OUR VICTORIAN LETTER

Otago Witness, Issue 2574, 15 July 1903, Page 12

OUR VICTORIAN LETTER

(From Oue Ows Coesespojtdext.)

MELBOURNE, July 1

Mr Chamberlain has not received much encouragement from Viotoria, however much he may have received frc-m some of the other States, in his preferential trade schema. Victoria still regards herself as the principal Protectionist State of the grc<up. Her attitude towards the preferential trade idea is mot to lower the duty to allow British manufacturers to come in, but to raise it to kec-p foreign manufactur-ere out. For instance, take boots and shoes, and say the present duty is 25 per cent. She would not favour a reduction of one-third of this duty to give the British manufacturer a chance ; what she -would do is to retain 25 psr cent, as the lowest duty even to the Britisher, but olap_ on caie-third extra to shut out the foreigner. Consequently Mr Chamberlain can promise the British manufacturer very little benefit from a preference of this kind. The Victorian policy w to shut out all manufacturers except Australian. Protect the Australian workman first is her policy; and first protect him against .'he 'Britisher To the dickens with Imperial eentimcait !

Of courss Victoria is not Australia, but •with tfoo Barton Ministry in power Austra.lia lias pretty ntarly adopted the Victorian policy. Sir Edmund Barton has ''sung dumb" on the question. His majority in the Federal Parliament is a Protectionist majority. And if h© da,red to suggest a leduction of th& tariff, even to favour the Mother Country, his majority would turn and rend him. With federation, Victoria had to abandon her Protectionist ■wall against h&r companion Australian States. She swallowed Fre-etrade within Austrplia. But She will not swallow, and the Protectionist party generally will not swallow, Free trade within the Empire.

Quite likely this will be the cry of the Freeteadf party at the n«jjt pciceraJ ejection for the Commonwealth. Air Read may 6eizc the opportunity and moderate liis present Froetra-de-with-the-whol-e-world ory for thai of Freetrade-inthiai-the-Empire. He would, of course, .have the Imperialist sentiment behind ttas> cry; a.ud the Freetrad© party throughout Australia is already pretty strong-, so that with this sentiment behind him he nu^lit win tbo day. But I doubt it. Biitam cannot offer Australia much in return. We S&ikl her wool, grain, and butt-er, and these «,re free of duty already. I am persuaded thai the Protectionist will oontinuei to carry the day, and the Imperial seut'nie«.it won't be strong •eoiough wit bin him to drive out his Protectionist craze. v

The hit ended i e^igna^ ion of Sir Robe-rt Stout over i ' © prec-cd&ix-s. qufr=.f iom <;reai&3 some astonishment here. No c-liarige is> to he Tnad& in Viotmia, s-o "tiliat wo will not have any -trouKle h-er-e : bnt the Commnti•wealth litfc of precedence provides tiiat Miiw-vters .Uia.ll prco&tlc the Chief Justice of tho High Court. This list has not b&en adopted >et. but it wobaWy will be. The Arzus has an art- tie upon Sir Robert Stout's action, in wlnoli it say.s : " Supnosing tliat what Sir Robert Stout evide-nfcly suspects ha* occurred — viz., the evarcdse of presmre by Mi Scddon or lus colleagues xvpon the Downing strc»t authorities, that would ihardly appear to supply cau-e for tli" ChM Ju ,nw of N#w Zealand doteinuaung to rf/huquieh his iudi< ia.l func-tions ' ko *oon a*. adcqua f e nrovl'ion ha.- been made to compensate him for lus<» of crffiee.' That <?aving o'au->© alone, imports an oar of childishness into the threat. If a wrong has been done, ilie Chief Justice could amiily r*6&nt H by declining to take part in public ceremonials. & course often -taken by thphted dignitaries before to-clav To allow, however, that rite Colonial Offlr* (say in collusion with the Kan- Zealand Exeouhvt) oa-n by a more variation of a precedenca table driw» the Chief Justice into retirp.me.nt is to admit tl.at vtv ooi.fi-ol over the beiwh aea-inTt ■which Sir ■Robert Stout bo warmly fulmi nat-es " Some nf tlie politicians of "New South ■Wales bave. been reeprvrnß an unpleasant '• "howing-up " Mn*se la-»t. f«w days. First •Shore- wes uho Norton-'RroujyhtOTi -episode. Mr John Noi ton i» Hie nofcoiious prietor of the Sydney and Melbourne Truth — a den serous and d-is grace fuJ publication, which publisl>«s nbaJd, libellous, untrue statements about public and private persons it the utmost random 'Witness the Tecerit dastardly article About Madam Meiba. It is no wonder tliat Ma- B»-ough.loii or other members of Parliament lofo their tempers 6ometimPi: at being compelled to associate with him. Norton struck Air Brougliton

1 in the face with his fists during the .sitting 1 . One member (Mr Griffith, ot AlbuTy) has -.amnounoed tliat lie is so disgusted with the miserable pettiness and low tone of public life that he will resign his seat and abjure politics. Tho second case is that just heard before a judge and jury in Sydney. Mr Oriek, 'Minister of Lands, enrd Mr Dan O'Connor, M.L.A., for £70 on n promissory note. Mr Crick's statement was that be had " backed the bill " for O'Connor's election expenses ; Mr O'Connor's that the Government, through Gfick, had agreed to pay his election expenses because he was a, Government supporter. It is a little difficult to iud.ge on which side truth lay. o' Conner told a circumstantial story, and so did Crick. Tho judge, in his summing up, declared that flat perjuTy Jiad boen committed upon one $a'de or the other-, but pointed out certain facts that seemed +o favour Criers skyry; and the jury found in his favour. The case is decidedly damaging to the character of politicians, whatever side it is regarded from. Mr Compere, the Government entomologist of Western Australia, has made a most important discovery, which is creating much interest in Victoria. On a trip to Europe (specially sent by his Government) he discovered in Spain a parasite of the codlin moth, which preyed upon the pest with suoh vigour that in one district it had (■l&nirecl it out completely. Victorian fruitgrowers lose heavily by the^codlin moth, and it i*> intended to procure a supply of the parasite from Spain. A Melbourne man has just given tho munificent sum of £5000 to the Prevention of Consumption Association. It is to be spent in adding to tiie Austin Hospital, so tliat dangerous cases of the disease may be alleviated. Tilve Austin HcspitaJ at present receives what are regarded as incurable cases 1 of consumption, hut has room for 40 cases I only. Tho £5000 will enable 100 cases to be I treated. The rain -making experiments at Broken Hill by one Dr Mao&rohy are being watched with amused interest. The doctor with his rain -making theories dropped from the clouds upon Melbourne with lees warning i rhan Turill his rain — when it oomes. He I asserts that he learned his rain-making in i tho Western pi-adi-ies of America, and that ! Ire produced rain with much sirccess in Japan. Bui Melbourne heard nothing of him till he appeared m its midst with the assertion that he had " summoned showers from the vasty sky" up-country fiom>ewheT i e. But we had only his own word for it. No special reporters liad accompanied him. His " preliminaries " at Broken Hill are | -entertaining. He tialk the press that his " .teven chemicals " bring the rain from 300 uri'es liighr he works, with his cheroioaAs in complete secret ; he will not fob satisfied with Anything less iha.n i^in of a fall; th© neighboujihond of the creek is bhe most dangerous station (when the rain falls), but ho hafi been caraful to plaoe " men there wilio cain swim." It is all very oh-arlata.n- | like, but we are trusting for the best.