cHAP. VI] TRADE RELATIONS AND CURRENCY 1165
ment had intimated that they would be prepared to consider
favourably a general customs union for the whole of Australia
with an equitable division of the proceeds of importation,
but when the matter was discussed in a conference at
Melbourne in June 1870, it was found impossible to agree to
any such union, as New South Wales desired it to be on a
free-trade basis, and Victoria wanted it to be on a protection
basis. The conference, however, with the views of which
New Zealand and Queensland were in harmony, though not
present at the conference, were in favour of the right to
establish preferential duties inter se, while they definitely
repudiated any claim to be allowed to make treaties, and
asked only such privileges as have been given in the case of
the Canadian Provinces before federation, and as was accorded
in the Acts of 1867 regarding the transit of goods across the
Murray between New South Wales and Victoria. In the
papers sent home by the Governor of Tasmania on July 14,
1870, was a long minute by the Attorney-General of New
Zealand! who argued that there could be no insuperable
objection to an arrangement which had existed in the case of
Canada before federation under laws of 1859 and of 1866
of Canada, and c. 8 of the Revised Statutes of Nova Scotia,
and he pointed out that there was no treaty known to him
which bound countries to receive national treatment if one
Colony made concessions to another Colony, though the
Belgian treaty of 1862 forbade the Colonies to give prefer-
ence to the Mother Country. On October 272 the Governor
forwarded a copy of the inter-colonial free-trade Bill (No. 43),
which was admittedly ultra vires, but which it was desired
should be rendered legal by Imperial legislation. On
October 82 the Governor of South Australia sent home
a petition on the question from the Parliament asking for
the repeal of the provision against differential duties,
and the Parliament of New Zealand passed a Bill (No. 99)
for the purpose of authorizing reciprocity with the Aus
tralian Colonies.
! Parl. Pap., C. 576, pp. 39, 40.
* Ibid., p. 52.
1279-3
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