15 FEBRUARY 1890, Page 3

It is announced by telegraph that the Conference appointed to

consider the question of Australian Federation has unani- mously. accepted- Sir H. Parkes's proposal in favour of that measure. The great importance of this news consists in the fact that the Conference must have rejected proposals for ti mere development of the existing Council, with very limited powers, and for a Union restricted to military ends, and have decided for a true Federal Government of some kind,—that is, in fact, tq make Australia a nation. The kind of government is still undecided, but the tendency at present is to a rather unwise "particularism," as it is called in Germany. That, however, will disappear with the first symptom of danger, external or internal.