Intercolonial Reciprocity.

Feilding Star, Volume XVI, Issue 188, 8 February 1895, Page 2

Intercolonial Reciprocity.

(Per Press Association. 1 ) Sydney, February 7. The Sydney Morning Herald says some interest attaches to the experiment of Intercolonial reciprocity entered upon between South Australia and New Zealand. The arrangement by which the products of one colony are admitted into another, it says, is hardly a point requiring an experiment to demonstrate, but the essence of the experiment is reached at a much earlier stage. The real point at issue is that the treaty is a provisional one, and must be endorsed by the Parliaments of each of the colonies. The treaty is not wholly a new thing in these colonies as several years ago such an agreement was entered into between the Governments of Victoria and Tasmania, but no sooner had the Victorian Minister who took this part in the business got back than there was such a muttering of opposition from the interests which believed themselves threatened that the Ministry of the day did not venture to ask Parliament to ratify the agreement. This, the Herald says, does not alter the fact that the present arrangement has great interest as showing a growing feeling in favor of that free interchange of products of those ampler markets which can only be secured by political union of the colonies. Adelaide, This Day. Before leaving for England Mr Ward stated he had received a telegram notifying his Government generally approved the treaty, but one qualification was made that the agreement will have to terminate should the New Zealand Parliament adopt a Prohibition of Liquor Law. The treaty will come into force on July 20th. Locally, the arrangement is strongly condemned iv commercial circles and described as a stab in the back to any great scheme of federation with intercolonial freetrade. It is considered to be not only anti-federal in spirit but likely to prove of little or no benefit in actual trading when compared with the antagonism probably created in the other colonies.