New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-04-08
AUSTRALIAN Fedora TTON.

From the antipodes comes promise Of the most
lmposing and to the British Empire, most inn
portant event of the Queens great jubilee year
Australian federation. long desired and often
attempted Is apparently at last to become an
accomplished fact. The convention to which
was committed the task Of formulating a plan
Of union has finished It's labors apparently TO
the satisfaction of its members The funda
mental principles of federation were adopted
without one dissenting voice. They are similar
to those upon which the Dominion of Canada
is based The various colonies now existing are
to remain entirely autonomous in local affairs
Customs and excise and army and navy are to
be under Federal control There Is 10 he Fed
eral Parliament, consisting OF n Senate and
House of Representatives, together with Gov
ernor General appointed by the Crown and
Federal Supreme Court. Such are the broad
outlines of the scheme.
We have said attempts Mt federation have
been made before. They were at frs. made by
Ministers and Paraments and politicians, and
for that reason they failed. The present one
was undertaken by the people. 1t was about
four years ago that DR.. John Quick. lawyer
at BendgO, preached the plan Of effectlng fed
Grafton through convention elected by the
people for that purpose. Two years ago the
Prime Ministers Of the various colonies met at
Hobart and adopted this plan. Or five Of them
did. The Queensland Government would not
trust the people, but wanted the delegates TO the
convention TO be chosen by the lower house Of
the Colonial Parliament The upper house OBJ
iected, a deadlock ensued and that colony was
thus left altogether out of the movement. But
New South Wales Victoria. South Australia
West Australia and Tasmania each elected ten
delegates. and these met Mt Adelaide, the cap
ital OF South Australia. made Mr. Kingston. the
Prime Minister OF that colony their president
and did their work with the result recorded
above.
The Federal Constitution thus prepared will
now be laid before the Parllaments of the five
colonies. not for amendment ratification or re-
lection. but merely for discussion and criticism
Then the convention will reassemble and recon
slider il in the light OF such criticism. Then 1t
will be submitted 10 the people for adoption or
rejection at the polls, and finally it will be sent
by the Colonial Paraments TO the Queen for
the royal assent. That 1t will be pushed through
these various stages and become law before the
end of the year is highly probable. There Is
only one item in il which is likely 10 prove a
source of serious contention. That is the pro-
vision for a Federal Senate. The Radicals in
the various colonies are, of course in favor Of
no Senate at all, or OF one with little power.
Their ideal Of government Is q single popular
chamber like the French Revolutionary Con-
vention. The Moderates and Conservatives on
the other hand want a strong Senate, which
shall not only act as general balance TO the
House of Representatives, but shall be, like tie
Senate Of the United States, the repository and
conservator of State colonial rights. che
brief dispatches received do not indicate exactly
what the constitution and powers Of the Senate
are 10 be as proposed by the convention, but
there is reason to believe that conservative coun-
sells have prevailed and that there is 10 be a
Senate in which all colonies will have equal
representation and which will be equal in power
to the House Of Representatives.
This. as we have said will if consumma.ed
he the most important event Of the Jubilee year
1t will conduce 70 the solidarity of the British
Empire more than any other occurrence since
the formation of the Dominion of Canada As
the latter does, it will serve not only TO strength
en- the colonies themselves, but also vastly TO
strengthen the ties which unite them with the
mother country. Had the Canadian colonies re-
manned separate, there is little doubt that the
movemen. for secession from Great Britain and
annexation 10 the United States would have be-
come, in some of them at least far more formi-
dable than it is Australian federation may he
a step toward an ultimate independent United
States OF Australia. But that end is far off.
For the present, and for considerable future.
it will mean not only colonial federation. but
imperial federation; closer stronger and more
benetlcent union of the various members of the
worldwide Empire.