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Crs
ollie (lust gUisiraímit.
VIGILANS ET AUDAX.
PERTH, MONDAY, MARCH 14, 1898.
Two matters discussed by the
Premiers' conference which have a
particular interest for West Australia
at this moment were federal quarantine
and an alternative cable service.
The case of the French steamer Caledonien
and that of the s.s. Sultan
have of late drawn particular attention
to the subject of quarantine,
although, the first only has been considered
from a federal aspect. It undoubtedly
illustrated the ineptitude of
the Australian quarantine regulations.
The steamer called at Albany, the
first Australian port of call after her
long voyage, and thence proceeded to
Sydney, touching in all at four Australian
ports and distributing and collecting
passengers at three of them,
only to be quarantined on arrival at
Port Jackson. When she reached Adelaide
symptoms of small-pox were discovered
and eight of the crew and the
patients were segregated. Still she
proceeded on her way. At Melbourne
she was fumigated, and,
as there was only one passenger
left on board for that port, an effort
was made to induce him to go on with
the vessel to Sydney. It was pointed
out with much force at the time that
this meant that, although passengers
had been subjected to three were Ice'
detention at the terminal point where
the health authorities could lay
hands on them, and though it was
professedly done to avoid the risk of
introducing plague, yet other passengers
were allowed to land and
import whatever else may have
existed into every port touched at,
while overland passengers from Adelaide
and Melbourne carried the same
risk into Sydney with them.
Obviously what is wanted is a
system of quarantine which would
render such an occurrence impossible.
There should be rigid inspection at
the first port of call, and if smallpox
be discovered all passengers and the
vessel itself should be subject to strict
quarantine straight away. If no
infectious disease be found at the
first, but at some intermediate stopping
place, then the quarantine should
be exacted at that point. Such a 333
tem, however, could only be enforced
with the concurrence and co-opera-
tion of all the colonies, and possibly
it is to an arrangement akin to this
that the Premiers' Conference has
agreed. Anyway that body has
decided that the quarantine agreement
submitted by the Queensland
Government be approved by the Government
of New South Wales, Victoria,
South Australia, Queensland
and Western Australia, subject to
any necessary modifications. The
Premier of Tasmania undertook to
try to induce New Zealand to join
the understanding being that in that
event Auckland and Hobart would
be made the federal quarantine stations
for New Zealand and Tasmania
respectively. The conditional support
of Tasmania is easily understood. It
is only right that the " tight little
island " should be protected as much
as possible from risk of contagion
through vessels coming from South
America, a notorious centre of yellow
fever and other infectious diseases,
and the provision of strict quarantine
at Auckland, as the first port of call
for those vessels, would materially
contribute to that end. As to
the terms of the Queensland agreement,
we are so far left completely in
the dark. It may at least be assumed
that it provides for federal quarantine
stations at both Albany, the first
port of call for European boats, and
Thursday Island, which stands in the
same relationship as regards vessels
trading to Eastern Australian ports
from the Far East. While this should
minimise the danger of the importa-
tion of some of the worst disease
pests of the earth, it is. equally plain
that any arrangement entered into
must take into account such a con-
tingency as that afforded by the case
of the Caledonien. If an infected
vessel escape quarantine by any
means whatever at the first port,
there should always be the prospect of
its being subject to the ordeal at the
next or any other intermediate port
touched at This desirable state of
affairs can only be attained by an
efficiently maintained system throughout
and if this is to be brought
about it is clear that the separate
colonies must bear their fair proportion
of the cost.
Concerning the alternative cable
service, it seems doubtful whether
the desires of the majority of the
Premiers will be realised. Conditional
upon the mother country and Canada
contributing two-thirds of the cost
the representatives of New South
Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania
expressed themselves in favour
of the Pacific cable proposal. Mr.
Kingston and Sir Jonxr Forrest, on
the other hand, preferred the Cape
route, stopping at Albany or Fremantle.
It is noteworthy that the
press of Victoria has unanimously
and emphatically declared on the
same side. Nor is this to be
wondered at. The "all red" line,
as it is called, would run through
exclusively owned. British territory,
would be a deep sea service, and
could apparently be built much
quicker than the other. While much
diplomacy would have to be exercised
before the Pacific project could be
inaugurated, the Eastern Extension
Telegraph Company has made a definite
offer to construct the Cape cable.
Then there is also the consideration
that given good seasons and direct
telegraphic and shipping facilities,
Australia has every prospect of enormously
increasing her trade with the
Cape in grain, flour, and frozen and
preserved meats. Now the Rand
takes large quantities of timber for its
mines from America, but were the
facilities of communication improved
Western Australia would stand a
good chance of supplying much of
that commodity. There is another
point for deliberation. in 1872
South Australia completed the Port
Darwin line, a most important link in
the existing cable service, at a cost of
over half a million sterling, and has
not nearly yet been recouped for her
outlay. It was admitted by the conference
that whether the one alternative
scheme or the other were
accepted fair consideration should be
given to South Australia in view of
this heavy expenditure. On this
ground also it would, therefore, seem
that all the argument is in favour of
the Cape service, because as with
the establishment of this cable
messages for the Eastern colonies
would still have to pass over South
Australian owned lines, the consideration
allowed for the diversion
of business from the Port Darwin
line would not have to be so great.
It is open to grave doubt whether it
would be wise to hand over in accordance
with the request of the Eastern
Extension Telegraph Company, as a
condition to the carrying out of the
project, the sole control of the Australian
cable system with the outside
world for another twenty years. That,
however, is a matter for negotiation,
and apart from it there appears to be
no doubt whatever as to the relative
merits of the two schemes.
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