CABLE NEWS

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2405, 21 January 1909, Page 5

CABLE NEWS

a less difficult task than that Canada had successfully accomplished; .of blending, two great nationalities into th© same people. Australia thought that th© advent of federation meant, the millenium, and th© considerable minority who opposed federation not unnaturally made themselves heard when the Commonwealth was first confronted by some temporary difficulty. Doubtless the Federal constitution contained some ambiguities respecting the relative rights of the States and Commonwealth. If the millenium had not arrived yet, very great material beuefits had already accrued to Australia from federation. Ilie great mass of quiet country voters appreciated very deeply the removal of the barriers to free interstate commerce,, and would not readily assent to the re-establishment of any such draw-backs. Peopl e every year- were getting more used to the new state of affairs. It must be remembered, however, that there was a highly-respected High Court, authoritatively entrusted with the task of defining the respective rights of States and Commonwealth, He, _ therefore, looked forward without ,a , shadow or shade of apprehension to the continuity of the Federal system. Australia’s greatest difficulty was the necessity of increasing her population. No doubt occasional mistakes of over-zealous officials in regard to immigration had created prejudice, hut anything in the nature of a fixed desire to exclude from the Commonwealth men able to sustain themselves by their labor had never existed. Australians had unemployable of their own, and were not prepared to import them from the Old Country. Regarding colored immigrants, Britishers would do well to consider _that from the Australian equally with the British standpoint. There was a physical impossibility of THE ASIATIC QUESTION—AUSTRALIA’S DANGER.

Britain being swamped by colored laborers, but Australia was differently placed regarding the Asiatic. Therefore it was quite conceivable from the Australian standpoint that unless Australians rigidly secured themselves against the possibility of being swamped by Asiatic labor, they might be confronted -by a prooiem even more serious than the great negro question in the United States. Much depended on Australia’s ability to. populate the huge Northern Territory with whites. He hesitated to pronounce a definite opinion, but lie believed it possible that the steady, sober, careful white man could colonise for a time that great tropical land, but it was a very serious matter how far the climate was suitable for women and children, and whether we could hope that in the course of generations a healthy virile race could continue to live and breed in such a climate. At present there were only 2000 whites in half a million, square miles of country. It was impossible to hope or wish that to indefinitely continue. Evidently the settlement of the Northern territory was one of the greatest questions confronting Australia. We . must remember that if, instead of cordial friendship, we were on bad terms with China or Japan, it would be possible for an Asiatic force t-o seize Port Darwin and march southward at its leisure. It would be impossible for five millions of Europeans, no matter how hardy, to defend and develop a continent threefold the size of Europe. They were neither numerically nor financially able to do it, and must rely for a considerable time on the aid of the Motherland in time of need. The Empire’s resources were not illimitable, and, with a world-wide Empire, Britain, might be called on to make great sacrifices in all parts of the globe. The amount of aid Australia- could expect from the Motherland was necesarilv limited, and Australia must largely depend on herself for defence. Whilst unable at present to contribute very materially in men and money to that defence, she can render great service to the Empire and herself by co-operating vigorously in a liberal policy of immigration, which would return to the British dominions numbers of people now diverted to foreign countries. -