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THE COMMON RULE CLAUSE.
DEPUTATION TO THE PRIME MIN-
ISTER.
A PROTEST FROM WESTERN AUS-
TRALIA.
Melbourne, February 16.
The Prim© Minister to-day received a
deputation of Western Australian mem-
bers of Parliament with regard to the
Common Hule clause in thc Conciliation
and Arbitration Bill. Mr. Fowler in-
troduced the deputation, which consist-
ed of Messrs. De Larne, Henderson,
Croft. Smith, Fowler Fraser, Mahon,
and Carpenter. Sir John Forrest was
also present. Mr. Fowler explained that
the object of the deputation was to
show why, pending the construction of
the trans-Australian railway, the Com-
mon Rule, which would include all
oversea vessels trading on the Austra-
lian coast, should not apply to voyages
between Fremantle and Adelaide and
vice versa. Uniform conditions should,
ho contended, prevail before a uniform
law was established. He laid stress up-
on the isolation of Western Australia,
aud on its dependence upon «hipping for
communication with the eastern portion
of the Commonwealth.
Mr. Smith expressed concurrence in
Mr. Fowler's views.
Mr. Mahon stated that, while he was
desirous of following tho American prac-
tice, the conditions here were very differ-
ent, as there was no part of the United
States where 230,000 persons were iso-
lated, and were compelled to depend up-
on shipping as their sole means of com-
munication with their fellow-country-
men.
Mr. Deakin : You forget that th»
Americans who want to go from San
Francisco to New York must go around
Cape Horn on American ships.
Mr. Mahon replied that they had the
option of going by railway.
Mr. Deakin : The Americans have also
reserved the trade to Hawaii.
Mr. Mahon agreed that this was so,
and that they had also 'reserved the
trade to Puerto Rico ; but he contended
that the parallel was a bad one. It was
surely never intended to apply the same
rule to Western Australia as "to territo-
ries that were "held by force.
Messrs. Henderson, De Largic, Car-
penter) and Fraser followed on the same
lines.
Mr. Deakin asked if the exemption
that was desired was to apply merely to
voyages from Adelaide to Fremantle aud
vice versa.
Mr. Smith said he thought that it
should apply to all ships including ocean
tramps, but the deputation generally
expressed itself not in a position to say
if stich an exemption as mentioned by
the Prime Minister would suffice.
Mr. Deakin replied that a great deal
would depend upon thc postal tenders
that would be considered by the Cabinet
to-morrow. There was a possibility of
there being au agreement in oue of those
tenders to pay tho Australian rates of
wages. He did not say that this was so,
but that it was possible; and if such a
condition were agreed to, it would be
unfair to allow other lines to pay less
wages. Was it, he asked, suggested that
the exemption should apply only to Im-
perial ships?
In reply to this, ii was contended that
the exemption ought to .apply to ail
«hips, irrespective of nationality, or,
otherwise, the line of vessels that first
made use of Fremantle, being a foreign
one, would be placed nt a disadvantage.
Mr. Deakin said, in conclusion, that
an allusion to tbéproposed trans-Austra-
lian railway would bc found in the Go-
vernor-General's Speech at the opening
of the new Parliament. He would care-
fully consider the représentations that
had been made, and would lay them be-
beré the Cabinet.
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