Evening Post. THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 1891. TOO GREAT A SACRIFICE.

Evening Post, Volume XLI, Issue 77, 2 April 1891, Page 2

Evening Post. THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 1891. TOO GREAT A SACRIFICE.

The more olearly the Federation proposals are developed, the more certain it becomes that New Zealand must stand out. The Constitution as it hia been drafted, is no doubt a nu»t excellent one for Australia, but it would nevor suit this colony to come under it Tho functions to be assumed by the Fed era) Government include too many thing* which, in New Zealand at least, demand looal knowledge to doal with satisfactorily, and whioh must be administered on tho spot. It would never do to depend on cable communication for administration. Apart from this, however, it is evident that the constitution of the Federal Parliament must inevitably emasculate the local or State Legislatures inoluded in tho Federation. The msmbers of the Federal Parliament are not to be permitted to sit in the State Legislatures. The higher position, with its larger sphere of action, will naturally attraot the beet men in each State, who aeek a political career, and the local Legislature and Government will accordingly bo handed over to second-rate men. Tho State Legislatures will ossuma the same relative position towards the Federal Parliament as our old Provincial Councils would have oooupied towards tha General Assembly h»d the members of the latter not been allowed to Bit in (he former. Tho Provincial Legislatures '

were bad enough as thiy were. Bad they not included men also Kitting in the Aisemblj, they would have been very muoh worse. Now, New Se&land certainly cannot afford to weaken its own Parliament by the exclusion from it of a number of the men beat fitted to lit in a Federal Legislature. Our present Legislature ia not at all too strong intellectually, although there is no speoial exolusion of good mon. The funotions of the local Legialature, even if the oolonv were inoluded in the new Commonwealth, would still bo of vital importance to the oolony, and their administration would demand the attention of the very beßt men the colony can produoo. According to the proaent Federation proposals New Zealand would be entitled to send 21 or 22 members to the Lower Houso of Parliament and eight to the Senate. 'Where oould 30 qnalified men be found willinj to spend six months of eaoh year in Australia at a salary of £b<jQ a year f Of courso, there are plenty of men who would jump at the situation, bat tho question of their fitness is_ another thing. In any oase the absolute withdrawal from local political lite of 30 of tho ablest men in the colony who can afford to devote themaolvea to political life, would terribly weakon the General Assembly. If we sont I our best men to the Parliament of the Commonwealth cur local Legislature would deteriorate and fall in public respeot) even the Premier occupying an interior position to a Federal Representative or Senator ; or if we eeut seoandrato men to tho Foderal Parliament Now Zealand's influence and prestigo iv the Commonwealth would suffer. Now Zealand therefore will act wisely in resting content to miad its own business and govern itself, neither reeking & voice in the management of the affairs of its Continental neighbours nor giving them any oontrol whatever over oura. That this will be the general verdiot of Now Zealand we have every confidence. Should the oolony ever think otherwise and desire to join the Federation, one of the first stops necessary would he for tho Commonwealth to acquire possession and oontrol of the cable. It would never do for the Federation to be dependent on a private company for moans of speedy communication between its States. Wo shall not be surprised if Tasmania, although so much nearer to Australia than New Zealand, stipulates for State-controlled oable communication, even as Wostorn Australia during the late debato mado it distinctly understood through its representatives that the construction by the Commonwealth of a tranzcontinental railway would bo one of tbo conditions of its joining the Federation. Whether tho Commonwealth will think it worth while to guarantee this great work in order to induce the adheeion of Western Australia, remains to be seen. Probably it would consider the cost of either purchasing the existing cable or laying a new one an exceasivo prico to pay for obtaining ths cooperation of Now Zifcland. We do not, however, think it at all likely that they will ever bo called on to consider this point.