THE FEDERATION COMMISSION.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXII, Issue 51, 1 March 1901, Page 4

THE FEDERATION COMMISSION.

WELLINGTON EVIDENCE

CONCLUDED.

COMMISSIONERS UTCAVE FOR

AUCKLAND

(By Telegraph.—Special to "Stni;.")

WELLINGTON, Thursday.

In the course of iiis examination boforo the Federation Commission this afternoon Mr Kirkpati'lck, jam manufacturer of Nelson, In answer to a Question as to the fruit-growing resources of New Zealand, said: "The idea of planting an orchard in New Zealand is to dig- a hole and stick a tree in It."

Mr Htslop (solicitor), who is an exM.H.R, and an ex-Minister of the Crown, was examined bei'ore the Federation Commission, In answer to a question by Mr Leys as to whether New Zealand would not be advantaged by Its insular position, the witness declared that insularity of geographical position usually fostered egoism as well as many other undesirable things. At a later stage the chairman, Col. Pitt, asked whether Mr HifllOp thought that statement would apply to Great Britain. The witness, evK dently realising that lie was In danger of being Impaled on the horns of a dilomma, replied^ with characteristic legal ingenu- . ity, that he had made tne remark as an "aside," and did not desire that it should be submitted to the cold test of reason. This is a fair specimen of tho manner in ■which some of the witnesses give evidence. One who was under examination by Mr Leys fenced with a question tor nearly half an hour, evading the point by making ' long speeches on extraneous matters, or, adopting a common Hibernian method 6f answering one question with another. So far as concerns the evidence taken In Wellington, it turned almost entirely won the question of the influence of a free trade tariff policy upon the products and manufactures of the colony. The witness- : es, with one or two exceptions' are persons intimately concerned in manufactured, trade, and commerce, and they are' nearly all apprehensive of New Zealand's industries being destroyed by the cheap ■labour produced articles of Australia, where the hours of labour are also longer than in this colony. There is little or no sentiment in the attitude of the Wellington merchants, capitalists, manufacturers, business men, and even labour unionists, though a few have raised their voices in favour of a larger Imperial federation. At the afternoon sitting Mr H. Fielder, cabinetmaker. 45 years in New Efealand, opposed federation, which he said would be sacrificing our birthright. In Sydney upwards of seventeen hundred Chinamen are employed in certain classes of furniture making, and, a large quantity of furniture mad'j by< svrpatcrs is shipped her* for auction purposes. Federation would seriously injure the colony and would cause a large influx of undesirable peopl« from Australia. Federation might result, after a period, in equalising wage* ■ throughout the' Commonwealth. , The. ft labour laws of this colony had been In-1 jurlous in many ways. He could hold nil I own in high-class work against the world. I Boy labour had not been excessive before*; restrictions were imposed. He considered^ where five men were employed ther6g should 'be three boys. On the whole, }i wages are lower in Australia than In New ?• Zealand. He believed federation would| tend to lower wages here.

The Commission adjourned until I<K| o'clock on Monday at Auckland.

The present programme of the Federatlon Commission is as follows:—It willy; leave Auckland for Sydney on the 11th I March by the s.s. Mararoa, and will gC on to Brisbane. Sydney, Melbourne, and I Adelaide will then be visited in turn, after which the Commissioners -will go t<r Tasmania and return to New Zealand vis,-; the Bluff.