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HIGH
MR. J. C. WATSON MENTIONED.
' MELBOURNE, Tuesday.
Within the yext few weeks to—ed
oral Government will either have to ex
tend Sir Gorge Reid’s term of office as
Commonwealth High Commissioner in
London, or appoint a successor. The
; present High Commissioner is- due to
] retire on January 26 next. Should Sir
• Georgo Roid avail himself of the privi
| logo of taking the three months’ leave
I of absence waich'is customarily grant
ed in such, eases, ho.will retire from
active service in October next.'.
Mr. Mahon, Minister for External Af
fairs, states that up to the present he
has.not received any application from
the High Commissioner for leave, though
he has no doubt. the Government would
grant it if applied :for. s 3 5
As Ministers have deedared in Par
liament that it is not intendod to, extend
Sir1 George’Reid’s- ‘term of "offico.it
gicans that a new High Commissioner,
must be appointed almost immediately
if the continuity of Australia’s repre
sentation in London is to be preserved.
Ministers will give no hint as to who
will receive the appointment. The names
of Mr. Fisker and. Mr. Hughes are less
spoken of now than formerly. * The con-"
tinuance of. the war is one factor which
is put forward as an, argument against
ither of these Ministers leaving the
Cabinet at the present juncture. •
A further and perhaps still more
potent factor is the determination which
both Ministers have expressed ofseeing
the', Referendum •through. • The- vote on
the Referendum question is to be taken,
on December.12 next, and it,is regard
ed as unlikely that either the leader of
the Government orhis principal' lieu
tenant would abandon their party at a
time when a cherished ideal of the Labor
platform is submitted to the popular
Consequently, the name of Mr. J. C.
Watson, who led the first Federal Labor
Government, is again being seriously
associated with the High Commissioner
ship; :Mr.Watsou has only just return
ed from London, but while in the Bri
tish metropolis' he was -frequently. a
prominent figure at various official func.
tions. This in itself'is no corrobora
tion of the rumor that he is to bo-Sir
George Reid‘s successor, though it per
haps has a significance. Mr. Fisher has
promised Parliament to make an an
nouncement on the subject as soon as
. ever the, Cabinet' has arrived at a de
1 cision."
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