The Prime Minister having declared that he intends to complete his programme before proroguing Par-Hiament for the general election, members of all parties are sticking close to their work, when they are not flying to their divisions to see that their organizations are in fighting trim. The result has been that for the past three weeks there has been no obstruction. - The strongest opponent of the Government knows it to be unwise to harass a ministry which has the reduction of taxation amongst its Budget measures, a superannuation scheme for the public service and other "bribes" as the opposition press like to call them. It is one thing to charge the Government with trying to bribe the electors, but it is another to deprive the electors of the pleasure of being bribed The opposition is new professing anxiety that Bills to amend the Constitution should be introduced and passed in order that they may be submitted to the electors by referendum at the same time as the electors vote for members. Mr. Hughes has parried this demand, which probably has little support amongst his own followers, by pointing "ut that those who are asking for this additional legislation are those who, during the greater part of the present session, have been persistently attacking the Government, moving a dozen votes of censure, and so fritering. away the time of Parliament. in futile talk. It seems probable that the Constitution Bills will romaine on the shelf. They would deal chiefly with the amendment of the industrial laws relating to arbitration, and with the subdivision of the States into several smaller ones.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.