THE FEDERATION COMMISSION.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CV, Issue 12428, 18 February 1901, Page 4

THE FEDERATION COMMISSION.

The Federation Commission will open its Christchureh sittings at the Provincial Council Chamber this morning, and an opportunity will now be afforded to representatives of all classes of the community of stating their views on the great issue, We> need hardly speak again of the importance of making this investigation absolutely thorough. The attitude of the colony must inevitably be influenced by the report of the Commission and it is therefore the duty of every citizen who has any light to throw on the matter to appear and give evidence. Complaints.have bsen made as ; to the lati-

tflde allowed by the Commission to -witnesses. With these we. have little sympathy. The evidence of local residents can only consist of '-'views" or "opinions." The onion-grower and the bootmaker can say nothing more than what they suppose will'be the effect of federation on the industries with which they are connected, and although the evidence of twenty bootmakers may add nothing to the knowledge of the Commission, the Views of one intelli--gent representative of the trade may he of the- greatest value. Canterbury stands to gain or lose through the decision of the colony perhaps more, than any other single provincial district! and the evidence taken j here will no doubt receive, the most careful. consideration. , In no other part of the colony does the small producer hold so prominent a place, and so far as we can gather it is the small producer who would lose "most 'heavily by the closing of the Australian market. The Commission is very largely dependent, upon the people's sense of duty for its evidence, and we hope that it will have no reason, to complain of either the quantity or the quality of the assistance afforded it in Christchurch. So far the great bulk of the evidence has been against federation, but the advocates of union with Australia are fairly numerous in Canterbury, and it is important that their views should be recorded even at the cost of a little personal inconvenience. The commercial element 'has been so pronounced | in the evidence so far gathered, that we are surely justified in expecting Christchurch to furnish an opinion, one way or ! the other, on some of the social, legal and political issues at stake. The Commoni wealth Parliament, it must be remembered, will have power to deal with Railways, the Post and Telegraph services, Banking, Insurance, the law of Corporations, Marriage and Divorce, Naturalisation mnd Aliens, Emigration and Immigration and Defence. These are all questions that New Zealand has dealt with in its own way and in some of them, at least, we are supposed to be in advance of the other colonies. The agricultural aspect, the industrial aspect and the labor aspect of federation will all be discussed fully ; but what would''..be the position of New* Zealand' women under the Commonwealth? We have endeavoured to suggest a few points upon, which the public should be able to give information, and if any member of the community has made a study of onoi of them it is 'his duty to appear before the Commission during the present, week.