Mr. Reid, the Federal Premier, took part in the debate
on Mr. Deakin's Preferential Resolution in the Australian House of Representatives on Tuesday, and made a speech full of im- portant admissions. Thus he observed that the Government could not speak with a united voice on the subject, and he did not intend to do more than express his own views. He foresaw the difficulty of extending their exchanges with the Mother- land and at the same time protecting their own productions. He also pointed out that the experience of Labour in the United Kingdom was different from that of Labour in Australia, and that a mistake would mean more to the poor in Britain than there. On the question of Imperial defence and its increasing cost Mr. Reid spoke with great frankness. He did not wonder at the Motherland's looking to her children for help. "We are bound," he added, "to look our responsi- bilities to the Empire in the face. We must not forget that the only thing between us and invasion is the British Fleet. We should not, however, mix such feeling with the desire of making a bargain. The question is what we are prepared to give in exchange for the British market. If we have nothing to give, we are face to face with a spectacle which does not command admiration."
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