AUSTRALIAN SUMMARY.

Evening Post, Volume LXVIII, Issue 128, 26 November 1904, Page 9

AUSTRALIAN SUMMARY.

(For the week ending Saturday last.) LABOUR AND DEFENCE. The discussion of tae Estimates in. the Federal House during the week has brought further evidence of tho great change that has taken place in the attitude of the Labour Party towards questions of defence. Speaking on the Defence Estimates on Tuesday, Mr. Watson said lie would like to see every citizen trained to bear arms, as in Switzerland, but feared this would savour too much of conscription to be palatable to the public taste. He believed that it was absolutely essential that all the money they could spare should be spent in making their harbours impregnable. If there was a sense of security in Australia at present, it was an absolutely fake one. He saw no prospect of Australia owning a seagoing squadron for a considerable time, but would be prepared to vote sufficient money every year for harbour defences and torpedo-boat destroyers. Sir John Forrest, an ex-Minister of Defence, also spoke, ridiculing the new defence scheme as far too ambitious and showy. THE WHITE LABOUR QUESTION. The white labour question came up again in the. discussion on the Postal Estimates. Sir John Forrest urged that there was no consistency in refusing to pay a mail subsidy to black-manned steamers and then paying the same steamers poundage rates for the carriage of mails. Sir William Lyne demanded to know the views of the Government on the subject, and Mr. Reid replied that everybody knew he had strong views on the white labour clause, but as' the electors had refused to sanction any change in the law he had no sort of intention to interfere with the Act during the present Parliament. The Postmaster-General said the mails could be sent home at poundage rates for £78,000 less per annum than was paid at present. The service would not be likely to be as satisfactory as at present, but the Government was forced into adopting it. He did not anticipate great delays, as the steamers would keep up to time in their own interests. The Senate has put the Arbitration Bill through all but the final stages before sending it hack to the House. An unsuccessful attempt was made to 'insert the navigation clauses applying the ' measure to oversea vessels trading on the coast. AUSTRALIA AND THE EMPIRE. Quite a number of travellers returning lately have declared that Au&tralia and Australians are now thoroughly unpopular in Great Britain. Mr. Irvine, the exPremiev of Victoria, is the latest. Speaking to his constituents at Horsham on Saturday, he said that while in England he was thoroughly amazed to find how extremely unpopular his country was. It was stated that Australia was 'using the liberty of government to pass laws likely to get England into considerable 'difficulty with certain foreigii countries and sections of British subjects. The six-hatters incident had burned into the brain of -the ordinary British citizen a picture .which nothing but a complete change of attitude could obliterate. The tie of sentiment, strong as it might be on this side, was beginning to get a little weaker on the other side. The crimson thread of kinship -was beginning to get thin and pale at present. He thought Australia Was inadequately represented at Home. One heard there of Canada. Cape Colony, and sometimes of New Zealand, but very seldom of Australia. This led to distrust, and tended seriously to retard the development of a new country like theirs. 'PREFERENTIAL TRADE. A meeting in support of preferential trade was addressed in the Melbourne Town Hall on Thursday by the 'leaders of the movement in Australia. The great hall was only kilf filled, but the audience waa in lively humour, and interruptions were frequsnt. Mr. Deakin declared that every puke of natural life, every prompting of wise self-interest pointed in the direction df developing reciprocity between self-governing countries that lived under the same flag. Trade, like charity, began at home, and the best trade of any country was its home trade. Preferential trade would mean the retention of the Empire's home trade. Mr. Watson, in his speech, said that personally he thought tljey should reduce some duties in favour of British goods, but should in most cases raise them against foreigners. They should not judge preferential trade by the fact that Mr. Chamberlain was behind the movement. He was no believer" in Imperial Federation, and had no possible sympathy with' the dream of an Imperial Council sitting in London, and guiding the destinies of the Empire. In his letter of Wednesday to the British workers on the subject of preference, • Mr. Watson explains that the raising of duties to outsiders Mould not be illusory preference to Great Britain. Of Australian imports 25 per cent, were duty free, and .the tariff was comparatively low on goods manufactured in Great Britain — cotton piece goods 5 per cent., woollen piece goods 15 per cent., and machinery 12£ per cent., for instance. Mr. Irvine, in his Horsham speech, declared that Mr. Chamberlain would never be satisfied with the proposal merely to build a higher tariff wallagainst outsiders. THE GENERAL'S FAREWELL. General Hutton made an interesting speech on Saturday at the farewell entertainment- given in his honour by the military and naval officers of New South Wales. He said he considered that in harmonising the military forces of six States, with their intense conservatism, into one whole, he had had one- of the most difficult tasks that had been imposed upon a general officer for many years. He had to serve in three years six different Ministers — four Prime Ministers, and three Governments with different policies. The General strongly criticised the projected defence scheme. Having been associated with the Australian troops in peace and war for twelve years past, he claimed to know more of their feelings than any other man. He said they did not want to be commanded by a committee. They could not have two systems — one for peace and one for war. If their peace system tos not a war system it would go down in time of stress. Under the proposal there would only be the permanent secretary between the committee and the Minister. There Mas great danger that lie must combine in his own person the powers of the Minister and the executive functions of the General.. He did not believe a military system could thrive with a civilian in command. But, whatever Parliament in its wisdom might decide, he was prepared to assure the Minister that the forces would do their loyal best to give the experiment a fair trial. At the end of tlie evening the General's carriage was dragged to his hotel by officers in mess-dress, amid much excitement and cheesing. •

) AS OTHERS SEE US. 3 Two interesting editorial articles ori • New Zealand affairs have appeared in tho ', Sydney probs lately. The Daily Tele- , graph, writing of our industrial arbitrai lion system, said: "It is nothing to tho - Court that, by ordering a n increase of ; wages to the bakers or the butchers, ten times that amount may have to be paid by the other portion of the community in extra prices for bread or meat. No one is allowed to appear for the public, out of whose pockete the concession , ha* to come Compafeory arbitration was introduced as a nieane of protecting the public against the losses imposed dpon them by strikes, but in its operation instead of giving them any pro- - tection it hands them over, bound hand 5 and foot, to be plundered in the name of ; industrial peace. There has, however, been more industrial strife created by the Arbitration Act than settled by % and it is very questionable whether the- re- • suits to the general public haVe not been L more disastrous." The other article wAs L in the Morning Herald, and referred to the rumour that Mr. Seddon intended to ; take tho High Commissionerehip f6r New ' Zealand. Our contemporary said : "The . outstanding fact is that Mr. Seddon's tenure of office has been growing more and : more precarious. . . He has been finding it difficult to pass measures even with ■ something of his old hammering; arid , since failing health has made it iinperiutive that he shall take care of himself, he has been obliged to make concessions ot manoeuvre where aforetime- he would have carried things by sheer fighting. • . . . Everywhere the sign« point to the fact that the Seddon reign is over in New Zealand, and it remains , to .be seen whe- ; ther he will burst out into "new activity as High Commissioner in London or ao- , oept the poet as one of eaoe and dignity." DISTRESS AT NEWCASTLE. The depreasion in the Newcastle coal trade continues, and the prospects for next year are unfortunately lar from bright. The correspondent oi the Sydney Daily Telegraph reported on Friday, that "throughout the Newcastle district at the present time there must be .thousands of people who have not the means to live otherwise than in a tt»t« of almost painful frugality, and also hundreds who, from time to time, feel the pincji of actual want." A number of the mines are idle, and others are" only working part tdme, but in spite of the- distress that must exist it is not easy to get concrete evidence of it. The applications to the charitable institutions for relief have not lately increased to any extent, a* the miners are ready to suffer a lot of privation before they will go to a public institution for aid or advertise their necessities in any way. A deputation from the Coalminers' Association wailed upon Mr. Carruthers, • the State Premier, on Thursday, and asked the Government (1) to fix a- minimum selling price for coal, (2) to nationalise the coalniiners, (3) to establish auxiliary Arbitration Courts. The first .two requests Mr. Carruthers regarded as altogether outside practical politics ; he made no promise on the third, but undertook to have as much Government work as possible put in hand in- the Newcastle district at once. The increased Government expenditure will amount to about £3500 per month, but is on business lines, and not in the form of relief. THE FEDERAL CAPITAL. The New South Wales Parliament ie to discuss the question of the Federal capital at an early date, and to decide on the attitude to be adopted toward the Commonwealth selection of Dalgety. It is a moot point under the Constitution whether or not the State can veto a selection of which it disapproves. The choice of Dalgety is said to be unpopular, as it is away in an unpopulous district, and about half a million will have to be' spent to link it up -*ith the State railway system. Victoria, too> will have to spend about £1,350,000 if she is to be connected by rail with the capital. The project, in fact, will mean running passenger express trains' on a new through railway from .Sydney to 1 Melbourne. Tho route .will tie about one hundred miles longer than the present through line, and, running much of the way through a -sterile and jnountainous country, will bring little increase of traffic- -Both the Sydney Telegraph and Herald are opposed to concurrence in the Federal Parliament's selection^ and urge that the State should veto it, even though the capital remain in Melbourne for a further period. The Telegraph foresees the up-growth of a more genninely\ Federal feeling .between. New South' Wales and Victoria, which will permit of a more satisfactory arrangement being arrived at some time in tho future. CLOSER SETTLEMENT IN NEW SOUTH 'WALES. Mr. Ashton, the New South Wales Minister for Lands, on Thursday asked leavo to introduce his Closer Settlement Bill, and briefly explained its provisions. The first part of the Bill provided for the '. purchase of land for' closer settlement . by voluntary agreement ; the second part, for compulsory- purchase on the . lines of the New Zealand legisl&tipn ; the , third, part related to payments; and the fourth, . on which he anticipated most discussion, dealt with the method of dist posal of the land," whether by" leasehold only or by the system of conditional pur- . chases. Sir. M'Gowen, leader of the La- ; bour Party, moved an amendment that permission should be given for a Bill providing for leasehold only. No system \ of closer settlement would receive hia h support' unless it was confined to leas- ; ing. Mr. Ashton, replying, declared that ' the leasehold system did not prevent the aggregation of large estates. The New , Zealand system of a 999 years' lease . with a rental of 4 per cent, on the value . of the land on acquisition was only a. freehold under another name, and mere [ pandering to the word lea*e! Theoretically leasing with periodical reappraise- \ ment was tho best, and he bad once favoured it, but was now convinced that it would not work. Mr. M'Gowen's motion was defeated by 46 to 25 Totes, and leave was given to introduce the ; measure. "A NATIONAL CRIME." 1 Commenting in the Divorce Court on [ Wednesday on the enormous number of ' suits on the ground of desertion, Sir John. 1 Madden, the Chief Justice of Victoria, [ made some strong remarks. His Honour said the cases in the list grew in atrocity • as the hearing proceeded, and if the state ', of things disclosed was not assuming the proportions of a national crime- it was fast approaching it. Of the cases on Ids list ] 56£ per cent, were of the same sort of villainous defiance attached by law and I morality in a husband to his wile. Afar- . riage was to these men nothing more than the merest farce. Concluding his remarks, | the Chief Justice declared tfiofc the public conscience ought to be awakened. Marriage was for tho good of society, and | society" ought to look to it. The evil is just as great in New South Wales as in. Victoria, the statistics showing that of a 1 total of 2843 divorces and judicial separations no less than 1034 were for desertion. The Sydney Telegraph says the largo proportion of cases of equal atrocity which, owing to one cause or another never get before the Courts, justifies the , Judge's statement that wife-desertion and wife-prsecution is fasl becoming a national crime. "I, sir, am a self-made man." "Ah, that's where you show your strength of character." "Yes?" " Yes, a. fellow with less nerve would blame ib on Provi- , deuce..'