June 15.
An interesting situation has been created in Australian politics as a result of the desire of Western Australia to secede from the Commonwealth. It will be remembered. that discontent in the State arose from a number of causes not the least of which was the high tariff Jon goods from Britain and abroad, Jand in the end Western Australia sought to petition the Mother Parliament for permission to secede from the Commonwealth. An important point was at once raised, as to whether either the House of Lords lor the Commons could accept such 2 petition, and a joint committee of both Houses heard the matter argued before them by counsel, that the British Parliament could not accept such a document.
"The conclusion of the committee is that, inasmuch as the prayer of the petition of the State of West-em "Australia asks for legislative et"on, which, in their opinion, it would' be constitutionally indompetent for the Parliament of the United Kingdom to take, except upon the definite. request of the Commonwealth of Australia conveying the clearly' expressed wish of the Australian people as a whole, and inasmuch as this petition is presented by the Government of Western Australia, which as a State is not concerned with the subject matter of the proposed legislation, the petition is not proer to be' received."
From the -point of view of the Western Australians the situation threatens to become desperate, for it is inconceivable that the Houses will do anything other than accept the recommendations of the Joint Committee which means that the remedy sought in the British Parliament will be denied to the would-be secessionists. The Commonwealth itself has decided that the western state shall remain within the Dominion's constitutional structure and the appeal to the final Fesort at Westminster being fruitless the secessionists threaten to seek other means of obtaining redress, Mr. H. Keith Watson, chairman of the Dominion League of Western Australia, and a member of the Secession' Delegation to London, is responsible for the the statement that "the argument of force will be the only means left to the people Jot Western Australia in their determined desire for secession. I shall not hesitate so to inform my fellow citizens....and to play my full part in whatever course may be decided upon, no matter how unorthodox that course may be." Apparently. amongst the steps which have been [proposed is to withdraw from the Federal Parliament, to refuse to pay any monies due to the Federal Government or to recognize the author= ity of the Commonwealth officials, while cargoes at Perth or Fre" mantle would be unloaded under the protection of a volunteer force which would prevent the Customs oficals from interfering or levying Jany duty. To all intents and purposes the authority of the Commonwealth would be openly. flouted, though in turn punitive action seems to be denied it by the provision that it has no right to send Jany armed force into the territory of any State or to take any kind fof armed action in that State without the consent of the State government, The idea of the latter Jeiving the Commonwealth permis-jon to a take military action against it would be comic if the matter were not so serious. Tt is unthinkable that this long drawn out dispute should lead to a fractricidal struggle in Australia, though there are indications that feeling runs very high in Western JAustralia which contends it is Jeuffering under very real grievances bringing such a contingency within the bounds of possibility.
If Mr. Watson's remarks appear to be inspired by indignation over the rebuff administered by the Joint Committee, the weightier utterance of Mr. Phillip Collier, Prime Minister of the dissatisfied State, adds very considerable support {o them. "The people of Western Australia," he said, "will fight Jon until they'have received justice from the Commonwealth Government. "The position is intolerable.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.