THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. MONDAY, MARCH 16, 1896.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10080, 16 March 1896, Page 4

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. MONDAY, MARCH 16, 1896.

We have already discussed the resolu tions passed at the Conference of Australian Premiers recently held at Sydney, but the fuller details of the proceedings as given in our Australian files show more explicitly than we had learned by cable the action taken in respect of two subjects of particular interest to the whole group. These subjects are defence and quarantine. On the former of these the resolution was to some extent based on the scheme of defence formulated by the Australian Military Conferences, one of them held so recently as in the present year, but the details of which had not hitherto been made public. The scheme of the military experts was that a peace force of live or six thousand troops in all should be formed distinct from the local forces of each of the colonies, but so as to be enlarged to twelve

thousand in the event of war breaking out. J.hat these troops should be sworn in to serve in any of the colonies wherever emergency might arise from hostile attack from without, each colony raising its contingent of men in proportion to its population. The only material alteration made in this proposal by the Conference was the removal of that feature which consisted of this quasifederal force being distinct and separate from the local forces, it being ooncluded that the existence of two classes of troops in a colony would lead to jealousy and possible friction. Instead of this it was resolved that the local forces should all bo sworn in to I serve throughout Australasia, and that from these should be drawn, where required, the number to be mobilised in case of an attack on anyone of the colonics. For this end it was resolved that there should be uniformity in arms and discipline, and a system of periodical mobilisation among the several colonies was entertained, so as to have everything in working order when necessity arose.

This, of course, raised the important question of the particular rifle with which the forces should be armed, and it was resolved that the Lee-Metford barrel should be adopted in the meantime. This does not involve the necessity of procuring at once the LeeMetford magazine rifle the cost of which landed in the colonies would be £4 or £5 a piece; but as the barrel of this

particular arm could be supplied and fitted to the Martini stock, the ammunition atjleast might be uniform, and thus consideration might be given, to the circumstances of some of the colonies not at present in a position to undertake any increased financial responsibilities. Further than this, the factories to be founded could furnish supplies of ammunition to all the colonies as well as-when required— to the warships which, it is understood, are all to be furnished with the Lee-Metford rifle by the end of the year. This arm, a magazine rifle, which enables seven successive shots to be fired before the magazine is exhausted, having been adopted by the British army, was recommended by the Military Conferences at Sydney, and will ultimately be adopted; but in the meantime this compromise is proposed in the adaptation of the Lee-Metford barrel to

the Martini rifle, and a cordite factory will be founded to provide the particular form of smokeless powder authorised for adoption by the Imperial forces. Altogether the action taken by the Conference of Premiers in respect of Australian defence, aim' at bringing the forces of the colonie not only into uniformity among then) selves, bub as near as may be int> uniformity with the Imperial forces tt sea and land, in arms, ammunition, ad general equipment.

As the deliberations and decision if the Premiers Conference on Define were facilitated by the military conferences of the Australian Ooinniandaits, and the resolutions and recommenlations of those experts, so wore ;he Premiers assisted in respect of fwlral quarantine by the resolutions adojted by the Intercolonial Health Conference that had just concluded its sittings at Melbourne. In fact, neirly the whole of the recommendation' of the medical experts at the Health Conference were adopted in globo, ant if they are carried out in tlio spirit in wlicli they have been received by the Miiis-

ters representing the whole grciip, these colonies ought to be adequately protected against many dreaded <pidemics which we are striving to kiep from our shores. It is true tlat quarantine is frequently ridiculed as an antiquated and useless procedure. But however it may be among 'lie countries of Europe with their cltse

communications, and their constmt interchange of travellers and trade, we take credit to ourselves for having, even with an incomplete quarantine system, arrested jrave maladies at our doors, and si far kept several pestilences from our shores, The most important step resolved upon on this subjict is that of the appointment of tlree, or possibly four, competent an! experienced medical officers to lie stationed severally at Albany, Adelaide, Thursday Island, and perhapt Port Darwin, to exercise high executive duties of a federal kind in behalf of all the colonies. These are not only to advise all the health authorities of Australia of the coining of an infected ship, but to remove and quarantine every passenger or seaman aflected, at the cost of the particular colony to which the passenger is proceeding, or of the ship to which the seaman may belong. The general expenses of all this are to be borne by the colonies on the basis of their respective populations, the immediate administration of the law being placed in the hands of the Government of the particular colony I in which the ship or the passengers I may for the time being be quarantined. As a protection against smallpox, a large supply of calf lymph is to be kept in stock at the four outposts in question, as well as at Colombo in Ceylon, and very stringent regulations will be enforced against unvaccinated persons in the event of their being found on infected ships, every such person refusing to be vaccinated being detained for a period of three weeks or upward, until the health authority is satisfied of his inability to spread smallpox, Similar stringency characterises i

the proposed dealing with letters quarantined, with the introduction of dogs from over seas, and with everything else that can become a menace to the health of the community, the object being to effectually arrest the course of any infectious or contagious malady at the first point of contact with Australian shores. The Prime Ministers of the colonies, though their meeting was characterised by rare unanimity, were at every point confronted by the difficulty of not having a uniform federal anthority to carry out their intentions and desires, but the zealous effort made by them to secure federal unity and action without federal machinery affords a striking evidence of how much the administration of the colonies has come to be governed by the federal spirit.