The Daily News WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17. SOUTH AFRICAN UNION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 20, 17 February 1909, Page 2

The Daily News WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17. SOUTH AFRICAN UNION.

llio draft Uoiistitutiou 0 f the [m os( ,j ' i'^™ 4 r?. K,,ler,,uo,,wiii '" i ■ | ««»««^.lby lU a l , yullt | lilt ~J b.*eio lowed recent events within ,„, sub-continent, as a departure from „-,,,, was UJ.Lkip.ULd. ■!„„ flu . L w ■• plain, indeed, before i . vel ., lla , iu|Uui ''; i «»iv U i.ii ol , :,not tluit u,c majority 0 f t | is "-legates tavoured-iinillealiou. (joiicril ioCia, Mr. Fischer, and Air. Merrimau n.ul s,.<.U«» frwly ami frankly on the subject, and showed no liesitaiion with .'p['«a to tlie form 0 f imiun upon whith Ll»'.v had decided. The remaining |>lV- """'■• Mr. .Moor.. f„ r ~ time haU = d lj( ,. livecii two opinion,,. It was m,| until -V'tal (at all events, lire Press of Natal, declared tor Federation that .Mr. Moor '■ccmed it advisable to accept the views i "I the majority. The President of the • »»"ieil, Sir Henry de Villicrs, the Chief ■lnstlee „f Cape Colony ;,( u„ moment "•cms l„have guided'|h,. Convention to '"■ r '"->- "I.- Colin'ntioiin'lef, !",',"" jtf 'relumed from Canada, where |„. j,;„| |„,,.„

■■' i'']ueseulalive at t„c (,l„el,ec e.-..-oHi-tions. llestate,| to iulerviewers. and in "I"'" " ling. thai, what 1,.. bad seen »'"' I'i'd learned hj, ('nuada convinced '""i Unit llie form of >„ for S,,iitli Africa must approxim; ~. |„ real umlicaliou than even lb,, so-called unifi'""''on of that I) inion. Tl„. Caaa-lian

spoken of as unilieatioii. Tlu.iH, it' i' s nearer lo a unitary system Hum cither the federation of the American Slates or Anstralia.il is yet an example of fed:'ralion, not of unilieatioii.

The Caua.liau system of rcpivsentainii' I'xecplinn. as far as the cabled newsv piTinils us to judge, that in the South African provinces there are' to lie -io Upper Houses. Moy.., Scotia and Ql.ebch for example, have (heir Legislative Councils and their If.unes of Usenihlv while the other provinces cacti possess hut one Chamber. In ||„. select inn of provincial a.liuinislralors th,, Caniulian system of iioininntioii bv lb,. Liculenan! -I IJoVI-raor has likewise been adopted. the ilel.| a of the Stales. > a s "welVas"the State civil servants. The hitter proposal reveals (he desiro thai: the jurisdiction of the respective provinces ' should be vastly-curtailed. This is probably wise South Africa's white population'is not vet greatly in excess of „ million, nnd. diverse as the conditions which prevail are, there is no reason why legislation suitable for the entire siib-contbenl

should nut. emanate from one Federal l'ailiamcnl. The functions of (lie Provincial Councils, we take it, will have to do, lirst, with strictly local affairs, and, second, with the native population within the respective districts. As to' the transference of the public debts to the Union, the older colonies—the Cape and Natal—should be benefited (hereby. Theirs are the largest debts., and the oldest. Tin. resting of the railways and ports in Commissioners was. of course, inevitable. Even had federal ion of the Australian type been adopted, the "pooling" process, long the subject of debate, would have undoubtedly been carried into effect.

The proposed selection of the members of the Senate by flic Provincial Councils follows tlie' model of th„ ..<;nled

States of America. There the senators are chosen, two by each State Legislature, and for six years, in Canada the senators arc nomi'ualcd for life. The Federal Parliament of Canada was based on the Parliament, oi Hie t e,i Kingdom. It has its House of Commons, aiid although without a hereditary Upper House, it his come as close to thai as possible by melius of I lie life members. In Australia, as readers are aware, the Inmmbcrs of the Senate arc elected bv Hie vote of the people. Whether it is proposed I ha I the South African s-naHors arc lo be life members or appointed enlv lor a number of .vein--, we have not vet been informed. The Convention's treatment of the ipiclioii of :i capital is 'perhaps Ik.: weakest, pari, of the draft ('(instiliitio.n. It is :iot a lit Ho surprising that one capital could not be agreed upon bv the delegates. In Ihe latest speeches delivered bv them- the latest received here-all seemed anxious t„ dis pel any fears that the capital qncstiin would noli be amicablv settled. (Jem-rat de Wet, for one, An-uirfA that to what Hie nmjoritv decided upon he would not object. Yet the cables infer lus the olher dav that he had gone home, Hie

conjunction (if his name and Hi,, iilkwl friction over the capital leadim; l<> the conclusion that In- had left ilir Clin vi'iilion in pii|iii'. lit nil .probability the ilnift Constitution will In- subjected to revision In- the. colonial Parliaments iii tin- instance of tin- electors. Probably the capital silo proposals will vet- suiter chnii.L'c. Will. the frforinnlio'n at our (lisposiil \vc should pay that I In- coin-promise-—us it doubtless was- betnixl federation of the Australian tvpe and absolute unification on the Italian plan, is judicious, aml will in nil probability be accepted by the ~,'iip,* ,„ ;oiilli Africa. Tin- nrj;uiiicnt a»ai:ist fedentlion was that of cost. The provincial system should retain old boundaries, co loniul individuality, a. semblance at least of State rights aiicl all at the minimum of cost to the electors.