11

A.—B

the Zollverein Treaty does not preclude the imposition of differential duties in one British Colony or Possession in favour of the produce of another British Colony or Possession." It follows that, in requiring the repeal of " so much of the Act or Acts of the Imperial Parliament as may be considered to prohibit" the full exercise of the right of the Australian Colonies to enter into reciprocal tariff arrangements amongst themselves, the G-overnments represented at the Conferences of 1870 and 1871 made no demand upon the Imperial Legislature inconsistent with the maintenance of Her Majesty's treaty obligations witli foreign Powers, and asked for no greater concession than has been already granted to other British Colonial dependencies. In conclusion, His Excellency's Advisers desire to express their belief that the persistent denial of the temperate and respectful demands of the Australasian Colonies for the free exercise of the powers of self-government in the matter of fiscal legislation, is more calculated to disturb the cordiality of the existing relations of the Colonies to the Mother Country than an alteration of Imperial policy, even to the full extent indicated in the concluding paragraph of Lord Kimberley's Despatch. At the same time they appreciate the readiness of Her Majesty's Government to allow " friendly discussion" to precede "a final decision," and they believe that the delay involved in "the communication of further observations in explanation of their views," will only tend to make the moderation and reasonableness of the demands of the Australasian Colonies on this head more apparent and better understood. Colonial Secretary's Office, 13th June, 1872. J. M. Wilson.

No. 6. Lord Canterbury to Lord Kimberley. My Lord, — G-overnment Offices, Melbourne, Bth August, 1872. With reference to the correspondence marked in the margin,* and more especially with reference, and in reply, to your Lordship's Despatch (the last of the series) of the 19th April, 1872, I have now the honor to transmit to your Lordship a copy (herein enclosed) of a Memorandum submitted to me by the Chief Secretary, on behalf of his colleagues as well as of himself, which sets forth very fully their views and opinions on the subject of existing impediments to complete freedom of action by the Governments and Legislatures of these Colonies in dealing with intercolonial fiscal questions. 2. And I do not doubt that the views and opinions thus expressed by my Advisers will be, if it should be considered necessary or desirable, again indorsed, as they have been already approved, by the Legislative Assembly. 3. On the other hand, your Lordship will not fail to observe that the claims set forth in the Memorandum, and the arguments by which those claims are supported, refer only to intercolonial, not to international, treaties or arrangements, which latter class of treaties or arrangements (international) are distinctly excluded from the purview of the Memorandum by the second, third, and sixth clauses of it. 4. I should add that the resolution of the Legislative Assembly referred to in the third and again in the seventh (concluding) paragraph of the Memorandum, is to be found in the thirteenth volume of Hansard's Reports, p. 1582, second column. For convenience of reference I enclose a copy of that resolution. I have, &c, Canterbury.

Enclosure 1 in No. 6. Memorandum for His Excellency the G-overnob. Her Majesty's Government for Victoria have had under their consideration a Circular Despatch of the Secretary of State for the Colonies, dated 19th April, 1572, on the subject of Intercolonial Free Trade, and having immediate reference to the resolutions signed by the Delegates of the Australian Colonies at a Conference held in Melbourne on the 27th September, 1871, and also to a Memorandum conveying the views of the New Zealand Government, bearing date the Bth December following. It is in their opinion matter for regret that the Secretary of State should have dealt in one Despatch with the views not wholly identical, and the demands in many respects dissimilar, which have proceeded from the various Australian Colonies in reference to this subject. From this circumstance it has arisen that the Despatch in question relates mainly to a claim alleged to be advanced on behalf of New Zealand to make commercial treaties with foreign countries without interference on the part of the Imperial Government of Great Britain. The resolution adopted by the Legislative Assembly of Victoria on the 17th October, 1871, was confined to the assertion of the principle that the Legislature of this Colony should be at liberty to authorize arrangements with other Colonies of the Australian group for the reciprocal admission of their products and manufactures on such terms as may be mutually agreed upon ; and that such arrangement should not be prevented either by Imperial legislation or by treaties made by the Imperial Government with foreign Powers. It does not appear from the Despatch of the Secretary of State now under consideration, that any insuperable difficulty exists in the recognition by the Imperial Government of this principle. The Zollverein Treaty was thought to have imposed obligations upon the Imperial Government inconsistent with it, but is now admitted by the Secretary of State to have * The Earl of Kimberley to Viscount Canterbury, July 13, 1871, Circular; Viscount Canterbury to the Earl of Kimberley, September 8, 1871; Viscount Canterbury to the Earl of Kimberley, October 9, 1871; the Earl of Kimberley to Viscount Canterbury, April 19, 1872, Circular.