"BULLETIN" EDITOR.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXIX, Issue 12258, 8 June 1914, Page 8

"BULLETIN" EDITOR.

VIEWS ON AUSTRALIAN POLITICS. ALLIANCE BETWEEN !NEW ZEALAND AND THE COMMONWEALTH. (Lyttolton Times Correspondent.) Auckland, June 5. A passenger to Auckland by the Makura. this morning from Sydney was Mr J. Edmond, well-known throughout Australasia and beyond as the editor of the Sydney Bulletin. Mr Edmond is on a health-repairing trip, and is eschewing .anything in the shape of work, but lie very willingly discussed a number of topics of mutual interest to the. Commonwealth and New Zealand when called- upon bj- a pressman shortly after landing. In answer to a question on the subject of politics, Mr Edmond said that a double dissolution was almost certain in Federal x>olitics. The Cook Government's peculiar position of having a' majority of one in the Lower House and a small minority in the Senate, where Labor held about two-thirds of the votes, made matters more than ordinarily interesting to the onlookers. Tinder the system by which the Senate is elected, each State electing six senator's, two very small States can outvote one. large State. In the Lower. Chamber the members are returned on a. population basis, so 'that a curious position is possible, as in the present case. In the event of both Houses disagreeing for two successive sessions, the Prime Minister can ask for a dissolution, and. Mr Cook sent a couple of Bills along last session which he knew would be rejected by the Senate, thus enabling him to ask for a dissolution. In Sir Jgdmond's opinion, however, the position after the elections will be' .practically the same as at present, and the only constitutional remedy will be the expensive Vbne of provoking dissolutions till some finality is reached. Discussing the* differences' between the Liberal and Labor parties in Australia ho remarked upon the astonishing and apparently inexplicable diversity of Labor's attitude in Federal and State politics. In Federal politics Mr Fisher and his colleagues were moderate, cautious and far-seeing men, who administered finance carefully and generally were but little at variance with the Liberals. In State politics, 'on the other hand, declared Mr Edmond, the Labor Ministries had been notorious ,for their wild and reckless expenditure and extreme views.' The really extreme Socialist was, however, not a very serious factor in Labor circles in Australia, where they were not troubled greatly with what .is known, in New Zealand as the "Red Fed." element in politics. On the topic of ah alliance between the Commonwealth and New Zealand, Mr Edmond is very pronounced, in hiR views. ."It is," said he" for our mutual benefit, and all the talk about New Zealand's' identity being swamped and lost in such an alliance is nonsense t Personally, as I think we ought lei have a form of alliance at the present time in the matter of silver and gold coinage, and a. note, issue with a division of profits in proportion to population. You might either have a. silver mint of your own, with the understanding that the amount you coined should be in proportion to population, and that tlie coins should be interchangeable with ours, or arrange that Australia should mint all the silver money and divide the profit according to population.. Again, in the matter of notes a similar basis of agreement should be. easily arranged." Mr Rklmond took from his pocket a Commonwealth note for 10s. "Look at ;his," he said, "one of the most nsof'ttJ tve have. There is no 'fear of pulling j it out in mistake for sixpence. The [H-ivate baiks try their hardest to boy-J 'ott, though I could never discover the J •eason. but it is no good trying, jt I :as come to stay," " I