Yet another source of friction between the Commonwealth and tha, States has arisen in connexion with' the administration of the law regarding the registration of aliens upon their arrival in Australia, and of those already in the country. Obviously this cannot be carried out by the Commonwealth Government, secing that it does not con-} trol the police forces, through the machinery of which work of this sort can best be done.
The trouble arose some time ago in Western Australia and later in South Australia. These States declined to employ their police on Federal work unless they received! special pay therefor. Now, it is understood, other States have followed this example and the registration of aliens is likely to become; dead letter. Recently Victoria! asked permission to import half a dozen German engineers, in con-! nexion with its electric works at! the brown coal deposits of Mor-well. The Federal Government, with an Act at its back, declined; to allow these men to be landed! until it was satisfied that the work! they had to do could not be equally! done by Australian, British or American engineers. Consequently: the Victorians are furious, and Mr. Hughes is being violently de-! nounced in leading articles and! cartoons.
It has not yet transpired whether the refusal is or is not due to the antagism which the State Govern-} ment has lately been displaying to-! wards the Commonwealth authorities. It may be recalled that the! Prime Minister earned much opproprium for creating a Commonwealth police force, a body which was eventually disbanded or absorbed into those sections of the administration which watch over revenue interests, or the illicit introduction of coloured aliens. The Commonwealth is at a disadvantage in having no press behind it: The newspapers generally regard matters from the State point of view first, and to them it appeared unthinkable that the State police could not or would not do all the necessary work.
This last matter of the registration or following of aliens new trouble, though hitherto it has been kept confidential, and known to officials only. Now that the matter has become public it adds one more to the many proofs which are accumulating that the Austra-lion constitution does not justify the statement with which the late Joseph Chamberlain introduced it into the House of Common—that it was the best constitution ever framed.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.