From Our Own Correspondent, Melbourne, June 5.
The Inter-State Conference,, which the Commonwealth Government promoted, and which was hailed as of two-fold imtance, first because it would enable the Federal Government to complete its policy, and secondly because it was to mark the end of secret correspondence and conversations as between the Commonwealth and the States, has come and almost gone. When T say '"'almost,'? I mean that it is finished except in regard to the one question of finance, and upon that point the Conference is, to re-assemble at the end of this week. Mr. Theodore, the triumphant Premier of Queensland, has quite justly described—the Conference as one which hag accomplished nothing of moment except to make @ preliminary agreement about finance, which is not necessarily binding. The Commonwealth can proceed to legislate on_its own account, whether the States agree or not. The Prime Minister, has, I notice, expressed the hope that tee work accomplished will add to the prosperity of the country, though in actual fact only one definite agreement, has been made, namely that in future neither Commonwealth nor States will raise tax" free loans. The three chi! matters discussed at the conference were the separation of Commonwealth and State finance, with a view to reducing duplication of returns on account of income tax, and so lessening di annoyance to the public and the cost of administration: the unification of the railway gauges, which ig rapidly becoming hardly annual, and the. prevention of over-lapping between States and Commonwealth im the matter of industrial jurisdiction. With the exception of the first, the other two, and practically all minor matters, were shelved.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.