COMMONWEALTH POLITICS.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2580, 14 August 1909, Page 5

COMMONWEALTH POLITICS.

THE FEDERAL BUDGET. SYDNEY NEWSPAPER COMMENTS United Piiess Association —Cotyuight. { SYDNEY, August 13. " lit an article the “Sydney Morning Herald’’ states: “The Treasurer deals warily*) with the difficult financial situation. There is no proposal for extra taxation, hut that may come later. The Treasurer could have balanced his estiiriate'by a tax on tea. By the issuer of Treasury bills a loan policy may be said to have been inaugurated. The budget is the preliminary to a larger budget which he said would depend on the Premier’s conference.”

The “Telegraph” states: “The budget contains matter for some very hard thinking by both Federal and State Legislatures, which will depend on how the readjustments of the financial relations between the States and Commonwealth are viewed by the Premiers’ conference.”

ITEMS OF EXPENSE. THE AMERICAN FLEET AND THE PACIFIC CABLE. / MELBOURNE, August 13. The cost of the Federal Government’s entertaining of the American Fleet was £31,461. The Commonwealth’s share of' the estimated loss on tho current year on the Pacific cable is £20,000. A sum of £IO,OOO will be provided to establish wireless telegraph stations.

THE FEDERAL PARLIAMENT.

AN ADJOURNMENT.

(Received,, August 14, 1.15 a.m.) MELBOURNE, August 13.

The House of Representatives after a short discussion on the budget .adjourned the debate and the House to August 25th, to enable Mr v Deakin to attend the Premier’s Conference. The Senate similarly adjourned. THE STATE PREMIERS’ CONFERENCE. DELIBERATIONS PRIVATE. The State Governor opened the Premier’s Conference. His speech and those of Messrs Wado (Victoria) and Tvidst-on (Queensland) dealt with the importance of the deliberations, as the whole of Australia was waiting for £ solution of the financial problem. Mr. Murray was elected president. After the opening ceremonies, the conference dliberates in private.