FEDERATION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXIII, Issue 104, 20 May 1901, Page 2

FEDERATION.

LECTURE BY Mil. McGUIRE, M.H.R. There was a mode, ate attend'nee at St., Mary's SchojJro >m on Friday evening, when Mr. F. M Guire, M.H.R. for Elan era, delivered a lecture on the subject of Federation. Tbe Mayor (Mr. E. Doskiill) presided and briefly introduced the speaker. The mbject, he paid, wis oue of great inter.s ; to aU in New Zfca'and, and as Mr. M-Guire had visit --.A Australia at the inauguration of the Commonwealth and had col ected a lot; of informatiod, ho would be able to givej'n's hen era Eorao idei of the subject, Mr. McGuir - , win, on comiog forward, w s gree cd with applaus*, said tho subject was a difficult one Lr him to handl', but he would do his beat. During the pist two years we had been "miking liiitcry" very ripidly, Ht referrrd to the war iu South Africa,! the birth if the Australian Co.nm»nvvealth, the diath of Queen Victoria, the Royal visit to tho c loniee, and the opening of thn first Federal Parliamv t. Mr. M Guiro »hen gave a ratrosp c ive view cf Federation, refering flrs-. to Ljcurgu*, who founded the Spar'an race. This people held 'og ther for 500 yo.rs, rul at last domestic troubles overthrew tbe confederation, which hjd sod inviohte when threatened by w.rbki outiide nation*. He then referred to the governments eatablishel by Mahomet and Brigham Young, b>tb of whom, he i>aH, were alik« in one respect—they claimed to have recaiveJ their innpir,»tions from the Divine Ruler.

Ooming to the cew Commonwealth] of Aus ral ; a, Mr. McQuire said it was uncertain bow 1 wg it would continue ; bu 1 ; he hoped it would endure till the " crack of doom " It had bean formed by the desire and with the consent of all the States of Australia. A gradual *<ssimilat : on of the races cf the world, and he believed tha"; a final federation of tbe English-speaking rices wou'd be bailed with umversil delight. St. Paul said God firmed ths earth for all meo. In old d >ys bs nitions g ew Dew factors in the lives of the p op'e crept in; and in later ages us new arts came into use, such as steam and the elect' ic telegraph of our own days, spice was lessened and fedora'ion became pi) sible. Australia did not federate rashly. The •tep was taken af'er years of ■ tion and preparation, Th.-n when it was decided upon there were over 100,000 votes against the 400.000 odd infivour. Mr. McQuire then spoke bruflyof the Grecian ftd.rat'on, having been overturned through local jealousies acd hatreds corrupting the Governments. Similarly, the Roman fidrrationonly s"io;d firm in the face of a commou foe, and failed when, in times of peace, tbe various atttes became joa ous of each otl er'a positions. He also cited the Ne'h-rlacds federation in tha 15th century as a similar instance of failure through disputes ovr the rights of the different states forming the federation. Again, he triced the hi tory of the tis-e of the German confeleration, up to the time of the Franco-Piusiian War, whii-h sjlidified Germany into one grrat natian, whenWi'liam I. took the crowD, and pro laimtd a con«tita tion for the wholo empire. Continuing, he referred to Canada a>'d the TJnitsd States of Ame-ica, At th< handset tie htterE .g'aud had Uarntd on 9 of the mast important of Lssons, and had she not been so obs'.inate in imposing duties on the then new colonies the geat North American Republic of to-day would st'll have formed' part of the British Empire. J C ming to the Australian Common-1 wealth again, he said the que ti*n was: Ts it advisable for New Zealand to join ? At present he was not pr pared to say whether it would bs a g >cd or a bad st->p to take. If the iVus were put to the people of the colony at the present time, he ventured to eay a grrat majority would be unable to give an intelligent vote on it. It was said that union was st-ength; t-ut in the case of New Z?ahnd he believed she could work out her own dtstiny. He •greed with the Premier's motion to appoint a Roynl C immission to obtain evidence on th« subjecI', 1 ', and until the result of the Commsdon's work, and its recommendations, were known, he felt und<c : ded as to how to give an opinion. Once Now Zealand federated with Australia she could not again withdraw, as the Commoiweal h Act did no 1 provide for the sec ssion of any S ate. Hi sympathised with the endeaveur ti obtain a reciprocal tariff' between the Commonwealth and New Zealand but the prospect of its attain- • ment was none to bright. Me. McGuire then i eferred to tbe problem of acial development under the Commonwealth, and said that the ques ion of coloured labour wculd assume considerable importinci in thi fuiurj as regarded Northern Aus'ralia. He then read a precis of tbe Commonwealth Act. The sp'alser gave some figure* showing the trade relations between New Zealand and Australia. In 1898 she ex ported to New South Walts to the value of £910.000; Victorii, £400,000 ; Qus-nsland, £29,000 ; South Australia, £30,000; Western Australia £63,000; and Tasmania, £40,000; total, £1,472.000. Impsrs: from New South Walos, £041,000; Victorii, £322,000 ; Queeofland, £119,000; South > ustrtl.'a, £28,000; W.s'ern Au tra'ia, £273,000; Tasmania, £30,000; tota', £1,423,000. The bulk of the trade was dune with New South but this was owing to that country having a fee-trad-p li.y. It must not bi fo'got'en that felt rated Australia would impose a restriction on trade by a protective tariff. The imports from Australia cons sted 1 rgely of re-exported gcods, while the exports from New Zeiland to Aus'ralia were alme t wholly our own productions. The export trade was in a large measure irregular, depending m the Fetsons experienced in Australia. New Zealand rou d not ton's >mo one-tenth of her produc'ionß ; s ■ she must 1 >ok for outsilo marke's. It I was said that wo should suffer, if we remained apart, ly the tr de competi ion of t\ e Commonwealth ; but he thought that *ith our natural clima'ic advantages, the productiveness of our land, and tbe stronger constitution of our rare, there, uead bi no fear but that we shou'dj come out on top. Toe informati.n wel possessed at present on the subject was '•

not sufficient to warrant us in siying yea or nay on the question of entering the Commonwealth. But he wou d ask, which waa our greitest obligation '{ Was it net to promote an Imppi ial Federation ? A policy of recipiocity with the rest of the Empire? To-morrow we may be in the niicUt of war; but through all, through sunshine a-nl cloud, we should be mounting h'ghe" and higher in the attainment of one vast Imperial Federation, until in the distant future Lord Tennyson's dream should bj fulfilled when "

" Tin war-drum throbbed do longer, and the battle flags were furled, In the Parliament of man, the Federation of the world."

On the mo'ion of Mr. Dempsay, seconded by Major Browne, a hearty vote of thanks was accorded to Mr. McGuire for his addrets.

Rov. F. G. Evans also expressed hie thanks to Mr. McGuire for allowicg the piweeds from the lecture to go towauls Ihe concr.tswall in f.ont of St. Mary's Ohurch. Tho usual compliment to the chair terminated the meeting.