THE COMMONWEALTH PREMIER.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 8953, 12 June 1907, Page 3

THE COMMONWEALTH PREMIER.

MR DEAKIN INTERVIEWED. THE IMPERIAL CONFERENCE. United Presn Association — By Elftotxio Telegraph — Copyright. (Received June 12, 9.34 a.m.) SYDNEY, June 12. The following interview with Mr Deakin in England has been telegraphed from Freniantle : — Dealing with the- attitude of the Imperial Government, Mr Deakin said : — "I think that, though tho Ministers acted consistently, they argued throughout inconsistently. They absolutely refused any and every kind of | fiscal preference, either on their existing tariff or by any modification of it. In that direction there was no thoroughfare, but they suggested that in regaid to modes of preference other than fiscal tltey had an open mind. They invited propositions of any character, although they refrained from making any* themselves, jet when I submitted a general {suggestion for the purpose of providing a basis which might lead to some definite arrangement it was attacked in a most contentious spirit, and dealt with in its details in spite of my repeated protestations at the time that the details were matters of indifference, and that the Ministers were evading the real purpose of my proposal. What I sought was practical action, and my resolution was necessary to allow such action to oe taken. The outcome was that I was offered, but declined, a general and indefinite resolution in favour of some such action being taken hereafter at some indefinite time." Mr Deakin instanced the oase of Sir Wilfrid Laurier's mail service proposal, which, was certainly met, he admitted, with less aggressiveness, but with an almost equally determined opposition. Sir j Wilfrid Laurier was obliged to cou- | sent to his motion being whittled i down before he could obtain its acceptance. There was little prospect now of Sir Joseph Ward's desire for a. rapid Pacific service receiving anything like an adequate support from the British Government. The total practical result of their endeavours to ascertain what were the forms of co-operation, other than in fiscal preference, to wliicli the Imperial Government was willing to agree, was nil. It would have been more consistent if the Ministers with mandates against preference had given their decisions at the outset of the conference. We were met, in effect, at, the cloee of the argument, with a plain non possum us, quite irrespective of tJio merits of the discussion, or, in fact, of any discussion we could have maintained. It had all boon decided beforehand. While, therefore, Ministers wore perfectly consistent in refusing to accept our proposal, they were quite inconsistent when they encouraged us to pursue an argument at great length without any prospect of our arguments leading to anything.