95^ 



REVIEW' OF REVIEWS. 



December 1, 1913. 



Mr. Watt still In Control. 



Clearly Mr. Elmslie can stay in office 

 just as long as Mr. Watt cares to let 

 him, and no longer. We say Mr. Watt, 

 because there is no one else in the Liberal 

 Party who could for a moment dispute 

 the leadership with him. He is not only 

 easily the best debater, but also far the 

 ablest man in the House. Tf has been 

 obvious for some time that the Ministry 

 was hampered and checked at ever)' turn 

 by the Corner, which was nominally sup- 

 porting it. This has resulted in a more 

 or less barren session, and rather than 

 continue under such conditions, Mr. 

 Watt prefers to resign. Reconstruction 

 would not have satisfied the Corner 

 members unless some of them had been 

 included, and to treat with them would 

 have been impossible. There must in- 

 evitably be an election early \n the year, 

 and the return of the Liberals would 

 seem to be assured. Mr. Watt could 

 then form his own Mniistry — the present 

 one is Mr. Murray's — and might count 

 upon having a solid party behind him. 

 As Mr. Watt did not advise the Lieut. - 

 Governor to send for Mr. Elmslie, he 

 may feel at libert)- to table a motion 

 of no confidence at once, and defeat 

 the new Government. In that event, as 

 the new Ministers must seek re-election 

 they would probably remain in office 

 until they can meet Parliament, about 

 December 22nd. A dissolution cannot 

 now be granted until Supply is ob- 

 tained. 



Victoria's New Governor. 



The Hon. Arthur Lyulph Stanley has 

 been appointed to succeed Sir John 

 Fuller as Governor of Victoria. The 

 new Governor is the eldest son of Lord 

 Sheffield, who visited Australia recently. 

 He comes of an ancient family, which 

 has given statesmen and soldiers to 

 England for centuries. 



The resignation of Sir John Fuller 



was made the occasion for a strong 

 agitation in favour of appointing Aus- 

 tralians to represent the King in the 

 different States. The change is urged 

 on the ground of economy, but if that 

 is the object it would be best effected by 

 the entire abolition of the post. The 

 Chief Justice could perform the purely 

 official acts required of a Governor, and 

 the social side of the office could be en- 

 tirely abandoned. To do this, for- 

 tunately, does not recommend itself to 

 any of the State Governments. 



Notable Politicians Pass Away. 



Australia has lost three men who 

 played notable parts in the political 

 arena. Death in each case was sudden 

 and unexpected. Mr. Craven not only 

 achieved distinction in the State Parlia- 

 ment as Chairman of Committees, he 

 had made a fine career for himself out- 

 side politics as a mining engineer. He 

 was a man of affairs, who yet contrived 

 to find time for much reading arid 

 study, which made him one of the best- 

 informed, as well as one of the best- 

 liked members of the House. Mr. 

 Craven had apparently recovered from 

 what seemed a fatal illness, so that his 

 death came with dramatic suddenness. 

 Another loss still more tragic in its un- 

 expectedness occurred in the House of 

 Parliament itself. Mr. Roberts, Labour 

 M.P. for Adelaide, fell dead when cross- 

 ing Victoria Hall from the House of 

 Representatives. He appeared' in his 

 usual health in the Chamber, when he 

 had a wordy passage with the Speaker 

 before strolling out into the central hall. 

 Mr. Frazer, M.P. for Kalgoorlie, died 

 suddenly as the result of a chill. He 

 was Postmaster-General in Mr. Fisher's 

 Government, and was one of the fight- 

 ing men of the party. These two deaths 

 will make no difference in the number of 

 the Opposition, as both represented safe 

 seats. 



