The Hawaiian gazette., 1893-11-14
SIR HENRY PARKES' LECTURE
on TGE ISSUE.
RoiSIus the Flag ar the Next
Election.

I, RoCkGale town hall last night OF
! Some new lights on Australian
r Federation" says the Sydney Sta
OF October Eth:
He said that the support given t,
federation by legislatures and by tn,
people had been overwhelmingly con
elusive as TO its deSirability. Hear
hear The time had come when III,
people must divide themselves int
Two camps. the camp of union and the
camp OF disunion and discomfort
Hear, hear There was no middle
course. Their. was no portion of thi;
question which could be considered Is
no mans land. Hear. hear.) The five
/ colonies on the continent existed un'
der conditions SIS foreign TO one ano-
ther as France TO Belgium. You could
not move from one TO another without
being treated as 8 foreigner, just SIS
you would be If you passed from
France TO Germany. If this state of
things was so irritating, so unsatis-
factory, so calculated TO engender ILL.,
feeling now, what would il be in ten
years time? Would it not lead TO re-
Z
the borders were crying out for pro-
lection, not because they believed in
protection, but because they wanted
retaliation against the residents of the
! adjoining colony. Hear, hear He
could not imagine how this was to go
I on for another decade without its pro-
/ ducing the most lamentable results.
| BY becoming united the colonies
I would Immediately abolish these bor-
( der custom houses, and there would be
entire and immediate free trade from
one end of Australia to the other
Cheers The Australian states would
then have to find other means of tax
alton, and the provincial fiscal huck-
sters, whether on the free trade or on
the proteetionist side, would lose their
calling, lose their field of operations.
The States would accordingly have to
resort TO direct taxation for their rev.
enueS. (Cheers.) 1t was most incon-
sistent for man to advocate provin-
cial protection and federation. The
two things were incompatible. At the
same time he could not understand
the free trader who was opposed TO
federation. What could he mean by
it unless it was hostility to the adjoin-
ing colonies? Federation would mean
an extension, not 8 limitation, of the
free trade principle. He could not see
why this federal council could not
come into existence within two years
from the present time. Though the
work had been suspended, 1t was still
half accomplished, and the delay
would be no discOuragement TO those |
who were enthusiastic in the cause. |
If ii was exempt from false friends |
and other stumbling blocks, there was
no cause which would be more favored |
than this. 1t could be taken up in the |
next election, which would be upon |
the country Immediately. Cheers |
And beyond all manner Of question |
there was no real obstacle to its speedy |
and complete realization. One of the |
things which must take place in the
immediate future was the division of
Australia into ten colonies, or states,
instead of five. West Australia,
Queensland, and South Australia, for
example, could not continue as they
were. There must come q time when
each of them would be divided into two
colonies. Under federation the Aus
tralian government would have the |
chief voice in that division, because
the imperial authorities would have
but welcome for any act de-
sired BY united Australia. Instead,
therefore, of the partition being under
taken from the seat of government of
the empire, it would be carried out by
the government representing all Aus
and il could never be prop
erly done by anybody but central
government. Surprising
West Australia were divided, the fed
eral government could found towns,
could give an impetus TO the settle
ment OF population, could point out
where the nucleus of settlement could
take place in q more efficient manner, |
3 more effective and authoritative
than any other authority that
could be conceived. No one OF the
could do it so well, not
even the government of West Austria
liza. There was also the question of
defense. He had no sympathy with
those hare-brained men who thought
it waste of money to maintain SOL
diers. Depend upon it, it was a much
sounder maxim that q country not
worth fighting for was not worth
llNlug luJ anu uepclu upon III AUS
tralia must be prepared to take her
share in the hostilities of the world.
Within q very short period that might
be not possibility but reality. Did
not they think that the five great
powers of Europe, with 1905, goo of
armed men, might think Of some
other means of settling their differ
ences than by the sword? Within ten
years great efforts would probably be
made to settle these differences
by some form of international
arbitration. In any great counsel
of nations for such purpose federated
could be represented, but it
could never be represented if it still
q group Of separate coun-
tries. Alien races could be excluded
only by a federal government. 1t was
only federal government also which
could preserve and maintain our trade
and political relations with the South
Sea Islands. What they must do was
to try to rise to an altitude from which
they could see the future which was
coming upon Australia. Hitherto
each colony had had little regard to
the feelings Of its neighbors. He had