Commonwealth and States: Prime Minister's Proposals: Cutting the South-East Corner: Exporters Repenting: The Break of the Drought: The Japanese Immigration From Our Own Correspondent.
Melbourne, May 8.
There is no question that during the whole time that Australia has been federated there has existed a strong local feeling amongst the States against the Central Government. Each State has nursed a. grievance about something, and has considered itself badly treated, cither in the matter of finance, or in regard to the High Court decisions as to the allotment of the respective rights of. the national Government, and those of the States. The States have been encouraged to believe that, though they do not control customs and excise taxation, the posts and telegraphs, quarantine and imports and exports, they are still sovereign States, and consequently every, action by the Federal Government is viewed first of all as a possible attack upon the privileges of these sovereign' States. When, therefore, the Labour party, which is frankly unificationist, taxed large estates. in order to break-them: up, and established savings*banks in order to collect. the moneys upon which State Governments largely depend ed for making advances to agriculturists or the people who desired to build their own homes on terms, it was felt that the Commonwealth was not treating the States fairly. When, later on, during the financial stress of the war, the Commonwealth levied an income tax, and so invaded the State field of direct taxation it was felt that the limit of Commonwealth—encroachment upon the rights of the States had been_reached, end that a friendly
able. ce-operation was no longer practic-
Under the Constitution each State has six members in the Senate, and it was expected that these would be the official link between the States and the Commonwealth. The Labour party, however, makes every post a winning post, and cares nothing for the intentions of the framers of the Constitution. Its Senators became a strictly party body, and actually joined with the Labour members of the House of Representatives in caucus meetings. Of six senators representing a State, three might be Liberals and three Labour members subject to the control of the Labour caucus; but from the beginning neither Liberal nor, Labour Senators were the mouthpieces of the State Governments or parliaments. The result has been that the Senate has become a strictly party House, and that the Common: wealth, if it desires to discuss matters with the States, has to' call them together in conference, just as if-such a chamber as the Senate or States' House-did not exist. These conferences have become almost annual affairs, and it is not an exaggeration to say that they have, so far as actual practice is concerned, really taken the place of the Senate. Indeed almost the first thing announced by Mr. S. M. Bruce, thet new Prime Minister, is that his policy must largely depend upon the decisions arrived at by the Inter-State conference to be called for the third week in this month.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.