AUSTRALIAN PROBLEMS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 188, 4 May 1908, Page 6

AUSTRALIAN PROBLEMS.

— : ——- ' i The annual conference of the Australian Premiers, now being held in Melbourne, \ is an interesting gathering. It is an Imperial Conference in miniature, and a linear descendant of the old Federal Council of pre- • Commonwealth days. It is free to discuss what subjects it pleases, pass what resolutions it pleases, and, ~with Dr. Johnson, may ' . . . with extensive view Survey mankind from China to Peru, m But there its, power ends. However wise and carefully deliberated its decisions they remain merely so much waste-paper until ratified by the Parliaments. The Conference will this year, as in the past, give ils chief attention to the intricate financial'rela-: tions of the Commonwealth and the States, and, the. all-important question of whether the Braddon Clause, which, expires'in 1910, sliall be renewed, modified, or abandoned. This clause, the compromise that made the union possible, provides that, during the first ten years of federation, the Commonwealth Government shall retain 1 only one-fourth of the revenue from , Customs and Excise for its own purposes, returning the balance to the States in which it was collected. The two great objects of federation were a uniform Customs; tariff and a ■ common defence policy.. Grudgingly, and with the important proviso suggested by Sir, Edward : Braddon, the States handed over to the Commonwealth the, 'receipt p.f• .Customs"; chief"' source 'of revenue. ' 'Tlie 'State revenues have increased greatly since 1901,-but none of the .States is in a position to allow the whole of the'return from the Federal Treasurer to cease. The Commonwealth, on the other, hand, needs financial independence. The people of Australia look to it for an efficient system- of defence.' They expect it to' people the Northern Territory, and to carry out necessary undertakings of a national character. To dp these things money is required, ' but while the Braddon Clause remains the, Treasurer's hands are tied, and for every £1 he requires ho has, to raise £4'. This is objectionable, and must cease, but how ? One of the provisions of the Constitution is that the, Commonwealth may take over the State debts, and it is_ here that the solution of the problem is thought to lie. It is contended that by the issue of a single Consolidated stock, Australian credit would be enhanced; better terms obtained .on the London market, and great savings effected. The' problem is surrounded with difficulties.• To begin with, the Constitution gives power to take over only those, debts existing at the date of federation. Large increases in the States' indebtedness have since taken ' place, and an amendment of the Constitution seems essential to a satisfactory solution. Even then there would remain the regulation of future borrowing, an exceedingly thorny problem. Various temporary substitutes for the Braddon Clause have been suggested, but though some compromise be patched up for the time being, sooner or later the Commonwealth will be obliged tq face the question as a whole. From to-day's cable messages it seems that the proposals which Mr. Deakin is to lay before the present Conference will be marked by that in- ■ definiteness for which he has become notorious. Mr. Deakin is Australia's most eloquent speaker,, but he has not shown the characteristics necessary for the achievement of practical results in matters of the sort with which the Conference is dealing. Australia has some great problems before her, and offers _ great opportunities in nationrbuilding. The work is waiting, but our kinsmen across the Tasman Sea have yet to find the Abraham Lincolns and the Koosevelts who are to weld and cement the union that has been entered into, and, by deed as well as word, to arouse their countrymen to consciousness of their destiny as a people.