6 94 AUSTRALIA 



In 1910 the system of Customs book-keeping between the states was abolished in 

 consequence of the substitution for the Braddon clause of a fixed subsidy from the 

 Commonwealth to the states. Since then there have been no material changes in the 

 Tariff, and the Customs Minister, Mr. Tudor, has expressed the view recently that the 

 Governfnentwould not be willing to raise the Tariff further unless there were a certainty 

 that labour .conditions would be thereby bettered, a certainty which could not be 

 provided by the Commonwealth legislature under the present constitutional limitations. 

 The preferential tariff treatment of British imports does not show any very marked effect 

 on the trade figures as yet. The proportion of imports from the United Kingdom has re- 

 mained :fairly steady; it was 51.52 %.i-n 1908, 51.50 in 1909, 51.21 in 1910. Previous to 1908 

 the proportion of British imports was dwindling. British goods admitted at a preferential 

 rate in 1910 paid 2,485,497 in duty, whereas if they had come under the general tariff they 

 would have paid 3,457,671 in duty. The rebate was thus 972,174. In regard to 6,425,- 

 260 of British imports the Commonwealth admitted them free ; foreign goods of the same 

 classes and value would have paid an average tariff duty of 5.18 %. 



Defence. When the Commonwealth Government took over the defence of Australia 

 from the states in 1901 there existed for land defence in the various states very small 

 forces of regular troops, used as instructional cadres and as garrisons for the forts; 

 small forces of militia, enlisted under a voluntary system and paid for about 16 days 

 of drill and camp training a year; further small forces of volunteers, not paid at all, 

 and giving usually but scanty time to training. The total of these forces was 25,873, 

 of whom a proportion could be counted as efficient. Naval defence, apart from the 

 existence of various small craft, was entrusted to the British Navy, and a yearly sub- 

 sidy (up to 126,000) was paid to the British Admiralty on condition that a fleet of a 

 certain strength was maintained in Australian waters and certain facilities given to 

 Australians wishing to enter the naval service. 



At first the Federation did little to disturb these arrangements. The fleet subsidy 

 was continued and extended. The military forces were taken over as they were. But 

 the Defence Act of 1903 gave an indication of a new spirit. , It made provision for the 

 enlistment of all able-bodied males for defence service in case of war. An amendment 

 proposed by Mr. W. M. Hughes, one of the leading members of the Labour party, 

 that this universal obligation to military service should be accompanied by a universal 

 obligation to training for service, was rejected. But it was inevitable that in time 

 the one should follow the other. Mr. Hughes (born in Wales in 1864), a very advanced 

 Socialist at the outset of his political life, constituted himself the Parliamentary cham- 

 pion of compulsory training for service, and assisted outside the House by the 

 National Defence League, of which Colonel Gerald Campbell, a volunteer officer of 

 distinction, was the moving spirit eventually secured the acceptance of the principle. 

 A series of Acts in 1009, 1910 and 1911 gave Australia a military system under which, 

 with few exceptions, the whole manhood of the country will be trained to the use of 

 arms. Under this system, at the age of twelve, a boy must begin training (chiefly 

 physical culture) as a junior cadet. Training as a senior cadet begins at 14, and lasts 

 until 18; it comprises drills equivalent to 16 full days a year. At the age of 18 the ob- 

 ligation to undergo adult training begins, and lasts until the age of 25, through seven 

 years. This adult training consists of the equivalent of 16 full days drilling a year, of 

 which not less than eight shall be in a camp of continuous training. In the case of 

 the artillery and the engineers the training extends to 25 days a year, of which not 

 less than 17 must be in camp. There are certain exceptions, including one making 

 provision for those who have conscientious scruples against bearing arms; these how- 

 ever are trained for the hospital and ambulance services. The thinness of the popu- 

 lation in some districts forces another class of exemption: the residents of far " out 

 back " cannot be economically mobilised for training, and for the present are left out of 

 the scheme. A Staff College in the Federal Territory is provided for the training of 

 officers, and its organisation is on severely practical lines. Cadets are accepted after 

 examination. The whole cost of their college training is borne by the Army Estimates, 

 and parents are forbidden to supplement the messing allowance by private pocket- 



