1616 ADDENDA 
in a direct motion of censure on July 251! the Government were 
maintained by a majority of 42 votes to 37, the same date saw the 
resignation of their seats by Mr. Dunn and Mr. Horne. members for 
Mudgee and Liverpool Plains. 
The result of their resignation was to reduce the number of members 
of the Assembly to 88, of whom 44 were acknowledged supporters of 
the Government, leaving the Government with an effective voting 
strength of 43 only, as one of their members was in the Chair. The 
Government then decided and announced in the Assembly on 
July 262 that they would not carry on any further business on the 
ground that while two ordinary by-elections such as those necessi- 
lated by the resignation of members would not justify Government 
in suspending its operations, the position in which the Government 
were left by the loss of their assured majority rendered it undesirable 
to proceed further with business until the by-elections had been 
decided. But the leader of the group of Independents at once made 
it clear that he was not prepared to allow an adjournment over the 
period of the elections. 
After full consideration, therefore, the Labour Government decided 
that it would be well to ask the officer administering the government 
to grant them a prorogation with a view to taking at the by-elections 
the opinion of the country on the questions at issue, but the Lieu- 
benant-Governor definitely declined to do so, whereupon the Govern- 
ment placed in his hands their resignations, which he accepted con- 
ditionally as usual on his being able to find other advisers prepared 
to undertake the responsibilities of government? Mr. Wade, the 
Leader of the Opposition and formerly Premier, was then sent for 
py Sir William Cullen, and was asked if he would undertake the 
conduct of government. This Mr. Wade was unwilling to do unless 
the Lieutenant-Governor was prepared to promise him a dissolution, 
as with parties equal there was no real prospect of his being able to 
carry on business, especially as the Labour party had deprived him 
of his potential majority of one by inducing the Speaker to resign his 
position, so that had he taken office Mr. Wade would have been 
defeated at any moment the Labour Party chose. The Lieutenant- 
Governor then recalled to office the outgoing Ministry and granted 
them, on August 1,5 a prorogation of Parliament until August 23, to 
tide over the period of the bv-elections. 
t See Parliamentary Debates, 1911, sess. 1, pp. 1813-1914. On the contrary, 
on July 26 on a motion to suspend the standing orders in order to pass a supply 
Bill to cover July, August, and September, the Government was only able to 
bring up 37 members against 37; the Speaker voted with the Government, 
quoting the precedent of 1889, when, on Sir W. McMillan’s motion to postpone 
consideration of the estimates, the Speaker held that he should not cast his vote 
in such a way as perhaps to bring about a change of administration: see 
pp. 1929-51. 
* Parliamentary Debates, pp. 1924. 1925. 
Tbid., pp. 1998-2001. 
* See Sydney Morning Herald ana Daily Telegraph, July 31, August 1 and 2, 
9114. 8 Parliamentary Debates. n. 2002.