220 



The Review of Reviews, 



March 20, 1906. 



Adelaide E.iprens.'] 



A Political Challenge. 



BEID: " No, I T-i..n't pick up your glove. I've a standing 

 engagement to fight the gentleman l)eiiind me." 



DEAKIN: "But that's onlv a phantom, man." 



REID: Well, to tell the truth, I prefer figliting shadows. 

 It's easier." 



The glove is labelled " Fiscal Issue." 



i.s certain will nul Ik- acceptable to those whO' know- 

 most about the position of the affairs in the islands, 

 is that evidently the rights of the natives are not 

 to be considered. The natives in the past have 

 suffered very grave injustice because they have been 

 unable to present their claims, and land has been 

 forcibly taken from them. Furthermore, from the 

 information to hand, it seems as though no greater 

 police power is to be given than in the past, and 

 this has been very unsatisfactory. We do not intend 

 to follow the example of some of the dailv 

 newspapers, and criticise the position before we 

 really know the state of affairs, but seeing that 

 Australian interests are more intimately affected 

 than any other, Australia ought certainly to have a 

 large voice in the settlement. H'therto we have 

 lieen unable to do anything on account of the 

 divided control of the islands. The question is stili 

 fraught with very grave difficulties, and it is certain 

 that the position Australia has taken, up will not 

 he surrendered without her straining every nerve to 

 maintain her position. The Commonwealth Govern- 

 ment might do a very great deal towards the estab- 

 lishment of the position of the British settlers if 

 she were to admit their products duty free ; but this 

 small concession— small to us, but great to the 

 islanders — they seem unwilling to give. 



A Patchwork 

 Quilt. 



Some very curious positions are 

 arising in view of the approaching 



Federal elections. The Victorian 

 Chamber of ISIanufactures in Mel- 

 bourne has written to the Political Labour 

 Council, asking that the members of the 

 latter shall unite with the former in order 

 to prevent, if possible, two Protectionists from 

 fighting against one Freetrader, pointing out 

 that that kind of procedure lost manv seats to Pro- 

 tectionists in past elections. The Political Labour 



Council has replied to the effect that it of itself can- 

 not enter into any such negotiations, but that it is 

 prepared to send representatives to discuss the mat- 

 ter for a future report to its annual conference in 

 April. This is rather a curious combination be- 

 tween parties, which on the one side have volubly 

 asserted the claims of Capital, and on the other as 

 forciblv the claims of Labour. It will be rather 

 curious to see what the effect of the combination 

 will be. On the other hand, Mr. Reid, speaking 

 in Sydney, has been urging all Protectionists who 

 were anti-Socialists to join Freetraders and leave 

 the fiscal question severely alone. This, he stated, 

 would give something like a level fight. The possi- 

 bilities of the level fight become very apparent when 

 it becomes manifest that the Government Party is 

 doing all it can to provoke a fight on the fiscal ques- 

 tion. The probability will be that the next Federal 

 election will prove as great a mix-up as the last. 

 Half-a-dozen different main issues will be raised, 

 and the chaos of parties will be as great as before. 



Tasmania has again acknowledged 



Tasmania in herself bound hand and foot to one 



Chains. of our most glaring vices for the 



sake of revenue. Replying to a de- 

 putation from the annual meeting of the Women's 

 Christian Temperance Union, which met in Hobart 

 last month, the Premier said that Tattersall was 

 licensed for the sake of the revenue, and that lie- 

 cause of it the evil would not be removed. This is 

 a frank but saddening admission. For ^^50,000 a 

 year I'asmania sells herself to one of the most 



■■Hop." in Tlie Bulletin.'} 



Re Anti-Socialism. 



The Protectionists upon whom Mr. Eeid is relying have 

 not yet stated publicly on which of these bases they are 

 willing to form an alliance, or, for the matter of that, 

 whether they are willing to form one at all. And it is 

 this information for which the anti-Socialist movement is 

 now practically stuck up. — Sydney D. T. 



The elephant : " Now, I wonder if that is intended for 

 me!" 



