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FEDERAL PARLIAMENT.
THE SENATE.
Wednesday, 14th May.
The PRESIDENT took the chair at 2.30.
THE MARTINIQUE CALAMITY.
The VICE-PRESIDENT of the EXE
CUTIVE COUNCIL informed Senator
Pulsford that the Acting Premier had sent
a massage expressing deep sympathy with
Prance in respect to the Martinique cala
mity.
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS.
The VICE-PRESIDENT of the EXE
CUTIVE COUNCIL stated, in answer to
Senator Nedld, that there was no. reason
to believe that there was any foundation
for the statement that the Italian Govern
ment was about to take possession of an
island in Australian waters for ‘the pur
pose of establishing a penal settlement.
The POSTMASTER-GENERAL inform
ed Senator Higgs that thj. Prettpier had
suggested a temporary- arrangement for
uniform cable rates, hut that it was Con
sidered that it would not.be wise to con
sult Parliament before entering into an
agreement with the Eastern Extension
Company, in vde(w of the uncertainty of
the (time when the matter would be dealt
with.
LEAVE OP ABSENCE.
The POSTMASTER-GENERAL moved
that leave of absence for thd remainder
of the session be granted to Senator Lieu
tenant-Colonel Cameron, on account of
urgent public business.
The motion was agreed to.
THE TARIFF.
Sauator PEARCE resumed the debate
on the second reading of the Customs
Tariff Bill. .He said he was not a revenue
tariffist, but a freetrader, and prepared
to go straight out to raise revenue by di
rect taxation. If they were to accept pro
tection in a modified form they would be
starting on the road which led to high
duties. He pointed out tfiat Mr G. H.
Reid, who had .been slightingly spoken of,
remitted £300,000 worth of Customs du
ties, and imposed a tax on land values.
It isOemed 'to him that direct .taxation was
the most wise and equitable form of taxa
tion, and that the adoption of a protective
policy would buil'd up vested interests,
and create a body of workmen who would
combine and clamor for the continuance
and extension of protection. He recognis
ed that the poverty and destitution which
prevailed throughout the world was not
due t o the existence or absence of Customs
duties, and he did not thank that the af
fairs of the Commonwealth would be sat
isfactory under either protection or free
trade, unless there were wise industrial
laws. In an article by Robert Blackford,
in the ‘’Clarion,” he said that by far the
ugliest sign of the times was the stealthy
utterance of the words protection and
conscription, words of abomination and
desolation, which, if openly spoken, would
be resented by people as an insult. He
attributed the collapse of the land boom
to the feverish activity wlhieh resulted
from the adoption of a protective policy.
He -had to leave South
he was unable to gat work, owing to a pro
tective duty on doors and sashes, and
South Australia had been stagnant ever
since.
Senator PLAYFORD We overbuilt
ourselves, as in Victoria.
Senator PEARCE The same cause,
same effect. There was always the fear
that high duties would injure industries,
and this had been the ease with the wool
len mill industry. It was a significant
fact that 50 per cant, of the population of
West Australia were Victorians, and a
protectionist would not be found amongst
them. He referred to the sweated condi
tion of people in many Victorian indus
tries, ‘as disclosed by the report of the
organising committee of the Trades’ Hall.
This was long after-the establishment of
Wages Boards. The downfall of Victoria
had been much minimised by aid from
West Australia. In ten years money or
ders were sent from West Australia to
Victoria to the amount of £1,529,545,
whilst the amount sent -to Now South
Wales in ithe same period was £704,664.
As to the views of the English labor and
socialist leaders, he thought they would
be -sufficiently intelligent to advocate pro
tection if they thought it would be foi
the benefit of the working classes. He
instituted a comparison between the pric
es ruling for necessary articles of food in
London and Paris, and showed they were
-vary much higher in the French capital.
He regarded progress in social reform as
an important criterion of progress. He
found that the membership of trades
unions was as follows: Great Britain,
2.000. United States, 1,603,000; Ger
many, 1,000,000; France, 600,000; Austria,
160.000.
Senator STYLES—Don’t you think na
tionality has something to do with it?
Senator PEARCE said it had been al
leged that the United States was largely
populated from Great' Britain, and she
ought to have 4,000,000. He quoted a re
port of the Board of Trade to show that
-in the United Kingdom there had been an
increase of wages and a decrease of hours.
In 1901 there were 961 new labor organisa
tions formed in the United Kipgdom, and
in December of that year there were' 4.6'
members of trades unions unemployed,
whilst in France there were 10 per cent,
unemployed. In the United States in
1897 there were 18 per cent, of the mem
bers of unions unemployed, and in the
textile and glass working industries 38
and 34 ■ respectively were unemployed.
There had been a steady industrial pro
gress in Great. Britain as compared with
Continental countries,'whilst the figures
which had been quoted as to British pau
perism seemed unfavorable, he would re
mind the House that there was no such
efficient poor law anywhere as in Great
Britain. In 1849 the last of the protec
tionist years, the estimated number of
paupers, was 62.7 per 1000, whilst in 1901
the rate was 24_.3 per 1000. Had the same
rate been kept up in 1901 the number of
paupers would have-been 2,012,000. As to
the relative condition of -America and
England, he quoted statistics- showing
that in 1894 the density of population was
334,080 per square mile in New --ork,
whilst in -the densest portion of London it
'tlid not exceed 175,000. He also Tead ex
tracts from a work drawing an appalling
picture of the : destitution .misery, and
sweating prevailing in New York., The
death rate of New York was 26.47, and of
London 21.3. "Whilst New South Wales
had some natural advantages as' com
pared with Victoria,' he" pointed out that
the gold yield of New South Wales up to
1900 was valued ■ at' £48,740,533, whilst in
Victoria gold to the value of £257,386,448
had been raised. This was the loadstone
which attracted'' population to Victoria.
In 1891 the primary producers were as fol
lows-; New South' Wales, 128,206; Vic
toria, 123,996; 'but the " distributors -or
, middlemen were as.follows:—New South
Wales, 85,506; Victoria,' 98,472. In'lB9B
the imports into 'New. South Wales were
£lB'6s 5d per head; whereas in Victoria
they were £l4 5s lid; but the exports per
head! were:—New'South Wales, £3O; 'Vic
toria, £l3. As to the alleged-tendency of
Great Britain in the direction of free
trader he referred to the fact that the re
sult of the : last; election in "the "United:
Kingdom- did not bear -out that view.
There were also, on the authority- of the'
speaker,- indications that" America- was
adopting free trade.' As to the competi
tion by the products, of. cheap, labor with
Australian articles, he pointed out that
in 1898 importe came as_fqllows:—-United
States, 34.76; Australian States, includ-v
ing New 'Zealand, ,49.87; other countries,"
15.87.. This, he thought, disposed of the
bogey of colored-labor competition,'ahd
but. for that-bogey he did not think that
protection would have had so many de
fenders. -
-The VICE - PRESIDENT-- "of • the
- EXECUTIVE. COUNCIL—Japan - has nok
yet begun to compete.• - - -v; - -
■ - Sertator PEARCE went-on to-institute
-comparisons between .the. cost -of- French
and- English- battleships,'. amL showed' that
the former had been more expensive, thus:
indicating .that cheap wages did not mean
.cheap production. ' A remark'able.fact'
pointed 'outebyr one ...writer"-.was - } that" iii"
Massachusetts, where economy.was ;an fex
;act '.science;-, the .average wages-earned'bys!
thelrnot bpferatives''were £3,periweekyAnd7
■ the labor per" p'air cost Is Bdh In German"
- workshops the. average wage "wa s i Rs ■■■:■ and ■'
the labor cost, per pair, 2s sd. Whilst
recognising that free trade would benefit
the great primary industries of Australia
which were the body and head of the Com
monwealth, he held that, protection would
hamper those industries.. Was West Aus
tralia to be debarred from getting the best
and most up to date mining and agricul
tural machinery by being limited to Aus
tralia?- Injury, to these industries "meant
injury to the manufacturing industries,
-He would vote for revenue in preference
to protective duties, though he would'sup
port free trade with, direct taxation," if
that were feasible.
Senator ZEAL thought the comparisons
which had been so freely made through
out the debate were valueless, unless all
the conditions were taken into considera
tion. He believed a good deal •of the
apparent prosperity of New South Wales
was due to the reckless extravagance there.'
He agreed that if Great' Britain • had
not gone back, her progress had not been
equal to that of other countries.
Senator CHARLESTON, S.A., spoke on'
freetrade lines, contending that the true
policy of Australia was* the development
of her great national industries, and that
the experience of New South Wales was tCn
answer to the contention t£iat ; protective
duties were necessary to the establishment
of secondary industries.
Senator CLEMONS, T., contended that
the tariff did not give effect to the Mait
land manifesto, and his party!; would not
relax their efforts to bring it into har
mony with what was expected by lie
people. He urged that the financial ne
cessities of Tasmania and Queensland
might be aided by taxing narcotics end
stimulants to their fullest extent.
Senator KEATING, T., held that the
tariff should be framed with the object of
making the Commonwealth an industrial
nation, and that .the matter must not be
looked at only from the standpoint of the
tax-gatherer.
The debate was adjourned, nod the
House rose.
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