Commonwealth and State
The intransigence of Mr. Lang, the Labour Premier of New South Wales, has brought about a very shMp conflict between the Commonwealth and the • State. The Federal Parliament, recently elected with a full mandate to clear up Australia's finances, has authbrized Mr. Lyons' Ministry to enforce the payment by New South Wales of the interest on which it has defaulted, to the amount of about £1,800,000. Mr. Lang appealed to the High Court, but the judges held that the Federal Act was valid. He has now definitely refused to pay. The Commonwealth Government ' has ordered that income tax and the revenue from the railways, the betting and other taxes are to be paid direct to the Federal authorities, and has required the banks 'holding New South Wales money to remit it to the Common. wealth. Mi. • Lang, for his part, has closed the incOme
tax offices and directed that the railway revenue is not to be paid into the banks, and has apparently gained the support of the railwaymen's union. It is difficult to see how the Commonwealth Government can now avoid extreme measures against the insurgent Premier, for it cannot permit itself to be flouted by a single State, whose present Ministry depends on the extremeLabour vote.
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