The Evening Star MONDAY, APRIL 1, 1901.

Evening Star, Issue 11512, 1 April 1901, Page 4

The Evening Star MONDAY, APRIL 1, 1901.

So far as can be judged from the returns to hand, which are in many inThe Federal stances only approximate, Election!. Mr Barton will have a sufficient majority in the House of Representative* to justify his meeting Parliament and making a definite declajra-

tion of the Ministerial policy. Although securing sixteen seats in New South Wales against nine carried by the Protectionists, Mr Reid presumably must be disappointed that his party did not do better in the very stronghold of "Freetrade, so as to compensate for the certain heavy losses in Victoria. Whilst the elections, except perhaps in Queensland, have been mainly fought on the fiscal question, there are other grave issues the Commonwealth Parliament will have to deal with during the first session, and which may influence the balance of parties in the House. It must not, we think, be taken for granted that all the members elected as Protectionists will necessarily vote with Mr Barton, or all those who were Freetrade candidates with the Opposition. With the Queensland representatives, for instance, the question of colored alien labor will be paramount, and the Labor members generally may be expected to .give political support to the party which shows most disposition to socialistic legislation. In regard to the fiscal question, neither party, it would seem, will be strong enough to carry out their policy effectively. There will either have to be compromises or conditions analogous to an armed truce must be maintained for a time, until other matters—and there are many such—of immediate importance are settled, and the administration of tho Commonwealth got into shape. There is no absolute necessity for immediate; action in regard to the revenue to bo raised from Customs, since the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act provides that uniform duties shall l>e imposed within two years after the establishment of the Commonwealth. The consideration of the fiscal question may therefore stand over until the session of next year, when, however, it must needs be definitely settled. In the meantime, until tho imposition of uniform duties, the Commonwealth is to credit to each State the revenues collected therein and debit the expenditure incurred solely for the maintenance or continuance, as at the time of transfer, of any department transferred from the State to the Commonwealth, also the proportion of the State, according to the number of its people, in the other expenditure of the Commonwealth. Out of the net revenue of the Commonwealth from duties of Customs and Excise not more than one-fourth is to be applied annually by the Commonwealth towards its expenditure, and the balance is to be paid to the several States, or applied towards the payment of interest on debts of the States taken over by the Commonwealth. These latter provisions constitute the much-discussed "Braddon Blot," because introduced into the draft Constitution by Sir K Braddon, of Tasmania, who, we are pleased to note, has been elected to the Federal House of Representatives.

In regard to the personnel of the Federal Parliament in both Houses, it is notable that a considerable proportion of the members are men comparatively unknown in public life; whilst among the defeated candidates are able men and experienced politicians, who would have been nf great service to the Commonwealth:—e.g., Mr J. G. Duffy (ex-Postmaster-General of Victoria), Mr Robert Reid, M.L.C., Mr B. R. Wise (Attorney-General of New Sonth Wales), and the Hon. A. J. Tbynne. The adoption of ticket* on both sides at the Senate elections had a good effect in absolutely destroying the chances of several most objectionable candidates, who otherwise, through the apathy or lack of information by the mass of the electors, might have been returned. We are especially pleased to note that Sir Frederick Sargoqd, a. staunch Freetrader, succeeded in obtaining a seat in the Senate.