that the maximum commercial intercourse will follow. Given the 
maximum possible power of absorbing population in Australia her 
determination to remain the most British community in the world 
is sufficiently strong to secure that it will be from Great Britain 
that the flow of immigration will come. But if the desired con- 
ditions of Australian prosperity and power to absorb population 
are not present, artificial means of promoting trade with and 
migration from Great Britain must fail. We have no shortsighted 
idea of attempting to induce Australia to carry on more trade or to 
take more migrants from Great Britain at the cost of lasting 
economic sacrifice on her part. We believe that any such effort 
would be bound to defeat itself. We have, therefore, to consider 
whether there are any modifications of Australia’s financial and 
economic- practice, which, if adopted, might, by enhancing her 
own prosperity, conduce to the realization of the objects envisaged 
bv our terms of reference. 
PART II. 
MAIN PROBLEMS. 
7. We turn first to Australian finance. Of this subject possibly 
the best general conspectus can be obtained by considering the 
extent of the combined Commonwealth and State budgets for a 
period of years. By this means it is possible to visualize the 
relation of Australia’s borrowing to her ordinary year to year 
revenue and expenditure. We therefore give in the following 
tables the revenue, expenditure, surpluses and deficits of Australia 
during the last six years, shown as a total, and per head of popula- 
tion. From these it appears that during that period Australia 
balanced her budget to within 0.73 per cent., and that the average 
annual deficit per head of population was 4s. 
Finance, 
revenue, anc 
expenditure. 
CONSOLIDATED REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE THEREFROM. 
COMMONWEALTH AND STATES COMBINED. 
I. Amount. 
Year ended 30th June. 
1921-22 
1922-23 
1923-24 
1924-25 
(925-26 
1998-97 
ose BY ooo 
es ae “ne 
aes ave sae 
arn ses are 
are oe ee 
Total for six years 
Revenue 
1 000.000. 
143.0 
45.7 
151.8 
60.3 
166.1 
(RO BH 
Q47 A 
Expenditure, 
£1.000.000. 
145.6 
144.8 
154.5 
160.2 
170.8 
78 8 
| O54 R 
Surplus, | Deficit, 
£1.000.000. £1.000 000 
2.6 
2.7 
; 
5 0 
70 
14Q9