ADMINISTERING THE COMMONWEALTH.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CV, Issue 12430, 20 February 1901, Page 4

ADMINISTERING THE COMMONWEALTH.

The figures which Mr Jakins quoted to the Federation Commission yesterday afternoon and which he subsequently gave to a representative of journal, do not, of course, throw, much light on the effect of the recent changes in the fiscal arrangements of the Australian ’colonies. It is quite true that the expenditure of the Commonwealth for January amounted to duly £1327, or less than a quarter per cent of the Customs and excise revenue collected in the six States, but it must be remembered that there was practically nothing more than the Governor-GeneraTs salary to pay from the common exchequer last month. Three of the Federal Ministers—Sir George Turner, Sir William Lyne and Sir John Forrest—drew no salaries, as theythad not resigned their portfolios in the State Governments, and there was no Federal Parliament to authorise , any other expenditure. Tire return from which the figures were taken was not prepaired for the purpose of showing the cost of administering the Federal Government, but for the purpose of recording the revenue of States included in the Union. It would be absurd to imagine that Tasmania, for instance, will have to contribute only £BOO or £BOO a year to the Treasury of the Commonwealth. We shall be .surprised, particularly alter Mr Barton’s warning to the contending Freetraders and Protectionists the other day, if the Federal Parliament does.not find a very ready use for all the money it is entitled to retain. This is not necessarily an objection to Federation, indeed it is conceivable 'that the central authority wouild spend the money much more wisely than the State Governments would, but there is no advantage in burdening the public mind at this stage with a mass of figures’ which have no real bearing upon the issue. We are quite sure that Mr Jakins, who has probably studied the whole question more closely than any other business man in Canterbury, had no desire to do anything of this kind, but we hope that for his own reputation as a faithful witness ho- will make it quite clear when he resumes his evidence this morning that his figures did not purport to give more than a very imperfect view of the situation.-