FEDERAL POLITICS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVI, Issue 185, 10 August 1904, Page 3

FEDERAL POLITICS.

rSPEEpti -BY, THE PREMIER.. ■"'*; " SYDNEY, August 9. *Mr Watson, in a speech at Wagga, Mid what they had proposed, as a pmjft was that Australia, which experiiiients for years past, should continue in the same healthy direction, when it atjjjSared obvious that enterprise could--ije Carried out to a better advantagu by the community itself than by a favoured syndicate. There was the right, whether, one, called it socialistic or not, that enterprise should be controlled and run by, or on behalf - of, the people as a whole. What the labour, party in the Federal Parliament did put forward was this : They believed in the nationalisation of monoppliea, or of anything which in its nature might literally become a monopolvj Ha could not conceive that the. PiMpTe of Australia should We sq.; blind to their own interests «* tctgermri grinding monopolies beJBg brought into existence unlessdone unknowingly. He defended Labour methods against Mr Deakin. Every party that went to Parliament, had to be prepared to, make sacrifices on minor questions if they were to remain a party atK i influence malt us. *lr Deakin had denounced the wethodsof the Labour Party while hipractised in his own party the selfsame methods. Every party hud Its Caucus, and the Labour Party used it more because they were anxious to put into practice their pr'ncifilee. ,H the Labour Partv were not prepared to vote together on qut<---rtaons affecting their own platform there Was no excuse for their being in Parliament at all. When they spoke of compulsory arbitration, the term .was held to mean only the kind of arbitration which had been found successful. That was on thelir.es laid / «townr,by Hon. W. P. Beeves in Sew »-■■■ Zealand, and he had succeeds where others had 'ailed because he based MB Mil on the organisations of unions ■as responsJ&e bodies to whom a court could look, for the carrying out of its awards without any moral pressure the union could bring to bear on individual members. Any Other- form of compulsory arbitration must break down. On the question of-preferential trade he said he had always believed in an Imperil Zolverein, in the attempt being, made to as far as practicable encourage trade among our own people. He was Will oi opinion that the first move «aust come from the Mother Countrj because she had larger interests at . atake. If the Motler Country came to a decision that preference was desirable then it would be the proper Wang ttf call a conference "to consider Hie direction it might take. That l» held.to be the proper course. AN ELECTORAL INQUIRY, ,; . '•' SYDNEY, August 9. Giving evidence before the Select Committee appointed to inquire into the administration of the Federal electoral department, Mr Biden formerly chief electoral officer of the State, declared that he was requested, though not in specific terms to reduce the Metropolitan rolls ' and iMrease those of country districts. Lnder cross-examination, he modilied the ongmal accusation sonietK^'*K bUt . adhfiretl t0 the statement that though not actually told to do so he clearly understood his instructions were to that effect. He declined to say that any offcer had t Performed any wilfully improper act. THE CAPITAL SITE. : PREFERENTIAL QUESTION. (Received August 9, 10.45 p m } ix. „ MELI 'OURNE, August 9 fha House carried the eastern districts as the site for the capital against the western districts, bv 39 votes t 0 28. Then, on the voices, it fixed the capital at a spot 17 miles from Haltrety, a small village on the banks of the Snowy River. ~ Mr Deakin questioned the Premier as to whetlier he had based his remarks on preifjrential trade on press cables or other information. ,Mr Watson replied: "On Press tables," adding that Australia had already spoken on the question. Mr Deakin : In what way ? Mr Watson : As in other matters ■ !by allowing the ques.ti.on to go bv default.!