The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25, 1905.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7721, 25 January 1905, Page 2

The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25, 1905.

To those who have followed the history of Australian politics it is in these days rather a good sign of the . independence of any man or institution within the Commonwealth to lind him or it attacked by the Melbourne Age. For this reason we do not regard the condemnation which the cable informs us it hus meted out to federation as of any serious Importance. There was a day when . the Age was the ruling power in Victoria. With a wider circulation and a much greater political influence than any other paper in Australia it made and unmade Ministries at will, and within the limits of its own colony practically dictated the administration of every department. I'ntil recent years this mighty influence was on the whole used discreetly and for the general good. It was largely owing to the policy of the Age 'that protection was first ' firmly established in Victoria, and ii\ the long struggle between the forces of Conservatism and privilege on the one side and Liberalism and liberty on the other, the Age did yeoman j service. But when federation first came within the range of practical politics the paper which so long had led the democracy of a colony did not rise to the occasion. Only when it saw its domain being encroached ; on by the Conservative Argus did ii, become awake to the fact that it had for once fallen behind public opinion. Then suddenly it 'threw its whole weight into the scale and fifr the time regained some of the influence that was slipping away from it. At the first federal election il published a ''ticket" for Victoria * which was accepted by the constituencies practically in globo, and hac it continued unwaveringly to support the democratic policy of thi Commonwealth there would un- . doubtedly to-day be less grounds* foi its reproach that '■ Federation has been an expensive failure." It al- ' most goes without saying that thisdeclaration is far from wholly true. The Age has naturally not nearly so much influence over the Australian Parliament as it easily exercised ant * continues to exercise in mere Stat< matters. But it has not yet learnec t to follow in a sphere in which it had become used to leading, and ir ,( many respects does not see eye tc eye with any Commonwealth Minis- * try. Whatever the Age may saj there are no solid grounds for as- - sorting that federation has even si far proved a failure. During tin few years in which the Federal Parliament has been in existence it hnf done much in the detail of consolidating the Customs administration, it has abolished inter-State ' duties, has introduced uniformity ir ■ the Postal Department, hns modi some progress towards the control of labour movements and the ship ping interest, npd has done nil these, things from this point of view of Australia, and not of any ont " State therein. But above and beyond these administrative measures it has made two momentous departures from the policy of the Stales—for it has set up a Federal High Court and established the foundations of a "White Australia." II there have been weaknesses and faults in the administration of the , Asiatics Exclusion Act they in no way detract from the merits of the principle which closes Australia to the man of colour, and guarantees to the white race the practically entire possession of the fifth continent oi the world. Without federal-Ton these changes would never have taken place, and there can be no honest doubt that from the point of view of posterity they will yet be declared, in spite of the pronouncement of the have been far from "nn cx- , pensive failure."

On tbs Fourth Page. The Cancer Microbe. A Parliament Stormed. Mor-nion Secrets Revealed.