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THE OPENING CEREMONY.

. The second session of the fourth Pari fa.
ment of tiie Commonwealth of Australia;
was opened yesterday afternoon by this -
Governor-General at tlie Federal Parlia-
nient House with nil tiie customary formali.
ties. Tlie Governor-General was duly re-

ceil ea uy the speaker and President of tlio
two Houses at tiie entrance to Parliament'
House, whore the usual guard of tlio
R.A.A. -was stationed. lLadv Denmun,
having been accommodated with a seat in
one of tiie galleries of the Senate, wliiolt
were crowded with ladies and representa.
tives of the general life of tiie community,
the Governor-General proceeded to the
Senate Chamber, surrounded by a brilliant
stuff of fourteen officers and secretaries. On
ascending, the dais Lord Denman sum
moned tlie members of the House of Re.
presentatives. Owing to. the time taken
m reading, a proclamation in. their own
Chamber, the members of tlie House of
Representatives were quite five mimites be-
jore they obeyed the vice-regal command.
,i louses being jointly assembled,
the Governor-General read in a clear and '
-resonant voice the following speech; —
Gentlemen, — .
1. It is my pleasing duty, on this my!
nrst opportunity oE meeting with 'tie Par
liament, to congratulate the people on the, .
continued general prosperity of the Com-
momvcalth.
2. Important measures for the welfare of
tlie people of the Commonwealth will ."bo
submitted for your consideration. , . ,
.Giving to the absence ' of the Prime
Minister und his colleagues, . the Minister -.
tor External Affairs and - Minister of De- -
fence, at the Imperial Conference, and :
their attendance . in London with, the dele
gution from this Parliament specially in
vited to the Coronation of his Gracious
31ajesty King George Y., you have been
summoned somewhat later in the year than
usual. - . - -
4. The results achieved b'y the -Imperial ;
Conlerenco are of great importance to the
destinies of tlie United Kingdom and the
oversea Dominions. Matters of iptal mo
ment were discussed and settled in a' spirit
of freedom, trust and unity. The conference
emphasised tlie strong ties of kinship aihd
common ideals of the various -nations com
posing the Empire, and made for the main-,
tenange of peace. A notable feature and
marked advunee upon previous conferences
was the action of the British Government
in taking the oversea Dominions', represen
tatives into their full and unreserved confi
dence regarding their foreign policy. "The
naval agreement arrived at after confer
ence between Commonwealth representa
tives and 'the Admiralty is extremely;
satisfactory, embodying the policy formu
lated by the Government, and approved
by the people of the Commonwealth.
5. The general treaty of, arbitration, re
cently concluded between thc Governnieuta
of Great Britain anil the Lmteil States, ot
America, is hailed , with great satisfaetwn
as a step in the direction of the p'— loofiil
settlement of international disputes. Iho
renewal of the Anglo Japanese treaty for a
further period of ten years is an additional
guarantee of tlie world s peace.
S l ut vear the Prime 31mister visrted
South Africa as the. representative of tlio
Commonwealth at. the opening of the Par-
l'i .nVo if of tiie Union or South Africa, and
com'ewl to 'the people of that Dominion
the- cordial congratulations of Jus Parba-
inoiit Your representative was cordully
received by the Government and people oe
South Africa; and a resolution of the
Union Parliament expressing appreciation
of your action will be brought under '
notice. ... , .
7. Steady progress is being made in tlie
eoustriiciibn of the ships for the Australian
navy.
8. During tlie recess the system of uni
versal training under tlie Defence Act lias
been successfully inaugurated,' and the .
patriotic response by tlie youth of Aus
tralia to the call to prepare themselves
for the defence of their country is very
gratifying. ' \
9. In pursuance; of the policy approved
by this and previous Governments, pro
vision has been made for tlie manufacture
of small arms and cordite: and my ad
visers have further extended this policy to '
the erection of factories for the manufac-. .
ture of postal, naval, military and other,
departmental requirements.
10. The result of the operations of the .
Australian Notes Act is most satisfactory, -k- '
The question of amending the act in order
to extend its usefulness is receiving atten
tion.
11. On tljtp 1st of January last, in accord
ance with section 125. of the constitu- '
tion, and the note pasced by the Federal
Parliamenkjn pursuance thereof! the terri
tory- for the seat of Government of tlie
Commonwealth was acquired and posses
sion taken. Good progress has been made
with detailed surveys of the territory, and
frith roads/ and other preliminary works. .-

: competitive designs for tho laying out
' ' ruv. federal city hare been invited.
Uther works necessary for the. cetabliqh-
511-® i ? cty will be proceeded with
without delay. - _ :
I,. effect of the tariff upon Austra-
, Jinn industries is being carefully watched
ny my admers, with a view to revision
wherever the information obtained' by
them shown this to be necessary. ' 1
13. A bill will be submitted to provide
lor the establishment of a Commonwealth
, Aung, ana for n unifonn banking law.
.-bill ..will be introduced to amend
' y>c Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbi
tration Act 1904-1010 in several respects,
nnd especially to validate the registration
t certain organisations under tile net.
15. A bill to. provide for the constniotion
c 'J transcontinental railway, with a gauge
ot 4 feet 8% inches, connecting the' Weet-
crn Anstrahnn railway system with those
ot the eastern States, will be submitted
lor your early consideration.
.. 16. , Negotiations _ with the States are pro
ceeding for. a uniform railway gauge be
tween the capital cities of the mainland.
1'. On the 1st of. January last, in pur
suance of the acts passed hy the Common
wealth Parliament and the Parliament of
South Australia, the Northern Territory
was acquired and taken over as n territory
! of the Commonwealth. You will be. in
vited .to consider measures to provide for
the Government and development of the
territory.
18. A hill will be introduced to "provide
a uniform system of bankruptcy law mid
administration for the Commonwealth.
lp. A code of criminal , law; to deal sys
tematically with offences against the Com-
. monwealth, will be submitted for vour con
sideration.
20. Bills will be introduced to amend the
: acts - relating to trade marks and copy-
Tight. .
21. A measure will be submitted to deal
with the matter of compensation to the
States for the properties transferred to the
Commonwealth .in connection with' the
transferred departments.
22. My advisers have under considera
tion the establishment of reciprocal trade
jth 'New Zealand and Canada.
23. A bill to provide for compensation
.to seamen will be introduced.
24. It is intended before the session
closes .to pass the Navigation Bill through
its remaining stages.
23. The revenue from customs and excise
and from land tax exceeded the ' estimates.
The surplus waB placed fo trust funds for
invalid and old age pensions, tiiid ; for'the.
construction of the Australian fleet unit;
26. My advisers regret the result of the
referendum vote in Auril last. They arc
very strongly of the opinion that the ever-
increasing exactions of tlie trusts make an
extension of the constitutional powers of
the Commonwealth imperative.
27. The experience gained by the mem
bers of this Parliament who were enabled
to visit Papua during the .recess should
'prove of benefit in denling with the ques
tions relating to the development of that
territory.
28. You will be invited to consider bills
lor the amendment of the Electoral Act,
the Public Service Act, the Invhlid and
, Old Age Pensions Act, the Papua Act; and
to approve a readjustment of electorates
m accordance with the census returns, as
required by the constitution nnd 'provided
for by law.
29. The purchase of n site nnd the erec
tion of a suitable building in London for
tlie High Commissioner's office,.. and also
providing accommodation for the States,
is an urgent necessity. Proposals to that
cud will be submitted at an early date.
. 30. A bill will be introduced for the pur
pose of giving tlie public servants of the
Commonwealth the right to appeal to the
Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitra
tion Court. ,
31. The introduction of penny postage
throughout Australia on tlie 1st of May
last completed the true federation of the
postal services of the Commonwealth, and;
whilst involving a loss of revenue, will pro-
. vide greater compensating advantages. The
system lias also been extended to all parts
of the British Empire.
32. Consideration is being given to the
question of life, (ire, unemployment and
invalidity insurance.
33. The progressive tax on land values is
having a satisfactory effect on land settle
ment, and is attracting a desirable class of
'immigrants.
34.1 My advisers regret that no settlement
of the question of the- consolidation of
State debts has been arrived at. The mat
ter continues to engage the. most serious
consideration 'of the Government.
35. I leave you now to your important
duties, and earnestly hope .that, under
Divine' guidance, your deliberations mny
promote the welfare of the people of the
Commonwealth. .
The speech ended and copies having been
handed to the President of the Senate and
the Speaker of the House of Representa
tives, the Governor-General bowed to the
company and retired, thus concluding the
ceremony. The reading of the references
to the April referendum provoked a quite
noticeable smile on the faces of members of
the Opposition.
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