Formed from a schism in the ranks of Labor newspaper The Clipper, which was being jointly operated by W.A. Woods and Gerald Massey. In 1905, Woods and Massey dissolved their partnership, and Massey established a rival newspaper, The Critic, under the editorship of Joseph Milner MacMaster.
'The main purpose of "An Australian Labor Leader" is, of course, to interest the ordinary reader of fiction, who wants "a little love, a little laughter," with abundance of incident. In addition to that, however, the story shows how, in the playing of the political "game," all national interests are subordinated to the pushing of petty, personal, and class interests. Stone, the "Labor Leader" in an electorate semi-pastoral and semi-mining, and Groves, the vulgar champion of its big landholders, represent the worst which the party system gives us in Australia. Dalton, a young Australian, with the ideals which inspire the best of our rising literature, stands as a representation of the small but growing body of enthusiasts, of whom a few are to be found in every party, whose one aim is to make their country what it should be, "Earth’s Mightiest Isle."'
Source:
'Our Second Serial', The Critic, 21 September 1907, p.7.
