The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prevalebit. MONDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1884. Federation and Annexation.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1399, 8 December 1884, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prevalebit. MONDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1884. Federation and Annexation.

The memorandum on the Federation and Annexation question which Sir Julius Vogel has forwarded to the Agent-General is a State paper in every way worthy of its author. Its circulation in England at the time when the Imperial Parliament is about to consider the Enabling Bill, brought forward by Lord Derby, should have a salutary effect, inasmuch as it will serve to enlighten Home politicians as to what the colonies really think about the matter, and in spite of the inordinate amount of talk which has been indulged in at Conferences and elsewhere, it must be confessed that such enlightenment is sadly wanted. The Colon! il Treasurer treats of the question under four heads, viz.;—(a) The Annexation or establishment of a protectorate over New Guinea and other islands; {b) a contribution by the colony to the cost of a High Commissioner and his staff in special relation to New Guinea; ( c) the question of any of the islands in the South Seas being used for the reception of convicts; (d) the proposal to establish a Federal Council. With regard to the first of these, it is pointed out that the recent annexation of New Guinea is only of paramount importance to Queensland, none of the other Australasian colonies having received any direct benefit from the es-

tablishment of a British protectorate over the island. For ourselves, it may be said that we gel actually no return for our contribution towards the support of ,the Commissionership, but it must not be supposed we have incurred the liability from purely Quixotic motives. Indeed, the policy of annexation, it carried out at all, must be worked on the give and take principle,

and the planting of the Royal Standard upon the shores of New Guinea will necessaiily have to be followed up by a similar ceremony in other islands of the South Pacific. Sir Julius Vogel refers in his memorandum to the Tonga and Samoa groups as possessions which it would be to the advantage of this colony to annex, and as both Victoria and New South Wales have, as a matter of course, determined to take their share in this acquirement of new territory, it is easily seen that we have embarked on a scheme which will speedily grow to vast dimensions. Whether we are justified in incurring these heavy prospective responsibilities is extremely questionable, and we doubt if Earl Derby would have consented to the initiation of the South Sea annexation policy had he recognised whither it will lead us. Another point emphasised by the Treasurer, which did not receive the attention it deserved at the Sydney Conference, is the necessity for those islands that may be annexed being made to form part of a constitutional colony, instead of being placed under the control of a Commis-

sioner. Had it been realised that the annexation of New Guinea would simply mean the establishment of another Crown colony in the Pacific, -we scarcely think that even Queensland would have shown herself so anxious about the matter. The Treasurer having dealt with this part of the question, goes on to refer to the amount which this New Guinea experiment will cost New Zealand. This he puts down in round numbers at La,500 per annum, but it must not be lost sight of that this will either be greatly increased in the future, or we must let this annexation policy stop where it is and submit to continue Iff pay for something from which we derive not the smallest benefit. Of the two evils it is difficult to say which is the worst, although Sir Julius is probably right when he states that things having gone so far, this colony could hardly afford to stand outside of the Australian combination. As amat-

ter of fact, the only point that has much concerned people on this side of the equator in connection with Annexation is the deportation of her lowest criminals by France to the Pacific Islands. This is a clear danger to the colonies, and the ' protests made from time to time have been amply j ustified. The lone in some instances has been rather bumptious, ancl the rebuke of the Treasurer contained in the following sentence is not altogether undeserved :—“ No representation on the subject can be too strong, but it is to be doubted if it is not better calculated to aid the British Government in their negotiations that the representations should be made to them direct rather than fulminated in a manner calculated to arouse the pride of a great nation. It should be as easy,” Sir Julius goes on to say, “to show to France—from which country the danger is apprehended —that in the interests of her own posssesions in the Pacific, and of the large trade that must grow up between them and the colonies, it would be to her own advantage to seek some other part of the world as a home for her criminal population.’- Evidence is not wanting to show that France is realising the fact that it would not be wise to run counter to our wishes in this / matter, and the cause for alarm, which in their enthusiasm the people more than probably exaggerated, may be said to have ceased to exist.

Sir Julius Vogel writes at some length upon the proposal for a Federal Council, but what he says need npt

detain us long. It may indeed be summed up in the opinion that any proposal in the direction of Colonial Federation in Australasia is premature. That the idea should have been considered feasible by English politicians shows an ignorance of the condition of affairs in tins part of the world which is positively collossal. What would be the effect of the establishment of a Federal Council is so plainly and succinctly put by the Treasurer, that we cannot do better than quote his own words. He says : —“ Really, all comes back to this point, that as long as the colonies are not federated, so long as each is self-governed, and the Government of each responsible to the local Legislature, it will be impossible for such Government to do justice to its responsibility and yet allow part of the powers it ought to exercise to be exercised by others. There would be a constant struggle between each colony and the Federal Council. The Imperial - Government would espouse the rights of the Council, who decline to receive separate representations, and

;here would be coolness and want o:

friendly understanding between the colonies and the Colonial Office.” The truth of this is so self-evident that we think the authorities in England cannot fail, when they read Sir Julius’s memorandum, to see that colonists do not care in the slightest degree whether or not the Federation Enabling Bill passes, as it will be very many years before any of the Australasian colon ies will dream of using the power which it is intended to entrust them with.