THE COMMONWEALTH

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 257, 23 July 1908, Page 7

THE COMMONWEALTH

POLITICAL AFFAIRS.. SURPLUS REVENUE ACT: TEST CASE. MR. WADE ON HIS DEFENCE. . ' UPPER HOUSE QUESTIONS IN TWO STATES. ' ; • (BY TELBGEAPH—WIESS ASSOCIATION— COPrEIDHT.) ~ ' Sydney, July 22. In tho Assembly Mr. M'Gowen, Leader of ihe Opposition, moved a no-confidenco mo-. : lion to tho offect that" the conduct of the Government in their relations with the Commonwealth had .brought ridiculo upon the • State;' and. 'that ■ such conduct, and also their action in making unwarranted and- unnecessary. appointments to the Legislative Council, merited : the .condemnation, of the v House. „ ' Mr. Wadp, : the Premier; in a fighting ' speech in reply, claimed that tho Government \ had only done its duty in resisting the encroachments by tho Commonwealth on Stato rights.: He intended, acting in conjunction with the other States, to issue a writ against the Federal Government for withhold-: . ing from the States a.portion of the revenue for Juno. He claimed that the appointments to the Legislative Council were necessary to mako that Chamber reasonably effective. The debate was adjourned. ... . ANOTHER CENSURE MOTION. .AGAINST THE EVANS GOVERNMENT. Hobart, July 22. " In 'the Assembly, a want of confidence motion was moved to the effect that the Government was'not sincere in' pushing measures through the Council. ( : The motion was negatived by 18 to 11.. • A MODEST TASMANIAN LOAN.. • ■ ' London, July 21. A Tasmanian loan, of £200,000 has been issuod at 3i per cent., with a minimum of £98 10s. '■ , TASMANIA AND THE FEDERATION. . . v ':' FINANCIAL GRIEVANCES. Under date ;July , 18, our Australian correspondent writes:—The controversy about State maintained with, great vigour in Tasmania, where, it is contended, the burden of taxation which the people have to bear is already excessively heavy, whilst works which . .are claimed to: bo essential to- the progress of tho State cannot be carried- out because of tho : *want : of money. .Hence, it is not 'surprising to'find that'the Premier (Captain Evans), in his'speech to his constituents at Port Cygnet, last week, devoted considerable attention to -this subject. • In four .years, he said, "his Government, by its careful and cautious policy, had reduced' the deficit, which had stood at ■£229,000 when he took office, by no less than Had it not been for the unfair treatment tho State had received, from the Commonwealth with'regard to surplus revonue, the deficit would have disappeared by. the end of the-financial year just' passed.' The fact that this resultliad been achieved in spite of the Federal-disabilities under which they laboured, proved the buoyancy of'the State, and showed that a reasonableiorward policy was justifiable. The incidence.of land taxation is to be altered, as demanded by the people for some time past, . in order that it may be made more equitable; but the Premier regretted to have to announce that taxation could not be remitted.' If a forward policy were to'be maintained, the time ■ had arrived, added Captain Evans, when the States would have to stand up-for their rights .against Federal encroachments. Therefore lie had telegraphed on . the previous day' to Sir Thomas- Bent (Premier, of Victoria), Mr. Wade . . . (Premier of-New South Wales), and Mr. Moore (Premier of West, Australia), asking if they had abandoned their intention \of testing the constitutionality of tho Surplus Kovenne Act. The reply he had received from each of them was that the intention had not been abandoned; Captain Evans announced that the Government would introduce in the coming session a Bill to place the railways under the control of a commissioner, and so ~ remove them from political control, that a. measure would be brought forward to provide for a tax on land ' values, and that it was also proposed to bring in a-Local Ontion Bill and a Factdry Bill to regulate the hour's of* child labour, sanitation, and general conditions of work.