11 SEPTEMBER 1926, Page 3

We gather that Australian thought on Mr. Bruce's latest proposals

has been confused. Voting was com- pulsory, and many persons, though they voted to escape a penalty, hardly knew what they were voting about. People in this frame of mind are usually cautious ; that is to say, they vote against every proposed change. Again, the States in Australia are almost as jealous of the encroachments of Federal power as the States of America are in like circumstances. The voting cut right across the ordinary party lines. The disadvantage of such a Referendum as has been held in Australia is that the issue is rather vague. If the Referendum were intro- duced in this country, as we hope it will be, it ought to apply only to Parliamentary Bills which have passed through all their stages.

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