THE FEDERAL PREMIER.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 1350, 12 June 1907, Page 5

THE FEDERAL PREMIER.

INTERVIEWED AT FREMANTLE.

HE DOES NOT SEEM TO BE PLEASED.

United Press Association.— By Electric

Telegraph. — Copyright. (Received June 12, 9.54 a.m.) 1 ' .. SYDNEY, June 12.

The following interview with Mr Doakin in ' England""' has oeeh telegraphed from Fremantle: —

Dealing with the attitude of the Imperial Government, Mr Deakin says : — "I think Ministers acted consistently and argued throughout- inconsistently. They absolutely refused any and every kind of fiscal preference, either in their existing tariff or by any modification o£ it in. that direction. There was no thoroughfare, but they suggested that in regard, to modes of , preference other tban 4iscal.tiiey had an open mini. They opposed propositions of any character, alth6ugh they" refrained from making any themselves ;. yet when I submitted- a general suggestion for ihe purpose' of. providing- a basis which might lead to somey definite arrangemen^, it was. attacked" in \he most contentious spirit, and .dealt with, in its details, 4n spite .of my, repeated protest at the .time that details were matters of indifference, and that Ministers were era ding the real purpose of the. proposals, I. sought was practical action, and revolution necessary to allow such action to Jbe taken. ,*.The outoo.me was that they offered, but I declined, a general and indefinite resolution in favour of some such action being take.n hereafter at some indefinite time." Mr ;peakin instanced thq case of Sir Wilfrip. Laurier',a mail service » proposal, which- was met certainly with less aggressiveness,, bijt almost equally, determined opposition. 'Sir W. Laurier was obliged to consent to his motion being whittled down before he could secure its acceptance. Theje was little prospect n.ow of Sir Joseph. Ward's desire for a rapid Pacific service receiving anything like adequate support from the British Government. , The totll practical result of the endeavours to ascertain forms of co-operation other than in fiscal preference to -which the Imperial Go /ernment was; willing to agfee was nil. 'It would have been more consistent if Ministers, with a mandate against preference, had given their decision at the outset of the Conference. "We were met in effect at the close of om- argument with, a^ plain 'non.. possumusx quite ii respective of the merits of: the discussion, ory in,faet,> of any discussion we could have maintained. Except, therefore, as a dialectic extra for the Ministers, the. whole debate so" far as they were concerned was rendered meaningless. Had, not all been decided beforehand— decidecl : for them as much as by them? While, therefore, thay Avere perfectly consistent in refusing to aqcept tour- proposal, they were quite inconsistent .when -they encouraged us to. pursue argument ' at great length without; a, prospect of the arguments loading to anything."