The Review of Reviews. 



Aprtt 20, 1906. 



Jurts'' Cussen, [Photo, 



t-eil t-o the Victorian Supreme Court Bench. 



seem as though the Austrahan fears are 

 inriless. The objwts of the visit are stated to 



1. To rescue the Eniiiiro and the Imperial spirit 

 from being exploited from the reactionary and anti- 

 social classes at home. 



2. To make the Empire stand for peace and de- 

 mocratic iusti<-e in the eves of the whole world. 



3. To studv the various social experiments which 

 have been started in the Colonies. 



4. To get our Colonial fellow-workers to under- 

 stand the labt'Ur movement of the mother country, 

 and to feel a share in its fortunes. 



These are broad lim's, discussion upon which 

 cannot be productive of other than good. Needless 

 to say, we are not likely to forget that we belong 

 to the Empire, and will he found ready to make sac- 

 rifices firr the common good. But there are lines 

 which should not be crossed, either by the Colonies 

 or the Crown. As small things m,iy serve as a we.dge 

 which, driven home, may divide an empire, it is well 

 to remember that the unity of the Empire, as at pre- 

 sent constituted, can onl\ t>e attained by each section, 

 so far as domestic matters are concerned, minding 

 its own affairs. 



A decision of interest to Civil Ser- 



Salanes vants, because they are intimately 



"f Ofticm ' affected, and to the public, because 



it has to foot the bill, has just been 

 delivered by the High Court. It has been a ques- 

 tion as to whether the salaries of certain officers, 

 which were fixed by the States prior to Federation, 

 and subsequently reduced by the Commonwealth, 

 should not legally be maintained at the former rate. 

 The officer upon whose case a test was made was as an 

 officer in the Victorian Postal Department, receiving 

 ^150, which was reduced by the Commonwealth to 

 ^^138. The High Court has decided that the plain- 

 tiff's plea will not hold, and that the Commonwealth 

 Government has a perfect right to reduce salaries 

 of transferred officers. The Commonwealth Parlia- 

 ment had not made provision for the payment of any 

 salarv' in addition to ^138 to this officer, and the 

 plaijitiff is therefore not entitled to receive any more 

 money than Parliament has voted. This was practi- 

 cally the ground on which the High Court's decision 

 was given. It certainly seems a fair arrangement, 

 apart from the legal aspect of it. It would be too 

 great a limit upon the Commonwealth's powers if it 

 were unable to regulate the salaries of its officers as 

 it chose. 



Limiting 



Parliamentary 



Sittings. 



The proposal in connection with 

 the British Legislature to limit the 

 hours of Parliamentary daily ses- 

 sions is one that might very well be 

 taken up in the States. There is really no reason 

 why Parliament should sit later than half-past 10 

 or 11 o'clock. It is not simply a matter of incon- 

 venience to Members to sit long and irregularly, but 

 the late hours of the night, or the early hours of the 

 morning, are responsible for most of the hasty legis- 

 lation which is passed, When the House is com- 

 paratively empty, and the Members who are sticking 

 to their posts are weary and sleepy, a fine oppor- 

 tunity is afforded a Government for pushing legisla- 

 tion through, and the records of all our Govern- 

 ments show some curious instances of how this 

 method of compidsion has been successfullv ii.^ed. 

 Members are far more likely to give a reasonable 

 attention to their legislative duties if they tackle 

 them in the hours .when their energies are strongest. 

 Mr. Bent has intimated that he has noticed the sug- 

 gestion, and it is probable that he will give it some 

 j-erious consideration. 



The 

 iVew Hebrides 



Details concerning the Xew He- 

 brides Commission are still wanting, 

 the only light on the subject com- 

 ing from France, where Le Temps 

 makes tJie suggestion that if Australia wants a par- 

 tition of the Islands, France would not give the 

 proposal serious opposition. It is needless to say 

 that Le Temps' suggestion that an attempt might be 

 made to surprise her out of any right she possesses 

 is not for one miment entertained here. The idea 



