Evening Post. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10,1900. THE FEDERATION COMMISSION

Evening Post, Volume LX, Issue 114, 10 November 1900, Page 4

Evening Post. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1900. THE FEDERATION COMMISSION

It is now exactly three weeks since the close of the session, and it is time the Government took into serious consideration the composition of the Roya} Commission which is to enquire into the subject of Federation with Australia. The Commissioners, according to the terms of the resolution passed by Parliament, are not only to report upon the 'desirability or otherwise of entering the Commonwealth, but also upon the terms of a reciprocal treaty, should federation be thought inadvisable or premature. Such a wide order of reference indicates that the work of th^ Commission will be very heavy, and the sooner it begins its in*

vestigations the better will it serve the colony. Upon the information it collates will in a large measure depend the future policy of New Zealand towards United Australia, and it is especially advisable that tho best men available should be selected, and that they should have ample time to perform their responsible duties in a satisfactory manner. The Commission will have to consider the bearing of federation upon our .national character, our social life, our trade and' industries, our public finances, ' and our political development. It will also have to estimate the effect of a -uniform Australian tariff upon the commerce of this colony, and the possibility of our entering into alliance with the Commonw.calth at least for'purposes of trade, defence and judicial appeals. The questions involved are above local Party distinctions, and they aiiould be treated without bias or prejudice. The Commission should be representative of what is highest and best in our politics, our commerce, and our law. ]Slot only should it be free from Party colour, , but it should also have neither a rabidly federal nor a rabidly anti-federal tone. Us members should be citizens of public spirit, sound common sense and exceptional ability, and we doubt whether the Premier would be justified in asking the services of such men in return for the paltry £500 placed on the Estimates to cover their expenses, including a journey to Australia. If we remember rightly, "the Premier's own trip to Hobart cost the co?.ony some £518, or rather more than the total amount he proposes to spend upon this important Commission. It is sincerely to bo hoped that the Commission is not to be used as a means of rewarding certain second or third-rate supporters of the present Administration, but that its personnel will be above reproach, arid its labours adequately rewarded. The Premier is evidently aware of what the country has a right to expect in tho making of these appointments, for the third clause of his resolution declared "that the Commissioners intrusted with this all-important matter, affecting, as it does, our national life and well-being, should be conversant with the agricultural, commercial and industrial interests of the colony, and be otherwise eminently fitted for the high office to wh.ich they are appointed." Moreover in the course of the speech in which he moved ihe resolution he said: — <*I beg to assure members the Government feel that a grave responsibility will be cast upon them Jf the House passes this resolution, and that in the> selection of the gentlemen who are to hold this enquiry and report thereon there will . be no question of 'colour.' There wjll be no selection of those biassed against or for federation ; but what we shall require is to have men well acquainted with the commerce and the industries of our country. Not only that, but I believe we shall require men who have some knowledge of our past political history, of our present, and who are able to look to our future. I say that those intrusted with the very important duties that we ask the House to agree to recommend shall be cast upon them will have a grave responsibility, and I hope the appointments will be such as will recommend themselves to this House and to the people of our colony." A good - humoured cynic conversant with Mr. Seddon's past .political history might be tempted to exclaim in an aside "Methinks the lady doth protest too much," but there is a measure of truth in Captain Russell's statement that the more importaut appointments the i Premier has made have been usually good, however opeji ,to attack the smaller ones may be. After the word's embodied in his resolution and reiterated in his speech Mr. Seddon can hardly do less than endeavour to choose the men most fitted for the work, but unfortunately we can never be quite sure of our Premier's intentions until his words have found fulfilment in deeds. In the present instance, however, the deeds will, we trust, approximate to the words, and the country should then be fully satisfied with the composition of the Commission, and the better satisfied the earlier it is set up. In less than two months the Commonwealth will be an accomplished fact, and the Commissioners ought to have completed their preliminary investigations by that time in order to be able to devote themselves more particularly to the Australian phases x>i their enquiry.