The Evening Star SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 1890.

Evening Star, Issue 8118, 18 January 1890, Page 2

The Evening Star SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 1890.

Several eloquent and interesting speeches

were made at the New South South lvnies Walesbanqueton Thursday eyenBanquet. i n g> and thoße present had the opportunity of listening to men whose opinions are likely to have considerable influence in shaping the future destinies gI Australasia. Lord Cakrington ranged far beyond the ordinary scope of afterdinner oratory, in which Sir George Bowex was facile pvinceps ; and gave such a taste of J ihw ability as sufficiently explains his great j popularity with ,the somewhat turbulent de- ! iiioeracy .of the colony whose government he admini3tei'3. <£)urownGovernordemonstrated that he had made good use of his time 3ince he has been in New Zealand. It is evident that His Excellency haa given thoughtful consideration to the affairs and condition of the Colony ; that he understands and sympathises with the aspirations of the people, and identifies himself with their interests I The days are gone by when Downing street (Wi\d venture to send dummies, imbeciles, and political pot-hunters as representatives of Her Majesty. In the Earl of Osslow and Lord we have excellent types of the new school gentlemen of culture and ability, versed in public flairs, impressed with the &o£vietion of duty, realising to the full their important responsibilities and constitutional position. j £ he speeches of .their Excellencies, and the pleasiag deliverance of the Admiral, brief, pithy, aud to the point, as ;bee&me his profession, constituted what may be .considered the ornamental part of the intellectual, wfyiclt succeeded the material, banquet. The Colonial Treasurer of New South Wales broke deeper ground when he declared himself'' a propagandist of the faith of federal union," &jjd announced that on this mission he had coma to JiTew Zealand. As representing the newbora : zeal of New South WalGB, he certainly laid himself open to the quiet sarcasm of the Hon. T, H#si,op, who remarked on the characteristic enthusiasm of recent converts ! It is certainly diverting, although explicable to thcas v/ho understand the politics of that col&ny, find New South Wales taking tiie feud where she has ever declined the slightest 60-Gjperation. However, be the cause a»vd the motive? what they may, we have the undoubted fapt that Sir Henry Pabkes and his_ colleagues jbaye taken up colonial federation as the main their policy, andare endeavoring with the energy c{ apnr ,vi/3tion to impress their new creed" jipou .public opinion throughout Australasia. The mission b,sre, Mr M'Millan evidently himself is of opinion, is somewhat in the nature of a " fo/iom hope." He appeals rather to the of New than to their common sensJfc, and the .elaboration of his argument'effectuslly diminishes its force. Even could' his premises be accepted as substantially ,true, theconclusioa that joining s,uafc p federal Union as proposed woiiid he of advantage jfjo New Zealand is by no me&as to be drawn therefrom. We have, since the qaastjon came seriously to the fore, had grave doubts regarding it, whilst admitting that theoretically the scheme is attractive. It must not be understood that we condemn it absolutely; but our are in no degree dispelled by /foe advocacy .of the New South Wales Treasurer-' jln %e £rst place, we are asked to consider the ,r,pasoja the Australasian colonies occupy in the\mid3t.of the civilised world at the present day. " It is bettor for "us that we have-.-each individual colony-r-

" done our own work and erected our own "superstructure of civilisation. But this "work is now done; and those who have " been carefully examining the history of "the last ten years must feel that "there have been grave events in " connection with ourselves which, whether "we like it or not, are bringing ns " into a vast federalisation." There are forces, Mr M'Millan continues, going on which will infallibly bring the colonies into the full view of the civilised world; whilst the very enterprise and the wealth attained have made them "objects of jea- " lousy, suspicion, and interest to all the "nations of the earth." We fail to grasp the sequence of this branch of the argument. The intention possibly is to advance the idea of a common danger naturally inducing the coming together in defence. It is somewhat of an hyperbole to talk of "all the nations of the earth" eagerly waiting, as it were, with rapacious maws to devour the Australasian dominions of the Empire—a catastrophe, by the way, which any colonial federation could hardly avert, if all the nations were really in earnest and England powerless to aid; a remote contingency which should hardly influence practical politics. Mr M'Millan expresses himself throughout in what may be described as a vein of vagueness ; he is diffusive both in his logic and his rhetoric. Take, for instance, the definition of federation, where, as the avowed apostle, he should need be clear: "I would give you " nothing for federation unless it be a blend- " ing of mutual interest and mutual patriotism, and the intercourse of great commu- " nitie3 with one another !" This very perplexing proposition is dilated upon to the utter confusion of the understanding, and we simply give up the problem of endeavoring to comprehend what i 3 meant. Possibly the explanation may be that the New South Wales Treasurer, desiring, as he states, that the question should be discussed in New Zealand, puts it forward as a sort of puzzle, which should emulate as an attraction the world renowned " Pigs in Clover " ! It must be conceded that he is more practical when he addresses himself more especially to the direct issue, whether it would be to the advantage or not of New Zealand to throw in her lot with Australia in any federation which could include commercial reciprocity. Intercolonial freetrade, he affirms, must mean a uniform tariff ; and such a tariff devised against all the world would tell heavily against New Zealand were she to stand aloof from the Federation. This may be true enough ; but matters would be only a degree worse than they are at present, and it may be questioned whether the Australian Federation would adopt the suicidal policy of Victoria and exclude, by prohibitive duties, agricultural products of which the people of the Continent staud so much in need. The other " dangers of political and social character " which we are threatened with in the future if we do not unite with the colonies of Australia are of a very shadowy character, and need not be seriously discussed. The Hon. Mr Hisi.or was almost constrained to take up the question which formed the main subject of the New South Wales Treasurer's speech, and his remarks were characterised by sound judgment. He acknowledged that many advantages would accrue from federation, but maintained the inadvisability of taking a leap in the dark in a matter of such moment, which requires the very gravest consideration. New Zealand, he intimated, would have to see her way very clearly before giving up her autonomy and placing her political and social interests in the hands oi a Dominion Parliament, in which necessarily she would have an inconsiderable voice. The Government, however, he said, intended to be directly represented at the ensuing Conference in Melbourne, and the proposals discussed thereat would be the subject of serious deliberation in Cabinet, and, with the opinions of Ministers thereupon, submitted to Parliament and properly placed before the people, We are not ourselves of opinion that much of a practical character will come of the Conference, but the undoubted benefit will result that federation will have to be defined by the promoters. A judgment can then be formed as to the course this Colony should take, with due regard to the best interests, present or future, of our people.