Mi' Setidon's scheme for prcferenHi rade with the Mother Cou t y a og.t had „„,ch to commend t to these colonies, has been fated to failure. The cause of failure was JJlueto, the ieploSffstaS o/the finances of the States of th Commonwealth, and Sir E Bar on made this plain when he'waS ™edonthe subject. £. at nt •"? Without the ""ties watare levied on imported goods whether they are British or Germ ' I French or American. The fmanch V«*m 0I Australia ha bnS Jfin the path of Mr i n e J e f * M .certainly the indisposition of Gieat Britain to depart from her traditional policy of frcetraae but t was felt that this might have in nnothcr way But how it might be asked, was the New Zealand Government, any 2 than the Commonwealth, J carry on without the financial assistance it re ived from duties levied on British goods ? Our Customs duties roughly, return us two millions a year, and two-thirds of this sum is' !K J r „T British gO0(k How did Mr Seddon propose to dispense wi h his revenue? If dispensed with at all he must necessarily raise it by other means, for the finances of the colony arc ndt elastic enough to allow us to >rego a, mil lion and a half of revenue a year without raising a similar/ amount by some other forms of taxation. If it was taken off the Customs it must be put on the land, on incomes' stamps, or something cjse. We are in no better position than Australia to deal magnanimously, with the Mother Country; indeed, we raise more through the Cnstoms than m of the Australian States. Mr Scd don has never yet elaborated his plan of action, and it sesms to us in the light of the information that Has been vouchsafed us, that Sir Edmund Barton's objection is one that Mr Seddon could reasonably have rai cd himself. Wc can no more give away our Customs' it. venue! than can thi noorest of t,he Australian States, ft is at the pre sent time the life-blood of the cimn try. However, the British Uovern ment, following the example of France and Germany, propose to : meet the difficulty by a .system of ■ bounties'and subsidies. 