I had suggested that it would be well were the
Federal Unionists to consider their problem inductively as well as deductively, and to examine, for instance, how the produc- tion and consumption of copper would fare under their federal scheme. Mr. Curry implies that by so doing I am putting the cart before the horse, and asserts that it is " ludicrous to suggest that before advancing such an idea one should have determined in advance what the decisions (of the Federal Government) should be." Yet is it so very ludi- crous to ask a Federal Unionist how his plan would work out in practice? I will grant Mr. Curry that copper may be too small a detail to disturb his faith. But is immigration into Australia and New Zealand a small detail? Was it, in fact, impertinent to ask what happens if the Federal Government decide to people northern Australia with Germans or Japanese and if Australia and New Zealand refuse absolutely to accede to this demand? To ask such a question is, I suppose, to incur the charge of being " doctrinaire."
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