FEDERATION OF THE AUSTRALASIAN COLONIES.

Globe, Volume XXII, Issue 1868, 19 February 1880, Page 3

FEDERATION OF THE AUSTRALASIAN COLONIES.

The following article appears in the " Morning Post" : —Sir Henry Parkes, the Premier of New South Wales, who, in many respects, has during his political career taken a broad view of colonial policy, in addition to being a supporter of free trade and combating, where possible, those intercolonial and local jealousies which must be antagonistic to the true prosperity of Australia, has recently, in an article in the "Melbourne Review," propounded a scheme for a change in the Government of that continent. Sir Henry's proposal is not for federation but for amalgamation. He suggests that the three principal colonies, viz., New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia, should be united together for Legislative and administrative purposes, with one Parliament and General Government, and he points out how this would give the united provinces of British Australia, as he would term it, a population of two millions, with a property of unalienated land amounting to four hundred and fifty millions of acres, and revenues of between eleven and twelve millions sterling. They already possess two thousand four hundred miles of railway, and many hundreds moro are in course of construction er projected. We need not, however, dwell upon the wealth or resources of those colonies, they are sufficiently well known. Our object is to refer to Sir Henry Parkes' proposal, which he has put forward at what he deems a fitting moment, when Australia in general, and New South Wales in particular, are attracting an unusual amount of attention through the inauguration of the Sydney International Exhibition. Sir Henry, who, with Sir Charles Gavan Duffy in Victoria, haß upon various occasions advocated the establishment of an Australian Federal Dominion, has now apparently come to the conclusion that such a consummation is not likely to be secured for many years to come, aa he thinks that, although the advocates of federation have been rich in eloquence and powerful in argument, they have made but little advance in achievement, a fact that he attributes to the intangibility of their aims and the want of logic in their relegation of subjects from the domain of local legislation. A quarter of a century has elapsed since a select committee of the New South Wales Legislative Council appointed to prepare a Constitution Bill expressed a strong opinion in favour of a general Assembly to legislate for all the Australian colonies on questions affecting in like manner Australian interests. The subjects they proposed should be dealt with by such an Assembly were tariff laws, railway and postal communication, coast lighting, criminal management, and a central court of appeal from the courts of the separate colonies. The questions of general immigration and united action for the defence of the colonies were not under discussion, though, as Sir Henry Parkes points out, they are two of the most important that have to be dealt with. However, nothing came of this recommendation of the select committee at the time; and what practical results have since been obtained toward a the same'end ? It is to be regretted that the answer is not a favorable one. There have been intercolonial conferences on various subjects, but they have usually been of comparatively minor importance, and there has been generally an extreme difference of opinion. On such a question as the tariff we see how wide is the divergence of policy between the two colonies of New South Wales and Victoria. The former is practically carrying out free trade, whilst Victoria has just made her tariff more protective, though it is satisfactory to note that the Government has not succeeded in doing this without raising the he of the farmers and minerß, who form two very important elements in the community. It is true that their anger against the Ministry has been aroused by no feeling of the impropriety of the policy they are pursuing, but entirely because their own interests have been affected 5 but at the same time, if it is coming to this, that each class finding itself injured in some way by the protective tariff is to insist upon its being modified to suit its particular view, the result must come in the end that the tariff will have to be modified into nearly total a olitien, and only such items will be retained as are universally acknowledged to be fit objects for the payment of duty. Again, Victoria and New South Wales have been frequently in dispute in regard to the intercolonial duties to be levied on the border of the two colonies, where there should be none at all ; they support separate postal services to and from the Mother Country, and show no disposition to act in unison in such matters. It is the same in respect to Victoria and South Australia. A long-Btanding dispute between the two colonies as to the boundary haß not yet been settled, and the latter is in deep wrath at the present moment on acoount of the postal contract lateljr made by Mr Graham Berry with the Peninsular and Oriental Company, South Australia tl.iikingjthat it has been jockeyed in not being permitted to be a party to the contract. Sir Henry Parkes thinks these matters can be easily settled He, however, mainly relies for the carrying out of his scheme upon the fact that the three oolonies are closely allied in their geographical relations, the corresponding character of their leading pursuits, and their equality of promise in their future capabilities. He would not include Queensland in the proposed arrangement, as in his opinion its capabilities of soil and climate clearly mark it out for a colonising career dissimilar from that of the older Australian colonies. Nor does he make any reference to Western Australia, Tasmania, or New Zealand. The latter colony has made such a decided start in life for itself, and is so distant from the others of the group, that the utmost that could be expected from it at any time wonld be to form part of a federal union. Tasmania is not so progressive as the other provinces, but it has many points to recommend it to notice, is advancing, if somewhat slowly, and ought not to be ignored in any proposed combinations or calculations for the future. Western Australia is probably disregarded by Sir Henry Parkes, for the present at any rate, as, although it covers an area nearly as large as all the other colonies on the continent, its resources are scarcely developed, and its population is not much more than a tenth of that of the city of Melbourne. Doubtless many existing and perhaps future difficulties would have been avoided _ had so many distinct oolonies not been established in Australia, and had there been one central seat of rule; but now that they have reached their present stage it is scarcely likely that they will unite in the way proposed by Sir Henry Parkes. It is fur more probable that in the [ course of a few years, when closer and more frequent communication, arising from the

spread of railways, shall have helped to remove local prejudices and eradicated international jealousies, the advantages of a federal union will be recognised, and that a dominion for the group will be established which will take cognisance of all matters of the highest importance having a wide and general application, whilst each colony will maintain its own local Government. This is far more probable than that the three leading colonies of Australia should, as Sir Henry Parkes suggests, sink their own individuality and become merged into one province of British Australia.