The Government of Victoria is harassed by a difficulty almost
without a precedent. The Civil servants of the Colony, leaguing themselves with the Labour party, vehe- mently oppose some projected economies, and Mr. Irvine, the Premier, in order to punish them, and to carry his policy of large reductions, has proposed their disfranchisement. That is to say, they are to lose their votes as citizens, and to receive a separate representation. He declares that he will resign if defeated upon the point, as no Govern. ment can go on if exposed to continuous pressure for an increase of salaries. The proposal, so far as we know, is unprecedented, though in this country no paid servant of the State can sit in Parliament, without a re-election, and we cannot consider it a wise one. Civil servants are surely entitled to the rights of citizens. The true remedy, if the evil is really as serious as reported, which it is difficult to believe, is to pass an Act making combination among Civil servants for political purposes ground for instant dismissal without pension, or even in extreme cases for a criminal prosecution. There is no telling in these days the limit of novelty, but a new political crime is certainly something un- expected.
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