Page:Women and the State.djvu/12

10, whose sons were the very backbone of the Australian army, were compelled to take a stand. The result was that they broke from the Political Labour Party to form with the Liberals a National Party. The section which refused to take this loyal and statesmanlike action took the name of the Official Labour Party. There can be no question that those who united their forces with those of Liberalism in the service of the Empire were the true representatives of Labour, for to their honour be it said, the great majority of working men chose country before selfish and ignoble ends. Yet the narrow and short-sighted advocates of Official Labour really, though unintentionally, did Australia a service. They awakened our citizens to the fact that there was in our midst a section which was willing to separate Australia from her hereditary connection with the British Empire, even though that separation would leave us at the mercy of coloured races and make Australia a splendid land to get out of for every mother of growing daughters.

"VOTING THE TICKET." Sometimes in the evolution of political parties practices arise certainly undesirable, and necessitate the taking of counter measures by the opposite party to nullify their effect. To this class of undesirable practices belong Caucus Government, and what is known as "Voting the Ticket."

As far as Australian politics go, the Labour Party must take the credit, or rather the discredit, of introducing these objectionable methods, all of which tend to interfere with