THE AUSTRALIAN MAILS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVI, Issue 34, 9 February 1905, Page 3

THE AUSTRALIAN MAILS.

VIEWS OF THE PRIME MINISTER. THE C»MMOrS'WEALTH ELECTORS RESPONSIBLE. The Federal Prime Minister -was asked by a Sydney "Daily Telegraph" representative if he desired to say anything with regard to tbe mail contract. He replied: "Although the Commonwealth Government is widely blojned for seeming inaction in the present. crLsis in reference to the transmission of mails. I have never hesitated —on the contrary, I haw in the strongest terms, denounced the danse in the Postal Act whih has created [ the present difficulty. "Whilst there is no wojo. who is more loyal to what is as the policy of" a "WSirte Australia, I do draw a particular line between that policy, and the attempt, as I ha*e previously described it, to paint the oceans of the world in the same colour. When Before tlie electors I expressed my opinions in the strongest possible way. and I suppose if I had the power of the Czar of Russia and no Parliament to interfere I would exercise my authority in the way of removing this difficulty. But. like every other individual in the eoan-mtmity, 1 have to respect the kws and, unfortunately, when I appealed to the people to return men of similar views to myself, a majority of electors did the very opposite, and returned a majority of men in both Houses of the Federal Parliament opposed to my views on this question. "If I were to break up the Government to-morrow on this point, it would not advance the views of those who agree with mc one single inch, because so long , a≤ the maj-ority of the people aad their representatives are in-fa-voirr of tbe existing law I know of no power which could nullify the effect of the law. It is some centuries since that the adventure ocssnred in which sojtoe determined characters ordered the removal of that bauble in the House of Commons. The plain English is that so far as the elections showed anything- they showed that the majority of the people ■were in favour of this provision. I hope that the experiences of the past few months will teed to open the eyes of the people to the absurdity of this policy of interfering with the composition of the crews of the mailboats. 'The first- result is dislocation of re-•rula-r methods of communication between Australian mrechairts and men of business through-out the world —a very serious matter. Then there is srrave unx-ertaraty as to the fwfcure. and at t>be very best a system which wiE amount to a very daring experiment if regularity and method are to characterise our mail business. "At the same time it was absolutely impossible for tbe Government to do anything better than rwert to the poundage sy«tem. We cannot give the Orient Company as mnch for their fortnightly service as we had been doing under the old 3tate of things to both companies for a weekly service. We cannot afford to accept any such offer, and I was strongly with tbe Postmaster-General and other members of the Cabinet in refusing to do so. It it an expenditure which nothing but absolute necessity could justify. It amounted practically to about dottbling the amount which the Orient Company had hitherto received. I take the fullest responsibility for the refusal of the offer of the Orient Company. Until some reasonable offer Is made, some offer that we can consider reasonable, and which we can honestly recommend Parliament to accept, tbe j presen-t highly undesira-ble state of things will continue, and we must simply make the arrangements we can under the poundage system, which, as ha« pointed out, is, so far as the object of the prohibition of black lafaouT is concerned, a practical nullification of the law, because we will eon-tin-ne to carry our mails cm boats with coloured labour under the poundage system. T don't suppose anyone has suggested that in working this system we should kpep letters lying in the post office because an outgoing steamer happens to have some cokrared persons on board. I wish it To be perfectly dear that until the hrw is altered, or until some company comes forward with an offer that we can aeeept, the | Government have no other course opes to them under existing circumstances than to do as they ;cre doing-."