Vol. XXIX.. N'o. 4. 



OCTOBER, I. 190&, 



The Rev 



EVIEWS 



JEQUlTAUl^H JJUILDITiC, MBr.BOURKE. 



THE HISTORY OF THE MONTH. 



Federal Matters. 



Melbourne, .St-pteinber 10th. 



The Feder^il Parliament is in a curi- 

 uus positi(.in. The count -out over 

 the Bountie.s Bill must have given 

 Ministers ,1 quet-r turn, when the 

 Labour Party, chagrined at not being allowed to 

 have its wishes carried out over Papua. e\idently 

 were determined to make the Government hear the 

 crack of their whip. But it is hardly likely that 

 they will carry things to such an extremity that the 

 Deakin Government will be seriously affected. A 

 change of Government is not likely to be precipitated 

 on the eve of an election. The fight will come soon 

 enough for most members, and the issues will be com- 

 plicated enough without the addition of anv more. 

 The Preferential Trade proposals were a shock to 

 everybody. No one imagined that the Tariff Com- 

 mission report was going to be anticipated and dis- 

 regarded in this way. But the gauntlet has been 

 thrown down, and it remains to be seen how the elec- 

 tors will regard the issue. From a tactical point of 

 view, the proceeding is no doubt a wise one. It 

 breaks up the suggestion of fiscal peace, and it com- 

 mits the Government to a definite course, and gives 

 it the help which an aggressive campaign and a fi,\ed 

 objective always give to a fighter. It will give the 

 Government a fighting cry, for the proposals are not 

 likely to go through the House without serious alter- 

 ation — if they scrape through at all. The arrange- 

 ment with New Zealand does not appear to be giv- 

 ing anything like universal pleasure in that country. 

 Manufacturers and merch.uits are afraid that some 

 of the free items will prejudice their interests. The 

 proposals as regards Great Britain are not likely to 

 be of much use to that country, and it is small won- 

 der that they ha\e exoked such small interest. If 

 there had been a dropping of duties in the Empire 

 it would have pleased the mass of the electors more. 

 Simply raising the duties against the foreigner gives 

 justification for a plea of preferential trade, but also 

 gives the Government a splendid opportunity of 

 bringing in a high protective tariff which otherwise 

 would not have been countenanced. It remains to 

 be seen, however, whether the House is prepared to 

 accept the proposals off-hand. 



The I St September ushered in a new 

 The Papuan Constitution for Papua (British New 

 Constitution. Guinea). On that day. the Crown 

 Colony became in the fullest sense 

 a territory of the Commonwealth. The next ques- 

 tion which the Federal Government will have to 

 settle is the appointment of an administrator, and 

 the question as to whether he is to be an imported 

 or a local man is going to create a lot of discussion 

 in the Federal Parliament. For our own part, we 

 strongly advise the appointment of- a local man who 

 knows something about Australian conditions, and 

 has a knowledge of the things which are most neces- 

 sary for the development of a country so peculiarly 

 situated as Papua. It is now with us, but in a very 

 real sense not of us, as far as its general conditions 

 are concerned. It is inhabited by a fine race of 

 natives who require tactful dealing in order to raise 

 them to a state of civilisation, and it is a tropical 

 country, with very different necessities to those of 

 Australia. The country needs development, but the 

 native race also requires the conservation of its in- 

 terests, and the personnel of the administrator will 

 have a very great deal to do with the happiness or 

 unhappiness of the natives in the future. Up to the 

 present time, things in Papua have been stagnant. 

 The administration has been a failure, partlv be- 

 cause qf the ineffective machinery. Now^ it is to be 

 hoped things will improve. They are more likelv to 

 improve under the consideration and intelligent ad- 

 ministration of a thoroughly competent local man 

 with an eye to business methods and procedure than 

 they will be under the authority of a stranger. It is 

 not frill and feathers that is wanted in connection 

 with the office, but a good, sound, sturdy, common- 

 sense, matter-of-fact dealing with difficult conditions. 

 Our past history gives some good illustrations of the 

 ineptitude of imported inexperienced men when faced 

 with conditions that they have never faced before. 



Everybody must regret that the 



Effective Effective Voting proposals of the 



Voting. Federal Government fell to the 



ground. The general opinion in 



P.irliament seemed to be that it was very desirable 



that such a condition of things should be brought 



