AUSTRALIAN PREMIERS' CONFERENCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13453, 1 June 1907, Page 5

AUSTRALIAN PREMIERS' CONFERENCE.

STATE DEBTS QUESTION*. THE TAKING OVER OPPOSED. "A CLAP OF THUNDER."

By Tdtyntph.—.Pritji* C«pTriftst» J>r.t-BvNF„ >L»y 31, j1 nK Premiers' Conference has farther conI eideml the taking over of /State-. debit j Mr. 'iu-rnthers held that th* time is not j ripe for the step ant 1 declined to regard | Sir John Forrest's speech as a threat. The | Commonwealth had not power to tak« over ! the debts without the consent of the State?, j The latter had as much power in regard to j the debts as thy Federal Treasurer, and in | fact,.,-a great deal mare power, because | they were in possession. Sir .John Forrest j was relying on the London market, but j the States were not going to London. He i believed the -period was past when Aitsi tralia would- have to look to London for Joans. The only Justification, for hand*' .ing over the''- debts would be to . place on | the Commonwealth the. obligation of find- | •Kg the interest- The manner in which i the Commonwealth was trying to overj shadow the States could not lead to good i results to either parly 11» did mot intend to put the''-Commonwealth' in the position of having greater power, for such power might be -'used to make the States beg as favours what they were entitled to as rights. . The president (Mr, Kith ion) said he agreed with Mr thrndhcrs. He would not consent to give the Commonwealth more power without the Uraddoa clause being made permanent. j Mr. Moore (West Australia) said that' although he had voted against the motion, his Parliament would take a referendum on .secession. Ho was satisfied that if the matter of federation wer." brought up again secession would he earned by a 90 per cent, majority, unless special consideration were extended to West Australia. The Conference agreed to postpone the debts question till after the distribution of the surplus question had been determined. (Received June 1. 12.34 a.m.) Bnisn.v.VK, .May 31. Sir John Forrest addressitl the Confer* ence to-day, and said he had read the Hansard report of the proceedings, and thought that those who read the report carefully might fairly come to the conclusion that the attitude assumed by gome of the members seemed '.to. show that the Conference was the arbiter of the Commonwealth, and that the Commonwealth was asking something that would ho injurious to their interest. As a matter of fact, under the Constitution the Common-

wealth had all the power it wanted. It had powers which it did not desire to exercise. The Federal Parliament had power to take over all debts" at the time of its establishment if it chose. If. came as a clap of thunder to him when he heard that the States did not want the debts interfered with. It seemed to him that a taste of prosperity had turned their heads, otherwise he would never have expected to hear in a deliberative assembly of representative men that the credit of the State was better than the credit of Australia. He was of opinion that the Federal Parliament would not do anything by piecemeal— is, deal with one half of the financial problem. In no sense was his observations intended as a threat. He had fully expected the Conference to settle the whole question with regard to the surplus and State debts. He was disappointed personally and Ministerially by the attitude taken up, and regretted that he could hold out no hope that the Commonwealth would deal with-a return of the surplus and not with the.State debts. He urged the Conference "to make an effort to reach finality.