Repudiation?

With Prime Minister James Henry Scullin 11,000 miles away from home attending the Imperial Conference in London (see p. 21), the "wild men" of his Labor Party last week precipitated a grave Dominion crisis.

Acting Prime Minister Fenton and Acting Treasurer Lyons had called a party caucus in Canberra to approve the Government's program of cutting expenditures, raising taxes and paying off by conversion $135,000,000 in loans which fall due next month. The first two items of this program passed, but then the "wild men" gained control, stampeded through the caucus a resolution respecting the $135,000,000 loans which Acting Treasurer Lyons vainly denounced as "simply repudiation."

In London next morning Australia's Scullin admitted "the position is serious," but stoutly denied that his Government would ever embark on a policy of repudiation. He seemed ready to defy, if necessary, his party's will as expressed by the caucus.

At a banquet in Bristol that night in Mr. Scullin's honor he was addressed as follows by His Majesty's Dominion Secretary, James Henry ("Jim") Thomas:

"I say with all the responsibility of my position either as Labor leader or British statesman that any policy carrying with it repudiation either of moral or legal obligations is doomed to disaster in the end to the party, the individual or the State. Because I believe these things are fundamental and go to the root of society, I pay my tribute to Mr. Scullin and express our feelings of pride in the stand he has taken."

This was believed to be the first instance in which an "internal crisis" in a dominion had been publicly and officially commented on by one of His Majesty's ministers in Great Britain.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.