1212 ADMINISTRATION AND LEGISLATION [PART V
which claimed the right to control the sea between Tasmania
and any part of the Australian continent.
It was admitted by the Attorney-General in the Upper
House that it might be possible to evade the provisions of
3. 2, and it is clear that s. 3 was inserted in the Bill as a means
of meeting evasions of s. 2. It is indeed obvious that the
provisions of s. 2 may be evaded ! by paying New Zealand
rates while engaged in trading from New Zealand to Australia,
but deducting from the total wages of the employees the
excess rates so paid.
In the case of discharges in Australia it is proposed by
the Dominion Government that the Australian Government
should secure that the crews should be properly paid in
accordance with New Zealand conditions, but in cases of
discharges abroad it was admitted that the law could be
evaded. On the other hand, the New Zealand Government
would enforce for the benefit of Australia similar provisions
made by Commonwealth legislation. How in every case this
was to be done was not stated, and is by no means obvious.
It also appeared from the Debate that a main object of
attack was the Peninsular and Oriental Steamship Company,
which at present has a steamship service to New Zealand.
These vessels, which trade from Australia to New Zealand,
do not seem ever to do coasting trade in New Zealand (if they
did it seems that they could avoid difficulties for the time
being by turning their Lascars into passengers and running
the ships with white crews, as is done by the Union Company
when they employ Lascars), but merely engage in trade
between Australia and New Zealand, and of course trade with
the United Kingdom and elsewhere. They compete, it seems,
effectively with the New Zealand Union line and the Austra-
ian Huddart-Parker line, and of course the rates of wages paid
to Lascars, and in addition the conditions under which Lascars
are carried, give them a real advantage in such competition.
This might be prevented for British vessels by Imperial legislation ;
of. the proposal of the Commonwealth at the Imperial Conference of 1911
in favour of legislation against conspiracy to evade the laws of one part of
the Empire by the other parts ; Parl. Pap., Cd. 5513; 5745, pp. 244-6,
