The Press. MONDAY, MAY 11, 1885.

Press, Volume XLI, Issue 6129, 11 May 1885, Page 2

The Press. MONDAY, MAY 11, 1885.

It is a remarkable thing that New SouWales, which for a long .time bore—-and cheerfully bore—the opprobrium of being the chief opponent of Australasian Federation, has after att turned out to be the most practical promoter of that movement. It is not too much to say that hitherto New Santh Wales has been the only practical promoter of The leading .public men of the other colonies have talked a great deal about it, aud some of them have propounded divers crude, unintelligible eohemea for giving effect to it. Their AgentsGeneral and Anglo- colonists in London have written volumes upon it. so much so, that their letters, memoranda, and other published expressions of their view 3, if gathered together, would actually constitute a considerable; itorjius of Federation literature. But no one has ever yes succeeded in extracting many grains of wheat out of aU this vast store of spoken or printed chaff. The efforts of these enthusiasts have been like beating tbe water. They have exhausted themselves and wearied others; but have made very Uttle impression. With aU their activity and heat, they have not advanced the cause of Federation one span. They have totally failed, in fact, to discern auy course by which it might be advance:. They have never yet been able to explain, on any rational definition, what Federation L», or ia to bo.

1 No sooner had aU this futile energy i fairly worked itself out, however, than New South Wales, whose Government and people bad stood aloof as far an might bd from that impotent demonstration, took a step altogether uaprecadented in the history of these colonies, which, miasiog aU the intermediate processes", actually touched the goal of and planted a firm foothold there. She famished a superb force of soldiers, ou behalf of Australia, for the service of the "Empire, and by sheer strength of example and public sentiment, she eom-'

peUed the other colonies to support and emulate her ac'.ion. At h«r inst—ice, aU Australasia became a _rißtary power. Jealousies of course there were; and much of -the admiration and approval that was avowed for the bold policy of New South Wales was undoubtedly insincere. But hypoorisy is prov-bia-j the tribute that failure pays to success; and when the Federation-* party in the other colonies heaped unnecessary praises on tbe object of their recent wrath, and exaggerated the result of her prompt, loyal leadership, they paid her a higher compliment than if they had really felt what they professed. In saying this we do not wish to be understood as affirming that it would be a wise thing for tbe colonies to enter into an engagement to furnish troops for Imperial wars whenever they arise. Any scheme which would bind us to support Great Britain in aU her foreign wars, with whatever object those wars were entered upon, involves so many obvious dangers to the unity of the Empire that it is not likely to receive much support when its true bearings are once realised. We do not assert that the voluntary act of New South Wales will necessarily have any such tendency. The advocates of Imperial federation point with triumph to that act in support of their views, withont, however, any jost grounds for doing co, although the action which has been taken may indicate the possibility of alliances in the future between Great Britain and her colonies. But whatever opinion may be entertained as to its effects upon~the relations of the colonies with the Mother Country, it must be admitted, we think, that the despatch of the New South Wales Contingent did go some way towards welding the British colonists of Australasia into some sort of coherent nationaUty. That stroke has 'now been followed by another even more directly to the purpose as regards the advancement of colonial unity. The New South "Wales Government have invited all the Australian colonies, including New Zealand, to mutually guarantee indemnification sgainßt losses inflicted on colonists in war. The proposal appears on the face of it to be not only highly desirable, but perfectly feasible. If all the colonies combine to make good any losses the people of any of them may suffer at the hands of the national enemy, war is deprived at ones of half its terror to the individual colonists. The aggregate resources of the colonies are enormous, and in comparison with them _ the cost of the worst damage a hostile cruiser could do to private property afloat or ashore, would be bnt a bagatelle.

Apart from its practical oharaoter as a matter of business, however, the scheme proposed In Mr. Da-ley's circular telegram has this extremely important feature : It distinctly contemplates the inhabitants of all the colonies as one people in view of war, to be jointly and mutually protected against personal loss. That is surely a grand idea, the realisation of which wiU do more to establish aa Australasian nationality than aU the Intercolonial Conferences or Federal Councils could ever do.. It has this further advantage. " Instead of tending towards the separation of the colonies from the Mother Country, as aU previous colonial federal proposals have unquestionably done more or less, it supplies a new and .powerful bond of union between them. It conspicuously*, demonstrates the capability of the colonies to take care of themselves in the event of war, and stUl further reUeves tho Empire of anxiety or embarrassment on their account. At the same time it leaves to each of them its individual independence intaot, as to its internal concerns, and entirely avoids those clumsy and irritating complications which always have arisen and are always bound to arise from divided responstbuity.

This proposal comes with a specially good grace from New South Wales, for the reason that she has the most to lose and tbe least to gain from it With a singularly unassailable coast, with' her chief places admirably defended, with an ovei flowing treasury and an exceedingly wealthy population, New South Wales is in a better position than any other colony to sustain the shocks cf war. Yet she is willing and snxioua to chare, and share alike, with all her poorer and more defenceless neighbours. She has more to put into the common fund than they have, though she is less likely to draw upon it, This is an unselfish and broadminded view to take of the Federal principle, and it is diffionlt to see how any colony can dissent from it. If New South Wales teaches Australasia a few more lessons like this, we shall soon have all that is beneficial or desirable in Federation, without any of those evils or dangers which rendered the scheme of the Conference of 1883, and all subsequent schemes, equally impracticable and unacceptable. '