It is no secret that members of both Federal Houses are jaded to death at the length of this, the first session of the first Commonwealth parliament. The opening of the session by the Duke of York in May of last year is recalled now like sorite event out of the long-buried past, and yet the Houses have been hard at work ever since, and there is no immediate prospect, of their rising for months to come. But so tired is everybody concerned with polities with the long strain, that only the very faintest interest is taken in the debates, and inside the House it is sometimes difficult. to get "quorum. The Senate has sent down its tariff mendations, which it politely calls "requests," and a struggle over the tariff is in the future also the Budget statement has yet to be, made. Sir Geo. Turner promises this for the end of this month. Sir Edmund Barton, now in America, will be home again probably by that time. It seemed for a time as though a constitutional crisis were inevitable between the Houses, as the Senate, it is considered, is going beyond its powers in sending a second message to the other House pressing ro-quests for amendment in a money. bill. But as all members are anxious to place the tariff on the statute book as quickly as possible, the Representatives have decided to yield and thus a crisis is averted.
The Governor-General's Allow-a ces.
Proposals about the extra money to be allowed the Governor-General for outside expenses always result in a pitiful squabble between Melbourne and Sydney. The up-keep of two large and expensive Government Houses is the crux of the whole matter. Senator O'Connor bringing forward the Government's scho-due of expenditure found it wise to amend his motion of approval by making it apply only to the next Govenor-General, The amount proposed is £5,500 a year, not nearly enough if both Sydney and Melbourne are to be favoured with the full strength of the gubernatorial fit-up, but ample for one establishment, It is simply this question of supplies that is causing the appointment of a successor to Lord Hovetoun to hand fire. If the Federal capital were chosen, the rulin; magnate would be banished there and neither of the contesting capitals could sulk at the other's supremacy. But most people see the absurdity of running up a hasty town in the N.S.W. bush and calling it the seat of Government, while the real centres of population and business are hundreds of miles away. So the disputes rage and newspapers of both cities are afield with denunciatory articles on the "audacity" of Melbourne, and the® "mean and petty jealousy" shown by Sydney, respectively.
Woman Suffrage.
"We've got it. Isn't it lovely?" was the exclamation of Miss Rose Scott, a leading Sydney suffragist, to Miss Vide Goldstein' of Melbourne on Miss Goldstein's return from America, where she had been delegating at the great women's conference. I quote the phrase, because for some reason or other, it has become the catch-word of the continent, like "Fancy meeting you" or " Now we shan't be long." "We" are the women of the oldest colony. "We" of Victoria haven't "got it" yet. There are anomalies in connection with woman suffrage in Australia. Women are eligible as voters for the Commonwealth, but not in all the
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.