernincnt. thev blushed at the 

 degrading exhibition. 



Where will 

 It End? 



Hut of i.ourse the Opposition could 

 do no more than enter its protest. 

 Mr. O'Malley was supported by the 

 entire party, no member of which 

 knows ivlien his own chance of preferment may 

 come, and l>v similar di.screditalile methods. But 



