662 



REVIEW OF REVIEWS. 



September i, liilS. 



The Federal Capital. 



The Liberal Government is so en- 

 gaged fighting for its life that it cannot 

 be expected to devote much attention to 

 the many vital questions before it. We 

 cannot hope to see any definite line 

 taken with regard to the Northern Terri- 

 tory, Customs, Defence, Railways, or the 

 Federal Capital until after the next elec- 

 tion. Vox popnli is stronger in Aus- 

 tralia than anywhere else in the world ; 

 the people are called upon to decide 

 matters which at home are left to Min- 

 isters, and the referendum has become a 

 recognised feature of our political life. 

 Why should not the people have an op- 

 portunity at the next election of stating 

 definitely whether they wish the costly 

 bush capital erected or not ? tiere is an 

 easy, straight- forward issue, and why on 

 earth should it not be decided by those 

 who have to pay the piper ? When 

 Federation was finally consummated, 

 one of the conditions laid down was that 

 a capital should be created in New 

 South Wales, but not within a hundred 

 miles of Sydney. Jealousy between 

 Melbourne and Sydney made this clause 

 necessary. But much has happened 

 since then. The seat of Federal Govern- 

 ment has been for thirteen \-ears in Mel- 

 bourne, but Commonwealth legislation 

 has not been unduly Victorian as a re- 



sult. Legislators, after ten years' delay, 

 finally pitched upon a spot as far from 

 S)dney and as near Melbourne as pos- 

 sible, where it is proposed to erect the 

 Federal Capital. The cost of doing so is 

 estimated at anything from i^ 10,000,000 

 to i,"3 0,000,000, and may cost still 

 more. Throughout the length and 

 breadth of Australia the " folly " of this 

 proceeding has been denounced. Why, 

 then, persist in it ? Because, we are told, 

 it was one of the conditions of Federa- 

 tion. The people voted on Federation ; 

 let them decide, after exjierience of its 

 working, whether or not the clause in 

 the constitution relating to the capital 

 should be altered 



Why not Sydney? 



Melbourne cannot be the capital ; it 

 must be in New Soulh Wales. That is 

 admitted, then why not plant it in Syd- 

 ney, at a cost of, say. three quarters of a 

 million, instead of at Canberra, at a cost 

 of ;^20,ooo.ooo? The objection that if 

 at Sydnev legislation would be unduly 

 influenced by New South Wales politics 

 cannot be valid now that the i 'k vears' 

 stay in Melbourne has proved the Com- 

 monwealth has no Victorian bias. Vic- 

 torians, we are told, will object. Surely 

 the onh' way to find that out is bv ask- 

 ing them. A referendum with the ques- 



\_1 ofiicaX. 

 SCENE AT BISLEY. WHERE THE AUSTRALIAN TEAM WAS SO SUCCESSFUL THIS YEAR. 



