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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Australasian Democracy, by Henry de R. Walker
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Australasian Democracy
+
+Author: Henry de R. Walker
+
+Release Date: January 8, 2011 [EBook #34887]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AUSTRALASIAN DEMOCRACY ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Al Haines
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+AUSTRALASIAN DEMOCRACY
+
+
+BY
+
+HENRY DE R. WALKER
+
+
+
+
+LONDON
+
+T. FISHER UNWIN
+
+PATERNOSTER SQUARE
+
+MDCCCXCVII
+
+
+
+
+[_All Rights reserved._]
+
+
+
+
+{vii}
+
+PREFACE
+
+The following pages have been written from the point of view of the
+year 1896, the greater part of which I spent in Australia.  During the
+earlier months of the present year I was in New Zealand, but I was
+unable to continue my survey of general Australasian affairs.
+
+A result of the limitation that I was compelled to impose upon myself
+will be observed in the apparent antiquity of the chapter dealing with
+Australian Federation; but this is not so great as might have been
+anticipated, the new Federal Convention having drafted a Bill which is
+based, to a large extent, upon that of 1891.  For purposes of
+comparison I have, with the kind permission of the London agents of the
+Melbourne _Argus_, included an article in which that newspaper has
+summarised the provisions of the new Federal Constitution Bill.
+
+I have also included a brief account of a visit to the Coolgardie
+goldfields which, though alien in purpose from the remaining chapters,
+may not be without interest as a record of personal impressions {viii}
+of a Province which has but recently felt the effects of a budding
+prosperity.
+
+It has been suggested to me that I should attempt to discuss
+Australasian problems with reference to their applicability to Great
+Britain; but I have preferred to leave this task, of which the
+importance cannot be overstated, to persons of greater experience, and
+to confine myself to a record of Australasian action and to a
+comparison of the points of similarity or the reverse between the
+several Provinces. It will be seen, however, that, in some cases, as
+when dealing, for instance, with the results of payment of members and
+with the powers and privileges of Australasian Upper Houses, I have
+noted differences of conditions which must render deductions by analogy
+a matter of extreme difficulty.
+
+The terms "Liberal" and "Conservative" are used to denote,
+respectively, the more and the less advanced parties in Australasian
+politics, and must not be taken to imply differences in opinion similar
+to those prevailing in Great Britain.
+
+In conclusion, I would only say that my studies would have been
+impossible in the absence of kindly communicativeness on the part of
+politicians of all shades of opinion; and, on the social side, that I
+retain warm feelings of gratitude towards the committees of clubs and
+numerous acquaintances who extended to me the cordial hospitality of
+kinship.
+
+
+H. DE R. WALKER.
+
+23, CORK STREET, W.,
+  _July 25, 1897_.
+
+
+
+
+{ix}
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+I.
+
+_LIBERALISM AND LABOUR IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA._
+
+                                                                  PAGE
+
+Contrast between Western Australia and the Eastern
+  Provinces--The Constitution of South Australia--The alliance
+  between Liberalism and Labour--Joint action in the face of
+  financial depression: Village Settlements, Progressive
+  Taxation, the direct encouragement of production--The
+  advocacy of an Elective Executive--The State and
+  Religious Instruction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     1
+
+
+II.
+
+_DEMOCRACY AND ITS SAFEGUARDS IN NEW SOUTH WALES._
+
+The necessity for safeguards against financial extravagance
+  and political pressure--The Crown Lands Act--The
+  appointment of independent Railway Commissioners--The
+  Standing Committee on Public Works--The Public Service
+  Board--The unemployed, their numbers and treatment--The
+  democratisation of the constitution--The Labour
+  Party, its history, successes and aspirations  . . . . . . . .    34
+
+
+{x}
+
+III.
+
+_PROBLEMS OF QUEENSLAND._
+
+The agitation of Central and Northern Queensland for
+  separation from the South--The "Kanaka" traffic--White and
+  coloured labour on the plantations--The Sugar Works
+  Guarantee Act--The irregularity of employment in the
+  sugar and pastoral industries--The conditions and opinions
+  of the shearers--Assistance to dairymen and producers
+  of frozen meat--The Labour Party, its history and
+  prospects--Criticisms of the Government--The principles of
+  State action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    54
+
+
+IV.
+
+_THE LAND POLICY OF NEW ZEALAND._
+
+Differences of conditions between Australia and New
+  Zealand--The Public Works policy--Taxation on land--The
+  Land Act of 1892--The Land for Settlements Acts--The
+  Government Advances to Settlers Acts--The encouragement of
+  settlement--The co-operative construction of Public
+  Works--The unemployed--Continuity of policy  . . . . . . . . .    82
+
+
+V.
+
+_CHARACTERISTICS OF VICTORIAN LEGISLATION._
+
+Comparisons between the Australasian Upper Houses--Conflicts
+  between the two Houses in Victoria--The proposed obviation
+  of deadlocks--The utility of the Legislative Council--The
+  antagonism between Town and Country--The Factory Acts, their
+  justification and provisions--State Socialism: Railways,
+  Irrigation Works, the encouragement of Mining, Subsidies
+  and Bonuses, State advances to Settlers--The Unemployed and
+  the Leongatha Labour Colony  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   121
+
+{xi}
+
+VI.
+
+_THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA._
+
+Constitutional history--The relations of Church and
+  State--Natural impediments to development--The construction
+  of railways--The scarcity of water--the promotion of
+  the mining and other industries--The absence of parties
+  in Parliament  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   156
+
+
+VII.
+
+_DISCURSIVE NOTES ON TASMANIA._
+
+The restriction of the immigration of coloured races--Betting
+  and lotteries--The adoption of a modification of Hare's
+  System of Voting--Conflicts between the two Houses of
+  Parliament--Finance and Taxation--Land Grant Railways  . . . .   170
+
+
+VIII.
+
+_FEMALE SUFFRAGE_  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   184
+
+
+IX.
+
+_THE EVOLUTION OF A FEDERAL GOVERNMENT_  . . . . . . . . . . . .   212
+
+
+X.
+
+_SALIENT FEATURES OF THE AUSTRALASIAN DEMOCRACY._
+
+Indirect effects of the discovery of gold--Causes of the
+  financial crisis--The origin and extent of State
+  Socialism--The thriftiness of the working classes--Labour
+  Representation in Parliament--Parliamentary Government--Direct
+  Taxation--Conciliation and Arbitration in Industrial
+  disputes--Protection and its corollaries--The feeling
+  towards Great Britain--General conclusions . . . . . . . . . .   244
+
+
+XI.
+
+_A VISIT TO THE COOLGARDIE GOLDFIELDS IN MARCH, 1896_  . . . . .   303
+
+
+INDEX  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   317
+
+
+
+
+{1}
+
+I
+
+_LIBERALISM AND LABOUR IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA_
+
+Contrast between Western Australia and the Eastern Provinces--The
+Constitution of South Australia--The alliance between Liberalism and
+Labour--Joint action in the face of financial depression: Village
+Settlements, Progressive Taxation, the direct encouragement of
+production--The advocacy of an Elective Executive--The State and
+Religious Instruction.
+
+
+The traveller who visited Western Australia in 1896 saw a country which
+was enjoying, owing to its goldfields, a phenomenally rapid
+development, with all its attendant advantages of a large increase in
+population, an expanding revenue, and abundance of employment.  As he
+passed to the Eastern Provinces he found himself in the midst of
+communities which had been shaken to their foundations by the fall in
+the value of their staple products and the collapse of many banking
+institutions, and were putting forth strenuous efforts to restore the
+equilibrium between revenue and expenditure and to make a fresh start
+upon the path of prosperity.  These efforts, varying in detail in
+different Provinces, have included the imposition {2} of additional
+taxation, provision for the unemployed, and, in some cases, direct
+encouragement of production.  The policy pursued by South Australia is
+of particular interest as her Constitution gives the freest play to
+democratic influences.
+
+The House of Assembly is elected on the basis of adult suffrage; the
+Upper House or Legislative Council by adults possessing a property
+qualification consisting of a freehold of the clear annual value of
+£50, a registered leasehold of £20, with three years to run or the
+right of purchase, or the occupation of a dwelling-house of the clear
+annual value of £25.  No property qualification is required in
+candidates for election to either House, and the Members of both Houses
+are paid at the rate of £200 per annum.  Adults, upon reaching the age
+of twenty-one in the case of the Assembly or possessing the requisite
+qualification in the case of the Council, can claim to be placed upon
+the electoral roll and are entitled to vote upon the expiration of six
+months after registration; upon removal to another constituency, the
+vote can immediately be transferred.  Plural voting is forbidden under
+heavy penalties, and all the elections, except that for the Northern
+Territory, take place upon the same day.
+
+These conditions have enabled the democratic element to obtain a
+preponderating voice in both Houses, by a majority of one in the
+Council and by a considerable majority in the Assembly.  During {3} the
+last three years the Government has been in the hands of the Liberals
+under the Hon. C. C. Kingston, who has included in his cabinet two
+former Premiers in the persons of the Treasurer, the Hon. F. W. Holder,
+and the Minister of Education and Agriculture, the Hon. Dr. Cockburn.
+The Ministerialists have had the support of the Labour Party, which has
+been very successful with its candidates and now holds the balance of
+power.  It was formed towards the close of the year 1890, after the
+failure of the maritime strike, in response to the feeling of the
+Trades Unions and other labour organisations that their objects would
+be obtained most easily by securing the direct representation of labour
+in Parliament.  They were influenced also by the rejection by the
+Assembly of Dr. Cockburn's proposals for progressive taxation in spite
+of promises made by a majority of the members before their election.  A
+political programme was, accordingly, drawn up, which is the accepted
+creed of the Labour representatives, who number six in the Council of
+twenty-four and twelve in the Assembly of fifty-four members.  It has
+successively been modified, as measures previously advocated have been
+passed into law, and contains the following principal items: The
+cessation of the alienation of Crown Lands by the substitution of some
+system of leasing; the remission of the duties on articles not grown or
+produced in the Colony, any resulting deficiency in the revenue to be
+made up by increasing the tax on {4} land values; redistribution of
+seats on the basis of population; the encouragement of local industries
+by the extension of the State Export Department, so that producers may
+be able to obtain the full benefit of foreign markets; and Federation
+on a democratic basis.  The Labour Party are opposed most strongly to
+the admission of coloured races and to assisted immigration, on the
+ground that the former would lower the status of the Australian
+workman, and the latter cause the supply of labour to exceed the demand
+and bring misery and destitution upon the poor.  The relations of the
+Labour and Liberal members, which have been most cordial, are based
+upon mutual interdependence.  The Liberals rely upon the support of the
+Labour members; the latter are not strong enough to take office, nor, I
+understand, do they wish to do so, and must support the Liberals in
+order to be able to mould the legislation to the shape that they
+desire.  A prominent member of the Labour Party has thus summarised the
+position: "The hardest work in connection with some of the measures has
+been done by Liberals who, though not members of the Party, are
+generally found working in connection with that body.  But it must be
+conceded that most of the planks which have been carried owe their
+early success to the fact of their adoption on the programme of the
+United Labour Party, and the persistent advocacy and solid votes of its
+members."  The policy of the Party has created a great {5} amount of
+bitterness in the country, their successful advocacy of progressive
+taxation on incomes and land values and of other democratic measures
+having led them to be charged with being inimical to capital as such;
+but the Speaker of the Assembly, who is a Conservative, has stated in a
+recent speech that, "in speaking of the Labour Party, he wishes to do
+so with the greatest respect.  They are a power in the House, and no
+Government could have retained office in the last Parliament without
+their support.  The Labour representatives were picked men, clever in
+debate, unremitting in attention to their duties, and a credit to the
+districts they represented."  The leader of the Party is Mr. J. A.
+McPherson, a native of Aberdeen, who migrated to Adelaide in 1882 and
+engaged in the printing trade.  He identified himself with Trades Union
+affairs, was elected unanimously in 1890 to be Secretary of the Trades
+and Labour Council, and still holds that position.  He entered the
+Assembly at a bye-election in 1892, and is regarded as one of the
+ablest and most energetic members of the Labour Party.  Mr. McPherson
+has a popular supporter in Mr. E. L. Batchelor, the colleague of the
+Premier in the representation of West Adelaide, who has risen from
+subordinate employment on the Government railways to be, at the age of
+thirty, President of the Railway Association and Secretary of the
+Party.  Mr. Batchelor is a man of broad views and a keen student, and
+has brought {6} forward a Bill for the institution of the initiative
+and referendum, which he considers to be suited to the small population
+of South Australia.  The Party are fortunate in their leading men and
+show no signs of cleavage, their only serious difference of opinion
+having been in regard to the qualifications of Labour candidates.  As
+long as solidarity can be maintained and the present leaders remain in
+the ascendant, no fear need be felt that they will subordinate the
+interests of the community to those of their own class, though they
+would be the first to admit that their main object is to protect the
+working man and to improve his position.
+
+The principal measures of the present Administration, such as the
+Taxation Acts and the establishment of the Village Settlements and of
+the Produce Export Department, may be said to be the joint product of
+the Liberal and Labour Parties, and may be regarded as an example of
+the policy pursued by a pure democracy in the face of financial
+depression, dislocation of trade, and widespread scarcity of employment.
+
+The object of the Act of 1893 which authorised the formation of Village
+Settlements was to prevent men of small means, who found difficulty in
+obtaining employment, from leaving the country by affording them the
+opportunity of settling upon the land and working it co-operatively
+with the assistance of advances from the State.  Its main provisions
+were, that any twenty or more persons {7} might form an association for
+the purpose of taking up a grant of land not exceeding 160 acres per
+head; that the work should be done under the direction of trustees
+appointed by members of the association from among their number, who
+should manage the affairs of the village upon principles of
+co-operation and equitable division; and that the Commissioner of Crown
+Lands might advance to any such association out of funds provided by
+Parliament, an amount not exceeding the sum of £50 for each villager
+and not exceeding one-half the cost of the improvements upon the land.
+The advances were to be repaid in ten equal annual instalments, with
+interest computed at 5 per cent. per annum on the moneys for the time
+being remaining unpaid; but the first of such instalments was not to be
+payable until after the expiration of three years from the date of the
+advance.  The formation of settlements on a purely communistic basis
+was rendered possible by Section 78 of the Act, which states that "the
+rules" (of an association) "may require payment to a common fund or
+otherwise as may be determined of all or any part of the earnings of
+the villagers whether earned within the village or elsewhere."  Twelve
+associations were formed, mostly on the banks of the Murray, between
+the months of February and August, 1894, but not, with a single
+exception, on the lines intended by the Government.  The extreme
+scarcity of employment and great poverty at Adelaide and in the
+neighbourhood in the early part of that year led them to form {8} the
+remainder of persons who were almost entirely destitute.  They were
+necessarily assisted at the start, but did not afterwards receive
+advances until the Government Inspector had certified that they were
+justified by the improvements made upon the land.  The action of the
+Government was illegal throughout, as the Act stated expressly that the
+advances should be made out of funds provided by Parliament, and no
+funds had been voted for the purpose, but it may be condoned on the
+ground of the extreme urgency of the crisis.  At the expiration of a
+year the limit had been reached in most cases, and further advances
+were indispensable to prevent the immediate collapse of the majority of
+the settlements.  The Commissioner of Crown Lands, accordingly,
+introduced a Bill in which he asked for authority to increase the
+advances, under the same conditions, to £100 per head, and for further
+powers of control over the settlements.  The Bill, which was hotly
+opposed, was not passed till a Select Committee had been appointed to
+inquire on the spot into the conditions and financial prospects of the
+settlements and had reported in its favour.
+
+The report, which was dated November 14, 1895, and the evidence upon
+which it was based, gave a complete picture of the disadvantages under
+which the settlers laboured and of the drawbacks of the system of
+distribution.  The land selected for the villages was such, it was
+pointed out, that it could not be cultivated except under irrigation.
+This had {9} necessitated the erection of a costly pumping plant, which
+the settlers had difficulty in purchasing, as they could offer no
+security for payment.  When the plant was finally obtained, it was
+found, in some cases, to be unsuitable; in others it could not be
+properly worked in the absence of a capable engineer.  The settlers,
+brought together at haphazard by destitution and not by their knowledge
+of agricultural pursuits, had wasted much time and labour through
+ignorance, incapacity, and insufficiency of proper tools.  They had
+lacked a strong controlling hand to direct their operations, and had
+disobeyed the trustees whom they had themselves appointed; and as the
+trustees had little power discipline had been nonexistent, and
+quarrels, at several settlements, of continual occurrence.  Order had
+been restored with difficulty, as the only punishment was expulsion,
+upon a decision of the trustees ratified by a vote of the villagers,
+and many villagers had voted against expulsion from the fear that they
+in their turn might be subjected to a similar penalty.  The
+arrangements for the distribution of rations also had caused
+considerable dissatisfaction and led to disagreement between single and
+married men, as the former felt that the latter received a share of the
+stores out of proportion to the work they had done.  The general system
+was, that rations were issued on a sliding scale, according as a man
+was single or had a large or small family, and was to that extent
+purely communistic.
+
+{10}
+
+The difficulties encountered by the settlers had been such as would
+have discouraged most men, but, in spite of them, the total number had
+only fallen in eighteen months from 598 to 440, and the majority of
+witnesses expressed themselves satisfied with their lot.  They admitted
+the necessity of further advances, but pleaded that they had a heavy
+burden to bear in the cost of machinery, and that their labour,
+especially in the planting of fruit trees, could not yield an immediate
+return.  The financial position was thus summarised:--The Government
+had advanced £26,000, the unpaid accounts amounted to about £11,000,
+and the improvements were valued by the Commissioner of Crown Lands at
+£41,000.
+
+During 1896 the further advances had been expended, but the settlements
+had not become self-supporting, and the increased burden of debt and
+uncertainty as to the future had caused many of the settlers to become
+disheartened and others to leave in despair.  On the other hand, the
+appointment of an expert to exercise the additional powers conferred
+upon the Commissioner and to give advice to the settlers, had led to
+the diminution of quarrels and disagreements among them and to a better
+direction of their work.  In view of these facts the Government decided
+to close four of the settlements which had been formed upon land
+unsuitable to the purpose, owing to the poorness of the soil or the
+absence of facilities for profitable irrigation.  It has been {11}
+estimated that the remainder have sufficient irrigable land to maintain
+a population of about three hundred families, and that they require an
+average of about £25 per settler to make them self-supporting.  A few
+enthusiasts alone believe that any portion of the principal of the
+loans will ever be repaid; but the Government will have no cause to
+complain if they receive regular interest on the money.  Some
+difficulty is likely to arise in the disposal of the produce.  There is
+a considerable market for vegetables on the river, but it will soon be
+overtaken by the supply.  The settlers will probably devote most of
+their land to fruit growing and dairying, and will be able to take
+advantage of the Export Department.
+
+The settlers should have a better chance of success in the future, as
+loafers are gradually being weeded out, and the process is to be
+continued until the settlers shall have been reduced to such as have
+shown an honest desire to make homes for themselves and their families
+upon the land.  This course has been rendered possible by the large
+exodus of working men to Western Australia, which has reduced the
+pressure upon the local labour market.  The Government desire to
+approximate all the settlements to the level of Murtho, which alone was
+formed of persons who had considerable means of their own.  The
+settlers, about twenty in number, put an average of £60 each into the
+venture and left good situations out of enthusiasm for the principles
+of co-operation.  They are intelligent, well-educated {12} men and
+women who are bound to put forward every effort to be successful, as
+otherwise they will be in a worse position than at the start.  They
+work all the land upon the method of joint cultivation on the ground
+that, as different forms of produce are grown, it is of importance to
+be able to concentrate the greater portion of the labour at any point
+where it may be required, and, under the influence of communistic
+ideas, give to all an equal share of the results of their united
+efforts.  This system would have seemed, from the constitution of human
+nature, to be doomed to failure; but an amount of work has been done in
+planting and clearing which testifies to continuous and sustained
+labour, disagreements have been rare, and the settlers, in conversation
+with me, expressed themselves as contented with their lot and confident
+of eventual success.  They do not regard themselves as recipients of
+charity, as they have received advances on the same conditions as
+holders of Working Men's blocks; on the contrary, they regard
+themselves as pioneers of a new movement, and desire, not only to make
+homes for themselves and their families, but to prove that land can be
+worked successfully on a co-operative, almost a communistic, basis.  If
+the Murtho settlers succeed, they will do so by the continued exercise
+of mutual forbearance and from the impulse of a common enthusiasm.
+
+The Government appear to have made several {13} grave mistakes of
+omission and commission in the formation of the settlements.  They
+should have caused a survey of the Murray lands to be made before the
+selection of the sites, and they should have realised that men, united
+only by their destitution, required control and direction, and, as the
+majority were ignorant of agricultural pursuits, constant
+superintendence of their work.  The system of joint cultivation also
+was entirely unsuited to the class of men who formed the bulk of the
+settlers.  It is true that the Act authorised neither preliminary
+surveys nor the appointment of superintendents, and stated expressly
+that the associations were to be co-operative; but if the urgency of
+the crisis may be taken to have justified the Government in making
+advances without the sanction of Parliament, it would also have
+justified such further illegalities as would have benefited the
+settlers and safeguarded the interests of the tax-payers.
+
+A certain amount of co-operation was inevitable if the settlements were
+to be formed upon land which could only be cultivated under irrigation,
+in the erection of the pumping plant and the use of water.  It would
+also be advisable in the purchase of seeds, trees and vines, the
+disposal of produce and the common ownership of horses and implements
+of husbandry.  But the land might have been cut up into blocks, in
+order to enable each settler to obtain the full benefit of his
+exertions {14} subject to payment for the services rendered to him by
+the association.
+
+The Government are to be congratulated, however faulty their methods
+may have been, upon their attempt to enable the unemployed to make
+homes for themselves upon the land, a great improvement upon the policy
+of their predecessors, who wasted thousands of pounds upon unnecessary
+relief works.  They have undoubtedly raised the moral tone of the
+settlers, who make a good impression upon the visitor through their
+intelligence and sobriety and the happy appearance of their children,
+and one cannot but regret that, owing to the absence of direction, much
+of their labour has been absolutely valueless.  The cynic will say that
+the men have every reason to be contented as they are living entirely
+upon advances and can rid themselves of all responsibility for the
+loans by leaving the settlements; but he forgets that they have
+qualified for these advances by hard work and that they never see a
+shilling that they can call their own.
+
+The whole question must be looked at from the point of view of the
+Australian, who would be horrified at our system, under which indigence
+is assumed to be the result of idleness and improvidence and relief is
+offered under the most degrading conditions, and expects his Government
+to do something to relieve the misery caused by scarcity of employment.
+In South Australia, where adult suffrage and payment of the members of
+both {15} Houses have made the working classes masters of the
+situation, they can compel the Ministry to pay attention to their
+wishes.  A step in the right direction, was taken when Village
+Settlements were substituted for temporary relief works; but any future
+scheme, while affording to men the opportunity of regaining a position
+of independence, should compel them to prove their worthiness by their
+own individual exertions.
+
+The wide application by the Australasian Provinces of the principle of
+State action renders them especially liable to violent fluctuations of
+prosperity and adversity.  As young countries they have borrowed
+largely for purposes of development, and have constructed expensive
+public works which have greatly increased the demand for labour.
+During the recent years of depression the Government have been obliged
+to discontinue their operations, and have offered less employment at a
+time when the labour market was already overstocked owing to the
+contraction of private enterprise.  Similarly in the case of revenue:
+the receipts from the railways, which are almost universally owned by
+the State, vary proportionately with the returns from taxation, which
+depend in their turn largely upon the condition of trade.  They have
+fallen in South Australia from £1,229,598 in 1891-2 to £967,656 in
+1894-5, with the result that when the community has been least able,
+owing to the diminished returns from other resources of revenue, to
+bear additional {16} taxation, further taxes have necessarily been
+imposed to meet the interest upon the loans out of the proceeds of
+which the railways have been constructed.  The Kingston Government,
+which took office in 1893, had to face a deficit of £200,000, and
+immediately set to work to restore order in the finances.  This they
+attempted to do by retrenchment, reducing the expenditure by £100,000
+per annum, and by the imposition of fresh taxation.  Succession Duties,
+a tax on the unimproved value of land and an income tax had already
+been imposed, a distinction being made in the latter case, between
+incomes derived from property and incomes resulting from personal
+exertion; but the present Government were the first to introduce the
+progressive principle into the taxes on incomes and land values.  This
+legislation has encountered, as might be expected, the strongest
+opposition from the richer members of the community, who protest that a
+feeling of insecurity is produced and capital driven out of the
+country, but it may be noted that South Australia in 1895 raised money
+at 3 per cent. upon exceptionally favourable terms.  The Government
+were compelled to obtain further funds, and showed their desire to
+equalise the incidence of the additional taxes by lowering, in spite of
+the opposition of the Labour Party, the exemption from income tax from
+£200 to £125 and by increasing the duty on beer, spirits, and other
+articles of ordinary consumption.  Income tax is {17} at present at the
+rate of 4-½d. in the pound up to £800, and of 6d. in the pound above
+£800 of taxable amount resulting from personal exertions, and at the
+rate of 9d. and 1s. in the pound, respectively, on incomes from
+property.  Incomes between £125 and £425 enjoy exemption on £125 of the
+amount.  Taxpayers are required, under penalty of prosecution for
+perjury for a false declaration, to furnish annually a statement of all
+forms of income that they have enjoyed during the past year, except in
+respect of any share or interest in a registered company; in this case
+the tax, at the rate of a shilling in the pound, is deducted by an
+officer of the company before payment of the dividends to shareholders.
+The higher rate is not paid on either form of income unless it,
+separately, exceeds £800.  The tax on the unimproved value of land is
+½d. in the pound up to, and 1d. above, the capital value of £5,000, and
+is increased by 20 per cent. in the case of absentee owners.  A general
+assessment of all the lands in the Colony is made triennially, each
+person's property in each district or township being treated
+separately.  The assessments are then sorted alphabetically, in order
+to discover the total holding of each individual which is the basis
+upon which the higher or lower rate of taxation is imposed.  Little
+objection is taken to the manner in which the value of the land is
+assessed; in the majority of cases the owner and the official of the
+Government are able to agree as {18} to a fair valuation, and, should
+they fail to do so, an appeal against the valuation may be made to the
+Taxation Department, and, if an arrangement be not arrived at, to a
+Court of Law.  The assessment of 1894 led to a large number of appeals,
+as the assessors had not realised the enormous fall in value of
+agricultural and pastoral land, but all, with a single exception, were
+met to the satisfaction of the appellant by concessions voluntarily
+made by the Department.  Their attention is turned mainly to urban
+land, because it is subject to the greatest increase in unimproved
+value and returns the larger portion of the receipts derived from this
+source.  An incidental advantage of the tax lies in the fact that land
+held by speculators for a rise in value contributes to the revenue
+equally with that on which buildings have been erected.  The tax is
+recognised by most people as equitable in principle, but its
+progressive character has brought upon the Ministry the bitterest
+animosity of the landed class, who maintain that it has caused land to
+be given up and to become unsaleable, not so much because the present
+burden is intolerable but because it is merely the thin end of the
+wedge.  They point to the programme of the Labour Party in which it is
+stated that the duty should be taken off certain articles of ordinary
+consumption, the deficiency (which, according to an official estimate,
+would be £310,000 a year) to be made up by increasing the tax on land
+values, and argue that as the Labour Party hold the {19} Government
+under their thumb, they will be able to enforce compliance with their
+wishes.  It is difficult for a stranger to judge to what extent
+possessors of capital have actually been deterred from investing it in
+land, especially as several important factors have led concurrently to
+a depreciation in its value, such as the fall in the prices of wheat
+and wool, the failure of banks which were interested, directly or
+indirectly, in large tracts of country, and bad legislation, passed
+some ten years ago, under which the runs were cut up into blocks too
+small for the successful prosecution of the pastoral industry.  The
+Government can point to Pastoral Acts which are admitted to be steps in
+the right direction, and challenge their opponents to show in what way
+they could have raised the £20,000 yielded by the additional Land Tax
+with less burden to the community.  The Absentee Tax lacks similar
+justification, as it only brings in £3,600 a year.  It is defended by
+the Premier on the ground that the absentee, as regards his property,
+has the full protection of the administration of the laws, and should
+contribute to the expenditure necessary for the maintenance of the
+State; and that he does not do so to the extent of those who live in
+South Australia and contribute daily to the revenue by means of the
+Customs in all they eat and drink and practically all they put on.  On
+the other hand it is contended that it is of supreme importance to
+attract capital to the Colony and that this principle is recognised
+{20} in the case of public loans and Treasury bonds, on which no income
+tax is charged, and should also be taken into consideration with
+reference to private investments in land.  Succession Duty is levied
+upon a graduated scale, ranging from 1-½ per cent. for £500 to 10 per
+cent. for £200,000 and upwards in the case of a widow, widower,
+ancestor or descendant of the deceased, and from 1 per cent. for any
+amount under £200 to 10 per cent. for £20,000 and upwards where the
+property is inherited by a person in any degree of collateral
+consanguinity.  If the heir is a stranger in blood he pays 10 per cent.
+whatever be the value of the property.  In order to promote the
+diffusion of wealth the rate of the tax is based upon the amount
+inherited, not upon the total value of the estate.
+
+In the relief of the unemployed and the imposition of additional
+taxation, the Ministry, while choosing their methods, have dealt with
+problems which they were bound to face; but they have not confined
+themselves to the negative task of coping with existing difficulties.
+They have realised that greater commercial activity would permanently
+benefit the revenue and add to the demand for labour, and that, in a
+country like South Australia, it could only be secured by a wider and
+more varied cultivation of the soil, and have, with the hearty support
+of the Labour Party, seized every opportunity to encourage production
+and develop the export trade.  Farmers already had the advantage of an
+Agricultural Bureau at Adelaide, {21} with local branches, which
+periodically disseminated information, and of an Agricultural College
+to which they could send their sons, at a small annual charge, or
+gratuitously if they could obtain a scholarship; but they were
+hindered, when the fall in the value of cereals compelled them to turn
+their attention to subsidiary industries, by the absence of facilities
+for obtaining a market for subsidiary products.  The limited demand in
+the Colony for butter, fruit, and wine offered insufficient inducement
+to farmers and small cultivators.  Previous to 1893, the total export
+of butter did not exceed the value of £1,200, but in that year and in
+1894 a bonus was offered by the Government, with the result that butter
+of the value of £110,000 has since been shipped.  They also formed a
+Produce Export Department through which producers can ship their goods
+to London, entered into a contract with the Peninsular and Oriental and
+Orient Steamship Companies for cheap rates of carriage, and established
+in London a Wine and Produce Depôt to receive the goods and sell them
+on the most favourable terms.  A receiving depôt has since been
+established at Port Adelaide and refrigerating machinery and chambers
+have been erected, which enable the Department to receive sheep and
+send them as frozen meat to England.  Butter, wine, frozen meat, and
+fruit have been sent to London through the Department, and in some
+cases prices have been realised which far surpassed those which could
+have been obtained in {22} the local market.  The scheme is not yet
+self-supporting, as, though the charges cover the expenses, the
+salaries of the additional officials required in the Ministry, and an
+annual sum of some £3,500 for the maintenance of the Depôt in London,
+fall upon the revenue of the country; but this expenditure is more than
+repaid by the impetus undoubtedly given to trade which would not
+otherwise have been afforded owing to the absence of private
+enterprise.  The Ministry have undertaken a work in which individuals
+would have had little chance of success, and have enabled small
+consignors to ship their produce at wholesale rates.  Their object also
+has been, in the words of the Minister of Agriculture (Dr. Cockburn),
+"to afford a guarantee of quality.  All goods consigned to the Depôt
+are examined previous to shipment.  If found to be in good condition
+and properly packed, they are sent forward to the London manager with a
+certificate to that effect.  By this system of inspection a barrier is
+erected against the export of inferior goods which have an injurious
+effect on the reputation of South Australian produce."  This latter
+point is of great importance and applies equally as regards the injury
+that might be done by one Province to another, as the British consumer
+regards Australian produce generically, and does not distinguish
+between the output of different Provinces.  Dr. Cockburn called a
+conference in 1896, which was attended by representatives from New
+South {23} Wales, Victoria, and Queensland, to consider how far joint
+action might be taken to secure uniformity of output.  The presence of
+a representative from Victoria enhanced the practical character of the
+deliberations, as that Province has been the pioneer in the movement
+and conducts its operations on a very extensive scale.  It was decided
+that the respective Parliaments should be invited to legislate in the
+direction of uniform inspection of frozen meat, dairy produce, wine and
+fruit, the adoption as far as possible of a federal brand which would
+be a guarantee of high quality and the joint exhibition of Australian
+produce at some leading agricultural show in England.  The conference
+is regarded as a promising sign of the willingness of the Australian
+Provinces to act together in matters of common concern.  The
+institution of the Produce Export Department is favourably viewed by
+the press of South Australia and by the bulk of the community, but,
+while it is admitted that the initiative of the State has been
+successful, the hope is expressed that, when the trade has been firmly
+established, the scope of State action will be reduced and private
+enterprise be allowed to step in.  Such an attitude shows the prevalent
+distrust of State action; in order that it may not be perpetuated, the
+middleman is to be invited to absorb a portion of the profits which at
+present are gained by the producer.
+
+The present Ministry have also legislated on the {24} subject of
+workmen's liens, to protect the wage-earner against an insolvent or
+dishonest employer; they have passed a Conciliation Act, to facilitate
+the settlement of industrial disputes, and have established a State
+Bank to provide for advances to farmers and other producers and to
+local authorities.  These measures were warmly supported by the Labour
+members, who tried, unsuccessfully, to enlarge the scope of the State
+Bank by making it a Bank of Issue.
+
+At the General Election in 1896 the Liberals, who were again
+successful, advocated certain measures of social reform; continued
+economy of administration; the extension of the functions of the Export
+Department; Federation on a democratic basis, and the election of
+Ministries by Parliament, a proposal which has excited singularly
+little interest, in spite of the complete change that it would effect
+in the methods of government.  The justification for it must be sought
+in the local conditions of the Province, which has never taken kindly
+to the system of government by party.
+
+The tariff question, which has caused a clear line of division in New
+South Wales, has been settled decisively in favour of protection, and
+no distinct issue has taken its place at the recent elections.  In
+Adelaide and the neighbourhood the contest may be said to have been
+fought in some sense between capital and labour, though among the
+supporters of the Ministry are many men of considerable means; {25} or
+between individualism and socialism, but that all are socialists to the
+extent of believing in State ownership of railways and State control of
+waterworks and water conservation, while the majority are favourably
+disposed to the Export Department, and the average man has no definite
+ideas on the subject, but views each proposed extension of State action
+according to his opinion of its possible effect upon himself.  The
+success of the Liberals was remarkable, as the South Australians are a
+fickle people, and usually overthrow the party that is in power; but it
+is suggested that the female vote, which has been given for the first
+time, may have been recorded largely in favour of those who had passed
+the Adult Suffrage Act.  However that may be, the Kingston Government
+are by no means sure of an extension of three years, as the ties of
+party allegiance are slight except in the case of the Labour members,
+and the struggles in the Assembly may resolve themselves, as in the
+past, into contests between individual aspirants for office.  The
+tendency of the last Parliament was in the direction of a clearer line
+of cleavage, but this was due to the cleverness of the present Premier,
+who included in the Cabinet his two strongest opponents whose
+opposition had been the more bitter that it was not founded upon
+differences of political opinion.  Until that time South Australia had
+had forty-one Ministries in thirty-seven years, a constant change of
+the responsible heads of public departments {26} which greatly impaired
+their efficiency and prevented continuity of administration.  The
+absence of a stable majority in the Assembly gave the opportunity, and
+ambition and love of power the impetus, to continual struggles for
+office which were wholly unallied with any baser motives, as Australian
+statesmen have obtained an honourable pre-eminence for their rectitude
+of character.
+
+The intentions of the Government in regard to the substitution of an
+elective executive, which have not yet been definitely formulated, may
+be gathered from a speech made by Dr. Cockburn, the principal advocate
+of the change, in which he proposed that Ministers, who would continue,
+as at present, to be Members of Parliament, should be elected by ballot
+by the Assembly at the commencement of each session; that they should
+appoint one of their number to be their leader, but should be
+responsible individually to Parliament for their respective
+departments; and that their corporate responsibility should be limited
+to matters affecting the Province as a whole, such as finance or its
+relations with other countries.  The Governor's prerogative of
+dissolution would remain unaffected, but as the House would be brought
+into closer touch with the people, dissolutions would be unnecessary
+and undesirable.  Dr. Cockburn claimed that his proposal was in
+accordance with the natural evolution of Parliamentary Government, and
+contended that, the area of selection being enlarged, the {27} best men
+would be chosen as Ministers from the whole House and the best man for
+each office.  Ministers would not be called upon to justify proceedings
+of their colleagues which in their hearts they condemned, and private
+members would be able to exercise greater independence, as they would
+not be called upon to sacrifice their convictions to maintain their
+friends in office, and, being allowed greater freedom on questions of
+legislation, would introduce many bills of an important character.
+Intrigue, which was an essential of Party government, would become
+disreputable when resorted to for purposes of personal advancement.
+The objection that certain members would not work together if chosen to
+form an administration was met by the fact that men sat in amity on the
+Treasury benches who previously had denounced one another to the utmost
+of their power.  The distinctive feature of the proposal, therefore, is
+the indirect election of Ministers.  The people elect the
+representatives, who, in turn, are to elect certain of their number to
+form the Executive.  The first criticism that suggests itself is, that
+it is difficult to believe in the rapid elimination of party feeling,
+and that it is probable, granted the existence of intrigues among
+aspirants for office under the present system, that they would be
+increased tenfold when such persons sought to ingratiate themselves,
+not only with prospective Premiers, but with a majority of the members
+of the Assembly.  Again, {28} while it is impossible to foresee all the
+results of the change, it may be anticipated that some obvious
+advantages would be counterbalanced by incoherence of policy and
+haphazard legislation, but that a class of men might be induced to come
+forward as candidates who are deterred by their horror of continual
+party strife.  Dr. Cockburn stated that no amendment would be required
+in the Constitution Act, as, after the election of the Ministers, their
+names would be submitted in the ordinary way to the Governor.  The
+present Ministry also favour the biennial retirement of half the
+members of the Assembly, in order to secure continuity in its
+composition, and the institution of the referendum.
+
+These proposals are warmly supported by the Labour Party.  They
+advocate elective Ministries on the ground that the people would obtain
+greater control over the Executive, that stability of government would
+be promoted, and that the legislative efficiency of Parliament would
+greatly be increased.  They contrast the rapid dispatch of business by
+local governing bodies with the waste of time and obstruction which
+prevail in legislative assemblies.  The biennial retirement of half the
+members of the Lower House commends itself to them for the reason which
+causes it to be opposed by men of conservative tendencies, that it
+would do away with the form of minority representation which is
+rendered possible in two-member constituencies by the widespread habit
+of plumping.  They have {29} been foremost in their advocacy of the
+referendum and the initiative, and one of their representatives, Mr.
+Batchelor, has introduced a Bill which provides for the establishment
+of the referendum, and contains the striking clause that "If petitions,
+signed by not less than one-tenth of the electors entitled to vote for
+the election of members of the House of Assembly ... shall be presented
+to Parliament praying that legislation shall be initiated on any
+subject, the Attorney-General shall prepare, or cause to be prepared, a
+Bill to give effect to such petition; and such Bill shall be introduced
+into Parliament as a Government measure."  Mr. Batchelor believes that
+legislation would be accelerated on subjects which fail to receive
+attention because Ministries fear that they might alienate the
+sympathies of some of their supporters.
+
+The idea of the direct consultation of the people upon a particular
+subject was put into practical effect at the recent elections, when
+they were invited, in the form of an initiative, to say whether they
+desired alterations in the law in regard to education.  Primary
+education in South Australia is free, secular and compulsory.  No
+religious instruction is permitted in the State schools, but the
+Minister of Education has the power, on receiving a written request
+from the parents of not less than ten children who attend any school,
+to require the teacher to read the Bible to any pupils who are present
+for that purpose for half an hour before {30} half-past nine, the time
+at which the ordinary teaching commences.  The direct reference to the
+people was the result of a Parliamentary resolution instigated by the
+advocates of denominational education, who contended that public
+opinion was veering round in their favour and believed that they would
+obtain a great accession of strength in the female vote which was to be
+exercised for the first time.  It was couched in the form of the
+following questions, which were submitted to the electorate on a
+separate voting paper on the occasion of the general elections:--
+
+1. Do you favour the continuance of the present system of education in
+the State schools?
+
+2. Do you favour the introduction of religious instruction in the State
+schools during school hours?
+
+3. Do you favour the payment of a Capitation Grant to denominational
+schools for secular results?
+
+The wording of the first and second questions was calculated to act in
+favour of the opponents of secularism, as the first would probably be
+answered in the negative not only by those who support religious
+instruction but also by many who believe that, in the present state of
+the finances, education should not be free except to such as are unable
+to pay for it.  It was not made clear whether it was intended to apply
+to the system as a whole or merely to its secular character.  The {31}
+second question would bring together all who favour religious
+instruction, however much they may disagree among themselves as to the
+form in which it should be given.  During the progress of the campaign
+the majority of the candidates declined to express their views upon the
+matter, but stated that they would be prepared to abide by the popular
+decision.
+
+The following figures give the result of the reference for the whole
+Province with the exception of the Northern Territory, which has a very
+small electorate:--
+
+  1.  Yes ... ... 51,744.    No ... ... 17,755.
+  2.  Yes ... ... 18,889.    No ... ... 34,922.
+  3.  Yes ... ... 13,428.    No ... ... 41,975.
+
+
+The classification of the papers is disappointingly meagre, as no
+information can be gathered as to the number of supporters of religious
+teaching and the capitation grant who were favourable to the other
+leading features of the existing system, nor as to the extent to which
+the friends of the capitation grant approved or disapproved of
+religious instruction in the State schools.  The returns show, however,
+that, while 90,000 votes were given for Parliamentary candidates, some
+20,000 persons either did not vote at all or gave an informal vote upon
+the distinct issue, and that less than one-fifth pronounced against the
+Act as it stands.  The condemnation of the capitation grant is still
+more emphatic, and if the {32} supporters of religious teaching have
+less cause for dissatisfaction, it may be noted that in no constituency
+were the affirmative in excess of the negative replies, and that as the
+total number of votes given upon the first question was far larger than
+that on the second and third, thousands who had voted affirmatively
+upon the first must have considered that they had thereby returned a
+negative reply to the others and should be reckoned as additional
+opponents of religious instruction and of the capitation grant.  It is
+also noteworthy that, contrary to the general expectation, the country
+districts gave a considerably higher percentage of votes in favour of
+the present system than the seven constituencies which include Adelaide
+and its immediate neighbourhood.  The advocates of religious
+instruction have announced that they intend to continue their efforts
+to win over the majority to their views; in the meanwhile, they will
+realise that the process must be slow and will stir up the various
+agencies of the churches to increased activity in a sphere which is
+particularly their own.
+
+The secular character of State education, which dates from 1851, cannot
+be shown to have had evil effects upon the conduct of the working
+classes, who almost universally respect and obey the law and have an
+air of confident independence which has been fostered by manhood
+suffrage, high wages and a high standard of comfort.  South Australia
+was fortunate in her original settlers, and has always {33} attracted a
+good class of immigrants.  At present great benefit is accruing from
+the rapid development of Western Australia, which has relieved the
+pressure upon the labour market and increased the demand for South
+Australian goods.  The latest Savings Bank returns give the total
+amount deposited as £2,713,000 and the number of depositors as 88,876,
+a very satisfactory rate for a population of about 320,000, especially
+when it is considered that the working classes also have large
+investments in Friendly and Building Societies.  In conclusion, the
+visitor cannot but be struck by the entire absence of squalid poverty
+and of overcrowding in tenements and by the orderliness of the people
+and the high average of prosperity.
+
+
+
+
+{34}
+
+II
+
+_DEMOCRACY AND ITS SAFEGUARDS IN NEW SOUTH WALES_
+
+The necessity for safeguards against financial extravagance and
+political pressure--The Crown Lands Act--The appointment of independent
+Railway Commissioners--The Standing Committee on Public Works--The
+Public Service Board--The unemployed, their numbers and treatment--The
+democratisation of the constitution--The Labour Party, its history,
+successes and aspirations.
+
+
+The inhabitants of New South Wales, as of several other Australian
+Provinces, lived for many years in a fool's paradise.  They had
+received a magnificent inheritance in the land and were able, owing to
+the proved mineral resources of the country, to draw upon a practically
+inexhaustible fund in the willing advances of British capitalists.  All
+classes vied with one another, especially in Victoria, in the
+extravagant loans and expenditure which caused the crisis of 1893, the
+greatest blessing, as many think, that has ever befallen Australia.
+Regardless of the burdens it was imposing upon future generations, the
+Parliament of New South Wales, with which I shall be dealing
+principally in the present chapter, {35} constructed unnecessary public
+works, allowed the Civil Service to be packed with the friends and
+relations of those in power, and authorised roads and bridges almost at
+the whim of each individual member.  This condition of things could not
+continue indefinitely: on the one side, a rapidly increasing debt, on
+the other, an enormous army of civil servants, aspirants for employment
+on public works and local claimants for a share of the expenditure of
+loan funds, who were able, on account of the wideness of the franchise
+and the numerous functions undertaken by the Government, to bring
+pressure to bear upon the Ministry through their representatives in the
+Assembly.  It was essential that the power to borrow should be
+curtailed; essential also that the possibilities of political pressure
+should greatly be diminished.  The former object could only be achieved
+at the cost of a comparative loss of credit, the latter by a wise
+recognition on the part of the electorate of the dangers of unfettered
+State action under a democratic constitution.
+
+The rapid growth of indebtedness cannot justly be laid solely to the
+charge of the popular representatives, as, though the Legislative
+Council has occasionally resisted Loan Bills, it does not appear to
+have realised the dangers of the proposed expenditure.  Nor was it in
+human nature that it should have opposed the construction of railways
+by which its members, mostly landholders, would enormously {36} be
+benefited.  Were their lands to be resumed by the Government, they
+would obtain an enhanced price for them; in any case, many of them
+would gain a large unearned increment.  The members of the Council who
+are nominated for life, similarly with Labour members, lawyers, and
+others who represent particular sections in Parliament, have been
+active mainly where their own interests have been concerned.  In
+pursuance of their right to reject measures of taxation, they threw out
+Sir George Dibbs' Income-Tax Bill in 1893 and, two years later, Mr.
+Reid's Land and Income-Tax Assessment Bill.  As landholders they
+objected to a land tax, and to an income tax as representatives of the
+wealth of the community.  Nor has the extravagance been due to payment
+of members, which is regarded by some as the cause of all the evils of
+Australia, as it was not inaugurated until after the greater part of
+the indebtedness had been incurred; but the necessity for political
+safeguards has been accentuated by the entrance into Parliament of men
+who, owing to their pecuniary circumstances, are less able to resist
+the demands of their electors, are deeply interested in the
+postponement of dissolutions, and are more dependent upon their
+re-election.  It would be equally false to attach any blame to the
+Labour Party, which did not make its appearance in the Assembly until
+1891.
+
+While the great diminution of borrowing and consequently of the
+construction of public works has {37} lessened the opportunities for
+undue political influence, many still exist, and the number would have
+been far greater in the absence of recent legislation.  How numerous
+these opportunities might be, may be gauged from the fact that,
+exclusive of some 10,000 railway employés, 20,000 persons were formerly
+in the service of the State at an annual salary of £2,600,000; that
+many thousands are tenants of the Crown, liable to be propitiated by
+the reduction of their rent; that nearly half the population live in
+unincorporated districts, in which the local expenditure is met out of
+national funds, and that the unemployed continually clamour for rations
+and employment upon relief works, the receipt of which, under the
+existing law, does not entail political disfranchisement.
+
+The first legislative recognition of this danger is seen in the Crown
+Lands Act of 1884, which constituted Local Land Boards, consisting of
+not more than three members to be appointed by the Governor in Council,
+which were to consider all applications for land, insure the due
+fulfilment of the conditions, residential or other, which are attached
+to different forms of tenure, and appraise the rents of pastoral leases
+and the rate of compensation for improvements.  The practice of the
+Ministry has been to appoint as chairman of a Board some experienced
+official of the Crown Lands Department and, as his colleagues, persons
+recommended by the residents in the district.  I am assured that this
+system of Land {38} Boards, whose decisions are subject to an appeal to
+the Land Court, has worked satisfactorily and that confidence has been
+promoted by the publicity of the proceedings.  A full statement is
+published periodically, for each district, of the areas still open for
+settlement and of the conditions under which they can be taken up: the
+Land Boards have to inquire into the _bonâ fides_ of the applicants.
+The question of the remission or suspension of the payment of rent is
+one of great difficulty in countries in which the Crown is the largest
+landholder.  If a discretionary power is given to the Ministry,
+political pressure can be brought to bear upon them by tenants through
+their Parliamentary representatives; if it be withheld, great hardship
+may ensue.  This is particularly the case in Australia, where the value
+of a property may greatly be reduced by the devastations of rabbits or
+other pests and the consequent deterioration in the grazing capability
+of the land, or by a fall in the price which can be obtained for stock
+or wool.  The Land Acts of New South Wales recognise either of the
+above causes as sufficient to entitle a pastoral lessee to a
+reappraisement of his rent by a Land Board, and permit the suspension
+of annual payments for one year in the case of holders of land under
+conditional purchase who reside upon it, but compel the vast majority
+of tenants of the Crown to abide strictly by the conditions of their
+agreements, under pain of the forfeiture of their holdings.  Cases of
+individual {39} hardship, which would engage the attentions of a
+private landlord, are, in the avoidance of a greater evil, left without
+redress.
+
+In 1888 two further measures were passed with a similar object, the
+Government Railways and Public Works Acts.  In a book recently
+published by authority of the Government,[1] to which I have to
+acknowledge my indebtedness, it is stated that the re-organisation of
+the railway administration was rendered necessary by the excess of
+political influence, the absence of expert control, and the
+construction of new lines without sufficient regard to the prospects of
+an early remunerative traffic, which had caused the capital expenditure
+to have been nearly doubled while the net earnings had not increased.
+Under the former Act, accordingly, the Government railways and
+tramways, which are now about 2,600 miles in extent and have been
+constructed at a cost of thirty-eight millions, were vested absolutely
+in a Board of three Railway Commissioners to be appointed by the
+Governor in Council.  In order that their independence might be
+secured, they were made irremovable except for misbehaviour or
+incompetency, and then only upon a vote of both Houses, and their
+salaries were charged on the consolidated Revenue Fund, which was
+permanently appropriated to the required extent.  They were entrusted
+with the general management of the railways and with the {40}
+appointment, subject to the regulations governing entrance into the
+public service, and dismissal, of all clerks, officers and employés,
+whose salaries and wages, however, are subject to the vote of
+Parliament.  The Government were fortunate in securing the services of
+a very competent senior commissioner, who, with his colleagues, has
+been able, without lowering the rate of wages, to reduce the percentage
+of working expenses to gross revenue from 66.69 to 54.46 per cent., and
+has increased the net return on capital from 2.85 to 3.60 per cent.
+The result is the more satisfactory that the railways are not worked
+solely with a view to profit, but in such a manner as to benefit the
+population as a whole and to encourage the remote farmer and
+pastoralist.  The experience of the other Australasian Provinces which
+established similar Boards proves it to be essential that the
+commissioners should not only possess great commercial ability, but be
+strong men who are able to withstand the pressure to which they will be
+subjected and are regardless of the attacks which are likely to follow
+upon their refusal of favours.
+
+The Public Works Act provides for the appointment of a Parliamentary
+Standing Committee on Public Works, which is to consider and report
+upon all proposals for the construction of public works, except such as
+are connected with the military or naval defences of the Province,
+where the estimated cost exceeds £20,000, and upon any similar {41}
+proposals involving a smaller expenditure, which may be submitted to it
+by the Governor in Council.  It consists of thirteen persons, eight
+members of the Assembly and five of the Council, who are appointed for
+the duration of a Parliament and receive remuneration at the rate of
+three guineas for each sitting and thirty shillings a day for
+travelling expenses where the sittings are held at a distance from
+Sydney.  The Secretary for Public Works nominates an equal number from
+both sides of the House after consultation with the leader of the
+Opposition; in the majority of cases these nominations are challenged
+and the appointments are made by ballot of the whole House, which,
+according to trustworthy information, leads to disreputable
+negotiations between those who desire the additional salary and those
+who are able to confer it.  It has been suggested recently by a Royal
+Commission, which reported that "the expenditure on public buildings is
+in excess of what is necessary, owing to the system of political
+interference, which is responsible for the erection of special post
+offices in country townships where shops could be used, and of costly
+courts of justice and other structures which are not required," that
+all proposals for public expenditure involving a probable outlay of
+more than £5,000, should be considered and reported on by a committee
+consisting of the permanent heads of the Public Works Department, the
+Treasury, and the Department on whose behalf the proposed {42}
+expenditure would occur.  But the adoption of this suggestion would not
+go to the root of the evil, which lies in the manner in which small
+public works of a purely local character are carried out in rural
+districts.  In the early days of the Province the Government, in order
+to widen the area of settlement, constructed all roads, bridges, and
+other local works out of national funds.  As population increased,
+municipalities were established, which rated themselves for local
+purposes and received subsidies from the Government proportionately to
+the amounts thus raised; but the Act of 1867, which contemplated the
+extension of the system, provided that new municipalities, either
+boroughs or municipal districts, could only be created upon the receipt
+of a petition signed by a stated proportion of the prospective
+ratepayers.  The Councils of such municipalities have the right to levy
+rates not exceeding two shillings in the pound in one year upon all
+rateable land within their borders, and receive from the Government
+during the first five years a sum equal to the whole amount actually
+raised in this manner or from any other specified source of revenue.
+This is gradually diminished until, at the end of fifteen years, no
+further subsidies are received, except such as have specially been
+voted by Parliament.  At the present time, owing to the absence from
+the Act of any compulsory provision, the incorporated districts of the
+Province comprise somewhat more than half of the {43} population, but
+less than one hundredth of the total area.  Successive Governments have
+recognised the evil, but have failed to pass a satisfactory Amending
+Act which would establish some form of local government in the
+unincorporated areas and compel them to pay a fixed portion of their
+local expenditure.  The estimates for such expenditure are framed by
+the Public Works Department, and are based upon the reports of its
+resident engineers and of the agents of the Government Architect.  The
+opportunity of the pushing rural member occurs upon the expenditure of
+the unappropriated sum of money which is left in the hands of the
+Minister, to meet requirements that cannot be foreseen; in this
+connection, members may threaten a withdrawal of their support and
+ministers may seek to win over new adherents.  The reports of such
+actions are probably much exaggerated, as there are many who delight in
+vilifying the Assembly, but the popularity of a rural representative
+depends undeniably on the number of public works which the Government
+carry out in his district.
+
+The next important step was the appointment, early in 1895, of a Royal
+Commission to inquire into the Civil Service, which reported that the
+Act of 1884, under which a Civil Service Board of five persons had been
+constituted, had failed in its purpose, because the Board consisted
+usually of men who had other duties to perform and had not the power to
+fix the salaries or control the service, and {44} because the right was
+reserved to ministers in special cases to make appointments without
+either examination or probation.  The Commissioners found that, owing
+to the absence of any well-ordered system of classification, the
+grossest inequalities and anomalies existed in the salaries of offices
+attached to different departments or even to the same department, as,
+to take an extreme case, that, in the department of the Government
+Architect the official who designed the Crown Lands office and
+supervised its erection was receiving less remuneration than the
+principal messenger; and that, while the service contained many
+high-minded and able officials, there were cases where incompetency,
+neglect of duty, and even drunkenness had formed no bar to continued
+employment.  In accordance with their recommendations, founded on the
+belief that Parliament could not directly cope with the matter, an Act
+was passed in 1895 which constituted a Public Service Board of three
+persons, to be appointed for a period of seven years in the same way,
+and with the same securities for independence, as the Railway
+Commissioners.  The Board was charged with the duty of making a
+thorough investigation, which was periodically to be repeated, into the
+working of each department, and of fixing the number, grade, and salary
+of the officials.  Future appointments and promotions were to be made
+by the Governor in Council, upon a certificate of the Board, subject to
+the regulations in regard to competitive {45} examinations and an
+obligatory period of probation upon entrance into the service.  As the
+Commission had reported that it should be possible to effect an annual
+saving of a quarter of a million, special importance attached to the
+provisions which enabled the Board to dispense with the services of
+those who could not usefully and profitably be employed, such persons
+to receive gratuities on a fixed scale upon their retirement.  The
+Board were sitting during my stay in Sydney and had to suffer from the
+open hostility of those who had been affected by their decisions and
+from abusive correspondence in the press.  Their impartiality was
+impugned, and they were charged with allowing themselves to be
+influenced by the wishes of Ministers; but when the unpleasant task of
+retrenchment has been completed, they will doubtless carry on a work of
+practical utility unhampered by criticisms and accusations.
+
+No serious attempt has yet been made to deal with the problem of the
+unemployed, which is the more urgent from the fact that the receipt of
+relief does not disfranchise the recipient.  Its origin must be sought
+in the extensive Public Works policy of the past, which absorbed
+immigrants who would otherwise have settled on the land.  In 1887 the
+majority of the great undertakings had been completed, and many
+thousand men, thus thrown out of employment, drifted into Sydney and
+led the Ministry to establish a casual labour Board, which {46} was
+discontinued after a year, but spent £252,000 in the relief of
+destitution.  In the following years other causes intensified the
+distress: the great strikes of 1890 destroyed confidence and deterred
+enterprise; the Broken Hill strike and the recent strike at Newcastle
+have had similar effects, the latter having struck a blow at the export
+trade in coal, which was gradually recovering from earlier
+disturbances; the collapse of 1893 cast adrift a large number of
+mechanics and clerks whose services had been required during the period
+of inflation, the fall in the price of wool caused a shrinkage in
+private expenditure, and the severe drought experienced during the
+latter part of 1895 had disastrous effects on the labours of those
+employed in mining, pastoral, and agricultural pursuits.  To meet the
+difficulty a Labour Bureau was established at Sydney in 1892, in order
+that the unemployed might be able to register themselves and might be
+helped to obtain work; but, while much has been done in this direction,
+no more satisfactory solution has been found for the problem, as a
+whole, than continual relief works, which attract the destitute from
+country districts and other Provinces, and afford merely temporary
+alleviation of the distress.  According to a recent report of the
+Superintendent of the Bureau, to whom I am indebted for information,
+£201,000 were spent during the year ending February last (in a
+population of a million and a quarter) upon works in {47} aid of the
+unemployed, an expenditure of which two items alone, £50,000 for forest
+thinning and £35,000 for railway deviations, can be supposed to have
+had any other justification.  Mr. Creer told me in June, 1896, that the
+daily attendance at the Bureau had averaged for several months 1,500 to
+2,500, but had decreased latterly to 300 to 500; that many who had been
+given employment had abandoned it, and that, where a large number had
+been working together, he had had much trouble owing to their rowdiness
+and bad behaviour.  On this point the Premier, Mr. Reid, stated that he
+had been informed, on good authority, that there were not more than
+1,500 genuine unemployed in Sydney, but admitted, quoting his
+informant, that "there are also hundreds of men who do little or no
+work" and "a large number of men who have been identified with the
+unemployed agitation for the past ten years, and who appear to delight
+in its existence, as no doubt they consider it a capital cover to pose
+as _bonâ-fide_ workmen out of employment."  The conduct of the latter
+is mainly due to the weakness of successive Ministries, which have
+failed to resist pressure and may almost be said to have encouraged
+idleness.  Such encouragement is also provided in the climate of
+Sydney, which enables men to sleep in the open for nine months of the
+year without discomfort.  Mr. Creer proposed that those who profess to
+be willing to work should be employed upon schemes of water
+conservation and {48} irrigation in the drier parts of the Province,
+which should be carried out by gangs of men under strict supervision,
+and that the confirmed loafers should be placed in Industrial Homes and
+be compelled to choose between work and starvation.  The present
+Government have established thirty-five branches of the Labour Bureau,
+which will tend to prevent the unemployed from flocking into the
+Metropolis.  But the bulk of the unemployed at Sydney are demoralised
+by idleness and ignorant of agricultural pursuits, and can only be
+dealt with by a strong Minister who, regardless of political
+consequences, will discontinue the system of indiscriminate relief and
+treat the confirmed loafers with the greatest severity.
+
+Democratic government, actively opposed by some and detested by most of
+the more educated members of the community, is firmly established in
+New South Wales, and is essential to the happiness of the people there
+as elsewhere in Australasia, in the general prevalence of purely
+commercial instincts and the absence of a landed class which is bound
+by inherited traditions to take an interest in its dependents.  Of
+recent years the democratic movement has been more rapid: payment of
+Members of the Assembly dates from 1889, Sir George Dibbs passed
+manhood suffrage in 1893, and Mr. Reid seeks to curtail the power of
+the Upper House.  A great impetus has been given by the Labour members,
+whose numbers and influence entitle {49} them to be regarded as one of
+the most important political factors in the Province.  The reason for
+the formation of a separate party has thus been explained to me by one
+of its members: the prominent men among the working classes, who were
+anxious to promote progressive legislation, were hampered by the fact
+that they disagreed upon the question of the tariff, and that their
+votes were, consequently, useless as far as the advancement of such
+legislation was concerned.  The line of cleavage in the Assembly was
+between Protectionists and Free Traders; reactionary and advanced views
+were represented on both sides of the House.  They felt, therefore,
+that labour would be powerless unless the issue of the tariff were
+explicitly sunk and a programme put forward which would concentrate the
+votes of the working classes.  In their campaign they were doubtless
+aided by the Act passed for the payment of members, and by the failure
+of the maritime and other strikes, which impressed Trades Unionists
+with the necessity of seeking to attain their ends by other means.  A
+programme was, accordingly, drawn up, of which the principal items
+were, in order of importance, Electoral Reform, the Right of Mining for
+Gold on Private Land, and the Taxation of Land Values; it was adopted
+at the elections of 1891 by a large number of candidates who came
+forward in the Labour interest and succeeded in winning thirty-four
+seats.  Upon the meeting of {50} Parliament it was decided by the
+Party, although the majority had Protectionist leanings, that support
+should be accorded to Sir H. Parkes, who had made Electoral Reform the
+principal item of his policy.  A few months later he was defeated on
+the Coal Mines Regulation Bill, and the votes of the Labour Party were
+transferred to his Protectionist successor, Sir G. Dibbs, who also
+favoured Electoral Reform; but, in the meanwhile and subsequently, many
+of the Labour members refused to leave their views on the tariff in
+abeyance, with the result that the number of those who adhered
+staunchly to the programme was reduced to five or six.  In spite of
+these defections, the first two items in the programme were carried and
+the Taxation of Land Values took the foremost place.  At the 1894
+elections the Labour Party had been much discredited, but secured
+fifteen representatives, in the Assembly of one hundred and
+twenty-five, who were pledged to the so-called "solidarity" vote.
+Their support was then transferred to Mr. Reid, the present Free Trade
+Premier, who was in favour of the Land Tax, which they enabled him to
+carry in 1895, though only after a further election, caused by the
+action of the Upper House, at which they carried three additional
+seats.  At present the Labour Party are concentrating all their efforts
+upon the abolition of the Legislative Council and the substitution for
+it of the referendum, which they regard as a necessary preliminary to
+the passage of {51} advanced legislation, and are prepared to accept,
+as a step in the right direction, Mr. Reid's proposal that the tenure
+of the members of the Council who are nominated for life should be
+reduced to a period of years, and that all-important Bills, upon which
+the Assembly and Council have failed to agree in two consecutive
+sessions, should be referred to a plebiscite.  They argue that when the
+electors realise that the Council can only delay legislation for one
+session, and that the issue is then directly referred to them, they
+will sweep it away as a mere obstacle in the path of progress.  It may
+be doubted whether the adoption of the plebiscite would have the
+results that they anticipate, but it cannot be doubted that a compact
+body of representatives, aiming at the democratisation of the
+constitution and willing to support whichever party makes the highest
+bid for their votes, have but to remain united to achieve their object,
+especially when it is in accordance with the natural evolution of
+Parliamentary government.  The Labour members have a definite programme
+upon which all their efforts are concentrated, but are chary of giving
+their views upon other questions, as their votes, in consequence of the
+common pledge, will depend on the decision of the majority of the
+party.  Great indignation is expressed at the "caucus" meetings, at
+which the votes of all are thus determined; but it is difficult to see
+wherein the conduct of the Labour members differs essentially {52} from
+that of the representatives who support one of the principal parties in
+the State.  In both cases certain main objects are sought and
+individual convictions are, on occasion, subordinated to their
+attainment; the only difference is that, in the latter case, the action
+is taken voluntarily in order to maintain a party in power; in the
+former, its expediency is determined by the majority of those who are
+united in a common purpose.  On the other hand it must be admitted that
+the Labour Party display, at present, all the irresponsibility of
+independence, and have often acted in such a manner as to justify the
+hostility of their opponents.  During my stay at Sydney they attempted,
+on one occasion, to convert the Assembly into a court of judicial
+appeal; on another, to interfere with the actuarial calculations of
+insurance societies.
+
+The importance of political safeguards is accentuated not only by the
+accelerated movement in the direction of constitutional change, but by
+the increasing belief in the efficacy of State control and state
+interference.  During the session of 1896 the Government brought
+forward measures dealing with the conservation of water, the public
+health, adulteration, and the regulation of coal mines and of factories
+and workshops, the passage of which would necessitate a considerable
+increase in the number of State officials; and the Labour Party, the
+transference of whose support would place the Ministry in danger of
+defeat, have shown, by their votes in the past, {53} their conviction
+that all new public works which are in the nature of a monopoly, should
+be constructed and owned by the State.
+
+The scope of my inquiries in New South Wales led me in directions which
+have caused me to emphasise the darker sides of political life; but I
+wish to guard against the inference that similar shadows could not have
+been found elsewhere, and have touched upon the subject in my general
+observations upon Australasian tendencies.  In fact, I may add, I was
+drawn into my particular line of study at Sydney by the knowledge that
+New South Wales had taken especial precautions, except in regard to the
+unemployed, against the evils which I have here sought to summarise.
+The predominant note in that Province is one of hopefulness: the vast
+pastoral, mineral, agricultural, and other resources of the country,
+the harbour at Sydney which renders it the natural centre of the
+foreign trade of the Continent, and the rapidity of the recovery from
+the crisis of 1893, are calculated to inspire confidence in the future;
+as are the high average wages of the working classes, the low cost of
+living, and the short hours of labour.  But the most impressive sign of
+a healthy national life is the readiness of the democracy to recognise
+the dangers inherent in its rule, and to divest itself voluntarily of
+some of its powers, in the interests of pure and upright government.
+
+
+
+[1] "New South Wales; the Mother Colony of the Australias."
+
+
+
+
+{54}
+
+III
+
+_PROBLEMS OF QUEENSLAND_
+
+The agitation of Central and Northern Queensland for separation from
+the South--The "Kanaka" traffic--White and coloured labour on the
+plantations--The Sugar Works Guarantee Act--The irregularity of
+employment in the sugar and pastoral industries--The conditions and
+opinions of the shearers--Assistance to dairymen and producers of
+frozen meat--The Labour Party, its history and prospects--Criticisms of
+the Government--The principles of State action.
+
+
+In the Southern Provinces of Australia, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide
+are not only the political capitals, but have become naturally, from
+their geographical position and other advantages, the points of
+departure of the trunk lines of railway and the centres of commercial
+and intellectual activity.  In the case of Queensland, Brisbane, which
+was selected as the capital because settlement was almost confined to
+its neighbourhood, had to compete with several other good harbours; it
+is situated at the south-eastern extremity of a vast territory, and is
+connected only by sea with the northern parts above Bundaberg.  The
+existence of this means of communication caused successive Governments
+to {55} postpone the construction of a coastal railway in favour of
+lines running from East to West which would promote the development of
+the pastoral resources of the interior by affording access to the
+nearest port; but these lines, which start from Brisbane, Rockhampton,
+and Townsville, and have a respective length of 483, 424, and 235
+miles, have tended, by increasing the importance of the latter places,
+to foster in their inhabitants a feeling of jealousy at the supremacy
+of the former and of antagonism of interests with the South.  The
+climatic conditions also are divergent: the Centre and South are
+semi-tropical; the North, which lies wholly within the tropics,
+contains a low fringe of fertile land along the coast, suitable for the
+cultivation of sugar, and the cause of the constant struggles which
+have surrounded the question of the employment of coloured labour.
+
+The establishment of Queensland as a separate Province dates from 1859,
+and was at once followed by an extension of population to the Northern
+districts, and a few years later by the growth of a demand for
+separation, which culminated in 1871 in a petition to the Crown, in
+which the desire was expressed that the country to the North of the
+Dawes Range, which lies between Gladstone and Bundaberg, should be
+created into a new Province, on the ground that the absence of regular
+communication between the capital and the Northern settlements rendered
+good government and the administration {56} of justice very difficult
+and uncertain.  During the succeeding years the agitation flickered in
+the North and was latent in the Centre, which had been conciliated by
+the construction of its railways and appeared to have identified itself
+with the South.  Some ten years ago the Northern members pressed their
+claims very strongly, and more recently the Central members have
+petitioned the Crown, sent a deputation to the Colonial Secretary, and
+brought their case before the Queensland Parliament.
+
+The arguments advanced by the Northern and Central separationists are
+similar in character, and if recognised as valid in the case of the
+Centre, must be doubly so when applied to the North, owing to its
+greater distance from the capital and the difficulty of communication
+with many of its outlying districts.  The boundaries adopted by the
+separationists are those laid down by the Real Property (Local
+Registries) Act of 1887, under which the Province was divided into
+three parts, of which the Northern contains 255,000, the Central
+223,000, and the Southern 190,000 square miles.
+
+The claims of the Centre, to which I have been able to give more
+attention, as I spent some time in that district, are based not only
+upon alleged unjust apportionment of expenditure, defective
+administration, and financial hardships endured under the protective
+tariff for the benefit of Southern manufacturers, but upon the inherent
+and inalienable right of a community of free British people.  It is
+{57} pointed out that Central Queensland is in a more advanced position
+than were Victoria and Queensland at the time of their separation from
+New South Wales; that it returns less members than the city of Brisbane
+and the country within a radius of ten miles of it; and that the
+Northern and Central members, even if unanimous in favour of
+separation, would only number twenty-seven as against the forty-five
+representatives of the South, and are bound, apart from the
+constitutional aspect of the question, to look to the intervention of
+the Imperial Government.  The most important utterance from this source
+is the reply of Sir Henry Holland, now Lord Knutsford, to the Northern
+deputation, in the course of which he said that "there is no instance
+of recent years, since the Colonies attained the greatness they have,
+of the Imperial Legislature passing an Act interfering with the
+administration of one of those great Colonies, except at the request of
+the Colonial Government.  Therefore I say it is difficult, if not
+undesirable, to deal with such a question as this unless we have the
+authority, on a desire expressed on the part of the Colonial
+Legislature, or unless there is some case made out which is absolutely
+overwhelming;" and Mr. Chamberlain recently stated, with reference to
+Central separation, that, even if local agreement had been reached, the
+difficulties and risks attending any attempt to divide the Province
+were, under existing circumstances, very great.  He clearly appreciated
+the hostile feeling that would be aroused throughout {58} Australia by
+any interference on the part of the Imperial Authorities with the
+internal government of an Australian Province.  As the separationists
+do not hope to obtain a majority in the Queensland Assembly, they are
+likely to be ardent advocates of Federation, especially if a clause be
+inserted in the Constitution which would enable the Federal Government
+to subdivide a Province without the consent of its Parliament.
+
+The Southern members are influenced by the fear that, under separation,
+they would lose the Northern and Central markets.  To meet this
+objection, a resolution was moved in the Assembly by one of the members
+for Rockhampton that the separation of Central Queensland was
+desirable, but on such terms that the interchange of natural products
+between the two Provinces should continue to be free from tax or duty;
+but the proposal, which was seen to be fraught with endless
+difficulties, has not been regarded seriously.  The question has also
+arisen in what manner the liability for the public debt would be
+distributed in the case of separation, but it is contended that the
+matter would be settled under the Imperial Act of 1861, under which
+both Provinces would jointly be liable for the whole debt, and
+machinery is provided for arbitration as to the proportion of it which
+would be borne by each of the Provinces.
+
+The necessity for some form of decentralisation has been recognised,
+and partially acted on, by {59} successive Ministries since 1877, when
+a Royal Commission was appointed to inquire into the best means of
+bringing about a more equitable distribution of the revenue.  The
+system of Local Government, introduced in 1878 and extended in the
+following year to rural districts, lessened the direct control
+exercised from Brisbane, and handed over to elective Municipal Councils
+and Divisional Boards the expenditure of the revenue raised for local
+purposes.  In 1887 local registries of titles to real estate were
+established at Townsville and Rockhampton, and Sir S. Griffiths
+introduced a Financial Districts Bill, to divide the Province into
+three districts and to provide for separate accounts of revenue and
+expenditure.  The Bill was not passed, but separate returns have since
+been published, which do not, however, give a full statement of the
+contributions of the different districts to the revenue.  In 1892 the
+same Minister introduced a Constitution Bill, in which he proposed to
+place Queensland under a federal system of Government, a General
+Assembly of the United Provinces, and three Provincial Parliaments.  In
+the course of discussion the number of Provinces was reduced from three
+to two, to the exclusion of the Centre, which was to retain its
+connection with the South.  The Bill passed the Assembly, and was
+thrown out by the Council, principally on the ground that it had not
+been supported by the statutory two-thirds majority.  The Central
+Separationists were naturally opposed {60} to the Bill in its amended
+form, and public opinion in the North was equally hostile.  It was
+pointed out that the expenses of government would greatly be increased,
+even more than under territorial separation, and that the powers of the
+Provincial Parliament would be so limited, in the absence of control
+over the railways and the customs tariff, that the North would not
+enjoy the enhanced prosperity which, under an entirely separate
+Government, would make it indifferent to the additional expenditure.
+The appointment of a judge of the Supreme Court to reside at
+Townsville, and, since last year, at Rockhampton, has lessened the
+expenditure and loss of time involved in legal proceedings initiated in
+the Northern and Central Districts.  In the Ministerial measure dealing
+with the election of delegates to represent Queensland at the
+Australian Federal Convention, which failed to become law owing to an
+insoluble deadlock between the two Houses, it was proposed that, of the
+ten delegates, three should be elected by the Northern and two by the
+Central Parliamentary Representatives, a greater proportion than would
+be warranted by their respective populations as compared with that of
+the South.  The Premier, Sir Hugh Nelson, defended the liberality of
+this proposal on the ground that "it is of the utmost importance that
+in any federal constitution provision should be made for the division
+of existing Colonies and the terms on which such divisions shall take
+place;" adding {61} that "the Northern and Central districts have a
+perfectly legitimate aspiration: they are looking forward to the day
+when they will be formed into separate states."
+
+The above remarks embody the views of many South Queenslanders who look
+forward to eventual separation, but are not prepared to advocate it at
+present; the Central separationists, on the other hand, contend that
+the question is ripe for immediate settlement, and, as a proof of
+popular feeling in the matter, point out that ten out of the eleven
+representatives of Central Queensland are pledged to separation, and
+that numerous petitions were handed to the late Governor, Sir Henry
+Norman, on the occasion of his tour through the district.  Personal
+observation and inquiries directed to all with whom I came in contact,
+have convinced me that the enthusiasm for separation is greatly on the
+wane in the Centre, owing to the strength of the Labour Party, which,
+in 1896, carried a majority of the Central seats, and to the inevitable
+reaction which succeeds a period of excitement.  The owners of property
+and tradespeople of Rockhampton have everything to gain by a change
+which would make their town the capital of a province; the miners at
+Mount Morgan and the shearers are indifferent, though the latter,
+judging from a conversation which I had with some twenty of them, have
+a vague idea that under separation the Labour Party, of which they are
+supporters, would be in a stronger position; and the pastoralists, who
+{62} direct the principal industry of the community, are practically
+unanimous in their opposition: they have obtained the railway which has
+opened up the Western Downs, and they dread the predominance of the
+Labour Party and of Rockhampton, the inhabitants of which, they
+maintain, have shown little regard for their interests.
+
+As regards the feeling in the North, I have been told by one of the
+Northern members, himself a supporter of separation, and by others,
+that the agitation is at present dormant.  The election of local men
+has been promoted by the payment of members; previously most of the
+Northern representatives were inhabitants of Brisbane, who were out of
+touch with the feelings and interests of their constituents.  Material
+and political considerations also have exercised great influence.  The
+sugar planters, ardent advocates of separation as long as the
+importation of coloured labour was forbidden, have been staunch
+supporters of the Union since the removal of the prohibition and the
+passage of the Sugar Works Guarantee Act.  On the other side, the
+Labour Party, who share in the hatred of coloured labour which is
+common to the working classes throughout Australasia, opposed
+separation while it was likely to lead to its legalisation, but have
+been encouraged by their present strength, the tenure of seven seats
+out of sixteen in the Northern district, in the belief that, if they
+obtained separation, they might hope again to {63} exclude it, and
+would have an opportunity of giving effect to their general political
+views.
+
+The "Kanaka" question has been so fully discussed in the press and in
+numerous pamphlets, that the Imperial and Provincial Acts, which first
+aimed at the protection of the islanders, may be dismissed with the
+remark that they are admitted in Queensland to have had abundant
+justification.  The conditions have been made successively more
+stringent until, at the present time, it is almost impossible that any
+Kanakas should be taken against their will, ill-treated on the voyage,
+or oppressed upon the plantations.  Government agents, to give a brief
+summary of the Acts, accompany all recruiting vessels and are bound to
+see that the islanders understand the nature of the agreement into
+which they are about to enter, as to rate of payment, and duration of
+service; that every return passenger is duly landed along with his
+property at his own village or district, and that the islanders receive
+the prescribed provisions and clothing on the journey, and are
+otherwise treated in accordance with the regulations.  Inspectors
+receive the vessels upon their arrival in Queensland, superintend the
+signature of the agreements, and, generally, are responsible for the
+welfare of the labourers during their residence in the country.  In the
+case of sickness employers are bound to provide proper medicine and
+medical attendance, and they may be called upon to contribute towards
+the maintenance of a hospital.  {64} The contentment of the labourers
+may be inferred from the fact that a large proportion re-engage
+themselves upon the expiration of the term of three years, and that, of
+the 1,305 who were landed during the year 1895, 250 had previously been
+employed in Queensland.  As the result of frequent intercourse, the
+conditions are well known in most of the islands from which the
+labourers are recruited.  According to official figures, the number of
+islanders in Queensland increased in 1895 from 7,853 to 8,163, of whom
+nearly two-thirds are in the districts of Mackay and Bundaberg; all are
+employed on the cultivation of sugar, with the exception of a few at
+Thursday Island, who are engaged in the bêche-de-mer and pearl-shell
+fisheries.
+
+It would seem that the only valid objection which can now be made
+against the system, except by those who disagree from the whole thing
+on principle, is, that it may lead to the gradual depopulation of some
+of the islands by the withdrawal of a considerable proportion of the
+adult males of marriageable age.  It may be noted, in this connection,
+that the islanders have also been recruited for Guatemala, if not for
+other countries.
+
+The mode of cultivation and the treatment of the raw material have been
+modified during the last few years.  At first the cane was grown solely
+in large plantations, each of which possessed a separate mill and
+treated only its own produce; but as prices fell and the local demand
+was overtaken, more scientific {65} methods began to prevail.  It was
+found, on the one hand, that the cane could be treated most
+economically on a large scale; on the other, that few plantations were
+sufficiently extensive to keep a large mill at work during the whole
+season.  To meet these conditions, central mills were constructed and
+the land was in many cases subdivided, and let or sold on a system of
+deferred payments to farmers, who were encouraged to cultivate it in
+small areas, and to send their cane to the factories.  The interests of
+the mill-owner and the farmers should be identical; the former is
+anxious that his mill should be worked to its full capacity, and has
+every inducement to dispose of his land upon terms favourable to
+cultivators; the latter have a sure outlet for the disposal of their
+produce.  In 1894, fully 40 per cent. of the 80,000 acres under cane
+was cultivated in areas of ninety acres and under.  An impetus was
+given to this movement by the temporary prohibition of the importation
+of islanders, which compelled planters to consider the possibility of
+an alternative to coloured labour, and by a vote of £50,000, by means
+of which two central mills were erected for groups of small farmers.
+The success of these mills induced the Government to pass the Sugar
+Works Guarantee Act, under which "any company which can give the
+Government security in land, has the requisite cane crops growing for a
+fair season's mill work, and can show that it has an area of land
+capable of supplying the mill with a full crop, can obtain the {66}
+sanction of the Government to accept a tender for the erection of a
+factory, the State guaranteeing the interest and the redemption of the
+debentures issued in payment for it.  By this measure the country has
+not only supplied the means for the steady development of the industry,
+but has taken, in its belief in the soundness of the enterprise, a
+direct interest in it.  No surer guarantee can exist than this law,
+that the Parliament of Queensland will in future safeguard the
+prosperity of an undertaking in which the State has so keen an
+incentive to protect itself from loss."[1]  The contingent liability
+incurred by the State in the year ending June, 1895, was £157,000, and
+in the preceding year £44,000: the amount is likely to be increased, as
+the construction of seven additional mills has been conditionally
+approved of, but, under an amending Act of 1895, is not to exceed a
+total of £500,000.  The Premier sees no reason to suppose that, with
+proper management, any of the new factories will fail to meet their
+liabilities to the State.
+
+Under these circumstances the question arises whether coloured labour
+will permanently be necessary, the answer to which depends upon the
+ability of the white man to become acclimatised in a tropical country.
+"If the white man," to quote a prominent Queenslander, "can live and
+work and bring {67} up his children in the tropics of this continent,
+then assuredly the time will come when we shall require coloured
+labourers to cultivate our cane no more than do the continental
+sugar-beet farmers require coloured men to do their field work.  Where
+can we look for proof of the European's ability to work and live in the
+heated North?  He works on railways and in mines now, but there is an
+entire lack of evidence that his children and his children's children
+can continue to do so with unimpaired health and vigour.  Again, it has
+to be seen what will be the normal death-rate in the North.  It has
+been heavy, but we have yet to estimate the lowering of that rate as
+the malarial swamps are drained, and the dense tropical scrubs cleared
+away....  Time alone can solve this question thoroughly, though it may
+be permitted one to say that so far there is ample reason to think that
+the evidence is accumulating in favour of the European's ability to
+permanently inhabit and cultivate our tropical lands.  There is some
+satisfaction in noting, for instance, that, despite the increased
+settlement in Northern Queensland, the death-rate for the Colony has
+fallen from 22.97 Per 1,000 in 1884 to 12.08 in 1894."[2]  The rate of
+mortality among the Kanakas is reported officially to have been 40.62
+per 1,000 in 1894, and 29.64 in 1895.  Their employment is absolutely
+prohibited in the mills, and is restricted to certain forms of work
+upon the plantations.  The {68} Government are anxious to replace the
+Kanakas gradually by white labourers and to settle the tropical
+littoral with a population of small farmers.  This object, however, it
+is contended, cannot be attained without the temporary employment of
+coloured labour.  Another aspect of the question may be noted: granted
+that white men cannot at present do all the work upon the plantations,
+Kanakas are preferable to Orientals, whether Chinese or Japanese, who
+would remain permanently in the country.  Even in Queensland, though
+less than in the Southern Provinces, such a state of things would be
+regarded as eminently undesirable.
+
+A considerable demand for white labour has thus been created, the
+extent of which may be gauged from the figures given to me by a planter
+who has 3,000 acres under cane in the neighbourhood of Bundaberg.  Upon
+land which formerly carried 800 head of cattle and gave employment to a
+single married couple, he now employs 300 Kanakas and 80 white men
+during the whole of the year, and 120 additional white men during the
+crushing season, which lasts, as a rule, from June to December.  The
+latter are compelled to shift for themselves during the remaining
+months of the year and wander about the country in the search for
+casual work; many, it is said, seek it in the agricultural districts of
+the Darling Downs.
+
+The people of Queensland are confronted with a serious problem in the
+fact that of the three {69} principal industries of the countries,
+mining alone affords regular and constant employment, and that only on
+proved goldfields.  In the sugar industry, as stated, about 40 per
+cent. of the labourers, exclusive of the islanders, are permanently
+employed, and in the pastoral industry the proportion is even smaller.
+On a typical sheep-station in the Central district which carries 80,000
+sheep, the permanent staff number only 19, and are supplemented at
+shearing time by some 25 to 30 shearers and as many more workmen who
+pick up, sort, and pack the fleeces.  The shearers with whom I
+conversed bewailed the irregularity of their employment; they work at
+high pressure for a few months in the wool-sheds, and have no fixed
+occupation during the remainder of the year.  I was favourably
+impressed by the men, and was informed that, as a class, they have much
+improved of late years, and that many of them have considerable
+savings.  Allowances must be made for workmen who are herded together,
+good characters with bad, and lead a nomadic and demoralising existence
+which lacks the sobering influences of sustained industry and domestic
+associations.  Recent Ministries have been alive to the importance of
+this question and have aimed at the gradual diminution of the size of
+pastoral properties held from the Crown.  The Land Act of 1884 divided
+them into two equal parts, over one of which the holder was offered a
+fixed lease for 21 years, while the other was to be subject to {70}
+resumption by the State as the demand for the land might arise.  Under
+this provision large tracts of country have been thrown open for
+occupation as grazing farms of from 5,000 to 20,000 acres and have been
+eagerly taken up, as many as twenty applications having been received
+for a single farm where the quality of the soil has been exceptionally
+favourable.  The Act of 1894, passed by the present Government,
+established a new form of tenure which was intended to meet the special
+requirements of the shearers.  Grazing homesteads not exceeding 2,500
+acres in area may be acquired at a low rental, subject to the condition
+that the selector must reside upon the land for not less than six
+consecutive months in each year during the first ten years of his
+lease; but, under license from the Land Board, the selectors of two or
+more homesteads may co-operate to work their holdings as a whole, in
+which case residence by one-half of the whole number of selectors will
+fulfil the conditions of occupation.  Some of the shearers may, from
+the force of habit, be incapable of a settled existence; but many of
+them proclaim their desire to occupy land and are hereby afforded an
+opportunity which they have scarcely at present realised.  The
+attractiveness of this form of tenure will be increased if the
+Government pass their proposed legislation to authorise them to sink
+bores for the supply of water to the smaller holdings.
+
+A better state of things prevails upon the Darling Downs in the south
+of the Province, where the {71} shearing is done by cultivators and
+others who are in regular employment.  This part of the country should
+eventually carry a large resident population engaged in the growth of
+cereals and in dairy-farming.  To promote settlement and "in the strong
+belief that Queensland is capable of and will soon be supplying not
+only her own requirements, but also of exporting largely of her surplus
+farm products, the Government have made provision in connection with
+the Torres Strait Service for the carriage of farm and dairy produce in
+large quantities, and have also submitted to Parliament a measure for
+the appointment of an additional Minister, to be charged solely with
+the development of agricultural interests, and have taken the necessary
+steps for the establishment of an agricultural college within a
+reasonable distance from Brisbane."[3]  The export of dairy produce has
+been encouraged by the offer of a bonus, and the construction of butter
+factories by loans, the funds being obtained from a portion of the
+proceeds of a tax imposed upon owners of sheep and cattle by the Meat
+and Dairy Produce Encouragement Act of 1893.  The remainder is expended
+in advances to proprietors of meat works, and it is provided in a
+subsequent Act, that the amounts received in payment of interest or
+repayment of the principal of the loans, may be refunded to the payers
+of the tax.  The progress of settlement has been retarded by the
+alienation from {72} the Crown of much of the land that is most
+suitable for the purpose, both in quality and situation.  The freehold
+has in many cases passed to financial institutions, which, having
+advanced upon it an amount greater than the present value as
+depreciated by the fall in prices, are unwilling to sell the land and
+to reconcile themselves to their losses.  The Government have been
+authorised by the Agricultural Land Purchase Act of 1894, to expend a
+sum not exceeding £100,000 a year in the purchase, under voluntary
+agreement, of land suitable for agricultural settlement which is to be
+offered for selection in agricultural farms, and have made considerable
+use of their powers, but the system has not been sufficiently long in
+operation to enable an estimate to be formed of its results.
+
+The irregularity of employment has engendered among the working classes
+a widespread feeling of discontentment, and constitutes one of the main
+causes of the numerical strength of the Labour vote, which amounts to
+about 34 per cent. of the whole.  The Parliamentary Labour Party in
+Queensland differs from that of the other Australian Colonies in its
+close identification with directly socialistic aspirations.  It was
+founded to give effect to the political platform of the Australian
+Labour Federation, published in 1890 under the influence of the
+communist, William Lane, which advocates "the nationalisation of all
+sources of wealth and all means of producing and exchanging wealth;"
+{73} its organ, _The Worker_, writes under the motto "Socialism in our
+time," and several of its members publicly admit that they are
+Socialists.  Others, however, who look forward to the possibility of an
+alliance with a reconstructed Opposition ask to be judged solely by the
+programme of the party which contains no distinctly socialistic item,
+in the popular acceptation of the term, except the establishment of a
+State Labour Department to which men may apply as a right for work at a
+minimum wage; but they will have difficulty in overcoming the general
+impression, which their opponents, not unnaturally, do all in their
+power to intensify.
+
+The Party first came into prominence at the elections in 1893, when
+they won fifteen seats out of seventy-two, and have nothing to show in
+the way of practical legislation to counterbalance the undoubted
+consolidation of the forces of their opponents.  A comparison suggests
+itself with the success of the Labour Parties in New Zealand and South
+Australia which have co-operated with progressive Ministers in the
+enactment of measures of social reform.  In the latter case, the Labour
+Party have been so moderate in their programme, speeches, and actions,
+that they have carried a quarter of the seats in the Legislative
+Council, and thus prove themselves not to have alienated the
+householders and small owners of property who form the bulk of the
+electorate for that House.  In New South Wales {74} the Labour Party
+have been able, by opportunistic transfers of their votes, to secure
+electoral reform and the taxation of incomes and land values.  The
+position of affairs in Queensland is not analogous; the coalition of
+Sir S. Griffith and Sir T. McIlwraith practically destroyed the
+Opposition, and made it necessary for the Labour Party to trust almost
+entirely to their own efforts, which should have been directed towards
+the concentration of all the progressive feeling of the community.
+Their policy, on the contrary, has deprived them of the support of many
+who are dissatisfied with the Government, and has not materially
+strengthened their hold upon the working classes.  Though they carried
+twenty seats in 1896, they only polled 964 more votes than in 1893, nor
+have they improved their position in the House, as, even should they be
+supported by the ten Oppositionists and Independents, they would be
+confronted by a solid phalanx of forty-two Ministerialists.  It may be
+of interest to note that their principal successes have been gained
+among bushmen and miners, but that they also hold the sugar district of
+Bundaberg, two agricultural constituencies, two seats at Rockhampton,
+and three in the poorer and outlying parts of Brisbane.
+
+The complaints of the Labour Party against the Government were directed
+mainly to their failure to amend the electoral laws or to pass
+humanitarian legislation, and to the stringency of the Peace
+Preservation Act of 1894.  Apart from their obvious {75} objections to
+the plural vote of persons holding property in different divisions,
+they contend that many miners and shearers are permanently
+disfranchised, as they are neither householders nor reside for six
+months in the same place, and that persons qualified to be registered
+are impeded by the provisions which oblige them to fill in a claim in
+which, among other things, they have to state their qualification, and
+to get the claim attested by a justice of the peace, electoral
+registrar, or head male teacher of a State school.  The Peace
+Preservation Act was passed at a time when a serious disturbance had
+arisen from a strike of shearers in the pastoral districts of the West,
+on the ground that the ordinary laws of the Colony were insufficient
+for the prevention, detection, and punishment of crime in such
+districts, and was as strongly justified by some as it was condemned by
+others.  The Act authorised the Executive to proclaim districts which
+should come under its operation, and to appoint such district
+magistrates as might be necessary for carrying its provisions into
+effect.  These may be summarised in the words of the Hon. T. J. Byrnes,
+the Attorney-General: "The first portion of this legislation is to give
+us power to put an end to the carrying of arms and the sale of arms in
+the districts that have been disturbed...  It is proposed in the second
+part of the Bill that inquests on crime may be held...  The third
+portion of the Bill deals with the power {76} of arrest and detention
+of persons under suspicion."  Under the latter heading persons
+suspected of crime committed in a proclaimed district could be arrested
+by a special or provisional warrant, in any part of Queensland, and be
+detained in prison; but it was provided that such persons should be
+treated as persons accused of crime and not as convicted prisoners, and
+that no person "should be held in custody under a provisional warrant
+for a longer period than thirty days, nor under a special warrant for a
+longer period than two months, without being brought to trial for the
+offence stated in such warrant."  In justification of the measure, the
+same Minister quoted cases in which woolsheds had been burnt and the
+police and private individuals had been fired upon although no actual
+loss of life had occurred.  A stranger cannot form an opinion upon the
+question and can only note, on the one side, that the operation of the
+Act was limited to one year, that it was most judiciously administered,
+not more than one district, under a single district magistrate, having
+been proclaimed, and that it brought about the speedy cessation of the
+troubles; on the other, that no attempt was made by the Government at
+mediation between the opposing parties, although, to quote the
+Attorney-General again, they "knew that labour troubles of an
+aggravated nature were likely to occur."  A Bill "to provide for
+conciliation in industrial pursuits" is included in the programme of
+the Government.
+
+{77}
+
+As regards the necessity for humanitarian legislation, reference can be
+made to the evidence given before a Royal Commission in 1891.  The
+Commissioners were unanimous in reporting that, in many factories and
+workshops which they had visited, the sanitary conditions were very
+bad, the ventilation was improperly attended to, and little or no
+attempt had been made to guard the machinery.  They were agreed as to
+the need of further legislation, but, while some were of opinion that
+the wider powers should be exercised by inspectors under the local
+authorities, others were in favour of the appointment of a special
+class of male and female inspectors.  They also found that children of
+the ages of ten, eleven, and twelve years were employed in factories,
+and that the hours of labour in many retail shops were very long,
+adding that medical evidence was conclusive that the excessive hours
+were more injurious to health in Queensland than they would be in a
+colder climate; but they were unable to concur as to the advisability
+of legislative interference.  A Factory Act, though not of a very
+stringent character, was passed by the Government towards the end of
+the session of 1896.
+
+The attention of the Government during the last few years has been
+directed mainly towards the restoration of the credit of the country
+and the development of its industries.  Queensland reached its lowest
+ebb in 1889, when, in spite of the recent loan of ten millions, the
+deficit amounted to {78} £484,000.  Since that time matters have
+rapidly improved, and in 1895 and 1896 the revenue was considerably in
+excess of the expenditure.  This result has been achieved by economical
+administration, and the direct encouragement of enterprise which has
+been effected by a large extension of the sphere of State action.  The
+principles involved appear to have been threefold.
+
+First, that the State should facilitate the occupation of outlying
+districts by the construction of public works, provided they may be
+expected to return a fair interest upon the expenditure.  The proposals
+put forward some fifteen years ago, that the three Western lines should
+be connected with the Gulf of Carpentaria by a series of Land Grant
+Railways, were condemned by the sense of the community, which preferred
+to postpone their construction until it could be undertaken by the
+State.  In pursuance of this policy all the railways are owned and
+managed by the State, which has recently protected itself against the
+danger of the construction of unprofitable lines under political
+pressure by an Act of Parliament under which, upon any fresh proposal,
+the local authorities affected may be required to give a guarantee that
+they will, for a period of years, should the earnings fail to reach a
+certain standard, make good half of the deficiency out of the rates.
+In the Western portions of the Colony, in which occupation has been
+retarded by the scarcity of water, the Government have also {79}
+incurred considerable expenditure in the successful provision of
+artesian water and in general works of conservation.
+
+Secondly, that the State may assist producers to dispose advantageously
+of their produce.  Reference has been made to the contracts which the
+Government have entered into with the British India Company for the
+carriage of farm and dairy produce.  They are now considering the
+advisability of assisting cattle-owners, whose resources are severely
+strained by the low prices which they obtain in London for their frozen
+meat.  The principal cause of the low prices and the attitude of the
+Premier can be gathered from the following extract from the financial
+statement which he delivered in 1896:--
+
+"Our meat I believe to be as good as any in the world, and the cost at
+which it can be delivered at a profit at the ports of the Colony will
+compare favourably with any other country that I am aware of; and yet
+the prices lately obtainable in London are such as barely cover the
+charges for freezing, freight, insurance, &c.  Something will have to
+be done if the industry is to be preserved.  The only suggestion I have
+received as yet is that the Colony, either individually or in
+conjunction with the other Colonies, should take the business of
+distribution into its own hands, as it is believed that, whilst the
+consumers give good value for our meat, a great part of that value is
+absorbed by various graduations of middlemen, leaving, as I have said,
+a margin for the {80} producer altogether disproportionate to the real
+value of the product.  To effect this a large amount of capital will be
+required, respecting which I have no proposal to submit, as the matter
+is really one for private enterprise to undertake, but I mention the
+matter as one requiring speedy and most serious attention, because, if
+private enterprise should not be forthcoming to cope with the
+difficulty, it may devolve upon Parliament to adopt such measures as
+may appear practicable to conserve an important industry which we can
+ill afford to lose."
+
+Subsequently, I understand (I was not in Queensland at the time), a
+Parliamentary Committee was instructed to consider the question, and
+reported in favour of the establishment at London and in the provinces
+of depôts for the receipt and distribution of frozen meat.
+
+On another occasion, referring to the injury done to the harbour of
+Brisbane by excessive towage rates, the Premier said that if private
+enterprise could not do it for a less sum, it would be a very simple
+thing for the Government to take the matter in hand.
+
+Thirdly, that the State may use its credit, after strict investigation
+of the circumstances and upon conviction of the validity of the
+security, to enable prospective producers to borrow money at a low rate
+of interest.  The Sugar Works Guarantee Act, of which I have quoted the
+provisions, has led other producers to ask for similar concessions.
+The {81} farmers want flour mills and cheap money; the pastoralists and
+graziers complain of the tax levied upon them under the Meat and Dairy
+Produce Encouragement Acts.  Why, they ask, should the sugar industry
+be exceptionally favoured?  Again, if the Government are to establish
+distributing agencies for frozen meat, why not also for other produce?
+
+The Socialists describe these various measures as a spurious form of
+socialism calculated to increase the profits of a single class of the
+community; but the Government do not trouble themselves about abstract
+terms.  They have steadily pursued a settled policy, and have
+successively assisted the sugar, pastoral, and agricultural interests;
+they are prepared, if necessary, to give substantial help to
+cattle-owners in the disposal of their produce, and they intend to
+propose amendments of the mining laws which will promote the further
+development of the industry.  Nor have the producers alone been
+benefited; the working classes, who are the first to suffer in times of
+depression, are sharing in the renewed prosperity of the country, and
+have been able to take advantage of the increased demand for their
+services.
+
+
+
+[1] Quoted, by permission of the author, from an article contributed to
+the _Australasian Review of Reviews_ by Mr. J. V. Chataway, one of the
+members for Mackay.
+
+[2] See footnote p. 66.
+
+[3] Financial statement 1896, p. 14.
+
+
+
+
+{82}
+
+IV
+
+_THE LAND POLICY OF NEW ZEALAND_
+
+Differences of conditions between Australia and New Zealand--The Public
+Works policy--Taxation on land--The Land Act of 1892--The Land for
+Settlements Acts--The Government Advances to Settlers Acts--The
+encouragement of settlement--The co-operative construction of Public
+Works--The unemployed--Continuity of policy.
+
+
+The Constitution of 1852, under which New Zealand obtained responsible
+government, differed from those granted to the Australian Provinces in
+the creation of Provincial as well as Central Authorities.  Owing to
+the mountainous character of many parts of both islands, and in the
+absence of railways and other facilities for internal transit,
+communication had been carried on principally by sea, and settlement,
+instead of radiating from one point, as in New South Wales, Victoria,
+and South Australia, had been diffused at Auckland, Wellington,
+Christchurch, Dunedin, and other places of secondary importance.  Under
+these circumstances, while it was deemed advisable to create a Central
+Government at Auckland, which was transferred to Wellington in 1865,
+six elective {83} Provincial Councils were established, which, though
+their legislative and executive powers were confined within specified
+limits, promoted the continuance of the separate development of the
+several portions of the Colony.  In 1876 the Provincial Legislatures,
+which had in the meanwhile been increased by a division of territories
+to ten, were abolished by the Central Government, principally because
+they impeded the execution of the national policy of the construction
+of public works.  The effects of the system, however, are still seen,
+especially in the demands made in the House of Representatives that the
+different districts shall share in the benefits of any proposed
+expenditure of public funds.
+
+Another feature which served to differentiate New Zealand from
+Australia was the existence of a warlike native race in the North
+Island, which opposed the colonisation of the early settlers.  From the
+outset, ignorance of each other's language and habits of thought led to
+misunderstandings in regard to the disposal of land, which was
+complicated by the communal tenure of the Maoris.  The appreciation of
+this difficulty led to the insertion in the Treaty of 1840, in which
+the chiefs purported to cede the sovereignty of New Zealand, of a
+provision which reserved to the Crown the right of pre-emption over all
+native lands.  But the dissatisfaction was not allayed; the natives,
+conscious of the steady advances of the {84} settlers and urged to sell
+by agents of the Crown, feared that they would gradually be
+dispossessed of their territory.  A conflict which arose in regard to
+some land, and led to fatal results, increased the state of tension,
+which culminated, after a struggle in the extreme north, in the
+prolonged conflicts of 1860 to 1870.  After the pacification the
+reciprocal relations began to improve, and are now excellent.  The
+Maoris are universally respected, have four members in the House of
+Representatives, and two in the Legislative Council, and are
+represented in the Executive Council by a Minister, who is himself a
+half-caste.  Numerous attempts have also been made to settle the land
+question, notably by the resumption of the right of pre-emption, which
+had been waived for a time, and by the constitution, by an Act of 1893,
+of a Validation Court for the purpose of considering and finally
+settling the titles to lands obtained by Europeans from the natives.
+In view of their pre-emptive right, the Government have been bound, in
+justice to the Maoris, to make provision for the purchase of such lands
+as may be offered to them, though they have not herein initiated a new
+policy.  From the establishment of Imperial sovereignty to 1870,
+successive Governments acquired six million acres in the North Island,
+the whole of the Middle Island, with the exception of reserves for the
+original owners who were few in number, and Stewart Island.  From that
+date until 1895, another six {85} million acres had been acquired at an
+outlay of a million and a half pounds, and subsequent purchases, from a
+large area still under negotiation, amount to about 550,000 acres.  New
+Zealand has thus disbursed, and is still disbursing, large sums of
+money in the purchase of native lands, while Australia and Tasmania
+recognised no right of possession on the part of the few degraded
+aboriginals; and New Zealand alone is burdened with the payment of
+interest upon loans raised to cover the charges of prolonged military
+campaigns.
+
+During the wars, settlement was necessarily checked in the North
+Island, but proceeded in the Middle Island without intermission.  At
+their conclusion, in 1870, Mr. (now Sir Julius) Vogel, the Colonial
+Treasurer, placed before Parliament a comprehensive scheme of public
+works, which aimed at the general improvement of means of
+communication, a matter of particular importance in the North Island as
+being likely to hasten its final pacification.  "The leading features
+of the policy were: to raise a loan of ten millions, and to spend it
+over a course of years in systematic immigration, in the construction
+of a main trunk railway throughout the length of each island, in the
+employment of immigrants on the railway work, and in their ultimate
+settlement within large blocks of land reserved near the lines of
+railway, in the construction of main roads, in the purchase of {86}
+native lands in the North Island, in the supply of water-power on the
+goldfields, and in the extension of the telegraph.  The plan, with some
+modifications, was authorised by the Legislature.  These modifications
+mostly related to the amount to be borrowed and to its expenditure; but
+there was one alteration which crippled the whole policy.  The
+reservation of large tracts of Crown land through which the railways
+were intended to be made, with a view to the use of that land for
+settlement thereon, and as the means of recouping to the Colony a great
+part of the railway expenditure, was withdrawn by the Government from
+fear of losing the whole scheme.  That fear was not unfounded, inasmuch
+as provincial opposition to the reservation in question, combined with
+the opposition of those who disliked the whole scheme, would have
+seriously endangered its existence."[1]  The provincial opposition was
+due to the fact that, though the disposal of the Crown lands and the
+appropriation of the Land Fund were vested by the Constitution Act in
+the Central Legislature, each province had in practice been allowed to
+frame the regulations for the alienation of land within its district,
+and had received the proceeds of sale for its own use.  But the
+omission of the proposed reservation "has necessitated the frequent
+recurrence of borrowing large sums in order to continue work which had
+been begun and was useless while {87} it was unfinished, instead of
+making, as would have been the case under a proper system of land
+reservation, the work itself to a great extent, if not altogether,
+self-supporting and self-extending; and that deplorable omission has
+also frustrated the anticipated conduct of progressive colonisation
+concurrently with the progress of the railways.  The result of not
+insisting on this fundamental condition has been what should have been
+foreseen and obviated.  The Provincial Governments sold land in the
+vicinity of the intended railways, and expended the proceeds for
+provincial purposes; and, as a rule, speculative capitalists absorbed
+the land and the profits which should have been devoted to colonisation
+and to the railway fund."[2]  As the proposed railways would pass
+through private as well as Crown lands, Sir Julius Vogel also sought
+the power to levy a special rate, in certain circumstances, upon the
+persons in the vicinity of the railways who would be benefited by their
+construction.  He believed that he would thereby prevent
+"indiscriminate scrambling for railways," but was equally unable to
+induce Parliament to accept his views.  The aggregation of large
+estates was promoted by the low price, 10s. or even 5s. an acre, at
+which the land was for many years sold.  262 freeholders, including
+companies, owned in 1891, 7,840,000 acres of land in estates of 10,000
+acres and upwards.  The Province has, since its {88} foundation, sold
+or finally disposed of more than 21 million acres, and has at present
+nearly three million acres open for selection.  The remaining lands,
+exclusive of those in the hands of the Maoris, amount to 16-½ million
+acres, but comprise large tracts of barren mountainous country in the
+Middle Island, and of valueless pumice sand in the North Island.  In
+most directions, according to the Premier, settlement is already in
+advance of the roading operations.
+
+The policy initiated by Sir Julius Vogel in 1870 was carried on by
+successive Ministers until 1888, during which time more than 27
+millions were borrowed and devoted, for the most part, to the
+construction of railways and other public undertakings.  Subsequently,
+Sir Harry Atkinson and his successor, Mr. John Ballance, realised the
+danger of constant reliance upon loans, and greatly reduced the
+expenditure, which had become extravagant in the abundance of borrowed
+money.  Mr. Ballance also reformed the system of direct taxation and
+gave an impetus to legislation dealing with the settlement of the land
+and the protection of workmen in industrial pursuits.
+
+The existing property tax, at the rate of one penny in the £ on all
+property, subject to an exemption of £500, was replaced by a graduated
+tax on incomes and land values, the principle of graduation having
+already been recognised in the case of succession duty.  The former
+impost was naturally upheld by {89} large owners of property and by all
+classes of professional men who had escaped taxation upon their
+incomes; while it was distasteful to shopkeepers, who might be taxed on
+unsaleable merchandise, and to cultivators of the soil, who found that
+their taxes rose in proportion to the improvements which they effected
+upon their estates.  The Government had little difficulty in passing
+their measure, which, subject to slight modifications, is in force at
+the present time.  Incomes below £300 are not taxed; between £300 and
+£1,300 they pay 6d. in the £, above £1,300 a shilling; but the sum of
+£300 is deducted from the total income in the assessment of the tax.
+For instance, an income of £2,000 pays £60, at the rate of £25 upon
+£1,000, and £35 upon £700.  The ordinary land-tax is a penny in the £
+on all freehold properties of which the unimproved value exceeds £500;
+between £500 and £1,500 exemption is allowed on £500; between £1,500
+and £2,500 the exemption decreases by £1 for every £2 of increased
+value, being extinguished at the latter amount.  Should the value
+exceed £5,000, a graduated land-tax is also levied, which rises
+progressively from half a farthing, until it reaches twopence upon
+estates of the unimproved value of £210,000 and upwards.  All
+improvements are excluded from the assessment of the taxable amount:
+they are defined to include "houses and buildings, fencing, planting,
+draining of land, clearing from timber, scrub or fern, laying down in
+grass or {90} pasture, and any other improvement whatsoever, the
+benefit of which is unexhausted at the time of valuation."  Under this
+provision rural owners have every encouragement to improve their
+properties, as the more they do so, the smaller becomes the proportion
+of the total value of their estates on which they are liable for
+taxation.  Owners are allowed, for the purposes of the ordinary, but
+not of the graduated land-tax, to deduct from the unimproved value of
+their land the amount of registered mortgages secured upon it; and
+mortgagees pay one penny in the £ upon the sum total of their
+mortgages, but are not subject to the graduated tax.  A return,
+published under the assessment of 1891, shows, however, that rural
+owners are obtaining less benefit from the exemption of improvements
+than the owners of urban lands.  The figures are as follows:--
+
+                 Actual Value,      Value
+                  including           of          Unimproved
+                 improvements.   improvements.      value.
+
+  Counties ...    85,818,167      27,922,735      57,880,233
+  Boroughs ...    36,406,862      18,442,562      17,907,662
+
+     Total ...  £122,225,029     £46,365,297     £75,787,895
+
+
+It thus appears that land is taxed, on an average, at 49 per cent. of
+its actual value inclusive of improvements in boroughs, and at 67-½ per
+cent. in counties; {91} but it must be remembered that, as the urban
+population is not concentrated in one centre, land values have not been
+inflated to any great extent, and that much of the rural land has
+either recently been settled or is held in large blocks in a
+comparatively unimproved condition.  The improvement or sale of such
+properties would, the Government believed, be promoted by the
+imposition of the tax.  The Minister of Labour (the Hon. W. P. Reeves)
+expressed this view in the clearest terms: "The graduated tax is a
+finger of warning held up to remind them that the Colony does not want
+these large estates.  I think that, whether partly or almost entirely
+unimproved, they are a social pest, an industrial obstacle, and a bar
+to progress."  Similar feelings are, apparently, entertained towards
+the absentee owner, who, if he has been absent from or resident out of
+the Province for at least three years prior to the passing of the
+annual Act imposing the tax, is required to pay an additional 20 per
+cent. upon the amount of graduated land-tax to which he would otherwise
+be liable.  The income and land taxes produce a revenue about equal to
+that formerly derived from the property tax, and are collected from far
+fewer taxpayers, the respective numbers being 15,808 and 26,327 in a
+population of some 700,000 persons.  The benefits have been felt
+principally by tradesmen, miners, mechanics, labourers, and small
+farmers.  Of 91,500 owners of land, 76,400 escape payment of the
+land-tax.  It {92} may be noted, incidentally, that a permissive Act of
+1896 authorises such local bodies as adopt it to levy rates on the
+basis of the unimproved value of land.  Much anxiety has been felt by
+large landowners and owners of urban property throughout Australasia at
+the successive adoption of a tax on unimproved values by South
+Australia, New Zealand, and New South Wales.  They fear that it is the
+first step towards the national absorption of land values advocated by
+Henry George, but forget that the Governments of New South Wales and
+New Zealand, in respect of exemptions, and of New Zealand and South
+Australia, in respect of graduation, have introduced features in their
+systems of taxation which cause them to be fundamentally distinct from
+his proposals.  The Bill passed through the Victorian Assembly in 1894,
+but rejected by the Council, also provided for exemptions.
+
+But how, it may be asked, has an equitable assessment of the land been
+secured for the purposes of the tax?  Any owner who is not satisfied
+with the value placed upon his land on the assessment roll, may require
+the Commissioner to reduce the assessment to the amount specified on
+the owner's return, or to purchase the land at the sum mentioned on the
+owner's return of its actual value inclusive of improvements.  The
+Commissioner is bound to make the reduction unless the Government
+approve of the acquisition of the land.  A reasonable balance is thus
+struck: the Government are unwilling to {93} have a large amount of
+land thrown on their hands, while the owner does not take the risk of
+the resumption of the land at an inadequate valuation.  Disputes
+between the Commissioner and owners have, in most cases, been adjusted
+satisfactorily; but the Government decided to buy the Cheviot Estate of
+85,000 acres, which lies close to the sea in the Middle Island.  Upon
+its purchase they at first let the pastoral lands temporarily at the
+rate of £8,862 a year, while their surveyors laid out the country and
+supervised the construction of roads.  The results of the transaction
+were, in 1896, eminently satisfactory; the capital value of the estate
+then stood at £271,700, and the annual rental at £14,300; and the few
+inhabitants engaged in pastoral pursuits had been replaced by 216
+settlers and their families, who were reported to be of a good class
+and to have done a large amount of work in the improvement of their
+lands.
+
+The principal Act dealing with the alienation of Crown Lands is that of
+1892, which consolidates and amends former legislation.  Crown Lands
+are divided into urban, suburban, and village lands, which are sold by
+auction at an upset price, and rural lands, which are again subdivided
+according to their adaptability for cultivation or pasturage.  When
+townships are being laid out on Crown Lands, one-tenth of the
+superficial area is to be reserved for purposes of recreation, and a
+similar extent as a nucleus of municipal property, to be {94} vested
+subsequently as an endowment in the local authority in addition to the
+reserves necessary for all public purposes.  At the option of the
+applicant, lands may be purchased for cash, or be selected for
+occupation with the right of purchase, or on lease in perpetuity.
+Selectors are limited to 640 acres of first-class land, or 2,000 acres
+of second-class land, the maximum being inclusive of any lands which
+they may already hold.  The object of this provision is to prevent
+existing landowners from aggregating large estates by the purchase of
+Crown Lands.  Cash sales are effected at a price of not less than 20s.
+and 5s. per acre, respectively, for first-class and second-class land,
+and entitle the selector to a free-hold title upon the expenditure of a
+prescribed amount on improvements.  Land selected under occupation with
+the right of purchase is subject to a rental of 5 per cent. upon the
+cash price, under lease in perpetuity, which is for 999 years, to a
+rental of 4 per cent.; and strict conditions of residence and
+improvement are, in both cases, attached and rigidly enforced.  At the
+expiration of ten years, a licensee under the former tenure may, upon
+payment of the upset price, acquire the freehold or may change the
+license for a lease in perpetuity.  The latter is the perpetual lease
+of the previous Acts, denuded of the option of purchase and of the
+periodical revaluation of the rent, and is, in the latter respect,
+reactionary, as the State gives up its right to take advantage of any
+unearned increment.  {95} Subsidies amounting to one-third of the rent
+of land taken up under any of the above tenures and one-fourth of the
+rent of small grazing-runs are paid to local authorities for the
+construction of roads, but must be expended for the benefit of the
+selectors from whose lands such moneys are derived.  The Act of 1892
+also authorises the Governor to reserve blocks of country, as special
+settlements or village settlements, for persons who may desire to take
+up adjacent lands.  The Village Settlements have been successful when
+they have been formed in localities in which there was a demand for
+labour; the Special Settlements comparative failures, because many of
+the members of the associations had neither the requisite means nor
+knowledge of rural pursuits.  Pastoral land is let by auction in areas
+capable of carrying not more than 20,000 sheep or 4,000 head of cattle;
+or in small grazing-runs not exceeding, according to the quality of the
+soil, 5,000 or 20,000 acres in area.  The dominant feature in the Act,
+in its application to pastoral as well as agricultural land, is the
+strict limitation of the area which may be held by any one person;
+rightly or wrongly, the Government are determined that the Crown Lands
+shall not pass into the hands of large holders.  The principal
+transactions of the last three years are thus summarised, the figures
+for 1894 covering the period from April, 1893, to March, 1894, and so
+for the other years:
+
+{96}
+
+                       1894.            1895.              1896.
+
+                   No.    AREA.      No.     AREA.     No.       AREA.
+
+                          Acres.            Acres.              Acres.
+
+  Cash   ... ...   500    34,999     415    38,710     492      26,584
+  Occupation,
+    with right to
+    purchase ...   471   108,499     428    75,500     434      84,970
+  Lease in
+    perpetuity   1,228   255,348   1,032   166,037   1,461     199,093
+  Pastoral runs    227   899,945     123   568,293     188   2,156,378
+
+
+In regard to the numerical superiority of leases in perpetuity, it must
+be pointed out that, not only the special blocks, but the improved
+farms and lands offered under the Land for Settlements Acts, to which I
+shall have occasion to refer, are disposed of solely under that tenure;
+but it appears to be attractive in itself: as most of the Crown Lands
+require considerable outlay before they become productive, a selector
+can expend any capital that he may possess more advantageously upon the
+development of the capabilities of the soil than upon the acquisition
+of the freehold.  The Government also are benefited by a policy which
+renders the land revenue a permanent asset in the finances.  The
+receipts for the financial year 1895-6 amounted to nearly £300,000.
+
+In 1892 an attempt was also made to deal with the problem of the
+scarcity of available land in settled districts which was caused by the
+prevalence {97} of large estates.  It was thought that the labourers
+employed upon them, and the sons of farmers who might wish to settle
+near their parents, should have an opportunity of acquiring land.  The
+Government, accordingly, passed the first of a series of Land for
+Settlements Acts, which authorised the repurchase or exchange of lands
+and their subdivision for purposes of close settlement.  Upon the
+recommendation of a Board of Land Purchase Commissioners, some of whom
+represent local interests, that a certain estate is suitable for
+settlement, and should be purchased at a certain price, the Government
+may enter into negotiations with the owner with a view to a voluntary
+transaction, and, upon his refusal, take the land compulsorily at a
+valuation fixed by a Compensation Court.  Owners are so far safeguarded
+that they cannot be dispossessed of estates of less than 640 acres of
+first-class, or 2,000 acres of second-class land, that they can claim
+to retain the above area, and that they can require the Government to
+take the whole of their estates.  The maximum annual expenditure was
+limited at first to £50,000, but has been raised to £250,000.  At the
+end of March of last year twenty-eight estates, containing 87,000
+acres, had been acquired, in one case compulsorily, and made available
+for settlement by surveys and the construction of roads at a total
+expenditure of nearly £390,000.  Nineteen of these had already been
+subdivided into farms of various sizes, and were bringing in rentals
+amounting to {98} 4.76 per cent. upon the outlay which they had
+involved.  The Land Purchase Inspector was able to report that the
+lands, which had been the object of eager competition, had, in most
+cases, been greatly improved and were in good condition, and he is
+likely to find even better results in the future, as the Amending Act
+of 1896 provided that applications for land should not be entertained
+unless the applicants were able to prove their ability properly to
+cultivate the soil and to fulfil the stipulations of the leases.  This
+provision is of great importance, as much of the land has been
+cultivated by its former owners, and would deteriorate rapidly under
+incapable management.  The Governments of South Australia, Queensland,
+and Western Australia have legislated in a similar direction, and that
+of New South Wales introduced a Bill which failed to become law.  As
+far as New Zealand is concerned, which has conducted its operations on
+the largest scale, the system has not been sufficiently long in
+existence to enable an estimate to be formed of its probable financial
+results.
+
+A similar uncertainty prevails in regard to the more recent attempts to
+place cheap money within the reach of settlers.  The first step in that
+direction was taken in 1886, when regulations were made for the
+establishment of Village Settlements, the members of which might
+receive loans for the construction of their houses and for other
+purposes.  These settlements were not, as in some of the {99}
+Australian Provinces, formed on a co-operative or a semi-communistic
+basis.  The success of this experiment doubtless encouraged the
+Government to widen the scope of the advances.  In 1895, 4,560 persons,
+divided among 144 settlements, had occupied 33,800 acres of land; they
+had received £25,800 in advances, had paid £17,600 in rent and
+interest, and had carried out improvements of the value of £92,800.
+These improvements, consequently, form an ample security for the
+repayment of the loans.  The necessity of a general scheme of advances
+was based upon the difficulty experienced by small settlers, however
+good might be the security, in obtaining loans except at prohibitive
+rates.  Authority was, accordingly, obtained through the Government
+Advances to Settlers Acts of 1894-6 to borrow three millions with a
+view to loans ranging from £25 to £3,000, upon first mortgages, to
+owners of freehold land and occupiers of Crown Lands, the advances not
+to exceed three-fifths of the value of the former and one-half of the
+value of the lessee's interest in the latter.  Advances may not be made
+on town lands, nor on suburban lands which are held for residential or
+manufacturing purposes.  The valuation of every security is to be
+carried out by or on behalf of a superintendent appointed _ad hoc._,
+and is to be submitted for the consideration of a General Board
+consisting of the Colonial Treasurer, the Superintendent, the Public
+Trustee, the Commissioner of Taxes, and a nominee of the {100} Governor
+in Council.  The advances on freehold land may be either for a fixed
+period at 5 per cent., or for 36-½ years at 6 per cent., of which 5 per
+cent. is reckoned as interest and 1 per cent. towards the gradual
+repayment of the principal; on leasehold lands, in the latter form
+alone.  As the loan of a million and a half raised as the source of
+advances was floated at 3 per cent., and realised nearly £1,400,000,
+the margin between the percentage due by the Government and that
+received from the settlers should be sufficient to enable one-tenth of
+the interest to be paid, as provided, into an Assurance Fund against
+possible losses, and a residue to be available which will cover the
+general expenses of administration.  But it is obvious that the result
+of the experiment will depend greatly upon the prevalent rate of
+interest and the price of produce.  Hitherto, two-thirds of the
+advances have been used by settlers to enable them to rid themselves of
+former and less advantageous mortgages; in some cases, mortgagees, in
+order to retain their mortgages, have voluntarily lowered the rate of
+interest to 5 per cent.  The tabular statement on the following page of
+the financial position is the latest that has been issued, and does not
+purport to be more than approximately correct.  Advances may also be
+made towards the construction of dwelling-houses to those who have
+obtained selections under the Land for Settlements Acts; but they may
+not exceed twenty pounds nor the {101} amount already spent by the
+applicant upon his holding.
+
+  INCOME.
+
+  The advances authorised and accepted
+    amount to £735,967, and yield an annual
+    income of 5 per cent.  . . . . . . . . . . .  £36,798
+
+  The temporary investment of £603,444 in
+    Government securities yields an annual
+    income at the rate of 3.42 per cent. . . . .   20,747
+
+  The balance of £51,805 on current account
+    with the Bank, may be estimated to yield
+    2 per cent.  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    1,036
+                                                 --------
+  Estimated total income on June 15, 1896  . . .  £58,581
+                                                 --------
+
+  EXPENDITURE.
+
+  Annual charge for interest at 3 per cent. on
+    £1,500,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  £43,000
+  Salaries for the year  . . . . . . . . . . . .    3,700
+  Other expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    2,800
+  Mortgage Tax, estimated  . . . . . . . . . . .    1,800
+                                                 --------
+  Estimated total expenditure  . . . . . . . . .  £53,300
+  Balance of income over expenditure . . . . . .    5,281
+                                                 --------
+                                                  £58,581
+                                                 ========
+
+
+Another measure which may affect the well-being of settlers is the
+Family Home Protection Act, 1895.  Any owner of land may settle as a
+family home the land, not exceeding, with all improvements, £1,500 in
+value, on which he resides and has his home, provided that at the time
+the land is unencumbered and he is able to pay all his debts without
+the land in question.  As a precaution against the {102} concealment of
+liabilities, he is obliged to make an application to a District Land
+Registrar, who must thereupon give public notice of the intended
+registration.  Should any creditor put in a claim within twelve months,
+the case is to be tried before a Judge of the Supreme Court, and if the
+owner of the land is vindicated, the Registrar is to issue a
+certificate which will exempt the family home from seizure under
+ordinary processes of law, but not in one or two contingencies, of
+which the principal is the failure to meet current liabilities in
+respect of rates or taxes.  The registration is to continue until the
+death of the owner or the majority or death under the age of twenty-one
+of all his children, and is not to precede the last of these events.
+Upon its cessation it may be renewed at the option of the persons then
+holding the estate, who must be relations of the deceased.  Little
+effect has been given to the Act owing, probably, to the unavoidable
+publicity of the proceedings.  It appears to have been based upon a
+South Australian Act of 1891, which enables holders of workmen's
+blocks, by the endorsement of their leases, to secure for their
+properties somewhat similar exemptions from seizure.  Their failure to
+avail themselves, to any considerable extent, of this privilege is
+attributed to the unwillingness of working men to take any trouble in a
+matter of which the advantages are merely contingent.
+
+So far I have discussed the legislation of New Zealand which affects
+freeholders and those who {103} are, or desire to become, tenants of
+the Crown; but before proceeding to deal with matters of common import
+to most settlers, I must point out that tenants holding from private
+landlords have also engaged the paternal attention of the Government.
+The Minister of Lands introduced last session, but failed to pass, a
+Fair Rent Bill, which would have established a system of Land Courts
+under the presidency of Stipendiary Magistrates.  Landlords and tenants
+would have had an equal right to apply for the determination of the
+fair rent which, upon the decision of the Court, whether it were higher
+or lower than the reserved rent, would have been deemed, until a
+further revision, to be the rent payable under the lease.  The
+Government displayed great inconsistency in the introduction of the
+measure; having shown, in the system of lease in perpetuity, that they
+objected to the periodical revaluation of the rents payable upon Crown
+Lands, they proposed, through the Fair Rent Bill, to enable the Crown,
+as landlord, to take steps to increase the rents of its tenants.
+
+As regards the general interests of producers, the Government have,
+through reductions amounting to £50,000 a year in railway rates, made a
+concession to them at the expense of the general taxpayer, as the
+railways, after payment of working expenses, return only 2.8 per cent.,
+a sum insufficient to meet the interest upon their cost of
+construction.  Again, they have appointed experts in butter-making,
+{104} fruit-growing, &c., who travel about the country and give
+technical instruction by means of lectures; and they distribute, among
+farmers and others, pamphlets containing practical advice upon various
+aspects of cultivation.  But, except that butter is received, graded
+and frozen free of charge, they have not followed the example of
+Victoria and South Australia in the direct encouragement of exports.
+Finally, while the State acts as landlord, banker, and carrier, it also
+carries on a department of life insurance and annuities, accepts the
+position of trustee under wills, and, if the programme of the
+Government is accepted by Parliament, will undertake the business of
+fire insurance and grant a small allowance to all who are aged and
+indigent and have resided for a long term of years in the Colony.  The
+development of the resources of the country, under the assistance of
+the State, has also proceeded in other directions.  More than £500,000
+had been spent up to March, 1896, in the construction of water-races on
+goldfields for the benefit of alluvial miners and public companies; and
+in that year the Premier, in view of the large amount of foreign and
+native capital that was flowing into the industry, obtained the
+authorisation of Parliament to the expenditure of a further sum of
+£200,000 in the conservation of water by means of large reservoirs, the
+construction of water-races, the extension of prospecting throughout
+the Colony, and the construction of roads and tracks for the general
+{105} development of the goldfields.  The physical attractions and
+health resorts of the country, many of which are reached with
+difficulty, are also being opened up by the expenditure of public funds.
+
+The general question of settlement has, during the last few years, been
+connected closely with that of the unemployed.  In New Zealand, as in
+several of the Australian Provinces, the construction of the main lines
+of railway attracted into the country immigrants who, upon their
+completion, were left without other resources.  At the same time the
+fall in prices rendered many settlers unable to fulfil their
+obligations, and, upon the loss of their properties, drove them into
+the towns, where they swelled the ranks of the unemployed.  It also
+forced those who remained solvent to cut down their general expenses,
+and especially their labour bill, to the lowest possible point.  The
+Government were compelled to face the problem and attempted to give
+former settlers a fresh chance and gradually to accustom artisans to
+rural pursuits which, in the case of uncleared land, are at first of a
+simple character.  But the facilities offered under the Land Act were
+of little use unless it could be arranged that the men, being without
+capital, should have outside employment upon which they could depend
+until their lands had been cleared and brought into cultivation.  It
+had already been realised that the construction of roads was an
+indispensable sequel to that of railways, and large annual
+appropriations {106} had been made from the Public Works Fund; but it
+was then decided that settlement should be encouraged systematically in
+those districts in which it was proposed to proceed with the
+construction of roads.  This policy has, accordingly, been carried out
+energetically during the last few years from loans and current revenue
+upon the co-operative system, which was inaugurated in 1891 by the Hon.
+R. J. Seddon, then Minister of Public Works and now Premier of the
+Colony.  As this system, which was first tried as an experiment upon
+the railways, is now employed in connection with most public works, its
+object and operation may be illustrated by a series of quotations: "The
+contract system had many disadvantages.  It gave rise to a class of
+middle men, in the shape of contractors, who often made large profits
+out of their undertakings, and at times behaved with less liberality to
+their workmen than might have been expected under the circumstances.
+Even in New Zealand, where the labour problem is less acute than in
+older countries, strikes have occurred in connection with public works
+contracts, with the result that valuable time has been lost in the
+prosecution of the works, much capital has been wasted by works being
+kept at a standstill and valuable plant lying idle, and large numbers
+of men being for some time unemployed; and considerable bitterness of
+feeling has often been engendered.  The contract system also gave rise
+to sub-contracting, which is worse again; for not only {107} is it
+subject to all the drawbacks of the parent system, but by relegating
+the conduct of the works to contractors of inferior standing, with
+little or no capital, the evil of "sweating" was admitted.  Very often,
+too, the business people who supplied stores and materials were unable
+to obtain payment for them, and not seldom the workmen also failed to
+receive the full amount of their wages.  The result in some cases was
+that, instead of the expenditure proving a great boon to the district
+in which the works were situated, as would have been the case if the
+contract had been well managed and properly carried out, such contracts
+frequently brought disaster in their train.  The anomaly of the
+principal contractor making a large profit, his sub-contractor being
+ruined and his workmen left unpaid, also occasionally presented itself,
+and thus the taxpayer who provided the money had the mortification of
+seeing one man made rich (who would perhaps take his riches to Europe
+or America to enjoy them) and a number of others reduced to poverty, or
+in some instances cast upon public charity....  The co-operative system
+was designed to overcome these evils, and to enable the work to be let
+direct to the workmen, so that they should be able, not only to earn a
+fair day's wage for a fair day's work, but also to secure for
+themselves the profits which a contractor would have otherwise made on
+the undertaking....  The work is valued by the engineer appointed to
+have charge of it {108} before it is commenced, and his valuations are
+submitted to the Engineer-in-Chief of the Colony for approval.  When
+approved, they constitute the contract price for the work; but they are
+not absolutely unchangeable as in the case of a binding, strictly legal
+contract.  It frequently happens under an ordinary contract that work
+turns out to be more easy of execution than was anticipated, and the
+State has to see its contractors making inordinate profits.  Sometimes,
+on the other hand, works cost more than was expected; but in most cases
+of this kind the contractor either becomes a bankrupt, so that the
+State has, after all, to pay full value for the work, or, if the
+contractor happens to be a moneyed man, he will probably find some
+means of getting relieved of a contract, or of obtaining special
+consideration for his losses on completion of his work.  Under the
+co-operative system, if it is found that the workmen are earning
+unusually high rates their contracts can be determined, and be re-let
+at lower rates, either to the same party of men or to others, as may be
+necessary.  Similarly, if it is shown, after a fair trial of any work,
+that capable workmen are not able to earn reasonable rates upon it, the
+prices paid can, with the approval of the Engineer-in-chief, be
+increased, so long as the department is satisfied that the work is not
+costing more than it would have cost if let by contract at ordinary
+fair paying prices....  Another great advantage of {109} co-operation
+is that it gives the Government complete control over its expenditure.
+Under the old plan, when large contracts were entered into, the
+expenditure thereunder was bound to go on, even though, through sudden
+depression or other unlooked-for shrinking of the revenue, the
+Government would gladly have avoided or postponed the outlay....  Not
+only has the Government complete control over the expenditure, but in
+the matter of the time within which works are to be completed the
+control is much superior to that possessed when the works are in the
+hands of a contractor.  When once a given time is allowed to a
+contractor in which to complete a work, any request to finish it in
+less time would at once provoke a demand for extra payment; but under
+the co-operative system the Government reserves the right to increase
+the numbers employed in any party to any extent considered desirable,
+so that if any sudden emergency arises, or an unusually rapid
+development in any district takes place, it is quite easy to arrange
+for the maximum number possible of men being employed on the works in
+hand, with no more loss of time than is required to get the men
+together."[3]
+
+It was at first proposed that the men should work in gangs of about
+fifty, who should have an equal interest in the contract and make an
+equal division of the wages and profits; but experience showed that
+large gangs did not work together harmoniously {110} owing to
+differences, not only in the temperament of the men, but also in their
+abilities as workmen.  The labourers solved this difficulty by forming
+themselves into small parties composed of men of about equal ability,
+with the result that, while some gangs earn higher wages than others,
+the weak are not excluded altogether from employment.  The co-operative
+works have, on the whole, been successful; but it is clear, from the
+reports of the surveyors, that constant supervision is necessary, and
+that there is considerable dissatisfaction, among unskilled workmen,
+with the low rate of their earnings, and, generally, with the
+intermittent character of the employment.  For the Government have
+decided, in order that work may be given to as many as possible and
+that settlement may be promoted, that no labourers shall be employed
+more than four days in the week.  During the remainder of the time, if
+they have taken up land in the neighbourhood, they devote themselves to
+it; otherwise they are likely to be demoralised by enforced idleness.
+The Minister of Public Works attempted to prove that works had been
+carried out more economically under the co-operative system, but was
+unable to cite cases that were exactly analogous.  He showed that the
+average number of employés had risen from 788 in 1891-2 to 2,336 in
+1895-6, but that, whereas in the former years workmen under the Public
+Works Department were twice as numerous as those under the Lands {111}
+Department, in the latter the proportion had been more than reversed.
+This change must be regarded as satisfactory, as employés under the
+Lands Department are, in a large majority of cases, settlers.
+
+In 1894 the Government passed an Act which was intended to meet the
+special requirements of the unemployed.  Any number of men composing an
+association may, by agreement with the Minister of Lands, settle upon
+Crown Lands for the purpose of clearing or otherwise improving them,
+and will, subject to the authorisation of Parliament, receive from the
+Colonial Treasurer payment for their work.  They are entitled thereupon
+to take up holdings at a rental based on the combined value of the land
+in an unimproved condition and of the improvements.  This system, which
+is known as that of Improved Farm Settlements, has been worked largely
+in connection with co-operative works.  In March of last year 39
+settlements had been initiated which covered 63,600 acres and carried
+679 residents.  They have "had the effect of removing from the towns a
+considerable number of people who otherwise would have been found in
+the ranks of the unemployed, and an opportunity has been given to all
+who are really desirous of becoming _bonâ-fide_ settlers to make homes
+for themselves, and become producers rather than a burden on the State.
+Many who have taken up land on this system brought no experience with
+{112} them to aid in the operations of the pioneer work of settlement,
+and this had to be gained at some cost to themselves and the State.  So
+long as the Government continues monetary aid by way of assisting in
+clearing, grassing, and house-building, all will go well; by the time
+this comes to an end, sufficient experience should have been gained,
+and the farms ought to be stocked.  This latter is at present a
+difficulty with many of the settlers, for it is obvious that many of
+them can at first do little more than support themselves out of the
+moneys advanced for clearing, without sparing anything for stock."[4]
+The success of these settlements, it is pointed out, depends upon the
+simultaneous occupation by men with capital of the adjoining Crown
+Lands in larger holdings on which there will be a demand for the labour
+of the settlers; otherwise they will be in difficulties when the roads
+are completed, as their blocks of a hundred acres or so will not alone
+suffice to secure to them a livelihood.  This principle has been borne
+in view, as far as possible, in the location of the settlements.
+
+Labourers for the co-operative works, I should have stated, are
+recommended by the local agencies of the Labour Department, and are
+selected on the principle that applicants not previously employed have
+priority of claim over those who have recently had employment; that men
+resident in the neighbourhood of the works have priority over {113}
+non-residents, and that married men have priority over single men;
+while the qualifications of the men as workmen and their personal
+characters are naturally taken into consideration.  During the five
+years of its existence, the Labour Department has found employment for
+nearly 16,000 men; of the 2,781 men assisted during the year ending
+March, 1896, 2,163 were sent to Government works.  Under the control of
+the Labour Department is a State Farm, in the province of Wellington,
+at which unemployed are received for a few weeks or months, and, having
+saved a few pounds, are enabled to seek work elsewhere.  The farm is
+specially adapted for young, able-bodied men who have been brought up
+as clerks and shop assistants, but, owing to the stress of competition,
+have been thrown out of employment.  Many of them would be prepared to
+undertake manual labour, but lack the necessary experience.  At the
+farm they would be able to obtain in a short time sufficient knowledge
+to render them capable of accepting work for private employment.  The
+Secretary of the Department of Labour, Mr. Tregear, maintains that the
+farm has proved its usefulness and should be supplemented by similar
+institutions in the other provinces.  Since the last annual report, I
+understand, the Government have decided, as the land has been improved
+to a point which renders it impossible to employ any considerable
+number upon it profitably, to dispose of it, and to remove the workmen
+{114} to fresh areas of uncleared land.  They hope to recoup themselves
+for their whole expenditure, but will not necessarily be convicted of
+failure should they fail to do so, as the undertaking was started on a
+charitable, and not on a commercial, basis.  It aimed at the assistance
+of the genuine unemployed, and was not intended to become a refuge for
+confirmed loafers.  On this point Mr. Tregear writes, and his views are
+those of the working men of New Zealand: "I am more and more impressed
+with the necessity that exists of establishing farms which shall be
+used as places of restriction for the incurably vagrant atoms of the
+population.  The State Farm does not and should not fulfil this
+purpose; it is for the disposal and help of worthy persons,
+unsuccessful for the time, or failing through advance in years.  What
+is required is a place of detention and discipline.  There exists in
+every town a certain number of men whose position vibrates between that
+of the loafer and the criminal: these should altogether be removed from
+cities.  The spieler, the bookmaker, the habitual drunkard, the loafer
+on his wife's earnings, the man who has no honest occupation, he whose
+condition of 'unemployed' has become chronic and insoluble--all these
+persons are evil examples and possible dangers.  Such an one should be
+liable, on conviction before a stipendiary magistrate, to be removed
+for one or two years to a farm, where simple food and clothes would be
+found for him {115} in return for his enforced labour.  The
+surroundings would be more healthy, and open-air life and regular
+occupation would induce more wholesome habits and principles than the
+hours formerly spent in the beer-shop and at the street-corner, while
+the removal from bad companionship would liberate from the pressure of
+old associations.  He would, on his discharge, probably value more
+highly his liberty to work as a free man for the future, and, as the
+State would have been to no cost for his maintenance, it would be a
+gainer by his temporary removal from crowded centres.  There need be no
+more trouble than before in regard to the sustentation of the
+restricted person's family, as such a vagrant is of no use to his
+family, but only an added burden.  While for the honest workman,
+temporarily 'unemployed,' every sympathy should be shown and assistance
+to work given, for the other class, the 'unemployable,' there should be
+compulsory labour, even if under regulations of severity such as obtain
+in prisons."[5]  New Zealand has a justification for penal colonies
+lacking in older countries in the fact that the genuine unemployed can
+obtain assistance from the Government to enable them to settle on the
+land, either through the Co-operative Works or the Improved Farm
+Settlements.
+
+The special efforts of the Government to settle impecunious persons on
+the land are still in the {116} initial stage and have not served to
+neutralise the effects of the lowness of prices and consequent scarcity
+of employment.  The total expenditure under the heading of Charitable
+Aid was £106,500 in the year ended March, 1896, being an increase of
+£20,000 upon that of the previous twelve months.  A sum of £18,000 was
+also spent on relief works.  The administration is vested in the local
+authorities, who obtain the necessary funds from rates, voluntary
+contributions and subsidies on a fixed scale from the National
+Exchequer.  They expend one-fifth of the amount on the maintenance of
+destitute children and the greater portion of the remainder on outdoor
+relief.  No information is available as to the number of persons
+relieved, their average ages, the form of relief or the conditions
+under which it is given; but it is evident from reports of the
+Inspector of Charitable Institutions that the administration is
+exceedingly lax and tends to intensify the evil which it should strive
+to alleviate.  It would seem that, on the one hand, the Government are
+inculcating habits of independence, on the other, conniving at the
+encouragement of pauperism.
+
+The results of recent legislation will depend, partly, on the price of
+produce, principally, on the methods of administration.  This matter is
+one on which it is difficult to form an adequate opinion, as all
+statements are tinged more or less with the prejudice of partisanship.
+It is therefore {117} best to confine oneself to Acts of Parliament and
+official documents while realising that the more a State extends its
+sphere of action, the more are its Ministers subject to political
+pressure and tempted to maintain themselves in office by a misuse of
+the possibilities of patronage.  The disposal of Crown Lands is vested
+in Local Land Boards, which consist of the Commissioners of Crown Lands
+for the district, and of not less than two nor more than four members
+appointed for two years, but removable from time to time by warrant
+under the hand of the Governor.  These Boards receive all applications
+for Crown Lands and dispose of them in accordance with the provisions
+of the Land Acts.  They are constituted the sole judges of the
+fulfilment of the conditions attached to leases and may cancel them,
+after inquiry, subject to the right of appeal to a judge of the Supreme
+Court.  If any lessee make default in the payment of interest, his
+lease is liable to absolute forfeiture, subject to a similar right of
+appeal, without any compensation for his improvements.  This question
+is one of great delicacy: it is manifestly unfair to confiscate a man's
+improvements if he has a fair prospect of being able to meet his
+obligations within a definite period; on the other hand, if such
+latitude be allowed, possibilities of favouritism are at once admitted.
+Again, are all applicants for land to be treated alike, irrespective of
+the probability that they will be good tenants of the Crown?  The {118}
+Land Boards are vested with a discretionary power to refuse
+applications, but must state the grounds of their refusal.  The best
+constitution for these Boards has been much discussed; but if, as has
+been proposed, nomination by the local authorities or election by the
+electors of local authorities were substituted for nomination of the
+Government, the pressure might be not only greater, but more immediate.
+Statistics, moreover, show that the administration of the Land Laws has
+not erred on the side of leniency.  In March, 1896, the arrears of rent
+throughout the Province were only £15,700, a decrease of £22,000 upon
+the amount reported for the previous twelve months; and forfeitures had
+been numerous for failure to carry out the conditions of tenure.  Under
+exceptional circumstances Parliament is prepared to make special
+arrangements.  In view of the losses incurred by pastoralists during
+the severe winter of 1895, it passed a Pastoral Tenants' Relief Act,
+which empowered the Land Boards after inquiry into the facts of each
+case to grant remissions of rent or extensions of leases at reduced
+rentals.  The Advances to Settlers Act also appears to be administered
+prudently, on the principle that the value of the property which may be
+offered as a security for a loan, and the risk of any loss from
+granting an advance, must determine the result of the consideration of
+every application.  It is a necessary limitation of the Act that many
+of those who most {119} require assistance, having borrowed at high
+rates of interest, are unable to obtain the advances which would enable
+them to clear off their mortgages on account of the depreciation in
+value of the security.  Of 2,196 applications received to March of last
+year, 730 had been refused, and 397 had lapsed through the refusal of
+the department to offer amounts equal to the expectations of the
+applicant.
+
+The Acts providing for the purchase of private and native land and for
+advances to settlers have necessitated a large increase in the
+indebtedness of the Colony, and a consequent divergence from the
+principles laid down by Sir Harry Atkinson and Mr. Ballance.  The
+present Premier, Mr. Seddon, who succeeded Mr. Ballance in 1893, admits
+that his Government borrowed £3,800,000 in three years, but contends
+that the whole of the amount with the exception of £210,000 is being
+expended in such a manner as to be remunerative.  The sum mentioned is
+exclusive of a loan for a million authorised last session, which is to
+be expended upon the construction of railways and roads, the purchase
+of native lands, and the development of the goldfields and hot springs.
+Have these loans been in the best interests of the Colony?  A stranger
+can but look at the matter broadly and will be inclined to think that
+they follow, in natural sequence, upon the policy of Sir Julius Vogel.
+The State then decided that it would use its credit to accelerate the
+construction of railways and roads and open up {120} outlying
+districts.  Such works were valueless--in fact ruinous to the
+Province--unless they were followed by a strenuous and successful
+encouragement of settlement and cultivation.  The latter task has been
+the principal work of the Seddon Government, which has attempted, not
+only to settle people on the land, but to settle them in suitable
+localities and under conditions that will give them a reasonable
+prospect of an independent and comfortable livelihood.
+
+
+
+[1] "The Colony of New Zealand," Gisborne, p. 170.
+
+[2] "The Colony of New Zealand," Gisborne, pp. 171-2.
+
+[3] New Zealand Official Year Book, 1894.  Report by Under-secretary of
+Public Works.
+
+[4] Report of Department of Lands and Survey, 1896; page iv.
+
+[5] Report of Department of Labour, 1896; page vii.
+
+
+
+
+{121}
+
+V
+
+_CHARACTERISTICS OF VICTORIAN LEGISLATION_
+
+Comparisons between the Australasian Upper Houses--Conflicts between
+the two Houses in Victoria--The proposed obviation of deadlocks--The
+utility of the Legislative Council--The antagonism between Town and
+Country--The Factory Acts, their justification and provisions--State
+Socialism: Railways, Irrigation Works, the encouragement of Mining,
+Subsidies and Bonuses, State advances to Settlers--The Unemployed and
+the Leongatha Labour Colony.
+
+
+The Victorian Legislative Council is, from the democratic point of
+view, the most objectionable of all the Australasian Upper Houses.  In
+Queensland, New South Wales, and New Zealand, the members of the
+Council are nominated for life and receive no remuneration for their
+services; but, as their number is not restricted, their opposition to
+measures passed by the Assembly is limited by the dread that the
+Executive may exercise the power of making additional appointments.  In
+the other Provinces the Councils are elective; in South Australia,
+Western Australia, and Tasmania, as in the Provinces already mentioned,
+the Members are {122} subject to no property qualification, and in New
+Zealand, South Australia, and Tasmania they are paid at the rate,
+respectively, of £150, £200, and £50 a year.  In Victoria, on the other
+hand, there is a property qualification for membership which consists
+in the possession of a freehold estate of the clear annual value of
+£100, which confines eligibility to a small fraction of the population;
+and the area of selection is restricted further by the absence of
+remuneration and by the size of the electoral districts, which
+necessitates heavy expenditure on the part of a candidate at a
+contested election.  Under these circumstances, the comparatively low
+electoral franchise, which admits upon the rolls two-thirds of the
+voters for members of the Assembly, is absolutely useless to the
+democratic electors: they are unable to find candidates who will adopt
+their views, and have been obliged, as at the last elections, to allow
+all the retiring members to be re-elected without opposition.  It
+should be stated that the members are elected for a period of six years
+in ten provinces, and retire in rotation at intervals of two years.
+
+The Victorian Assembly consists of ninety-five members who are elected
+for three years upon the basis of manhood suffrage and receive
+remuneration at the rate of £270 a year.  Conflicts between the two
+Houses were incessant during the first twenty-five years of Responsible
+Government.  Immediately after its establishment in 1855 a struggle
+{123} arose as to the right of selection upon pastoral properties, in
+which the Council supported the interests of the squatters.  The issue
+could not be doubtful, as the squatters, who had been allowed to
+depasture enormous tracts of land in the early days of the Province,
+had no fixed tenure and were impeding the settlement of the country.
+In 1865 the Assembly passed a protective tariff which was distasteful
+to the Council as representative of the producers, and tried to secure
+its enactment by tacking it on to the Appropriation Bill.  They relied
+upon the section of the Constitution Act which provides that "all Bills
+for appropriating any part of the revenue of Victoria, and for imposing
+any duty, rate, tax, rent, return or impost, shall originate in the
+Assembly, and may be rejected but not altered by the Council."  Upon
+the refusal of the Council to submit to such coercion, the Ministry
+arranged with various banks that they should advance the funds required
+for public purposes, levied a tax upon a resolution of the Assembly and
+paid the civil servants without parliamentary authority.  A general
+election followed, at which the Ministry were successful; the Assembly
+and Council repeated their action of the previous session, and,
+finally, the Council agreed to accept the new tariff provided it was
+submitted to them in the form of a separate Bill.  Similar
+constitutional struggles occurred in 1867 upon the proposed grant to
+ex-Governor Darling, and in 1877 upon the Bill to provide for the
+payment of Members {124} of the Assembly.  During the following years
+peace reigned between the two Houses, owing at first to the great
+prosperity of the Province, which caused universal confidence, and the
+predominance of material considerations; afterwards to the equally
+great reaction which compelled politicians to sink their differences
+and combine to save the credit of their country.
+
+The antagonism was renewed in 1894 upon the proposals for additional
+taxation, by which the Premier, Mr. Turner, hoped to cope with an
+anticipated deficiency in the revenue of more than half a million
+pounds.  His scheme included the repeal of the existing land-tax, under
+which landed estates of upwards of 640 acres in extent are taxed
+annually upon the excess of the capital value over £2,500--an impost
+which obviously penalises rural, at the expense of urban, properties
+and was intended to promote the subdivision of the land (though it does
+not appear to have had much effect in that direction); and the
+imposition of a tax on unimproved values at the rate of 1d. in the £,
+subject to the exemption of £100 when the value does not exceed £1,000,
+and of an income tax which, subject to the exemption of incomes not
+exceeding £200, was to be at the rate of 3d. in the £ on incomes
+derived from personal exertion and 6d. on incomes derived from property
+up to £2,200, above which sum the amount was in both cases to be
+doubled.  Absentees were to pay an additional 20 per cent., {125} and
+incomes from land were to be exempt where the owner paid the land-tax.
+These taxes, it was calculated, would yield an annual revenue of
+£600,000.  The Finance Bill was passed in the Assembly at its second
+reading by a majority of twenty-two, but in committee it was amended so
+as to exempt from the land-tax land values of less than £500.  The
+resultant deficiency in the proceeds of the tax was made up by a
+continuance of the primage duties and by an increase of the tax on
+incomes derived from personal exertion.  Upon its transmission to the
+Council the Bill was summarily rejected, the Minister who was in charge
+of it alone, beyond the tellers, being in its favour, on the ground
+that the questions of a tax on unimproved values had not been submitted
+to the electorate and that, in the existing conditions of the Province,
+any further burden upon the producers would be opposed to its best
+interests.  The Ministry accepted the decision of the Council and
+contented themselves with rigid retrenchment, the continuance of the
+existing land-tax, and the imposition of a progressive income tax which
+rises to a maximum of sixteen-pence upon the excess over £2,000 of
+incomes derived from property.  According to a statement of the
+Premier, they intend to make the question a distinct issue at the next
+elections, and will in the meanwhile take no action in the matter.
+
+In the following session the Council rejected an Electoral Bill which
+provided for the abolition of {126} the plural vote and the
+enfranchisement of women, and disagreed with the Assembly upon several
+important clauses of a Factory Bill, in the legitimate exercise of the
+functions of a revising Chamber.  The Ministry succeeded in 1896 in
+passing the Factory Bill in a form which met some of the objections of
+the Council, and reintroduced the Electoral Bill, which was
+subsequently laid aside by the Council on the ground that it had not
+secured in the Assembly the absolute majority of all the votes required
+in the case of amendments to the Constitution.
+
+The value of any Second Chamber must rest upon its ability, and the
+exercise of its ability, to check dangerous tendencies in legislation.
+As regards Victoria, it must be admitted that the greatest danger has
+lain in the tendency to extravagant expenditure due to the fatal
+facility of obtaining almost unlimited advances from the British
+capitalist.  Politicians have been tempted to outbid each other in the
+struggle for popular support, and to promise the outlay of vast sums of
+borrowed money.  Judged with reference to this question, the
+Legislative Council cannot be regarded as having been efficient.  The
+greatest waste of money has occurred in connection with the
+construction of railways from which there was no likelihood of adequate
+returns, and with injudicious advances to Irrigation and Water Supply
+Trusts.  The Council has been hampered by the {127} restrictions
+imposed upon it by the Constitution Act, but it has not admitted that
+it is debarred from amending Railway Bills, though it has done so but
+sparingly, owing to the opposition which such action aroused in the
+Assembly.  It would seem that, at the time of the greatest output of
+the Victorian gold mines and of the high prices obtainable for
+agricultural and pastoral produce, the Council was as much carried away
+by the prosperity of the Province as the Assembly, and formed an
+equally false estimate as to its continuance.  It appears, however, to
+have been the first to realise the imminence of a reaction.  A
+comparison of the British and Victorian finances shows that while, in
+the former case, speaking broadly, provision is made only for the
+maintenance of the public services and for some matters of national
+importance, such as public instruction, in which all parts of the
+country share equally, in the latter case the expenditure includes the
+construction of public works which benefit particular localities, and
+grants and subsidies which benefit particular industries.  Under these
+conditions members of the Assembly are subject to continual pressure
+from their constituents, which, it is contended, the members of the
+Council, owing to the greater size of the constituencies, are better
+able to resist.  As the whole body of the tax-payers are responsible
+for the interest on the railways, a locality has everything to gain by
+the {128} increase of its mileage; if it receives advances for works of
+irrigation and defaults upon the consequent obligations, it hopes to
+induce the Government, through its Member, to grant more lenient terms.
+The works in many cases are of doubtful value; the liability remains as
+a burden upon posterity.
+
+The evil is widely recognised, but opinions differ as to the remedy.  A
+step in the right direction was taken by the appointment in 1890 of the
+Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways, which, it is suggested,
+should be supplemented by a similar Committee whose duty it would be to
+report upon all proposals for new works of water supply involving an
+expenditure of a thousand pounds of State money.  Others ask that the
+Council should be allowed to amend Money Bills, and would do so with
+more reason if the property qualification for membership were removed,
+as the electorate already includes the bulk of the stable elements of
+the population.  But the greatest safeguard would appear to lie in the
+lessons of the past, and in the appointment of Standing Committees
+whose antecedent sanction shall be essential to proposals for the
+expenditure of national funds upon public undertakings.  It would be
+advisable to define by Act of Parliament what classes of public works
+might be carried out upon borrowed money; all others would then form a
+charge upon current revenue.
+
+{129}
+
+The absence of any ultimate appeal in the case of a divergence of
+opinion between the two Houses has recently been discussed in several
+of the Provinces.  It has been pointed out that the power of the
+Executive to make additional appointments to nominee Councils is an
+unsatisfactory device calculated to produce friction between the
+Governor and his responsible advisers; that elective Councils can force
+upon the Assembly dissolutions from which they are themselves exempt;
+and that, in the majority of cases, the Councils are able, owing to the
+variety of issues and the influence of local and personal
+considerations, to deny that any particular question has received the
+verdict of popular approval.  The measures rejected by the Victorian
+Council since 1891 include the Land and Income Tax Bill, the Opium
+Bill, the Miners' Right Titles Bill, the Mallee Land Bill, and the
+Village Settlements Amendment Bill.  The Council has rejected the Opium
+Bill twice, and the Bill for the abolition of plural voting three times.
+
+The question was considered in 1894 by a Victorian Royal Commission,
+which recommended that:--
+
+"(1) If the Legislative Assembly shall in two consecutive sessions pass
+any Bill which shall not be passed by the Legislative Council, then,
+notwithstanding such Bill when passed in the second session by the
+Legislative Assembly shall be in an amended form, if the same shall not
+in such second session be passed by the Legislative {130} Council, such
+Bill, if the Assembly so determine by resolution, shall, in manner to
+be duly provided, be submitted for acceptance or rejection to the
+voters on the roll for the Legislative Assembly.
+
+"(2) In the event of the said Bill being duly accepted or approved of
+by the majority of the voters on the said roll who shall vote when a
+poll is taken, and upon a certificate to that effect to be duly given
+by the Speaker, the said Bill shall be transmitted to the Governor for
+his assent.  Should, however, such Bill be rejected or disapproved of,
+then, upon the certificate of the Speaker to that effect, the said Bill
+shall lapse for the session.
+
+"(3) At least six weeks must intervene between the first and the second
+passing of the said Bill by the Legislative Assembly."
+
+Measures based upon these lines were introduced during 1896 in the
+Assemblies of Victoria, Tasmania, and New South Wales, but, in the
+latter case alone, reached the Legislative Council.  It was thought
+that that body might receive the Bill favourably, as it would be
+brought thereby into direct contact with the people, and might overcome
+the jealousy which is at present felt against it.  In fact, it might
+attain to actual popularity by enabling the electorate to pronounce
+directly upon a distinct issue.  But this view did not prevail with the
+Council, which rejected the measure in the most summary manner.
+
+A supplementary proposal put forward in Victoria {131} is that, upon
+subjects which cannot be referred in a clear and simple manner to the
+electors, differences should be followed by a dissolution of both
+Houses, and, if an agreement is still impossible, by their joint
+meeting as one Chamber.  In New Zealand, a Bill recently introduced by
+the Premier, but not passed through the House of Representatives,
+provided that, if a measure had been twice within fourteen months
+passed by one House and rejected by the other, the House which had
+passed it might call upon the Governor to convene a joint meeting of
+the two Houses, which should finally dispose of it by approval,
+rejection, or amendment.  It will be noticed that the Council might
+thus secure the enactment of a measure which was opposed by the
+majority of the popular representatives.
+
+The antagonism of the two Houses in Victoria would seem to be to a
+great extent a reflex of an antagonism between town and country.  The
+population of the Province is estimated to have been 1,180,000 in 1895,
+that of Melbourne and its suburbs 439,000, or 37 per cent. of the
+whole.  Under these conditions, and owing to the greater cohesion of
+compact electorates, a strong feeling has arisen in the rural districts
+that Melbourne has a disproportionate voice in the affairs of the
+Province, and that the balance should be redressed by the action of the
+Council.  It is also believed that the abolition of the plural vote
+would lead to equal electoral districts which would increase the
+supremacy of the capital {132} and the power of the Labour Party.  At
+the present time they hold fifteen seats, all of which are urban or
+suburban, and, though discredited by the collapse of the Trades Unions,
+are not without influence upon the Government.
+
+The percentage of the total population contained in Melbourne and its
+suburbs rose from 26 in 1861 to 43 in 1891, mainly as the result of the
+high protective tariff which aimed at making Victoria the principal
+manufacturing centre of Australia.  Upon the consequent establishment
+of a large number of factories, the Government were soon compelled to
+intervene in the interests of the workers, and passed in 1873 the first
+Act dealing with the supervision of factories and workrooms.  It
+defined a factory as any place in which not less than ten persons were
+employed in manufacturing goods for sale, and provided that such places
+should be subject, as to building, sanitation, &c., to regulations made
+by the central Board of Health, and that no female should be employed
+therein without the permission of the Chief Secretary for more than
+eight hours in any one day.  The measure failed in its purpose through
+the indifference of the Municipalities, which were charged with its
+entire administration.  They appear to have been negligent in
+exercising the powers entrusted to them, and to have allowed themselves
+to be served by officers who were unacquainted with their duties.  In
+the following years several measures were passed which {133} were
+consolidated by the Factories and Shops Act of 1890.  Some new points
+of great importance had been introduced, which applied, however, only
+to cities, towns, and boroughs, unless they were extended to any shire
+at the request of its Council: the definition of a factory was amended
+so as to include all places in which four white men or two Chinamen
+were employed in manufacturing goods for sale; such places had to be
+registered, subject to the approval of the premises by the Local
+Council, and the employers were bound to keep a record showing the
+names of the persons employed in the factory, the sort of work done by
+them, and the names and addresses of outside workers; the employment of
+children under thirteen years of age was prohibited; machinery had to
+be fenced in in order to prevent accidents, and persons in charge of
+steam-engines and boilers, with a few exceptions, had to obtain
+certificates of competency.  As regards the enforcement of these and
+other provisions, inspectors were authorised to enter a factory at any
+reasonable time, to make any pertinent inquiry and examination, to
+demand the production of any certificate or documents kept in pursuance
+of the Act, and, generally, to exercise such other powers as might be
+necessary for carrying it into effect.  Proceedings for offences
+against the Act were to be taken before two or more justices, who, upon
+a conviction, would be guided by a prescribed scale of fines and
+penalties.  Finally, retail shops were {134} dealt with by a provision
+which limited the hours during which they might be kept open; but
+certain categories of shops were explicitly excluded, and Municipal
+Councils were given the power of altering the hours upon a petition of
+a majority of the shopkeepers.
+
+The absence of finality in such legislation was soon shown by the
+demand for further restrictions, which was met by the Government by the
+customary expedient of the appointment of a Royal Commission.  The
+census of 1891 had given the number of persons employed in connection
+with the manufacturing industries as 96,000, of whom less than a half
+were in registered factories.  The remainder were working in shires, in
+laundries and dye works, in workrooms other than Chinese in which less
+than four persons were employed, or in their own homes.  The Commission
+consequently, in the pursuance of their instructions to "inquire and
+report as to the working of the Factories and Shops Act, 1890, with
+regard to the alleged existence of the practice known as sweating and
+the alleged insanitary condition of factories and workrooms," had a
+wide field of investigation, but turned their attention principally to
+the industries in which the circumstances of the workers were believed
+to be most unfavourable.  In the clothing industry they found that,
+beyond the common grievance of slackness of trade, those employed in
+factories had little to complain of in the matter of {135} wages, but
+that among the outworkers, owing to the depression, competition had
+reduced the rate of pay to the lowest level compatible with continued
+existence.  They were informed of many cases, which have been
+corroborated by factory inspectors and others, of women who, working
+from twelve to fourteen hours a day, were unable to earn more than ten
+or twelve shillings in a week.  It was contended that, as in other
+countries, the competition was rendered more acute by those who were
+not dependent upon the work for a livelihood.  Another result of this
+competition was seen in the policy pursued by several large firms which
+had closed factories built at a heavy cost and were relying upon their
+operations being carried on by contractors, because they had been
+unable to produce goods at the factory at the rate at which they could
+be turned out by those who employed the services of outworkers.  An
+attempt had been made by the women to protect their interests by the
+formation of a Tailoresses' Union, which, after a fitful existence,
+collapsed in 1893.  Since that time, in the absence of any form of
+combination, contractors had been able to play off the outworkers
+against the inworkers and against each other.  It may here be noted
+that, according to a recent report of the Chief Inspector of Factories,
+the inquiry caused the rate of payment to be lowered in consequence of
+the publicity given to the very small wages paid by some firms engaged
+in the clothing trade.
+
+{136}
+
+In the course of their inquiries into the furniture trade, the
+Commissioners found that the Chinese, by evasions of the Factory Act,
+their poor way of living, long hours of labour and acceptance of low
+wages, had practically ruined the European cabinet-makers.  Their
+competition was confined to that branch of the industry, but had
+indirectly affected it as a whole.  Statistics showed that in 1886
+there were 64 registered European furniture factories employing 1,022
+male hands, while in 1894 the number of factories had decreased to 46
+and of employés to 320.  On the other side, the number of Chinese
+employed as carpenters and cabinetmakers had increased from 66 in 1880
+to 320 in 1886, and decreased to 246 in 1894.  It appeared that the
+Chinese, having ousted the European workmen from the industry, had
+engaged in a keen competition among themselves, which had reduced
+prices to such a low level that many manufacturers had been compelled
+to close their factories and dismiss their workmen.  These latter had
+commenced to make articles of furniture on their own account, and were
+reputed to be in a pitiable state of destitution.  The Commissioners
+came to the conclusion that, while the unsatisfactory condition of
+trade had contributed to the distress of the European cabinetmakers,
+the competition of the Chinese had been the greatest factor in bringing
+about the existing state of affairs.
+
+Their recommendations were embodied in a {137} measure introduced in
+1895 and passed in the following session, but limited in its operation,
+by the action of the Council, to a period of four years.  Its most
+important provisions aim at the protection of the workers in those
+industries in which they are least able to protect themselves.  The
+desire of the Government was to get persons as far as possible to work
+in factories and to deal with the difficulty of outworkers by a system
+of permits.  Clause 13 of the Bill prohibited the making up of apparel
+outside a factory except by those who had received a permit from the
+chief inspector, which was not to be given unless he were satisfied
+that the person applying for it was prevented by domestic duties or
+bodily affliction from working inside a factory or workroom.  Employers
+were to keep a record showing the work done by holders of permits,
+their names and addresses, and the amount of remuneration, which was to
+be forwarded periodically to the chief inspector, and might be
+published in the Government Gazette at the discretion of the Governor
+in Council.  The number of outworkers would be reduced to a minimum,
+and the fear of publicity would act as a check upon their employers.  A
+further protection was afforded to makers of furniture and of clothing
+or wearing apparel, including boots and shoes, by clauses under which
+the Governor in Council was authorised to appoint special Boards,
+consisting of a chairman and four members, of whom two were to be
+representatives {138} of occupiers of factories and workrooms in which
+such articles were prepared or manufactured, and two of the persons
+employed in wholly or partly preparing such articles.  The Board was to
+determine the lowest rate which should be paid to the employés, whether
+working inside or outside a factory.  The Assembly added another clause
+which authorised the appointment of similar Boards for the
+determination of the hours of labour in any manufacturing industry, but
+the Council refused to accept it, and also rejected the clause which
+prohibited outside work by others than holders of permits.  They
+introduced amendments which provided that the discretionary publication
+of particulars in the Gazette should be limited to cases in which an
+employer had been convicted for some contravention of the Factories and
+Shops Acts, and that the special Wage Boards should be elective, in the
+belief that it would be dangerous to vest the power of appointment in
+the Governor in Council, since it would actually be exercised by the
+Chief Secretary.  The Government agreed to the former of these
+amendments, as the value of the right of publication was lessened by
+the Council's acceptance of the principle of the Wage Boards; but upon
+the other points of difference a conflict ensued between the two
+Houses, which resulted in the final decision that the Boards are to be
+elective, and that outworkers will not be required to obtain a permit,
+but, if engaged in the manufacture of clothing or {139} wearing
+apparel, must register their names and addresses with the chief
+inspector, for the confidential use of the Department, and must answer
+all questions put to them by inspectors as to the names of their
+employers and the rate of remuneration.  The Chief Secretary had
+explained in the Assembly that the Government desired to obtain the
+registration of outworkers in order that they might know from the
+individuals themselves the addresses at which they were working, and
+whether they were being paid in accordance with the prices fixed by the
+Boards.  It is also provided that a sub-contractor, equally with the
+occupier of a factory, must keep the prescribed record of all work
+given out by him.
+
+The furniture trade, as has been seen, is one of those for which the
+Governor in Council may cause special Boards to be elected; but it has
+been realised that, in the cabinet-making branch, owing to their
+superior numbers, the Chinese would obtain a controlling voice.  This
+difficulty was met by an amending Bill which authorised the nomination
+of these Boards.  Other sections of the Act also aim at the protection
+of the white workman: one Chinaman is to be deemed to constitute a
+factory, and no person employed in a factory or workroom in the
+manufacture of any article of furniture is to work on a Sunday, after
+two o'clock on a Saturday, or between five o'clock in the evening and
+half-past seven in the morning on any other day of the week.  Furniture
+made in Victoria is to be stamped legibly {140} and indelibly in such a
+manner as to show whether it was manufactured by white or Chinese
+labour.  It is noteworthy that, through the Boards which will fix the
+minimum rate of pay in the baking and furniture trades, the Victorian
+Government are making their first attempt to regulate the labour of
+men; in the other trades affected by these Boards women form the vast
+majority of the workers.
+
+The general provisions of this Act as they affect factories include
+greater stringency in the sanitary requirements, in the limitation of
+the hours of labour of women and boys, and in the precautions against
+accidents.  Laundries and dye-works are constituted factories, and the
+powers of inspectors are in several respects strengthened.
+
+The sections dealing with shops also deserve a word of notice.  The
+necessity for further legislation was based by the Chief Secretary on
+the ground that under the existing law Municipal Councils were not
+bound to give effect to petitions received from a majority of
+shopkeepers, and could only bind their own districts.  Besides, the
+penalties imposed for contravention of any law or bye-law had, in many
+cases, been so small that shopkeepers had been able to ignore it with
+practical impunity.  He therefore proposed that petitions should in
+future be addressed either to the Governor or to the local authorities,
+that a metropolitan district should be constituted so as to render
+possible uniformity in the hours of closing shops, and that the
+penalties should be on a {141} fixed scale.  These proposals were
+embodied in the Act, as were others which provided that assistants in
+shops should have a weekly half-holiday, and that women and boys should
+not be employed for more than a fixed number of hours in a week or day,
+nor for more than five hours without an interval for meals, and should
+have the use of adequate sitting accommodation.  These provisions,
+however, were not to apply to the categories of shops excluded from the
+operation of previous Acts unless extended to them under regulations
+made by the Governor in Council.  Soon after the passage of the Act a
+strong feeling arose among the shopkeepers of Melbourne and its suburbs
+that, as assistants had to receive a weekly half-holiday, shops should
+be closed upon one afternoon in the week; but opinions differed as to
+whether the day should be Saturday or Wednesday.  The shopkeepers in
+the city were disposed to favour the former, those in the suburbs were
+divided in their views.
+
+The Act should be regarded as a humane attempt to minimise the
+sufferings of the outworkers and to improve the conditions of labour of
+the toiling masses of the population.  The appointment of the special
+Boards is regarded with sympathy even by those who doubt the
+possibility of enforcing a minimum wage in the case of persons whose
+competition is intensified by the fear of starvation.  Two general
+considerations suggest themselves: that a vast discretionary power is
+vested in the Executive, {142} and that the inspectors will be
+confronted with a task of hopeless magnitude.  On the first point it is
+to be noted that the Governor in Council, acting naturally upon the
+advice of the Chief Secretary, may not only exercise the powers already
+mentioned, but may extend the provisions of the Act or any of them to
+any shire or part of a shire, and make regulations upon a large number
+of subjects connected with the efficient administration of all the
+Factories, and Shop Acts.  As regards the inspectors, who are eleven in
+number, it is to be feared that, though they may invite the
+co-operation of the police, they will be unable adequately to supervise
+factories, watch the labour of the single Chinaman, protect the
+home-worker from the tyranny of the contractor, and assure to
+assistants in shops the conditions to which they are legally entitled.
+They will undoubtedly be fettered by the unwillingness of the workers
+to supply information which may lead to the loss of their employment.
+
+The correlative of protection, which principally benefits the
+manufacturer, is the direct encouragement of the enterprise of the
+producer.  In this respect successive Governments have displayed an
+eagerness which has not always been confined within the limits of
+prudence.  The borrowed capital sunk in the construction and equipment
+of the Victorian Railways is about £36,730,000, which returned in the
+year 1895-6 a net profit on working of £855,000, being a deficit of
+£584,000 upon £1,439,000, the {143} annual charge for interest upon the
+loans; but a large proportion of this deficiency was due to the failure
+of the wheat crop and the consequent decrease in the amount of goods
+carried along the lines.  Recent returns show that several lines not
+only do not pay any interest on the capital expenditure, but do not
+earn even as much as is disbursed in working expenses.  The report of
+the Railway Inquiry Board shows that the Assembly was actually disposed
+at one time to sanction the expenditure of a further sum of £41,000,000
+upon the construction of new lines; but the _Age_ newspaper published a
+series of articles which showed clearly that national insolvency would
+follow the approval of expenditure on such a gigantic scale.  The
+exposure attained its object, but involved the proprietor, Mr. David
+Syme, in actions for libel, brought by the Railway Commissioners, which
+extended, with intervals, over a period of four years.  Finally, he was
+proved to have been entirely justified in his language, but was saddled
+with an enormous bill of costs as the reward of his patriotic efforts
+on behalf of the community.  The danger that similar proposals might be
+carried in the future was lessened in 1890, when the Standing Committee
+was appointed as a check upon the extravagant tendencies and culpable
+pliability of individual members.
+
+Again, in connection with water supply and irrigation, the expenditure
+has been on an extravagant scale.  The Melbourne Waterworks are {144}
+justified by the requirements of the metropolis, but those of Geelong
+and of Bendigo and adjacent areas commenced in 1865, and constructed at
+a capital cost of £1,427,000, show an annual deficit of £35,000; and
+other national works which cost £830,000 are dependent for a return
+upon irrigation trusts, most of which are unable to meet their own
+liabilities.  Apart from this direct expenditure, the State has
+advanced £2,438,000 to local bodies, urban and rural waterworks trusts
+and irrigation trusts.  Adding together these different amounts, we
+find the total direct and indirect expenditure of the State to have
+been £4,695,000, and we learn from the report of a recent Royal
+Commission that the annual revenue is about £68,000, or less than 1-½
+per cent. upon the capital.  As the money bears an average interest of
+4 per cent., the loss to the consolidated revenue is at the rate of
+£120,000 a year.  The expenditure was based upon the principle that the
+national credit should be pledged in order that farmers and land and
+property owners might be assisted to provide works of water supply
+which would accelerate the permanent settlement of many parts of the
+Province.  Loans had been granted to municipalities before 1881, but in
+that year the question was treated comprehensively by the Water
+Conservation Act, which authorised the constitution of trusts for the
+construction of works of water supply for domestic purposes and the use
+of stock.  In 1883 the Act was amended so as to include trusts {145}
+formed for the promotion of works of irrigation.  The Urban Trusts and
+local bodies generally have met their obligations satisfactorily, with
+the exception of some of the latter, which, instead of striking higher
+rates or increasing the charge for the water, appear to have hoped that
+the State would step in and relieve them of their liabilities.  The
+Rural and Irrigation Trusts also have attempted to throw the duty of
+paying interest on the cost of the works upon the taxpayers of the
+whole province.  In the latter case the Public Works Department cannot
+be absolved from blame.  It is clear from the report of the Commission
+that money was advanced to Irrigation Trusts without an adequate
+preliminary investigation of the amount of water available or of the
+number of settlers who would make use of it.  "The public mind was
+excited at the time, and the gospel of irrigation was preached from one
+end of the Colony to the other.  The farmers had been suffering from a
+cycle of dry seasons, the price of produce was high, and the prospect
+of insuring their crops against the exigencies of climate by means of
+irrigation appears to have overruled all prudential considerations.
+Schemes were hastily conceived and as hastily carried out.  The
+question as to whether the cost of the undertaking would be
+commensurate with the benefits to be derived therefrom, or whether the
+land could bear the burden that would be placed upon it, was apparently
+lightly considered, if considered at all."  But, according to an
+official who {146} had been concerned in the matter, the Department,
+far from readily concurring in or urging on schemes, had done its
+utmost to restrain the popular enthusiasm.  Continued pressure had been
+exercised by deputations, generally supported by the Member for the
+district, which tried to induce Ministers to set aside formalities in
+view of the great necessity for water and of the great benefit that
+would ensue.  The lavishness of the Department, whatever may have been
+its cause, was equalled by that of the Trusts, which in most cases
+expended the loan money as expeditiously as possible without regard to
+the requirements of the district or the supervision of the
+undertakings; they did not realise that they would ever be called upon
+to provide for meeting the interest on the moneys advanced to them.
+There can be no doubt that the Government overrated the knowledge and
+ability of the Trusts, and their recognition of the responsibility
+involved in the control of large sums of public money.  The Royal
+Commissioners recommended that, after Parliament had decided what
+concessions should be made, the enforcement of the monetary obligations
+should be transferred from the Department to the Audit Commissioners,
+who should be vested with powers enabling them to take action to
+recover arrears due to the State.  They believed that, in the absence
+of such a change, the Department, being subject to political pressure,
+might make further concessions, and again allow matters to drift into
+an unsatisfactory condition.
+
+{147}
+
+The next instance of national expenditure in the promotion of
+enterprise comes under a different category: the State has, since 1878,
+devoted to the encouragement of the gold-mining industry the sum of
+£800,000, which was not intended to give a direct return upon the
+outlay so much as to maintain the pre-eminence of Victoria among the
+gold-producing Provinces of Australasia.  Of this amount £455,000 was
+expended in boring, the remainder in subsidies to mining companies and
+prospecting parties.  But, as in the case of railways and works of
+water supply, the Government were confronted by the extreme difficulty
+of providing safeguards against the misapplication of the funds.
+Direct control by the Minister of Mines was proved neither to yield
+good results nor to be satisfactory to the Minister, as he was
+subjected to continual pressure from Members of Parliament.
+Prospecting Boards were, accordingly, appointed in the seven mining
+districts into which the Province is divided, each Board consisting of
+five members, the surveyor of the district, a member of the
+Mine-owners' Association, a member of the Miners' Association, a member
+of the local mining board, and a representative of the municipalities.
+These men were authorised to allocate all votes, and, according to a
+statement of the present Minister, as they represented different
+interests in the mining and different localities, they took a parochial
+view of their duties and developed "a kind of unconscious log-rolling"
+{148} which caused the grants, in many cases, to be devoted to entirely
+unprofitable objects.  The expenditure of the £800,000 is believed to
+have been of the greatest value to several mining companies, but has
+produced a direct return of only £11,526, an amount which would have
+been smaller had not the Minister threatened dividend-paying companies
+with the forfeiture of their leases unless they repaid their loans to
+the State.
+
+The Government have also attempted to increase the export of such
+articles as butter, wine, cheese, and frozen meat, for which a large
+market is believed to be obtainable in Great Britain.  Their policy has
+been to foster these industries by means of bonuses to producers,
+subsidies to owners of factories, and the free use of cold storage at
+refrigerating works, and to enforce a certain standard of quality as a
+necessary condition of their assistance.  As the industry progresses
+the bonus is reduced and finally withdrawn, and charges are made for
+cold storage which are sufficient to reimburse the State for its
+outlay.  Such a course has already been pursued in the most successful
+case, that of butter, in which the value of the amount annually
+exported has risen from £51,000 in 1889-90 to £876,000 in 1895-6.  In
+this manner the State is not permanently engaged, but initiates its
+expenditure at the highest point and gradually releases itself from the
+obligation.
+
+In 1893 the Government were confronted with {149} a large amount of
+misery among the working classes, much of it undeserved, which had
+resulted from the collapse of many land companies and banking and
+building associations.  An artificial prosperity, caused by the
+inflation of metropolitan values, had created a demand for the services
+of a disproportionate number of artisans, who, upon the inevitable
+reaction, were thrown suddenly out of employment.  Under these
+circumstances the Ministry were called upon to do something to relieve
+the distress, and passed a new Land Act which offered favourable terms,
+in the way of tenure and monetary advances, to those who were willing
+to settle upon the land.  They were enabled to take it up either
+individually or in associations of not less than six persons who
+desired to live near each other.  At the expiration of a year after the
+passage of the Act 4,080 applications had been received, of which 2,122
+had been approved, 993 rejected, and 965 were under consideration; and,
+in order that the benefit might be immediate, the land had been made
+available as speedily as possible and applicants had not been compelled
+to wait until blocks had been surveyed.  In view of the conditions
+under which the settlements were formed it is not surprising to learn
+from subsequent official reports that the favourable anticipations
+have, in numerous instances, not been realised, owing to the
+unsuitability of the soil, the inexperience or physical incapacity of
+the settlers, or the absence {150} of a local demand for labour or of a
+market for the surplus produce.  Many of the associations have been
+disbanded as the members were unable to work together harmoniously; and
+those that are still in existence have, in almost every case, abandoned
+the co-operative principle and are working their blocks on individual
+lines.  In 1896 the number of resident settlers was 2,127, who, with
+their wives and families, formed a total population of 8,802; they had
+received, during the three years, advances from the Government to the
+amount of £57,000.
+
+The Act of 1893 also provided for the establishment of Labour Colonies.
+The movement in this direction originated with a few people at
+Melbourne, who saw the futility of periodical doles to the destitute,
+which were of merely temporary assistance to them and did not place
+them in the way of earning a permanent livelihood.  It was also felt
+that, in the absence of any system similar to the English poor-law,
+which, whatever its evils, relieves the conscience of the community,
+ministers were subject to continual pressure, which compelled them to
+institute public works for the sole benefit of the unemployed.  In 1892
+the distress was met, as far as the public were concerned, by the
+subscription of a large sum of money, which was distributed through the
+agency of the local branch of the Charity Organisation Society; but, in
+the following year, the distress being still more acute, {151} the idea
+of a Labour Colony rapidly gained ground and was met by the Government
+by the grant of an area of 800 acres at Leongatha, some 80 miles from
+Melbourne, which enabled the promoters of the scheme at once to
+commence their operations.  At the outset it had been intended that the
+funds should be obtained, partly by private subscription, partly by
+_pro-rata_ contributions from the national exchequer; but, in the
+absence of popular response, the Government deemed it advisable, at the
+commencement of 1894, to take over the entire administration of the
+colony, and appointed, as Honorary Superintendent, Colonel Goldstein,
+who had been actively identified with the undertaking.  Colonel
+Goldstein states that the main purpose of the colony, which is based on
+a German model, is to give temporary work at unattractive wages to the
+able-bodied unemployed in order that they may be prevented from passing
+over the narrow line which separates poverty from pauperism.  At first
+the aged and infirm were admitted, but it was found that employment
+could not be obtained for them and that their presence affected the
+value of the colony as a means of instruction for a class of men in
+whom it is necessary to arouse a spirit of responsible independence.
+They are, moreover, provided for by benevolent asylums and other
+charitable institutions which receive large subsidies from the
+Government.  Consequently men beyond the age of 55 years are now only
+received in {152} exceptional cases.  All applicants are registered,
+and, if their alleged destitution is believed to be genuine, are
+forwarded by rail to the colony, where they receive free board and
+lodging.  The colonists are subjected to strict discipline, work for a
+week without pay upon probation, and then earn wages which rise to a
+maximum of 4s. a week; they receive no money while at the colony, but
+may draw certain necessaries, or, if married, cause their wages to be
+remitted to their wives.  The work is so arranged that the capabilities
+of the colonists may be used to the best advantage and that they may be
+fitted as far as possible for agricultural employment, which is
+obtained for them by means of a Labour Bureau established at the
+colony.  At the expiration of six months, or upon an accumulation in
+their favour of a credit balance amounting to 30s., colonists must,
+subject to occasional exemptions, seek employment elsewhere, and may
+not be re-admitted under a period of six weeks.  In this manner the men
+either obtain outside employment while resident at the colony or leave
+it possessed of a sum of money which renders them better able to search
+for it; they have the alternative of applying subsequently for
+re-admittance.  The results obtained during the three years have been
+of a most satisfactory character; 1,832 men have passed through the
+colony since its inception, of whom only 124 have been dismissed for
+faults, and none for insubordination; 573 have had {153} remunerative
+work found for them, and the remainder have earned sufficient ready
+money to enable them to set out in search of employment.  There have
+been 566 re-admissions of 307 men who have returned from one to eight
+times.  "The majority of the men," says Colonel Goldstein, "are of the
+shiftless sort, who cannot do anything for themselves.  As Leongatha is
+80 miles from Melbourne, we seldom see the genuine loafer there.  The
+men who go are willing enough to work when shown how, but they seem
+unable to rouse themselves into any sort of vigour, to say nothing of
+enthusiasm, until they have been there a considerable time....
+Numerous instances could be given indicative of the generally helpless
+nature of the men.  There can be no doubt that employers, during the
+depression, will first reduce their worst men.  Of these, many have
+sufficient energy to shift for themselves; the rest drift to the labour
+colony.  Most of them have suffered severely from privation and
+poverty, and probably have had their dejected condition further
+dispirited by semi-starvation....  After a few months' stay it is
+surprising to see the difference in their appearance, and, what is more
+to the purpose, their discovery that a new kind of life is opened to
+them.  Bush-work gives them a healthier feeling of self-dependence than
+they ever enjoyed before, especially so for men who have a trade behind
+them ready when the chance comes."  The total outlay has amounted to
+£11,276, {154} which has been expended mainly upon farm appointments,
+implements, and permanent improvements, and is represented by assets of
+the value of £10,861.  The net cost must be regarded as exceedingly
+small in view of the fact that, as the great majority of the colonists
+are artisans and quite unused to bush or farm work, their labour is
+necessarily slow and expensive, and that, as soon as a man begins to be
+useful, he is selected for some private employer.  The Labour Colony
+has, it is maintained, apart from the benefits conferred upon hundreds
+of individuals, paralysed the agitation of the unemployed; as long as
+it is in existence no able-bodied man need starve.
+
+Finally, a measure, passed in 1896, aimed at the protection of
+pastoralists, farmers, and other cultivators of the soil by providing
+machinery by which the State might grant loans to them, upon adequate
+security, at a low rate of interest, with a sinking fund extending over
+a long period of years.
+
+The salient features of Victorian legislation are the strong note of
+humanity and the confidence in the wisdom and efficiency of State
+action.  If this confidence has sometimes been misplaced, there is no
+reason to suppose that the Victorians have imposed upon themselves a
+burden that they are unable to bear.  They are an energetic race, who
+have not only developed the resources of their own country, but have
+obtained large interests in New South Wales and Queensland.  If in the
+past {155} they were too much inclined to draw bills upon futurity,
+they have had a sharp lesson which has taught them the necessity of
+retrenchment and compelled them to reduce their annual expenditure by a
+third of the total amount.  It is impossible to form an unfavourable
+estimate of the prospects, or of the high average prosperity, of a
+population of less than 1,200,000 persons, which includes 185,000
+freeholders and has accumulated at the Savings Banks £7,300,000 divided
+among nearly 340,000 depositors.
+
+
+
+
+{156}
+
+VI
+
+_THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA_
+
+Constitutional history--The relations of Church and State--Natural
+impediments to development--The construction of railways--The scarcity
+of water--The promotion of the mining and other industries--The absence
+of parties in Parliament.
+
+
+Western Australia received the privileges of Responsible Government
+many years after the other Australasian Provinces; otherwise, its
+constitutional development has proceeded upon similar lines.  The first
+Governor was appointed in 1829, and administered the affairs of the
+country with the assistance of an Executive Council.  Two years later a
+Legislative Council was established which consisted solely of the
+members of the Executive Council, but it was subsequently widened by
+the admission, at first, of unofficial nominee members, afterwards of a
+sufficient number of elected members to form a majority of the whole
+body.  Then an agitation sprang up in the Province in favour of
+Responsible Government, and in 1889, after a unanimous vote of the
+Legislative Council, a Constitution {157} Bill was submitted by the
+Government, considered by the Council, and forwarded to the Secretary
+of State for the Colonies.  In the House of Commons it met with
+considerable opposition, on the ground that the Crown Lands of the
+Province should not be handed over to a population of only 46,000
+persons.  But, upon a favourable report of a Select Committee and
+representation made by the Agents-General of the other Australasian
+Provinces, the point was decided in the sense desired by the Province,
+and, as the Bill passed rapidly through the House of Lords, it received
+the Royal Assent in August, 1890.
+
+Under the Constitution the Executive power is vested in the Governor,
+who acts by the advice of a Cabinet composed of five responsible
+Ministers.  They are, at the present time, the Colonial Treasurer and
+Colonial Secretary, the Attorney-General, the Commissioner of Railways
+and Director of Public Works, the Commissioner of Crown Lands, and the
+Minister of Mines.  The Premier, Sir John Forrest, holds the offices of
+Colonial Secretary and Colonial Treasurer, and the Minister of Mines,
+the only Minister in the Upper House, controls the Postal and
+Telegraphic Departments.
+
+The Legislative authority is vested in the two Houses of Parliament,
+the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly.  The Council
+consists of twenty-one members, of whom a third retire every two years.
+They are elected upon a property {158} qualification, and must have
+been resident for at least two years in the Province.  The Assembly
+consists of thirty-three members, who must have resided at least one
+year in the Province, and are elected upon a wider franchise for the
+period of four years.  No remuneration is paid to the members of either
+House, but they receive free passes over all Government Railways and,
+by courtesy, over those belonging to private companies.
+
+The limitations upon the power of legislation possessed by the
+Parliament of Western Australia are similar to those imposed upon the
+Legislatures of other Australian Provinces, except that the protection
+of the aborigines has been placed in the hands of an independent Board,
+nominated and controlled by the Governor.  It receives for the
+execution of its duties 1 per cent. of the annual revenue of the
+country, but cannot carry them out without the active support of
+Government officials.  The existence of this Board is strongly resented
+by Western Australians as an unjust reflection upon them, and as an
+imputation that they cannot be trusted to deal in a just and humane
+manner towards the natives; and the Premier, voicing the unanimous
+opinion of both Houses, has attempted, hitherto without success, to
+secure the repeal of the obnoxious section of the Constitution Act.
+
+The attitude of the Government in regard to the relations between
+Church and State as affecting the endowment of religious bodies and the
+assistance {159} given to denominational schools was, until recently,
+that grants should annually be voted by Parliament.  But the trend of
+public opinion has been in the direction of secular education and the
+termination of the payments made to the Churches.  The matter was,
+accordingly, during the session of 1895, dealt with by the
+Ecclesiastical Grants Abolition Act and the Assisted Schools Abolition
+Act.  Previously the payments to the Churches had been at the rate of
+about £3,500 per annum, of which the Church of England received £2,000,
+the Roman Catholics £1,000, and the Wesleyans and Presbyterians £360
+and £160 respectively.  The grants have been commuted at ten years'
+purchase, and the capital amount is to be paid _pro rata_ out of the
+Consolidated Revenue Fund in two equal instalments to the recognised
+heads of each religious denomination.  This Bill was passed, with
+universal approval, through both Houses of Parliament, but a like
+unanimity was not manifested in regard to the Education question.  In
+fact, early in the session, the Premier had stated that he had no
+immediate intention of dealing with it, but his hands were forced by
+popular opinion, as manifested by the result of several elections
+fought upon that issue.  Consequently, after a resolution passed by
+both Houses that "It is expedient that the Assisted" (denominational)
+"Schools should no longer form part of the public Educational system of
+the Colony," and on the report of a Joint Committee, a Bill was
+introduced by the Premier into the {160} Assembly fixing the sum to be
+paid as compensation, in lieu of grants in aid, at £20,000.  In 1894
+one-third of the children being educated in the Colony were attending
+the Assisted Schools, at a cost to the country of £2,093 for the
+Assisted, and £11,356 for the Government Schools.  The Bill was hotly
+discussed; the Opposition divided over the amount, and were only beaten
+by one vote, and it was finally decided that the compensation should be
+£15,000.  The whole of this money will be paid to the Roman Catholics,
+who had alone taken advantage of the system.  There is a High School at
+Perth established by statute; otherwise little has been done in the
+direction of secondary education, and Western Australia has no
+University.  The advantages of primary education have been extended as
+far as possible; any district which can guarantee the attendance of
+fifteen children can claim the erection of a school and the appointment
+of a teacher; but it is clear that, in a very sparsely inhabited
+country, no system can be devised which will reach the whole population.
+
+The policy of the Ministry has been, in the main, one of loans and
+public works.  They were called upon, at the inauguration of
+Responsible Government, to administer an area of nearly a million
+square miles, thinly populated and penalised by great natural
+drawbacks, such as the scarcity of good harbours, the difficulty of
+inland communication, and the absence over large tracts of country of a
+{161} sufficient supply of water.  These drawbacks the Government have,
+in various ways, done their best to overcome.
+
+The principal ports of Western Australia are--on the south Albany and
+Esperance Bay, on the west Bunbury, Fremantle, and Geraldtown, and on
+the northwest Cossack and Broome.  The most important of these are
+Albany, a fine natural harbour, which is the point of call of the ocean
+liners, and Fremantle, the port of Perth.  All have been improved, as
+far as conditions would permit, by dredging operations and the
+construction of piers and jetties, but very extensive works, for which
+the sum of £350,000 has already been allotted, are being carried out at
+Fremantle, in the hope of making it a good and commodious harbour for
+all classes of ocean vessels.  In the interests of safe navigation,
+lighthouses have been erected at various points along the coast.
+
+As the rivers are mostly filled only during the rainy season, and
+unnavigable for any distance even for small boats, the methods of
+internal transit are limited to road and rail.  The Government have
+regarded the construction of roads as a matter of national rather than
+of purely local importance, and have expended upon them large sums of
+money.  They are at present engaged in opening up stock routes to the
+North and between the Murchison and Coolgardie Goldfields.  Their
+railway policy has been to render accessible the different resources of
+{162} the country.  The South-Western Railway from Perth to Bunbury,
+Busselton, and Donnybrook traverses country suitable for the growth of
+cereals and for mixed farming.  Its course is along the foot of the
+Darling Range, which is covered with valuable forests of jarrah.
+Parliament has recently sanctioned two extensions: to Collie, an
+important coalfield, and to Bridgetown, the centre of an agricultural
+area.  The Eastern Railway, starting from Fremantle, passes through
+Perth and taps an important district adapted for general agriculture,
+fruit-growing, and viticulture; it connects with the Yilgarn Railway,
+which has now been completed to several points upon the Coolgardie
+Goldfields, and will be dependent for its returns upon their
+prosperity, as it passes through vast areas of arid scrub.  The
+Northern Railway consists of short lines from Geraldtown, which pass
+through country suitable, in parts, for the growth of cereals, in
+others, for pastoral purposes; it is to be continued to Cue, on the
+Murchison Goldfield.  The above are all Government railways, built
+under private contract and equipped and managed by the State.  There
+are also two large private companies, the Great Southern Railway,
+connecting Albany with Beverley, the terminus of the Eastern Railway,
+and the Midland Railway, connecting Geraldtown with Perth at points on
+the Northern and Eastern Railways.  They were built upon the land-grant
+system, at a time when the Government were anxious to extend the
+railways, {163} but were not in a position to incur the cost of their
+construction.  This system is not likely to be adopted again, as both
+Companies have pursued an ungenerous policy in regard to the alienation
+of their lands, while the Midland Company were unable to complete their
+undertaking without the assistance of the Government, which, in return
+for a mortgage of the whole line, guaranteed for them the interest and
+principal of a loan of £500,000.  In fact, during the session of 1896,
+the Government, after negotiations with the Great Southern Railway
+Company, obtained the authority of Parliament for the negotiation of a
+loan for the purchase of all its interests, including the permanent
+way, rolling stock, buildings, and unsold lands.
+
+In the southern and western portions of the Province water is
+plentiful.  The northern portion is subject to terrible drought, such
+as that which a few years ago almost ruined the squatters and caused
+the loss of three-quarters of a million sheep.  But the attention of
+the Government has been mainly turned to the eastern division, which
+includes the Yilgarn, Coolgardie, and Dundas Goldfields, and has an
+average annual rainfall of about ten inches, and it is in this portion
+of the country that the heaviest expenditure was incurred during the
+year ending June 30, 1895.  Thirteen large and two small tanks were
+completed on the Coolgardie Goldfields with a capacity of 13-½ millions
+of gallons and at a total cost of nearly £38,000.  Wells were {164}
+sunk, bores put down in the search for water, condenser plants erected,
+and new soaks opened up at advantageous places throughout the district.
+Wells have also been sunk, and reservoirs constructed, on the Murchison
+and Pilbarra Goldfields, and in other parts of the country.  But the
+greatest undertaking in this direction will be the construction of vast
+works for the supply from a distance of water to the Coolgardie
+Goldfields.  Parliament has authorised the required loan, and may
+therefore be presumed to concur with the Ministry in the belief that
+the necessary water cannot be obtained on the spot by artesian bores or
+otherwise.  The future of Western Australia is bound up with that of
+the goldfields.  Should they fail through lack of water, recent
+immigrants would leave the country, and their departure would cripple,
+if not ruin, the agricultural industry, and cause immediately a heavy
+fall in the revenue.  Under these circumstances, the scheme of the
+Government, even though it entails a very large expenditure, might be
+justified as being essential to the continued prosperity of the
+Province.  A similar argument may be applied to the large sums spent
+upon the railways, since they, as well as the waterworks, should be
+remunerative; but when we find Parliament sanctioning, in one session,
+applications for loans amounting to seven millions--and bear in mind
+the smallness of the population--we cannot but fear that the Province
+is beginning to borrow recklessly and may expose itself to the {165}
+financial troubles which have overtaken some of its Eastern neighbours.
+
+So much for the natural difficulties and the attempts made, and about
+to be made, by the Government to overcome them; but they have
+recognised that the heavy expenditure upon public works would be
+unjustifiable in the absence of simultaneous efforts to encourage the
+occupation and cultivation of the land and the development of the
+mineral resources; and they have, therefore, while not embarking upon a
+policy of direct subsidies for the payment of the passages of
+immigrants, offered every inducement to people to come to the Province
+of their own accord.  Intending settlers or companies can obtain, upon
+favourable terms, land for pastoral or agricultural purposes, mineral
+leases, and concessions giving them the right to cut timber upon the
+State forests.  A miner can acquire, on the annual payment of ten
+shillings, a miner's right, entitling him to take possession of, mine,
+and occupy, unoccupied Crown Lands for gold mining in accordance with
+the Mining Regulations.  The general conditions dealing with the
+alienation of Crown Lands are laid down in the Land Regulations, under
+which the Province has been divided into six districts, in order that
+different terms may be made in accordance with the varying quality and
+capabilities of the soil in different parts of the country.  Pastoral
+leases may be obtained at a rent ranging from five shillings to £1 a
+year for 1,000 acres.  {166} Agricultural land is in most parts of the
+country sold at ten shillings an acre, to be paid either directly or by
+annual instalments; but the title to the land is not given until
+certain stated improvements have been carried out upon it, in order to
+prevent its being held in an unimproved condition for speculative
+purposes, and residence is encouraged by the enforcement of a larger
+expenditure in improvements upon occupiers who do not live upon their
+estates.  As a further inducement to settlers, the Government have set
+apart special agricultural areas, which they cause to be surveyed
+before selection and marked out in blocks; they offer, under the
+Homesteads Act, 1893, free grants of land not exceeding 160 acres in
+extent, subject to stringent conditions as to residence and expenditure
+upon improvements; and they have established an agricultural bank which
+is authorised to make advances to farmers and other cultivators of the
+soil.  The policy of the Government has had considerable success, as
+the total area of cultivated land rose from 86,000 acres in 1886 to
+193,000 acres at the end of 1894.  But farmers have had to contend with
+great difficulties in the work and expense required for the clearing of
+the land, and in the absence of a market for their produce.  A distinct
+improvement, however, has obtained since the advent of a large
+population upon the goldfields, whose wants they may hope to supply.
+
+It must be admitted that Sir John Forrest and his colleagues have had
+matters entirely in their favour.  {167} The credit of the Province has
+steadily improved, in view of its mining operations; for the same
+reason the railways have shown the most satisfactory returns, and the
+receipts from the Customs, under a tariff levied primarily for purposes
+of revenue, but partially protective in its incidence, have increased
+by leaps and bounds.  Again, in Parliament the Ministry have met with
+but little opposition.  Upon the inauguration of Responsible
+Government, the Premier had the prestige of former office under the
+Crown, and found himself face to face with an Assembly which had no
+experience in the principles of Party Government.  The members were
+intimately acquainted with each other, and criticism of the Ministry
+was resented as a personal insult.  The so-called Opposition made no
+serious attempt to overthrow the Government, partly because, in the
+dearth of men of both ability and leisure, there was no material for
+the formation of an alternative Ministry; partly because they were in
+agreement with them upon most of the questions that came up for
+discussion.  The policy of the construction of public works out of
+loans was generally acceptable, and soon justified itself by results,
+owing, to a great extent, to the development of the goldfields.  Mines
+had been worked in Western Australia for a considerable time, but
+attracted little attention until the great discoveries at Coolgardie
+and in its neighbourhood.  These came at a most opportune moment.  A
+large amount of capital in Europe was seeking {168} profitable
+employment; the stagnation of business in the Eastern Provinces of
+Australia had brought hardship upon the labouring population and made
+them anxious to seek work elsewhere; and the success of the South
+African Mines had caused the British public to look favourably upon
+mining speculations.  As a result, mines were successfully floated in
+London and in Australia, immigrants poured in from the Eastern
+Provinces, mercantile firms established branches at Perth and at other
+centres, and the revenue obtained from the Customs and from the
+Railways and other public departments increased to an unparalleled
+extent.  But the increase of revenue naturally caused a large increase
+in the work of the departments concerned, and they failed signally to
+meet the additional demands upon them.
+
+The Telegraphic and Postal Department obtained an evil pre-eminence
+through its irregularity and untrustworthiness, and caused much
+inconvenience and monetary loss, owing to the delay in the delivery of
+letters and telegrams.  Complaints were also rife against the Railway
+Department, as imported machinery lay for months at Fremantle, because
+the Government had not sufficient trucks in which to take it up the
+line to its place of destination.  It must be remembered, however, that
+the public services had been organised to meet the needs of a far
+smaller population and were called upon to carry out work which had
+increased at a {169} rapidity which could not be foreseen.  A certain
+amount of difficulty was, under these circumstances, bound to occur, as
+the Government would not have been justified in launching into heavy
+additional expenditure until they had reasonable assurance of the
+permanence of the goldfields and of the consequent increase of business.
+
+Hitherto the Government of Western Australia has been that of a huge
+land development company; constitutional questions have been in the
+background.  But a tendency is already perceptible among recent
+immigrants to demand manhood suffrage, payment of members, and other
+items of democratic legislation to which they have been accustomed in
+the Eastern Provinces.  This movement, however, will be checked by the
+conservative instincts of the native population, and by the general
+belief that the Ministry have guided the destinies of the province
+wisely during the crucial years which have succeeded the inauguration
+of Responsible Government.
+
+
+
+
+{170}
+
+VII
+
+_DISCURSIVE NOTES ON TASMANIA_
+
+The restriction of the immigration of coloured races--Betting and
+lotteries--The adoption of a modification of Hare's System of
+Voting--Conflicts between the two Houses of Parliament--Finance and
+taxation--Land Grant Railways.
+
+
+The session of the Tasmanian Parliament in 1896 was of a quiet
+character as far as the Ministerial programme was concerned.  Measures
+were introduced, among others, for the extension to certain coloured
+races of the restrictions imposed upon the immigration of the Chinese,
+for the better suppression of public betting and gaming, for the
+inspection of certain products intended for export, for the
+consolidation and amendment of the electoral laws, and for the
+reference to a plebiscite of disputes between the House of Assembly and
+the Legislative Council.
+
+The first of these measures was introduced in pursuance of a resolution
+passed at the Premiers' Conference at the commencement of the year, and
+was based upon the Chinese Immigration Act, 1887, which limits the
+number of Chinese, not being {171} British subjects, that may be
+brought to Tasmania in any vessel in proportion to its tonnage, and
+throws upon the masters of the vessels the duty of paying a capitation
+fee of £10 for every such Chinaman that they introduce into the
+Province.  It was proposed to apply this provision to "all male persons
+belonging to any coloured race inhabiting the Continent of Asia or the
+Continent of Africa, or any island adjacent thereto, or any island in
+the Pacific Ocean or Indian Ocean, not being persons duly accredited on
+any special mission to Her Majesty by the Government or ruler of any
+country, state, or territory, or to Tasmania under the authority of the
+Imperial Government."  The Bill, which also exempted from its operation
+the native races of Australia and New Zealand, was accepted by the two
+Houses of Parliament, but was reserved by the Governor for the Imperial
+assent, which was likely to be withheld, as the measure would
+undoubtedly lead to the strongest protests from the Japanese, who will
+scarcely submit to be treated as an inferior race by an Australian
+Province.  Should this attitude be adopted, a considerable amount of
+friction may be anticipated, as measures on similar lines have been
+adopted by the two Houses of Parliament in some of the other Provinces.
+
+The Bill for the better suppression of betting and gaming should rather
+have been called a Bill for their regulation, as, while it aimed at the
+entire suppression of book-makers and betting-houses, it did not {172}
+interfere with the totalisator or with any lotteries which had been
+authorised by Act of Parliament or were carried on solely by
+correspondence through the post-office, and in accordance with
+regulations which might be made by the Governor in Council.  The
+totalisator is now to be found in all the Australasian Provinces except
+New South Wales and Victoria; in the latter its adoption has widely
+been advocated, but has been opposed by the clergy, who have entered
+into an unconscious alliance with the book-makers.  The organisers of
+the large "Tattersall" Sweeps, which are worked from Tasmania and
+attract subscribers from all parts of Australasia, will also be
+unaffected by the Act; to a certain extent they will even be benefited,
+as they will be freed from the competition of many of their more humble
+rivals.
+
+The measure dealing with the inspection of exported produce was deemed
+advisable on account, partly of the proposed action of other Provinces
+in regard to Tasmanian fruit, partly of the importance of enabling
+Tasmanian producers to obtain an official certificate of the quality of
+their produce.  In outside markets, it was contended, in which the
+Provinces come into competition with each other, dealers gave the
+preference to, and paid higher prices for, imports which had received
+the imprimatur of the Government stamp.  The interests of the community
+also would be protected against those of selfish and dishonest traders.
+It was, therefore, {173} proposed that all dairy produce, fruit, or
+timber intended for exportation should be examined by an inspector, and
+should not be shipped until he had certified that it was sound, free
+from disease, and likely to reach its destination in a good state of
+preservation.  The Governor in Council was also authorised to make
+regulations for the inspection of the ships in which such produce was
+to be carried, for the protection from unnecessary suffering of live
+stock when carried by sea, and for the branding and shipment of
+products approved of by an inspector for exportation.  The Bill was
+read a second time in the Assembly on the understanding that it would
+be referred to the persons who would principally be affected by it, and
+was so unfavourably received by them, and especially by the
+fruit-growers, that it was shortly afterwards dropped.  In several
+Provinces inspection has been accompanied by a system of bonuses to
+producers, but in this respect Tasmania has taken no action.
+Substantial bonuses were, however, offered some fourteen years ago to
+manufacturers of considerable quantities of sugar, sacking, and woollen
+goods, but of these the last alone has been claimed.
+
+Tasmania has not followed the example of New South Wales and South
+Australia in the adoption of manhood or adult suffrage and the
+abolition of plural votes, but has passed a new Electoral Bill which
+adopts a modification of Hare's system, and thus secures a considerable
+representation of the {174} minority in both Houses of Parliament.  It
+provided, as introduced, that the two principal cities, Hobart and
+Launceston, which return, respectively, six and three, and four and
+two, representatives to the Assembly and Council, should thenceforward
+be single constituencies, and that "each elector shall have one vote
+only, but may vote in the alternative for as many candidates as he
+pleases; and his vote shall be deemed to be given in the first place
+for the candidate opposite whose name in the ballot-paper the figure 1
+is placed; but in the event of its not being required to be used for
+the return of such candidate, it shall be transferable to the other
+candidates in succession, in the order of priority indicated by the
+figures set opposite their respective names; and the elector shall
+insert opposite the names of the candidates for whom he wishes to vote,
+the figures 1, 2, 3, and so on, in the order of his preference."  The
+method by which the returning officer was to decide who were the
+successful candidates was so complicated as to require two pages of the
+Bill for its explanation.  Briefly stated, it was as follows: the total
+number of votes divided by the number of representatives being the
+"Quota" necessary for the election of candidates, the returning officer
+declares the candidates who have a number of first votes equal to or
+greater than the quota to be elected; he then notes how many of the
+second votes on the papers of the successful candidates are given to
+each of the other candidates, {175} and distributes the surplus votes
+among them in accordance with their respective proportions.  One or
+more additional candidates are probably thereby elected, and the
+process is repeated until the requisite number are elected or a further
+quota is no longer reached.  In the latter case, the candidate who has
+the smallest number of votes is excluded, and the second votes of those
+who supported him in the first instance are counted to the other
+candidates.  The second votes of the candidates who successively become
+lowest on the list may be distributed, as often as may be necessary,
+among the remainder; in this manner a final result must at length be
+obtained.  The Assembly provided by an amendment that each elector
+should vote for as many candidates as there were vacancies, while
+signifying the order of his preference; the Council reduced the number
+of requisite votes by one-half, and limited the operation of the Bill
+to the next general election.  A doubt was expressed whether the
+benefits would counterbalance the additional trouble and inevitable
+confusion which would attend the first application of the new system.
+It was also contended that, among a population of not more that 160,000
+persons, if the experiment were worthy of a trial, it should be
+extended to the whole country.  The only other electoral peculiarity
+that I have noted in Australia is to be found in Queensland.  Under an
+Act of 1892 which deals with the election of members of the Assembly,
+an elector may "indicate on his {176} ballot-paper the name or names of
+any candidate or candidates for whom he does not vote in the first
+instance, but for whom he desires his vote or votes to be counted in
+the event of any candidate or candidates for whom he votes in the first
+instance not receiving an absolute majority of votes."  These
+contingent votes are not counted unless the requisite number of
+candidates fail to obtain an absolute majority of all the primary
+votes; they are of no value where the candidates are not in the ratio
+of more than two to one to the vacancies, as it is provided that in
+such cases the candidates who receive the greatest number of votes
+shall be elected.
+
+It is a noteworthy fact that the four Provinces, New South Wales,
+Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania, which decided in favour of
+popular election of the delegates to the new Federal Convention and the
+subsequent approval or rejection of the Draft Constitution by a direct
+popular vote, are those in which the Ministry advocate a plebiscite for
+the settlement of disputes between the two Houses of Parliament.  The
+acceptance of the Federation Enabling Bill by the Legislative Councils
+of these Provinces must weaken the moral force of their opposition to
+the plebiscite, as it may reasonably be argued that, if the people can
+be trusted to give an intelligent vote upon the most important of all
+Australian problems, they can still more be trusted to deal with any
+question of current politics.  In Tasmania Ministers are {177}
+confronted with a Legislative Council which continually amends, as well
+as rejects, their financial proposals, justifying its attitude upon the
+wording of the Constitution Act of 1854.  The section in question
+states that "all Bills for appropriating any part of the revenue or for
+imposing any tax, rate, duty, or impost shall originate in the House of
+Assembly, and it shall not be lawful for the House of Assembly to
+originate or pass any vote, resolution, or Bill for the appropriation
+of any part of the revenue, or of any tax, rate, duty, or impost for
+any purpose which shall not have been first recommended by the Governor
+to the House of Assembly during the session in which such vote,
+resolution, or Bill shall be passed."  As the right of amendment is not
+specifically withheld, as in the Victorian Constitution, the
+Legislative Council assumes its possession.  The case for the
+plebiscite was put by the Premier and the Treasurer upon the second
+reading of the Bill.  Sir Edward Braddon stated that the financial
+privileges of the Assembly had continually been infringed by the
+Council, and that, on one occasion, in reference to the Drawbacks Bill,
+they had almost assumed the power of initiating a money vote.
+Curiously enough, the principal question mentioned by him as suitable
+for the application of the plebiscite was that of Female Suffrage,
+which, introduced as a private measure, had been rejected by the
+Council after he had failed to secure its defeat in the Assembly.  In
+the {178} preceding session, he said, the Assembly had vainly asked the
+Council to agree to a joint dissolution of both Houses when a Bill had
+twice been rejected and a General Election had intervened.  A similar
+measure, passed in South Australia in 1881, had operated most
+successfully, its mere presence on the Statute Book having put an end
+to the deadlocks which had previously been of constant occurrence.  It
+is probable, however, that the comparative absence of disputes has
+mainly been due to the democratisation of the Council, which has
+brought it into close touch with the feeling of the Assembly; and that,
+in Tasmania, where the electors for the Council are only one in five of
+those for the Assembly, a joint dissolution would produce little change
+in the _personnel_ of the former body.  The Treasurer, Sir Philip Fysh,
+treating the subject historically, pointed out that the Council had
+thrown out year after year votes, first passed in 1863, for the
+expenditure of £103,000 upon the construction of roads and bridges, and
+had several times rejected the Launceston and Western, Hobart and
+Launceston, and Mersey and Deloraine Railway Bills.  They had three
+times refused to accept a Bill for the re-assessment of the land of the
+Province with a view to the imposition of a tax on unimproved values.
+As regards its opposition to the proposed expenditure of borrowed money
+upon the construction of railways, roads and bridges, it would appear
+that the Council in most cases acted {179} wisely, and that the
+Province would have been benefited if it had persisted in its
+opposition.  The total public debt at the end of June, 1896, was nearly
+£8,150,000, exclusive of £215,000 in temporary Treasury Bills and
+£250,000 in Local Inscribed Stock, and entailed an annual liability for
+interest of £313,000.  Towards this amount, the works which should be
+directly reproductive, such as the railways and the postal and
+telegraphic services, returned a net revenue, after payment of working
+expenses, of only £26,000.  It may be contended, of course, that the
+country could not have been developed in the absence of a large
+expenditure; but, as the liability forms a heavy burden upon so small a
+population--a burden, indeed, which might have become almost unbearable
+but for the valuable discoveries of minerals--the Council seems to have
+had abundant justification for its efforts to check the extravagant
+tendencies of the Assembly.  The Ministry, after passing the second
+reading of the Bill in the Assembly by a small majority, withdrew it,
+as there was no possibility of getting it through the Council; its
+introduction appears to have been due to the desire that it should be
+discussed at the pending General Elections.  The principal clause
+provided that "any Bill which shall be passed by the House of Assembly
+in two consecutive sessions of Parliament, and which shall be rejected
+by the Legislative Council in each of {180} two such consecutive
+sessions, may be submitted for the approval of the people of Tasmania
+by means of a general poll of, or referendum to, the electors for the
+House of Assembly."  An interval of not less than six weeks was to
+elapse between the two sessions, and where a Bill had been amended by
+the Council, the Assembly was to be vested with the final decision
+whether the amendments effected such substantial alterations as to be
+tantamount to a rejection, and might present an address to the Governor
+requesting that a Bill which had been rejected twice or substantially
+altered might be submitted to a general vote of the electors.  A bare
+majority of the votes so recorded was to be sufficient to secure the
+enactment of the measure subject to the constitutional rights of the
+Governor.
+
+The placid progress of the Session was impaired by the introduction of
+a private railway Bill, which led to many nights of contentious debate
+and much hostility among the various sections in the Assembly.  All the
+railways are owned by the State with the exception of a few short lines
+in the Northern and Western portions of the Province which have been
+constructed by Mining Companies without any concessions from the
+Government.  During recent years the Western district has become an
+important mining centre, and should, in the opinion of most Tasmanians,
+be connected by railway with either Launceston or Hobart.  But the
+condition of the {181} finances is such, as has already been seen, that
+the Government cannot venture to undertake the construction of further
+public works unless it can be shown that they will immediately give an
+adequate return upon the outlay.  The small surplus of the last two
+years was obtained at the cost of rigid retrenchment and high direct
+taxation, an income tax of eightpence in the pound upon incomes derived
+from personal exertion, and a shilling upon those derived from
+property, and a land-tax of a halfpenny in the pound upon the capital
+value of land.  It, therefore, became necessary, if the construction of
+the line or lines were not to be postponed indefinitely, that the aid
+of private enterprise should be invoked and that concessions should be
+offered which would be sufficient to attract private capitalists.
+
+In 1895 a Bill was passed which authorised the Van Diemen's Land
+Company to construct a railway of about forty miles in length, which
+would place the West Coast in communication with Emu Bay in the North.
+At a distance of eighteen miles from the latter place is Ulverstone,
+which is directly connected with Launceston, and the Government have a
+balance from loan funds which may be devoted to the construction of a
+railway across the intervening space.  The inducement offered to the
+Company was the right to mark off, within certain areas, twelve blocks
+of 320 acres of mineral land, which would be granted to them upon the
+{182} completion of the railway.  They were limited in the charges
+which they might make for the carriage of passengers and the conveyance
+of merchandise, were to pay a royalty of 2-½ per cent. upon the gross
+value of all minerals obtained by them in addition to the statutory
+income tax of one shilling in the pound, and were to be liable, after
+the expiration of twenty-one years, to the resumption of the railway
+and all its appurtenances by the Government at the price of 20 per
+cent. above the actual cost of construction.  At the end of 1896 the
+Company had not taken the initial steps towards the commencement of the
+undertaking.
+
+The proposal made by a Victorian Syndicate and submitted to Parliament
+during the session of 1896, aimed at the connection by railway of the
+West Coast with some point on the State lines in the South.  In return
+for the construction of the railway, which would be about a hundred
+miles in length, the promoters asked for a concession of large areas of
+land along its proposed route and for considerable rights to make use
+of the rivers in its vicinity, which are running to waste in the
+greatest abundance, as sources of electrical energy.  As the railway
+would, admittedly, be worked at a loss for many years, they based their
+hopes of a profit upon the probability of the discovery of minerals and
+upon the generation of electricity, which they would either use
+themselves or dispose of to companies mining on land belonging to the
+{183} State.  The district in question, it may be stated, is believed
+to be of little agricultural value, but to be likely to carry minerals,
+though it has not adequately been prospected.  After its second reading
+the Bill was referred to a select committee, which made reductions in
+the concessions, and these were further reduced, after prolonged
+debate, upon its reconsideration in the Assembly.  I have mentioned
+these details in order to show that, while the State was not in a
+financial position to undertake the direct construction of railways
+deemed to be necessary for the development of the resources of the
+country, the Assembly was not unmindful of the interests of posterity,
+and sought to reduce the inevitable concessions to the lowest possible
+point.
+
+
+
+
+{184}
+
+VIII
+
+_FEMALE SUFFRAGE_
+
+I do not propose, in the present chapter, to discuss the hackneyed
+arguments for and against female suffrage, but to indicate the progress
+of the movement in the several Provinces of Australasia, and to note
+some of the results of the adoption of adult suffrage in South
+Australia and New Zealand.
+
+As regards the other Provinces, we are bound to consider the existing
+franchise for the election of members of the Assembly in order to
+realise what would be the effect of extending it to women upon similar
+terms.  In Victoria manhood suffrage would be superseded by adult
+suffrage; in New South Wales and Western Australia, where residence of
+three and six months, respectively, forms a qualification, the vast
+majority of women would obtain a place on the rolls; but in Tasmania
+and Queensland the right to exercise the franchise would be confined,
+practically, to widows and women of independent means.
+
+{185}
+
+We are also bound to take into consideration the constitution of the
+Legislative Council in order to gauge the full significance of female
+suffrage.  If it is elective, as the electors must be qualified as
+freeholders, leaseholders, or occupiers, the vote would be confined to
+women of independent means and widows or spinsters in personal
+occupation, and, while the wife and daughters of the poor man would
+necessarily be excluded from the register, those of the rich man might,
+as has been done in South Australia, receive special gifts of freehold
+property which would be sufficient to render them eligible.  To this
+extent, therefore, as in Tasmania and, to a small degree, wherever
+plural voting is allowed, female suffrage would constitute a new
+property vote.  Similar conditions would not prevail when the members
+of the Council are nominated upon the recommendation of Ministers who
+are subject to the control of the popular representatives.
+
+It is probable that Victoria will be the next Province to follow the
+example of South Australia and New Zealand.  A ministerial measure
+which would have introduced female suffrage, though only in the
+constituencies of the Assembly, has twice been passed by that House.
+On the first occasion it was rejected by the Council, on the second it
+was laid aside on the ground that it had not been approved by the
+absolute majority which is required in the case of amendments of the
+{186} constitution.  Both Bills were rendered distasteful to the
+Council by the inclusion of a provision for the abolition of the plural
+vote, but it is unlikely that the first would, apart from that fact,
+have been accepted.  Many members of the Council, I was told, are
+favourable to female suffrage, but would have voted in accordance with
+their opinion that important constitutional changes should not be
+passed until they have been placed before the electorate.  As the life
+of the Assembly may not exceed three years, the reference need not long
+be delayed.
+
+In Tasmania, in 1896, the House of Assembly passed a private Bill
+containing a similar limitation to that in the Victorian measure, and
+was equally unable to secure the concurrence of the Council.  A
+resolution in favour of female suffrage has been adopted by a large
+majority in the Assembly of New South Wales, but the question has not
+been taken up by either of the recognised parties.  The Premier may be
+reckoned as a personal supporter, but declines to move in the matter in
+view of differences of opinion in the Cabinet.  Neither in Western
+Australia nor in Queensland does the subject arouse much interest.
+
+Such is the state of feeling in five of the six Australian Provinces.
+In South Australia an arduous contest was concluded in 1894 by the
+passage of an Act which placed women upon an absolute equality with men
+in the right to vote for {187} members both of the Assembly and of the
+Council.  It is unnecessary to trace the history of the agitation which
+may be said to have commenced in 1888 upon the formation of the Women's
+Franchise League, though a Bill for the enfranchisement of women of
+property had previously been introduced.  Thenceforward it was pursued
+vigorously, and culminated in 1893, when the Government pronounced in
+favour of adult suffrage.  But the difficulties were not at an end: the
+Bill of that year was wrecked, mainly because its adoption was to be
+dependent upon an affirmative plebiscite; reintroduced in the following
+year without the obnoxious clause, it was passed through both Houses of
+Parliament, though only by the bare statutory majority in the Assembly,
+and shortly afterwards received the Queen's assent.
+
+During the course of the debates the Premier, who holds the portfolio
+of Attorney-General, said that, if women were entitled to vote, they
+would have the right to sit in Parliament, and the Assembly, by
+twenty-eight votes to eight, refused to exclude them.  A doubt has
+since been expressed, which is not shared by the Ministry, whether they
+are qualified to be elected to the Council.  I have not had the
+opportunity to read the arguments, which concern the interpretation of
+several statutes, but they would be of no great interest, the main
+point being that Parliament intended to enable women to sit in both
+Houses.  {188} In New Zealand, on the other hand, the enfranchising Act
+of 1893 expressly denied to women the right of election to the House of
+Representatives or nomination to the Council; and the succeeding House,
+though elected under adult suffrage, refused to go back upon this
+decision.  The subsequent proposal of the Premier that women should be
+eligible for nomination to the Council, was intended, I believe, partly
+as a bid for their support, partly as a means of casting ridicule upon
+the non-representative body.
+
+The first elections in South Australia under the new franchise were
+held early in 1896, and, apart from a few rural constituencies in which
+the issues were personal rather than political, were contested under
+three recognised programmes.  The National Defence League, or
+Opposition, mentioned in its programme no items which were likely to be
+especially attractive to the female voters, and treated as open
+questions temperance legislation, and religious instruction in State
+schools; the Labour platform, with discreet vagueness, advocated any
+equitable and reasonable claims of women for the amendment of the laws;
+and the Ministerial policy, as enunciated by the Premier, included an
+amendment of the Licensed Victuallers' Act in the direction of greater
+local control over licenses, and various measures of social reform, of
+which the principal were the raising of the age of consent, the
+simplification of the remedies of deserted wives, {189} and the
+restriction of the importation and sale of opium.  It should be
+mentioned, however, that, as the Labour Party are united in a close,
+though independent, alliance with the Government, the supporters of the
+one in many cases voted for the candidates of the other.  In several
+constituencies a Ministerialist and a Labour man contested the two
+seats and received jointly the assistance of both parties.
+
+As the Women's Franchise League had been dissolved upon the attainment
+of its purpose, the only organisation which interested itself,
+specifically, in the female voters was the W.C.T.U., which, having
+drawn up a scheme of reforms, suggested that it should be used as a
+basis for ascertaining the views of candidates, but did not seek
+directly to influence the votes of its members though leaning,
+undoubtedly, to the side of the Government.  Its efforts to instruct
+women in the method of voting enabled returning officers to
+congratulate them on their knowledge of the business.  From personal
+observation I can bear witness to the extreme orderliness of the
+proceedings, both during and after the poll.
+
+The elections resulted in a slight accession of strength to the ranks
+of the Ministerialists and Labour members.  As these are very Radical,
+the majority of women, contrary to the expectations of many, had failed
+to display Conservative predilections.  It would seem, indeed, if we
+take also {190} into consideration the result of two General Elections
+in New Zealand, that their so-called Conservatism takes the form, not
+of an aversion from advanced legislation, but of a disinclination to
+bring about a change of Ministry.  Under masculine influences, South
+Australia had forty-two Ministries in forty years; women entered the
+arena and a Ministry which had held office for three years was again
+returned to power.  An allowance must, of course, be made for a feeling
+of gratitude to those through whom the privilege of the vote had been
+obtained.  Equally wrong was the anticipation that the women would be
+found to be subject to clerical influences.  At the instigation of
+those who were under this impression, the electors were invited, under
+a direct reference, to say whether they desired the introduction of
+religious instruction in State schools during school hours and the
+payment of a capitation grant to denominational schools for secular
+results.  Both questions were answered emphatically in the negative,
+the second by a majority of more than three votes to one.  The W.C.T.U.
+was in favour of religious instruction, but strongly opposed to the
+capitation grant.
+
+The general conclusion formed after the elections was that, in the vast
+majority of cases, the women had voted in the same way as their
+masculine relatives, and that domestic harmony had not been disturbed.
+It was impossible to obtain definite data, as the Premier refused,
+rightly enough, to sanction {191} the issue of different voting papers
+for the two sexes.  But, even if the female franchise merely increased
+the number of votes and did not affect the result of the elections, it
+does not follow that it has been nugatory.
+
+Members who have to consider the wishes of female as well as male
+constituents will shape their actions accordingly.  The effects of this
+influence cannot yet be studied fully in South Australia, as they were
+not manifested, to any great extent, in the first session of the new
+Parliament.  A Licensed Victuallers' Act was passed, as had been
+promised by the Premier, which instituted local control over the issue
+of licenses, but provided, in accordance with statutory enactment, that
+the refusal of licenses, or reduction in their number, should be
+accompanied by compensation to the parties directly interested.  As the
+Province has a steadily growing industry in the cultivation of the
+vine, Prohibitionists will be met by a serious obstacle to their
+crusade.  In pursuance of an _ad feminas captandas_ agitation for the
+prohibition of the employment of barmaids which had been carried on
+during the elections, the Assembly inserted a clause in the Bill which
+prohibited their employment after a certain number of years, but
+submitted to its excision by the Council.  A Bill which would have
+given to widows a legal right to one-third of their deceased husband's
+property was discussed, but allowed to lapse.  The Franchise Act, I
+should have stated, {192} allowed a female elector, upon the completion
+of certain formalities, to vote through the post if she would be absent
+from her home on the day of the election, a privilege already accorded
+to men, or if she were resident more than three miles from the nearest
+polling place, or, by reason of the state of her health, would probably
+be unable to vote at the polling place on the day of the poll.  This
+provision, which permitted open voting, was found to have led to
+abuses, and the Government passed an amending Act which withdrew all
+the supplementary privileges except the last, and required absent
+voters to fill in the paper at a postmaster's office and without
+supervision.  As I was not in South Australia during the session, I am
+unable to give more than a brief summary of the proceedings which may
+be connected, directly or indirectly, with the extension of the
+franchise to women.
+
+But when we turn to New Zealand, where a House elected under adult
+suffrage has fulfilled its allotted term of three years, we may expect
+to find more definite results.  In that Province, as in South
+Australia, women were enfranchised by a House which had received no
+popular mandate to that effect; in fact, the matter had scarcely been
+discussed in the constituencies, though attention had been drawn to it
+by the advocacy of several successive Premiers.  In 1892, however, a
+new Electoral Bill, which conferred the franchise on all adult women,
+was passed by the House of Representatives {193} and accepted by the
+Council subject to the insertion of a clause which absolved women in
+some cases from attendance at the polling booth.  The Government
+refused to accept the amendment, and the Bill lapsed for the session.
+In the following year it was reintroduced in the original form, and was
+passed by both Houses, though only by a slender majority in the
+Council.  The Act contains the striking and, as far as I know, unique
+provision that the names of voters who have not exercised their
+privileges are to be erased from the rolls, though a claim for
+reinstatement may be made at the next periodical revision.
+
+The elections, which took place at the end of 1893, aroused widespread
+interest in the members of the fair sex, of whom nine out of every
+eleven who were registered went to the poll and proved conclusively
+that, though the desire for the vote might not have been general, women
+would not refrain from its exercise.  With the help of their lords and
+masters, they falsified the expectations of those who had anticipated a
+reaction in favour of Conservatism, by retaining in power, with an
+increased majority, a Government which is, in some respects, even more
+Radical than that of South Australia.  So complete was the defeat of
+the Opposition that it was reduced to a remnant of twenty members in a
+House of seventy-four.  Another important feature was the return of a
+body of Prohibitionists who aimed at legislation which would enable the
+electors {194} in a locality to close all the public-houses by a bare
+majority.  As they sat on both sides of the House, they did not affect
+the numerical strength of the two parties, but constituted a force
+which it was impossible for the Government to ignore.  But while the
+consequent liquor legislation and the increased prominence of the
+temperance movement are the principal effects of the extension of the
+franchise to women, other measures of considerable importance are
+connected with the new factor in the sphere of politics.
+
+Some of these would, doubtless, have been passed in any case.  The
+Shops and Shop Assistants Act of 1894, for instance, which limits the
+total number of hours in a week, and the number of consecutive hours in
+a day, during which women and persons under eighteen years of age may
+be employed in a shop, and requires shopkeepers to provide sitting
+accommodation for their female employés, was passed by the preceding
+House of Representatives, and would have become law but for its
+rejection by the Council.  Similarly, the greater stringency in the
+limitation of the hours of employment of women and young persons in
+factories, the exclusion of young persons from certain dangerous
+trades, and the prohibition of the employment of women within a month
+of their confinement, all of which were included in the Factories Act
+of the same year, might have been expected in the natural progress of
+industrial legislation.  The appointment of women, {195} also, as
+inspectors of factories, gaols, and asylums is in accordance with the
+recent practice of other countries.  The same may be said of the Infant
+Life Protection Act, which seeks to prevent baby-farming, and of Acts
+dealing with the adoption of children and with industrial schools,
+though it is probable that their passage has been hastened by a
+knowledge of the approval of the female voters.  Their influence is
+also seen in measures such as the raising of the age of consent to
+sixteen, in a country, be it remembered, in which girls come much more
+early to maturity than in England, the permission accorded to women to
+be enrolled as barristers and solicitors, and the simplification of the
+procedure where a judicial separation is desired.  Parliament has
+discussed, but without legislative results, proposals that the sexes
+should be placed on an equality as regards the grounds for a divorce,
+and that a divorce should be obtainable if either party become insane
+or be sentenced to a long term of imprisonment.
+
+But we can trace the influence of women most directly in the desire of
+the Premier, to which I have referred, to render them eligible for
+nomination to the Council, and in the attempts to put an end to the
+legal sanction accorded by the State to betting, immorality, and drink.
+In these matters members are face to face with the most pronounced
+opinions of their female constituents.
+
+The prevention of gambling is sought through the {196} suppression of
+the totalisator, which was legalised in 1889.  In the following years,
+it is admitted, the number of licenses issued was in excess of the
+requirements of the population, and it was felt, even by the advocates
+of the machine, when a strongly supported effort was made in the House
+of Representatives to abolish it, that a concession was inevitable.  In
+its final form the measure reduced by one-third the number of licenses
+which might be issued thenceforward, and prohibited all persons from
+betting with minors and from laying or taking odds dependent upon the
+dividend paid by the totalisator.
+
+The female voters are even more anxious to secure the repeal of the
+C.D. Act, though it has for several years been a dead letter.  It only
+applies to districts which the Government declares to be subject to its
+provisions, and no Ministry at the present time would venture to
+recommend its application nor Municipal Council to proffer such a
+request.  But the women will not be satisfied until they have expunged
+from the Statute Book an Act which they declare to be a disgrace to New
+Zealand.  Their purpose would have been effected by a short measure
+which was passed by the House of Representatives but rejected by the
+nominated Legislative Council, which is less amenable to public
+opinion.  They have also inspired the Government to greater stringency
+in the administration of the law against keepers of houses of ill-fame,
+which has led, {197} according to common report, to a large increase in
+the prevalence of venereal diseases.
+
+In order to understand the position of affairs as it affects the
+Prohibitionists in their crusade against public-houses, it is necessary
+to have some knowledge, in their broadest aspects, of the constitution
+and powers of the licensing authority and of the gradual extension of
+popular control.  Under an Act of 1881 the regulation of the traffic
+was placed in the hands of elective Licensing Committees, and the first
+step in the direction of popular control was taken by the provision
+that additional licenses, except in special cases, should not be
+granted until they had been demanded by a poll of the ratepayers.
+Objections to the granting or renewal of licenses might be made by
+private individuals, the police and corporate bodies, and should
+specify, as the ground of objection, that the proposed licensee was an
+undesirable person, that the premises were unsuitable, or that "the
+licensing thereof is not required in the neighbourhood."  The words
+that I have quoted were seized upon by the Prohibitionists, who had
+gathered strength during the following years as a justification for the
+refusal of all licenses if they could capture the Licensing Committee.
+In Sydenham, a suburb of Christchurch, they were at length successful,
+and were confronted with the bitter antagonism of the brewers.  After
+several years of litigation they were defeated conclusively, and were
+thrown back upon an agitation for the amendment of the law.
+
+{198}
+
+The next important measure, that of 1893, was passed by representatives
+elected under manhood suffrage, who knew that when they sought a
+renewal of confidence they would be called upon to justify their
+actions, not only in the eyes of Prohibitionists, but in those of the
+newly enfranchised female electors.  We shall therefore not be
+surprised to find that the Act introduced a great extension of the
+principle of popular control.  It placed both the election of the
+Licensing Committees and the Local Option polls on the basis of adult
+suffrage and enlarged the scope of the latter.  Previously, as we have
+seen, the electors were only allowed to decide as to the advisability
+of additional licenses.  Herein their power was curtailed, as such
+polls were not to be held unless a census had shown that the population
+of a district had increased by 25 per cent. in the quinquennial period.
+This was a concession to Prohibitionists who would welcome a change
+which rendered the increase of licenses more difficult.  But the
+principal innovation was the control given to the electorate over the
+renewal of all publicans' accommodation or bottle licenses.  Triennial
+polls were to be held, at which they were to be invited to say whether
+they desired the continuation, reduction, or abolition of licenses,
+subject to the proviso that prohibition would not be deemed to be
+carried except by a three-fifths majority of the votes, and that the
+poll would be void unless it had been attended by a majority of the
+registered electors.  {199} Should prohibition not be carried, the
+votes in its favour were to be added to those cast for reduction, and,
+in the event of reduction, the Licensing Committee were to refuse to
+renew the licences of not more than one in four of the publicans in the
+district, commencing with those whose licenses had been endorsed, and
+proceeding with those who offered little or no accommodation to
+travellers.  No provision was made for compensation to persons who,
+through no fault of their own, might be dispossessed of their licenses.
+As the Act declared that the poll should be regarded as void unless
+one-half of the electors recorded their votes, it was to the obvious
+interest of anti-prohibitionists to abstain from attendance at the
+booths, and the figures consequently afford no index of the full
+strength of the opposing parties.  The Prohibitionists, however, had
+little cause to be dissatisfied with the results of their first appeal
+to the electorate, which included women as well as men: prohibition was
+carried in one case, reduction in fourteen, while in the remainder the
+poll was either void or the votes were cast in favour of existing
+conditions.
+
+The amending Act of 1895 has made no substantial alterations in the law
+in spite of the persistent agitation of Prohibitionists in favour of
+prohibition on the vote of a bare majority.  It was decreed that
+licensing polls should be held concurrently with General Elections,
+that voters should {200} be allowed to vote both for prohibition and
+reduction, though the two votes could, naturally, no longer be combined
+in favour of the latter, that the vote should affect all forms of
+licenses, and, in view of the district in which prohibition had been
+carried, that, in such cases, the issue should be between the continued
+refusal of licenses and their restoration to the former number.  Under
+the present law, it will be noted, should successive reductions lead to
+the cancellation of all licenses, a vote of the electors can never
+restore more licenses than existed at the time when the last was doomed
+to extinction.
+
+The second poll was taken at the end of 1896 and resulted in the
+failure to carry either prohibition or reduction in any district.  The
+figures were as follows: continuation, 139,249; reduction, 94,226;
+prohibition, 98,103.  Though the Prohibitionists had been enabled to
+increase their vote by nearly 50,000 and had therein sufficient grounds
+for the hope of ultimate success, it is probable that they would have
+been more successful but for the intemperance of their leaders, who aim
+at prohibition alone and care neither for the regulation of the traffic
+nor for reduction.  They were also handicapped by the frantic efforts
+of the brewers, who spent their ample funds freely and were able to
+command the votes of many who were interested, either directly or
+indirectly, in the trade; and by an alliance between the brewers and
+many of the Ministerialists.  While the General {201} Election and the
+Local Option poll constituted distinct issues, and there was no reason
+why a supporter of the Government should feel bound to vote for the
+continuation of licenses, it is an undoubted fact that a large number
+of the women of the working classes, who might have been expected to be
+opposed to the public-houses, voted, on that occasion, in favour of
+their retention.  At Wellington, where, as at Adelaide, I was struck by
+the prevailing orderliness, the only women whom I noted as taking an
+active part in the proceedings were canvassing in favour of the brewers.
+
+At first sight it seems strange that the brewers should have worked
+with the party which had passed the most stringent liquor legislation
+on the Statute Book, but it must be remembered that this question had
+neither been debated nor divided the House on the ordinary lines of
+cleavage.  The brewers, many persons maintain, know that they have the
+sympathy of the Government which, according to this hypothesis, has
+done as little as possible to meet the wishes of the Prohibitionists,
+and that only under virtual compulsion, and, in its measure of 1896,
+introduced a Bill which would certainly be rejected by the Council and
+was calculated to cast ridicule upon the agitation of the
+Prohibitionists.  It was provided therein that a fourth issue should be
+added at the Local Option polls, that of national prohibition, and
+that, if it were carried by a three-fifths majority of the votes {202}
+recorded in all the districts, it should be unlawful, subject to the
+exception mentioned hereafter, to import into the Province any liquor
+for any purpose or to distil it in the Province or to manufacture it
+for sale or barter.  No person selling any spirituous or distilled
+perfume, nor any apothecary, chemist, or druggist administering or
+selling any spirituous, distilled, or fermented liquor for medicinal
+use, should do so otherwise than in such combination as rendered it
+unfit for use as a beverage.  The Governor might declare, by notice in
+_The Gazette_, by what combination of ingredients the articles would be
+rendered sufficiently unpalatable.  Persons requiring liquor for
+medicinal use or use in the arts and manufacturers were to make
+applications to Her Majesty's Customs and if their _bonâ fides_ were
+proved, might receive it, for ready money, "in such closed and sealed
+bottles or other receptacle as that the liquor therein cannot be poured
+out without such seal being first broken," and attached "with a
+Government label declaring the kind, quantity, quality, and price of
+the liquor, as these may be determined by the Governor."  In this
+measure the Government seem to have attempted to run with the hare and
+hunt with the hounds.  The brewers would laugh in their sleeves and the
+Prohibitionists would welcome a measure which instituted machinery for
+the attainment of national prohibition.  If the assumption be correct,
+the latter are credited with a lamentable lack of any sense of humour;
+from all {203} appearances they are not prepared to allow themselves to
+be hoodwinked.
+
+Many of the representatives seem to have had an equally low opinion of
+the average intelligence of female electors, as they sought to capture
+the votes of domestic servants by a Bill which was rejected by the
+Council, in which a weekly half-holiday was decreed to them except in
+cases of sickness or death in the family, or where an annual holiday of
+not less than fourteen days had been substituted by mutual agreement
+between employers and their servants.  How the period of rest was to be
+enforced was, perhaps wisely, not laid down, as domestics would, in few
+cases, be prepared to give information against their employers.  Those
+among the latter, however, who took the matter seriously would,
+presumably, guard themselves against judiciary proceedings by
+compelling their servants to be out of the house on the holiday between
+three o'clock and half-past nine, whatever might be the state of the
+weather.  Again, the undoubted evil, that young girls, by the culpable
+weakness of their parents, are allowed to parade the streets at night,
+was to be cured, according to the Government, by the so-called Juvenile
+Depravity Suppression Bill, which failed to meet with acceptance by the
+usually docile House of Representatives.  Its danger and absurdity can
+be gathered, without further comment, from the quotation of one of the
+clauses: "Whenever any constable finds any girl" (who is apparently not
+over the age of sixteen years) {204} "loitering in the streets or in
+out-of-the-way places after the hour of ten of the clock at night, and
+he has reason to believe that she is there for improper purposes, the
+following provisions shall apply:--
+
+"1. He shall forthwith take her to the nearest beat of another
+constable, or, failing him, to the nearest justice or clergyman, or,
+failing him, to the nearest house of some married person of good
+repute, in whose presence the girl shall be questioned as to her name,
+her abode, her parents or guardians, and her reason for being from home
+and loitering as aforesaid.
+
+"2. The constable shall then take, or shall cause her to be taken, to
+her home, where she shall be handed over to the person in charge of the
+house, and the constable shall forthwith on his return from duty make
+report of the facts to the officer in charge of the station."
+
+Should the offence be repeated and the girl's reply be deemed by the
+officer in charge of a police station to be unsatisfactory, she may be
+brought before a magistrate and be committed to a reformatory or an
+industrial school.  Some justification, I must add, for the seemingly
+depreciatory opinion of the members was afforded by the proceedings at
+the convention of the National Council of Women held at Christchurch
+early in 1896.  This Association, which claims to be non-political and
+to focus the views of the women of New Zealand, passed {205}
+resolutions in favour of the nationalisation of the land, a compulsory
+eight hours' day, and the enactment of a minimum rate of wages; but the
+climax was reached when it was resolved that "in all cases where a
+woman elects to superintend her own household and to be the mother of
+children, there shall be a law attaching a certain just share of her
+husband's earnings or income for her separate use, payable if she so
+desires it into her separate account."  The first portion of this
+sentence is mysterious, and seems to be based on the assumption that
+the husband has nothing to say in the matter.
+
+The extraordinary legislative activity which I have summarised need
+arouse no astonishment, as it is in consonance with the usual practice
+of the Parliament of New Zealand.  Between the years 1876 and 1894, it
+has been computed, 2,972 measures were passed, and of these no less
+than 1,602 have already been repealed.
+
+So much for the past: we must now consider briefly the present position
+of affairs and the further effects which may be anticipated from female
+suffrage.
+
+It is the general impression that while a large majority of the women
+voted in 1893 as their husbands and brothers advised them, yet they
+were induced, in many instances, by their leagues, which had been
+started on independent lines, to support candidates on moral rather
+than political considerations.  In the following year these leagues,
+{206} with the exception of those which placed liquor questions before
+all others, were captured by one of the political parties, most of them
+by the Ministerialists.  An amusing incident occurred in this
+connection at Dunedin.  Shortly before the last elections it was
+decided, at a thinly-attended meeting of the Women's Franchise League,
+to support the three Ministerial candidates, although one of them was
+an anti-prohibitionist.  Thereupon many of the members protested
+against the party character given to the association, and called a
+meeting, the proceedings at which were thus described by the local
+newspaper:--
+
+"The meeting which was held yesterday afternoon in connection with the
+Women's Franchise League was, in some respects, the most unique
+gathering ever held in the city.  There were nearly 200 women present,
+and they were divided into two parties--the followers of Mrs. Hatton
+and the supporters of Mrs. Don and Mrs. Hislop.  At the close of the
+opening remarks of the Chairman (the Rev. Mr. Saunders), Mr. Hatton
+mounted the platform, and declining to take his seat, the Chairman
+threatened to send for a policeman.  Then occurred a scene and uproar,
+of which it is impossible to give any conception.  The noise was
+deafening; and attracted to the spot passers-by in the street.  Half a
+dozen persons occupied the stage, and while some persons were
+addressing the meeting, others were engaged in heated argument.  Women
+{207} stamped on the floor with their feet and parasols, others were
+speaking at the highest pitch of their voices; there were hissing and
+hooting, and other unwomanly demonstrations.  Eventually a portion of
+Mrs. Hislop's supporters withdrew to a side room, and the Chairman,
+having dissolved the meeting, vacated the chair."[1]
+
+We find, therefore, that, with the exception of ardent Prohihitionists,
+women are subordinating their special interests to their increasing
+attachment to one or other of the parties; but it does not follow that
+they will cease to exercise a direct influence upon legislation.  It is
+not easy to learn to what extent their views have been modified during
+the last few years.  The proceedings of the National Council of Women
+cannot be taken seriously, and the practical aspirations of the sex
+must be sought rather in the points emphasised by the local leagues.
+The files of the newspapers, unfortunately, afford little information,
+as it was the practise of candidates to speak upon general topics at
+their public meetings, and to take part in informal and unreported
+discussions with the members of the various women's leagues.  On these
+occasions, I understand, and I must again except the Prohibitionists,
+the women made their views known, but did not seek to exact pledges as
+a condition of support.  It is believed that they took less interest in
+the second elections, but statistics are not yet available for a
+comparison {208} of the numbers that went to the poll on the two
+occasions.  Of 9,332 women who were registered for the City of
+Auckland, 6,304 recorded their votes, but I am unable to say whether
+the proportion of about seven in ten holds good for the Province.
+
+But, while it is necessary to consider the view of local leagues in
+order to form general conclusions as to the trend of female thought, it
+is found that, in the absence of one predominating centre, different
+issues obtain prominence in different places, and that the vote lacks
+the force which would be given to it by concentration.  A general
+similarity of aims, however, enables an estimate to be formed of the
+questions which the women will press upon the attention of Parliament
+in the immediate future.  The repeal of the C.D. and Totalisator Acts,
+amendments of the marriage laws, and greater protection of women and
+children against the cruelty of husbands and fathers, are subjects
+which are certain again to provoke discussion.  Parliament will also be
+asked again to admit women within its precincts, as they are no longer
+satisfied with the possession of the franchise; but the agitation will,
+I think, at present be unsuccessful, partly because, in the only
+instance in which a woman has held a public position, the experiment is
+regarded as having been a failure.  Some three years ago Mrs. Yates was
+elected to be Mayor of Onehunga, {209} and was unable to fill the
+position satisfactorily.  She was a woman of considerable ability, but
+of a hasty temper, and came into constant conflict with the
+Councillors.  Very possibly they did not give her a fair chance; but
+the fact remains that the proceedings excited much ridicule, in the
+press and elsewhere, and retarded the movement in favour of rendering
+women eligible for seats in Parliament.
+
+The Prohibitionists do not count upon much legislative assistance
+during the next three years, as the number of members of the House of
+Representatives who are in favour of prohibition upon the vote of a
+bare majority was reduced by the last election.  They believe that if
+the "National Option" Bill be re-introduced, the Council may seize upon
+that fact as a ground for again rejecting it.  In the meanwhile, they
+will concentrate their efforts upon the education of the electorate,
+and have, as I have shown, no reason to be discouraged by the results
+of the second local option poll.
+
+"Equal wages for equal work" is a new cry of the female voters.  They
+believe that if the Government were to introduce the principle of equal
+wages for similar work as between the men and women in the Civil
+Service, private employers would gradually follow the example.  This
+proposal has the support both of those who desire to raise the wages of
+women and of those who think that they would no longer be {210} able to
+compete with men in the search for employment.  It might have been
+expected that the habit which women have now acquired of meeting
+together for the discussion of a common policy would have inclined them
+to the formation of Trades Unions; but it is too early to look for
+indirect results from female suffrage, which has hitherto had no
+appreciable effect upon the rate of wages of women.  Nor has it
+modified the domestic instincts of the vast majority of the sex.
+
+Lastly, the women of the working classes, almost without exception, are
+in favour of pensions to the aged and needy, and regard objections
+based on the deterrence of thrift or the difficulty of raising the
+necessary funds as factitious and disingenuous.  Herein, as in some of
+the other matters to which I have referred, we see the principal danger
+of female suffrage in New Zealand, the tendency of the women to
+subordinate reason to sentiment.  They note the prevalence of an evil,
+and believe that if the State decrees its cessation it will promptly
+cease to exist.  But we must cherish the hope, though the justification
+for it is not yet manifest, that as the women become accustomed to the
+exercise of their power, they will no longer take a purely emotional
+view of the problems which engage their attention.  At the same time,
+as we have seen, they have promoted several unobtrusive but eminently
+useful reforms which would have had less chance of acceptance in a
+House elected {211} by men.  It is in this direction, and not in
+attempts to make people virtuous or sober by Act of Parliament, that we
+may anticipate the best results from the enfranchisement of the women
+of New Zealand.
+
+
+
+[1] _Otago Daily Times_, November 2, 1896.
+
+
+
+
+{212}
+
+IX
+
+_THE EVOLUTION OF A FEDERAL GOVERNMENT_
+
+The five self-governing Provinces of the mainland of Australia have
+been evolved from the Crown Colonies of New South Wales, South
+Australia, and Western Australia by the successive detachment of
+Victoria and Queensland from the former and the gradual growth of the
+system of responsible government, and are separated by lines of
+demarcation which, except where the Murray or one of its tributaries
+forms the boundary, are purely arbitrary and have not been drawn in
+accordance with any distinctive geographical features.  In the exercise
+of fiscal autonomy as regards their reciprocal relations, they have
+adopted protective tariffs which have not only impeded the interchange
+of commodities, but in some cases diverted trade from its natural
+course.  New South Wales, indeed, after a period of protection, has
+reverted to the policy of free trade, while the tariffs of Queensland
+and Western Australia are directed mainly to the {213} acquisition of
+revenue; but they are actually protective, as are, avowedly and to a
+high degree, those of Victoria and South Australia.  Under these
+circumstances, and as the result of insufficient intercourse,
+antagonistic interests have been created and jealousies aroused which
+are a source of anxiety to those who consider the future of Australia.
+
+The dangers which would be likely to arise from the independent
+development of the Provinces were recognised at an early date.  At the
+time of the suggested separation of the district of Port Phillip from
+New South Wales and of the discussion of the new constitutions which
+were about to be granted, it was proposed by the Imperial Authorities
+that the government should be in the hands of a General Assembly and
+local Provincial Councils, but it was objected by the colonists that,
+in the absence of regular means of communication, any scheme which
+included the creation of a central legislature and executive would be
+found to be impracticable.  In deference to their views the idea was
+allowed to drop, and no attempt was made to secure unity of action
+between the Provinces, except that, in 1850, the Governor of New South
+Wales received a commission as Governor-General of Australia and
+Governor of Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania, the administrators
+of which obtained the rank of Lieutenant-Governor.  They were to be
+superseded in their authority by the former when he was in {214} their
+territories, but were instructed to correspond directly with the
+Colonial Office.  It is not clear to what extent the Governor-General
+was expected to direct the administration of the other Provinces.  Some
+writers maintain that his pre-eminence was purely titular and intended
+as a compliment to the Mother Colony.  In any case, when, a few years
+later, responsible government was established and the Governors
+gradually became little more than figure-heads of the Executive, the
+matter ceased to be of any importance.
+
+The next phase in the movement originated in Victoria upon the
+initiative of Mr. (now Sir Charles) Gavan Duffy, who, in 1857, induced
+the Legislative Assembly to appoint a committee to consider the
+advisability of federal union.  Upon their recommendation that an
+inter-provincial conference should be held, communications were
+addressed to New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania, which,
+though separated from the mainland of Australia, has always identified
+itself closely with Australian affairs.  The proposal was in each case
+favourably received, as also, a little later, by Queensland, which had
+been erected into a separate Province in 1859; and Tasmania actually
+appointed its delegates.  But there the matter was allowed to rest;
+and, although occasional conferences were held at which a uniform
+tariff, the immigration of the Chinese, and other subjects were
+discussed, no practical steps were taken until 1883, when external
+questions impressed {215} Australian statesmen with the necessity for
+the creation of some body which would voice the opinions of Australia.
+Germany was reputed to have designs upon New Guinea, France upon the
+New Hebrides; while the latter country also gave offence by the penal
+settlement in New Caledonia.  In the spring of that year Sir T.
+M'Ilwraith, the Premier of Queensland, which from its position has the
+greatest interest in New Guinea, had hoisted the British flag on the
+Island and taken formal possession of that part of it which was not
+under the control of the Dutch; but his action had been disavowed by
+the Imperial Government.  A convention, attended by representatives
+from the five Australian Provinces, Tasmania, New Zealand, and Fiji,
+was accordingly held at Sydney, at which a decision was arrived at as
+to the main principles which were embodied in the Federal Council Act
+of 1885, the first legislative recognition of the Unity of Australia.
+Under this Act it was provided that a Federal Council, containing two
+representatives from a self-governing Province and one from a Crown
+Colony, should come into existence as soon as four of the Australasian
+Provinces had expressed their willingness to join it, and should
+thenceforward hold biennial sessions.  The motive which had called the
+Council into existence was shown clearly in the principal power
+delegated to it, that of legislating, subject to Imperial approval, in
+regard to the relations of Australasia with the Islands of the {216}
+Pacific.  It was also authorised to deal, among other subjects, with
+the fisheries in Australasian waters beyond territorial limits and
+certain aspects of civil and criminal jurisdiction, upon which it could
+pass enactments which would bind the Provinces represented upon it; and
+with questions such as general defences, quarantine, copyright,
+uniformity of weights and measures, and others which might be referred
+to it by the Legislatures of two or more Provinces, and any other
+matters of general Australasian interest on which the Legislatures can
+legislate within their own limits, but as to which it is deemed
+desirable that there should be a law of general application.  Such
+legislation, however, was to take effect only in the Provinces that
+requested the Council to act, and in any others that might subsequently
+adopt it.  It will thus be seen that the measure is of a purely
+permissive character, as each Province decides for itself whether it
+will be represented on the Council.  New South Wales, mainly under the
+influence of the late Sir Henry Parkes, and New Zealand have never
+taken part in the deliberations, and South Australia has only been
+represented on a single occasion.  The abstention of New Zealand is of
+smaller importance, from her geographical position and her intention
+not to identify herself at present with any scheme of Australian
+federation; but the hostility of New South Wales and the apathy of
+South Australia have placed great obstacles in the way of Queensland,
+{217} Victoria, Western Australia, and Tasmania, which, and especially
+Victoria, have attempted to turn the Council to the best account.
+Other causes have combined to minimise its utility; it has neither an
+Executive to carry out, nor a judiciary to enforce its decisions; it
+has no control over public funds; and, as has recently been pointed
+out, "it transacts its business without a Ministry or a department,
+without a leader or an Opposition, without a party or a programme;
+there is no necessary continuity of representation, or similarity in
+the mode of appointment of representatives, or fixed area within which
+its legislation has force; it is vagrant in domicile and without a roof
+to shelter it, without a foot of territory to rest upon, without a ship
+or a soldier to protect it, without a single man in its service, or a
+shilling of its own to pay one."[1]  But, in spite of these drawbacks,
+the Council has done practical work: it has paved the way for a system
+of national defence by the establishment of federal garrisons at King
+George's Sound and Thursday Island; it has regulated the pearl-shell
+and bêche-de-mer fisheries on the coasts of Queensland and Western
+Australia, and it has interested itself actively in the promotion of
+the proposed Pacific cable.  More would have been done, particularly in
+the consideration of the matters referred to it by Provincial
+Legislatures, had {218} it not been hoped that by the postponement of
+action the Council would be enabled, through the adhesion of South
+Australia and New South Wales, to legislate for the whole of Australia.
+Several of the Provinces, notably Western Australia and Queensland,
+which have shown little eagerness for the immediate realisation of a
+closer union, believed that the Council would, by a gradual process of
+development, be transformed into a Federal Parliament, and were
+prepared to allow events to take their natural course; but in other
+quarters a strong feeling arose, which was strengthened by the report
+of Imperial officers on the condition of the Provincial Defences, that
+the time had arrived when an attempt should be made to draft a Federal
+Constitution Bill which should be submitted to the various Provinces,
+and, if approved by them, to the Imperial Authorities.  As the result
+of correspondence between the Premiers, delegates from the whole of
+Australasia, with the exception of Fiji, met at Melbourne in 1890, and
+passed resolutions which led to the convocation at Sydney in the
+following year of a constituent convention, which was attended by
+Parliamentary representatives from the seven Provinces.  The convention
+sat for several weeks, under the presidency of Sir Henry Parkes, and
+drew up a Bill "to constitute the commonwealth of Australia," which
+formed the basis of the discussions at the recent Federal Convention.
+
+{219}
+
+The legislative powers of the Commonwealth are, under the provisions of
+the Bill, vested in a Governor-General, appointed by the Queen, a
+Senate, and a House of Representatives.  The laws passed by the
+Parliament are to be presented to the Governor-General, who may assent
+to them in the Queen's name, reserve them for the signification of her
+pleasure, withhold his assent, or return them to the Parliament with
+any amendments that he may recommend.  Laws assented to by the
+Governor-General may be disallowed within two years by the Queen in
+Council, and laws that have been reserved shall not come into force
+unless within the same period they have received the assent of the
+Queen in Council.  The Members of the Convention did not deem it
+necessary that any class of Bills should be reserved, but understood
+that, as they proposed that the Commonwealth should be able to
+legislate on several matters affecting the relations of Australia with
+foreign nations, the Constitution would not be acceptable to the
+Imperial Authorities unless a considerable power of intervention were
+reserved to them.
+
+The Senate is to be composed of eight members for each Province, which
+is henceforth to be called a State, of whom one-half retire
+triennially, directly chosen by the Houses of Parliament of the several
+States for a period of six years.  Senators are subject to no property
+qualification, but must be of {220} the age of thirty years, have
+resided for five years within the limits of the Commonwealth, be
+entitled to vote for a member of the House of Representatives, and if
+not British subjects by birth, have been naturalised for at least five
+years before the time of their election.  Bankrupts, criminals, and
+Government contractors are specially disqualified.  Similar provisions
+and disqualifications apply to members of the House of Representatives,
+except that the minimum age is reduced to twenty-one years, and that
+the periods of residence and naturalisation are reduced from five years
+to three.  They are to be chosen, in constituencies of thirty thousand
+inhabitants, by electors whose qualification shall be that prescribed
+by each State as the qualification for electors of its more numerous
+House of Parliament.  The members of both Houses are to be paid at the
+rate of £500 a year, and are precluded from sitting in a State
+Parliament.  The Parliament of the Commonwealth is to have authority to
+deal with "external affairs and treaties," to take over the powers of
+the Federal Council, which will cease to exist from the date of its
+establishment, and to have the exclusive right to legislate in regard
+to the affairs of the people of any race, not being Australian
+aboriginals or Maoris of New Zealand, with respect to whom it is deemed
+desirable to make laws not applicable to the general community; the
+seat of the Federal Government and any places required {221} for
+Federal purposes; and the provisional administration of any territory
+surrendered by any State, and accepted by the Commonwealth, or any
+territory in the Pacific placed by the Queen under the authority of and
+accepted by the Commonwealth.  The framers of the Constitution
+doubtless had in view the Northern Territory, which, as it forms a
+heavy burden upon its resources, South Australia might be glad to hand
+over to the Federation.  The Federal Parliament is also to deal
+exclusively with the postal and telegraphic services, military and
+naval defences and munitions of war, ocean beacons and lighthouses,
+quarantine, and, as soon as a uniform tariff has been imposed, with
+foreign and internal trade, bounties and duties of customs and excise.
+In the meanwhile, the duties are to be collected by Federal officials,
+but will be those that are, or may be, imposed by the Parliaments of
+the several States.  Upon the enactment of a uniform Federal tariff,
+all such State laws will thereby be repealed and "trade and intercourse
+throughout the Commonwealth, whether by means of internal carriage or
+ocean navigation, shall be absolutely free."  The expenditure of the
+Commonwealth is to be charged to the several States in proportion to
+the numbers of their people, and any surplus of revenue over
+expenditure is to be returned to them in proportion to the amount of
+revenue raised therein respectively, subject to certain reservations
+and to the right of the Federal Parliament, after {222} the imposition
+of a uniform tariff, to prescribe the method of its disposal.  The
+Federal revenue is to consist of customs and excise duties and of
+moneys raised by any other mode or system of taxation, but so that all
+such taxation shall be uniform through the Commonwealth.  The Federal
+Parliament may also, "with the consent of the Parliaments of all the
+States, make laws for taking over and consolidating the whole or any
+part of the public debt of any State or States; but so that a State
+shall be liable to indemnify the Commonwealth in respect of the amount
+of a debt taken over, and that the amount of interest payable in
+respect of a debt shall be deducted and retained from time to time from
+the share of the surplus revenue of the Commonwealth which would be
+otherwise payable to the State."[2]  Certain other legislative powers
+are vested in the Federal Parliament, which may concurrently be
+exercised by the several States, and in such cases Federal shall
+supersede State legislation.  All subjects not exclusively vested in
+the Parliament of the Commonwealth, or withdrawn from the Parliaments
+of the several States, are reserved to, and shall remain vested in, the
+State Parliaments.
+
+The authority of the Senate in regard to Money Bills formed the subject
+of much discussion, and was decided by a compromise which, it was
+hoped, would satisfy both those who desired to secure the {223}
+financial supremacy of the House of Representatives and the inhabitants
+of the smaller States, who would naturally struggle for the rights of
+the Senate in which they would be on a footing of equality with their
+more powerful neighbours.  The views of the former were met by the
+provisions that "laws appropriating any part of the public revenue, or
+imposing any tax or impost, shall originate in the House of
+Representatives," and that "the Senate shall have equal power with the
+House of Representatives in respect to all proposed laws, except laws
+imposing taxation and laws appropriating the necessary supplies for the
+ordinary annual services of the Government, which the Senate may affirm
+or reject, but may not amend.  But the Senate may not amend any
+proposed law in such a manner as to increase any proposed charge or
+burden on the people."  The interests of the latter were safeguarded by
+the four succeeding sub-sections:
+
+"Laws imposing taxation shall deal with the imposition of taxation only.
+
+"Laws imposing taxation, except laws imposing duties of customs on
+imports, shall deal with one subject of taxation only.
+
+"The expenditure for services other than the ordinary annual services
+of the Government shall not be authorised by the same law as that which
+appropriates the supplies for such ordinary annual services, but shall
+be authorised by a separate law or laws.
+
+{224}
+
+"In the case of a proposed law which the Senate may not amend, the
+Senate may at any stage return it to the House of Representatives with
+a message requesting the omission or amendment of any items or
+provisions therein.  And the House of Representatives may, if it thinks
+fit, make such omissions or amendments, or any of them, with or without
+modifications."[3]
+
+The executive authority of the Commonwealth is to be exercised by the
+Governor-General as the Queen's representative, with the aid and advice
+of a Federal Executive Council.  Considerable discussion took place at
+the Convention as to the relations which should exist between the
+Federal Executive and Legislature, some of the Representatives being in
+favour of the British system, others of the direct popular election of
+the head of the Government.  It was finally agreed that the members of
+the Council should be chosen and summoned by the Governor-General,
+should hold office, during his pleasure, and should be capable of being
+chosen and of sitting in either House of Parliament.  They are to
+execute the provisions of the Constitution and the laws of the
+Commonwealth; to assume at once control of the departments of customs
+and excise, posts and telegraphs, military and naval defence, ocean
+lights and quarantine; and, until other provision is made by
+Parliament, to appoint and remove all other officers of the Government.
+
+{225}
+
+The Parliament of the Commonwealth may establish a Supreme Court of
+Australia, consisting of a Chief Justice and not less than four other
+Justices, who shall be appointed by the Governor-General in Council,
+and shall be irremovable except upon an address from both Houses of
+Parliament.  The Supreme Court shall be a final Court of Appeal from
+any other Federal Court, which may be established by Parliament, and
+from the highest Court of final resort in any State; and may be
+invested by Parliament with final and conclusive jurisdiction in all
+cases upon which an appeal has hitherto been allowed to the Queen in
+Council, subject to the right of the Queen to grant an appeal to
+herself in Council against the judgment of the Supreme Court in any
+case which concerns the public interests of the Commonwealth, or of any
+State, or of any other part of the British Empire.  The Parliament may
+also confer upon the Federal Courts, other than the Supreme Court,
+jurisdiction to deal, either exclusively or concurrently with the
+Courts of the States, with cases arising under the Constitution or
+under any law made by the Parliament of the Commonwealth or affecting
+the Representatives of Foreign Powers, and with certain other matters
+including cases in which the Commonwealth is a party, or in which a
+Writ of Mandamus or Prohibition is sought against an officer of the
+Commonwealth.
+
+As the powers of the State are to be substantially those which they
+possess at present with the {226} exception of such as are transferred
+to the Federal Legislature and Executive, it is only necessary to add
+that the Governors of the States are to be appointed in the manner
+which their Parliament may prescribe, but are to correspond with the
+Imperial Authorities through the Governor-General: that States are not
+to be subdivided nor deprived of any of their territories without the
+consent of their Parliaments; and that they are forbidden explicitly to
+raise or maintain any military or naval force, to coin money, or make
+anything but gold and silver legal tender in payment of debts, to make
+any law prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, or to make or
+enforce any law abridging any privilege or immunity of citizens of
+other States of the Commonwealth, or to deny to any person within their
+jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
+
+Finally, it is provided that any of the existing Provinces that have
+not adopted the Constitution may, upon doing so, be admitted to the
+Commonwealth, and that any law for the alteration of the Constitution
+is not to be submitted to the Governor-General for the Royal Assent
+until it has been passed by an absolute majority of both Houses of
+Parliament, and has been approved by conventions of a majority of the
+States representing a majority of the people of the Commonwealth.
+
+When the Constitution Bill had been drafted, the next step should have
+been its reference to the Parliaments of the Constituent Provinces; but
+it was {227} not even introduced in New South Wales, Queensland,
+Western Australia, or New Zealand.  In Victoria it was passed by the
+Assembly and forwarded to the Council, which passed it subject to
+certain amendments which were never considered by the Assembly; in
+South Australia it was introduced in the Assembly, and was dropped; in
+Tasmania it passed the Assembly and was dropped at an early stage in
+the Council.  This procession of failures caused the advocates of
+Federation to realise that there must be something faulty in the method
+of procedure, and to ask themselves whether it was reasonable to expect
+that fourteen independent Chambers, or twelve, if New Zealand be
+excluded, should be able to arrive at a uniform decision on so
+complicated and contentious a subject.  It was felt, also, that the
+Parliaments had no popular mandate to deal with the question, and that,
+in the general apathy and absence of interest, the electors themselves
+should be stirred up by direct participation in the movement.
+Accordingly, Mr. Reid, the Premier of New South Wales, invited the
+Premiers of the other Australian Provinces to meet him at Hobart in
+January, 1895, taking advantage of the fact that four of them would be
+there in connection with the biennial meeting of the Federal Council.
+The invitation was accepted, and a new scheme was devised of which the
+main principles were the popular election of delegates empowered to
+meet and frame a Federal Constitution; the reference of the
+Constitution {228} so framed to a plebiscite of the several electorates
+and its subsequent transmission for Imperial legislation.  The Premiers
+of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania accepted
+the proposal in its entirety; the Premier of Queensland agreed to it,
+except as regards the reference of the Constitution to a plebiscite;
+but the Premier of Western Australia was unable to concur with the
+decision of his colleagues.  Sir John Forrest did not believe that
+popular election would lead to the choice of the most highly trained
+jurists and financiers, who could alone frame a consistent and workable
+Constitution, and he regarded as absurd the assumption that the average
+elector could give an intelligent opinion upon a measure of so
+complicated a character.  There is much force in these objections; but
+it must be remembered that the former effort failed from its
+dissociation from popular impulse, and that the delegates would have
+the benefit of the work of their predecessors, which they would be
+bound to accept as the basis of their deliberations.  As regards the
+plebiscite, it cannot have been expected that the vote of the bulk of
+the electorate would be more than an affirmative or negative reply upon
+the broadest issue; but, assuming it to be necessary that the
+Constitution Bill should in some manner or other be submitted for the
+judgment of each of the Provinces, the direct reference has the merit
+of being expeditious and conclusive and of avoiding the quagmire of
+Parliamentary discussions.
+
+{229}
+
+Before proceeding to note the results of the resolutions passed at the
+Premiers' Conference, it may be of interest to consider to what extent
+recent events have affected the status of the Federal Council.  As has
+already been remarked, it has pursued a policy of self-effacement, and
+in spite of the increase in its numbers, it has never appealed to the
+imagination of Australians.  It was undoubtedly dwarfed by comparison
+with the Federal Convention, which, indeed, decreed its contingent
+extinction, and it has, to some extent, been supplanted by the informal
+meetings of Australian Premiers which tend to become an annual
+institution.  At a Conference held at Sydney in January, 1896, the
+urgent necessity for Federation was again emphasised, and it was
+resolved that, pending its attainment, the military laws of the
+Provinces should be assimilated, and a cordite factory be established
+under State supervision.  Resolutions were also passed in favour of a
+Federal system of quarantine, the distribution of the cost of
+lighthouses on the basis of population, the extension to all coloured
+races of the provisions of the Chinese Restriction Acts, and
+non-participation in the Anglo-Japanese Treaty.  In this manner the
+Premiers, instead of referring questions to the Federal Council through
+their respective legislatures, decided, after personal consultation,
+upon measures which each would endeavour, in the common interest, to
+pass through the Parliament of his own Province.  Other interprovincial
+conferences also {230} are becoming more common.  The precautions to be
+adopted against the tick fever were discussed at Sydney in 1896, and a
+few months ago, earlier, several Ministers of Agriculture met the South
+Australian Minister at Adelaide and decided upon the advisability of
+uniform legislation which would promote similarity of out-put in the
+products of the different Provinces, such as frozen meat, butter, wine,
+and fruit, for which it was hoped to create a large market in England.
+It has been argued that the growing realisation of the interdependence
+of the Provinces and of the material advantages accruing from combined
+action, will tend to hasten the advent of Federation.
+
+The new proposals in that direction were favourably received, and the
+Legislatures of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and
+Tasmania passed the so-called Australasian Federation Enabling Act, in
+substantially similar form, upon the lines laid down by the Premiers.
+The details of their scheme may be gathered from the principal
+provisions of the Victorian Act:--
+
+"The Convention shall consist of ten Representatives of each Colony
+represented.
+
+"The Convention shall be charged with the duty of framing for
+Australasia a Federal Constitution under the Crown in the form of a
+Bill for enactment by the Imperial Parliament.
+
+"Every Member and every person eligible for Membership of either House
+of Parliament shall be {231} eligible for Membership of the Convention
+as a Representative of Victoria.  And any one hundred or more electors
+duly qualified to vote for the election of a Member of the Legislative
+Assembly shall be entitled in the prescribed manner to nominate any
+eligible person.
+
+"Every person duly qualified to vote for the election of a member of
+the Legislative Assembly shall be qualified and entitled to vote for
+the election of Representatives of Victoria.
+
+"The voting shall be taken throughout Victoria as one electoral
+district, and every voter shall vote for the full number of
+Representatives required, otherwise the vote shall be rejected as
+informal.
+
+"No person shall vote or attempt to vote more than once at the same
+election of Representatives of Victoria."
+
+(A similar provision applies to the subsequent referendum.)
+
+"When the Constitution has been framed by the Convention, copies
+thereof shall be supplied to the Members of the Convention, and the
+President shall declare the sitting of the Convention adjourned to a
+time and place to be fixed by the Convention, not being less than sixty
+nor more than one hundred and twenty days thereafter.  And as soon as
+convenient the draft constitution shall be submitted for consideration
+to each House of Parliament sitting in Committee of the whole, and such
+amendments as may be desired by the Legislature, {232} together with
+the draft Constitution, shall be remitted to the Convention through the
+Senior Representative.
+
+"On the reassembling of the Convention the Constitution as framed prior
+to the adjournment shall be reconsidered, together with such suggested
+amendments as shall have been forwarded by the various Legislatures,
+and the Constitution so framed shall be finally adopted with any
+amendments that may be agreed to."
+
+"So soon as practicable after the close of the proceedings of the
+Convention the question of the acceptance or rejection of the
+Constitution shall be referred and submitted to the vote of all persons
+in Victoria qualified and entitled to vote for the election of Members
+of the Legislative Assembly."
+
+"The majority of votes shall decide the question, and if the
+Constitution be thereby rejected, no further action shall be taken
+pursuant to this Act: Provided that any number of votes in the
+affirmative less than fifty thousand shall be equivalent to the
+rejection of the Bill.
+
+"If two Colonies in addition to Victoria accept the Constitution the
+Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly of Victoria may adopt
+a Joint Address to the Queen praying that the Constitution may be
+passed into law by the Imperial Parliament upon receipt from the
+Parliaments of such two Colonies, either of similar joint or separate
+Addresses from each House of such Parliaments."
+
+{233}
+
+It will be noticed that the Convention will have entire freedom in
+regard to any amendments suggested by the Provincial Parliaments, and
+that if the Constitution be accepted, the Victorian Parliament will not
+be bound to join in submitting it for Imperial enactment.  It is
+assumed that it will bow to the popular pronouncement unless the
+Government should have some grave reason for recommending a contrary
+course.  A difficulty, not provided against in the Act, might arise if
+the Constitution were to be amended during its passage through the
+Imperial Parliament.
+
+The Act passed by Western Australia provided for the election of the
+delegates by the two Houses of Parliament sitting as one Chamber, the
+area of selection being limited to candidates nominated by not less
+than twenty persons who are qualified to vote at elections for Members
+of the Assembly.  "The draft Constitution, as finally adopted by the
+Convention, if approved by Parliament, shall be submitted for the
+decision of the electors of Western Australia by their vote; and if a
+majority of the electors voting on such question signify their approval
+of such Constitution, the same may be adopted by the Colony, provided
+that any number of votes in the affirmative less than six thousand
+shall be equivalent to the rejection of the Constitution."  "The
+adoption of the Constitution by Western Australia may be signified by
+the passing of an Act or by a joint resolution of both Houses of {234}
+Parliament, and both Houses may thereupon adopt Addresses to the Queen,
+praying that the Constitution may be passed into law by the Imperial
+Parliament, subject to the adoption of similar Addresses by at least
+two other Colonies, of which New South Wales shall be one."  Parliament
+thus retains the initiative in each successive phase of the movement,
+but will have no power to alter the Bill when it finally leaves the
+Convention.  If the provisions are regarded as unacceptable, it will be
+able to decline to submit the Bill to the electorate.  The Western
+Australian measure was based in its general language upon that
+previously introduced in Queensland, but differed from it in several
+important particulars.  In the latter case it was proposed that the
+election of the delegates should be vested in the members of the
+Assembly alone, that, of the ten delegates, five should be chosen by
+the Southern, three by the Northern, and two by the Central
+Parliamentary Representatives, a provision inserted in view of the
+somewhat divergent interests of different portions of the Province, and
+that the draft Constitution should be submitted for the consideration
+of the electors in such manner as Parliament might prescribe.  The Bill
+was passed by the Assembly, in spite of a widespread feeling that
+Queensland should have followed the course of the other Provinces, and
+was amended by the Council, which regarded itself as unjustifiably
+ignored, and provided that it should have an equal {235} share with the
+Assembly in the appointment of the delegates to the Convention.  It is
+unnecessary to consider the arguments by which the Premier supported
+his proposal of indirect election, or those put forward by the two
+Houses during the deadlock which followed upon their disagreement.
+Finally, when each House had insisted several times upon its attitude,
+the Bill was laid aside by the Council.  As a result of this action the
+new movement was blocked at its first step, which was regarded with
+little anxiety even by those who appreciated the difficulties which
+were likely to attend the later stages.  Great disappointment was felt
+in Australia, and efforts were made, though in vain, to induce Sir Hugh
+Nelson to reintroduce the Bill in some form that would be acceptable to
+both Houses.  At the same time public opinion demanded that the
+Convention should be held, even though one of the Provinces would be
+unrepresented.
+
+The benefits which would follow Federation are so obvious as scarcely
+to require enumeration.  The Federal Government would be able to deal
+adequately with the problem of National Defence and to speak
+authoritatively, to the manifest satisfaction of the Imperial
+Authorities, upon such matters as the contribution of Australia towards
+the expenses of the Imperial squadron maintained upon its coast; the
+consolidation of the debts would, it has been estimated, enable a
+million pounds to be saved upon the annual bill of interest;
+Interprovincial {236} Free Trade would promote intercourse between
+neighbours who have hitherto been estranged by arbitrary lines of
+demarcation; and in the words of the Chief Justice of Queensland,[4]
+"The first effect in point of importance, though some time may elapse
+before the effect is fully felt, will be the creation of an Australian
+Nation, forming a distinct constituent part of the British Empire,
+having one mind, speaking with one voice instead of the six, often
+discordant and sometimes inarticulate, voices now heard, consulted on
+all matters of Imperial concern, and exercising a powerful influence in
+the political affairs of the whole world."  Such would appear to be the
+destiny of Australia, which has, however, doubtless been benefited by
+the independent development of its component parts.  In the absence of
+distinctions of race and language, in the general diffusion of the
+Roman Catholics among the Protestants, and the steady determination to
+exclude coloured races, the early establishment of Federal relations
+would have produced among Australians a monotonous uniformity of
+characteristics, which has to some extent been prevented by the
+divergent political tendencies of the several Provinces.
+
+But, to put the practical question, what are the prospects of
+Federation?  The general impression is not one of hopefulness: it is
+pointed out that the {237} Provinces have so long maintained an
+independent existence that they are unlikely to submit to a curtailment
+of their powers except under the imperative impulse of the fear of
+foreign invasion; that all but the leading politicians realise that
+they would be affected prejudicially by a change which would dwarf the
+Legislatures with which they are connected; that many, especially
+during the period of depression, dread the creation of a new taxing and
+governing body; and that the Labour members, in the natural belief that
+their influence would be smaller in a Federal Parliament, are either
+apathetic or actively hostile.  The economic aspects of Intercolonial
+Free Trade, in reference to its probable effect upon the prosperity of
+manufacturers and producers in the different Provinces, also form an
+important factor in the situation.  Time alone can show whether popular
+participation in the successive stages of the movement, though it will
+not be universal, will generate an enthusiasm sufficient to outweigh
+the opposing forces and weld Australia into a strong and united Nation.
+
+
+
+APPENDIX TO IX.
+
+THE NEW FEDERAL SCHEME.[5]
+
+Now that the Adelaide Convention has completed its labours, it is
+possible to give a connected view of the provisions of the draft
+Constitution Bill, as it will be submitted to the local {238}
+Parliament, and then after it has been again dealt with by a second
+meeting of the Convention at Sydney, to the vote of the people.
+
+The Bill provides for the constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia
+and for the appointment of a governor-general by the Queen, at a salary
+of £10,000.  The Federal Parliament is to consist of two Houses--the
+Senate and the House of Representatives.  The former chamber will be
+composed of six members for each state.  They are to be elected by the
+electors of the Legislative Assembly in each colony for a term of six
+years, and one-half will retire every three years.  For the election of
+these senators each colony will be regarded as one electorate, and no
+one will be allowed to vote at more than one polling-booth on the day
+of election.  In other words, the election will be conducted on the
+same lines as the recent election of representatives to the Federation
+Convention.  At the first meeting of the Senate, the members elected
+for each state will be divided by lot into two classes, and the seats
+of those in the first class are to be vacated at the end of the third
+year, but the others will continue to be members of that House for the
+full term of six years.  In this way one-half the members of the Senate
+will be elected by the people every third year.
+
+The House of Representatives is to be composed of members directly
+chosen by the people of the several states, and the number which each
+colony will return will depend on its population.  This Chamber is, as
+nearly as practicable, to contain double the number of members of the
+Senate.  The House of Representatives would therefore consist, at the
+outset, of about seventy-two members, which would give as nearly as
+possible, one member for every 50,000 of the population.  Victoria
+would, roughly speaking, have about twenty-two members.  In order,
+however, to protect the interests of the smaller states in this House,
+it is provided that Tasmania, South Australia, and Western Australia,
+shall be entitled to at least five members each, although on the
+population basis, the island colony might not be able to claim more
+than four members.  Until the Federal Parliament otherwise provides,
+each local or state Parliament can determine into how many electoral
+divisions the colony should be divided for the purpose of returning
+members to the House of Representatives, but should it not divide the
+state into {239} electoral districts, then each colony is to be
+regarded as one electorate, in the same way as in the case of the
+election of senators.
+
+The duration of every House of Representatives will be three years,
+unless it is sooner dissolved by the Governor-General.  There is no
+power, however, conferred on the Governor-General to dissolve the
+Senate.  The qualification of electors of members of the House of
+Representatives is in each state to be that for electors of the more
+numerous House--or Legislative Assembly--of the state.  The members of
+both Houses are to receive an allowance of £400 each per annum for
+their services.
+
+The following are the subjects the Commonwealth Parliament is to be
+empowered to legislate upon and deal with:--
+
+1. The regulation of trade and commerce with other countries and among
+the several states.
+
+2. Customs and excise and bounties.
+
+3. Raising money by any other mode or system of taxation.
+
+4. Borrowing money on the public credit of the commonwealth.
+
+5. Postal and telegraphic services.
+
+6. The military and naval defence of the commonwealth and the several
+states, and the calling out of the forces to execute and maintain the
+laws of the commonwealth.
+
+7. Munitions of war.
+
+8. Navigation and shipping.
+
+9. Ocean beacons and buoys and ocean lighthouses and lightships.
+
+10. Astronomical and meteorological observations.
+
+11. Quarantine.
+
+12. Fisheries in Australian waters beyond territorial limits.
+
+13. Census and statistics.
+
+14. Currency, coinage, and legal tender.
+
+15. Banking, the incorporation of banks, and the issue of paper money.
+
+16. Insurance, excluding state insurance not extending beyond the
+limits of the state concerned.
+
+17. Weights and measures.
+
+18. Bills of exchange and promissory notes.
+
+19. Bankruptcy and insolvency.
+
+20. Copyrights and patents of inventions, designs, and trade marks.
+
+{240}
+
+21. Naturalisation and aliens.
+
+22. Foreign corporations, and trading or financial corporations, formed
+in any state or part of the commonwealth.
+
+23. Marriage and divorce.
+
+24. Parental rights, and the custody and guardianship of infants.
+
+25. The service and execution throughout the commonwealth of the civil
+and criminal process and judgments of the courts of the states.
+
+26. The recognition throughout the commonwealth of the laws, the public
+acts and records, and the judicial proceedings of the states.
+
+27. Immigration and emigration.
+
+28. The influx of criminals.
+
+29. External affairs and treaties.
+
+30. The relations of the commonwealth to the islands of the Pacific.
+
+31. The control and regulation of the navigation of the River Murray,
+and the use of the waters thereof from where it first forms the
+boundary between Victoria and New South Wales to the sea.
+
+32. The control of railways with respect to transport for the military
+purposes of the commonwealth.
+
+33. The taking over by the commonwealth, with the consent of the state,
+of the whole or any part of the railways of any state or states, upon
+such terms as may be arranged between the commonwealth and the state.
+
+34. Railway construction and extension with the consent of any state or
+states concerned.
+
+35. Matters referred to the Parliament of the commonwealth by the
+Parliament or Parliaments of any state or states, but so that the law
+shall extend only to the state or states by whose Parliament or
+Parliaments the matter was referred, and to such other states as may
+afterwards adopt the law.
+
+36. The exercise within the commonwealth, at the request or with the
+concurrence of the Parliaments of all the states concerned, of any
+legislative powers which can at the establishment of this constitution
+be exercised only by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, or by the
+Federal Council of Australasia.
+
+37. Any matters necessary for, or incidental to, the carrying {241}
+into execution of the foregoing powers or of any other powers vested by
+this constitution in the Parliament or the Executive Government of the
+commonwealth, or in any department or officer thereof.
+
+All matters not mentioned above, such as land settlement, railway
+construction, &c., are to remain vested in the Parliaments of the
+several states.  Each state shall retain its local Parliament and have
+a Governor, who is to be appointed by the Crown, and communicate direct
+with the Crown as at present.
+
+On the establishment of the commonwealth the control of the following
+departments will be taken over by the Federal Government, and the
+commonwealth will assume the obligations of any state or states with
+respect to such matters:--
+
+Customs and excise.
+
+Posts and telegraphs.
+
+Military and naval defence.
+
+Ocean beacons, buoys, lighthouses.
+
+Quarantine.
+
+There are to be seven Ministers of State, and their salaries will, in
+the aggregate, be £12,000 per annum.  A Minister, within three months
+after being appointed to that office, must become a member of one of
+the Houses of the Federal Parliament.
+
+All Bills having for their main object the appropriation of any part of
+the public revenue, or moneys, or the imposition of any tax, must
+originate in the House of Representatives.  Bills imposing taxation
+must deal with the imposition of taxation only, and those imposing
+duties of Customs or excise must deal with duties of Customs or excise
+only.  The expenditure for services other than the ordinary annual
+services of the Government must not be authorised by the same law as
+that which appropriates the supplies for the ordinary annual services,
+but must be authorised by a separate measure.  The Senate can amend any
+Bills except those imposing taxation, or appropriating the necessary
+supplies for the ordinary annual services of the Government.  With
+respect to these money measures, the Senate can, at any stage, return a
+taxation or appropriation Bill to the House of Representatives,
+suggesting that any provision or item therein should be omitted or
+amended, and the House of Representatives may, if it thinks fit, make
+such omissions or amendments with or without modifications.  The Bill,
+in its {242} amended or original form--should the House of
+Representatives decline to adopt the suggestion of the Senate--will
+then be sent back to the latter Chamber, which may either pass or
+reject the measure.
+
+The seat of the Government of the commonwealth is to be determined by
+the Federal Parliament.  Until such determination the Parliament shall
+be summoned to meet at such place as the majority of the Governors of
+the states, or, in the event of an equal division of opinion amongst
+them, as the Governor-General may direct.
+
+Before the Constitution can be amended an absolute majority of both the
+House of Representatives and Senate must approve of the alteration, and
+it must then be confirmed by a vote of the people, a majority of the
+states being required as well as a majority of the people.
+
+There is to be a federal judiciary, consisting of a high court of
+Australia, and such inferior courts as Parliament may determine.  The
+high court is to consist of a chief justice, and at least four other
+judges, and is to hear appeals from the state courts and inferior
+federal courts.  This appeal is to be final, except that in matters
+affecting the public interests of the commonwealth or of any state,
+application may be made to the Queen for special leave to appeal to the
+Privy Council.  Uniform Customs duties are to be imposed within two
+years of the establishment of the commonwealth, and trade and
+intercourse throughout the commonwealth is then to be absolutely free.
+In the meantime the local tariffs are to continue, but they will be
+collected by the Federal Government, and after deducting from the
+revenue received in each state the contribution of that state towards
+federal expenses, the balance is to be returned to the state month by
+month.  During the first three years after federation the total annual
+expenditure of the Federal Government is to be limited to £300,000 for
+new federal expenses, and £1,250,000 for services transferred from the
+states.  During the first five years after the imposition of a uniform
+tariff, the surplus revenue, after deducting the contribution of each
+state to the federal expenses, is to be returned to the states in the
+following way: Accounts of Customs and excise duties collected in each
+state are to be kept during the twelve months following the coming into
+operation of the uniform tariff, in order to ascertain, first the
+average net amount per head in each state, and next the {243} average
+per head for the whole commonweath.  A sliding scale, extending over
+four years, is then to be adopted, in order to determine the amount to
+be returned.  Where the average for a particular state for the first
+year is less than the general average, the per capita sum is to be
+increased by equal gradations, until, at the end of four years, it
+equals the general average.  Similarly, where the average for a state
+is greater than the general average, it is to be gradually reduced to
+the general average.  Then, at the end of the five-year period, all the
+states will be placed on the same footing, and will receive an equal
+sum per head from the federal revenue.  This scheme of distribution is
+subject, however, to the important proviso that during the five years
+the aggregate amount returned to all the states in any year must not be
+less than the aggregate amount returned in the year immediately
+preceding the imposition of uniform duties.
+
+Equality of trade is to be preserved throughout the commonwealth, and
+any law or regulation derogating from that principle is to be null and
+void.  Parliament may appoint an interstate commission to execute and
+maintain upon railways within the commonwealth, and upon rivers flowing
+through, in, or between two or more states the provisions of the
+constitution relating to trade and commerce.  The commission is to have
+such powers of adjudication and administration as may be necessary for
+its purposes, and as the Parliament may from time to time determine,
+but shall have no powers in reference to the rates or regulations of
+any railway in any state, except in cases of rates or regulations
+preferential in effect, and made and used for the purpose of drawing
+traffic to that railway from the railway of a neighbouring state.
+
+
+
+[1] "The Federal Council of Australasia," by the Hon. Alfred Deakin,
+_Australasian Review of Reviews_, February, 1895.
+
+[2] Cap. iv., Clause 13.
+
+[3] Cap. i., Clauses 54 and 55.
+
+[4] "Notes on Australian Federation," by Sir S. W. Griffith.
+Parliamentary Paper, Queensland, 1896.
+
+[5] An article published in the Melbourne _Argus_ of April 26, 1897,
+and included with the kind permission of the London agents of that
+newspaper.
+
+
+
+
+{244}
+
+X
+
+_SALIENT FEATURES OF THE AUSTRALASIAN DEMOCRACY_
+
+Indirect effects of the discovery of gold--Causes of the financial
+crisis--The origin and extent of State Socialism--The thriftiness of
+the working-classes--Labour Representation in Parliament--Parliamentary
+Government--Direct Taxation--Conciliation and Arbitration in Industrial
+disputes--Protection and its corollaries--The feeling towards Great
+Britain--General conclusions.
+
+
+The enormous immigration of the fifties, due to the great discoveries
+of gold in Victoria and New South Wales, has caused Australia to become
+one of the most democratic countries in the world.  Before that time
+the soil was held in large areas by pastoralists who, in the absence of
+opposing forces, would have formed themselves gradually into a strong
+landed aristocracy.  But the miners, a class of men who had shown their
+energy and determination by their readiness to travel thousands of
+miles in the search for wealth, introduced an entirely new element:
+they had thrown off their traditionary reverence for vested
+institutions, they were able to earn high wages or directly to enrich
+themselves, {245} and they resented an assumption of superiority on the
+part of any section in the community.  When, in the course of years,
+the mining industry began to wane, they swarmed into the towns and
+constituted an important link in the chain of causes which has swelled
+some of the capitals to their present unwieldy dimensions.  Deprived of
+their means of livelihood, and indisposed for rural life, they
+clamoured for other employment, and were able, in several Provinces, to
+induce the Ministry to impose a protective tariff which artificially
+fostered the growth of manufactures.  The protective tariff naturally
+increased the urban population, as did the undiscriminative system of
+State-aided immigration, the centralisation of all departments of the
+Government, and, in its ultimate effects, the construction of public
+works.
+
+In a population of pastoralists and miners, engaged in pursuits which
+inculcate reliance upon individual efforts, it is somewhat strange to
+note the early development of a tendency towards State socialism; but I
+am inclined to think that, in this respect also, the discoveries of
+gold exercised a permanent influence, not only in the Provinces
+immediately affected, but throughout Australasia, from a tendency
+towards imitation.  In the first years of Responsible Government
+British capitalists had a natural distrust of Australian securities,
+and declined to advance money except at a high rate of interest.  But
+when they saw the phenomenal increase in the {246} yield of gold, and
+the large revenue obtained from the sale of lands, they overcame their
+scruples and displayed, during the twenty years which preceded the
+financial crisis, a readiness to grant loans to the several Governments
+which is believed by many to have been a great misfortune to their
+debtors.
+
+The political and unremunerative railways of Victoria, which have been
+discussed in the chapter dealing with that Province, could not have
+been constructed but for the easy access to large funds.  Another
+aspect of the question has been emphasised in an article published by
+the Sydney _Bulletin_[1] which, however much an Englishman may demur to
+its Republican principles, must be admitted to be an authority on
+Australasian topics.  A strong plea is put forward for the necessity of
+defining by Act of Parliament what kind of works should be charged to
+loan-moneys, and what should be charged to revenue.  The advantages, it
+is contended, will be threefold; the attention of the country will be
+drawn to the matter; the Loan Estimates go through so rapidly that very
+few people are aware how the thing is worked.  The lender will know the
+destination of his money, and all treasurers will be placed on a level,
+whereas, at present, "the dishonest treasurer who makes a surplus by
+using borrowed money for road repairs and all manner of other ordinary
+expenditure is a heaven-born financier, while the honest one who
+doesn't is driven out of {247} office, either for having a deficit, or
+for increasing taxation, and is a failure either way."  Official
+figures are quoted for New South Wales in order to prove that during
+the years 1885-1890, which covered the flotation of several loans,
+surpluses and deficits alternated as the treasurer was or was not able
+to dispose of borrowed funds.  Indirectly, of course, many of the
+public works which do not produce a direct revenue may be of financial
+benefit to the State, through an increase of population and the
+encouragement of settlement; but it is a hazardous principle to borrow
+money for their construction.
+
+Equally dangerous for Australia was the more recent excessive eagerness
+of the British capitalist to invest his money in Australian commercial
+undertakings, as, according to the Victorian Year Book,[2] a
+publication of the highest merit, "there is no doubt that the feverish
+financial activity that preceded, and ultimately led to, the Australian
+financial crisis primarily arose from the enormous influx of British
+capital--far in excess of the legitimate requirements of the
+Colonies--for remunerative enterprises.  This influx was probably the
+result of the large amount of attention that for some years prior to
+1888 had been directed to these Colonies, which were brought into
+prominence by such events as the passing of the first Federal Council
+Act by the Imperial Parliament in 1885, the Colonial and Indian
+Exhibition held in London in 1886, and the Imperial {248} Conference in
+1887; it was also much stimulated by the lowering in 1888 of the
+interest on the British Public Debt, and _pro rata_ on other
+first-class British securities.  The first indications of this were
+noticeable in the marked rise in the prices of all Colonial Government
+securities which occurred just after Mr. Goschen's notification of his
+scheme for reducing the interest on the National Debt of the United
+Kingdom, in March, 1888.  Such securities, however, being of limited
+extent, the superabundant capital was forced into private channels,
+which led to the growth of co-operative enterprise on an unprecedented
+scale--through the medium of joint stock companies--which commenced
+prior to, but probably in anticipation of, the conversion of the
+British Public Debt, and culminated in the United Kingdom, as well as
+in Australia, in the same year.  Owing to this increasing competition
+for Colonial Government securities, and the consequent fall in the rate
+of interest thereon, the Colonial Governments were tempted to, and no
+doubt did, borrow in excess of their immediate requirements, although
+this was not recognised during the period of general inflation; but
+assuming a portion of the Government loans to have been unjustified,
+far worse was the condition of the large private investments, chiefly
+in joint stock companies, many of which supplemented their resources by
+deposits--equivalent in some cases to as much as three times the
+paid-up capital--which had been drawn, by reason of the high rates
+{249} of interest offered, from all sections of the community, both in
+England and Australia.  Between the 1st of January, 1887, and the 30th
+of June, 1893, but for the most part in 1888, 1,154 companies with a
+paid-up capital of no less than £28,436,500 (subscribed capital
+£54,300,000) were registered in Victoria alone, and of these, 397, with
+a paid-up capital of £9,469,000 (subscribed capital £19,526,000) are
+known to have become defunct, to say nothing of numerous others, of
+which no information has been furnished to the Registrar-General."  The
+crisis was most acute in Victoria, but its effects were felt largely,
+and are still felt in calls upon shareholders, in other Provinces.  In
+conclusion, while British capitalists are still chary of industrial
+investments, they appear to be willing to meet the Australasian
+Governments in their resumption of applications for loans.
+
+The danger is accentuated by the tendency towards State socialism, the
+origin of which I had begun to discuss before this long digression.
+The earliest concessions for the construction of railways were granted
+in New South Wales in 1848 and 1853, but the companies were unable to
+carry out their undertakings, owing to the scarcity of workmen caused
+by the rush to the goldfields, and the Government stepped in and
+completed the railways out of public funds.  This assumption by the
+State of a function which had been delegated to private enterprise,
+coupled with the growing confidence of the British investor and the
+elasticity of the revenue, {250} both from the Customs and from the
+disposal of land, which had been accelerated by the rapid increase of
+population, appears to have convinced the political leaders of the
+advisability of the Governmental extension of the railway lines.  They
+were enabled to carry out this policy without difficulty, as the bulk
+of the electors were engrossed in material pursuits and did not trouble
+themselves about political issues.  In Victoria three short lines of
+railways were constructed during the fifties by private companies, but
+were subsequently purchased by the Government, which thenceforward
+monopolised the construction of new lines.  Why Victoria and the other
+Provinces should have decided in favour of State ownership and
+management of railways I am unable to explain, except upon the
+hypothesis that they were influenced by the example of New South Wales,
+that they wished to open up the country more quickly than would
+otherwise have been possible, and that they were tempted by the funds
+at their disposal in surpluses of revenue over expenditure.  Then, the
+railways having in many instances preceded population, it was
+necessary, if the lines were not to be unprofitable, that special steps
+should be taken in order to promote settlement.  This was done, partly
+by the offer of land upon favourable conditions, partly by the payment
+out of the National Exchequer of all the expenses of Local Government.
+In New South Wales this state of things still prevails in many of the
+rural districts; in {251} the other Provinces _pro rata_ subsidies are
+paid to the Local Authorities, but are limited, in some cases, to a
+fixed term of years.  The Local Bodies have had no spontaneous
+evolution; they are the creation of the Central Government, they are
+supported and controlled by it, and look to it for assistance whenever
+they are in financial difficulties.  It would seem that, accustomed to
+State railways and to dependency upon the State in their local affairs,
+Australasians have been led insensibly to magnify the efficacy of its
+intervention and to welcome every enlargement of its sphere of action.
+The protective tariff appears to have had a similar effect, unless it
+is to be regarded as a mere coincidence that South Australia, New
+Zealand, and Victoria, which alone are avowedly Protectionist, have
+authorised the widest extension of the functions of the State.
+
+Throughout Australasia all parties in the several Parliaments are
+agreed on the principle of the State ownership of railways.  In
+Victoria and Queensland the railways are entirely in the hands of the
+Government; in New South Wales and South Australia they are so with
+some trifling exceptions; in Tasmania, Western Australia, and New
+Zealand a few private lines have been authorised because it has been
+advisable, in the interests of settlement, that they should be
+constructed, and the Governments have been unable or unwilling to
+undertake further financial obligations.  The recent action of Western
+Australia may be mentioned in evidence of {252} the prevalent feeling,
+it having taken advantage of its improved credit to purchase one of the
+private lines.  The waterworks of the capitals, also, are national or
+municipal property; but other municipal monopolies, such as gasworks
+and tramways, are mostly in the hands of private companies.
+
+The railways of Australasia are worked, as far as is consonant with
+national interests, for the direct benefit of producers, who, as has
+been seen in the chapters dealing with individual Provinces, have been
+the special object of the paternal solicitude of their Governments.
+The various efforts in this direction may briefly be recapitulated.
+South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia, and New Zealand make
+advances to settlers at low rates of interest; South Australia sells
+its wines in London; Queensland facilitates the erection of sugar
+mills, and is proposing to establish depôts in London and the provinces
+for the receipt and distribution of its frozen meat; Victoria and South
+Australia have given a bonus upon the exportation of dairy produce.
+These Provinces and New Zealand receive such produce, grade and freeze
+it free of charge or at a rate which barely covers the expenses.
+Victoria has given subsidies towards the erection of butter factories;
+Victoria and New Zealand have subsidised the mining industry; and
+Western Australia has adopted a comprehensive scheme for the supply of
+water to the Coolgardie Goldfields.
+
+The above brief summary shows that action by {253} the State for the
+promotion of enterprise has met with approval in Queensland and Western
+Australia as well as in the Provinces which have adopted the widest
+extensions of the franchise.  It maybe noted, however, that Sir Hugh
+Nelson, the Premier of Queensland, is an individualist at heart, and
+consents to extensions of the functions of the State unwillingly upon a
+conviction of their necessity; while, in Western Australia, Sir John
+Forrest is a strong advocate of State socialism, and opposed to
+private-enterprise in any matter which is of the nature of a monopoly.
+New South Wales and Tasmania have not hitherto followed the lead of the
+other Provinces.  This tendency is one of the most marked of recent
+years, and received a strong impetus from the financial crisis of 1893,
+which burst the bubble of a fictitious prosperity and compelled
+attention to the strenuous development of the resources of the soil.
+It is likely to lead to closer relations between the Provinces, from
+the appreciation of the fact that the exports of one Province, if
+unregulated and allowed to fall into disrepute, may prejudicially
+affect the interests of the whole continent.
+
+As regards the intervention of the State in the direction of industrial
+legislation, the Governments of Western Australia and Tasmania have had
+little cause to take action, in the absence of crowded centres and of
+manufacturing activity; but New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland,
+South Australia, {254} and New Zealand have placed stringent Factory
+Acts upon their Statute Books.  Measures have also been passed, largely
+under the influence of Labour Representatives, dealing with the
+liability of employers, the regulation of mines, the protection of shop
+assistants, and other matters affecting the welfare of the working
+classes.  Upon their enactment complaints have been made of undue
+interference with employers; but the administration is now, in most
+cases, carried out efficiently and without unnecessary friction.
+
+Indirectly, the various Provinces have, through their schemes of public
+works, exercised considerable influence upon the demand for labour and
+have, upon the completion of the more important undertakings, been
+subject to continual pressure with the object of inducing them to
+authorise special works for the benefit of those who have been deprived
+of their livelihood.  New South Wales, indeed, and, to a lesser extent,
+Victoria, have almost admitted an obligation to provide work or rations
+for the unemployed.  In Victoria the tension has been relaxed by the
+formation of the Labour Colony of Leongatha, at which the destitute can
+obtain temporary subsistence.  Australian politicians, generally, were
+appalled by the undeserved misery which resulted from the cessation of
+public works and from the financial disturbances, and, under the stress
+of humanitarian motives, failed to temper their humanity with
+discretion, and initiated a policy of {255} indiscriminate assistance
+from which, once entered upon, it has been difficult for them to draw
+back.  The formation of village settlements in all the Provinces except
+Western Australia was based upon the necessity for special efforts in
+the face of the prevailing distress.  Australians have never been able
+to regard the unemployed as a necessary factor in their economic
+system.  The ordinary problems of pauperism have been felt acutely in
+Australasia and have been met in somewhat similar fashion in the
+different Provinces.  Destitute children are, in most cases, boarded
+out; the aged and incapable are provided for in Benevolent Asylums.  In
+Victoria, New South Wales, and New Zealand a movement has recently
+arisen for the adoption of a system of old-age pensions, which has had
+no appreciable results in the former Province, but has led in New South
+Wales to the appointment of a Parliamentary Committee which reported
+favourably and suggested forms of additional taxation by which the
+necessary funds might be obtained, and in New Zealand to the
+introduction of a Ministerial measure which sought to establish the
+general principle and left to the House the elaboration of the
+financial details.  The Bill was accepted on its second reading, but in
+Committee an amendment was carried against the Government to the effect
+that all persons above the age of sixty-five, irrespectively of their
+means, should be entitled to receive a pension.  An Act was, however,
+subsequently passed of which the {256} object is to ascertain the
+probable cost of a pension fund.  All persons of the age of sixty-five
+and upwards, who have resided in the Province for twenty years,
+imprisonment being reckoned as absence, and are not possessed of an
+income exceeding £50 a year, are entitled to apply for a pension
+certificate which will be issued to them upon the verification of their
+claims, and will be regarded as conclusive if a pension fund be
+established hereafter.  The success of the Government at the recent
+elections renders it probable that the matter will shortly receive
+attention.  In neither of the Provinces in which the subject has been
+discussed is it proposed that the pension should be earned by previous
+contributions; it is to be offered as a free gift in recognition of the
+services which every worker must have rendered to the community.
+
+To conclude a superficial summary of the functions undertaken, or
+likely to be undertaken, by the State in Australasia, it may be
+mentioned that the State system of primary education is in all the
+Provinces compulsory and undenominational.  In South Australia,
+Victoria, Queensland, and New Zealand it is also free; in the other
+Provinces fees are charged but may be remitted, wholly or partly, in
+the case of the inability of parents to pay them.  There are no signs
+that the advocates of grants in aid of denominational education are
+gaining ground; in the direct reference to the {257} electors taken in
+South Australia they were defeated by a large majority, and have
+equally little chance of securing subsidies to religious bodies.
+
+In the presence of great activity on the part of the State, it is
+interesting to note to what extent the working classes have exerted
+themselves on their own behalf.  Distributive co-operation has not
+become popular owing, partly, according to the _Australasian_,[3] "to
+the vicissitudes in trade which are inseparable from new countries, and
+to the temptations which are consequently held out to the workers from
+time to time to change their occupations and abodes.  Partly, too, an
+explanation may be found in the efficacy of existing agencies for
+distribution.  But we cannot help thinking that it is due also, in
+part, to the pernicious ideas which lead so many of our artisans to cry
+out against capital, and to seek the aid of the State, instead of
+trusting to their own efforts and determining to become capitalists
+themselves in a way which has been proved by the co-operative societies
+at home to be thoroughly practical."  Though the _Australasian_ is
+strongly individualistic in its bias, it appears to be justified in its
+reference to a certain lack of initiative shown by Australasian
+workmen; they are inclined to look upon the State as a gold mine from
+which they can draw permanent dividends, especially as they are
+scarcely, if at all, affected directly by the periodical calls upon the
+{258} shareholders; but, in his strictures upon the attitude of labour
+towards capital, the writer should have added that the wealthy classes
+are at least as ready to misjudge every effort made by the Labour
+Representatives to pass remedial measures through the legislatures.
+Proceeding to deal with the co-operation of producers, he says that
+"there is co-operation of this kind already in our butter and cheese
+factories, where the farmer who conveys his produce to the factory may
+also be a shareholder, and at the end of the half-year may receive a
+dividend on his shares and a bonus on the milk supplied, in addition to
+the established price.  Co-operation of a like kind prevails, to some
+extent, though not so largely as might be desired, between the graziers
+and the companies for the export of Australian meat."  These remarks,
+which refer primarily to Victoria, are generally true of Australasia.
+
+But, while the working classes look constantly to the State for
+assistance in various forms, they can be shown to have made
+considerable provision against the future.  In spite of bad times, the
+number of depositors in Australasian Savings Banks rose from 742,000 in
+1891 to 895,000 in 1895, and the total amount of deposits from 19 to 26
+millions.  Victoria and South Australia, which are followed closely by
+New Zealand, have the largest number of depositors in proportion to
+population, 29 and 24 per 100 respectively, and Queensland and New
+{259} South Wales the highest average amount of deposits.[4]  In the
+three Provinces, therefore, in which the paternal action of the
+Government is carried to the furthest extent, we find the widest
+diffusion of an important exemplification of the spirit of thrift.  I
+am far from suggesting a relation of cause and effect, as the amount of
+savings must depend largely upon the rate of wages, the abundance or
+scarcity of employment, the cost of living, and many other factors, and
+would merely point out that the policy in question does not appear to
+have deterred the working classes from individual efforts.
+
+As regards Friendly Societies, South Australia takes the lead with a
+membership exceeding one in ten of the population; Victoria comes next
+with one in fifteen, and is third in the average amount of funds per
+member.  Under the latter head New Zealand occupied the first place
+with £18 8s. 2d., and is followed by Western Australia with £17 10s.
+4d., but the latter amount is of no comparative importance owing to the
+very small number of subscribers.[5]
+
+In 1895 the average amount of assurance per head of the population in
+Australasia was £20, the average sum assured per policy £285, and the
+average number of policies per 1,000 of the population, 70.  Compared
+with the United Kingdom, {260} Australasia has a considerable advantage
+in the first of these figures, has the proportion reversed in the
+second, but wins by more than two to one on the last, which is the most
+interesting as a further indication of the prevalence of the instinct
+of providence among Australasian workmen.[6]  Prior to the recent
+crisis the working classes had availed themselves largely of the
+opportunities which Building Societies offered to them to secure the
+freehold of their homes by payments spread over a term of years; but a
+run upon the deposits lodged in these institutions, which set in
+towards the end of 1891, and continued during 1892, affected them
+disastrously, and the large majority of even the soundest of them were
+obliged eventually, owing to the heavy withdrawal of deposits, to close
+their doors.  Though some have since been re-opened, upon terms agreed
+to between the shareholders and depositors, their business has
+collapsed for the time, the amount of advances in Victoria having
+fallen from over two millions in 1890 and in 1891 to less than a
+hundred thousand pounds in 1893.[7]  In the apparent absence of
+statistics of the number of freeholders in several Provinces, no
+general idea can be formed of the extent to which the working classes
+have, through Building Societies and otherwise, invested their savings
+in the acquisition of {261} freehold properties.  The only figures that
+I have been able to obtain give the estimated number of owners as
+30,600, 91,500, and 184,500 for New South Wales, New Zealand, and
+Victoria respectively.  As far as the two latter Provinces are
+concerned, the total populations being only 699,000 and 1,174,000, it
+is absurd to suppose that the electors, a large proportion of whom are
+freeholders, will be captivated by the advocates of the Single Tax.  It
+cannot too often be repeated that the Australasian Governments, all of
+which are, to a greater or lesser degree, aiming at the multiplication
+of small owners or perpetual lease-holders, are rendering it
+practically impossible that an agitation for the confiscation of land
+values should be successful, and are fostering the growth of that class
+of settlers which is believed to be Conservative in the best sense of
+the word.  But large estates, except in the case of certain kinds of
+pastoral land, are doomed to extinction, either in the natural course
+of events, owing to the costliness of labour, or from the pressure of
+heavy graduated taxation, the workmen of Australasia being thoroughly
+convinced of its justice as a means of raising revenue and of its
+efficacy as a means of causing land to be subdivided or placed upon the
+market.  They have also, as has been seen, supported legislation which
+has authorised the re-purchase and subdivision of landed estates.
+
+{262}
+
+Lastly, they have realised since 1890 that, for the furtherance of
+their aspirations, the strength of their Unions should be devoted
+mainly to the promotion of the representation of Labour in Parliament.
+The great strike of that year has been described so fully that it is
+unnecessary to say more than that a strong combination of labour, which
+had made itself master of the situation, was confronted upon the
+outbreak of hostilities by rapidly organised but powerful associations
+of employers; that the struggle, which spread over the whole Continent
+and New Zealand, terminated in the success of the latter, and that the
+workmen realised that, even had they succeeded, the victory would have
+been won at too heavy a cost in the misery entailed upon themselves and
+their families.  Many of them were dissatisfied with the generalship of
+their leaders during the strike, and realised that the exhaustion of
+their funds rendered them unable to engage again in a huge industrial
+struggle.  In the following years low prices, the financial crisis, and
+the consequent scarcity of employment and fall in wages, further
+weakened the Unions and intensified the conviction that strikes should
+be superseded by the ballot-box.  In some Provinces, also, it was felt
+that the rivalry of parties had degenerated into a contest between the
+ins and the outs, and that progressive measures would not be passed
+until Labour had entered as a compact body into the arena.
+
+I have discussed in the earlier chapters the {263} history and results
+of Labour representation in several of the Provinces, and have shown
+that the Labour Party has been successful in South Australia, where it
+has formed an alliance with the Government, though maintaining a
+separate organisation, and in New South Wales, where it has held the
+balance of power between the Protectionists and Free Traders, but has
+failed utterly in Queensland, where mainly through its own fault, but
+partly through the astuteness of its opponents, it has occupied a
+position of antagonism to all the vested interests of the community.
+In Victoria the Labour Party acts usually with the Government, but
+seeks to obtain its objects by the exercise of its strength more than
+by friendly negotiations.  In New Zealand no distinct Party was formed,
+but the working-men representatives threw in their lot with the
+Government and, by consistent support, helped to secure the imposition
+of graduated taxation and the enactment, among other measures, of a
+compulsory Conciliation and Arbitration Act, and of a large number of
+Industrial Statutes.
+
+A great similarity of aims and aspirations can be traced between the
+different Labour Parties if we ignore side issues and exclude that of
+Queensland, which is affected by the taint of aggressive socialism.
+Judging from the respective programmes and from conversations which I
+have had with many of the leaders, I find that, subject to certain
+exceptions {264} which I shall mention, they are united upon the
+following propositions:--
+
+
+Manhood or adult suffrage, shorn of the plural vote, should be the
+basis of representation in the Assembly.  The Legislative Council
+should be abolished, as it prevents the wishes of the people from being
+carried into effect.
+
+Direct taxation should consist of graduated death duties and graduated
+taxes on incomes and land values.
+
+Parliament should secure to every worker for wages sanitary and safe
+conditions of employment, and immunity from excessive hours of labour.
+
+Machinery should be provided by Parliament by which industrial disputes
+may be referred to an impartial tribunal.
+
+The workers should protect themselves not only against foreign goods,
+but against undesirable immigrants, whether they be Orientals or
+indigent Europeans.
+
+
+The consideration of these questions, and of the wider issues with
+which they are concerned, will cover most of the points of recent
+interest in Australasian politics.
+
+(1) It is doubtful whether Responsible Government, in the sense of
+government by a Ministry which carries out a definite policy approved
+by the country, and, in return, receives allegiance from its {265}
+supporters in Parliament, has ever been acclimatised in Australasia
+except in New South Wales under the influence of the late Sir Henry
+Parkes.  How, indeed, could it be otherwise, when it was sought to
+transplant a delicate system, hallowed by conventions and dependent for
+its success upon the election of a special class of representatives,
+among a community necessarily ruled by men who had little experience of
+public life?  Australian Parliaments, save on the rare occasions when
+some important issue, such as that of the tariff, has come to the
+front, have not been divided on ordinary party lines, and have amused
+themselves with the excitement of a constant succession of new
+Ministries selected on personal and not on political considerations.
+New South Wales, South Australia, and Victoria, to take three Provinces
+at random, have had, respectively, 28, 42, and 26 Ministries in 40
+years.  The policy of the Opposition has often been almost identical
+with that of the Government.  Again, coalitions between former
+opponents have been of frequent occurrence; the Ministries formed by
+Messrs. Deakin and Gillies in Victoria, and by Sir Samuel Griffith and
+Sir Thomas McIlwraith in Queensland, are recent instances of this
+tendency.  In some rural constituencies, also, candidates appeal to the
+electorate on personal grounds and are not required to declare their
+adhesion to a party.  I was struck, when present at the elections in
+South Australia and New Zealand, by the subsequent animated discussions
+in {266} the newspapers as to the probable effect of the changes in the
+personnel of the Members upon the prospects of the Government.  This is
+the more noticeable from the fact that the freedom of action allowed to
+representatives has been curtailed since the return to Parliament of
+Labour Members, who are pledged to a definite programme and have put
+forward questions on which there is a distinct line of cleavage.
+Proposals for the extension of the franchise, for the abolition of the
+plural vote, or for the imposition of a tax on incomes and land values,
+are such as divide the electorate into two camps and perpetuate the
+division in the House.  This state of things, combined, perhaps, with
+the financial crisis which raised problems demanding continuity of
+administration for their solution, has contributed to the greater
+stability of Ministries.  Another factor, which has given
+constituencies a greater hold on their representatives, and has tended
+thereby to make them adhere more closely to one or other of the
+parties, is the payment of Members, which has now been adopted in all
+the Lower Houses except that of Western Australia, and in the Upper
+Houses of South Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand.  Australia has
+been confronted with the difficulty experienced by every young country,
+that the men who should naturally enter Parliament are prevented by
+commercial or professional duties from devoting the necessary time, and
+that, in the absence of men of leisure, constituencies {267} are much
+hampered in their choice of candidates.  The payment of Members, it is
+needless to say, offers no inducement to the successful merchant or
+lawyer, but has increased the competition among men to whom the salary
+is an inducement.  My inquiries as to its effect upon the tone of
+politicians have elicited mutually contradictory replies.  On the one
+hand I am assured that the attractions of the salary have led men to
+resort to disreputable practices in order to be selected as candidates
+and to seek to retain the fickle affections of their constituents by
+similar means; on the other, that necessitous Members have been raised
+by the salary above temptations which their poverty made it difficult
+for them to resist; and such temptations must increase in number with
+each extension of the functions of the State unless it be dissociated
+from political influence.  It is clear that a knowledge of the inner
+life of a Parliament could alone supply materials for the adequate
+discussion of this question, and that a similar consideration applies
+to the discussion of the effects of State socialism upon political
+morality.  The possible abuses are many: railways may be constructed
+with a view to popularity; the rents of Crown tenants may be remitted,
+and borrowers may be allowed to fall in arrears with the interest on
+their advances; subsidies and bonuses voted by Parliament may be
+misapplied; and the unemployed may be conciliated by unnecessary public
+works.  Personal corruption, I am confident, {268} does not exist, but
+that safeguards have been felt to be necessary is proved by the
+appointment of independent Railway Commissioners by New South Wales,
+Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, and New Zealand, and of Public
+Works Committees by Victoria and New South Wales.  In the latter
+country, as has been seen, the Commissioners have been most successful,
+but New Zealand has reverted to the system of political control, and
+Victoria, Queensland, and South Australia have reduced the number of
+Commissioners from three to one.  This change, which must have lessened
+the efficacy of non-political control, was advocated on grounds of
+economy at a time when all forms of expenditure were being cut down to
+the lowest point.  In Victoria the Leongatha Labour Settlement has
+diminished the difficulties connected with the unemployed, and its
+administration has been studied by the other Provinces with a view to
+similar action.  The general political tone is healthy, and is
+stimulated, in all the Provinces, by a high-class press, which uses its
+great influence in a conscientious manner.  But, as long as Treasurers
+can balance their accounts by recourse to loans, and are tempted, as is
+inevitable, to apply borrowed money to placatory enterprises, the
+dangers which are necessarily connected with State socialism are
+multiplied tenfold.  They would be lessened if the objects for which
+loans might be contracted were defined, as has been suggested, by Act
+of Parliament, {269} or if Federation were to eventuate at an early
+date and the right to borrow were limited to the Federal Authority.
+
+In New Zealand alone have I found direct evidence of the misuse of
+political patronage.  Upon the third reading of the Appropriation Bill
+in 1896, Captain Russell, the Leader of the Opposition, made use of the
+following words: "I maintain that for years past the administration of
+the Government has been anything but good.  They have hunted for
+popularity and they have hunted their enemies.  They have hunted their
+enemies to a very great extent.  You find positions which were capably
+filled by old and valued servants now filled by friends of the
+Government.  We have a system of espionage in existence which is
+disgusting....  The Civil Servants should not depend on the favour and
+their popularity with Ministers for promotion, but rather on good
+honest service, and that is not the case now.  Why, a Civil Servant
+dare not come and speak to an Opposition Member for fear of that fact
+being reported to the Ministers.  (An Hon. Member: No!)  It is all very
+well to say 'No,' but I am acquainted with dozens of Civil Servants in
+Wellington, and they will not come and speak to me in the street for
+fear of being reported."[8]  In his reply the Premier made no attempt
+to meet these charges, which I have quoted because I have gathered
+corroborative {270} evidence in different parts of the country, though
+it is not such as admits of being adduced as definite proof, and
+because the Minister of Lands made an exceedingly candid admission
+shortly after the elections.  In the course of a speech delivered at
+Geraldine he is reported by a Ministerial newspaper to have said: "They
+had endeavoured during their term of office to do what they could in
+the interests of the Colony as a whole, but they had been very badly
+treated by two classes of the public at the elections.  In the session
+of 1895, they would remember, the Government passed a measure to give
+relief to pastoral Crown tenants who lost a large number of sheep in
+the snow.  The Government did this in the interest of the people as a
+whole, as they thought, but how had they been treated by the people
+they helped in time of distress?  (A voice: Very badly.)  Yes, there
+might have been one or two exceptions, but generally speaking they
+fought tooth and nail against the Government.  Then, again, the
+Government saved the Bank of New Zealand and the Colony from ruin, but
+still the old leaven of the Bank fought and voted against the
+Government at the elections.  He considered this very unfair on their
+part, considering what the Government had done for them."[9]  Sir
+Robert Stout, a former Premier of New Zealand, has also brought a grave
+indictment against the Government, from {271} which I quote the portion
+referring to appointments:--
+
+"By the Statute Law of New Zealand, no one who has been a member of
+either House can be appointed to any position in the Civil Service
+until he has for twelve months ceased to be a member of Parliament.  A
+vacancy occurred in the position of Sergeant-at-arms, and it was
+announced that an ex-member, who had at the elections retired in favour
+of a Ministerial candidate, had received the office.  When Parliament
+met, the appointment gave rise to much discussion.  Ultimately a large
+majority supported the Ministry in conferring the appointment
+temporarily, the official appointment to be made at the end of twelve
+months.  If this had been the only flagrant violation of the law it
+might have been overlooked; but it is only a type of what has been
+done.  The Civil Service Reform Act, 1886, provides that no one, save
+an expert, can be appointed to the Civil Service unless he enters as a
+cadet.  Some departments, such as the railway, postal, and telegraph
+departments, are exempted from the provisions of the Act.  The cadets
+must obtain their positions by competition; the examination is annual.
+The Ministry, however, appointed some cadets out of their order, and
+some who had never even submitted to an examination at all.  There is a
+provision for "temporary" clerks.  When vacancies arise in the service
+these are given to {272} temporary clerks.  The policy of "spoils for
+the victors" has been openly defended.  To carry out this pernicious
+system the law has been violated.  It has been said that only those of
+the 'right colour' of political opinions should receive appointments in
+the Civil Service."[10]
+
+However great may be one's sympathy with the efforts of the Government
+to encourage settlement and to promote industrial conciliation and
+arbitration, one cannot but rejoice at the increased strength of the
+Opposition, which will be sufficient to enforce greater purity of
+administration and the enactment of legislation which will prevent a
+recurrence of the evil.
+
+The realisation of the dangers of an unmuzzled democracy has caused a
+widespread anxiety which has been displayed in vehement but, for the
+most part, unsuccessful opposition to proposed changes in the
+constitution of the Assembly.  New Zealand and South Australia have
+adopted adult suffrage, coupled with the abolition of plural voting;
+Victoria and New South Wales manhood suffrage, associated in the former
+case with the plural vote but not in the latter.  In Victoria, the
+Conservatives, if I may so characterise the less-advanced party, have
+put forward a proposal which is unique in Australasia.  They suggest
+that, while each man should continue to have a vote, the present plural
+votes should be replaced by a second vote which {273} should be
+possessed equally by all freeholders whatever be the size and number of
+their properties.  They believe that they would thereby place the power
+in the hands of the more stable elements of the population, and that
+they are not unlikely to be supported by the freeholders, who
+constitute nearly two-thirds of the electors on the rolls for the
+Assembly.
+
+At present the Labour parties are engaged in onslaughts upon the
+Legislative Councils with a view to their ultimate abolition, but are
+prepared to accept, as an instalment, any proposals which would cripple
+their power.  They concurred heartily with the Bill introduced in 1896
+by the Government of New South Wales and rejected by the Council after
+it had been passed by large majorities through the Assembly, which
+provided for the reference to a popular vote of matters in dispute
+between the two Houses.  Similar measures are also advocated by the
+Governments of Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania; while in New
+Zealand, it is proposed that deadlocks shall be obviated by a joint
+session of both Houses, which shall sit as one Chamber.  It may be that
+an Act of 1891 which, as will be seen, tends to popularise the
+Legislative Council in New Zealand will account for the less drastic
+character of the solution put forward in that Province.  It is probable
+that it will become customary in Australasia to submit distinct issues
+to the electorate, on a separate ballot-paper, at the time of a general
+{274} election.  The Government of South Australia ascertained in this
+manner the popular wishes in regard to religious instruction in State
+schools, and the payment to denominational schools of a capitation
+grant for secular results; and the recent "Alcoholic Liquors Sale
+Control Act" of New Zealand provides that Local Option polls shall be
+taken concurrently with the election of representatives.  Under
+references similar to that in South Australia, it may be objected,
+Ministers may be supported on their general policy, but be required to
+introduce a measure to which they are opposed.  Such a position,
+however, would not apparently be regarded as inconsistent, as most of
+the candidates in South Australia stated their willingness to give
+effect to the popular vote, in whatever direction it might be
+expressed.  Disputes between the two Houses will, I believe, be decided
+similarly, on the score of the expense of a special poll, unless the
+issue be such as to demand an immediate settlement.
+
+The first line of attack of the Labour Members is thus seen to be an
+agitation which aims at enabling the electorate of the Assembly to
+override the Council; the second is directed at its Conservative
+tendencies.  The policy pursued depends upon the constitution of the
+Council: if it is elective, it should be so modified as to become a
+Chamber of paid representatives, subject to no property qualification
+and elected upon a wide franchise, such as the South Australian
+Council, in which a combination {275} of Ministerialists and Labour
+Members has been able to obtain a bare majority.  If it is nominated,
+the life tenure should be superseded by nomination for a short term of
+years, which will enable successive Ministries to introduce a new
+leaven of persons who are in touch with popular feeling, and will be
+prevented, by the limit placed upon the duration of their appointments,
+from being subjected to reactionary influences.  The Council, that is
+to say, is to become a mere machine for registering the wishes of the
+Assembly.  The only success which has hitherto attended this agitation
+is the enactment in 1891 of a measure in New Zealand which limited to
+seven years the duration of subsequent appointments; but the Government
+now desire to abolish the life tenure, and they are followed herein by
+New South Wales, by providing for the gradual retirement of all the
+members who hold their seats for life.  They also propose, whether
+seriously or in order to cast ridicule upon the Council, that women
+shall be eligible for appointment to that body.  In regard to the
+general position of the nominated Councils, which are not limited as to
+the number of their members, it may be stated that the Imperial
+Government decided, upon a case submitted to them from New Zealand,
+that the Governor should accept the recommendations of his
+constitutional advisers in the matter of additional appointments.
+Strangely enough, the Premier of Queensland, the only other
+Australasian Province that has a nominated Legislative {276} Council,
+though a strong constitutionalist, aimed a blow at its prestige in a
+proposal, which he carried through the Assembly but not through the
+Council, that the former House alone should be vested with the power of
+selecting the delegates to the pending Federal Convention.
+
+Before leaving this portion of the subject, I must mention that other
+proposals affecting the form of Government of the Provinces have been
+discussed in Parliament and are likely to attract serious attention.
+Theoretically, indeed, it has been asserted, apart from the question of
+the power of the Upper Houses, and the point is of interest as showing
+the ideas germinating in the minds of Australasian politicians, that
+five changes are required in order that the Parliamentary machinery may
+be brought into proper relations with the people: the election of
+Ministers by the Assembly; continuity of representation in the
+Assembly, to be secured by the division of the country into
+constituencies returning two representatives who retire alternately at
+fixed periods; the Swiss form of Initiative and Referendum; and the
+right of a certain proportion of the members to convoke a special
+session of Parliament, and of an absolute majority of the electors in a
+constituency to require the resignation of their member.  The first and
+second of these reforms, as I have shown, are included in the programme
+of the Ministry of South Australia, which, however, in spite of its
+success at the polls, has not pressed them forward {277} during the
+first session of the New Parliament.  Continuity of representation
+could easily be arranged, as all the constituencies return two members.
+An Elective Executive Bill has been introduced in the House of
+Representatives in New Zealand and received a large measure of support,
+though it was opposed by the Premier and the leader of the Opposition.
+The idea has taken a strong hold upon the imagination of the Labour
+Members in all the Provinces.
+
+It may be thought that I have laid stress upon a variety of fantastic
+theories, but the objection takes insufficient account of the facility
+with which changes can be effected in the absence of a strong force of
+traditional conservatism.  I must admit, as a failing of Australasian
+politicians, that they are inclined to welcome innovations which are
+superficially attractive, without due consideration of the ulterior
+consequences.  To quote an extreme case, the Government of New Zealand
+proposed, in a Single Bill, not only to abolish the life tenure of
+Members of the Legislative Council, but to provide machinery for the
+settlement of disputes between the two Houses and to establish a
+modified form of the Swiss Referendum.  But I am confident that several
+of the proposals to which I have referred, notably that for an Elective
+Executive, meet with a large measure of support in the constituencies.
+This movement has gathered strength from the disinclination of
+Ministries to resign except upon a {278} direct vote of want of
+confidence.  Some of them look with equanimity upon the defeat of
+cardinal principles of important Bills, whether it be due to the
+strength of the Opposition or the defection of their own followers, and
+do not hesitate, if sufficient pressure be exercised, to withdraw them
+altogether.  As the Ministry tends, therefore, to become a body which
+carries out the wishes of the whole House, and ceases to lead its own
+Party, the position would be simplified if the whole House elected the
+Executive for a fixed period.  Another argument is found in the
+increasing desire of the Assembly to shift its legislative duties to
+the shoulders of the Executive.  Parliament decides the broad
+principles of measures and leaves the details to be filled in by
+Regulations made by the Department concerned under the supervision of
+the Minister and with the approval of the Executive Council.
+
+(2) Graduated death duties are imposed in all the seven Provinces,
+though in Tasmania the tax levied on the largest properties does not
+exceed 3 per cent.  Western Australia came into line with the other
+Provinces in 1895, when a Bill imposing graduation up to 10 per cent.
+was passed, almost without discussion, through both Houses of
+Parliament.  The Premier admitted that it had not been rendered
+necessary by the condition of the finances, but contended that it
+should be placed upon the Statute Book while there were few rich men in
+the community who would resent it.
+
+{279}
+
+Other forms of direct taxation are as follows: New Zealand, South
+Australia, and New South Wales have taxation on incomes and land
+values, the two former with, the latter without, graduation; Victoria
+has a graduated income tax and an ungraduated land tax on estates above
+a certain value; Tasmania, an ungraduated tax on incomes and the
+capital value of land; Queensland, an ungraduated income tax, which is
+only collected on dividends paid by public companies.  The taxation in
+New South Wales, Victoria, New Zealand, and South Australia has been
+promoted, if not inspired, by the Labour Movement in Parliament, and
+constitutes its greatest triumph.  In Victoria the taxation of land
+values was rejected by the Legislative Council.
+
+A point of interest is the distinction made by Victoria, Tasmania, and
+South Australia between incomes derived from property and those which
+are the result of personal exertion.  It is thought to be equitable
+that the former should be taxed at a higher rate, and the principle is
+similar to that which dictates the taxation of land upon its unimproved
+value.
+
+(3) I have referred very briefly in the present chapter to certain
+forms of industrial legislation; speaking generally, they are based
+upon English examples and do not call for any particular comment.  The
+Labour Parties are keenly interested in these matters because it is
+simpler, apart from greater efficacy, that inspectors should protect
+their {280} interest under Acts of Parliament than that they should be
+compelled constantly to engage in negotiations with individual
+employers.
+
+(4) As I have already pointed out, the consideration of Australasian
+problems must be accompanied by a recollection of the difference of
+conditions from those existing in Great Britain.  Even in the latter
+country it is obvious that the intimate relations between employers and
+employed are being replaced, especially in the manufacturing centres,
+by a purely monetary bond; but they can never, except in individual
+cases, have had any existence in Australasia, where capitalists and
+workmen have approached each other and entered into agreements as
+strangers.  Consequently the workmen, attached neither to people nor
+places, have been prepared to move as their varying interests have
+suggested and have formed few lasting ties with their employers.  Many
+of the industries, indeed, have tended to accentuate this absence of
+cordial relations: in pastoralism, for instance, the small permanent
+staff is supplemented for a few weeks in the year by a large number of
+shearers and others, who sign a definite agreement with their
+employers, and, provided that the conditions are carried out, can have
+no interest either in them or in their properties.  Incidentally, an
+association recently formed at Sydney which engages shearers and
+provides them with consecutive employment at different sheds, should
+not only be a financial success, but allay the {281} natural
+dissatisfaction of a body of men who, though they earn high wages, can
+depend upon neither regularity nor permanency in their work.  I could
+show that similar conditions prevail in the sugar industry and, to some
+extent, in agriculture; but enough has been said to prove that the
+working classes are differently situated from those in older countries
+and partially to explain their willingness to form themselves into
+Trades Unions and the combativeness of these organisations.
+
+The great maritime strike, though it has been followed by the Broken
+Hill strikes of 1891 and 1892, the shearers' strikes of 1891 and 1894,
+and periodical hostilities at Newcastle, has modified largely the
+attitude of the working classes in regard to the efficacy of industrial
+warfare.  The later struggles have principally affected Queensland and
+New South Wales, which was the first of the Provinces to attempt to
+deal with the matter by Act of Parliament.  A Board of Conciliation was
+established upon the recommendation of a Royal Commission, but is
+admitted to have been a failure in the absence of any compulsory
+reference of disputes.  On the occasion of the most recent
+disturbances, at Newcastle in 1896, which originated upon an
+application of the miners for higher wages, the Premier, following
+English precedents, intervened, and was enabled to settle the dispute,
+though not until the strike had lasted for three months and had caused
+much of the foreign trade to be diverted to foreign ports.  Actual
+{282} and prospective losses caused the owners, though they made a
+small concession at the request of the Premier, to refuse to reinstate
+the miners except at a slightly lower rate of wages than that against
+which they had struck.  The offer, as modified by the Premier, was
+accepted by the miners, who had thus, at the cost of much misery,
+brought about a reduction in their wages.  The disturbances of 1894 in
+Queensland, which reached an acute stage, were met by the Government by
+resolute administration under special powers obtained by Act of
+Parliament, but no attempt was made to intervene between the disputants
+or to make use of the Conciliation Act of 1892, which, as far as I
+know, has remained a dead letter.  It is useless, therefore, to discuss
+the Act further than to say that its machinery can only be set in
+motion by a Local Authority, but it may not be unfair to attribute the
+unsympathetic attitude of the Government to the bitterness engendered
+by the extravagances of the Labour Party.
+
+In most of the Provinces neither the employers nor the workmen are
+prepared, as yet, to bind themselves to refer their disputes to an
+impartial tribunal and to abide by its decision.  Though the tendency
+in that direction is on the increase, it has been suggested that, in
+the meanwhile, Boards should be constituted which would be empowered to
+consider disputes, and, after the examination of books and witnesses,
+to issue a public report.  The judgment would not be enforceable, but
+might be expected, in {283} the majority of cases, to lead to a
+settlement of the difficulty; at any rate, it would influence public
+opinion, which is a large factor in all industrial struggles.  But
+South Australia and New Zealand have passed this stage, and have placed
+drastic measures on their Statute Book which provide, in certain cases,
+for compulsory awards.  The compulsory provisions of the South
+Australian Act apply only to employers and workmen who are organised
+and have voluntarily accepted them by the process of registration.
+Should they become involved in an industrial dispute, the Governor may,
+upon the recommendation of the President of the State Board of
+Conciliation, cause the matter to be referred to it, and the Board may
+make an award which will be binding upon the parties concerned.  In New
+Zealand, on the other hand, while the proceedings must be initiated by
+employers or workmen who are registered, the other party, though
+unregistered, may be called upon, should the Board of Conciliation fail
+to effect a settlement, to attend before the Court of Arbitration and
+to obey its award, subject to the general proviso that an employer may
+suspend or discontinue any industry and an employé cease from working
+therein.  In neither Province is a strike or lock-out permitted during
+the deliberations of the tribunal.
+
+The Acts do not apply to unorganised workers, except indirectly, partly
+because they have not been the cause of the great industrial struggles
+of the past, {284} partly because it would be difficult, if not
+impossible, to enforce awards against them.  It may also have been
+thought that they would be encouraged thereby to form themselves into
+Unions, and that the best chance of industrial peace lies in
+negotiations between responsible bodies of workers and employers who
+will have too much at stake to be willing to proceed thoughtlessly to
+extremities.  As regards registration, it has been found that the
+workers of South Australia, though their leaders had supported the
+compulsory provisions, have been backward in this direction; but that,
+in New Zealand, no such hesitation has been displayed.  The workers in
+that country do not appear to share the disinclination to agree to the
+intervention of an arbitrator which is stated to be increasing in Great
+Britain.
+
+In South Australia, to give a brief account of the new tribunals,
+Boards of Conciliation may be either Private Boards, constituted under
+industrial agreements and endowed with such jurisdiction as may be
+confided to them in the agreements; or Public Boards, which include
+Local Boards constituted for particular localities and particular
+industries, and the State Board of Conciliation.  In New Zealand, the
+first reference is to an elective Board of Conciliation constituted for
+the district in which the dispute has occurred.  Should it fail to
+effect a settlement, the matter may be referred to the Court of
+Arbitration, which, similarly with the State Board {285} of
+Conciliation in South Australia, consists of an equal number of
+representatives of employers and employed and a chairman nominated by
+the Government, who must, in the former country, be a judge of the
+Supreme Court.  These tribunals are invested with full powers to
+require the attendance and examination of witnesses, and may either
+make an award which shall take effect for a period not exceeding two
+years, and may be enforced by legal process against associations and
+individuals, or they may confine themselves, at their discretion, to a
+recommendation which will be merely a direction to the parties
+concerned.
+
+In South Australia the State Board has also the power to inquire into,
+and report upon, industrial disputes, though the parties be not
+registered.  This portion of the Act has alone been brought into
+operation, and that unsuccessfully, as, though the representatives of
+employers and employed on the Board arrived at a unanimous decision
+upon a dispute affecting the rate of wages, the employer in question
+refused to be guided by its judgment.  The general failure of the Act,
+though the affirmation of the principle of Conciliation has been
+valuable, has been due partly to the absence of serious disputes in
+South Australia, but principally to the unwillingness both of employers
+and employed to place themselves in a position in which they will lose
+control over the terms of employment.
+
+The Act passed by the Government of New {286} Zealand, on the contrary,
+has hitherto been entirely efficacious, and has prevented the
+interruption of harmonious relations between employers and employed.
+It was first tested upon a dispute which arose over the action of the
+Consolidated Goldfields Company in reducing wages in the mines from
+10s. to 8s. 4d. per day.  The men, who were not members of a union,
+went out on strike, and were then offered wages at the rate of 9s.
+Upon the advice of their leaders, the men accepted the offer
+provisionally; and, having formed themselves into a union which they
+promptly caused to be registered, referred the matter to the Board of
+Conciliation.  The decision of the Board, which it is unnecessary to
+specify, was refused by the men, who appealed to the Court of
+Arbitration.  The award of the latter body, which fixed the wages of
+miners at 9s. 6d. per day, a rate smaller than that which had been
+received by the men, but larger than that against which they had
+protested, has been observed loyally by the Company and its employés.
+
+The next dispute arose at Christchurch upon the expiration of the
+agreement which had been in operation between the boot manufacturers
+and their workmen for several years, and upon the desire of the former
+to substitute new terms which were regarded as distasteful.  It was
+concerned with several matters of detail, but hinged principally upon
+the question whether non-unionists should be allowed to work with
+unionists.  As in the {287} former case, an appeal was made from the
+Board of Conciliation's award to the Court of Arbitration, whose
+decision, it is noteworthy, both sides had signified their willingness
+to accept.  The award applied to all the bootmakers in the Province
+with the exception of three or four who were not identified with the
+boot manufacturers' association, and was accompanied by remarks
+pronounced, it must be remembered, by a judge of the Supreme Court,
+which cannot fail to be of interest to the Trades Unionists in all
+parts of the world.  I do not, therefore, apologise for quoting them at
+length:--
+
+"The Arbitration Court has not hitherto been in the habit of giving
+reasons for its decision.  It appears to the Court that, sitting as
+arbitrators, it should as a general rule follow the ordinary practice
+of arbitrators and simply give its decision without reasons.  In the
+present case, however, so far as I myself am concerned, I think it is
+desirable that I should, with respect to part of the award, give some
+indications of the reasons which have induced the Court to arrive at
+its conclusion.  The part of the award to which I refer is that which
+relates to clauses 1 and 2 of the general rules which the
+Manufacturers' Association has submitted to the Court: '1. (_a_) It is
+the individual right of the employer to decide whom he shall employ or
+dismiss.  (_b_) It is the individual right of the workman to accept or
+refuse work from any employer.  {288} 2. Employers or employés, either
+individually or through any organisation, shall not discriminate for or
+against any person because he is or is not a member of any
+organisation, neither shall there be any distinction between organised
+or non-organised labour; both shall work under the same conditions and
+receive equal pay for equal work.'  The Bootmakers' Union, in
+opposition to the rules so suggested, put forward the contention that
+employment should be limited to members of the Bootmakers' Union.  The
+Court, however, is not able to accept the extreme view which has been
+put forward by the Bootmakers' Union.  If it were accepted it might
+follow that an employer, who had work to do and who could not get Union
+men to do it, might have to bring his operations to a standstill.  The
+effect of it also would be that non-Union men would be absolutely
+prevented from earning their living in the workshops of the members of
+the Manufacturers' Association.  That, so far as I am concerned, seems
+to be going beyond what the Court ought to decree.  On the other hand,
+however, I am not prepared to accept absolutely clauses 1 and 2 in the
+form in which the Manufacturers' Association has put them forward.  The
+Court ought, I think, to comply with the intention of the Legislature
+as evidenced in the provisions of the Industrial Conciliation and
+Arbitration Act, and ought not to do anything which is calculated to
+destroy or weaken any industrial organisation.  The {289} intention of
+the Act is indicated in its title--the Act is an Act to encourage the
+formation of Industrial Unions and Associations.  The Court, therefore,
+ought not to do anything which will tend to destroy or weaken an
+industrial association, or interfere with the manifest intention of the
+Legislature as disclosed by the Act.  We have this also, that for the
+last three years the shops of the Manufacturers' Association have been
+practically working as Union shops.  It is true that manufacturers
+say--probably with truth--that they were so worked because they could
+not help it, but the fact remains that they have been working in that
+way, and the proposed new rules, as put forward by the manufacturers,
+expressly reverse the previous mode of working.  We have this also,
+that the previous statement was a statement agreed to between the
+Manufacturers' Association and the Bootmakers' Union, the conference
+which followed the statement was between the Association and the Union,
+and the dispute now before the Court is between the Association and the
+Union.  It is only by means of Unions that labour can take advantage of
+the Act.  Under these circumstances, it seems to me not unreasonable
+that the Union should stipulate for special privileges to its members.
+The Union are fighting the battle, and it is fair that they should say
+that the results of the victory, so far as it is a victory, and has any
+beneficial results, should accrue to them, at any rate in the first
+instance.  They fight {290} the battle for their members, and not for
+the sake of outside labour.  Under these circumstances it appears to me
+that it is quite reasonable that the members of the Union should have
+preference in employment; that members of the Union who are competent
+should not have to wait about while non-members of the Union are
+employed in the shops of the Boot Manufacturers' Association.  The
+Court, therefore, has modified Rules 1 and 2 in this direction.  I need
+hardly say that each case to be decided under this Act must depend on
+the particular circumstances attaching to it; that no one case can be
+treated as a precedent to any future case, and that because under the
+particular circumstances of a particular case, this Court has decided
+as it has decided, that is no reason why, under different or varying
+circumstances, a similar decision ought to be come to.  The Court in
+coming to its decision, takes into consideration not general principles
+so much as the special circumstances of each particular case."
+
+The award, which modified the regulations on the lines laid down by the
+Court, is regarded as a great triumph by Trade Unionists, who are, not
+unnaturally, inclined to apply it as a precedent to all organised
+trades.
+
+A possible exemplification of the efficacy of the Act occurred at the
+end of 1896, when the engineers employed in the Australian trade of the
+Union Steamship Company of New Zealand asked that {291} their wages
+might be raised to the rate which had prevailed before the financial
+troubles.  They took advantage of the increased traffic caused by the
+holidays in order to emphasise their demands.  The engineers of the
+ships plying in New Zealand waters made a similar request, which was at
+once acceded to by the Company, but did not attempt to exert undue
+pressure.  I am not prepared to state that the difference in attitude
+was due to the Conciliation and Arbitration Act of the latter country,
+but the coincidence is calculated to encourage that belief.  The
+Managing Director of the Company (Mr. James Mills) told me that he was
+a hearty supporter of compulsion, not so much because he believed in
+arbitration, as because a strike or lock-out was obviated, and the
+parties to a dispute, often trivial at the outset, were brought
+together before they had been embittered by mutual recriminations.  Mr.
+Kingston, the Premier of South Australia, and the principal promoter of
+the South Australian Act, has written in a similar strain:--
+
+"Conciliation Boards should be established in anticipation of the
+differences they are designed to prevent.  On the occasion of a great
+strike, the public cries out for conciliation.  Suggestions are
+received from all quarters recommending Conferences and Arbitration;
+but when war has been declared, and the disputants, as it were, are at
+each other's throats, each hopeful of ultimate success, they are seldom
+in the mood to listen to peacemakers.  If either party fears the result
+of the {292} contest, it may favour pacific counsels.  There is,
+however, a vehement probability that the stronger party will reject all
+overtures and insist on an unconditional surrender and all the
+advantages which victory can command.  The dispute is then determined,
+not on its merits, but by sheer strength.  The vanquished, smarting
+under a sense of defeat and injustice, capitulate only with the view to
+the early renewal of the struggle under more favourable
+circumstances."[11]
+
+(5) A large proportion of the workmen of Australasia are convinced
+believers in Protection in the widest sense of the word.  As far as
+their opinion can be ascertained from the representation of Labour in
+Parliament, it is unanimous in Victoria, South Australia, and New
+Zealand.  In New South Wales, as has been seen, the Labour Members
+have, for the sake of solidarity, sunk the fiscal issue; but the
+majority are Protectionists, and have proposed that the question of the
+tariff should be settled for a fixed period by a plebiscite.  Thereby
+they believe that they will secure Protection and continue to be
+unfettered in their support of the more advanced party.  In Queensland,
+also, the Labour programme states that the fiscal issue is not to be
+regarded as a party question.
+
+Protection, the Labour Members admit, raises prices to the consumer;
+but they contend that, if prices are high, employers can afford to pay
+high {293} wages, and that the strength of Trades Unionism should be
+sufficient to enforce them.  To put their argument, such as it is, in a
+nutshell, it is better to have high prices and high wages than low
+prices combined with low wages and uncertain employment.  Then, as
+combination is expected to keep wages at a high point, it is obvious
+that it can be exercised most effectually over a small area, and we
+find the South Australian Labour Members voting against a resolution in
+favour of inter-provincial Free Trade, and Labour Members generally
+imbued with an actual, if not avowed, opposition to Federation, the
+first result of which would, it is believed, be the removal of fiscal
+barriers.  They profess, indeed, a desire for Federation on a
+democratic basis, but are, as far as their material interests are
+concerned, under the influence of a patriotism which is intensely
+provincial and does not take account of national, much less of
+imperial, considerations.
+
+If he lives under a protective tariff, the workman asks himself of what
+use is it to exclude the products of cheap labour if the cheap labourer
+be allowed to enter the country and compete with him on the spot.  The
+agitation against Asiatic immigrants has, I am prepared to admit, a
+wider basis, and rests largely upon physical repugnance and the fear
+that they might enter in such large numbers as to swamp the white
+population.  To that extent it appeals to the Free Traders of New South
+Wales, who have not been backward in their support of anti-Chinese
+{294} legislation, and meets with the general support of Australians,
+as was shown by the unanimity with which the Premiers, assembled in
+Conference early in 1896, decided against participation in the
+Anglo-Japanese treaty and in favour of the extension to other coloured
+races of the restrictions placed upon the influx of the Chinese.  But,
+from the point of view of the working classes, antipathy is felt,
+principally, towards competitors who have a lower standard of comfort,
+and the difficulties placed in the way of Imperial statesmanship are
+persistently ignored.
+
+Thence, by an easy transition of thought, the objection is extended to
+all labourers whose competition, through the stress of necessity, may
+tend to reduce wages.  The indigent Italian or German is equally
+undesirable, as are indigent Englishmen, who alone, among Europeans,
+are likely to arrive in large numbers.  Some of them, it is known, have
+been assisted to emigrate, by philanthropic agencies or otherwise,
+because they were unable to earn a livelihood at home.  South
+Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, and New Zealand seek to exclude paupers
+by the provision that the owner or master of a ship bringing persons
+who are likely to become a charge upon the public or any charitable
+institution, may be called upon to execute a bond to pay all expenses
+incurred within five years for the maintenance or support of such
+persons.  But the workman reserves his strongest condemnation for the
+proposal {295} that he should be compelled to contribute, through
+taxation or Custom duties, to State-aided immigration, which increases
+the number of his competitors.  Herein is seen the cloven foot of the
+capitalist, which must be concealed, except in Queensland, where
+capital and labour are in open antagonism and the former is at present
+in the ascendant.
+
+The ultimate development of protective ideas is found in the annual tax
+levied on foreign commercial travellers in New Zealand and in the
+desire to subject immigrants to physical as well as pecuniary and
+racial tests.  In New Zealand the Undesirable Immigrants Exclusion
+Bill, and the equally unsuccessful Public Health Bill of 1896, forbade
+masters of ships, under a heavy penalty, to introduce persons who are
+consumptive into the Provinces.  Consumption, it is known, has proved
+deadly to the Maoris, and, to an even greater extent, to half-castes.
+
+It is not my intention to discuss the wisdom of the measures by which
+Australians seek to keep out Asiatics, indigent Europeans, criminals,
+and persons in ill-health.  The Imperial Government, of course, can
+have no objection to the imposition of pecuniary disqualifications
+which, being of general application, do not conflict with treaty
+obligations, though the policy is diametrically opposed to that which
+has prevailed hitherto in England.  I merely wish to point out the
+strength of Australasian opposition to unrestricted competition, and to
+express {296} considerable sympathy with workmen who, having seen, or
+having learnt from their parents, how much misery and pauperism are to
+be found in older countries, are inhospitable to strangers and will do
+all in their power to prevent a fall to a similar level.  Many of them
+have noted the existence of destitution in Sydney and Melbourne, and
+dread the operation of any cause which would be likely to intensify it.
+
+It cannot be denied that, as England is the principal competitor with
+native manufactures, and the only European country from which
+immigration on a large scale is likely to arise, some of the working
+men entertain a feeling of hostility towards the Mother Country.
+Ill-feeling is also promoted by the condition of financial dependence.
+Australians are inclined to complain, however unreasonably, that, had
+it not been for the temptations to which they were exposed by British
+capitalists, their Provinces could not have incurred the extravagant
+expenditure under which they are suffering and must continue to suffer.
+Australia, it has been said, owes to England merely the gratitude of
+the poor man toward his pawnbroker.  I should not have mentioned the
+existence of these views, which are confined to a small section of the
+community, were it not that they seem ominous for the future, when we
+remember the principal cause of the estrangement between the Eastern
+and Western States of America.  In spite of inquiries and {297}
+observation, I have been unable to form an opinion as to the general
+attitude, which is being modified year by year by the increase in the
+proportion of native-born Australians.  At one extreme of the social
+scale are those who bask in the sunshine of titled vice-royalty, at the
+other those in whom the continual struggle for existence precludes the
+possibility of national, not to mention Imperial, ideals.  The large
+intermediate classes, which will control the future, appear to be
+animated by great sympathy with the English people.  I am led to
+believe that the boisterous loyalty of the past has been replaced by a
+deeper feeling of kinship, which was displayed in marked fashion on the
+occasion of the German Emperor's telegram after the Transvaal raid.  On
+the other hand, the growing independence of a young nation and the
+sentimental, but none the less real, objection to the term "Colonial,"
+which is regarded as a mark of inferiority, have convinced some
+Imperialistic Australians that the shortest road to Federation lies
+through separation.  Others, I have been surprised to note, do not
+consider that permanence of friendly relations necessarily implies
+continuance under one flag.  Englishmen will be disappointed to learn
+that there is little general appreciation, especially among native-born
+Australians, of the benefits accruing from the protection of the
+British fleet.  Never having known the horrors of war and removed from
+the area of great armaments, they are not aware of the dangers {298}
+against which they are guarded.  In fact, many of them grudge the
+"contributions without representation" that are given towards the
+maintenance of the Australian squadron.  In foreign politics
+Australians are strongly Imperialistic, and will respect Great Britain
+as long as she maintains the dignity of her position.  In domestic
+affairs they resent the interference of the Colonial Office, rarely
+though it be exercised, and do not take sufficient account of
+international difficulties.  They are satisfied, moreover, with
+existing conditions, and do not manifest any desire for closer union
+with Great Britain at present, though any proposals emanating from the
+Imperial Government will be received with respectful attention and may
+meet with theoretical approval; and, while the recent Presidential
+election in the United States convinced them of the disadvantages of
+Republican institutions, they are prepared to wait upon the natural
+evolution of events, and believe that, in the meanwhile, we should
+strive, through the press, travel, and otherwise, to become better
+acquainted with each other's ideas and aspirations, and to correct many
+of the wrong impressions which prevail both in Australia and Great
+Britain.  This policy is not heroic but practical, especially if it
+could be accompanied by a greater identification of Australia with the
+Empire.  If a few hundred Australians could be recruited, in spite of
+the lowness of the pay, for service in the Army and Navy, they would, I
+am convinced, upon {299} their return, do much to broaden the minds of
+their countrymen.  Australia and New Zealand, it must be remembered,
+are isolated from the rest of the world.  Again, some of the vacancies
+in the Indian Civil Service might be filled by examinations held in
+Australia simultaneously with those in England.  These suggestions,
+which could be amplified and extended by men of greater experience, may
+be regarded as trivial and unimportant, but I am confident that they
+indicate the direction in which Englishmen can most effectually seek to
+retain the affections of their Australasian kinsfolk.  The problems of
+Australian Federation will tax all the resources of statesmanship, and
+must, in my opinion, be solved before there can be any profitable
+discussion of modified and closer relations with the Mother Country.
+It seems to me that the Victorian or Queenslander must realise that he
+is an Australian before he can be expected to appreciate the meaning of
+the words, "Civis Britannicus Sum."
+
+The subject of Australian Federation has been discussed at length in a
+preceding chapter.  I need only point out that politicians are bound to
+recognise three lines of severance: the artificial boundaries between
+one Province and another, the diversity of opinions engendered by
+differences of climate, as exemplified principally in the attitude in
+regard to Polynesian labour, and the divergence of development between
+the denizens of towns and {300} the more settled areas and those who
+are struggling against the inclemencies of nature in the back country.
+I felt, and others have chronicled a similar impression, that I had
+entered into a different country when I travelled in the Western Downs
+of Queensland.  I found myself, if I may generalise from a limited
+experience of shearers, among a class of men who are thoroughly honest
+but absolutely narrow-minded and interested only in matters which
+concern their means of livelihood.  They form their opinions from an
+advanced organ of labour, which is their principal, if not only,
+literature, and even such of them as are emigrants from Great Britain
+have little knowledge of the leading events of recent years.
+
+The urban population, of course, is in a different position, and is
+kept by the newspapers in touch with local and Imperial affairs.  Apart
+from the causes of the aggregation of large centres which have been
+discussed in the opening pages of this chapter, and may be supplemented
+by the observations of Sir Charles Dilke,[12] it may be noted, as a
+subsidiary influence, that a high standard of comfort makes people
+unwilling to face the hardship of the bush, that squatters are inclined
+to place their sons in urban professions, and that education turns out
+clerks rather than manual labourers.  But the dwellers in towns are, on
+the whole, comfortably situated; even Melbourne and Sydney do not {301}
+show an average of more than 2.73 and 4.87 persons to the acre; but
+these figures include the suburbs, and must be amended if the
+metropolis proper is solely regarded.
+
+But, in spite of this consideration, the working classes of Australasia
+have little to complain of.  Destitution exists, as is inevitable under
+present conditions, but many workers, especially in Victoria, are
+owners of their homes, and all the younger men have had the benefit of
+a general system of national education and of the favourable situation
+of their class.  This is due partly to the position attained, and not
+subsequently lost, when the rush of men to the goldfields produced a
+scarcity of labour; partly to the fact which has already been noted,
+that the men who emigrated from Great Britain were imbued with the
+spirit which qualified them to assert themselves.  Hitherto they have
+not proved themselves unworthy of their nationality.  They are
+uniformly courteous, in my experience, to those who are civil to them,
+and do not expect the servility of older countries, and are the most
+law-abiding people in the world.  On a Saturday night in Coolgardie I
+found things to be as quiet as in a small country town in England.  The
+larrikinism of Melbourne and Sydney has been much exaggerated, and does
+not extend beyond the capitals; in the former city, at the annual
+festival which marks the recurrence of the Melbourne Cup, the behaviour
+of the crowd is such {302} as would be a credit to any country.  But
+Australians and New Zealanders, as any visitor cannot but note, take
+their pleasures sadly, and have transplanted the seriousness of a
+Northern land to a climate which should lend itself to merriment and
+laughter.  How far their character has been modified I am not prepared
+to say: on the one hand, employment is not subject to seasonal
+interruptions; on the other, the pressure of cold upon industry is
+entirely wanting.  The climate has, however, in spite of the
+denunciations of the Prohibitionists, undoubtedly conduced to temperate
+habits.  Time after time did I notice, during my travels, that all the
+company were drinking tea, and I have been assured that shearers and
+other labourers no longer waste their earnings upon drink.  The
+temperance of the younger generation has also been promoted by the
+spread of education and by the love of athletics; which necessitates
+physical soundness.  Speaking generally and responsibly, the working
+classes, which form the backbone of every country, though they pay high
+rent, earn high wages, and, as they do not pay high prices for their
+food or clothing, are enabled to become self-respecting members of a
+self-respecting community.
+
+
+
+[1] August 8, 1896.
+
+[2] 1893, vol. ii. pp. 456, 457.
+
+[3] July 25, 1896.
+
+[4] "A Statistical Account of the Seven Colonies of Australasia,
+1895-6," by T. A. Coghlan, p. 345.
+
+[5] _Ibid._, p. 359.
+
+[6] "A Statistical Account of the Seven Colonies of Australasia,
+1895-6," p. 357.
+
+[7] Victorian Year Book, 1894, p. 648.
+
+[8] Parliamentary Debates of New Zealand, vol. 96, p. 901.
+
+[9] _New Zealand Times_, January I, 1897.
+
+[10] _Australasian Review of Reviews_, September, 1896.
+
+[11] _Australasian Review of Reviews_, August 20, 1894.
+
+[12] "Problems of Greater Britain," vol. ii. pp. 246-8.
+
+
+
+
+{303}
+
+XI
+
+_A VISIT TO THE COOLGARDIE GOLDFIELDS IN MARCH_, 1896.
+
+I sailed from Marseilles for Australia by one of the large steamers of
+the Messageries Maritimes Company.  Among my fellow travellers was a
+mining expert, bound for the Western Australian goldfields, who
+proposed that I should accompany him, and said that, as he knew the
+leading people on the fields, he would be able to render my trip
+agreeable.  I gladly accepted his offer, and have since had cause to
+consider that I was most fortunate, as I believe that some such
+introduction as mine is indispensable.
+
+The large mail steamers all touch Western Australia at Albany, distant
+340 miles from Perth and 570 miles from Coolgardie.  The Government are
+carrying out very extensive harbour works at Fremantle, the port of
+Perth, in the hope of inducing the mail steamers to call there, and
+they believe that, when a railway line has been constructed between
+{304} Perth and Adelaide, a line which must eventually be built, though
+perhaps not for many years, Fremantle will become a place of great
+importance, as, beyond being the shipping port for the produce of the
+Coolgardie goldfields, it will be the point of arrival and departure of
+the mails between Great Britain and all the Australian Provinces.
+
+We reached Albany, which is 200 miles further from Coolgardie than
+Fremantle, late in the evening, and, having missed by a few hours the
+direct train which runs three times a week to Perth, we spent the night
+at a third-rate hotel, unable to sleep owing to the attacks of the
+mosquitoes, and left by train the next morning after a breakfast
+consisting of coarse meat and impossible eggs.  We soon lost sight of
+the bay of Albany, and, plunging into the bush, travelled through it
+the whole day.  The heat was overpowering, as we were still almost at
+the height of summer.  In the afternoon a stranger came into the
+compartment and enlivened us with anecdotes of his experiences at an
+outlying station.  In several stories he referred to actions which
+showed him to have behaved in the most ruthlessly cruel manner towards
+the aborigines.  To quote one among many: A young native servant in his
+employment came to believe that, owing to some unintentional
+contravention of the religious observances of his people, he was doomed
+to die within three days; so he lay on his back and refused to take
+food.  As he was a good workman, {305} his master first tried to induce
+him to rise, then thrashed him with all his might, and afterwards had
+him dragged along the ground by his hair until he was so exhausted that
+he came unconscious.  It is needless to add that, on his recovery, the
+man had been cured of his obstinacy.  Such conduct, I am convinced, is
+most exceptional.  All the Australasian Governments are actuated by a
+sincere desire to protect the aborigines, as are the vast majority of
+the inhabitants.  But, as long as many districts are sparsely settled,
+isolated cases of barbarous cruelty must continue to occur.
+
+After thirteen hours of travel we reached Beverley, where we were
+obliged to spend the night, and again suffered from bad accommodation,
+indifferent food, and mosquitoes.  A journey of five hours on the
+following morning took us to Perth, where we proposed to spend a few
+days.  My companion noticed a great difference in the appearance of the
+town; a few years ago, he told me, it was lifeless and dull, strangers
+rarely arrived, trade was stagnant, and the whole place wore an air of
+listlessness.  The rapid change must be put down entirely to the
+success of the goldfields, even allowing full credit to the Government
+for their efforts to develop all the resources of the country.  The
+population of the Province has doubled during the last five years; the
+population of Perth has more than doubled, and large business firms
+have established branches there.  But great though its progress has
+been, it is hard to {306} realise that this place, which is not larger
+than an English country town, is the capital and seat of government of
+a Province of nearly a million square miles, which possesses 1,200
+miles of railway and goldfields of enormous extent, which seem likely
+to take rank among the most productive of the world.  Perth is
+picturesquely situated on the Swan River, and should increase largely
+beyond its present dimensions.  Handsome brick buildings alternate even
+in the principal thoroughfares with miserable shanties which are bound
+soon to disappear.  In the evening the streets present a scene of great
+animation, as hundreds of people may be seen walking up and down,
+eagerly discussing the mining news, which always presents some feature
+of interest.  Men gather together in small groups, whispering weighty
+secrets which may or may not be intended for the benefit of their
+hearers, for in Perth, as elsewhere, we hear that large fortunes have
+been made through the credulity and folly of the too eager investor.
+
+At Perth I made several purchases, all of which were of use to me: a
+pair of dark blue spectacles with perforated sides, as a protection
+against the dust and sun, a fly-net and a water-bag.  The latter, made
+of canvas, in order that its contents may be cooled by evaporation, is
+carried by all travellers who distrust the quality of the water which
+they are likely to obtain at wayside stations.
+
+At the time of my visit to the goldfields, the {307} railway terminated
+at Bullabulling, some eighteen miles from Coolgardie.  The journey from
+Perth to Coolgardie was a matter of twenty-eight hours.  Leaving in the
+afternoon, we arrived the next morning at Southern Cross, the centre of
+a mining district which has been eclipsed by those further east.  We
+had breakfast at an unpretentious little hotel, the landlady of which
+harrowed us by accounts of the amount of typhoid fever prevalent in the
+place.  Her own servant was ill, several deaths had recently occurred,
+and she had heard the undertaker in the early morning again at work
+upon a coffin.  We continued our journey by the contractor's train,
+covering one hundred miles in seven hours and passing through scenery
+which became terribly wearisome from its dreary monotony.  So far we
+had travelled comfortably enough, but the last eighteen miles by coach
+were more tiring than the whole of the rest of the journey.  The road
+was inches deep in dust and full of holes, and we ploughed our way
+along it at the rate of five miles an hour, a pace which was not
+maintained when darkness set in and the driver could no longer pick his
+way in the best track, but continually jolted us in the deep ruts and
+bumped the coach against tree stumps.  Upon our arrival at Coolgardie,
+we found a difficulty in obtaining rooms; at the principal hotel no
+accommodation of any kind was to be had; at another all the rooms were
+occupied, but we were offered a shake-down which we thought {308} it
+wise to accept.  We learnt the next day that twenty-three extra beds
+had been made up, in the drawing-room, on the balcony, in fact at every
+available spot, and that the rush had continued for more than a year.
+
+The following morning I looked out upon a sandy track which represents
+the main street of Coolgardie.  It was already a scene of some
+animation; camels, driven by Afghans, were carrying their heavy burdens
+in and out of the town; aborigines, with their wives and children, in
+all their degraded ugliness, were passing to and fro; and bustling
+merchants and clerks were hurrying past on bicycles to their various
+occupations.  The houses of Coolgardie are built of a framework of
+wood, covered with a sheeting of galvanised iron.  The town is entirely
+dependent for all its supplies on the outside world, as the country,
+within a radius of at least one hundred miles, will produce food for
+neither man nor beast.  The question of water supply, even for domestic
+purposes, was until recently a great difficulty; but several fresh
+water wells have been sunk which, together with the output of numerous
+condensers, give an ample supply for the town.  The rainfall is very
+small, and too irregular to be depended upon.  The sky is often
+overcast for weeks and rain threatens daily, but the clouds gradually
+disperse and leave the land as parched as before.
+
+Strolling out of the town we found ourselves {309} on the outskirts of
+a mining district.  As far as the eye could see, the country was
+studded with tents, mining shafts, and condensers, and the soil was
+everywhere raised in irregular heaps.  For miles around every sod of
+earth has been turned over and put through a blower in the search for
+the alluvial gold which has been found there in great quantities.  We
+came upon an old man who said that the land upon which he was working
+had not been thoroughly sifted, and showed us a few grains of gold
+which he had obtained as the result of his labours.  A little further
+on we came to some mines, and my companion pointed out and explained to
+me the machinery by which the gold is separated from the stone.  A
+return of an ounce of gold to a ton of quartz is, speaking generally,
+regarded as satisfactory, but many other factors have to be weighed in
+the consideration of the question whether a mine is likely to repay the
+outlay upon it, such as the width and probable extent of the reef, and
+the possibility of obtaining an adequate amount of water for working
+the machinery.  I gathered that there could be no doubt as to the
+richness of the reefs on several of the goldfields of Western
+Australia, but that, on most of them, the great difficulty has been,
+and still is, the inadequacy of the water supply.
+
+We did not remain long at Coolgardie, but continued our journey to
+Kalgoorlie, a small township twenty-four miles from Coolgardie and
+{310} the centre of the field where my companion had to do most of his
+work as a mining expert.  We travelled by coach in the early morning
+and had a further experience of the discomforts of a rough and heavy
+track.  Kalgoorlie was a repetition of Coolgardie, on a smaller scale.
+Both are the creation of the last few years and must not be judged by
+too high a standard.  The town authorities have done their best to
+procure good sanitary conditions and have been aided by the Government,
+who give, as a subsidy to municipalities, one pound for every pound
+raised from general rates, and have also assisted them in the erection
+and maintenance of hospitals; but the lack of funds has retarded
+improvements which the authorities have been anxious to carry out.  We
+arrived at Kalgoorlie on a Sunday, and noticed that the inhabitants,
+most of whom are adults, bachelors or married men separated from their
+wives and families, were loitering about with every appearance of utter
+boredom.
+
+From the town we walked to one of the neighbouring camps where my
+companion had acquaintances.  These camps offer a much pleasanter life
+than that in the towns.  Each forms in itself a small settlement of
+large canvas tents fitted up by the residents, who have a common mess
+and every opportunity of leading a sociable life.  At the camp which we
+visited we found several of the men disporting themselves in hammocks
+in an arbour made of {311} closely plaited branches of trees, which
+kept off the heat of the sun and admitted a cool current of air.  In
+the course of conversation it was arranged that we should visit several
+of the mines on the following day.
+
+In the morning we visited a mine upon which little had, so far, been
+done.  We were placed at the top of the shaft in a small cage, by which
+we were let down to a depth of a hundred feet.  Then we were led along
+a labyrinth of passages from which my companions gathered the direction
+and extent of the reef, and we were shown various points at which the
+gold, which was of a coarse character, could clearly be seen in the
+stone.  In the afternoon we visited another mine which was of more
+interest to me.  A shaft had been sunk to a depth of two hundred feet,
+at which level water had been struck, and the miners were busily at
+work.  Again we were let down in a cage, and wandered through seemingly
+endless passages, which reminded me, in my ignorance, of parts of the
+catacombs at Rome, as nothing appeared to the unsophisticated eye but
+the bare rock.  The gold was very fine, and only visible to us when the
+foreman struck off a flake and pointed it out to us glistening in
+minute particles in the quartz.  He told me that ordinary miners earned
+£3 10s. a week, those working in the water at the low level £4, but
+that they could not live on less than £2, and, even so, only in the
+roughest way.  The life is, however, not an unhealthy one, {312} as the
+mines are, to judge from those that I visited, well ventilated.  The
+mine and other surrounding properties have created a thriving
+settlement; well-built offices have been erected, hundreds of men are
+employed, and the ear is continually greeted by the din of machinery.
+In the evening we returned to Kalgoorlie and heard, near our hotel, a
+service held by the Salvation Army in the centre of the street.  A
+large group of loungers stood around, moved neither to ribaldry nor
+attention, but apparently listening in complete indifference to the
+passionate pleadings of the preachers.  Some yards away a mining agent
+was doing a brisk business in shares.
+
+A few days later I retraced my steps to Coolgardie, and thence to
+Perth.  On the homeward journey I had experiences of much discomfort.
+On the coach between Coolgardie and Bullabulling, I managed, as on the
+previous occasion, by a private arrangement with the driver, to secure
+the box-seat, in order to be at an elevation from the dust.  But the
+wind was behind us, and we were soon enveloped in such a cloud of dust
+that it was often impossible to see the leaders, and, as there is no
+rule of the road, we had narrow escapes of colliding with teams
+travelling in the opposite direction.  Upon our arrival at
+Bullabulling, we found that the contractor's train contained only one
+passenger carriage, which was already crowded; so several of us climbed
+on an open luggage truck and made ourselves tolerably {313}
+comfortable, though we suffered from the blazing heat of the mid-day
+sun.  My neighbour was a man who had had a most varied career.  In his
+youth he had managed a small hosiery shop in an English Midland town;
+then, as his health was bad, he had emigrated to Victoria, where he had
+unsuccessfully carried on grazing operations.  He had been attracted to
+Western Australia by the discoveries of gold, and had bought a waggon
+and team of horses, with which he had carried goods between Southern
+Cross and Coolgardie before the construction of the railway.  He told
+me that the life had been very hard, and pointed out to me portions of
+the road which were so heavy that a progress of ten miles was regarded
+as a satisfactory day's work.  He was then on his way to revisit the
+"old country," after an absence of five years.  At Southern Cross we
+changed into the Government train, and I travelled through the night in
+a compartment with four others, two of whom were ill, one of them
+suffering from some form of ophthalmia which caused him excruciating
+pain and kept him the whole time awake.  None of us obtained much
+sleep, and we were glad to reach Perth early next morning.
+
+Thus ended my trip to the goldfields, upon which I look back with
+considerable satisfaction in spite of the obvious discomforts which it
+entailed.  I found that all with whom I came in contact in Western
+Australia, and, I might add, in Australasia, whether they were
+custom-house officials, railway employés, {314} hotel proprietors or
+servants, had done their best to be obliging.  Of the kindly
+hospitality of all whom I met on the goldfields I cannot speak in
+sufficiently high terms.  They were uniformly straightforward,
+generous, energetic men, who gave me the impression of a good moral
+standard.  I do not speak of the adventurers who congregate in any
+place where money can be made rapidly by unscrupulous methods, but of
+the managers, foremen and others, who are directly engaged in the
+development of the mines.  The great curse of the mining districts, and
+also, to some extent, of Perth, is the absence of sufficient means of
+recreation.  This state of things may be inevitable in the case of
+towns of very recent growth, but its result is, that men who have
+worked all day, requiring some form of diversion, find it in drink.
+But, in spite of the large consumption of liquor, drunkenness is rare
+and rowdiness almost unknown.  At Coolgardie on a Saturday evening the
+streets were perfectly quiet; beyond some discordant strains of music,
+scarcely a sound was to be heard.  In spite of one or two recent
+burglaries, life and property are scarcely less safe than in England.
+A bank manager who travelled with me from Kalgoorlie told me that, in
+starting a new branch of his bank at an outlying township, he had been
+obliged at first to live in, and keep his money in, a tent, but that on
+no occasion had he been menaced by the slightest attempt at robbery.  I
+shall long remember {315} the sight of townships which have sprung up
+where a few years ago was nothing but bush, and promise to become the
+scene of great industrial activity, and my intercourse with some of the
+pioneers of the mining movement, men who have penetrated hundreds of
+miles into the interior of the country, have endured for years the
+terrible hardships of life in the bush, and have, by their untiring
+exertions, seconded by the influx of capital following upon their
+success, done much to raise Western Australia to a prominent position
+among the Provinces of the Southern Hemisphere.
+
+
+
+
+{317}
+
+INDEX
+
+
+A
+
+Aborigines:
+  Constitution Bill for establishing Federation, special
+    provisions for, 220
+  Maoris of New Zealand [see that title]
+  Protection of, 158, 305
+  Right of possession not recognised in Tasmania and Australia, 85
+
+Absentee Tax, assessment of in:
+  New Zealand, 91
+  South Australia, 19
+
+Adelaide, Agricultural Bureau and Agricultural College in, 20, 21
+
+Adult Suffrage:
+  Lower Houses of South Australia and New Zealand elected on
+    basis of, 2, 192
+  Liquor legislation in New Zealand, Local Option and Licensing
+    Committee polls placed on basis of, 198
+
+Advances to Settlers Act, New Zealand, 99, 118
+
+Agricultural Bureau and Agricultural College, Adelaide, 20, 21
+
+Arbitration and conciliation in industrial disputes:
+  New South Wales, 281
+  New Zealand Act, 283
+    Awards under, 286
+  Queensland, 76, 282
+  South Australian Act, 24, 283
+
+Assisted Schools Abolition Act, 159
+
+Australasian Federation Enabling Act:
+  Queensland Bill, rejection of, 235
+  Victorian Act, provisions of, 230
+  Western Australian Act, provisions of, 233
+
+Australasians, character of, 302
+
+
+B
+
+Batchelor, Mr. E. L., 5
+  Plebiscite, Bill for establishing introduced by, 29
+
+Benevolent asylums for aged and incapable persons, 255
+
+Betting and gaming, suppression of:
+  New Zealand, female voters in favour of, 196
+  Tasmania, Parliamentary measures for, 170
+
+Board of Land Purchase Commissioners, New Zealand, 97
+
+Braddon, Right Hon. Sir E., 177
+
+British capital in Australia:
+  Co-operative enterprise due to, 248
+  Dependence on, causing ill-feeling towards Great Britain, 296
+  Financial activity arising from, 246
+
+British fleet's protection, Australians' appreciation of, 297
+
+Broken Hill, strike of 1891, 1892, 281
+
+Building societies, Australian labouring classes availing themselves
+of, 260
+
+Byrnes, Hon. T. J., 75
+
+
+C
+
+C.D. Act, Repeal of, advocated by female voters in New Zealand, 196
+
+"Caucus" meetings of New South Wales Labour Party, 51
+
+Central and Northern Queensland's separation from the South [see title
+Queensland]
+
+Character of Australasians, 302
+
+Charitable Aid expenditure for 1896, New Zealand, 116
+
+Chataway, Mr. J. V., 66
+
+Cheviot Estate purchased by New Zealand Government, 93
+
+Chinese:
+  Anti-Chinese legislation supported by Australasians, 293
+  Cabinet-making in Victoria, Chinese competition, 136
+  Immigration Act of 1887 limiting number of Chinese
+    immigrants to Tasmania, 170
+
+Christchurch, New Zealand, boot manufacturers' dispute, Arbitration
+Courts decision, 286
+
+Churches, Western Australia, grants to, abolition of, 159
+
+Civil Service, New South Wales:
+  Public Service Board for investigation of all departments, 44
+  Royal Commission inquiry, 43
+
+"Civis Brittanicus Sum," necessity of realising Australian unity before
+appreciating, 299
+
+Cockburn, Hon. Dr., Minister of Education and Agriculture in South
+Australia, 3, 22, 26, 28
+
+"Colonial," objection to term, 297
+
+Colonial Office, Australians' resenting interference of, 298
+
+Conciliation and arbitration in industrial disputes [see title
+Arbitration and Conciliation]
+
+Conflicts between Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council:
+  Causes of contention:
+    New South Wales:
+      Rejection of Taxation Bill, 36
+    Tasmania:
+      Female Suffrage Bill, 177
+      Public Works Expenditure, 178
+    Victoria:
+      Additional Taxation, 124
+      Electoral Bill, 125, 126
+      Protective Tariff, 123
+      Right of selection upon pastoral properties, 123
+  Proposals for remedying, 273-276
+    New South Wales, 130
+    New Zealand--Proposed joint session of the two Houses, 131
+    South Australia--Dissolution of both Houses, success of, 178
+    Tasmania--Plebiscite, 180
+    Victoria:
+      Dissolution of both Houses, 131
+      Royal Commission's recommendations, 129
+  Town and country antagonism, reflex of antagonism
+    between the two Houses, 131
+  Ultimate appeal, absence of, 129
+
+Consolidated Goldfields Company dispute, New Zealand, 286
+
+Constitution Bill for establishing "the Commonwealth of Australia,"
+1891, 218
+  Governor-General's Executive authority, 219, 224
+  Failure of Bill, 227
+  Money Bills, authority of Senate with regard to, 222
+  Parliament of Commonwealth:
+    Aboriginals, special provisions for, 220
+  Postal and telegraph services, &c., to be exclusively managed by, 221
+  Revenue and expenditure, regulations for, 221
+  Salary of members, 220
+  Senate, composition of, 219
+  States:
+    Provinces to be so called, 219
+    Powers of, under Commonwealth, 226
+  Supreme Court of Appeal, 225
+  Tariff, uniform, to be imposed, 222
+  Territories surrendered by states, administration of, 221
+
+Constitution Bill for establishing "the Commonwealth of Australia,"
+1897, draft of, reprint from Melbourne _Argus_, 237
+
+Consumptive persons, Bills forbidding immigration of, 295
+
+Continuity of representation in Australian Houses of Assembly, means of
+obtaining, 276
+
+Coolgardie Goldfields:
+  Camp settlements, 310
+  Coolgardie town, 308
+  Drunkenness and rowdiness, absence of, 314
+  Earnings of the miners, 311
+  Kalgoorlie, 309
+  Mines, description of, 311
+  Perth to Coolgardie, discomfort of journey from, 307
+  Population of Western Australia increasing since discovery of, 305
+  Salvation Army services, 312
+  Waterworks for supplying water from a distance, 164
+
+Coolies [see title Kanakas]
+
+Co-operative construction of Public Works, New Zealand, 105
+
+Crown Lands:
+  New South Wales, Act of 1884, means of diminishing political
+    pressure in, 37
+  New Zealand:
+    Local land boards for disposal of, 117
+    Sale of, 93
+  Western Australia--mining rights on acquiring, 165
+
+
+D
+
+Darling Downs, Queensland, pastoral industries, success of, 70, 71
+
+Darling, Ex-Governor, proposed grant to, cause of conflict between
+Legislative Council and Assembly in Victoria, 123
+
+Death Duties, graduated, assessment of in Australia, 278
+
+Democratic Government established in New South Wales, 48
+
+Democratic tendency:
+  Gold, discovery of in Australia, result of, 244
+  South Australian democratic tendency due to Constitution, 2
+
+Denominational Schools, Western Australia, termination of grants, 159
+
+Dibbs, Sir George, 36, 50
+
+Dilke, Sir Charles, 300
+
+Domestic servants' weekly half-holiday, Bill for establishing in New
+Zealand, 203
+
+Drunkenness and rowdiness, absence of among Coolgardie miners, 314
+
+Duffy, Sir Charles Gavan, 214
+
+
+E
+
+Eastern Railway, Western Australia, course of, 162
+
+Ecclesiastical Grants, Western Australia, Abolition Act of 1895, 159
+
+Education:
+  South Australia:
+    Primary and Religious Education in, alterations proposed,
+      plebiscite taken on, 29, 274
+    Religious instruction in schools, 29
+    Secular character of, effect on working classes, 32
+    State system of in Australasia, 256
+    Western Australia--Assisted Schools Abolition Act, 159
+
+Elective Executive:
+  New Zealand Bill, 277
+  South Australia, substitution of, advocated, 26
+
+Electoral Legislation:
+  Queensland--Contingent vote, 176
+  Tasmania--Modification of Hare's System of Voting, 173
+  Victoria--Electoral Bill, cause of conflict between
+    Legislative Council and Assembly, 122
+
+Electoral Reform Policy:
+  New South Wales Labour Party, 48, 49
+  Queensland Labour Party, 74
+
+Expenditure [see title Revenue and Expenditure]
+
+Export [see title Produce and Export Department].
+
+
+F
+
+Factories and Shops Acts, Victoria:
+  Cabinet-making, Chinese competition, 136
+  Definition of factory, amendments, 133, 139
+  Protection of workers in factories, 137, 140
+  Royal Commission of Inquiry into working of the Act of 1890, 134
+  Shops, hours of closing, 140
+  Tailoresses' Union, formation of, 135
+  Wage Boards, appointment of, 138
+
+Factories and workshops in Queensland, Royal Commission of Inquiry
+into, 77
+
+Fair Rent Bill, New Zealand, 103
+
+Family Home Protection, New Zealand, Act of 1895, 101
+
+Federal Council:
+  Abstention of New South Wales and New Zealand, from, 216
+  Act of 1885 establishing, 215
+  Permissive character of, 216
+  Status of, effect of Federation agitation on, 229
+  Utility of, causes tending to minimise, 217
+
+Federation of Australasian Provinces:
+  Artificial boundaries between the provinces, 299
+  Australasian Federation Enabling Act [see that title]
+  Benefits of, 235
+  Climatic differences engendering divergence of opinions, 299
+  Committee appointed by House of Assembly, Victoria, to consider, 214
+  Constitution Bill [see that title]
+  Federal Council [see that title]
+  Hobart, Premiers' conference at, 227
+  Interdependence of Provinces, hastening establishment of, 230
+  Inter-provincial conference on, 214
+  New South Wales, Governor of, receiving commission as
+    Governor-General of Australia, 213
+  Plebiscite, new Federal constitution proposed, referring to, 228
+  Prospects of, 236
+  Sydney conventions, 215
+  Town and country inhabitants, difference in development of, 299
+
+Female Suffrage:
+  New Zealand:
+    C.D. Act, Repeal of, advocated by female voters, 196
+    Domestic servants' weekly half-holiday Bill, 203
+    Elections, Radical returns, 193
+    Electoral Bill of 1892 conferring franchise on all adult women, 192
+    Equal wages for similar work of men and women demanded by female
+      voters, 209
+    Juvenile Depravity Suppression Bill, 203
+    Liquor legislation and prominence of temperance movement, due to, 194
+    Modifications of female voters' views, 207
+    National Council of Women, resolutions passed by, 204, 205
+    Sentiment, tendency of subordinating reason to, danger of Female
+      Suffrage, 210
+    Totalisator, suppressing, result of, 196
+    Women's franchise leagues inducing female voters to support
+      candidates on moral considerations, 205
+  Queensland, result of adopting in, 185
+  South Australia:
+    Election to Parliament, women eligible for, 187
+    First elections under new franchise, 188; results of, 189
+    Licensed Victuallers' Act, prohibition of employment of
+      barmaids, proposed under influence of, 191
+    Plebiscite [see that title]
+    Voting privileges accorded to female electors in, 192
+  Tasmania:
+    Plebiscite, proposed application of for, 177
+    Result of adopting in, 184
+  Victoria:
+    Plural voting, abolition of, included in Bill, 186
+    Result of adopting in, 184
+
+Finance [see title Revenue and Expenditure]
+
+Financial crisis in Australia, causes of, 246
+
+Financial extravagance in New South Wales, means of diminishing, 34
+
+Financial statement, Queensland, 1896, extract with regard to export of
+home produce, 79
+
+Foreign competition in Australasia:
+  Great Britain, hostility towards in consequence of, 296
+  Labouring classes' opposition to, 294
+
+Foreign politics, Australasians' imperialistic views of, 298
+
+Forrest, Right Hon. Sir John, 157, 166, 253
+
+Free trade policy of New South Wales, 212
+
+Fremantle, Government harbour works to induce mail steamers to call at,
+303
+
+Friendly societies and savings banks, individual efforts of labouring
+classes demonstrated by, 259
+
+Frozen meat industry:
+  Queensland:
+    Distributing agencies, 80
+    Financial statement of 1896, 79
+    South Australia, receiving depôt at Port Adelaide, 21
+    Victoria, State advances for, 148
+
+Fysh, Hon. Sir P. O., 178
+
+
+G
+
+Gold-mining:
+  Discovery of gold, effect of, on Australasian Democracy, 244
+  New South Wales, right of mining on private land obtained by
+    Labour Party, 49
+  New Zealand goldfields, roads and water-races on, Government
+    constructing, 105
+  Victoria, state encouragement 147
+  Western Australia:
+    Coolgardie goldfields [see that title]
+    Crown lands, miner's rights on acquiring, 165
+    Inducements offered to immigrants, 165
+
+Goldstein, Colonel, Honorary Secretary of Leongatha Labour Colony,
+Victoria, 151
+
+Government advances to Settlers Act, New Zealand, 99, 118
+
+Government Architect Department of New South Wales--designer of Crown
+Lands office receiving less salary than principal messenger, 44
+
+Government Railways Act of 1888, New South Wales, means of diminishing
+political pressure, 39
+
+Graduated Death Duties, assessment of, in Australasia, 278
+
+Great Britain:
+  Closer union with, Australians' indifference to, 298
+  Friendly relations with, suggestions for maintaining, 298
+  Ill-feeling towards, causes of, 296
+  Sympathy of the middle classes of Australia with, 297
+
+Great Southern Railway, Western Australia, loan for purchase of, 163
+
+
+H
+
+Hobart, Premiers' conference on Federation of Australasia at, 227
+
+Homesteads Act of 1893, Western Australia, free grants of land offered
+to settlers by, 166
+
+Humanitarian Legislation in Queensland:
+  Factory Act of 1896, 77
+  Labour Party's complaint, 74
+  Royal Commission of inquiry, 77
+
+
+I
+
+Immigration:
+  Chinese Immigration Act of 1887, Tasmania restricting immigration
+    of coloured races, 170
+  Consumptive persons, Bills forbidding immigration of, 295
+  State-aided immigration, workmen's objection to taxation for, 294, 295
+  Western Australian goldfields, inducements offered to immigrants, 165
+
+Improved-farm settlements, system of in New Zealand, 111
+
+Income tax:
+  Assessment of in:
+    New Zealand, 89
+    South Australia, 17
+    Tasmania, 181
+  Property and personal exertion incomes, difference between taxation
+    of, 279
+
+Industrial disputes, settling by conciliation [see title Arbitration
+and Conciliation]
+
+Inter-provincial conference on Australasian Federation, 214
+
+Irrigation and water supply works, Victoria:
+  Failure of, 143
+  Inadequate preliminary investigations of, 145
+
+
+J
+
+Juvenile Depravity Suppression Bill, New Zealand, 203
+
+
+K
+
+Kalgoorlie, visit to, 310
+
+Kanakas:
+  Sugar cultivation in Queensland:
+    Importation of Kanakas, question as to necessity of, 66
+    Number employed in, 64
+    Protection of, 63
+    Re-engaging after expiration of contracts, 64
+  Traffic in Kanakas decreasing population of Pacific Islands, 64
+
+Kingston, Right Hon. C. C., 3, 16, 25
+
+Knutsford, Lord, 57
+
+
+L
+
+Labour Bureau and Casual Labour Board for relieving unemployed in New
+South Wales, 45
+
+Labour Parties:
+  Legislative Councils attacked by, 273
+  New South Wales:
+    "Caucus" meetings, 51
+    Electoral Reform policy, 49
+    Gold, right of mining on private land obtained by, 49
+    "Solidarity," vote of, 50
+    Tariff question, disagreement on, 49
+    Taxation of land values obtained by, 50
+  New Zealand, 263
+  Queensland:
+    Electoral reform policy, 75
+    Failure of, 74
+    Grievances against Government, 74
+    New Zealand and South-Australian Labour Parties
+      compared with, 73
+    Socialistic tendencies of, 73
+  South Australia:
+    Development and work of, 3
+    Liberals working in connection with, 4, 263
+    Queensland Labour Party compared with, 74
+  Victoria, 263
+
+Labouring classes:
+  Building societies, labouring classes availing themselves of, 260
+  Condition of, on the whole satisfactory, 301
+  Foreign Competition:
+    Great Britain, hostility towards in consequence of, 296
+    Labouring classes' opposition to, 293
+  Larrikinism of Melbourne and Sydney, exaggeration of, 301
+  Protection, labouring classes in favour of, 292
+  South Australian education, secular character of, effect
+    on labouring classes, 32
+  Thriftiness of, 258
+
+Land Act of 1893, Victoria, for relief of unemployed, 149
+
+Land for Settlements Acts, New Zealand authorising repurchase or
+exchange of lands, 93-97
+
+Land Grant railways, 251
+  Tasmania, for encouragement of private enterprise, 181
+  Western Australia, 162
+
+Land tax, assessment of in:
+  New Zealand, 88
+  South Australia, 17
+
+Legislative Assembly:
+  Australian Provinces, continuity of representation in, means
+    of obtaining, 276
+  Conflicts between Legislative Assembly and Legislative
+    Council [see that title]
+  New South Wales, salary of members, 48
+  South Australia:
+    Elected on basis of Adult Suffrage, 2
+    Salary of members, 2
+  Victoria:
+    Committee to consider advisability of Australasian
+      Federation, appointed by, 214
+    Elected on basis of Manhood Suffrage, 122
+    Salary of members, 122
+  Western Australia:
+    Salary--members receiving no salary, 158
+
+Legislative Council:
+  Conflicts between Legislative Assembly and Legislative
+    Council [see that title]
+  Labour Parties' attacks on, 273
+  New South Wales and Queensland, members nominated for life
+    without salary, 121
+  South Australia:
+    Property qualification:
+      Electors', 2
+      Members not subjected to, 28
+    Salary of members, 2
+  Tasmania:
+    Property qualification not required for membership, 122
+    Salary of members, 122
+  Victoria:
+    Property qualification of members, 122
+    Public expenditure, Legislative Council failing to
+      check extravagance of, 126
+  Western Australia:
+    Property qualification:
+      Electors', 157, 158
+      Members not subjected to, 122
+    Salary--members receiving no salary, 158
+
+Leongatha Labour Colony in Victoria, 151, 268
+
+Liberals in South Australia working in connection with Labour Party, 4
+
+Licensed Victuallers' Act of 1896, South Australia, proposed
+prohibition of employment of barmaids, 191
+
+Life insurance, annuities, &c., in New Zealand, department of the
+State, 104
+
+Liquor Legislation, New Zealand:
+  Local Option and Licensing Committee polls placed on basis of
+    adult suffrage, 198
+  National prohibition of licenses proposed, 201
+  Prohibition and reduction of licenses, results of voting on, 200
+  Temperance movement, prominence of, effect of Female Suffrage, 194
+
+Local land boards for disposal of Crown lands, New Zealand, 117
+
+Lotteries in Tasmania unaffected by Betting and Gaming Act, 171, 172
+
+
+M
+
+McPherson, Mr. J. A., leader of Labour Party in South Australia, 5
+
+Maoris of New Zealand:
+  Conflicts of 1860-70 with European settlers, 84
+  Improvement in relations with Europeans, 84
+  Lands obtained by Europeans from:
+    Pre-emptive right of the Crown, 83
+    Validation Court for considering titles to, 84
+  Sovereignty of New Zealand ceded by, 83
+
+Meat and Dairy Produce Encouragement Act of 1893, pastoral industries
+of Queensland assisted by, 71
+
+Melbourne waterworks, 143, 145
+
+Midland Railway, Western Australia, 162
+
+Murtho--village settlement of South Australia, success of, 11
+
+
+N
+
+National Council of Women, New Zealand, resolution passed by, 204
+
+Native-born Australians, increase in proportion of, 297
+
+Nelson, Right Hon. Sir Hugh, 60, 79, 253
+
+New South Wales:
+  Democratic Government established in, 48
+  Federal Council: Abstention of New South Wales from, 216
+  Female Suffrage, result of adopting, 184
+  Financial extravagance and political pressure in, means of
+    diminishing, 34
+  Free trade policy of, 212
+  Governor of, receiving commission as Governor-General of
+    Australia, 213
+  Government Architect Department--Designer of Crown Lands
+    Office receiving less salary than principal messenger in
+    1895, 44
+  Labour Party [see that title]
+  Legislative Assembly, salary of members, 48
+  Legislative Council, members nominated for life without salary, 121
+  Unemployed [see that title]
+
+New Zealand:
+  Australian provinces and New Zealand, differences of condition
+    between, 82
+  Cheviot estate purchased by the Government, 93
+  Crown lands:
+    Local land boards for disposal of, 117
+    Sale of, 93
+  Elective Executive Bill introduced into, 277
+  Expenditure, reduction of public expenditure, 88
+  Fair Rent Bill, 103
+  Federal Council, abstention of New Zealand from, 216
+  Female Suffrage [see that title]
+  Improved-farm settlements system in, 111
+  Industrial disputes, Boards of Conciliation appointment of, 284
+  Labour Party compared with Queensland Labour Party, 74
+  Land for Settlements Act of 1892, authorising repurchase
+    or exchange of lands, 95, 97
+  Legislative Council [see that title]
+  Life insurance, annuities, &c., 104
+  Liquor legislation [see that title]
+  Maoris [see that title]
+  Mayor of Onehunga, inability of Mrs. Yates to fill position, 208
+  Pastoral Tenants' Relief Act of 1895, 118
+  Political patronage, charges brought against Government, 269, 271
+  Provincial legislatures, abolishing, 83
+  Public works [see that title]
+  Technical instruction in agriculture, &c., by experts, 104
+  Unemployed [see that title]
+  Village settlements [see that title]
+
+Norman, Sir Henry, 61
+
+Northern Railway, Western Australia, course of, 162
+
+
+P
+
+Parliament of Commonwealth--Constitution Bill for establishing
+Federation of Australasia [see that title]
+
+Pastoral industries:
+  Queensland:
+    Darling Downs industries, success of, 70, 71
+    Irregularity of employment in, 69
+    Land tenure, new form of for shearers, 70
+    Produce, disposal of:
+      Financial statement, 1896, extract with reference to, 79
+      Meat and Dairy Produce Act, assisting, 71
+  Victoria:
+    Protection of the State, 154
+    Right of selection on pastoral properties dispute--cause
+      of conflict between the two Houses, 122, 123
+
+Pastoral Tenants' Relief Act of 1895, New Zealand, 118
+
+Peace Preservation Act of 1894, Queensland, 74
+
+Plebiscite:
+  Establishment of in Australasian legislation, 276
+  Federation of Australasian Provinces, proposed framing of
+    new Constitution and referring to, 227
+  Legislative Council and House of Assembly disputes, proposed
+    settlement of by plebiscite, 273
+  South Australia:
+    Bill for establishment of, 29
+    Educational system, alterations in, question referred
+      to plebiscite, 29, 274
+  Tasmania, Female Suffrage, proposed application of plebiscite
+    for, 177, 187
+
+Plural voting:
+  South Australia, plural voting forbidden in, 2
+  Victoria, proposed abolition of, 186
+  Tasmania, partial abolition of, 173
+
+Political patronage, misuse of, in New Zealand, charges against the
+Government, 269, 271
+
+Postal and Telegraphic Department, Parliament of Commonwealth's
+exclusive control of, 221
+
+Produce and Export Department:
+  Queensland, concessions to producers:
+    Financial statement of 1896, extract with regard to, 79
+    Meat and Dairy Produce Act, 71
+    Sugar Works Guarantee Act, 65
+  Relations between, Provinces strengthened by promotion
+    of enterprise, 253
+  South Australia:
+    Institution of, 21
+    Output of the Provinces, means of securing uniformity, 23
+  Tasmania--Inspection of exported produce, necessity of, 172
+  Victoria--State advances to producers, 148
+
+Property Qualification:
+  South Australian Legislative Council:
+    Electors', 2
+    Members not subjected to, 121, 122
+  Victorian Legislative Council, 122
+  Western Australian Legislative Council, 157
+
+Prospecting Boards in gold-mining districts, Victoria, appointment of,
+147
+
+Protection:
+  Development, result of, 292
+  Interchange of commodities between the Provinces impeded by
+    protective tariff, 212
+  Labouring classes in favour of, 292
+  South Australia adopting protective tariff, 24
+
+Provincial Legislatures of New Zealand, abolition of, 83
+
+Public Service Board, New South Wales, for investigating all
+departments of Civil Service, 44
+
+Public works:
+  New South Wales, Parliamentary Standing Committee of Public
+    Works, means of diminishing political pressure in, 40
+  New Zealand:
+    Communication, improving means of, by public works scheme, 85
+    Co-operative construction, 105
+    Encouragement of settlement--public works scheme valueless
+      without, 120
+    Railways, preservation of Crown Land for constructing,
+      withdrawn by Government, 92
+  Queensland, facilitating occupation in outlying districts
+    by construction of public works, 78
+  Victoria:
+    Audit Commissioners to recover arrears of money due to State,
+      proposed authorisation of, 146
+    Extravagant expenditure, on, 143
+    Irrigation and water supply works:
+      Inadequate preliminary investigations, 145
+      Liabilities--failure of works to meet their own liabilities, 144
+    Railway Commissioners' libel action against Mr. David Syme, 143
+  Western Australia--difficulties of the Government, 160
+
+
+Q
+
+Queensland--Australian Federation Enabling Bill, rejection of in, 235
+  Central and Northern Queensland's separation from the South:
+    Agitation for, 55
+    Arguments in favour of, 56
+    Boundaries adopted by Separationists, 56
+    Claims of Central Queensland, 56
+    Constitution Bill, attempt at introducing, 59
+    Decline of agitation, 61
+    Federal Convention delegates--proportion of Northern and
+      Central Queensland representatives proposed to be sent, 60
+    Financial Districts Bill, 59
+    Imperial Government's intervention, Lord Knutsford's reply
+      to Northern deputation, 57
+    Natural products, interchange of between the separated Provinces, 58
+    Public Debt Liability, 59
+    Revenue of the districts--Royal Commission of Inquiry into, 59
+    Supreme Court judges, appointment of, 60
+  Female Suffrage, result of adopting in, 185
+  Humanitarian legislation [see that title]
+  Labour Party [see that title]
+  Legislative Council, members nominated for life without salary, 121
+  Pastoral industries [see that title]
+  Railways, management of by the State, 251
+  Revenue and expenditure--development of industries by the State, 77
+  Sugar cultivation [see that title]
+
+
+R
+
+Radical result of elections after establishment of Female Suffrage in
+South Australia and New Zealand, 193
+
+Railways:
+  New South Wales, appointment of railway Commissioners, 39
+  New Zealand, reservation of Crown Lands for constructing,
+    withdrawn by Government, 86
+  Queensland railways, management of by the State, 252
+  Tasmanian land-grant railways, encouragement of enterprise by, 181
+  Victoria:
+    Extravagant Expenditure on, 142, 246, 249
+      Railway Commissioners' libel action against Mr. David Syme, 143
+  Western Australia, 162
+
+Referendum [sec title Plebiscite]
+
+Reid, Right Hon. G. H., 36, 50, 51, 227
+
+Religious bodies, Western Australia, grants to, abolition of, 159
+
+Responsible Government:
+  Australasia, advantages and disadvantages of, 264
+  Western Australia obtaining, 156
+
+Revenue and expenditure:
+  Federation of Australasian Provinces--revenue and expenditure
+    of Commonwealth, regulations for, 221
+  New Zealand, reduction of expenditure, 88
+  Queensland:
+    Central and Northern Queensland--revenue of the districts,
+      Royal Commission of Inquiry into, 59
+    Development of industries by the State, 77
+  Victoria:
+    Extravagant expenditure of, 142
+    Legislative Council's inability to check, 126
+  Western Australia, causes of improved credit, 167
+
+Rowdiness and drunkenness, absence of among Coolgardie miners, 314
+
+Russell, Captain, misuse of political patronage charges brought against
+New Zealand Government by, 269
+
+
+S
+
+Salaries:
+  Australasian Parliaments, effect of salaries on members, 267
+  Parliament of Commonwealth proposed salary of members of, 220
+
+Salvation Army services at Coolgardie goldfields, 312
+
+Savings Bank returns:
+  Individual effort of Australian labouring class demonstrated by, 259
+  South Australian, 33
+
+Seddon, Right Hon. R. J., 106, 119, 120
+
+Shops in Victoria, hours of closing, 134
+
+Socialism:
+  Queensland Labour Party, socialistic tendencies of, 73
+  State Socialism in Australasia, origin and extent of, 245, 249
+  "Solidarity" vote of New South Wales Labour Party, 50
+
+South Australia:
+  Democratic policy due to Constitution, 2
+  Dissolution of both Houses after disagreement, success of, 178
+  Education [see that title]
+  Elective Executive, substitution of, advocated, 26
+  Female Suffrage [see that title]
+  Income tax on incomes derived from property or personal exertion,
+    distinction between, 279
+  Industrial disputes, Boards of Conciliation for, 284
+  Labour Party [see that title]
+  Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council [see those titles]
+  Legislative measures, 24
+  Plebiscite [see that title]
+  Plural voting forbidden in, 2
+  Produce Export Department:
+    Institution of, 21
+    Output of the various Provinces, means of securing uniformity in, 23
+  Progressive Taxation first introduced in, 16
+  Savings Bank Returns, 33
+  Tariff question settled in favour of Protection, 24
+  Village Settlements [see that title]
+
+South-Western Railway, Western Australia, course of, 162
+
+State Farm in New Zealand for relief of unemployed, 113
+
+State Socialism in Australasia, origin and extent of, 245, 249
+
+Stout, Sir Robert, misuse of political patronage, charges brought
+against New Zealand Government by, 271
+
+Succession Duties, assessment of in South Australia, 20
+
+Sugar cultivation in Queensland:
+  Irregularity of employment in, 69
+  Kanakas [see that title]
+  Modifications in, 64
+  Sugar Works Guarantee Act, industry developed by, 65
+
+Syme, Mr. David, 153
+
+
+T
+
+Tailoresses' Union, formation of in Victoria, 135
+
+Tariff:
+  New South Wales, Labour Party's disagreement on question of, 49
+  South Australia, tariff question settled in favour of Protection, 24
+  Victoria, protective tariff in, cause of contention between
+    Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council, 123
+
+Tasmania:
+  Female Suffrage [see that title]
+  Graduated Death Duties, assessment of, 278
+  Immigration of coloured races, restriction of, 170
+  Income tax on incomes derived from property and personal exertion,
+    distinction between, 279
+  Legislative Council [see that title]
+  Produce and Export Department--inspection of exported produce, 172
+  Public works, taxation for obtaining funds for, 181
+  Railways--land-grant railways for encouragement of private
+    enterprise, 181
+
+Taxation:
+  Additional taxation cause of conflict between Legislative
+    Assembly and Legislative Council, 123
+  Australian Provinces' form of direct taxation, 279
+  New South Wales Labour Party, taxation of land values obtained by, 50
+  New Zealand, assessment of land and income taxes in, 89
+  South Australia, progressive taxation first introduced into, 16
+  Tasmania, public works outlay, taxation for obtaining funds for, 181
+
+Technical instruction in agriculture, &c., by experts, New Zealand, 104
+
+Telegraphic and postal departments--Parliament of Commonwealth's
+exclusive control of, 221
+
+Town and country antagonism--reflex of antagonism between Victorian
+Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council, 131
+
+Town and country inhabitants, difference in development of, necessity
+of considering with regard to Australasian Federation, 299
+
+Trade Unions, workmen's willingness to form, 281
+
+Traditional Conservatism, absence of among Australasian politicians, 277
+
+
+U
+
+Undesirable Immigrants Exclusion Bill, forbidding introduction of
+consumptive persons into New Zealand, 295
+
+Unemployed:
+  Indiscriminate assistance, 255
+  New South Wales:
+    Casual Labour Board and Labour Bureau, 45
+    Loafers, placing in Industrial Homes, proposed, 48
+    Money spent on works for, 46, 47
+  New Zealand:
+    Charitable Aid Expenditure of 1896, 116
+    Compulsory labour for loafers, 115
+    Improved-Farm Settlements system, 111
+    State Farm near Wellington, 113
+  South Australia:
+    Village Settlements, 6
+  Victoria:
+    Land Acts of 1893, 149
+    Leongatha Colony, 151, 268
+    Public subscriptions for, 150
+    Shiftlessness of men, 153
+
+Union Steamship Company, New Zealand, engineers' industrial dispute,
+290, 291
+
+Upper House [see titles Legislative Council and Conflict between
+Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council]
+
+
+V
+
+Van Dieman's Land Company, Tasmania, Bill authorising construction of
+railway by, 181
+
+Victoria:
+  Australasian Federation Enabling Act--provisions of Victorian Act, 230
+  Confidence of the people in efficiency of State action, 154
+  Factories and Shops Acts [see that title]
+  Female Suffrage:
+    Abolition of plural voting included in Bill introducing, 186
+    Result of adopting, 184
+  Gold-mining, State encouragement of, 147
+  Income tax on incomes derived from property or personal
+    exertion, distinction between, 279
+  Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council [see those titles]
+  Produce and export--bonuses given to producers, 148
+  Protective Tariff:
+    Cause of contention between Legislative Assembly and Legislative
+      Council, 123
+  Public works [see that title]
+  Unemployed [see that title]
+
+Village Settlements, 255
+  New Zealand, 95, 99
+  South Australia:
+    Closed by Government, 10
+    Difficulties, encountered by settlers, 10
+    Failure of, 8
+    Formation of, 6
+    Murtho, success of, 11
+    New Zealand Settlements, differing from, 99
+  Victoria, 149
+
+
+W
+
+Western Australia:
+  Aborigines, protection of, 158
+  Assisted Schools Abolition Act, 159
+  Australasian Federation Enabling Act--Provisions of Western
+    Australian Act, 233
+  Churches, grants to, abolition of, 159
+  Constitution Bill, 157
+  Female Suffrage, result of adopting, 185
+  Gold-mining:
+    Coolgardie Goldfields [see that title]
+    Inducements offered to immigrants, 164
+  Legislative Council:
+    Property qualification:
+      Electors', 158
+      Members not subjected to, 121
+  Public works, Government difficulties, 160
+  Responsible Government, 156
+
+Women's Franchise Leagues, New Zealand, inducing female voters to
+support candidates on moral considerations, 206
+
+Working classes [see title Labouring Classes]
+
+
+
+Y
+
+Yates, Mrs., Mayor of Onehunga, inability of to fill position, 208
+
+
+
+
+  The Gresham Press
+  Unwin Brothers
+  Woking and London.
+
+
+
+
+  T. FISHER UNWIN, Publisher,
+  11, Paternoster Buildings, London, E.C.
+
+
+
+A FIRST FLEET FAMILY: BEING A HITHERTO UNPUBLISHED NARRATIVE OF CERTAIN
+REMARKABLE ADVENTURES COMPILED FROM THE PAPERS OF SERGEANT WILLIAM DEW,
+OF THE MARINES
+
+BY
+
+LOUIS BECKE and WALTER JEFFERY
+
+Second Edition.  Crown 8vo., cloth, 6s.
+
+"As convincingly real and vivid as a narrative can be."--Sketch.
+
+"No maker of plots could work out a better story of its kind, nor
+balance it more neatly."--_Daily Chronicle_.
+
+"A book which describes a set of characters varied and so attractive as
+the more prominent figures in this romance, and a book so full of life,
+vicissitude, and peril, should be welcomed by every discreet novel
+reader."--_Yorkshire Post_.
+
+"A very interesting tale, written in clear and vigorous
+English."--_Globe_.
+
+"The novel is a happy blend of truth and fiction, with a purpose that
+will be appreciated by many readers; it has also the most exciting
+elements of the tale of adventure."--_Morning Post_.
+
+
+WORKS BY JOSEPH CONRAD
+
+I.
+
+AN OUTCAST OF THE ISLANDS
+
+Crown 8vo., cloth, 6s.
+
+"Subject to the qualifications thus disposed of (_vide_ first part of
+notice), 'An Outcast of the Islands' is perhaps the finest piece of
+fiction that has been published this year, as 'Almayer's Folly' was one
+of the finest that was published in 1895....  Surely this is real
+romance--the romance that is real.  Space forbids anything but the
+merest recapitulation of the other living realities of Mr. Conrad's
+invention--of Lingard, of the inimitable Almayer, the one-eyed
+Babalatchi, the Naturalist, of the pious Abdulla--all novel, all
+authentic.  Enough has been written to show Mr. Conrad's quality.  He
+imagines his scenes and their sequence like a master; he knows his
+individualities and their hearts; he has a new and wonderful field in
+this East Indian Novel of his....  Greatness is deliberately written;
+the present writer has read and re-read his two books, and after
+putting this review aside for some days to consider the discretion of
+it, the word still stands."--_Saturday Review_
+
+
+II.
+
+ALMAYER'S FOLLY
+
+Second Edition.   Crown 8vo., cloth, 6s.
+
+"This startling, unique, splendid book."--Mr. T. P. O'CONNOR, M.P.
+
+"This is a decidedly powerful story of an uncommon type, and breaks
+fresh ground in fiction ...  All the leading characters in the
+book--Almayer, his wife, his daughter, and Dain, the daughter's native
+lover--are well drawn, and the parting between father and daughter has
+a pathetic naturalness about it, unspoiled by straining after effect.
+There are, too, some admirably graphic passages in the book.  The
+approach of a monsoon is most effectively described....  The name of
+Mr. Joseph Conrad is new to us, but it appears to us as if he might
+become the Kipling of the Malay Archipelago."--_Spectator_.
+
+
+THE EBBING OF THE TIDE
+
+BY
+
+LOUIS BECKE
+
+Author of "By Reef and Palm"
+
+Second Edition.  Crown 8vo., cloth, 6s.
+
+"Mr. Louis Becke wields a powerful pen, with the additional advantage
+that he waves it in unfrequented places, and summons up with it the
+elemental passions of human nature....  It will be seen that Mr. Becke
+is somewhat of the fleshly school, but with a pathos and power not
+given to the ordinary professors of that school....  Altogether for
+those who like stirring stories cast in strange scenes, this is a book
+to be read."--_National Observer_.
+
+
+PACIFIC TALES
+
+BY
+
+LOUIS BECKE
+
+With a Portrait of the Author
+
+Second Edition.  Crown 8vo., cloth, 6s.
+
+"The appearance of a new book by Mr. Becke has become an event of
+note--and very justly.  No living author, if we except Mr. Kipling, has
+so amazing a command of that unhackneyed vitality of phrase that most
+people call by the name of realism.  Whether it is scenery or character
+or incident that he wishes to depict, the touch is ever so dramatic and
+vivid that the reader is conscious of a picture and impression that has
+no parallel save in the records of actual sight and
+memory."--_Westminster Gazette_.
+
+"Another series of sketches of island life in the South Seas, not
+inferior to those contained in 'By Reef and Palm.'"--_Speaker_.
+
+"The book is well worth reading.  The author knows what he is talking
+about and has a keen eye for the picturesque."--G. B. BURGIN in
+_To-day_.
+
+"A notable contribution to the romance of the South Seas."--T. P.
+O'CONNOR, M.P., in _The Graphic_.
+
+
+PADDY'S WOMAN
+
+BY
+
+HUMPHREY JAMES
+
+Crown 8vo, 6s.
+
+"Traits of the Celt of humble circumstances are copied with keen
+appreciation and unsparing accuracy."--_Scotsman_.
+
+"....... They are full of indescribable charm and pathos."--_Bradford
+Observer_.
+
+"The outstanding merit of this series of stories is that they are
+absolutely true to life .... the photographic accuracy and minuteness
+displayed are really marvellous."--_Aberdeen Free Press_.
+
+"'Paddy's Woman and Other Stories' by Humphrey James; a volume written
+in the familiar diction of the Ulster people themselves, with perfect
+realism and very remarkable ability....  For genuine human nature and
+human relations, and humour of an indescribable kind, we are unable to
+cite a rival to this volume."--_The World_.
+
+"For a fine subtle piece of humour we are inclined to think that 'A
+Glass of Whisky' takes a lot of beating....  In short Mr. Humphrey
+James has given us a delightful book, and one which does as much credit
+to his heart as to his head.  We shall look forward with a keen
+anticipation to the next 'writings' by this shrewd, 'cliver,' and
+compassionate young author."--_Bookselling_.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Australasian Democracy, by Henry de R. Walker
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AUSTRALASIAN DEMOCRACY ***
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+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Australasian Democracy, by Henry de R. Walker
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Australasian Democracy
+
+Author: Henry de R. Walker
+
+Release Date: January 8, 2011 [EBook #34887]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AUSTRALASIAN DEMOCRACY ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Al Haines
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<BR><BR>
+
+<H1 ALIGN="center">
+AUSTRALASIAN DEMOCRACY
+</H1>
+
+<BR>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+BY
+</H4>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+HENRY DE R. WALKER
+</H3>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+LONDON
+<BR>
+T. FISHER UNWIN
+<BR>
+PATERNOSTER SQUARE
+<BR>
+MDCCCXCVII
+</H4>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<H5 ALIGN="center">
+[<I>All Rights reserved.</I>]
+</H5>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="Pvii"></A>vii}</SPAN>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+PREFACE
+</H3>
+
+<P>
+The following pages have been written from the point of view of the
+year 1896, the greater part of which I spent in Australia.  During the
+earlier months of the present year I was in New Zealand, but I was
+unable to continue my survey of general Australasian affairs.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A result of the limitation that I was compelled to impose upon myself
+will be observed in the apparent antiquity of the chapter dealing with
+Australian Federation; but this is not so great as might have been
+anticipated, the new Federal Convention having drafted a Bill which is
+based, to a large extent, upon that of 1891.  For purposes of
+comparison I have, with the kind permission of the London agents of the
+Melbourne <I>Argus</I>, included an article in which that newspaper has
+summarised the provisions of the new Federal Constitution Bill.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I have also included a brief account of a visit to the Coolgardie
+goldfields which, though alien in purpose from the remaining chapters,
+may not be without interest as a record of personal impressions
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="Pviii"></A>viii}</SPAN>
+of a Province which has but recently felt the effects of a budding
+prosperity.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It has been suggested to me that I should attempt to discuss
+Australasian problems with reference to their applicability to Great
+Britain; but I have preferred to leave this task, of which the
+importance cannot be overstated, to persons of greater experience, and
+to confine myself to a record of Australasian action and to a
+comparison of the points of similarity or the reverse between the
+several Provinces. It will be seen, however, that, in some cases, as
+when dealing, for instance, with the results of payment of members and
+with the powers and privileges of Australasian Upper Houses, I have
+noted differences of conditions which must render deductions by analogy
+a matter of extreme difficulty.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The terms "Liberal" and "Conservative" are used to denote,
+respectively, the more and the less advanced parties in Australasian
+politics, and must not be taken to imply differences in opinion similar
+to those prevailing in Great Britain.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In conclusion, I would only say that my studies would have been
+impossible in the absence of kindly communicativeness on the part of
+politicians of all shades of opinion; and, on the social side, that I
+retain warm feelings of gratitude towards the committees of clubs and
+numerous acquaintances who extended to me the cordial hospitality of
+kinship.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+H. DE R. WALKER.
+<BR>
+23, CORK STREET, W.,<BR>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<I>July 25, 1897</I>.<BR>
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="Pix"></A>ix}</SPAN>
+
+<H2 ALIGN="center">
+CONTENTS
+</H2>
+
+<BR>
+
+<TABLE ALIGN="center" WIDTH="90%">
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="90%">
+I.
+<BR>
+<A HREF="#chap01">
+<I>LIBERALISM AND LABOUR IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA.</I>
+</A>
+</TD>
+
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="10%">
+PAGE
+</TD>
+</TR>
+
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+Contrast between Western Australia and the Eastern
+Provinces&mdash;The Constitution of South Australia&mdash;The alliance
+between Liberalism and Labour&mdash;Joint action in the face of
+financial depression: Village Settlements, Progressive
+Taxation, the direct encouragement of production&mdash;The
+advocacy of an Elective Executive&mdash;The State and
+Religious Instruction
+</TD>
+
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="bottom">
+1
+</TD>
+</TR>
+
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top">
+<BR>
+II.
+<BR>
+<A HREF="#chap02">
+<I>DEMOCRACY AND ITS SAFEGUARDS IN NEW SOUTH WALES.</I>
+</A>
+</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top">&nbsp;</TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+The necessity for safeguards against financial extravagance
+and political pressure&mdash;The Crown Lands Act&mdash;The
+appointment of independent Railway Commissioners&mdash;The
+Standing Committee on Public Works&mdash;The Public Service
+Board&mdash;The unemployed, their numbers and treatment&mdash;The
+democratisation of the constitution&mdash;The Labour
+Party, its history, successes and aspirations
+</TD>
+
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="bottom">
+34
+</TD>
+</TR>
+</TABLE>
+
+
+
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="Px"></A>x}</SPAN>
+
+
+
+<TABLE ALIGN="center" WIDTH="90%">
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="90%">
+<BR>
+III.
+<BR>
+<A HREF="#chap03">
+<I>PROBLEMS OF QUEENSLAND.</I>
+</A>
+<TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="10%">&nbsp;</TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+The agitation of Central and Northern Queensland for
+separation from the South&mdash;The "Kanaka" traffic&mdash;White and
+coloured labour on the plantations&mdash;The Sugar Works
+Guarantee Act&mdash;The irregularity of employment in the
+sugar and pastoral industries&mdash;The conditions and opinions
+of the shearers&mdash;Assistance to dairymen and producers
+of frozen meat&mdash;The Labour Party, its history and
+prospects&mdash;Criticisms of the Government&mdash;The principles of
+State action
+</TD>
+
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="bottom">
+   54
+</TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top">
+<BR>
+IV.
+<BR>
+<A HREF="#chap04">
+<I>THE LAND POLICY OF NEW ZEALAND.</I>
+</A>
+<TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top">&nbsp;</TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+Differences of conditions between Australia and New
+Zealand&mdash;The Public Works policy&mdash;Taxation on land&mdash;The
+Land Act of 1892&mdash;The Land for Settlements Acts&mdash;The
+Government Advances to Settlers Acts&mdash;The encouragement of
+settlement&mdash;The co-operative construction of Public
+Works&mdash;The unemployed&mdash;Continuity of policy
+</TD>
+
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="bottom">
+ 82
+</TD>
+</TR>
+
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top">
+<BR>
+V.
+<BR>
+<A HREF="#chap05">
+<I>CHARACTERISTICS OF VICTORIAN LEGISLATION.</I>
+</A>
+<TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top">&nbsp;</TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+Comparisons between the Australasian Upper Houses&mdash;Conflicts
+between the two Houses in Victoria&mdash;The proposed obviation
+of deadlocks&mdash;The utility of the Legislative Council&mdash;The
+antagonism between Town and Country&mdash;The Factory Acts, their
+justification and provisions&mdash;State Socialism: Railways,
+Irrigation Works, the encouragement of Mining, Subsidies
+and Bonuses, State advances to Settlers&mdash;The Unemployed and
+the Leongatha Labour Colony
+</TD>
+
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="bottom">
+   121
+</TD>
+</TR>
+</TABLE>
+
+
+
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="Pxi"></A>xi}</SPAN>
+
+
+
+<TABLE ALIGN="center" WIDTH="90%">
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="90%">
+<BR>
+VI.
+<BR>
+<A HREF="#chap06">
+<I>THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA.</I>
+</A>
+<TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="10%">&nbsp;</TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+Constitutional history&mdash;The relations of Church and
+State&mdash;Natural impediments to development&mdash;The construction
+of railways&mdash;The scarcity of water&mdash;the promotion of
+the mining and other industries&mdash;The absence of parties
+in Parliament
+</TD>
+
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="bottom">
+ 156
+</TD>
+</TR>
+
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top">
+<BR>
+VII.
+<BR>
+<A HREF="#chap06">
+<I>DISCURSIVE NOTES ON TASMANIA.</I>
+</A>
+<TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top">&nbsp;</TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+The restriction of the immigration of coloured races&mdash;Betting
+and lotteries&mdash;The adoption of a modification of Hare's
+System of Voting&mdash;Conflicts between the two Houses of
+Parliament&mdash;Finance and Taxation&mdash;Land Grant Railways
+</TD>
+
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="bottom">
+  170
+</TD>
+</TR>
+
+
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top">
+<BR>
+VIII.
+<BR>
+<A HREF="#chap08">
+<I>FEMALE SUFFRAGE</I>
+</A>
+</TD>
+
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="bottom">
+184
+</TD>
+</TR>
+
+
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top">
+<BR>
+IX.
+<BR>
+<A HREF="#chap09">
+<I>THE EVOLUTION OF A FEDERAL GOVERNMENT</I>
+</A>
+</TD>
+
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="bottom">
+212
+</TD>
+</TR>
+
+
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top">
+<BR>
+X.
+<BR>
+<A HREF="#chap10">
+<I>SALIENT FEATURES OF THE AUSTRALASIAN DEMOCRACY.</I>
+</A>
+<TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top">&nbsp;</TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+Indirect effects of the discovery of gold&mdash;Causes of the
+financial crisis&mdash;The origin and extent of State
+Socialism&mdash;The thriftiness of the working classes&mdash;Labour
+Representation in Parliament&mdash;Parliamentary Government&mdash;Direct
+Taxation&mdash;Conciliation and Arbitration in Industrial
+disputes&mdash;Protection and its corollaries&mdash;The feeling
+towards Great Britain&mdash;General conclusions
+</TD>
+
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="bottom">
+  244
+</TD>
+</TR>
+
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top">
+<BR>
+XI.
+<BR>
+<A HREF="#chap11">
+<I>A VISIT TO THE COOLGARDIE GOLDFIELDS IN MARCH, 1896</I>
+</A>
+</TD>
+
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="bottom">
+   303
+</TD>
+</TR>
+
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<BR>
+<A HREF="#index">
+INDEX
+</A>
+</TD>
+
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="bottom">
+  317
+</TD>
+</TR>
+
+</TABLE>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap01"></A>
+
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P1"></A>1}</SPAN>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+I
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+<I>LIBERALISM AND LABOUR IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA</I>
+</H3>
+
+<P CLASS="intro">
+Contrast between Western Australia and the Eastern Provinces&mdash;The
+Constitution of South Australia&mdash;The alliance between Liberalism and
+Labour&mdash;Joint action in the face of financial depression: Village
+Settlements, Progressive Taxation, the direct encouragement of
+production&mdash;The advocacy of an Elective Executive&mdash;The State and
+Religious Instruction.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P>
+The traveller who visited Western Australia in 1896 saw a country which
+was enjoying, owing to its goldfields, a phenomenally rapid
+development, with all its attendant advantages of a large increase in
+population, an expanding revenue, and abundance of employment.  As he
+passed to the Eastern Provinces he found himself in the midst of
+communities which had been shaken to their foundations by the fall in
+the value of their staple products and the collapse of many banking
+institutions, and were putting forth strenuous efforts to restore the
+equilibrium between revenue and expenditure and to make a fresh start
+upon the path of prosperity.  These efforts, varying in detail in
+different Provinces, have included the imposition
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P2"></A>2}</SPAN>
+of additional
+taxation, provision for the unemployed, and, in some cases, direct
+encouragement of production.  The policy pursued by South Australia is
+of particular interest as her Constitution gives the freest play to
+democratic influences.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The House of Assembly is elected on the basis of adult suffrage; the
+Upper House or Legislative Council by adults possessing a property
+qualification consisting of a freehold of the clear annual value of
+£50, a registered leasehold of £20, with three years to run or the
+right of purchase, or the occupation of a dwelling-house of the clear
+annual value of £25.  No property qualification is required in
+candidates for election to either House, and the Members of both Houses
+are paid at the rate of £200 per annum.  Adults, upon reaching the age
+of twenty-one in the case of the Assembly or possessing the requisite
+qualification in the case of the Council, can claim to be placed upon
+the electoral roll and are entitled to vote upon the expiration of six
+months after registration; upon removal to another constituency, the
+vote can immediately be transferred.  Plural voting is forbidden under
+heavy penalties, and all the elections, except that for the Northern
+Territory, take place upon the same day.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+These conditions have enabled the democratic element to obtain a
+preponderating voice in both Houses, by a majority of one in the
+Council and by a considerable majority in the Assembly.  During
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P3"></A>3}</SPAN>
+the
+last three years the Government has been in the hands of the Liberals
+under the Hon. C. C. Kingston, who has included in his cabinet two
+former Premiers in the persons of the Treasurer, the Hon. F. W. Holder,
+and the Minister of Education and Agriculture, the Hon. Dr. Cockburn.
+The Ministerialists have had the support of the Labour Party, which has
+been very successful with its candidates and now holds the balance of
+power.  It was formed towards the close of the year 1890, after the
+failure of the maritime strike, in response to the feeling of the
+Trades Unions and other labour organisations that their objects would
+be obtained most easily by securing the direct representation of labour
+in Parliament.  They were influenced also by the rejection by the
+Assembly of Dr. Cockburn's proposals for progressive taxation in spite
+of promises made by a majority of the members before their election.  A
+political programme was, accordingly, drawn up, which is the accepted
+creed of the Labour representatives, who number six in the Council of
+twenty-four and twelve in the Assembly of fifty-four members.  It has
+successively been modified, as measures previously advocated have been
+passed into law, and contains the following principal items: The
+cessation of the alienation of Crown Lands by the substitution of some
+system of leasing; the remission of the duties on articles not grown or
+produced in the Colony, any resulting deficiency in the revenue to be
+made up by increasing the tax on
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P4"></A>4}</SPAN>
+land values; redistribution of
+seats on the basis of population; the encouragement of local industries
+by the extension of the State Export Department, so that producers may
+be able to obtain the full benefit of foreign markets; and Federation
+on a democratic basis.  The Labour Party are opposed most strongly to
+the admission of coloured races and to assisted immigration, on the
+ground that the former would lower the status of the Australian
+workman, and the latter cause the supply of labour to exceed the demand
+and bring misery and destitution upon the poor.  The relations of the
+Labour and Liberal members, which have been most cordial, are based
+upon mutual interdependence.  The Liberals rely upon the support of the
+Labour members; the latter are not strong enough to take office, nor, I
+understand, do they wish to do so, and must support the Liberals in
+order to be able to mould the legislation to the shape that they
+desire.  A prominent member of the Labour Party has thus summarised the
+position: "The hardest work in connection with some of the measures has
+been done by Liberals who, though not members of the Party, are
+generally found working in connection with that body.  But it must be
+conceded that most of the planks which have been carried owe their
+early success to the fact of their adoption on the programme of the
+United Labour Party, and the persistent advocacy and solid votes of its
+members."  The policy of the Party has created a great
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P5"></A>5}</SPAN>
+amount of
+bitterness in the country, their successful advocacy of progressive
+taxation on incomes and land values and of other democratic measures
+having led them to be charged with being inimical to capital as such;
+but the Speaker of the Assembly, who is a Conservative, has stated in a
+recent speech that, "in speaking of the Labour Party, he wishes to do
+so with the greatest respect.  They are a power in the House, and no
+Government could have retained office in the last Parliament without
+their support.  The Labour representatives were picked men, clever in
+debate, unremitting in attention to their duties, and a credit to the
+districts they represented."  The leader of the Party is Mr. J. A.
+McPherson, a native of Aberdeen, who migrated to Adelaide in 1882 and
+engaged in the printing trade.  He identified himself with Trades Union
+affairs, was elected unanimously in 1890 to be Secretary of the Trades
+and Labour Council, and still holds that position.  He entered the
+Assembly at a bye-election in 1892, and is regarded as one of the
+ablest and most energetic members of the Labour Party.  Mr. McPherson
+has a popular supporter in Mr. E. L. Batchelor, the colleague of the
+Premier in the representation of West Adelaide, who has risen from
+subordinate employment on the Government railways to be, at the age of
+thirty, President of the Railway Association and Secretary of the
+Party.  Mr. Batchelor is a man of broad views and a keen student, and
+has brought
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P6"></A>6}</SPAN>
+forward a Bill for the institution of the initiative
+and referendum, which he considers to be suited to the small population
+of South Australia.  The Party are fortunate in their leading men and
+show no signs of cleavage, their only serious difference of opinion
+having been in regard to the qualifications of Labour candidates.  As
+long as solidarity can be maintained and the present leaders remain in
+the ascendant, no fear need be felt that they will subordinate the
+interests of the community to those of their own class, though they
+would be the first to admit that their main object is to protect the
+working man and to improve his position.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The principal measures of the present Administration, such as the
+Taxation Acts and the establishment of the Village Settlements and of
+the Produce Export Department, may be said to be the joint product of
+the Liberal and Labour Parties, and may be regarded as an example of
+the policy pursued by a pure democracy in the face of financial
+depression, dislocation of trade, and widespread scarcity of employment.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The object of the Act of 1893 which authorised the formation of Village
+Settlements was to prevent men of small means, who found difficulty in
+obtaining employment, from leaving the country by affording them the
+opportunity of settling upon the land and working it co-operatively
+with the assistance of advances from the State.  Its main provisions
+were, that any twenty or more persons
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P7"></A>7}</SPAN>
+might form an association for
+the purpose of taking up a grant of land not exceeding 160 acres per
+head; that the work should be done under the direction of trustees
+appointed by members of the association from among their number, who
+should manage the affairs of the village upon principles of
+co-operation and equitable division; and that the Commissioner of Crown
+Lands might advance to any such association out of funds provided by
+Parliament, an amount not exceeding the sum of £50 for each villager
+and not exceeding one-half the cost of the improvements upon the land.
+The advances were to be repaid in ten equal annual instalments, with
+interest computed at 5 per cent. per annum on the moneys for the time
+being remaining unpaid; but the first of such instalments was not to be
+payable until after the expiration of three years from the date of the
+advance.  The formation of settlements on a purely communistic basis
+was rendered possible by Section 78 of the Act, which states that "the
+rules" (of an association) "may require payment to a common fund or
+otherwise as may be determined of all or any part of the earnings of
+the villagers whether earned within the village or elsewhere."  Twelve
+associations were formed, mostly on the banks of the Murray, between
+the months of February and August, 1894, but not, with a single
+exception, on the lines intended by the Government.  The extreme
+scarcity of employment and great poverty at Adelaide and in the
+neighbourhood in the early part of that year led them to form
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P8"></A>8}</SPAN>
+the
+remainder of persons who were almost entirely destitute.  They were
+necessarily assisted at the start, but did not afterwards receive
+advances until the Government Inspector had certified that they were
+justified by the improvements made upon the land.  The action of the
+Government was illegal throughout, as the Act stated expressly that the
+advances should be made out of funds provided by Parliament, and no
+funds had been voted for the purpose, but it may be condoned on the
+ground of the extreme urgency of the crisis.  At the expiration of a
+year the limit had been reached in most cases, and further advances
+were indispensable to prevent the immediate collapse of the majority of
+the settlements.  The Commissioner of Crown Lands, accordingly,
+introduced a Bill in which he asked for authority to increase the
+advances, under the same conditions, to £100 per head, and for further
+powers of control over the settlements.  The Bill, which was hotly
+opposed, was not passed till a Select Committee had been appointed to
+inquire on the spot into the conditions and financial prospects of the
+settlements and had reported in its favour.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The report, which was dated November 14, 1895, and the evidence upon
+which it was based, gave a complete picture of the disadvantages under
+which the settlers laboured and of the drawbacks of the system of
+distribution.  The land selected for the villages was such, it was
+pointed out, that it could not be cultivated except under irrigation.
+This had
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P9"></A>9}</SPAN>
+necessitated the erection of a costly pumping plant, which
+the settlers had difficulty in purchasing, as they could offer no
+security for payment.  When the plant was finally obtained, it was
+found, in some cases, to be unsuitable; in others it could not be
+properly worked in the absence of a capable engineer.  The settlers,
+brought together at haphazard by destitution and not by their knowledge
+of agricultural pursuits, had wasted much time and labour through
+ignorance, incapacity, and insufficiency of proper tools.  They had
+lacked a strong controlling hand to direct their operations, and had
+disobeyed the trustees whom they had themselves appointed; and as the
+trustees had little power discipline had been nonexistent, and
+quarrels, at several settlements, of continual occurrence.  Order had
+been restored with difficulty, as the only punishment was expulsion,
+upon a decision of the trustees ratified by a vote of the villagers,
+and many villagers had voted against expulsion from the fear that they
+in their turn might be subjected to a similar penalty.  The
+arrangements for the distribution of rations also had caused
+considerable dissatisfaction and led to disagreement between single and
+married men, as the former felt that the latter received a share of the
+stores out of proportion to the work they had done.  The general system
+was, that rations were issued on a sliding scale, according as a man
+was single or had a large or small family, and was to that extent
+purely communistic.
+</P>
+
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P10"></A>10}</SPAN>
+
+<P>
+The difficulties encountered by the settlers had been such as would
+have discouraged most men, but, in spite of them, the total number had
+only fallen in eighteen months from 598 to 440, and the majority of
+witnesses expressed themselves satisfied with their lot.  They admitted
+the necessity of further advances, but pleaded that they had a heavy
+burden to bear in the cost of machinery, and that their labour,
+especially in the planting of fruit trees, could not yield an immediate
+return.  The financial position was thus summarised:&mdash;The Government
+had advanced £26,000, the unpaid accounts amounted to about £11,000,
+and the improvements were valued by the Commissioner of Crown Lands at
+£41,000.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+During 1896 the further advances had been expended, but the settlements
+had not become self-supporting, and the increased burden of debt and
+uncertainty as to the future had caused many of the settlers to become
+disheartened and others to leave in despair.  On the other hand, the
+appointment of an expert to exercise the additional powers conferred
+upon the Commissioner and to give advice to the settlers, had led to
+the diminution of quarrels and disagreements among them and to a better
+direction of their work.  In view of these facts the Government decided
+to close four of the settlements which had been formed upon land
+unsuitable to the purpose, owing to the poorness of the soil or the
+absence of facilities for profitable irrigation.  It has been
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P11"></A>11}</SPAN>
+estimated that the remainder have sufficient irrigable land to maintain
+a population of about three hundred families, and that they require an
+average of about £25 per settler to make them self-supporting.  A few
+enthusiasts alone believe that any portion of the principal of the
+loans will ever be repaid; but the Government will have no cause to
+complain if they receive regular interest on the money.  Some
+difficulty is likely to arise in the disposal of the produce.  There is
+a considerable market for vegetables on the river, but it will soon be
+overtaken by the supply.  The settlers will probably devote most of
+their land to fruit growing and dairying, and will be able to take
+advantage of the Export Department.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The settlers should have a better chance of success in the future, as
+loafers are gradually being weeded out, and the process is to be
+continued until the settlers shall have been reduced to such as have
+shown an honest desire to make homes for themselves and their families
+upon the land.  This course has been rendered possible by the large
+exodus of working men to Western Australia, which has reduced the
+pressure upon the local labour market.  The Government desire to
+approximate all the settlements to the level of Murtho, which alone was
+formed of persons who had considerable means of their own.  The
+settlers, about twenty in number, put an average of £60 each into the
+venture and left good situations out of enthusiasm for the principles
+of co-operation.  They are intelligent, well-educated
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P12"></A>12}</SPAN>
+men and
+women who are bound to put forward every effort to be successful, as
+otherwise they will be in a worse position than at the start.  They
+work all the land upon the method of joint cultivation on the ground
+that, as different forms of produce are grown, it is of importance to
+be able to concentrate the greater portion of the labour at any point
+where it may be required, and, under the influence of communistic
+ideas, give to all an equal share of the results of their united
+efforts.  This system would have seemed, from the constitution of human
+nature, to be doomed to failure; but an amount of work has been done in
+planting and clearing which testifies to continuous and sustained
+labour, disagreements have been rare, and the settlers, in conversation
+with me, expressed themselves as contented with their lot and confident
+of eventual success.  They do not regard themselves as recipients of
+charity, as they have received advances on the same conditions as
+holders of Working Men's blocks; on the contrary, they regard
+themselves as pioneers of a new movement, and desire, not only to make
+homes for themselves and their families, but to prove that land can be
+worked successfully on a co-operative, almost a communistic, basis.  If
+the Murtho settlers succeed, they will do so by the continued exercise
+of mutual forbearance and from the impulse of a common enthusiasm.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The Government appear to have made several
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P13"></A>13}</SPAN>
+grave mistakes of
+omission and commission in the formation of the settlements.  They
+should have caused a survey of the Murray lands to be made before the
+selection of the sites, and they should have realised that men, united
+only by their destitution, required control and direction, and, as the
+majority were ignorant of agricultural pursuits, constant
+superintendence of their work.  The system of joint cultivation also
+was entirely unsuited to the class of men who formed the bulk of the
+settlers.  It is true that the Act authorised neither preliminary
+surveys nor the appointment of superintendents, and stated expressly
+that the associations were to be co-operative; but if the urgency of
+the crisis may be taken to have justified the Government in making
+advances without the sanction of Parliament, it would also have
+justified such further illegalities as would have benefited the
+settlers and safeguarded the interests of the tax-payers.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A certain amount of co-operation was inevitable if the settlements were
+to be formed upon land which could only be cultivated under irrigation,
+in the erection of the pumping plant and the use of water.  It would
+also be advisable in the purchase of seeds, trees and vines, the
+disposal of produce and the common ownership of horses and implements
+of husbandry.  But the land might have been cut up into blocks, in
+order to enable each settler to obtain the full benefit of his
+exertions
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P14"></A>14}</SPAN>
+subject to payment for the services rendered to him by
+the association.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The Government are to be congratulated, however faulty their methods
+may have been, upon their attempt to enable the unemployed to make
+homes for themselves upon the land, a great improvement upon the policy
+of their predecessors, who wasted thousands of pounds upon unnecessary
+relief works.  They have undoubtedly raised the moral tone of the
+settlers, who make a good impression upon the visitor through their
+intelligence and sobriety and the happy appearance of their children,
+and one cannot but regret that, owing to the absence of direction, much
+of their labour has been absolutely valueless.  The cynic will say that
+the men have every reason to be contented as they are living entirely
+upon advances and can rid themselves of all responsibility for the
+loans by leaving the settlements; but he forgets that they have
+qualified for these advances by hard work and that they never see a
+shilling that they can call their own.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The whole question must be looked at from the point of view of the
+Australian, who would be horrified at our system, under which indigence
+is assumed to be the result of idleness and improvidence and relief is
+offered under the most degrading conditions, and expects his Government
+to do something to relieve the misery caused by scarcity of employment.
+In South Australia, where adult suffrage and payment of the members of
+both
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P15"></A>15}</SPAN>
+Houses have made the working classes masters of the
+situation, they can compel the Ministry to pay attention to their
+wishes.  A step in the right direction, was taken when Village
+Settlements were substituted for temporary relief works; but any future
+scheme, while affording to men the opportunity of regaining a position
+of independence, should compel them to prove their worthiness by their
+own individual exertions.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The wide application by the Australasian Provinces of the principle of
+State action renders them especially liable to violent fluctuations of
+prosperity and adversity.  As young countries they have borrowed
+largely for purposes of development, and have constructed expensive
+public works which have greatly increased the demand for labour.
+During the recent years of depression the Government have been obliged
+to discontinue their operations, and have offered less employment at a
+time when the labour market was already overstocked owing to the
+contraction of private enterprise.  Similarly in the case of revenue:
+the receipts from the railways, which are almost universally owned by
+the State, vary proportionately with the returns from taxation, which
+depend in their turn largely upon the condition of trade.  They have
+fallen in South Australia from £1,229,598 in 1891-2 to £967,656 in
+1894-5, with the result that when the community has been least able,
+owing to the diminished returns from other resources of revenue, to
+bear additional
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P16"></A>16}</SPAN>
+taxation, further taxes have necessarily been
+imposed to meet the interest upon the loans out of the proceeds of
+which the railways have been constructed.  The Kingston Government,
+which took office in 1893, had to face a deficit of £200,000, and
+immediately set to work to restore order in the finances.  This they
+attempted to do by retrenchment, reducing the expenditure by £100,000
+per annum, and by the imposition of fresh taxation.  Succession Duties,
+a tax on the unimproved value of land and an income tax had already
+been imposed, a distinction being made in the latter case, between
+incomes derived from property and incomes resulting from personal
+exertion; but the present Government were the first to introduce the
+progressive principle into the taxes on incomes and land values.  This
+legislation has encountered, as might be expected, the strongest
+opposition from the richer members of the community, who protest that a
+feeling of insecurity is produced and capital driven out of the
+country, but it may be noted that South Australia in 1895 raised money
+at 3 per cent. upon exceptionally favourable terms.  The Government
+were compelled to obtain further funds, and showed their desire to
+equalise the incidence of the additional taxes by lowering, in spite of
+the opposition of the Labour Party, the exemption from income tax from
+£200 to £125 and by increasing the duty on beer, spirits, and other
+articles of ordinary consumption.  Income tax is
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P17"></A>17}</SPAN>
+at present at the
+rate of 4-½d. in the pound up to £800, and of 6d. in the pound above
+£800 of taxable amount resulting from personal exertions, and at the
+rate of 9d. and 1s. in the pound, respectively, on incomes from
+property.  Incomes between £125 and £425 enjoy exemption on £125 of the
+amount.  Taxpayers are required, under penalty of prosecution for
+perjury for a false declaration, to furnish annually a statement of all
+forms of income that they have enjoyed during the past year, except in
+respect of any share or interest in a registered company; in this case
+the tax, at the rate of a shilling in the pound, is deducted by an
+officer of the company before payment of the dividends to shareholders.
+The higher rate is not paid on either form of income unless it,
+separately, exceeds £800.  The tax on the unimproved value of land is
+½d. in the pound up to, and 1d. above, the capital value of £5,000, and
+is increased by 20 per cent. in the case of absentee owners.  A general
+assessment of all the lands in the Colony is made triennially, each
+person's property in each district or township being treated
+separately.  The assessments are then sorted alphabetically, in order
+to discover the total holding of each individual which is the basis
+upon which the higher or lower rate of taxation is imposed.  Little
+objection is taken to the manner in which the value of the land is
+assessed; in the majority of cases the owner and the official of the
+Government are able to agree as
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P18"></A>18}</SPAN>
+to a fair valuation, and, should
+they fail to do so, an appeal against the valuation may be made to the
+Taxation Department, and, if an arrangement be not arrived at, to a
+Court of Law.  The assessment of 1894 led to a large number of appeals,
+as the assessors had not realised the enormous fall in value of
+agricultural and pastoral land, but all, with a single exception, were
+met to the satisfaction of the appellant by concessions voluntarily
+made by the Department.  Their attention is turned mainly to urban
+land, because it is subject to the greatest increase in unimproved
+value and returns the larger portion of the receipts derived from this
+source.  An incidental advantage of the tax lies in the fact that land
+held by speculators for a rise in value contributes to the revenue
+equally with that on which buildings have been erected.  The tax is
+recognised by most people as equitable in principle, but its
+progressive character has brought upon the Ministry the bitterest
+animosity of the landed class, who maintain that it has caused land to
+be given up and to become unsaleable, not so much because the present
+burden is intolerable but because it is merely the thin end of the
+wedge.  They point to the programme of the Labour Party in which it is
+stated that the duty should be taken off certain articles of ordinary
+consumption, the deficiency (which, according to an official estimate,
+would be £310,000 a year) to be made up by increasing the tax on land
+values, and argue that as the Labour Party hold the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P19"></A>19}</SPAN>
+Government
+under their thumb, they will be able to enforce compliance with their
+wishes.  It is difficult for a stranger to judge to what extent
+possessors of capital have actually been deterred from investing it in
+land, especially as several important factors have led concurrently to
+a depreciation in its value, such as the fall in the prices of wheat
+and wool, the failure of banks which were interested, directly or
+indirectly, in large tracts of country, and bad legislation, passed
+some ten years ago, under which the runs were cut up into blocks too
+small for the successful prosecution of the pastoral industry.  The
+Government can point to Pastoral Acts which are admitted to be steps in
+the right direction, and challenge their opponents to show in what way
+they could have raised the £20,000 yielded by the additional Land Tax
+with less burden to the community.  The Absentee Tax lacks similar
+justification, as it only brings in £3,600 a year.  It is defended by
+the Premier on the ground that the absentee, as regards his property,
+has the full protection of the administration of the laws, and should
+contribute to the expenditure necessary for the maintenance of the
+State; and that he does not do so to the extent of those who live in
+South Australia and contribute daily to the revenue by means of the
+Customs in all they eat and drink and practically all they put on.  On
+the other hand it is contended that it is of supreme importance to
+attract capital to the Colony and that this principle is recognised
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P20"></A>20}</SPAN>
+in the case of public loans and Treasury bonds, on which no income
+tax is charged, and should also be taken into consideration with
+reference to private investments in land.  Succession Duty is levied
+upon a graduated scale, ranging from 1-½ per cent. for £500 to 10 per
+cent. for £200,000 and upwards in the case of a widow, widower,
+ancestor or descendant of the deceased, and from 1 per cent. for any
+amount under £200 to 10 per cent. for £20,000 and upwards where the
+property is inherited by a person in any degree of collateral
+consanguinity.  If the heir is a stranger in blood he pays 10 per cent.
+whatever be the value of the property.  In order to promote the
+diffusion of wealth the rate of the tax is based upon the amount
+inherited, not upon the total value of the estate.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In the relief of the unemployed and the imposition of additional
+taxation, the Ministry, while choosing their methods, have dealt with
+problems which they were bound to face; but they have not confined
+themselves to the negative task of coping with existing difficulties.
+They have realised that greater commercial activity would permanently
+benefit the revenue and add to the demand for labour, and that, in a
+country like South Australia, it could only be secured by a wider and
+more varied cultivation of the soil, and have, with the hearty support
+of the Labour Party, seized every opportunity to encourage production
+and develop the export trade.  Farmers already had the advantage of an
+Agricultural Bureau at Adelaide,
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P21"></A>21}</SPAN>
+with local branches, which
+periodically disseminated information, and of an Agricultural College
+to which they could send their sons, at a small annual charge, or
+gratuitously if they could obtain a scholarship; but they were
+hindered, when the fall in the value of cereals compelled them to turn
+their attention to subsidiary industries, by the absence of facilities
+for obtaining a market for subsidiary products.  The limited demand in
+the Colony for butter, fruit, and wine offered insufficient inducement
+to farmers and small cultivators.  Previous to 1893, the total export
+of butter did not exceed the value of £1,200, but in that year and in
+1894 a bonus was offered by the Government, with the result that butter
+of the value of £110,000 has since been shipped.  They also formed a
+Produce Export Department through which producers can ship their goods
+to London, entered into a contract with the Peninsular and Oriental and
+Orient Steamship Companies for cheap rates of carriage, and established
+in London a Wine and Produce Depôt to receive the goods and sell them
+on the most favourable terms.  A receiving depôt has since been
+established at Port Adelaide and refrigerating machinery and chambers
+have been erected, which enable the Department to receive sheep and
+send them as frozen meat to England.  Butter, wine, frozen meat, and
+fruit have been sent to London through the Department, and in some
+cases prices have been realised which far surpassed those which could
+have been obtained in
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P22"></A>22}</SPAN>
+the local market.  The scheme is not yet
+self-supporting, as, though the charges cover the expenses, the
+salaries of the additional officials required in the Ministry, and an
+annual sum of some £3,500 for the maintenance of the Depôt in London,
+fall upon the revenue of the country; but this expenditure is more than
+repaid by the impetus undoubtedly given to trade which would not
+otherwise have been afforded owing to the absence of private
+enterprise.  The Ministry have undertaken a work in which individuals
+would have had little chance of success, and have enabled small
+consignors to ship their produce at wholesale rates.  Their object also
+has been, in the words of the Minister of Agriculture (Dr. Cockburn),
+"to afford a guarantee of quality.  All goods consigned to the Depôt
+are examined previous to shipment.  If found to be in good condition
+and properly packed, they are sent forward to the London manager with a
+certificate to that effect.  By this system of inspection a barrier is
+erected against the export of inferior goods which have an injurious
+effect on the reputation of South Australian produce."  This latter
+point is of great importance and applies equally as regards the injury
+that might be done by one Province to another, as the British consumer
+regards Australian produce generically, and does not distinguish
+between the output of different Provinces.  Dr. Cockburn called a
+conference in 1896, which was attended by representatives from New
+South
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P23"></A>23}</SPAN>
+Wales, Victoria, and Queensland, to consider how far joint
+action might be taken to secure uniformity of output.  The presence of
+a representative from Victoria enhanced the practical character of the
+deliberations, as that Province has been the pioneer in the movement
+and conducts its operations on a very extensive scale.  It was decided
+that the respective Parliaments should be invited to legislate in the
+direction of uniform inspection of frozen meat, dairy produce, wine and
+fruit, the adoption as far as possible of a federal brand which would
+be a guarantee of high quality and the joint exhibition of Australian
+produce at some leading agricultural show in England.  The conference
+is regarded as a promising sign of the willingness of the Australian
+Provinces to act together in matters of common concern.  The
+institution of the Produce Export Department is favourably viewed by
+the press of South Australia and by the bulk of the community, but,
+while it is admitted that the initiative of the State has been
+successful, the hope is expressed that, when the trade has been firmly
+established, the scope of State action will be reduced and private
+enterprise be allowed to step in.  Such an attitude shows the prevalent
+distrust of State action; in order that it may not be perpetuated, the
+middleman is to be invited to absorb a portion of the profits which at
+present are gained by the producer.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The present Ministry have also legislated on the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P24"></A>24}</SPAN>
+subject of
+workmen's liens, to protect the wage-earner against an insolvent or
+dishonest employer; they have passed a Conciliation Act, to facilitate
+the settlement of industrial disputes, and have established a State
+Bank to provide for advances to farmers and other producers and to
+local authorities.  These measures were warmly supported by the Labour
+members, who tried, unsuccessfully, to enlarge the scope of the State
+Bank by making it a Bank of Issue.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At the General Election in 1896 the Liberals, who were again
+successful, advocated certain measures of social reform; continued
+economy of administration; the extension of the functions of the Export
+Department; Federation on a democratic basis, and the election of
+Ministries by Parliament, a proposal which has excited singularly
+little interest, in spite of the complete change that it would effect
+in the methods of government.  The justification for it must be sought
+in the local conditions of the Province, which has never taken kindly
+to the system of government by party.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The tariff question, which has caused a clear line of division in New
+South Wales, has been settled decisively in favour of protection, and
+no distinct issue has taken its place at the recent elections.  In
+Adelaide and the neighbourhood the contest may be said to have been
+fought in some sense between capital and labour, though among the
+supporters of the Ministry are many men of considerable means;
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P25"></A>25}</SPAN>
+or
+between individualism and socialism, but that all are socialists to the
+extent of believing in State ownership of railways and State control of
+waterworks and water conservation, while the majority are favourably
+disposed to the Export Department, and the average man has no definite
+ideas on the subject, but views each proposed extension of State action
+according to his opinion of its possible effect upon himself.  The
+success of the Liberals was remarkable, as the South Australians are a
+fickle people, and usually overthrow the party that is in power; but it
+is suggested that the female vote, which has been given for the first
+time, may have been recorded largely in favour of those who had passed
+the Adult Suffrage Act.  However that may be, the Kingston Government
+are by no means sure of an extension of three years, as the ties of
+party allegiance are slight except in the case of the Labour members,
+and the struggles in the Assembly may resolve themselves, as in the
+past, into contests between individual aspirants for office.  The
+tendency of the last Parliament was in the direction of a clearer line
+of cleavage, but this was due to the cleverness of the present Premier,
+who included in the Cabinet his two strongest opponents whose
+opposition had been the more bitter that it was not founded upon
+differences of political opinion.  Until that time South Australia had
+had forty-one Ministries in thirty-seven years, a constant change of
+the responsible heads of public departments
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P26"></A>26}</SPAN>
+which greatly impaired
+their efficiency and prevented continuity of administration.  The
+absence of a stable majority in the Assembly gave the opportunity, and
+ambition and love of power the impetus, to continual struggles for
+office which were wholly unallied with any baser motives, as Australian
+statesmen have obtained an honourable pre-eminence for their rectitude
+of character.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The intentions of the Government in regard to the substitution of an
+elective executive, which have not yet been definitely formulated, may
+be gathered from a speech made by Dr. Cockburn, the principal advocate
+of the change, in which he proposed that Ministers, who would continue,
+as at present, to be Members of Parliament, should be elected by ballot
+by the Assembly at the commencement of each session; that they should
+appoint one of their number to be their leader, but should be
+responsible individually to Parliament for their respective
+departments; and that their corporate responsibility should be limited
+to matters affecting the Province as a whole, such as finance or its
+relations with other countries.  The Governor's prerogative of
+dissolution would remain unaffected, but as the House would be brought
+into closer touch with the people, dissolutions would be unnecessary
+and undesirable.  Dr. Cockburn claimed that his proposal was in
+accordance with the natural evolution of Parliamentary Government, and
+contended that, the area of selection being enlarged, the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P27"></A>27}</SPAN>
+best men
+would be chosen as Ministers from the whole House and the best man for
+each office.  Ministers would not be called upon to justify proceedings
+of their colleagues which in their hearts they condemned, and private
+members would be able to exercise greater independence, as they would
+not be called upon to sacrifice their convictions to maintain their
+friends in office, and, being allowed greater freedom on questions of
+legislation, would introduce many bills of an important character.
+Intrigue, which was an essential of Party government, would become
+disreputable when resorted to for purposes of personal advancement.
+The objection that certain members would not work together if chosen to
+form an administration was met by the fact that men sat in amity on the
+Treasury benches who previously had denounced one another to the utmost
+of their power.  The distinctive feature of the proposal, therefore, is
+the indirect election of Ministers.  The people elect the
+representatives, who, in turn, are to elect certain of their number to
+form the Executive.  The first criticism that suggests itself is, that
+it is difficult to believe in the rapid elimination of party feeling,
+and that it is probable, granted the existence of intrigues among
+aspirants for office under the present system, that they would be
+increased tenfold when such persons sought to ingratiate themselves,
+not only with prospective Premiers, but with a majority of the members
+of the Assembly.  Again,
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P28"></A>28}</SPAN>
+while it is impossible to foresee all the
+results of the change, it may be anticipated that some obvious
+advantages would be counterbalanced by incoherence of policy and
+haphazard legislation, but that a class of men might be induced to come
+forward as candidates who are deterred by their horror of continual
+party strife.  Dr. Cockburn stated that no amendment would be required
+in the Constitution Act, as, after the election of the Ministers, their
+names would be submitted in the ordinary way to the Governor.  The
+present Ministry also favour the biennial retirement of half the
+members of the Assembly, in order to secure continuity in its
+composition, and the institution of the referendum.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+These proposals are warmly supported by the Labour Party.  They
+advocate elective Ministries on the ground that the people would obtain
+greater control over the Executive, that stability of government would
+be promoted, and that the legislative efficiency of Parliament would
+greatly be increased.  They contrast the rapid dispatch of business by
+local governing bodies with the waste of time and obstruction which
+prevail in legislative assemblies.  The biennial retirement of half the
+members of the Lower House commends itself to them for the reason which
+causes it to be opposed by men of conservative tendencies, that it
+would do away with the form of minority representation which is
+rendered possible in two-member constituencies by the widespread habit
+of plumping.  They have
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P29"></A>29}</SPAN>
+been foremost in their advocacy of the
+referendum and the initiative, and one of their representatives, Mr.
+Batchelor, has introduced a Bill which provides for the establishment
+of the referendum, and contains the striking clause that "If petitions,
+signed by not less than one-tenth of the electors entitled to vote for
+the election of members of the House of Assembly ... shall be presented
+to Parliament praying that legislation shall be initiated on any
+subject, the Attorney-General shall prepare, or cause to be prepared, a
+Bill to give effect to such petition; and such Bill shall be introduced
+into Parliament as a Government measure."  Mr. Batchelor believes that
+legislation would be accelerated on subjects which fail to receive
+attention because Ministries fear that they might alienate the
+sympathies of some of their supporters.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The idea of the direct consultation of the people upon a particular
+subject was put into practical effect at the recent elections, when
+they were invited, in the form of an initiative, to say whether they
+desired alterations in the law in regard to education.  Primary
+education in South Australia is free, secular and compulsory.  No
+religious instruction is permitted in the State schools, but the
+Minister of Education has the power, on receiving a written request
+from the parents of not less than ten children who attend any school,
+to require the teacher to read the Bible to any pupils who are present
+for that purpose for half an hour before
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P30"></A>30}</SPAN>
+half-past nine, the time
+at which the ordinary teaching commences.  The direct reference to the
+people was the result of a Parliamentary resolution instigated by the
+advocates of denominational education, who contended that public
+opinion was veering round in their favour and believed that they would
+obtain a great accession of strength in the female vote which was to be
+exercised for the first time.  It was couched in the form of the
+following questions, which were submitted to the electorate on a
+separate voting paper on the occasion of the general elections:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+1. Do you favour the continuance of the present system of education in
+the State schools?
+</P>
+
+<P>
+2. Do you favour the introduction of religious instruction in the State
+schools during school hours?
+</P>
+
+<P>
+3. Do you favour the payment of a Capitation Grant to denominational
+schools for secular results?
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The wording of the first and second questions was calculated to act in
+favour of the opponents of secularism, as the first would probably be
+answered in the negative not only by those who support religious
+instruction but also by many who believe that, in the present state of
+the finances, education should not be free except to such as are unable
+to pay for it.  It was not made clear whether it was intended to apply
+to the system as a whole or merely to its secular character.  The
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P31"></A>31}</SPAN>
+
+second question would bring together all who favour religious
+instruction, however much they may disagree among themselves as to the
+form in which it should be given.  During the progress of the campaign
+the majority of the candidates declined to express their views upon the
+matter, but stated that they would be prepared to abide by the popular
+decision.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The following figures give the result of the reference for the whole
+Province with the exception of the Northern Territory, which has a very
+small electorate:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<PRE>
+          1.  Yes ... ... 51,744.    No ... ... 17,755.
+          2.  Yes ... ... 18,889.    No ... ... 34,922.
+          3.  Yes ... ... 13,428.    No ... ... 41,975.
+</PRE>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P>
+The classification of the papers is disappointingly meagre, as no
+information can be gathered as to the number of supporters of religious
+teaching and the capitation grant who were favourable to the other
+leading features of the existing system, nor as to the extent to which
+the friends of the capitation grant approved or disapproved of
+religious instruction in the State schools.  The returns show, however,
+that, while 90,000 votes were given for Parliamentary candidates, some
+20,000 persons either did not vote at all or gave an informal vote upon
+the distinct issue, and that less than one-fifth pronounced against the
+Act as it stands.  The condemnation of the capitation grant is still
+more emphatic, and if the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P32"></A>32}</SPAN>
+supporters of religious teaching have
+less cause for dissatisfaction, it may be noted that in no constituency
+were the affirmative in excess of the negative replies, and that as the
+total number of votes given upon the first question was far larger than
+that on the second and third, thousands who had voted affirmatively
+upon the first must have considered that they had thereby returned a
+negative reply to the others and should be reckoned as additional
+opponents of religious instruction and of the capitation grant.  It is
+also noteworthy that, contrary to the general expectation, the country
+districts gave a considerably higher percentage of votes in favour of
+the present system than the seven constituencies which include Adelaide
+and its immediate neighbourhood.  The advocates of religious
+instruction have announced that they intend to continue their efforts
+to win over the majority to their views; in the meanwhile, they will
+realise that the process must be slow and will stir up the various
+agencies of the churches to increased activity in a sphere which is
+particularly their own.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The secular character of State education, which dates from 1851, cannot
+be shown to have had evil effects upon the conduct of the working
+classes, who almost universally respect and obey the law and have an
+air of confident independence which has been fostered by manhood
+suffrage, high wages and a high standard of comfort.  South Australia
+was fortunate in her original settlers, and has always
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P33"></A>33}</SPAN>
+attracted a
+good class of immigrants.  At present great benefit is accruing from
+the rapid development of Western Australia, which has relieved the
+pressure upon the labour market and increased the demand for South
+Australian goods.  The latest Savings Bank returns give the total
+amount deposited as £2,713,000 and the number of depositors as 88,876,
+a very satisfactory rate for a population of about 320,000, especially
+when it is considered that the working classes also have large
+investments in Friendly and Building Societies.  In conclusion, the
+visitor cannot but be struck by the entire absence of squalid poverty
+and of overcrowding in tenements and by the orderliness of the people
+and the high average of prosperity.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap02"></A>
+
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P34"></A>34}</SPAN>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+II
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+<I>DEMOCRACY AND ITS SAFEGUARDS IN NEW SOUTH WALES</I>
+</H3>
+
+<P CLASS="intro">
+The necessity for safeguards against financial extravagance and
+political pressure&mdash;The Crown Lands Act&mdash;The appointment of independent
+Railway Commissioners&mdash;The Standing Committee on Public Works&mdash;The
+Public Service Board&mdash;The unemployed, their numbers and treatment&mdash;The
+democratisation of the constitution&mdash;The Labour Party, its history,
+successes and aspirations.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P>
+The inhabitants of New South Wales, as of several other Australian
+Provinces, lived for many years in a fool's paradise.  They had
+received a magnificent inheritance in the land and were able, owing to
+the proved mineral resources of the country, to draw upon a practically
+inexhaustible fund in the willing advances of British capitalists.  All
+classes vied with one another, especially in Victoria, in the
+extravagant loans and expenditure which caused the crisis of 1893, the
+greatest blessing, as many think, that has ever befallen Australia.
+Regardless of the burdens it was imposing upon future generations, the
+Parliament of New South Wales, with which I shall be dealing
+principally in the present chapter,
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P35"></A>35}</SPAN>
+constructed unnecessary public
+works, allowed the Civil Service to be packed with the friends and
+relations of those in power, and authorised roads and bridges almost at
+the whim of each individual member.  This condition of things could not
+continue indefinitely: on the one side, a rapidly increasing debt, on
+the other, an enormous army of civil servants, aspirants for employment
+on public works and local claimants for a share of the expenditure of
+loan funds, who were able, on account of the wideness of the franchise
+and the numerous functions undertaken by the Government, to bring
+pressure to bear upon the Ministry through their representatives in the
+Assembly.  It was essential that the power to borrow should be
+curtailed; essential also that the possibilities of political pressure
+should greatly be diminished.  The former object could only be achieved
+at the cost of a comparative loss of credit, the latter by a wise
+recognition on the part of the electorate of the dangers of unfettered
+State action under a democratic constitution.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The rapid growth of indebtedness cannot justly be laid solely to the
+charge of the popular representatives, as, though the Legislative
+Council has occasionally resisted Loan Bills, it does not appear to
+have realised the dangers of the proposed expenditure.  Nor was it in
+human nature that it should have opposed the construction of railways
+by which its members, mostly landholders, would enormously
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P36"></A>36}</SPAN>
+be
+benefited.  Were their lands to be resumed by the Government, they
+would obtain an enhanced price for them; in any case, many of them
+would gain a large unearned increment.  The members of the Council who
+are nominated for life, similarly with Labour members, lawyers, and
+others who represent particular sections in Parliament, have been
+active mainly where their own interests have been concerned.  In
+pursuance of their right to reject measures of taxation, they threw out
+Sir George Dibbs' Income-Tax Bill in 1893 and, two years later, Mr.
+Reid's Land and Income-Tax Assessment Bill.  As landholders they
+objected to a land tax, and to an income tax as representatives of the
+wealth of the community.  Nor has the extravagance been due to payment
+of members, which is regarded by some as the cause of all the evils of
+Australia, as it was not inaugurated until after the greater part of
+the indebtedness had been incurred; but the necessity for political
+safeguards has been accentuated by the entrance into Parliament of men
+who, owing to their pecuniary circumstances, are less able to resist
+the demands of their electors, are deeply interested in the
+postponement of dissolutions, and are more dependent upon their
+re-election.  It would be equally false to attach any blame to the
+Labour Party, which did not make its appearance in the Assembly until
+1891.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+While the great diminution of borrowing and consequently of the
+construction of public works has
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P37"></A>37}</SPAN>
+lessened the opportunities for
+undue political influence, many still exist, and the number would have
+been far greater in the absence of recent legislation.  How numerous
+these opportunities might be, may be gauged from the fact that,
+exclusive of some 10,000 railway employés, 20,000 persons were formerly
+in the service of the State at an annual salary of £2,600,000; that
+many thousands are tenants of the Crown, liable to be propitiated by
+the reduction of their rent; that nearly half the population live in
+unincorporated districts, in which the local expenditure is met out of
+national funds, and that the unemployed continually clamour for rations
+and employment upon relief works, the receipt of which, under the
+existing law, does not entail political disfranchisement.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The first legislative recognition of this danger is seen in the Crown
+Lands Act of 1884, which constituted Local Land Boards, consisting of
+not more than three members to be appointed by the Governor in Council,
+which were to consider all applications for land, insure the due
+fulfilment of the conditions, residential or other, which are attached
+to different forms of tenure, and appraise the rents of pastoral leases
+and the rate of compensation for improvements.  The practice of the
+Ministry has been to appoint as chairman of a Board some experienced
+official of the Crown Lands Department and, as his colleagues, persons
+recommended by the residents in the district.  I am assured that this
+system of Land
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P38"></A>38}</SPAN>
+Boards, whose decisions are subject to an appeal to
+the Land Court, has worked satisfactorily and that confidence has been
+promoted by the publicity of the proceedings.  A full statement is
+published periodically, for each district, of the areas still open for
+settlement and of the conditions under which they can be taken up: the
+Land Boards have to inquire into the <I>bonâ fides</I> of the applicants.
+The question of the remission or suspension of the payment of rent is
+one of great difficulty in countries in which the Crown is the largest
+landholder.  If a discretionary power is given to the Ministry,
+political pressure can be brought to bear upon them by tenants through
+their Parliamentary representatives; if it be withheld, great hardship
+may ensue.  This is particularly the case in Australia, where the value
+of a property may greatly be reduced by the devastations of rabbits or
+other pests and the consequent deterioration in the grazing capability
+of the land, or by a fall in the price which can be obtained for stock
+or wool.  The Land Acts of New South Wales recognise either of the
+above causes as sufficient to entitle a pastoral lessee to a
+reappraisement of his rent by a Land Board, and permit the suspension
+of annual payments for one year in the case of holders of land under
+conditional purchase who reside upon it, but compel the vast majority
+of tenants of the Crown to abide strictly by the conditions of their
+agreements, under pain of the forfeiture of their holdings.  Cases of
+individual
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P39"></A>39}</SPAN>
+hardship, which would engage the attentions of a
+private landlord, are, in the avoidance of a greater evil, left without
+redress.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In 1888 two further measures were passed with a similar object, the
+Government Railways and Public Works Acts.  In a book recently
+published by authority of the Government,[<A NAME="chap02fn1text"></A><A HREF="#chap02fn1">1</A>] to which I have to
+acknowledge my indebtedness, it is stated that the re-organisation of
+the railway administration was rendered necessary by the excess of
+political influence, the absence of expert control, and the
+construction of new lines without sufficient regard to the prospects of
+an early remunerative traffic, which had caused the capital expenditure
+to have been nearly doubled while the net earnings had not increased.
+Under the former Act, accordingly, the Government railways and
+tramways, which are now about 2,600 miles in extent and have been
+constructed at a cost of thirty-eight millions, were vested absolutely
+in a Board of three Railway Commissioners to be appointed by the
+Governor in Council.  In order that their independence might be
+secured, they were made irremovable except for misbehaviour or
+incompetency, and then only upon a vote of both Houses, and their
+salaries were charged on the consolidated Revenue Fund, which was
+permanently appropriated to the required extent.  They were entrusted
+with the general management of the railways and with the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P40"></A>40}</SPAN>
+appointment, subject to the regulations governing entrance into the
+public service, and dismissal, of all clerks, officers and employés,
+whose salaries and wages, however, are subject to the vote of
+Parliament.  The Government were fortunate in securing the services of
+a very competent senior commissioner, who, with his colleagues, has
+been able, without lowering the rate of wages, to reduce the percentage
+of working expenses to gross revenue from 66.69 to 54.46 per cent., and
+has increased the net return on capital from 2.85 to 3.60 per cent.
+The result is the more satisfactory that the railways are not worked
+solely with a view to profit, but in such a manner as to benefit the
+population as a whole and to encourage the remote farmer and
+pastoralist.  The experience of the other Australasian Provinces which
+established similar Boards proves it to be essential that the
+commissioners should not only possess great commercial ability, but be
+strong men who are able to withstand the pressure to which they will be
+subjected and are regardless of the attacks which are likely to follow
+upon their refusal of favours.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The Public Works Act provides for the appointment of a Parliamentary
+Standing Committee on Public Works, which is to consider and report
+upon all proposals for the construction of public works, except such as
+are connected with the military or naval defences of the Province,
+where the estimated cost exceeds £20,000, and upon any similar
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P41"></A>41}</SPAN>
+proposals involving a smaller expenditure, which may be submitted to it
+by the Governor in Council.  It consists of thirteen persons, eight
+members of the Assembly and five of the Council, who are appointed for
+the duration of a Parliament and receive remuneration at the rate of
+three guineas for each sitting and thirty shillings a day for
+travelling expenses where the sittings are held at a distance from
+Sydney.  The Secretary for Public Works nominates an equal number from
+both sides of the House after consultation with the leader of the
+Opposition; in the majority of cases these nominations are challenged
+and the appointments are made by ballot of the whole House, which,
+according to trustworthy information, leads to disreputable
+negotiations between those who desire the additional salary and those
+who are able to confer it.  It has been suggested recently by a Royal
+Commission, which reported that "the expenditure on public buildings is
+in excess of what is necessary, owing to the system of political
+interference, which is responsible for the erection of special post
+offices in country townships where shops could be used, and of costly
+courts of justice and other structures which are not required," that
+all proposals for public expenditure involving a probable outlay of
+more than £5,000, should be considered and reported on by a committee
+consisting of the permanent heads of the Public Works Department, the
+Treasury, and the Department on whose behalf the proposed
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P42"></A>42}</SPAN>
+
+expenditure would occur.  But the adoption of this suggestion would not
+go to the root of the evil, which lies in the manner in which small
+public works of a purely local character are carried out in rural
+districts.  In the early days of the Province the Government, in order
+to widen the area of settlement, constructed all roads, bridges, and
+other local works out of national funds.  As population increased,
+municipalities were established, which rated themselves for local
+purposes and received subsidies from the Government proportionately to
+the amounts thus raised; but the Act of 1867, which contemplated the
+extension of the system, provided that new municipalities, either
+boroughs or municipal districts, could only be created upon the receipt
+of a petition signed by a stated proportion of the prospective
+ratepayers.  The Councils of such municipalities have the right to levy
+rates not exceeding two shillings in the pound in one year upon all
+rateable land within their borders, and receive from the Government
+during the first five years a sum equal to the whole amount actually
+raised in this manner or from any other specified source of revenue.
+This is gradually diminished until, at the end of fifteen years, no
+further subsidies are received, except such as have specially been
+voted by Parliament.  At the present time, owing to the absence from
+the Act of any compulsory provision, the incorporated districts of the
+Province comprise somewhat more than half of the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P43"></A>43}</SPAN>
+population, but
+less than one hundredth of the total area.  Successive Governments have
+recognised the evil, but have failed to pass a satisfactory Amending
+Act which would establish some form of local government in the
+unincorporated areas and compel them to pay a fixed portion of their
+local expenditure.  The estimates for such expenditure are framed by
+the Public Works Department, and are based upon the reports of its
+resident engineers and of the agents of the Government Architect.  The
+opportunity of the pushing rural member occurs upon the expenditure of
+the unappropriated sum of money which is left in the hands of the
+Minister, to meet requirements that cannot be foreseen; in this
+connection, members may threaten a withdrawal of their support and
+ministers may seek to win over new adherents.  The reports of such
+actions are probably much exaggerated, as there are many who delight in
+vilifying the Assembly, but the popularity of a rural representative
+depends undeniably on the number of public works which the Government
+carry out in his district.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The next important step was the appointment, early in 1895, of a Royal
+Commission to inquire into the Civil Service, which reported that the
+Act of 1884, under which a Civil Service Board of five persons had been
+constituted, had failed in its purpose, because the Board consisted
+usually of men who had other duties to perform and had not the power to
+fix the salaries or control the service, and
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P44"></A>44}</SPAN>
+because the right was
+reserved to ministers in special cases to make appointments without
+either examination or probation.  The Commissioners found that, owing
+to the absence of any well-ordered system of classification, the
+grossest inequalities and anomalies existed in the salaries of offices
+attached to different departments or even to the same department, as,
+to take an extreme case, that, in the department of the Government
+Architect the official who designed the Crown Lands office and
+supervised its erection was receiving less remuneration than the
+principal messenger; and that, while the service contained many
+high-minded and able officials, there were cases where incompetency,
+neglect of duty, and even drunkenness had formed no bar to continued
+employment.  In accordance with their recommendations, founded on the
+belief that Parliament could not directly cope with the matter, an Act
+was passed in 1895 which constituted a Public Service Board of three
+persons, to be appointed for a period of seven years in the same way,
+and with the same securities for independence, as the Railway
+Commissioners.  The Board was charged with the duty of making a
+thorough investigation, which was periodically to be repeated, into the
+working of each department, and of fixing the number, grade, and salary
+of the officials.  Future appointments and promotions were to be made
+by the Governor in Council, upon a certificate of the Board, subject to
+the regulations in regard to competitive
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P45"></A>45}</SPAN>
+examinations and an
+obligatory period of probation upon entrance into the service.  As the
+Commission had reported that it should be possible to effect an annual
+saving of a quarter of a million, special importance attached to the
+provisions which enabled the Board to dispense with the services of
+those who could not usefully and profitably be employed, such persons
+to receive gratuities on a fixed scale upon their retirement.  The
+Board were sitting during my stay in Sydney and had to suffer from the
+open hostility of those who had been affected by their decisions and
+from abusive correspondence in the press.  Their impartiality was
+impugned, and they were charged with allowing themselves to be
+influenced by the wishes of Ministers; but when the unpleasant task of
+retrenchment has been completed, they will doubtless carry on a work of
+practical utility unhampered by criticisms and accusations.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+No serious attempt has yet been made to deal with the problem of the
+unemployed, which is the more urgent from the fact that the receipt of
+relief does not disfranchise the recipient.  Its origin must be sought
+in the extensive Public Works policy of the past, which absorbed
+immigrants who would otherwise have settled on the land.  In 1887 the
+majority of the great undertakings had been completed, and many
+thousand men, thus thrown out of employment, drifted into Sydney and
+led the Ministry to establish a casual labour Board, which
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P46"></A>46}</SPAN>
+was
+discontinued after a year, but spent £252,000 in the relief of
+destitution.  In the following years other causes intensified the
+distress: the great strikes of 1890 destroyed confidence and deterred
+enterprise; the Broken Hill strike and the recent strike at Newcastle
+have had similar effects, the latter having struck a blow at the export
+trade in coal, which was gradually recovering from earlier
+disturbances; the collapse of 1893 cast adrift a large number of
+mechanics and clerks whose services had been required during the period
+of inflation, the fall in the price of wool caused a shrinkage in
+private expenditure, and the severe drought experienced during the
+latter part of 1895 had disastrous effects on the labours of those
+employed in mining, pastoral, and agricultural pursuits.  To meet the
+difficulty a Labour Bureau was established at Sydney in 1892, in order
+that the unemployed might be able to register themselves and might be
+helped to obtain work; but, while much has been done in this direction,
+no more satisfactory solution has been found for the problem, as a
+whole, than continual relief works, which attract the destitute from
+country districts and other Provinces, and afford merely temporary
+alleviation of the distress.  According to a recent report of the
+Superintendent of the Bureau, to whom I am indebted for information,
+£201,000 were spent during the year ending February last (in a
+population of a million and a quarter) upon works in
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P47"></A>47}</SPAN>
+aid of the
+unemployed, an expenditure of which two items alone, £50,000 for forest
+thinning and £35,000 for railway deviations, can be supposed to have
+had any other justification.  Mr. Creer told me in June, 1896, that the
+daily attendance at the Bureau had averaged for several months 1,500 to
+2,500, but had decreased latterly to 300 to 500; that many who had been
+given employment had abandoned it, and that, where a large number had
+been working together, he had had much trouble owing to their rowdiness
+and bad behaviour.  On this point the Premier, Mr. Reid, stated that he
+had been informed, on good authority, that there were not more than
+1,500 genuine unemployed in Sydney, but admitted, quoting his
+informant, that "there are also hundreds of men who do little or no
+work" and "a large number of men who have been identified with the
+unemployed agitation for the past ten years, and who appear to delight
+in its existence, as no doubt they consider it a capital cover to pose
+as <I>bonâ-fide</I> workmen out of employment."  The conduct of the latter
+is mainly due to the weakness of successive Ministries, which have
+failed to resist pressure and may almost be said to have encouraged
+idleness.  Such encouragement is also provided in the climate of
+Sydney, which enables men to sleep in the open for nine months of the
+year without discomfort.  Mr. Creer proposed that those who profess to
+be willing to work should be employed upon schemes of water
+conservation and
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P48"></A>48}</SPAN>
+irrigation in the drier parts of the Province,
+which should be carried out by gangs of men under strict supervision,
+and that the confirmed loafers should be placed in Industrial Homes and
+be compelled to choose between work and starvation.  The present
+Government have established thirty-five branches of the Labour Bureau,
+which will tend to prevent the unemployed from flocking into the
+Metropolis.  But the bulk of the unemployed at Sydney are demoralised
+by idleness and ignorant of agricultural pursuits, and can only be
+dealt with by a strong Minister who, regardless of political
+consequences, will discontinue the system of indiscriminate relief and
+treat the confirmed loafers with the greatest severity.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Democratic government, actively opposed by some and detested by most of
+the more educated members of the community, is firmly established in
+New South Wales, and is essential to the happiness of the people there
+as elsewhere in Australasia, in the general prevalence of purely
+commercial instincts and the absence of a landed class which is bound
+by inherited traditions to take an interest in its dependents.  Of
+recent years the democratic movement has been more rapid: payment of
+Members of the Assembly dates from 1889, Sir George Dibbs passed
+manhood suffrage in 1893, and Mr. Reid seeks to curtail the power of
+the Upper House.  A great impetus has been given by the Labour members,
+whose numbers and influence entitle
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P49"></A>49}</SPAN>
+them to be regarded as one of
+the most important political factors in the Province.  The reason for
+the formation of a separate party has thus been explained to me by one
+of its members: the prominent men among the working classes, who were
+anxious to promote progressive legislation, were hampered by the fact
+that they disagreed upon the question of the tariff, and that their
+votes were, consequently, useless as far as the advancement of such
+legislation was concerned.  The line of cleavage in the Assembly was
+between Protectionists and Free Traders; reactionary and advanced views
+were represented on both sides of the House.  They felt, therefore,
+that labour would be powerless unless the issue of the tariff were
+explicitly sunk and a programme put forward which would concentrate the
+votes of the working classes.  In their campaign they were doubtless
+aided by the Act passed for the payment of members, and by the failure
+of the maritime and other strikes, which impressed Trades Unionists
+with the necessity of seeking to attain their ends by other means.  A
+programme was, accordingly, drawn up, of which the principal items
+were, in order of importance, Electoral Reform, the Right of Mining for
+Gold on Private Land, and the Taxation of Land Values; it was adopted
+at the elections of 1891 by a large number of candidates who came
+forward in the Labour interest and succeeded in winning thirty-four
+seats.  Upon the meeting of
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P50"></A>50}</SPAN>
+Parliament it was decided by the
+Party, although the majority had Protectionist leanings, that support
+should be accorded to Sir H. Parkes, who had made Electoral Reform the
+principal item of his policy.  A few months later he was defeated on
+the Coal Mines Regulation Bill, and the votes of the Labour Party were
+transferred to his Protectionist successor, Sir G. Dibbs, who also
+favoured Electoral Reform; but, in the meanwhile and subsequently, many
+of the Labour members refused to leave their views on the tariff in
+abeyance, with the result that the number of those who adhered
+staunchly to the programme was reduced to five or six.  In spite of
+these defections, the first two items in the programme were carried and
+the Taxation of Land Values took the foremost place.  At the 1894
+elections the Labour Party had been much discredited, but secured
+fifteen representatives, in the Assembly of one hundred and
+twenty-five, who were pledged to the so-called "solidarity" vote.
+Their support was then transferred to Mr. Reid, the present Free Trade
+Premier, who was in favour of the Land Tax, which they enabled him to
+carry in 1895, though only after a further election, caused by the
+action of the Upper House, at which they carried three additional
+seats.  At present the Labour Party are concentrating all their efforts
+upon the abolition of the Legislative Council and the substitution for
+it of the referendum, which they regard as a necessary preliminary to
+the passage of
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P51"></A>51}</SPAN>
+advanced legislation, and are prepared to accept,
+as a step in the right direction, Mr. Reid's proposal that the tenure
+of the members of the Council who are nominated for life should be
+reduced to a period of years, and that all-important Bills, upon which
+the Assembly and Council have failed to agree in two consecutive
+sessions, should be referred to a plebiscite.  They argue that when the
+electors realise that the Council can only delay legislation for one
+session, and that the issue is then directly referred to them, they
+will sweep it away as a mere obstacle in the path of progress.  It may
+be doubted whether the adoption of the plebiscite would have the
+results that they anticipate, but it cannot be doubted that a compact
+body of representatives, aiming at the democratisation of the
+constitution and willing to support whichever party makes the highest
+bid for their votes, have but to remain united to achieve their object,
+especially when it is in accordance with the natural evolution of
+Parliamentary government.  The Labour members have a definite programme
+upon which all their efforts are concentrated, but are chary of giving
+their views upon other questions, as their votes, in consequence of the
+common pledge, will depend on the decision of the majority of the
+party.  Great indignation is expressed at the "caucus" meetings, at
+which the votes of all are thus determined; but it is difficult to see
+wherein the conduct of the Labour members differs essentially
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P52"></A>52}</SPAN>
+from
+that of the representatives who support one of the principal parties in
+the State.  In both cases certain main objects are sought and
+individual convictions are, on occasion, subordinated to their
+attainment; the only difference is that, in the latter case, the action
+is taken voluntarily in order to maintain a party in power; in the
+former, its expediency is determined by the majority of those who are
+united in a common purpose.  On the other hand it must be admitted that
+the Labour Party display, at present, all the irresponsibility of
+independence, and have often acted in such a manner as to justify the
+hostility of their opponents.  During my stay at Sydney they attempted,
+on one occasion, to convert the Assembly into a court of judicial
+appeal; on another, to interfere with the actuarial calculations of
+insurance societies.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The importance of political safeguards is accentuated not only by the
+accelerated movement in the direction of constitutional change, but by
+the increasing belief in the efficacy of State control and state
+interference.  During the session of 1896 the Government brought
+forward measures dealing with the conservation of water, the public
+health, adulteration, and the regulation of coal mines and of factories
+and workshops, the passage of which would necessitate a considerable
+increase in the number of State officials; and the Labour Party, the
+transference of whose support would place the Ministry in danger of
+defeat, have shown, by their votes in the past,
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P53"></A>53}</SPAN>
+their conviction
+that all new public works which are in the nature of a monopoly, should
+be constructed and owned by the State.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The scope of my inquiries in New South Wales led me in directions which
+have caused me to emphasise the darker sides of political life; but I
+wish to guard against the inference that similar shadows could not have
+been found elsewhere, and have touched upon the subject in my general
+observations upon Australasian tendencies.  In fact, I may add, I was
+drawn into my particular line of study at Sydney by the knowledge that
+New South Wales had taken especial precautions, except in regard to the
+unemployed, against the evils which I have here sought to summarise.
+The predominant note in that Province is one of hopefulness: the vast
+pastoral, mineral, agricultural, and other resources of the country,
+the harbour at Sydney which renders it the natural centre of the
+foreign trade of the Continent, and the rapidity of the recovery from
+the crisis of 1893, are calculated to inspire confidence in the future;
+as are the high average wages of the working classes, the low cost of
+living, and the short hours of labour.  But the most impressive sign of
+a healthy national life is the readiness of the democracy to recognise
+the dangers inherent in its rule, and to divest itself voluntarily of
+some of its powers, in the interests of pure and upright government.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P CLASS="footnote">
+<A NAME="chap02fn1"></A>
+[<A HREF="#chap02fn1text">1</A>] "New South Wales; the Mother Colony of the Australias."
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap03"></A>
+
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P54"></A>54}</SPAN>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+III
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+<I>PROBLEMS OF QUEENSLAND</I>
+</H3>
+
+<P CLASS="intro">
+The agitation of Central and Northern Queensland for separation from
+the South&mdash;The "Kanaka" traffic&mdash;White and coloured labour on the
+plantations&mdash;The Sugar Works Guarantee Act&mdash;The irregularity of
+employment in the sugar and pastoral industries&mdash;The conditions and
+opinions of the shearers&mdash;Assistance to dairymen and producers of
+frozen meat&mdash;The Labour Party, its history and prospects&mdash;Criticisms of
+the Government&mdash;The principles of State action.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P>
+In the Southern Provinces of Australia, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide
+are not only the political capitals, but have become naturally, from
+their geographical position and other advantages, the points of
+departure of the trunk lines of railway and the centres of commercial
+and intellectual activity.  In the case of Queensland, Brisbane, which
+was selected as the capital because settlement was almost confined to
+its neighbourhood, had to compete with several other good harbours; it
+is situated at the south-eastern extremity of a vast territory, and is
+connected only by sea with the northern parts above Bundaberg.  The
+existence of this means of communication caused successive Governments
+to
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P55"></A>55}</SPAN>
+postpone the construction of a coastal railway in favour of
+lines running from East to West which would promote the development of
+the pastoral resources of the interior by affording access to the
+nearest port; but these lines, which start from Brisbane, Rockhampton,
+and Townsville, and have a respective length of 483, 424, and 235
+miles, have tended, by increasing the importance of the latter places,
+to foster in their inhabitants a feeling of jealousy at the supremacy
+of the former and of antagonism of interests with the South.  The
+climatic conditions also are divergent: the Centre and South are
+semi-tropical; the North, which lies wholly within the tropics,
+contains a low fringe of fertile land along the coast, suitable for the
+cultivation of sugar, and the cause of the constant struggles which
+have surrounded the question of the employment of coloured labour.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The establishment of Queensland as a separate Province dates from 1859,
+and was at once followed by an extension of population to the Northern
+districts, and a few years later by the growth of a demand for
+separation, which culminated in 1871 in a petition to the Crown, in
+which the desire was expressed that the country to the North of the
+Dawes Range, which lies between Gladstone and Bundaberg, should be
+created into a new Province, on the ground that the absence of regular
+communication between the capital and the Northern settlements rendered
+good government and the administration
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P56"></A>56}</SPAN>
+of justice very difficult
+and uncertain.  During the succeeding years the agitation flickered in
+the North and was latent in the Centre, which had been conciliated by
+the construction of its railways and appeared to have identified itself
+with the South.  Some ten years ago the Northern members pressed their
+claims very strongly, and more recently the Central members have
+petitioned the Crown, sent a deputation to the Colonial Secretary, and
+brought their case before the Queensland Parliament.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The arguments advanced by the Northern and Central separationists are
+similar in character, and if recognised as valid in the case of the
+Centre, must be doubly so when applied to the North, owing to its
+greater distance from the capital and the difficulty of communication
+with many of its outlying districts.  The boundaries adopted by the
+separationists are those laid down by the Real Property (Local
+Registries) Act of 1887, under which the Province was divided into
+three parts, of which the Northern contains 255,000, the Central
+223,000, and the Southern 190,000 square miles.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The claims of the Centre, to which I have been able to give more
+attention, as I spent some time in that district, are based not only
+upon alleged unjust apportionment of expenditure, defective
+administration, and financial hardships endured under the protective
+tariff for the benefit of Southern manufacturers, but upon the inherent
+and inalienable right of a community of free British people.  It is
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P57"></A>57}</SPAN>
+pointed out that Central Queensland is in a more advanced position
+than were Victoria and Queensland at the time of their separation from
+New South Wales; that it returns less members than the city of Brisbane
+and the country within a radius of ten miles of it; and that the
+Northern and Central members, even if unanimous in favour of
+separation, would only number twenty-seven as against the forty-five
+representatives of the South, and are bound, apart from the
+constitutional aspect of the question, to look to the intervention of
+the Imperial Government.  The most important utterance from this source
+is the reply of Sir Henry Holland, now Lord Knutsford, to the Northern
+deputation, in the course of which he said that "there is no instance
+of recent years, since the Colonies attained the greatness they have,
+of the Imperial Legislature passing an Act interfering with the
+administration of one of those great Colonies, except at the request of
+the Colonial Government.  Therefore I say it is difficult, if not
+undesirable, to deal with such a question as this unless we have the
+authority, on a desire expressed on the part of the Colonial
+Legislature, or unless there is some case made out which is absolutely
+overwhelming;" and Mr. Chamberlain recently stated, with reference to
+Central separation, that, even if local agreement had been reached, the
+difficulties and risks attending any attempt to divide the Province
+were, under existing circumstances, very great.  He clearly appreciated
+the hostile feeling that would be aroused throughout
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P58"></A>58}</SPAN>
+Australia by
+any interference on the part of the Imperial Authorities with the
+internal government of an Australian Province.  As the separationists
+do not hope to obtain a majority in the Queensland Assembly, they are
+likely to be ardent advocates of Federation, especially if a clause be
+inserted in the Constitution which would enable the Federal Government
+to subdivide a Province without the consent of its Parliament.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The Southern members are influenced by the fear that, under separation,
+they would lose the Northern and Central markets.  To meet this
+objection, a resolution was moved in the Assembly by one of the members
+for Rockhampton that the separation of Central Queensland was
+desirable, but on such terms that the interchange of natural products
+between the two Provinces should continue to be free from tax or duty;
+but the proposal, which was seen to be fraught with endless
+difficulties, has not been regarded seriously.  The question has also
+arisen in what manner the liability for the public debt would be
+distributed in the case of separation, but it is contended that the
+matter would be settled under the Imperial Act of 1861, under which
+both Provinces would jointly be liable for the whole debt, and
+machinery is provided for arbitration as to the proportion of it which
+would be borne by each of the Provinces.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The necessity for some form of decentralisation has been recognised,
+and partially acted on, by
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P59"></A>59}</SPAN>
+successive Ministries since 1877, when
+a Royal Commission was appointed to inquire into the best means of
+bringing about a more equitable distribution of the revenue.  The
+system of Local Government, introduced in 1878 and extended in the
+following year to rural districts, lessened the direct control
+exercised from Brisbane, and handed over to elective Municipal Councils
+and Divisional Boards the expenditure of the revenue raised for local
+purposes.  In 1887 local registries of titles to real estate were
+established at Townsville and Rockhampton, and Sir S. Griffiths
+introduced a Financial Districts Bill, to divide the Province into
+three districts and to provide for separate accounts of revenue and
+expenditure.  The Bill was not passed, but separate returns have since
+been published, which do not, however, give a full statement of the
+contributions of the different districts to the revenue.  In 1892 the
+same Minister introduced a Constitution Bill, in which he proposed to
+place Queensland under a federal system of Government, a General
+Assembly of the United Provinces, and three Provincial Parliaments.  In
+the course of discussion the number of Provinces was reduced from three
+to two, to the exclusion of the Centre, which was to retain its
+connection with the South.  The Bill passed the Assembly, and was
+thrown out by the Council, principally on the ground that it had not
+been supported by the statutory two-thirds majority.  The Central
+Separationists were naturally opposed
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P60"></A>60}</SPAN>
+to the Bill in its amended
+form, and public opinion in the North was equally hostile.  It was
+pointed out that the expenses of government would greatly be increased,
+even more than under territorial separation, and that the powers of the
+Provincial Parliament would be so limited, in the absence of control
+over the railways and the customs tariff, that the North would not
+enjoy the enhanced prosperity which, under an entirely separate
+Government, would make it indifferent to the additional expenditure.
+The appointment of a judge of the Supreme Court to reside at
+Townsville, and, since last year, at Rockhampton, has lessened the
+expenditure and loss of time involved in legal proceedings initiated in
+the Northern and Central Districts.  In the Ministerial measure dealing
+with the election of delegates to represent Queensland at the
+Australian Federal Convention, which failed to become law owing to an
+insoluble deadlock between the two Houses, it was proposed that, of the
+ten delegates, three should be elected by the Northern and two by the
+Central Parliamentary Representatives, a greater proportion than would
+be warranted by their respective populations as compared with that of
+the South.  The Premier, Sir Hugh Nelson, defended the liberality of
+this proposal on the ground that "it is of the utmost importance that
+in any federal constitution provision should be made for the division
+of existing Colonies and the terms on which such divisions shall take
+place;" adding
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P61"></A>61}</SPAN>
+that "the Northern and Central districts have a
+perfectly legitimate aspiration: they are looking forward to the day
+when they will be formed into separate states."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The above remarks embody the views of many South Queenslanders who look
+forward to eventual separation, but are not prepared to advocate it at
+present; the Central separationists, on the other hand, contend that
+the question is ripe for immediate settlement, and, as a proof of
+popular feeling in the matter, point out that ten out of the eleven
+representatives of Central Queensland are pledged to separation, and
+that numerous petitions were handed to the late Governor, Sir Henry
+Norman, on the occasion of his tour through the district.  Personal
+observation and inquiries directed to all with whom I came in contact,
+have convinced me that the enthusiasm for separation is greatly on the
+wane in the Centre, owing to the strength of the Labour Party, which,
+in 1896, carried a majority of the Central seats, and to the inevitable
+reaction which succeeds a period of excitement.  The owners of property
+and tradespeople of Rockhampton have everything to gain by a change
+which would make their town the capital of a province; the miners at
+Mount Morgan and the shearers are indifferent, though the latter,
+judging from a conversation which I had with some twenty of them, have
+a vague idea that under separation the Labour Party, of which they are
+supporters, would be in a stronger position; and the pastoralists, who
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P62"></A>62}</SPAN>
+direct the principal industry of the community, are practically
+unanimous in their opposition: they have obtained the railway which has
+opened up the Western Downs, and they dread the predominance of the
+Labour Party and of Rockhampton, the inhabitants of which, they
+maintain, have shown little regard for their interests.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As regards the feeling in the North, I have been told by one of the
+Northern members, himself a supporter of separation, and by others,
+that the agitation is at present dormant.  The election of local men
+has been promoted by the payment of members; previously most of the
+Northern representatives were inhabitants of Brisbane, who were out of
+touch with the feelings and interests of their constituents.  Material
+and political considerations also have exercised great influence.  The
+sugar planters, ardent advocates of separation as long as the
+importation of coloured labour was forbidden, have been staunch
+supporters of the Union since the removal of the prohibition and the
+passage of the Sugar Works Guarantee Act.  On the other side, the
+Labour Party, who share in the hatred of coloured labour which is
+common to the working classes throughout Australasia, opposed
+separation while it was likely to lead to its legalisation, but have
+been encouraged by their present strength, the tenure of seven seats
+out of sixteen in the Northern district, in the belief that, if they
+obtained separation, they might hope again to
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P63"></A>63}</SPAN>
+exclude it, and
+would have an opportunity of giving effect to their general political
+views.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The "Kanaka" question has been so fully discussed in the press and in
+numerous pamphlets, that the Imperial and Provincial Acts, which first
+aimed at the protection of the islanders, may be dismissed with the
+remark that they are admitted in Queensland to have had abundant
+justification.  The conditions have been made successively more
+stringent until, at the present time, it is almost impossible that any
+Kanakas should be taken against their will, ill-treated on the voyage,
+or oppressed upon the plantations.  Government agents, to give a brief
+summary of the Acts, accompany all recruiting vessels and are bound to
+see that the islanders understand the nature of the agreement into
+which they are about to enter, as to rate of payment, and duration of
+service; that every return passenger is duly landed along with his
+property at his own village or district, and that the islanders receive
+the prescribed provisions and clothing on the journey, and are
+otherwise treated in accordance with the regulations.  Inspectors
+receive the vessels upon their arrival in Queensland, superintend the
+signature of the agreements, and, generally, are responsible for the
+welfare of the labourers during their residence in the country.  In the
+case of sickness employers are bound to provide proper medicine and
+medical attendance, and they may be called upon to contribute towards
+the maintenance of a hospital.
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P64"></A>64}</SPAN>
+The contentment of the labourers
+may be inferred from the fact that a large proportion re-engage
+themselves upon the expiration of the term of three years, and that, of
+the 1,305 who were landed during the year 1895, 250 had previously been
+employed in Queensland.  As the result of frequent intercourse, the
+conditions are well known in most of the islands from which the
+labourers are recruited.  According to official figures, the number of
+islanders in Queensland increased in 1895 from 7,853 to 8,163, of whom
+nearly two-thirds are in the districts of Mackay and Bundaberg; all are
+employed on the cultivation of sugar, with the exception of a few at
+Thursday Island, who are engaged in the bêche-de-mer and pearl-shell
+fisheries.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It would seem that the only valid objection which can now be made
+against the system, except by those who disagree from the whole thing
+on principle, is, that it may lead to the gradual depopulation of some
+of the islands by the withdrawal of a considerable proportion of the
+adult males of marriageable age.  It may be noted, in this connection,
+that the islanders have also been recruited for Guatemala, if not for
+other countries.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The mode of cultivation and the treatment of the raw material have been
+modified during the last few years.  At first the cane was grown solely
+in large plantations, each of which possessed a separate mill and
+treated only its own produce; but as prices fell and the local demand
+was overtaken, more scientific
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P65"></A>65}</SPAN>
+methods began to prevail.  It was
+found, on the one hand, that the cane could be treated most
+economically on a large scale; on the other, that few plantations were
+sufficiently extensive to keep a large mill at work during the whole
+season.  To meet these conditions, central mills were constructed and
+the land was in many cases subdivided, and let or sold on a system of
+deferred payments to farmers, who were encouraged to cultivate it in
+small areas, and to send their cane to the factories.  The interests of
+the mill-owner and the farmers should be identical; the former is
+anxious that his mill should be worked to its full capacity, and has
+every inducement to dispose of his land upon terms favourable to
+cultivators; the latter have a sure outlet for the disposal of their
+produce.  In 1894, fully 40 per cent. of the 80,000 acres under cane
+was cultivated in areas of ninety acres and under.  An impetus was
+given to this movement by the temporary prohibition of the importation
+of islanders, which compelled planters to consider the possibility of
+an alternative to coloured labour, and by a vote of £50,000, by means
+of which two central mills were erected for groups of small farmers.
+The success of these mills induced the Government to pass the Sugar
+Works Guarantee Act, under which "any company which can give the
+Government security in land, has the requisite cane crops growing for a
+fair season's mill work, and can show that it has an area of land
+capable of supplying the mill with a full crop, can obtain the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P66"></A>66}</SPAN>
+
+sanction of the Government to accept a tender for the erection of a
+factory, the State guaranteeing the interest and the redemption of the
+debentures issued in payment for it.  By this measure the country has
+not only supplied the means for the steady development of the industry,
+but has taken, in its belief in the soundness of the enterprise, a
+direct interest in it.  No surer guarantee can exist than this law,
+that the Parliament of Queensland will in future safeguard the
+prosperity of an undertaking in which the State has so keen an
+incentive to protect itself from loss."[<A NAME="chap03fn1text"></A><A HREF="#chap03fn1">1</A>]  The contingent liability
+incurred by the State in the year ending June, 1895, was £157,000, and
+in the preceding year £44,000: the amount is likely to be increased, as
+the construction of seven additional mills has been conditionally
+approved of, but, under an amending Act of 1895, is not to exceed a
+total of £500,000.  The Premier sees no reason to suppose that, with
+proper management, any of the new factories will fail to meet their
+liabilities to the State.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Under these circumstances the question arises whether coloured labour
+will permanently be necessary, the answer to which depends upon the
+ability of the white man to become acclimatised in a tropical country.
+"If the white man," to quote a prominent Queenslander, "can live and
+work and bring
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P67"></A>67}</SPAN>
+up his children in the tropics of this continent,
+then assuredly the time will come when we shall require coloured
+labourers to cultivate our cane no more than do the continental
+sugar-beet farmers require coloured men to do their field work.  Where
+can we look for proof of the European's ability to work and live in the
+heated North?  He works on railways and in mines now, but there is an
+entire lack of evidence that his children and his children's children
+can continue to do so with unimpaired health and vigour.  Again, it has
+to be seen what will be the normal death-rate in the North.  It has
+been heavy, but we have yet to estimate the lowering of that rate as
+the malarial swamps are drained, and the dense tropical scrubs cleared
+away....  Time alone can solve this question thoroughly, though it may
+be permitted one to say that so far there is ample reason to think that
+the evidence is accumulating in favour of the European's ability to
+permanently inhabit and cultivate our tropical lands.  There is some
+satisfaction in noting, for instance, that, despite the increased
+settlement in Northern Queensland, the death-rate for the Colony has
+fallen from 22.97 Per 1,000 in 1884 to 12.08 in 1894."[<A NAME="chap03fn2text"></A><A HREF="#chap03fn2">2</A>]  The rate of
+mortality among the Kanakas is reported officially to have been 40.62
+per 1,000 in 1894, and 29.64 in 1895.  Their employment is absolutely
+prohibited in the mills, and is restricted to certain forms of work
+upon the plantations.  The
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P68"></A>68}</SPAN>
+Government are anxious to replace the
+Kanakas gradually by white labourers and to settle the tropical
+littoral with a population of small farmers.  This object, however, it
+is contended, cannot be attained without the temporary employment of
+coloured labour.  Another aspect of the question may be noted: granted
+that white men cannot at present do all the work upon the plantations,
+Kanakas are preferable to Orientals, whether Chinese or Japanese, who
+would remain permanently in the country.  Even in Queensland, though
+less than in the Southern Provinces, such a state of things would be
+regarded as eminently undesirable.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A considerable demand for white labour has thus been created, the
+extent of which may be gauged from the figures given to me by a planter
+who has 3,000 acres under cane in the neighbourhood of Bundaberg.  Upon
+land which formerly carried 800 head of cattle and gave employment to a
+single married couple, he now employs 300 Kanakas and 80 white men
+during the whole of the year, and 120 additional white men during the
+crushing season, which lasts, as a rule, from June to December.  The
+latter are compelled to shift for themselves during the remaining
+months of the year and wander about the country in the search for
+casual work; many, it is said, seek it in the agricultural districts of
+the Darling Downs.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The people of Queensland are confronted with a serious problem in the
+fact that of the three
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P69"></A>69}</SPAN>
+principal industries of the countries,
+mining alone affords regular and constant employment, and that only on
+proved goldfields.  In the sugar industry, as stated, about 40 per
+cent. of the labourers, exclusive of the islanders, are permanently
+employed, and in the pastoral industry the proportion is even smaller.
+On a typical sheep-station in the Central district which carries 80,000
+sheep, the permanent staff number only 19, and are supplemented at
+shearing time by some 25 to 30 shearers and as many more workmen who
+pick up, sort, and pack the fleeces.  The shearers with whom I
+conversed bewailed the irregularity of their employment; they work at
+high pressure for a few months in the wool-sheds, and have no fixed
+occupation during the remainder of the year.  I was favourably
+impressed by the men, and was informed that, as a class, they have much
+improved of late years, and that many of them have considerable
+savings.  Allowances must be made for workmen who are herded together,
+good characters with bad, and lead a nomadic and demoralising existence
+which lacks the sobering influences of sustained industry and domestic
+associations.  Recent Ministries have been alive to the importance of
+this question and have aimed at the gradual diminution of the size of
+pastoral properties held from the Crown.  The Land Act of 1884 divided
+them into two equal parts, over one of which the holder was offered a
+fixed lease for 21 years, while the other was to be subject to
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P70"></A>70}</SPAN>
+resumption by the State as the demand for the land might arise.  Under
+this provision large tracts of country have been thrown open for
+occupation as grazing farms of from 5,000 to 20,000 acres and have been
+eagerly taken up, as many as twenty applications having been received
+for a single farm where the quality of the soil has been exceptionally
+favourable.  The Act of 1894, passed by the present Government,
+established a new form of tenure which was intended to meet the special
+requirements of the shearers.  Grazing homesteads not exceeding 2,500
+acres in area may be acquired at a low rental, subject to the condition
+that the selector must reside upon the land for not less than six
+consecutive months in each year during the first ten years of his
+lease; but, under license from the Land Board, the selectors of two or
+more homesteads may co-operate to work their holdings as a whole, in
+which case residence by one-half of the whole number of selectors will
+fulfil the conditions of occupation.  Some of the shearers may, from
+the force of habit, be incapable of a settled existence; but many of
+them proclaim their desire to occupy land and are hereby afforded an
+opportunity which they have scarcely at present realised.  The
+attractiveness of this form of tenure will be increased if the
+Government pass their proposed legislation to authorise them to sink
+bores for the supply of water to the smaller holdings.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A better state of things prevails upon the Darling Downs in the south
+of the Province, where the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P71"></A>71}</SPAN>
+shearing is done by cultivators and
+others who are in regular employment.  This part of the country should
+eventually carry a large resident population engaged in the growth of
+cereals and in dairy-farming.  To promote settlement and "in the strong
+belief that Queensland is capable of and will soon be supplying not
+only her own requirements, but also of exporting largely of her surplus
+farm products, the Government have made provision in connection with
+the Torres Strait Service for the carriage of farm and dairy produce in
+large quantities, and have also submitted to Parliament a measure for
+the appointment of an additional Minister, to be charged solely with
+the development of agricultural interests, and have taken the necessary
+steps for the establishment of an agricultural college within a
+reasonable distance from Brisbane."[<A NAME="chap03fn3text"></A><A HREF="#chap03fn3">3</A>]  The export of dairy produce has
+been encouraged by the offer of a bonus, and the construction of butter
+factories by loans, the funds being obtained from a portion of the
+proceeds of a tax imposed upon owners of sheep and cattle by the Meat
+and Dairy Produce Encouragement Act of 1893.  The remainder is expended
+in advances to proprietors of meat works, and it is provided in a
+subsequent Act, that the amounts received in payment of interest or
+repayment of the principal of the loans, may be refunded to the payers
+of the tax.  The progress of settlement has been retarded by the
+alienation from
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P72"></A>72}</SPAN>
+the Crown of much of the land that is most
+suitable for the purpose, both in quality and situation.  The freehold
+has in many cases passed to financial institutions, which, having
+advanced upon it an amount greater than the present value as
+depreciated by the fall in prices, are unwilling to sell the land and
+to reconcile themselves to their losses.  The Government have been
+authorised by the Agricultural Land Purchase Act of 1894, to expend a
+sum not exceeding £100,000 a year in the purchase, under voluntary
+agreement, of land suitable for agricultural settlement which is to be
+offered for selection in agricultural farms, and have made considerable
+use of their powers, but the system has not been sufficiently long in
+operation to enable an estimate to be formed of its results.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The irregularity of employment has engendered among the working classes
+a widespread feeling of discontentment, and constitutes one of the main
+causes of the numerical strength of the Labour vote, which amounts to
+about 34 per cent. of the whole.  The Parliamentary Labour Party in
+Queensland differs from that of the other Australian Colonies in its
+close identification with directly socialistic aspirations.  It was
+founded to give effect to the political platform of the Australian
+Labour Federation, published in 1890 under the influence of the
+communist, William Lane, which advocates "the nationalisation of all
+sources of wealth and all means of producing and exchanging wealth;"
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P73"></A>73}</SPAN>
+its organ, <I>The Worker</I>, writes under the motto "Socialism in our
+time," and several of its members publicly admit that they are
+Socialists.  Others, however, who look forward to the possibility of an
+alliance with a reconstructed Opposition ask to be judged solely by the
+programme of the party which contains no distinctly socialistic item,
+in the popular acceptation of the term, except the establishment of a
+State Labour Department to which men may apply as a right for work at a
+minimum wage; but they will have difficulty in overcoming the general
+impression, which their opponents, not unnaturally, do all in their
+power to intensify.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The Party first came into prominence at the elections in 1893, when
+they won fifteen seats out of seventy-two, and have nothing to show in
+the way of practical legislation to counterbalance the undoubted
+consolidation of the forces of their opponents.  A comparison suggests
+itself with the success of the Labour Parties in New Zealand and South
+Australia which have co-operated with progressive Ministers in the
+enactment of measures of social reform.  In the latter case, the Labour
+Party have been so moderate in their programme, speeches, and actions,
+that they have carried a quarter of the seats in the Legislative
+Council, and thus prove themselves not to have alienated the
+householders and small owners of property who form the bulk of the
+electorate for that House.  In New South Wales
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P74"></A>74}</SPAN>
+the Labour Party
+have been able, by opportunistic transfers of their votes, to secure
+electoral reform and the taxation of incomes and land values.  The
+position of affairs in Queensland is not analogous; the coalition of
+Sir S. Griffith and Sir T. McIlwraith practically destroyed the
+Opposition, and made it necessary for the Labour Party to trust almost
+entirely to their own efforts, which should have been directed towards
+the concentration of all the progressive feeling of the community.
+Their policy, on the contrary, has deprived them of the support of many
+who are dissatisfied with the Government, and has not materially
+strengthened their hold upon the working classes.  Though they carried
+twenty seats in 1896, they only polled 964 more votes than in 1893, nor
+have they improved their position in the House, as, even should they be
+supported by the ten Oppositionists and Independents, they would be
+confronted by a solid phalanx of forty-two Ministerialists.  It may be
+of interest to note that their principal successes have been gained
+among bushmen and miners, but that they also hold the sugar district of
+Bundaberg, two agricultural constituencies, two seats at Rockhampton,
+and three in the poorer and outlying parts of Brisbane.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The complaints of the Labour Party against the Government were directed
+mainly to their failure to amend the electoral laws or to pass
+humanitarian legislation, and to the stringency of the Peace
+Preservation Act of 1894.  Apart from their obvious
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P75"></A>75}</SPAN>
+objections to
+the plural vote of persons holding property in different divisions,
+they contend that many miners and shearers are permanently
+disfranchised, as they are neither householders nor reside for six
+months in the same place, and that persons qualified to be registered
+are impeded by the provisions which oblige them to fill in a claim in
+which, among other things, they have to state their qualification, and
+to get the claim attested by a justice of the peace, electoral
+registrar, or head male teacher of a State school.  The Peace
+Preservation Act was passed at a time when a serious disturbance had
+arisen from a strike of shearers in the pastoral districts of the West,
+on the ground that the ordinary laws of the Colony were insufficient
+for the prevention, detection, and punishment of crime in such
+districts, and was as strongly justified by some as it was condemned by
+others.  The Act authorised the Executive to proclaim districts which
+should come under its operation, and to appoint such district
+magistrates as might be necessary for carrying its provisions into
+effect.  These may be summarised in the words of the Hon. T. J. Byrnes,
+the Attorney-General: "The first portion of this legislation is to give
+us power to put an end to the carrying of arms and the sale of arms in
+the districts that have been disturbed...  It is proposed in the second
+part of the Bill that inquests on crime may be held...  The third
+portion of the Bill deals with the power
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P76"></A>76}</SPAN>
+of arrest and detention
+of persons under suspicion."  Under the latter heading persons
+suspected of crime committed in a proclaimed district could be arrested
+by a special or provisional warrant, in any part of Queensland, and be
+detained in prison; but it was provided that such persons should be
+treated as persons accused of crime and not as convicted prisoners, and
+that no person "should be held in custody under a provisional warrant
+for a longer period than thirty days, nor under a special warrant for a
+longer period than two months, without being brought to trial for the
+offence stated in such warrant."  In justification of the measure, the
+same Minister quoted cases in which woolsheds had been burnt and the
+police and private individuals had been fired upon although no actual
+loss of life had occurred.  A stranger cannot form an opinion upon the
+question and can only note, on the one side, that the operation of the
+Act was limited to one year, that it was most judiciously administered,
+not more than one district, under a single district magistrate, having
+been proclaimed, and that it brought about the speedy cessation of the
+troubles; on the other, that no attempt was made by the Government at
+mediation between the opposing parties, although, to quote the
+Attorney-General again, they "knew that labour troubles of an
+aggravated nature were likely to occur."  A Bill "to provide for
+conciliation in industrial pursuits" is included in the programme of
+the Government.
+</P>
+
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P77"></A>77}</SPAN>
+
+<P>
+As regards the necessity for humanitarian legislation, reference can be
+made to the evidence given before a Royal Commission in 1891.  The
+Commissioners were unanimous in reporting that, in many factories and
+workshops which they had visited, the sanitary conditions were very
+bad, the ventilation was improperly attended to, and little or no
+attempt had been made to guard the machinery.  They were agreed as to
+the need of further legislation, but, while some were of opinion that
+the wider powers should be exercised by inspectors under the local
+authorities, others were in favour of the appointment of a special
+class of male and female inspectors.  They also found that children of
+the ages of ten, eleven, and twelve years were employed in factories,
+and that the hours of labour in many retail shops were very long,
+adding that medical evidence was conclusive that the excessive hours
+were more injurious to health in Queensland than they would be in a
+colder climate; but they were unable to concur as to the advisability
+of legislative interference.  A Factory Act, though not of a very
+stringent character, was passed by the Government towards the end of
+the session of 1896.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The attention of the Government during the last few years has been
+directed mainly towards the restoration of the credit of the country
+and the development of its industries.  Queensland reached its lowest
+ebb in 1889, when, in spite of the recent loan of ten millions, the
+deficit amounted to
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P78"></A>78}</SPAN>
+£484,000.  Since that time matters have
+rapidly improved, and in 1895 and 1896 the revenue was considerably in
+excess of the expenditure.  This result has been achieved by economical
+administration, and the direct encouragement of enterprise which has
+been effected by a large extension of the sphere of State action.  The
+principles involved appear to have been threefold.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+First, that the State should facilitate the occupation of outlying
+districts by the construction of public works, provided they may be
+expected to return a fair interest upon the expenditure.  The proposals
+put forward some fifteen years ago, that the three Western lines should
+be connected with the Gulf of Carpentaria by a series of Land Grant
+Railways, were condemned by the sense of the community, which preferred
+to postpone their construction until it could be undertaken by the
+State.  In pursuance of this policy all the railways are owned and
+managed by the State, which has recently protected itself against the
+danger of the construction of unprofitable lines under political
+pressure by an Act of Parliament under which, upon any fresh proposal,
+the local authorities affected may be required to give a guarantee that
+they will, for a period of years, should the earnings fail to reach a
+certain standard, make good half of the deficiency out of the rates.
+In the Western portions of the Colony, in which occupation has been
+retarded by the scarcity of water, the Government have also
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P79"></A>79}</SPAN>
+incurred considerable expenditure in the successful provision of
+artesian water and in general works of conservation.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Secondly, that the State may assist producers to dispose advantageously
+of their produce.  Reference has been made to the contracts which the
+Government have entered into with the British India Company for the
+carriage of farm and dairy produce.  They are now considering the
+advisability of assisting cattle-owners, whose resources are severely
+strained by the low prices which they obtain in London for their frozen
+meat.  The principal cause of the low prices and the attitude of the
+Premier can be gathered from the following extract from the financial
+statement which he delivered in 1896:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Our meat I believe to be as good as any in the world, and the cost at
+which it can be delivered at a profit at the ports of the Colony will
+compare favourably with any other country that I am aware of; and yet
+the prices lately obtainable in London are such as barely cover the
+charges for freezing, freight, insurance, &amp;c.  Something will have to
+be done if the industry is to be preserved.  The only suggestion I have
+received as yet is that the Colony, either individually or in
+conjunction with the other Colonies, should take the business of
+distribution into its own hands, as it is believed that, whilst the
+consumers give good value for our meat, a great part of that value is
+absorbed by various graduations of middlemen, leaving, as I have said,
+a margin for the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P80"></A>80}</SPAN>
+producer altogether disproportionate to the real
+value of the product.  To effect this a large amount of capital will be
+required, respecting which I have no proposal to submit, as the matter
+is really one for private enterprise to undertake, but I mention the
+matter as one requiring speedy and most serious attention, because, if
+private enterprise should not be forthcoming to cope with the
+difficulty, it may devolve upon Parliament to adopt such measures as
+may appear practicable to conserve an important industry which we can
+ill afford to lose."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Subsequently, I understand (I was not in Queensland at the time), a
+Parliamentary Committee was instructed to consider the question, and
+reported in favour of the establishment at London and in the provinces
+of depôts for the receipt and distribution of frozen meat.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+On another occasion, referring to the injury done to the harbour of
+Brisbane by excessive towage rates, the Premier said that if private
+enterprise could not do it for a less sum, it would be a very simple
+thing for the Government to take the matter in hand.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Thirdly, that the State may use its credit, after strict investigation
+of the circumstances and upon conviction of the validity of the
+security, to enable prospective producers to borrow money at a low rate
+of interest.  The Sugar Works Guarantee Act, of which I have quoted the
+provisions, has led other producers to ask for similar concessions.
+The
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P81"></A>81}</SPAN>
+farmers want flour mills and cheap money; the pastoralists and
+graziers complain of the tax levied upon them under the Meat and Dairy
+Produce Encouragement Acts.  Why, they ask, should the sugar industry
+be exceptionally favoured?  Again, if the Government are to establish
+distributing agencies for frozen meat, why not also for other produce?
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The Socialists describe these various measures as a spurious form of
+socialism calculated to increase the profits of a single class of the
+community; but the Government do not trouble themselves about abstract
+terms.  They have steadily pursued a settled policy, and have
+successively assisted the sugar, pastoral, and agricultural interests;
+they are prepared, if necessary, to give substantial help to
+cattle-owners in the disposal of their produce, and they intend to
+propose amendments of the mining laws which will promote the further
+development of the industry.  Nor have the producers alone been
+benefited; the working classes, who are the first to suffer in times of
+depression, are sharing in the renewed prosperity of the country, and
+have been able to take advantage of the increased demand for their
+services.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P CLASS="footnote">
+<A NAME="chap03fn1"></A>
+[<A HREF="#chap03fn1text">1</A>] Quoted, by permission of the author, from an article contributed to
+the <I>Australasian Review of Reviews</I> by Mr. J. V. Chataway, one of the
+members for Mackay.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="footnote">
+<A NAME="chap03fn2"></A>
+[<A HREF="#chap03fn2text">2</A>] See footnote p. 66.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="footnote">
+<A NAME="chap03fn3"></A>
+[<A HREF="#chap03fn3text">3</A>] Financial statement 1896, p. 14.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap04"></A>
+
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P82"></A>82}</SPAN>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+IV
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+<I>THE LAND POLICY OF NEW ZEALAND</I>
+</H3>
+
+<P CLASS="intro">
+Differences of conditions between Australia and New Zealand&mdash;The Public
+Works policy&mdash;Taxation on land&mdash;The Land Act of 1892&mdash;The Land for
+Settlements Acts&mdash;The Government Advances to Settlers Acts&mdash;The
+encouragement of settlement&mdash;The co-operative construction of Public
+Works&mdash;The unemployed&mdash;Continuity of policy.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P>
+The Constitution of 1852, under which New Zealand obtained responsible
+government, differed from those granted to the Australian Provinces in
+the creation of Provincial as well as Central Authorities.  Owing to
+the mountainous character of many parts of both islands, and in the
+absence of railways and other facilities for internal transit,
+communication had been carried on principally by sea, and settlement,
+instead of radiating from one point, as in New South Wales, Victoria,
+and South Australia, had been diffused at Auckland, Wellington,
+Christchurch, Dunedin, and other places of secondary importance.  Under
+these circumstances, while it was deemed advisable to create a Central
+Government at Auckland, which was transferred to Wellington in 1865,
+six elective
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P83"></A>83}</SPAN>
+Provincial Councils were established, which, though
+their legislative and executive powers were confined within specified
+limits, promoted the continuance of the separate development of the
+several portions of the Colony.  In 1876 the Provincial Legislatures,
+which had in the meanwhile been increased by a division of territories
+to ten, were abolished by the Central Government, principally because
+they impeded the execution of the national policy of the construction
+of public works.  The effects of the system, however, are still seen,
+especially in the demands made in the House of Representatives that the
+different districts shall share in the benefits of any proposed
+expenditure of public funds.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Another feature which served to differentiate New Zealand from
+Australia was the existence of a warlike native race in the North
+Island, which opposed the colonisation of the early settlers.  From the
+outset, ignorance of each other's language and habits of thought led to
+misunderstandings in regard to the disposal of land, which was
+complicated by the communal tenure of the Maoris.  The appreciation of
+this difficulty led to the insertion in the Treaty of 1840, in which
+the chiefs purported to cede the sovereignty of New Zealand, of a
+provision which reserved to the Crown the right of pre-emption over all
+native lands.  But the dissatisfaction was not allayed; the natives,
+conscious of the steady advances of the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P84"></A>84}</SPAN>
+settlers and urged to sell
+by agents of the Crown, feared that they would gradually be
+dispossessed of their territory.  A conflict which arose in regard to
+some land, and led to fatal results, increased the state of tension,
+which culminated, after a struggle in the extreme north, in the
+prolonged conflicts of 1860 to 1870.  After the pacification the
+reciprocal relations began to improve, and are now excellent.  The
+Maoris are universally respected, have four members in the House of
+Representatives, and two in the Legislative Council, and are
+represented in the Executive Council by a Minister, who is himself a
+half-caste.  Numerous attempts have also been made to settle the land
+question, notably by the resumption of the right of pre-emption, which
+had been waived for a time, and by the constitution, by an Act of 1893,
+of a Validation Court for the purpose of considering and finally
+settling the titles to lands obtained by Europeans from the natives.
+In view of their pre-emptive right, the Government have been bound, in
+justice to the Maoris, to make provision for the purchase of such lands
+as may be offered to them, though they have not herein initiated a new
+policy.  From the establishment of Imperial sovereignty to 1870,
+successive Governments acquired six million acres in the North Island,
+the whole of the Middle Island, with the exception of reserves for the
+original owners who were few in number, and Stewart Island.  From that
+date until 1895, another six
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P85"></A>85}</SPAN>
+million acres had been acquired at an
+outlay of a million and a half pounds, and subsequent purchases, from a
+large area still under negotiation, amount to about 550,000 acres.  New
+Zealand has thus disbursed, and is still disbursing, large sums of
+money in the purchase of native lands, while Australia and Tasmania
+recognised no right of possession on the part of the few degraded
+aboriginals; and New Zealand alone is burdened with the payment of
+interest upon loans raised to cover the charges of prolonged military
+campaigns.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+During the wars, settlement was necessarily checked in the North
+Island, but proceeded in the Middle Island without intermission.  At
+their conclusion, in 1870, Mr. (now Sir Julius) Vogel, the Colonial
+Treasurer, placed before Parliament a comprehensive scheme of public
+works, which aimed at the general improvement of means of
+communication, a matter of particular importance in the North Island as
+being likely to hasten its final pacification.  "The leading features
+of the policy were: to raise a loan of ten millions, and to spend it
+over a course of years in systematic immigration, in the construction
+of a main trunk railway throughout the length of each island, in the
+employment of immigrants on the railway work, and in their ultimate
+settlement within large blocks of land reserved near the lines of
+railway, in the construction of main roads, in the purchase of
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P86"></A>86}</SPAN>
+native lands in the North Island, in the supply of water-power on the
+goldfields, and in the extension of the telegraph.  The plan, with some
+modifications, was authorised by the Legislature.  These modifications
+mostly related to the amount to be borrowed and to its expenditure; but
+there was one alteration which crippled the whole policy.  The
+reservation of large tracts of Crown land through which the railways
+were intended to be made, with a view to the use of that land for
+settlement thereon, and as the means of recouping to the Colony a great
+part of the railway expenditure, was withdrawn by the Government from
+fear of losing the whole scheme.  That fear was not unfounded, inasmuch
+as provincial opposition to the reservation in question, combined with
+the opposition of those who disliked the whole scheme, would have
+seriously endangered its existence."[<A NAME="chap04fn1text"></A><A HREF="#chap04fn1">1</A>]  The provincial opposition was
+due to the fact that, though the disposal of the Crown lands and the
+appropriation of the Land Fund were vested by the Constitution Act in
+the Central Legislature, each province had in practice been allowed to
+frame the regulations for the alienation of land within its district,
+and had received the proceeds of sale for its own use.  But the
+omission of the proposed reservation "has necessitated the frequent
+recurrence of borrowing large sums in order to continue work which had
+been begun and was useless while
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P87"></A>87}</SPAN>
+it was unfinished, instead of
+making, as would have been the case under a proper system of land
+reservation, the work itself to a great extent, if not altogether,
+self-supporting and self-extending; and that deplorable omission has
+also frustrated the anticipated conduct of progressive colonisation
+concurrently with the progress of the railways.  The result of not
+insisting on this fundamental condition has been what should have been
+foreseen and obviated.  The Provincial Governments sold land in the
+vicinity of the intended railways, and expended the proceeds for
+provincial purposes; and, as a rule, speculative capitalists absorbed
+the land and the profits which should have been devoted to colonisation
+and to the railway fund."[<A NAME="chap04fn2text"></A><A HREF="#chap04fn2">2</A>]  As the proposed railways would pass
+through private as well as Crown lands, Sir Julius Vogel also sought
+the power to levy a special rate, in certain circumstances, upon the
+persons in the vicinity of the railways who would be benefited by their
+construction.  He believed that he would thereby prevent
+"indiscriminate scrambling for railways," but was equally unable to
+induce Parliament to accept his views.  The aggregation of large
+estates was promoted by the low price, 10s. or even 5s. an acre, at
+which the land was for many years sold.  262 freeholders, including
+companies, owned in 1891, 7,840,000 acres of land in estates of 10,000
+acres and upwards.  The Province has, since its
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P88"></A>88}</SPAN>
+foundation, sold
+or finally disposed of more than 21 million acres, and has at present
+nearly three million acres open for selection.  The remaining lands,
+exclusive of those in the hands of the Maoris, amount to 16-½ million
+acres, but comprise large tracts of barren mountainous country in the
+Middle Island, and of valueless pumice sand in the North Island.  In
+most directions, according to the Premier, settlement is already in
+advance of the roading operations.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The policy initiated by Sir Julius Vogel in 1870 was carried on by
+successive Ministers until 1888, during which time more than 27
+millions were borrowed and devoted, for the most part, to the
+construction of railways and other public undertakings.  Subsequently,
+Sir Harry Atkinson and his successor, Mr. John Ballance, realised the
+danger of constant reliance upon loans, and greatly reduced the
+expenditure, which had become extravagant in the abundance of borrowed
+money.  Mr. Ballance also reformed the system of direct taxation and
+gave an impetus to legislation dealing with the settlement of the land
+and the protection of workmen in industrial pursuits.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The existing property tax, at the rate of one penny in the £ on all
+property, subject to an exemption of £500, was replaced by a graduated
+tax on incomes and land values, the principle of graduation having
+already been recognised in the case of succession duty.  The former
+impost was naturally upheld by
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P89"></A>89}</SPAN>
+large owners of property and by all
+classes of professional men who had escaped taxation upon their
+incomes; while it was distasteful to shopkeepers, who might be taxed on
+unsaleable merchandise, and to cultivators of the soil, who found that
+their taxes rose in proportion to the improvements which they effected
+upon their estates.  The Government had little difficulty in passing
+their measure, which, subject to slight modifications, is in force at
+the present time.  Incomes below £300 are not taxed; between £300 and
+£1,300 they pay 6d. in the £, above £1,300 a shilling; but the sum of
+£300 is deducted from the total income in the assessment of the tax.
+For instance, an income of £2,000 pays £60, at the rate of £25 upon
+£1,000, and £35 upon £700.  The ordinary land-tax is a penny in the £
+on all freehold properties of which the unimproved value exceeds £500;
+between £500 and £1,500 exemption is allowed on £500; between £1,500
+and £2,500 the exemption decreases by £1 for every £2 of increased
+value, being extinguished at the latter amount.  Should the value
+exceed £5,000, a graduated land-tax is also levied, which rises
+progressively from half a farthing, until it reaches twopence upon
+estates of the unimproved value of £210,000 and upwards.  All
+improvements are excluded from the assessment of the taxable amount:
+they are defined to include "houses and buildings, fencing, planting,
+draining of land, clearing from timber, scrub or fern, laying down in
+grass or
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P90"></A>90}</SPAN>
+pasture, and any other improvement whatsoever, the
+benefit of which is unexhausted at the time of valuation."  Under this
+provision rural owners have every encouragement to improve their
+properties, as the more they do so, the smaller becomes the proportion
+of the total value of their estates on which they are liable for
+taxation.  Owners are allowed, for the purposes of the ordinary, but
+not of the graduated land-tax, to deduct from the unimproved value of
+their land the amount of registered mortgages secured upon it; and
+mortgagees pay one penny in the £ upon the sum total of their
+mortgages, but are not subject to the graduated tax.  A return,
+published under the assessment of 1891, shows, however, that rural
+owners are obtaining less benefit from the exemption of improvements
+than the owners of urban lands.  The figures are as follows:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<PRE>
+                 Actual Value,      Value
+                  including           of          Unimproved
+                 improvements.   improvements.      value.
+
+  Counties ...    85,818,167      27,922,735      57,880,233
+  Boroughs ...    36,406,862      18,442,562      17,907,662
+
+     Total ...  £122,225,029     £46,365,297     £75,787,895
+</PRE>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P>
+It thus appears that land is taxed, on an average, at 49 per cent. of
+its actual value inclusive of improvements in boroughs, and at 67-½ per
+cent. in counties;
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P91"></A>91}</SPAN>
+but it must be remembered that, as the urban
+population is not concentrated in one centre, land values have not been
+inflated to any great extent, and that much of the rural land has
+either recently been settled or is held in large blocks in a
+comparatively unimproved condition.  The improvement or sale of such
+properties would, the Government believed, be promoted by the
+imposition of the tax.  The Minister of Labour (the Hon. W. P. Reeves)
+expressed this view in the clearest terms: "The graduated tax is a
+finger of warning held up to remind them that the Colony does not want
+these large estates.  I think that, whether partly or almost entirely
+unimproved, they are a social pest, an industrial obstacle, and a bar
+to progress."  Similar feelings are, apparently, entertained towards
+the absentee owner, who, if he has been absent from or resident out of
+the Province for at least three years prior to the passing of the
+annual Act imposing the tax, is required to pay an additional 20 per
+cent. upon the amount of graduated land-tax to which he would otherwise
+be liable.  The income and land taxes produce a revenue about equal to
+that formerly derived from the property tax, and are collected from far
+fewer taxpayers, the respective numbers being 15,808 and 26,327 in a
+population of some 700,000 persons.  The benefits have been felt
+principally by tradesmen, miners, mechanics, labourers, and small
+farmers.  Of 91,500 owners of land, 76,400 escape payment of the
+land-tax.  It
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P92"></A>92}</SPAN>
+may be noted, incidentally, that a permissive Act of
+1896 authorises such local bodies as adopt it to levy rates on the
+basis of the unimproved value of land.  Much anxiety has been felt by
+large landowners and owners of urban property throughout Australasia at
+the successive adoption of a tax on unimproved values by South
+Australia, New Zealand, and New South Wales.  They fear that it is the
+first step towards the national absorption of land values advocated by
+Henry George, but forget that the Governments of New South Wales and
+New Zealand, in respect of exemptions, and of New Zealand and South
+Australia, in respect of graduation, have introduced features in their
+systems of taxation which cause them to be fundamentally distinct from
+his proposals.  The Bill passed through the Victorian Assembly in 1894,
+but rejected by the Council, also provided for exemptions.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But how, it may be asked, has an equitable assessment of the land been
+secured for the purposes of the tax?  Any owner who is not satisfied
+with the value placed upon his land on the assessment roll, may require
+the Commissioner to reduce the assessment to the amount specified on
+the owner's return, or to purchase the land at the sum mentioned on the
+owner's return of its actual value inclusive of improvements.  The
+Commissioner is bound to make the reduction unless the Government
+approve of the acquisition of the land.  A reasonable balance is thus
+struck: the Government are unwilling to
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P93"></A>93}</SPAN>
+have a large amount of
+land thrown on their hands, while the owner does not take the risk of
+the resumption of the land at an inadequate valuation.  Disputes
+between the Commissioner and owners have, in most cases, been adjusted
+satisfactorily; but the Government decided to buy the Cheviot Estate of
+85,000 acres, which lies close to the sea in the Middle Island.  Upon
+its purchase they at first let the pastoral lands temporarily at the
+rate of £8,862 a year, while their surveyors laid out the country and
+supervised the construction of roads.  The results of the transaction
+were, in 1896, eminently satisfactory; the capital value of the estate
+then stood at £271,700, and the annual rental at £14,300; and the few
+inhabitants engaged in pastoral pursuits had been replaced by 216
+settlers and their families, who were reported to be of a good class
+and to have done a large amount of work in the improvement of their
+lands.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The principal Act dealing with the alienation of Crown Lands is that of
+1892, which consolidates and amends former legislation.  Crown Lands
+are divided into urban, suburban, and village lands, which are sold by
+auction at an upset price, and rural lands, which are again subdivided
+according to their adaptability for cultivation or pasturage.  When
+townships are being laid out on Crown Lands, one-tenth of the
+superficial area is to be reserved for purposes of recreation, and a
+similar extent as a nucleus of municipal property, to be
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P94"></A>94}</SPAN>
+vested
+subsequently as an endowment in the local authority in addition to the
+reserves necessary for all public purposes.  At the option of the
+applicant, lands may be purchased for cash, or be selected for
+occupation with the right of purchase, or on lease in perpetuity.
+Selectors are limited to 640 acres of first-class land, or 2,000 acres
+of second-class land, the maximum being inclusive of any lands which
+they may already hold.  The object of this provision is to prevent
+existing landowners from aggregating large estates by the purchase of
+Crown Lands.  Cash sales are effected at a price of not less than 20s.
+and 5s. per acre, respectively, for first-class and second-class land,
+and entitle the selector to a free-hold title upon the expenditure of a
+prescribed amount on improvements.  Land selected under occupation with
+the right of purchase is subject to a rental of 5 per cent. upon the
+cash price, under lease in perpetuity, which is for 999 years, to a
+rental of 4 per cent.; and strict conditions of residence and
+improvement are, in both cases, attached and rigidly enforced.  At the
+expiration of ten years, a licensee under the former tenure may, upon
+payment of the upset price, acquire the freehold or may change the
+license for a lease in perpetuity.  The latter is the perpetual lease
+of the previous Acts, denuded of the option of purchase and of the
+periodical revaluation of the rent, and is, in the latter respect,
+reactionary, as the State gives up its right to take advantage of any
+unearned increment.
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P95"></A>95}</SPAN>
+Subsidies amounting to one-third of the rent
+of land taken up under any of the above tenures and one-fourth of the
+rent of small grazing-runs are paid to local authorities for the
+construction of roads, but must be expended for the benefit of the
+selectors from whose lands such moneys are derived.  The Act of 1892
+also authorises the Governor to reserve blocks of country, as special
+settlements or village settlements, for persons who may desire to take
+up adjacent lands.  The Village Settlements have been successful when
+they have been formed in localities in which there was a demand for
+labour; the Special Settlements comparative failures, because many of
+the members of the associations had neither the requisite means nor
+knowledge of rural pursuits.  Pastoral land is let by auction in areas
+capable of carrying not more than 20,000 sheep or 4,000 head of cattle;
+or in small grazing-runs not exceeding, according to the quality of the
+soil, 5,000 or 20,000 acres in area.  The dominant feature in the Act,
+in its application to pastoral as well as agricultural land, is the
+strict limitation of the area which may be held by any one person;
+rightly or wrongly, the Government are determined that the Crown Lands
+shall not pass into the hands of large holders.  The principal
+transactions of the last three years are thus summarised, the figures
+for 1894 covering the period from April, 1893, to March, 1894, and so
+for the other years:
+</P>
+
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P96"></A>96}</SPAN>
+
+<PRE>
+                       1894.            1895.              1896.
+
+                   No.    AREA.      No.     AREA.     No.       AREA.
+
+                          Acres.            Acres.              Acres.
+
+  Cash   ... ...   500    34,999     415    38,710     492      26,584
+  Occupation,
+    with right to
+    purchase ...   471   108,499     428    75,500     434      84,970
+  Lease in
+    perpetuity   1,228   255,348   1,032   166,037   1,461     199,093
+  Pastoral runs    227   899,945     123   568,293     188   2,156,378
+</PRE>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P>
+In regard to the numerical superiority of leases in perpetuity, it must
+be pointed out that, not only the special blocks, but the improved
+farms and lands offered under the Land for Settlements Acts, to which I
+shall have occasion to refer, are disposed of solely under that tenure;
+but it appears to be attractive in itself: as most of the Crown Lands
+require considerable outlay before they become productive, a selector
+can expend any capital that he may possess more advantageously upon the
+development of the capabilities of the soil than upon the acquisition
+of the freehold.  The Government also are benefited by a policy which
+renders the land revenue a permanent asset in the finances.  The
+receipts for the financial year 1895-6 amounted to nearly £300,000.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In 1892 an attempt was also made to deal with the problem of the
+scarcity of available land in settled districts which was caused by the
+prevalence
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P97"></A>97}</SPAN>
+of large estates.  It was thought that the labourers
+employed upon them, and the sons of farmers who might wish to settle
+near their parents, should have an opportunity of acquiring land.  The
+Government, accordingly, passed the first of a series of Land for
+Settlements Acts, which authorised the repurchase or exchange of lands
+and their subdivision for purposes of close settlement.  Upon the
+recommendation of a Board of Land Purchase Commissioners, some of whom
+represent local interests, that a certain estate is suitable for
+settlement, and should be purchased at a certain price, the Government
+may enter into negotiations with the owner with a view to a voluntary
+transaction, and, upon his refusal, take the land compulsorily at a
+valuation fixed by a Compensation Court.  Owners are so far safeguarded
+that they cannot be dispossessed of estates of less than 640 acres of
+first-class, or 2,000 acres of second-class land, that they can claim
+to retain the above area, and that they can require the Government to
+take the whole of their estates.  The maximum annual expenditure was
+limited at first to £50,000, but has been raised to £250,000.  At the
+end of March of last year twenty-eight estates, containing 87,000
+acres, had been acquired, in one case compulsorily, and made available
+for settlement by surveys and the construction of roads at a total
+expenditure of nearly £390,000.  Nineteen of these had already been
+subdivided into farms of various sizes, and were bringing in rentals
+amounting to
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P98"></A>98}</SPAN>
+4.76 per cent. upon the outlay which they had
+involved.  The Land Purchase Inspector was able to report that the
+lands, which had been the object of eager competition, had, in most
+cases, been greatly improved and were in good condition, and he is
+likely to find even better results in the future, as the Amending Act
+of 1896 provided that applications for land should not be entertained
+unless the applicants were able to prove their ability properly to
+cultivate the soil and to fulfil the stipulations of the leases.  This
+provision is of great importance, as much of the land has been
+cultivated by its former owners, and would deteriorate rapidly under
+incapable management.  The Governments of South Australia, Queensland,
+and Western Australia have legislated in a similar direction, and that
+of New South Wales introduced a Bill which failed to become law.  As
+far as New Zealand is concerned, which has conducted its operations on
+the largest scale, the system has not been sufficiently long in
+existence to enable an estimate to be formed of its probable financial
+results.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A similar uncertainty prevails in regard to the more recent attempts to
+place cheap money within the reach of settlers.  The first step in that
+direction was taken in 1886, when regulations were made for the
+establishment of Village Settlements, the members of which might
+receive loans for the construction of their houses and for other
+purposes.  These settlements were not, as in some of the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P99"></A>99}</SPAN>
+Australian Provinces, formed on a co-operative or a semi-communistic
+basis.  The success of this experiment doubtless encouraged the
+Government to widen the scope of the advances.  In 1895, 4,560 persons,
+divided among 144 settlements, had occupied 33,800 acres of land; they
+had received £25,800 in advances, had paid £17,600 in rent and
+interest, and had carried out improvements of the value of £92,800.
+These improvements, consequently, form an ample security for the
+repayment of the loans.  The necessity of a general scheme of advances
+was based upon the difficulty experienced by small settlers, however
+good might be the security, in obtaining loans except at prohibitive
+rates.  Authority was, accordingly, obtained through the Government
+Advances to Settlers Acts of 1894-6 to borrow three millions with a
+view to loans ranging from £25 to £3,000, upon first mortgages, to
+owners of freehold land and occupiers of Crown Lands, the advances not
+to exceed three-fifths of the value of the former and one-half of the
+value of the lessee's interest in the latter.  Advances may not be made
+on town lands, nor on suburban lands which are held for residential or
+manufacturing purposes.  The valuation of every security is to be
+carried out by or on behalf of a superintendent appointed <I>ad hoc.</I>,
+and is to be submitted for the consideration of a General Board
+consisting of the Colonial Treasurer, the Superintendent, the Public
+Trustee, the Commissioner of Taxes, and a nominee of the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P100"></A>100}</SPAN>
+Governor
+in Council.  The advances on freehold land may be either for a fixed
+period at 5 per cent., or for 36-½ years at 6 per cent., of which 5 per
+cent. is reckoned as interest and 1 per cent. towards the gradual
+repayment of the principal; on leasehold lands, in the latter form
+alone.  As the loan of a million and a half raised as the source of
+advances was floated at 3 per cent., and realised nearly £1,400,000,
+the margin between the percentage due by the Government and that
+received from the settlers should be sufficient to enable one-tenth of
+the interest to be paid, as provided, into an Assurance Fund against
+possible losses, and a residue to be available which will cover the
+general expenses of administration.  But it is obvious that the result
+of the experiment will depend greatly upon the prevalent rate of
+interest and the price of produce.  Hitherto, two-thirds of the
+advances have been used by settlers to enable them to rid themselves of
+former and less advantageous mortgages; in some cases, mortgagees, in
+order to retain their mortgages, have voluntarily lowered the rate of
+interest to 5 per cent.  The tabular statement on the following page of
+the financial position is the latest that has been issued, and does not
+purport to be more than approximately correct.  Advances may also be
+made towards the construction of dwelling-houses to those who have
+obtained selections under the Land for Settlements Acts; but they may
+not exceed twenty pounds nor the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P101"></A>101}</SPAN>
+amount already spent by the
+applicant upon his holding.
+</P>
+
+<PRE>
+  INCOME.
+
+  The advances authorised and accepted
+    amount to £735,967, and yield an annual
+    income of 5 per cent.  . . . . . . . . . . .  £36,798
+
+  The temporary investment of £603,444 in
+    Government securities yields an annual
+    income at the rate of 3.42 per cent. . . . .   20,747
+
+  The balance of £51,805 on current account
+    with the Bank, may be estimated to yield
+    2 per cent.  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    1,036
+                                                 --------
+  Estimated total income on June 15, 1896  . . .  £58,581
+                                                 --------
+
+  EXPENDITURE.
+
+  Annual charge for interest at 3 per cent. on
+    £1,500,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  £43,000
+  Salaries for the year  . . . . . . . . . . . .    3,700
+  Other expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    2,800
+  Mortgage Tax, estimated  . . . . . . . . . . .    1,800
+                                                 --------
+  Estimated total expenditure  . . . . . . . . .  £53,300
+  Balance of income over expenditure . . . . . .    5,281
+                                                 --------
+                                                  £58,581
+                                                 ========
+</PRE>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P>
+Another measure which may affect the well-being of settlers is the
+Family Home Protection Act, 1895.  Any owner of land may settle as a
+family home the land, not exceeding, with all improvements, £1,500 in
+value, on which he resides and has his home, provided that at the time
+the land is unencumbered and he is able to pay all his debts without
+the land in question.  As a precaution against the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P102"></A>102}</SPAN>
+concealment of
+liabilities, he is obliged to make an application to a District Land
+Registrar, who must thereupon give public notice of the intended
+registration.  Should any creditor put in a claim within twelve months,
+the case is to be tried before a Judge of the Supreme Court, and if the
+owner of the land is vindicated, the Registrar is to issue a
+certificate which will exempt the family home from seizure under
+ordinary processes of law, but not in one or two contingencies, of
+which the principal is the failure to meet current liabilities in
+respect of rates or taxes.  The registration is to continue until the
+death of the owner or the majority or death under the age of twenty-one
+of all his children, and is not to precede the last of these events.
+Upon its cessation it may be renewed at the option of the persons then
+holding the estate, who must be relations of the deceased.  Little
+effect has been given to the Act owing, probably, to the unavoidable
+publicity of the proceedings.  It appears to have been based upon a
+South Australian Act of 1891, which enables holders of workmen's
+blocks, by the endorsement of their leases, to secure for their
+properties somewhat similar exemptions from seizure.  Their failure to
+avail themselves, to any considerable extent, of this privilege is
+attributed to the unwillingness of working men to take any trouble in a
+matter of which the advantages are merely contingent.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So far I have discussed the legislation of New Zealand which affects
+freeholders and those who
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P103"></A>103}</SPAN>
+are, or desire to become, tenants of
+the Crown; but before proceeding to deal with matters of common import
+to most settlers, I must point out that tenants holding from private
+landlords have also engaged the paternal attention of the Government.
+The Minister of Lands introduced last session, but failed to pass, a
+Fair Rent Bill, which would have established a system of Land Courts
+under the presidency of Stipendiary Magistrates.  Landlords and tenants
+would have had an equal right to apply for the determination of the
+fair rent which, upon the decision of the Court, whether it were higher
+or lower than the reserved rent, would have been deemed, until a
+further revision, to be the rent payable under the lease.  The
+Government displayed great inconsistency in the introduction of the
+measure; having shown, in the system of lease in perpetuity, that they
+objected to the periodical revaluation of the rents payable upon Crown
+Lands, they proposed, through the Fair Rent Bill, to enable the Crown,
+as landlord, to take steps to increase the rents of its tenants.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As regards the general interests of producers, the Government have,
+through reductions amounting to £50,000 a year in railway rates, made a
+concession to them at the expense of the general taxpayer, as the
+railways, after payment of working expenses, return only 2.8 per cent.,
+a sum insufficient to meet the interest upon their cost of
+construction.  Again, they have appointed experts in butter-making,
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P104"></A>104}</SPAN>
+fruit-growing, &amp;c., who travel about the country and give
+technical instruction by means of lectures; and they distribute, among
+farmers and others, pamphlets containing practical advice upon various
+aspects of cultivation.  But, except that butter is received, graded
+and frozen free of charge, they have not followed the example of
+Victoria and South Australia in the direct encouragement of exports.
+Finally, while the State acts as landlord, banker, and carrier, it also
+carries on a department of life insurance and annuities, accepts the
+position of trustee under wills, and, if the programme of the
+Government is accepted by Parliament, will undertake the business of
+fire insurance and grant a small allowance to all who are aged and
+indigent and have resided for a long term of years in the Colony.  The
+development of the resources of the country, under the assistance of
+the State, has also proceeded in other directions.  More than £500,000
+had been spent up to March, 1896, in the construction of water-races on
+goldfields for the benefit of alluvial miners and public companies; and
+in that year the Premier, in view of the large amount of foreign and
+native capital that was flowing into the industry, obtained the
+authorisation of Parliament to the expenditure of a further sum of
+£200,000 in the conservation of water by means of large reservoirs, the
+construction of water-races, the extension of prospecting throughout
+the Colony, and the construction of roads and tracks for the general
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P105"></A>105}</SPAN>
+development of the goldfields.  The physical attractions and
+health resorts of the country, many of which are reached with
+difficulty, are also being opened up by the expenditure of public funds.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The general question of settlement has, during the last few years, been
+connected closely with that of the unemployed.  In New Zealand, as in
+several of the Australian Provinces, the construction of the main lines
+of railway attracted into the country immigrants who, upon their
+completion, were left without other resources.  At the same time the
+fall in prices rendered many settlers unable to fulfil their
+obligations, and, upon the loss of their properties, drove them into
+the towns, where they swelled the ranks of the unemployed.  It also
+forced those who remained solvent to cut down their general expenses,
+and especially their labour bill, to the lowest possible point.  The
+Government were compelled to face the problem and attempted to give
+former settlers a fresh chance and gradually to accustom artisans to
+rural pursuits which, in the case of uncleared land, are at first of a
+simple character.  But the facilities offered under the Land Act were
+of little use unless it could be arranged that the men, being without
+capital, should have outside employment upon which they could depend
+until their lands had been cleared and brought into cultivation.  It
+had already been realised that the construction of roads was an
+indispensable sequel to that of railways, and large annual
+appropriations
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P106"></A>106}</SPAN>
+had been made from the Public Works Fund; but it
+was then decided that settlement should be encouraged systematically in
+those districts in which it was proposed to proceed with the
+construction of roads.  This policy has, accordingly, been carried out
+energetically during the last few years from loans and current revenue
+upon the co-operative system, which was inaugurated in 1891 by the Hon.
+R. J. Seddon, then Minister of Public Works and now Premier of the
+Colony.  As this system, which was first tried as an experiment upon
+the railways, is now employed in connection with most public works, its
+object and operation may be illustrated by a series of quotations: "The
+contract system had many disadvantages.  It gave rise to a class of
+middle men, in the shape of contractors, who often made large profits
+out of their undertakings, and at times behaved with less liberality to
+their workmen than might have been expected under the circumstances.
+Even in New Zealand, where the labour problem is less acute than in
+older countries, strikes have occurred in connection with public works
+contracts, with the result that valuable time has been lost in the
+prosecution of the works, much capital has been wasted by works being
+kept at a standstill and valuable plant lying idle, and large numbers
+of men being for some time unemployed; and considerable bitterness of
+feeling has often been engendered.  The contract system also gave rise
+to sub-contracting, which is worse again; for not only
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P107"></A>107}</SPAN>
+is it
+subject to all the drawbacks of the parent system, but by relegating
+the conduct of the works to contractors of inferior standing, with
+little or no capital, the evil of "sweating" was admitted.  Very often,
+too, the business people who supplied stores and materials were unable
+to obtain payment for them, and not seldom the workmen also failed to
+receive the full amount of their wages.  The result in some cases was
+that, instead of the expenditure proving a great boon to the district
+in which the works were situated, as would have been the case if the
+contract had been well managed and properly carried out, such contracts
+frequently brought disaster in their train.  The anomaly of the
+principal contractor making a large profit, his sub-contractor being
+ruined and his workmen left unpaid, also occasionally presented itself,
+and thus the taxpayer who provided the money had the mortification of
+seeing one man made rich (who would perhaps take his riches to Europe
+or America to enjoy them) and a number of others reduced to poverty, or
+in some instances cast upon public charity....  The co-operative system
+was designed to overcome these evils, and to enable the work to be let
+direct to the workmen, so that they should be able, not only to earn a
+fair day's wage for a fair day's work, but also to secure for
+themselves the profits which a contractor would have otherwise made on
+the undertaking....  The work is valued by the engineer appointed to
+have charge of it
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P108"></A>108}</SPAN>
+before it is commenced, and his valuations are
+submitted to the Engineer-in-Chief of the Colony for approval.  When
+approved, they constitute the contract price for the work; but they are
+not absolutely unchangeable as in the case of a binding, strictly legal
+contract.  It frequently happens under an ordinary contract that work
+turns out to be more easy of execution than was anticipated, and the
+State has to see its contractors making inordinate profits.  Sometimes,
+on the other hand, works cost more than was expected; but in most cases
+of this kind the contractor either becomes a bankrupt, so that the
+State has, after all, to pay full value for the work, or, if the
+contractor happens to be a moneyed man, he will probably find some
+means of getting relieved of a contract, or of obtaining special
+consideration for his losses on completion of his work.  Under the
+co-operative system, if it is found that the workmen are earning
+unusually high rates their contracts can be determined, and be re-let
+at lower rates, either to the same party of men or to others, as may be
+necessary.  Similarly, if it is shown, after a fair trial of any work,
+that capable workmen are not able to earn reasonable rates upon it, the
+prices paid can, with the approval of the Engineer-in-chief, be
+increased, so long as the department is satisfied that the work is not
+costing more than it would have cost if let by contract at ordinary
+fair paying prices....  Another great advantage of
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P109"></A>109}</SPAN>
+co-operation
+is that it gives the Government complete control over its expenditure.
+Under the old plan, when large contracts were entered into, the
+expenditure thereunder was bound to go on, even though, through sudden
+depression or other unlooked-for shrinking of the revenue, the
+Government would gladly have avoided or postponed the outlay....  Not
+only has the Government complete control over the expenditure, but in
+the matter of the time within which works are to be completed the
+control is much superior to that possessed when the works are in the
+hands of a contractor.  When once a given time is allowed to a
+contractor in which to complete a work, any request to finish it in
+less time would at once provoke a demand for extra payment; but under
+the co-operative system the Government reserves the right to increase
+the numbers employed in any party to any extent considered desirable,
+so that if any sudden emergency arises, or an unusually rapid
+development in any district takes place, it is quite easy to arrange
+for the maximum number possible of men being employed on the works in
+hand, with no more loss of time than is required to get the men
+together."[<A NAME="chap04fn3text"></A><A HREF="#chap04fn3">3</A>]
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It was at first proposed that the men should work in gangs of about
+fifty, who should have an equal interest in the contract and make an
+equal division of the wages and profits; but experience showed that
+large gangs did not work together harmoniously
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P110"></A>110}</SPAN>
+owing to
+differences, not only in the temperament of the men, but also in their
+abilities as workmen.  The labourers solved this difficulty by forming
+themselves into small parties composed of men of about equal ability,
+with the result that, while some gangs earn higher wages than others,
+the weak are not excluded altogether from employment.  The co-operative
+works have, on the whole, been successful; but it is clear, from the
+reports of the surveyors, that constant supervision is necessary, and
+that there is considerable dissatisfaction, among unskilled workmen,
+with the low rate of their earnings, and, generally, with the
+intermittent character of the employment.  For the Government have
+decided, in order that work may be given to as many as possible and
+that settlement may be promoted, that no labourers shall be employed
+more than four days in the week.  During the remainder of the time, if
+they have taken up land in the neighbourhood, they devote themselves to
+it; otherwise they are likely to be demoralised by enforced idleness.
+The Minister of Public Works attempted to prove that works had been
+carried out more economically under the co-operative system, but was
+unable to cite cases that were exactly analogous.  He showed that the
+average number of employés had risen from 788 in 1891-2 to 2,336 in
+1895-6, but that, whereas in the former years workmen under the Public
+Works Department were twice as numerous as those under the Lands
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P111"></A>111}</SPAN>
+Department, in the latter the proportion had been more than reversed.
+This change must be regarded as satisfactory, as employés under the
+Lands Department are, in a large majority of cases, settlers.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In 1894 the Government passed an Act which was intended to meet the
+special requirements of the unemployed.  Any number of men composing an
+association may, by agreement with the Minister of Lands, settle upon
+Crown Lands for the purpose of clearing or otherwise improving them,
+and will, subject to the authorisation of Parliament, receive from the
+Colonial Treasurer payment for their work.  They are entitled thereupon
+to take up holdings at a rental based on the combined value of the land
+in an unimproved condition and of the improvements.  This system, which
+is known as that of Improved Farm Settlements, has been worked largely
+in connection with co-operative works.  In March of last year 39
+settlements had been initiated which covered 63,600 acres and carried
+679 residents.  They have "had the effect of removing from the towns a
+considerable number of people who otherwise would have been found in
+the ranks of the unemployed, and an opportunity has been given to all
+who are really desirous of becoming <I>bonâ-fide</I> settlers to make homes
+for themselves, and become producers rather than a burden on the State.
+Many who have taken up land on this system brought no experience with
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P112"></A>112}</SPAN>
+them to aid in the operations of the pioneer work of settlement,
+and this had to be gained at some cost to themselves and the State.  So
+long as the Government continues monetary aid by way of assisting in
+clearing, grassing, and house-building, all will go well; by the time
+this comes to an end, sufficient experience should have been gained,
+and the farms ought to be stocked.  This latter is at present a
+difficulty with many of the settlers, for it is obvious that many of
+them can at first do little more than support themselves out of the
+moneys advanced for clearing, without sparing anything for stock."[<A NAME="chap04fn4text"></A><A HREF="#chap04fn4">4</A>]
+The success of these settlements, it is pointed out, depends upon the
+simultaneous occupation by men with capital of the adjoining Crown
+Lands in larger holdings on which there will be a demand for the labour
+of the settlers; otherwise they will be in difficulties when the roads
+are completed, as their blocks of a hundred acres or so will not alone
+suffice to secure to them a livelihood.  This principle has been borne
+in view, as far as possible, in the location of the settlements.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Labourers for the co-operative works, I should have stated, are
+recommended by the local agencies of the Labour Department, and are
+selected on the principle that applicants not previously employed have
+priority of claim over those who have recently had employment; that men
+resident in the neighbourhood of the works have priority over
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P113"></A>113}</SPAN>
+non-residents, and that married men have priority over single men;
+while the qualifications of the men as workmen and their personal
+characters are naturally taken into consideration.  During the five
+years of its existence, the Labour Department has found employment for
+nearly 16,000 men; of the 2,781 men assisted during the year ending
+March, 1896, 2,163 were sent to Government works.  Under the control of
+the Labour Department is a State Farm, in the province of Wellington,
+at which unemployed are received for a few weeks or months, and, having
+saved a few pounds, are enabled to seek work elsewhere.  The farm is
+specially adapted for young, able-bodied men who have been brought up
+as clerks and shop assistants, but, owing to the stress of competition,
+have been thrown out of employment.  Many of them would be prepared to
+undertake manual labour, but lack the necessary experience.  At the
+farm they would be able to obtain in a short time sufficient knowledge
+to render them capable of accepting work for private employment.  The
+Secretary of the Department of Labour, Mr. Tregear, maintains that the
+farm has proved its usefulness and should be supplemented by similar
+institutions in the other provinces.  Since the last annual report, I
+understand, the Government have decided, as the land has been improved
+to a point which renders it impossible to employ any considerable
+number upon it profitably, to dispose of it, and to remove the workmen
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P114"></A>114}</SPAN>
+to fresh areas of uncleared land.  They hope to recoup themselves
+for their whole expenditure, but will not necessarily be convicted of
+failure should they fail to do so, as the undertaking was started on a
+charitable, and not on a commercial, basis.  It aimed at the assistance
+of the genuine unemployed, and was not intended to become a refuge for
+confirmed loafers.  On this point Mr. Tregear writes, and his views are
+those of the working men of New Zealand: "I am more and more impressed
+with the necessity that exists of establishing farms which shall be
+used as places of restriction for the incurably vagrant atoms of the
+population.  The State Farm does not and should not fulfil this
+purpose; it is for the disposal and help of worthy persons,
+unsuccessful for the time, or failing through advance in years.  What
+is required is a place of detention and discipline.  There exists in
+every town a certain number of men whose position vibrates between that
+of the loafer and the criminal: these should altogether be removed from
+cities.  The spieler, the bookmaker, the habitual drunkard, the loafer
+on his wife's earnings, the man who has no honest occupation, he whose
+condition of 'unemployed' has become chronic and insoluble&mdash;all these
+persons are evil examples and possible dangers.  Such an one should be
+liable, on conviction before a stipendiary magistrate, to be removed
+for one or two years to a farm, where simple food and clothes would be
+found for him
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P115"></A>115}</SPAN>
+in return for his enforced labour.  The
+surroundings would be more healthy, and open-air life and regular
+occupation would induce more wholesome habits and principles than the
+hours formerly spent in the beer-shop and at the street-corner, while
+the removal from bad companionship would liberate from the pressure of
+old associations.  He would, on his discharge, probably value more
+highly his liberty to work as a free man for the future, and, as the
+State would have been to no cost for his maintenance, it would be a
+gainer by his temporary removal from crowded centres.  There need be no
+more trouble than before in regard to the sustentation of the
+restricted person's family, as such a vagrant is of no use to his
+family, but only an added burden.  While for the honest workman,
+temporarily 'unemployed,' every sympathy should be shown and assistance
+to work given, for the other class, the 'unemployable,' there should be
+compulsory labour, even if under regulations of severity such as obtain
+in prisons."[<A NAME="chap04fn5text"></A><A HREF="#chap04fn5">5</A>]  New Zealand has a justification for penal colonies
+lacking in older countries in the fact that the genuine unemployed can
+obtain assistance from the Government to enable them to settle on the
+land, either through the Co-operative Works or the Improved Farm
+Settlements.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The special efforts of the Government to settle impecunious persons on
+the land are still in the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P116"></A>116}</SPAN>
+initial stage and have not served to
+neutralise the effects of the lowness of prices and consequent scarcity
+of employment.  The total expenditure under the heading of Charitable
+Aid was £106,500 in the year ended March, 1896, being an increase of
+£20,000 upon that of the previous twelve months.  A sum of £18,000 was
+also spent on relief works.  The administration is vested in the local
+authorities, who obtain the necessary funds from rates, voluntary
+contributions and subsidies on a fixed scale from the National
+Exchequer.  They expend one-fifth of the amount on the maintenance of
+destitute children and the greater portion of the remainder on outdoor
+relief.  No information is available as to the number of persons
+relieved, their average ages, the form of relief or the conditions
+under which it is given; but it is evident from reports of the
+Inspector of Charitable Institutions that the administration is
+exceedingly lax and tends to intensify the evil which it should strive
+to alleviate.  It would seem that, on the one hand, the Government are
+inculcating habits of independence, on the other, conniving at the
+encouragement of pauperism.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The results of recent legislation will depend, partly, on the price of
+produce, principally, on the methods of administration.  This matter is
+one on which it is difficult to form an adequate opinion, as all
+statements are tinged more or less with the prejudice of partisanship.
+It is therefore
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P117"></A>117}</SPAN>
+best to confine oneself to Acts of Parliament and
+official documents while realising that the more a State extends its
+sphere of action, the more are its Ministers subject to political
+pressure and tempted to maintain themselves in office by a misuse of
+the possibilities of patronage.  The disposal of Crown Lands is vested
+in Local Land Boards, which consist of the Commissioners of Crown Lands
+for the district, and of not less than two nor more than four members
+appointed for two years, but removable from time to time by warrant
+under the hand of the Governor.  These Boards receive all applications
+for Crown Lands and dispose of them in accordance with the provisions
+of the Land Acts.  They are constituted the sole judges of the
+fulfilment of the conditions attached to leases and may cancel them,
+after inquiry, subject to the right of appeal to a judge of the Supreme
+Court.  If any lessee make default in the payment of interest, his
+lease is liable to absolute forfeiture, subject to a similar right of
+appeal, without any compensation for his improvements.  This question
+is one of great delicacy: it is manifestly unfair to confiscate a man's
+improvements if he has a fair prospect of being able to meet his
+obligations within a definite period; on the other hand, if such
+latitude be allowed, possibilities of favouritism are at once admitted.
+Again, are all applicants for land to be treated alike, irrespective of
+the probability that they will be good tenants of the Crown?  The
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P118"></A>118}</SPAN>
+
+Land Boards are vested with a discretionary power to refuse
+applications, but must state the grounds of their refusal.  The best
+constitution for these Boards has been much discussed; but if, as has
+been proposed, nomination by the local authorities or election by the
+electors of local authorities were substituted for nomination of the
+Government, the pressure might be not only greater, but more immediate.
+Statistics, moreover, show that the administration of the Land Laws has
+not erred on the side of leniency.  In March, 1896, the arrears of rent
+throughout the Province were only £15,700, a decrease of £22,000 upon
+the amount reported for the previous twelve months; and forfeitures had
+been numerous for failure to carry out the conditions of tenure.  Under
+exceptional circumstances Parliament is prepared to make special
+arrangements.  In view of the losses incurred by pastoralists during
+the severe winter of 1895, it passed a Pastoral Tenants' Relief Act,
+which empowered the Land Boards after inquiry into the facts of each
+case to grant remissions of rent or extensions of leases at reduced
+rentals.  The Advances to Settlers Act also appears to be administered
+prudently, on the principle that the value of the property which may be
+offered as a security for a loan, and the risk of any loss from
+granting an advance, must determine the result of the consideration of
+every application.  It is a necessary limitation of the Act that many
+of those who most
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P119"></A>119}</SPAN>
+require assistance, having borrowed at high
+rates of interest, are unable to obtain the advances which would enable
+them to clear off their mortgages on account of the depreciation in
+value of the security.  Of 2,196 applications received to March of last
+year, 730 had been refused, and 397 had lapsed through the refusal of
+the department to offer amounts equal to the expectations of the
+applicant.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The Acts providing for the purchase of private and native land and for
+advances to settlers have necessitated a large increase in the
+indebtedness of the Colony, and a consequent divergence from the
+principles laid down by Sir Harry Atkinson and Mr. Ballance.  The
+present Premier, Mr. Seddon, who succeeded Mr. Ballance in 1893, admits
+that his Government borrowed £3,800,000 in three years, but contends
+that the whole of the amount with the exception of £210,000 is being
+expended in such a manner as to be remunerative.  The sum mentioned is
+exclusive of a loan for a million authorised last session, which is to
+be expended upon the construction of railways and roads, the purchase
+of native lands, and the development of the goldfields and hot springs.
+Have these loans been in the best interests of the Colony?  A stranger
+can but look at the matter broadly and will be inclined to think that
+they follow, in natural sequence, upon the policy of Sir Julius Vogel.
+The State then decided that it would use its credit to accelerate the
+construction of railways and roads and open up
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P120"></A>120}</SPAN>
+outlying
+districts.  Such works were valueless&mdash;in fact ruinous to the
+Province&mdash;unless they were followed by a strenuous and successful
+encouragement of settlement and cultivation.  The latter task has been
+the principal work of the Seddon Government, which has attempted, not
+only to settle people on the land, but to settle them in suitable
+localities and under conditions that will give them a reasonable
+prospect of an independent and comfortable livelihood.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P CLASS="footnote">
+<A NAME="chap04fn1"></A>
+[<A HREF="#chap04fn1text">1</A>] "The Colony of New Zealand," Gisborne, p. 170.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="footnote">
+<A NAME="chap04fn2"></A>
+[<A HREF="#chap04fn2text">2</A>] "The Colony of New Zealand," Gisborne, pp. 171-2.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="footnote">
+<A NAME="chap04fn3"></A>
+[<A HREF="#chap04fn3text">3</A>] New Zealand Official Year Book, 1894.  Report by Under-secretary of
+Public Works.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="footnote">
+<A NAME="chap04fn4"></A>
+[<A HREF="#chap04fn4text">4</A>] Report of Department of Lands and Survey, 1896; page iv.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="footnote">
+<A NAME="chap04fn5"></A>
+[<A HREF="#chap04fn5text">5</A>] Report of Department of Labour, 1896; page vii.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap05"></A>
+
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P121"></A>121}</SPAN>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+V
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+<I>CHARACTERISTICS OF VICTORIAN LEGISLATION</I>
+</H3>
+
+<P CLASS="intro">
+Comparisons between the Australasian Upper Houses&mdash;Conflicts between
+the two Houses in Victoria&mdash;The proposed obviation of deadlocks&mdash;The
+utility of the Legislative Council&mdash;The antagonism between Town and
+Country&mdash;The Factory Acts, their justification and provisions&mdash;State
+Socialism: Railways, Irrigation Works, the encouragement of Mining,
+Subsidies and Bonuses, State advances to Settlers&mdash;The Unemployed and
+the Leongatha Labour Colony.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P>
+The Victorian Legislative Council is, from the democratic point of
+view, the most objectionable of all the Australasian Upper Houses.  In
+Queensland, New South Wales, and New Zealand, the members of the
+Council are nominated for life and receive no remuneration for their
+services; but, as their number is not restricted, their opposition to
+measures passed by the Assembly is limited by the dread that the
+Executive may exercise the power of making additional appointments.  In
+the other Provinces the Councils are elective; in South Australia,
+Western Australia, and Tasmania, as in the Provinces already mentioned,
+the Members are
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P122"></A>122}</SPAN>
+subject to no property qualification, and in New
+Zealand, South Australia, and Tasmania they are paid at the rate,
+respectively, of £150, £200, and £50 a year.  In Victoria, on the other
+hand, there is a property qualification for membership which consists
+in the possession of a freehold estate of the clear annual value of
+£100, which confines eligibility to a small fraction of the population;
+and the area of selection is restricted further by the absence of
+remuneration and by the size of the electoral districts, which
+necessitates heavy expenditure on the part of a candidate at a
+contested election.  Under these circumstances, the comparatively low
+electoral franchise, which admits upon the rolls two-thirds of the
+voters for members of the Assembly, is absolutely useless to the
+democratic electors: they are unable to find candidates who will adopt
+their views, and have been obliged, as at the last elections, to allow
+all the retiring members to be re-elected without opposition.  It
+should be stated that the members are elected for a period of six years
+in ten provinces, and retire in rotation at intervals of two years.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The Victorian Assembly consists of ninety-five members who are elected
+for three years upon the basis of manhood suffrage and receive
+remuneration at the rate of £270 a year.  Conflicts between the two
+Houses were incessant during the first twenty-five years of Responsible
+Government.  Immediately after its establishment in 1855 a struggle
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P123"></A>123}</SPAN>
+arose as to the right of selection upon pastoral properties, in
+which the Council supported the interests of the squatters.  The issue
+could not be doubtful, as the squatters, who had been allowed to
+depasture enormous tracts of land in the early days of the Province,
+had no fixed tenure and were impeding the settlement of the country.
+In 1865 the Assembly passed a protective tariff which was distasteful
+to the Council as representative of the producers, and tried to secure
+its enactment by tacking it on to the Appropriation Bill.  They relied
+upon the section of the Constitution Act which provides that "all Bills
+for appropriating any part of the revenue of Victoria, and for imposing
+any duty, rate, tax, rent, return or impost, shall originate in the
+Assembly, and may be rejected but not altered by the Council."  Upon
+the refusal of the Council to submit to such coercion, the Ministry
+arranged with various banks that they should advance the funds required
+for public purposes, levied a tax upon a resolution of the Assembly and
+paid the civil servants without parliamentary authority.  A general
+election followed, at which the Ministry were successful; the Assembly
+and Council repeated their action of the previous session, and,
+finally, the Council agreed to accept the new tariff provided it was
+submitted to them in the form of a separate Bill.  Similar
+constitutional struggles occurred in 1867 upon the proposed grant to
+ex-Governor Darling, and in 1877 upon the Bill to provide for the
+payment of Members
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P124"></A>124}</SPAN>
+of the Assembly.  During the following years
+peace reigned between the two Houses, owing at first to the great
+prosperity of the Province, which caused universal confidence, and the
+predominance of material considerations; afterwards to the equally
+great reaction which compelled politicians to sink their differences
+and combine to save the credit of their country.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The antagonism was renewed in 1894 upon the proposals for additional
+taxation, by which the Premier, Mr. Turner, hoped to cope with an
+anticipated deficiency in the revenue of more than half a million
+pounds.  His scheme included the repeal of the existing land-tax, under
+which landed estates of upwards of 640 acres in extent are taxed
+annually upon the excess of the capital value over £2,500&mdash;an impost
+which obviously penalises rural, at the expense of urban, properties
+and was intended to promote the subdivision of the land (though it does
+not appear to have had much effect in that direction); and the
+imposition of a tax on unimproved values at the rate of 1d. in the £,
+subject to the exemption of £100 when the value does not exceed £1,000,
+and of an income tax which, subject to the exemption of incomes not
+exceeding £200, was to be at the rate of 3d. in the £ on incomes
+derived from personal exertion and 6d. on incomes derived from property
+up to £2,200, above which sum the amount was in both cases to be
+doubled.  Absentees were to pay an additional 20 per cent.,
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P125"></A>125}</SPAN>
+and
+incomes from land were to be exempt where the owner paid the land-tax.
+These taxes, it was calculated, would yield an annual revenue of
+£600,000.  The Finance Bill was passed in the Assembly at its second
+reading by a majority of twenty-two, but in committee it was amended so
+as to exempt from the land-tax land values of less than £500.  The
+resultant deficiency in the proceeds of the tax was made up by a
+continuance of the primage duties and by an increase of the tax on
+incomes derived from personal exertion.  Upon its transmission to the
+Council the Bill was summarily rejected, the Minister who was in charge
+of it alone, beyond the tellers, being in its favour, on the ground
+that the questions of a tax on unimproved values had not been submitted
+to the electorate and that, in the existing conditions of the Province,
+any further burden upon the producers would be opposed to its best
+interests.  The Ministry accepted the decision of the Council and
+contented themselves with rigid retrenchment, the continuance of the
+existing land-tax, and the imposition of a progressive income tax which
+rises to a maximum of sixteen-pence upon the excess over £2,000 of
+incomes derived from property.  According to a statement of the
+Premier, they intend to make the question a distinct issue at the next
+elections, and will in the meanwhile take no action in the matter.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In the following session the Council rejected an Electoral Bill which
+provided for the abolition of
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P126"></A>126}</SPAN>
+the plural vote and the
+enfranchisement of women, and disagreed with the Assembly upon several
+important clauses of a Factory Bill, in the legitimate exercise of the
+functions of a revising Chamber.  The Ministry succeeded in 1896 in
+passing the Factory Bill in a form which met some of the objections of
+the Council, and reintroduced the Electoral Bill, which was
+subsequently laid aside by the Council on the ground that it had not
+secured in the Assembly the absolute majority of all the votes required
+in the case of amendments to the Constitution.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The value of any Second Chamber must rest upon its ability, and the
+exercise of its ability, to check dangerous tendencies in legislation.
+As regards Victoria, it must be admitted that the greatest danger has
+lain in the tendency to extravagant expenditure due to the fatal
+facility of obtaining almost unlimited advances from the British
+capitalist.  Politicians have been tempted to outbid each other in the
+struggle for popular support, and to promise the outlay of vast sums of
+borrowed money.  Judged with reference to this question, the
+Legislative Council cannot be regarded as having been efficient.  The
+greatest waste of money has occurred in connection with the
+construction of railways from which there was no likelihood of adequate
+returns, and with injudicious advances to Irrigation and Water Supply
+Trusts.  The Council has been hampered by the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P127"></A>127}</SPAN>
+restrictions
+imposed upon it by the Constitution Act, but it has not admitted that
+it is debarred from amending Railway Bills, though it has done so but
+sparingly, owing to the opposition which such action aroused in the
+Assembly.  It would seem that, at the time of the greatest output of
+the Victorian gold mines and of the high prices obtainable for
+agricultural and pastoral produce, the Council was as much carried away
+by the prosperity of the Province as the Assembly, and formed an
+equally false estimate as to its continuance.  It appears, however, to
+have been the first to realise the imminence of a reaction.  A
+comparison of the British and Victorian finances shows that while, in
+the former case, speaking broadly, provision is made only for the
+maintenance of the public services and for some matters of national
+importance, such as public instruction, in which all parts of the
+country share equally, in the latter case the expenditure includes the
+construction of public works which benefit particular localities, and
+grants and subsidies which benefit particular industries.  Under these
+conditions members of the Assembly are subject to continual pressure
+from their constituents, which, it is contended, the members of the
+Council, owing to the greater size of the constituencies, are better
+able to resist.  As the whole body of the tax-payers are responsible
+for the interest on the railways, a locality has everything to gain by
+the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P128"></A>128}</SPAN>
+increase of its mileage; if it receives advances for works of
+irrigation and defaults upon the consequent obligations, it hopes to
+induce the Government, through its Member, to grant more lenient terms.
+The works in many cases are of doubtful value; the liability remains as
+a burden upon posterity.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The evil is widely recognised, but opinions differ as to the remedy.  A
+step in the right direction was taken by the appointment in 1890 of the
+Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways, which, it is suggested,
+should be supplemented by a similar Committee whose duty it would be to
+report upon all proposals for new works of water supply involving an
+expenditure of a thousand pounds of State money.  Others ask that the
+Council should be allowed to amend Money Bills, and would do so with
+more reason if the property qualification for membership were removed,
+as the electorate already includes the bulk of the stable elements of
+the population.  But the greatest safeguard would appear to lie in the
+lessons of the past, and in the appointment of Standing Committees
+whose antecedent sanction shall be essential to proposals for the
+expenditure of national funds upon public undertakings.  It would be
+advisable to define by Act of Parliament what classes of public works
+might be carried out upon borrowed money; all others would then form a
+charge upon current revenue.
+</P>
+
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P129"></A>129}</SPAN>
+
+<P>
+The absence of any ultimate appeal in the case of a divergence of
+opinion between the two Houses has recently been discussed in several
+of the Provinces.  It has been pointed out that the power of the
+Executive to make additional appointments to nominee Councils is an
+unsatisfactory device calculated to produce friction between the
+Governor and his responsible advisers; that elective Councils can force
+upon the Assembly dissolutions from which they are themselves exempt;
+and that, in the majority of cases, the Councils are able, owing to the
+variety of issues and the influence of local and personal
+considerations, to deny that any particular question has received the
+verdict of popular approval.  The measures rejected by the Victorian
+Council since 1891 include the Land and Income Tax Bill, the Opium
+Bill, the Miners' Right Titles Bill, the Mallee Land Bill, and the
+Village Settlements Amendment Bill.  The Council has rejected the Opium
+Bill twice, and the Bill for the abolition of plural voting three times.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The question was considered in 1894 by a Victorian Royal Commission,
+which recommended that:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"(1) If the Legislative Assembly shall in two consecutive sessions pass
+any Bill which shall not be passed by the Legislative Council, then,
+notwithstanding such Bill when passed in the second session by the
+Legislative Assembly shall be in an amended form, if the same shall not
+in such second session be passed by the Legislative
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P130"></A>130}</SPAN>
+Council, such
+Bill, if the Assembly so determine by resolution, shall, in manner to
+be duly provided, be submitted for acceptance or rejection to the
+voters on the roll for the Legislative Assembly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"(2) In the event of the said Bill being duly accepted or approved of
+by the majority of the voters on the said roll who shall vote when a
+poll is taken, and upon a certificate to that effect to be duly given
+by the Speaker, the said Bill shall be transmitted to the Governor for
+his assent.  Should, however, such Bill be rejected or disapproved of,
+then, upon the certificate of the Speaker to that effect, the said Bill
+shall lapse for the session.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"(3) At least six weeks must intervene between the first and the second
+passing of the said Bill by the Legislative Assembly."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Measures based upon these lines were introduced during 1896 in the
+Assemblies of Victoria, Tasmania, and New South Wales, but, in the
+latter case alone, reached the Legislative Council.  It was thought
+that that body might receive the Bill favourably, as it would be
+brought thereby into direct contact with the people, and might overcome
+the jealousy which is at present felt against it.  In fact, it might
+attain to actual popularity by enabling the electorate to pronounce
+directly upon a distinct issue.  But this view did not prevail with the
+Council, which rejected the measure in the most summary manner.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A supplementary proposal put forward in Victoria
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P131"></A>131}</SPAN>
+is that, upon
+subjects which cannot be referred in a clear and simple manner to the
+electors, differences should be followed by a dissolution of both
+Houses, and, if an agreement is still impossible, by their joint
+meeting as one Chamber.  In New Zealand, a Bill recently introduced by
+the Premier, but not passed through the House of Representatives,
+provided that, if a measure had been twice within fourteen months
+passed by one House and rejected by the other, the House which had
+passed it might call upon the Governor to convene a joint meeting of
+the two Houses, which should finally dispose of it by approval,
+rejection, or amendment.  It will be noticed that the Council might
+thus secure the enactment of a measure which was opposed by the
+majority of the popular representatives.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The antagonism of the two Houses in Victoria would seem to be to a
+great extent a reflex of an antagonism between town and country.  The
+population of the Province is estimated to have been 1,180,000 in 1895,
+that of Melbourne and its suburbs 439,000, or 37 per cent. of the
+whole.  Under these conditions, and owing to the greater cohesion of
+compact electorates, a strong feeling has arisen in the rural districts
+that Melbourne has a disproportionate voice in the affairs of the
+Province, and that the balance should be redressed by the action of the
+Council.  It is also believed that the abolition of the plural vote
+would lead to equal electoral districts which would increase the
+supremacy of the capital
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P132"></A>132}</SPAN>
+and the power of the Labour Party.  At
+the present time they hold fifteen seats, all of which are urban or
+suburban, and, though discredited by the collapse of the Trades Unions,
+are not without influence upon the Government.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The percentage of the total population contained in Melbourne and its
+suburbs rose from 26 in 1861 to 43 in 1891, mainly as the result of the
+high protective tariff which aimed at making Victoria the principal
+manufacturing centre of Australia.  Upon the consequent establishment
+of a large number of factories, the Government were soon compelled to
+intervene in the interests of the workers, and passed in 1873 the first
+Act dealing with the supervision of factories and workrooms.  It
+defined a factory as any place in which not less than ten persons were
+employed in manufacturing goods for sale, and provided that such places
+should be subject, as to building, sanitation, &amp;c., to regulations made
+by the central Board of Health, and that no female should be employed
+therein without the permission of the Chief Secretary for more than
+eight hours in any one day.  The measure failed in its purpose through
+the indifference of the Municipalities, which were charged with its
+entire administration.  They appear to have been negligent in
+exercising the powers entrusted to them, and to have allowed themselves
+to be served by officers who were unacquainted with their duties.  In
+the following years several measures were passed which
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P133"></A>133}</SPAN>
+were
+consolidated by the Factories and Shops Act of 1890.  Some new points
+of great importance had been introduced, which applied, however, only
+to cities, towns, and boroughs, unless they were extended to any shire
+at the request of its Council: the definition of a factory was amended
+so as to include all places in which four white men or two Chinamen
+were employed in manufacturing goods for sale; such places had to be
+registered, subject to the approval of the premises by the Local
+Council, and the employers were bound to keep a record showing the
+names of the persons employed in the factory, the sort of work done by
+them, and the names and addresses of outside workers; the employment of
+children under thirteen years of age was prohibited; machinery had to
+be fenced in in order to prevent accidents, and persons in charge of
+steam-engines and boilers, with a few exceptions, had to obtain
+certificates of competency.  As regards the enforcement of these and
+other provisions, inspectors were authorised to enter a factory at any
+reasonable time, to make any pertinent inquiry and examination, to
+demand the production of any certificate or documents kept in pursuance
+of the Act, and, generally, to exercise such other powers as might be
+necessary for carrying it into effect.  Proceedings for offences
+against the Act were to be taken before two or more justices, who, upon
+a conviction, would be guided by a prescribed scale of fines and
+penalties.  Finally, retail shops were
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P134"></A>134}</SPAN>
+dealt with by a provision
+which limited the hours during which they might be kept open; but
+certain categories of shops were explicitly excluded, and Municipal
+Councils were given the power of altering the hours upon a petition of
+a majority of the shopkeepers.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The absence of finality in such legislation was soon shown by the
+demand for further restrictions, which was met by the Government by the
+customary expedient of the appointment of a Royal Commission.  The
+census of 1891 had given the number of persons employed in connection
+with the manufacturing industries as 96,000, of whom less than a half
+were in registered factories.  The remainder were working in shires, in
+laundries and dye works, in workrooms other than Chinese in which less
+than four persons were employed, or in their own homes.  The Commission
+consequently, in the pursuance of their instructions to "inquire and
+report as to the working of the Factories and Shops Act, 1890, with
+regard to the alleged existence of the practice known as sweating and
+the alleged insanitary condition of factories and workrooms," had a
+wide field of investigation, but turned their attention principally to
+the industries in which the circumstances of the workers were believed
+to be most unfavourable.  In the clothing industry they found that,
+beyond the common grievance of slackness of trade, those employed in
+factories had little to complain of in the matter of
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P135"></A>135}</SPAN>
+wages, but
+that among the outworkers, owing to the depression, competition had
+reduced the rate of pay to the lowest level compatible with continued
+existence.  They were informed of many cases, which have been
+corroborated by factory inspectors and others, of women who, working
+from twelve to fourteen hours a day, were unable to earn more than ten
+or twelve shillings in a week.  It was contended that, as in other
+countries, the competition was rendered more acute by those who were
+not dependent upon the work for a livelihood.  Another result of this
+competition was seen in the policy pursued by several large firms which
+had closed factories built at a heavy cost and were relying upon their
+operations being carried on by contractors, because they had been
+unable to produce goods at the factory at the rate at which they could
+be turned out by those who employed the services of outworkers.  An
+attempt had been made by the women to protect their interests by the
+formation of a Tailoresses' Union, which, after a fitful existence,
+collapsed in 1893.  Since that time, in the absence of any form of
+combination, contractors had been able to play off the outworkers
+against the inworkers and against each other.  It may here be noted
+that, according to a recent report of the Chief Inspector of Factories,
+the inquiry caused the rate of payment to be lowered in consequence of
+the publicity given to the very small wages paid by some firms engaged
+in the clothing trade.
+</P>
+
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P136"></A>136}</SPAN>
+
+<P>
+In the course of their inquiries into the furniture trade, the
+Commissioners found that the Chinese, by evasions of the Factory Act,
+their poor way of living, long hours of labour and acceptance of low
+wages, had practically ruined the European cabinet-makers.  Their
+competition was confined to that branch of the industry, but had
+indirectly affected it as a whole.  Statistics showed that in 1886
+there were 64 registered European furniture factories employing 1,022
+male hands, while in 1894 the number of factories had decreased to 46
+and of employés to 320.  On the other side, the number of Chinese
+employed as carpenters and cabinetmakers had increased from 66 in 1880
+to 320 in 1886, and decreased to 246 in 1894.  It appeared that the
+Chinese, having ousted the European workmen from the industry, had
+engaged in a keen competition among themselves, which had reduced
+prices to such a low level that many manufacturers had been compelled
+to close their factories and dismiss their workmen.  These latter had
+commenced to make articles of furniture on their own account, and were
+reputed to be in a pitiable state of destitution.  The Commissioners
+came to the conclusion that, while the unsatisfactory condition of
+trade had contributed to the distress of the European cabinetmakers,
+the competition of the Chinese had been the greatest factor in bringing
+about the existing state of affairs.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Their recommendations were embodied in a
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P137"></A>137}</SPAN>
+measure introduced in
+1895 and passed in the following session, but limited in its operation,
+by the action of the Council, to a period of four years.  Its most
+important provisions aim at the protection of the workers in those
+industries in which they are least able to protect themselves.  The
+desire of the Government was to get persons as far as possible to work
+in factories and to deal with the difficulty of outworkers by a system
+of permits.  Clause 13 of the Bill prohibited the making up of apparel
+outside a factory except by those who had received a permit from the
+chief inspector, which was not to be given unless he were satisfied
+that the person applying for it was prevented by domestic duties or
+bodily affliction from working inside a factory or workroom.  Employers
+were to keep a record showing the work done by holders of permits,
+their names and addresses, and the amount of remuneration, which was to
+be forwarded periodically to the chief inspector, and might be
+published in the Government Gazette at the discretion of the Governor
+in Council.  The number of outworkers would be reduced to a minimum,
+and the fear of publicity would act as a check upon their employers.  A
+further protection was afforded to makers of furniture and of clothing
+or wearing apparel, including boots and shoes, by clauses under which
+the Governor in Council was authorised to appoint special Boards,
+consisting of a chairman and four members, of whom two were to be
+representatives
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P138"></A>138}</SPAN>
+of occupiers of factories and workrooms in which
+such articles were prepared or manufactured, and two of the persons
+employed in wholly or partly preparing such articles.  The Board was to
+determine the lowest rate which should be paid to the employés, whether
+working inside or outside a factory.  The Assembly added another clause
+which authorised the appointment of similar Boards for the
+determination of the hours of labour in any manufacturing industry, but
+the Council refused to accept it, and also rejected the clause which
+prohibited outside work by others than holders of permits.  They
+introduced amendments which provided that the discretionary publication
+of particulars in the Gazette should be limited to cases in which an
+employer had been convicted for some contravention of the Factories and
+Shops Acts, and that the special Wage Boards should be elective, in the
+belief that it would be dangerous to vest the power of appointment in
+the Governor in Council, since it would actually be exercised by the
+Chief Secretary.  The Government agreed to the former of these
+amendments, as the value of the right of publication was lessened by
+the Council's acceptance of the principle of the Wage Boards; but upon
+the other points of difference a conflict ensued between the two
+Houses, which resulted in the final decision that the Boards are to be
+elective, and that outworkers will not be required to obtain a permit,
+but, if engaged in the manufacture of clothing or
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P139"></A>139}</SPAN>
+wearing
+apparel, must register their names and addresses with the chief
+inspector, for the confidential use of the Department, and must answer
+all questions put to them by inspectors as to the names of their
+employers and the rate of remuneration.  The Chief Secretary had
+explained in the Assembly that the Government desired to obtain the
+registration of outworkers in order that they might know from the
+individuals themselves the addresses at which they were working, and
+whether they were being paid in accordance with the prices fixed by the
+Boards.  It is also provided that a sub-contractor, equally with the
+occupier of a factory, must keep the prescribed record of all work
+given out by him.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The furniture trade, as has been seen, is one of those for which the
+Governor in Council may cause special Boards to be elected; but it has
+been realised that, in the cabinet-making branch, owing to their
+superior numbers, the Chinese would obtain a controlling voice.  This
+difficulty was met by an amending Bill which authorised the nomination
+of these Boards.  Other sections of the Act also aim at the protection
+of the white workman: one Chinaman is to be deemed to constitute a
+factory, and no person employed in a factory or workroom in the
+manufacture of any article of furniture is to work on a Sunday, after
+two o'clock on a Saturday, or between five o'clock in the evening and
+half-past seven in the morning on any other day of the week.  Furniture
+made in Victoria is to be stamped legibly
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P140"></A>140}</SPAN>
+and indelibly in such a
+manner as to show whether it was manufactured by white or Chinese
+labour.  It is noteworthy that, through the Boards which will fix the
+minimum rate of pay in the baking and furniture trades, the Victorian
+Government are making their first attempt to regulate the labour of
+men; in the other trades affected by these Boards women form the vast
+majority of the workers.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The general provisions of this Act as they affect factories include
+greater stringency in the sanitary requirements, in the limitation of
+the hours of labour of women and boys, and in the precautions against
+accidents.  Laundries and dye-works are constituted factories, and the
+powers of inspectors are in several respects strengthened.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The sections dealing with shops also deserve a word of notice.  The
+necessity for further legislation was based by the Chief Secretary on
+the ground that under the existing law Municipal Councils were not
+bound to give effect to petitions received from a majority of
+shopkeepers, and could only bind their own districts.  Besides, the
+penalties imposed for contravention of any law or bye-law had, in many
+cases, been so small that shopkeepers had been able to ignore it with
+practical impunity.  He therefore proposed that petitions should in
+future be addressed either to the Governor or to the local authorities,
+that a metropolitan district should be constituted so as to render
+possible uniformity in the hours of closing shops, and that the
+penalties should be on a
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P141"></A>141}</SPAN>
+fixed scale.  These proposals were
+embodied in the Act, as were others which provided that assistants in
+shops should have a weekly half-holiday, and that women and boys should
+not be employed for more than a fixed number of hours in a week or day,
+nor for more than five hours without an interval for meals, and should
+have the use of adequate sitting accommodation.  These provisions,
+however, were not to apply to the categories of shops excluded from the
+operation of previous Acts unless extended to them under regulations
+made by the Governor in Council.  Soon after the passage of the Act a
+strong feeling arose among the shopkeepers of Melbourne and its suburbs
+that, as assistants had to receive a weekly half-holiday, shops should
+be closed upon one afternoon in the week; but opinions differed as to
+whether the day should be Saturday or Wednesday.  The shopkeepers in
+the city were disposed to favour the former, those in the suburbs were
+divided in their views.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The Act should be regarded as a humane attempt to minimise the
+sufferings of the outworkers and to improve the conditions of labour of
+the toiling masses of the population.  The appointment of the special
+Boards is regarded with sympathy even by those who doubt the
+possibility of enforcing a minimum wage in the case of persons whose
+competition is intensified by the fear of starvation.  Two general
+considerations suggest themselves: that a vast discretionary power is
+vested in the Executive,
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P142"></A>142}</SPAN>
+and that the inspectors will be
+confronted with a task of hopeless magnitude.  On the first point it is
+to be noted that the Governor in Council, acting naturally upon the
+advice of the Chief Secretary, may not only exercise the powers already
+mentioned, but may extend the provisions of the Act or any of them to
+any shire or part of a shire, and make regulations upon a large number
+of subjects connected with the efficient administration of all the
+Factories, and Shop Acts.  As regards the inspectors, who are eleven in
+number, it is to be feared that, though they may invite the
+co-operation of the police, they will be unable adequately to supervise
+factories, watch the labour of the single Chinaman, protect the
+home-worker from the tyranny of the contractor, and assure to
+assistants in shops the conditions to which they are legally entitled.
+They will undoubtedly be fettered by the unwillingness of the workers
+to supply information which may lead to the loss of their employment.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The correlative of protection, which principally benefits the
+manufacturer, is the direct encouragement of the enterprise of the
+producer.  In this respect successive Governments have displayed an
+eagerness which has not always been confined within the limits of
+prudence.  The borrowed capital sunk in the construction and equipment
+of the Victorian Railways is about £36,730,000, which returned in the
+year 1895-6 a net profit on working of £855,000, being a deficit of
+£584,000 upon £1,439,000, the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P143"></A>143}</SPAN>
+annual charge for interest upon the
+loans; but a large proportion of this deficiency was due to the failure
+of the wheat crop and the consequent decrease in the amount of goods
+carried along the lines.  Recent returns show that several lines not
+only do not pay any interest on the capital expenditure, but do not
+earn even as much as is disbursed in working expenses.  The report of
+the Railway Inquiry Board shows that the Assembly was actually disposed
+at one time to sanction the expenditure of a further sum of £41,000,000
+upon the construction of new lines; but the <I>Age</I> newspaper published a
+series of articles which showed clearly that national insolvency would
+follow the approval of expenditure on such a gigantic scale.  The
+exposure attained its object, but involved the proprietor, Mr. David
+Syme, in actions for libel, brought by the Railway Commissioners, which
+extended, with intervals, over a period of four years.  Finally, he was
+proved to have been entirely justified in his language, but was saddled
+with an enormous bill of costs as the reward of his patriotic efforts
+on behalf of the community.  The danger that similar proposals might be
+carried in the future was lessened in 1890, when the Standing Committee
+was appointed as a check upon the extravagant tendencies and culpable
+pliability of individual members.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Again, in connection with water supply and irrigation, the expenditure
+has been on an extravagant scale.  The Melbourne Waterworks are
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P144"></A>144}</SPAN>
+justified by the requirements of the metropolis, but those of Geelong
+and of Bendigo and adjacent areas commenced in 1865, and constructed at
+a capital cost of £1,427,000, show an annual deficit of £35,000; and
+other national works which cost £830,000 are dependent for a return
+upon irrigation trusts, most of which are unable to meet their own
+liabilities.  Apart from this direct expenditure, the State has
+advanced £2,438,000 to local bodies, urban and rural waterworks trusts
+and irrigation trusts.  Adding together these different amounts, we
+find the total direct and indirect expenditure of the State to have
+been £4,695,000, and we learn from the report of a recent Royal
+Commission that the annual revenue is about £68,000, or less than 1-½
+per cent. upon the capital.  As the money bears an average interest of
+4 per cent., the loss to the consolidated revenue is at the rate of
+£120,000 a year.  The expenditure was based upon the principle that the
+national credit should be pledged in order that farmers and land and
+property owners might be assisted to provide works of water supply
+which would accelerate the permanent settlement of many parts of the
+Province.  Loans had been granted to municipalities before 1881, but in
+that year the question was treated comprehensively by the Water
+Conservation Act, which authorised the constitution of trusts for the
+construction of works of water supply for domestic purposes and the use
+of stock.  In 1883 the Act was amended so as to include trusts
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P145"></A>145}</SPAN>
+
+formed for the promotion of works of irrigation.  The Urban Trusts and
+local bodies generally have met their obligations satisfactorily, with
+the exception of some of the latter, which, instead of striking higher
+rates or increasing the charge for the water, appear to have hoped that
+the State would step in and relieve them of their liabilities.  The
+Rural and Irrigation Trusts also have attempted to throw the duty of
+paying interest on the cost of the works upon the taxpayers of the
+whole province.  In the latter case the Public Works Department cannot
+be absolved from blame.  It is clear from the report of the Commission
+that money was advanced to Irrigation Trusts without an adequate
+preliminary investigation of the amount of water available or of the
+number of settlers who would make use of it.  "The public mind was
+excited at the time, and the gospel of irrigation was preached from one
+end of the Colony to the other.  The farmers had been suffering from a
+cycle of dry seasons, the price of produce was high, and the prospect
+of insuring their crops against the exigencies of climate by means of
+irrigation appears to have overruled all prudential considerations.
+Schemes were hastily conceived and as hastily carried out.  The
+question as to whether the cost of the undertaking would be
+commensurate with the benefits to be derived therefrom, or whether the
+land could bear the burden that would be placed upon it, was apparently
+lightly considered, if considered at all."  But, according to an
+official who
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P146"></A>146}</SPAN>
+had been concerned in the matter, the Department,
+far from readily concurring in or urging on schemes, had done its
+utmost to restrain the popular enthusiasm.  Continued pressure had been
+exercised by deputations, generally supported by the Member for the
+district, which tried to induce Ministers to set aside formalities in
+view of the great necessity for water and of the great benefit that
+would ensue.  The lavishness of the Department, whatever may have been
+its cause, was equalled by that of the Trusts, which in most cases
+expended the loan money as expeditiously as possible without regard to
+the requirements of the district or the supervision of the
+undertakings; they did not realise that they would ever be called upon
+to provide for meeting the interest on the moneys advanced to them.
+There can be no doubt that the Government overrated the knowledge and
+ability of the Trusts, and their recognition of the responsibility
+involved in the control of large sums of public money.  The Royal
+Commissioners recommended that, after Parliament had decided what
+concessions should be made, the enforcement of the monetary obligations
+should be transferred from the Department to the Audit Commissioners,
+who should be vested with powers enabling them to take action to
+recover arrears due to the State.  They believed that, in the absence
+of such a change, the Department, being subject to political pressure,
+might make further concessions, and again allow matters to drift into
+an unsatisfactory condition.
+</P>
+
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P147"></A>147}</SPAN>
+
+<P>
+The next instance of national expenditure in the promotion of
+enterprise comes under a different category: the State has, since 1878,
+devoted to the encouragement of the gold-mining industry the sum of
+£800,000, which was not intended to give a direct return upon the
+outlay so much as to maintain the pre-eminence of Victoria among the
+gold-producing Provinces of Australasia.  Of this amount £455,000 was
+expended in boring, the remainder in subsidies to mining companies and
+prospecting parties.  But, as in the case of railways and works of
+water supply, the Government were confronted by the extreme difficulty
+of providing safeguards against the misapplication of the funds.
+Direct control by the Minister of Mines was proved neither to yield
+good results nor to be satisfactory to the Minister, as he was
+subjected to continual pressure from Members of Parliament.
+Prospecting Boards were, accordingly, appointed in the seven mining
+districts into which the Province is divided, each Board consisting of
+five members, the surveyor of the district, a member of the
+Mine-owners' Association, a member of the Miners' Association, a member
+of the local mining board, and a representative of the municipalities.
+These men were authorised to allocate all votes, and, according to a
+statement of the present Minister, as they represented different
+interests in the mining and different localities, they took a parochial
+view of their duties and developed "a kind of unconscious log-rolling"
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P148"></A>148}</SPAN>
+which caused the grants, in many cases, to be devoted to entirely
+unprofitable objects.  The expenditure of the £800,000 is believed to
+have been of the greatest value to several mining companies, but has
+produced a direct return of only £11,526, an amount which would have
+been smaller had not the Minister threatened dividend-paying companies
+with the forfeiture of their leases unless they repaid their loans to
+the State.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The Government have also attempted to increase the export of such
+articles as butter, wine, cheese, and frozen meat, for which a large
+market is believed to be obtainable in Great Britain.  Their policy has
+been to foster these industries by means of bonuses to producers,
+subsidies to owners of factories, and the free use of cold storage at
+refrigerating works, and to enforce a certain standard of quality as a
+necessary condition of their assistance.  As the industry progresses
+the bonus is reduced and finally withdrawn, and charges are made for
+cold storage which are sufficient to reimburse the State for its
+outlay.  Such a course has already been pursued in the most successful
+case, that of butter, in which the value of the amount annually
+exported has risen from £51,000 in 1889-90 to £876,000 in 1895-6.  In
+this manner the State is not permanently engaged, but initiates its
+expenditure at the highest point and gradually releases itself from the
+obligation.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In 1893 the Government were confronted with
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P149"></A>149}</SPAN>
+a large amount of
+misery among the working classes, much of it undeserved, which had
+resulted from the collapse of many land companies and banking and
+building associations.  An artificial prosperity, caused by the
+inflation of metropolitan values, had created a demand for the services
+of a disproportionate number of artisans, who, upon the inevitable
+reaction, were thrown suddenly out of employment.  Under these
+circumstances the Ministry were called upon to do something to relieve
+the distress, and passed a new Land Act which offered favourable terms,
+in the way of tenure and monetary advances, to those who were willing
+to settle upon the land.  They were enabled to take it up either
+individually or in associations of not less than six persons who
+desired to live near each other.  At the expiration of a year after the
+passage of the Act 4,080 applications had been received, of which 2,122
+had been approved, 993 rejected, and 965 were under consideration; and,
+in order that the benefit might be immediate, the land had been made
+available as speedily as possible and applicants had not been compelled
+to wait until blocks had been surveyed.  In view of the conditions
+under which the settlements were formed it is not surprising to learn
+from subsequent official reports that the favourable anticipations
+have, in numerous instances, not been realised, owing to the
+unsuitability of the soil, the inexperience or physical incapacity of
+the settlers, or the absence
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P150"></A>150}</SPAN>
+of a local demand for labour or of a
+market for the surplus produce.  Many of the associations have been
+disbanded as the members were unable to work together harmoniously; and
+those that are still in existence have, in almost every case, abandoned
+the co-operative principle and are working their blocks on individual
+lines.  In 1896 the number of resident settlers was 2,127, who, with
+their wives and families, formed a total population of 8,802; they had
+received, during the three years, advances from the Government to the
+amount of £57,000.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The Act of 1893 also provided for the establishment of Labour Colonies.
+The movement in this direction originated with a few people at
+Melbourne, who saw the futility of periodical doles to the destitute,
+which were of merely temporary assistance to them and did not place
+them in the way of earning a permanent livelihood.  It was also felt
+that, in the absence of any system similar to the English poor-law,
+which, whatever its evils, relieves the conscience of the community,
+ministers were subject to continual pressure, which compelled them to
+institute public works for the sole benefit of the unemployed.  In 1892
+the distress was met, as far as the public were concerned, by the
+subscription of a large sum of money, which was distributed through the
+agency of the local branch of the Charity Organisation Society; but, in
+the following year, the distress being still more acute,
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P151"></A>151}</SPAN>
+the idea
+of a Labour Colony rapidly gained ground and was met by the Government
+by the grant of an area of 800 acres at Leongatha, some 80 miles from
+Melbourne, which enabled the promoters of the scheme at once to
+commence their operations.  At the outset it had been intended that the
+funds should be obtained, partly by private subscription, partly by
+<I>pro-rata</I> contributions from the national exchequer; but, in the
+absence of popular response, the Government deemed it advisable, at the
+commencement of 1894, to take over the entire administration of the
+colony, and appointed, as Honorary Superintendent, Colonel Goldstein,
+who had been actively identified with the undertaking.  Colonel
+Goldstein states that the main purpose of the colony, which is based on
+a German model, is to give temporary work at unattractive wages to the
+able-bodied unemployed in order that they may be prevented from passing
+over the narrow line which separates poverty from pauperism.  At first
+the aged and infirm were admitted, but it was found that employment
+could not be obtained for them and that their presence affected the
+value of the colony as a means of instruction for a class of men in
+whom it is necessary to arouse a spirit of responsible independence.
+They are, moreover, provided for by benevolent asylums and other
+charitable institutions which receive large subsidies from the
+Government.  Consequently men beyond the age of 55 years are now only
+received in
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P152"></A>152}</SPAN>
+exceptional cases.  All applicants are registered,
+and, if their alleged destitution is believed to be genuine, are
+forwarded by rail to the colony, where they receive free board and
+lodging.  The colonists are subjected to strict discipline, work for a
+week without pay upon probation, and then earn wages which rise to a
+maximum of 4s. a week; they receive no money while at the colony, but
+may draw certain necessaries, or, if married, cause their wages to be
+remitted to their wives.  The work is so arranged that the capabilities
+of the colonists may be used to the best advantage and that they may be
+fitted as far as possible for agricultural employment, which is
+obtained for them by means of a Labour Bureau established at the
+colony.  At the expiration of six months, or upon an accumulation in
+their favour of a credit balance amounting to 30s., colonists must,
+subject to occasional exemptions, seek employment elsewhere, and may
+not be re-admitted under a period of six weeks.  In this manner the men
+either obtain outside employment while resident at the colony or leave
+it possessed of a sum of money which renders them better able to search
+for it; they have the alternative of applying subsequently for
+re-admittance.  The results obtained during the three years have been
+of a most satisfactory character; 1,832 men have passed through the
+colony since its inception, of whom only 124 have been dismissed for
+faults, and none for insubordination; 573 have had
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P153"></A>153}</SPAN>
+remunerative
+work found for them, and the remainder have earned sufficient ready
+money to enable them to set out in search of employment.  There have
+been 566 re-admissions of 307 men who have returned from one to eight
+times.  "The majority of the men," says Colonel Goldstein, "are of the
+shiftless sort, who cannot do anything for themselves.  As Leongatha is
+80 miles from Melbourne, we seldom see the genuine loafer there.  The
+men who go are willing enough to work when shown how, but they seem
+unable to rouse themselves into any sort of vigour, to say nothing of
+enthusiasm, until they have been there a considerable time....
+Numerous instances could be given indicative of the generally helpless
+nature of the men.  There can be no doubt that employers, during the
+depression, will first reduce their worst men.  Of these, many have
+sufficient energy to shift for themselves; the rest drift to the labour
+colony.  Most of them have suffered severely from privation and
+poverty, and probably have had their dejected condition further
+dispirited by semi-starvation....  After a few months' stay it is
+surprising to see the difference in their appearance, and, what is more
+to the purpose, their discovery that a new kind of life is opened to
+them.  Bush-work gives them a healthier feeling of self-dependence than
+they ever enjoyed before, especially so for men who have a trade behind
+them ready when the chance comes."  The total outlay has amounted to
+£11,276,
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P154"></A>154}</SPAN>
+which has been expended mainly upon farm appointments,
+implements, and permanent improvements, and is represented by assets of
+the value of £10,861.  The net cost must be regarded as exceedingly
+small in view of the fact that, as the great majority of the colonists
+are artisans and quite unused to bush or farm work, their labour is
+necessarily slow and expensive, and that, as soon as a man begins to be
+useful, he is selected for some private employer.  The Labour Colony
+has, it is maintained, apart from the benefits conferred upon hundreds
+of individuals, paralysed the agitation of the unemployed; as long as
+it is in existence no able-bodied man need starve.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Finally, a measure, passed in 1896, aimed at the protection of
+pastoralists, farmers, and other cultivators of the soil by providing
+machinery by which the State might grant loans to them, upon adequate
+security, at a low rate of interest, with a sinking fund extending over
+a long period of years.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The salient features of Victorian legislation are the strong note of
+humanity and the confidence in the wisdom and efficiency of State
+action.  If this confidence has sometimes been misplaced, there is no
+reason to suppose that the Victorians have imposed upon themselves a
+burden that they are unable to bear.  They are an energetic race, who
+have not only developed the resources of their own country, but have
+obtained large interests in New South Wales and Queensland.  If in the
+past
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P155"></A>155}</SPAN>
+they were too much inclined to draw bills upon futurity,
+they have had a sharp lesson which has taught them the necessity of
+retrenchment and compelled them to reduce their annual expenditure by a
+third of the total amount.  It is impossible to form an unfavourable
+estimate of the prospects, or of the high average prosperity, of a
+population of less than 1,200,000 persons, which includes 185,000
+freeholders and has accumulated at the Savings Banks £7,300,000 divided
+among nearly 340,000 depositors.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap06"></A>
+
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P156"></A>156}</SPAN>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+VI
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+<I>THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA</I>
+</H3>
+
+<P CLASS="intro">
+Constitutional history&mdash;The relations of Church and State&mdash;Natural
+impediments to development&mdash;The construction of railways&mdash;The scarcity
+of water&mdash;The promotion of the mining and other industries&mdash;The absence
+of parties in Parliament.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P>
+Western Australia received the privileges of Responsible Government
+many years after the other Australasian Provinces; otherwise, its
+constitutional development has proceeded upon similar lines.  The first
+Governor was appointed in 1829, and administered the affairs of the
+country with the assistance of an Executive Council.  Two years later a
+Legislative Council was established which consisted solely of the
+members of the Executive Council, but it was subsequently widened by
+the admission, at first, of unofficial nominee members, afterwards of a
+sufficient number of elected members to form a majority of the whole
+body.  Then an agitation sprang up in the Province in favour of
+Responsible Government, and in 1889, after a unanimous vote of the
+Legislative Council, a Constitution
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P157"></A>157}</SPAN>
+Bill was submitted by the
+Government, considered by the Council, and forwarded to the Secretary
+of State for the Colonies.  In the House of Commons it met with
+considerable opposition, on the ground that the Crown Lands of the
+Province should not be handed over to a population of only 46,000
+persons.  But, upon a favourable report of a Select Committee and
+representation made by the Agents-General of the other Australasian
+Provinces, the point was decided in the sense desired by the Province,
+and, as the Bill passed rapidly through the House of Lords, it received
+the Royal Assent in August, 1890.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Under the Constitution the Executive power is vested in the Governor,
+who acts by the advice of a Cabinet composed of five responsible
+Ministers.  They are, at the present time, the Colonial Treasurer and
+Colonial Secretary, the Attorney-General, the Commissioner of Railways
+and Director of Public Works, the Commissioner of Crown Lands, and the
+Minister of Mines.  The Premier, Sir John Forrest, holds the offices of
+Colonial Secretary and Colonial Treasurer, and the Minister of Mines,
+the only Minister in the Upper House, controls the Postal and
+Telegraphic Departments.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The Legislative authority is vested in the two Houses of Parliament,
+the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly.  The Council
+consists of twenty-one members, of whom a third retire every two years.
+They are elected upon a property
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P158"></A>158}</SPAN>
+qualification, and must have
+been resident for at least two years in the Province.  The Assembly
+consists of thirty-three members, who must have resided at least one
+year in the Province, and are elected upon a wider franchise for the
+period of four years.  No remuneration is paid to the members of either
+House, but they receive free passes over all Government Railways and,
+by courtesy, over those belonging to private companies.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The limitations upon the power of legislation possessed by the
+Parliament of Western Australia are similar to those imposed upon the
+Legislatures of other Australian Provinces, except that the protection
+of the aborigines has been placed in the hands of an independent Board,
+nominated and controlled by the Governor.  It receives for the
+execution of its duties 1 per cent. of the annual revenue of the
+country, but cannot carry them out without the active support of
+Government officials.  The existence of this Board is strongly resented
+by Western Australians as an unjust reflection upon them, and as an
+imputation that they cannot be trusted to deal in a just and humane
+manner towards the natives; and the Premier, voicing the unanimous
+opinion of both Houses, has attempted, hitherto without success, to
+secure the repeal of the obnoxious section of the Constitution Act.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The attitude of the Government in regard to the relations between
+Church and State as affecting the endowment of religious bodies and the
+assistance
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P159"></A>159}</SPAN>
+given to denominational schools was, until recently,
+that grants should annually be voted by Parliament.  But the trend of
+public opinion has been in the direction of secular education and the
+termination of the payments made to the Churches.  The matter was,
+accordingly, during the session of 1895, dealt with by the
+Ecclesiastical Grants Abolition Act and the Assisted Schools Abolition
+Act.  Previously the payments to the Churches had been at the rate of
+about £3,500 per annum, of which the Church of England received £2,000,
+the Roman Catholics £1,000, and the Wesleyans and Presbyterians £360
+and £160 respectively.  The grants have been commuted at ten years'
+purchase, and the capital amount is to be paid <I>pro rata</I> out of the
+Consolidated Revenue Fund in two equal instalments to the recognised
+heads of each religious denomination.  This Bill was passed, with
+universal approval, through both Houses of Parliament, but a like
+unanimity was not manifested in regard to the Education question.  In
+fact, early in the session, the Premier had stated that he had no
+immediate intention of dealing with it, but his hands were forced by
+popular opinion, as manifested by the result of several elections
+fought upon that issue.  Consequently, after a resolution passed by
+both Houses that "It is expedient that the Assisted" (denominational)
+"Schools should no longer form part of the public Educational system of
+the Colony," and on the report of a Joint Committee, a Bill was
+introduced by the Premier into the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P160"></A>160}</SPAN>
+Assembly fixing the sum to be
+paid as compensation, in lieu of grants in aid, at £20,000.  In 1894
+one-third of the children being educated in the Colony were attending
+the Assisted Schools, at a cost to the country of £2,093 for the
+Assisted, and £11,356 for the Government Schools.  The Bill was hotly
+discussed; the Opposition divided over the amount, and were only beaten
+by one vote, and it was finally decided that the compensation should be
+£15,000.  The whole of this money will be paid to the Roman Catholics,
+who had alone taken advantage of the system.  There is a High School at
+Perth established by statute; otherwise little has been done in the
+direction of secondary education, and Western Australia has no
+University.  The advantages of primary education have been extended as
+far as possible; any district which can guarantee the attendance of
+fifteen children can claim the erection of a school and the appointment
+of a teacher; but it is clear that, in a very sparsely inhabited
+country, no system can be devised which will reach the whole population.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The policy of the Ministry has been, in the main, one of loans and
+public works.  They were called upon, at the inauguration of
+Responsible Government, to administer an area of nearly a million
+square miles, thinly populated and penalised by great natural
+drawbacks, such as the scarcity of good harbours, the difficulty of
+inland communication, and the absence over large tracts of country of a
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P161"></A>161}</SPAN>
+sufficient supply of water.  These drawbacks the Government have,
+in various ways, done their best to overcome.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The principal ports of Western Australia are&mdash;on the south Albany and
+Esperance Bay, on the west Bunbury, Fremantle, and Geraldtown, and on
+the northwest Cossack and Broome.  The most important of these are
+Albany, a fine natural harbour, which is the point of call of the ocean
+liners, and Fremantle, the port of Perth.  All have been improved, as
+far as conditions would permit, by dredging operations and the
+construction of piers and jetties, but very extensive works, for which
+the sum of £350,000 has already been allotted, are being carried out at
+Fremantle, in the hope of making it a good and commodious harbour for
+all classes of ocean vessels.  In the interests of safe navigation,
+lighthouses have been erected at various points along the coast.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As the rivers are mostly filled only during the rainy season, and
+unnavigable for any distance even for small boats, the methods of
+internal transit are limited to road and rail.  The Government have
+regarded the construction of roads as a matter of national rather than
+of purely local importance, and have expended upon them large sums of
+money.  They are at present engaged in opening up stock routes to the
+North and between the Murchison and Coolgardie Goldfields.  Their
+railway policy has been to render accessible the different resources of
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P162"></A>162}</SPAN>
+the country.  The South-Western Railway from Perth to Bunbury,
+Busselton, and Donnybrook traverses country suitable for the growth of
+cereals and for mixed farming.  Its course is along the foot of the
+Darling Range, which is covered with valuable forests of jarrah.
+Parliament has recently sanctioned two extensions: to Collie, an
+important coalfield, and to Bridgetown, the centre of an agricultural
+area.  The Eastern Railway, starting from Fremantle, passes through
+Perth and taps an important district adapted for general agriculture,
+fruit-growing, and viticulture; it connects with the Yilgarn Railway,
+which has now been completed to several points upon the Coolgardie
+Goldfields, and will be dependent for its returns upon their
+prosperity, as it passes through vast areas of arid scrub.  The
+Northern Railway consists of short lines from Geraldtown, which pass
+through country suitable, in parts, for the growth of cereals, in
+others, for pastoral purposes; it is to be continued to Cue, on the
+Murchison Goldfield.  The above are all Government railways, built
+under private contract and equipped and managed by the State.  There
+are also two large private companies, the Great Southern Railway,
+connecting Albany with Beverley, the terminus of the Eastern Railway,
+and the Midland Railway, connecting Geraldtown with Perth at points on
+the Northern and Eastern Railways.  They were built upon the land-grant
+system, at a time when the Government were anxious to extend the
+railways,
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P163"></A>163}</SPAN>
+but were not in a position to incur the cost of their
+construction.  This system is not likely to be adopted again, as both
+Companies have pursued an ungenerous policy in regard to the alienation
+of their lands, while the Midland Company were unable to complete their
+undertaking without the assistance of the Government, which, in return
+for a mortgage of the whole line, guaranteed for them the interest and
+principal of a loan of £500,000.  In fact, during the session of 1896,
+the Government, after negotiations with the Great Southern Railway
+Company, obtained the authority of Parliament for the negotiation of a
+loan for the purchase of all its interests, including the permanent
+way, rolling stock, buildings, and unsold lands.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In the southern and western portions of the Province water is
+plentiful.  The northern portion is subject to terrible drought, such
+as that which a few years ago almost ruined the squatters and caused
+the loss of three-quarters of a million sheep.  But the attention of
+the Government has been mainly turned to the eastern division, which
+includes the Yilgarn, Coolgardie, and Dundas Goldfields, and has an
+average annual rainfall of about ten inches, and it is in this portion
+of the country that the heaviest expenditure was incurred during the
+year ending June 30, 1895.  Thirteen large and two small tanks were
+completed on the Coolgardie Goldfields with a capacity of 13-½ millions
+of gallons and at a total cost of nearly £38,000.  Wells were
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P164"></A>164}</SPAN>
+sunk, bores put down in the search for water, condenser plants erected,
+and new soaks opened up at advantageous places throughout the district.
+Wells have also been sunk, and reservoirs constructed, on the Murchison
+and Pilbarra Goldfields, and in other parts of the country.  But the
+greatest undertaking in this direction will be the construction of vast
+works for the supply from a distance of water to the Coolgardie
+Goldfields.  Parliament has authorised the required loan, and may
+therefore be presumed to concur with the Ministry in the belief that
+the necessary water cannot be obtained on the spot by artesian bores or
+otherwise.  The future of Western Australia is bound up with that of
+the goldfields.  Should they fail through lack of water, recent
+immigrants would leave the country, and their departure would cripple,
+if not ruin, the agricultural industry, and cause immediately a heavy
+fall in the revenue.  Under these circumstances, the scheme of the
+Government, even though it entails a very large expenditure, might be
+justified as being essential to the continued prosperity of the
+Province.  A similar argument may be applied to the large sums spent
+upon the railways, since they, as well as the waterworks, should be
+remunerative; but when we find Parliament sanctioning, in one session,
+applications for loans amounting to seven millions&mdash;and bear in mind
+the smallness of the population&mdash;we cannot but fear that the Province
+is beginning to borrow recklessly and may expose itself to the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P165"></A>165}</SPAN>
+financial troubles which have overtaken some of its Eastern neighbours.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So much for the natural difficulties and the attempts made, and about
+to be made, by the Government to overcome them; but they have
+recognised that the heavy expenditure upon public works would be
+unjustifiable in the absence of simultaneous efforts to encourage the
+occupation and cultivation of the land and the development of the
+mineral resources; and they have, therefore, while not embarking upon a
+policy of direct subsidies for the payment of the passages of
+immigrants, offered every inducement to people to come to the Province
+of their own accord.  Intending settlers or companies can obtain, upon
+favourable terms, land for pastoral or agricultural purposes, mineral
+leases, and concessions giving them the right to cut timber upon the
+State forests.  A miner can acquire, on the annual payment of ten
+shillings, a miner's right, entitling him to take possession of, mine,
+and occupy, unoccupied Crown Lands for gold mining in accordance with
+the Mining Regulations.  The general conditions dealing with the
+alienation of Crown Lands are laid down in the Land Regulations, under
+which the Province has been divided into six districts, in order that
+different terms may be made in accordance with the varying quality and
+capabilities of the soil in different parts of the country.  Pastoral
+leases may be obtained at a rent ranging from five shillings to £1 a
+year for 1,000 acres.
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P166"></A>166}</SPAN>
+Agricultural land is in most parts of the
+country sold at ten shillings an acre, to be paid either directly or by
+annual instalments; but the title to the land is not given until
+certain stated improvements have been carried out upon it, in order to
+prevent its being held in an unimproved condition for speculative
+purposes, and residence is encouraged by the enforcement of a larger
+expenditure in improvements upon occupiers who do not live upon their
+estates.  As a further inducement to settlers, the Government have set
+apart special agricultural areas, which they cause to be surveyed
+before selection and marked out in blocks; they offer, under the
+Homesteads Act, 1893, free grants of land not exceeding 160 acres in
+extent, subject to stringent conditions as to residence and expenditure
+upon improvements; and they have established an agricultural bank which
+is authorised to make advances to farmers and other cultivators of the
+soil.  The policy of the Government has had considerable success, as
+the total area of cultivated land rose from 86,000 acres in 1886 to
+193,000 acres at the end of 1894.  But farmers have had to contend with
+great difficulties in the work and expense required for the clearing of
+the land, and in the absence of a market for their produce.  A distinct
+improvement, however, has obtained since the advent of a large
+population upon the goldfields, whose wants they may hope to supply.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It must be admitted that Sir John Forrest and his colleagues have had
+matters entirely in their favour.
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P167"></A>167}</SPAN>
+The credit of the Province has
+steadily improved, in view of its mining operations; for the same
+reason the railways have shown the most satisfactory returns, and the
+receipts from the Customs, under a tariff levied primarily for purposes
+of revenue, but partially protective in its incidence, have increased
+by leaps and bounds.  Again, in Parliament the Ministry have met with
+but little opposition.  Upon the inauguration of Responsible
+Government, the Premier had the prestige of former office under the
+Crown, and found himself face to face with an Assembly which had no
+experience in the principles of Party Government.  The members were
+intimately acquainted with each other, and criticism of the Ministry
+was resented as a personal insult.  The so-called Opposition made no
+serious attempt to overthrow the Government, partly because, in the
+dearth of men of both ability and leisure, there was no material for
+the formation of an alternative Ministry; partly because they were in
+agreement with them upon most of the questions that came up for
+discussion.  The policy of the construction of public works out of
+loans was generally acceptable, and soon justified itself by results,
+owing, to a great extent, to the development of the goldfields.  Mines
+had been worked in Western Australia for a considerable time, but
+attracted little attention until the great discoveries at Coolgardie
+and in its neighbourhood.  These came at a most opportune moment.  A
+large amount of capital in Europe was seeking
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P168"></A>168}</SPAN>
+profitable
+employment; the stagnation of business in the Eastern Provinces of
+Australia had brought hardship upon the labouring population and made
+them anxious to seek work elsewhere; and the success of the South
+African Mines had caused the British public to look favourably upon
+mining speculations.  As a result, mines were successfully floated in
+London and in Australia, immigrants poured in from the Eastern
+Provinces, mercantile firms established branches at Perth and at other
+centres, and the revenue obtained from the Customs and from the
+Railways and other public departments increased to an unparalleled
+extent.  But the increase of revenue naturally caused a large increase
+in the work of the departments concerned, and they failed signally to
+meet the additional demands upon them.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The Telegraphic and Postal Department obtained an evil pre-eminence
+through its irregularity and untrustworthiness, and caused much
+inconvenience and monetary loss, owing to the delay in the delivery of
+letters and telegrams.  Complaints were also rife against the Railway
+Department, as imported machinery lay for months at Fremantle, because
+the Government had not sufficient trucks in which to take it up the
+line to its place of destination.  It must be remembered, however, that
+the public services had been organised to meet the needs of a far
+smaller population and were called upon to carry out work which had
+increased at a
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P169"></A>169}</SPAN>
+rapidity which could not be foreseen.  A certain
+amount of difficulty was, under these circumstances, bound to occur, as
+the Government would not have been justified in launching into heavy
+additional expenditure until they had reasonable assurance of the
+permanence of the goldfields and of the consequent increase of business.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Hitherto the Government of Western Australia has been that of a huge
+land development company; constitutional questions have been in the
+background.  But a tendency is already perceptible among recent
+immigrants to demand manhood suffrage, payment of members, and other
+items of democratic legislation to which they have been accustomed in
+the Eastern Provinces.  This movement, however, will be checked by the
+conservative instincts of the native population, and by the general
+belief that the Ministry have guided the destinies of the province
+wisely during the crucial years which have succeeded the inauguration
+of Responsible Government.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap07"></A>
+
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P170"></A>170}</SPAN>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+VII
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+<I>DISCURSIVE NOTES ON TASMANIA</I>
+</H3>
+
+<P CLASS="intro">
+The restriction of the immigration of coloured races&mdash;Betting and
+lotteries&mdash;The adoption of a modification of Hare's System of
+Voting&mdash;Conflicts between the two Houses of Parliament&mdash;Finance and
+taxation&mdash;Land Grant Railways.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P>
+The session of the Tasmanian Parliament in 1896 was of a quiet
+character as far as the Ministerial programme was concerned.  Measures
+were introduced, among others, for the extension to certain coloured
+races of the restrictions imposed upon the immigration of the Chinese,
+for the better suppression of public betting and gaming, for the
+inspection of certain products intended for export, for the
+consolidation and amendment of the electoral laws, and for the
+reference to a plebiscite of disputes between the House of Assembly and
+the Legislative Council.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The first of these measures was introduced in pursuance of a resolution
+passed at the Premiers' Conference at the commencement of the year, and
+was based upon the Chinese Immigration Act, 1887, which limits the
+number of Chinese, not being
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P171"></A>171}</SPAN>
+British subjects, that may be
+brought to Tasmania in any vessel in proportion to its tonnage, and
+throws upon the masters of the vessels the duty of paying a capitation
+fee of £10 for every such Chinaman that they introduce into the
+Province.  It was proposed to apply this provision to "all male persons
+belonging to any coloured race inhabiting the Continent of Asia or the
+Continent of Africa, or any island adjacent thereto, or any island in
+the Pacific Ocean or Indian Ocean, not being persons duly accredited on
+any special mission to Her Majesty by the Government or ruler of any
+country, state, or territory, or to Tasmania under the authority of the
+Imperial Government."  The Bill, which also exempted from its operation
+the native races of Australia and New Zealand, was accepted by the two
+Houses of Parliament, but was reserved by the Governor for the Imperial
+assent, which was likely to be withheld, as the measure would
+undoubtedly lead to the strongest protests from the Japanese, who will
+scarcely submit to be treated as an inferior race by an Australian
+Province.  Should this attitude be adopted, a considerable amount of
+friction may be anticipated, as measures on similar lines have been
+adopted by the two Houses of Parliament in some of the other Provinces.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The Bill for the better suppression of betting and gaming should rather
+have been called a Bill for their regulation, as, while it aimed at the
+entire suppression of book-makers and betting-houses, it did not
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P172"></A>172}</SPAN>
+interfere with the totalisator or with any lotteries which had been
+authorised by Act of Parliament or were carried on solely by
+correspondence through the post-office, and in accordance with
+regulations which might be made by the Governor in Council.  The
+totalisator is now to be found in all the Australasian Provinces except
+New South Wales and Victoria; in the latter its adoption has widely
+been advocated, but has been opposed by the clergy, who have entered
+into an unconscious alliance with the book-makers.  The organisers of
+the large "Tattersall" Sweeps, which are worked from Tasmania and
+attract subscribers from all parts of Australasia, will also be
+unaffected by the Act; to a certain extent they will even be benefited,
+as they will be freed from the competition of many of their more humble
+rivals.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The measure dealing with the inspection of exported produce was deemed
+advisable on account, partly of the proposed action of other Provinces
+in regard to Tasmanian fruit, partly of the importance of enabling
+Tasmanian producers to obtain an official certificate of the quality of
+their produce.  In outside markets, it was contended, in which the
+Provinces come into competition with each other, dealers gave the
+preference to, and paid higher prices for, imports which had received
+the imprimatur of the Government stamp.  The interests of the community
+also would be protected against those of selfish and dishonest traders.
+It was, therefore,
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P173"></A>173}</SPAN>
+proposed that all dairy produce, fruit, or
+timber intended for exportation should be examined by an inspector, and
+should not be shipped until he had certified that it was sound, free
+from disease, and likely to reach its destination in a good state of
+preservation.  The Governor in Council was also authorised to make
+regulations for the inspection of the ships in which such produce was
+to be carried, for the protection from unnecessary suffering of live
+stock when carried by sea, and for the branding and shipment of
+products approved of by an inspector for exportation.  The Bill was
+read a second time in the Assembly on the understanding that it would
+be referred to the persons who would principally be affected by it, and
+was so unfavourably received by them, and especially by the
+fruit-growers, that it was shortly afterwards dropped.  In several
+Provinces inspection has been accompanied by a system of bonuses to
+producers, but in this respect Tasmania has taken no action.
+Substantial bonuses were, however, offered some fourteen years ago to
+manufacturers of considerable quantities of sugar, sacking, and woollen
+goods, but of these the last alone has been claimed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Tasmania has not followed the example of New South Wales and South
+Australia in the adoption of manhood or adult suffrage and the
+abolition of plural votes, but has passed a new Electoral Bill which
+adopts a modification of Hare's system, and thus secures a considerable
+representation of the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P174"></A>174}</SPAN>
+minority in both Houses of Parliament.  It
+provided, as introduced, that the two principal cities, Hobart and
+Launceston, which return, respectively, six and three, and four and
+two, representatives to the Assembly and Council, should thenceforward
+be single constituencies, and that "each elector shall have one vote
+only, but may vote in the alternative for as many candidates as he
+pleases; and his vote shall be deemed to be given in the first place
+for the candidate opposite whose name in the ballot-paper the figure 1
+is placed; but in the event of its not being required to be used for
+the return of such candidate, it shall be transferable to the other
+candidates in succession, in the order of priority indicated by the
+figures set opposite their respective names; and the elector shall
+insert opposite the names of the candidates for whom he wishes to vote,
+the figures 1, 2, 3, and so on, in the order of his preference."  The
+method by which the returning officer was to decide who were the
+successful candidates was so complicated as to require two pages of the
+Bill for its explanation.  Briefly stated, it was as follows: the total
+number of votes divided by the number of representatives being the
+"Quota" necessary for the election of candidates, the returning officer
+declares the candidates who have a number of first votes equal to or
+greater than the quota to be elected; he then notes how many of the
+second votes on the papers of the successful candidates are given to
+each of the other candidates,
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P175"></A>175}</SPAN>
+and distributes the surplus votes
+among them in accordance with their respective proportions.  One or
+more additional candidates are probably thereby elected, and the
+process is repeated until the requisite number are elected or a further
+quota is no longer reached.  In the latter case, the candidate who has
+the smallest number of votes is excluded, and the second votes of those
+who supported him in the first instance are counted to the other
+candidates.  The second votes of the candidates who successively become
+lowest on the list may be distributed, as often as may be necessary,
+among the remainder; in this manner a final result must at length be
+obtained.  The Assembly provided by an amendment that each elector
+should vote for as many candidates as there were vacancies, while
+signifying the order of his preference; the Council reduced the number
+of requisite votes by one-half, and limited the operation of the Bill
+to the next general election.  A doubt was expressed whether the
+benefits would counterbalance the additional trouble and inevitable
+confusion which would attend the first application of the new system.
+It was also contended that, among a population of not more that 160,000
+persons, if the experiment were worthy of a trial, it should be
+extended to the whole country.  The only other electoral peculiarity
+that I have noted in Australia is to be found in Queensland.  Under an
+Act of 1892 which deals with the election of members of the Assembly,
+an elector may "indicate on his
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P176"></A>176}</SPAN>
+ballot-paper the name or names of
+any candidate or candidates for whom he does not vote in the first
+instance, but for whom he desires his vote or votes to be counted in
+the event of any candidate or candidates for whom he votes in the first
+instance not receiving an absolute majority of votes."  These
+contingent votes are not counted unless the requisite number of
+candidates fail to obtain an absolute majority of all the primary
+votes; they are of no value where the candidates are not in the ratio
+of more than two to one to the vacancies, as it is provided that in
+such cases the candidates who receive the greatest number of votes
+shall be elected.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It is a noteworthy fact that the four Provinces, New South Wales,
+Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania, which decided in favour of
+popular election of the delegates to the new Federal Convention and the
+subsequent approval or rejection of the Draft Constitution by a direct
+popular vote, are those in which the Ministry advocate a plebiscite for
+the settlement of disputes between the two Houses of Parliament.  The
+acceptance of the Federation Enabling Bill by the Legislative Councils
+of these Provinces must weaken the moral force of their opposition to
+the plebiscite, as it may reasonably be argued that, if the people can
+be trusted to give an intelligent vote upon the most important of all
+Australian problems, they can still more be trusted to deal with any
+question of current politics.  In Tasmania Ministers are
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P177"></A>177}</SPAN>
+confronted with a Legislative Council which continually amends, as well
+as rejects, their financial proposals, justifying its attitude upon the
+wording of the Constitution Act of 1854.  The section in question
+states that "all Bills for appropriating any part of the revenue or for
+imposing any tax, rate, duty, or impost shall originate in the House of
+Assembly, and it shall not be lawful for the House of Assembly to
+originate or pass any vote, resolution, or Bill for the appropriation
+of any part of the revenue, or of any tax, rate, duty, or impost for
+any purpose which shall not have been first recommended by the Governor
+to the House of Assembly during the session in which such vote,
+resolution, or Bill shall be passed."  As the right of amendment is not
+specifically withheld, as in the Victorian Constitution, the
+Legislative Council assumes its possession.  The case for the
+plebiscite was put by the Premier and the Treasurer upon the second
+reading of the Bill.  Sir Edward Braddon stated that the financial
+privileges of the Assembly had continually been infringed by the
+Council, and that, on one occasion, in reference to the Drawbacks Bill,
+they had almost assumed the power of initiating a money vote.
+Curiously enough, the principal question mentioned by him as suitable
+for the application of the plebiscite was that of Female Suffrage,
+which, introduced as a private measure, had been rejected by the
+Council after he had failed to secure its defeat in the Assembly.  In
+the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P178"></A>178}</SPAN>
+preceding session, he said, the Assembly had vainly asked the
+Council to agree to a joint dissolution of both Houses when a Bill had
+twice been rejected and a General Election had intervened.  A similar
+measure, passed in South Australia in 1881, had operated most
+successfully, its mere presence on the Statute Book having put an end
+to the deadlocks which had previously been of constant occurrence.  It
+is probable, however, that the comparative absence of disputes has
+mainly been due to the democratisation of the Council, which has
+brought it into close touch with the feeling of the Assembly; and that,
+in Tasmania, where the electors for the Council are only one in five of
+those for the Assembly, a joint dissolution would produce little change
+in the <I>personnel</I> of the former body.  The Treasurer, Sir Philip Fysh,
+treating the subject historically, pointed out that the Council had
+thrown out year after year votes, first passed in 1863, for the
+expenditure of £103,000 upon the construction of roads and bridges, and
+had several times rejected the Launceston and Western, Hobart and
+Launceston, and Mersey and Deloraine Railway Bills.  They had three
+times refused to accept a Bill for the re-assessment of the land of the
+Province with a view to the imposition of a tax on unimproved values.
+As regards its opposition to the proposed expenditure of borrowed money
+upon the construction of railways, roads and bridges, it would appear
+that the Council in most cases acted
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P179"></A>179}</SPAN>
+wisely, and that the
+Province would have been benefited if it had persisted in its
+opposition.  The total public debt at the end of June, 1896, was nearly
+£8,150,000, exclusive of £215,000 in temporary Treasury Bills and
+£250,000 in Local Inscribed Stock, and entailed an annual liability for
+interest of £313,000.  Towards this amount, the works which should be
+directly reproductive, such as the railways and the postal and
+telegraphic services, returned a net revenue, after payment of working
+expenses, of only £26,000.  It may be contended, of course, that the
+country could not have been developed in the absence of a large
+expenditure; but, as the liability forms a heavy burden upon so small a
+population&mdash;a burden, indeed, which might have become almost unbearable
+but for the valuable discoveries of minerals&mdash;the Council seems to have
+had abundant justification for its efforts to check the extravagant
+tendencies of the Assembly.  The Ministry, after passing the second
+reading of the Bill in the Assembly by a small majority, withdrew it,
+as there was no possibility of getting it through the Council; its
+introduction appears to have been due to the desire that it should be
+discussed at the pending General Elections.  The principal clause
+provided that "any Bill which shall be passed by the House of Assembly
+in two consecutive sessions of Parliament, and which shall be rejected
+by the Legislative Council in each of
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P180"></A>180}</SPAN>
+two such consecutive
+sessions, may be submitted for the approval of the people of Tasmania
+by means of a general poll of, or referendum to, the electors for the
+House of Assembly."  An interval of not less than six weeks was to
+elapse between the two sessions, and where a Bill had been amended by
+the Council, the Assembly was to be vested with the final decision
+whether the amendments effected such substantial alterations as to be
+tantamount to a rejection, and might present an address to the Governor
+requesting that a Bill which had been rejected twice or substantially
+altered might be submitted to a general vote of the electors.  A bare
+majority of the votes so recorded was to be sufficient to secure the
+enactment of the measure subject to the constitutional rights of the
+Governor.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The placid progress of the Session was impaired by the introduction of
+a private railway Bill, which led to many nights of contentious debate
+and much hostility among the various sections in the Assembly.  All the
+railways are owned by the State with the exception of a few short lines
+in the Northern and Western portions of the Province which have been
+constructed by Mining Companies without any concessions from the
+Government.  During recent years the Western district has become an
+important mining centre, and should, in the opinion of most Tasmanians,
+be connected by railway with either Launceston or Hobart.  But the
+condition of the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P181"></A>181}</SPAN>
+finances is such, as has already been seen, that
+the Government cannot venture to undertake the construction of further
+public works unless it can be shown that they will immediately give an
+adequate return upon the outlay.  The small surplus of the last two
+years was obtained at the cost of rigid retrenchment and high direct
+taxation, an income tax of eightpence in the pound upon incomes derived
+from personal exertion, and a shilling upon those derived from
+property, and a land-tax of a halfpenny in the pound upon the capital
+value of land.  It, therefore, became necessary, if the construction of
+the line or lines were not to be postponed indefinitely, that the aid
+of private enterprise should be invoked and that concessions should be
+offered which would be sufficient to attract private capitalists.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In 1895 a Bill was passed which authorised the Van Diemen's Land
+Company to construct a railway of about forty miles in length, which
+would place the West Coast in communication with Emu Bay in the North.
+At a distance of eighteen miles from the latter place is Ulverstone,
+which is directly connected with Launceston, and the Government have a
+balance from loan funds which may be devoted to the construction of a
+railway across the intervening space.  The inducement offered to the
+Company was the right to mark off, within certain areas, twelve blocks
+of 320 acres of mineral land, which would be granted to them upon the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P182"></A>182}</SPAN>
+completion of the railway.  They were limited in the charges
+which they might make for the carriage of passengers and the conveyance
+of merchandise, were to pay a royalty of 2-½ per cent. upon the gross
+value of all minerals obtained by them in addition to the statutory
+income tax of one shilling in the pound, and were to be liable, after
+the expiration of twenty-one years, to the resumption of the railway
+and all its appurtenances by the Government at the price of 20 per
+cent. above the actual cost of construction.  At the end of 1896 the
+Company had not taken the initial steps towards the commencement of the
+undertaking.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The proposal made by a Victorian Syndicate and submitted to Parliament
+during the session of 1896, aimed at the connection by railway of the
+West Coast with some point on the State lines in the South.  In return
+for the construction of the railway, which would be about a hundred
+miles in length, the promoters asked for a concession of large areas of
+land along its proposed route and for considerable rights to make use
+of the rivers in its vicinity, which are running to waste in the
+greatest abundance, as sources of electrical energy.  As the railway
+would, admittedly, be worked at a loss for many years, they based their
+hopes of a profit upon the probability of the discovery of minerals and
+upon the generation of electricity, which they would either use
+themselves or dispose of to companies mining on land belonging to the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P183"></A>183}</SPAN>
+State.  The district in question, it may be stated, is believed
+to be of little agricultural value, but to be likely to carry minerals,
+though it has not adequately been prospected.  After its second reading
+the Bill was referred to a select committee, which made reductions in
+the concessions, and these were further reduced, after prolonged
+debate, upon its reconsideration in the Assembly.  I have mentioned
+these details in order to show that, while the State was not in a
+financial position to undertake the direct construction of railways
+deemed to be necessary for the development of the resources of the
+country, the Assembly was not unmindful of the interests of posterity,
+and sought to reduce the inevitable concessions to the lowest possible
+point.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap08"></A>
+
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P184"></A>184}</SPAN>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+VIII
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+<I>FEMALE SUFFRAGE</I>
+</H3>
+
+<P>
+I do not propose, in the present chapter, to discuss the hackneyed
+arguments for and against female suffrage, but to indicate the progress
+of the movement in the several Provinces of Australasia, and to note
+some of the results of the adoption of adult suffrage in South
+Australia and New Zealand.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As regards the other Provinces, we are bound to consider the existing
+franchise for the election of members of the Assembly in order to
+realise what would be the effect of extending it to women upon similar
+terms.  In Victoria manhood suffrage would be superseded by adult
+suffrage; in New South Wales and Western Australia, where residence of
+three and six months, respectively, forms a qualification, the vast
+majority of women would obtain a place on the rolls; but in Tasmania
+and Queensland the right to exercise the franchise would be confined,
+practically, to widows and women of independent means.
+</P>
+
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P185"></A>185}</SPAN>
+
+<P>
+We are also bound to take into consideration the constitution of the
+Legislative Council in order to gauge the full significance of female
+suffrage.  If it is elective, as the electors must be qualified as
+freeholders, leaseholders, or occupiers, the vote would be confined to
+women of independent means and widows or spinsters in personal
+occupation, and, while the wife and daughters of the poor man would
+necessarily be excluded from the register, those of the rich man might,
+as has been done in South Australia, receive special gifts of freehold
+property which would be sufficient to render them eligible.  To this
+extent, therefore, as in Tasmania and, to a small degree, wherever
+plural voting is allowed, female suffrage would constitute a new
+property vote.  Similar conditions would not prevail when the members
+of the Council are nominated upon the recommendation of Ministers who
+are subject to the control of the popular representatives.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It is probable that Victoria will be the next Province to follow the
+example of South Australia and New Zealand.  A ministerial measure
+which would have introduced female suffrage, though only in the
+constituencies of the Assembly, has twice been passed by that House.
+On the first occasion it was rejected by the Council, on the second it
+was laid aside on the ground that it had not been approved by the
+absolute majority which is required in the case of amendments of the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P186"></A>186}</SPAN>
+constitution.  Both Bills were rendered distasteful to the
+Council by the inclusion of a provision for the abolition of the plural
+vote, but it is unlikely that the first would, apart from that fact,
+have been accepted.  Many members of the Council, I was told, are
+favourable to female suffrage, but would have voted in accordance with
+their opinion that important constitutional changes should not be
+passed until they have been placed before the electorate.  As the life
+of the Assembly may not exceed three years, the reference need not long
+be delayed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In Tasmania, in 1896, the House of Assembly passed a private Bill
+containing a similar limitation to that in the Victorian measure, and
+was equally unable to secure the concurrence of the Council.  A
+resolution in favour of female suffrage has been adopted by a large
+majority in the Assembly of New South Wales, but the question has not
+been taken up by either of the recognised parties.  The Premier may be
+reckoned as a personal supporter, but declines to move in the matter in
+view of differences of opinion in the Cabinet.  Neither in Western
+Australia nor in Queensland does the subject arouse much interest.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Such is the state of feeling in five of the six Australian Provinces.
+In South Australia an arduous contest was concluded in 1894 by the
+passage of an Act which placed women upon an absolute equality with men
+in the right to vote for
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P187"></A>187}</SPAN>
+members both of the Assembly and of the
+Council.  It is unnecessary to trace the history of the agitation which
+may be said to have commenced in 1888 upon the formation of the Women's
+Franchise League, though a Bill for the enfranchisement of women of
+property had previously been introduced.  Thenceforward it was pursued
+vigorously, and culminated in 1893, when the Government pronounced in
+favour of adult suffrage.  But the difficulties were not at an end: the
+Bill of that year was wrecked, mainly because its adoption was to be
+dependent upon an affirmative plebiscite; reintroduced in the following
+year without the obnoxious clause, it was passed through both Houses of
+Parliament, though only by the bare statutory majority in the Assembly,
+and shortly afterwards received the Queen's assent.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+During the course of the debates the Premier, who holds the portfolio
+of Attorney-General, said that, if women were entitled to vote, they
+would have the right to sit in Parliament, and the Assembly, by
+twenty-eight votes to eight, refused to exclude them.  A doubt has
+since been expressed, which is not shared by the Ministry, whether they
+are qualified to be elected to the Council.  I have not had the
+opportunity to read the arguments, which concern the interpretation of
+several statutes, but they would be of no great interest, the main
+point being that Parliament intended to enable women to sit in both
+Houses.
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P188"></A>188}</SPAN>
+In New Zealand, on the other hand, the enfranchising Act
+of 1893 expressly denied to women the right of election to the House of
+Representatives or nomination to the Council; and the succeeding House,
+though elected under adult suffrage, refused to go back upon this
+decision.  The subsequent proposal of the Premier that women should be
+eligible for nomination to the Council, was intended, I believe, partly
+as a bid for their support, partly as a means of casting ridicule upon
+the non-representative body.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The first elections in South Australia under the new franchise were
+held early in 1896, and, apart from a few rural constituencies in which
+the issues were personal rather than political, were contested under
+three recognised programmes.  The National Defence League, or
+Opposition, mentioned in its programme no items which were likely to be
+especially attractive to the female voters, and treated as open
+questions temperance legislation, and religious instruction in State
+schools; the Labour platform, with discreet vagueness, advocated any
+equitable and reasonable claims of women for the amendment of the laws;
+and the Ministerial policy, as enunciated by the Premier, included an
+amendment of the Licensed Victuallers' Act in the direction of greater
+local control over licenses, and various measures of social reform, of
+which the principal were the raising of the age of consent, the
+simplification of the remedies of deserted wives,
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P189"></A>189}</SPAN>
+and the
+restriction of the importation and sale of opium.  It should be
+mentioned, however, that, as the Labour Party are united in a close,
+though independent, alliance with the Government, the supporters of the
+one in many cases voted for the candidates of the other.  In several
+constituencies a Ministerialist and a Labour man contested the two
+seats and received jointly the assistance of both parties.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As the Women's Franchise League had been dissolved upon the attainment
+of its purpose, the only organisation which interested itself,
+specifically, in the female voters was the W.C.T.U., which, having
+drawn up a scheme of reforms, suggested that it should be used as a
+basis for ascertaining the views of candidates, but did not seek
+directly to influence the votes of its members though leaning,
+undoubtedly, to the side of the Government.  Its efforts to instruct
+women in the method of voting enabled returning officers to
+congratulate them on their knowledge of the business.  From personal
+observation I can bear witness to the extreme orderliness of the
+proceedings, both during and after the poll.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The elections resulted in a slight accession of strength to the ranks
+of the Ministerialists and Labour members.  As these are very Radical,
+the majority of women, contrary to the expectations of many, had failed
+to display Conservative predilections.  It would seem, indeed, if we
+take also
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P190"></A>190}</SPAN>
+into consideration the result of two General Elections
+in New Zealand, that their so-called Conservatism takes the form, not
+of an aversion from advanced legislation, but of a disinclination to
+bring about a change of Ministry.  Under masculine influences, South
+Australia had forty-two Ministries in forty years; women entered the
+arena and a Ministry which had held office for three years was again
+returned to power.  An allowance must, of course, be made for a feeling
+of gratitude to those through whom the privilege of the vote had been
+obtained.  Equally wrong was the anticipation that the women would be
+found to be subject to clerical influences.  At the instigation of
+those who were under this impression, the electors were invited, under
+a direct reference, to say whether they desired the introduction of
+religious instruction in State schools during school hours and the
+payment of a capitation grant to denominational schools for secular
+results.  Both questions were answered emphatically in the negative,
+the second by a majority of more than three votes to one.  The W.C.T.U.
+was in favour of religious instruction, but strongly opposed to the
+capitation grant.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The general conclusion formed after the elections was that, in the vast
+majority of cases, the women had voted in the same way as their
+masculine relatives, and that domestic harmony had not been disturbed.
+It was impossible to obtain definite data, as the Premier refused,
+rightly enough, to sanction
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P191"></A>191}</SPAN>
+the issue of different voting papers
+for the two sexes.  But, even if the female franchise merely increased
+the number of votes and did not affect the result of the elections, it
+does not follow that it has been nugatory.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Members who have to consider the wishes of female as well as male
+constituents will shape their actions accordingly.  The effects of this
+influence cannot yet be studied fully in South Australia, as they were
+not manifested, to any great extent, in the first session of the new
+Parliament.  A Licensed Victuallers' Act was passed, as had been
+promised by the Premier, which instituted local control over the issue
+of licenses, but provided, in accordance with statutory enactment, that
+the refusal of licenses, or reduction in their number, should be
+accompanied by compensation to the parties directly interested.  As the
+Province has a steadily growing industry in the cultivation of the
+vine, Prohibitionists will be met by a serious obstacle to their
+crusade.  In pursuance of an <I>ad feminas captandas</I> agitation for the
+prohibition of the employment of barmaids which had been carried on
+during the elections, the Assembly inserted a clause in the Bill which
+prohibited their employment after a certain number of years, but
+submitted to its excision by the Council.  A Bill which would have
+given to widows a legal right to one-third of their deceased husband's
+property was discussed, but allowed to lapse.  The Franchise Act, I
+should have stated,
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P192"></A>192}</SPAN>
+allowed a female elector, upon the completion
+of certain formalities, to vote through the post if she would be absent
+from her home on the day of the election, a privilege already accorded
+to men, or if she were resident more than three miles from the nearest
+polling place, or, by reason of the state of her health, would probably
+be unable to vote at the polling place on the day of the poll.  This
+provision, which permitted open voting, was found to have led to
+abuses, and the Government passed an amending Act which withdrew all
+the supplementary privileges except the last, and required absent
+voters to fill in the paper at a postmaster's office and without
+supervision.  As I was not in South Australia during the session, I am
+unable to give more than a brief summary of the proceedings which may
+be connected, directly or indirectly, with the extension of the
+franchise to women.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But when we turn to New Zealand, where a House elected under adult
+suffrage has fulfilled its allotted term of three years, we may expect
+to find more definite results.  In that Province, as in South
+Australia, women were enfranchised by a House which had received no
+popular mandate to that effect; in fact, the matter had scarcely been
+discussed in the constituencies, though attention had been drawn to it
+by the advocacy of several successive Premiers.  In 1892, however, a
+new Electoral Bill, which conferred the franchise on all adult women,
+was passed by the House of Representatives
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P193"></A>193}</SPAN>
+and accepted by the
+Council subject to the insertion of a clause which absolved women in
+some cases from attendance at the polling booth.  The Government
+refused to accept the amendment, and the Bill lapsed for the session.
+In the following year it was reintroduced in the original form, and was
+passed by both Houses, though only by a slender majority in the
+Council.  The Act contains the striking and, as far as I know, unique
+provision that the names of voters who have not exercised their
+privileges are to be erased from the rolls, though a claim for
+reinstatement may be made at the next periodical revision.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The elections, which took place at the end of 1893, aroused widespread
+interest in the members of the fair sex, of whom nine out of every
+eleven who were registered went to the poll and proved conclusively
+that, though the desire for the vote might not have been general, women
+would not refrain from its exercise.  With the help of their lords and
+masters, they falsified the expectations of those who had anticipated a
+reaction in favour of Conservatism, by retaining in power, with an
+increased majority, a Government which is, in some respects, even more
+Radical than that of South Australia.  So complete was the defeat of
+the Opposition that it was reduced to a remnant of twenty members in a
+House of seventy-four.  Another important feature was the return of a
+body of Prohibitionists who aimed at legislation which would enable the
+electors
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P194"></A>194}</SPAN>
+in a locality to close all the public-houses by a bare
+majority.  As they sat on both sides of the House, they did not affect
+the numerical strength of the two parties, but constituted a force
+which it was impossible for the Government to ignore.  But while the
+consequent liquor legislation and the increased prominence of the
+temperance movement are the principal effects of the extension of the
+franchise to women, other measures of considerable importance are
+connected with the new factor in the sphere of politics.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Some of these would, doubtless, have been passed in any case.  The
+Shops and Shop Assistants Act of 1894, for instance, which limits the
+total number of hours in a week, and the number of consecutive hours in
+a day, during which women and persons under eighteen years of age may
+be employed in a shop, and requires shopkeepers to provide sitting
+accommodation for their female employés, was passed by the preceding
+House of Representatives, and would have become law but for its
+rejection by the Council.  Similarly, the greater stringency in the
+limitation of the hours of employment of women and young persons in
+factories, the exclusion of young persons from certain dangerous
+trades, and the prohibition of the employment of women within a month
+of their confinement, all of which were included in the Factories Act
+of the same year, might have been expected in the natural progress of
+industrial legislation.  The appointment of women,
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P195"></A>195}</SPAN>
+also, as
+inspectors of factories, gaols, and asylums is in accordance with the
+recent practice of other countries.  The same may be said of the Infant
+Life Protection Act, which seeks to prevent baby-farming, and of Acts
+dealing with the adoption of children and with industrial schools,
+though it is probable that their passage has been hastened by a
+knowledge of the approval of the female voters.  Their influence is
+also seen in measures such as the raising of the age of consent to
+sixteen, in a country, be it remembered, in which girls come much more
+early to maturity than in England, the permission accorded to women to
+be enrolled as barristers and solicitors, and the simplification of the
+procedure where a judicial separation is desired.  Parliament has
+discussed, but without legislative results, proposals that the sexes
+should be placed on an equality as regards the grounds for a divorce,
+and that a divorce should be obtainable if either party become insane
+or be sentenced to a long term of imprisonment.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But we can trace the influence of women most directly in the desire of
+the Premier, to which I have referred, to render them eligible for
+nomination to the Council, and in the attempts to put an end to the
+legal sanction accorded by the State to betting, immorality, and drink.
+In these matters members are face to face with the most pronounced
+opinions of their female constituents.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The prevention of gambling is sought through the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P196"></A>196}</SPAN>
+suppression of
+the totalisator, which was legalised in 1889.  In the following years,
+it is admitted, the number of licenses issued was in excess of the
+requirements of the population, and it was felt, even by the advocates
+of the machine, when a strongly supported effort was made in the House
+of Representatives to abolish it, that a concession was inevitable.  In
+its final form the measure reduced by one-third the number of licenses
+which might be issued thenceforward, and prohibited all persons from
+betting with minors and from laying or taking odds dependent upon the
+dividend paid by the totalisator.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The female voters are even more anxious to secure the repeal of the
+C.D. Act, though it has for several years been a dead letter.  It only
+applies to districts which the Government declares to be subject to its
+provisions, and no Ministry at the present time would venture to
+recommend its application nor Municipal Council to proffer such a
+request.  But the women will not be satisfied until they have expunged
+from the Statute Book an Act which they declare to be a disgrace to New
+Zealand.  Their purpose would have been effected by a short measure
+which was passed by the House of Representatives but rejected by the
+nominated Legislative Council, which is less amenable to public
+opinion.  They have also inspired the Government to greater stringency
+in the administration of the law against keepers of houses of ill-fame,
+which has led,
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P197"></A>197}</SPAN>
+according to common report, to a large increase in
+the prevalence of venereal diseases.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In order to understand the position of affairs as it affects the
+Prohibitionists in their crusade against public-houses, it is necessary
+to have some knowledge, in their broadest aspects, of the constitution
+and powers of the licensing authority and of the gradual extension of
+popular control.  Under an Act of 1881 the regulation of the traffic
+was placed in the hands of elective Licensing Committees, and the first
+step in the direction of popular control was taken by the provision
+that additional licenses, except in special cases, should not be
+granted until they had been demanded by a poll of the ratepayers.
+Objections to the granting or renewal of licenses might be made by
+private individuals, the police and corporate bodies, and should
+specify, as the ground of objection, that the proposed licensee was an
+undesirable person, that the premises were unsuitable, or that "the
+licensing thereof is not required in the neighbourhood."  The words
+that I have quoted were seized upon by the Prohibitionists, who had
+gathered strength during the following years as a justification for the
+refusal of all licenses if they could capture the Licensing Committee.
+In Sydenham, a suburb of Christchurch, they were at length successful,
+and were confronted with the bitter antagonism of the brewers.  After
+several years of litigation they were defeated conclusively, and were
+thrown back upon an agitation for the amendment of the law.
+</P>
+
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P198"></A>198}</SPAN>
+
+<P>
+The next important measure, that of 1893, was passed by representatives
+elected under manhood suffrage, who knew that when they sought a
+renewal of confidence they would be called upon to justify their
+actions, not only in the eyes of Prohibitionists, but in those of the
+newly enfranchised female electors.  We shall therefore not be
+surprised to find that the Act introduced a great extension of the
+principle of popular control.  It placed both the election of the
+Licensing Committees and the Local Option polls on the basis of adult
+suffrage and enlarged the scope of the latter.  Previously, as we have
+seen, the electors were only allowed to decide as to the advisability
+of additional licenses.  Herein their power was curtailed, as such
+polls were not to be held unless a census had shown that the population
+of a district had increased by 25 per cent. in the quinquennial period.
+This was a concession to Prohibitionists who would welcome a change
+which rendered the increase of licenses more difficult.  But the
+principal innovation was the control given to the electorate over the
+renewal of all publicans' accommodation or bottle licenses.  Triennial
+polls were to be held, at which they were to be invited to say whether
+they desired the continuation, reduction, or abolition of licenses,
+subject to the proviso that prohibition would not be deemed to be
+carried except by a three-fifths majority of the votes, and that the
+poll would be void unless it had been attended by a majority of the
+registered electors.
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P199"></A>199}</SPAN>
+Should prohibition not be carried, the
+votes in its favour were to be added to those cast for reduction, and,
+in the event of reduction, the Licensing Committee were to refuse to
+renew the licences of not more than one in four of the publicans in the
+district, commencing with those whose licenses had been endorsed, and
+proceeding with those who offered little or no accommodation to
+travellers.  No provision was made for compensation to persons who,
+through no fault of their own, might be dispossessed of their licenses.
+As the Act declared that the poll should be regarded as void unless
+one-half of the electors recorded their votes, it was to the obvious
+interest of anti-prohibitionists to abstain from attendance at the
+booths, and the figures consequently afford no index of the full
+strength of the opposing parties.  The Prohibitionists, however, had
+little cause to be dissatisfied with the results of their first appeal
+to the electorate, which included women as well as men: prohibition was
+carried in one case, reduction in fourteen, while in the remainder the
+poll was either void or the votes were cast in favour of existing
+conditions.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The amending Act of 1895 has made no substantial alterations in the law
+in spite of the persistent agitation of Prohibitionists in favour of
+prohibition on the vote of a bare majority.  It was decreed that
+licensing polls should be held concurrently with General Elections,
+that voters should
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P200"></A>200}</SPAN>
+be allowed to vote both for prohibition and
+reduction, though the two votes could, naturally, no longer be combined
+in favour of the latter, that the vote should affect all forms of
+licenses, and, in view of the district in which prohibition had been
+carried, that, in such cases, the issue should be between the continued
+refusal of licenses and their restoration to the former number.  Under
+the present law, it will be noted, should successive reductions lead to
+the cancellation of all licenses, a vote of the electors can never
+restore more licenses than existed at the time when the last was doomed
+to extinction.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The second poll was taken at the end of 1896 and resulted in the
+failure to carry either prohibition or reduction in any district.  The
+figures were as follows: continuation, 139,249; reduction, 94,226;
+prohibition, 98,103.  Though the Prohibitionists had been enabled to
+increase their vote by nearly 50,000 and had therein sufficient grounds
+for the hope of ultimate success, it is probable that they would have
+been more successful but for the intemperance of their leaders, who aim
+at prohibition alone and care neither for the regulation of the traffic
+nor for reduction.  They were also handicapped by the frantic efforts
+of the brewers, who spent their ample funds freely and were able to
+command the votes of many who were interested, either directly or
+indirectly, in the trade; and by an alliance between the brewers and
+many of the Ministerialists.  While the General
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P201"></A>201}</SPAN>
+Election and the
+Local Option poll constituted distinct issues, and there was no reason
+why a supporter of the Government should feel bound to vote for the
+continuation of licenses, it is an undoubted fact that a large number
+of the women of the working classes, who might have been expected to be
+opposed to the public-houses, voted, on that occasion, in favour of
+their retention.  At Wellington, where, as at Adelaide, I was struck by
+the prevailing orderliness, the only women whom I noted as taking an
+active part in the proceedings were canvassing in favour of the brewers.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At first sight it seems strange that the brewers should have worked
+with the party which had passed the most stringent liquor legislation
+on the Statute Book, but it must be remembered that this question had
+neither been debated nor divided the House on the ordinary lines of
+cleavage.  The brewers, many persons maintain, know that they have the
+sympathy of the Government which, according to this hypothesis, has
+done as little as possible to meet the wishes of the Prohibitionists,
+and that only under virtual compulsion, and, in its measure of 1896,
+introduced a Bill which would certainly be rejected by the Council and
+was calculated to cast ridicule upon the agitation of the
+Prohibitionists.  It was provided therein that a fourth issue should be
+added at the Local Option polls, that of national prohibition, and
+that, if it were carried by a three-fifths majority of the votes
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P202"></A>202}</SPAN>
+recorded in all the districts, it should be unlawful, subject to the
+exception mentioned hereafter, to import into the Province any liquor
+for any purpose or to distil it in the Province or to manufacture it
+for sale or barter.  No person selling any spirituous or distilled
+perfume, nor any apothecary, chemist, or druggist administering or
+selling any spirituous, distilled, or fermented liquor for medicinal
+use, should do so otherwise than in such combination as rendered it
+unfit for use as a beverage.  The Governor might declare, by notice in
+<I>The Gazette</I>, by what combination of ingredients the articles would be
+rendered sufficiently unpalatable.  Persons requiring liquor for
+medicinal use or use in the arts and manufacturers were to make
+applications to Her Majesty's Customs and if their <I>bonâ fides</I> were
+proved, might receive it, for ready money, "in such closed and sealed
+bottles or other receptacle as that the liquor therein cannot be poured
+out without such seal being first broken," and attached "with a
+Government label declaring the kind, quantity, quality, and price of
+the liquor, as these may be determined by the Governor."  In this
+measure the Government seem to have attempted to run with the hare and
+hunt with the hounds.  The brewers would laugh in their sleeves and the
+Prohibitionists would welcome a measure which instituted machinery for
+the attainment of national prohibition.  If the assumption be correct,
+the latter are credited with a lamentable lack of any sense of humour;
+from all
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P203"></A>203}</SPAN>
+appearances they are not prepared to allow themselves to
+be hoodwinked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Many of the representatives seem to have had an equally low opinion of
+the average intelligence of female electors, as they sought to capture
+the votes of domestic servants by a Bill which was rejected by the
+Council, in which a weekly half-holiday was decreed to them except in
+cases of sickness or death in the family, or where an annual holiday of
+not less than fourteen days had been substituted by mutual agreement
+between employers and their servants.  How the period of rest was to be
+enforced was, perhaps wisely, not laid down, as domestics would, in few
+cases, be prepared to give information against their employers.  Those
+among the latter, however, who took the matter seriously would,
+presumably, guard themselves against judiciary proceedings by
+compelling their servants to be out of the house on the holiday between
+three o'clock and half-past nine, whatever might be the state of the
+weather.  Again, the undoubted evil, that young girls, by the culpable
+weakness of their parents, are allowed to parade the streets at night,
+was to be cured, according to the Government, by the so-called Juvenile
+Depravity Suppression Bill, which failed to meet with acceptance by the
+usually docile House of Representatives.  Its danger and absurdity can
+be gathered, without further comment, from the quotation of one of the
+clauses: "Whenever any constable finds any girl" (who is apparently not
+over the age of sixteen years)
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P204"></A>204}</SPAN>
+"loitering in the streets or in
+out-of-the-way places after the hour of ten of the clock at night, and
+he has reason to believe that she is there for improper purposes, the
+following provisions shall apply:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"1. He shall forthwith take her to the nearest beat of another
+constable, or, failing him, to the nearest justice or clergyman, or,
+failing him, to the nearest house of some married person of good
+repute, in whose presence the girl shall be questioned as to her name,
+her abode, her parents or guardians, and her reason for being from home
+and loitering as aforesaid.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"2. The constable shall then take, or shall cause her to be taken, to
+her home, where she shall be handed over to the person in charge of the
+house, and the constable shall forthwith on his return from duty make
+report of the facts to the officer in charge of the station."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Should the offence be repeated and the girl's reply be deemed by the
+officer in charge of a police station to be unsatisfactory, she may be
+brought before a magistrate and be committed to a reformatory or an
+industrial school.  Some justification, I must add, for the seemingly
+depreciatory opinion of the members was afforded by the proceedings at
+the convention of the National Council of Women held at Christchurch
+early in 1896.  This Association, which claims to be non-political and
+to focus the views of the women of New Zealand, passed
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P205"></A>205}</SPAN>
+resolutions in favour of the nationalisation of the land, a compulsory
+eight hours' day, and the enactment of a minimum rate of wages; but the
+climax was reached when it was resolved that "in all cases where a
+woman elects to superintend her own household and to be the mother of
+children, there shall be a law attaching a certain just share of her
+husband's earnings or income for her separate use, payable if she so
+desires it into her separate account."  The first portion of this
+sentence is mysterious, and seems to be based on the assumption that
+the husband has nothing to say in the matter.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The extraordinary legislative activity which I have summarised need
+arouse no astonishment, as it is in consonance with the usual practice
+of the Parliament of New Zealand.  Between the years 1876 and 1894, it
+has been computed, 2,972 measures were passed, and of these no less
+than 1,602 have already been repealed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So much for the past: we must now consider briefly the present position
+of affairs and the further effects which may be anticipated from female
+suffrage.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It is the general impression that while a large majority of the women
+voted in 1893 as their husbands and brothers advised them, yet they
+were induced, in many instances, by their leagues, which had been
+started on independent lines, to support candidates on moral rather
+than political considerations.  In the following year these leagues,
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P206"></A>206}</SPAN>
+with the exception of those which placed liquor questions before
+all others, were captured by one of the political parties, most of them
+by the Ministerialists.  An amusing incident occurred in this
+connection at Dunedin.  Shortly before the last elections it was
+decided, at a thinly-attended meeting of the Women's Franchise League,
+to support the three Ministerial candidates, although one of them was
+an anti-prohibitionist.  Thereupon many of the members protested
+against the party character given to the association, and called a
+meeting, the proceedings at which were thus described by the local
+newspaper:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The meeting which was held yesterday afternoon in connection with the
+Women's Franchise League was, in some respects, the most unique
+gathering ever held in the city.  There were nearly 200 women present,
+and they were divided into two parties&mdash;the followers of Mrs. Hatton
+and the supporters of Mrs. Don and Mrs. Hislop.  At the close of the
+opening remarks of the Chairman (the Rev. Mr. Saunders), Mr. Hatton
+mounted the platform, and declining to take his seat, the Chairman
+threatened to send for a policeman.  Then occurred a scene and uproar,
+of which it is impossible to give any conception.  The noise was
+deafening; and attracted to the spot passers-by in the street.  Half a
+dozen persons occupied the stage, and while some persons were
+addressing the meeting, others were engaged in heated argument.  Women
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P207"></A>207}</SPAN>
+stamped on the floor with their feet and parasols, others were
+speaking at the highest pitch of their voices; there were hissing and
+hooting, and other unwomanly demonstrations.  Eventually a portion of
+Mrs. Hislop's supporters withdrew to a side room, and the Chairman,
+having dissolved the meeting, vacated the chair."[<A NAME="chap08fn1text"></A><A HREF="#chap08fn1">1</A>]
+</P>
+
+<P>
+We find, therefore, that, with the exception of ardent Prohihitionists,
+women are subordinating their special interests to their increasing
+attachment to one or other of the parties; but it does not follow that
+they will cease to exercise a direct influence upon legislation.  It is
+not easy to learn to what extent their views have been modified during
+the last few years.  The proceedings of the National Council of Women
+cannot be taken seriously, and the practical aspirations of the sex
+must be sought rather in the points emphasised by the local leagues.
+The files of the newspapers, unfortunately, afford little information,
+as it was the practise of candidates to speak upon general topics at
+their public meetings, and to take part in informal and unreported
+discussions with the members of the various women's leagues.  On these
+occasions, I understand, and I must again except the Prohibitionists,
+the women made their views known, but did not seek to exact pledges as
+a condition of support.  It is believed that they took less interest in
+the second elections, but statistics are not yet available for a
+comparison
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P208"></A>208}</SPAN>
+of the numbers that went to the poll on the two
+occasions.  Of 9,332 women who were registered for the City of
+Auckland, 6,304 recorded their votes, but I am unable to say whether
+the proportion of about seven in ten holds good for the Province.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But, while it is necessary to consider the view of local leagues in
+order to form general conclusions as to the trend of female thought, it
+is found that, in the absence of one predominating centre, different
+issues obtain prominence in different places, and that the vote lacks
+the force which would be given to it by concentration.  A general
+similarity of aims, however, enables an estimate to be formed of the
+questions which the women will press upon the attention of Parliament
+in the immediate future.  The repeal of the C.D. and Totalisator Acts,
+amendments of the marriage laws, and greater protection of women and
+children against the cruelty of husbands and fathers, are subjects
+which are certain again to provoke discussion.  Parliament will also be
+asked again to admit women within its precincts, as they are no longer
+satisfied with the possession of the franchise; but the agitation will,
+I think, at present be unsuccessful, partly because, in the only
+instance in which a woman has held a public position, the experiment is
+regarded as having been a failure.  Some three years ago Mrs. Yates was
+elected to be Mayor of Onehunga,
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P209"></A>209}</SPAN>
+and was unable to fill the
+position satisfactorily.  She was a woman of considerable ability, but
+of a hasty temper, and came into constant conflict with the
+Councillors.  Very possibly they did not give her a fair chance; but
+the fact remains that the proceedings excited much ridicule, in the
+press and elsewhere, and retarded the movement in favour of rendering
+women eligible for seats in Parliament.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The Prohibitionists do not count upon much legislative assistance
+during the next three years, as the number of members of the House of
+Representatives who are in favour of prohibition upon the vote of a
+bare majority was reduced by the last election.  They believe that if
+the "National Option" Bill be re-introduced, the Council may seize upon
+that fact as a ground for again rejecting it.  In the meanwhile, they
+will concentrate their efforts upon the education of the electorate,
+and have, as I have shown, no reason to be discouraged by the results
+of the second local option poll.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Equal wages for equal work" is a new cry of the female voters.  They
+believe that if the Government were to introduce the principle of equal
+wages for similar work as between the men and women in the Civil
+Service, private employers would gradually follow the example.  This
+proposal has the support both of those who desire to raise the wages of
+women and of those who think that they would no longer be
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P210"></A>210}</SPAN>
+able to
+compete with men in the search for employment.  It might have been
+expected that the habit which women have now acquired of meeting
+together for the discussion of a common policy would have inclined them
+to the formation of Trades Unions; but it is too early to look for
+indirect results from female suffrage, which has hitherto had no
+appreciable effect upon the rate of wages of women.  Nor has it
+modified the domestic instincts of the vast majority of the sex.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Lastly, the women of the working classes, almost without exception, are
+in favour of pensions to the aged and needy, and regard objections
+based on the deterrence of thrift or the difficulty of raising the
+necessary funds as factitious and disingenuous.  Herein, as in some of
+the other matters to which I have referred, we see the principal danger
+of female suffrage in New Zealand, the tendency of the women to
+subordinate reason to sentiment.  They note the prevalence of an evil,
+and believe that if the State decrees its cessation it will promptly
+cease to exist.  But we must cherish the hope, though the justification
+for it is not yet manifest, that as the women become accustomed to the
+exercise of their power, they will no longer take a purely emotional
+view of the problems which engage their attention.  At the same time,
+as we have seen, they have promoted several unobtrusive but eminently
+useful reforms which would have had less chance of acceptance in a
+House elected
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P211"></A>211}</SPAN>
+by men.  It is in this direction, and not in
+attempts to make people virtuous or sober by Act of Parliament, that we
+may anticipate the best results from the enfranchisement of the women
+of New Zealand.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P CLASS="footnote">
+<A NAME="chap08fn1"></A>
+[<A HREF="#chap08fn1text">1</A>] <I>Otago Daily Times</I>, November 2, 1896.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap09"></A>
+
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P212"></A>212}</SPAN>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+IX
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+<I>THE EVOLUTION OF A FEDERAL GOVERNMENT</I>
+</H3>
+
+<P>
+The five self-governing Provinces of the mainland of Australia have
+been evolved from the Crown Colonies of New South Wales, South
+Australia, and Western Australia by the successive detachment of
+Victoria and Queensland from the former and the gradual growth of the
+system of responsible government, and are separated by lines of
+demarcation which, except where the Murray or one of its tributaries
+forms the boundary, are purely arbitrary and have not been drawn in
+accordance with any distinctive geographical features.  In the exercise
+of fiscal autonomy as regards their reciprocal relations, they have
+adopted protective tariffs which have not only impeded the interchange
+of commodities, but in some cases diverted trade from its natural
+course.  New South Wales, indeed, after a period of protection, has
+reverted to the policy of free trade, while the tariffs of Queensland
+and Western Australia are directed mainly to the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P213"></A>213}</SPAN>
+acquisition of
+revenue; but they are actually protective, as are, avowedly and to a
+high degree, those of Victoria and South Australia.  Under these
+circumstances, and as the result of insufficient intercourse,
+antagonistic interests have been created and jealousies aroused which
+are a source of anxiety to those who consider the future of Australia.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The dangers which would be likely to arise from the independent
+development of the Provinces were recognised at an early date.  At the
+time of the suggested separation of the district of Port Phillip from
+New South Wales and of the discussion of the new constitutions which
+were about to be granted, it was proposed by the Imperial Authorities
+that the government should be in the hands of a General Assembly and
+local Provincial Councils, but it was objected by the colonists that,
+in the absence of regular means of communication, any scheme which
+included the creation of a central legislature and executive would be
+found to be impracticable.  In deference to their views the idea was
+allowed to drop, and no attempt was made to secure unity of action
+between the Provinces, except that, in 1850, the Governor of New South
+Wales received a commission as Governor-General of Australia and
+Governor of Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania, the administrators
+of which obtained the rank of Lieutenant-Governor.  They were to be
+superseded in their authority by the former when he was in
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P214"></A>214}</SPAN>
+their
+territories, but were instructed to correspond directly with the
+Colonial Office.  It is not clear to what extent the Governor-General
+was expected to direct the administration of the other Provinces.  Some
+writers maintain that his pre-eminence was purely titular and intended
+as a compliment to the Mother Colony.  In any case, when, a few years
+later, responsible government was established and the Governors
+gradually became little more than figure-heads of the Executive, the
+matter ceased to be of any importance.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The next phase in the movement originated in Victoria upon the
+initiative of Mr. (now Sir Charles) Gavan Duffy, who, in 1857, induced
+the Legislative Assembly to appoint a committee to consider the
+advisability of federal union.  Upon their recommendation that an
+inter-provincial conference should be held, communications were
+addressed to New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania, which,
+though separated from the mainland of Australia, has always identified
+itself closely with Australian affairs.  The proposal was in each case
+favourably received, as also, a little later, by Queensland, which had
+been erected into a separate Province in 1859; and Tasmania actually
+appointed its delegates.  But there the matter was allowed to rest;
+and, although occasional conferences were held at which a uniform
+tariff, the immigration of the Chinese, and other subjects were
+discussed, no practical steps were taken until 1883, when external
+questions impressed
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P215"></A>215}</SPAN>
+Australian statesmen with the necessity for
+the creation of some body which would voice the opinions of Australia.
+Germany was reputed to have designs upon New Guinea, France upon the
+New Hebrides; while the latter country also gave offence by the penal
+settlement in New Caledonia.  In the spring of that year Sir T.
+M'Ilwraith, the Premier of Queensland, which from its position has the
+greatest interest in New Guinea, had hoisted the British flag on the
+Island and taken formal possession of that part of it which was not
+under the control of the Dutch; but his action had been disavowed by
+the Imperial Government.  A convention, attended by representatives
+from the five Australian Provinces, Tasmania, New Zealand, and Fiji,
+was accordingly held at Sydney, at which a decision was arrived at as
+to the main principles which were embodied in the Federal Council Act
+of 1885, the first legislative recognition of the Unity of Australia.
+Under this Act it was provided that a Federal Council, containing two
+representatives from a self-governing Province and one from a Crown
+Colony, should come into existence as soon as four of the Australasian
+Provinces had expressed their willingness to join it, and should
+thenceforward hold biennial sessions.  The motive which had called the
+Council into existence was shown clearly in the principal power
+delegated to it, that of legislating, subject to Imperial approval, in
+regard to the relations of Australasia with the Islands of the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P216"></A>216}</SPAN>
+Pacific.  It was also authorised to deal, among other subjects, with
+the fisheries in Australasian waters beyond territorial limits and
+certain aspects of civil and criminal jurisdiction, upon which it could
+pass enactments which would bind the Provinces represented upon it; and
+with questions such as general defences, quarantine, copyright,
+uniformity of weights and measures, and others which might be referred
+to it by the Legislatures of two or more Provinces, and any other
+matters of general Australasian interest on which the Legislatures can
+legislate within their own limits, but as to which it is deemed
+desirable that there should be a law of general application.  Such
+legislation, however, was to take effect only in the Provinces that
+requested the Council to act, and in any others that might subsequently
+adopt it.  It will thus be seen that the measure is of a purely
+permissive character, as each Province decides for itself whether it
+will be represented on the Council.  New South Wales, mainly under the
+influence of the late Sir Henry Parkes, and New Zealand have never
+taken part in the deliberations, and South Australia has only been
+represented on a single occasion.  The abstention of New Zealand is of
+smaller importance, from her geographical position and her intention
+not to identify herself at present with any scheme of Australian
+federation; but the hostility of New South Wales and the apathy of
+South Australia have placed great obstacles in the way of Queensland,
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P217"></A>217}</SPAN>
+Victoria, Western Australia, and Tasmania, which, and especially
+Victoria, have attempted to turn the Council to the best account.
+Other causes have combined to minimise its utility; it has neither an
+Executive to carry out, nor a judiciary to enforce its decisions; it
+has no control over public funds; and, as has recently been pointed
+out, "it transacts its business without a Ministry or a department,
+without a leader or an Opposition, without a party or a programme;
+there is no necessary continuity of representation, or similarity in
+the mode of appointment of representatives, or fixed area within which
+its legislation has force; it is vagrant in domicile and without a roof
+to shelter it, without a foot of territory to rest upon, without a ship
+or a soldier to protect it, without a single man in its service, or a
+shilling of its own to pay one."[<A NAME="chap09fn1text"></A><A HREF="#chap09fn1">1</A>]  But, in spite of these drawbacks,
+the Council has done practical work: it has paved the way for a system
+of national defence by the establishment of federal garrisons at King
+George's Sound and Thursday Island; it has regulated the pearl-shell
+and bêche-de-mer fisheries on the coasts of Queensland and Western
+Australia, and it has interested itself actively in the promotion of
+the proposed Pacific cable.  More would have been done, particularly in
+the consideration of the matters referred to it by Provincial
+Legislatures, had
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P218"></A>218}</SPAN>
+it not been hoped that by the postponement of
+action the Council would be enabled, through the adhesion of South
+Australia and New South Wales, to legislate for the whole of Australia.
+Several of the Provinces, notably Western Australia and Queensland,
+which have shown little eagerness for the immediate realisation of a
+closer union, believed that the Council would, by a gradual process of
+development, be transformed into a Federal Parliament, and were
+prepared to allow events to take their natural course; but in other
+quarters a strong feeling arose, which was strengthened by the report
+of Imperial officers on the condition of the Provincial Defences, that
+the time had arrived when an attempt should be made to draft a Federal
+Constitution Bill which should be submitted to the various Provinces,
+and, if approved by them, to the Imperial Authorities.  As the result
+of correspondence between the Premiers, delegates from the whole of
+Australasia, with the exception of Fiji, met at Melbourne in 1890, and
+passed resolutions which led to the convocation at Sydney in the
+following year of a constituent convention, which was attended by
+Parliamentary representatives from the seven Provinces.  The convention
+sat for several weeks, under the presidency of Sir Henry Parkes, and
+drew up a Bill "to constitute the commonwealth of Australia," which
+formed the basis of the discussions at the recent Federal Convention.
+</P>
+
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P219"></A>219}</SPAN>
+
+<P>
+The legislative powers of the Commonwealth are, under the provisions of
+the Bill, vested in a Governor-General, appointed by the Queen, a
+Senate, and a House of Representatives.  The laws passed by the
+Parliament are to be presented to the Governor-General, who may assent
+to them in the Queen's name, reserve them for the signification of her
+pleasure, withhold his assent, or return them to the Parliament with
+any amendments that he may recommend.  Laws assented to by the
+Governor-General may be disallowed within two years by the Queen in
+Council, and laws that have been reserved shall not come into force
+unless within the same period they have received the assent of the
+Queen in Council.  The Members of the Convention did not deem it
+necessary that any class of Bills should be reserved, but understood
+that, as they proposed that the Commonwealth should be able to
+legislate on several matters affecting the relations of Australia with
+foreign nations, the Constitution would not be acceptable to the
+Imperial Authorities unless a considerable power of intervention were
+reserved to them.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The Senate is to be composed of eight members for each Province, which
+is henceforth to be called a State, of whom one-half retire
+triennially, directly chosen by the Houses of Parliament of the several
+States for a period of six years.  Senators are subject to no property
+qualification, but must be of
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P220"></A>220}</SPAN>
+the age of thirty years, have
+resided for five years within the limits of the Commonwealth, be
+entitled to vote for a member of the House of Representatives, and if
+not British subjects by birth, have been naturalised for at least five
+years before the time of their election.  Bankrupts, criminals, and
+Government contractors are specially disqualified.  Similar provisions
+and disqualifications apply to members of the House of Representatives,
+except that the minimum age is reduced to twenty-one years, and that
+the periods of residence and naturalisation are reduced from five years
+to three.  They are to be chosen, in constituencies of thirty thousand
+inhabitants, by electors whose qualification shall be that prescribed
+by each State as the qualification for electors of its more numerous
+House of Parliament.  The members of both Houses are to be paid at the
+rate of £500 a year, and are precluded from sitting in a State
+Parliament.  The Parliament of the Commonwealth is to have authority to
+deal with "external affairs and treaties," to take over the powers of
+the Federal Council, which will cease to exist from the date of its
+establishment, and to have the exclusive right to legislate in regard
+to the affairs of the people of any race, not being Australian
+aboriginals or Maoris of New Zealand, with respect to whom it is deemed
+desirable to make laws not applicable to the general community; the
+seat of the Federal Government and any places required
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P221"></A>221}</SPAN>
+for
+Federal purposes; and the provisional administration of any territory
+surrendered by any State, and accepted by the Commonwealth, or any
+territory in the Pacific placed by the Queen under the authority of and
+accepted by the Commonwealth.  The framers of the Constitution
+doubtless had in view the Northern Territory, which, as it forms a
+heavy burden upon its resources, South Australia might be glad to hand
+over to the Federation.  The Federal Parliament is also to deal
+exclusively with the postal and telegraphic services, military and
+naval defences and munitions of war, ocean beacons and lighthouses,
+quarantine, and, as soon as a uniform tariff has been imposed, with
+foreign and internal trade, bounties and duties of customs and excise.
+In the meanwhile, the duties are to be collected by Federal officials,
+but will be those that are, or may be, imposed by the Parliaments of
+the several States.  Upon the enactment of a uniform Federal tariff,
+all such State laws will thereby be repealed and "trade and intercourse
+throughout the Commonwealth, whether by means of internal carriage or
+ocean navigation, shall be absolutely free."  The expenditure of the
+Commonwealth is to be charged to the several States in proportion to
+the numbers of their people, and any surplus of revenue over
+expenditure is to be returned to them in proportion to the amount of
+revenue raised therein respectively, subject to certain reservations
+and to the right of the Federal Parliament, after
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P222"></A>222}</SPAN>
+the imposition
+of a uniform tariff, to prescribe the method of its disposal.  The
+Federal revenue is to consist of customs and excise duties and of
+moneys raised by any other mode or system of taxation, but so that all
+such taxation shall be uniform through the Commonwealth.  The Federal
+Parliament may also, "with the consent of the Parliaments of all the
+States, make laws for taking over and consolidating the whole or any
+part of the public debt of any State or States; but so that a State
+shall be liable to indemnify the Commonwealth in respect of the amount
+of a debt taken over, and that the amount of interest payable in
+respect of a debt shall be deducted and retained from time to time from
+the share of the surplus revenue of the Commonwealth which would be
+otherwise payable to the State."[<A NAME="chap09fn2text"></A><A HREF="#chap09fn2">2</A>]  Certain other legislative powers
+are vested in the Federal Parliament, which may concurrently be
+exercised by the several States, and in such cases Federal shall
+supersede State legislation.  All subjects not exclusively vested in
+the Parliament of the Commonwealth, or withdrawn from the Parliaments
+of the several States, are reserved to, and shall remain vested in, the
+State Parliaments.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The authority of the Senate in regard to Money Bills formed the subject
+of much discussion, and was decided by a compromise which, it was
+hoped, would satisfy both those who desired to secure the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P223"></A>223}</SPAN>
+financial supremacy of the House of Representatives and the inhabitants
+of the smaller States, who would naturally struggle for the rights of
+the Senate in which they would be on a footing of equality with their
+more powerful neighbours.  The views of the former were met by the
+provisions that "laws appropriating any part of the public revenue, or
+imposing any tax or impost, shall originate in the House of
+Representatives," and that "the Senate shall have equal power with the
+House of Representatives in respect to all proposed laws, except laws
+imposing taxation and laws appropriating the necessary supplies for the
+ordinary annual services of the Government, which the Senate may affirm
+or reject, but may not amend.  But the Senate may not amend any
+proposed law in such a manner as to increase any proposed charge or
+burden on the people."  The interests of the latter were safeguarded by
+the four succeeding sub-sections:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Laws imposing taxation shall deal with the imposition of taxation only.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Laws imposing taxation, except laws imposing duties of customs on
+imports, shall deal with one subject of taxation only.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The expenditure for services other than the ordinary annual services
+of the Government shall not be authorised by the same law as that which
+appropriates the supplies for such ordinary annual services, but shall
+be authorised by a separate law or laws.
+</P>
+
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P224"></A>224}</SPAN>
+
+<P>
+"In the case of a proposed law which the Senate may not amend, the
+Senate may at any stage return it to the House of Representatives with
+a message requesting the omission or amendment of any items or
+provisions therein.  And the House of Representatives may, if it thinks
+fit, make such omissions or amendments, or any of them, with or without
+modifications."[<A NAME="chap09fn3text"></A><A HREF="#chap09fn3">3</A>]
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The executive authority of the Commonwealth is to be exercised by the
+Governor-General as the Queen's representative, with the aid and advice
+of a Federal Executive Council.  Considerable discussion took place at
+the Convention as to the relations which should exist between the
+Federal Executive and Legislature, some of the Representatives being in
+favour of the British system, others of the direct popular election of
+the head of the Government.  It was finally agreed that the members of
+the Council should be chosen and summoned by the Governor-General,
+should hold office, during his pleasure, and should be capable of being
+chosen and of sitting in either House of Parliament.  They are to
+execute the provisions of the Constitution and the laws of the
+Commonwealth; to assume at once control of the departments of customs
+and excise, posts and telegraphs, military and naval defence, ocean
+lights and quarantine; and, until other provision is made by
+Parliament, to appoint and remove all other officers of the Government.
+</P>
+
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P225"></A>225}</SPAN>
+
+<P>
+The Parliament of the Commonwealth may establish a Supreme Court of
+Australia, consisting of a Chief Justice and not less than four other
+Justices, who shall be appointed by the Governor-General in Council,
+and shall be irremovable except upon an address from both Houses of
+Parliament.  The Supreme Court shall be a final Court of Appeal from
+any other Federal Court, which may be established by Parliament, and
+from the highest Court of final resort in any State; and may be
+invested by Parliament with final and conclusive jurisdiction in all
+cases upon which an appeal has hitherto been allowed to the Queen in
+Council, subject to the right of the Queen to grant an appeal to
+herself in Council against the judgment of the Supreme Court in any
+case which concerns the public interests of the Commonwealth, or of any
+State, or of any other part of the British Empire.  The Parliament may
+also confer upon the Federal Courts, other than the Supreme Court,
+jurisdiction to deal, either exclusively or concurrently with the
+Courts of the States, with cases arising under the Constitution or
+under any law made by the Parliament of the Commonwealth or affecting
+the Representatives of Foreign Powers, and with certain other matters
+including cases in which the Commonwealth is a party, or in which a
+Writ of Mandamus or Prohibition is sought against an officer of the
+Commonwealth.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As the powers of the State are to be substantially those which they
+possess at present with the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P226"></A>226}</SPAN>
+exception of such as are transferred
+to the Federal Legislature and Executive, it is only necessary to add
+that the Governors of the States are to be appointed in the manner
+which their Parliament may prescribe, but are to correspond with the
+Imperial Authorities through the Governor-General: that States are not
+to be subdivided nor deprived of any of their territories without the
+consent of their Parliaments; and that they are forbidden explicitly to
+raise or maintain any military or naval force, to coin money, or make
+anything but gold and silver legal tender in payment of debts, to make
+any law prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, or to make or
+enforce any law abridging any privilege or immunity of citizens of
+other States of the Commonwealth, or to deny to any person within their
+jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Finally, it is provided that any of the existing Provinces that have
+not adopted the Constitution may, upon doing so, be admitted to the
+Commonwealth, and that any law for the alteration of the Constitution
+is not to be submitted to the Governor-General for the Royal Assent
+until it has been passed by an absolute majority of both Houses of
+Parliament, and has been approved by conventions of a majority of the
+States representing a majority of the people of the Commonwealth.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When the Constitution Bill had been drafted, the next step should have
+been its reference to the Parliaments of the Constituent Provinces; but
+it was
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P227"></A>227}</SPAN>
+not even introduced in New South Wales, Queensland,
+Western Australia, or New Zealand.  In Victoria it was passed by the
+Assembly and forwarded to the Council, which passed it subject to
+certain amendments which were never considered by the Assembly; in
+South Australia it was introduced in the Assembly, and was dropped; in
+Tasmania it passed the Assembly and was dropped at an early stage in
+the Council.  This procession of failures caused the advocates of
+Federation to realise that there must be something faulty in the method
+of procedure, and to ask themselves whether it was reasonable to expect
+that fourteen independent Chambers, or twelve, if New Zealand be
+excluded, should be able to arrive at a uniform decision on so
+complicated and contentious a subject.  It was felt, also, that the
+Parliaments had no popular mandate to deal with the question, and that,
+in the general apathy and absence of interest, the electors themselves
+should be stirred up by direct participation in the movement.
+Accordingly, Mr. Reid, the Premier of New South Wales, invited the
+Premiers of the other Australian Provinces to meet him at Hobart in
+January, 1895, taking advantage of the fact that four of them would be
+there in connection with the biennial meeting of the Federal Council.
+The invitation was accepted, and a new scheme was devised of which the
+main principles were the popular election of delegates empowered to
+meet and frame a Federal Constitution; the reference of the
+Constitution
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P228"></A>228}</SPAN>
+so framed to a plebiscite of the several electorates
+and its subsequent transmission for Imperial legislation.  The Premiers
+of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania accepted
+the proposal in its entirety; the Premier of Queensland agreed to it,
+except as regards the reference of the Constitution to a plebiscite;
+but the Premier of Western Australia was unable to concur with the
+decision of his colleagues.  Sir John Forrest did not believe that
+popular election would lead to the choice of the most highly trained
+jurists and financiers, who could alone frame a consistent and workable
+Constitution, and he regarded as absurd the assumption that the average
+elector could give an intelligent opinion upon a measure of so
+complicated a character.  There is much force in these objections; but
+it must be remembered that the former effort failed from its
+dissociation from popular impulse, and that the delegates would have
+the benefit of the work of their predecessors, which they would be
+bound to accept as the basis of their deliberations.  As regards the
+plebiscite, it cannot have been expected that the vote of the bulk of
+the electorate would be more than an affirmative or negative reply upon
+the broadest issue; but, assuming it to be necessary that the
+Constitution Bill should in some manner or other be submitted for the
+judgment of each of the Provinces, the direct reference has the merit
+of being expeditious and conclusive and of avoiding the quagmire of
+Parliamentary discussions.
+</P>
+
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P229"></A>229}</SPAN>
+
+<P>
+Before proceeding to note the results of the resolutions passed at the
+Premiers' Conference, it may be of interest to consider to what extent
+recent events have affected the status of the Federal Council.  As has
+already been remarked, it has pursued a policy of self-effacement, and
+in spite of the increase in its numbers, it has never appealed to the
+imagination of Australians.  It was undoubtedly dwarfed by comparison
+with the Federal Convention, which, indeed, decreed its contingent
+extinction, and it has, to some extent, been supplanted by the informal
+meetings of Australian Premiers which tend to become an annual
+institution.  At a Conference held at Sydney in January, 1896, the
+urgent necessity for Federation was again emphasised, and it was
+resolved that, pending its attainment, the military laws of the
+Provinces should be assimilated, and a cordite factory be established
+under State supervision.  Resolutions were also passed in favour of a
+Federal system of quarantine, the distribution of the cost of
+lighthouses on the basis of population, the extension to all coloured
+races of the provisions of the Chinese Restriction Acts, and
+non-participation in the Anglo-Japanese Treaty.  In this manner the
+Premiers, instead of referring questions to the Federal Council through
+their respective legislatures, decided, after personal consultation,
+upon measures which each would endeavour, in the common interest, to
+pass through the Parliament of his own Province.  Other interprovincial
+conferences also
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P230"></A>230}</SPAN>
+are becoming more common.  The precautions to be
+adopted against the tick fever were discussed at Sydney in 1896, and a
+few months ago, earlier, several Ministers of Agriculture met the South
+Australian Minister at Adelaide and decided upon the advisability of
+uniform legislation which would promote similarity of out-put in the
+products of the different Provinces, such as frozen meat, butter, wine,
+and fruit, for which it was hoped to create a large market in England.
+It has been argued that the growing realisation of the interdependence
+of the Provinces and of the material advantages accruing from combined
+action, will tend to hasten the advent of Federation.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The new proposals in that direction were favourably received, and the
+Legislatures of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and
+Tasmania passed the so-called Australasian Federation Enabling Act, in
+substantially similar form, upon the lines laid down by the Premiers.
+The details of their scheme may be gathered from the principal
+provisions of the Victorian Act:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The Convention shall consist of ten Representatives of each Colony
+represented.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The Convention shall be charged with the duty of framing for
+Australasia a Federal Constitution under the Crown in the form of a
+Bill for enactment by the Imperial Parliament.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Every Member and every person eligible for Membership of either House
+of Parliament shall be
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P231"></A>231}</SPAN>
+eligible for Membership of the Convention
+as a Representative of Victoria.  And any one hundred or more electors
+duly qualified to vote for the election of a Member of the Legislative
+Assembly shall be entitled in the prescribed manner to nominate any
+eligible person.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Every person duly qualified to vote for the election of a member of
+the Legislative Assembly shall be qualified and entitled to vote for
+the election of Representatives of Victoria.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The voting shall be taken throughout Victoria as one electoral
+district, and every voter shall vote for the full number of
+Representatives required, otherwise the vote shall be rejected as
+informal.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No person shall vote or attempt to vote more than once at the same
+election of Representatives of Victoria."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+(A similar provision applies to the subsequent referendum.)
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"When the Constitution has been framed by the Convention, copies
+thereof shall be supplied to the Members of the Convention, and the
+President shall declare the sitting of the Convention adjourned to a
+time and place to be fixed by the Convention, not being less than sixty
+nor more than one hundred and twenty days thereafter.  And as soon as
+convenient the draft constitution shall be submitted for consideration
+to each House of Parliament sitting in Committee of the whole, and such
+amendments as may be desired by the Legislature,
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P232"></A>232}</SPAN>
+together with
+the draft Constitution, shall be remitted to the Convention through the
+Senior Representative.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"On the reassembling of the Convention the Constitution as framed prior
+to the adjournment shall be reconsidered, together with such suggested
+amendments as shall have been forwarded by the various Legislatures,
+and the Constitution so framed shall be finally adopted with any
+amendments that may be agreed to."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"So soon as practicable after the close of the proceedings of the
+Convention the question of the acceptance or rejection of the
+Constitution shall be referred and submitted to the vote of all persons
+in Victoria qualified and entitled to vote for the election of Members
+of the Legislative Assembly."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The majority of votes shall decide the question, and if the
+Constitution be thereby rejected, no further action shall be taken
+pursuant to this Act: Provided that any number of votes in the
+affirmative less than fifty thousand shall be equivalent to the
+rejection of the Bill.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If two Colonies in addition to Victoria accept the Constitution the
+Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly of Victoria may adopt
+a Joint Address to the Queen praying that the Constitution may be
+passed into law by the Imperial Parliament upon receipt from the
+Parliaments of such two Colonies, either of similar joint or separate
+Addresses from each House of such Parliaments."
+</P>
+
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P233"></A>233}</SPAN>
+
+<P>
+It will be noticed that the Convention will have entire freedom in
+regard to any amendments suggested by the Provincial Parliaments, and
+that if the Constitution be accepted, the Victorian Parliament will not
+be bound to join in submitting it for Imperial enactment.  It is
+assumed that it will bow to the popular pronouncement unless the
+Government should have some grave reason for recommending a contrary
+course.  A difficulty, not provided against in the Act, might arise if
+the Constitution were to be amended during its passage through the
+Imperial Parliament.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The Act passed by Western Australia provided for the election of the
+delegates by the two Houses of Parliament sitting as one Chamber, the
+area of selection being limited to candidates nominated by not less
+than twenty persons who are qualified to vote at elections for Members
+of the Assembly.  "The draft Constitution, as finally adopted by the
+Convention, if approved by Parliament, shall be submitted for the
+decision of the electors of Western Australia by their vote; and if a
+majority of the electors voting on such question signify their approval
+of such Constitution, the same may be adopted by the Colony, provided
+that any number of votes in the affirmative less than six thousand
+shall be equivalent to the rejection of the Constitution."  "The
+adoption of the Constitution by Western Australia may be signified by
+the passing of an Act or by a joint resolution of both Houses of
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P234"></A>234}</SPAN>
+Parliament, and both Houses may thereupon adopt Addresses to the Queen,
+praying that the Constitution may be passed into law by the Imperial
+Parliament, subject to the adoption of similar Addresses by at least
+two other Colonies, of which New South Wales shall be one."  Parliament
+thus retains the initiative in each successive phase of the movement,
+but will have no power to alter the Bill when it finally leaves the
+Convention.  If the provisions are regarded as unacceptable, it will be
+able to decline to submit the Bill to the electorate.  The Western
+Australian measure was based in its general language upon that
+previously introduced in Queensland, but differed from it in several
+important particulars.  In the latter case it was proposed that the
+election of the delegates should be vested in the members of the
+Assembly alone, that, of the ten delegates, five should be chosen by
+the Southern, three by the Northern, and two by the Central
+Parliamentary Representatives, a provision inserted in view of the
+somewhat divergent interests of different portions of the Province, and
+that the draft Constitution should be submitted for the consideration
+of the electors in such manner as Parliament might prescribe.  The Bill
+was passed by the Assembly, in spite of a widespread feeling that
+Queensland should have followed the course of the other Provinces, and
+was amended by the Council, which regarded itself as unjustifiably
+ignored, and provided that it should have an equal
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P235"></A>235}</SPAN>
+share with the
+Assembly in the appointment of the delegates to the Convention.  It is
+unnecessary to consider the arguments by which the Premier supported
+his proposal of indirect election, or those put forward by the two
+Houses during the deadlock which followed upon their disagreement.
+Finally, when each House had insisted several times upon its attitude,
+the Bill was laid aside by the Council.  As a result of this action the
+new movement was blocked at its first step, which was regarded with
+little anxiety even by those who appreciated the difficulties which
+were likely to attend the later stages.  Great disappointment was felt
+in Australia, and efforts were made, though in vain, to induce Sir Hugh
+Nelson to reintroduce the Bill in some form that would be acceptable to
+both Houses.  At the same time public opinion demanded that the
+Convention should be held, even though one of the Provinces would be
+unrepresented.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The benefits which would follow Federation are so obvious as scarcely
+to require enumeration.  The Federal Government would be able to deal
+adequately with the problem of National Defence and to speak
+authoritatively, to the manifest satisfaction of the Imperial
+Authorities, upon such matters as the contribution of Australia towards
+the expenses of the Imperial squadron maintained upon its coast; the
+consolidation of the debts would, it has been estimated, enable a
+million pounds to be saved upon the annual bill of interest;
+Interprovincial
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P236"></A>236}</SPAN>
+Free Trade would promote intercourse between
+neighbours who have hitherto been estranged by arbitrary lines of
+demarcation; and in the words of the Chief Justice of Queensland,[<A NAME="chap09fn4text"></A><A HREF="#chap09fn4">4</A>]
+"The first effect in point of importance, though some time may elapse
+before the effect is fully felt, will be the creation of an Australian
+Nation, forming a distinct constituent part of the British Empire,
+having one mind, speaking with one voice instead of the six, often
+discordant and sometimes inarticulate, voices now heard, consulted on
+all matters of Imperial concern, and exercising a powerful influence in
+the political affairs of the whole world."  Such would appear to be the
+destiny of Australia, which has, however, doubtless been benefited by
+the independent development of its component parts.  In the absence of
+distinctions of race and language, in the general diffusion of the
+Roman Catholics among the Protestants, and the steady determination to
+exclude coloured races, the early establishment of Federal relations
+would have produced among Australians a monotonous uniformity of
+characteristics, which has to some extent been prevented by the
+divergent political tendencies of the several Provinces.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But, to put the practical question, what are the prospects of
+Federation?  The general impression is not one of hopefulness: it is
+pointed out that the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P237"></A>237}</SPAN>
+Provinces have so long maintained an
+independent existence that they are unlikely to submit to a curtailment
+of their powers except under the imperative impulse of the fear of
+foreign invasion; that all but the leading politicians realise that
+they would be affected prejudicially by a change which would dwarf the
+Legislatures with which they are connected; that many, especially
+during the period of depression, dread the creation of a new taxing and
+governing body; and that the Labour members, in the natural belief that
+their influence would be smaller in a Federal Parliament, are either
+apathetic or actively hostile.  The economic aspects of Intercolonial
+Free Trade, in reference to its probable effect upon the prosperity of
+manufacturers and producers in the different Provinces, also form an
+important factor in the situation.  Time alone can show whether popular
+participation in the successive stages of the movement, though it will
+not be universal, will generate an enthusiasm sufficient to outweigh
+the opposing forces and weld Australia into a strong and united Nation.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+APPENDIX TO IX.
+</H4>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+THE NEW FEDERAL SCHEME.[<A NAME="chap09fn5text"></A><A HREF="#chap09fn5">5</A>]
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+Now that the Adelaide Convention has completed its labours, it is
+possible to give a connected view of the provisions of the draft
+Constitution Bill, as it will be submitted to the local
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P238"></A>238}</SPAN>
+Parliament, and then after it has been again dealt with by a second
+meeting of the Convention at Sydney, to the vote of the people.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The Bill provides for the constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia
+and for the appointment of a governor-general by the Queen, at a salary
+of £10,000.  The Federal Parliament is to consist of two Houses&mdash;the
+Senate and the House of Representatives.  The former chamber will be
+composed of six members for each state.  They are to be elected by the
+electors of the Legislative Assembly in each colony for a term of six
+years, and one-half will retire every three years.  For the election of
+these senators each colony will be regarded as one electorate, and no
+one will be allowed to vote at more than one polling-booth on the day
+of election.  In other words, the election will be conducted on the
+same lines as the recent election of representatives to the Federation
+Convention.  At the first meeting of the Senate, the members elected
+for each state will be divided by lot into two classes, and the seats
+of those in the first class are to be vacated at the end of the third
+year, but the others will continue to be members of that House for the
+full term of six years.  In this way one-half the members of the Senate
+will be elected by the people every third year.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The House of Representatives is to be composed of members directly
+chosen by the people of the several states, and the number which each
+colony will return will depend on its population.  This Chamber is, as
+nearly as practicable, to contain double the number of members of the
+Senate.  The House of Representatives would therefore consist, at the
+outset, of about seventy-two members, which would give as nearly as
+possible, one member for every 50,000 of the population.  Victoria
+would, roughly speaking, have about twenty-two members.  In order,
+however, to protect the interests of the smaller states in this House,
+it is provided that Tasmania, South Australia, and Western Australia,
+shall be entitled to at least five members each, although on the
+population basis, the island colony might not be able to claim more
+than four members.  Until the Federal Parliament otherwise provides,
+each local or state Parliament can determine into how many electoral
+divisions the colony should be divided for the purpose of returning
+members to the House of Representatives, but should it not divide the
+state into
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P239"></A>239}</SPAN>
+electoral districts, then each colony is to be
+regarded as one electorate, in the same way as in the case of the
+election of senators.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The duration of every House of Representatives will be three years,
+unless it is sooner dissolved by the Governor-General.  There is no
+power, however, conferred on the Governor-General to dissolve the
+Senate.  The qualification of electors of members of the House of
+Representatives is in each state to be that for electors of the more
+numerous House&mdash;or Legislative Assembly&mdash;of the state.  The members of
+both Houses are to receive an allowance of £400 each per annum for
+their services.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The following are the subjects the Commonwealth Parliament is to be
+empowered to legislate upon and deal with:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+1. The regulation of trade and commerce with other countries and among
+the several states.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+2. Customs and excise and bounties.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+3. Raising money by any other mode or system of taxation.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+4. Borrowing money on the public credit of the commonwealth.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+5. Postal and telegraphic services.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+6. The military and naval defence of the commonwealth and the several
+states, and the calling out of the forces to execute and maintain the
+laws of the commonwealth.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+7. Munitions of war.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+8. Navigation and shipping.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+9. Ocean beacons and buoys and ocean lighthouses and lightships.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+10. Astronomical and meteorological observations.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+11. Quarantine.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+12. Fisheries in Australian waters beyond territorial limits.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+13. Census and statistics.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+14. Currency, coinage, and legal tender.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+15. Banking, the incorporation of banks, and the issue of paper money.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+16. Insurance, excluding state insurance not extending beyond the
+limits of the state concerned.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+17. Weights and measures.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+18. Bills of exchange and promissory notes.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+19. Bankruptcy and insolvency.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+20. Copyrights and patents of inventions, designs, and trade marks.
+</P>
+
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P240"></A>240}</SPAN>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+21. Naturalisation and aliens.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+22. Foreign corporations, and trading or financial corporations, formed
+in any state or part of the commonwealth.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+23. Marriage and divorce.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+24. Parental rights, and the custody and guardianship of infants.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+25. The service and execution throughout the commonwealth of the civil
+and criminal process and judgments of the courts of the states.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+26. The recognition throughout the commonwealth of the laws, the public
+acts and records, and the judicial proceedings of the states.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+27. Immigration and emigration.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+28. The influx of criminals.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+29. External affairs and treaties.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+30. The relations of the commonwealth to the islands of the Pacific.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+31. The control and regulation of the navigation of the River Murray,
+and the use of the waters thereof from where it first forms the
+boundary between Victoria and New South Wales to the sea.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+32. The control of railways with respect to transport for the military
+purposes of the commonwealth.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+33. The taking over by the commonwealth, with the consent of the state,
+of the whole or any part of the railways of any state or states, upon
+such terms as may be arranged between the commonwealth and the state.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+34. Railway construction and extension with the consent of any state or
+states concerned.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+35. Matters referred to the Parliament of the commonwealth by the
+Parliament or Parliaments of any state or states, but so that the law
+shall extend only to the state or states by whose Parliament or
+Parliaments the matter was referred, and to such other states as may
+afterwards adopt the law.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+36. The exercise within the commonwealth, at the request or with the
+concurrence of the Parliaments of all the states concerned, of any
+legislative powers which can at the establishment of this constitution
+be exercised only by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, or by the
+Federal Council of Australasia.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+37. Any matters necessary for, or incidental to, the carrying
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P241"></A>241}</SPAN>
+into execution of the foregoing powers or of any other powers vested by
+this constitution in the Parliament or the Executive Government of the
+commonwealth, or in any department or officer thereof.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+All matters not mentioned above, such as land settlement, railway
+construction, &amp;c., are to remain vested in the Parliaments of the
+several states.  Each state shall retain its local Parliament and have
+a Governor, who is to be appointed by the Crown, and communicate direct
+with the Crown as at present.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+On the establishment of the commonwealth the control of the following
+departments will be taken over by the Federal Government, and the
+commonwealth will assume the obligations of any state or states with
+respect to such matters:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Customs and excise.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Posts and telegraphs.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Military and naval defence.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Ocean beacons, buoys, lighthouses.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Quarantine.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There are to be seven Ministers of State, and their salaries will, in
+the aggregate, be £12,000 per annum.  A Minister, within three months
+after being appointed to that office, must become a member of one of
+the Houses of the Federal Parliament.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+All Bills having for their main object the appropriation of any part of
+the public revenue, or moneys, or the imposition of any tax, must
+originate in the House of Representatives.  Bills imposing taxation
+must deal with the imposition of taxation only, and those imposing
+duties of Customs or excise must deal with duties of Customs or excise
+only.  The expenditure for services other than the ordinary annual
+services of the Government must not be authorised by the same law as
+that which appropriates the supplies for the ordinary annual services,
+but must be authorised by a separate measure.  The Senate can amend any
+Bills except those imposing taxation, or appropriating the necessary
+supplies for the ordinary annual services of the Government.  With
+respect to these money measures, the Senate can, at any stage, return a
+taxation or appropriation Bill to the House of Representatives,
+suggesting that any provision or item therein should be omitted or
+amended, and the House of Representatives may, if it thinks fit, make
+such omissions or amendments with or without modifications.  The Bill,
+in its
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P242"></A>242}</SPAN>
+amended or original form&mdash;should the House of
+Representatives decline to adopt the suggestion of the Senate&mdash;will
+then be sent back to the latter Chamber, which may either pass or
+reject the measure.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The seat of the Government of the commonwealth is to be determined by
+the Federal Parliament.  Until such determination the Parliament shall
+be summoned to meet at such place as the majority of the Governors of
+the states, or, in the event of an equal division of opinion amongst
+them, as the Governor-General may direct.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Before the Constitution can be amended an absolute majority of both the
+House of Representatives and Senate must approve of the alteration, and
+it must then be confirmed by a vote of the people, a majority of the
+states being required as well as a majority of the people.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There is to be a federal judiciary, consisting of a high court of
+Australia, and such inferior courts as Parliament may determine.  The
+high court is to consist of a chief justice, and at least four other
+judges, and is to hear appeals from the state courts and inferior
+federal courts.  This appeal is to be final, except that in matters
+affecting the public interests of the commonwealth or of any state,
+application may be made to the Queen for special leave to appeal to the
+Privy Council.  Uniform Customs duties are to be imposed within two
+years of the establishment of the commonwealth, and trade and
+intercourse throughout the commonwealth is then to be absolutely free.
+In the meantime the local tariffs are to continue, but they will be
+collected by the Federal Government, and after deducting from the
+revenue received in each state the contribution of that state towards
+federal expenses, the balance is to be returned to the state month by
+month.  During the first three years after federation the total annual
+expenditure of the Federal Government is to be limited to £300,000 for
+new federal expenses, and £1,250,000 for services transferred from the
+states.  During the first five years after the imposition of a uniform
+tariff, the surplus revenue, after deducting the contribution of each
+state to the federal expenses, is to be returned to the states in the
+following way: Accounts of Customs and excise duties collected in each
+state are to be kept during the twelve months following the coming into
+operation of the uniform tariff, in order to ascertain, first the
+average net amount per head in each state, and next the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P243"></A>243}</SPAN>
+average
+per head for the whole commonweath.  A sliding scale, extending over
+four years, is then to be adopted, in order to determine the amount to
+be returned.  Where the average for a particular state for the first
+year is less than the general average, the per capita sum is to be
+increased by equal gradations, until, at the end of four years, it
+equals the general average.  Similarly, where the average for a state
+is greater than the general average, it is to be gradually reduced to
+the general average.  Then, at the end of the five-year period, all the
+states will be placed on the same footing, and will receive an equal
+sum per head from the federal revenue.  This scheme of distribution is
+subject, however, to the important proviso that during the five years
+the aggregate amount returned to all the states in any year must not be
+less than the aggregate amount returned in the year immediately
+preceding the imposition of uniform duties.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Equality of trade is to be preserved throughout the commonwealth, and
+any law or regulation derogating from that principle is to be null and
+void.  Parliament may appoint an interstate commission to execute and
+maintain upon railways within the commonwealth, and upon rivers flowing
+through, in, or between two or more states the provisions of the
+constitution relating to trade and commerce.  The commission is to have
+such powers of adjudication and administration as may be necessary for
+its purposes, and as the Parliament may from time to time determine,
+but shall have no powers in reference to the rates or regulations of
+any railway in any state, except in cases of rates or regulations
+preferential in effect, and made and used for the purpose of drawing
+traffic to that railway from the railway of a neighbouring state.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P CLASS="footnote">
+<A NAME="chap09fn1"></A>
+[<A HREF="#chap09fn1text">1</A>] "The Federal Council of Australasia," by the Hon. Alfred Deakin,
+<I>Australasian Review of Reviews</I>, February, 1895.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="footnote">
+<A NAME="chap09fn2"></A>
+[<A HREF="#chap09fn2text">2</A>] Cap. iv., Clause 13.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="footnote">
+<A NAME="chap09fn3"></A>
+[<A HREF="#chap09fn3text">3</A>] Cap. i., Clauses 54 and 55.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="footnote">
+<A NAME="chap09fn4"></A>
+[<A HREF="#chap09fn4text">4</A>] "Notes on Australian Federation," by Sir S. W. Griffith.
+Parliamentary Paper, Queensland, 1896.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="footnote">
+<A NAME="chap09fn5"></A>
+[<A HREF="#chap09fn5text">5</A>] An article published in the Melbourne <I>Argus</I> of April 26, 1897,
+and included with the kind permission of the London agents of that
+newspaper.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap10"></A>
+
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P244"></A>244}</SPAN>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+X
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+<I>SALIENT FEATURES OF THE AUSTRALASIAN DEMOCRACY</I>
+</H3>
+
+<P CLASS="intro">
+Indirect effects of the discovery of gold&mdash;Causes of the financial
+crisis&mdash;The origin and extent of State Socialism&mdash;The thriftiness of
+the working-classes&mdash;Labour Representation in Parliament&mdash;Parliamentary
+Government&mdash;Direct Taxation&mdash;Conciliation and Arbitration in Industrial
+disputes&mdash;Protection and its corollaries&mdash;The feeling towards Great
+Britain&mdash;General conclusions.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P>
+The enormous immigration of the fifties, due to the great discoveries
+of gold in Victoria and New South Wales, has caused Australia to become
+one of the most democratic countries in the world.  Before that time
+the soil was held in large areas by pastoralists who, in the absence of
+opposing forces, would have formed themselves gradually into a strong
+landed aristocracy.  But the miners, a class of men who had shown their
+energy and determination by their readiness to travel thousands of
+miles in the search for wealth, introduced an entirely new element:
+they had thrown off their traditionary reverence for vested
+institutions, they were able to earn high wages or directly to enrich
+themselves,
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P245"></A>245}</SPAN>
+and they resented an assumption of superiority on the
+part of any section in the community.  When, in the course of years,
+the mining industry began to wane, they swarmed into the towns and
+constituted an important link in the chain of causes which has swelled
+some of the capitals to their present unwieldy dimensions.  Deprived of
+their means of livelihood, and indisposed for rural life, they
+clamoured for other employment, and were able, in several Provinces, to
+induce the Ministry to impose a protective tariff which artificially
+fostered the growth of manufactures.  The protective tariff naturally
+increased the urban population, as did the undiscriminative system of
+State-aided immigration, the centralisation of all departments of the
+Government, and, in its ultimate effects, the construction of public
+works.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In a population of pastoralists and miners, engaged in pursuits which
+inculcate reliance upon individual efforts, it is somewhat strange to
+note the early development of a tendency towards State socialism; but I
+am inclined to think that, in this respect also, the discoveries of
+gold exercised a permanent influence, not only in the Provinces
+immediately affected, but throughout Australasia, from a tendency
+towards imitation.  In the first years of Responsible Government
+British capitalists had a natural distrust of Australian securities,
+and declined to advance money except at a high rate of interest.  But
+when they saw the phenomenal increase in the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P246"></A>246}</SPAN>
+yield of gold, and
+the large revenue obtained from the sale of lands, they overcame their
+scruples and displayed, during the twenty years which preceded the
+financial crisis, a readiness to grant loans to the several Governments
+which is believed by many to have been a great misfortune to their
+debtors.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The political and unremunerative railways of Victoria, which have been
+discussed in the chapter dealing with that Province, could not have
+been constructed but for the easy access to large funds.  Another
+aspect of the question has been emphasised in an article published by
+the Sydney <I>Bulletin</I>[<A NAME="chap10fn1text"></A><A HREF="#chap10fn1">1</A>] which, however much an Englishman may demur to
+its Republican principles, must be admitted to be an authority on
+Australasian topics.  A strong plea is put forward for the necessity of
+defining by Act of Parliament what kind of works should be charged to
+loan-moneys, and what should be charged to revenue.  The advantages, it
+is contended, will be threefold; the attention of the country will be
+drawn to the matter; the Loan Estimates go through so rapidly that very
+few people are aware how the thing is worked.  The lender will know the
+destination of his money, and all treasurers will be placed on a level,
+whereas, at present, "the dishonest treasurer who makes a surplus by
+using borrowed money for road repairs and all manner of other ordinary
+expenditure is a heaven-born financier, while the honest one who
+doesn't is driven out of
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P247"></A>247}</SPAN>
+office, either for having a deficit, or
+for increasing taxation, and is a failure either way."  Official
+figures are quoted for New South Wales in order to prove that during
+the years 1885-1890, which covered the flotation of several loans,
+surpluses and deficits alternated as the treasurer was or was not able
+to dispose of borrowed funds.  Indirectly, of course, many of the
+public works which do not produce a direct revenue may be of financial
+benefit to the State, through an increase of population and the
+encouragement of settlement; but it is a hazardous principle to borrow
+money for their construction.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Equally dangerous for Australia was the more recent excessive eagerness
+of the British capitalist to invest his money in Australian commercial
+undertakings, as, according to the Victorian Year Book,[<A NAME="chap10fn2text"></A><A HREF="#chap10fn2">2</A>] a
+publication of the highest merit, "there is no doubt that the feverish
+financial activity that preceded, and ultimately led to, the Australian
+financial crisis primarily arose from the enormous influx of British
+capital&mdash;far in excess of the legitimate requirements of the
+Colonies&mdash;for remunerative enterprises.  This influx was probably the
+result of the large amount of attention that for some years prior to
+1888 had been directed to these Colonies, which were brought into
+prominence by such events as the passing of the first Federal Council
+Act by the Imperial Parliament in 1885, the Colonial and Indian
+Exhibition held in London in 1886, and the Imperial
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P248"></A>248}</SPAN>
+Conference in
+1887; it was also much stimulated by the lowering in 1888 of the
+interest on the British Public Debt, and <I>pro rata</I> on other
+first-class British securities.  The first indications of this were
+noticeable in the marked rise in the prices of all Colonial Government
+securities which occurred just after Mr. Goschen's notification of his
+scheme for reducing the interest on the National Debt of the United
+Kingdom, in March, 1888.  Such securities, however, being of limited
+extent, the superabundant capital was forced into private channels,
+which led to the growth of co-operative enterprise on an unprecedented
+scale&mdash;through the medium of joint stock companies&mdash;which commenced
+prior to, but probably in anticipation of, the conversion of the
+British Public Debt, and culminated in the United Kingdom, as well as
+in Australia, in the same year.  Owing to this increasing competition
+for Colonial Government securities, and the consequent fall in the rate
+of interest thereon, the Colonial Governments were tempted to, and no
+doubt did, borrow in excess of their immediate requirements, although
+this was not recognised during the period of general inflation; but
+assuming a portion of the Government loans to have been unjustified,
+far worse was the condition of the large private investments, chiefly
+in joint stock companies, many of which supplemented their resources by
+deposits&mdash;equivalent in some cases to as much as three times the
+paid-up capital&mdash;which had been drawn, by reason of the high rates
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P249"></A>249}</SPAN>
+of interest offered, from all sections of the community, both in
+England and Australia.  Between the 1st of January, 1887, and the 30th
+of June, 1893, but for the most part in 1888, 1,154 companies with a
+paid-up capital of no less than £28,436,500 (subscribed capital
+£54,300,000) were registered in Victoria alone, and of these, 397, with
+a paid-up capital of £9,469,000 (subscribed capital £19,526,000) are
+known to have become defunct, to say nothing of numerous others, of
+which no information has been furnished to the Registrar-General."  The
+crisis was most acute in Victoria, but its effects were felt largely,
+and are still felt in calls upon shareholders, in other Provinces.  In
+conclusion, while British capitalists are still chary of industrial
+investments, they appear to be willing to meet the Australasian
+Governments in their resumption of applications for loans.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The danger is accentuated by the tendency towards State socialism, the
+origin of which I had begun to discuss before this long digression.
+The earliest concessions for the construction of railways were granted
+in New South Wales in 1848 and 1853, but the companies were unable to
+carry out their undertakings, owing to the scarcity of workmen caused
+by the rush to the goldfields, and the Government stepped in and
+completed the railways out of public funds.  This assumption by the
+State of a function which had been delegated to private enterprise,
+coupled with the growing confidence of the British investor and the
+elasticity of the revenue,
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P250"></A>250}</SPAN>
+both from the Customs and from the
+disposal of land, which had been accelerated by the rapid increase of
+population, appears to have convinced the political leaders of the
+advisability of the Governmental extension of the railway lines.  They
+were enabled to carry out this policy without difficulty, as the bulk
+of the electors were engrossed in material pursuits and did not trouble
+themselves about political issues.  In Victoria three short lines of
+railways were constructed during the fifties by private companies, but
+were subsequently purchased by the Government, which thenceforward
+monopolised the construction of new lines.  Why Victoria and the other
+Provinces should have decided in favour of State ownership and
+management of railways I am unable to explain, except upon the
+hypothesis that they were influenced by the example of New South Wales,
+that they wished to open up the country more quickly than would
+otherwise have been possible, and that they were tempted by the funds
+at their disposal in surpluses of revenue over expenditure.  Then, the
+railways having in many instances preceded population, it was
+necessary, if the lines were not to be unprofitable, that special steps
+should be taken in order to promote settlement.  This was done, partly
+by the offer of land upon favourable conditions, partly by the payment
+out of the National Exchequer of all the expenses of Local Government.
+In New South Wales this state of things still prevails in many of the
+rural districts; in
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P251"></A>251}</SPAN>
+the other Provinces <I>pro rata</I> subsidies are
+paid to the Local Authorities, but are limited, in some cases, to a
+fixed term of years.  The Local Bodies have had no spontaneous
+evolution; they are the creation of the Central Government, they are
+supported and controlled by it, and look to it for assistance whenever
+they are in financial difficulties.  It would seem that, accustomed to
+State railways and to dependency upon the State in their local affairs,
+Australasians have been led insensibly to magnify the efficacy of its
+intervention and to welcome every enlargement of its sphere of action.
+The protective tariff appears to have had a similar effect, unless it
+is to be regarded as a mere coincidence that South Australia, New
+Zealand, and Victoria, which alone are avowedly Protectionist, have
+authorised the widest extension of the functions of the State.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Throughout Australasia all parties in the several Parliaments are
+agreed on the principle of the State ownership of railways.  In
+Victoria and Queensland the railways are entirely in the hands of the
+Government; in New South Wales and South Australia they are so with
+some trifling exceptions; in Tasmania, Western Australia, and New
+Zealand a few private lines have been authorised because it has been
+advisable, in the interests of settlement, that they should be
+constructed, and the Governments have been unable or unwilling to
+undertake further financial obligations.  The recent action of Western
+Australia may be mentioned in evidence of
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P252"></A>252}</SPAN>
+the prevalent feeling,
+it having taken advantage of its improved credit to purchase one of the
+private lines.  The waterworks of the capitals, also, are national or
+municipal property; but other municipal monopolies, such as gasworks
+and tramways, are mostly in the hands of private companies.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The railways of Australasia are worked, as far as is consonant with
+national interests, for the direct benefit of producers, who, as has
+been seen in the chapters dealing with individual Provinces, have been
+the special object of the paternal solicitude of their Governments.
+The various efforts in this direction may briefly be recapitulated.
+South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia, and New Zealand make
+advances to settlers at low rates of interest; South Australia sells
+its wines in London; Queensland facilitates the erection of sugar
+mills, and is proposing to establish depôts in London and the provinces
+for the receipt and distribution of its frozen meat; Victoria and South
+Australia have given a bonus upon the exportation of dairy produce.
+These Provinces and New Zealand receive such produce, grade and freeze
+it free of charge or at a rate which barely covers the expenses.
+Victoria has given subsidies towards the erection of butter factories;
+Victoria and New Zealand have subsidised the mining industry; and
+Western Australia has adopted a comprehensive scheme for the supply of
+water to the Coolgardie Goldfields.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The above brief summary shows that action by
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P253"></A>253}</SPAN>
+the State for the
+promotion of enterprise has met with approval in Queensland and Western
+Australia as well as in the Provinces which have adopted the widest
+extensions of the franchise.  It maybe noted, however, that Sir Hugh
+Nelson, the Premier of Queensland, is an individualist at heart, and
+consents to extensions of the functions of the State unwillingly upon a
+conviction of their necessity; while, in Western Australia, Sir John
+Forrest is a strong advocate of State socialism, and opposed to
+private-enterprise in any matter which is of the nature of a monopoly.
+New South Wales and Tasmania have not hitherto followed the lead of the
+other Provinces.  This tendency is one of the most marked of recent
+years, and received a strong impetus from the financial crisis of 1893,
+which burst the bubble of a fictitious prosperity and compelled
+attention to the strenuous development of the resources of the soil.
+It is likely to lead to closer relations between the Provinces, from
+the appreciation of the fact that the exports of one Province, if
+unregulated and allowed to fall into disrepute, may prejudicially
+affect the interests of the whole continent.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As regards the intervention of the State in the direction of industrial
+legislation, the Governments of Western Australia and Tasmania have had
+little cause to take action, in the absence of crowded centres and of
+manufacturing activity; but New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland,
+South Australia,
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P254"></A>254}</SPAN>
+and New Zealand have placed stringent Factory
+Acts upon their Statute Books.  Measures have also been passed, largely
+under the influence of Labour Representatives, dealing with the
+liability of employers, the regulation of mines, the protection of shop
+assistants, and other matters affecting the welfare of the working
+classes.  Upon their enactment complaints have been made of undue
+interference with employers; but the administration is now, in most
+cases, carried out efficiently and without unnecessary friction.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Indirectly, the various Provinces have, through their schemes of public
+works, exercised considerable influence upon the demand for labour and
+have, upon the completion of the more important undertakings, been
+subject to continual pressure with the object of inducing them to
+authorise special works for the benefit of those who have been deprived
+of their livelihood.  New South Wales, indeed, and, to a lesser extent,
+Victoria, have almost admitted an obligation to provide work or rations
+for the unemployed.  In Victoria the tension has been relaxed by the
+formation of the Labour Colony of Leongatha, at which the destitute can
+obtain temporary subsistence.  Australian politicians, generally, were
+appalled by the undeserved misery which resulted from the cessation of
+public works and from the financial disturbances, and, under the stress
+of humanitarian motives, failed to temper their humanity with
+discretion, and initiated a policy of
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P255"></A>255}</SPAN>
+indiscriminate assistance
+from which, once entered upon, it has been difficult for them to draw
+back.  The formation of village settlements in all the Provinces except
+Western Australia was based upon the necessity for special efforts in
+the face of the prevailing distress.  Australians have never been able
+to regard the unemployed as a necessary factor in their economic
+system.  The ordinary problems of pauperism have been felt acutely in
+Australasia and have been met in somewhat similar fashion in the
+different Provinces.  Destitute children are, in most cases, boarded
+out; the aged and incapable are provided for in Benevolent Asylums.  In
+Victoria, New South Wales, and New Zealand a movement has recently
+arisen for the adoption of a system of old-age pensions, which has had
+no appreciable results in the former Province, but has led in New South
+Wales to the appointment of a Parliamentary Committee which reported
+favourably and suggested forms of additional taxation by which the
+necessary funds might be obtained, and in New Zealand to the
+introduction of a Ministerial measure which sought to establish the
+general principle and left to the House the elaboration of the
+financial details.  The Bill was accepted on its second reading, but in
+Committee an amendment was carried against the Government to the effect
+that all persons above the age of sixty-five, irrespectively of their
+means, should be entitled to receive a pension.  An Act was, however,
+subsequently passed of which the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P256"></A>256}</SPAN>
+object is to ascertain the
+probable cost of a pension fund.  All persons of the age of sixty-five
+and upwards, who have resided in the Province for twenty years,
+imprisonment being reckoned as absence, and are not possessed of an
+income exceeding £50 a year, are entitled to apply for a pension
+certificate which will be issued to them upon the verification of their
+claims, and will be regarded as conclusive if a pension fund be
+established hereafter.  The success of the Government at the recent
+elections renders it probable that the matter will shortly receive
+attention.  In neither of the Provinces in which the subject has been
+discussed is it proposed that the pension should be earned by previous
+contributions; it is to be offered as a free gift in recognition of the
+services which every worker must have rendered to the community.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+To conclude a superficial summary of the functions undertaken, or
+likely to be undertaken, by the State in Australasia, it may be
+mentioned that the State system of primary education is in all the
+Provinces compulsory and undenominational.  In South Australia,
+Victoria, Queensland, and New Zealand it is also free; in the other
+Provinces fees are charged but may be remitted, wholly or partly, in
+the case of the inability of parents to pay them.  There are no signs
+that the advocates of grants in aid of denominational education are
+gaining ground; in the direct reference to the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P257"></A>257}</SPAN>
+electors taken in
+South Australia they were defeated by a large majority, and have
+equally little chance of securing subsidies to religious bodies.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In the presence of great activity on the part of the State, it is
+interesting to note to what extent the working classes have exerted
+themselves on their own behalf.  Distributive co-operation has not
+become popular owing, partly, according to the <I>Australasian</I>,[<A NAME="chap10fn3text"></A><A HREF="#chap10fn3">3</A>] "to
+the vicissitudes in trade which are inseparable from new countries, and
+to the temptations which are consequently held out to the workers from
+time to time to change their occupations and abodes.  Partly, too, an
+explanation may be found in the efficacy of existing agencies for
+distribution.  But we cannot help thinking that it is due also, in
+part, to the pernicious ideas which lead so many of our artisans to cry
+out against capital, and to seek the aid of the State, instead of
+trusting to their own efforts and determining to become capitalists
+themselves in a way which has been proved by the co-operative societies
+at home to be thoroughly practical."  Though the <I>Australasian</I> is
+strongly individualistic in its bias, it appears to be justified in its
+reference to a certain lack of initiative shown by Australasian
+workmen; they are inclined to look upon the State as a gold mine from
+which they can draw permanent dividends, especially as they are
+scarcely, if at all, affected directly by the periodical calls upon the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P258"></A>258}</SPAN>
+shareholders; but, in his strictures upon the attitude of labour
+towards capital, the writer should have added that the wealthy classes
+are at least as ready to misjudge every effort made by the Labour
+Representatives to pass remedial measures through the legislatures.
+Proceeding to deal with the co-operation of producers, he says that
+"there is co-operation of this kind already in our butter and cheese
+factories, where the farmer who conveys his produce to the factory may
+also be a shareholder, and at the end of the half-year may receive a
+dividend on his shares and a bonus on the milk supplied, in addition to
+the established price.  Co-operation of a like kind prevails, to some
+extent, though not so largely as might be desired, between the graziers
+and the companies for the export of Australian meat."  These remarks,
+which refer primarily to Victoria, are generally true of Australasia.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But, while the working classes look constantly to the State for
+assistance in various forms, they can be shown to have made
+considerable provision against the future.  In spite of bad times, the
+number of depositors in Australasian Savings Banks rose from 742,000 in
+1891 to 895,000 in 1895, and the total amount of deposits from 19 to 26
+millions.  Victoria and South Australia, which are followed closely by
+New Zealand, have the largest number of depositors in proportion to
+population, 29 and 24 per 100 respectively, and Queensland and New
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P259"></A>259}</SPAN>
+South Wales the highest average amount of deposits.[<A NAME="chap10fn4text"></A><A HREF="#chap10fn4">4</A>]  In the
+three Provinces, therefore, in which the paternal action of the
+Government is carried to the furthest extent, we find the widest
+diffusion of an important exemplification of the spirit of thrift.  I
+am far from suggesting a relation of cause and effect, as the amount of
+savings must depend largely upon the rate of wages, the abundance or
+scarcity of employment, the cost of living, and many other factors, and
+would merely point out that the policy in question does not appear to
+have deterred the working classes from individual efforts.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As regards Friendly Societies, South Australia takes the lead with a
+membership exceeding one in ten of the population; Victoria comes next
+with one in fifteen, and is third in the average amount of funds per
+member.  Under the latter head New Zealand occupied the first place
+with £18 8s. 2d., and is followed by Western Australia with £17 10s.
+4d., but the latter amount is of no comparative importance owing to the
+very small number of subscribers.[<A NAME="chap10fn5text"></A><A HREF="#chap10fn5">5</A>]
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In 1895 the average amount of assurance per head of the population in
+Australasia was £20, the average sum assured per policy £285, and the
+average number of policies per 1,000 of the population, 70.  Compared
+with the United Kingdom,
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P260"></A>260}</SPAN>
+Australasia has a considerable advantage
+in the first of these figures, has the proportion reversed in the
+second, but wins by more than two to one on the last, which is the most
+interesting as a further indication of the prevalence of the instinct
+of providence among Australasian workmen.[<A NAME="chap10fn6text"></A><A HREF="#chap10fn6">6</A>]  Prior to the recent
+crisis the working classes had availed themselves largely of the
+opportunities which Building Societies offered to them to secure the
+freehold of their homes by payments spread over a term of years; but a
+run upon the deposits lodged in these institutions, which set in
+towards the end of 1891, and continued during 1892, affected them
+disastrously, and the large majority of even the soundest of them were
+obliged eventually, owing to the heavy withdrawal of deposits, to close
+their doors.  Though some have since been re-opened, upon terms agreed
+to between the shareholders and depositors, their business has
+collapsed for the time, the amount of advances in Victoria having
+fallen from over two millions in 1890 and in 1891 to less than a
+hundred thousand pounds in 1893.[<A NAME="chap10fn7text"></A><A HREF="#chap10fn7">7</A>]  In the apparent absence of
+statistics of the number of freeholders in several Provinces, no
+general idea can be formed of the extent to which the working classes
+have, through Building Societies and otherwise, invested their savings
+in the acquisition of
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P261"></A>261}</SPAN>
+freehold properties.  The only figures that
+I have been able to obtain give the estimated number of owners as
+30,600, 91,500, and 184,500 for New South Wales, New Zealand, and
+Victoria respectively.  As far as the two latter Provinces are
+concerned, the total populations being only 699,000 and 1,174,000, it
+is absurd to suppose that the electors, a large proportion of whom are
+freeholders, will be captivated by the advocates of the Single Tax.  It
+cannot too often be repeated that the Australasian Governments, all of
+which are, to a greater or lesser degree, aiming at the multiplication
+of small owners or perpetual lease-holders, are rendering it
+practically impossible that an agitation for the confiscation of land
+values should be successful, and are fostering the growth of that class
+of settlers which is believed to be Conservative in the best sense of
+the word.  But large estates, except in the case of certain kinds of
+pastoral land, are doomed to extinction, either in the natural course
+of events, owing to the costliness of labour, or from the pressure of
+heavy graduated taxation, the workmen of Australasia being thoroughly
+convinced of its justice as a means of raising revenue and of its
+efficacy as a means of causing land to be subdivided or placed upon the
+market.  They have also, as has been seen, supported legislation which
+has authorised the re-purchase and subdivision of landed estates.
+</P>
+
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P262"></A>262}</SPAN>
+
+<P>
+Lastly, they have realised since 1890 that, for the furtherance of
+their aspirations, the strength of their Unions should be devoted
+mainly to the promotion of the representation of Labour in Parliament.
+The great strike of that year has been described so fully that it is
+unnecessary to say more than that a strong combination of labour, which
+had made itself master of the situation, was confronted upon the
+outbreak of hostilities by rapidly organised but powerful associations
+of employers; that the struggle, which spread over the whole Continent
+and New Zealand, terminated in the success of the latter, and that the
+workmen realised that, even had they succeeded, the victory would have
+been won at too heavy a cost in the misery entailed upon themselves and
+their families.  Many of them were dissatisfied with the generalship of
+their leaders during the strike, and realised that the exhaustion of
+their funds rendered them unable to engage again in a huge industrial
+struggle.  In the following years low prices, the financial crisis, and
+the consequent scarcity of employment and fall in wages, further
+weakened the Unions and intensified the conviction that strikes should
+be superseded by the ballot-box.  In some Provinces, also, it was felt
+that the rivalry of parties had degenerated into a contest between the
+ins and the outs, and that progressive measures would not be passed
+until Labour had entered as a compact body into the arena.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I have discussed in the earlier chapters the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P263"></A>263}</SPAN>
+history and results
+of Labour representation in several of the Provinces, and have shown
+that the Labour Party has been successful in South Australia, where it
+has formed an alliance with the Government, though maintaining a
+separate organisation, and in New South Wales, where it has held the
+balance of power between the Protectionists and Free Traders, but has
+failed utterly in Queensland, where mainly through its own fault, but
+partly through the astuteness of its opponents, it has occupied a
+position of antagonism to all the vested interests of the community.
+In Victoria the Labour Party acts usually with the Government, but
+seeks to obtain its objects by the exercise of its strength more than
+by friendly negotiations.  In New Zealand no distinct Party was formed,
+but the working-men representatives threw in their lot with the
+Government and, by consistent support, helped to secure the imposition
+of graduated taxation and the enactment, among other measures, of a
+compulsory Conciliation and Arbitration Act, and of a large number of
+Industrial Statutes.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A great similarity of aims and aspirations can be traced between the
+different Labour Parties if we ignore side issues and exclude that of
+Queensland, which is affected by the taint of aggressive socialism.
+Judging from the respective programmes and from conversations which I
+have had with many of the leaders, I find that, subject to certain
+exceptions
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P264"></A>264}</SPAN>
+which I shall mention, they are united upon the
+following propositions:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P>
+Manhood or adult suffrage, shorn of the plural vote, should be the
+basis of representation in the Assembly.  The Legislative Council
+should be abolished, as it prevents the wishes of the people from being
+carried into effect.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Direct taxation should consist of graduated death duties and graduated
+taxes on incomes and land values.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Parliament should secure to every worker for wages sanitary and safe
+conditions of employment, and immunity from excessive hours of labour.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Machinery should be provided by Parliament by which industrial disputes
+may be referred to an impartial tribunal.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The workers should protect themselves not only against foreign goods,
+but against undesirable immigrants, whether they be Orientals or
+indigent Europeans.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P>
+The consideration of these questions, and of the wider issues with
+which they are concerned, will cover most of the points of recent
+interest in Australasian politics.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+(1) It is doubtful whether Responsible Government, in the sense of
+government by a Ministry which carries out a definite policy approved
+by the country, and, in return, receives allegiance from its
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P265"></A>265}</SPAN>
+supporters in Parliament, has ever been acclimatised in Australasia
+except in New South Wales under the influence of the late Sir Henry
+Parkes.  How, indeed, could it be otherwise, when it was sought to
+transplant a delicate system, hallowed by conventions and dependent for
+its success upon the election of a special class of representatives,
+among a community necessarily ruled by men who had little experience of
+public life?  Australian Parliaments, save on the rare occasions when
+some important issue, such as that of the tariff, has come to the
+front, have not been divided on ordinary party lines, and have amused
+themselves with the excitement of a constant succession of new
+Ministries selected on personal and not on political considerations.
+New South Wales, South Australia, and Victoria, to take three Provinces
+at random, have had, respectively, 28, 42, and 26 Ministries in 40
+years.  The policy of the Opposition has often been almost identical
+with that of the Government.  Again, coalitions between former
+opponents have been of frequent occurrence; the Ministries formed by
+Messrs. Deakin and Gillies in Victoria, and by Sir Samuel Griffith and
+Sir Thomas McIlwraith in Queensland, are recent instances of this
+tendency.  In some rural constituencies, also, candidates appeal to the
+electorate on personal grounds and are not required to declare their
+adhesion to a party.  I was struck, when present at the elections in
+South Australia and New Zealand, by the subsequent animated discussions
+in
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P266"></A>266}</SPAN>
+the newspapers as to the probable effect of the changes in the
+personnel of the Members upon the prospects of the Government.  This is
+the more noticeable from the fact that the freedom of action allowed to
+representatives has been curtailed since the return to Parliament of
+Labour Members, who are pledged to a definite programme and have put
+forward questions on which there is a distinct line of cleavage.
+Proposals for the extension of the franchise, for the abolition of the
+plural vote, or for the imposition of a tax on incomes and land values,
+are such as divide the electorate into two camps and perpetuate the
+division in the House.  This state of things, combined, perhaps, with
+the financial crisis which raised problems demanding continuity of
+administration for their solution, has contributed to the greater
+stability of Ministries.  Another factor, which has given
+constituencies a greater hold on their representatives, and has tended
+thereby to make them adhere more closely to one or other of the
+parties, is the payment of Members, which has now been adopted in all
+the Lower Houses except that of Western Australia, and in the Upper
+Houses of South Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand.  Australia has
+been confronted with the difficulty experienced by every young country,
+that the men who should naturally enter Parliament are prevented by
+commercial or professional duties from devoting the necessary time, and
+that, in the absence of men of leisure, constituencies
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P267"></A>267}</SPAN>
+are much
+hampered in their choice of candidates.  The payment of Members, it is
+needless to say, offers no inducement to the successful merchant or
+lawyer, but has increased the competition among men to whom the salary
+is an inducement.  My inquiries as to its effect upon the tone of
+politicians have elicited mutually contradictory replies.  On the one
+hand I am assured that the attractions of the salary have led men to
+resort to disreputable practices in order to be selected as candidates
+and to seek to retain the fickle affections of their constituents by
+similar means; on the other, that necessitous Members have been raised
+by the salary above temptations which their poverty made it difficult
+for them to resist; and such temptations must increase in number with
+each extension of the functions of the State unless it be dissociated
+from political influence.  It is clear that a knowledge of the inner
+life of a Parliament could alone supply materials for the adequate
+discussion of this question, and that a similar consideration applies
+to the discussion of the effects of State socialism upon political
+morality.  The possible abuses are many: railways may be constructed
+with a view to popularity; the rents of Crown tenants may be remitted,
+and borrowers may be allowed to fall in arrears with the interest on
+their advances; subsidies and bonuses voted by Parliament may be
+misapplied; and the unemployed may be conciliated by unnecessary public
+works.  Personal corruption, I am confident,
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P268"></A>268}</SPAN>
+does not exist, but
+that safeguards have been felt to be necessary is proved by the
+appointment of independent Railway Commissioners by New South Wales,
+Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, and New Zealand, and of Public
+Works Committees by Victoria and New South Wales.  In the latter
+country, as has been seen, the Commissioners have been most successful,
+but New Zealand has reverted to the system of political control, and
+Victoria, Queensland, and South Australia have reduced the number of
+Commissioners from three to one.  This change, which must have lessened
+the efficacy of non-political control, was advocated on grounds of
+economy at a time when all forms of expenditure were being cut down to
+the lowest point.  In Victoria the Leongatha Labour Settlement has
+diminished the difficulties connected with the unemployed, and its
+administration has been studied by the other Provinces with a view to
+similar action.  The general political tone is healthy, and is
+stimulated, in all the Provinces, by a high-class press, which uses its
+great influence in a conscientious manner.  But, as long as Treasurers
+can balance their accounts by recourse to loans, and are tempted, as is
+inevitable, to apply borrowed money to placatory enterprises, the
+dangers which are necessarily connected with State socialism are
+multiplied tenfold.  They would be lessened if the objects for which
+loans might be contracted were defined, as has been suggested, by Act
+of Parliament,
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P269"></A>269}</SPAN>
+or if Federation were to eventuate at an early
+date and the right to borrow were limited to the Federal Authority.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In New Zealand alone have I found direct evidence of the misuse of
+political patronage.  Upon the third reading of the Appropriation Bill
+in 1896, Captain Russell, the Leader of the Opposition, made use of the
+following words: "I maintain that for years past the administration of
+the Government has been anything but good.  They have hunted for
+popularity and they have hunted their enemies.  They have hunted their
+enemies to a very great extent.  You find positions which were capably
+filled by old and valued servants now filled by friends of the
+Government.  We have a system of espionage in existence which is
+disgusting....  The Civil Servants should not depend on the favour and
+their popularity with Ministers for promotion, but rather on good
+honest service, and that is not the case now.  Why, a Civil Servant
+dare not come and speak to an Opposition Member for fear of that fact
+being reported to the Ministers.  (An Hon. Member: No!)  It is all very
+well to say 'No,' but I am acquainted with dozens of Civil Servants in
+Wellington, and they will not come and speak to me in the street for
+fear of being reported."[<A NAME="chap10fn8text"></A><A HREF="#chap10fn8">8</A>]  In his reply the Premier made no attempt
+to meet these charges, which I have quoted because I have gathered
+corroborative
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P270"></A>270}</SPAN>
+evidence in different parts of the country, though
+it is not such as admits of being adduced as definite proof, and
+because the Minister of Lands made an exceedingly candid admission
+shortly after the elections.  In the course of a speech delivered at
+Geraldine he is reported by a Ministerial newspaper to have said: "They
+had endeavoured during their term of office to do what they could in
+the interests of the Colony as a whole, but they had been very badly
+treated by two classes of the public at the elections.  In the session
+of 1895, they would remember, the Government passed a measure to give
+relief to pastoral Crown tenants who lost a large number of sheep in
+the snow.  The Government did this in the interest of the people as a
+whole, as they thought, but how had they been treated by the people
+they helped in time of distress?  (A voice: Very badly.)  Yes, there
+might have been one or two exceptions, but generally speaking they
+fought tooth and nail against the Government.  Then, again, the
+Government saved the Bank of New Zealand and the Colony from ruin, but
+still the old leaven of the Bank fought and voted against the
+Government at the elections.  He considered this very unfair on their
+part, considering what the Government had done for them."[<A NAME="chap10fn9text"></A><A HREF="#chap10fn9">9</A>]  Sir
+Robert Stout, a former Premier of New Zealand, has also brought a grave
+indictment against the Government, from
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P271"></A>271}</SPAN>
+which I quote the portion
+referring to appointments:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"By the Statute Law of New Zealand, no one who has been a member of
+either House can be appointed to any position in the Civil Service
+until he has for twelve months ceased to be a member of Parliament.  A
+vacancy occurred in the position of Sergeant-at-arms, and it was
+announced that an ex-member, who had at the elections retired in favour
+of a Ministerial candidate, had received the office.  When Parliament
+met, the appointment gave rise to much discussion.  Ultimately a large
+majority supported the Ministry in conferring the appointment
+temporarily, the official appointment to be made at the end of twelve
+months.  If this had been the only flagrant violation of the law it
+might have been overlooked; but it is only a type of what has been
+done.  The Civil Service Reform Act, 1886, provides that no one, save
+an expert, can be appointed to the Civil Service unless he enters as a
+cadet.  Some departments, such as the railway, postal, and telegraph
+departments, are exempted from the provisions of the Act.  The cadets
+must obtain their positions by competition; the examination is annual.
+The Ministry, however, appointed some cadets out of their order, and
+some who had never even submitted to an examination at all.  There is a
+provision for "temporary" clerks.  When vacancies arise in the service
+these are given to
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P272"></A>272}</SPAN>
+temporary clerks.  The policy of "spoils for
+the victors" has been openly defended.  To carry out this pernicious
+system the law has been violated.  It has been said that only those of
+the 'right colour' of political opinions should receive appointments in
+the Civil Service."[<A NAME="chap10fn10text"></A><A HREF="#chap10fn10">10</A>]
+</P>
+
+<P>
+However great may be one's sympathy with the efforts of the Government
+to encourage settlement and to promote industrial conciliation and
+arbitration, one cannot but rejoice at the increased strength of the
+Opposition, which will be sufficient to enforce greater purity of
+administration and the enactment of legislation which will prevent a
+recurrence of the evil.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The realisation of the dangers of an unmuzzled democracy has caused a
+widespread anxiety which has been displayed in vehement but, for the
+most part, unsuccessful opposition to proposed changes in the
+constitution of the Assembly.  New Zealand and South Australia have
+adopted adult suffrage, coupled with the abolition of plural voting;
+Victoria and New South Wales manhood suffrage, associated in the former
+case with the plural vote but not in the latter.  In Victoria, the
+Conservatives, if I may so characterise the less-advanced party, have
+put forward a proposal which is unique in Australasia.  They suggest
+that, while each man should continue to have a vote, the present plural
+votes should be replaced by a second vote which
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P273"></A>273}</SPAN>
+should be
+possessed equally by all freeholders whatever be the size and number of
+their properties.  They believe that they would thereby place the power
+in the hands of the more stable elements of the population, and that
+they are not unlikely to be supported by the freeholders, who
+constitute nearly two-thirds of the electors on the rolls for the
+Assembly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At present the Labour parties are engaged in onslaughts upon the
+Legislative Councils with a view to their ultimate abolition, but are
+prepared to accept, as an instalment, any proposals which would cripple
+their power.  They concurred heartily with the Bill introduced in 1896
+by the Government of New South Wales and rejected by the Council after
+it had been passed by large majorities through the Assembly, which
+provided for the reference to a popular vote of matters in dispute
+between the two Houses.  Similar measures are also advocated by the
+Governments of Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania; while in New
+Zealand, it is proposed that deadlocks shall be obviated by a joint
+session of both Houses, which shall sit as one Chamber.  It may be that
+an Act of 1891 which, as will be seen, tends to popularise the
+Legislative Council in New Zealand will account for the less drastic
+character of the solution put forward in that Province.  It is probable
+that it will become customary in Australasia to submit distinct issues
+to the electorate, on a separate ballot-paper, at the time of a general
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P274"></A>274}</SPAN>
+election.  The Government of South Australia ascertained in this
+manner the popular wishes in regard to religious instruction in State
+schools, and the payment to denominational schools of a capitation
+grant for secular results; and the recent "Alcoholic Liquors Sale
+Control Act" of New Zealand provides that Local Option polls shall be
+taken concurrently with the election of representatives.  Under
+references similar to that in South Australia, it may be objected,
+Ministers may be supported on their general policy, but be required to
+introduce a measure to which they are opposed.  Such a position,
+however, would not apparently be regarded as inconsistent, as most of
+the candidates in South Australia stated their willingness to give
+effect to the popular vote, in whatever direction it might be
+expressed.  Disputes between the two Houses will, I believe, be decided
+similarly, on the score of the expense of a special poll, unless the
+issue be such as to demand an immediate settlement.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The first line of attack of the Labour Members is thus seen to be an
+agitation which aims at enabling the electorate of the Assembly to
+override the Council; the second is directed at its Conservative
+tendencies.  The policy pursued depends upon the constitution of the
+Council: if it is elective, it should be so modified as to become a
+Chamber of paid representatives, subject to no property qualification
+and elected upon a wide franchise, such as the South Australian
+Council, in which a combination
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P275"></A>275}</SPAN>
+of Ministerialists and Labour
+Members has been able to obtain a bare majority.  If it is nominated,
+the life tenure should be superseded by nomination for a short term of
+years, which will enable successive Ministries to introduce a new
+leaven of persons who are in touch with popular feeling, and will be
+prevented, by the limit placed upon the duration of their appointments,
+from being subjected to reactionary influences.  The Council, that is
+to say, is to become a mere machine for registering the wishes of the
+Assembly.  The only success which has hitherto attended this agitation
+is the enactment in 1891 of a measure in New Zealand which limited to
+seven years the duration of subsequent appointments; but the Government
+now desire to abolish the life tenure, and they are followed herein by
+New South Wales, by providing for the gradual retirement of all the
+members who hold their seats for life.  They also propose, whether
+seriously or in order to cast ridicule upon the Council, that women
+shall be eligible for appointment to that body.  In regard to the
+general position of the nominated Councils, which are not limited as to
+the number of their members, it may be stated that the Imperial
+Government decided, upon a case submitted to them from New Zealand,
+that the Governor should accept the recommendations of his
+constitutional advisers in the matter of additional appointments.
+Strangely enough, the Premier of Queensland, the only other
+Australasian Province that has a nominated Legislative
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P276"></A>276}</SPAN>
+Council,
+though a strong constitutionalist, aimed a blow at its prestige in a
+proposal, which he carried through the Assembly but not through the
+Council, that the former House alone should be vested with the power of
+selecting the delegates to the pending Federal Convention.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Before leaving this portion of the subject, I must mention that other
+proposals affecting the form of Government of the Provinces have been
+discussed in Parliament and are likely to attract serious attention.
+Theoretically, indeed, it has been asserted, apart from the question of
+the power of the Upper Houses, and the point is of interest as showing
+the ideas germinating in the minds of Australasian politicians, that
+five changes are required in order that the Parliamentary machinery may
+be brought into proper relations with the people: the election of
+Ministers by the Assembly; continuity of representation in the
+Assembly, to be secured by the division of the country into
+constituencies returning two representatives who retire alternately at
+fixed periods; the Swiss form of Initiative and Referendum; and the
+right of a certain proportion of the members to convoke a special
+session of Parliament, and of an absolute majority of the electors in a
+constituency to require the resignation of their member.  The first and
+second of these reforms, as I have shown, are included in the programme
+of the Ministry of South Australia, which, however, in spite of its
+success at the polls, has not pressed them forward
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P277"></A>277}</SPAN>
+during the
+first session of the New Parliament.  Continuity of representation
+could easily be arranged, as all the constituencies return two members.
+An Elective Executive Bill has been introduced in the House of
+Representatives in New Zealand and received a large measure of support,
+though it was opposed by the Premier and the leader of the Opposition.
+The idea has taken a strong hold upon the imagination of the Labour
+Members in all the Provinces.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It may be thought that I have laid stress upon a variety of fantastic
+theories, but the objection takes insufficient account of the facility
+with which changes can be effected in the absence of a strong force of
+traditional conservatism.  I must admit, as a failing of Australasian
+politicians, that they are inclined to welcome innovations which are
+superficially attractive, without due consideration of the ulterior
+consequences.  To quote an extreme case, the Government of New Zealand
+proposed, in a Single Bill, not only to abolish the life tenure of
+Members of the Legislative Council, but to provide machinery for the
+settlement of disputes between the two Houses and to establish a
+modified form of the Swiss Referendum.  But I am confident that several
+of the proposals to which I have referred, notably that for an Elective
+Executive, meet with a large measure of support in the constituencies.
+This movement has gathered strength from the disinclination of
+Ministries to resign except upon a
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P278"></A>278}</SPAN>
+direct vote of want of
+confidence.  Some of them look with equanimity upon the defeat of
+cardinal principles of important Bills, whether it be due to the
+strength of the Opposition or the defection of their own followers, and
+do not hesitate, if sufficient pressure be exercised, to withdraw them
+altogether.  As the Ministry tends, therefore, to become a body which
+carries out the wishes of the whole House, and ceases to lead its own
+Party, the position would be simplified if the whole House elected the
+Executive for a fixed period.  Another argument is found in the
+increasing desire of the Assembly to shift its legislative duties to
+the shoulders of the Executive.  Parliament decides the broad
+principles of measures and leaves the details to be filled in by
+Regulations made by the Department concerned under the supervision of
+the Minister and with the approval of the Executive Council.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+(2) Graduated death duties are imposed in all the seven Provinces,
+though in Tasmania the tax levied on the largest properties does not
+exceed 3 per cent.  Western Australia came into line with the other
+Provinces in 1895, when a Bill imposing graduation up to 10 per cent.
+was passed, almost without discussion, through both Houses of
+Parliament.  The Premier admitted that it had not been rendered
+necessary by the condition of the finances, but contended that it
+should be placed upon the Statute Book while there were few rich men in
+the community who would resent it.
+</P>
+
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P279"></A>279}</SPAN>
+
+<P>
+Other forms of direct taxation are as follows: New Zealand, South
+Australia, and New South Wales have taxation on incomes and land
+values, the two former with, the latter without, graduation; Victoria
+has a graduated income tax and an ungraduated land tax on estates above
+a certain value; Tasmania, an ungraduated tax on incomes and the
+capital value of land; Queensland, an ungraduated income tax, which is
+only collected on dividends paid by public companies.  The taxation in
+New South Wales, Victoria, New Zealand, and South Australia has been
+promoted, if not inspired, by the Labour Movement in Parliament, and
+constitutes its greatest triumph.  In Victoria the taxation of land
+values was rejected by the Legislative Council.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A point of interest is the distinction made by Victoria, Tasmania, and
+South Australia between incomes derived from property and those which
+are the result of personal exertion.  It is thought to be equitable
+that the former should be taxed at a higher rate, and the principle is
+similar to that which dictates the taxation of land upon its unimproved
+value.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+(3) I have referred very briefly in the present chapter to certain
+forms of industrial legislation; speaking generally, they are based
+upon English examples and do not call for any particular comment.  The
+Labour Parties are keenly interested in these matters because it is
+simpler, apart from greater efficacy, that inspectors should protect
+their
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P280"></A>280}</SPAN>
+interest under Acts of Parliament than that they should be
+compelled constantly to engage in negotiations with individual
+employers.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+(4) As I have already pointed out, the consideration of Australasian
+problems must be accompanied by a recollection of the difference of
+conditions from those existing in Great Britain.  Even in the latter
+country it is obvious that the intimate relations between employers and
+employed are being replaced, especially in the manufacturing centres,
+by a purely monetary bond; but they can never, except in individual
+cases, have had any existence in Australasia, where capitalists and
+workmen have approached each other and entered into agreements as
+strangers.  Consequently the workmen, attached neither to people nor
+places, have been prepared to move as their varying interests have
+suggested and have formed few lasting ties with their employers.  Many
+of the industries, indeed, have tended to accentuate this absence of
+cordial relations: in pastoralism, for instance, the small permanent
+staff is supplemented for a few weeks in the year by a large number of
+shearers and others, who sign a definite agreement with their
+employers, and, provided that the conditions are carried out, can have
+no interest either in them or in their properties.  Incidentally, an
+association recently formed at Sydney which engages shearers and
+provides them with consecutive employment at different sheds, should
+not only be a financial success, but allay the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P281"></A>281}</SPAN>
+natural
+dissatisfaction of a body of men who, though they earn high wages, can
+depend upon neither regularity nor permanency in their work.  I could
+show that similar conditions prevail in the sugar industry and, to some
+extent, in agriculture; but enough has been said to prove that the
+working classes are differently situated from those in older countries
+and partially to explain their willingness to form themselves into
+Trades Unions and the combativeness of these organisations.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The great maritime strike, though it has been followed by the Broken
+Hill strikes of 1891 and 1892, the shearers' strikes of 1891 and 1894,
+and periodical hostilities at Newcastle, has modified largely the
+attitude of the working classes in regard to the efficacy of industrial
+warfare.  The later struggles have principally affected Queensland and
+New South Wales, which was the first of the Provinces to attempt to
+deal with the matter by Act of Parliament.  A Board of Conciliation was
+established upon the recommendation of a Royal Commission, but is
+admitted to have been a failure in the absence of any compulsory
+reference of disputes.  On the occasion of the most recent
+disturbances, at Newcastle in 1896, which originated upon an
+application of the miners for higher wages, the Premier, following
+English precedents, intervened, and was enabled to settle the dispute,
+though not until the strike had lasted for three months and had caused
+much of the foreign trade to be diverted to foreign ports.  Actual
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P282"></A>282}</SPAN>
+and prospective losses caused the owners, though they made a
+small concession at the request of the Premier, to refuse to reinstate
+the miners except at a slightly lower rate of wages than that against
+which they had struck.  The offer, as modified by the Premier, was
+accepted by the miners, who had thus, at the cost of much misery,
+brought about a reduction in their wages.  The disturbances of 1894 in
+Queensland, which reached an acute stage, were met by the Government by
+resolute administration under special powers obtained by Act of
+Parliament, but no attempt was made to intervene between the disputants
+or to make use of the Conciliation Act of 1892, which, as far as I
+know, has remained a dead letter.  It is useless, therefore, to discuss
+the Act further than to say that its machinery can only be set in
+motion by a Local Authority, but it may not be unfair to attribute the
+unsympathetic attitude of the Government to the bitterness engendered
+by the extravagances of the Labour Party.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In most of the Provinces neither the employers nor the workmen are
+prepared, as yet, to bind themselves to refer their disputes to an
+impartial tribunal and to abide by its decision.  Though the tendency
+in that direction is on the increase, it has been suggested that, in
+the meanwhile, Boards should be constituted which would be empowered to
+consider disputes, and, after the examination of books and witnesses,
+to issue a public report.  The judgment would not be enforceable, but
+might be expected, in
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P283"></A>283}</SPAN>
+the majority of cases, to lead to a
+settlement of the difficulty; at any rate, it would influence public
+opinion, which is a large factor in all industrial struggles.  But
+South Australia and New Zealand have passed this stage, and have placed
+drastic measures on their Statute Book which provide, in certain cases,
+for compulsory awards.  The compulsory provisions of the South
+Australian Act apply only to employers and workmen who are organised
+and have voluntarily accepted them by the process of registration.
+Should they become involved in an industrial dispute, the Governor may,
+upon the recommendation of the President of the State Board of
+Conciliation, cause the matter to be referred to it, and the Board may
+make an award which will be binding upon the parties concerned.  In New
+Zealand, on the other hand, while the proceedings must be initiated by
+employers or workmen who are registered, the other party, though
+unregistered, may be called upon, should the Board of Conciliation fail
+to effect a settlement, to attend before the Court of Arbitration and
+to obey its award, subject to the general proviso that an employer may
+suspend or discontinue any industry and an employé cease from working
+therein.  In neither Province is a strike or lock-out permitted during
+the deliberations of the tribunal.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The Acts do not apply to unorganised workers, except indirectly, partly
+because they have not been the cause of the great industrial struggles
+of the past,
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P284"></A>284}</SPAN>
+partly because it would be difficult, if not
+impossible, to enforce awards against them.  It may also have been
+thought that they would be encouraged thereby to form themselves into
+Unions, and that the best chance of industrial peace lies in
+negotiations between responsible bodies of workers and employers who
+will have too much at stake to be willing to proceed thoughtlessly to
+extremities.  As regards registration, it has been found that the
+workers of South Australia, though their leaders had supported the
+compulsory provisions, have been backward in this direction; but that,
+in New Zealand, no such hesitation has been displayed.  The workers in
+that country do not appear to share the disinclination to agree to the
+intervention of an arbitrator which is stated to be increasing in Great
+Britain.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In South Australia, to give a brief account of the new tribunals,
+Boards of Conciliation may be either Private Boards, constituted under
+industrial agreements and endowed with such jurisdiction as may be
+confided to them in the agreements; or Public Boards, which include
+Local Boards constituted for particular localities and particular
+industries, and the State Board of Conciliation.  In New Zealand, the
+first reference is to an elective Board of Conciliation constituted for
+the district in which the dispute has occurred.  Should it fail to
+effect a settlement, the matter may be referred to the Court of
+Arbitration, which, similarly with the State Board
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P285"></A>285}</SPAN>
+of
+Conciliation in South Australia, consists of an equal number of
+representatives of employers and employed and a chairman nominated by
+the Government, who must, in the former country, be a judge of the
+Supreme Court.  These tribunals are invested with full powers to
+require the attendance and examination of witnesses, and may either
+make an award which shall take effect for a period not exceeding two
+years, and may be enforced by legal process against associations and
+individuals, or they may confine themselves, at their discretion, to a
+recommendation which will be merely a direction to the parties
+concerned.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In South Australia the State Board has also the power to inquire into,
+and report upon, industrial disputes, though the parties be not
+registered.  This portion of the Act has alone been brought into
+operation, and that unsuccessfully, as, though the representatives of
+employers and employed on the Board arrived at a unanimous decision
+upon a dispute affecting the rate of wages, the employer in question
+refused to be guided by its judgment.  The general failure of the Act,
+though the affirmation of the principle of Conciliation has been
+valuable, has been due partly to the absence of serious disputes in
+South Australia, but principally to the unwillingness both of employers
+and employed to place themselves in a position in which they will lose
+control over the terms of employment.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The Act passed by the Government of New
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P286"></A>286}</SPAN>
+Zealand, on the contrary,
+has hitherto been entirely efficacious, and has prevented the
+interruption of harmonious relations between employers and employed.
+It was first tested upon a dispute which arose over the action of the
+Consolidated Goldfields Company in reducing wages in the mines from
+10s. to 8s. 4d. per day.  The men, who were not members of a union,
+went out on strike, and were then offered wages at the rate of 9s.
+Upon the advice of their leaders, the men accepted the offer
+provisionally; and, having formed themselves into a union which they
+promptly caused to be registered, referred the matter to the Board of
+Conciliation.  The decision of the Board, which it is unnecessary to
+specify, was refused by the men, who appealed to the Court of
+Arbitration.  The award of the latter body, which fixed the wages of
+miners at 9s. 6d. per day, a rate smaller than that which had been
+received by the men, but larger than that against which they had
+protested, has been observed loyally by the Company and its employés.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The next dispute arose at Christchurch upon the expiration of the
+agreement which had been in operation between the boot manufacturers
+and their workmen for several years, and upon the desire of the former
+to substitute new terms which were regarded as distasteful.  It was
+concerned with several matters of detail, but hinged principally upon
+the question whether non-unionists should be allowed to work with
+unionists.  As in the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P287"></A>287}</SPAN>
+former case, an appeal was made from the
+Board of Conciliation's award to the Court of Arbitration, whose
+decision, it is noteworthy, both sides had signified their willingness
+to accept.  The award applied to all the bootmakers in the Province
+with the exception of three or four who were not identified with the
+boot manufacturers' association, and was accompanied by remarks
+pronounced, it must be remembered, by a judge of the Supreme Court,
+which cannot fail to be of interest to the Trades Unionists in all
+parts of the world.  I do not, therefore, apologise for quoting them at
+length:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The Arbitration Court has not hitherto been in the habit of giving
+reasons for its decision.  It appears to the Court that, sitting as
+arbitrators, it should as a general rule follow the ordinary practice
+of arbitrators and simply give its decision without reasons.  In the
+present case, however, so far as I myself am concerned, I think it is
+desirable that I should, with respect to part of the award, give some
+indications of the reasons which have induced the Court to arrive at
+its conclusion.  The part of the award to which I refer is that which
+relates to clauses 1 and 2 of the general rules which the
+Manufacturers' Association has submitted to the Court: '1. (<I>a</I>) It is
+the individual right of the employer to decide whom he shall employ or
+dismiss.  (<I>b</I>) It is the individual right of the workman to accept or
+refuse work from any employer.
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P288"></A>288}</SPAN>
+2. Employers or employés, either
+individually or through any organisation, shall not discriminate for or
+against any person because he is or is not a member of any
+organisation, neither shall there be any distinction between organised
+or non-organised labour; both shall work under the same conditions and
+receive equal pay for equal work.'  The Bootmakers' Union, in
+opposition to the rules so suggested, put forward the contention that
+employment should be limited to members of the Bootmakers' Union.  The
+Court, however, is not able to accept the extreme view which has been
+put forward by the Bootmakers' Union.  If it were accepted it might
+follow that an employer, who had work to do and who could not get Union
+men to do it, might have to bring his operations to a standstill.  The
+effect of it also would be that non-Union men would be absolutely
+prevented from earning their living in the workshops of the members of
+the Manufacturers' Association.  That, so far as I am concerned, seems
+to be going beyond what the Court ought to decree.  On the other hand,
+however, I am not prepared to accept absolutely clauses 1 and 2 in the
+form in which the Manufacturers' Association has put them forward.  The
+Court ought, I think, to comply with the intention of the Legislature
+as evidenced in the provisions of the Industrial Conciliation and
+Arbitration Act, and ought not to do anything which is calculated to
+destroy or weaken any industrial organisation.  The
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P289"></A>289}</SPAN>
+intention of
+the Act is indicated in its title&mdash;the Act is an Act to encourage the
+formation of Industrial Unions and Associations.  The Court, therefore,
+ought not to do anything which will tend to destroy or weaken an
+industrial association, or interfere with the manifest intention of the
+Legislature as disclosed by the Act.  We have this also, that for the
+last three years the shops of the Manufacturers' Association have been
+practically working as Union shops.  It is true that manufacturers
+say&mdash;probably with truth&mdash;that they were so worked because they could
+not help it, but the fact remains that they have been working in that
+way, and the proposed new rules, as put forward by the manufacturers,
+expressly reverse the previous mode of working.  We have this also,
+that the previous statement was a statement agreed to between the
+Manufacturers' Association and the Bootmakers' Union, the conference
+which followed the statement was between the Association and the Union,
+and the dispute now before the Court is between the Association and the
+Union.  It is only by means of Unions that labour can take advantage of
+the Act.  Under these circumstances, it seems to me not unreasonable
+that the Union should stipulate for special privileges to its members.
+The Union are fighting the battle, and it is fair that they should say
+that the results of the victory, so far as it is a victory, and has any
+beneficial results, should accrue to them, at any rate in the first
+instance.  They fight
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P290"></A>290}</SPAN>
+the battle for their members, and not for
+the sake of outside labour.  Under these circumstances it appears to me
+that it is quite reasonable that the members of the Union should have
+preference in employment; that members of the Union who are competent
+should not have to wait about while non-members of the Union are
+employed in the shops of the Boot Manufacturers' Association.  The
+Court, therefore, has modified Rules 1 and 2 in this direction.  I need
+hardly say that each case to be decided under this Act must depend on
+the particular circumstances attaching to it; that no one case can be
+treated as a precedent to any future case, and that because under the
+particular circumstances of a particular case, this Court has decided
+as it has decided, that is no reason why, under different or varying
+circumstances, a similar decision ought to be come to.  The Court in
+coming to its decision, takes into consideration not general principles
+so much as the special circumstances of each particular case."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The award, which modified the regulations on the lines laid down by the
+Court, is regarded as a great triumph by Trade Unionists, who are, not
+unnaturally, inclined to apply it as a precedent to all organised
+trades.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A possible exemplification of the efficacy of the Act occurred at the
+end of 1896, when the engineers employed in the Australian trade of the
+Union Steamship Company of New Zealand asked that
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P291"></A>291}</SPAN>
+their wages
+might be raised to the rate which had prevailed before the financial
+troubles.  They took advantage of the increased traffic caused by the
+holidays in order to emphasise their demands.  The engineers of the
+ships plying in New Zealand waters made a similar request, which was at
+once acceded to by the Company, but did not attempt to exert undue
+pressure.  I am not prepared to state that the difference in attitude
+was due to the Conciliation and Arbitration Act of the latter country,
+but the coincidence is calculated to encourage that belief.  The
+Managing Director of the Company (Mr. James Mills) told me that he was
+a hearty supporter of compulsion, not so much because he believed in
+arbitration, as because a strike or lock-out was obviated, and the
+parties to a dispute, often trivial at the outset, were brought
+together before they had been embittered by mutual recriminations.  Mr.
+Kingston, the Premier of South Australia, and the principal promoter of
+the South Australian Act, has written in a similar strain:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Conciliation Boards should be established in anticipation of the
+differences they are designed to prevent.  On the occasion of a great
+strike, the public cries out for conciliation.  Suggestions are
+received from all quarters recommending Conferences and Arbitration;
+but when war has been declared, and the disputants, as it were, are at
+each other's throats, each hopeful of ultimate success, they are seldom
+in the mood to listen to peacemakers.  If either party fears the result
+of the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P292"></A>292}</SPAN>
+contest, it may favour pacific counsels.  There is,
+however, a vehement probability that the stronger party will reject all
+overtures and insist on an unconditional surrender and all the
+advantages which victory can command.  The dispute is then determined,
+not on its merits, but by sheer strength.  The vanquished, smarting
+under a sense of defeat and injustice, capitulate only with the view to
+the early renewal of the struggle under more favourable
+circumstances."[<A NAME="chap10fn11text"></A><A HREF="#chap10fn11">11</A>]
+</P>
+
+<P>
+(5) A large proportion of the workmen of Australasia are convinced
+believers in Protection in the widest sense of the word.  As far as
+their opinion can be ascertained from the representation of Labour in
+Parliament, it is unanimous in Victoria, South Australia, and New
+Zealand.  In New South Wales, as has been seen, the Labour Members
+have, for the sake of solidarity, sunk the fiscal issue; but the
+majority are Protectionists, and have proposed that the question of the
+tariff should be settled for a fixed period by a plebiscite.  Thereby
+they believe that they will secure Protection and continue to be
+unfettered in their support of the more advanced party.  In Queensland,
+also, the Labour programme states that the fiscal issue is not to be
+regarded as a party question.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Protection, the Labour Members admit, raises prices to the consumer;
+but they contend that, if prices are high, employers can afford to pay
+high
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P293"></A>293}</SPAN>
+wages, and that the strength of Trades Unionism should be
+sufficient to enforce them.  To put their argument, such as it is, in a
+nutshell, it is better to have high prices and high wages than low
+prices combined with low wages and uncertain employment.  Then, as
+combination is expected to keep wages at a high point, it is obvious
+that it can be exercised most effectually over a small area, and we
+find the South Australian Labour Members voting against a resolution in
+favour of inter-provincial Free Trade, and Labour Members generally
+imbued with an actual, if not avowed, opposition to Federation, the
+first result of which would, it is believed, be the removal of fiscal
+barriers.  They profess, indeed, a desire for Federation on a
+democratic basis, but are, as far as their material interests are
+concerned, under the influence of a patriotism which is intensely
+provincial and does not take account of national, much less of
+imperial, considerations.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+If he lives under a protective tariff, the workman asks himself of what
+use is it to exclude the products of cheap labour if the cheap labourer
+be allowed to enter the country and compete with him on the spot.  The
+agitation against Asiatic immigrants has, I am prepared to admit, a
+wider basis, and rests largely upon physical repugnance and the fear
+that they might enter in such large numbers as to swamp the white
+population.  To that extent it appeals to the Free Traders of New South
+Wales, who have not been backward in their support of anti-Chinese
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P294"></A>294}</SPAN>
+legislation, and meets with the general support of Australians,
+as was shown by the unanimity with which the Premiers, assembled in
+Conference early in 1896, decided against participation in the
+Anglo-Japanese treaty and in favour of the extension to other coloured
+races of the restrictions placed upon the influx of the Chinese.  But,
+from the point of view of the working classes, antipathy is felt,
+principally, towards competitors who have a lower standard of comfort,
+and the difficulties placed in the way of Imperial statesmanship are
+persistently ignored.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Thence, by an easy transition of thought, the objection is extended to
+all labourers whose competition, through the stress of necessity, may
+tend to reduce wages.  The indigent Italian or German is equally
+undesirable, as are indigent Englishmen, who alone, among Europeans,
+are likely to arrive in large numbers.  Some of them, it is known, have
+been assisted to emigrate, by philanthropic agencies or otherwise,
+because they were unable to earn a livelihood at home.  South
+Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, and New Zealand seek to exclude paupers
+by the provision that the owner or master of a ship bringing persons
+who are likely to become a charge upon the public or any charitable
+institution, may be called upon to execute a bond to pay all expenses
+incurred within five years for the maintenance or support of such
+persons.  But the workman reserves his strongest condemnation for the
+proposal
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P295"></A>295}</SPAN>
+that he should be compelled to contribute, through
+taxation or Custom duties, to State-aided immigration, which increases
+the number of his competitors.  Herein is seen the cloven foot of the
+capitalist, which must be concealed, except in Queensland, where
+capital and labour are in open antagonism and the former is at present
+in the ascendant.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The ultimate development of protective ideas is found in the annual tax
+levied on foreign commercial travellers in New Zealand and in the
+desire to subject immigrants to physical as well as pecuniary and
+racial tests.  In New Zealand the Undesirable Immigrants Exclusion
+Bill, and the equally unsuccessful Public Health Bill of 1896, forbade
+masters of ships, under a heavy penalty, to introduce persons who are
+consumptive into the Provinces.  Consumption, it is known, has proved
+deadly to the Maoris, and, to an even greater extent, to half-castes.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It is not my intention to discuss the wisdom of the measures by which
+Australians seek to keep out Asiatics, indigent Europeans, criminals,
+and persons in ill-health.  The Imperial Government, of course, can
+have no objection to the imposition of pecuniary disqualifications
+which, being of general application, do not conflict with treaty
+obligations, though the policy is diametrically opposed to that which
+has prevailed hitherto in England.  I merely wish to point out the
+strength of Australasian opposition to unrestricted competition, and to
+express
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P296"></A>296}</SPAN>
+considerable sympathy with workmen who, having seen, or
+having learnt from their parents, how much misery and pauperism are to
+be found in older countries, are inhospitable to strangers and will do
+all in their power to prevent a fall to a similar level.  Many of them
+have noted the existence of destitution in Sydney and Melbourne, and
+dread the operation of any cause which would be likely to intensify it.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It cannot be denied that, as England is the principal competitor with
+native manufactures, and the only European country from which
+immigration on a large scale is likely to arise, some of the working
+men entertain a feeling of hostility towards the Mother Country.
+Ill-feeling is also promoted by the condition of financial dependence.
+Australians are inclined to complain, however unreasonably, that, had
+it not been for the temptations to which they were exposed by British
+capitalists, their Provinces could not have incurred the extravagant
+expenditure under which they are suffering and must continue to suffer.
+Australia, it has been said, owes to England merely the gratitude of
+the poor man toward his pawnbroker.  I should not have mentioned the
+existence of these views, which are confined to a small section of the
+community, were it not that they seem ominous for the future, when we
+remember the principal cause of the estrangement between the Eastern
+and Western States of America.  In spite of inquiries and
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P297"></A>297}</SPAN>
+observation, I have been unable to form an opinion as to the general
+attitude, which is being modified year by year by the increase in the
+proportion of native-born Australians.  At one extreme of the social
+scale are those who bask in the sunshine of titled vice-royalty, at the
+other those in whom the continual struggle for existence precludes the
+possibility of national, not to mention Imperial, ideals.  The large
+intermediate classes, which will control the future, appear to be
+animated by great sympathy with the English people.  I am led to
+believe that the boisterous loyalty of the past has been replaced by a
+deeper feeling of kinship, which was displayed in marked fashion on the
+occasion of the German Emperor's telegram after the Transvaal raid.  On
+the other hand, the growing independence of a young nation and the
+sentimental, but none the less real, objection to the term "Colonial,"
+which is regarded as a mark of inferiority, have convinced some
+Imperialistic Australians that the shortest road to Federation lies
+through separation.  Others, I have been surprised to note, do not
+consider that permanence of friendly relations necessarily implies
+continuance under one flag.  Englishmen will be disappointed to learn
+that there is little general appreciation, especially among native-born
+Australians, of the benefits accruing from the protection of the
+British fleet.  Never having known the horrors of war and removed from
+the area of great armaments, they are not aware of the dangers
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P298"></A>298}</SPAN>
+against which they are guarded.  In fact, many of them grudge the
+"contributions without representation" that are given towards the
+maintenance of the Australian squadron.  In foreign politics
+Australians are strongly Imperialistic, and will respect Great Britain
+as long as she maintains the dignity of her position.  In domestic
+affairs they resent the interference of the Colonial Office, rarely
+though it be exercised, and do not take sufficient account of
+international difficulties.  They are satisfied, moreover, with
+existing conditions, and do not manifest any desire for closer union
+with Great Britain at present, though any proposals emanating from the
+Imperial Government will be received with respectful attention and may
+meet with theoretical approval; and, while the recent Presidential
+election in the United States convinced them of the disadvantages of
+Republican institutions, they are prepared to wait upon the natural
+evolution of events, and believe that, in the meanwhile, we should
+strive, through the press, travel, and otherwise, to become better
+acquainted with each other's ideas and aspirations, and to correct many
+of the wrong impressions which prevail both in Australia and Great
+Britain.  This policy is not heroic but practical, especially if it
+could be accompanied by a greater identification of Australia with the
+Empire.  If a few hundred Australians could be recruited, in spite of
+the lowness of the pay, for service in the Army and Navy, they would, I
+am convinced, upon
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P299"></A>299}</SPAN>
+their return, do much to broaden the minds of
+their countrymen.  Australia and New Zealand, it must be remembered,
+are isolated from the rest of the world.  Again, some of the vacancies
+in the Indian Civil Service might be filled by examinations held in
+Australia simultaneously with those in England.  These suggestions,
+which could be amplified and extended by men of greater experience, may
+be regarded as trivial and unimportant, but I am confident that they
+indicate the direction in which Englishmen can most effectually seek to
+retain the affections of their Australasian kinsfolk.  The problems of
+Australian Federation will tax all the resources of statesmanship, and
+must, in my opinion, be solved before there can be any profitable
+discussion of modified and closer relations with the Mother Country.
+It seems to me that the Victorian or Queenslander must realise that he
+is an Australian before he can be expected to appreciate the meaning of
+the words, "Civis Britannicus Sum."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The subject of Australian Federation has been discussed at length in a
+preceding chapter.  I need only point out that politicians are bound to
+recognise three lines of severance: the artificial boundaries between
+one Province and another, the diversity of opinions engendered by
+differences of climate, as exemplified principally in the attitude in
+regard to Polynesian labour, and the divergence of development between
+the denizens of towns and
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P300"></A>300}</SPAN>
+the more settled areas and those who
+are struggling against the inclemencies of nature in the back country.
+I felt, and others have chronicled a similar impression, that I had
+entered into a different country when I travelled in the Western Downs
+of Queensland.  I found myself, if I may generalise from a limited
+experience of shearers, among a class of men who are thoroughly honest
+but absolutely narrow-minded and interested only in matters which
+concern their means of livelihood.  They form their opinions from an
+advanced organ of labour, which is their principal, if not only,
+literature, and even such of them as are emigrants from Great Britain
+have little knowledge of the leading events of recent years.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The urban population, of course, is in a different position, and is
+kept by the newspapers in touch with local and Imperial affairs.  Apart
+from the causes of the aggregation of large centres which have been
+discussed in the opening pages of this chapter, and may be supplemented
+by the observations of Sir Charles Dilke,[<A NAME="chap10fn12text"></A><A HREF="#chap10fn12">12</A>] it may be noted, as a
+subsidiary influence, that a high standard of comfort makes people
+unwilling to face the hardship of the bush, that squatters are inclined
+to place their sons in urban professions, and that education turns out
+clerks rather than manual labourers.  But the dwellers in towns are, on
+the whole, comfortably situated; even Melbourne and Sydney do not
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P301"></A>301}</SPAN>
+show an average of more than 2.73 and 4.87 persons to the acre; but
+these figures include the suburbs, and must be amended if the
+metropolis proper is solely regarded.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But, in spite of this consideration, the working classes of Australasia
+have little to complain of.  Destitution exists, as is inevitable under
+present conditions, but many workers, especially in Victoria, are
+owners of their homes, and all the younger men have had the benefit of
+a general system of national education and of the favourable situation
+of their class.  This is due partly to the position attained, and not
+subsequently lost, when the rush of men to the goldfields produced a
+scarcity of labour; partly to the fact which has already been noted,
+that the men who emigrated from Great Britain were imbued with the
+spirit which qualified them to assert themselves.  Hitherto they have
+not proved themselves unworthy of their nationality.  They are
+uniformly courteous, in my experience, to those who are civil to them,
+and do not expect the servility of older countries, and are the most
+law-abiding people in the world.  On a Saturday night in Coolgardie I
+found things to be as quiet as in a small country town in England.  The
+larrikinism of Melbourne and Sydney has been much exaggerated, and does
+not extend beyond the capitals; in the former city, at the annual
+festival which marks the recurrence of the Melbourne Cup, the behaviour
+of the crowd is such
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P302"></A>302}</SPAN>
+as would be a credit to any country.  But
+Australians and New Zealanders, as any visitor cannot but note, take
+their pleasures sadly, and have transplanted the seriousness of a
+Northern land to a climate which should lend itself to merriment and
+laughter.  How far their character has been modified I am not prepared
+to say: on the one hand, employment is not subject to seasonal
+interruptions; on the other, the pressure of cold upon industry is
+entirely wanting.  The climate has, however, in spite of the
+denunciations of the Prohibitionists, undoubtedly conduced to temperate
+habits.  Time after time did I notice, during my travels, that all the
+company were drinking tea, and I have been assured that shearers and
+other labourers no longer waste their earnings upon drink.  The
+temperance of the younger generation has also been promoted by the
+spread of education and by the love of athletics; which necessitates
+physical soundness.  Speaking generally and responsibly, the working
+classes, which form the backbone of every country, though they pay high
+rent, earn high wages, and, as they do not pay high prices for their
+food or clothing, are enabled to become self-respecting members of a
+self-respecting community.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P CLASS="footnote">
+<A NAME="chap10fn1"></A>
+[<A HREF="#chap10fn1text">1</A>] August 8, 1896.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="footnote">
+<A NAME="chap10fn2"></A>
+[<A HREF="#chap10fn2text">2</A>] 1893, vol. ii. pp. 456, 457.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="footnote">
+<A NAME="chap10fn3"></A>
+[<A HREF="#chap10fn3text">3</A>] July 25, 1896.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="footnote">
+<A NAME="chap10fn4"></A>
+[<A HREF="#chap10fn4text">4</A>] "A Statistical Account of the Seven Colonies of Australasia,
+1895-6," by T. A. Coghlan, p. 345.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="footnote">
+<A NAME="chap10fn5"></A>
+[<A HREF="#chap10fn5text">5</A>] <I>Ibid.</I>, p. 359.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="footnote">
+<A NAME="chap10fn6"></A>
+[<A HREF="#chap10fn6text">6</A>] "A Statistical Account of the Seven Colonies of Australasia,
+1895-6," p. 357.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="footnote">
+<A NAME="chap10fn7"></A>
+[<A HREF="#chap10fn7text">7</A>] Victorian Year Book, 1894, p. 648.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="footnote">
+<A NAME="chap10fn8"></A>
+[<A HREF="#chap10fn8text">8</A>] Parliamentary Debates of New Zealand, vol. 96, p. 901.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="footnote">
+<A NAME="chap10fn9"></A>
+[<A HREF="#chap10fn9text">9</A>] <I>New Zealand Times</I>, January I, 1897.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="footnote">
+<A NAME="chap10fn10"></A>
+[<A HREF="#chap10fn10text">10</A>] <I>Australasian Review of Reviews</I>, September, 1896.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="footnote">
+<A NAME="chap10fn11"></A>
+[<A HREF="#chap10fn11text">11</A>] <I>Australasian Review of Reviews</I>, August 20, 1894.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="footnote">
+<A NAME="chap10fn12"></A>
+[<A HREF="#chap10fn12text">12</A>] "Problems of Greater Britain," vol. ii. pp. 246-8.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap11"></A>
+
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P303"></A>303}</SPAN>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+XI
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+<I>A VISIT TO THE COOLGARDIE GOLDFIELDS IN MARCH</I>, 1896.
+</H3>
+
+<P>
+I sailed from Marseilles for Australia by one of the large steamers of
+the Messageries Maritimes Company.  Among my fellow travellers was a
+mining expert, bound for the Western Australian goldfields, who
+proposed that I should accompany him, and said that, as he knew the
+leading people on the fields, he would be able to render my trip
+agreeable.  I gladly accepted his offer, and have since had cause to
+consider that I was most fortunate, as I believe that some such
+introduction as mine is indispensable.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The large mail steamers all touch Western Australia at Albany, distant
+340 miles from Perth and 570 miles from Coolgardie.  The Government are
+carrying out very extensive harbour works at Fremantle, the port of
+Perth, in the hope of inducing the mail steamers to call there, and
+they believe that, when a railway line has been constructed between
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P304"></A>304}</SPAN>
+Perth and Adelaide, a line which must eventually be built, though
+perhaps not for many years, Fremantle will become a place of great
+importance, as, beyond being the shipping port for the produce of the
+Coolgardie goldfields, it will be the point of arrival and departure of
+the mails between Great Britain and all the Australian Provinces.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+We reached Albany, which is 200 miles further from Coolgardie than
+Fremantle, late in the evening, and, having missed by a few hours the
+direct train which runs three times a week to Perth, we spent the night
+at a third-rate hotel, unable to sleep owing to the attacks of the
+mosquitoes, and left by train the next morning after a breakfast
+consisting of coarse meat and impossible eggs.  We soon lost sight of
+the bay of Albany, and, plunging into the bush, travelled through it
+the whole day.  The heat was overpowering, as we were still almost at
+the height of summer.  In the afternoon a stranger came into the
+compartment and enlivened us with anecdotes of his experiences at an
+outlying station.  In several stories he referred to actions which
+showed him to have behaved in the most ruthlessly cruel manner towards
+the aborigines.  To quote one among many: A young native servant in his
+employment came to believe that, owing to some unintentional
+contravention of the religious observances of his people, he was doomed
+to die within three days; so he lay on his back and refused to take
+food.  As he was a good workman,
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P305"></A>305}</SPAN>
+his master first tried to induce
+him to rise, then thrashed him with all his might, and afterwards had
+him dragged along the ground by his hair until he was so exhausted that
+he came unconscious.  It is needless to add that, on his recovery, the
+man had been cured of his obstinacy.  Such conduct, I am convinced, is
+most exceptional.  All the Australasian Governments are actuated by a
+sincere desire to protect the aborigines, as are the vast majority of
+the inhabitants.  But, as long as many districts are sparsely settled,
+isolated cases of barbarous cruelty must continue to occur.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+After thirteen hours of travel we reached Beverley, where we were
+obliged to spend the night, and again suffered from bad accommodation,
+indifferent food, and mosquitoes.  A journey of five hours on the
+following morning took us to Perth, where we proposed to spend a few
+days.  My companion noticed a great difference in the appearance of the
+town; a few years ago, he told me, it was lifeless and dull, strangers
+rarely arrived, trade was stagnant, and the whole place wore an air of
+listlessness.  The rapid change must be put down entirely to the
+success of the goldfields, even allowing full credit to the Government
+for their efforts to develop all the resources of the country.  The
+population of the Province has doubled during the last five years; the
+population of Perth has more than doubled, and large business firms
+have established branches there.  But great though its progress has
+been, it is hard to
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P306"></A>306}</SPAN>
+realise that this place, which is not larger
+than an English country town, is the capital and seat of government of
+a Province of nearly a million square miles, which possesses 1,200
+miles of railway and goldfields of enormous extent, which seem likely
+to take rank among the most productive of the world.  Perth is
+picturesquely situated on the Swan River, and should increase largely
+beyond its present dimensions.  Handsome brick buildings alternate even
+in the principal thoroughfares with miserable shanties which are bound
+soon to disappear.  In the evening the streets present a scene of great
+animation, as hundreds of people may be seen walking up and down,
+eagerly discussing the mining news, which always presents some feature
+of interest.  Men gather together in small groups, whispering weighty
+secrets which may or may not be intended for the benefit of their
+hearers, for in Perth, as elsewhere, we hear that large fortunes have
+been made through the credulity and folly of the too eager investor.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At Perth I made several purchases, all of which were of use to me: a
+pair of dark blue spectacles with perforated sides, as a protection
+against the dust and sun, a fly-net and a water-bag.  The latter, made
+of canvas, in order that its contents may be cooled by evaporation, is
+carried by all travellers who distrust the quality of the water which
+they are likely to obtain at wayside stations.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At the time of my visit to the goldfields, the
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P307"></A>307}</SPAN>
+railway terminated
+at Bullabulling, some eighteen miles from Coolgardie.  The journey from
+Perth to Coolgardie was a matter of twenty-eight hours.  Leaving in the
+afternoon, we arrived the next morning at Southern Cross, the centre of
+a mining district which has been eclipsed by those further east.  We
+had breakfast at an unpretentious little hotel, the landlady of which
+harrowed us by accounts of the amount of typhoid fever prevalent in the
+place.  Her own servant was ill, several deaths had recently occurred,
+and she had heard the undertaker in the early morning again at work
+upon a coffin.  We continued our journey by the contractor's train,
+covering one hundred miles in seven hours and passing through scenery
+which became terribly wearisome from its dreary monotony.  So far we
+had travelled comfortably enough, but the last eighteen miles by coach
+were more tiring than the whole of the rest of the journey.  The road
+was inches deep in dust and full of holes, and we ploughed our way
+along it at the rate of five miles an hour, a pace which was not
+maintained when darkness set in and the driver could no longer pick his
+way in the best track, but continually jolted us in the deep ruts and
+bumped the coach against tree stumps.  Upon our arrival at Coolgardie,
+we found a difficulty in obtaining rooms; at the principal hotel no
+accommodation of any kind was to be had; at another all the rooms were
+occupied, but we were offered a shake-down which we thought
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P308"></A>308}</SPAN>
+it
+wise to accept.  We learnt the next day that twenty-three extra beds
+had been made up, in the drawing-room, on the balcony, in fact at every
+available spot, and that the rush had continued for more than a year.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The following morning I looked out upon a sandy track which represents
+the main street of Coolgardie.  It was already a scene of some
+animation; camels, driven by Afghans, were carrying their heavy burdens
+in and out of the town; aborigines, with their wives and children, in
+all their degraded ugliness, were passing to and fro; and bustling
+merchants and clerks were hurrying past on bicycles to their various
+occupations.  The houses of Coolgardie are built of a framework of
+wood, covered with a sheeting of galvanised iron.  The town is entirely
+dependent for all its supplies on the outside world, as the country,
+within a radius of at least one hundred miles, will produce food for
+neither man nor beast.  The question of water supply, even for domestic
+purposes, was until recently a great difficulty; but several fresh
+water wells have been sunk which, together with the output of numerous
+condensers, give an ample supply for the town.  The rainfall is very
+small, and too irregular to be depended upon.  The sky is often
+overcast for weeks and rain threatens daily, but the clouds gradually
+disperse and leave the land as parched as before.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Strolling out of the town we found ourselves
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P309"></A>309}</SPAN>
+on the outskirts of
+a mining district.  As far as the eye could see, the country was
+studded with tents, mining shafts, and condensers, and the soil was
+everywhere raised in irregular heaps.  For miles around every sod of
+earth has been turned over and put through a blower in the search for
+the alluvial gold which has been found there in great quantities.  We
+came upon an old man who said that the land upon which he was working
+had not been thoroughly sifted, and showed us a few grains of gold
+which he had obtained as the result of his labours.  A little further
+on we came to some mines, and my companion pointed out and explained to
+me the machinery by which the gold is separated from the stone.  A
+return of an ounce of gold to a ton of quartz is, speaking generally,
+regarded as satisfactory, but many other factors have to be weighed in
+the consideration of the question whether a mine is likely to repay the
+outlay upon it, such as the width and probable extent of the reef, and
+the possibility of obtaining an adequate amount of water for working
+the machinery.  I gathered that there could be no doubt as to the
+richness of the reefs on several of the goldfields of Western
+Australia, but that, on most of them, the great difficulty has been,
+and still is, the inadequacy of the water supply.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+We did not remain long at Coolgardie, but continued our journey to
+Kalgoorlie, a small township twenty-four miles from Coolgardie and
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P310"></A>310}</SPAN>
+the centre of the field where my companion had to do most of his
+work as a mining expert.  We travelled by coach in the early morning
+and had a further experience of the discomforts of a rough and heavy
+track.  Kalgoorlie was a repetition of Coolgardie, on a smaller scale.
+Both are the creation of the last few years and must not be judged by
+too high a standard.  The town authorities have done their best to
+procure good sanitary conditions and have been aided by the Government,
+who give, as a subsidy to municipalities, one pound for every pound
+raised from general rates, and have also assisted them in the erection
+and maintenance of hospitals; but the lack of funds has retarded
+improvements which the authorities have been anxious to carry out.  We
+arrived at Kalgoorlie on a Sunday, and noticed that the inhabitants,
+most of whom are adults, bachelors or married men separated from their
+wives and families, were loitering about with every appearance of utter
+boredom.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+From the town we walked to one of the neighbouring camps where my
+companion had acquaintances.  These camps offer a much pleasanter life
+than that in the towns.  Each forms in itself a small settlement of
+large canvas tents fitted up by the residents, who have a common mess
+and every opportunity of leading a sociable life.  At the camp which we
+visited we found several of the men disporting themselves in hammocks
+in an arbour made of
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P311"></A>311}</SPAN>
+closely plaited branches of trees, which
+kept off the heat of the sun and admitted a cool current of air.  In
+the course of conversation it was arranged that we should visit several
+of the mines on the following day.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In the morning we visited a mine upon which little had, so far, been
+done.  We were placed at the top of the shaft in a small cage, by which
+we were let down to a depth of a hundred feet.  Then we were led along
+a labyrinth of passages from which my companions gathered the direction
+and extent of the reef, and we were shown various points at which the
+gold, which was of a coarse character, could clearly be seen in the
+stone.  In the afternoon we visited another mine which was of more
+interest to me.  A shaft had been sunk to a depth of two hundred feet,
+at which level water had been struck, and the miners were busily at
+work.  Again we were let down in a cage, and wandered through seemingly
+endless passages, which reminded me, in my ignorance, of parts of the
+catacombs at Rome, as nothing appeared to the unsophisticated eye but
+the bare rock.  The gold was very fine, and only visible to us when the
+foreman struck off a flake and pointed it out to us glistening in
+minute particles in the quartz.  He told me that ordinary miners earned
+£3 10s. a week, those working in the water at the low level £4, but
+that they could not live on less than £2, and, even so, only in the
+roughest way.  The life is, however, not an unhealthy one,
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P312"></A>312}</SPAN>
+as the
+mines are, to judge from those that I visited, well ventilated.  The
+mine and other surrounding properties have created a thriving
+settlement; well-built offices have been erected, hundreds of men are
+employed, and the ear is continually greeted by the din of machinery.
+In the evening we returned to Kalgoorlie and heard, near our hotel, a
+service held by the Salvation Army in the centre of the street.  A
+large group of loungers stood around, moved neither to ribaldry nor
+attention, but apparently listening in complete indifference to the
+passionate pleadings of the preachers.  Some yards away a mining agent
+was doing a brisk business in shares.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A few days later I retraced my steps to Coolgardie, and thence to
+Perth.  On the homeward journey I had experiences of much discomfort.
+On the coach between Coolgardie and Bullabulling, I managed, as on the
+previous occasion, by a private arrangement with the driver, to secure
+the box-seat, in order to be at an elevation from the dust.  But the
+wind was behind us, and we were soon enveloped in such a cloud of dust
+that it was often impossible to see the leaders, and, as there is no
+rule of the road, we had narrow escapes of colliding with teams
+travelling in the opposite direction.  Upon our arrival at
+Bullabulling, we found that the contractor's train contained only one
+passenger carriage, which was already crowded; so several of us climbed
+on an open luggage truck and made ourselves tolerably
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P313"></A>313}</SPAN>
+comfortable, though we suffered from the blazing heat of the mid-day
+sun.  My neighbour was a man who had had a most varied career.  In his
+youth he had managed a small hosiery shop in an English Midland town;
+then, as his health was bad, he had emigrated to Victoria, where he had
+unsuccessfully carried on grazing operations.  He had been attracted to
+Western Australia by the discoveries of gold, and had bought a waggon
+and team of horses, with which he had carried goods between Southern
+Cross and Coolgardie before the construction of the railway.  He told
+me that the life had been very hard, and pointed out to me portions of
+the road which were so heavy that a progress of ten miles was regarded
+as a satisfactory day's work.  He was then on his way to revisit the
+"old country," after an absence of five years.  At Southern Cross we
+changed into the Government train, and I travelled through the night in
+a compartment with four others, two of whom were ill, one of them
+suffering from some form of ophthalmia which caused him excruciating
+pain and kept him the whole time awake.  None of us obtained much
+sleep, and we were glad to reach Perth early next morning.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Thus ended my trip to the goldfields, upon which I look back with
+considerable satisfaction in spite of the obvious discomforts which it
+entailed.  I found that all with whom I came in contact in Western
+Australia, and, I might add, in Australasia, whether they were
+custom-house officials, railway employés,
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P314"></A>314}</SPAN>
+hotel proprietors or
+servants, had done their best to be obliging.  Of the kindly
+hospitality of all whom I met on the goldfields I cannot speak in
+sufficiently high terms.  They were uniformly straightforward,
+generous, energetic men, who gave me the impression of a good moral
+standard.  I do not speak of the adventurers who congregate in any
+place where money can be made rapidly by unscrupulous methods, but of
+the managers, foremen and others, who are directly engaged in the
+development of the mines.  The great curse of the mining districts, and
+also, to some extent, of Perth, is the absence of sufficient means of
+recreation.  This state of things may be inevitable in the case of
+towns of very recent growth, but its result is, that men who have
+worked all day, requiring some form of diversion, find it in drink.
+But, in spite of the large consumption of liquor, drunkenness is rare
+and rowdiness almost unknown.  At Coolgardie on a Saturday evening the
+streets were perfectly quiet; beyond some discordant strains of music,
+scarcely a sound was to be heard.  In spite of one or two recent
+burglaries, life and property are scarcely less safe than in England.
+A bank manager who travelled with me from Kalgoorlie told me that, in
+starting a new branch of his bank at an outlying township, he had been
+obliged at first to live in, and keep his money in, a tent, but that on
+no occasion had he been menaced by the slightest attempt at robbery.  I
+shall long remember
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P315"></A>315}</SPAN>
+the sight of townships which have sprung up
+where a few years ago was nothing but bush, and promise to become the
+scene of great industrial activity, and my intercourse with some of the
+pioneers of the mining movement, men who have penetrated hundreds of
+miles into the interior of the country, have endured for years the
+terrible hardships of life in the bush, and have, by their untiring
+exertions, seconded by the influx of capital following upon their
+success, done much to raise Western Australia to a prominent position
+among the Provinces of the Southern Hemisphere.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="index"></A>
+
+<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P317"></A>317}</SPAN>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+INDEX
+</H3>
+
+<BR>
+
+<H3>
+A
+</H3>
+
+<PRE>
+Aborigines:
+  Constitution Bill for establishing Federation, special
+    provisions for, <A HREF="#P220">220</A>
+  Maoris of New Zealand [see that title]
+  Protection of, <A HREF="#P158">158</A>, <A HREF="#P305">305</A>
+  Right of possession not recognised in Tasmania and Australia, <A HREF="#P85">85</A>
+
+Absentee Tax, assessment of in:
+  New Zealand, <A HREF="#P91">91</A>
+  South Australia, <A HREF="#P19">19</A>
+
+Adelaide, Agricultural Bureau and Agricultural College in, <A HREF="#P20">20</A>, <A HREF="#P21">21</A>
+
+Adult Suffrage:
+  Lower Houses of South Australia and New Zealand elected on
+    basis of, <A HREF="#P2">2</A>, <A HREF="#P192">192</A>
+  Liquor legislation in New Zealand, Local Option and Licensing
+    Committee polls placed on basis of, <A HREF="#P198">198</A>
+
+Advances to Settlers Act, New Zealand, <A HREF="#P99">99</A>, <A HREF="#P118">118</A>
+
+Agricultural Bureau and Agricultural College, Adelaide, <A HREF="#P20">20</A>, <A HREF="#P21">21</A>
+
+Arbitration and conciliation in industrial disputes:
+  New South Wales, <A HREF="#P281">281</A>
+  New Zealand Act, <A HREF="#P283">283</A>
+    Awards under, <A HREF="#P286">286</A>
+  Queensland, <A HREF="#P76">76</A>, <A HREF="#P282">282</A>
+  South Australian Act, <A HREF="#P24">24</A>, <A HREF="#P283">283</A>
+
+Assisted Schools Abolition Act, <A HREF="#P159">159</A>
+
+Australasian Federation Enabling Act:
+  Queensland Bill, rejection of, <A HREF="#P235">235</A>
+  Victorian Act, provisions of, <A HREF="#P230">230</A>
+  Western Australian Act, provisions of, <A HREF="#P233">233</A>
+
+Australasians, character of, <A HREF="#P302">302</A>
+</PRE>
+
+
+<H3>
+B
+</H3>
+
+<PRE>
+Batchelor, Mr. E. L., <A HREF="#P5">5</A>
+  Plebiscite, Bill for establishing introduced by, <A HREF="#P29">29</A>
+
+Benevolent asylums for aged and incapable persons, <A HREF="#P255">255</A>
+
+Betting and gaming, suppression of:
+  New Zealand, female voters in favour of, <A HREF="#P196">196</A>
+  Tasmania, Parliamentary measures for, <A HREF="#P170">170</A>
+
+Board of Land Purchase Commissioners, New Zealand, <A HREF="#P97">97</A>
+
+Braddon, Right Hon. Sir E., <A HREF="#P177">177</A>
+
+British capital in Australia:
+  Co-operative enterprise due to, <A HREF="#P248">248</A>
+  Dependence on, causing ill-feeling towards Great Britain, <A HREF="#P296">296</A>
+  Financial activity arising from, <A HREF="#P246">246</A>
+
+British fleet's protection, Australians' appreciation of, <A HREF="#P297">297</A>
+
+Broken Hill, strike of 1891, 1892, <A HREF="#P281">281</A>
+
+Building societies, Australian labouring classes availing themselves
+of, <A HREF="#P260">260</A>
+
+Byrnes, Hon. T. J., <A HREF="#P75">75</A>
+</PRE>
+
+
+<H3>
+C
+</H3>
+
+<PRE>
+C.D. Act, Repeal of, advocated by female voters in New Zealand, <A HREF="#P196">196</A>
+
+"Caucus" meetings of New South Wales Labour Party, <A HREF="#P51">51</A>
+
+Central and Northern Queensland's separation from the South [see title
+Queensland]
+
+Character of Australasians, <A HREF="#P302">302</A>
+
+Charitable Aid expenditure for 1896, New Zealand, <A HREF="#P116">116</A>
+
+Chataway, Mr. J. V., <A HREF="#P66">66</A>
+
+Cheviot Estate purchased by New Zealand Government, <A HREF="#P93">93</A>
+
+Chinese:
+  Anti-Chinese legislation supported by Australasians, <A HREF="#P293">293</A>
+  Cabinet-making in Victoria, Chinese competition, <A HREF="#P136">136</A>
+  Immigration Act of 1887 limiting number of Chinese
+    immigrants to Tasmania, <A HREF="#P170">170</A>
+
+Christchurch, New Zealand, boot manufacturers' dispute, Arbitration
+Courts decision, <A HREF="#P286">286</A>
+
+Churches, Western Australia, grants to, abolition of, <A HREF="#P159">159</A>
+
+Civil Service, New South Wales:
+  Public Service Board for investigation of all departments, <A HREF="#P44">44</A>
+  Royal Commission inquiry, <A HREF="#P43">43</A>
+
+"Civis Brittanicus Sum," necessity of realising Australian unity before
+appreciating, <A HREF="#P299">299</A>
+
+Cockburn, Hon. Dr., Minister of Education and Agriculture in South
+Australia, <A HREF="#P3">3</A>, <A HREF="#P22">22</A>, <A HREF="#P26">26</A>, <A HREF="#P28">28</A>
+
+"Colonial," objection to term, <A HREF="#P297">297</A>
+
+Colonial Office, Australians' resenting interference of, <A HREF="#P298">298</A>
+
+Conciliation and arbitration in industrial disputes [see title
+Arbitration and Conciliation]
+
+Conflicts between Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council:
+  Causes of contention:
+    New South Wales:
+      Rejection of Taxation Bill, <A HREF="#P36">36</A>
+    Tasmania:
+      Female Suffrage Bill, <A HREF="#P177">177</A>
+      Public Works Expenditure, <A HREF="#P178">178</A>
+    Victoria:
+      Additional Taxation, <A HREF="#P124">124</A>
+      Electoral Bill, <A HREF="#P125">125</A>, <A HREF="#P126">126</A>
+      Protective Tariff, <A HREF="#P123">123</A>
+      Right of selection upon pastoral properties, <A HREF="#P123">123</A>
+  Proposals for remedying, <A HREF="#P273">273-276</A>
+    New South Wales, <A HREF="#P130">130</A>
+    New Zealand--Proposed joint session of the two Houses, <A HREF="#P131">131</A>
+    South Australia--Dissolution of both Houses, success of, <A HREF="#P178">178</A>
+    Tasmania--Plebiscite, <A HREF="#P180">180</A>
+    Victoria:
+      Dissolution of both Houses, <A HREF="#P131">131</A>
+      Royal Commission's recommendations, <A HREF="#P129">129</A>
+  Town and country antagonism, reflex of antagonism
+    between the two Houses, <A HREF="#P131">131</A>
+  Ultimate appeal, absence of, <A HREF="#P129">129</A>
+
+Consolidated Goldfields Company dispute, New Zealand, <A HREF="#P286">286</A>
+
+Constitution Bill for establishing "the Commonwealth of Australia,"
+1891, <A HREF="#P218">218</A>
+  Governor-General's Executive authority, <A HREF="#P219">219</A>, <A HREF="#P224">224</A>
+  Failure of Bill, <A HREF="#P227">227</A>
+  Money Bills, authority of Senate with regard to, <A HREF="#P222">222</A>
+  Parliament of Commonwealth:
+    Aboriginals, special provisions for, <A HREF="#P220">220</A>
+  Postal and telegraph services, &amp;c., to be exclusively managed by, <A HREF="#P221">221</A>
+  Revenue and expenditure, regulations for, <A HREF="#P221">221</A>
+  Salary of members, <A HREF="#P220">220</A>
+  Senate, composition of, <A HREF="#P219">219</A>
+  States:
+    Provinces to be so called, <A HREF="#P219">219</A>
+    Powers of, under Commonwealth, <A HREF="#P226">226</A>
+  Supreme Court of Appeal, <A HREF="#P225">225</A>
+  Tariff, uniform, to be imposed, <A HREF="#P222">222</A>
+  Territories surrendered by states, administration of, <A HREF="#P221">221</A>
+
+Constitution Bill for establishing "the Commonwealth of Australia,"
+1897, draft of, reprint from Melbourne <I>Argus</I>, <A HREF="#P237">237</A>
+
+Consumptive persons, Bills forbidding immigration of, <A HREF="#P295">295</A>
+
+Continuity of representation in Australian Houses of Assembly, means of
+obtaining, <A HREF="#P276">276</A>
+
+Coolgardie Goldfields:
+  Camp settlements, <A HREF="#P310">310</A>
+  Coolgardie town, <A HREF="#P308">308</A>
+  Drunkenness and rowdiness, absence of, <A HREF="#P314">314</A>
+  Earnings of the miners, <A HREF="#P311">311</A>
+  Kalgoorlie, <A HREF="#P309">309</A>
+  Mines, description of, <A HREF="#P311">311</A>
+  Perth to Coolgardie, discomfort of journey from, <A HREF="#P307">307</A>
+  Population of Western Australia increasing since discovery of, <A HREF="#P305">305</A>
+  Salvation Army services, <A HREF="#P312">312</A>
+  Waterworks for supplying water from a distance, <A HREF="#P164">164</A>
+
+Coolies [see title Kanakas]
+
+Co-operative construction of Public Works, New Zealand, <A HREF="#P105">105</A>
+
+Crown Lands:
+  New South Wales, Act of 1884, means of diminishing political
+    pressure in, <A HREF="#P37">37</A>
+  New Zealand:
+    Local land boards for disposal of, <A HREF="#P117">117</A>
+    Sale of, <A HREF="#P93">93</A>
+  Western Australia--mining rights on acquiring, <A HREF="#P165">165</A>
+</PRE>
+
+
+<H3>
+D
+</H3>
+
+<PRE>
+Darling Downs, Queensland, pastoral industries, success of, <A HREF="#P70">70</A>, <A HREF="#P71">71</A>
+
+Darling, Ex-Governor, proposed grant to, cause of conflict between
+Legislative Council and Assembly in Victoria, <A HREF="#P123">123</A>
+
+Death Duties, graduated, assessment of in Australia, <A HREF="#P278">278</A>
+
+Democratic Government established in New South Wales, <A HREF="#P48">48</A>
+
+Democratic tendency:
+  Gold, discovery of in Australia, result of, <A HREF="#P244">244</A>
+  South Australian democratic tendency due to Constitution, <A HREF="#P2">2</A>
+
+Denominational Schools, Western Australia, termination of grants, <A HREF="#P159">159</A>
+
+Dibbs, Sir George, <A HREF="#P36">36</A>, <A HREF="#P50">50</A>
+
+Dilke, Sir Charles, <A HREF="#P300">300</A>
+
+Domestic servants' weekly half-holiday, Bill for establishing in New
+Zealand, <A HREF="#P203">203</A>
+
+Drunkenness and rowdiness, absence of among Coolgardie miners, <A HREF="#P314">314</A>
+
+Duffy, Sir Charles Gavan, <A HREF="#P214">214</A>
+</PRE>
+
+
+<H3>
+E
+</H3>
+
+<PRE>
+Eastern Railway, Western Australia, course of, <A HREF="#P162">162</A>
+
+Ecclesiastical Grants, Western Australia, Abolition Act of 1895, <A HREF="#P159">159</A>
+
+Education:
+  South Australia:
+    Primary and Religious Education in, alterations proposed,
+      plebiscite taken on, <A HREF="#P29">29</A>, <A HREF="#P274">274</A>
+    Religious instruction in schools, <A HREF="#P29">29</A>
+    Secular character of, effect on working classes, <A HREF="#P32">32</A>
+    State system of in Australasia, <A HREF="#P256">256</A>
+    Western Australia--Assisted Schools Abolition Act, <A HREF="#P159">159</A>
+
+Elective Executive:
+  New Zealand Bill, <A HREF="#P277">277</A>
+  South Australia, substitution of, advocated, <A HREF="#P26">26</A>
+
+Electoral Legislation:
+  Queensland--Contingent vote, <A HREF="#P176">176</A>
+  Tasmania--Modification of Hare's System of Voting, <A HREF="#P173">173</A>
+  Victoria--Electoral Bill, cause of conflict between
+    Legislative Council and Assembly, <A HREF="#P122">122</A>
+
+Electoral Reform Policy:
+  New South Wales Labour Party, <A HREF="#P48">48</A>, <A HREF="#P49">49</A>
+  Queensland Labour Party, <A HREF="#P74">74</A>
+
+Expenditure [see title Revenue and Expenditure]
+
+Export [see title Produce and Export Department].
+</PRE>
+
+
+<H3>
+F
+</H3>
+
+<PRE>
+Factories and Shops Acts, Victoria:
+  Cabinet-making, Chinese competition, <A HREF="#P136">136</A>
+  Definition of factory, amendments, <A HREF="#P133">133</A>, <A HREF="#P139">139</A>
+  Protection of workers in factories, <A HREF="#P137">137</A>, <A HREF="#P140">140</A>
+  Royal Commission of Inquiry into working of the Act of 1890, <A HREF="#P134">134</A>
+  Shops, hours of closing, <A HREF="#P140">140</A>
+  Tailoresses' Union, formation of, <A HREF="#P135">135</A>
+  Wage Boards, appointment of, <A HREF="#P138">138</A>
+
+Factories and workshops in Queensland, Royal Commission of Inquiry
+into, <A HREF="#P77">77</A>
+
+Fair Rent Bill, New Zealand, <A HREF="#P103">103</A>
+
+Family Home Protection, New Zealand, Act of 1895, <A HREF="#P101">101</A>
+
+Federal Council:
+  Abstention of New South Wales and New Zealand, from, <A HREF="#P216">216</A>
+  Act of 1885 establishing, <A HREF="#P215">215</A>
+  Permissive character of, <A HREF="#P216">216</A>
+  Status of, effect of Federation agitation on, <A HREF="#P229">229</A>
+  Utility of, causes tending to minimise, <A HREF="#P217">217</A>
+
+Federation of Australasian Provinces:
+  Artificial boundaries between the provinces, <A HREF="#P299">299</A>
+  Australasian Federation Enabling Act [see that title]
+  Benefits of, <A HREF="#P235">235</A>
+  Climatic differences engendering divergence of opinions, <A HREF="#P299">299</A>
+  Committee appointed by House of Assembly, Victoria, to consider, <A HREF="#P214">214</A>
+  Constitution Bill [see that title]
+  Federal Council [see that title]
+  Hobart, Premiers' conference at, <A HREF="#P227">227</A>
+  Interdependence of Provinces, hastening establishment of, <A HREF="#P230">230</A>
+  Inter-provincial conference on, <A HREF="#P214">214</A>
+  New South Wales, Governor of, receiving commission as
+    Governor-General of Australia, <A HREF="#P213">213</A>
+  Plebiscite, new Federal constitution proposed, referring to, <A HREF="#P228">228</A>
+  Prospects of, <A HREF="#P236">236</A>
+  Sydney conventions, <A HREF="#P215">215</A>
+  Town and country inhabitants, difference in development of, <A HREF="#P299">299</A>
+
+Female Suffrage:
+  New Zealand:
+    C.D. Act, Repeal of, advocated by female voters, <A HREF="#P196">196</A>
+    Domestic servants' weekly half-holiday Bill, <A HREF="#P203">203</A>
+    Elections, Radical returns, <A HREF="#P193">193</A>
+    Electoral Bill of 1892 conferring franchise on all adult women, <A HREF="#P192">192</A>
+    Equal wages for similar work of men and women demanded by female
+      voters, <A HREF="#P209">209</A>
+    Juvenile Depravity Suppression Bill, <A HREF="#P203">203</A>
+    Liquor legislation and prominence of temperance movement, due to, <A HREF="#P194">194</A>
+    Modifications of female voters' views, <A HREF="#P207">207</A>
+    National Council of Women, resolutions passed by, <A HREF="#P204">204</A>, <A HREF="#P205">205</A>
+    Sentiment, tendency of subordinating reason to, danger of Female
+      Suffrage, <A HREF="#P210">210</A>
+    Totalisator, suppressing, result of, <A HREF="#P196">196</A>
+    Women's franchise leagues inducing female voters to support
+      candidates on moral considerations, <A HREF="#P205">205</A>
+  Queensland, result of adopting in, <A HREF="#P185">185</A>
+  South Australia:
+    Election to Parliament, women eligible for, <A HREF="#P187">187</A>
+    First elections under new franchise, <A HREF="#P188">188</A>; results of, <A HREF="#P189">189</A>
+    Licensed Victuallers' Act, prohibition of employment of
+      barmaids, proposed under influence of, <A HREF="#P191">191</A>
+    Plebiscite [see that title]
+    Voting privileges accorded to female electors in, <A HREF="#P192">192</A>
+  Tasmania:
+    Plebiscite, proposed application of for, <A HREF="#P177">177</A>
+    Result of adopting in, <A HREF="#P184">184</A>
+  Victoria:
+    Plural voting, abolition of, included in Bill, <A HREF="#P186">186</A>
+    Result of adopting in, <A HREF="#P184">184</A>
+
+Finance [see title Revenue and Expenditure]
+
+Financial crisis in Australia, causes of, <A HREF="#P246">246</A>
+
+Financial extravagance in New South Wales, means of diminishing, <A HREF="#P34">34</A>
+
+Financial statement, Queensland, 1896, extract with regard to export of
+home produce, <A HREF="#P79">79</A>
+
+Foreign competition in Australasia:
+  Great Britain, hostility towards in consequence of, <A HREF="#P296">296</A>
+  Labouring classes' opposition to, <A HREF="#P294">294</A>
+
+Foreign politics, Australasians' imperialistic views of, <A HREF="#P298">298</A>
+
+Forrest, Right Hon. Sir John, <A HREF="#P157">157</A>, <A HREF="#P166">166</A>, <A HREF="#P253">253</A>
+
+Free trade policy of New South Wales, <A HREF="#P212">212</A>
+
+Fremantle, Government harbour works to induce mail steamers to call at,
+<A HREF="#P303">303</A>
+
+Friendly societies and savings banks, individual efforts of labouring
+classes demonstrated by, <A HREF="#P259">259</A>
+
+Frozen meat industry:
+  Queensland:
+    Distributing agencies, <A HREF="#P80">80</A>
+    Financial statement of 1896, <A HREF="#P79">79</A>
+    South Australia, receiving depôt at Port Adelaide, <A HREF="#P21">21</A>
+    Victoria, State advances for, <A HREF="#P148">148</A>
+
+Fysh, Hon. Sir P. O., <A HREF="#P178">178</A>
+</PRE>
+
+
+<H3>
+G
+</H3>
+
+<PRE>
+Gold-mining:
+  Discovery of gold, effect of, on Australasian Democracy, <A HREF="#P244">244</A>
+  New South Wales, right of mining on private land obtained by
+    Labour Party, <A HREF="#P49">49</A>
+  New Zealand goldfields, roads and water-races on, Government
+    constructing, <A HREF="#P105">105</A>
+  Victoria, state encouragement <A HREF="#P147">147</A>
+  Western Australia:
+    Coolgardie goldfields [see that title]
+    Crown lands, miner's rights on acquiring, <A HREF="#P165">165</A>
+    Inducements offered to immigrants, <A HREF="#P165">165</A>
+
+Goldstein, Colonel, Honorary Secretary of Leongatha Labour Colony,
+Victoria, <A HREF="#P151">151</A>
+
+Government advances to Settlers Act, New Zealand, <A HREF="#P99">99</A>, <A HREF="#P118">118</A>
+
+Government Architect Department of New South Wales--designer of Crown
+Lands office receiving less salary than principal messenger, <A HREF="#P44">44</A>
+
+Government Railways Act of 1888, New South Wales, means of diminishing
+political pressure, <A HREF="#P39">39</A>
+
+Graduated Death Duties, assessment of, in Australasia, <A HREF="#P278">278</A>
+
+Great Britain:
+  Closer union with, Australians' indifference to, <A HREF="#P298">298</A>
+  Friendly relations with, suggestions for maintaining, <A HREF="#P298">298</A>
+  Ill-feeling towards, causes of, <A HREF="#P296">296</A>
+  Sympathy of the middle classes of Australia with, <A HREF="#P297">297</A>
+
+Great Southern Railway, Western Australia, loan for purchase of, <A HREF="#P163">163</A>
+</PRE>
+
+
+<H3>
+H
+</H3>
+
+<PRE>
+Hobart, Premiers' conference on Federation of Australasia at, <A HREF="#P227">227</A>
+
+Homesteads Act of 1893, Western Australia, free grants of land offered
+to settlers by, <A HREF="#P166">166</A>
+
+Humanitarian Legislation in Queensland:
+  Factory Act of 1896, <A HREF="#P77">77</A>
+  Labour Party's complaint, <A HREF="#P74">74</A>
+  Royal Commission of inquiry, <A HREF="#P77">77</A>
+</PRE>
+
+
+<H3>
+I
+</H3>
+
+<PRE>
+Immigration:
+  Chinese Immigration Act of 1887, Tasmania restricting immigration
+    of coloured races, <A HREF="#P170">170</A>
+  Consumptive persons, Bills forbidding immigration of, <A HREF="#P295">295</A>
+  State-aided immigration, workmen's objection to taxation for, <A HREF="#P294">294</A>, <A HREF="#P295">295</A>
+  Western Australian goldfields, inducements offered to immigrants, <A HREF="#P165">165</A>
+
+Improved-farm settlements, system of in New Zealand, <A HREF="#P111">111</A>
+
+Income tax:
+  Assessment of in:
+    New Zealand, <A HREF="#P89">89</A>
+    South Australia, <A HREF="#P17">17</A>
+    Tasmania, <A HREF="#P181">181</A>
+  Property and personal exertion incomes, difference between taxation
+    of, <A HREF="#P279">279</A>
+
+Industrial disputes, settling by conciliation [see title Arbitration
+and Conciliation]
+
+Inter-provincial conference on Australasian Federation, <A HREF="#P214">214</A>
+
+Irrigation and water supply works, Victoria:
+  Failure of, <A HREF="#P143">143</A>
+  Inadequate preliminary investigations of, <A HREF="#P145">145</A>
+</PRE>
+
+
+<H3>
+J
+</H3>
+
+<PRE>
+Juvenile Depravity Suppression Bill, New Zealand, <A HREF="#P203">203</A>
+</PRE>
+
+
+<H3>
+K
+</H3>
+
+<PRE>
+Kalgoorlie, visit to, <A HREF="#P310">310</A>
+
+Kanakas:
+  Sugar cultivation in Queensland:
+    Importation of Kanakas, question as to necessity of, <A HREF="#P66">66</A>
+    Number employed in, <A HREF="#P64">64</A>
+    Protection of, <A HREF="#P63">63</A>
+    Re-engaging after expiration of contracts, <A HREF="#P64">64</A>
+  Traffic in Kanakas decreasing population of Pacific Islands, <A HREF="#P64">64</A>
+
+Kingston, Right Hon. C. C., <A HREF="#P3">3</A>, <A HREF="#P16">16</A>, <A HREF="#P25">25</A>
+
+Knutsford, Lord, <A HREF="#P57">57</A>
+</PRE>
+
+
+<H3>
+L
+</H3>
+
+<PRE>
+Labour Bureau and Casual Labour Board for relieving unemployed in New
+South Wales, <A HREF="#P45">45</A>
+
+Labour Parties:
+  Legislative Councils attacked by, <A HREF="#P273">273</A>
+  New South Wales:
+    "Caucus" meetings, <A HREF="#P51">51</A>
+    Electoral Reform policy, <A HREF="#P49">49</A>
+    Gold, right of mining on private land obtained by, <A HREF="#P49">49</A>
+    "Solidarity," vote of, <A HREF="#P50">50</A>
+    Tariff question, disagreement on, <A HREF="#P49">49</A>
+    Taxation of land values obtained by, <A HREF="#P50">50</A>
+  New Zealand, <A HREF="#P263">263</A>
+  Queensland:
+    Electoral reform policy, <A HREF="#P75">75</A>
+    Failure of, <A HREF="#P74">74</A>
+    Grievances against Government, <A HREF="#P74">74</A>
+    New Zealand and South-Australian Labour Parties
+      compared with, <A HREF="#P73">73</A>
+    Socialistic tendencies of, <A HREF="#P73">73</A>
+  South Australia:
+    Development and work of, <A HREF="#P3">3</A>
+    Liberals working in connection with, <A HREF="#P4">4</A>, <A HREF="#P263">263</A>
+    Queensland Labour Party compared with, <A HREF="#P74">74</A>
+  Victoria, <A HREF="#P263">263</A>
+
+Labouring classes:
+  Building societies, labouring classes availing themselves of, <A HREF="#P260">260</A>
+  Condition of, on the whole satisfactory, <A HREF="#P301">301</A>
+  Foreign Competition:
+    Great Britain, hostility towards in consequence of, <A HREF="#P296">296</A>
+    Labouring classes' opposition to, <A HREF="#P293">293</A>
+  Larrikinism of Melbourne and Sydney, exaggeration of, <A HREF="#P301">301</A>
+  Protection, labouring classes in favour of, <A HREF="#P292">292</A>
+  South Australian education, secular character of, effect
+    on labouring classes, <A HREF="#P32">32</A>
+  Thriftiness of, <A HREF="#P258">258</A>
+
+Land Act of 1893, Victoria, for relief of unemployed, <A HREF="#P149">149</A>
+
+Land for Settlements Acts, New Zealand authorising repurchase or
+exchange of lands, <A HREF="#P93">93-97</A>
+
+Land Grant railways, <A HREF="#P251">251</A>
+  Tasmania, for encouragement of private enterprise, <A HREF="#P181">181</A>
+  Western Australia, <A HREF="#P162">162</A>
+
+Land tax, assessment of in:
+  New Zealand, <A HREF="#P88">88</A>
+  South Australia, <A HREF="#P17">17</A>
+
+Legislative Assembly:
+  Australian Provinces, continuity of representation in, means
+    of obtaining, <A HREF="#P276">276</A>
+  Conflicts between Legislative Assembly and Legislative
+    Council [see that title]
+  New South Wales, salary of members, <A HREF="#P48">48</A>
+  South Australia:
+    Elected on basis of Adult Suffrage, <A HREF="#P2">2</A>
+    Salary of members, <A HREF="#P2">2</A>
+  Victoria:
+    Committee to consider advisability of Australasian
+      Federation, appointed by, <A HREF="#P214">214</A>
+    Elected on basis of Manhood Suffrage, <A HREF="#P122">122</A>
+    Salary of members, <A HREF="#P122">122</A>
+  Western Australia:
+    Salary--members receiving no salary, <A HREF="#P158">158</A>
+
+Legislative Council:
+  Conflicts between Legislative Assembly and Legislative
+    Council [see that title]
+  Labour Parties' attacks on, <A HREF="#P273">273</A>
+  New South Wales and Queensland, members nominated for life
+    without salary, <A HREF="#P121">121</A>
+  South Australia:
+    Property qualification:
+      Electors', <A HREF="#P2">2</A>
+      Members not subjected to, <A HREF="#P28">28</A>
+    Salary of members, <A HREF="#P2">2</A>
+  Tasmania:
+    Property qualification not required for membership, <A HREF="#P122">122</A>
+    Salary of members, <A HREF="#P122">122</A>
+  Victoria:
+    Property qualification of members, <A HREF="#P122">122</A>
+    Public expenditure, Legislative Council failing to
+      check extravagance of, <A HREF="#P126">126</A>
+  Western Australia:
+    Property qualification:
+      Electors', <A HREF="#P157">157</A>, <A HREF="#P158">158</A>
+      Members not subjected to, <A HREF="#P122">122</A>
+    Salary--members receiving no salary, <A HREF="#P158">158</A>
+
+Leongatha Labour Colony in Victoria, <A HREF="#P151">151</A>, <A HREF="#P268">268</A>
+
+Liberals in South Australia working in connection with Labour Party, <A HREF="#P4">4</A>
+
+Licensed Victuallers' Act of 1896, South Australia, proposed
+prohibition of employment of barmaids, <A HREF="#P191">191</A>
+
+Life insurance, annuities, &amp;c., in New Zealand, department of the
+State, <A HREF="#P104">104</A>
+
+Liquor Legislation, New Zealand:
+  Local Option and Licensing Committee polls placed on basis of
+    adult suffrage, <A HREF="#P198">198</A>
+  National prohibition of licenses proposed, <A HREF="#P201">201</A>
+  Prohibition and reduction of licenses, results of voting on, <A HREF="#P200">200</A>
+  Temperance movement, prominence of, effect of Female Suffrage, <A HREF="#P194">194</A>
+
+Local land boards for disposal of Crown lands, New Zealand, <A HREF="#P117">117</A>
+
+Lotteries in Tasmania unaffected by Betting and Gaming Act, <A HREF="#P171">171</A>, <A HREF="#P172">172</A>
+</PRE>
+
+
+<H3>
+M
+</H3>
+
+<PRE>
+McPherson, Mr. J. A., leader of Labour Party in South Australia, <A HREF="#P5">5</A>
+
+Maoris of New Zealand:
+  Conflicts of 1860 with European settlers, <A HREF="#P84">84</A>
+  Improvement in relations with Europeans, <A HREF="#P84">84</A>
+  Lands obtained by Europeans from:
+    Pre-emptive right of the Crown, <A HREF="#P83">83</A>
+    Validation Court for considering titles to, <A HREF="#P84">84</A>
+  Sovereignty of New Zealand ceded by, <A HREF="#P83">83</A>
+
+Meat and Dairy Produce Encouragement Act of 1893, pastoral industries
+of Queensland assisted by, <A HREF="#P71">71</A>
+
+Melbourne waterworks, <A HREF="#P143">143</A>, <A HREF="#P145">145</A>
+
+Midland Railway, Western Australia, <A HREF="#P162">162</A>
+
+Murtho--village settlement of South Australia, success of, <A HREF="#P11">11</A>
+</PRE>
+
+
+<H3>
+N
+</H3>
+
+<PRE>
+National Council of Women, New Zealand, resolution passed by, <A HREF="#P204">204</A>
+
+Native-born Australians, increase in proportion of, <A HREF="#P297">297</A>
+
+Nelson, Right Hon. Sir Hugh, <A HREF="#P60">60</A>, <A HREF="#P79">79</A>, <A HREF="#P253">253</A>
+
+New South Wales:
+  Democratic Government established in, <A HREF="#P48">48</A>
+  Federal Council: Abstention of New South Wales from, <A HREF="#P216">216</A>
+  Female Suffrage, result of adopting, <A HREF="#P184">184</A>
+  Financial extravagance and political pressure in, means of
+    diminishing, <A HREF="#P34">34</A>
+  Free trade policy of, <A HREF="#P212">212</A>
+  Governor of, receiving commission as Governor-General of
+    Australia, <A HREF="#P213">213</A>
+  Government Architect Department--Designer of Crown Lands
+    Office receiving less salary than principal messenger in
+    1895, <A HREF="#P44">44</A>
+  Labour Party [see that title]
+  Legislative Assembly, salary of members, <A HREF="#P48">48</A>
+  Legislative Council, members nominated for life without salary, <A HREF="#P121">121</A>
+  Unemployed [see that title]
+
+New Zealand:
+  Australian provinces and New Zealand, differences of condition
+    between, <A HREF="#P82">82</A>
+  Cheviot estate purchased by the Government, <A HREF="#P93">93</A>
+  Crown lands:
+    Local land boards for disposal of, <A HREF="#P117">117</A>
+    Sale of, <A HREF="#P93">93</A>
+  Elective Executive Bill introduced into, <A HREF="#P277">277</A>
+  Expenditure, reduction of public expenditure, <A HREF="#P88">88</A>
+  Fair Rent Bill, <A HREF="#P103">103</A>
+  Federal Council, abstention of New Zealand from, <A HREF="#P216">216</A>
+  Female Suffrage [see that title]
+  Improved-farm settlements system in, <A HREF="#P111">111</A>
+  Industrial disputes, Boards of Conciliation appointment of, <A HREF="#P284">284</A>
+  Labour Party compared with Queensland Labour Party, <A HREF="#P74">74</A>
+  Land for Settlements Act of 1892, authorising repurchase
+    or exchange of lands, <A HREF="#P95">95</A>, <A HREF="#P97">97</A>
+  Legislative Council [see that title]
+  Life insurance, annuities, &amp;c., <A HREF="#P104">104</A>
+  Liquor legislation [see that title]
+  Maoris [see that title]
+  Mayor of Onehunga, inability of Mrs. Yates to fill position, <A HREF="#P208">208</A>
+  Pastoral Tenants' Relief Act of 1895, <A HREF="#P118">118</A>
+  Political patronage, charges brought against Government, <A HREF="#P269">269</A>, <A HREF="#P271">271</A>
+  Provincial legislatures, abolishing, <A HREF="#P83">83</A>
+  Public works [see that title]
+  Technical instruction in agriculture, &amp;c., by experts, <A HREF="#P104">104</A>
+  Unemployed [see that title]
+  Village settlements [see that title]
+
+Norman, Sir Henry, <A HREF="#P61">61</A>
+
+Northern Railway, Western Australia, course of, <A HREF="#P162">162</A>
+</PRE>
+
+
+<H3>
+P
+</H3>
+
+<PRE>
+Parliament of Commonwealth--Constitution Bill for establishing
+Federation of Australasia [see that title]
+
+Pastoral industries:
+  Queensland:
+    Darling Downs industries, success of, <A HREF="#P70">70</A>, <A HREF="#P71">71</A>
+    Irregularity of employment in, <A HREF="#P69">69</A>
+    Land tenure, new form of for shearers, <A HREF="#P70">70</A>
+    Produce, disposal of:
+      Financial statement, 1896, extract with reference to, <A HREF="#P79">79</A>
+      Meat and Dairy Produce Act, assisting, <A HREF="#P71">71</A>
+  Victoria:
+    Protection of the State, <A HREF="#P154">154</A>
+    Right of selection on pastoral properties dispute--cause
+      of conflict between the two Houses, <A HREF="#P122">122</A>, <A HREF="#P123">123</A>
+
+Pastoral Tenants' Relief Act of 1895, New Zealand, <A HREF="#P118">118</A>
+
+Peace Preservation Act of 1894, Queensland, <A HREF="#P74">74</A>
+
+Plebiscite:
+  Establishment of in Australasian legislation, <A HREF="#P276">276</A>
+  Federation of Australasian Provinces, proposed framing of
+    new Constitution and referring to, <A HREF="#P227">227</A>
+  Legislative Council and House of Assembly disputes, proposed
+    settlement of by plebiscite, <A HREF="#P273">273</A>
+  South Australia:
+    Bill for establishment of, <A HREF="#P29">29</A>
+    Educational system, alterations in, question referred
+      to plebiscite, <A HREF="#P29">29</A>, <A HREF="#P274">274</A>
+  Tasmania, Female Suffrage, proposed application of plebiscite
+    for, <A HREF="#P177">177</A>, <A HREF="#P187">187</A>
+
+Plural voting:
+  South Australia, plural voting forbidden in, <A HREF="#P2">2</A>
+  Victoria, proposed abolition of, <A HREF="#P186">186</A>
+  Tasmania, partial abolition of, <A HREF="#P173">173</A>
+
+Political patronage, misuse of, in New Zealand, charges against the
+Government, <A HREF="#P269">269</A>, <A HREF="#P271">271</A>
+
+Postal and Telegraphic Department, Parliament of Commonwealth's
+exclusive control of, <A HREF="#P221">221</A>
+
+Produce and Export Department:
+  Queensland, concessions to producers:
+    Financial statement of 1896, extract with regard to, <A HREF="#P79">79</A>
+    Meat and Dairy Produce Act, <A HREF="#P71">71</A>
+    Sugar Works Guarantee Act, <A HREF="#P65">65</A>
+  Relations between, Provinces strengthened by promotion
+    of enterprise, <A HREF="#P253">253</A>
+  South Australia:
+    Institution of, <A HREF="#P21">21</A>
+    Output of the Provinces, means of securing uniformity, <A HREF="#P23">23</A>
+  Tasmania--Inspection of exported produce, necessity of, <A HREF="#P172">172</A>
+  Victoria--State advances to producers, <A HREF="#P148">148</A>
+
+Property Qualification:
+  South Australian Legislative Council:
+    Electors', <A HREF="#P2">2</A>
+    Members not subjected to, <A HREF="#P121">121</A>, <A HREF="#P122">122</A>
+  Victorian Legislative Council, <A HREF="#P122">122</A>
+  Western Australian Legislative Council, <A HREF="#P157">157</A>
+
+Prospecting Boards in gold-mining districts, Victoria, appointment of,
+<A HREF="#P147">147</A>
+
+Protection:
+  Development, result of, <A HREF="#P292">292</A>
+  Interchange of commodities between the Provinces impeded by
+    protective tariff, <A HREF="#P212">212</A>
+  Labouring classes in favour of, <A HREF="#P292">292</A>
+  South Australia adopting protective tariff, <A HREF="#P24">24</A>
+
+Provincial Legislatures of New Zealand, abolition of, <A HREF="#P83">83</A>
+
+Public Service Board, New South Wales, for investigating all
+departments of Civil Service, <A HREF="#P44">44</A>
+
+Public works:
+  New South Wales, Parliamentary Standing Committee of Public
+    Works, means of diminishing political pressure in, <A HREF="#P40">40</A>
+  New Zealand:
+    Communication, improving means of, by public works scheme, <A HREF="#P85">85</A>
+    Co-operative construction, <A HREF="#P105">105</A>
+    Encouragement of settlement--public works scheme valueless
+      without, <A HREF="#P120">120</A>
+    Railways, preservation of Crown Land for constructing,
+      withdrawn by Government, <A HREF="#P92">92</A>
+  Queensland, facilitating occupation in outlying districts
+    by construction of public works, <A HREF="#P78">78</A>
+  Victoria:
+    Audit Commissioners to recover arrears of money due to State,
+      proposed authorisation of, <A HREF="#P146">146</A>
+    Extravagant expenditure, on, <A HREF="#P143">143</A>
+    Irrigation and water supply works:
+      Inadequate preliminary investigations, <A HREF="#P145">145</A>
+      Liabilities--failure of works to meet their own liabilities, <A HREF="#P144">144</A>
+    Railway Commissioners' libel action against Mr. David Syme, <A HREF="#P143">143</A>
+  Western Australia--difficulties of the Government, <A HREF="#P160">160</A>
+</PRE>
+
+
+<H3>
+Q
+</H3>
+
+<PRE>
+Queensland--Australian Federation Enabling Bill, rejection of in, <A HREF="#P235">235</A>
+  Central and Northern Queensland's separation from the South:
+    Agitation for, <A HREF="#P55">55</A>
+    Arguments in favour of, <A HREF="#P56">56</A>
+    Boundaries adopted by Separationists, <A HREF="#P56">56</A>
+    Claims of Central Queensland, <A HREF="#P56">56</A>
+    Constitution Bill, attempt at introducing, <A HREF="#P59">59</A>
+    Decline of agitation, <A HREF="#P61">61</A>
+    Federal Convention delegates--proportion of Northern and
+      Central Queensland representatives proposed to be sent, <A HREF="#P60">60</A>
+    Financial Districts Bill, <A HREF="#P59">59</A>
+    Imperial Government's intervention, Lord Knutsford's reply
+      to Northern deputation, <A HREF="#P57">57</A>
+    Natural products, interchange of between the separated Provinces, <A HREF="#P58">58</A>
+    Public Debt Liability, <A HREF="#P59">59</A>
+    Revenue of the districts--Royal Commission of Inquiry into, <A HREF="#P59">59</A>
+    Supreme Court judges, appointment of, <A HREF="#P60">60</A>
+  Female Suffrage, result of adopting in, <A HREF="#P185">185</A>
+  Humanitarian legislation [see that title]
+  Labour Party [see that title]
+  Legislative Council, members nominated for life without salary, <A HREF="#P121">121</A>
+  Pastoral industries [see that title]
+  Railways, management of by the State, <A HREF="#P251">251</A>
+  Revenue and expenditure--development of industries by the State, <A HREF="#P77">77</A>
+  Sugar cultivation [see that title]
+</PRE>
+
+
+<H3>
+R
+</H3>
+
+<PRE>
+Radical result of elections after establishment of Female Suffrage in
+South Australia and New Zealand, <A HREF="#P193">193</A>
+
+Railways:
+  New South Wales, appointment of railway Commissioners, <A HREF="#P39">39</A>
+  New Zealand, reservation of Crown Lands for constructing,
+    withdrawn by Government, <A HREF="#P86">86</A>
+  Queensland railways, management of by the State, <A HREF="#P252">252</A>
+  Tasmanian land-grant railways, encouragement of enterprise by, <A HREF="#P181">181</A>
+  Victoria:
+    Extravagant Expenditure on, <A HREF="#P142">142</A>, <A HREF="#P246">246</A>, <A HREF="#P249">249</A>
+      Railway Commissioners' libel action against Mr. David Syme, <A HREF="#P143">143</A>
+  Western Australia, <A HREF="#P162">162</A>
+
+Referendum [sec title Plebiscite]
+
+Reid, Right Hon. G. H., <A HREF="#P36">36</A>, <A HREF="#P50">50</A>, <A HREF="#P51">51</A>, <A HREF="#P227">227</A>
+
+Religious bodies, Western Australia, grants to, abolition of, <A HREF="#P159">159</A>
+
+Responsible Government:
+  Australasia, advantages and disadvantages of, <A HREF="#P264">264</A>
+  Western Australia obtaining, <A HREF="#P156">156</A>
+
+Revenue and expenditure:
+  Federation of Australasian Provinces--revenue and expenditure
+    of Commonwealth, regulations for, <A HREF="#P221">221</A>
+  New Zealand, reduction of expenditure, <A HREF="#P88">88</A>
+  Queensland:
+    Central and Northern Queensland--revenue of the districts,
+      Royal Commission of Inquiry into, <A HREF="#P59">59</A>
+    Development of industries by the State, <A HREF="#P77">77</A>
+  Victoria:
+    Extravagant expenditure of, <A HREF="#P142">142</A>
+    Legislative Council's inability to check, <A HREF="#P126">126</A>
+  Western Australia, causes of improved credit, <A HREF="#P167">167</A>
+
+Rowdiness and drunkenness, absence of among Coolgardie miners, <A HREF="#P314">314</A>
+
+Russell, Captain, misuse of political patronage charges brought against
+New Zealand Government by, <A HREF="#P269">269</A>
+</PRE>
+
+
+<H3>
+S
+</H3>
+
+<PRE>
+Salaries:
+  Australasian Parliaments, effect of salaries on members, <A HREF="#P267">267</A>
+  Parliament of Commonwealth proposed salary of members of, <A HREF="#P220">220</A>
+
+Salvation Army services at Coolgardie goldfields, <A HREF="#P312">312</A>
+
+Savings Bank returns:
+  Individual effort of Australian labouring class demonstrated by, <A HREF="#P259">259</A>
+  South Australian, <A HREF="#P33">33</A>
+
+Seddon, Right Hon. R. J., <A HREF="#P106">106</A>, <A HREF="#P119">119</A>, <A HREF="#P120">120</A>
+
+Shops in Victoria, hours of closing, <A HREF="#P134">134</A>
+
+Socialism:
+  Queensland Labour Party, socialistic tendencies of, <A HREF="#P73">73</A>
+  State Socialism in Australasia, origin and extent of, <A HREF="#P245">245</A>, <A HREF="#P249">249</A>
+  "Solidarity" vote of New South Wales Labour Party, <A HREF="#P50">50</A>
+
+South Australia:
+  Democratic policy due to Constitution, <A HREF="#P2">2</A>
+  Dissolution of both Houses after disagreement, success of, <A HREF="#P178">178</A>
+  Education [see that title]
+  Elective Executive, substitution of, advocated, <A HREF="#P26">26</A>
+  Female Suffrage [see that title]
+  Income tax on incomes derived from property or personal exertion,
+    distinction between, <A HREF="#P279">279</A>
+  Industrial disputes, Boards of Conciliation for, <A HREF="#P284">284</A>
+  Labour Party [see that title]
+  Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council [see those titles]
+  Legislative measures, <A HREF="#P24">24</A>
+  Plebiscite [see that title]
+  Plural voting forbidden in, <A HREF="#P2">2</A>
+  Produce Export Department:
+    Institution of, <A HREF="#P21">21</A>
+    Output of the various Provinces, means of securing uniformity in, <A HREF="#P23">23</A>
+  Progressive Taxation first introduced in, <A HREF="#P16">16</A>
+  Savings Bank Returns, <A HREF="#P33">33</A>
+  Tariff question settled in favour of Protection, <A HREF="#P24">24</A>
+  Village Settlements [see that title]
+
+South-Western Railway, Western Australia, course of, <A HREF="#P162">162</A>
+
+State Farm in New Zealand for relief of unemployed, <A HREF="#P113">113</A>
+
+State Socialism in Australasia, origin and extent of, <A HREF="#P245">245</A>, <A HREF="#P249">249</A>
+
+Stout, Sir Robert, misuse of political patronage, charges brought
+against New Zealand Government by, <A HREF="#P271">271</A>
+
+Succession Duties, assessment of in South Australia, <A HREF="#P20">20</A>
+
+Sugar cultivation in Queensland:
+  Irregularity of employment in, <A HREF="#P69">69</A>
+  Kanakas [see that title]
+  Modifications in, <A HREF="#P64">64</A>
+  Sugar Works Guarantee Act, industry developed by, <A HREF="#P65">65</A>
+
+Syme, Mr. David, <A HREF="#P153">153</A>
+</PRE>
+
+
+<H3>
+T
+</H3>
+
+<PRE>
+Tailoresses' Union, formation of in Victoria, <A HREF="#P135">135</A>
+
+Tariff:
+  New South Wales, Labour Party's disagreement on question of, <A HREF="#P49">49</A>
+  South Australia, tariff question settled in favour of Protection, <A HREF="#P24">24</A>
+  Victoria, protective tariff in, cause of contention between
+    Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council, <A HREF="#P123">123</A>
+
+Tasmania:
+  Female Suffrage [see that title]
+  Graduated Death Duties, assessment of, <A HREF="#P278">278</A>
+  Immigration of coloured races, restriction of, <A HREF="#P170">170</A>
+  Income tax on incomes derived from property and personal exertion,
+    distinction between, <A HREF="#P279">279</A>
+  Legislative Council [see that title]
+  Produce and Export Department--inspection of exported produce, <A HREF="#P172">172</A>
+  Public works, taxation for obtaining funds for, <A HREF="#P181">181</A>
+  Railways--land-grant railways for encouragement of private
+    enterprise, <A HREF="#P181">181</A>
+
+Taxation:
+  Additional taxation cause of conflict between Legislative
+    Assembly and Legislative Council, <A HREF="#P123">123</A>
+  Australian Provinces' form of direct taxation, <A HREF="#P279">279</A>
+  New South Wales Labour Party, taxation of land values obtained by, <A HREF="#P50">50</A>
+  New Zealand, assessment of land and income taxes in, <A HREF="#P89">89</A>
+  South Australia, progressive taxation first introduced into, <A HREF="#P16">16</A>
+  Tasmania, public works outlay, taxation for obtaining funds for, <A HREF="#P181">181</A>
+
+Technical instruction in agriculture, &amp;c., by experts, New Zealand, <A HREF="#P104">104</A>
+
+Telegraphic and postal departments--Parliament of Commonwealth's
+exclusive control of, <A HREF="#P221">221</A>
+
+Town and country antagonism--reflex of antagonism between Victorian
+Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council, <A HREF="#P131">131</A>
+
+Town and country inhabitants, difference in development of, necessity
+of considering with regard to Australasian Federation, <A HREF="#P299">299</A>
+
+Trade Unions, workmen's willingness to form, <A HREF="#P281">281</A>
+
+Traditional Conservatism, absence of among Australasian politicians, <A HREF="#P277">277</A>
+</PRE>
+
+
+<H3>
+U
+</H3>
+
+<PRE>
+Undesirable Immigrants Exclusion Bill, forbidding introduction of
+consumptive persons into New Zealand, <A HREF="#P295">295</A>
+
+Unemployed:
+  Indiscriminate assistance, <A HREF="#P255">255</A>
+  New South Wales:
+    Casual Labour Board and Labour Bureau, <A HREF="#P45">45</A>
+    Loafers, placing in Industrial Homes, proposed, <A HREF="#P48">48</A>
+    Money spent on works for, <A HREF="#P46">46</A>, <A HREF="#P47">47</A>
+  New Zealand:
+    Charitable Aid Expenditure of 1896, <A HREF="#P116">116</A>
+    Compulsory labour for loafers, <A HREF="#P115">115</A>
+    Improved-Farm Settlements system, <A HREF="#P111">111</A>
+    State Farm near Wellington, <A HREF="#P113">113</A>
+  South Australia:
+    Village Settlements, <A HREF="#P6">6</A>
+  Victoria:
+    Land Acts of 1893, <A HREF="#P149">149</A>
+    Leongatha Colony, <A HREF="#P151">151</A>, <A HREF="#P268">268</A>
+    Public subscriptions for, <A HREF="#P150">150</A>
+    Shiftlessness of men, <A HREF="#P153">153</A>
+
+Union Steamship Company, New Zealand, engineers' industrial dispute,
+<A HREF="#P290">290</A>, <A HREF="#P291">291</A>
+
+Upper House [see titles Legislative Council and Conflict between
+Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council]
+</PRE>
+
+
+<H3>
+V
+</H3>
+
+<PRE>
+Van Dieman's Land Company, Tasmania, Bill authorising construction of
+railway by, <A HREF="#P181">181</A>
+
+Victoria:
+  Australasian Federation Enabling Act--provisions of Victorian Act, <A HREF="#P230">230</A>
+  Confidence of the people in efficiency of State action, <A HREF="#P154">154</A>
+  Factories and Shops Acts [see that title]
+  Female Suffrage:
+    Abolition of plural voting included in Bill introducing, <A HREF="#P186">186</A>
+    Result of adopting, <A HREF="#P184">184</A>
+  Gold-mining, State encouragement of, <A HREF="#P147">147</A>
+  Income tax on incomes derived from property or personal
+    exertion, distinction between, <A HREF="#P279">279</A>
+  Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council [see those titles]
+  Produce and export--bonuses given to producers, <A HREF="#P148">148</A>
+  Protective Tariff:
+    Cause of contention between Legislative Assembly and Legislative
+      Council, <A HREF="#P123">123</A>
+  Public works [see that title]
+  Unemployed [see that title]
+
+Village Settlements, <A HREF="#P255">255</A>
+  New Zealand, <A HREF="#P95">95</A>, <A HREF="#P99">99</A>
+  South Australia:
+    Closed by Government, <A HREF="#P10">10</A>
+    Difficulties, encountered by settlers, <A HREF="#P10">10</A>
+    Failure of, <A HREF="#P8">8</A>
+    Formation of, <A HREF="#P6">6</A>
+    Murtho, success of, <A HREF="#P11">11</A>
+    New Zealand Settlements, differing from, <A HREF="#P99">99</A>
+  Victoria, <A HREF="#P149">149</A>
+</PRE>
+
+
+<H3>
+W
+</H3>
+
+<PRE>
+Western Australia:
+  Aborigines, protection of, <A HREF="#P158">158</A>
+  Assisted Schools Abolition Act, <A HREF="#P159">159</A>
+  Australasian Federation Enabling Act--Provisions of Western
+    Australian Act, <A HREF="#P233">233</A>
+  Churches, grants to, abolition of, <A HREF="#P159">159</A>
+  Constitution Bill, <A HREF="#P157">157</A>
+  Female Suffrage, result of adopting, <A HREF="#P185">185</A>
+  Gold-mining:
+    Coolgardie Goldfields [see that title]
+    Inducements offered to immigrants, <A HREF="#P164">164</A>
+  Legislative Council:
+    Property qualification:
+      Electors', <A HREF="#P158">158</A>
+      Members not subjected to, <A HREF="#P121">121</A>
+  Public works, Government difficulties, <A HREF="#P160">160</A>
+  Responsible Government, <A HREF="#P156">156</A>
+
+Women's Franchise Leagues, New Zealand, inducing female voters to
+support candidates on moral considerations, <A HREF="#P206">206</A>
+
+Working classes [see title Labouring Classes]
+</PRE>
+
+
+
+<H3>
+Y
+</H3>
+
+<PRE>
+Yates, Mrs., Mayor of Onehunga, inability of to fill position, <A HREF="#P208">208</A>
+</PRE>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<H5 ALIGN="center">
+The Gresham Press<BR>
+Unwin Brothers<BR>
+Woking and London.<BR>
+</H5>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<HR>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+
+
+<A NAME="chap13"></A>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+  T. FISHER UNWIN, Publisher,<BR>
+  11, Paternoster Buildings, London, E.C.
+</H4>
+
+<BR>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+A FIRST FLEET FAMILY:
+<BR>
+BEING A HITHERTO UNPUBLISHED NARRATIVE OF CERTAIN
+REMARKABLE ADVENTURES COMPILED FROM THE PAPERS OF SERGEANT WILLIAM DEW,
+OF THE MARINES
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+BY
+</H4>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+LOUIS BECKE and WALTER JEFFERY
+</H3>
+
+<H5 ALIGN="center">
+Second Edition.  Crown 8vo., cloth, 6s.
+</H5>
+
+<P>
+"As convincingly real and vivid as a narrative can be."&mdash;Sketch.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No maker of plots could work out a better story of its kind, nor
+balance it more neatly."&mdash;<I>Daily Chronicle</I>.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"A book which describes a set of characters varied and so attractive as
+the more prominent figures in this romance, and a book so full of life,
+vicissitude, and peril, should be welcomed by every discreet novel
+reader."&mdash;<I>Yorkshire Post</I>.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"A very interesting tale, written in clear and vigorous
+English."&mdash;<I>Globe</I>.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The novel is a happy blend of truth and fiction, with a purpose that
+will be appreciated by many readers; it has also the most exciting
+elements of the tale of adventure."&mdash;<I>Morning Post</I>.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+WORKS BY JOSEPH CONRAD
+</H4>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+I.
+</H4>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+AN OUTCAST OF THE ISLANDS
+</H3>
+
+<H5 ALIGN="center">
+Crown 8vo., cloth, 6s.
+</H5>
+
+<P>
+"Subject to the qualifications thus disposed of (<I>vide</I> first part of
+notice), 'An Outcast of the Islands' is perhaps the finest piece of
+fiction that has been published this year, as 'Almayer's Folly' was one
+of the finest that was published in 1895....  Surely this is real
+romance&mdash;the romance that is real.  Space forbids anything but the
+merest recapitulation of the other living realities of Mr. Conrad's
+invention&mdash;of Lingard, of the inimitable Almayer, the one-eyed
+Babalatchi, the Naturalist, of the pious Abdulla&mdash;all novel, all
+authentic.  Enough has been written to show Mr. Conrad's quality.  He
+imagines his scenes and their sequence like a master; he knows his
+individualities and their hearts; he has a new and wonderful field in
+this East Indian Novel of his....  Greatness is deliberately written;
+the present writer has read and re-read his two books, and after
+putting this review aside for some days to consider the discretion of
+it, the word still stands."&mdash;<I>Saturday Review</I>
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+II.
+</H4>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+ALMAYER'S FOLLY
+</H3>
+
+<H5 ALIGN="center">
+Second Edition.   Crown 8vo., cloth, 6s.
+</H5>
+
+<P>
+"This startling, unique, splendid book."&mdash;Mr. T. P. O'CONNOR, M.P.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"This is a decidedly powerful story of an uncommon type, and breaks
+fresh ground in fiction ...  All the leading characters in the
+book&mdash;Almayer, his wife, his daughter, and Dain, the daughter's native
+lover&mdash;are well drawn, and the parting between father and daughter has
+a pathetic naturalness about it, unspoiled by straining after effect.
+There are, too, some admirably graphic passages in the book.  The
+approach of a monsoon is most effectively described....  The name of
+Mr. Joseph Conrad is new to us, but it appears to us as if he might
+become the Kipling of the Malay Archipelago."&mdash;<I>Spectator</I>.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+THE EBBING OF THE TIDE
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+BY
+</H4>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+LOUIS BECKE
+</H4>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+Author of "By Reef and Palm"
+</H4>
+
+<H5 ALIGN="center">
+Second Edition.  Crown 8vo., cloth, 6s.
+</H5>
+
+<P>
+"Mr. Louis Becke wields a powerful pen, with the additional advantage
+that he waves it in unfrequented places, and summons up with it the
+elemental passions of human nature....  It will be seen that Mr. Becke
+is somewhat of the fleshly school, but with a pathos and power not
+given to the ordinary professors of that school....  Altogether for
+those who like stirring stories cast in strange scenes, this is a book
+to be read."&mdash;<I>National Observer</I>.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+PACIFIC TALES
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+BY
+</H4>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+LOUIS BECKE
+</H4>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+With a Portrait of the Author
+</H4>
+
+<H5 ALIGN="center">
+Second Edition.  Crown 8vo., cloth, 6s.
+</H5>
+
+<P>
+"The appearance of a new book by Mr. Becke has become an event of
+note&mdash;and very justly.  No living author, if we except Mr. Kipling, has
+so amazing a command of that unhackneyed vitality of phrase that most
+people call by the name of realism.  Whether it is scenery or character
+or incident that he wishes to depict, the touch is ever so dramatic and
+vivid that the reader is conscious of a picture and impression that has
+no parallel save in the records of actual sight and
+memory."&mdash;<I>Westminster Gazette</I>.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Another series of sketches of island life in the South Seas, not
+inferior to those contained in 'By Reef and Palm.'"&mdash;<I>Speaker</I>.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The book is well worth reading.  The author knows what he is talking
+about and has a keen eye for the picturesque."&mdash;G. B. BURGIN in
+<I>To-day</I>.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"A notable contribution to the romance of the South Seas."&mdash;T. P.
+O'CONNOR, M.P., in <I>The Graphic</I>.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+PADDY'S WOMAN
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+BY
+</H4>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+HUMPHREY JAMES
+</H4>
+
+<H5 ALIGN="center">
+Crown 8vo, 6s.
+</H5>
+
+<P>
+"Traits of the Celt of humble circumstances are copied with keen
+appreciation and unsparing accuracy."&mdash;<I>Scotsman</I>.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"....... They are full of indescribable charm and pathos."&mdash;<I>Bradford
+Observer</I>.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The outstanding merit of this series of stories is that they are
+absolutely true to life .... the photographic accuracy and minuteness
+displayed are really marvellous."&mdash;<I>Aberdeen Free Press</I>.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"'Paddy's Woman and Other Stories' by Humphrey James; a volume written
+in the familiar diction of the Ulster people themselves, with perfect
+realism and very remarkable ability....  For genuine human nature and
+human relations, and humour of an indescribable kind, we are unable to
+cite a rival to this volume."&mdash;<I>The World</I>.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"For a fine subtle piece of humour we are inclined to think that 'A
+Glass of Whisky' takes a lot of beating....  In short Mr. Humphrey
+James has given us a delightful book, and one which does as much credit
+to his heart as to his head.  We shall look forward with a keen
+anticipation to the next 'writings' by this shrewd, 'cliver,' and
+compassionate young author."&mdash;<I>Bookselling</I>.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR><BR>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Australasian Democracy, by Henry de R. Walker
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+</BODY>
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+</HTML>
+
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@@ -0,0 +1,9198 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Australasian Democracy, by Henry de R. Walker
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Australasian Democracy
+
+Author: Henry de R. Walker
+
+Release Date: January 8, 2011 [EBook #34887]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AUSTRALASIAN DEMOCRACY ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Al Haines
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+AUSTRALASIAN DEMOCRACY
+
+
+BY
+
+HENRY DE R. WALKER
+
+
+
+
+LONDON
+
+T. FISHER UNWIN
+
+PATERNOSTER SQUARE
+
+MDCCCXCVII
+
+
+
+
+[_All Rights reserved._]
+
+
+
+
+{vii}
+
+PREFACE
+
+The following pages have been written from the point of view of the
+year 1896, the greater part of which I spent in Australia.  During the
+earlier months of the present year I was in New Zealand, but I was
+unable to continue my survey of general Australasian affairs.
+
+A result of the limitation that I was compelled to impose upon myself
+will be observed in the apparent antiquity of the chapter dealing with
+Australian Federation; but this is not so great as might have been
+anticipated, the new Federal Convention having drafted a Bill which is
+based, to a large extent, upon that of 1891.  For purposes of
+comparison I have, with the kind permission of the London agents of the
+Melbourne _Argus_, included an article in which that newspaper has
+summarised the provisions of the new Federal Constitution Bill.
+
+I have also included a brief account of a visit to the Coolgardie
+goldfields which, though alien in purpose from the remaining chapters,
+may not be without interest as a record of personal impressions {viii}
+of a Province which has but recently felt the effects of a budding
+prosperity.
+
+It has been suggested to me that I should attempt to discuss
+Australasian problems with reference to their applicability to Great
+Britain; but I have preferred to leave this task, of which the
+importance cannot be overstated, to persons of greater experience, and
+to confine myself to a record of Australasian action and to a
+comparison of the points of similarity or the reverse between the
+several Provinces. It will be seen, however, that, in some cases, as
+when dealing, for instance, with the results of payment of members and
+with the powers and privileges of Australasian Upper Houses, I have
+noted differences of conditions which must render deductions by analogy
+a matter of extreme difficulty.
+
+The terms "Liberal" and "Conservative" are used to denote,
+respectively, the more and the less advanced parties in Australasian
+politics, and must not be taken to imply differences in opinion similar
+to those prevailing in Great Britain.
+
+In conclusion, I would only say that my studies would have been
+impossible in the absence of kindly communicativeness on the part of
+politicians of all shades of opinion; and, on the social side, that I
+retain warm feelings of gratitude towards the committees of clubs and
+numerous acquaintances who extended to me the cordial hospitality of
+kinship.
+
+
+H. DE R. WALKER.
+
+23, CORK STREET, W.,
+  _July 25, 1897_.
+
+
+
+
+{ix}
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+I.
+
+_LIBERALISM AND LABOUR IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA._
+
+                                                                  PAGE
+
+Contrast between Western Australia and the Eastern
+  Provinces--The Constitution of South Australia--The alliance
+  between Liberalism and Labour--Joint action in the face of
+  financial depression: Village Settlements, Progressive
+  Taxation, the direct encouragement of production--The
+  advocacy of an Elective Executive--The State and
+  Religious Instruction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     1
+
+
+II.
+
+_DEMOCRACY AND ITS SAFEGUARDS IN NEW SOUTH WALES._
+
+The necessity for safeguards against financial extravagance
+  and political pressure--The Crown Lands Act--The
+  appointment of independent Railway Commissioners--The
+  Standing Committee on Public Works--The Public Service
+  Board--The unemployed, their numbers and treatment--The
+  democratisation of the constitution--The Labour
+  Party, its history, successes and aspirations  . . . . . . . .    34
+
+
+{x}
+
+III.
+
+_PROBLEMS OF QUEENSLAND._
+
+The agitation of Central and Northern Queensland for
+  separation from the South--The "Kanaka" traffic--White and
+  coloured labour on the plantations--The Sugar Works
+  Guarantee Act--The irregularity of employment in the
+  sugar and pastoral industries--The conditions and opinions
+  of the shearers--Assistance to dairymen and producers
+  of frozen meat--The Labour Party, its history and
+  prospects--Criticisms of the Government--The principles of
+  State action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    54
+
+
+IV.
+
+_THE LAND POLICY OF NEW ZEALAND._
+
+Differences of conditions between Australia and New
+  Zealand--The Public Works policy--Taxation on land--The
+  Land Act of 1892--The Land for Settlements Acts--The
+  Government Advances to Settlers Acts--The encouragement of
+  settlement--The co-operative construction of Public
+  Works--The unemployed--Continuity of policy  . . . . . . . . .    82
+
+
+V.
+
+_CHARACTERISTICS OF VICTORIAN LEGISLATION._
+
+Comparisons between the Australasian Upper Houses--Conflicts
+  between the two Houses in Victoria--The proposed obviation
+  of deadlocks--The utility of the Legislative Council--The
+  antagonism between Town and Country--The Factory Acts, their
+  justification and provisions--State Socialism: Railways,
+  Irrigation Works, the encouragement of Mining, Subsidies
+  and Bonuses, State advances to Settlers--The Unemployed and
+  the Leongatha Labour Colony  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   121
+
+{xi}
+
+VI.
+
+_THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA._
+
+Constitutional history--The relations of Church and
+  State--Natural impediments to development--The construction
+  of railways--The scarcity of water--the promotion of
+  the mining and other industries--The absence of parties
+  in Parliament  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   156
+
+
+VII.
+
+_DISCURSIVE NOTES ON TASMANIA._
+
+The restriction of the immigration of coloured races--Betting
+  and lotteries--The adoption of a modification of Hare's
+  System of Voting--Conflicts between the two Houses of
+  Parliament--Finance and Taxation--Land Grant Railways  . . . .   170
+
+
+VIII.
+
+_FEMALE SUFFRAGE_  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   184
+
+
+IX.
+
+_THE EVOLUTION OF A FEDERAL GOVERNMENT_  . . . . . . . . . . . .   212
+
+
+X.
+
+_SALIENT FEATURES OF THE AUSTRALASIAN DEMOCRACY._
+
+Indirect effects of the discovery of gold--Causes of the
+  financial crisis--The origin and extent of State
+  Socialism--The thriftiness of the working classes--Labour
+  Representation in Parliament--Parliamentary Government--Direct
+  Taxation--Conciliation and Arbitration in Industrial
+  disputes--Protection and its corollaries--The feeling
+  towards Great Britain--General conclusions . . . . . . . . . .   244
+
+
+XI.
+
+_A VISIT TO THE COOLGARDIE GOLDFIELDS IN MARCH, 1896_  . . . . .   303
+
+
+INDEX  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   317
+
+
+
+
+{1}
+
+I
+
+_LIBERALISM AND LABOUR IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA_
+
+Contrast between Western Australia and the Eastern Provinces--The
+Constitution of South Australia--The alliance between Liberalism and
+Labour--Joint action in the face of financial depression: Village
+Settlements, Progressive Taxation, the direct encouragement of
+production--The advocacy of an Elective Executive--The State and
+Religious Instruction.
+
+
+The traveller who visited Western Australia in 1896 saw a country which
+was enjoying, owing to its goldfields, a phenomenally rapid
+development, with all its attendant advantages of a large increase in
+population, an expanding revenue, and abundance of employment.  As he
+passed to the Eastern Provinces he found himself in the midst of
+communities which had been shaken to their foundations by the fall in
+the value of their staple products and the collapse of many banking
+institutions, and were putting forth strenuous efforts to restore the
+equilibrium between revenue and expenditure and to make a fresh start
+upon the path of prosperity.  These efforts, varying in detail in
+different Provinces, have included the imposition {2} of additional
+taxation, provision for the unemployed, and, in some cases, direct
+encouragement of production.  The policy pursued by South Australia is
+of particular interest as her Constitution gives the freest play to
+democratic influences.
+
+The House of Assembly is elected on the basis of adult suffrage; the
+Upper House or Legislative Council by adults possessing a property
+qualification consisting of a freehold of the clear annual value of
+L50, a registered leasehold of L20, with three years to run or the
+right of purchase, or the occupation of a dwelling-house of the clear
+annual value of L25.  No property qualification is required in
+candidates for election to either House, and the Members of both Houses
+are paid at the rate of L200 per annum.  Adults, upon reaching the age
+of twenty-one in the case of the Assembly or possessing the requisite
+qualification in the case of the Council, can claim to be placed upon
+the electoral roll and are entitled to vote upon the expiration of six
+months after registration; upon removal to another constituency, the
+vote can immediately be transferred.  Plural voting is forbidden under
+heavy penalties, and all the elections, except that for the Northern
+Territory, take place upon the same day.
+
+These conditions have enabled the democratic element to obtain a
+preponderating voice in both Houses, by a majority of one in the
+Council and by a considerable majority in the Assembly.  During {3} the
+last three years the Government has been in the hands of the Liberals
+under the Hon. C. C. Kingston, who has included in his cabinet two
+former Premiers in the persons of the Treasurer, the Hon. F. W. Holder,
+and the Minister of Education and Agriculture, the Hon. Dr. Cockburn.
+The Ministerialists have had the support of the Labour Party, which has
+been very successful with its candidates and now holds the balance of
+power.  It was formed towards the close of the year 1890, after the
+failure of the maritime strike, in response to the feeling of the
+Trades Unions and other labour organisations that their objects would
+be obtained most easily by securing the direct representation of labour
+in Parliament.  They were influenced also by the rejection by the
+Assembly of Dr. Cockburn's proposals for progressive taxation in spite
+of promises made by a majority of the members before their election.  A
+political programme was, accordingly, drawn up, which is the accepted
+creed of the Labour representatives, who number six in the Council of
+twenty-four and twelve in the Assembly of fifty-four members.  It has
+successively been modified, as measures previously advocated have been
+passed into law, and contains the following principal items: The
+cessation of the alienation of Crown Lands by the substitution of some
+system of leasing; the remission of the duties on articles not grown or
+produced in the Colony, any resulting deficiency in the revenue to be
+made up by increasing the tax on {4} land values; redistribution of
+seats on the basis of population; the encouragement of local industries
+by the extension of the State Export Department, so that producers may
+be able to obtain the full benefit of foreign markets; and Federation
+on a democratic basis.  The Labour Party are opposed most strongly to
+the admission of coloured races and to assisted immigration, on the
+ground that the former would lower the status of the Australian
+workman, and the latter cause the supply of labour to exceed the demand
+and bring misery and destitution upon the poor.  The relations of the
+Labour and Liberal members, which have been most cordial, are based
+upon mutual interdependence.  The Liberals rely upon the support of the
+Labour members; the latter are not strong enough to take office, nor, I
+understand, do they wish to do so, and must support the Liberals in
+order to be able to mould the legislation to the shape that they
+desire.  A prominent member of the Labour Party has thus summarised the
+position: "The hardest work in connection with some of the measures has
+been done by Liberals who, though not members of the Party, are
+generally found working in connection with that body.  But it must be
+conceded that most of the planks which have been carried owe their
+early success to the fact of their adoption on the programme of the
+United Labour Party, and the persistent advocacy and solid votes of its
+members."  The policy of the Party has created a great {5} amount of
+bitterness in the country, their successful advocacy of progressive
+taxation on incomes and land values and of other democratic measures
+having led them to be charged with being inimical to capital as such;
+but the Speaker of the Assembly, who is a Conservative, has stated in a
+recent speech that, "in speaking of the Labour Party, he wishes to do
+so with the greatest respect.  They are a power in the House, and no
+Government could have retained office in the last Parliament without
+their support.  The Labour representatives were picked men, clever in
+debate, unremitting in attention to their duties, and a credit to the
+districts they represented."  The leader of the Party is Mr. J. A.
+McPherson, a native of Aberdeen, who migrated to Adelaide in 1882 and
+engaged in the printing trade.  He identified himself with Trades Union
+affairs, was elected unanimously in 1890 to be Secretary of the Trades
+and Labour Council, and still holds that position.  He entered the
+Assembly at a bye-election in 1892, and is regarded as one of the
+ablest and most energetic members of the Labour Party.  Mr. McPherson
+has a popular supporter in Mr. E. L. Batchelor, the colleague of the
+Premier in the representation of West Adelaide, who has risen from
+subordinate employment on the Government railways to be, at the age of
+thirty, President of the Railway Association and Secretary of the
+Party.  Mr. Batchelor is a man of broad views and a keen student, and
+has brought {6} forward a Bill for the institution of the initiative
+and referendum, which he considers to be suited to the small population
+of South Australia.  The Party are fortunate in their leading men and
+show no signs of cleavage, their only serious difference of opinion
+having been in regard to the qualifications of Labour candidates.  As
+long as solidarity can be maintained and the present leaders remain in
+the ascendant, no fear need be felt that they will subordinate the
+interests of the community to those of their own class, though they
+would be the first to admit that their main object is to protect the
+working man and to improve his position.
+
+The principal measures of the present Administration, such as the
+Taxation Acts and the establishment of the Village Settlements and of
+the Produce Export Department, may be said to be the joint product of
+the Liberal and Labour Parties, and may be regarded as an example of
+the policy pursued by a pure democracy in the face of financial
+depression, dislocation of trade, and widespread scarcity of employment.
+
+The object of the Act of 1893 which authorised the formation of Village
+Settlements was to prevent men of small means, who found difficulty in
+obtaining employment, from leaving the country by affording them the
+opportunity of settling upon the land and working it co-operatively
+with the assistance of advances from the State.  Its main provisions
+were, that any twenty or more persons {7} might form an association for
+the purpose of taking up a grant of land not exceeding 160 acres per
+head; that the work should be done under the direction of trustees
+appointed by members of the association from among their number, who
+should manage the affairs of the village upon principles of
+co-operation and equitable division; and that the Commissioner of Crown
+Lands might advance to any such association out of funds provided by
+Parliament, an amount not exceeding the sum of L50 for each villager
+and not exceeding one-half the cost of the improvements upon the land.
+The advances were to be repaid in ten equal annual instalments, with
+interest computed at 5 per cent. per annum on the moneys for the time
+being remaining unpaid; but the first of such instalments was not to be
+payable until after the expiration of three years from the date of the
+advance.  The formation of settlements on a purely communistic basis
+was rendered possible by Section 78 of the Act, which states that "the
+rules" (of an association) "may require payment to a common fund or
+otherwise as may be determined of all or any part of the earnings of
+the villagers whether earned within the village or elsewhere."  Twelve
+associations were formed, mostly on the banks of the Murray, between
+the months of February and August, 1894, but not, with a single
+exception, on the lines intended by the Government.  The extreme
+scarcity of employment and great poverty at Adelaide and in the
+neighbourhood in the early part of that year led them to form {8} the
+remainder of persons who were almost entirely destitute.  They were
+necessarily assisted at the start, but did not afterwards receive
+advances until the Government Inspector had certified that they were
+justified by the improvements made upon the land.  The action of the
+Government was illegal throughout, as the Act stated expressly that the
+advances should be made out of funds provided by Parliament, and no
+funds had been voted for the purpose, but it may be condoned on the
+ground of the extreme urgency of the crisis.  At the expiration of a
+year the limit had been reached in most cases, and further advances
+were indispensable to prevent the immediate collapse of the majority of
+the settlements.  The Commissioner of Crown Lands, accordingly,
+introduced a Bill in which he asked for authority to increase the
+advances, under the same conditions, to L100 per head, and for further
+powers of control over the settlements.  The Bill, which was hotly
+opposed, was not passed till a Select Committee had been appointed to
+inquire on the spot into the conditions and financial prospects of the
+settlements and had reported in its favour.
+
+The report, which was dated November 14, 1895, and the evidence upon
+which it was based, gave a complete picture of the disadvantages under
+which the settlers laboured and of the drawbacks of the system of
+distribution.  The land selected for the villages was such, it was
+pointed out, that it could not be cultivated except under irrigation.
+This had {9} necessitated the erection of a costly pumping plant, which
+the settlers had difficulty in purchasing, as they could offer no
+security for payment.  When the plant was finally obtained, it was
+found, in some cases, to be unsuitable; in others it could not be
+properly worked in the absence of a capable engineer.  The settlers,
+brought together at haphazard by destitution and not by their knowledge
+of agricultural pursuits, had wasted much time and labour through
+ignorance, incapacity, and insufficiency of proper tools.  They had
+lacked a strong controlling hand to direct their operations, and had
+disobeyed the trustees whom they had themselves appointed; and as the
+trustees had little power discipline had been nonexistent, and
+quarrels, at several settlements, of continual occurrence.  Order had
+been restored with difficulty, as the only punishment was expulsion,
+upon a decision of the trustees ratified by a vote of the villagers,
+and many villagers had voted against expulsion from the fear that they
+in their turn might be subjected to a similar penalty.  The
+arrangements for the distribution of rations also had caused
+considerable dissatisfaction and led to disagreement between single and
+married men, as the former felt that the latter received a share of the
+stores out of proportion to the work they had done.  The general system
+was, that rations were issued on a sliding scale, according as a man
+was single or had a large or small family, and was to that extent
+purely communistic.
+
+{10}
+
+The difficulties encountered by the settlers had been such as would
+have discouraged most men, but, in spite of them, the total number had
+only fallen in eighteen months from 598 to 440, and the majority of
+witnesses expressed themselves satisfied with their lot.  They admitted
+the necessity of further advances, but pleaded that they had a heavy
+burden to bear in the cost of machinery, and that their labour,
+especially in the planting of fruit trees, could not yield an immediate
+return.  The financial position was thus summarised:--The Government
+had advanced L26,000, the unpaid accounts amounted to about L11,000,
+and the improvements were valued by the Commissioner of Crown Lands at
+L41,000.
+
+During 1896 the further advances had been expended, but the settlements
+had not become self-supporting, and the increased burden of debt and
+uncertainty as to the future had caused many of the settlers to become
+disheartened and others to leave in despair.  On the other hand, the
+appointment of an expert to exercise the additional powers conferred
+upon the Commissioner and to give advice to the settlers, had led to
+the diminution of quarrels and disagreements among them and to a better
+direction of their work.  In view of these facts the Government decided
+to close four of the settlements which had been formed upon land
+unsuitable to the purpose, owing to the poorness of the soil or the
+absence of facilities for profitable irrigation.  It has been {11}
+estimated that the remainder have sufficient irrigable land to maintain
+a population of about three hundred families, and that they require an
+average of about L25 per settler to make them self-supporting.  A few
+enthusiasts alone believe that any portion of the principal of the
+loans will ever be repaid; but the Government will have no cause to
+complain if they receive regular interest on the money.  Some
+difficulty is likely to arise in the disposal of the produce.  There is
+a considerable market for vegetables on the river, but it will soon be
+overtaken by the supply.  The settlers will probably devote most of
+their land to fruit growing and dairying, and will be able to take
+advantage of the Export Department.
+
+The settlers should have a better chance of success in the future, as
+loafers are gradually being weeded out, and the process is to be
+continued until the settlers shall have been reduced to such as have
+shown an honest desire to make homes for themselves and their families
+upon the land.  This course has been rendered possible by the large
+exodus of working men to Western Australia, which has reduced the
+pressure upon the local labour market.  The Government desire to
+approximate all the settlements to the level of Murtho, which alone was
+formed of persons who had considerable means of their own.  The
+settlers, about twenty in number, put an average of L60 each into the
+venture and left good situations out of enthusiasm for the principles
+of co-operation.  They are intelligent, well-educated {12} men and
+women who are bound to put forward every effort to be successful, as
+otherwise they will be in a worse position than at the start.  They
+work all the land upon the method of joint cultivation on the ground
+that, as different forms of produce are grown, it is of importance to
+be able to concentrate the greater portion of the labour at any point
+where it may be required, and, under the influence of communistic
+ideas, give to all an equal share of the results of their united
+efforts.  This system would have seemed, from the constitution of human
+nature, to be doomed to failure; but an amount of work has been done in
+planting and clearing which testifies to continuous and sustained
+labour, disagreements have been rare, and the settlers, in conversation
+with me, expressed themselves as contented with their lot and confident
+of eventual success.  They do not regard themselves as recipients of
+charity, as they have received advances on the same conditions as
+holders of Working Men's blocks; on the contrary, they regard
+themselves as pioneers of a new movement, and desire, not only to make
+homes for themselves and their families, but to prove that land can be
+worked successfully on a co-operative, almost a communistic, basis.  If
+the Murtho settlers succeed, they will do so by the continued exercise
+of mutual forbearance and from the impulse of a common enthusiasm.
+
+The Government appear to have made several {13} grave mistakes of
+omission and commission in the formation of the settlements.  They
+should have caused a survey of the Murray lands to be made before the
+selection of the sites, and they should have realised that men, united
+only by their destitution, required control and direction, and, as the
+majority were ignorant of agricultural pursuits, constant
+superintendence of their work.  The system of joint cultivation also
+was entirely unsuited to the class of men who formed the bulk of the
+settlers.  It is true that the Act authorised neither preliminary
+surveys nor the appointment of superintendents, and stated expressly
+that the associations were to be co-operative; but if the urgency of
+the crisis may be taken to have justified the Government in making
+advances without the sanction of Parliament, it would also have
+justified such further illegalities as would have benefited the
+settlers and safeguarded the interests of the tax-payers.
+
+A certain amount of co-operation was inevitable if the settlements were
+to be formed upon land which could only be cultivated under irrigation,
+in the erection of the pumping plant and the use of water.  It would
+also be advisable in the purchase of seeds, trees and vines, the
+disposal of produce and the common ownership of horses and implements
+of husbandry.  But the land might have been cut up into blocks, in
+order to enable each settler to obtain the full benefit of his
+exertions {14} subject to payment for the services rendered to him by
+the association.
+
+The Government are to be congratulated, however faulty their methods
+may have been, upon their attempt to enable the unemployed to make
+homes for themselves upon the land, a great improvement upon the policy
+of their predecessors, who wasted thousands of pounds upon unnecessary
+relief works.  They have undoubtedly raised the moral tone of the
+settlers, who make a good impression upon the visitor through their
+intelligence and sobriety and the happy appearance of their children,
+and one cannot but regret that, owing to the absence of direction, much
+of their labour has been absolutely valueless.  The cynic will say that
+the men have every reason to be contented as they are living entirely
+upon advances and can rid themselves of all responsibility for the
+loans by leaving the settlements; but he forgets that they have
+qualified for these advances by hard work and that they never see a
+shilling that they can call their own.
+
+The whole question must be looked at from the point of view of the
+Australian, who would be horrified at our system, under which indigence
+is assumed to be the result of idleness and improvidence and relief is
+offered under the most degrading conditions, and expects his Government
+to do something to relieve the misery caused by scarcity of employment.
+In South Australia, where adult suffrage and payment of the members of
+both {15} Houses have made the working classes masters of the
+situation, they can compel the Ministry to pay attention to their
+wishes.  A step in the right direction, was taken when Village
+Settlements were substituted for temporary relief works; but any future
+scheme, while affording to men the opportunity of regaining a position
+of independence, should compel them to prove their worthiness by their
+own individual exertions.
+
+The wide application by the Australasian Provinces of the principle of
+State action renders them especially liable to violent fluctuations of
+prosperity and adversity.  As young countries they have borrowed
+largely for purposes of development, and have constructed expensive
+public works which have greatly increased the demand for labour.
+During the recent years of depression the Government have been obliged
+to discontinue their operations, and have offered less employment at a
+time when the labour market was already overstocked owing to the
+contraction of private enterprise.  Similarly in the case of revenue:
+the receipts from the railways, which are almost universally owned by
+the State, vary proportionately with the returns from taxation, which
+depend in their turn largely upon the condition of trade.  They have
+fallen in South Australia from L1,229,598 in 1891-2 to L967,656 in
+1894-5, with the result that when the community has been least able,
+owing to the diminished returns from other resources of revenue, to
+bear additional {16} taxation, further taxes have necessarily been
+imposed to meet the interest upon the loans out of the proceeds of
+which the railways have been constructed.  The Kingston Government,
+which took office in 1893, had to face a deficit of L200,000, and
+immediately set to work to restore order in the finances.  This they
+attempted to do by retrenchment, reducing the expenditure by L100,000
+per annum, and by the imposition of fresh taxation.  Succession Duties,
+a tax on the unimproved value of land and an income tax had already
+been imposed, a distinction being made in the latter case, between
+incomes derived from property and incomes resulting from personal
+exertion; but the present Government were the first to introduce the
+progressive principle into the taxes on incomes and land values.  This
+legislation has encountered, as might be expected, the strongest
+opposition from the richer members of the community, who protest that a
+feeling of insecurity is produced and capital driven out of the
+country, but it may be noted that South Australia in 1895 raised money
+at 3 per cent. upon exceptionally favourable terms.  The Government
+were compelled to obtain further funds, and showed their desire to
+equalise the incidence of the additional taxes by lowering, in spite of
+the opposition of the Labour Party, the exemption from income tax from
+L200 to L125 and by increasing the duty on beer, spirits, and other
+articles of ordinary consumption.  Income tax is {17} at present at the
+rate of 4-1/2d. in the pound up to L800, and of 6d. in the pound above
+L800 of taxable amount resulting from personal exertions, and at the
+rate of 9d. and 1s. in the pound, respectively, on incomes from
+property.  Incomes between L125 and L425 enjoy exemption on L125 of the
+amount.  Taxpayers are required, under penalty of prosecution for
+perjury for a false declaration, to furnish annually a statement of all
+forms of income that they have enjoyed during the past year, except in
+respect of any share or interest in a registered company; in this case
+the tax, at the rate of a shilling in the pound, is deducted by an
+officer of the company before payment of the dividends to shareholders.
+The higher rate is not paid on either form of income unless it,
+separately, exceeds L800.  The tax on the unimproved value of land is
+1/2d. in the pound up to, and 1d. above, the capital value of L5,000, and
+is increased by 20 per cent. in the case of absentee owners.  A general
+assessment of all the lands in the Colony is made triennially, each
+person's property in each district or township being treated
+separately.  The assessments are then sorted alphabetically, in order
+to discover the total holding of each individual which is the basis
+upon which the higher or lower rate of taxation is imposed.  Little
+objection is taken to the manner in which the value of the land is
+assessed; in the majority of cases the owner and the official of the
+Government are able to agree as {18} to a fair valuation, and, should
+they fail to do so, an appeal against the valuation may be made to the
+Taxation Department, and, if an arrangement be not arrived at, to a
+Court of Law.  The assessment of 1894 led to a large number of appeals,
+as the assessors had not realised the enormous fall in value of
+agricultural and pastoral land, but all, with a single exception, were
+met to the satisfaction of the appellant by concessions voluntarily
+made by the Department.  Their attention is turned mainly to urban
+land, because it is subject to the greatest increase in unimproved
+value and returns the larger portion of the receipts derived from this
+source.  An incidental advantage of the tax lies in the fact that land
+held by speculators for a rise in value contributes to the revenue
+equally with that on which buildings have been erected.  The tax is
+recognised by most people as equitable in principle, but its
+progressive character has brought upon the Ministry the bitterest
+animosity of the landed class, who maintain that it has caused land to
+be given up and to become unsaleable, not so much because the present
+burden is intolerable but because it is merely the thin end of the
+wedge.  They point to the programme of the Labour Party in which it is
+stated that the duty should be taken off certain articles of ordinary
+consumption, the deficiency (which, according to an official estimate,
+would be L310,000 a year) to be made up by increasing the tax on land
+values, and argue that as the Labour Party hold the {19} Government
+under their thumb, they will be able to enforce compliance with their
+wishes.  It is difficult for a stranger to judge to what extent
+possessors of capital have actually been deterred from investing it in
+land, especially as several important factors have led concurrently to
+a depreciation in its value, such as the fall in the prices of wheat
+and wool, the failure of banks which were interested, directly or
+indirectly, in large tracts of country, and bad legislation, passed
+some ten years ago, under which the runs were cut up into blocks too
+small for the successful prosecution of the pastoral industry.  The
+Government can point to Pastoral Acts which are admitted to be steps in
+the right direction, and challenge their opponents to show in what way
+they could have raised the L20,000 yielded by the additional Land Tax
+with less burden to the community.  The Absentee Tax lacks similar
+justification, as it only brings in L3,600 a year.  It is defended by
+the Premier on the ground that the absentee, as regards his property,
+has the full protection of the administration of the laws, and should
+contribute to the expenditure necessary for the maintenance of the
+State; and that he does not do so to the extent of those who live in
+South Australia and contribute daily to the revenue by means of the
+Customs in all they eat and drink and practically all they put on.  On
+the other hand it is contended that it is of supreme importance to
+attract capital to the Colony and that this principle is recognised
+{20} in the case of public loans and Treasury bonds, on which no income
+tax is charged, and should also be taken into consideration with
+reference to private investments in land.  Succession Duty is levied
+upon a graduated scale, ranging from 1-1/2 per cent. for L500 to 10 per
+cent. for L200,000 and upwards in the case of a widow, widower,
+ancestor or descendant of the deceased, and from 1 per cent. for any
+amount under L200 to 10 per cent. for L20,000 and upwards where the
+property is inherited by a person in any degree of collateral
+consanguinity.  If the heir is a stranger in blood he pays 10 per cent.
+whatever be the value of the property.  In order to promote the
+diffusion of wealth the rate of the tax is based upon the amount
+inherited, not upon the total value of the estate.
+
+In the relief of the unemployed and the imposition of additional
+taxation, the Ministry, while choosing their methods, have dealt with
+problems which they were bound to face; but they have not confined
+themselves to the negative task of coping with existing difficulties.
+They have realised that greater commercial activity would permanently
+benefit the revenue and add to the demand for labour, and that, in a
+country like South Australia, it could only be secured by a wider and
+more varied cultivation of the soil, and have, with the hearty support
+of the Labour Party, seized every opportunity to encourage production
+and develop the export trade.  Farmers already had the advantage of an
+Agricultural Bureau at Adelaide, {21} with local branches, which
+periodically disseminated information, and of an Agricultural College
+to which they could send their sons, at a small annual charge, or
+gratuitously if they could obtain a scholarship; but they were
+hindered, when the fall in the value of cereals compelled them to turn
+their attention to subsidiary industries, by the absence of facilities
+for obtaining a market for subsidiary products.  The limited demand in
+the Colony for butter, fruit, and wine offered insufficient inducement
+to farmers and small cultivators.  Previous to 1893, the total export
+of butter did not exceed the value of L1,200, but in that year and in
+1894 a bonus was offered by the Government, with the result that butter
+of the value of L110,000 has since been shipped.  They also formed a
+Produce Export Department through which producers can ship their goods
+to London, entered into a contract with the Peninsular and Oriental and
+Orient Steamship Companies for cheap rates of carriage, and established
+in London a Wine and Produce Depot to receive the goods and sell them
+on the most favourable terms.  A receiving depot has since been
+established at Port Adelaide and refrigerating machinery and chambers
+have been erected, which enable the Department to receive sheep and
+send them as frozen meat to England.  Butter, wine, frozen meat, and
+fruit have been sent to London through the Department, and in some
+cases prices have been realised which far surpassed those which could
+have been obtained in {22} the local market.  The scheme is not yet
+self-supporting, as, though the charges cover the expenses, the
+salaries of the additional officials required in the Ministry, and an
+annual sum of some L3,500 for the maintenance of the Depot in London,
+fall upon the revenue of the country; but this expenditure is more than
+repaid by the impetus undoubtedly given to trade which would not
+otherwise have been afforded owing to the absence of private
+enterprise.  The Ministry have undertaken a work in which individuals
+would have had little chance of success, and have enabled small
+consignors to ship their produce at wholesale rates.  Their object also
+has been, in the words of the Minister of Agriculture (Dr. Cockburn),
+"to afford a guarantee of quality.  All goods consigned to the Depot
+are examined previous to shipment.  If found to be in good condition
+and properly packed, they are sent forward to the London manager with a
+certificate to that effect.  By this system of inspection a barrier is
+erected against the export of inferior goods which have an injurious
+effect on the reputation of South Australian produce."  This latter
+point is of great importance and applies equally as regards the injury
+that might be done by one Province to another, as the British consumer
+regards Australian produce generically, and does not distinguish
+between the output of different Provinces.  Dr. Cockburn called a
+conference in 1896, which was attended by representatives from New
+South {23} Wales, Victoria, and Queensland, to consider how far joint
+action might be taken to secure uniformity of output.  The presence of
+a representative from Victoria enhanced the practical character of the
+deliberations, as that Province has been the pioneer in the movement
+and conducts its operations on a very extensive scale.  It was decided
+that the respective Parliaments should be invited to legislate in the
+direction of uniform inspection of frozen meat, dairy produce, wine and
+fruit, the adoption as far as possible of a federal brand which would
+be a guarantee of high quality and the joint exhibition of Australian
+produce at some leading agricultural show in England.  The conference
+is regarded as a promising sign of the willingness of the Australian
+Provinces to act together in matters of common concern.  The
+institution of the Produce Export Department is favourably viewed by
+the press of South Australia and by the bulk of the community, but,
+while it is admitted that the initiative of the State has been
+successful, the hope is expressed that, when the trade has been firmly
+established, the scope of State action will be reduced and private
+enterprise be allowed to step in.  Such an attitude shows the prevalent
+distrust of State action; in order that it may not be perpetuated, the
+middleman is to be invited to absorb a portion of the profits which at
+present are gained by the producer.
+
+The present Ministry have also legislated on the {24} subject of
+workmen's liens, to protect the wage-earner against an insolvent or
+dishonest employer; they have passed a Conciliation Act, to facilitate
+the settlement of industrial disputes, and have established a State
+Bank to provide for advances to farmers and other producers and to
+local authorities.  These measures were warmly supported by the Labour
+members, who tried, unsuccessfully, to enlarge the scope of the State
+Bank by making it a Bank of Issue.
+
+At the General Election in 1896 the Liberals, who were again
+successful, advocated certain measures of social reform; continued
+economy of administration; the extension of the functions of the Export
+Department; Federation on a democratic basis, and the election of
+Ministries by Parliament, a proposal which has excited singularly
+little interest, in spite of the complete change that it would effect
+in the methods of government.  The justification for it must be sought
+in the local conditions of the Province, which has never taken kindly
+to the system of government by party.
+
+The tariff question, which has caused a clear line of division in New
+South Wales, has been settled decisively in favour of protection, and
+no distinct issue has taken its place at the recent elections.  In
+Adelaide and the neighbourhood the contest may be said to have been
+fought in some sense between capital and labour, though among the
+supporters of the Ministry are many men of considerable means; {25} or
+between individualism and socialism, but that all are socialists to the
+extent of believing in State ownership of railways and State control of
+waterworks and water conservation, while the majority are favourably
+disposed to the Export Department, and the average man has no definite
+ideas on the subject, but views each proposed extension of State action
+according to his opinion of its possible effect upon himself.  The
+success of the Liberals was remarkable, as the South Australians are a
+fickle people, and usually overthrow the party that is in power; but it
+is suggested that the female vote, which has been given for the first
+time, may have been recorded largely in favour of those who had passed
+the Adult Suffrage Act.  However that may be, the Kingston Government
+are by no means sure of an extension of three years, as the ties of
+party allegiance are slight except in the case of the Labour members,
+and the struggles in the Assembly may resolve themselves, as in the
+past, into contests between individual aspirants for office.  The
+tendency of the last Parliament was in the direction of a clearer line
+of cleavage, but this was due to the cleverness of the present Premier,
+who included in the Cabinet his two strongest opponents whose
+opposition had been the more bitter that it was not founded upon
+differences of political opinion.  Until that time South Australia had
+had forty-one Ministries in thirty-seven years, a constant change of
+the responsible heads of public departments {26} which greatly impaired
+their efficiency and prevented continuity of administration.  The
+absence of a stable majority in the Assembly gave the opportunity, and
+ambition and love of power the impetus, to continual struggles for
+office which were wholly unallied with any baser motives, as Australian
+statesmen have obtained an honourable pre-eminence for their rectitude
+of character.
+
+The intentions of the Government in regard to the substitution of an
+elective executive, which have not yet been definitely formulated, may
+be gathered from a speech made by Dr. Cockburn, the principal advocate
+of the change, in which he proposed that Ministers, who would continue,
+as at present, to be Members of Parliament, should be elected by ballot
+by the Assembly at the commencement of each session; that they should
+appoint one of their number to be their leader, but should be
+responsible individually to Parliament for their respective
+departments; and that their corporate responsibility should be limited
+to matters affecting the Province as a whole, such as finance or its
+relations with other countries.  The Governor's prerogative of
+dissolution would remain unaffected, but as the House would be brought
+into closer touch with the people, dissolutions would be unnecessary
+and undesirable.  Dr. Cockburn claimed that his proposal was in
+accordance with the natural evolution of Parliamentary Government, and
+contended that, the area of selection being enlarged, the {27} best men
+would be chosen as Ministers from the whole House and the best man for
+each office.  Ministers would not be called upon to justify proceedings
+of their colleagues which in their hearts they condemned, and private
+members would be able to exercise greater independence, as they would
+not be called upon to sacrifice their convictions to maintain their
+friends in office, and, being allowed greater freedom on questions of
+legislation, would introduce many bills of an important character.
+Intrigue, which was an essential of Party government, would become
+disreputable when resorted to for purposes of personal advancement.
+The objection that certain members would not work together if chosen to
+form an administration was met by the fact that men sat in amity on the
+Treasury benches who previously had denounced one another to the utmost
+of their power.  The distinctive feature of the proposal, therefore, is
+the indirect election of Ministers.  The people elect the
+representatives, who, in turn, are to elect certain of their number to
+form the Executive.  The first criticism that suggests itself is, that
+it is difficult to believe in the rapid elimination of party feeling,
+and that it is probable, granted the existence of intrigues among
+aspirants for office under the present system, that they would be
+increased tenfold when such persons sought to ingratiate themselves,
+not only with prospective Premiers, but with a majority of the members
+of the Assembly.  Again, {28} while it is impossible to foresee all the
+results of the change, it may be anticipated that some obvious
+advantages would be counterbalanced by incoherence of policy and
+haphazard legislation, but that a class of men might be induced to come
+forward as candidates who are deterred by their horror of continual
+party strife.  Dr. Cockburn stated that no amendment would be required
+in the Constitution Act, as, after the election of the Ministers, their
+names would be submitted in the ordinary way to the Governor.  The
+present Ministry also favour the biennial retirement of half the
+members of the Assembly, in order to secure continuity in its
+composition, and the institution of the referendum.
+
+These proposals are warmly supported by the Labour Party.  They
+advocate elective Ministries on the ground that the people would obtain
+greater control over the Executive, that stability of government would
+be promoted, and that the legislative efficiency of Parliament would
+greatly be increased.  They contrast the rapid dispatch of business by
+local governing bodies with the waste of time and obstruction which
+prevail in legislative assemblies.  The biennial retirement of half the
+members of the Lower House commends itself to them for the reason which
+causes it to be opposed by men of conservative tendencies, that it
+would do away with the form of minority representation which is
+rendered possible in two-member constituencies by the widespread habit
+of plumping.  They have {29} been foremost in their advocacy of the
+referendum and the initiative, and one of their representatives, Mr.
+Batchelor, has introduced a Bill which provides for the establishment
+of the referendum, and contains the striking clause that "If petitions,
+signed by not less than one-tenth of the electors entitled to vote for
+the election of members of the House of Assembly ... shall be presented
+to Parliament praying that legislation shall be initiated on any
+subject, the Attorney-General shall prepare, or cause to be prepared, a
+Bill to give effect to such petition; and such Bill shall be introduced
+into Parliament as a Government measure."  Mr. Batchelor believes that
+legislation would be accelerated on subjects which fail to receive
+attention because Ministries fear that they might alienate the
+sympathies of some of their supporters.
+
+The idea of the direct consultation of the people upon a particular
+subject was put into practical effect at the recent elections, when
+they were invited, in the form of an initiative, to say whether they
+desired alterations in the law in regard to education.  Primary
+education in South Australia is free, secular and compulsory.  No
+religious instruction is permitted in the State schools, but the
+Minister of Education has the power, on receiving a written request
+from the parents of not less than ten children who attend any school,
+to require the teacher to read the Bible to any pupils who are present
+for that purpose for half an hour before {30} half-past nine, the time
+at which the ordinary teaching commences.  The direct reference to the
+people was the result of a Parliamentary resolution instigated by the
+advocates of denominational education, who contended that public
+opinion was veering round in their favour and believed that they would
+obtain a great accession of strength in the female vote which was to be
+exercised for the first time.  It was couched in the form of the
+following questions, which were submitted to the electorate on a
+separate voting paper on the occasion of the general elections:--
+
+1. Do you favour the continuance of the present system of education in
+the State schools?
+
+2. Do you favour the introduction of religious instruction in the State
+schools during school hours?
+
+3. Do you favour the payment of a Capitation Grant to denominational
+schools for secular results?
+
+The wording of the first and second questions was calculated to act in
+favour of the opponents of secularism, as the first would probably be
+answered in the negative not only by those who support religious
+instruction but also by many who believe that, in the present state of
+the finances, education should not be free except to such as are unable
+to pay for it.  It was not made clear whether it was intended to apply
+to the system as a whole or merely to its secular character.  The {31}
+second question would bring together all who favour religious
+instruction, however much they may disagree among themselves as to the
+form in which it should be given.  During the progress of the campaign
+the majority of the candidates declined to express their views upon the
+matter, but stated that they would be prepared to abide by the popular
+decision.
+
+The following figures give the result of the reference for the whole
+Province with the exception of the Northern Territory, which has a very
+small electorate:--
+
+  1.  Yes ... ... 51,744.    No ... ... 17,755.
+  2.  Yes ... ... 18,889.    No ... ... 34,922.
+  3.  Yes ... ... 13,428.    No ... ... 41,975.
+
+
+The classification of the papers is disappointingly meagre, as no
+information can be gathered as to the number of supporters of religious
+teaching and the capitation grant who were favourable to the other
+leading features of the existing system, nor as to the extent to which
+the friends of the capitation grant approved or disapproved of
+religious instruction in the State schools.  The returns show, however,
+that, while 90,000 votes were given for Parliamentary candidates, some
+20,000 persons either did not vote at all or gave an informal vote upon
+the distinct issue, and that less than one-fifth pronounced against the
+Act as it stands.  The condemnation of the capitation grant is still
+more emphatic, and if the {32} supporters of religious teaching have
+less cause for dissatisfaction, it may be noted that in no constituency
+were the affirmative in excess of the negative replies, and that as the
+total number of votes given upon the first question was far larger than
+that on the second and third, thousands who had voted affirmatively
+upon the first must have considered that they had thereby returned a
+negative reply to the others and should be reckoned as additional
+opponents of religious instruction and of the capitation grant.  It is
+also noteworthy that, contrary to the general expectation, the country
+districts gave a considerably higher percentage of votes in favour of
+the present system than the seven constituencies which include Adelaide
+and its immediate neighbourhood.  The advocates of religious
+instruction have announced that they intend to continue their efforts
+to win over the majority to their views; in the meanwhile, they will
+realise that the process must be slow and will stir up the various
+agencies of the churches to increased activity in a sphere which is
+particularly their own.
+
+The secular character of State education, which dates from 1851, cannot
+be shown to have had evil effects upon the conduct of the working
+classes, who almost universally respect and obey the law and have an
+air of confident independence which has been fostered by manhood
+suffrage, high wages and a high standard of comfort.  South Australia
+was fortunate in her original settlers, and has always {33} attracted a
+good class of immigrants.  At present great benefit is accruing from
+the rapid development of Western Australia, which has relieved the
+pressure upon the labour market and increased the demand for South
+Australian goods.  The latest Savings Bank returns give the total
+amount deposited as L2,713,000 and the number of depositors as 88,876,
+a very satisfactory rate for a population of about 320,000, especially
+when it is considered that the working classes also have large
+investments in Friendly and Building Societies.  In conclusion, the
+visitor cannot but be struck by the entire absence of squalid poverty
+and of overcrowding in tenements and by the orderliness of the people
+and the high average of prosperity.
+
+
+
+
+{34}
+
+II
+
+_DEMOCRACY AND ITS SAFEGUARDS IN NEW SOUTH WALES_
+
+The necessity for safeguards against financial extravagance and
+political pressure--The Crown Lands Act--The appointment of independent
+Railway Commissioners--The Standing Committee on Public Works--The
+Public Service Board--The unemployed, their numbers and treatment--The
+democratisation of the constitution--The Labour Party, its history,
+successes and aspirations.
+
+
+The inhabitants of New South Wales, as of several other Australian
+Provinces, lived for many years in a fool's paradise.  They had
+received a magnificent inheritance in the land and were able, owing to
+the proved mineral resources of the country, to draw upon a practically
+inexhaustible fund in the willing advances of British capitalists.  All
+classes vied with one another, especially in Victoria, in the
+extravagant loans and expenditure which caused the crisis of 1893, the
+greatest blessing, as many think, that has ever befallen Australia.
+Regardless of the burdens it was imposing upon future generations, the
+Parliament of New South Wales, with which I shall be dealing
+principally in the present chapter, {35} constructed unnecessary public
+works, allowed the Civil Service to be packed with the friends and
+relations of those in power, and authorised roads and bridges almost at
+the whim of each individual member.  This condition of things could not
+continue indefinitely: on the one side, a rapidly increasing debt, on
+the other, an enormous army of civil servants, aspirants for employment
+on public works and local claimants for a share of the expenditure of
+loan funds, who were able, on account of the wideness of the franchise
+and the numerous functions undertaken by the Government, to bring
+pressure to bear upon the Ministry through their representatives in the
+Assembly.  It was essential that the power to borrow should be
+curtailed; essential also that the possibilities of political pressure
+should greatly be diminished.  The former object could only be achieved
+at the cost of a comparative loss of credit, the latter by a wise
+recognition on the part of the electorate of the dangers of unfettered
+State action under a democratic constitution.
+
+The rapid growth of indebtedness cannot justly be laid solely to the
+charge of the popular representatives, as, though the Legislative
+Council has occasionally resisted Loan Bills, it does not appear to
+have realised the dangers of the proposed expenditure.  Nor was it in
+human nature that it should have opposed the construction of railways
+by which its members, mostly landholders, would enormously {36} be
+benefited.  Were their lands to be resumed by the Government, they
+would obtain an enhanced price for them; in any case, many of them
+would gain a large unearned increment.  The members of the Council who
+are nominated for life, similarly with Labour members, lawyers, and
+others who represent particular sections in Parliament, have been
+active mainly where their own interests have been concerned.  In
+pursuance of their right to reject measures of taxation, they threw out
+Sir George Dibbs' Income-Tax Bill in 1893 and, two years later, Mr.
+Reid's Land and Income-Tax Assessment Bill.  As landholders they
+objected to a land tax, and to an income tax as representatives of the
+wealth of the community.  Nor has the extravagance been due to payment
+of members, which is regarded by some as the cause of all the evils of
+Australia, as it was not inaugurated until after the greater part of
+the indebtedness had been incurred; but the necessity for political
+safeguards has been accentuated by the entrance into Parliament of men
+who, owing to their pecuniary circumstances, are less able to resist
+the demands of their electors, are deeply interested in the
+postponement of dissolutions, and are more dependent upon their
+re-election.  It would be equally false to attach any blame to the
+Labour Party, which did not make its appearance in the Assembly until
+1891.
+
+While the great diminution of borrowing and consequently of the
+construction of public works has {37} lessened the opportunities for
+undue political influence, many still exist, and the number would have
+been far greater in the absence of recent legislation.  How numerous
+these opportunities might be, may be gauged from the fact that,
+exclusive of some 10,000 railway employes, 20,000 persons were formerly
+in the service of the State at an annual salary of L2,600,000; that
+many thousands are tenants of the Crown, liable to be propitiated by
+the reduction of their rent; that nearly half the population live in
+unincorporated districts, in which the local expenditure is met out of
+national funds, and that the unemployed continually clamour for rations
+and employment upon relief works, the receipt of which, under the
+existing law, does not entail political disfranchisement.
+
+The first legislative recognition of this danger is seen in the Crown
+Lands Act of 1884, which constituted Local Land Boards, consisting of
+not more than three members to be appointed by the Governor in Council,
+which were to consider all applications for land, insure the due
+fulfilment of the conditions, residential or other, which are attached
+to different forms of tenure, and appraise the rents of pastoral leases
+and the rate of compensation for improvements.  The practice of the
+Ministry has been to appoint as chairman of a Board some experienced
+official of the Crown Lands Department and, as his colleagues, persons
+recommended by the residents in the district.  I am assured that this
+system of Land {38} Boards, whose decisions are subject to an appeal to
+the Land Court, has worked satisfactorily and that confidence has been
+promoted by the publicity of the proceedings.  A full statement is
+published periodically, for each district, of the areas still open for
+settlement and of the conditions under which they can be taken up: the
+Land Boards have to inquire into the _bona fides_ of the applicants.
+The question of the remission or suspension of the payment of rent is
+one of great difficulty in countries in which the Crown is the largest
+landholder.  If a discretionary power is given to the Ministry,
+political pressure can be brought to bear upon them by tenants through
+their Parliamentary representatives; if it be withheld, great hardship
+may ensue.  This is particularly the case in Australia, where the value
+of a property may greatly be reduced by the devastations of rabbits or
+other pests and the consequent deterioration in the grazing capability
+of the land, or by a fall in the price which can be obtained for stock
+or wool.  The Land Acts of New South Wales recognise either of the
+above causes as sufficient to entitle a pastoral lessee to a
+reappraisement of his rent by a Land Board, and permit the suspension
+of annual payments for one year in the case of holders of land under
+conditional purchase who reside upon it, but compel the vast majority
+of tenants of the Crown to abide strictly by the conditions of their
+agreements, under pain of the forfeiture of their holdings.  Cases of
+individual {39} hardship, which would engage the attentions of a
+private landlord, are, in the avoidance of a greater evil, left without
+redress.
+
+In 1888 two further measures were passed with a similar object, the
+Government Railways and Public Works Acts.  In a book recently
+published by authority of the Government,[1] to which I have to
+acknowledge my indebtedness, it is stated that the re-organisation of
+the railway administration was rendered necessary by the excess of
+political influence, the absence of expert control, and the
+construction of new lines without sufficient regard to the prospects of
+an early remunerative traffic, which had caused the capital expenditure
+to have been nearly doubled while the net earnings had not increased.
+Under the former Act, accordingly, the Government railways and
+tramways, which are now about 2,600 miles in extent and have been
+constructed at a cost of thirty-eight millions, were vested absolutely
+in a Board of three Railway Commissioners to be appointed by the
+Governor in Council.  In order that their independence might be
+secured, they were made irremovable except for misbehaviour or
+incompetency, and then only upon a vote of both Houses, and their
+salaries were charged on the consolidated Revenue Fund, which was
+permanently appropriated to the required extent.  They were entrusted
+with the general management of the railways and with the {40}
+appointment, subject to the regulations governing entrance into the
+public service, and dismissal, of all clerks, officers and employes,
+whose salaries and wages, however, are subject to the vote of
+Parliament.  The Government were fortunate in securing the services of
+a very competent senior commissioner, who, with his colleagues, has
+been able, without lowering the rate of wages, to reduce the percentage
+of working expenses to gross revenue from 66.69 to 54.46 per cent., and
+has increased the net return on capital from 2.85 to 3.60 per cent.
+The result is the more satisfactory that the railways are not worked
+solely with a view to profit, but in such a manner as to benefit the
+population as a whole and to encourage the remote farmer and
+pastoralist.  The experience of the other Australasian Provinces which
+established similar Boards proves it to be essential that the
+commissioners should not only possess great commercial ability, but be
+strong men who are able to withstand the pressure to which they will be
+subjected and are regardless of the attacks which are likely to follow
+upon their refusal of favours.
+
+The Public Works Act provides for the appointment of a Parliamentary
+Standing Committee on Public Works, which is to consider and report
+upon all proposals for the construction of public works, except such as
+are connected with the military or naval defences of the Province,
+where the estimated cost exceeds L20,000, and upon any similar {41}
+proposals involving a smaller expenditure, which may be submitted to it
+by the Governor in Council.  It consists of thirteen persons, eight
+members of the Assembly and five of the Council, who are appointed for
+the duration of a Parliament and receive remuneration at the rate of
+three guineas for each sitting and thirty shillings a day for
+travelling expenses where the sittings are held at a distance from
+Sydney.  The Secretary for Public Works nominates an equal number from
+both sides of the House after consultation with the leader of the
+Opposition; in the majority of cases these nominations are challenged
+and the appointments are made by ballot of the whole House, which,
+according to trustworthy information, leads to disreputable
+negotiations between those who desire the additional salary and those
+who are able to confer it.  It has been suggested recently by a Royal
+Commission, which reported that "the expenditure on public buildings is
+in excess of what is necessary, owing to the system of political
+interference, which is responsible for the erection of special post
+offices in country townships where shops could be used, and of costly
+courts of justice and other structures which are not required," that
+all proposals for public expenditure involving a probable outlay of
+more than L5,000, should be considered and reported on by a committee
+consisting of the permanent heads of the Public Works Department, the
+Treasury, and the Department on whose behalf the proposed {42}
+expenditure would occur.  But the adoption of this suggestion would not
+go to the root of the evil, which lies in the manner in which small
+public works of a purely local character are carried out in rural
+districts.  In the early days of the Province the Government, in order
+to widen the area of settlement, constructed all roads, bridges, and
+other local works out of national funds.  As population increased,
+municipalities were established, which rated themselves for local
+purposes and received subsidies from the Government proportionately to
+the amounts thus raised; but the Act of 1867, which contemplated the
+extension of the system, provided that new municipalities, either
+boroughs or municipal districts, could only be created upon the receipt
+of a petition signed by a stated proportion of the prospective
+ratepayers.  The Councils of such municipalities have the right to levy
+rates not exceeding two shillings in the pound in one year upon all
+rateable land within their borders, and receive from the Government
+during the first five years a sum equal to the whole amount actually
+raised in this manner or from any other specified source of revenue.
+This is gradually diminished until, at the end of fifteen years, no
+further subsidies are received, except such as have specially been
+voted by Parliament.  At the present time, owing to the absence from
+the Act of any compulsory provision, the incorporated districts of the
+Province comprise somewhat more than half of the {43} population, but
+less than one hundredth of the total area.  Successive Governments have
+recognised the evil, but have failed to pass a satisfactory Amending
+Act which would establish some form of local government in the
+unincorporated areas and compel them to pay a fixed portion of their
+local expenditure.  The estimates for such expenditure are framed by
+the Public Works Department, and are based upon the reports of its
+resident engineers and of the agents of the Government Architect.  The
+opportunity of the pushing rural member occurs upon the expenditure of
+the unappropriated sum of money which is left in the hands of the
+Minister, to meet requirements that cannot be foreseen; in this
+connection, members may threaten a withdrawal of their support and
+ministers may seek to win over new adherents.  The reports of such
+actions are probably much exaggerated, as there are many who delight in
+vilifying the Assembly, but the popularity of a rural representative
+depends undeniably on the number of public works which the Government
+carry out in his district.
+
+The next important step was the appointment, early in 1895, of a Royal
+Commission to inquire into the Civil Service, which reported that the
+Act of 1884, under which a Civil Service Board of five persons had been
+constituted, had failed in its purpose, because the Board consisted
+usually of men who had other duties to perform and had not the power to
+fix the salaries or control the service, and {44} because the right was
+reserved to ministers in special cases to make appointments without
+either examination or probation.  The Commissioners found that, owing
+to the absence of any well-ordered system of classification, the
+grossest inequalities and anomalies existed in the salaries of offices
+attached to different departments or even to the same department, as,
+to take an extreme case, that, in the department of the Government
+Architect the official who designed the Crown Lands office and
+supervised its erection was receiving less remuneration than the
+principal messenger; and that, while the service contained many
+high-minded and able officials, there were cases where incompetency,
+neglect of duty, and even drunkenness had formed no bar to continued
+employment.  In accordance with their recommendations, founded on the
+belief that Parliament could not directly cope with the matter, an Act
+was passed in 1895 which constituted a Public Service Board of three
+persons, to be appointed for a period of seven years in the same way,
+and with the same securities for independence, as the Railway
+Commissioners.  The Board was charged with the duty of making a
+thorough investigation, which was periodically to be repeated, into the
+working of each department, and of fixing the number, grade, and salary
+of the officials.  Future appointments and promotions were to be made
+by the Governor in Council, upon a certificate of the Board, subject to
+the regulations in regard to competitive {45} examinations and an
+obligatory period of probation upon entrance into the service.  As the
+Commission had reported that it should be possible to effect an annual
+saving of a quarter of a million, special importance attached to the
+provisions which enabled the Board to dispense with the services of
+those who could not usefully and profitably be employed, such persons
+to receive gratuities on a fixed scale upon their retirement.  The
+Board were sitting during my stay in Sydney and had to suffer from the
+open hostility of those who had been affected by their decisions and
+from abusive correspondence in the press.  Their impartiality was
+impugned, and they were charged with allowing themselves to be
+influenced by the wishes of Ministers; but when the unpleasant task of
+retrenchment has been completed, they will doubtless carry on a work of
+practical utility unhampered by criticisms and accusations.
+
+No serious attempt has yet been made to deal with the problem of the
+unemployed, which is the more urgent from the fact that the receipt of
+relief does not disfranchise the recipient.  Its origin must be sought
+in the extensive Public Works policy of the past, which absorbed
+immigrants who would otherwise have settled on the land.  In 1887 the
+majority of the great undertakings had been completed, and many
+thousand men, thus thrown out of employment, drifted into Sydney and
+led the Ministry to establish a casual labour Board, which {46} was
+discontinued after a year, but spent L252,000 in the relief of
+destitution.  In the following years other causes intensified the
+distress: the great strikes of 1890 destroyed confidence and deterred
+enterprise; the Broken Hill strike and the recent strike at Newcastle
+have had similar effects, the latter having struck a blow at the export
+trade in coal, which was gradually recovering from earlier
+disturbances; the collapse of 1893 cast adrift a large number of
+mechanics and clerks whose services had been required during the period
+of inflation, the fall in the price of wool caused a shrinkage in
+private expenditure, and the severe drought experienced during the
+latter part of 1895 had disastrous effects on the labours of those
+employed in mining, pastoral, and agricultural pursuits.  To meet the
+difficulty a Labour Bureau was established at Sydney in 1892, in order
+that the unemployed might be able to register themselves and might be
+helped to obtain work; but, while much has been done in this direction,
+no more satisfactory solution has been found for the problem, as a
+whole, than continual relief works, which attract the destitute from
+country districts and other Provinces, and afford merely temporary
+alleviation of the distress.  According to a recent report of the
+Superintendent of the Bureau, to whom I am indebted for information,
+L201,000 were spent during the year ending February last (in a
+population of a million and a quarter) upon works in {47} aid of the
+unemployed, an expenditure of which two items alone, L50,000 for forest
+thinning and L35,000 for railway deviations, can be supposed to have
+had any other justification.  Mr. Creer told me in June, 1896, that the
+daily attendance at the Bureau had averaged for several months 1,500 to
+2,500, but had decreased latterly to 300 to 500; that many who had been
+given employment had abandoned it, and that, where a large number had
+been working together, he had had much trouble owing to their rowdiness
+and bad behaviour.  On this point the Premier, Mr. Reid, stated that he
+had been informed, on good authority, that there were not more than
+1,500 genuine unemployed in Sydney, but admitted, quoting his
+informant, that "there are also hundreds of men who do little or no
+work" and "a large number of men who have been identified with the
+unemployed agitation for the past ten years, and who appear to delight
+in its existence, as no doubt they consider it a capital cover to pose
+as _bona-fide_ workmen out of employment."  The conduct of the latter
+is mainly due to the weakness of successive Ministries, which have
+failed to resist pressure and may almost be said to have encouraged
+idleness.  Such encouragement is also provided in the climate of
+Sydney, which enables men to sleep in the open for nine months of the
+year without discomfort.  Mr. Creer proposed that those who profess to
+be willing to work should be employed upon schemes of water
+conservation and {48} irrigation in the drier parts of the Province,
+which should be carried out by gangs of men under strict supervision,
+and that the confirmed loafers should be placed in Industrial Homes and
+be compelled to choose between work and starvation.  The present
+Government have established thirty-five branches of the Labour Bureau,
+which will tend to prevent the unemployed from flocking into the
+Metropolis.  But the bulk of the unemployed at Sydney are demoralised
+by idleness and ignorant of agricultural pursuits, and can only be
+dealt with by a strong Minister who, regardless of political
+consequences, will discontinue the system of indiscriminate relief and
+treat the confirmed loafers with the greatest severity.
+
+Democratic government, actively opposed by some and detested by most of
+the more educated members of the community, is firmly established in
+New South Wales, and is essential to the happiness of the people there
+as elsewhere in Australasia, in the general prevalence of purely
+commercial instincts and the absence of a landed class which is bound
+by inherited traditions to take an interest in its dependents.  Of
+recent years the democratic movement has been more rapid: payment of
+Members of the Assembly dates from 1889, Sir George Dibbs passed
+manhood suffrage in 1893, and Mr. Reid seeks to curtail the power of
+the Upper House.  A great impetus has been given by the Labour members,
+whose numbers and influence entitle {49} them to be regarded as one of
+the most important political factors in the Province.  The reason for
+the formation of a separate party has thus been explained to me by one
+of its members: the prominent men among the working classes, who were
+anxious to promote progressive legislation, were hampered by the fact
+that they disagreed upon the question of the tariff, and that their
+votes were, consequently, useless as far as the advancement of such
+legislation was concerned.  The line of cleavage in the Assembly was
+between Protectionists and Free Traders; reactionary and advanced views
+were represented on both sides of the House.  They felt, therefore,
+that labour would be powerless unless the issue of the tariff were
+explicitly sunk and a programme put forward which would concentrate the
+votes of the working classes.  In their campaign they were doubtless
+aided by the Act passed for the payment of members, and by the failure
+of the maritime and other strikes, which impressed Trades Unionists
+with the necessity of seeking to attain their ends by other means.  A
+programme was, accordingly, drawn up, of which the principal items
+were, in order of importance, Electoral Reform, the Right of Mining for
+Gold on Private Land, and the Taxation of Land Values; it was adopted
+at the elections of 1891 by a large number of candidates who came
+forward in the Labour interest and succeeded in winning thirty-four
+seats.  Upon the meeting of {50} Parliament it was decided by the
+Party, although the majority had Protectionist leanings, that support
+should be accorded to Sir H. Parkes, who had made Electoral Reform the
+principal item of his policy.  A few months later he was defeated on
+the Coal Mines Regulation Bill, and the votes of the Labour Party were
+transferred to his Protectionist successor, Sir G. Dibbs, who also
+favoured Electoral Reform; but, in the meanwhile and subsequently, many
+of the Labour members refused to leave their views on the tariff in
+abeyance, with the result that the number of those who adhered
+staunchly to the programme was reduced to five or six.  In spite of
+these defections, the first two items in the programme were carried and
+the Taxation of Land Values took the foremost place.  At the 1894
+elections the Labour Party had been much discredited, but secured
+fifteen representatives, in the Assembly of one hundred and
+twenty-five, who were pledged to the so-called "solidarity" vote.
+Their support was then transferred to Mr. Reid, the present Free Trade
+Premier, who was in favour of the Land Tax, which they enabled him to
+carry in 1895, though only after a further election, caused by the
+action of the Upper House, at which they carried three additional
+seats.  At present the Labour Party are concentrating all their efforts
+upon the abolition of the Legislative Council and the substitution for
+it of the referendum, which they regard as a necessary preliminary to
+the passage of {51} advanced legislation, and are prepared to accept,
+as a step in the right direction, Mr. Reid's proposal that the tenure
+of the members of the Council who are nominated for life should be
+reduced to a period of years, and that all-important Bills, upon which
+the Assembly and Council have failed to agree in two consecutive
+sessions, should be referred to a plebiscite.  They argue that when the
+electors realise that the Council can only delay legislation for one
+session, and that the issue is then directly referred to them, they
+will sweep it away as a mere obstacle in the path of progress.  It may
+be doubted whether the adoption of the plebiscite would have the
+results that they anticipate, but it cannot be doubted that a compact
+body of representatives, aiming at the democratisation of the
+constitution and willing to support whichever party makes the highest
+bid for their votes, have but to remain united to achieve their object,
+especially when it is in accordance with the natural evolution of
+Parliamentary government.  The Labour members have a definite programme
+upon which all their efforts are concentrated, but are chary of giving
+their views upon other questions, as their votes, in consequence of the
+common pledge, will depend on the decision of the majority of the
+party.  Great indignation is expressed at the "caucus" meetings, at
+which the votes of all are thus determined; but it is difficult to see
+wherein the conduct of the Labour members differs essentially {52} from
+that of the representatives who support one of the principal parties in
+the State.  In both cases certain main objects are sought and
+individual convictions are, on occasion, subordinated to their
+attainment; the only difference is that, in the latter case, the action
+is taken voluntarily in order to maintain a party in power; in the
+former, its expediency is determined by the majority of those who are
+united in a common purpose.  On the other hand it must be admitted that
+the Labour Party display, at present, all the irresponsibility of
+independence, and have often acted in such a manner as to justify the
+hostility of their opponents.  During my stay at Sydney they attempted,
+on one occasion, to convert the Assembly into a court of judicial
+appeal; on another, to interfere with the actuarial calculations of
+insurance societies.
+
+The importance of political safeguards is accentuated not only by the
+accelerated movement in the direction of constitutional change, but by
+the increasing belief in the efficacy of State control and state
+interference.  During the session of 1896 the Government brought
+forward measures dealing with the conservation of water, the public
+health, adulteration, and the regulation of coal mines and of factories
+and workshops, the passage of which would necessitate a considerable
+increase in the number of State officials; and the Labour Party, the
+transference of whose support would place the Ministry in danger of
+defeat, have shown, by their votes in the past, {53} their conviction
+that all new public works which are in the nature of a monopoly, should
+be constructed and owned by the State.
+
+The scope of my inquiries in New South Wales led me in directions which
+have caused me to emphasise the darker sides of political life; but I
+wish to guard against the inference that similar shadows could not have
+been found elsewhere, and have touched upon the subject in my general
+observations upon Australasian tendencies.  In fact, I may add, I was
+drawn into my particular line of study at Sydney by the knowledge that
+New South Wales had taken especial precautions, except in regard to the
+unemployed, against the evils which I have here sought to summarise.
+The predominant note in that Province is one of hopefulness: the vast
+pastoral, mineral, agricultural, and other resources of the country,
+the harbour at Sydney which renders it the natural centre of the
+foreign trade of the Continent, and the rapidity of the recovery from
+the crisis of 1893, are calculated to inspire confidence in the future;
+as are the high average wages of the working classes, the low cost of
+living, and the short hours of labour.  But the most impressive sign of
+a healthy national life is the readiness of the democracy to recognise
+the dangers inherent in its rule, and to divest itself voluntarily of
+some of its powers, in the interests of pure and upright government.
+
+
+
+[1] "New South Wales; the Mother Colony of the Australias."
+
+
+
+
+{54}
+
+III
+
+_PROBLEMS OF QUEENSLAND_
+
+The agitation of Central and Northern Queensland for separation from
+the South--The "Kanaka" traffic--White and coloured labour on the
+plantations--The Sugar Works Guarantee Act--The irregularity of
+employment in the sugar and pastoral industries--The conditions and
+opinions of the shearers--Assistance to dairymen and producers of
+frozen meat--The Labour Party, its history and prospects--Criticisms of
+the Government--The principles of State action.
+
+
+In the Southern Provinces of Australia, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide
+are not only the political capitals, but have become naturally, from
+their geographical position and other advantages, the points of
+departure of the trunk lines of railway and the centres of commercial
+and intellectual activity.  In the case of Queensland, Brisbane, which
+was selected as the capital because settlement was almost confined to
+its neighbourhood, had to compete with several other good harbours; it
+is situated at the south-eastern extremity of a vast territory, and is
+connected only by sea with the northern parts above Bundaberg.  The
+existence of this means of communication caused successive Governments
+to {55} postpone the construction of a coastal railway in favour of
+lines running from East to West which would promote the development of
+the pastoral resources of the interior by affording access to the
+nearest port; but these lines, which start from Brisbane, Rockhampton,
+and Townsville, and have a respective length of 483, 424, and 235
+miles, have tended, by increasing the importance of the latter places,
+to foster in their inhabitants a feeling of jealousy at the supremacy
+of the former and of antagonism of interests with the South.  The
+climatic conditions also are divergent: the Centre and South are
+semi-tropical; the North, which lies wholly within the tropics,
+contains a low fringe of fertile land along the coast, suitable for the
+cultivation of sugar, and the cause of the constant struggles which
+have surrounded the question of the employment of coloured labour.
+
+The establishment of Queensland as a separate Province dates from 1859,
+and was at once followed by an extension of population to the Northern
+districts, and a few years later by the growth of a demand for
+separation, which culminated in 1871 in a petition to the Crown, in
+which the desire was expressed that the country to the North of the
+Dawes Range, which lies between Gladstone and Bundaberg, should be
+created into a new Province, on the ground that the absence of regular
+communication between the capital and the Northern settlements rendered
+good government and the administration {56} of justice very difficult
+and uncertain.  During the succeeding years the agitation flickered in
+the North and was latent in the Centre, which had been conciliated by
+the construction of its railways and appeared to have identified itself
+with the South.  Some ten years ago the Northern members pressed their
+claims very strongly, and more recently the Central members have
+petitioned the Crown, sent a deputation to the Colonial Secretary, and
+brought their case before the Queensland Parliament.
+
+The arguments advanced by the Northern and Central separationists are
+similar in character, and if recognised as valid in the case of the
+Centre, must be doubly so when applied to the North, owing to its
+greater distance from the capital and the difficulty of communication
+with many of its outlying districts.  The boundaries adopted by the
+separationists are those laid down by the Real Property (Local
+Registries) Act of 1887, under which the Province was divided into
+three parts, of which the Northern contains 255,000, the Central
+223,000, and the Southern 190,000 square miles.
+
+The claims of the Centre, to which I have been able to give more
+attention, as I spent some time in that district, are based not only
+upon alleged unjust apportionment of expenditure, defective
+administration, and financial hardships endured under the protective
+tariff for the benefit of Southern manufacturers, but upon the inherent
+and inalienable right of a community of free British people.  It is
+{57} pointed out that Central Queensland is in a more advanced position
+than were Victoria and Queensland at the time of their separation from
+New South Wales; that it returns less members than the city of Brisbane
+and the country within a radius of ten miles of it; and that the
+Northern and Central members, even if unanimous in favour of
+separation, would only number twenty-seven as against the forty-five
+representatives of the South, and are bound, apart from the
+constitutional aspect of the question, to look to the intervention of
+the Imperial Government.  The most important utterance from this source
+is the reply of Sir Henry Holland, now Lord Knutsford, to the Northern
+deputation, in the course of which he said that "there is no instance
+of recent years, since the Colonies attained the greatness they have,
+of the Imperial Legislature passing an Act interfering with the
+administration of one of those great Colonies, except at the request of
+the Colonial Government.  Therefore I say it is difficult, if not
+undesirable, to deal with such a question as this unless we have the
+authority, on a desire expressed on the part of the Colonial
+Legislature, or unless there is some case made out which is absolutely
+overwhelming;" and Mr. Chamberlain recently stated, with reference to
+Central separation, that, even if local agreement had been reached, the
+difficulties and risks attending any attempt to divide the Province
+were, under existing circumstances, very great.  He clearly appreciated
+the hostile feeling that would be aroused throughout {58} Australia by
+any interference on the part of the Imperial Authorities with the
+internal government of an Australian Province.  As the separationists
+do not hope to obtain a majority in the Queensland Assembly, they are
+likely to be ardent advocates of Federation, especially if a clause be
+inserted in the Constitution which would enable the Federal Government
+to subdivide a Province without the consent of its Parliament.
+
+The Southern members are influenced by the fear that, under separation,
+they would lose the Northern and Central markets.  To meet this
+objection, a resolution was moved in the Assembly by one of the members
+for Rockhampton that the separation of Central Queensland was
+desirable, but on such terms that the interchange of natural products
+between the two Provinces should continue to be free from tax or duty;
+but the proposal, which was seen to be fraught with endless
+difficulties, has not been regarded seriously.  The question has also
+arisen in what manner the liability for the public debt would be
+distributed in the case of separation, but it is contended that the
+matter would be settled under the Imperial Act of 1861, under which
+both Provinces would jointly be liable for the whole debt, and
+machinery is provided for arbitration as to the proportion of it which
+would be borne by each of the Provinces.
+
+The necessity for some form of decentralisation has been recognised,
+and partially acted on, by {59} successive Ministries since 1877, when
+a Royal Commission was appointed to inquire into the best means of
+bringing about a more equitable distribution of the revenue.  The
+system of Local Government, introduced in 1878 and extended in the
+following year to rural districts, lessened the direct control
+exercised from Brisbane, and handed over to elective Municipal Councils
+and Divisional Boards the expenditure of the revenue raised for local
+purposes.  In 1887 local registries of titles to real estate were
+established at Townsville and Rockhampton, and Sir S. Griffiths
+introduced a Financial Districts Bill, to divide the Province into
+three districts and to provide for separate accounts of revenue and
+expenditure.  The Bill was not passed, but separate returns have since
+been published, which do not, however, give a full statement of the
+contributions of the different districts to the revenue.  In 1892 the
+same Minister introduced a Constitution Bill, in which he proposed to
+place Queensland under a federal system of Government, a General
+Assembly of the United Provinces, and three Provincial Parliaments.  In
+the course of discussion the number of Provinces was reduced from three
+to two, to the exclusion of the Centre, which was to retain its
+connection with the South.  The Bill passed the Assembly, and was
+thrown out by the Council, principally on the ground that it had not
+been supported by the statutory two-thirds majority.  The Central
+Separationists were naturally opposed {60} to the Bill in its amended
+form, and public opinion in the North was equally hostile.  It was
+pointed out that the expenses of government would greatly be increased,
+even more than under territorial separation, and that the powers of the
+Provincial Parliament would be so limited, in the absence of control
+over the railways and the customs tariff, that the North would not
+enjoy the enhanced prosperity which, under an entirely separate
+Government, would make it indifferent to the additional expenditure.
+The appointment of a judge of the Supreme Court to reside at
+Townsville, and, since last year, at Rockhampton, has lessened the
+expenditure and loss of time involved in legal proceedings initiated in
+the Northern and Central Districts.  In the Ministerial measure dealing
+with the election of delegates to represent Queensland at the
+Australian Federal Convention, which failed to become law owing to an
+insoluble deadlock between the two Houses, it was proposed that, of the
+ten delegates, three should be elected by the Northern and two by the
+Central Parliamentary Representatives, a greater proportion than would
+be warranted by their respective populations as compared with that of
+the South.  The Premier, Sir Hugh Nelson, defended the liberality of
+this proposal on the ground that "it is of the utmost importance that
+in any federal constitution provision should be made for the division
+of existing Colonies and the terms on which such divisions shall take
+place;" adding {61} that "the Northern and Central districts have a
+perfectly legitimate aspiration: they are looking forward to the day
+when they will be formed into separate states."
+
+The above remarks embody the views of many South Queenslanders who look
+forward to eventual separation, but are not prepared to advocate it at
+present; the Central separationists, on the other hand, contend that
+the question is ripe for immediate settlement, and, as a proof of
+popular feeling in the matter, point out that ten out of the eleven
+representatives of Central Queensland are pledged to separation, and
+that numerous petitions were handed to the late Governor, Sir Henry
+Norman, on the occasion of his tour through the district.  Personal
+observation and inquiries directed to all with whom I came in contact,
+have convinced me that the enthusiasm for separation is greatly on the
+wane in the Centre, owing to the strength of the Labour Party, which,
+in 1896, carried a majority of the Central seats, and to the inevitable
+reaction which succeeds a period of excitement.  The owners of property
+and tradespeople of Rockhampton have everything to gain by a change
+which would make their town the capital of a province; the miners at
+Mount Morgan and the shearers are indifferent, though the latter,
+judging from a conversation which I had with some twenty of them, have
+a vague idea that under separation the Labour Party, of which they are
+supporters, would be in a stronger position; and the pastoralists, who
+{62} direct the principal industry of the community, are practically
+unanimous in their opposition: they have obtained the railway which has
+opened up the Western Downs, and they dread the predominance of the
+Labour Party and of Rockhampton, the inhabitants of which, they
+maintain, have shown little regard for their interests.
+
+As regards the feeling in the North, I have been told by one of the
+Northern members, himself a supporter of separation, and by others,
+that the agitation is at present dormant.  The election of local men
+has been promoted by the payment of members; previously most of the
+Northern representatives were inhabitants of Brisbane, who were out of
+touch with the feelings and interests of their constituents.  Material
+and political considerations also have exercised great influence.  The
+sugar planters, ardent advocates of separation as long as the
+importation of coloured labour was forbidden, have been staunch
+supporters of the Union since the removal of the prohibition and the
+passage of the Sugar Works Guarantee Act.  On the other side, the
+Labour Party, who share in the hatred of coloured labour which is
+common to the working classes throughout Australasia, opposed
+separation while it was likely to lead to its legalisation, but have
+been encouraged by their present strength, the tenure of seven seats
+out of sixteen in the Northern district, in the belief that, if they
+obtained separation, they might hope again to {63} exclude it, and
+would have an opportunity of giving effect to their general political
+views.
+
+The "Kanaka" question has been so fully discussed in the press and in
+numerous pamphlets, that the Imperial and Provincial Acts, which first
+aimed at the protection of the islanders, may be dismissed with the
+remark that they are admitted in Queensland to have had abundant
+justification.  The conditions have been made successively more
+stringent until, at the present time, it is almost impossible that any
+Kanakas should be taken against their will, ill-treated on the voyage,
+or oppressed upon the plantations.  Government agents, to give a brief
+summary of the Acts, accompany all recruiting vessels and are bound to
+see that the islanders understand the nature of the agreement into
+which they are about to enter, as to rate of payment, and duration of
+service; that every return passenger is duly landed along with his
+property at his own village or district, and that the islanders receive
+the prescribed provisions and clothing on the journey, and are
+otherwise treated in accordance with the regulations.  Inspectors
+receive the vessels upon their arrival in Queensland, superintend the
+signature of the agreements, and, generally, are responsible for the
+welfare of the labourers during their residence in the country.  In the
+case of sickness employers are bound to provide proper medicine and
+medical attendance, and they may be called upon to contribute towards
+the maintenance of a hospital.  {64} The contentment of the labourers
+may be inferred from the fact that a large proportion re-engage
+themselves upon the expiration of the term of three years, and that, of
+the 1,305 who were landed during the year 1895, 250 had previously been
+employed in Queensland.  As the result of frequent intercourse, the
+conditions are well known in most of the islands from which the
+labourers are recruited.  According to official figures, the number of
+islanders in Queensland increased in 1895 from 7,853 to 8,163, of whom
+nearly two-thirds are in the districts of Mackay and Bundaberg; all are
+employed on the cultivation of sugar, with the exception of a few at
+Thursday Island, who are engaged in the beche-de-mer and pearl-shell
+fisheries.
+
+It would seem that the only valid objection which can now be made
+against the system, except by those who disagree from the whole thing
+on principle, is, that it may lead to the gradual depopulation of some
+of the islands by the withdrawal of a considerable proportion of the
+adult males of marriageable age.  It may be noted, in this connection,
+that the islanders have also been recruited for Guatemala, if not for
+other countries.
+
+The mode of cultivation and the treatment of the raw material have been
+modified during the last few years.  At first the cane was grown solely
+in large plantations, each of which possessed a separate mill and
+treated only its own produce; but as prices fell and the local demand
+was overtaken, more scientific {65} methods began to prevail.  It was
+found, on the one hand, that the cane could be treated most
+economically on a large scale; on the other, that few plantations were
+sufficiently extensive to keep a large mill at work during the whole
+season.  To meet these conditions, central mills were constructed and
+the land was in many cases subdivided, and let or sold on a system of
+deferred payments to farmers, who were encouraged to cultivate it in
+small areas, and to send their cane to the factories.  The interests of
+the mill-owner and the farmers should be identical; the former is
+anxious that his mill should be worked to its full capacity, and has
+every inducement to dispose of his land upon terms favourable to
+cultivators; the latter have a sure outlet for the disposal of their
+produce.  In 1894, fully 40 per cent. of the 80,000 acres under cane
+was cultivated in areas of ninety acres and under.  An impetus was
+given to this movement by the temporary prohibition of the importation
+of islanders, which compelled planters to consider the possibility of
+an alternative to coloured labour, and by a vote of L50,000, by means
+of which two central mills were erected for groups of small farmers.
+The success of these mills induced the Government to pass the Sugar
+Works Guarantee Act, under which "any company which can give the
+Government security in land, has the requisite cane crops growing for a
+fair season's mill work, and can show that it has an area of land
+capable of supplying the mill with a full crop, can obtain the {66}
+sanction of the Government to accept a tender for the erection of a
+factory, the State guaranteeing the interest and the redemption of the
+debentures issued in payment for it.  By this measure the country has
+not only supplied the means for the steady development of the industry,
+but has taken, in its belief in the soundness of the enterprise, a
+direct interest in it.  No surer guarantee can exist than this law,
+that the Parliament of Queensland will in future safeguard the
+prosperity of an undertaking in which the State has so keen an
+incentive to protect itself from loss."[1]  The contingent liability
+incurred by the State in the year ending June, 1895, was L157,000, and
+in the preceding year L44,000: the amount is likely to be increased, as
+the construction of seven additional mills has been conditionally
+approved of, but, under an amending Act of 1895, is not to exceed a
+total of L500,000.  The Premier sees no reason to suppose that, with
+proper management, any of the new factories will fail to meet their
+liabilities to the State.
+
+Under these circumstances the question arises whether coloured labour
+will permanently be necessary, the answer to which depends upon the
+ability of the white man to become acclimatised in a tropical country.
+"If the white man," to quote a prominent Queenslander, "can live and
+work and bring {67} up his children in the tropics of this continent,
+then assuredly the time will come when we shall require coloured
+labourers to cultivate our cane no more than do the continental
+sugar-beet farmers require coloured men to do their field work.  Where
+can we look for proof of the European's ability to work and live in the
+heated North?  He works on railways and in mines now, but there is an
+entire lack of evidence that his children and his children's children
+can continue to do so with unimpaired health and vigour.  Again, it has
+to be seen what will be the normal death-rate in the North.  It has
+been heavy, but we have yet to estimate the lowering of that rate as
+the malarial swamps are drained, and the dense tropical scrubs cleared
+away....  Time alone can solve this question thoroughly, though it may
+be permitted one to say that so far there is ample reason to think that
+the evidence is accumulating in favour of the European's ability to
+permanently inhabit and cultivate our tropical lands.  There is some
+satisfaction in noting, for instance, that, despite the increased
+settlement in Northern Queensland, the death-rate for the Colony has
+fallen from 22.97 Per 1,000 in 1884 to 12.08 in 1894."[2]  The rate of
+mortality among the Kanakas is reported officially to have been 40.62
+per 1,000 in 1894, and 29.64 in 1895.  Their employment is absolutely
+prohibited in the mills, and is restricted to certain forms of work
+upon the plantations.  The {68} Government are anxious to replace the
+Kanakas gradually by white labourers and to settle the tropical
+littoral with a population of small farmers.  This object, however, it
+is contended, cannot be attained without the temporary employment of
+coloured labour.  Another aspect of the question may be noted: granted
+that white men cannot at present do all the work upon the plantations,
+Kanakas are preferable to Orientals, whether Chinese or Japanese, who
+would remain permanently in the country.  Even in Queensland, though
+less than in the Southern Provinces, such a state of things would be
+regarded as eminently undesirable.
+
+A considerable demand for white labour has thus been created, the
+extent of which may be gauged from the figures given to me by a planter
+who has 3,000 acres under cane in the neighbourhood of Bundaberg.  Upon
+land which formerly carried 800 head of cattle and gave employment to a
+single married couple, he now employs 300 Kanakas and 80 white men
+during the whole of the year, and 120 additional white men during the
+crushing season, which lasts, as a rule, from June to December.  The
+latter are compelled to shift for themselves during the remaining
+months of the year and wander about the country in the search for
+casual work; many, it is said, seek it in the agricultural districts of
+the Darling Downs.
+
+The people of Queensland are confronted with a serious problem in the
+fact that of the three {69} principal industries of the countries,
+mining alone affords regular and constant employment, and that only on
+proved goldfields.  In the sugar industry, as stated, about 40 per
+cent. of the labourers, exclusive of the islanders, are permanently
+employed, and in the pastoral industry the proportion is even smaller.
+On a typical sheep-station in the Central district which carries 80,000
+sheep, the permanent staff number only 19, and are supplemented at
+shearing time by some 25 to 30 shearers and as many more workmen who
+pick up, sort, and pack the fleeces.  The shearers with whom I
+conversed bewailed the irregularity of their employment; they work at
+high pressure for a few months in the wool-sheds, and have no fixed
+occupation during the remainder of the year.  I was favourably
+impressed by the men, and was informed that, as a class, they have much
+improved of late years, and that many of them have considerable
+savings.  Allowances must be made for workmen who are herded together,
+good characters with bad, and lead a nomadic and demoralising existence
+which lacks the sobering influences of sustained industry and domestic
+associations.  Recent Ministries have been alive to the importance of
+this question and have aimed at the gradual diminution of the size of
+pastoral properties held from the Crown.  The Land Act of 1884 divided
+them into two equal parts, over one of which the holder was offered a
+fixed lease for 21 years, while the other was to be subject to {70}
+resumption by the State as the demand for the land might arise.  Under
+this provision large tracts of country have been thrown open for
+occupation as grazing farms of from 5,000 to 20,000 acres and have been
+eagerly taken up, as many as twenty applications having been received
+for a single farm where the quality of the soil has been exceptionally
+favourable.  The Act of 1894, passed by the present Government,
+established a new form of tenure which was intended to meet the special
+requirements of the shearers.  Grazing homesteads not exceeding 2,500
+acres in area may be acquired at a low rental, subject to the condition
+that the selector must reside upon the land for not less than six
+consecutive months in each year during the first ten years of his
+lease; but, under license from the Land Board, the selectors of two or
+more homesteads may co-operate to work their holdings as a whole, in
+which case residence by one-half of the whole number of selectors will
+fulfil the conditions of occupation.  Some of the shearers may, from
+the force of habit, be incapable of a settled existence; but many of
+them proclaim their desire to occupy land and are hereby afforded an
+opportunity which they have scarcely at present realised.  The
+attractiveness of this form of tenure will be increased if the
+Government pass their proposed legislation to authorise them to sink
+bores for the supply of water to the smaller holdings.
+
+A better state of things prevails upon the Darling Downs in the south
+of the Province, where the {71} shearing is done by cultivators and
+others who are in regular employment.  This part of the country should
+eventually carry a large resident population engaged in the growth of
+cereals and in dairy-farming.  To promote settlement and "in the strong
+belief that Queensland is capable of and will soon be supplying not
+only her own requirements, but also of exporting largely of her surplus
+farm products, the Government have made provision in connection with
+the Torres Strait Service for the carriage of farm and dairy produce in
+large quantities, and have also submitted to Parliament a measure for
+the appointment of an additional Minister, to be charged solely with
+the development of agricultural interests, and have taken the necessary
+steps for the establishment of an agricultural college within a
+reasonable distance from Brisbane."[3]  The export of dairy produce has
+been encouraged by the offer of a bonus, and the construction of butter
+factories by loans, the funds being obtained from a portion of the
+proceeds of a tax imposed upon owners of sheep and cattle by the Meat
+and Dairy Produce Encouragement Act of 1893.  The remainder is expended
+in advances to proprietors of meat works, and it is provided in a
+subsequent Act, that the amounts received in payment of interest or
+repayment of the principal of the loans, may be refunded to the payers
+of the tax.  The progress of settlement has been retarded by the
+alienation from {72} the Crown of much of the land that is most
+suitable for the purpose, both in quality and situation.  The freehold
+has in many cases passed to financial institutions, which, having
+advanced upon it an amount greater than the present value as
+depreciated by the fall in prices, are unwilling to sell the land and
+to reconcile themselves to their losses.  The Government have been
+authorised by the Agricultural Land Purchase Act of 1894, to expend a
+sum not exceeding L100,000 a year in the purchase, under voluntary
+agreement, of land suitable for agricultural settlement which is to be
+offered for selection in agricultural farms, and have made considerable
+use of their powers, but the system has not been sufficiently long in
+operation to enable an estimate to be formed of its results.
+
+The irregularity of employment has engendered among the working classes
+a widespread feeling of discontentment, and constitutes one of the main
+causes of the numerical strength of the Labour vote, which amounts to
+about 34 per cent. of the whole.  The Parliamentary Labour Party in
+Queensland differs from that of the other Australian Colonies in its
+close identification with directly socialistic aspirations.  It was
+founded to give effect to the political platform of the Australian
+Labour Federation, published in 1890 under the influence of the
+communist, William Lane, which advocates "the nationalisation of all
+sources of wealth and all means of producing and exchanging wealth;"
+{73} its organ, _The Worker_, writes under the motto "Socialism in our
+time," and several of its members publicly admit that they are
+Socialists.  Others, however, who look forward to the possibility of an
+alliance with a reconstructed Opposition ask to be judged solely by the
+programme of the party which contains no distinctly socialistic item,
+in the popular acceptation of the term, except the establishment of a
+State Labour Department to which men may apply as a right for work at a
+minimum wage; but they will have difficulty in overcoming the general
+impression, which their opponents, not unnaturally, do all in their
+power to intensify.
+
+The Party first came into prominence at the elections in 1893, when
+they won fifteen seats out of seventy-two, and have nothing to show in
+the way of practical legislation to counterbalance the undoubted
+consolidation of the forces of their opponents.  A comparison suggests
+itself with the success of the Labour Parties in New Zealand and South
+Australia which have co-operated with progressive Ministers in the
+enactment of measures of social reform.  In the latter case, the Labour
+Party have been so moderate in their programme, speeches, and actions,
+that they have carried a quarter of the seats in the Legislative
+Council, and thus prove themselves not to have alienated the
+householders and small owners of property who form the bulk of the
+electorate for that House.  In New South Wales {74} the Labour Party
+have been able, by opportunistic transfers of their votes, to secure
+electoral reform and the taxation of incomes and land values.  The
+position of affairs in Queensland is not analogous; the coalition of
+Sir S. Griffith and Sir T. McIlwraith practically destroyed the
+Opposition, and made it necessary for the Labour Party to trust almost
+entirely to their own efforts, which should have been directed towards
+the concentration of all the progressive feeling of the community.
+Their policy, on the contrary, has deprived them of the support of many
+who are dissatisfied with the Government, and has not materially
+strengthened their hold upon the working classes.  Though they carried
+twenty seats in 1896, they only polled 964 more votes than in 1893, nor
+have they improved their position in the House, as, even should they be
+supported by the ten Oppositionists and Independents, they would be
+confronted by a solid phalanx of forty-two Ministerialists.  It may be
+of interest to note that their principal successes have been gained
+among bushmen and miners, but that they also hold the sugar district of
+Bundaberg, two agricultural constituencies, two seats at Rockhampton,
+and three in the poorer and outlying parts of Brisbane.
+
+The complaints of the Labour Party against the Government were directed
+mainly to their failure to amend the electoral laws or to pass
+humanitarian legislation, and to the stringency of the Peace
+Preservation Act of 1894.  Apart from their obvious {75} objections to
+the plural vote of persons holding property in different divisions,
+they contend that many miners and shearers are permanently
+disfranchised, as they are neither householders nor reside for six
+months in the same place, and that persons qualified to be registered
+are impeded by the provisions which oblige them to fill in a claim in
+which, among other things, they have to state their qualification, and
+to get the claim attested by a justice of the peace, electoral
+registrar, or head male teacher of a State school.  The Peace
+Preservation Act was passed at a time when a serious disturbance had
+arisen from a strike of shearers in the pastoral districts of the West,
+on the ground that the ordinary laws of the Colony were insufficient
+for the prevention, detection, and punishment of crime in such
+districts, and was as strongly justified by some as it was condemned by
+others.  The Act authorised the Executive to proclaim districts which
+should come under its operation, and to appoint such district
+magistrates as might be necessary for carrying its provisions into
+effect.  These may be summarised in the words of the Hon. T. J. Byrnes,
+the Attorney-General: "The first portion of this legislation is to give
+us power to put an end to the carrying of arms and the sale of arms in
+the districts that have been disturbed...  It is proposed in the second
+part of the Bill that inquests on crime may be held...  The third
+portion of the Bill deals with the power {76} of arrest and detention
+of persons under suspicion."  Under the latter heading persons
+suspected of crime committed in a proclaimed district could be arrested
+by a special or provisional warrant, in any part of Queensland, and be
+detained in prison; but it was provided that such persons should be
+treated as persons accused of crime and not as convicted prisoners, and
+that no person "should be held in custody under a provisional warrant
+for a longer period than thirty days, nor under a special warrant for a
+longer period than two months, without being brought to trial for the
+offence stated in such warrant."  In justification of the measure, the
+same Minister quoted cases in which woolsheds had been burnt and the
+police and private individuals had been fired upon although no actual
+loss of life had occurred.  A stranger cannot form an opinion upon the
+question and can only note, on the one side, that the operation of the
+Act was limited to one year, that it was most judiciously administered,
+not more than one district, under a single district magistrate, having
+been proclaimed, and that it brought about the speedy cessation of the
+troubles; on the other, that no attempt was made by the Government at
+mediation between the opposing parties, although, to quote the
+Attorney-General again, they "knew that labour troubles of an
+aggravated nature were likely to occur."  A Bill "to provide for
+conciliation in industrial pursuits" is included in the programme of
+the Government.
+
+{77}
+
+As regards the necessity for humanitarian legislation, reference can be
+made to the evidence given before a Royal Commission in 1891.  The
+Commissioners were unanimous in reporting that, in many factories and
+workshops which they had visited, the sanitary conditions were very
+bad, the ventilation was improperly attended to, and little or no
+attempt had been made to guard the machinery.  They were agreed as to
+the need of further legislation, but, while some were of opinion that
+the wider powers should be exercised by inspectors under the local
+authorities, others were in favour of the appointment of a special
+class of male and female inspectors.  They also found that children of
+the ages of ten, eleven, and twelve years were employed in factories,
+and that the hours of labour in many retail shops were very long,
+adding that medical evidence was conclusive that the excessive hours
+were more injurious to health in Queensland than they would be in a
+colder climate; but they were unable to concur as to the advisability
+of legislative interference.  A Factory Act, though not of a very
+stringent character, was passed by the Government towards the end of
+the session of 1896.
+
+The attention of the Government during the last few years has been
+directed mainly towards the restoration of the credit of the country
+and the development of its industries.  Queensland reached its lowest
+ebb in 1889, when, in spite of the recent loan of ten millions, the
+deficit amounted to {78} L484,000.  Since that time matters have
+rapidly improved, and in 1895 and 1896 the revenue was considerably in
+excess of the expenditure.  This result has been achieved by economical
+administration, and the direct encouragement of enterprise which has
+been effected by a large extension of the sphere of State action.  The
+principles involved appear to have been threefold.
+
+First, that the State should facilitate the occupation of outlying
+districts by the construction of public works, provided they may be
+expected to return a fair interest upon the expenditure.  The proposals
+put forward some fifteen years ago, that the three Western lines should
+be connected with the Gulf of Carpentaria by a series of Land Grant
+Railways, were condemned by the sense of the community, which preferred
+to postpone their construction until it could be undertaken by the
+State.  In pursuance of this policy all the railways are owned and
+managed by the State, which has recently protected itself against the
+danger of the construction of unprofitable lines under political
+pressure by an Act of Parliament under which, upon any fresh proposal,
+the local authorities affected may be required to give a guarantee that
+they will, for a period of years, should the earnings fail to reach a
+certain standard, make good half of the deficiency out of the rates.
+In the Western portions of the Colony, in which occupation has been
+retarded by the scarcity of water, the Government have also {79}
+incurred considerable expenditure in the successful provision of
+artesian water and in general works of conservation.
+
+Secondly, that the State may assist producers to dispose advantageously
+of their produce.  Reference has been made to the contracts which the
+Government have entered into with the British India Company for the
+carriage of farm and dairy produce.  They are now considering the
+advisability of assisting cattle-owners, whose resources are severely
+strained by the low prices which they obtain in London for their frozen
+meat.  The principal cause of the low prices and the attitude of the
+Premier can be gathered from the following extract from the financial
+statement which he delivered in 1896:--
+
+"Our meat I believe to be as good as any in the world, and the cost at
+which it can be delivered at a profit at the ports of the Colony will
+compare favourably with any other country that I am aware of; and yet
+the prices lately obtainable in London are such as barely cover the
+charges for freezing, freight, insurance, &c.  Something will have to
+be done if the industry is to be preserved.  The only suggestion I have
+received as yet is that the Colony, either individually or in
+conjunction with the other Colonies, should take the business of
+distribution into its own hands, as it is believed that, whilst the
+consumers give good value for our meat, a great part of that value is
+absorbed by various graduations of middlemen, leaving, as I have said,
+a margin for the {80} producer altogether disproportionate to the real
+value of the product.  To effect this a large amount of capital will be
+required, respecting which I have no proposal to submit, as the matter
+is really one for private enterprise to undertake, but I mention the
+matter as one requiring speedy and most serious attention, because, if
+private enterprise should not be forthcoming to cope with the
+difficulty, it may devolve upon Parliament to adopt such measures as
+may appear practicable to conserve an important industry which we can
+ill afford to lose."
+
+Subsequently, I understand (I was not in Queensland at the time), a
+Parliamentary Committee was instructed to consider the question, and
+reported in favour of the establishment at London and in the provinces
+of depots for the receipt and distribution of frozen meat.
+
+On another occasion, referring to the injury done to the harbour of
+Brisbane by excessive towage rates, the Premier said that if private
+enterprise could not do it for a less sum, it would be a very simple
+thing for the Government to take the matter in hand.
+
+Thirdly, that the State may use its credit, after strict investigation
+of the circumstances and upon conviction of the validity of the
+security, to enable prospective producers to borrow money at a low rate
+of interest.  The Sugar Works Guarantee Act, of which I have quoted the
+provisions, has led other producers to ask for similar concessions.
+The {81} farmers want flour mills and cheap money; the pastoralists and
+graziers complain of the tax levied upon them under the Meat and Dairy
+Produce Encouragement Acts.  Why, they ask, should the sugar industry
+be exceptionally favoured?  Again, if the Government are to establish
+distributing agencies for frozen meat, why not also for other produce?
+
+The Socialists describe these various measures as a spurious form of
+socialism calculated to increase the profits of a single class of the
+community; but the Government do not trouble themselves about abstract
+terms.  They have steadily pursued a settled policy, and have
+successively assisted the sugar, pastoral, and agricultural interests;
+they are prepared, if necessary, to give substantial help to
+cattle-owners in the disposal of their produce, and they intend to
+propose amendments of the mining laws which will promote the further
+development of the industry.  Nor have the producers alone been
+benefited; the working classes, who are the first to suffer in times of
+depression, are sharing in the renewed prosperity of the country, and
+have been able to take advantage of the increased demand for their
+services.
+
+
+
+[1] Quoted, by permission of the author, from an article contributed to
+the _Australasian Review of Reviews_ by Mr. J. V. Chataway, one of the
+members for Mackay.
+
+[2] See footnote p. 66.
+
+[3] Financial statement 1896, p. 14.
+
+
+
+
+{82}
+
+IV
+
+_THE LAND POLICY OF NEW ZEALAND_
+
+Differences of conditions between Australia and New Zealand--The Public
+Works policy--Taxation on land--The Land Act of 1892--The Land for
+Settlements Acts--The Government Advances to Settlers Acts--The
+encouragement of settlement--The co-operative construction of Public
+Works--The unemployed--Continuity of policy.
+
+
+The Constitution of 1852, under which New Zealand obtained responsible
+government, differed from those granted to the Australian Provinces in
+the creation of Provincial as well as Central Authorities.  Owing to
+the mountainous character of many parts of both islands, and in the
+absence of railways and other facilities for internal transit,
+communication had been carried on principally by sea, and settlement,
+instead of radiating from one point, as in New South Wales, Victoria,
+and South Australia, had been diffused at Auckland, Wellington,
+Christchurch, Dunedin, and other places of secondary importance.  Under
+these circumstances, while it was deemed advisable to create a Central
+Government at Auckland, which was transferred to Wellington in 1865,
+six elective {83} Provincial Councils were established, which, though
+their legislative and executive powers were confined within specified
+limits, promoted the continuance of the separate development of the
+several portions of the Colony.  In 1876 the Provincial Legislatures,
+which had in the meanwhile been increased by a division of territories
+to ten, were abolished by the Central Government, principally because
+they impeded the execution of the national policy of the construction
+of public works.  The effects of the system, however, are still seen,
+especially in the demands made in the House of Representatives that the
+different districts shall share in the benefits of any proposed
+expenditure of public funds.
+
+Another feature which served to differentiate New Zealand from
+Australia was the existence of a warlike native race in the North
+Island, which opposed the colonisation of the early settlers.  From the
+outset, ignorance of each other's language and habits of thought led to
+misunderstandings in regard to the disposal of land, which was
+complicated by the communal tenure of the Maoris.  The appreciation of
+this difficulty led to the insertion in the Treaty of 1840, in which
+the chiefs purported to cede the sovereignty of New Zealand, of a
+provision which reserved to the Crown the right of pre-emption over all
+native lands.  But the dissatisfaction was not allayed; the natives,
+conscious of the steady advances of the {84} settlers and urged to sell
+by agents of the Crown, feared that they would gradually be
+dispossessed of their territory.  A conflict which arose in regard to
+some land, and led to fatal results, increased the state of tension,
+which culminated, after a struggle in the extreme north, in the
+prolonged conflicts of 1860 to 1870.  After the pacification the
+reciprocal relations began to improve, and are now excellent.  The
+Maoris are universally respected, have four members in the House of
+Representatives, and two in the Legislative Council, and are
+represented in the Executive Council by a Minister, who is himself a
+half-caste.  Numerous attempts have also been made to settle the land
+question, notably by the resumption of the right of pre-emption, which
+had been waived for a time, and by the constitution, by an Act of 1893,
+of a Validation Court for the purpose of considering and finally
+settling the titles to lands obtained by Europeans from the natives.
+In view of their pre-emptive right, the Government have been bound, in
+justice to the Maoris, to make provision for the purchase of such lands
+as may be offered to them, though they have not herein initiated a new
+policy.  From the establishment of Imperial sovereignty to 1870,
+successive Governments acquired six million acres in the North Island,
+the whole of the Middle Island, with the exception of reserves for the
+original owners who were few in number, and Stewart Island.  From that
+date until 1895, another six {85} million acres had been acquired at an
+outlay of a million and a half pounds, and subsequent purchases, from a
+large area still under negotiation, amount to about 550,000 acres.  New
+Zealand has thus disbursed, and is still disbursing, large sums of
+money in the purchase of native lands, while Australia and Tasmania
+recognised no right of possession on the part of the few degraded
+aboriginals; and New Zealand alone is burdened with the payment of
+interest upon loans raised to cover the charges of prolonged military
+campaigns.
+
+During the wars, settlement was necessarily checked in the North
+Island, but proceeded in the Middle Island without intermission.  At
+their conclusion, in 1870, Mr. (now Sir Julius) Vogel, the Colonial
+Treasurer, placed before Parliament a comprehensive scheme of public
+works, which aimed at the general improvement of means of
+communication, a matter of particular importance in the North Island as
+being likely to hasten its final pacification.  "The leading features
+of the policy were: to raise a loan of ten millions, and to spend it
+over a course of years in systematic immigration, in the construction
+of a main trunk railway throughout the length of each island, in the
+employment of immigrants on the railway work, and in their ultimate
+settlement within large blocks of land reserved near the lines of
+railway, in the construction of main roads, in the purchase of {86}
+native lands in the North Island, in the supply of water-power on the
+goldfields, and in the extension of the telegraph.  The plan, with some
+modifications, was authorised by the Legislature.  These modifications
+mostly related to the amount to be borrowed and to its expenditure; but
+there was one alteration which crippled the whole policy.  The
+reservation of large tracts of Crown land through which the railways
+were intended to be made, with a view to the use of that land for
+settlement thereon, and as the means of recouping to the Colony a great
+part of the railway expenditure, was withdrawn by the Government from
+fear of losing the whole scheme.  That fear was not unfounded, inasmuch
+as provincial opposition to the reservation in question, combined with
+the opposition of those who disliked the whole scheme, would have
+seriously endangered its existence."[1]  The provincial opposition was
+due to the fact that, though the disposal of the Crown lands and the
+appropriation of the Land Fund were vested by the Constitution Act in
+the Central Legislature, each province had in practice been allowed to
+frame the regulations for the alienation of land within its district,
+and had received the proceeds of sale for its own use.  But the
+omission of the proposed reservation "has necessitated the frequent
+recurrence of borrowing large sums in order to continue work which had
+been begun and was useless while {87} it was unfinished, instead of
+making, as would have been the case under a proper system of land
+reservation, the work itself to a great extent, if not altogether,
+self-supporting and self-extending; and that deplorable omission has
+also frustrated the anticipated conduct of progressive colonisation
+concurrently with the progress of the railways.  The result of not
+insisting on this fundamental condition has been what should have been
+foreseen and obviated.  The Provincial Governments sold land in the
+vicinity of the intended railways, and expended the proceeds for
+provincial purposes; and, as a rule, speculative capitalists absorbed
+the land and the profits which should have been devoted to colonisation
+and to the railway fund."[2]  As the proposed railways would pass
+through private as well as Crown lands, Sir Julius Vogel also sought
+the power to levy a special rate, in certain circumstances, upon the
+persons in the vicinity of the railways who would be benefited by their
+construction.  He believed that he would thereby prevent
+"indiscriminate scrambling for railways," but was equally unable to
+induce Parliament to accept his views.  The aggregation of large
+estates was promoted by the low price, 10s. or even 5s. an acre, at
+which the land was for many years sold.  262 freeholders, including
+companies, owned in 1891, 7,840,000 acres of land in estates of 10,000
+acres and upwards.  The Province has, since its {88} foundation, sold
+or finally disposed of more than 21 million acres, and has at present
+nearly three million acres open for selection.  The remaining lands,
+exclusive of those in the hands of the Maoris, amount to 16-1/2 million
+acres, but comprise large tracts of barren mountainous country in the
+Middle Island, and of valueless pumice sand in the North Island.  In
+most directions, according to the Premier, settlement is already in
+advance of the roading operations.
+
+The policy initiated by Sir Julius Vogel in 1870 was carried on by
+successive Ministers until 1888, during which time more than 27
+millions were borrowed and devoted, for the most part, to the
+construction of railways and other public undertakings.  Subsequently,
+Sir Harry Atkinson and his successor, Mr. John Ballance, realised the
+danger of constant reliance upon loans, and greatly reduced the
+expenditure, which had become extravagant in the abundance of borrowed
+money.  Mr. Ballance also reformed the system of direct taxation and
+gave an impetus to legislation dealing with the settlement of the land
+and the protection of workmen in industrial pursuits.
+
+The existing property tax, at the rate of one penny in the L on all
+property, subject to an exemption of L500, was replaced by a graduated
+tax on incomes and land values, the principle of graduation having
+already been recognised in the case of succession duty.  The former
+impost was naturally upheld by {89} large owners of property and by all
+classes of professional men who had escaped taxation upon their
+incomes; while it was distasteful to shopkeepers, who might be taxed on
+unsaleable merchandise, and to cultivators of the soil, who found that
+their taxes rose in proportion to the improvements which they effected
+upon their estates.  The Government had little difficulty in passing
+their measure, which, subject to slight modifications, is in force at
+the present time.  Incomes below L300 are not taxed; between L300 and
+L1,300 they pay 6d. in the L, above L1,300 a shilling; but the sum of
+L300 is deducted from the total income in the assessment of the tax.
+For instance, an income of L2,000 pays L60, at the rate of L25 upon
+L1,000, and L35 upon L700.  The ordinary land-tax is a penny in the L
+on all freehold properties of which the unimproved value exceeds L500;
+between L500 and L1,500 exemption is allowed on L500; between L1,500
+and L2,500 the exemption decreases by L1 for every L2 of increased
+value, being extinguished at the latter amount.  Should the value
+exceed L5,000, a graduated land-tax is also levied, which rises
+progressively from half a farthing, until it reaches twopence upon
+estates of the unimproved value of L210,000 and upwards.  All
+improvements are excluded from the assessment of the taxable amount:
+they are defined to include "houses and buildings, fencing, planting,
+draining of land, clearing from timber, scrub or fern, laying down in
+grass or {90} pasture, and any other improvement whatsoever, the
+benefit of which is unexhausted at the time of valuation."  Under this
+provision rural owners have every encouragement to improve their
+properties, as the more they do so, the smaller becomes the proportion
+of the total value of their estates on which they are liable for
+taxation.  Owners are allowed, for the purposes of the ordinary, but
+not of the graduated land-tax, to deduct from the unimproved value of
+their land the amount of registered mortgages secured upon it; and
+mortgagees pay one penny in the L upon the sum total of their
+mortgages, but are not subject to the graduated tax.  A return,
+published under the assessment of 1891, shows, however, that rural
+owners are obtaining less benefit from the exemption of improvements
+than the owners of urban lands.  The figures are as follows:--
+
+                 Actual Value,      Value
+                  including           of          Unimproved
+                 improvements.   improvements.      value.
+
+  Counties ...    85,818,167      27,922,735      57,880,233
+  Boroughs ...    36,406,862      18,442,562      17,907,662
+
+     Total ...  L122,225,029     L46,365,297     L75,787,895
+
+
+It thus appears that land is taxed, on an average, at 49 per cent. of
+its actual value inclusive of improvements in boroughs, and at 67-1/2 per
+cent. in counties; {91} but it must be remembered that, as the urban
+population is not concentrated in one centre, land values have not been
+inflated to any great extent, and that much of the rural land has
+either recently been settled or is held in large blocks in a
+comparatively unimproved condition.  The improvement or sale of such
+properties would, the Government believed, be promoted by the
+imposition of the tax.  The Minister of Labour (the Hon. W. P. Reeves)
+expressed this view in the clearest terms: "The graduated tax is a
+finger of warning held up to remind them that the Colony does not want
+these large estates.  I think that, whether partly or almost entirely
+unimproved, they are a social pest, an industrial obstacle, and a bar
+to progress."  Similar feelings are, apparently, entertained towards
+the absentee owner, who, if he has been absent from or resident out of
+the Province for at least three years prior to the passing of the
+annual Act imposing the tax, is required to pay an additional 20 per
+cent. upon the amount of graduated land-tax to which he would otherwise
+be liable.  The income and land taxes produce a revenue about equal to
+that formerly derived from the property tax, and are collected from far
+fewer taxpayers, the respective numbers being 15,808 and 26,327 in a
+population of some 700,000 persons.  The benefits have been felt
+principally by tradesmen, miners, mechanics, labourers, and small
+farmers.  Of 91,500 owners of land, 76,400 escape payment of the
+land-tax.  It {92} may be noted, incidentally, that a permissive Act of
+1896 authorises such local bodies as adopt it to levy rates on the
+basis of the unimproved value of land.  Much anxiety has been felt by
+large landowners and owners of urban property throughout Australasia at
+the successive adoption of a tax on unimproved values by South
+Australia, New Zealand, and New South Wales.  They fear that it is the
+first step towards the national absorption of land values advocated by
+Henry George, but forget that the Governments of New South Wales and
+New Zealand, in respect of exemptions, and of New Zealand and South
+Australia, in respect of graduation, have introduced features in their
+systems of taxation which cause them to be fundamentally distinct from
+his proposals.  The Bill passed through the Victorian Assembly in 1894,
+but rejected by the Council, also provided for exemptions.
+
+But how, it may be asked, has an equitable assessment of the land been
+secured for the purposes of the tax?  Any owner who is not satisfied
+with the value placed upon his land on the assessment roll, may require
+the Commissioner to reduce the assessment to the amount specified on
+the owner's return, or to purchase the land at the sum mentioned on the
+owner's return of its actual value inclusive of improvements.  The
+Commissioner is bound to make the reduction unless the Government
+approve of the acquisition of the land.  A reasonable balance is thus
+struck: the Government are unwilling to {93} have a large amount of
+land thrown on their hands, while the owner does not take the risk of
+the resumption of the land at an inadequate valuation.  Disputes
+between the Commissioner and owners have, in most cases, been adjusted
+satisfactorily; but the Government decided to buy the Cheviot Estate of
+85,000 acres, which lies close to the sea in the Middle Island.  Upon
+its purchase they at first let the pastoral lands temporarily at the
+rate of L8,862 a year, while their surveyors laid out the country and
+supervised the construction of roads.  The results of the transaction
+were, in 1896, eminently satisfactory; the capital value of the estate
+then stood at L271,700, and the annual rental at L14,300; and the few
+inhabitants engaged in pastoral pursuits had been replaced by 216
+settlers and their families, who were reported to be of a good class
+and to have done a large amount of work in the improvement of their
+lands.
+
+The principal Act dealing with the alienation of Crown Lands is that of
+1892, which consolidates and amends former legislation.  Crown Lands
+are divided into urban, suburban, and village lands, which are sold by
+auction at an upset price, and rural lands, which are again subdivided
+according to their adaptability for cultivation or pasturage.  When
+townships are being laid out on Crown Lands, one-tenth of the
+superficial area is to be reserved for purposes of recreation, and a
+similar extent as a nucleus of municipal property, to be {94} vested
+subsequently as an endowment in the local authority in addition to the
+reserves necessary for all public purposes.  At the option of the
+applicant, lands may be purchased for cash, or be selected for
+occupation with the right of purchase, or on lease in perpetuity.
+Selectors are limited to 640 acres of first-class land, or 2,000 acres
+of second-class land, the maximum being inclusive of any lands which
+they may already hold.  The object of this provision is to prevent
+existing landowners from aggregating large estates by the purchase of
+Crown Lands.  Cash sales are effected at a price of not less than 20s.
+and 5s. per acre, respectively, for first-class and second-class land,
+and entitle the selector to a free-hold title upon the expenditure of a
+prescribed amount on improvements.  Land selected under occupation with
+the right of purchase is subject to a rental of 5 per cent. upon the
+cash price, under lease in perpetuity, which is for 999 years, to a
+rental of 4 per cent.; and strict conditions of residence and
+improvement are, in both cases, attached and rigidly enforced.  At the
+expiration of ten years, a licensee under the former tenure may, upon
+payment of the upset price, acquire the freehold or may change the
+license for a lease in perpetuity.  The latter is the perpetual lease
+of the previous Acts, denuded of the option of purchase and of the
+periodical revaluation of the rent, and is, in the latter respect,
+reactionary, as the State gives up its right to take advantage of any
+unearned increment.  {95} Subsidies amounting to one-third of the rent
+of land taken up under any of the above tenures and one-fourth of the
+rent of small grazing-runs are paid to local authorities for the
+construction of roads, but must be expended for the benefit of the
+selectors from whose lands such moneys are derived.  The Act of 1892
+also authorises the Governor to reserve blocks of country, as special
+settlements or village settlements, for persons who may desire to take
+up adjacent lands.  The Village Settlements have been successful when
+they have been formed in localities in which there was a demand for
+labour; the Special Settlements comparative failures, because many of
+the members of the associations had neither the requisite means nor
+knowledge of rural pursuits.  Pastoral land is let by auction in areas
+capable of carrying not more than 20,000 sheep or 4,000 head of cattle;
+or in small grazing-runs not exceeding, according to the quality of the
+soil, 5,000 or 20,000 acres in area.  The dominant feature in the Act,
+in its application to pastoral as well as agricultural land, is the
+strict limitation of the area which may be held by any one person;
+rightly or wrongly, the Government are determined that the Crown Lands
+shall not pass into the hands of large holders.  The principal
+transactions of the last three years are thus summarised, the figures
+for 1894 covering the period from April, 1893, to March, 1894, and so
+for the other years:
+
+{96}
+
+                       1894.            1895.              1896.
+
+                   No.    AREA.      No.     AREA.     No.       AREA.
+
+                          Acres.            Acres.              Acres.
+
+  Cash   ... ...   500    34,999     415    38,710     492      26,584
+  Occupation,
+    with right to
+    purchase ...   471   108,499     428    75,500     434      84,970
+  Lease in
+    perpetuity   1,228   255,348   1,032   166,037   1,461     199,093
+  Pastoral runs    227   899,945     123   568,293     188   2,156,378
+
+
+In regard to the numerical superiority of leases in perpetuity, it must
+be pointed out that, not only the special blocks, but the improved
+farms and lands offered under the Land for Settlements Acts, to which I
+shall have occasion to refer, are disposed of solely under that tenure;
+but it appears to be attractive in itself: as most of the Crown Lands
+require considerable outlay before they become productive, a selector
+can expend any capital that he may possess more advantageously upon the
+development of the capabilities of the soil than upon the acquisition
+of the freehold.  The Government also are benefited by a policy which
+renders the land revenue a permanent asset in the finances.  The
+receipts for the financial year 1895-6 amounted to nearly L300,000.
+
+In 1892 an attempt was also made to deal with the problem of the
+scarcity of available land in settled districts which was caused by the
+prevalence {97} of large estates.  It was thought that the labourers
+employed upon them, and the sons of farmers who might wish to settle
+near their parents, should have an opportunity of acquiring land.  The
+Government, accordingly, passed the first of a series of Land for
+Settlements Acts, which authorised the repurchase or exchange of lands
+and their subdivision for purposes of close settlement.  Upon the
+recommendation of a Board of Land Purchase Commissioners, some of whom
+represent local interests, that a certain estate is suitable for
+settlement, and should be purchased at a certain price, the Government
+may enter into negotiations with the owner with a view to a voluntary
+transaction, and, upon his refusal, take the land compulsorily at a
+valuation fixed by a Compensation Court.  Owners are so far safeguarded
+that they cannot be dispossessed of estates of less than 640 acres of
+first-class, or 2,000 acres of second-class land, that they can claim
+to retain the above area, and that they can require the Government to
+take the whole of their estates.  The maximum annual expenditure was
+limited at first to L50,000, but has been raised to L250,000.  At the
+end of March of last year twenty-eight estates, containing 87,000
+acres, had been acquired, in one case compulsorily, and made available
+for settlement by surveys and the construction of roads at a total
+expenditure of nearly L390,000.  Nineteen of these had already been
+subdivided into farms of various sizes, and were bringing in rentals
+amounting to {98} 4.76 per cent. upon the outlay which they had
+involved.  The Land Purchase Inspector was able to report that the
+lands, which had been the object of eager competition, had, in most
+cases, been greatly improved and were in good condition, and he is
+likely to find even better results in the future, as the Amending Act
+of 1896 provided that applications for land should not be entertained
+unless the applicants were able to prove their ability properly to
+cultivate the soil and to fulfil the stipulations of the leases.  This
+provision is of great importance, as much of the land has been
+cultivated by its former owners, and would deteriorate rapidly under
+incapable management.  The Governments of South Australia, Queensland,
+and Western Australia have legislated in a similar direction, and that
+of New South Wales introduced a Bill which failed to become law.  As
+far as New Zealand is concerned, which has conducted its operations on
+the largest scale, the system has not been sufficiently long in
+existence to enable an estimate to be formed of its probable financial
+results.
+
+A similar uncertainty prevails in regard to the more recent attempts to
+place cheap money within the reach of settlers.  The first step in that
+direction was taken in 1886, when regulations were made for the
+establishment of Village Settlements, the members of which might
+receive loans for the construction of their houses and for other
+purposes.  These settlements were not, as in some of the {99}
+Australian Provinces, formed on a co-operative or a semi-communistic
+basis.  The success of this experiment doubtless encouraged the
+Government to widen the scope of the advances.  In 1895, 4,560 persons,
+divided among 144 settlements, had occupied 33,800 acres of land; they
+had received L25,800 in advances, had paid L17,600 in rent and
+interest, and had carried out improvements of the value of L92,800.
+These improvements, consequently, form an ample security for the
+repayment of the loans.  The necessity of a general scheme of advances
+was based upon the difficulty experienced by small settlers, however
+good might be the security, in obtaining loans except at prohibitive
+rates.  Authority was, accordingly, obtained through the Government
+Advances to Settlers Acts of 1894-6 to borrow three millions with a
+view to loans ranging from L25 to L3,000, upon first mortgages, to
+owners of freehold land and occupiers of Crown Lands, the advances not
+to exceed three-fifths of the value of the former and one-half of the
+value of the lessee's interest in the latter.  Advances may not be made
+on town lands, nor on suburban lands which are held for residential or
+manufacturing purposes.  The valuation of every security is to be
+carried out by or on behalf of a superintendent appointed _ad hoc._,
+and is to be submitted for the consideration of a General Board
+consisting of the Colonial Treasurer, the Superintendent, the Public
+Trustee, the Commissioner of Taxes, and a nominee of the {100} Governor
+in Council.  The advances on freehold land may be either for a fixed
+period at 5 per cent., or for 36-1/2 years at 6 per cent., of which 5 per
+cent. is reckoned as interest and 1 per cent. towards the gradual
+repayment of the principal; on leasehold lands, in the latter form
+alone.  As the loan of a million and a half raised as the source of
+advances was floated at 3 per cent., and realised nearly L1,400,000,
+the margin between the percentage due by the Government and that
+received from the settlers should be sufficient to enable one-tenth of
+the interest to be paid, as provided, into an Assurance Fund against
+possible losses, and a residue to be available which will cover the
+general expenses of administration.  But it is obvious that the result
+of the experiment will depend greatly upon the prevalent rate of
+interest and the price of produce.  Hitherto, two-thirds of the
+advances have been used by settlers to enable them to rid themselves of
+former and less advantageous mortgages; in some cases, mortgagees, in
+order to retain their mortgages, have voluntarily lowered the rate of
+interest to 5 per cent.  The tabular statement on the following page of
+the financial position is the latest that has been issued, and does not
+purport to be more than approximately correct.  Advances may also be
+made towards the construction of dwelling-houses to those who have
+obtained selections under the Land for Settlements Acts; but they may
+not exceed twenty pounds nor the {101} amount already spent by the
+applicant upon his holding.
+
+  INCOME.
+
+  The advances authorised and accepted
+    amount to L735,967, and yield an annual
+    income of 5 per cent.  . . . . . . . . . . .  L36,798
+
+  The temporary investment of L603,444 in
+    Government securities yields an annual
+    income at the rate of 3.42 per cent. . . . .   20,747
+
+  The balance of L51,805 on current account
+    with the Bank, may be estimated to yield
+    2 per cent.  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    1,036
+                                                 --------
+  Estimated total income on June 15, 1896  . . .  L58,581
+                                                 --------
+
+  EXPENDITURE.
+
+  Annual charge for interest at 3 per cent. on
+    L1,500,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  L43,000
+  Salaries for the year  . . . . . . . . . . . .    3,700
+  Other expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    2,800
+  Mortgage Tax, estimated  . . . . . . . . . . .    1,800
+                                                 --------
+  Estimated total expenditure  . . . . . . . . .  L53,300
+  Balance of income over expenditure . . . . . .    5,281
+                                                 --------
+                                                  L58,581
+                                                 ========
+
+
+Another measure which may affect the well-being of settlers is the
+Family Home Protection Act, 1895.  Any owner of land may settle as a
+family home the land, not exceeding, with all improvements, L1,500 in
+value, on which he resides and has his home, provided that at the time
+the land is unencumbered and he is able to pay all his debts without
+the land in question.  As a precaution against the {102} concealment of
+liabilities, he is obliged to make an application to a District Land
+Registrar, who must thereupon give public notice of the intended
+registration.  Should any creditor put in a claim within twelve months,
+the case is to be tried before a Judge of the Supreme Court, and if the
+owner of the land is vindicated, the Registrar is to issue a
+certificate which will exempt the family home from seizure under
+ordinary processes of law, but not in one or two contingencies, of
+which the principal is the failure to meet current liabilities in
+respect of rates or taxes.  The registration is to continue until the
+death of the owner or the majority or death under the age of twenty-one
+of all his children, and is not to precede the last of these events.
+Upon its cessation it may be renewed at the option of the persons then
+holding the estate, who must be relations of the deceased.  Little
+effect has been given to the Act owing, probably, to the unavoidable
+publicity of the proceedings.  It appears to have been based upon a
+South Australian Act of 1891, which enables holders of workmen's
+blocks, by the endorsement of their leases, to secure for their
+properties somewhat similar exemptions from seizure.  Their failure to
+avail themselves, to any considerable extent, of this privilege is
+attributed to the unwillingness of working men to take any trouble in a
+matter of which the advantages are merely contingent.
+
+So far I have discussed the legislation of New Zealand which affects
+freeholders and those who {103} are, or desire to become, tenants of
+the Crown; but before proceeding to deal with matters of common import
+to most settlers, I must point out that tenants holding from private
+landlords have also engaged the paternal attention of the Government.
+The Minister of Lands introduced last session, but failed to pass, a
+Fair Rent Bill, which would have established a system of Land Courts
+under the presidency of Stipendiary Magistrates.  Landlords and tenants
+would have had an equal right to apply for the determination of the
+fair rent which, upon the decision of the Court, whether it were higher
+or lower than the reserved rent, would have been deemed, until a
+further revision, to be the rent payable under the lease.  The
+Government displayed great inconsistency in the introduction of the
+measure; having shown, in the system of lease in perpetuity, that they
+objected to the periodical revaluation of the rents payable upon Crown
+Lands, they proposed, through the Fair Rent Bill, to enable the Crown,
+as landlord, to take steps to increase the rents of its tenants.
+
+As regards the general interests of producers, the Government have,
+through reductions amounting to L50,000 a year in railway rates, made a
+concession to them at the expense of the general taxpayer, as the
+railways, after payment of working expenses, return only 2.8 per cent.,
+a sum insufficient to meet the interest upon their cost of
+construction.  Again, they have appointed experts in butter-making,
+{104} fruit-growing, &c., who travel about the country and give
+technical instruction by means of lectures; and they distribute, among
+farmers and others, pamphlets containing practical advice upon various
+aspects of cultivation.  But, except that butter is received, graded
+and frozen free of charge, they have not followed the example of
+Victoria and South Australia in the direct encouragement of exports.
+Finally, while the State acts as landlord, banker, and carrier, it also
+carries on a department of life insurance and annuities, accepts the
+position of trustee under wills, and, if the programme of the
+Government is accepted by Parliament, will undertake the business of
+fire insurance and grant a small allowance to all who are aged and
+indigent and have resided for a long term of years in the Colony.  The
+development of the resources of the country, under the assistance of
+the State, has also proceeded in other directions.  More than L500,000
+had been spent up to March, 1896, in the construction of water-races on
+goldfields for the benefit of alluvial miners and public companies; and
+in that year the Premier, in view of the large amount of foreign and
+native capital that was flowing into the industry, obtained the
+authorisation of Parliament to the expenditure of a further sum of
+L200,000 in the conservation of water by means of large reservoirs, the
+construction of water-races, the extension of prospecting throughout
+the Colony, and the construction of roads and tracks for the general
+{105} development of the goldfields.  The physical attractions and
+health resorts of the country, many of which are reached with
+difficulty, are also being opened up by the expenditure of public funds.
+
+The general question of settlement has, during the last few years, been
+connected closely with that of the unemployed.  In New Zealand, as in
+several of the Australian Provinces, the construction of the main lines
+of railway attracted into the country immigrants who, upon their
+completion, were left without other resources.  At the same time the
+fall in prices rendered many settlers unable to fulfil their
+obligations, and, upon the loss of their properties, drove them into
+the towns, where they swelled the ranks of the unemployed.  It also
+forced those who remained solvent to cut down their general expenses,
+and especially their labour bill, to the lowest possible point.  The
+Government were compelled to face the problem and attempted to give
+former settlers a fresh chance and gradually to accustom artisans to
+rural pursuits which, in the case of uncleared land, are at first of a
+simple character.  But the facilities offered under the Land Act were
+of little use unless it could be arranged that the men, being without
+capital, should have outside employment upon which they could depend
+until their lands had been cleared and brought into cultivation.  It
+had already been realised that the construction of roads was an
+indispensable sequel to that of railways, and large annual
+appropriations {106} had been made from the Public Works Fund; but it
+was then decided that settlement should be encouraged systematically in
+those districts in which it was proposed to proceed with the
+construction of roads.  This policy has, accordingly, been carried out
+energetically during the last few years from loans and current revenue
+upon the co-operative system, which was inaugurated in 1891 by the Hon.
+R. J. Seddon, then Minister of Public Works and now Premier of the
+Colony.  As this system, which was first tried as an experiment upon
+the railways, is now employed in connection with most public works, its
+object and operation may be illustrated by a series of quotations: "The
+contract system had many disadvantages.  It gave rise to a class of
+middle men, in the shape of contractors, who often made large profits
+out of their undertakings, and at times behaved with less liberality to
+their workmen than might have been expected under the circumstances.
+Even in New Zealand, where the labour problem is less acute than in
+older countries, strikes have occurred in connection with public works
+contracts, with the result that valuable time has been lost in the
+prosecution of the works, much capital has been wasted by works being
+kept at a standstill and valuable plant lying idle, and large numbers
+of men being for some time unemployed; and considerable bitterness of
+feeling has often been engendered.  The contract system also gave rise
+to sub-contracting, which is worse again; for not only {107} is it
+subject to all the drawbacks of the parent system, but by relegating
+the conduct of the works to contractors of inferior standing, with
+little or no capital, the evil of "sweating" was admitted.  Very often,
+too, the business people who supplied stores and materials were unable
+to obtain payment for them, and not seldom the workmen also failed to
+receive the full amount of their wages.  The result in some cases was
+that, instead of the expenditure proving a great boon to the district
+in which the works were situated, as would have been the case if the
+contract had been well managed and properly carried out, such contracts
+frequently brought disaster in their train.  The anomaly of the
+principal contractor making a large profit, his sub-contractor being
+ruined and his workmen left unpaid, also occasionally presented itself,
+and thus the taxpayer who provided the money had the mortification of
+seeing one man made rich (who would perhaps take his riches to Europe
+or America to enjoy them) and a number of others reduced to poverty, or
+in some instances cast upon public charity....  The co-operative system
+was designed to overcome these evils, and to enable the work to be let
+direct to the workmen, so that they should be able, not only to earn a
+fair day's wage for a fair day's work, but also to secure for
+themselves the profits which a contractor would have otherwise made on
+the undertaking....  The work is valued by the engineer appointed to
+have charge of it {108} before it is commenced, and his valuations are
+submitted to the Engineer-in-Chief of the Colony for approval.  When
+approved, they constitute the contract price for the work; but they are
+not absolutely unchangeable as in the case of a binding, strictly legal
+contract.  It frequently happens under an ordinary contract that work
+turns out to be more easy of execution than was anticipated, and the
+State has to see its contractors making inordinate profits.  Sometimes,
+on the other hand, works cost more than was expected; but in most cases
+of this kind the contractor either becomes a bankrupt, so that the
+State has, after all, to pay full value for the work, or, if the
+contractor happens to be a moneyed man, he will probably find some
+means of getting relieved of a contract, or of obtaining special
+consideration for his losses on completion of his work.  Under the
+co-operative system, if it is found that the workmen are earning
+unusually high rates their contracts can be determined, and be re-let
+at lower rates, either to the same party of men or to others, as may be
+necessary.  Similarly, if it is shown, after a fair trial of any work,
+that capable workmen are not able to earn reasonable rates upon it, the
+prices paid can, with the approval of the Engineer-in-chief, be
+increased, so long as the department is satisfied that the work is not
+costing more than it would have cost if let by contract at ordinary
+fair paying prices....  Another great advantage of {109} co-operation
+is that it gives the Government complete control over its expenditure.
+Under the old plan, when large contracts were entered into, the
+expenditure thereunder was bound to go on, even though, through sudden
+depression or other unlooked-for shrinking of the revenue, the
+Government would gladly have avoided or postponed the outlay....  Not
+only has the Government complete control over the expenditure, but in
+the matter of the time within which works are to be completed the
+control is much superior to that possessed when the works are in the
+hands of a contractor.  When once a given time is allowed to a
+contractor in which to complete a work, any request to finish it in
+less time would at once provoke a demand for extra payment; but under
+the co-operative system the Government reserves the right to increase
+the numbers employed in any party to any extent considered desirable,
+so that if any sudden emergency arises, or an unusually rapid
+development in any district takes place, it is quite easy to arrange
+for the maximum number possible of men being employed on the works in
+hand, with no more loss of time than is required to get the men
+together."[3]
+
+It was at first proposed that the men should work in gangs of about
+fifty, who should have an equal interest in the contract and make an
+equal division of the wages and profits; but experience showed that
+large gangs did not work together harmoniously {110} owing to
+differences, not only in the temperament of the men, but also in their
+abilities as workmen.  The labourers solved this difficulty by forming
+themselves into small parties composed of men of about equal ability,
+with the result that, while some gangs earn higher wages than others,
+the weak are not excluded altogether from employment.  The co-operative
+works have, on the whole, been successful; but it is clear, from the
+reports of the surveyors, that constant supervision is necessary, and
+that there is considerable dissatisfaction, among unskilled workmen,
+with the low rate of their earnings, and, generally, with the
+intermittent character of the employment.  For the Government have
+decided, in order that work may be given to as many as possible and
+that settlement may be promoted, that no labourers shall be employed
+more than four days in the week.  During the remainder of the time, if
+they have taken up land in the neighbourhood, they devote themselves to
+it; otherwise they are likely to be demoralised by enforced idleness.
+The Minister of Public Works attempted to prove that works had been
+carried out more economically under the co-operative system, but was
+unable to cite cases that were exactly analogous.  He showed that the
+average number of employes had risen from 788 in 1891-2 to 2,336 in
+1895-6, but that, whereas in the former years workmen under the Public
+Works Department were twice as numerous as those under the Lands {111}
+Department, in the latter the proportion had been more than reversed.
+This change must be regarded as satisfactory, as employes under the
+Lands Department are, in a large majority of cases, settlers.
+
+In 1894 the Government passed an Act which was intended to meet the
+special requirements of the unemployed.  Any number of men composing an
+association may, by agreement with the Minister of Lands, settle upon
+Crown Lands for the purpose of clearing or otherwise improving them,
+and will, subject to the authorisation of Parliament, receive from the
+Colonial Treasurer payment for their work.  They are entitled thereupon
+to take up holdings at a rental based on the combined value of the land
+in an unimproved condition and of the improvements.  This system, which
+is known as that of Improved Farm Settlements, has been worked largely
+in connection with co-operative works.  In March of last year 39
+settlements had been initiated which covered 63,600 acres and carried
+679 residents.  They have "had the effect of removing from the towns a
+considerable number of people who otherwise would have been found in
+the ranks of the unemployed, and an opportunity has been given to all
+who are really desirous of becoming _bona-fide_ settlers to make homes
+for themselves, and become producers rather than a burden on the State.
+Many who have taken up land on this system brought no experience with
+{112} them to aid in the operations of the pioneer work of settlement,
+and this had to be gained at some cost to themselves and the State.  So
+long as the Government continues monetary aid by way of assisting in
+clearing, grassing, and house-building, all will go well; by the time
+this comes to an end, sufficient experience should have been gained,
+and the farms ought to be stocked.  This latter is at present a
+difficulty with many of the settlers, for it is obvious that many of
+them can at first do little more than support themselves out of the
+moneys advanced for clearing, without sparing anything for stock."[4]
+The success of these settlements, it is pointed out, depends upon the
+simultaneous occupation by men with capital of the adjoining Crown
+Lands in larger holdings on which there will be a demand for the labour
+of the settlers; otherwise they will be in difficulties when the roads
+are completed, as their blocks of a hundred acres or so will not alone
+suffice to secure to them a livelihood.  This principle has been borne
+in view, as far as possible, in the location of the settlements.
+
+Labourers for the co-operative works, I should have stated, are
+recommended by the local agencies of the Labour Department, and are
+selected on the principle that applicants not previously employed have
+priority of claim over those who have recently had employment; that men
+resident in the neighbourhood of the works have priority over {113}
+non-residents, and that married men have priority over single men;
+while the qualifications of the men as workmen and their personal
+characters are naturally taken into consideration.  During the five
+years of its existence, the Labour Department has found employment for
+nearly 16,000 men; of the 2,781 men assisted during the year ending
+March, 1896, 2,163 were sent to Government works.  Under the control of
+the Labour Department is a State Farm, in the province of Wellington,
+at which unemployed are received for a few weeks or months, and, having
+saved a few pounds, are enabled to seek work elsewhere.  The farm is
+specially adapted for young, able-bodied men who have been brought up
+as clerks and shop assistants, but, owing to the stress of competition,
+have been thrown out of employment.  Many of them would be prepared to
+undertake manual labour, but lack the necessary experience.  At the
+farm they would be able to obtain in a short time sufficient knowledge
+to render them capable of accepting work for private employment.  The
+Secretary of the Department of Labour, Mr. Tregear, maintains that the
+farm has proved its usefulness and should be supplemented by similar
+institutions in the other provinces.  Since the last annual report, I
+understand, the Government have decided, as the land has been improved
+to a point which renders it impossible to employ any considerable
+number upon it profitably, to dispose of it, and to remove the workmen
+{114} to fresh areas of uncleared land.  They hope to recoup themselves
+for their whole expenditure, but will not necessarily be convicted of
+failure should they fail to do so, as the undertaking was started on a
+charitable, and not on a commercial, basis.  It aimed at the assistance
+of the genuine unemployed, and was not intended to become a refuge for
+confirmed loafers.  On this point Mr. Tregear writes, and his views are
+those of the working men of New Zealand: "I am more and more impressed
+with the necessity that exists of establishing farms which shall be
+used as places of restriction for the incurably vagrant atoms of the
+population.  The State Farm does not and should not fulfil this
+purpose; it is for the disposal and help of worthy persons,
+unsuccessful for the time, or failing through advance in years.  What
+is required is a place of detention and discipline.  There exists in
+every town a certain number of men whose position vibrates between that
+of the loafer and the criminal: these should altogether be removed from
+cities.  The spieler, the bookmaker, the habitual drunkard, the loafer
+on his wife's earnings, the man who has no honest occupation, he whose
+condition of 'unemployed' has become chronic and insoluble--all these
+persons are evil examples and possible dangers.  Such an one should be
+liable, on conviction before a stipendiary magistrate, to be removed
+for one or two years to a farm, where simple food and clothes would be
+found for him {115} in return for his enforced labour.  The
+surroundings would be more healthy, and open-air life and regular
+occupation would induce more wholesome habits and principles than the
+hours formerly spent in the beer-shop and at the street-corner, while
+the removal from bad companionship would liberate from the pressure of
+old associations.  He would, on his discharge, probably value more
+highly his liberty to work as a free man for the future, and, as the
+State would have been to no cost for his maintenance, it would be a
+gainer by his temporary removal from crowded centres.  There need be no
+more trouble than before in regard to the sustentation of the
+restricted person's family, as such a vagrant is of no use to his
+family, but only an added burden.  While for the honest workman,
+temporarily 'unemployed,' every sympathy should be shown and assistance
+to work given, for the other class, the 'unemployable,' there should be
+compulsory labour, even if under regulations of severity such as obtain
+in prisons."[5]  New Zealand has a justification for penal colonies
+lacking in older countries in the fact that the genuine unemployed can
+obtain assistance from the Government to enable them to settle on the
+land, either through the Co-operative Works or the Improved Farm
+Settlements.
+
+The special efforts of the Government to settle impecunious persons on
+the land are still in the {116} initial stage and have not served to
+neutralise the effects of the lowness of prices and consequent scarcity
+of employment.  The total expenditure under the heading of Charitable
+Aid was L106,500 in the year ended March, 1896, being an increase of
+L20,000 upon that of the previous twelve months.  A sum of L18,000 was
+also spent on relief works.  The administration is vested in the local
+authorities, who obtain the necessary funds from rates, voluntary
+contributions and subsidies on a fixed scale from the National
+Exchequer.  They expend one-fifth of the amount on the maintenance of
+destitute children and the greater portion of the remainder on outdoor
+relief.  No information is available as to the number of persons
+relieved, their average ages, the form of relief or the conditions
+under which it is given; but it is evident from reports of the
+Inspector of Charitable Institutions that the administration is
+exceedingly lax and tends to intensify the evil which it should strive
+to alleviate.  It would seem that, on the one hand, the Government are
+inculcating habits of independence, on the other, conniving at the
+encouragement of pauperism.
+
+The results of recent legislation will depend, partly, on the price of
+produce, principally, on the methods of administration.  This matter is
+one on which it is difficult to form an adequate opinion, as all
+statements are tinged more or less with the prejudice of partisanship.
+It is therefore {117} best to confine oneself to Acts of Parliament and
+official documents while realising that the more a State extends its
+sphere of action, the more are its Ministers subject to political
+pressure and tempted to maintain themselves in office by a misuse of
+the possibilities of patronage.  The disposal of Crown Lands is vested
+in Local Land Boards, which consist of the Commissioners of Crown Lands
+for the district, and of not less than two nor more than four members
+appointed for two years, but removable from time to time by warrant
+under the hand of the Governor.  These Boards receive all applications
+for Crown Lands and dispose of them in accordance with the provisions
+of the Land Acts.  They are constituted the sole judges of the
+fulfilment of the conditions attached to leases and may cancel them,
+after inquiry, subject to the right of appeal to a judge of the Supreme
+Court.  If any lessee make default in the payment of interest, his
+lease is liable to absolute forfeiture, subject to a similar right of
+appeal, without any compensation for his improvements.  This question
+is one of great delicacy: it is manifestly unfair to confiscate a man's
+improvements if he has a fair prospect of being able to meet his
+obligations within a definite period; on the other hand, if such
+latitude be allowed, possibilities of favouritism are at once admitted.
+Again, are all applicants for land to be treated alike, irrespective of
+the probability that they will be good tenants of the Crown?  The {118}
+Land Boards are vested with a discretionary power to refuse
+applications, but must state the grounds of their refusal.  The best
+constitution for these Boards has been much discussed; but if, as has
+been proposed, nomination by the local authorities or election by the
+electors of local authorities were substituted for nomination of the
+Government, the pressure might be not only greater, but more immediate.
+Statistics, moreover, show that the administration of the Land Laws has
+not erred on the side of leniency.  In March, 1896, the arrears of rent
+throughout the Province were only L15,700, a decrease of L22,000 upon
+the amount reported for the previous twelve months; and forfeitures had
+been numerous for failure to carry out the conditions of tenure.  Under
+exceptional circumstances Parliament is prepared to make special
+arrangements.  In view of the losses incurred by pastoralists during
+the severe winter of 1895, it passed a Pastoral Tenants' Relief Act,
+which empowered the Land Boards after inquiry into the facts of each
+case to grant remissions of rent or extensions of leases at reduced
+rentals.  The Advances to Settlers Act also appears to be administered
+prudently, on the principle that the value of the property which may be
+offered as a security for a loan, and the risk of any loss from
+granting an advance, must determine the result of the consideration of
+every application.  It is a necessary limitation of the Act that many
+of those who most {119} require assistance, having borrowed at high
+rates of interest, are unable to obtain the advances which would enable
+them to clear off their mortgages on account of the depreciation in
+value of the security.  Of 2,196 applications received to March of last
+year, 730 had been refused, and 397 had lapsed through the refusal of
+the department to offer amounts equal to the expectations of the
+applicant.
+
+The Acts providing for the purchase of private and native land and for
+advances to settlers have necessitated a large increase in the
+indebtedness of the Colony, and a consequent divergence from the
+principles laid down by Sir Harry Atkinson and Mr. Ballance.  The
+present Premier, Mr. Seddon, who succeeded Mr. Ballance in 1893, admits
+that his Government borrowed L3,800,000 in three years, but contends
+that the whole of the amount with the exception of L210,000 is being
+expended in such a manner as to be remunerative.  The sum mentioned is
+exclusive of a loan for a million authorised last session, which is to
+be expended upon the construction of railways and roads, the purchase
+of native lands, and the development of the goldfields and hot springs.
+Have these loans been in the best interests of the Colony?  A stranger
+can but look at the matter broadly and will be inclined to think that
+they follow, in natural sequence, upon the policy of Sir Julius Vogel.
+The State then decided that it would use its credit to accelerate the
+construction of railways and roads and open up {120} outlying
+districts.  Such works were valueless--in fact ruinous to the
+Province--unless they were followed by a strenuous and successful
+encouragement of settlement and cultivation.  The latter task has been
+the principal work of the Seddon Government, which has attempted, not
+only to settle people on the land, but to settle them in suitable
+localities and under conditions that will give them a reasonable
+prospect of an independent and comfortable livelihood.
+
+
+
+[1] "The Colony of New Zealand," Gisborne, p. 170.
+
+[2] "The Colony of New Zealand," Gisborne, pp. 171-2.
+
+[3] New Zealand Official Year Book, 1894.  Report by Under-secretary of
+Public Works.
+
+[4] Report of Department of Lands and Survey, 1896; page iv.
+
+[5] Report of Department of Labour, 1896; page vii.
+
+
+
+
+{121}
+
+V
+
+_CHARACTERISTICS OF VICTORIAN LEGISLATION_
+
+Comparisons between the Australasian Upper Houses--Conflicts between
+the two Houses in Victoria--The proposed obviation of deadlocks--The
+utility of the Legislative Council--The antagonism between Town and
+Country--The Factory Acts, their justification and provisions--State
+Socialism: Railways, Irrigation Works, the encouragement of Mining,
+Subsidies and Bonuses, State advances to Settlers--The Unemployed and
+the Leongatha Labour Colony.
+
+
+The Victorian Legislative Council is, from the democratic point of
+view, the most objectionable of all the Australasian Upper Houses.  In
+Queensland, New South Wales, and New Zealand, the members of the
+Council are nominated for life and receive no remuneration for their
+services; but, as their number is not restricted, their opposition to
+measures passed by the Assembly is limited by the dread that the
+Executive may exercise the power of making additional appointments.  In
+the other Provinces the Councils are elective; in South Australia,
+Western Australia, and Tasmania, as in the Provinces already mentioned,
+the Members are {122} subject to no property qualification, and in New
+Zealand, South Australia, and Tasmania they are paid at the rate,
+respectively, of L150, L200, and L50 a year.  In Victoria, on the other
+hand, there is a property qualification for membership which consists
+in the possession of a freehold estate of the clear annual value of
+L100, which confines eligibility to a small fraction of the population;
+and the area of selection is restricted further by the absence of
+remuneration and by the size of the electoral districts, which
+necessitates heavy expenditure on the part of a candidate at a
+contested election.  Under these circumstances, the comparatively low
+electoral franchise, which admits upon the rolls two-thirds of the
+voters for members of the Assembly, is absolutely useless to the
+democratic electors: they are unable to find candidates who will adopt
+their views, and have been obliged, as at the last elections, to allow
+all the retiring members to be re-elected without opposition.  It
+should be stated that the members are elected for a period of six years
+in ten provinces, and retire in rotation at intervals of two years.
+
+The Victorian Assembly consists of ninety-five members who are elected
+for three years upon the basis of manhood suffrage and receive
+remuneration at the rate of L270 a year.  Conflicts between the two
+Houses were incessant during the first twenty-five years of Responsible
+Government.  Immediately after its establishment in 1855 a struggle
+{123} arose as to the right of selection upon pastoral properties, in
+which the Council supported the interests of the squatters.  The issue
+could not be doubtful, as the squatters, who had been allowed to
+depasture enormous tracts of land in the early days of the Province,
+had no fixed tenure and were impeding the settlement of the country.
+In 1865 the Assembly passed a protective tariff which was distasteful
+to the Council as representative of the producers, and tried to secure
+its enactment by tacking it on to the Appropriation Bill.  They relied
+upon the section of the Constitution Act which provides that "all Bills
+for appropriating any part of the revenue of Victoria, and for imposing
+any duty, rate, tax, rent, return or impost, shall originate in the
+Assembly, and may be rejected but not altered by the Council."  Upon
+the refusal of the Council to submit to such coercion, the Ministry
+arranged with various banks that they should advance the funds required
+for public purposes, levied a tax upon a resolution of the Assembly and
+paid the civil servants without parliamentary authority.  A general
+election followed, at which the Ministry were successful; the Assembly
+and Council repeated their action of the previous session, and,
+finally, the Council agreed to accept the new tariff provided it was
+submitted to them in the form of a separate Bill.  Similar
+constitutional struggles occurred in 1867 upon the proposed grant to
+ex-Governor Darling, and in 1877 upon the Bill to provide for the
+payment of Members {124} of the Assembly.  During the following years
+peace reigned between the two Houses, owing at first to the great
+prosperity of the Province, which caused universal confidence, and the
+predominance of material considerations; afterwards to the equally
+great reaction which compelled politicians to sink their differences
+and combine to save the credit of their country.
+
+The antagonism was renewed in 1894 upon the proposals for additional
+taxation, by which the Premier, Mr. Turner, hoped to cope with an
+anticipated deficiency in the revenue of more than half a million
+pounds.  His scheme included the repeal of the existing land-tax, under
+which landed estates of upwards of 640 acres in extent are taxed
+annually upon the excess of the capital value over L2,500--an impost
+which obviously penalises rural, at the expense of urban, properties
+and was intended to promote the subdivision of the land (though it does
+not appear to have had much effect in that direction); and the
+imposition of a tax on unimproved values at the rate of 1d. in the L,
+subject to the exemption of L100 when the value does not exceed L1,000,
+and of an income tax which, subject to the exemption of incomes not
+exceeding L200, was to be at the rate of 3d. in the L on incomes
+derived from personal exertion and 6d. on incomes derived from property
+up to L2,200, above which sum the amount was in both cases to be
+doubled.  Absentees were to pay an additional 20 per cent., {125} and
+incomes from land were to be exempt where the owner paid the land-tax.
+These taxes, it was calculated, would yield an annual revenue of
+L600,000.  The Finance Bill was passed in the Assembly at its second
+reading by a majority of twenty-two, but in committee it was amended so
+as to exempt from the land-tax land values of less than L500.  The
+resultant deficiency in the proceeds of the tax was made up by a
+continuance of the primage duties and by an increase of the tax on
+incomes derived from personal exertion.  Upon its transmission to the
+Council the Bill was summarily rejected, the Minister who was in charge
+of it alone, beyond the tellers, being in its favour, on the ground
+that the questions of a tax on unimproved values had not been submitted
+to the electorate and that, in the existing conditions of the Province,
+any further burden upon the producers would be opposed to its best
+interests.  The Ministry accepted the decision of the Council and
+contented themselves with rigid retrenchment, the continuance of the
+existing land-tax, and the imposition of a progressive income tax which
+rises to a maximum of sixteen-pence upon the excess over L2,000 of
+incomes derived from property.  According to a statement of the
+Premier, they intend to make the question a distinct issue at the next
+elections, and will in the meanwhile take no action in the matter.
+
+In the following session the Council rejected an Electoral Bill which
+provided for the abolition of {126} the plural vote and the
+enfranchisement of women, and disagreed with the Assembly upon several
+important clauses of a Factory Bill, in the legitimate exercise of the
+functions of a revising Chamber.  The Ministry succeeded in 1896 in
+passing the Factory Bill in a form which met some of the objections of
+the Council, and reintroduced the Electoral Bill, which was
+subsequently laid aside by the Council on the ground that it had not
+secured in the Assembly the absolute majority of all the votes required
+in the case of amendments to the Constitution.
+
+The value of any Second Chamber must rest upon its ability, and the
+exercise of its ability, to check dangerous tendencies in legislation.
+As regards Victoria, it must be admitted that the greatest danger has
+lain in the tendency to extravagant expenditure due to the fatal
+facility of obtaining almost unlimited advances from the British
+capitalist.  Politicians have been tempted to outbid each other in the
+struggle for popular support, and to promise the outlay of vast sums of
+borrowed money.  Judged with reference to this question, the
+Legislative Council cannot be regarded as having been efficient.  The
+greatest waste of money has occurred in connection with the
+construction of railways from which there was no likelihood of adequate
+returns, and with injudicious advances to Irrigation and Water Supply
+Trusts.  The Council has been hampered by the {127} restrictions
+imposed upon it by the Constitution Act, but it has not admitted that
+it is debarred from amending Railway Bills, though it has done so but
+sparingly, owing to the opposition which such action aroused in the
+Assembly.  It would seem that, at the time of the greatest output of
+the Victorian gold mines and of the high prices obtainable for
+agricultural and pastoral produce, the Council was as much carried away
+by the prosperity of the Province as the Assembly, and formed an
+equally false estimate as to its continuance.  It appears, however, to
+have been the first to realise the imminence of a reaction.  A
+comparison of the British and Victorian finances shows that while, in
+the former case, speaking broadly, provision is made only for the
+maintenance of the public services and for some matters of national
+importance, such as public instruction, in which all parts of the
+country share equally, in the latter case the expenditure includes the
+construction of public works which benefit particular localities, and
+grants and subsidies which benefit particular industries.  Under these
+conditions members of the Assembly are subject to continual pressure
+from their constituents, which, it is contended, the members of the
+Council, owing to the greater size of the constituencies, are better
+able to resist.  As the whole body of the tax-payers are responsible
+for the interest on the railways, a locality has everything to gain by
+the {128} increase of its mileage; if it receives advances for works of
+irrigation and defaults upon the consequent obligations, it hopes to
+induce the Government, through its Member, to grant more lenient terms.
+The works in many cases are of doubtful value; the liability remains as
+a burden upon posterity.
+
+The evil is widely recognised, but opinions differ as to the remedy.  A
+step in the right direction was taken by the appointment in 1890 of the
+Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways, which, it is suggested,
+should be supplemented by a similar Committee whose duty it would be to
+report upon all proposals for new works of water supply involving an
+expenditure of a thousand pounds of State money.  Others ask that the
+Council should be allowed to amend Money Bills, and would do so with
+more reason if the property qualification for membership were removed,
+as the electorate already includes the bulk of the stable elements of
+the population.  But the greatest safeguard would appear to lie in the
+lessons of the past, and in the appointment of Standing Committees
+whose antecedent sanction shall be essential to proposals for the
+expenditure of national funds upon public undertakings.  It would be
+advisable to define by Act of Parliament what classes of public works
+might be carried out upon borrowed money; all others would then form a
+charge upon current revenue.
+
+{129}
+
+The absence of any ultimate appeal in the case of a divergence of
+opinion between the two Houses has recently been discussed in several
+of the Provinces.  It has been pointed out that the power of the
+Executive to make additional appointments to nominee Councils is an
+unsatisfactory device calculated to produce friction between the
+Governor and his responsible advisers; that elective Councils can force
+upon the Assembly dissolutions from which they are themselves exempt;
+and that, in the majority of cases, the Councils are able, owing to the
+variety of issues and the influence of local and personal
+considerations, to deny that any particular question has received the
+verdict of popular approval.  The measures rejected by the Victorian
+Council since 1891 include the Land and Income Tax Bill, the Opium
+Bill, the Miners' Right Titles Bill, the Mallee Land Bill, and the
+Village Settlements Amendment Bill.  The Council has rejected the Opium
+Bill twice, and the Bill for the abolition of plural voting three times.
+
+The question was considered in 1894 by a Victorian Royal Commission,
+which recommended that:--
+
+"(1) If the Legislative Assembly shall in two consecutive sessions pass
+any Bill which shall not be passed by the Legislative Council, then,
+notwithstanding such Bill when passed in the second session by the
+Legislative Assembly shall be in an amended form, if the same shall not
+in such second session be passed by the Legislative {130} Council, such
+Bill, if the Assembly so determine by resolution, shall, in manner to
+be duly provided, be submitted for acceptance or rejection to the
+voters on the roll for the Legislative Assembly.
+
+"(2) In the event of the said Bill being duly accepted or approved of
+by the majority of the voters on the said roll who shall vote when a
+poll is taken, and upon a certificate to that effect to be duly given
+by the Speaker, the said Bill shall be transmitted to the Governor for
+his assent.  Should, however, such Bill be rejected or disapproved of,
+then, upon the certificate of the Speaker to that effect, the said Bill
+shall lapse for the session.
+
+"(3) At least six weeks must intervene between the first and the second
+passing of the said Bill by the Legislative Assembly."
+
+Measures based upon these lines were introduced during 1896 in the
+Assemblies of Victoria, Tasmania, and New South Wales, but, in the
+latter case alone, reached the Legislative Council.  It was thought
+that that body might receive the Bill favourably, as it would be
+brought thereby into direct contact with the people, and might overcome
+the jealousy which is at present felt against it.  In fact, it might
+attain to actual popularity by enabling the electorate to pronounce
+directly upon a distinct issue.  But this view did not prevail with the
+Council, which rejected the measure in the most summary manner.
+
+A supplementary proposal put forward in Victoria {131} is that, upon
+subjects which cannot be referred in a clear and simple manner to the
+electors, differences should be followed by a dissolution of both
+Houses, and, if an agreement is still impossible, by their joint
+meeting as one Chamber.  In New Zealand, a Bill recently introduced by
+the Premier, but not passed through the House of Representatives,
+provided that, if a measure had been twice within fourteen months
+passed by one House and rejected by the other, the House which had
+passed it might call upon the Governor to convene a joint meeting of
+the two Houses, which should finally dispose of it by approval,
+rejection, or amendment.  It will be noticed that the Council might
+thus secure the enactment of a measure which was opposed by the
+majority of the popular representatives.
+
+The antagonism of the two Houses in Victoria would seem to be to a
+great extent a reflex of an antagonism between town and country.  The
+population of the Province is estimated to have been 1,180,000 in 1895,
+that of Melbourne and its suburbs 439,000, or 37 per cent. of the
+whole.  Under these conditions, and owing to the greater cohesion of
+compact electorates, a strong feeling has arisen in the rural districts
+that Melbourne has a disproportionate voice in the affairs of the
+Province, and that the balance should be redressed by the action of the
+Council.  It is also believed that the abolition of the plural vote
+would lead to equal electoral districts which would increase the
+supremacy of the capital {132} and the power of the Labour Party.  At
+the present time they hold fifteen seats, all of which are urban or
+suburban, and, though discredited by the collapse of the Trades Unions,
+are not without influence upon the Government.
+
+The percentage of the total population contained in Melbourne and its
+suburbs rose from 26 in 1861 to 43 in 1891, mainly as the result of the
+high protective tariff which aimed at making Victoria the principal
+manufacturing centre of Australia.  Upon the consequent establishment
+of a large number of factories, the Government were soon compelled to
+intervene in the interests of the workers, and passed in 1873 the first
+Act dealing with the supervision of factories and workrooms.  It
+defined a factory as any place in which not less than ten persons were
+employed in manufacturing goods for sale, and provided that such places
+should be subject, as to building, sanitation, &c., to regulations made
+by the central Board of Health, and that no female should be employed
+therein without the permission of the Chief Secretary for more than
+eight hours in any one day.  The measure failed in its purpose through
+the indifference of the Municipalities, which were charged with its
+entire administration.  They appear to have been negligent in
+exercising the powers entrusted to them, and to have allowed themselves
+to be served by officers who were unacquainted with their duties.  In
+the following years several measures were passed which {133} were
+consolidated by the Factories and Shops Act of 1890.  Some new points
+of great importance had been introduced, which applied, however, only
+to cities, towns, and boroughs, unless they were extended to any shire
+at the request of its Council: the definition of a factory was amended
+so as to include all places in which four white men or two Chinamen
+were employed in manufacturing goods for sale; such places had to be
+registered, subject to the approval of the premises by the Local
+Council, and the employers were bound to keep a record showing the
+names of the persons employed in the factory, the sort of work done by
+them, and the names and addresses of outside workers; the employment of
+children under thirteen years of age was prohibited; machinery had to
+be fenced in in order to prevent accidents, and persons in charge of
+steam-engines and boilers, with a few exceptions, had to obtain
+certificates of competency.  As regards the enforcement of these and
+other provisions, inspectors were authorised to enter a factory at any
+reasonable time, to make any pertinent inquiry and examination, to
+demand the production of any certificate or documents kept in pursuance
+of the Act, and, generally, to exercise such other powers as might be
+necessary for carrying it into effect.  Proceedings for offences
+against the Act were to be taken before two or more justices, who, upon
+a conviction, would be guided by a prescribed scale of fines and
+penalties.  Finally, retail shops were {134} dealt with by a provision
+which limited the hours during which they might be kept open; but
+certain categories of shops were explicitly excluded, and Municipal
+Councils were given the power of altering the hours upon a petition of
+a majority of the shopkeepers.
+
+The absence of finality in such legislation was soon shown by the
+demand for further restrictions, which was met by the Government by the
+customary expedient of the appointment of a Royal Commission.  The
+census of 1891 had given the number of persons employed in connection
+with the manufacturing industries as 96,000, of whom less than a half
+were in registered factories.  The remainder were working in shires, in
+laundries and dye works, in workrooms other than Chinese in which less
+than four persons were employed, or in their own homes.  The Commission
+consequently, in the pursuance of their instructions to "inquire and
+report as to the working of the Factories and Shops Act, 1890, with
+regard to the alleged existence of the practice known as sweating and
+the alleged insanitary condition of factories and workrooms," had a
+wide field of investigation, but turned their attention principally to
+the industries in which the circumstances of the workers were believed
+to be most unfavourable.  In the clothing industry they found that,
+beyond the common grievance of slackness of trade, those employed in
+factories had little to complain of in the matter of {135} wages, but
+that among the outworkers, owing to the depression, competition had
+reduced the rate of pay to the lowest level compatible with continued
+existence.  They were informed of many cases, which have been
+corroborated by factory inspectors and others, of women who, working
+from twelve to fourteen hours a day, were unable to earn more than ten
+or twelve shillings in a week.  It was contended that, as in other
+countries, the competition was rendered more acute by those who were
+not dependent upon the work for a livelihood.  Another result of this
+competition was seen in the policy pursued by several large firms which
+had closed factories built at a heavy cost and were relying upon their
+operations being carried on by contractors, because they had been
+unable to produce goods at the factory at the rate at which they could
+be turned out by those who employed the services of outworkers.  An
+attempt had been made by the women to protect their interests by the
+formation of a Tailoresses' Union, which, after a fitful existence,
+collapsed in 1893.  Since that time, in the absence of any form of
+combination, contractors had been able to play off the outworkers
+against the inworkers and against each other.  It may here be noted
+that, according to a recent report of the Chief Inspector of Factories,
+the inquiry caused the rate of payment to be lowered in consequence of
+the publicity given to the very small wages paid by some firms engaged
+in the clothing trade.
+
+{136}
+
+In the course of their inquiries into the furniture trade, the
+Commissioners found that the Chinese, by evasions of the Factory Act,
+their poor way of living, long hours of labour and acceptance of low
+wages, had practically ruined the European cabinet-makers.  Their
+competition was confined to that branch of the industry, but had
+indirectly affected it as a whole.  Statistics showed that in 1886
+there were 64 registered European furniture factories employing 1,022
+male hands, while in 1894 the number of factories had decreased to 46
+and of employes to 320.  On the other side, the number of Chinese
+employed as carpenters and cabinetmakers had increased from 66 in 1880
+to 320 in 1886, and decreased to 246 in 1894.  It appeared that the
+Chinese, having ousted the European workmen from the industry, had
+engaged in a keen competition among themselves, which had reduced
+prices to such a low level that many manufacturers had been compelled
+to close their factories and dismiss their workmen.  These latter had
+commenced to make articles of furniture on their own account, and were
+reputed to be in a pitiable state of destitution.  The Commissioners
+came to the conclusion that, while the unsatisfactory condition of
+trade had contributed to the distress of the European cabinetmakers,
+the competition of the Chinese had been the greatest factor in bringing
+about the existing state of affairs.
+
+Their recommendations were embodied in a {137} measure introduced in
+1895 and passed in the following session, but limited in its operation,
+by the action of the Council, to a period of four years.  Its most
+important provisions aim at the protection of the workers in those
+industries in which they are least able to protect themselves.  The
+desire of the Government was to get persons as far as possible to work
+in factories and to deal with the difficulty of outworkers by a system
+of permits.  Clause 13 of the Bill prohibited the making up of apparel
+outside a factory except by those who had received a permit from the
+chief inspector, which was not to be given unless he were satisfied
+that the person applying for it was prevented by domestic duties or
+bodily affliction from working inside a factory or workroom.  Employers
+were to keep a record showing the work done by holders of permits,
+their names and addresses, and the amount of remuneration, which was to
+be forwarded periodically to the chief inspector, and might be
+published in the Government Gazette at the discretion of the Governor
+in Council.  The number of outworkers would be reduced to a minimum,
+and the fear of publicity would act as a check upon their employers.  A
+further protection was afforded to makers of furniture and of clothing
+or wearing apparel, including boots and shoes, by clauses under which
+the Governor in Council was authorised to appoint special Boards,
+consisting of a chairman and four members, of whom two were to be
+representatives {138} of occupiers of factories and workrooms in which
+such articles were prepared or manufactured, and two of the persons
+employed in wholly or partly preparing such articles.  The Board was to
+determine the lowest rate which should be paid to the employes, whether
+working inside or outside a factory.  The Assembly added another clause
+which authorised the appointment of similar Boards for the
+determination of the hours of labour in any manufacturing industry, but
+the Council refused to accept it, and also rejected the clause which
+prohibited outside work by others than holders of permits.  They
+introduced amendments which provided that the discretionary publication
+of particulars in the Gazette should be limited to cases in which an
+employer had been convicted for some contravention of the Factories and
+Shops Acts, and that the special Wage Boards should be elective, in the
+belief that it would be dangerous to vest the power of appointment in
+the Governor in Council, since it would actually be exercised by the
+Chief Secretary.  The Government agreed to the former of these
+amendments, as the value of the right of publication was lessened by
+the Council's acceptance of the principle of the Wage Boards; but upon
+the other points of difference a conflict ensued between the two
+Houses, which resulted in the final decision that the Boards are to be
+elective, and that outworkers will not be required to obtain a permit,
+but, if engaged in the manufacture of clothing or {139} wearing
+apparel, must register their names and addresses with the chief
+inspector, for the confidential use of the Department, and must answer
+all questions put to them by inspectors as to the names of their
+employers and the rate of remuneration.  The Chief Secretary had
+explained in the Assembly that the Government desired to obtain the
+registration of outworkers in order that they might know from the
+individuals themselves the addresses at which they were working, and
+whether they were being paid in accordance with the prices fixed by the
+Boards.  It is also provided that a sub-contractor, equally with the
+occupier of a factory, must keep the prescribed record of all work
+given out by him.
+
+The furniture trade, as has been seen, is one of those for which the
+Governor in Council may cause special Boards to be elected; but it has
+been realised that, in the cabinet-making branch, owing to their
+superior numbers, the Chinese would obtain a controlling voice.  This
+difficulty was met by an amending Bill which authorised the nomination
+of these Boards.  Other sections of the Act also aim at the protection
+of the white workman: one Chinaman is to be deemed to constitute a
+factory, and no person employed in a factory or workroom in the
+manufacture of any article of furniture is to work on a Sunday, after
+two o'clock on a Saturday, or between five o'clock in the evening and
+half-past seven in the morning on any other day of the week.  Furniture
+made in Victoria is to be stamped legibly {140} and indelibly in such a
+manner as to show whether it was manufactured by white or Chinese
+labour.  It is noteworthy that, through the Boards which will fix the
+minimum rate of pay in the baking and furniture trades, the Victorian
+Government are making their first attempt to regulate the labour of
+men; in the other trades affected by these Boards women form the vast
+majority of the workers.
+
+The general provisions of this Act as they affect factories include
+greater stringency in the sanitary requirements, in the limitation of
+the hours of labour of women and boys, and in the precautions against
+accidents.  Laundries and dye-works are constituted factories, and the
+powers of inspectors are in several respects strengthened.
+
+The sections dealing with shops also deserve a word of notice.  The
+necessity for further legislation was based by the Chief Secretary on
+the ground that under the existing law Municipal Councils were not
+bound to give effect to petitions received from a majority of
+shopkeepers, and could only bind their own districts.  Besides, the
+penalties imposed for contravention of any law or bye-law had, in many
+cases, been so small that shopkeepers had been able to ignore it with
+practical impunity.  He therefore proposed that petitions should in
+future be addressed either to the Governor or to the local authorities,
+that a metropolitan district should be constituted so as to render
+possible uniformity in the hours of closing shops, and that the
+penalties should be on a {141} fixed scale.  These proposals were
+embodied in the Act, as were others which provided that assistants in
+shops should have a weekly half-holiday, and that women and boys should
+not be employed for more than a fixed number of hours in a week or day,
+nor for more than five hours without an interval for meals, and should
+have the use of adequate sitting accommodation.  These provisions,
+however, were not to apply to the categories of shops excluded from the
+operation of previous Acts unless extended to them under regulations
+made by the Governor in Council.  Soon after the passage of the Act a
+strong feeling arose among the shopkeepers of Melbourne and its suburbs
+that, as assistants had to receive a weekly half-holiday, shops should
+be closed upon one afternoon in the week; but opinions differed as to
+whether the day should be Saturday or Wednesday.  The shopkeepers in
+the city were disposed to favour the former, those in the suburbs were
+divided in their views.
+
+The Act should be regarded as a humane attempt to minimise the
+sufferings of the outworkers and to improve the conditions of labour of
+the toiling masses of the population.  The appointment of the special
+Boards is regarded with sympathy even by those who doubt the
+possibility of enforcing a minimum wage in the case of persons whose
+competition is intensified by the fear of starvation.  Two general
+considerations suggest themselves: that a vast discretionary power is
+vested in the Executive, {142} and that the inspectors will be
+confronted with a task of hopeless magnitude.  On the first point it is
+to be noted that the Governor in Council, acting naturally upon the
+advice of the Chief Secretary, may not only exercise the powers already
+mentioned, but may extend the provisions of the Act or any of them to
+any shire or part of a shire, and make regulations upon a large number
+of subjects connected with the efficient administration of all the
+Factories, and Shop Acts.  As regards the inspectors, who are eleven in
+number, it is to be feared that, though they may invite the
+co-operation of the police, they will be unable adequately to supervise
+factories, watch the labour of the single Chinaman, protect the
+home-worker from the tyranny of the contractor, and assure to
+assistants in shops the conditions to which they are legally entitled.
+They will undoubtedly be fettered by the unwillingness of the workers
+to supply information which may lead to the loss of their employment.
+
+The correlative of protection, which principally benefits the
+manufacturer, is the direct encouragement of the enterprise of the
+producer.  In this respect successive Governments have displayed an
+eagerness which has not always been confined within the limits of
+prudence.  The borrowed capital sunk in the construction and equipment
+of the Victorian Railways is about L36,730,000, which returned in the
+year 1895-6 a net profit on working of L855,000, being a deficit of
+L584,000 upon L1,439,000, the {143} annual charge for interest upon the
+loans; but a large proportion of this deficiency was due to the failure
+of the wheat crop and the consequent decrease in the amount of goods
+carried along the lines.  Recent returns show that several lines not
+only do not pay any interest on the capital expenditure, but do not
+earn even as much as is disbursed in working expenses.  The report of
+the Railway Inquiry Board shows that the Assembly was actually disposed
+at one time to sanction the expenditure of a further sum of L41,000,000
+upon the construction of new lines; but the _Age_ newspaper published a
+series of articles which showed clearly that national insolvency would
+follow the approval of expenditure on such a gigantic scale.  The
+exposure attained its object, but involved the proprietor, Mr. David
+Syme, in actions for libel, brought by the Railway Commissioners, which
+extended, with intervals, over a period of four years.  Finally, he was
+proved to have been entirely justified in his language, but was saddled
+with an enormous bill of costs as the reward of his patriotic efforts
+on behalf of the community.  The danger that similar proposals might be
+carried in the future was lessened in 1890, when the Standing Committee
+was appointed as a check upon the extravagant tendencies and culpable
+pliability of individual members.
+
+Again, in connection with water supply and irrigation, the expenditure
+has been on an extravagant scale.  The Melbourne Waterworks are {144}
+justified by the requirements of the metropolis, but those of Geelong
+and of Bendigo and adjacent areas commenced in 1865, and constructed at
+a capital cost of L1,427,000, show an annual deficit of L35,000; and
+other national works which cost L830,000 are dependent for a return
+upon irrigation trusts, most of which are unable to meet their own
+liabilities.  Apart from this direct expenditure, the State has
+advanced L2,438,000 to local bodies, urban and rural waterworks trusts
+and irrigation trusts.  Adding together these different amounts, we
+find the total direct and indirect expenditure of the State to have
+been L4,695,000, and we learn from the report of a recent Royal
+Commission that the annual revenue is about L68,000, or less than 1-1/2
+per cent. upon the capital.  As the money bears an average interest of
+4 per cent., the loss to the consolidated revenue is at the rate of
+L120,000 a year.  The expenditure was based upon the principle that the
+national credit should be pledged in order that farmers and land and
+property owners might be assisted to provide works of water supply
+which would accelerate the permanent settlement of many parts of the
+Province.  Loans had been granted to municipalities before 1881, but in
+that year the question was treated comprehensively by the Water
+Conservation Act, which authorised the constitution of trusts for the
+construction of works of water supply for domestic purposes and the use
+of stock.  In 1883 the Act was amended so as to include trusts {145}
+formed for the promotion of works of irrigation.  The Urban Trusts and
+local bodies generally have met their obligations satisfactorily, with
+the exception of some of the latter, which, instead of striking higher
+rates or increasing the charge for the water, appear to have hoped that
+the State would step in and relieve them of their liabilities.  The
+Rural and Irrigation Trusts also have attempted to throw the duty of
+paying interest on the cost of the works upon the taxpayers of the
+whole province.  In the latter case the Public Works Department cannot
+be absolved from blame.  It is clear from the report of the Commission
+that money was advanced to Irrigation Trusts without an adequate
+preliminary investigation of the amount of water available or of the
+number of settlers who would make use of it.  "The public mind was
+excited at the time, and the gospel of irrigation was preached from one
+end of the Colony to the other.  The farmers had been suffering from a
+cycle of dry seasons, the price of produce was high, and the prospect
+of insuring their crops against the exigencies of climate by means of
+irrigation appears to have overruled all prudential considerations.
+Schemes were hastily conceived and as hastily carried out.  The
+question as to whether the cost of the undertaking would be
+commensurate with the benefits to be derived therefrom, or whether the
+land could bear the burden that would be placed upon it, was apparently
+lightly considered, if considered at all."  But, according to an
+official who {146} had been concerned in the matter, the Department,
+far from readily concurring in or urging on schemes, had done its
+utmost to restrain the popular enthusiasm.  Continued pressure had been
+exercised by deputations, generally supported by the Member for the
+district, which tried to induce Ministers to set aside formalities in
+view of the great necessity for water and of the great benefit that
+would ensue.  The lavishness of the Department, whatever may have been
+its cause, was equalled by that of the Trusts, which in most cases
+expended the loan money as expeditiously as possible without regard to
+the requirements of the district or the supervision of the
+undertakings; they did not realise that they would ever be called upon
+to provide for meeting the interest on the moneys advanced to them.
+There can be no doubt that the Government overrated the knowledge and
+ability of the Trusts, and their recognition of the responsibility
+involved in the control of large sums of public money.  The Royal
+Commissioners recommended that, after Parliament had decided what
+concessions should be made, the enforcement of the monetary obligations
+should be transferred from the Department to the Audit Commissioners,
+who should be vested with powers enabling them to take action to
+recover arrears due to the State.  They believed that, in the absence
+of such a change, the Department, being subject to political pressure,
+might make further concessions, and again allow matters to drift into
+an unsatisfactory condition.
+
+{147}
+
+The next instance of national expenditure in the promotion of
+enterprise comes under a different category: the State has, since 1878,
+devoted to the encouragement of the gold-mining industry the sum of
+L800,000, which was not intended to give a direct return upon the
+outlay so much as to maintain the pre-eminence of Victoria among the
+gold-producing Provinces of Australasia.  Of this amount L455,000 was
+expended in boring, the remainder in subsidies to mining companies and
+prospecting parties.  But, as in the case of railways and works of
+water supply, the Government were confronted by the extreme difficulty
+of providing safeguards against the misapplication of the funds.
+Direct control by the Minister of Mines was proved neither to yield
+good results nor to be satisfactory to the Minister, as he was
+subjected to continual pressure from Members of Parliament.
+Prospecting Boards were, accordingly, appointed in the seven mining
+districts into which the Province is divided, each Board consisting of
+five members, the surveyor of the district, a member of the
+Mine-owners' Association, a member of the Miners' Association, a member
+of the local mining board, and a representative of the municipalities.
+These men were authorised to allocate all votes, and, according to a
+statement of the present Minister, as they represented different
+interests in the mining and different localities, they took a parochial
+view of their duties and developed "a kind of unconscious log-rolling"
+{148} which caused the grants, in many cases, to be devoted to entirely
+unprofitable objects.  The expenditure of the L800,000 is believed to
+have been of the greatest value to several mining companies, but has
+produced a direct return of only L11,526, an amount which would have
+been smaller had not the Minister threatened dividend-paying companies
+with the forfeiture of their leases unless they repaid their loans to
+the State.
+
+The Government have also attempted to increase the export of such
+articles as butter, wine, cheese, and frozen meat, for which a large
+market is believed to be obtainable in Great Britain.  Their policy has
+been to foster these industries by means of bonuses to producers,
+subsidies to owners of factories, and the free use of cold storage at
+refrigerating works, and to enforce a certain standard of quality as a
+necessary condition of their assistance.  As the industry progresses
+the bonus is reduced and finally withdrawn, and charges are made for
+cold storage which are sufficient to reimburse the State for its
+outlay.  Such a course has already been pursued in the most successful
+case, that of butter, in which the value of the amount annually
+exported has risen from L51,000 in 1889-90 to L876,000 in 1895-6.  In
+this manner the State is not permanently engaged, but initiates its
+expenditure at the highest point and gradually releases itself from the
+obligation.
+
+In 1893 the Government were confronted with {149} a large amount of
+misery among the working classes, much of it undeserved, which had
+resulted from the collapse of many land companies and banking and
+building associations.  An artificial prosperity, caused by the
+inflation of metropolitan values, had created a demand for the services
+of a disproportionate number of artisans, who, upon the inevitable
+reaction, were thrown suddenly out of employment.  Under these
+circumstances the Ministry were called upon to do something to relieve
+the distress, and passed a new Land Act which offered favourable terms,
+in the way of tenure and monetary advances, to those who were willing
+to settle upon the land.  They were enabled to take it up either
+individually or in associations of not less than six persons who
+desired to live near each other.  At the expiration of a year after the
+passage of the Act 4,080 applications had been received, of which 2,122
+had been approved, 993 rejected, and 965 were under consideration; and,
+in order that the benefit might be immediate, the land had been made
+available as speedily as possible and applicants had not been compelled
+to wait until blocks had been surveyed.  In view of the conditions
+under which the settlements were formed it is not surprising to learn
+from subsequent official reports that the favourable anticipations
+have, in numerous instances, not been realised, owing to the
+unsuitability of the soil, the inexperience or physical incapacity of
+the settlers, or the absence {150} of a local demand for labour or of a
+market for the surplus produce.  Many of the associations have been
+disbanded as the members were unable to work together harmoniously; and
+those that are still in existence have, in almost every case, abandoned
+the co-operative principle and are working their blocks on individual
+lines.  In 1896 the number of resident settlers was 2,127, who, with
+their wives and families, formed a total population of 8,802; they had
+received, during the three years, advances from the Government to the
+amount of L57,000.
+
+The Act of 1893 also provided for the establishment of Labour Colonies.
+The movement in this direction originated with a few people at
+Melbourne, who saw the futility of periodical doles to the destitute,
+which were of merely temporary assistance to them and did not place
+them in the way of earning a permanent livelihood.  It was also felt
+that, in the absence of any system similar to the English poor-law,
+which, whatever its evils, relieves the conscience of the community,
+ministers were subject to continual pressure, which compelled them to
+institute public works for the sole benefit of the unemployed.  In 1892
+the distress was met, as far as the public were concerned, by the
+subscription of a large sum of money, which was distributed through the
+agency of the local branch of the Charity Organisation Society; but, in
+the following year, the distress being still more acute, {151} the idea
+of a Labour Colony rapidly gained ground and was met by the Government
+by the grant of an area of 800 acres at Leongatha, some 80 miles from
+Melbourne, which enabled the promoters of the scheme at once to
+commence their operations.  At the outset it had been intended that the
+funds should be obtained, partly by private subscription, partly by
+_pro-rata_ contributions from the national exchequer; but, in the
+absence of popular response, the Government deemed it advisable, at the
+commencement of 1894, to take over the entire administration of the
+colony, and appointed, as Honorary Superintendent, Colonel Goldstein,
+who had been actively identified with the undertaking.  Colonel
+Goldstein states that the main purpose of the colony, which is based on
+a German model, is to give temporary work at unattractive wages to the
+able-bodied unemployed in order that they may be prevented from passing
+over the narrow line which separates poverty from pauperism.  At first
+the aged and infirm were admitted, but it was found that employment
+could not be obtained for them and that their presence affected the
+value of the colony as a means of instruction for a class of men in
+whom it is necessary to arouse a spirit of responsible independence.
+They are, moreover, provided for by benevolent asylums and other
+charitable institutions which receive large subsidies from the
+Government.  Consequently men beyond the age of 55 years are now only
+received in {152} exceptional cases.  All applicants are registered,
+and, if their alleged destitution is believed to be genuine, are
+forwarded by rail to the colony, where they receive free board and
+lodging.  The colonists are subjected to strict discipline, work for a
+week without pay upon probation, and then earn wages which rise to a
+maximum of 4s. a week; they receive no money while at the colony, but
+may draw certain necessaries, or, if married, cause their wages to be
+remitted to their wives.  The work is so arranged that the capabilities
+of the colonists may be used to the best advantage and that they may be
+fitted as far as possible for agricultural employment, which is
+obtained for them by means of a Labour Bureau established at the
+colony.  At the expiration of six months, or upon an accumulation in
+their favour of a credit balance amounting to 30s., colonists must,
+subject to occasional exemptions, seek employment elsewhere, and may
+not be re-admitted under a period of six weeks.  In this manner the men
+either obtain outside employment while resident at the colony or leave
+it possessed of a sum of money which renders them better able to search
+for it; they have the alternative of applying subsequently for
+re-admittance.  The results obtained during the three years have been
+of a most satisfactory character; 1,832 men have passed through the
+colony since its inception, of whom only 124 have been dismissed for
+faults, and none for insubordination; 573 have had {153} remunerative
+work found for them, and the remainder have earned sufficient ready
+money to enable them to set out in search of employment.  There have
+been 566 re-admissions of 307 men who have returned from one to eight
+times.  "The majority of the men," says Colonel Goldstein, "are of the
+shiftless sort, who cannot do anything for themselves.  As Leongatha is
+80 miles from Melbourne, we seldom see the genuine loafer there.  The
+men who go are willing enough to work when shown how, but they seem
+unable to rouse themselves into any sort of vigour, to say nothing of
+enthusiasm, until they have been there a considerable time....
+Numerous instances could be given indicative of the generally helpless
+nature of the men.  There can be no doubt that employers, during the
+depression, will first reduce their worst men.  Of these, many have
+sufficient energy to shift for themselves; the rest drift to the labour
+colony.  Most of them have suffered severely from privation and
+poverty, and probably have had their dejected condition further
+dispirited by semi-starvation....  After a few months' stay it is
+surprising to see the difference in their appearance, and, what is more
+to the purpose, their discovery that a new kind of life is opened to
+them.  Bush-work gives them a healthier feeling of self-dependence than
+they ever enjoyed before, especially so for men who have a trade behind
+them ready when the chance comes."  The total outlay has amounted to
+L11,276, {154} which has been expended mainly upon farm appointments,
+implements, and permanent improvements, and is represented by assets of
+the value of L10,861.  The net cost must be regarded as exceedingly
+small in view of the fact that, as the great majority of the colonists
+are artisans and quite unused to bush or farm work, their labour is
+necessarily slow and expensive, and that, as soon as a man begins to be
+useful, he is selected for some private employer.  The Labour Colony
+has, it is maintained, apart from the benefits conferred upon hundreds
+of individuals, paralysed the agitation of the unemployed; as long as
+it is in existence no able-bodied man need starve.
+
+Finally, a measure, passed in 1896, aimed at the protection of
+pastoralists, farmers, and other cultivators of the soil by providing
+machinery by which the State might grant loans to them, upon adequate
+security, at a low rate of interest, with a sinking fund extending over
+a long period of years.
+
+The salient features of Victorian legislation are the strong note of
+humanity and the confidence in the wisdom and efficiency of State
+action.  If this confidence has sometimes been misplaced, there is no
+reason to suppose that the Victorians have imposed upon themselves a
+burden that they are unable to bear.  They are an energetic race, who
+have not only developed the resources of their own country, but have
+obtained large interests in New South Wales and Queensland.  If in the
+past {155} they were too much inclined to draw bills upon futurity,
+they have had a sharp lesson which has taught them the necessity of
+retrenchment and compelled them to reduce their annual expenditure by a
+third of the total amount.  It is impossible to form an unfavourable
+estimate of the prospects, or of the high average prosperity, of a
+population of less than 1,200,000 persons, which includes 185,000
+freeholders and has accumulated at the Savings Banks L7,300,000 divided
+among nearly 340,000 depositors.
+
+
+
+
+{156}
+
+VI
+
+_THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA_
+
+Constitutional history--The relations of Church and State--Natural
+impediments to development--The construction of railways--The scarcity
+of water--The promotion of the mining and other industries--The absence
+of parties in Parliament.
+
+
+Western Australia received the privileges of Responsible Government
+many years after the other Australasian Provinces; otherwise, its
+constitutional development has proceeded upon similar lines.  The first
+Governor was appointed in 1829, and administered the affairs of the
+country with the assistance of an Executive Council.  Two years later a
+Legislative Council was established which consisted solely of the
+members of the Executive Council, but it was subsequently widened by
+the admission, at first, of unofficial nominee members, afterwards of a
+sufficient number of elected members to form a majority of the whole
+body.  Then an agitation sprang up in the Province in favour of
+Responsible Government, and in 1889, after a unanimous vote of the
+Legislative Council, a Constitution {157} Bill was submitted by the
+Government, considered by the Council, and forwarded to the Secretary
+of State for the Colonies.  In the House of Commons it met with
+considerable opposition, on the ground that the Crown Lands of the
+Province should not be handed over to a population of only 46,000
+persons.  But, upon a favourable report of a Select Committee and
+representation made by the Agents-General of the other Australasian
+Provinces, the point was decided in the sense desired by the Province,
+and, as the Bill passed rapidly through the House of Lords, it received
+the Royal Assent in August, 1890.
+
+Under the Constitution the Executive power is vested in the Governor,
+who acts by the advice of a Cabinet composed of five responsible
+Ministers.  They are, at the present time, the Colonial Treasurer and
+Colonial Secretary, the Attorney-General, the Commissioner of Railways
+and Director of Public Works, the Commissioner of Crown Lands, and the
+Minister of Mines.  The Premier, Sir John Forrest, holds the offices of
+Colonial Secretary and Colonial Treasurer, and the Minister of Mines,
+the only Minister in the Upper House, controls the Postal and
+Telegraphic Departments.
+
+The Legislative authority is vested in the two Houses of Parliament,
+the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly.  The Council
+consists of twenty-one members, of whom a third retire every two years.
+They are elected upon a property {158} qualification, and must have
+been resident for at least two years in the Province.  The Assembly
+consists of thirty-three members, who must have resided at least one
+year in the Province, and are elected upon a wider franchise for the
+period of four years.  No remuneration is paid to the members of either
+House, but they receive free passes over all Government Railways and,
+by courtesy, over those belonging to private companies.
+
+The limitations upon the power of legislation possessed by the
+Parliament of Western Australia are similar to those imposed upon the
+Legislatures of other Australian Provinces, except that the protection
+of the aborigines has been placed in the hands of an independent Board,
+nominated and controlled by the Governor.  It receives for the
+execution of its duties 1 per cent. of the annual revenue of the
+country, but cannot carry them out without the active support of
+Government officials.  The existence of this Board is strongly resented
+by Western Australians as an unjust reflection upon them, and as an
+imputation that they cannot be trusted to deal in a just and humane
+manner towards the natives; and the Premier, voicing the unanimous
+opinion of both Houses, has attempted, hitherto without success, to
+secure the repeal of the obnoxious section of the Constitution Act.
+
+The attitude of the Government in regard to the relations between
+Church and State as affecting the endowment of religious bodies and the
+assistance {159} given to denominational schools was, until recently,
+that grants should annually be voted by Parliament.  But the trend of
+public opinion has been in the direction of secular education and the
+termination of the payments made to the Churches.  The matter was,
+accordingly, during the session of 1895, dealt with by the
+Ecclesiastical Grants Abolition Act and the Assisted Schools Abolition
+Act.  Previously the payments to the Churches had been at the rate of
+about L3,500 per annum, of which the Church of England received L2,000,
+the Roman Catholics L1,000, and the Wesleyans and Presbyterians L360
+and L160 respectively.  The grants have been commuted at ten years'
+purchase, and the capital amount is to be paid _pro rata_ out of the
+Consolidated Revenue Fund in two equal instalments to the recognised
+heads of each religious denomination.  This Bill was passed, with
+universal approval, through both Houses of Parliament, but a like
+unanimity was not manifested in regard to the Education question.  In
+fact, early in the session, the Premier had stated that he had no
+immediate intention of dealing with it, but his hands were forced by
+popular opinion, as manifested by the result of several elections
+fought upon that issue.  Consequently, after a resolution passed by
+both Houses that "It is expedient that the Assisted" (denominational)
+"Schools should no longer form part of the public Educational system of
+the Colony," and on the report of a Joint Committee, a Bill was
+introduced by the Premier into the {160} Assembly fixing the sum to be
+paid as compensation, in lieu of grants in aid, at L20,000.  In 1894
+one-third of the children being educated in the Colony were attending
+the Assisted Schools, at a cost to the country of L2,093 for the
+Assisted, and L11,356 for the Government Schools.  The Bill was hotly
+discussed; the Opposition divided over the amount, and were only beaten
+by one vote, and it was finally decided that the compensation should be
+L15,000.  The whole of this money will be paid to the Roman Catholics,
+who had alone taken advantage of the system.  There is a High School at
+Perth established by statute; otherwise little has been done in the
+direction of secondary education, and Western Australia has no
+University.  The advantages of primary education have been extended as
+far as possible; any district which can guarantee the attendance of
+fifteen children can claim the erection of a school and the appointment
+of a teacher; but it is clear that, in a very sparsely inhabited
+country, no system can be devised which will reach the whole population.
+
+The policy of the Ministry has been, in the main, one of loans and
+public works.  They were called upon, at the inauguration of
+Responsible Government, to administer an area of nearly a million
+square miles, thinly populated and penalised by great natural
+drawbacks, such as the scarcity of good harbours, the difficulty of
+inland communication, and the absence over large tracts of country of a
+{161} sufficient supply of water.  These drawbacks the Government have,
+in various ways, done their best to overcome.
+
+The principal ports of Western Australia are--on the south Albany and
+Esperance Bay, on the west Bunbury, Fremantle, and Geraldtown, and on
+the northwest Cossack and Broome.  The most important of these are
+Albany, a fine natural harbour, which is the point of call of the ocean
+liners, and Fremantle, the port of Perth.  All have been improved, as
+far as conditions would permit, by dredging operations and the
+construction of piers and jetties, but very extensive works, for which
+the sum of L350,000 has already been allotted, are being carried out at
+Fremantle, in the hope of making it a good and commodious harbour for
+all classes of ocean vessels.  In the interests of safe navigation,
+lighthouses have been erected at various points along the coast.
+
+As the rivers are mostly filled only during the rainy season, and
+unnavigable for any distance even for small boats, the methods of
+internal transit are limited to road and rail.  The Government have
+regarded the construction of roads as a matter of national rather than
+of purely local importance, and have expended upon them large sums of
+money.  They are at present engaged in opening up stock routes to the
+North and between the Murchison and Coolgardie Goldfields.  Their
+railway policy has been to render accessible the different resources of
+{162} the country.  The South-Western Railway from Perth to Bunbury,
+Busselton, and Donnybrook traverses country suitable for the growth of
+cereals and for mixed farming.  Its course is along the foot of the
+Darling Range, which is covered with valuable forests of jarrah.
+Parliament has recently sanctioned two extensions: to Collie, an
+important coalfield, and to Bridgetown, the centre of an agricultural
+area.  The Eastern Railway, starting from Fremantle, passes through
+Perth and taps an important district adapted for general agriculture,
+fruit-growing, and viticulture; it connects with the Yilgarn Railway,
+which has now been completed to several points upon the Coolgardie
+Goldfields, and will be dependent for its returns upon their
+prosperity, as it passes through vast areas of arid scrub.  The
+Northern Railway consists of short lines from Geraldtown, which pass
+through country suitable, in parts, for the growth of cereals, in
+others, for pastoral purposes; it is to be continued to Cue, on the
+Murchison Goldfield.  The above are all Government railways, built
+under private contract and equipped and managed by the State.  There
+are also two large private companies, the Great Southern Railway,
+connecting Albany with Beverley, the terminus of the Eastern Railway,
+and the Midland Railway, connecting Geraldtown with Perth at points on
+the Northern and Eastern Railways.  They were built upon the land-grant
+system, at a time when the Government were anxious to extend the
+railways, {163} but were not in a position to incur the cost of their
+construction.  This system is not likely to be adopted again, as both
+Companies have pursued an ungenerous policy in regard to the alienation
+of their lands, while the Midland Company were unable to complete their
+undertaking without the assistance of the Government, which, in return
+for a mortgage of the whole line, guaranteed for them the interest and
+principal of a loan of L500,000.  In fact, during the session of 1896,
+the Government, after negotiations with the Great Southern Railway
+Company, obtained the authority of Parliament for the negotiation of a
+loan for the purchase of all its interests, including the permanent
+way, rolling stock, buildings, and unsold lands.
+
+In the southern and western portions of the Province water is
+plentiful.  The northern portion is subject to terrible drought, such
+as that which a few years ago almost ruined the squatters and caused
+the loss of three-quarters of a million sheep.  But the attention of
+the Government has been mainly turned to the eastern division, which
+includes the Yilgarn, Coolgardie, and Dundas Goldfields, and has an
+average annual rainfall of about ten inches, and it is in this portion
+of the country that the heaviest expenditure was incurred during the
+year ending June 30, 1895.  Thirteen large and two small tanks were
+completed on the Coolgardie Goldfields with a capacity of 13-1/2 millions
+of gallons and at a total cost of nearly L38,000.  Wells were {164}
+sunk, bores put down in the search for water, condenser plants erected,
+and new soaks opened up at advantageous places throughout the district.
+Wells have also been sunk, and reservoirs constructed, on the Murchison
+and Pilbarra Goldfields, and in other parts of the country.  But the
+greatest undertaking in this direction will be the construction of vast
+works for the supply from a distance of water to the Coolgardie
+Goldfields.  Parliament has authorised the required loan, and may
+therefore be presumed to concur with the Ministry in the belief that
+the necessary water cannot be obtained on the spot by artesian bores or
+otherwise.  The future of Western Australia is bound up with that of
+the goldfields.  Should they fail through lack of water, recent
+immigrants would leave the country, and their departure would cripple,
+if not ruin, the agricultural industry, and cause immediately a heavy
+fall in the revenue.  Under these circumstances, the scheme of the
+Government, even though it entails a very large expenditure, might be
+justified as being essential to the continued prosperity of the
+Province.  A similar argument may be applied to the large sums spent
+upon the railways, since they, as well as the waterworks, should be
+remunerative; but when we find Parliament sanctioning, in one session,
+applications for loans amounting to seven millions--and bear in mind
+the smallness of the population--we cannot but fear that the Province
+is beginning to borrow recklessly and may expose itself to the {165}
+financial troubles which have overtaken some of its Eastern neighbours.
+
+So much for the natural difficulties and the attempts made, and about
+to be made, by the Government to overcome them; but they have
+recognised that the heavy expenditure upon public works would be
+unjustifiable in the absence of simultaneous efforts to encourage the
+occupation and cultivation of the land and the development of the
+mineral resources; and they have, therefore, while not embarking upon a
+policy of direct subsidies for the payment of the passages of
+immigrants, offered every inducement to people to come to the Province
+of their own accord.  Intending settlers or companies can obtain, upon
+favourable terms, land for pastoral or agricultural purposes, mineral
+leases, and concessions giving them the right to cut timber upon the
+State forests.  A miner can acquire, on the annual payment of ten
+shillings, a miner's right, entitling him to take possession of, mine,
+and occupy, unoccupied Crown Lands for gold mining in accordance with
+the Mining Regulations.  The general conditions dealing with the
+alienation of Crown Lands are laid down in the Land Regulations, under
+which the Province has been divided into six districts, in order that
+different terms may be made in accordance with the varying quality and
+capabilities of the soil in different parts of the country.  Pastoral
+leases may be obtained at a rent ranging from five shillings to L1 a
+year for 1,000 acres.  {166} Agricultural land is in most parts of the
+country sold at ten shillings an acre, to be paid either directly or by
+annual instalments; but the title to the land is not given until
+certain stated improvements have been carried out upon it, in order to
+prevent its being held in an unimproved condition for speculative
+purposes, and residence is encouraged by the enforcement of a larger
+expenditure in improvements upon occupiers who do not live upon their
+estates.  As a further inducement to settlers, the Government have set
+apart special agricultural areas, which they cause to be surveyed
+before selection and marked out in blocks; they offer, under the
+Homesteads Act, 1893, free grants of land not exceeding 160 acres in
+extent, subject to stringent conditions as to residence and expenditure
+upon improvements; and they have established an agricultural bank which
+is authorised to make advances to farmers and other cultivators of the
+soil.  The policy of the Government has had considerable success, as
+the total area of cultivated land rose from 86,000 acres in 1886 to
+193,000 acres at the end of 1894.  But farmers have had to contend with
+great difficulties in the work and expense required for the clearing of
+the land, and in the absence of a market for their produce.  A distinct
+improvement, however, has obtained since the advent of a large
+population upon the goldfields, whose wants they may hope to supply.
+
+It must be admitted that Sir John Forrest and his colleagues have had
+matters entirely in their favour.  {167} The credit of the Province has
+steadily improved, in view of its mining operations; for the same
+reason the railways have shown the most satisfactory returns, and the
+receipts from the Customs, under a tariff levied primarily for purposes
+of revenue, but partially protective in its incidence, have increased
+by leaps and bounds.  Again, in Parliament the Ministry have met with
+but little opposition.  Upon the inauguration of Responsible
+Government, the Premier had the prestige of former office under the
+Crown, and found himself face to face with an Assembly which had no
+experience in the principles of Party Government.  The members were
+intimately acquainted with each other, and criticism of the Ministry
+was resented as a personal insult.  The so-called Opposition made no
+serious attempt to overthrow the Government, partly because, in the
+dearth of men of both ability and leisure, there was no material for
+the formation of an alternative Ministry; partly because they were in
+agreement with them upon most of the questions that came up for
+discussion.  The policy of the construction of public works out of
+loans was generally acceptable, and soon justified itself by results,
+owing, to a great extent, to the development of the goldfields.  Mines
+had been worked in Western Australia for a considerable time, but
+attracted little attention until the great discoveries at Coolgardie
+and in its neighbourhood.  These came at a most opportune moment.  A
+large amount of capital in Europe was seeking {168} profitable
+employment; the stagnation of business in the Eastern Provinces of
+Australia had brought hardship upon the labouring population and made
+them anxious to seek work elsewhere; and the success of the South
+African Mines had caused the British public to look favourably upon
+mining speculations.  As a result, mines were successfully floated in
+London and in Australia, immigrants poured in from the Eastern
+Provinces, mercantile firms established branches at Perth and at other
+centres, and the revenue obtained from the Customs and from the
+Railways and other public departments increased to an unparalleled
+extent.  But the increase of revenue naturally caused a large increase
+in the work of the departments concerned, and they failed signally to
+meet the additional demands upon them.
+
+The Telegraphic and Postal Department obtained an evil pre-eminence
+through its irregularity and untrustworthiness, and caused much
+inconvenience and monetary loss, owing to the delay in the delivery of
+letters and telegrams.  Complaints were also rife against the Railway
+Department, as imported machinery lay for months at Fremantle, because
+the Government had not sufficient trucks in which to take it up the
+line to its place of destination.  It must be remembered, however, that
+the public services had been organised to meet the needs of a far
+smaller population and were called upon to carry out work which had
+increased at a {169} rapidity which could not be foreseen.  A certain
+amount of difficulty was, under these circumstances, bound to occur, as
+the Government would not have been justified in launching into heavy
+additional expenditure until they had reasonable assurance of the
+permanence of the goldfields and of the consequent increase of business.
+
+Hitherto the Government of Western Australia has been that of a huge
+land development company; constitutional questions have been in the
+background.  But a tendency is already perceptible among recent
+immigrants to demand manhood suffrage, payment of members, and other
+items of democratic legislation to which they have been accustomed in
+the Eastern Provinces.  This movement, however, will be checked by the
+conservative instincts of the native population, and by the general
+belief that the Ministry have guided the destinies of the province
+wisely during the crucial years which have succeeded the inauguration
+of Responsible Government.
+
+
+
+
+{170}
+
+VII
+
+_DISCURSIVE NOTES ON TASMANIA_
+
+The restriction of the immigration of coloured races--Betting and
+lotteries--The adoption of a modification of Hare's System of
+Voting--Conflicts between the two Houses of Parliament--Finance and
+taxation--Land Grant Railways.
+
+
+The session of the Tasmanian Parliament in 1896 was of a quiet
+character as far as the Ministerial programme was concerned.  Measures
+were introduced, among others, for the extension to certain coloured
+races of the restrictions imposed upon the immigration of the Chinese,
+for the better suppression of public betting and gaming, for the
+inspection of certain products intended for export, for the
+consolidation and amendment of the electoral laws, and for the
+reference to a plebiscite of disputes between the House of Assembly and
+the Legislative Council.
+
+The first of these measures was introduced in pursuance of a resolution
+passed at the Premiers' Conference at the commencement of the year, and
+was based upon the Chinese Immigration Act, 1887, which limits the
+number of Chinese, not being {171} British subjects, that may be
+brought to Tasmania in any vessel in proportion to its tonnage, and
+throws upon the masters of the vessels the duty of paying a capitation
+fee of L10 for every such Chinaman that they introduce into the
+Province.  It was proposed to apply this provision to "all male persons
+belonging to any coloured race inhabiting the Continent of Asia or the
+Continent of Africa, or any island adjacent thereto, or any island in
+the Pacific Ocean or Indian Ocean, not being persons duly accredited on
+any special mission to Her Majesty by the Government or ruler of any
+country, state, or territory, or to Tasmania under the authority of the
+Imperial Government."  The Bill, which also exempted from its operation
+the native races of Australia and New Zealand, was accepted by the two
+Houses of Parliament, but was reserved by the Governor for the Imperial
+assent, which was likely to be withheld, as the measure would
+undoubtedly lead to the strongest protests from the Japanese, who will
+scarcely submit to be treated as an inferior race by an Australian
+Province.  Should this attitude be adopted, a considerable amount of
+friction may be anticipated, as measures on similar lines have been
+adopted by the two Houses of Parliament in some of the other Provinces.
+
+The Bill for the better suppression of betting and gaming should rather
+have been called a Bill for their regulation, as, while it aimed at the
+entire suppression of book-makers and betting-houses, it did not {172}
+interfere with the totalisator or with any lotteries which had been
+authorised by Act of Parliament or were carried on solely by
+correspondence through the post-office, and in accordance with
+regulations which might be made by the Governor in Council.  The
+totalisator is now to be found in all the Australasian Provinces except
+New South Wales and Victoria; in the latter its adoption has widely
+been advocated, but has been opposed by the clergy, who have entered
+into an unconscious alliance with the book-makers.  The organisers of
+the large "Tattersall" Sweeps, which are worked from Tasmania and
+attract subscribers from all parts of Australasia, will also be
+unaffected by the Act; to a certain extent they will even be benefited,
+as they will be freed from the competition of many of their more humble
+rivals.
+
+The measure dealing with the inspection of exported produce was deemed
+advisable on account, partly of the proposed action of other Provinces
+in regard to Tasmanian fruit, partly of the importance of enabling
+Tasmanian producers to obtain an official certificate of the quality of
+their produce.  In outside markets, it was contended, in which the
+Provinces come into competition with each other, dealers gave the
+preference to, and paid higher prices for, imports which had received
+the imprimatur of the Government stamp.  The interests of the community
+also would be protected against those of selfish and dishonest traders.
+It was, therefore, {173} proposed that all dairy produce, fruit, or
+timber intended for exportation should be examined by an inspector, and
+should not be shipped until he had certified that it was sound, free
+from disease, and likely to reach its destination in a good state of
+preservation.  The Governor in Council was also authorised to make
+regulations for the inspection of the ships in which such produce was
+to be carried, for the protection from unnecessary suffering of live
+stock when carried by sea, and for the branding and shipment of
+products approved of by an inspector for exportation.  The Bill was
+read a second time in the Assembly on the understanding that it would
+be referred to the persons who would principally be affected by it, and
+was so unfavourably received by them, and especially by the
+fruit-growers, that it was shortly afterwards dropped.  In several
+Provinces inspection has been accompanied by a system of bonuses to
+producers, but in this respect Tasmania has taken no action.
+Substantial bonuses were, however, offered some fourteen years ago to
+manufacturers of considerable quantities of sugar, sacking, and woollen
+goods, but of these the last alone has been claimed.
+
+Tasmania has not followed the example of New South Wales and South
+Australia in the adoption of manhood or adult suffrage and the
+abolition of plural votes, but has passed a new Electoral Bill which
+adopts a modification of Hare's system, and thus secures a considerable
+representation of the {174} minority in both Houses of Parliament.  It
+provided, as introduced, that the two principal cities, Hobart and
+Launceston, which return, respectively, six and three, and four and
+two, representatives to the Assembly and Council, should thenceforward
+be single constituencies, and that "each elector shall have one vote
+only, but may vote in the alternative for as many candidates as he
+pleases; and his vote shall be deemed to be given in the first place
+for the candidate opposite whose name in the ballot-paper the figure 1
+is placed; but in the event of its not being required to be used for
+the return of such candidate, it shall be transferable to the other
+candidates in succession, in the order of priority indicated by the
+figures set opposite their respective names; and the elector shall
+insert opposite the names of the candidates for whom he wishes to vote,
+the figures 1, 2, 3, and so on, in the order of his preference."  The
+method by which the returning officer was to decide who were the
+successful candidates was so complicated as to require two pages of the
+Bill for its explanation.  Briefly stated, it was as follows: the total
+number of votes divided by the number of representatives being the
+"Quota" necessary for the election of candidates, the returning officer
+declares the candidates who have a number of first votes equal to or
+greater than the quota to be elected; he then notes how many of the
+second votes on the papers of the successful candidates are given to
+each of the other candidates, {175} and distributes the surplus votes
+among them in accordance with their respective proportions.  One or
+more additional candidates are probably thereby elected, and the
+process is repeated until the requisite number are elected or a further
+quota is no longer reached.  In the latter case, the candidate who has
+the smallest number of votes is excluded, and the second votes of those
+who supported him in the first instance are counted to the other
+candidates.  The second votes of the candidates who successively become
+lowest on the list may be distributed, as often as may be necessary,
+among the remainder; in this manner a final result must at length be
+obtained.  The Assembly provided by an amendment that each elector
+should vote for as many candidates as there were vacancies, while
+signifying the order of his preference; the Council reduced the number
+of requisite votes by one-half, and limited the operation of the Bill
+to the next general election.  A doubt was expressed whether the
+benefits would counterbalance the additional trouble and inevitable
+confusion which would attend the first application of the new system.
+It was also contended that, among a population of not more that 160,000
+persons, if the experiment were worthy of a trial, it should be
+extended to the whole country.  The only other electoral peculiarity
+that I have noted in Australia is to be found in Queensland.  Under an
+Act of 1892 which deals with the election of members of the Assembly,
+an elector may "indicate on his {176} ballot-paper the name or names of
+any candidate or candidates for whom he does not vote in the first
+instance, but for whom he desires his vote or votes to be counted in
+the event of any candidate or candidates for whom he votes in the first
+instance not receiving an absolute majority of votes."  These
+contingent votes are not counted unless the requisite number of
+candidates fail to obtain an absolute majority of all the primary
+votes; they are of no value where the candidates are not in the ratio
+of more than two to one to the vacancies, as it is provided that in
+such cases the candidates who receive the greatest number of votes
+shall be elected.
+
+It is a noteworthy fact that the four Provinces, New South Wales,
+Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania, which decided in favour of
+popular election of the delegates to the new Federal Convention and the
+subsequent approval or rejection of the Draft Constitution by a direct
+popular vote, are those in which the Ministry advocate a plebiscite for
+the settlement of disputes between the two Houses of Parliament.  The
+acceptance of the Federation Enabling Bill by the Legislative Councils
+of these Provinces must weaken the moral force of their opposition to
+the plebiscite, as it may reasonably be argued that, if the people can
+be trusted to give an intelligent vote upon the most important of all
+Australian problems, they can still more be trusted to deal with any
+question of current politics.  In Tasmania Ministers are {177}
+confronted with a Legislative Council which continually amends, as well
+as rejects, their financial proposals, justifying its attitude upon the
+wording of the Constitution Act of 1854.  The section in question
+states that "all Bills for appropriating any part of the revenue or for
+imposing any tax, rate, duty, or impost shall originate in the House of
+Assembly, and it shall not be lawful for the House of Assembly to
+originate or pass any vote, resolution, or Bill for the appropriation
+of any part of the revenue, or of any tax, rate, duty, or impost for
+any purpose which shall not have been first recommended by the Governor
+to the House of Assembly during the session in which such vote,
+resolution, or Bill shall be passed."  As the right of amendment is not
+specifically withheld, as in the Victorian Constitution, the
+Legislative Council assumes its possession.  The case for the
+plebiscite was put by the Premier and the Treasurer upon the second
+reading of the Bill.  Sir Edward Braddon stated that the financial
+privileges of the Assembly had continually been infringed by the
+Council, and that, on one occasion, in reference to the Drawbacks Bill,
+they had almost assumed the power of initiating a money vote.
+Curiously enough, the principal question mentioned by him as suitable
+for the application of the plebiscite was that of Female Suffrage,
+which, introduced as a private measure, had been rejected by the
+Council after he had failed to secure its defeat in the Assembly.  In
+the {178} preceding session, he said, the Assembly had vainly asked the
+Council to agree to a joint dissolution of both Houses when a Bill had
+twice been rejected and a General Election had intervened.  A similar
+measure, passed in South Australia in 1881, had operated most
+successfully, its mere presence on the Statute Book having put an end
+to the deadlocks which had previously been of constant occurrence.  It
+is probable, however, that the comparative absence of disputes has
+mainly been due to the democratisation of the Council, which has
+brought it into close touch with the feeling of the Assembly; and that,
+in Tasmania, where the electors for the Council are only one in five of
+those for the Assembly, a joint dissolution would produce little change
+in the _personnel_ of the former body.  The Treasurer, Sir Philip Fysh,
+treating the subject historically, pointed out that the Council had
+thrown out year after year votes, first passed in 1863, for the
+expenditure of L103,000 upon the construction of roads and bridges, and
+had several times rejected the Launceston and Western, Hobart and
+Launceston, and Mersey and Deloraine Railway Bills.  They had three
+times refused to accept a Bill for the re-assessment of the land of the
+Province with a view to the imposition of a tax on unimproved values.
+As regards its opposition to the proposed expenditure of borrowed money
+upon the construction of railways, roads and bridges, it would appear
+that the Council in most cases acted {179} wisely, and that the
+Province would have been benefited if it had persisted in its
+opposition.  The total public debt at the end of June, 1896, was nearly
+L8,150,000, exclusive of L215,000 in temporary Treasury Bills and
+L250,000 in Local Inscribed Stock, and entailed an annual liability for
+interest of L313,000.  Towards this amount, the works which should be
+directly reproductive, such as the railways and the postal and
+telegraphic services, returned a net revenue, after payment of working
+expenses, of only L26,000.  It may be contended, of course, that the
+country could not have been developed in the absence of a large
+expenditure; but, as the liability forms a heavy burden upon so small a
+population--a burden, indeed, which might have become almost unbearable
+but for the valuable discoveries of minerals--the Council seems to have
+had abundant justification for its efforts to check the extravagant
+tendencies of the Assembly.  The Ministry, after passing the second
+reading of the Bill in the Assembly by a small majority, withdrew it,
+as there was no possibility of getting it through the Council; its
+introduction appears to have been due to the desire that it should be
+discussed at the pending General Elections.  The principal clause
+provided that "any Bill which shall be passed by the House of Assembly
+in two consecutive sessions of Parliament, and which shall be rejected
+by the Legislative Council in each of {180} two such consecutive
+sessions, may be submitted for the approval of the people of Tasmania
+by means of a general poll of, or referendum to, the electors for the
+House of Assembly."  An interval of not less than six weeks was to
+elapse between the two sessions, and where a Bill had been amended by
+the Council, the Assembly was to be vested with the final decision
+whether the amendments effected such substantial alterations as to be
+tantamount to a rejection, and might present an address to the Governor
+requesting that a Bill which had been rejected twice or substantially
+altered might be submitted to a general vote of the electors.  A bare
+majority of the votes so recorded was to be sufficient to secure the
+enactment of the measure subject to the constitutional rights of the
+Governor.
+
+The placid progress of the Session was impaired by the introduction of
+a private railway Bill, which led to many nights of contentious debate
+and much hostility among the various sections in the Assembly.  All the
+railways are owned by the State with the exception of a few short lines
+in the Northern and Western portions of the Province which have been
+constructed by Mining Companies without any concessions from the
+Government.  During recent years the Western district has become an
+important mining centre, and should, in the opinion of most Tasmanians,
+be connected by railway with either Launceston or Hobart.  But the
+condition of the {181} finances is such, as has already been seen, that
+the Government cannot venture to undertake the construction of further
+public works unless it can be shown that they will immediately give an
+adequate return upon the outlay.  The small surplus of the last two
+years was obtained at the cost of rigid retrenchment and high direct
+taxation, an income tax of eightpence in the pound upon incomes derived
+from personal exertion, and a shilling upon those derived from
+property, and a land-tax of a halfpenny in the pound upon the capital
+value of land.  It, therefore, became necessary, if the construction of
+the line or lines were not to be postponed indefinitely, that the aid
+of private enterprise should be invoked and that concessions should be
+offered which would be sufficient to attract private capitalists.
+
+In 1895 a Bill was passed which authorised the Van Diemen's Land
+Company to construct a railway of about forty miles in length, which
+would place the West Coast in communication with Emu Bay in the North.
+At a distance of eighteen miles from the latter place is Ulverstone,
+which is directly connected with Launceston, and the Government have a
+balance from loan funds which may be devoted to the construction of a
+railway across the intervening space.  The inducement offered to the
+Company was the right to mark off, within certain areas, twelve blocks
+of 320 acres of mineral land, which would be granted to them upon the
+{182} completion of the railway.  They were limited in the charges
+which they might make for the carriage of passengers and the conveyance
+of merchandise, were to pay a royalty of 2-1/2 per cent. upon the gross
+value of all minerals obtained by them in addition to the statutory
+income tax of one shilling in the pound, and were to be liable, after
+the expiration of twenty-one years, to the resumption of the railway
+and all its appurtenances by the Government at the price of 20 per
+cent. above the actual cost of construction.  At the end of 1896 the
+Company had not taken the initial steps towards the commencement of the
+undertaking.
+
+The proposal made by a Victorian Syndicate and submitted to Parliament
+during the session of 1896, aimed at the connection by railway of the
+West Coast with some point on the State lines in the South.  In return
+for the construction of the railway, which would be about a hundred
+miles in length, the promoters asked for a concession of large areas of
+land along its proposed route and for considerable rights to make use
+of the rivers in its vicinity, which are running to waste in the
+greatest abundance, as sources of electrical energy.  As the railway
+would, admittedly, be worked at a loss for many years, they based their
+hopes of a profit upon the probability of the discovery of minerals and
+upon the generation of electricity, which they would either use
+themselves or dispose of to companies mining on land belonging to the
+{183} State.  The district in question, it may be stated, is believed
+to be of little agricultural value, but to be likely to carry minerals,
+though it has not adequately been prospected.  After its second reading
+the Bill was referred to a select committee, which made reductions in
+the concessions, and these were further reduced, after prolonged
+debate, upon its reconsideration in the Assembly.  I have mentioned
+these details in order to show that, while the State was not in a
+financial position to undertake the direct construction of railways
+deemed to be necessary for the development of the resources of the
+country, the Assembly was not unmindful of the interests of posterity,
+and sought to reduce the inevitable concessions to the lowest possible
+point.
+
+
+
+
+{184}
+
+VIII
+
+_FEMALE SUFFRAGE_
+
+I do not propose, in the present chapter, to discuss the hackneyed
+arguments for and against female suffrage, but to indicate the progress
+of the movement in the several Provinces of Australasia, and to note
+some of the results of the adoption of adult suffrage in South
+Australia and New Zealand.
+
+As regards the other Provinces, we are bound to consider the existing
+franchise for the election of members of the Assembly in order to
+realise what would be the effect of extending it to women upon similar
+terms.  In Victoria manhood suffrage would be superseded by adult
+suffrage; in New South Wales and Western Australia, where residence of
+three and six months, respectively, forms a qualification, the vast
+majority of women would obtain a place on the rolls; but in Tasmania
+and Queensland the right to exercise the franchise would be confined,
+practically, to widows and women of independent means.
+
+{185}
+
+We are also bound to take into consideration the constitution of the
+Legislative Council in order to gauge the full significance of female
+suffrage.  If it is elective, as the electors must be qualified as
+freeholders, leaseholders, or occupiers, the vote would be confined to
+women of independent means and widows or spinsters in personal
+occupation, and, while the wife and daughters of the poor man would
+necessarily be excluded from the register, those of the rich man might,
+as has been done in South Australia, receive special gifts of freehold
+property which would be sufficient to render them eligible.  To this
+extent, therefore, as in Tasmania and, to a small degree, wherever
+plural voting is allowed, female suffrage would constitute a new
+property vote.  Similar conditions would not prevail when the members
+of the Council are nominated upon the recommendation of Ministers who
+are subject to the control of the popular representatives.
+
+It is probable that Victoria will be the next Province to follow the
+example of South Australia and New Zealand.  A ministerial measure
+which would have introduced female suffrage, though only in the
+constituencies of the Assembly, has twice been passed by that House.
+On the first occasion it was rejected by the Council, on the second it
+was laid aside on the ground that it had not been approved by the
+absolute majority which is required in the case of amendments of the
+{186} constitution.  Both Bills were rendered distasteful to the
+Council by the inclusion of a provision for the abolition of the plural
+vote, but it is unlikely that the first would, apart from that fact,
+have been accepted.  Many members of the Council, I was told, are
+favourable to female suffrage, but would have voted in accordance with
+their opinion that important constitutional changes should not be
+passed until they have been placed before the electorate.  As the life
+of the Assembly may not exceed three years, the reference need not long
+be delayed.
+
+In Tasmania, in 1896, the House of Assembly passed a private Bill
+containing a similar limitation to that in the Victorian measure, and
+was equally unable to secure the concurrence of the Council.  A
+resolution in favour of female suffrage has been adopted by a large
+majority in the Assembly of New South Wales, but the question has not
+been taken up by either of the recognised parties.  The Premier may be
+reckoned as a personal supporter, but declines to move in the matter in
+view of differences of opinion in the Cabinet.  Neither in Western
+Australia nor in Queensland does the subject arouse much interest.
+
+Such is the state of feeling in five of the six Australian Provinces.
+In South Australia an arduous contest was concluded in 1894 by the
+passage of an Act which placed women upon an absolute equality with men
+in the right to vote for {187} members both of the Assembly and of the
+Council.  It is unnecessary to trace the history of the agitation which
+may be said to have commenced in 1888 upon the formation of the Women's
+Franchise League, though a Bill for the enfranchisement of women of
+property had previously been introduced.  Thenceforward it was pursued
+vigorously, and culminated in 1893, when the Government pronounced in
+favour of adult suffrage.  But the difficulties were not at an end: the
+Bill of that year was wrecked, mainly because its adoption was to be
+dependent upon an affirmative plebiscite; reintroduced in the following
+year without the obnoxious clause, it was passed through both Houses of
+Parliament, though only by the bare statutory majority in the Assembly,
+and shortly afterwards received the Queen's assent.
+
+During the course of the debates the Premier, who holds the portfolio
+of Attorney-General, said that, if women were entitled to vote, they
+would have the right to sit in Parliament, and the Assembly, by
+twenty-eight votes to eight, refused to exclude them.  A doubt has
+since been expressed, which is not shared by the Ministry, whether they
+are qualified to be elected to the Council.  I have not had the
+opportunity to read the arguments, which concern the interpretation of
+several statutes, but they would be of no great interest, the main
+point being that Parliament intended to enable women to sit in both
+Houses.  {188} In New Zealand, on the other hand, the enfranchising Act
+of 1893 expressly denied to women the right of election to the House of
+Representatives or nomination to the Council; and the succeeding House,
+though elected under adult suffrage, refused to go back upon this
+decision.  The subsequent proposal of the Premier that women should be
+eligible for nomination to the Council, was intended, I believe, partly
+as a bid for their support, partly as a means of casting ridicule upon
+the non-representative body.
+
+The first elections in South Australia under the new franchise were
+held early in 1896, and, apart from a few rural constituencies in which
+the issues were personal rather than political, were contested under
+three recognised programmes.  The National Defence League, or
+Opposition, mentioned in its programme no items which were likely to be
+especially attractive to the female voters, and treated as open
+questions temperance legislation, and religious instruction in State
+schools; the Labour platform, with discreet vagueness, advocated any
+equitable and reasonable claims of women for the amendment of the laws;
+and the Ministerial policy, as enunciated by the Premier, included an
+amendment of the Licensed Victuallers' Act in the direction of greater
+local control over licenses, and various measures of social reform, of
+which the principal were the raising of the age of consent, the
+simplification of the remedies of deserted wives, {189} and the
+restriction of the importation and sale of opium.  It should be
+mentioned, however, that, as the Labour Party are united in a close,
+though independent, alliance with the Government, the supporters of the
+one in many cases voted for the candidates of the other.  In several
+constituencies a Ministerialist and a Labour man contested the two
+seats and received jointly the assistance of both parties.
+
+As the Women's Franchise League had been dissolved upon the attainment
+of its purpose, the only organisation which interested itself,
+specifically, in the female voters was the W.C.T.U., which, having
+drawn up a scheme of reforms, suggested that it should be used as a
+basis for ascertaining the views of candidates, but did not seek
+directly to influence the votes of its members though leaning,
+undoubtedly, to the side of the Government.  Its efforts to instruct
+women in the method of voting enabled returning officers to
+congratulate them on their knowledge of the business.  From personal
+observation I can bear witness to the extreme orderliness of the
+proceedings, both during and after the poll.
+
+The elections resulted in a slight accession of strength to the ranks
+of the Ministerialists and Labour members.  As these are very Radical,
+the majority of women, contrary to the expectations of many, had failed
+to display Conservative predilections.  It would seem, indeed, if we
+take also {190} into consideration the result of two General Elections
+in New Zealand, that their so-called Conservatism takes the form, not
+of an aversion from advanced legislation, but of a disinclination to
+bring about a change of Ministry.  Under masculine influences, South
+Australia had forty-two Ministries in forty years; women entered the
+arena and a Ministry which had held office for three years was again
+returned to power.  An allowance must, of course, be made for a feeling
+of gratitude to those through whom the privilege of the vote had been
+obtained.  Equally wrong was the anticipation that the women would be
+found to be subject to clerical influences.  At the instigation of
+those who were under this impression, the electors were invited, under
+a direct reference, to say whether they desired the introduction of
+religious instruction in State schools during school hours and the
+payment of a capitation grant to denominational schools for secular
+results.  Both questions were answered emphatically in the negative,
+the second by a majority of more than three votes to one.  The W.C.T.U.
+was in favour of religious instruction, but strongly opposed to the
+capitation grant.
+
+The general conclusion formed after the elections was that, in the vast
+majority of cases, the women had voted in the same way as their
+masculine relatives, and that domestic harmony had not been disturbed.
+It was impossible to obtain definite data, as the Premier refused,
+rightly enough, to sanction {191} the issue of different voting papers
+for the two sexes.  But, even if the female franchise merely increased
+the number of votes and did not affect the result of the elections, it
+does not follow that it has been nugatory.
+
+Members who have to consider the wishes of female as well as male
+constituents will shape their actions accordingly.  The effects of this
+influence cannot yet be studied fully in South Australia, as they were
+not manifested, to any great extent, in the first session of the new
+Parliament.  A Licensed Victuallers' Act was passed, as had been
+promised by the Premier, which instituted local control over the issue
+of licenses, but provided, in accordance with statutory enactment, that
+the refusal of licenses, or reduction in their number, should be
+accompanied by compensation to the parties directly interested.  As the
+Province has a steadily growing industry in the cultivation of the
+vine, Prohibitionists will be met by a serious obstacle to their
+crusade.  In pursuance of an _ad feminas captandas_ agitation for the
+prohibition of the employment of barmaids which had been carried on
+during the elections, the Assembly inserted a clause in the Bill which
+prohibited their employment after a certain number of years, but
+submitted to its excision by the Council.  A Bill which would have
+given to widows a legal right to one-third of their deceased husband's
+property was discussed, but allowed to lapse.  The Franchise Act, I
+should have stated, {192} allowed a female elector, upon the completion
+of certain formalities, to vote through the post if she would be absent
+from her home on the day of the election, a privilege already accorded
+to men, or if she were resident more than three miles from the nearest
+polling place, or, by reason of the state of her health, would probably
+be unable to vote at the polling place on the day of the poll.  This
+provision, which permitted open voting, was found to have led to
+abuses, and the Government passed an amending Act which withdrew all
+the supplementary privileges except the last, and required absent
+voters to fill in the paper at a postmaster's office and without
+supervision.  As I was not in South Australia during the session, I am
+unable to give more than a brief summary of the proceedings which may
+be connected, directly or indirectly, with the extension of the
+franchise to women.
+
+But when we turn to New Zealand, where a House elected under adult
+suffrage has fulfilled its allotted term of three years, we may expect
+to find more definite results.  In that Province, as in South
+Australia, women were enfranchised by a House which had received no
+popular mandate to that effect; in fact, the matter had scarcely been
+discussed in the constituencies, though attention had been drawn to it
+by the advocacy of several successive Premiers.  In 1892, however, a
+new Electoral Bill, which conferred the franchise on all adult women,
+was passed by the House of Representatives {193} and accepted by the
+Council subject to the insertion of a clause which absolved women in
+some cases from attendance at the polling booth.  The Government
+refused to accept the amendment, and the Bill lapsed for the session.
+In the following year it was reintroduced in the original form, and was
+passed by both Houses, though only by a slender majority in the
+Council.  The Act contains the striking and, as far as I know, unique
+provision that the names of voters who have not exercised their
+privileges are to be erased from the rolls, though a claim for
+reinstatement may be made at the next periodical revision.
+
+The elections, which took place at the end of 1893, aroused widespread
+interest in the members of the fair sex, of whom nine out of every
+eleven who were registered went to the poll and proved conclusively
+that, though the desire for the vote might not have been general, women
+would not refrain from its exercise.  With the help of their lords and
+masters, they falsified the expectations of those who had anticipated a
+reaction in favour of Conservatism, by retaining in power, with an
+increased majority, a Government which is, in some respects, even more
+Radical than that of South Australia.  So complete was the defeat of
+the Opposition that it was reduced to a remnant of twenty members in a
+House of seventy-four.  Another important feature was the return of a
+body of Prohibitionists who aimed at legislation which would enable the
+electors {194} in a locality to close all the public-houses by a bare
+majority.  As they sat on both sides of the House, they did not affect
+the numerical strength of the two parties, but constituted a force
+which it was impossible for the Government to ignore.  But while the
+consequent liquor legislation and the increased prominence of the
+temperance movement are the principal effects of the extension of the
+franchise to women, other measures of considerable importance are
+connected with the new factor in the sphere of politics.
+
+Some of these would, doubtless, have been passed in any case.  The
+Shops and Shop Assistants Act of 1894, for instance, which limits the
+total number of hours in a week, and the number of consecutive hours in
+a day, during which women and persons under eighteen years of age may
+be employed in a shop, and requires shopkeepers to provide sitting
+accommodation for their female employes, was passed by the preceding
+House of Representatives, and would have become law but for its
+rejection by the Council.  Similarly, the greater stringency in the
+limitation of the hours of employment of women and young persons in
+factories, the exclusion of young persons from certain dangerous
+trades, and the prohibition of the employment of women within a month
+of their confinement, all of which were included in the Factories Act
+of the same year, might have been expected in the natural progress of
+industrial legislation.  The appointment of women, {195} also, as
+inspectors of factories, gaols, and asylums is in accordance with the
+recent practice of other countries.  The same may be said of the Infant
+Life Protection Act, which seeks to prevent baby-farming, and of Acts
+dealing with the adoption of children and with industrial schools,
+though it is probable that their passage has been hastened by a
+knowledge of the approval of the female voters.  Their influence is
+also seen in measures such as the raising of the age of consent to
+sixteen, in a country, be it remembered, in which girls come much more
+early to maturity than in England, the permission accorded to women to
+be enrolled as barristers and solicitors, and the simplification of the
+procedure where a judicial separation is desired.  Parliament has
+discussed, but without legislative results, proposals that the sexes
+should be placed on an equality as regards the grounds for a divorce,
+and that a divorce should be obtainable if either party become insane
+or be sentenced to a long term of imprisonment.
+
+But we can trace the influence of women most directly in the desire of
+the Premier, to which I have referred, to render them eligible for
+nomination to the Council, and in the attempts to put an end to the
+legal sanction accorded by the State to betting, immorality, and drink.
+In these matters members are face to face with the most pronounced
+opinions of their female constituents.
+
+The prevention of gambling is sought through the {196} suppression of
+the totalisator, which was legalised in 1889.  In the following years,
+it is admitted, the number of licenses issued was in excess of the
+requirements of the population, and it was felt, even by the advocates
+of the machine, when a strongly supported effort was made in the House
+of Representatives to abolish it, that a concession was inevitable.  In
+its final form the measure reduced by one-third the number of licenses
+which might be issued thenceforward, and prohibited all persons from
+betting with minors and from laying or taking odds dependent upon the
+dividend paid by the totalisator.
+
+The female voters are even more anxious to secure the repeal of the
+C.D. Act, though it has for several years been a dead letter.  It only
+applies to districts which the Government declares to be subject to its
+provisions, and no Ministry at the present time would venture to
+recommend its application nor Municipal Council to proffer such a
+request.  But the women will not be satisfied until they have expunged
+from the Statute Book an Act which they declare to be a disgrace to New
+Zealand.  Their purpose would have been effected by a short measure
+which was passed by the House of Representatives but rejected by the
+nominated Legislative Council, which is less amenable to public
+opinion.  They have also inspired the Government to greater stringency
+in the administration of the law against keepers of houses of ill-fame,
+which has led, {197} according to common report, to a large increase in
+the prevalence of venereal diseases.
+
+In order to understand the position of affairs as it affects the
+Prohibitionists in their crusade against public-houses, it is necessary
+to have some knowledge, in their broadest aspects, of the constitution
+and powers of the licensing authority and of the gradual extension of
+popular control.  Under an Act of 1881 the regulation of the traffic
+was placed in the hands of elective Licensing Committees, and the first
+step in the direction of popular control was taken by the provision
+that additional licenses, except in special cases, should not be
+granted until they had been demanded by a poll of the ratepayers.
+Objections to the granting or renewal of licenses might be made by
+private individuals, the police and corporate bodies, and should
+specify, as the ground of objection, that the proposed licensee was an
+undesirable person, that the premises were unsuitable, or that "the
+licensing thereof is not required in the neighbourhood."  The words
+that I have quoted were seized upon by the Prohibitionists, who had
+gathered strength during the following years as a justification for the
+refusal of all licenses if they could capture the Licensing Committee.
+In Sydenham, a suburb of Christchurch, they were at length successful,
+and were confronted with the bitter antagonism of the brewers.  After
+several years of litigation they were defeated conclusively, and were
+thrown back upon an agitation for the amendment of the law.
+
+{198}
+
+The next important measure, that of 1893, was passed by representatives
+elected under manhood suffrage, who knew that when they sought a
+renewal of confidence they would be called upon to justify their
+actions, not only in the eyes of Prohibitionists, but in those of the
+newly enfranchised female electors.  We shall therefore not be
+surprised to find that the Act introduced a great extension of the
+principle of popular control.  It placed both the election of the
+Licensing Committees and the Local Option polls on the basis of adult
+suffrage and enlarged the scope of the latter.  Previously, as we have
+seen, the electors were only allowed to decide as to the advisability
+of additional licenses.  Herein their power was curtailed, as such
+polls were not to be held unless a census had shown that the population
+of a district had increased by 25 per cent. in the quinquennial period.
+This was a concession to Prohibitionists who would welcome a change
+which rendered the increase of licenses more difficult.  But the
+principal innovation was the control given to the electorate over the
+renewal of all publicans' accommodation or bottle licenses.  Triennial
+polls were to be held, at which they were to be invited to say whether
+they desired the continuation, reduction, or abolition of licenses,
+subject to the proviso that prohibition would not be deemed to be
+carried except by a three-fifths majority of the votes, and that the
+poll would be void unless it had been attended by a majority of the
+registered electors.  {199} Should prohibition not be carried, the
+votes in its favour were to be added to those cast for reduction, and,
+in the event of reduction, the Licensing Committee were to refuse to
+renew the licences of not more than one in four of the publicans in the
+district, commencing with those whose licenses had been endorsed, and
+proceeding with those who offered little or no accommodation to
+travellers.  No provision was made for compensation to persons who,
+through no fault of their own, might be dispossessed of their licenses.
+As the Act declared that the poll should be regarded as void unless
+one-half of the electors recorded their votes, it was to the obvious
+interest of anti-prohibitionists to abstain from attendance at the
+booths, and the figures consequently afford no index of the full
+strength of the opposing parties.  The Prohibitionists, however, had
+little cause to be dissatisfied with the results of their first appeal
+to the electorate, which included women as well as men: prohibition was
+carried in one case, reduction in fourteen, while in the remainder the
+poll was either void or the votes were cast in favour of existing
+conditions.
+
+The amending Act of 1895 has made no substantial alterations in the law
+in spite of the persistent agitation of Prohibitionists in favour of
+prohibition on the vote of a bare majority.  It was decreed that
+licensing polls should be held concurrently with General Elections,
+that voters should {200} be allowed to vote both for prohibition and
+reduction, though the two votes could, naturally, no longer be combined
+in favour of the latter, that the vote should affect all forms of
+licenses, and, in view of the district in which prohibition had been
+carried, that, in such cases, the issue should be between the continued
+refusal of licenses and their restoration to the former number.  Under
+the present law, it will be noted, should successive reductions lead to
+the cancellation of all licenses, a vote of the electors can never
+restore more licenses than existed at the time when the last was doomed
+to extinction.
+
+The second poll was taken at the end of 1896 and resulted in the
+failure to carry either prohibition or reduction in any district.  The
+figures were as follows: continuation, 139,249; reduction, 94,226;
+prohibition, 98,103.  Though the Prohibitionists had been enabled to
+increase their vote by nearly 50,000 and had therein sufficient grounds
+for the hope of ultimate success, it is probable that they would have
+been more successful but for the intemperance of their leaders, who aim
+at prohibition alone and care neither for the regulation of the traffic
+nor for reduction.  They were also handicapped by the frantic efforts
+of the brewers, who spent their ample funds freely and were able to
+command the votes of many who were interested, either directly or
+indirectly, in the trade; and by an alliance between the brewers and
+many of the Ministerialists.  While the General {201} Election and the
+Local Option poll constituted distinct issues, and there was no reason
+why a supporter of the Government should feel bound to vote for the
+continuation of licenses, it is an undoubted fact that a large number
+of the women of the working classes, who might have been expected to be
+opposed to the public-houses, voted, on that occasion, in favour of
+their retention.  At Wellington, where, as at Adelaide, I was struck by
+the prevailing orderliness, the only women whom I noted as taking an
+active part in the proceedings were canvassing in favour of the brewers.
+
+At first sight it seems strange that the brewers should have worked
+with the party which had passed the most stringent liquor legislation
+on the Statute Book, but it must be remembered that this question had
+neither been debated nor divided the House on the ordinary lines of
+cleavage.  The brewers, many persons maintain, know that they have the
+sympathy of the Government which, according to this hypothesis, has
+done as little as possible to meet the wishes of the Prohibitionists,
+and that only under virtual compulsion, and, in its measure of 1896,
+introduced a Bill which would certainly be rejected by the Council and
+was calculated to cast ridicule upon the agitation of the
+Prohibitionists.  It was provided therein that a fourth issue should be
+added at the Local Option polls, that of national prohibition, and
+that, if it were carried by a three-fifths majority of the votes {202}
+recorded in all the districts, it should be unlawful, subject to the
+exception mentioned hereafter, to import into the Province any liquor
+for any purpose or to distil it in the Province or to manufacture it
+for sale or barter.  No person selling any spirituous or distilled
+perfume, nor any apothecary, chemist, or druggist administering or
+selling any spirituous, distilled, or fermented liquor for medicinal
+use, should do so otherwise than in such combination as rendered it
+unfit for use as a beverage.  The Governor might declare, by notice in
+_The Gazette_, by what combination of ingredients the articles would be
+rendered sufficiently unpalatable.  Persons requiring liquor for
+medicinal use or use in the arts and manufacturers were to make
+applications to Her Majesty's Customs and if their _bona fides_ were
+proved, might receive it, for ready money, "in such closed and sealed
+bottles or other receptacle as that the liquor therein cannot be poured
+out without such seal being first broken," and attached "with a
+Government label declaring the kind, quantity, quality, and price of
+the liquor, as these may be determined by the Governor."  In this
+measure the Government seem to have attempted to run with the hare and
+hunt with the hounds.  The brewers would laugh in their sleeves and the
+Prohibitionists would welcome a measure which instituted machinery for
+the attainment of national prohibition.  If the assumption be correct,
+the latter are credited with a lamentable lack of any sense of humour;
+from all {203} appearances they are not prepared to allow themselves to
+be hoodwinked.
+
+Many of the representatives seem to have had an equally low opinion of
+the average intelligence of female electors, as they sought to capture
+the votes of domestic servants by a Bill which was rejected by the
+Council, in which a weekly half-holiday was decreed to them except in
+cases of sickness or death in the family, or where an annual holiday of
+not less than fourteen days had been substituted by mutual agreement
+between employers and their servants.  How the period of rest was to be
+enforced was, perhaps wisely, not laid down, as domestics would, in few
+cases, be prepared to give information against their employers.  Those
+among the latter, however, who took the matter seriously would,
+presumably, guard themselves against judiciary proceedings by
+compelling their servants to be out of the house on the holiday between
+three o'clock and half-past nine, whatever might be the state of the
+weather.  Again, the undoubted evil, that young girls, by the culpable
+weakness of their parents, are allowed to parade the streets at night,
+was to be cured, according to the Government, by the so-called Juvenile
+Depravity Suppression Bill, which failed to meet with acceptance by the
+usually docile House of Representatives.  Its danger and absurdity can
+be gathered, without further comment, from the quotation of one of the
+clauses: "Whenever any constable finds any girl" (who is apparently not
+over the age of sixteen years) {204} "loitering in the streets or in
+out-of-the-way places after the hour of ten of the clock at night, and
+he has reason to believe that she is there for improper purposes, the
+following provisions shall apply:--
+
+"1. He shall forthwith take her to the nearest beat of another
+constable, or, failing him, to the nearest justice or clergyman, or,
+failing him, to the nearest house of some married person of good
+repute, in whose presence the girl shall be questioned as to her name,
+her abode, her parents or guardians, and her reason for being from home
+and loitering as aforesaid.
+
+"2. The constable shall then take, or shall cause her to be taken, to
+her home, where she shall be handed over to the person in charge of the
+house, and the constable shall forthwith on his return from duty make
+report of the facts to the officer in charge of the station."
+
+Should the offence be repeated and the girl's reply be deemed by the
+officer in charge of a police station to be unsatisfactory, she may be
+brought before a magistrate and be committed to a reformatory or an
+industrial school.  Some justification, I must add, for the seemingly
+depreciatory opinion of the members was afforded by the proceedings at
+the convention of the National Council of Women held at Christchurch
+early in 1896.  This Association, which claims to be non-political and
+to focus the views of the women of New Zealand, passed {205}
+resolutions in favour of the nationalisation of the land, a compulsory
+eight hours' day, and the enactment of a minimum rate of wages; but the
+climax was reached when it was resolved that "in all cases where a
+woman elects to superintend her own household and to be the mother of
+children, there shall be a law attaching a certain just share of her
+husband's earnings or income for her separate use, payable if she so
+desires it into her separate account."  The first portion of this
+sentence is mysterious, and seems to be based on the assumption that
+the husband has nothing to say in the matter.
+
+The extraordinary legislative activity which I have summarised need
+arouse no astonishment, as it is in consonance with the usual practice
+of the Parliament of New Zealand.  Between the years 1876 and 1894, it
+has been computed, 2,972 measures were passed, and of these no less
+than 1,602 have already been repealed.
+
+So much for the past: we must now consider briefly the present position
+of affairs and the further effects which may be anticipated from female
+suffrage.
+
+It is the general impression that while a large majority of the women
+voted in 1893 as their husbands and brothers advised them, yet they
+were induced, in many instances, by their leagues, which had been
+started on independent lines, to support candidates on moral rather
+than political considerations.  In the following year these leagues,
+{206} with the exception of those which placed liquor questions before
+all others, were captured by one of the political parties, most of them
+by the Ministerialists.  An amusing incident occurred in this
+connection at Dunedin.  Shortly before the last elections it was
+decided, at a thinly-attended meeting of the Women's Franchise League,
+to support the three Ministerial candidates, although one of them was
+an anti-prohibitionist.  Thereupon many of the members protested
+against the party character given to the association, and called a
+meeting, the proceedings at which were thus described by the local
+newspaper:--
+
+"The meeting which was held yesterday afternoon in connection with the
+Women's Franchise League was, in some respects, the most unique
+gathering ever held in the city.  There were nearly 200 women present,
+and they were divided into two parties--the followers of Mrs. Hatton
+and the supporters of Mrs. Don and Mrs. Hislop.  At the close of the
+opening remarks of the Chairman (the Rev. Mr. Saunders), Mr. Hatton
+mounted the platform, and declining to take his seat, the Chairman
+threatened to send for a policeman.  Then occurred a scene and uproar,
+of which it is impossible to give any conception.  The noise was
+deafening; and attracted to the spot passers-by in the street.  Half a
+dozen persons occupied the stage, and while some persons were
+addressing the meeting, others were engaged in heated argument.  Women
+{207} stamped on the floor with their feet and parasols, others were
+speaking at the highest pitch of their voices; there were hissing and
+hooting, and other unwomanly demonstrations.  Eventually a portion of
+Mrs. Hislop's supporters withdrew to a side room, and the Chairman,
+having dissolved the meeting, vacated the chair."[1]
+
+We find, therefore, that, with the exception of ardent Prohihitionists,
+women are subordinating their special interests to their increasing
+attachment to one or other of the parties; but it does not follow that
+they will cease to exercise a direct influence upon legislation.  It is
+not easy to learn to what extent their views have been modified during
+the last few years.  The proceedings of the National Council of Women
+cannot be taken seriously, and the practical aspirations of the sex
+must be sought rather in the points emphasised by the local leagues.
+The files of the newspapers, unfortunately, afford little information,
+as it was the practise of candidates to speak upon general topics at
+their public meetings, and to take part in informal and unreported
+discussions with the members of the various women's leagues.  On these
+occasions, I understand, and I must again except the Prohibitionists,
+the women made their views known, but did not seek to exact pledges as
+a condition of support.  It is believed that they took less interest in
+the second elections, but statistics are not yet available for a
+comparison {208} of the numbers that went to the poll on the two
+occasions.  Of 9,332 women who were registered for the City of
+Auckland, 6,304 recorded their votes, but I am unable to say whether
+the proportion of about seven in ten holds good for the Province.
+
+But, while it is necessary to consider the view of local leagues in
+order to form general conclusions as to the trend of female thought, it
+is found that, in the absence of one predominating centre, different
+issues obtain prominence in different places, and that the vote lacks
+the force which would be given to it by concentration.  A general
+similarity of aims, however, enables an estimate to be formed of the
+questions which the women will press upon the attention of Parliament
+in the immediate future.  The repeal of the C.D. and Totalisator Acts,
+amendments of the marriage laws, and greater protection of women and
+children against the cruelty of husbands and fathers, are subjects
+which are certain again to provoke discussion.  Parliament will also be
+asked again to admit women within its precincts, as they are no longer
+satisfied with the possession of the franchise; but the agitation will,
+I think, at present be unsuccessful, partly because, in the only
+instance in which a woman has held a public position, the experiment is
+regarded as having been a failure.  Some three years ago Mrs. Yates was
+elected to be Mayor of Onehunga, {209} and was unable to fill the
+position satisfactorily.  She was a woman of considerable ability, but
+of a hasty temper, and came into constant conflict with the
+Councillors.  Very possibly they did not give her a fair chance; but
+the fact remains that the proceedings excited much ridicule, in the
+press and elsewhere, and retarded the movement in favour of rendering
+women eligible for seats in Parliament.
+
+The Prohibitionists do not count upon much legislative assistance
+during the next three years, as the number of members of the House of
+Representatives who are in favour of prohibition upon the vote of a
+bare majority was reduced by the last election.  They believe that if
+the "National Option" Bill be re-introduced, the Council may seize upon
+that fact as a ground for again rejecting it.  In the meanwhile, they
+will concentrate their efforts upon the education of the electorate,
+and have, as I have shown, no reason to be discouraged by the results
+of the second local option poll.
+
+"Equal wages for equal work" is a new cry of the female voters.  They
+believe that if the Government were to introduce the principle of equal
+wages for similar work as between the men and women in the Civil
+Service, private employers would gradually follow the example.  This
+proposal has the support both of those who desire to raise the wages of
+women and of those who think that they would no longer be {210} able to
+compete with men in the search for employment.  It might have been
+expected that the habit which women have now acquired of meeting
+together for the discussion of a common policy would have inclined them
+to the formation of Trades Unions; but it is too early to look for
+indirect results from female suffrage, which has hitherto had no
+appreciable effect upon the rate of wages of women.  Nor has it
+modified the domestic instincts of the vast majority of the sex.
+
+Lastly, the women of the working classes, almost without exception, are
+in favour of pensions to the aged and needy, and regard objections
+based on the deterrence of thrift or the difficulty of raising the
+necessary funds as factitious and disingenuous.  Herein, as in some of
+the other matters to which I have referred, we see the principal danger
+of female suffrage in New Zealand, the tendency of the women to
+subordinate reason to sentiment.  They note the prevalence of an evil,
+and believe that if the State decrees its cessation it will promptly
+cease to exist.  But we must cherish the hope, though the justification
+for it is not yet manifest, that as the women become accustomed to the
+exercise of their power, they will no longer take a purely emotional
+view of the problems which engage their attention.  At the same time,
+as we have seen, they have promoted several unobtrusive but eminently
+useful reforms which would have had less chance of acceptance in a
+House elected {211} by men.  It is in this direction, and not in
+attempts to make people virtuous or sober by Act of Parliament, that we
+may anticipate the best results from the enfranchisement of the women
+of New Zealand.
+
+
+
+[1] _Otago Daily Times_, November 2, 1896.
+
+
+
+
+{212}
+
+IX
+
+_THE EVOLUTION OF A FEDERAL GOVERNMENT_
+
+The five self-governing Provinces of the mainland of Australia have
+been evolved from the Crown Colonies of New South Wales, South
+Australia, and Western Australia by the successive detachment of
+Victoria and Queensland from the former and the gradual growth of the
+system of responsible government, and are separated by lines of
+demarcation which, except where the Murray or one of its tributaries
+forms the boundary, are purely arbitrary and have not been drawn in
+accordance with any distinctive geographical features.  In the exercise
+of fiscal autonomy as regards their reciprocal relations, they have
+adopted protective tariffs which have not only impeded the interchange
+of commodities, but in some cases diverted trade from its natural
+course.  New South Wales, indeed, after a period of protection, has
+reverted to the policy of free trade, while the tariffs of Queensland
+and Western Australia are directed mainly to the {213} acquisition of
+revenue; but they are actually protective, as are, avowedly and to a
+high degree, those of Victoria and South Australia.  Under these
+circumstances, and as the result of insufficient intercourse,
+antagonistic interests have been created and jealousies aroused which
+are a source of anxiety to those who consider the future of Australia.
+
+The dangers which would be likely to arise from the independent
+development of the Provinces were recognised at an early date.  At the
+time of the suggested separation of the district of Port Phillip from
+New South Wales and of the discussion of the new constitutions which
+were about to be granted, it was proposed by the Imperial Authorities
+that the government should be in the hands of a General Assembly and
+local Provincial Councils, but it was objected by the colonists that,
+in the absence of regular means of communication, any scheme which
+included the creation of a central legislature and executive would be
+found to be impracticable.  In deference to their views the idea was
+allowed to drop, and no attempt was made to secure unity of action
+between the Provinces, except that, in 1850, the Governor of New South
+Wales received a commission as Governor-General of Australia and
+Governor of Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania, the administrators
+of which obtained the rank of Lieutenant-Governor.  They were to be
+superseded in their authority by the former when he was in {214} their
+territories, but were instructed to correspond directly with the
+Colonial Office.  It is not clear to what extent the Governor-General
+was expected to direct the administration of the other Provinces.  Some
+writers maintain that his pre-eminence was purely titular and intended
+as a compliment to the Mother Colony.  In any case, when, a few years
+later, responsible government was established and the Governors
+gradually became little more than figure-heads of the Executive, the
+matter ceased to be of any importance.
+
+The next phase in the movement originated in Victoria upon the
+initiative of Mr. (now Sir Charles) Gavan Duffy, who, in 1857, induced
+the Legislative Assembly to appoint a committee to consider the
+advisability of federal union.  Upon their recommendation that an
+inter-provincial conference should be held, communications were
+addressed to New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania, which,
+though separated from the mainland of Australia, has always identified
+itself closely with Australian affairs.  The proposal was in each case
+favourably received, as also, a little later, by Queensland, which had
+been erected into a separate Province in 1859; and Tasmania actually
+appointed its delegates.  But there the matter was allowed to rest;
+and, although occasional conferences were held at which a uniform
+tariff, the immigration of the Chinese, and other subjects were
+discussed, no practical steps were taken until 1883, when external
+questions impressed {215} Australian statesmen with the necessity for
+the creation of some body which would voice the opinions of Australia.
+Germany was reputed to have designs upon New Guinea, France upon the
+New Hebrides; while the latter country also gave offence by the penal
+settlement in New Caledonia.  In the spring of that year Sir T.
+M'Ilwraith, the Premier of Queensland, which from its position has the
+greatest interest in New Guinea, had hoisted the British flag on the
+Island and taken formal possession of that part of it which was not
+under the control of the Dutch; but his action had been disavowed by
+the Imperial Government.  A convention, attended by representatives
+from the five Australian Provinces, Tasmania, New Zealand, and Fiji,
+was accordingly held at Sydney, at which a decision was arrived at as
+to the main principles which were embodied in the Federal Council Act
+of 1885, the first legislative recognition of the Unity of Australia.
+Under this Act it was provided that a Federal Council, containing two
+representatives from a self-governing Province and one from a Crown
+Colony, should come into existence as soon as four of the Australasian
+Provinces had expressed their willingness to join it, and should
+thenceforward hold biennial sessions.  The motive which had called the
+Council into existence was shown clearly in the principal power
+delegated to it, that of legislating, subject to Imperial approval, in
+regard to the relations of Australasia with the Islands of the {216}
+Pacific.  It was also authorised to deal, among other subjects, with
+the fisheries in Australasian waters beyond territorial limits and
+certain aspects of civil and criminal jurisdiction, upon which it could
+pass enactments which would bind the Provinces represented upon it; and
+with questions such as general defences, quarantine, copyright,
+uniformity of weights and measures, and others which might be referred
+to it by the Legislatures of two or more Provinces, and any other
+matters of general Australasian interest on which the Legislatures can
+legislate within their own limits, but as to which it is deemed
+desirable that there should be a law of general application.  Such
+legislation, however, was to take effect only in the Provinces that
+requested the Council to act, and in any others that might subsequently
+adopt it.  It will thus be seen that the measure is of a purely
+permissive character, as each Province decides for itself whether it
+will be represented on the Council.  New South Wales, mainly under the
+influence of the late Sir Henry Parkes, and New Zealand have never
+taken part in the deliberations, and South Australia has only been
+represented on a single occasion.  The abstention of New Zealand is of
+smaller importance, from her geographical position and her intention
+not to identify herself at present with any scheme of Australian
+federation; but the hostility of New South Wales and the apathy of
+South Australia have placed great obstacles in the way of Queensland,
+{217} Victoria, Western Australia, and Tasmania, which, and especially
+Victoria, have attempted to turn the Council to the best account.
+Other causes have combined to minimise its utility; it has neither an
+Executive to carry out, nor a judiciary to enforce its decisions; it
+has no control over public funds; and, as has recently been pointed
+out, "it transacts its business without a Ministry or a department,
+without a leader or an Opposition, without a party or a programme;
+there is no necessary continuity of representation, or similarity in
+the mode of appointment of representatives, or fixed area within which
+its legislation has force; it is vagrant in domicile and without a roof
+to shelter it, without a foot of territory to rest upon, without a ship
+or a soldier to protect it, without a single man in its service, or a
+shilling of its own to pay one."[1]  But, in spite of these drawbacks,
+the Council has done practical work: it has paved the way for a system
+of national defence by the establishment of federal garrisons at King
+George's Sound and Thursday Island; it has regulated the pearl-shell
+and beche-de-mer fisheries on the coasts of Queensland and Western
+Australia, and it has interested itself actively in the promotion of
+the proposed Pacific cable.  More would have been done, particularly in
+the consideration of the matters referred to it by Provincial
+Legislatures, had {218} it not been hoped that by the postponement of
+action the Council would be enabled, through the adhesion of South
+Australia and New South Wales, to legislate for the whole of Australia.
+Several of the Provinces, notably Western Australia and Queensland,
+which have shown little eagerness for the immediate realisation of a
+closer union, believed that the Council would, by a gradual process of
+development, be transformed into a Federal Parliament, and were
+prepared to allow events to take their natural course; but in other
+quarters a strong feeling arose, which was strengthened by the report
+of Imperial officers on the condition of the Provincial Defences, that
+the time had arrived when an attempt should be made to draft a Federal
+Constitution Bill which should be submitted to the various Provinces,
+and, if approved by them, to the Imperial Authorities.  As the result
+of correspondence between the Premiers, delegates from the whole of
+Australasia, with the exception of Fiji, met at Melbourne in 1890, and
+passed resolutions which led to the convocation at Sydney in the
+following year of a constituent convention, which was attended by
+Parliamentary representatives from the seven Provinces.  The convention
+sat for several weeks, under the presidency of Sir Henry Parkes, and
+drew up a Bill "to constitute the commonwealth of Australia," which
+formed the basis of the discussions at the recent Federal Convention.
+
+{219}
+
+The legislative powers of the Commonwealth are, under the provisions of
+the Bill, vested in a Governor-General, appointed by the Queen, a
+Senate, and a House of Representatives.  The laws passed by the
+Parliament are to be presented to the Governor-General, who may assent
+to them in the Queen's name, reserve them for the signification of her
+pleasure, withhold his assent, or return them to the Parliament with
+any amendments that he may recommend.  Laws assented to by the
+Governor-General may be disallowed within two years by the Queen in
+Council, and laws that have been reserved shall not come into force
+unless within the same period they have received the assent of the
+Queen in Council.  The Members of the Convention did not deem it
+necessary that any class of Bills should be reserved, but understood
+that, as they proposed that the Commonwealth should be able to
+legislate on several matters affecting the relations of Australia with
+foreign nations, the Constitution would not be acceptable to the
+Imperial Authorities unless a considerable power of intervention were
+reserved to them.
+
+The Senate is to be composed of eight members for each Province, which
+is henceforth to be called a State, of whom one-half retire
+triennially, directly chosen by the Houses of Parliament of the several
+States for a period of six years.  Senators are subject to no property
+qualification, but must be of {220} the age of thirty years, have
+resided for five years within the limits of the Commonwealth, be
+entitled to vote for a member of the House of Representatives, and if
+not British subjects by birth, have been naturalised for at least five
+years before the time of their election.  Bankrupts, criminals, and
+Government contractors are specially disqualified.  Similar provisions
+and disqualifications apply to members of the House of Representatives,
+except that the minimum age is reduced to twenty-one years, and that
+the periods of residence and naturalisation are reduced from five years
+to three.  They are to be chosen, in constituencies of thirty thousand
+inhabitants, by electors whose qualification shall be that prescribed
+by each State as the qualification for electors of its more numerous
+House of Parliament.  The members of both Houses are to be paid at the
+rate of L500 a year, and are precluded from sitting in a State
+Parliament.  The Parliament of the Commonwealth is to have authority to
+deal with "external affairs and treaties," to take over the powers of
+the Federal Council, which will cease to exist from the date of its
+establishment, and to have the exclusive right to legislate in regard
+to the affairs of the people of any race, not being Australian
+aboriginals or Maoris of New Zealand, with respect to whom it is deemed
+desirable to make laws not applicable to the general community; the
+seat of the Federal Government and any places required {221} for
+Federal purposes; and the provisional administration of any territory
+surrendered by any State, and accepted by the Commonwealth, or any
+territory in the Pacific placed by the Queen under the authority of and
+accepted by the Commonwealth.  The framers of the Constitution
+doubtless had in view the Northern Territory, which, as it forms a
+heavy burden upon its resources, South Australia might be glad to hand
+over to the Federation.  The Federal Parliament is also to deal
+exclusively with the postal and telegraphic services, military and
+naval defences and munitions of war, ocean beacons and lighthouses,
+quarantine, and, as soon as a uniform tariff has been imposed, with
+foreign and internal trade, bounties and duties of customs and excise.
+In the meanwhile, the duties are to be collected by Federal officials,
+but will be those that are, or may be, imposed by the Parliaments of
+the several States.  Upon the enactment of a uniform Federal tariff,
+all such State laws will thereby be repealed and "trade and intercourse
+throughout the Commonwealth, whether by means of internal carriage or
+ocean navigation, shall be absolutely free."  The expenditure of the
+Commonwealth is to be charged to the several States in proportion to
+the numbers of their people, and any surplus of revenue over
+expenditure is to be returned to them in proportion to the amount of
+revenue raised therein respectively, subject to certain reservations
+and to the right of the Federal Parliament, after {222} the imposition
+of a uniform tariff, to prescribe the method of its disposal.  The
+Federal revenue is to consist of customs and excise duties and of
+moneys raised by any other mode or system of taxation, but so that all
+such taxation shall be uniform through the Commonwealth.  The Federal
+Parliament may also, "with the consent of the Parliaments of all the
+States, make laws for taking over and consolidating the whole or any
+part of the public debt of any State or States; but so that a State
+shall be liable to indemnify the Commonwealth in respect of the amount
+of a debt taken over, and that the amount of interest payable in
+respect of a debt shall be deducted and retained from time to time from
+the share of the surplus revenue of the Commonwealth which would be
+otherwise payable to the State."[2]  Certain other legislative powers
+are vested in the Federal Parliament, which may concurrently be
+exercised by the several States, and in such cases Federal shall
+supersede State legislation.  All subjects not exclusively vested in
+the Parliament of the Commonwealth, or withdrawn from the Parliaments
+of the several States, are reserved to, and shall remain vested in, the
+State Parliaments.
+
+The authority of the Senate in regard to Money Bills formed the subject
+of much discussion, and was decided by a compromise which, it was
+hoped, would satisfy both those who desired to secure the {223}
+financial supremacy of the House of Representatives and the inhabitants
+of the smaller States, who would naturally struggle for the rights of
+the Senate in which they would be on a footing of equality with their
+more powerful neighbours.  The views of the former were met by the
+provisions that "laws appropriating any part of the public revenue, or
+imposing any tax or impost, shall originate in the House of
+Representatives," and that "the Senate shall have equal power with the
+House of Representatives in respect to all proposed laws, except laws
+imposing taxation and laws appropriating the necessary supplies for the
+ordinary annual services of the Government, which the Senate may affirm
+or reject, but may not amend.  But the Senate may not amend any
+proposed law in such a manner as to increase any proposed charge or
+burden on the people."  The interests of the latter were safeguarded by
+the four succeeding sub-sections:
+
+"Laws imposing taxation shall deal with the imposition of taxation only.
+
+"Laws imposing taxation, except laws imposing duties of customs on
+imports, shall deal with one subject of taxation only.
+
+"The expenditure for services other than the ordinary annual services
+of the Government shall not be authorised by the same law as that which
+appropriates the supplies for such ordinary annual services, but shall
+be authorised by a separate law or laws.
+
+{224}
+
+"In the case of a proposed law which the Senate may not amend, the
+Senate may at any stage return it to the House of Representatives with
+a message requesting the omission or amendment of any items or
+provisions therein.  And the House of Representatives may, if it thinks
+fit, make such omissions or amendments, or any of them, with or without
+modifications."[3]
+
+The executive authority of the Commonwealth is to be exercised by the
+Governor-General as the Queen's representative, with the aid and advice
+of a Federal Executive Council.  Considerable discussion took place at
+the Convention as to the relations which should exist between the
+Federal Executive and Legislature, some of the Representatives being in
+favour of the British system, others of the direct popular election of
+the head of the Government.  It was finally agreed that the members of
+the Council should be chosen and summoned by the Governor-General,
+should hold office, during his pleasure, and should be capable of being
+chosen and of sitting in either House of Parliament.  They are to
+execute the provisions of the Constitution and the laws of the
+Commonwealth; to assume at once control of the departments of customs
+and excise, posts and telegraphs, military and naval defence, ocean
+lights and quarantine; and, until other provision is made by
+Parliament, to appoint and remove all other officers of the Government.
+
+{225}
+
+The Parliament of the Commonwealth may establish a Supreme Court of
+Australia, consisting of a Chief Justice and not less than four other
+Justices, who shall be appointed by the Governor-General in Council,
+and shall be irremovable except upon an address from both Houses of
+Parliament.  The Supreme Court shall be a final Court of Appeal from
+any other Federal Court, which may be established by Parliament, and
+from the highest Court of final resort in any State; and may be
+invested by Parliament with final and conclusive jurisdiction in all
+cases upon which an appeal has hitherto been allowed to the Queen in
+Council, subject to the right of the Queen to grant an appeal to
+herself in Council against the judgment of the Supreme Court in any
+case which concerns the public interests of the Commonwealth, or of any
+State, or of any other part of the British Empire.  The Parliament may
+also confer upon the Federal Courts, other than the Supreme Court,
+jurisdiction to deal, either exclusively or concurrently with the
+Courts of the States, with cases arising under the Constitution or
+under any law made by the Parliament of the Commonwealth or affecting
+the Representatives of Foreign Powers, and with certain other matters
+including cases in which the Commonwealth is a party, or in which a
+Writ of Mandamus or Prohibition is sought against an officer of the
+Commonwealth.
+
+As the powers of the State are to be substantially those which they
+possess at present with the {226} exception of such as are transferred
+to the Federal Legislature and Executive, it is only necessary to add
+that the Governors of the States are to be appointed in the manner
+which their Parliament may prescribe, but are to correspond with the
+Imperial Authorities through the Governor-General: that States are not
+to be subdivided nor deprived of any of their territories without the
+consent of their Parliaments; and that they are forbidden explicitly to
+raise or maintain any military or naval force, to coin money, or make
+anything but gold and silver legal tender in payment of debts, to make
+any law prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, or to make or
+enforce any law abridging any privilege or immunity of citizens of
+other States of the Commonwealth, or to deny to any person within their
+jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
+
+Finally, it is provided that any of the existing Provinces that have
+not adopted the Constitution may, upon doing so, be admitted to the
+Commonwealth, and that any law for the alteration of the Constitution
+is not to be submitted to the Governor-General for the Royal Assent
+until it has been passed by an absolute majority of both Houses of
+Parliament, and has been approved by conventions of a majority of the
+States representing a majority of the people of the Commonwealth.
+
+When the Constitution Bill had been drafted, the next step should have
+been its reference to the Parliaments of the Constituent Provinces; but
+it was {227} not even introduced in New South Wales, Queensland,
+Western Australia, or New Zealand.  In Victoria it was passed by the
+Assembly and forwarded to the Council, which passed it subject to
+certain amendments which were never considered by the Assembly; in
+South Australia it was introduced in the Assembly, and was dropped; in
+Tasmania it passed the Assembly and was dropped at an early stage in
+the Council.  This procession of failures caused the advocates of
+Federation to realise that there must be something faulty in the method
+of procedure, and to ask themselves whether it was reasonable to expect
+that fourteen independent Chambers, or twelve, if New Zealand be
+excluded, should be able to arrive at a uniform decision on so
+complicated and contentious a subject.  It was felt, also, that the
+Parliaments had no popular mandate to deal with the question, and that,
+in the general apathy and absence of interest, the electors themselves
+should be stirred up by direct participation in the movement.
+Accordingly, Mr. Reid, the Premier of New South Wales, invited the
+Premiers of the other Australian Provinces to meet him at Hobart in
+January, 1895, taking advantage of the fact that four of them would be
+there in connection with the biennial meeting of the Federal Council.
+The invitation was accepted, and a new scheme was devised of which the
+main principles were the popular election of delegates empowered to
+meet and frame a Federal Constitution; the reference of the
+Constitution {228} so framed to a plebiscite of the several electorates
+and its subsequent transmission for Imperial legislation.  The Premiers
+of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania accepted
+the proposal in its entirety; the Premier of Queensland agreed to it,
+except as regards the reference of the Constitution to a plebiscite;
+but the Premier of Western Australia was unable to concur with the
+decision of his colleagues.  Sir John Forrest did not believe that
+popular election would lead to the choice of the most highly trained
+jurists and financiers, who could alone frame a consistent and workable
+Constitution, and he regarded as absurd the assumption that the average
+elector could give an intelligent opinion upon a measure of so
+complicated a character.  There is much force in these objections; but
+it must be remembered that the former effort failed from its
+dissociation from popular impulse, and that the delegates would have
+the benefit of the work of their predecessors, which they would be
+bound to accept as the basis of their deliberations.  As regards the
+plebiscite, it cannot have been expected that the vote of the bulk of
+the electorate would be more than an affirmative or negative reply upon
+the broadest issue; but, assuming it to be necessary that the
+Constitution Bill should in some manner or other be submitted for the
+judgment of each of the Provinces, the direct reference has the merit
+of being expeditious and conclusive and of avoiding the quagmire of
+Parliamentary discussions.
+
+{229}
+
+Before proceeding to note the results of the resolutions passed at the
+Premiers' Conference, it may be of interest to consider to what extent
+recent events have affected the status of the Federal Council.  As has
+already been remarked, it has pursued a policy of self-effacement, and
+in spite of the increase in its numbers, it has never appealed to the
+imagination of Australians.  It was undoubtedly dwarfed by comparison
+with the Federal Convention, which, indeed, decreed its contingent
+extinction, and it has, to some extent, been supplanted by the informal
+meetings of Australian Premiers which tend to become an annual
+institution.  At a Conference held at Sydney in January, 1896, the
+urgent necessity for Federation was again emphasised, and it was
+resolved that, pending its attainment, the military laws of the
+Provinces should be assimilated, and a cordite factory be established
+under State supervision.  Resolutions were also passed in favour of a
+Federal system of quarantine, the distribution of the cost of
+lighthouses on the basis of population, the extension to all coloured
+races of the provisions of the Chinese Restriction Acts, and
+non-participation in the Anglo-Japanese Treaty.  In this manner the
+Premiers, instead of referring questions to the Federal Council through
+their respective legislatures, decided, after personal consultation,
+upon measures which each would endeavour, in the common interest, to
+pass through the Parliament of his own Province.  Other interprovincial
+conferences also {230} are becoming more common.  The precautions to be
+adopted against the tick fever were discussed at Sydney in 1896, and a
+few months ago, earlier, several Ministers of Agriculture met the South
+Australian Minister at Adelaide and decided upon the advisability of
+uniform legislation which would promote similarity of out-put in the
+products of the different Provinces, such as frozen meat, butter, wine,
+and fruit, for which it was hoped to create a large market in England.
+It has been argued that the growing realisation of the interdependence
+of the Provinces and of the material advantages accruing from combined
+action, will tend to hasten the advent of Federation.
+
+The new proposals in that direction were favourably received, and the
+Legislatures of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and
+Tasmania passed the so-called Australasian Federation Enabling Act, in
+substantially similar form, upon the lines laid down by the Premiers.
+The details of their scheme may be gathered from the principal
+provisions of the Victorian Act:--
+
+"The Convention shall consist of ten Representatives of each Colony
+represented.
+
+"The Convention shall be charged with the duty of framing for
+Australasia a Federal Constitution under the Crown in the form of a
+Bill for enactment by the Imperial Parliament.
+
+"Every Member and every person eligible for Membership of either House
+of Parliament shall be {231} eligible for Membership of the Convention
+as a Representative of Victoria.  And any one hundred or more electors
+duly qualified to vote for the election of a Member of the Legislative
+Assembly shall be entitled in the prescribed manner to nominate any
+eligible person.
+
+"Every person duly qualified to vote for the election of a member of
+the Legislative Assembly shall be qualified and entitled to vote for
+the election of Representatives of Victoria.
+
+"The voting shall be taken throughout Victoria as one electoral
+district, and every voter shall vote for the full number of
+Representatives required, otherwise the vote shall be rejected as
+informal.
+
+"No person shall vote or attempt to vote more than once at the same
+election of Representatives of Victoria."
+
+(A similar provision applies to the subsequent referendum.)
+
+"When the Constitution has been framed by the Convention, copies
+thereof shall be supplied to the Members of the Convention, and the
+President shall declare the sitting of the Convention adjourned to a
+time and place to be fixed by the Convention, not being less than sixty
+nor more than one hundred and twenty days thereafter.  And as soon as
+convenient the draft constitution shall be submitted for consideration
+to each House of Parliament sitting in Committee of the whole, and such
+amendments as may be desired by the Legislature, {232} together with
+the draft Constitution, shall be remitted to the Convention through the
+Senior Representative.
+
+"On the reassembling of the Convention the Constitution as framed prior
+to the adjournment shall be reconsidered, together with such suggested
+amendments as shall have been forwarded by the various Legislatures,
+and the Constitution so framed shall be finally adopted with any
+amendments that may be agreed to."
+
+"So soon as practicable after the close of the proceedings of the
+Convention the question of the acceptance or rejection of the
+Constitution shall be referred and submitted to the vote of all persons
+in Victoria qualified and entitled to vote for the election of Members
+of the Legislative Assembly."
+
+"The majority of votes shall decide the question, and if the
+Constitution be thereby rejected, no further action shall be taken
+pursuant to this Act: Provided that any number of votes in the
+affirmative less than fifty thousand shall be equivalent to the
+rejection of the Bill.
+
+"If two Colonies in addition to Victoria accept the Constitution the
+Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly of Victoria may adopt
+a Joint Address to the Queen praying that the Constitution may be
+passed into law by the Imperial Parliament upon receipt from the
+Parliaments of such two Colonies, either of similar joint or separate
+Addresses from each House of such Parliaments."
+
+{233}
+
+It will be noticed that the Convention will have entire freedom in
+regard to any amendments suggested by the Provincial Parliaments, and
+that if the Constitution be accepted, the Victorian Parliament will not
+be bound to join in submitting it for Imperial enactment.  It is
+assumed that it will bow to the popular pronouncement unless the
+Government should have some grave reason for recommending a contrary
+course.  A difficulty, not provided against in the Act, might arise if
+the Constitution were to be amended during its passage through the
+Imperial Parliament.
+
+The Act passed by Western Australia provided for the election of the
+delegates by the two Houses of Parliament sitting as one Chamber, the
+area of selection being limited to candidates nominated by not less
+than twenty persons who are qualified to vote at elections for Members
+of the Assembly.  "The draft Constitution, as finally adopted by the
+Convention, if approved by Parliament, shall be submitted for the
+decision of the electors of Western Australia by their vote; and if a
+majority of the electors voting on such question signify their approval
+of such Constitution, the same may be adopted by the Colony, provided
+that any number of votes in the affirmative less than six thousand
+shall be equivalent to the rejection of the Constitution."  "The
+adoption of the Constitution by Western Australia may be signified by
+the passing of an Act or by a joint resolution of both Houses of {234}
+Parliament, and both Houses may thereupon adopt Addresses to the Queen,
+praying that the Constitution may be passed into law by the Imperial
+Parliament, subject to the adoption of similar Addresses by at least
+two other Colonies, of which New South Wales shall be one."  Parliament
+thus retains the initiative in each successive phase of the movement,
+but will have no power to alter the Bill when it finally leaves the
+Convention.  If the provisions are regarded as unacceptable, it will be
+able to decline to submit the Bill to the electorate.  The Western
+Australian measure was based in its general language upon that
+previously introduced in Queensland, but differed from it in several
+important particulars.  In the latter case it was proposed that the
+election of the delegates should be vested in the members of the
+Assembly alone, that, of the ten delegates, five should be chosen by
+the Southern, three by the Northern, and two by the Central
+Parliamentary Representatives, a provision inserted in view of the
+somewhat divergent interests of different portions of the Province, and
+that the draft Constitution should be submitted for the consideration
+of the electors in such manner as Parliament might prescribe.  The Bill
+was passed by the Assembly, in spite of a widespread feeling that
+Queensland should have followed the course of the other Provinces, and
+was amended by the Council, which regarded itself as unjustifiably
+ignored, and provided that it should have an equal {235} share with the
+Assembly in the appointment of the delegates to the Convention.  It is
+unnecessary to consider the arguments by which the Premier supported
+his proposal of indirect election, or those put forward by the two
+Houses during the deadlock which followed upon their disagreement.
+Finally, when each House had insisted several times upon its attitude,
+the Bill was laid aside by the Council.  As a result of this action the
+new movement was blocked at its first step, which was regarded with
+little anxiety even by those who appreciated the difficulties which
+were likely to attend the later stages.  Great disappointment was felt
+in Australia, and efforts were made, though in vain, to induce Sir Hugh
+Nelson to reintroduce the Bill in some form that would be acceptable to
+both Houses.  At the same time public opinion demanded that the
+Convention should be held, even though one of the Provinces would be
+unrepresented.
+
+The benefits which would follow Federation are so obvious as scarcely
+to require enumeration.  The Federal Government would be able to deal
+adequately with the problem of National Defence and to speak
+authoritatively, to the manifest satisfaction of the Imperial
+Authorities, upon such matters as the contribution of Australia towards
+the expenses of the Imperial squadron maintained upon its coast; the
+consolidation of the debts would, it has been estimated, enable a
+million pounds to be saved upon the annual bill of interest;
+Interprovincial {236} Free Trade would promote intercourse between
+neighbours who have hitherto been estranged by arbitrary lines of
+demarcation; and in the words of the Chief Justice of Queensland,[4]
+"The first effect in point of importance, though some time may elapse
+before the effect is fully felt, will be the creation of an Australian
+Nation, forming a distinct constituent part of the British Empire,
+having one mind, speaking with one voice instead of the six, often
+discordant and sometimes inarticulate, voices now heard, consulted on
+all matters of Imperial concern, and exercising a powerful influence in
+the political affairs of the whole world."  Such would appear to be the
+destiny of Australia, which has, however, doubtless been benefited by
+the independent development of its component parts.  In the absence of
+distinctions of race and language, in the general diffusion of the
+Roman Catholics among the Protestants, and the steady determination to
+exclude coloured races, the early establishment of Federal relations
+would have produced among Australians a monotonous uniformity of
+characteristics, which has to some extent been prevented by the
+divergent political tendencies of the several Provinces.
+
+But, to put the practical question, what are the prospects of
+Federation?  The general impression is not one of hopefulness: it is
+pointed out that the {237} Provinces have so long maintained an
+independent existence that they are unlikely to submit to a curtailment
+of their powers except under the imperative impulse of the fear of
+foreign invasion; that all but the leading politicians realise that
+they would be affected prejudicially by a change which would dwarf the
+Legislatures with which they are connected; that many, especially
+during the period of depression, dread the creation of a new taxing and
+governing body; and that the Labour members, in the natural belief that
+their influence would be smaller in a Federal Parliament, are either
+apathetic or actively hostile.  The economic aspects of Intercolonial
+Free Trade, in reference to its probable effect upon the prosperity of
+manufacturers and producers in the different Provinces, also form an
+important factor in the situation.  Time alone can show whether popular
+participation in the successive stages of the movement, though it will
+not be universal, will generate an enthusiasm sufficient to outweigh
+the opposing forces and weld Australia into a strong and united Nation.
+
+
+
+APPENDIX TO IX.
+
+THE NEW FEDERAL SCHEME.[5]
+
+Now that the Adelaide Convention has completed its labours, it is
+possible to give a connected view of the provisions of the draft
+Constitution Bill, as it will be submitted to the local {238}
+Parliament, and then after it has been again dealt with by a second
+meeting of the Convention at Sydney, to the vote of the people.
+
+The Bill provides for the constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia
+and for the appointment of a governor-general by the Queen, at a salary
+of L10,000.  The Federal Parliament is to consist of two Houses--the
+Senate and the House of Representatives.  The former chamber will be
+composed of six members for each state.  They are to be elected by the
+electors of the Legislative Assembly in each colony for a term of six
+years, and one-half will retire every three years.  For the election of
+these senators each colony will be regarded as one electorate, and no
+one will be allowed to vote at more than one polling-booth on the day
+of election.  In other words, the election will be conducted on the
+same lines as the recent election of representatives to the Federation
+Convention.  At the first meeting of the Senate, the members elected
+for each state will be divided by lot into two classes, and the seats
+of those in the first class are to be vacated at the end of the third
+year, but the others will continue to be members of that House for the
+full term of six years.  In this way one-half the members of the Senate
+will be elected by the people every third year.
+
+The House of Representatives is to be composed of members directly
+chosen by the people of the several states, and the number which each
+colony will return will depend on its population.  This Chamber is, as
+nearly as practicable, to contain double the number of members of the
+Senate.  The House of Representatives would therefore consist, at the
+outset, of about seventy-two members, which would give as nearly as
+possible, one member for every 50,000 of the population.  Victoria
+would, roughly speaking, have about twenty-two members.  In order,
+however, to protect the interests of the smaller states in this House,
+it is provided that Tasmania, South Australia, and Western Australia,
+shall be entitled to at least five members each, although on the
+population basis, the island colony might not be able to claim more
+than four members.  Until the Federal Parliament otherwise provides,
+each local or state Parliament can determine into how many electoral
+divisions the colony should be divided for the purpose of returning
+members to the House of Representatives, but should it not divide the
+state into {239} electoral districts, then each colony is to be
+regarded as one electorate, in the same way as in the case of the
+election of senators.
+
+The duration of every House of Representatives will be three years,
+unless it is sooner dissolved by the Governor-General.  There is no
+power, however, conferred on the Governor-General to dissolve the
+Senate.  The qualification of electors of members of the House of
+Representatives is in each state to be that for electors of the more
+numerous House--or Legislative Assembly--of the state.  The members of
+both Houses are to receive an allowance of L400 each per annum for
+their services.
+
+The following are the subjects the Commonwealth Parliament is to be
+empowered to legislate upon and deal with:--
+
+1. The regulation of trade and commerce with other countries and among
+the several states.
+
+2. Customs and excise and bounties.
+
+3. Raising money by any other mode or system of taxation.
+
+4. Borrowing money on the public credit of the commonwealth.
+
+5. Postal and telegraphic services.
+
+6. The military and naval defence of the commonwealth and the several
+states, and the calling out of the forces to execute and maintain the
+laws of the commonwealth.
+
+7. Munitions of war.
+
+8. Navigation and shipping.
+
+9. Ocean beacons and buoys and ocean lighthouses and lightships.
+
+10. Astronomical and meteorological observations.
+
+11. Quarantine.
+
+12. Fisheries in Australian waters beyond territorial limits.
+
+13. Census and statistics.
+
+14. Currency, coinage, and legal tender.
+
+15. Banking, the incorporation of banks, and the issue of paper money.
+
+16. Insurance, excluding state insurance not extending beyond the
+limits of the state concerned.
+
+17. Weights and measures.
+
+18. Bills of exchange and promissory notes.
+
+19. Bankruptcy and insolvency.
+
+20. Copyrights and patents of inventions, designs, and trade marks.
+
+{240}
+
+21. Naturalisation and aliens.
+
+22. Foreign corporations, and trading or financial corporations, formed
+in any state or part of the commonwealth.
+
+23. Marriage and divorce.
+
+24. Parental rights, and the custody and guardianship of infants.
+
+25. The service and execution throughout the commonwealth of the civil
+and criminal process and judgments of the courts of the states.
+
+26. The recognition throughout the commonwealth of the laws, the public
+acts and records, and the judicial proceedings of the states.
+
+27. Immigration and emigration.
+
+28. The influx of criminals.
+
+29. External affairs and treaties.
+
+30. The relations of the commonwealth to the islands of the Pacific.
+
+31. The control and regulation of the navigation of the River Murray,
+and the use of the waters thereof from where it first forms the
+boundary between Victoria and New South Wales to the sea.
+
+32. The control of railways with respect to transport for the military
+purposes of the commonwealth.
+
+33. The taking over by the commonwealth, with the consent of the state,
+of the whole or any part of the railways of any state or states, upon
+such terms as may be arranged between the commonwealth and the state.
+
+34. Railway construction and extension with the consent of any state or
+states concerned.
+
+35. Matters referred to the Parliament of the commonwealth by the
+Parliament or Parliaments of any state or states, but so that the law
+shall extend only to the state or states by whose Parliament or
+Parliaments the matter was referred, and to such other states as may
+afterwards adopt the law.
+
+36. The exercise within the commonwealth, at the request or with the
+concurrence of the Parliaments of all the states concerned, of any
+legislative powers which can at the establishment of this constitution
+be exercised only by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, or by the
+Federal Council of Australasia.
+
+37. Any matters necessary for, or incidental to, the carrying {241}
+into execution of the foregoing powers or of any other powers vested by
+this constitution in the Parliament or the Executive Government of the
+commonwealth, or in any department or officer thereof.
+
+All matters not mentioned above, such as land settlement, railway
+construction, &c., are to remain vested in the Parliaments of the
+several states.  Each state shall retain its local Parliament and have
+a Governor, who is to be appointed by the Crown, and communicate direct
+with the Crown as at present.
+
+On the establishment of the commonwealth the control of the following
+departments will be taken over by the Federal Government, and the
+commonwealth will assume the obligations of any state or states with
+respect to such matters:--
+
+Customs and excise.
+
+Posts and telegraphs.
+
+Military and naval defence.
+
+Ocean beacons, buoys, lighthouses.
+
+Quarantine.
+
+There are to be seven Ministers of State, and their salaries will, in
+the aggregate, be L12,000 per annum.  A Minister, within three months
+after being appointed to that office, must become a member of one of
+the Houses of the Federal Parliament.
+
+All Bills having for their main object the appropriation of any part of
+the public revenue, or moneys, or the imposition of any tax, must
+originate in the House of Representatives.  Bills imposing taxation
+must deal with the imposition of taxation only, and those imposing
+duties of Customs or excise must deal with duties of Customs or excise
+only.  The expenditure for services other than the ordinary annual
+services of the Government must not be authorised by the same law as
+that which appropriates the supplies for the ordinary annual services,
+but must be authorised by a separate measure.  The Senate can amend any
+Bills except those imposing taxation, or appropriating the necessary
+supplies for the ordinary annual services of the Government.  With
+respect to these money measures, the Senate can, at any stage, return a
+taxation or appropriation Bill to the House of Representatives,
+suggesting that any provision or item therein should be omitted or
+amended, and the House of Representatives may, if it thinks fit, make
+such omissions or amendments with or without modifications.  The Bill,
+in its {242} amended or original form--should the House of
+Representatives decline to adopt the suggestion of the Senate--will
+then be sent back to the latter Chamber, which may either pass or
+reject the measure.
+
+The seat of the Government of the commonwealth is to be determined by
+the Federal Parliament.  Until such determination the Parliament shall
+be summoned to meet at such place as the majority of the Governors of
+the states, or, in the event of an equal division of opinion amongst
+them, as the Governor-General may direct.
+
+Before the Constitution can be amended an absolute majority of both the
+House of Representatives and Senate must approve of the alteration, and
+it must then be confirmed by a vote of the people, a majority of the
+states being required as well as a majority of the people.
+
+There is to be a federal judiciary, consisting of a high court of
+Australia, and such inferior courts as Parliament may determine.  The
+high court is to consist of a chief justice, and at least four other
+judges, and is to hear appeals from the state courts and inferior
+federal courts.  This appeal is to be final, except that in matters
+affecting the public interests of the commonwealth or of any state,
+application may be made to the Queen for special leave to appeal to the
+Privy Council.  Uniform Customs duties are to be imposed within two
+years of the establishment of the commonwealth, and trade and
+intercourse throughout the commonwealth is then to be absolutely free.
+In the meantime the local tariffs are to continue, but they will be
+collected by the Federal Government, and after deducting from the
+revenue received in each state the contribution of that state towards
+federal expenses, the balance is to be returned to the state month by
+month.  During the first three years after federation the total annual
+expenditure of the Federal Government is to be limited to L300,000 for
+new federal expenses, and L1,250,000 for services transferred from the
+states.  During the first five years after the imposition of a uniform
+tariff, the surplus revenue, after deducting the contribution of each
+state to the federal expenses, is to be returned to the states in the
+following way: Accounts of Customs and excise duties collected in each
+state are to be kept during the twelve months following the coming into
+operation of the uniform tariff, in order to ascertain, first the
+average net amount per head in each state, and next the {243} average
+per head for the whole commonweath.  A sliding scale, extending over
+four years, is then to be adopted, in order to determine the amount to
+be returned.  Where the average for a particular state for the first
+year is less than the general average, the per capita sum is to be
+increased by equal gradations, until, at the end of four years, it
+equals the general average.  Similarly, where the average for a state
+is greater than the general average, it is to be gradually reduced to
+the general average.  Then, at the end of the five-year period, all the
+states will be placed on the same footing, and will receive an equal
+sum per head from the federal revenue.  This scheme of distribution is
+subject, however, to the important proviso that during the five years
+the aggregate amount returned to all the states in any year must not be
+less than the aggregate amount returned in the year immediately
+preceding the imposition of uniform duties.
+
+Equality of trade is to be preserved throughout the commonwealth, and
+any law or regulation derogating from that principle is to be null and
+void.  Parliament may appoint an interstate commission to execute and
+maintain upon railways within the commonwealth, and upon rivers flowing
+through, in, or between two or more states the provisions of the
+constitution relating to trade and commerce.  The commission is to have
+such powers of adjudication and administration as may be necessary for
+its purposes, and as the Parliament may from time to time determine,
+but shall have no powers in reference to the rates or regulations of
+any railway in any state, except in cases of rates or regulations
+preferential in effect, and made and used for the purpose of drawing
+traffic to that railway from the railway of a neighbouring state.
+
+
+
+[1] "The Federal Council of Australasia," by the Hon. Alfred Deakin,
+_Australasian Review of Reviews_, February, 1895.
+
+[2] Cap. iv., Clause 13.
+
+[3] Cap. i., Clauses 54 and 55.
+
+[4] "Notes on Australian Federation," by Sir S. W. Griffith.
+Parliamentary Paper, Queensland, 1896.
+
+[5] An article published in the Melbourne _Argus_ of April 26, 1897,
+and included with the kind permission of the London agents of that
+newspaper.
+
+
+
+
+{244}
+
+X
+
+_SALIENT FEATURES OF THE AUSTRALASIAN DEMOCRACY_
+
+Indirect effects of the discovery of gold--Causes of the financial
+crisis--The origin and extent of State Socialism--The thriftiness of
+the working-classes--Labour Representation in Parliament--Parliamentary
+Government--Direct Taxation--Conciliation and Arbitration in Industrial
+disputes--Protection and its corollaries--The feeling towards Great
+Britain--General conclusions.
+
+
+The enormous immigration of the fifties, due to the great discoveries
+of gold in Victoria and New South Wales, has caused Australia to become
+one of the most democratic countries in the world.  Before that time
+the soil was held in large areas by pastoralists who, in the absence of
+opposing forces, would have formed themselves gradually into a strong
+landed aristocracy.  But the miners, a class of men who had shown their
+energy and determination by their readiness to travel thousands of
+miles in the search for wealth, introduced an entirely new element:
+they had thrown off their traditionary reverence for vested
+institutions, they were able to earn high wages or directly to enrich
+themselves, {245} and they resented an assumption of superiority on the
+part of any section in the community.  When, in the course of years,
+the mining industry began to wane, they swarmed into the towns and
+constituted an important link in the chain of causes which has swelled
+some of the capitals to their present unwieldy dimensions.  Deprived of
+their means of livelihood, and indisposed for rural life, they
+clamoured for other employment, and were able, in several Provinces, to
+induce the Ministry to impose a protective tariff which artificially
+fostered the growth of manufactures.  The protective tariff naturally
+increased the urban population, as did the undiscriminative system of
+State-aided immigration, the centralisation of all departments of the
+Government, and, in its ultimate effects, the construction of public
+works.
+
+In a population of pastoralists and miners, engaged in pursuits which
+inculcate reliance upon individual efforts, it is somewhat strange to
+note the early development of a tendency towards State socialism; but I
+am inclined to think that, in this respect also, the discoveries of
+gold exercised a permanent influence, not only in the Provinces
+immediately affected, but throughout Australasia, from a tendency
+towards imitation.  In the first years of Responsible Government
+British capitalists had a natural distrust of Australian securities,
+and declined to advance money except at a high rate of interest.  But
+when they saw the phenomenal increase in the {246} yield of gold, and
+the large revenue obtained from the sale of lands, they overcame their
+scruples and displayed, during the twenty years which preceded the
+financial crisis, a readiness to grant loans to the several Governments
+which is believed by many to have been a great misfortune to their
+debtors.
+
+The political and unremunerative railways of Victoria, which have been
+discussed in the chapter dealing with that Province, could not have
+been constructed but for the easy access to large funds.  Another
+aspect of the question has been emphasised in an article published by
+the Sydney _Bulletin_[1] which, however much an Englishman may demur to
+its Republican principles, must be admitted to be an authority on
+Australasian topics.  A strong plea is put forward for the necessity of
+defining by Act of Parliament what kind of works should be charged to
+loan-moneys, and what should be charged to revenue.  The advantages, it
+is contended, will be threefold; the attention of the country will be
+drawn to the matter; the Loan Estimates go through so rapidly that very
+few people are aware how the thing is worked.  The lender will know the
+destination of his money, and all treasurers will be placed on a level,
+whereas, at present, "the dishonest treasurer who makes a surplus by
+using borrowed money for road repairs and all manner of other ordinary
+expenditure is a heaven-born financier, while the honest one who
+doesn't is driven out of {247} office, either for having a deficit, or
+for increasing taxation, and is a failure either way."  Official
+figures are quoted for New South Wales in order to prove that during
+the years 1885-1890, which covered the flotation of several loans,
+surpluses and deficits alternated as the treasurer was or was not able
+to dispose of borrowed funds.  Indirectly, of course, many of the
+public works which do not produce a direct revenue may be of financial
+benefit to the State, through an increase of population and the
+encouragement of settlement; but it is a hazardous principle to borrow
+money for their construction.
+
+Equally dangerous for Australia was the more recent excessive eagerness
+of the British capitalist to invest his money in Australian commercial
+undertakings, as, according to the Victorian Year Book,[2] a
+publication of the highest merit, "there is no doubt that the feverish
+financial activity that preceded, and ultimately led to, the Australian
+financial crisis primarily arose from the enormous influx of British
+capital--far in excess of the legitimate requirements of the
+Colonies--for remunerative enterprises.  This influx was probably the
+result of the large amount of attention that for some years prior to
+1888 had been directed to these Colonies, which were brought into
+prominence by such events as the passing of the first Federal Council
+Act by the Imperial Parliament in 1885, the Colonial and Indian
+Exhibition held in London in 1886, and the Imperial {248} Conference in
+1887; it was also much stimulated by the lowering in 1888 of the
+interest on the British Public Debt, and _pro rata_ on other
+first-class British securities.  The first indications of this were
+noticeable in the marked rise in the prices of all Colonial Government
+securities which occurred just after Mr. Goschen's notification of his
+scheme for reducing the interest on the National Debt of the United
+Kingdom, in March, 1888.  Such securities, however, being of limited
+extent, the superabundant capital was forced into private channels,
+which led to the growth of co-operative enterprise on an unprecedented
+scale--through the medium of joint stock companies--which commenced
+prior to, but probably in anticipation of, the conversion of the
+British Public Debt, and culminated in the United Kingdom, as well as
+in Australia, in the same year.  Owing to this increasing competition
+for Colonial Government securities, and the consequent fall in the rate
+of interest thereon, the Colonial Governments were tempted to, and no
+doubt did, borrow in excess of their immediate requirements, although
+this was not recognised during the period of general inflation; but
+assuming a portion of the Government loans to have been unjustified,
+far worse was the condition of the large private investments, chiefly
+in joint stock companies, many of which supplemented their resources by
+deposits--equivalent in some cases to as much as three times the
+paid-up capital--which had been drawn, by reason of the high rates
+{249} of interest offered, from all sections of the community, both in
+England and Australia.  Between the 1st of January, 1887, and the 30th
+of June, 1893, but for the most part in 1888, 1,154 companies with a
+paid-up capital of no less than L28,436,500 (subscribed capital
+L54,300,000) were registered in Victoria alone, and of these, 397, with
+a paid-up capital of L9,469,000 (subscribed capital L19,526,000) are
+known to have become defunct, to say nothing of numerous others, of
+which no information has been furnished to the Registrar-General."  The
+crisis was most acute in Victoria, but its effects were felt largely,
+and are still felt in calls upon shareholders, in other Provinces.  In
+conclusion, while British capitalists are still chary of industrial
+investments, they appear to be willing to meet the Australasian
+Governments in their resumption of applications for loans.
+
+The danger is accentuated by the tendency towards State socialism, the
+origin of which I had begun to discuss before this long digression.
+The earliest concessions for the construction of railways were granted
+in New South Wales in 1848 and 1853, but the companies were unable to
+carry out their undertakings, owing to the scarcity of workmen caused
+by the rush to the goldfields, and the Government stepped in and
+completed the railways out of public funds.  This assumption by the
+State of a function which had been delegated to private enterprise,
+coupled with the growing confidence of the British investor and the
+elasticity of the revenue, {250} both from the Customs and from the
+disposal of land, which had been accelerated by the rapid increase of
+population, appears to have convinced the political leaders of the
+advisability of the Governmental extension of the railway lines.  They
+were enabled to carry out this policy without difficulty, as the bulk
+of the electors were engrossed in material pursuits and did not trouble
+themselves about political issues.  In Victoria three short lines of
+railways were constructed during the fifties by private companies, but
+were subsequently purchased by the Government, which thenceforward
+monopolised the construction of new lines.  Why Victoria and the other
+Provinces should have decided in favour of State ownership and
+management of railways I am unable to explain, except upon the
+hypothesis that they were influenced by the example of New South Wales,
+that they wished to open up the country more quickly than would
+otherwise have been possible, and that they were tempted by the funds
+at their disposal in surpluses of revenue over expenditure.  Then, the
+railways having in many instances preceded population, it was
+necessary, if the lines were not to be unprofitable, that special steps
+should be taken in order to promote settlement.  This was done, partly
+by the offer of land upon favourable conditions, partly by the payment
+out of the National Exchequer of all the expenses of Local Government.
+In New South Wales this state of things still prevails in many of the
+rural districts; in {251} the other Provinces _pro rata_ subsidies are
+paid to the Local Authorities, but are limited, in some cases, to a
+fixed term of years.  The Local Bodies have had no spontaneous
+evolution; they are the creation of the Central Government, they are
+supported and controlled by it, and look to it for assistance whenever
+they are in financial difficulties.  It would seem that, accustomed to
+State railways and to dependency upon the State in their local affairs,
+Australasians have been led insensibly to magnify the efficacy of its
+intervention and to welcome every enlargement of its sphere of action.
+The protective tariff appears to have had a similar effect, unless it
+is to be regarded as a mere coincidence that South Australia, New
+Zealand, and Victoria, which alone are avowedly Protectionist, have
+authorised the widest extension of the functions of the State.
+
+Throughout Australasia all parties in the several Parliaments are
+agreed on the principle of the State ownership of railways.  In
+Victoria and Queensland the railways are entirely in the hands of the
+Government; in New South Wales and South Australia they are so with
+some trifling exceptions; in Tasmania, Western Australia, and New
+Zealand a few private lines have been authorised because it has been
+advisable, in the interests of settlement, that they should be
+constructed, and the Governments have been unable or unwilling to
+undertake further financial obligations.  The recent action of Western
+Australia may be mentioned in evidence of {252} the prevalent feeling,
+it having taken advantage of its improved credit to purchase one of the
+private lines.  The waterworks of the capitals, also, are national or
+municipal property; but other municipal monopolies, such as gasworks
+and tramways, are mostly in the hands of private companies.
+
+The railways of Australasia are worked, as far as is consonant with
+national interests, for the direct benefit of producers, who, as has
+been seen in the chapters dealing with individual Provinces, have been
+the special object of the paternal solicitude of their Governments.
+The various efforts in this direction may briefly be recapitulated.
+South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia, and New Zealand make
+advances to settlers at low rates of interest; South Australia sells
+its wines in London; Queensland facilitates the erection of sugar
+mills, and is proposing to establish depots in London and the provinces
+for the receipt and distribution of its frozen meat; Victoria and South
+Australia have given a bonus upon the exportation of dairy produce.
+These Provinces and New Zealand receive such produce, grade and freeze
+it free of charge or at a rate which barely covers the expenses.
+Victoria has given subsidies towards the erection of butter factories;
+Victoria and New Zealand have subsidised the mining industry; and
+Western Australia has adopted a comprehensive scheme for the supply of
+water to the Coolgardie Goldfields.
+
+The above brief summary shows that action by {253} the State for the
+promotion of enterprise has met with approval in Queensland and Western
+Australia as well as in the Provinces which have adopted the widest
+extensions of the franchise.  It maybe noted, however, that Sir Hugh
+Nelson, the Premier of Queensland, is an individualist at heart, and
+consents to extensions of the functions of the State unwillingly upon a
+conviction of their necessity; while, in Western Australia, Sir John
+Forrest is a strong advocate of State socialism, and opposed to
+private-enterprise in any matter which is of the nature of a monopoly.
+New South Wales and Tasmania have not hitherto followed the lead of the
+other Provinces.  This tendency is one of the most marked of recent
+years, and received a strong impetus from the financial crisis of 1893,
+which burst the bubble of a fictitious prosperity and compelled
+attention to the strenuous development of the resources of the soil.
+It is likely to lead to closer relations between the Provinces, from
+the appreciation of the fact that the exports of one Province, if
+unregulated and allowed to fall into disrepute, may prejudicially
+affect the interests of the whole continent.
+
+As regards the intervention of the State in the direction of industrial
+legislation, the Governments of Western Australia and Tasmania have had
+little cause to take action, in the absence of crowded centres and of
+manufacturing activity; but New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland,
+South Australia, {254} and New Zealand have placed stringent Factory
+Acts upon their Statute Books.  Measures have also been passed, largely
+under the influence of Labour Representatives, dealing with the
+liability of employers, the regulation of mines, the protection of shop
+assistants, and other matters affecting the welfare of the working
+classes.  Upon their enactment complaints have been made of undue
+interference with employers; but the administration is now, in most
+cases, carried out efficiently and without unnecessary friction.
+
+Indirectly, the various Provinces have, through their schemes of public
+works, exercised considerable influence upon the demand for labour and
+have, upon the completion of the more important undertakings, been
+subject to continual pressure with the object of inducing them to
+authorise special works for the benefit of those who have been deprived
+of their livelihood.  New South Wales, indeed, and, to a lesser extent,
+Victoria, have almost admitted an obligation to provide work or rations
+for the unemployed.  In Victoria the tension has been relaxed by the
+formation of the Labour Colony of Leongatha, at which the destitute can
+obtain temporary subsistence.  Australian politicians, generally, were
+appalled by the undeserved misery which resulted from the cessation of
+public works and from the financial disturbances, and, under the stress
+of humanitarian motives, failed to temper their humanity with
+discretion, and initiated a policy of {255} indiscriminate assistance
+from which, once entered upon, it has been difficult for them to draw
+back.  The formation of village settlements in all the Provinces except
+Western Australia was based upon the necessity for special efforts in
+the face of the prevailing distress.  Australians have never been able
+to regard the unemployed as a necessary factor in their economic
+system.  The ordinary problems of pauperism have been felt acutely in
+Australasia and have been met in somewhat similar fashion in the
+different Provinces.  Destitute children are, in most cases, boarded
+out; the aged and incapable are provided for in Benevolent Asylums.  In
+Victoria, New South Wales, and New Zealand a movement has recently
+arisen for the adoption of a system of old-age pensions, which has had
+no appreciable results in the former Province, but has led in New South
+Wales to the appointment of a Parliamentary Committee which reported
+favourably and suggested forms of additional taxation by which the
+necessary funds might be obtained, and in New Zealand to the
+introduction of a Ministerial measure which sought to establish the
+general principle and left to the House the elaboration of the
+financial details.  The Bill was accepted on its second reading, but in
+Committee an amendment was carried against the Government to the effect
+that all persons above the age of sixty-five, irrespectively of their
+means, should be entitled to receive a pension.  An Act was, however,
+subsequently passed of which the {256} object is to ascertain the
+probable cost of a pension fund.  All persons of the age of sixty-five
+and upwards, who have resided in the Province for twenty years,
+imprisonment being reckoned as absence, and are not possessed of an
+income exceeding L50 a year, are entitled to apply for a pension
+certificate which will be issued to them upon the verification of their
+claims, and will be regarded as conclusive if a pension fund be
+established hereafter.  The success of the Government at the recent
+elections renders it probable that the matter will shortly receive
+attention.  In neither of the Provinces in which the subject has been
+discussed is it proposed that the pension should be earned by previous
+contributions; it is to be offered as a free gift in recognition of the
+services which every worker must have rendered to the community.
+
+To conclude a superficial summary of the functions undertaken, or
+likely to be undertaken, by the State in Australasia, it may be
+mentioned that the State system of primary education is in all the
+Provinces compulsory and undenominational.  In South Australia,
+Victoria, Queensland, and New Zealand it is also free; in the other
+Provinces fees are charged but may be remitted, wholly or partly, in
+the case of the inability of parents to pay them.  There are no signs
+that the advocates of grants in aid of denominational education are
+gaining ground; in the direct reference to the {257} electors taken in
+South Australia they were defeated by a large majority, and have
+equally little chance of securing subsidies to religious bodies.
+
+In the presence of great activity on the part of the State, it is
+interesting to note to what extent the working classes have exerted
+themselves on their own behalf.  Distributive co-operation has not
+become popular owing, partly, according to the _Australasian_,[3] "to
+the vicissitudes in trade which are inseparable from new countries, and
+to the temptations which are consequently held out to the workers from
+time to time to change their occupations and abodes.  Partly, too, an
+explanation may be found in the efficacy of existing agencies for
+distribution.  But we cannot help thinking that it is due also, in
+part, to the pernicious ideas which lead so many of our artisans to cry
+out against capital, and to seek the aid of the State, instead of
+trusting to their own efforts and determining to become capitalists
+themselves in a way which has been proved by the co-operative societies
+at home to be thoroughly practical."  Though the _Australasian_ is
+strongly individualistic in its bias, it appears to be justified in its
+reference to a certain lack of initiative shown by Australasian
+workmen; they are inclined to look upon the State as a gold mine from
+which they can draw permanent dividends, especially as they are
+scarcely, if at all, affected directly by the periodical calls upon the
+{258} shareholders; but, in his strictures upon the attitude of labour
+towards capital, the writer should have added that the wealthy classes
+are at least as ready to misjudge every effort made by the Labour
+Representatives to pass remedial measures through the legislatures.
+Proceeding to deal with the co-operation of producers, he says that
+"there is co-operation of this kind already in our butter and cheese
+factories, where the farmer who conveys his produce to the factory may
+also be a shareholder, and at the end of the half-year may receive a
+dividend on his shares and a bonus on the milk supplied, in addition to
+the established price.  Co-operation of a like kind prevails, to some
+extent, though not so largely as might be desired, between the graziers
+and the companies for the export of Australian meat."  These remarks,
+which refer primarily to Victoria, are generally true of Australasia.
+
+But, while the working classes look constantly to the State for
+assistance in various forms, they can be shown to have made
+considerable provision against the future.  In spite of bad times, the
+number of depositors in Australasian Savings Banks rose from 742,000 in
+1891 to 895,000 in 1895, and the total amount of deposits from 19 to 26
+millions.  Victoria and South Australia, which are followed closely by
+New Zealand, have the largest number of depositors in proportion to
+population, 29 and 24 per 100 respectively, and Queensland and New
+{259} South Wales the highest average amount of deposits.[4]  In the
+three Provinces, therefore, in which the paternal action of the
+Government is carried to the furthest extent, we find the widest
+diffusion of an important exemplification of the spirit of thrift.  I
+am far from suggesting a relation of cause and effect, as the amount of
+savings must depend largely upon the rate of wages, the abundance or
+scarcity of employment, the cost of living, and many other factors, and
+would merely point out that the policy in question does not appear to
+have deterred the working classes from individual efforts.
+
+As regards Friendly Societies, South Australia takes the lead with a
+membership exceeding one in ten of the population; Victoria comes next
+with one in fifteen, and is third in the average amount of funds per
+member.  Under the latter head New Zealand occupied the first place
+with L18 8s. 2d., and is followed by Western Australia with L17 10s.
+4d., but the latter amount is of no comparative importance owing to the
+very small number of subscribers.[5]
+
+In 1895 the average amount of assurance per head of the population in
+Australasia was L20, the average sum assured per policy L285, and the
+average number of policies per 1,000 of the population, 70.  Compared
+with the United Kingdom, {260} Australasia has a considerable advantage
+in the first of these figures, has the proportion reversed in the
+second, but wins by more than two to one on the last, which is the most
+interesting as a further indication of the prevalence of the instinct
+of providence among Australasian workmen.[6]  Prior to the recent
+crisis the working classes had availed themselves largely of the
+opportunities which Building Societies offered to them to secure the
+freehold of their homes by payments spread over a term of years; but a
+run upon the deposits lodged in these institutions, which set in
+towards the end of 1891, and continued during 1892, affected them
+disastrously, and the large majority of even the soundest of them were
+obliged eventually, owing to the heavy withdrawal of deposits, to close
+their doors.  Though some have since been re-opened, upon terms agreed
+to between the shareholders and depositors, their business has
+collapsed for the time, the amount of advances in Victoria having
+fallen from over two millions in 1890 and in 1891 to less than a
+hundred thousand pounds in 1893.[7]  In the apparent absence of
+statistics of the number of freeholders in several Provinces, no
+general idea can be formed of the extent to which the working classes
+have, through Building Societies and otherwise, invested their savings
+in the acquisition of {261} freehold properties.  The only figures that
+I have been able to obtain give the estimated number of owners as
+30,600, 91,500, and 184,500 for New South Wales, New Zealand, and
+Victoria respectively.  As far as the two latter Provinces are
+concerned, the total populations being only 699,000 and 1,174,000, it
+is absurd to suppose that the electors, a large proportion of whom are
+freeholders, will be captivated by the advocates of the Single Tax.  It
+cannot too often be repeated that the Australasian Governments, all of
+which are, to a greater or lesser degree, aiming at the multiplication
+of small owners or perpetual lease-holders, are rendering it
+practically impossible that an agitation for the confiscation of land
+values should be successful, and are fostering the growth of that class
+of settlers which is believed to be Conservative in the best sense of
+the word.  But large estates, except in the case of certain kinds of
+pastoral land, are doomed to extinction, either in the natural course
+of events, owing to the costliness of labour, or from the pressure of
+heavy graduated taxation, the workmen of Australasia being thoroughly
+convinced of its justice as a means of raising revenue and of its
+efficacy as a means of causing land to be subdivided or placed upon the
+market.  They have also, as has been seen, supported legislation which
+has authorised the re-purchase and subdivision of landed estates.
+
+{262}
+
+Lastly, they have realised since 1890 that, for the furtherance of
+their aspirations, the strength of their Unions should be devoted
+mainly to the promotion of the representation of Labour in Parliament.
+The great strike of that year has been described so fully that it is
+unnecessary to say more than that a strong combination of labour, which
+had made itself master of the situation, was confronted upon the
+outbreak of hostilities by rapidly organised but powerful associations
+of employers; that the struggle, which spread over the whole Continent
+and New Zealand, terminated in the success of the latter, and that the
+workmen realised that, even had they succeeded, the victory would have
+been won at too heavy a cost in the misery entailed upon themselves and
+their families.  Many of them were dissatisfied with the generalship of
+their leaders during the strike, and realised that the exhaustion of
+their funds rendered them unable to engage again in a huge industrial
+struggle.  In the following years low prices, the financial crisis, and
+the consequent scarcity of employment and fall in wages, further
+weakened the Unions and intensified the conviction that strikes should
+be superseded by the ballot-box.  In some Provinces, also, it was felt
+that the rivalry of parties had degenerated into a contest between the
+ins and the outs, and that progressive measures would not be passed
+until Labour had entered as a compact body into the arena.
+
+I have discussed in the earlier chapters the {263} history and results
+of Labour representation in several of the Provinces, and have shown
+that the Labour Party has been successful in South Australia, where it
+has formed an alliance with the Government, though maintaining a
+separate organisation, and in New South Wales, where it has held the
+balance of power between the Protectionists and Free Traders, but has
+failed utterly in Queensland, where mainly through its own fault, but
+partly through the astuteness of its opponents, it has occupied a
+position of antagonism to all the vested interests of the community.
+In Victoria the Labour Party acts usually with the Government, but
+seeks to obtain its objects by the exercise of its strength more than
+by friendly negotiations.  In New Zealand no distinct Party was formed,
+but the working-men representatives threw in their lot with the
+Government and, by consistent support, helped to secure the imposition
+of graduated taxation and the enactment, among other measures, of a
+compulsory Conciliation and Arbitration Act, and of a large number of
+Industrial Statutes.
+
+A great similarity of aims and aspirations can be traced between the
+different Labour Parties if we ignore side issues and exclude that of
+Queensland, which is affected by the taint of aggressive socialism.
+Judging from the respective programmes and from conversations which I
+have had with many of the leaders, I find that, subject to certain
+exceptions {264} which I shall mention, they are united upon the
+following propositions:--
+
+
+Manhood or adult suffrage, shorn of the plural vote, should be the
+basis of representation in the Assembly.  The Legislative Council
+should be abolished, as it prevents the wishes of the people from being
+carried into effect.
+
+Direct taxation should consist of graduated death duties and graduated
+taxes on incomes and land values.
+
+Parliament should secure to every worker for wages sanitary and safe
+conditions of employment, and immunity from excessive hours of labour.
+
+Machinery should be provided by Parliament by which industrial disputes
+may be referred to an impartial tribunal.
+
+The workers should protect themselves not only against foreign goods,
+but against undesirable immigrants, whether they be Orientals or
+indigent Europeans.
+
+
+The consideration of these questions, and of the wider issues with
+which they are concerned, will cover most of the points of recent
+interest in Australasian politics.
+
+(1) It is doubtful whether Responsible Government, in the sense of
+government by a Ministry which carries out a definite policy approved
+by the country, and, in return, receives allegiance from its {265}
+supporters in Parliament, has ever been acclimatised in Australasia
+except in New South Wales under the influence of the late Sir Henry
+Parkes.  How, indeed, could it be otherwise, when it was sought to
+transplant a delicate system, hallowed by conventions and dependent for
+its success upon the election of a special class of representatives,
+among a community necessarily ruled by men who had little experience of
+public life?  Australian Parliaments, save on the rare occasions when
+some important issue, such as that of the tariff, has come to the
+front, have not been divided on ordinary party lines, and have amused
+themselves with the excitement of a constant succession of new
+Ministries selected on personal and not on political considerations.
+New South Wales, South Australia, and Victoria, to take three Provinces
+at random, have had, respectively, 28, 42, and 26 Ministries in 40
+years.  The policy of the Opposition has often been almost identical
+with that of the Government.  Again, coalitions between former
+opponents have been of frequent occurrence; the Ministries formed by
+Messrs. Deakin and Gillies in Victoria, and by Sir Samuel Griffith and
+Sir Thomas McIlwraith in Queensland, are recent instances of this
+tendency.  In some rural constituencies, also, candidates appeal to the
+electorate on personal grounds and are not required to declare their
+adhesion to a party.  I was struck, when present at the elections in
+South Australia and New Zealand, by the subsequent animated discussions
+in {266} the newspapers as to the probable effect of the changes in the
+personnel of the Members upon the prospects of the Government.  This is
+the more noticeable from the fact that the freedom of action allowed to
+representatives has been curtailed since the return to Parliament of
+Labour Members, who are pledged to a definite programme and have put
+forward questions on which there is a distinct line of cleavage.
+Proposals for the extension of the franchise, for the abolition of the
+plural vote, or for the imposition of a tax on incomes and land values,
+are such as divide the electorate into two camps and perpetuate the
+division in the House.  This state of things, combined, perhaps, with
+the financial crisis which raised problems demanding continuity of
+administration for their solution, has contributed to the greater
+stability of Ministries.  Another factor, which has given
+constituencies a greater hold on their representatives, and has tended
+thereby to make them adhere more closely to one or other of the
+parties, is the payment of Members, which has now been adopted in all
+the Lower Houses except that of Western Australia, and in the Upper
+Houses of South Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand.  Australia has
+been confronted with the difficulty experienced by every young country,
+that the men who should naturally enter Parliament are prevented by
+commercial or professional duties from devoting the necessary time, and
+that, in the absence of men of leisure, constituencies {267} are much
+hampered in their choice of candidates.  The payment of Members, it is
+needless to say, offers no inducement to the successful merchant or
+lawyer, but has increased the competition among men to whom the salary
+is an inducement.  My inquiries as to its effect upon the tone of
+politicians have elicited mutually contradictory replies.  On the one
+hand I am assured that the attractions of the salary have led men to
+resort to disreputable practices in order to be selected as candidates
+and to seek to retain the fickle affections of their constituents by
+similar means; on the other, that necessitous Members have been raised
+by the salary above temptations which their poverty made it difficult
+for them to resist; and such temptations must increase in number with
+each extension of the functions of the State unless it be dissociated
+from political influence.  It is clear that a knowledge of the inner
+life of a Parliament could alone supply materials for the adequate
+discussion of this question, and that a similar consideration applies
+to the discussion of the effects of State socialism upon political
+morality.  The possible abuses are many: railways may be constructed
+with a view to popularity; the rents of Crown tenants may be remitted,
+and borrowers may be allowed to fall in arrears with the interest on
+their advances; subsidies and bonuses voted by Parliament may be
+misapplied; and the unemployed may be conciliated by unnecessary public
+works.  Personal corruption, I am confident, {268} does not exist, but
+that safeguards have been felt to be necessary is proved by the
+appointment of independent Railway Commissioners by New South Wales,
+Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, and New Zealand, and of Public
+Works Committees by Victoria and New South Wales.  In the latter
+country, as has been seen, the Commissioners have been most successful,
+but New Zealand has reverted to the system of political control, and
+Victoria, Queensland, and South Australia have reduced the number of
+Commissioners from three to one.  This change, which must have lessened
+the efficacy of non-political control, was advocated on grounds of
+economy at a time when all forms of expenditure were being cut down to
+the lowest point.  In Victoria the Leongatha Labour Settlement has
+diminished the difficulties connected with the unemployed, and its
+administration has been studied by the other Provinces with a view to
+similar action.  The general political tone is healthy, and is
+stimulated, in all the Provinces, by a high-class press, which uses its
+great influence in a conscientious manner.  But, as long as Treasurers
+can balance their accounts by recourse to loans, and are tempted, as is
+inevitable, to apply borrowed money to placatory enterprises, the
+dangers which are necessarily connected with State socialism are
+multiplied tenfold.  They would be lessened if the objects for which
+loans might be contracted were defined, as has been suggested, by Act
+of Parliament, {269} or if Federation were to eventuate at an early
+date and the right to borrow were limited to the Federal Authority.
+
+In New Zealand alone have I found direct evidence of the misuse of
+political patronage.  Upon the third reading of the Appropriation Bill
+in 1896, Captain Russell, the Leader of the Opposition, made use of the
+following words: "I maintain that for years past the administration of
+the Government has been anything but good.  They have hunted for
+popularity and they have hunted their enemies.  They have hunted their
+enemies to a very great extent.  You find positions which were capably
+filled by old and valued servants now filled by friends of the
+Government.  We have a system of espionage in existence which is
+disgusting....  The Civil Servants should not depend on the favour and
+their popularity with Ministers for promotion, but rather on good
+honest service, and that is not the case now.  Why, a Civil Servant
+dare not come and speak to an Opposition Member for fear of that fact
+being reported to the Ministers.  (An Hon. Member: No!)  It is all very
+well to say 'No,' but I am acquainted with dozens of Civil Servants in
+Wellington, and they will not come and speak to me in the street for
+fear of being reported."[8]  In his reply the Premier made no attempt
+to meet these charges, which I have quoted because I have gathered
+corroborative {270} evidence in different parts of the country, though
+it is not such as admits of being adduced as definite proof, and
+because the Minister of Lands made an exceedingly candid admission
+shortly after the elections.  In the course of a speech delivered at
+Geraldine he is reported by a Ministerial newspaper to have said: "They
+had endeavoured during their term of office to do what they could in
+the interests of the Colony as a whole, but they had been very badly
+treated by two classes of the public at the elections.  In the session
+of 1895, they would remember, the Government passed a measure to give
+relief to pastoral Crown tenants who lost a large number of sheep in
+the snow.  The Government did this in the interest of the people as a
+whole, as they thought, but how had they been treated by the people
+they helped in time of distress?  (A voice: Very badly.)  Yes, there
+might have been one or two exceptions, but generally speaking they
+fought tooth and nail against the Government.  Then, again, the
+Government saved the Bank of New Zealand and the Colony from ruin, but
+still the old leaven of the Bank fought and voted against the
+Government at the elections.  He considered this very unfair on their
+part, considering what the Government had done for them."[9]  Sir
+Robert Stout, a former Premier of New Zealand, has also brought a grave
+indictment against the Government, from {271} which I quote the portion
+referring to appointments:--
+
+"By the Statute Law of New Zealand, no one who has been a member of
+either House can be appointed to any position in the Civil Service
+until he has for twelve months ceased to be a member of Parliament.  A
+vacancy occurred in the position of Sergeant-at-arms, and it was
+announced that an ex-member, who had at the elections retired in favour
+of a Ministerial candidate, had received the office.  When Parliament
+met, the appointment gave rise to much discussion.  Ultimately a large
+majority supported the Ministry in conferring the appointment
+temporarily, the official appointment to be made at the end of twelve
+months.  If this had been the only flagrant violation of the law it
+might have been overlooked; but it is only a type of what has been
+done.  The Civil Service Reform Act, 1886, provides that no one, save
+an expert, can be appointed to the Civil Service unless he enters as a
+cadet.  Some departments, such as the railway, postal, and telegraph
+departments, are exempted from the provisions of the Act.  The cadets
+must obtain their positions by competition; the examination is annual.
+The Ministry, however, appointed some cadets out of their order, and
+some who had never even submitted to an examination at all.  There is a
+provision for "temporary" clerks.  When vacancies arise in the service
+these are given to {272} temporary clerks.  The policy of "spoils for
+the victors" has been openly defended.  To carry out this pernicious
+system the law has been violated.  It has been said that only those of
+the 'right colour' of political opinions should receive appointments in
+the Civil Service."[10]
+
+However great may be one's sympathy with the efforts of the Government
+to encourage settlement and to promote industrial conciliation and
+arbitration, one cannot but rejoice at the increased strength of the
+Opposition, which will be sufficient to enforce greater purity of
+administration and the enactment of legislation which will prevent a
+recurrence of the evil.
+
+The realisation of the dangers of an unmuzzled democracy has caused a
+widespread anxiety which has been displayed in vehement but, for the
+most part, unsuccessful opposition to proposed changes in the
+constitution of the Assembly.  New Zealand and South Australia have
+adopted adult suffrage, coupled with the abolition of plural voting;
+Victoria and New South Wales manhood suffrage, associated in the former
+case with the plural vote but not in the latter.  In Victoria, the
+Conservatives, if I may so characterise the less-advanced party, have
+put forward a proposal which is unique in Australasia.  They suggest
+that, while each man should continue to have a vote, the present plural
+votes should be replaced by a second vote which {273} should be
+possessed equally by all freeholders whatever be the size and number of
+their properties.  They believe that they would thereby place the power
+in the hands of the more stable elements of the population, and that
+they are not unlikely to be supported by the freeholders, who
+constitute nearly two-thirds of the electors on the rolls for the
+Assembly.
+
+At present the Labour parties are engaged in onslaughts upon the
+Legislative Councils with a view to their ultimate abolition, but are
+prepared to accept, as an instalment, any proposals which would cripple
+their power.  They concurred heartily with the Bill introduced in 1896
+by the Government of New South Wales and rejected by the Council after
+it had been passed by large majorities through the Assembly, which
+provided for the reference to a popular vote of matters in dispute
+between the two Houses.  Similar measures are also advocated by the
+Governments of Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania; while in New
+Zealand, it is proposed that deadlocks shall be obviated by a joint
+session of both Houses, which shall sit as one Chamber.  It may be that
+an Act of 1891 which, as will be seen, tends to popularise the
+Legislative Council in New Zealand will account for the less drastic
+character of the solution put forward in that Province.  It is probable
+that it will become customary in Australasia to submit distinct issues
+to the electorate, on a separate ballot-paper, at the time of a general
+{274} election.  The Government of South Australia ascertained in this
+manner the popular wishes in regard to religious instruction in State
+schools, and the payment to denominational schools of a capitation
+grant for secular results; and the recent "Alcoholic Liquors Sale
+Control Act" of New Zealand provides that Local Option polls shall be
+taken concurrently with the election of representatives.  Under
+references similar to that in South Australia, it may be objected,
+Ministers may be supported on their general policy, but be required to
+introduce a measure to which they are opposed.  Such a position,
+however, would not apparently be regarded as inconsistent, as most of
+the candidates in South Australia stated their willingness to give
+effect to the popular vote, in whatever direction it might be
+expressed.  Disputes between the two Houses will, I believe, be decided
+similarly, on the score of the expense of a special poll, unless the
+issue be such as to demand an immediate settlement.
+
+The first line of attack of the Labour Members is thus seen to be an
+agitation which aims at enabling the electorate of the Assembly to
+override the Council; the second is directed at its Conservative
+tendencies.  The policy pursued depends upon the constitution of the
+Council: if it is elective, it should be so modified as to become a
+Chamber of paid representatives, subject to no property qualification
+and elected upon a wide franchise, such as the South Australian
+Council, in which a combination {275} of Ministerialists and Labour
+Members has been able to obtain a bare majority.  If it is nominated,
+the life tenure should be superseded by nomination for a short term of
+years, which will enable successive Ministries to introduce a new
+leaven of persons who are in touch with popular feeling, and will be
+prevented, by the limit placed upon the duration of their appointments,
+from being subjected to reactionary influences.  The Council, that is
+to say, is to become a mere machine for registering the wishes of the
+Assembly.  The only success which has hitherto attended this agitation
+is the enactment in 1891 of a measure in New Zealand which limited to
+seven years the duration of subsequent appointments; but the Government
+now desire to abolish the life tenure, and they are followed herein by
+New South Wales, by providing for the gradual retirement of all the
+members who hold their seats for life.  They also propose, whether
+seriously or in order to cast ridicule upon the Council, that women
+shall be eligible for appointment to that body.  In regard to the
+general position of the nominated Councils, which are not limited as to
+the number of their members, it may be stated that the Imperial
+Government decided, upon a case submitted to them from New Zealand,
+that the Governor should accept the recommendations of his
+constitutional advisers in the matter of additional appointments.
+Strangely enough, the Premier of Queensland, the only other
+Australasian Province that has a nominated Legislative {276} Council,
+though a strong constitutionalist, aimed a blow at its prestige in a
+proposal, which he carried through the Assembly but not through the
+Council, that the former House alone should be vested with the power of
+selecting the delegates to the pending Federal Convention.
+
+Before leaving this portion of the subject, I must mention that other
+proposals affecting the form of Government of the Provinces have been
+discussed in Parliament and are likely to attract serious attention.
+Theoretically, indeed, it has been asserted, apart from the question of
+the power of the Upper Houses, and the point is of interest as showing
+the ideas germinating in the minds of Australasian politicians, that
+five changes are required in order that the Parliamentary machinery may
+be brought into proper relations with the people: the election of
+Ministers by the Assembly; continuity of representation in the
+Assembly, to be secured by the division of the country into
+constituencies returning two representatives who retire alternately at
+fixed periods; the Swiss form of Initiative and Referendum; and the
+right of a certain proportion of the members to convoke a special
+session of Parliament, and of an absolute majority of the electors in a
+constituency to require the resignation of their member.  The first and
+second of these reforms, as I have shown, are included in the programme
+of the Ministry of South Australia, which, however, in spite of its
+success at the polls, has not pressed them forward {277} during the
+first session of the New Parliament.  Continuity of representation
+could easily be arranged, as all the constituencies return two members.
+An Elective Executive Bill has been introduced in the House of
+Representatives in New Zealand and received a large measure of support,
+though it was opposed by the Premier and the leader of the Opposition.
+The idea has taken a strong hold upon the imagination of the Labour
+Members in all the Provinces.
+
+It may be thought that I have laid stress upon a variety of fantastic
+theories, but the objection takes insufficient account of the facility
+with which changes can be effected in the absence of a strong force of
+traditional conservatism.  I must admit, as a failing of Australasian
+politicians, that they are inclined to welcome innovations which are
+superficially attractive, without due consideration of the ulterior
+consequences.  To quote an extreme case, the Government of New Zealand
+proposed, in a Single Bill, not only to abolish the life tenure of
+Members of the Legislative Council, but to provide machinery for the
+settlement of disputes between the two Houses and to establish a
+modified form of the Swiss Referendum.  But I am confident that several
+of the proposals to which I have referred, notably that for an Elective
+Executive, meet with a large measure of support in the constituencies.
+This movement has gathered strength from the disinclination of
+Ministries to resign except upon a {278} direct vote of want of
+confidence.  Some of them look with equanimity upon the defeat of
+cardinal principles of important Bills, whether it be due to the
+strength of the Opposition or the defection of their own followers, and
+do not hesitate, if sufficient pressure be exercised, to withdraw them
+altogether.  As the Ministry tends, therefore, to become a body which
+carries out the wishes of the whole House, and ceases to lead its own
+Party, the position would be simplified if the whole House elected the
+Executive for a fixed period.  Another argument is found in the
+increasing desire of the Assembly to shift its legislative duties to
+the shoulders of the Executive.  Parliament decides the broad
+principles of measures and leaves the details to be filled in by
+Regulations made by the Department concerned under the supervision of
+the Minister and with the approval of the Executive Council.
+
+(2) Graduated death duties are imposed in all the seven Provinces,
+though in Tasmania the tax levied on the largest properties does not
+exceed 3 per cent.  Western Australia came into line with the other
+Provinces in 1895, when a Bill imposing graduation up to 10 per cent.
+was passed, almost without discussion, through both Houses of
+Parliament.  The Premier admitted that it had not been rendered
+necessary by the condition of the finances, but contended that it
+should be placed upon the Statute Book while there were few rich men in
+the community who would resent it.
+
+{279}
+
+Other forms of direct taxation are as follows: New Zealand, South
+Australia, and New South Wales have taxation on incomes and land
+values, the two former with, the latter without, graduation; Victoria
+has a graduated income tax and an ungraduated land tax on estates above
+a certain value; Tasmania, an ungraduated tax on incomes and the
+capital value of land; Queensland, an ungraduated income tax, which is
+only collected on dividends paid by public companies.  The taxation in
+New South Wales, Victoria, New Zealand, and South Australia has been
+promoted, if not inspired, by the Labour Movement in Parliament, and
+constitutes its greatest triumph.  In Victoria the taxation of land
+values was rejected by the Legislative Council.
+
+A point of interest is the distinction made by Victoria, Tasmania, and
+South Australia between incomes derived from property and those which
+are the result of personal exertion.  It is thought to be equitable
+that the former should be taxed at a higher rate, and the principle is
+similar to that which dictates the taxation of land upon its unimproved
+value.
+
+(3) I have referred very briefly in the present chapter to certain
+forms of industrial legislation; speaking generally, they are based
+upon English examples and do not call for any particular comment.  The
+Labour Parties are keenly interested in these matters because it is
+simpler, apart from greater efficacy, that inspectors should protect
+their {280} interest under Acts of Parliament than that they should be
+compelled constantly to engage in negotiations with individual
+employers.
+
+(4) As I have already pointed out, the consideration of Australasian
+problems must be accompanied by a recollection of the difference of
+conditions from those existing in Great Britain.  Even in the latter
+country it is obvious that the intimate relations between employers and
+employed are being replaced, especially in the manufacturing centres,
+by a purely monetary bond; but they can never, except in individual
+cases, have had any existence in Australasia, where capitalists and
+workmen have approached each other and entered into agreements as
+strangers.  Consequently the workmen, attached neither to people nor
+places, have been prepared to move as their varying interests have
+suggested and have formed few lasting ties with their employers.  Many
+of the industries, indeed, have tended to accentuate this absence of
+cordial relations: in pastoralism, for instance, the small permanent
+staff is supplemented for a few weeks in the year by a large number of
+shearers and others, who sign a definite agreement with their
+employers, and, provided that the conditions are carried out, can have
+no interest either in them or in their properties.  Incidentally, an
+association recently formed at Sydney which engages shearers and
+provides them with consecutive employment at different sheds, should
+not only be a financial success, but allay the {281} natural
+dissatisfaction of a body of men who, though they earn high wages, can
+depend upon neither regularity nor permanency in their work.  I could
+show that similar conditions prevail in the sugar industry and, to some
+extent, in agriculture; but enough has been said to prove that the
+working classes are differently situated from those in older countries
+and partially to explain their willingness to form themselves into
+Trades Unions and the combativeness of these organisations.
+
+The great maritime strike, though it has been followed by the Broken
+Hill strikes of 1891 and 1892, the shearers' strikes of 1891 and 1894,
+and periodical hostilities at Newcastle, has modified largely the
+attitude of the working classes in regard to the efficacy of industrial
+warfare.  The later struggles have principally affected Queensland and
+New South Wales, which was the first of the Provinces to attempt to
+deal with the matter by Act of Parliament.  A Board of Conciliation was
+established upon the recommendation of a Royal Commission, but is
+admitted to have been a failure in the absence of any compulsory
+reference of disputes.  On the occasion of the most recent
+disturbances, at Newcastle in 1896, which originated upon an
+application of the miners for higher wages, the Premier, following
+English precedents, intervened, and was enabled to settle the dispute,
+though not until the strike had lasted for three months and had caused
+much of the foreign trade to be diverted to foreign ports.  Actual
+{282} and prospective losses caused the owners, though they made a
+small concession at the request of the Premier, to refuse to reinstate
+the miners except at a slightly lower rate of wages than that against
+which they had struck.  The offer, as modified by the Premier, was
+accepted by the miners, who had thus, at the cost of much misery,
+brought about a reduction in their wages.  The disturbances of 1894 in
+Queensland, which reached an acute stage, were met by the Government by
+resolute administration under special powers obtained by Act of
+Parliament, but no attempt was made to intervene between the disputants
+or to make use of the Conciliation Act of 1892, which, as far as I
+know, has remained a dead letter.  It is useless, therefore, to discuss
+the Act further than to say that its machinery can only be set in
+motion by a Local Authority, but it may not be unfair to attribute the
+unsympathetic attitude of the Government to the bitterness engendered
+by the extravagances of the Labour Party.
+
+In most of the Provinces neither the employers nor the workmen are
+prepared, as yet, to bind themselves to refer their disputes to an
+impartial tribunal and to abide by its decision.  Though the tendency
+in that direction is on the increase, it has been suggested that, in
+the meanwhile, Boards should be constituted which would be empowered to
+consider disputes, and, after the examination of books and witnesses,
+to issue a public report.  The judgment would not be enforceable, but
+might be expected, in {283} the majority of cases, to lead to a
+settlement of the difficulty; at any rate, it would influence public
+opinion, which is a large factor in all industrial struggles.  But
+South Australia and New Zealand have passed this stage, and have placed
+drastic measures on their Statute Book which provide, in certain cases,
+for compulsory awards.  The compulsory provisions of the South
+Australian Act apply only to employers and workmen who are organised
+and have voluntarily accepted them by the process of registration.
+Should they become involved in an industrial dispute, the Governor may,
+upon the recommendation of the President of the State Board of
+Conciliation, cause the matter to be referred to it, and the Board may
+make an award which will be binding upon the parties concerned.  In New
+Zealand, on the other hand, while the proceedings must be initiated by
+employers or workmen who are registered, the other party, though
+unregistered, may be called upon, should the Board of Conciliation fail
+to effect a settlement, to attend before the Court of Arbitration and
+to obey its award, subject to the general proviso that an employer may
+suspend or discontinue any industry and an employe cease from working
+therein.  In neither Province is a strike or lock-out permitted during
+the deliberations of the tribunal.
+
+The Acts do not apply to unorganised workers, except indirectly, partly
+because they have not been the cause of the great industrial struggles
+of the past, {284} partly because it would be difficult, if not
+impossible, to enforce awards against them.  It may also have been
+thought that they would be encouraged thereby to form themselves into
+Unions, and that the best chance of industrial peace lies in
+negotiations between responsible bodies of workers and employers who
+will have too much at stake to be willing to proceed thoughtlessly to
+extremities.  As regards registration, it has been found that the
+workers of South Australia, though their leaders had supported the
+compulsory provisions, have been backward in this direction; but that,
+in New Zealand, no such hesitation has been displayed.  The workers in
+that country do not appear to share the disinclination to agree to the
+intervention of an arbitrator which is stated to be increasing in Great
+Britain.
+
+In South Australia, to give a brief account of the new tribunals,
+Boards of Conciliation may be either Private Boards, constituted under
+industrial agreements and endowed with such jurisdiction as may be
+confided to them in the agreements; or Public Boards, which include
+Local Boards constituted for particular localities and particular
+industries, and the State Board of Conciliation.  In New Zealand, the
+first reference is to an elective Board of Conciliation constituted for
+the district in which the dispute has occurred.  Should it fail to
+effect a settlement, the matter may be referred to the Court of
+Arbitration, which, similarly with the State Board {285} of
+Conciliation in South Australia, consists of an equal number of
+representatives of employers and employed and a chairman nominated by
+the Government, who must, in the former country, be a judge of the
+Supreme Court.  These tribunals are invested with full powers to
+require the attendance and examination of witnesses, and may either
+make an award which shall take effect for a period not exceeding two
+years, and may be enforced by legal process against associations and
+individuals, or they may confine themselves, at their discretion, to a
+recommendation which will be merely a direction to the parties
+concerned.
+
+In South Australia the State Board has also the power to inquire into,
+and report upon, industrial disputes, though the parties be not
+registered.  This portion of the Act has alone been brought into
+operation, and that unsuccessfully, as, though the representatives of
+employers and employed on the Board arrived at a unanimous decision
+upon a dispute affecting the rate of wages, the employer in question
+refused to be guided by its judgment.  The general failure of the Act,
+though the affirmation of the principle of Conciliation has been
+valuable, has been due partly to the absence of serious disputes in
+South Australia, but principally to the unwillingness both of employers
+and employed to place themselves in a position in which they will lose
+control over the terms of employment.
+
+The Act passed by the Government of New {286} Zealand, on the contrary,
+has hitherto been entirely efficacious, and has prevented the
+interruption of harmonious relations between employers and employed.
+It was first tested upon a dispute which arose over the action of the
+Consolidated Goldfields Company in reducing wages in the mines from
+10s. to 8s. 4d. per day.  The men, who were not members of a union,
+went out on strike, and were then offered wages at the rate of 9s.
+Upon the advice of their leaders, the men accepted the offer
+provisionally; and, having formed themselves into a union which they
+promptly caused to be registered, referred the matter to the Board of
+Conciliation.  The decision of the Board, which it is unnecessary to
+specify, was refused by the men, who appealed to the Court of
+Arbitration.  The award of the latter body, which fixed the wages of
+miners at 9s. 6d. per day, a rate smaller than that which had been
+received by the men, but larger than that against which they had
+protested, has been observed loyally by the Company and its employes.
+
+The next dispute arose at Christchurch upon the expiration of the
+agreement which had been in operation between the boot manufacturers
+and their workmen for several years, and upon the desire of the former
+to substitute new terms which were regarded as distasteful.  It was
+concerned with several matters of detail, but hinged principally upon
+the question whether non-unionists should be allowed to work with
+unionists.  As in the {287} former case, an appeal was made from the
+Board of Conciliation's award to the Court of Arbitration, whose
+decision, it is noteworthy, both sides had signified their willingness
+to accept.  The award applied to all the bootmakers in the Province
+with the exception of three or four who were not identified with the
+boot manufacturers' association, and was accompanied by remarks
+pronounced, it must be remembered, by a judge of the Supreme Court,
+which cannot fail to be of interest to the Trades Unionists in all
+parts of the world.  I do not, therefore, apologise for quoting them at
+length:--
+
+"The Arbitration Court has not hitherto been in the habit of giving
+reasons for its decision.  It appears to the Court that, sitting as
+arbitrators, it should as a general rule follow the ordinary practice
+of arbitrators and simply give its decision without reasons.  In the
+present case, however, so far as I myself am concerned, I think it is
+desirable that I should, with respect to part of the award, give some
+indications of the reasons which have induced the Court to arrive at
+its conclusion.  The part of the award to which I refer is that which
+relates to clauses 1 and 2 of the general rules which the
+Manufacturers' Association has submitted to the Court: '1. (_a_) It is
+the individual right of the employer to decide whom he shall employ or
+dismiss.  (_b_) It is the individual right of the workman to accept or
+refuse work from any employer.  {288} 2. Employers or employes, either
+individually or through any organisation, shall not discriminate for or
+against any person because he is or is not a member of any
+organisation, neither shall there be any distinction between organised
+or non-organised labour; both shall work under the same conditions and
+receive equal pay for equal work.'  The Bootmakers' Union, in
+opposition to the rules so suggested, put forward the contention that
+employment should be limited to members of the Bootmakers' Union.  The
+Court, however, is not able to accept the extreme view which has been
+put forward by the Bootmakers' Union.  If it were accepted it might
+follow that an employer, who had work to do and who could not get Union
+men to do it, might have to bring his operations to a standstill.  The
+effect of it also would be that non-Union men would be absolutely
+prevented from earning their living in the workshops of the members of
+the Manufacturers' Association.  That, so far as I am concerned, seems
+to be going beyond what the Court ought to decree.  On the other hand,
+however, I am not prepared to accept absolutely clauses 1 and 2 in the
+form in which the Manufacturers' Association has put them forward.  The
+Court ought, I think, to comply with the intention of the Legislature
+as evidenced in the provisions of the Industrial Conciliation and
+Arbitration Act, and ought not to do anything which is calculated to
+destroy or weaken any industrial organisation.  The {289} intention of
+the Act is indicated in its title--the Act is an Act to encourage the
+formation of Industrial Unions and Associations.  The Court, therefore,
+ought not to do anything which will tend to destroy or weaken an
+industrial association, or interfere with the manifest intention of the
+Legislature as disclosed by the Act.  We have this also, that for the
+last three years the shops of the Manufacturers' Association have been
+practically working as Union shops.  It is true that manufacturers
+say--probably with truth--that they were so worked because they could
+not help it, but the fact remains that they have been working in that
+way, and the proposed new rules, as put forward by the manufacturers,
+expressly reverse the previous mode of working.  We have this also,
+that the previous statement was a statement agreed to between the
+Manufacturers' Association and the Bootmakers' Union, the conference
+which followed the statement was between the Association and the Union,
+and the dispute now before the Court is between the Association and the
+Union.  It is only by means of Unions that labour can take advantage of
+the Act.  Under these circumstances, it seems to me not unreasonable
+that the Union should stipulate for special privileges to its members.
+The Union are fighting the battle, and it is fair that they should say
+that the results of the victory, so far as it is a victory, and has any
+beneficial results, should accrue to them, at any rate in the first
+instance.  They fight {290} the battle for their members, and not for
+the sake of outside labour.  Under these circumstances it appears to me
+that it is quite reasonable that the members of the Union should have
+preference in employment; that members of the Union who are competent
+should not have to wait about while non-members of the Union are
+employed in the shops of the Boot Manufacturers' Association.  The
+Court, therefore, has modified Rules 1 and 2 in this direction.  I need
+hardly say that each case to be decided under this Act must depend on
+the particular circumstances attaching to it; that no one case can be
+treated as a precedent to any future case, and that because under the
+particular circumstances of a particular case, this Court has decided
+as it has decided, that is no reason why, under different or varying
+circumstances, a similar decision ought to be come to.  The Court in
+coming to its decision, takes into consideration not general principles
+so much as the special circumstances of each particular case."
+
+The award, which modified the regulations on the lines laid down by the
+Court, is regarded as a great triumph by Trade Unionists, who are, not
+unnaturally, inclined to apply it as a precedent to all organised
+trades.
+
+A possible exemplification of the efficacy of the Act occurred at the
+end of 1896, when the engineers employed in the Australian trade of the
+Union Steamship Company of New Zealand asked that {291} their wages
+might be raised to the rate which had prevailed before the financial
+troubles.  They took advantage of the increased traffic caused by the
+holidays in order to emphasise their demands.  The engineers of the
+ships plying in New Zealand waters made a similar request, which was at
+once acceded to by the Company, but did not attempt to exert undue
+pressure.  I am not prepared to state that the difference in attitude
+was due to the Conciliation and Arbitration Act of the latter country,
+but the coincidence is calculated to encourage that belief.  The
+Managing Director of the Company (Mr. James Mills) told me that he was
+a hearty supporter of compulsion, not so much because he believed in
+arbitration, as because a strike or lock-out was obviated, and the
+parties to a dispute, often trivial at the outset, were brought
+together before they had been embittered by mutual recriminations.  Mr.
+Kingston, the Premier of South Australia, and the principal promoter of
+the South Australian Act, has written in a similar strain:--
+
+"Conciliation Boards should be established in anticipation of the
+differences they are designed to prevent.  On the occasion of a great
+strike, the public cries out for conciliation.  Suggestions are
+received from all quarters recommending Conferences and Arbitration;
+but when war has been declared, and the disputants, as it were, are at
+each other's throats, each hopeful of ultimate success, they are seldom
+in the mood to listen to peacemakers.  If either party fears the result
+of the {292} contest, it may favour pacific counsels.  There is,
+however, a vehement probability that the stronger party will reject all
+overtures and insist on an unconditional surrender and all the
+advantages which victory can command.  The dispute is then determined,
+not on its merits, but by sheer strength.  The vanquished, smarting
+under a sense of defeat and injustice, capitulate only with the view to
+the early renewal of the struggle under more favourable
+circumstances."[11]
+
+(5) A large proportion of the workmen of Australasia are convinced
+believers in Protection in the widest sense of the word.  As far as
+their opinion can be ascertained from the representation of Labour in
+Parliament, it is unanimous in Victoria, South Australia, and New
+Zealand.  In New South Wales, as has been seen, the Labour Members
+have, for the sake of solidarity, sunk the fiscal issue; but the
+majority are Protectionists, and have proposed that the question of the
+tariff should be settled for a fixed period by a plebiscite.  Thereby
+they believe that they will secure Protection and continue to be
+unfettered in their support of the more advanced party.  In Queensland,
+also, the Labour programme states that the fiscal issue is not to be
+regarded as a party question.
+
+Protection, the Labour Members admit, raises prices to the consumer;
+but they contend that, if prices are high, employers can afford to pay
+high {293} wages, and that the strength of Trades Unionism should be
+sufficient to enforce them.  To put their argument, such as it is, in a
+nutshell, it is better to have high prices and high wages than low
+prices combined with low wages and uncertain employment.  Then, as
+combination is expected to keep wages at a high point, it is obvious
+that it can be exercised most effectually over a small area, and we
+find the South Australian Labour Members voting against a resolution in
+favour of inter-provincial Free Trade, and Labour Members generally
+imbued with an actual, if not avowed, opposition to Federation, the
+first result of which would, it is believed, be the removal of fiscal
+barriers.  They profess, indeed, a desire for Federation on a
+democratic basis, but are, as far as their material interests are
+concerned, under the influence of a patriotism which is intensely
+provincial and does not take account of national, much less of
+imperial, considerations.
+
+If he lives under a protective tariff, the workman asks himself of what
+use is it to exclude the products of cheap labour if the cheap labourer
+be allowed to enter the country and compete with him on the spot.  The
+agitation against Asiatic immigrants has, I am prepared to admit, a
+wider basis, and rests largely upon physical repugnance and the fear
+that they might enter in such large numbers as to swamp the white
+population.  To that extent it appeals to the Free Traders of New South
+Wales, who have not been backward in their support of anti-Chinese
+{294} legislation, and meets with the general support of Australians,
+as was shown by the unanimity with which the Premiers, assembled in
+Conference early in 1896, decided against participation in the
+Anglo-Japanese treaty and in favour of the extension to other coloured
+races of the restrictions placed upon the influx of the Chinese.  But,
+from the point of view of the working classes, antipathy is felt,
+principally, towards competitors who have a lower standard of comfort,
+and the difficulties placed in the way of Imperial statesmanship are
+persistently ignored.
+
+Thence, by an easy transition of thought, the objection is extended to
+all labourers whose competition, through the stress of necessity, may
+tend to reduce wages.  The indigent Italian or German is equally
+undesirable, as are indigent Englishmen, who alone, among Europeans,
+are likely to arrive in large numbers.  Some of them, it is known, have
+been assisted to emigrate, by philanthropic agencies or otherwise,
+because they were unable to earn a livelihood at home.  South
+Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, and New Zealand seek to exclude paupers
+by the provision that the owner or master of a ship bringing persons
+who are likely to become a charge upon the public or any charitable
+institution, may be called upon to execute a bond to pay all expenses
+incurred within five years for the maintenance or support of such
+persons.  But the workman reserves his strongest condemnation for the
+proposal {295} that he should be compelled to contribute, through
+taxation or Custom duties, to State-aided immigration, which increases
+the number of his competitors.  Herein is seen the cloven foot of the
+capitalist, which must be concealed, except in Queensland, where
+capital and labour are in open antagonism and the former is at present
+in the ascendant.
+
+The ultimate development of protective ideas is found in the annual tax
+levied on foreign commercial travellers in New Zealand and in the
+desire to subject immigrants to physical as well as pecuniary and
+racial tests.  In New Zealand the Undesirable Immigrants Exclusion
+Bill, and the equally unsuccessful Public Health Bill of 1896, forbade
+masters of ships, under a heavy penalty, to introduce persons who are
+consumptive into the Provinces.  Consumption, it is known, has proved
+deadly to the Maoris, and, to an even greater extent, to half-castes.
+
+It is not my intention to discuss the wisdom of the measures by which
+Australians seek to keep out Asiatics, indigent Europeans, criminals,
+and persons in ill-health.  The Imperial Government, of course, can
+have no objection to the imposition of pecuniary disqualifications
+which, being of general application, do not conflict with treaty
+obligations, though the policy is diametrically opposed to that which
+has prevailed hitherto in England.  I merely wish to point out the
+strength of Australasian opposition to unrestricted competition, and to
+express {296} considerable sympathy with workmen who, having seen, or
+having learnt from their parents, how much misery and pauperism are to
+be found in older countries, are inhospitable to strangers and will do
+all in their power to prevent a fall to a similar level.  Many of them
+have noted the existence of destitution in Sydney and Melbourne, and
+dread the operation of any cause which would be likely to intensify it.
+
+It cannot be denied that, as England is the principal competitor with
+native manufactures, and the only European country from which
+immigration on a large scale is likely to arise, some of the working
+men entertain a feeling of hostility towards the Mother Country.
+Ill-feeling is also promoted by the condition of financial dependence.
+Australians are inclined to complain, however unreasonably, that, had
+it not been for the temptations to which they were exposed by British
+capitalists, their Provinces could not have incurred the extravagant
+expenditure under which they are suffering and must continue to suffer.
+Australia, it has been said, owes to England merely the gratitude of
+the poor man toward his pawnbroker.  I should not have mentioned the
+existence of these views, which are confined to a small section of the
+community, were it not that they seem ominous for the future, when we
+remember the principal cause of the estrangement between the Eastern
+and Western States of America.  In spite of inquiries and {297}
+observation, I have been unable to form an opinion as to the general
+attitude, which is being modified year by year by the increase in the
+proportion of native-born Australians.  At one extreme of the social
+scale are those who bask in the sunshine of titled vice-royalty, at the
+other those in whom the continual struggle for existence precludes the
+possibility of national, not to mention Imperial, ideals.  The large
+intermediate classes, which will control the future, appear to be
+animated by great sympathy with the English people.  I am led to
+believe that the boisterous loyalty of the past has been replaced by a
+deeper feeling of kinship, which was displayed in marked fashion on the
+occasion of the German Emperor's telegram after the Transvaal raid.  On
+the other hand, the growing independence of a young nation and the
+sentimental, but none the less real, objection to the term "Colonial,"
+which is regarded as a mark of inferiority, have convinced some
+Imperialistic Australians that the shortest road to Federation lies
+through separation.  Others, I have been surprised to note, do not
+consider that permanence of friendly relations necessarily implies
+continuance under one flag.  Englishmen will be disappointed to learn
+that there is little general appreciation, especially among native-born
+Australians, of the benefits accruing from the protection of the
+British fleet.  Never having known the horrors of war and removed from
+the area of great armaments, they are not aware of the dangers {298}
+against which they are guarded.  In fact, many of them grudge the
+"contributions without representation" that are given towards the
+maintenance of the Australian squadron.  In foreign politics
+Australians are strongly Imperialistic, and will respect Great Britain
+as long as she maintains the dignity of her position.  In domestic
+affairs they resent the interference of the Colonial Office, rarely
+though it be exercised, and do not take sufficient account of
+international difficulties.  They are satisfied, moreover, with
+existing conditions, and do not manifest any desire for closer union
+with Great Britain at present, though any proposals emanating from the
+Imperial Government will be received with respectful attention and may
+meet with theoretical approval; and, while the recent Presidential
+election in the United States convinced them of the disadvantages of
+Republican institutions, they are prepared to wait upon the natural
+evolution of events, and believe that, in the meanwhile, we should
+strive, through the press, travel, and otherwise, to become better
+acquainted with each other's ideas and aspirations, and to correct many
+of the wrong impressions which prevail both in Australia and Great
+Britain.  This policy is not heroic but practical, especially if it
+could be accompanied by a greater identification of Australia with the
+Empire.  If a few hundred Australians could be recruited, in spite of
+the lowness of the pay, for service in the Army and Navy, they would, I
+am convinced, upon {299} their return, do much to broaden the minds of
+their countrymen.  Australia and New Zealand, it must be remembered,
+are isolated from the rest of the world.  Again, some of the vacancies
+in the Indian Civil Service might be filled by examinations held in
+Australia simultaneously with those in England.  These suggestions,
+which could be amplified and extended by men of greater experience, may
+be regarded as trivial and unimportant, but I am confident that they
+indicate the direction in which Englishmen can most effectually seek to
+retain the affections of their Australasian kinsfolk.  The problems of
+Australian Federation will tax all the resources of statesmanship, and
+must, in my opinion, be solved before there can be any profitable
+discussion of modified and closer relations with the Mother Country.
+It seems to me that the Victorian or Queenslander must realise that he
+is an Australian before he can be expected to appreciate the meaning of
+the words, "Civis Britannicus Sum."
+
+The subject of Australian Federation has been discussed at length in a
+preceding chapter.  I need only point out that politicians are bound to
+recognise three lines of severance: the artificial boundaries between
+one Province and another, the diversity of opinions engendered by
+differences of climate, as exemplified principally in the attitude in
+regard to Polynesian labour, and the divergence of development between
+the denizens of towns and {300} the more settled areas and those who
+are struggling against the inclemencies of nature in the back country.
+I felt, and others have chronicled a similar impression, that I had
+entered into a different country when I travelled in the Western Downs
+of Queensland.  I found myself, if I may generalise from a limited
+experience of shearers, among a class of men who are thoroughly honest
+but absolutely narrow-minded and interested only in matters which
+concern their means of livelihood.  They form their opinions from an
+advanced organ of labour, which is their principal, if not only,
+literature, and even such of them as are emigrants from Great Britain
+have little knowledge of the leading events of recent years.
+
+The urban population, of course, is in a different position, and is
+kept by the newspapers in touch with local and Imperial affairs.  Apart
+from the causes of the aggregation of large centres which have been
+discussed in the opening pages of this chapter, and may be supplemented
+by the observations of Sir Charles Dilke,[12] it may be noted, as a
+subsidiary influence, that a high standard of comfort makes people
+unwilling to face the hardship of the bush, that squatters are inclined
+to place their sons in urban professions, and that education turns out
+clerks rather than manual labourers.  But the dwellers in towns are, on
+the whole, comfortably situated; even Melbourne and Sydney do not {301}
+show an average of more than 2.73 and 4.87 persons to the acre; but
+these figures include the suburbs, and must be amended if the
+metropolis proper is solely regarded.
+
+But, in spite of this consideration, the working classes of Australasia
+have little to complain of.  Destitution exists, as is inevitable under
+present conditions, but many workers, especially in Victoria, are
+owners of their homes, and all the younger men have had the benefit of
+a general system of national education and of the favourable situation
+of their class.  This is due partly to the position attained, and not
+subsequently lost, when the rush of men to the goldfields produced a
+scarcity of labour; partly to the fact which has already been noted,
+that the men who emigrated from Great Britain were imbued with the
+spirit which qualified them to assert themselves.  Hitherto they have
+not proved themselves unworthy of their nationality.  They are
+uniformly courteous, in my experience, to those who are civil to them,
+and do not expect the servility of older countries, and are the most
+law-abiding people in the world.  On a Saturday night in Coolgardie I
+found things to be as quiet as in a small country town in England.  The
+larrikinism of Melbourne and Sydney has been much exaggerated, and does
+not extend beyond the capitals; in the former city, at the annual
+festival which marks the recurrence of the Melbourne Cup, the behaviour
+of the crowd is such {302} as would be a credit to any country.  But
+Australians and New Zealanders, as any visitor cannot but note, take
+their pleasures sadly, and have transplanted the seriousness of a
+Northern land to a climate which should lend itself to merriment and
+laughter.  How far their character has been modified I am not prepared
+to say: on the one hand, employment is not subject to seasonal
+interruptions; on the other, the pressure of cold upon industry is
+entirely wanting.  The climate has, however, in spite of the
+denunciations of the Prohibitionists, undoubtedly conduced to temperate
+habits.  Time after time did I notice, during my travels, that all the
+company were drinking tea, and I have been assured that shearers and
+other labourers no longer waste their earnings upon drink.  The
+temperance of the younger generation has also been promoted by the
+spread of education and by the love of athletics; which necessitates
+physical soundness.  Speaking generally and responsibly, the working
+classes, which form the backbone of every country, though they pay high
+rent, earn high wages, and, as they do not pay high prices for their
+food or clothing, are enabled to become self-respecting members of a
+self-respecting community.
+
+
+
+[1] August 8, 1896.
+
+[2] 1893, vol. ii. pp. 456, 457.
+
+[3] July 25, 1896.
+
+[4] "A Statistical Account of the Seven Colonies of Australasia,
+1895-6," by T. A. Coghlan, p. 345.
+
+[5] _Ibid._, p. 359.
+
+[6] "A Statistical Account of the Seven Colonies of Australasia,
+1895-6," p. 357.
+
+[7] Victorian Year Book, 1894, p. 648.
+
+[8] Parliamentary Debates of New Zealand, vol. 96, p. 901.
+
+[9] _New Zealand Times_, January I, 1897.
+
+[10] _Australasian Review of Reviews_, September, 1896.
+
+[11] _Australasian Review of Reviews_, August 20, 1894.
+
+[12] "Problems of Greater Britain," vol. ii. pp. 246-8.
+
+
+
+
+{303}
+
+XI
+
+_A VISIT TO THE COOLGARDIE GOLDFIELDS IN MARCH_, 1896.
+
+I sailed from Marseilles for Australia by one of the large steamers of
+the Messageries Maritimes Company.  Among my fellow travellers was a
+mining expert, bound for the Western Australian goldfields, who
+proposed that I should accompany him, and said that, as he knew the
+leading people on the fields, he would be able to render my trip
+agreeable.  I gladly accepted his offer, and have since had cause to
+consider that I was most fortunate, as I believe that some such
+introduction as mine is indispensable.
+
+The large mail steamers all touch Western Australia at Albany, distant
+340 miles from Perth and 570 miles from Coolgardie.  The Government are
+carrying out very extensive harbour works at Fremantle, the port of
+Perth, in the hope of inducing the mail steamers to call there, and
+they believe that, when a railway line has been constructed between
+{304} Perth and Adelaide, a line which must eventually be built, though
+perhaps not for many years, Fremantle will become a place of great
+importance, as, beyond being the shipping port for the produce of the
+Coolgardie goldfields, it will be the point of arrival and departure of
+the mails between Great Britain and all the Australian Provinces.
+
+We reached Albany, which is 200 miles further from Coolgardie than
+Fremantle, late in the evening, and, having missed by a few hours the
+direct train which runs three times a week to Perth, we spent the night
+at a third-rate hotel, unable to sleep owing to the attacks of the
+mosquitoes, and left by train the next morning after a breakfast
+consisting of coarse meat and impossible eggs.  We soon lost sight of
+the bay of Albany, and, plunging into the bush, travelled through it
+the whole day.  The heat was overpowering, as we were still almost at
+the height of summer.  In the afternoon a stranger came into the
+compartment and enlivened us with anecdotes of his experiences at an
+outlying station.  In several stories he referred to actions which
+showed him to have behaved in the most ruthlessly cruel manner towards
+the aborigines.  To quote one among many: A young native servant in his
+employment came to believe that, owing to some unintentional
+contravention of the religious observances of his people, he was doomed
+to die within three days; so he lay on his back and refused to take
+food.  As he was a good workman, {305} his master first tried to induce
+him to rise, then thrashed him with all his might, and afterwards had
+him dragged along the ground by his hair until he was so exhausted that
+he came unconscious.  It is needless to add that, on his recovery, the
+man had been cured of his obstinacy.  Such conduct, I am convinced, is
+most exceptional.  All the Australasian Governments are actuated by a
+sincere desire to protect the aborigines, as are the vast majority of
+the inhabitants.  But, as long as many districts are sparsely settled,
+isolated cases of barbarous cruelty must continue to occur.
+
+After thirteen hours of travel we reached Beverley, where we were
+obliged to spend the night, and again suffered from bad accommodation,
+indifferent food, and mosquitoes.  A journey of five hours on the
+following morning took us to Perth, where we proposed to spend a few
+days.  My companion noticed a great difference in the appearance of the
+town; a few years ago, he told me, it was lifeless and dull, strangers
+rarely arrived, trade was stagnant, and the whole place wore an air of
+listlessness.  The rapid change must be put down entirely to the
+success of the goldfields, even allowing full credit to the Government
+for their efforts to develop all the resources of the country.  The
+population of the Province has doubled during the last five years; the
+population of Perth has more than doubled, and large business firms
+have established branches there.  But great though its progress has
+been, it is hard to {306} realise that this place, which is not larger
+than an English country town, is the capital and seat of government of
+a Province of nearly a million square miles, which possesses 1,200
+miles of railway and goldfields of enormous extent, which seem likely
+to take rank among the most productive of the world.  Perth is
+picturesquely situated on the Swan River, and should increase largely
+beyond its present dimensions.  Handsome brick buildings alternate even
+in the principal thoroughfares with miserable shanties which are bound
+soon to disappear.  In the evening the streets present a scene of great
+animation, as hundreds of people may be seen walking up and down,
+eagerly discussing the mining news, which always presents some feature
+of interest.  Men gather together in small groups, whispering weighty
+secrets which may or may not be intended for the benefit of their
+hearers, for in Perth, as elsewhere, we hear that large fortunes have
+been made through the credulity and folly of the too eager investor.
+
+At Perth I made several purchases, all of which were of use to me: a
+pair of dark blue spectacles with perforated sides, as a protection
+against the dust and sun, a fly-net and a water-bag.  The latter, made
+of canvas, in order that its contents may be cooled by evaporation, is
+carried by all travellers who distrust the quality of the water which
+they are likely to obtain at wayside stations.
+
+At the time of my visit to the goldfields, the {307} railway terminated
+at Bullabulling, some eighteen miles from Coolgardie.  The journey from
+Perth to Coolgardie was a matter of twenty-eight hours.  Leaving in the
+afternoon, we arrived the next morning at Southern Cross, the centre of
+a mining district which has been eclipsed by those further east.  We
+had breakfast at an unpretentious little hotel, the landlady of which
+harrowed us by accounts of the amount of typhoid fever prevalent in the
+place.  Her own servant was ill, several deaths had recently occurred,
+and she had heard the undertaker in the early morning again at work
+upon a coffin.  We continued our journey by the contractor's train,
+covering one hundred miles in seven hours and passing through scenery
+which became terribly wearisome from its dreary monotony.  So far we
+had travelled comfortably enough, but the last eighteen miles by coach
+were more tiring than the whole of the rest of the journey.  The road
+was inches deep in dust and full of holes, and we ploughed our way
+along it at the rate of five miles an hour, a pace which was not
+maintained when darkness set in and the driver could no longer pick his
+way in the best track, but continually jolted us in the deep ruts and
+bumped the coach against tree stumps.  Upon our arrival at Coolgardie,
+we found a difficulty in obtaining rooms; at the principal hotel no
+accommodation of any kind was to be had; at another all the rooms were
+occupied, but we were offered a shake-down which we thought {308} it
+wise to accept.  We learnt the next day that twenty-three extra beds
+had been made up, in the drawing-room, on the balcony, in fact at every
+available spot, and that the rush had continued for more than a year.
+
+The following morning I looked out upon a sandy track which represents
+the main street of Coolgardie.  It was already a scene of some
+animation; camels, driven by Afghans, were carrying their heavy burdens
+in and out of the town; aborigines, with their wives and children, in
+all their degraded ugliness, were passing to and fro; and bustling
+merchants and clerks were hurrying past on bicycles to their various
+occupations.  The houses of Coolgardie are built of a framework of
+wood, covered with a sheeting of galvanised iron.  The town is entirely
+dependent for all its supplies on the outside world, as the country,
+within a radius of at least one hundred miles, will produce food for
+neither man nor beast.  The question of water supply, even for domestic
+purposes, was until recently a great difficulty; but several fresh
+water wells have been sunk which, together with the output of numerous
+condensers, give an ample supply for the town.  The rainfall is very
+small, and too irregular to be depended upon.  The sky is often
+overcast for weeks and rain threatens daily, but the clouds gradually
+disperse and leave the land as parched as before.
+
+Strolling out of the town we found ourselves {309} on the outskirts of
+a mining district.  As far as the eye could see, the country was
+studded with tents, mining shafts, and condensers, and the soil was
+everywhere raised in irregular heaps.  For miles around every sod of
+earth has been turned over and put through a blower in the search for
+the alluvial gold which has been found there in great quantities.  We
+came upon an old man who said that the land upon which he was working
+had not been thoroughly sifted, and showed us a few grains of gold
+which he had obtained as the result of his labours.  A little further
+on we came to some mines, and my companion pointed out and explained to
+me the machinery by which the gold is separated from the stone.  A
+return of an ounce of gold to a ton of quartz is, speaking generally,
+regarded as satisfactory, but many other factors have to be weighed in
+the consideration of the question whether a mine is likely to repay the
+outlay upon it, such as the width and probable extent of the reef, and
+the possibility of obtaining an adequate amount of water for working
+the machinery.  I gathered that there could be no doubt as to the
+richness of the reefs on several of the goldfields of Western
+Australia, but that, on most of them, the great difficulty has been,
+and still is, the inadequacy of the water supply.
+
+We did not remain long at Coolgardie, but continued our journey to
+Kalgoorlie, a small township twenty-four miles from Coolgardie and
+{310} the centre of the field where my companion had to do most of his
+work as a mining expert.  We travelled by coach in the early morning
+and had a further experience of the discomforts of a rough and heavy
+track.  Kalgoorlie was a repetition of Coolgardie, on a smaller scale.
+Both are the creation of the last few years and must not be judged by
+too high a standard.  The town authorities have done their best to
+procure good sanitary conditions and have been aided by the Government,
+who give, as a subsidy to municipalities, one pound for every pound
+raised from general rates, and have also assisted them in the erection
+and maintenance of hospitals; but the lack of funds has retarded
+improvements which the authorities have been anxious to carry out.  We
+arrived at Kalgoorlie on a Sunday, and noticed that the inhabitants,
+most of whom are adults, bachelors or married men separated from their
+wives and families, were loitering about with every appearance of utter
+boredom.
+
+From the town we walked to one of the neighbouring camps where my
+companion had acquaintances.  These camps offer a much pleasanter life
+than that in the towns.  Each forms in itself a small settlement of
+large canvas tents fitted up by the residents, who have a common mess
+and every opportunity of leading a sociable life.  At the camp which we
+visited we found several of the men disporting themselves in hammocks
+in an arbour made of {311} closely plaited branches of trees, which
+kept off the heat of the sun and admitted a cool current of air.  In
+the course of conversation it was arranged that we should visit several
+of the mines on the following day.
+
+In the morning we visited a mine upon which little had, so far, been
+done.  We were placed at the top of the shaft in a small cage, by which
+we were let down to a depth of a hundred feet.  Then we were led along
+a labyrinth of passages from which my companions gathered the direction
+and extent of the reef, and we were shown various points at which the
+gold, which was of a coarse character, could clearly be seen in the
+stone.  In the afternoon we visited another mine which was of more
+interest to me.  A shaft had been sunk to a depth of two hundred feet,
+at which level water had been struck, and the miners were busily at
+work.  Again we were let down in a cage, and wandered through seemingly
+endless passages, which reminded me, in my ignorance, of parts of the
+catacombs at Rome, as nothing appeared to the unsophisticated eye but
+the bare rock.  The gold was very fine, and only visible to us when the
+foreman struck off a flake and pointed it out to us glistening in
+minute particles in the quartz.  He told me that ordinary miners earned
+L3 10s. a week, those working in the water at the low level L4, but
+that they could not live on less than L2, and, even so, only in the
+roughest way.  The life is, however, not an unhealthy one, {312} as the
+mines are, to judge from those that I visited, well ventilated.  The
+mine and other surrounding properties have created a thriving
+settlement; well-built offices have been erected, hundreds of men are
+employed, and the ear is continually greeted by the din of machinery.
+In the evening we returned to Kalgoorlie and heard, near our hotel, a
+service held by the Salvation Army in the centre of the street.  A
+large group of loungers stood around, moved neither to ribaldry nor
+attention, but apparently listening in complete indifference to the
+passionate pleadings of the preachers.  Some yards away a mining agent
+was doing a brisk business in shares.
+
+A few days later I retraced my steps to Coolgardie, and thence to
+Perth.  On the homeward journey I had experiences of much discomfort.
+On the coach between Coolgardie and Bullabulling, I managed, as on the
+previous occasion, by a private arrangement with the driver, to secure
+the box-seat, in order to be at an elevation from the dust.  But the
+wind was behind us, and we were soon enveloped in such a cloud of dust
+that it was often impossible to see the leaders, and, as there is no
+rule of the road, we had narrow escapes of colliding with teams
+travelling in the opposite direction.  Upon our arrival at
+Bullabulling, we found that the contractor's train contained only one
+passenger carriage, which was already crowded; so several of us climbed
+on an open luggage truck and made ourselves tolerably {313}
+comfortable, though we suffered from the blazing heat of the mid-day
+sun.  My neighbour was a man who had had a most varied career.  In his
+youth he had managed a small hosiery shop in an English Midland town;
+then, as his health was bad, he had emigrated to Victoria, where he had
+unsuccessfully carried on grazing operations.  He had been attracted to
+Western Australia by the discoveries of gold, and had bought a waggon
+and team of horses, with which he had carried goods between Southern
+Cross and Coolgardie before the construction of the railway.  He told
+me that the life had been very hard, and pointed out to me portions of
+the road which were so heavy that a progress of ten miles was regarded
+as a satisfactory day's work.  He was then on his way to revisit the
+"old country," after an absence of five years.  At Southern Cross we
+changed into the Government train, and I travelled through the night in
+a compartment with four others, two of whom were ill, one of them
+suffering from some form of ophthalmia which caused him excruciating
+pain and kept him the whole time awake.  None of us obtained much
+sleep, and we were glad to reach Perth early next morning.
+
+Thus ended my trip to the goldfields, upon which I look back with
+considerable satisfaction in spite of the obvious discomforts which it
+entailed.  I found that all with whom I came in contact in Western
+Australia, and, I might add, in Australasia, whether they were
+custom-house officials, railway employes, {314} hotel proprietors or
+servants, had done their best to be obliging.  Of the kindly
+hospitality of all whom I met on the goldfields I cannot speak in
+sufficiently high terms.  They were uniformly straightforward,
+generous, energetic men, who gave me the impression of a good moral
+standard.  I do not speak of the adventurers who congregate in any
+place where money can be made rapidly by unscrupulous methods, but of
+the managers, foremen and others, who are directly engaged in the
+development of the mines.  The great curse of the mining districts, and
+also, to some extent, of Perth, is the absence of sufficient means of
+recreation.  This state of things may be inevitable in the case of
+towns of very recent growth, but its result is, that men who have
+worked all day, requiring some form of diversion, find it in drink.
+But, in spite of the large consumption of liquor, drunkenness is rare
+and rowdiness almost unknown.  At Coolgardie on a Saturday evening the
+streets were perfectly quiet; beyond some discordant strains of music,
+scarcely a sound was to be heard.  In spite of one or two recent
+burglaries, life and property are scarcely less safe than in England.
+A bank manager who travelled with me from Kalgoorlie told me that, in
+starting a new branch of his bank at an outlying township, he had been
+obliged at first to live in, and keep his money in, a tent, but that on
+no occasion had he been menaced by the slightest attempt at robbery.  I
+shall long remember {315} the sight of townships which have sprung up
+where a few years ago was nothing but bush, and promise to become the
+scene of great industrial activity, and my intercourse with some of the
+pioneers of the mining movement, men who have penetrated hundreds of
+miles into the interior of the country, have endured for years the
+terrible hardships of life in the bush, and have, by their untiring
+exertions, seconded by the influx of capital following upon their
+success, done much to raise Western Australia to a prominent position
+among the Provinces of the Southern Hemisphere.
+
+
+
+
+{317}
+
+INDEX
+
+
+A
+
+Aborigines:
+  Constitution Bill for establishing Federation, special
+    provisions for, 220
+  Maoris of New Zealand [see that title]
+  Protection of, 158, 305
+  Right of possession not recognised in Tasmania and Australia, 85
+
+Absentee Tax, assessment of in:
+  New Zealand, 91
+  South Australia, 19
+
+Adelaide, Agricultural Bureau and Agricultural College in, 20, 21
+
+Adult Suffrage:
+  Lower Houses of South Australia and New Zealand elected on
+    basis of, 2, 192
+  Liquor legislation in New Zealand, Local Option and Licensing
+    Committee polls placed on basis of, 198
+
+Advances to Settlers Act, New Zealand, 99, 118
+
+Agricultural Bureau and Agricultural College, Adelaide, 20, 21
+
+Arbitration and conciliation in industrial disputes:
+  New South Wales, 281
+  New Zealand Act, 283
+    Awards under, 286
+  Queensland, 76, 282
+  South Australian Act, 24, 283
+
+Assisted Schools Abolition Act, 159
+
+Australasian Federation Enabling Act:
+  Queensland Bill, rejection of, 235
+  Victorian Act, provisions of, 230
+  Western Australian Act, provisions of, 233
+
+Australasians, character of, 302
+
+
+B
+
+Batchelor, Mr. E. L., 5
+  Plebiscite, Bill for establishing introduced by, 29
+
+Benevolent asylums for aged and incapable persons, 255
+
+Betting and gaming, suppression of:
+  New Zealand, female voters in favour of, 196
+  Tasmania, Parliamentary measures for, 170
+
+Board of Land Purchase Commissioners, New Zealand, 97
+
+Braddon, Right Hon. Sir E., 177
+
+British capital in Australia:
+  Co-operative enterprise due to, 248
+  Dependence on, causing ill-feeling towards Great Britain, 296
+  Financial activity arising from, 246
+
+British fleet's protection, Australians' appreciation of, 297
+
+Broken Hill, strike of 1891, 1892, 281
+
+Building societies, Australian labouring classes availing themselves
+of, 260
+
+Byrnes, Hon. T. J., 75
+
+
+C
+
+C.D. Act, Repeal of, advocated by female voters in New Zealand, 196
+
+"Caucus" meetings of New South Wales Labour Party, 51
+
+Central and Northern Queensland's separation from the South [see title
+Queensland]
+
+Character of Australasians, 302
+
+Charitable Aid expenditure for 1896, New Zealand, 116
+
+Chataway, Mr. J. V., 66
+
+Cheviot Estate purchased by New Zealand Government, 93
+
+Chinese:
+  Anti-Chinese legislation supported by Australasians, 293
+  Cabinet-making in Victoria, Chinese competition, 136
+  Immigration Act of 1887 limiting number of Chinese
+    immigrants to Tasmania, 170
+
+Christchurch, New Zealand, boot manufacturers' dispute, Arbitration
+Courts decision, 286
+
+Churches, Western Australia, grants to, abolition of, 159
+
+Civil Service, New South Wales:
+  Public Service Board for investigation of all departments, 44
+  Royal Commission inquiry, 43
+
+"Civis Brittanicus Sum," necessity of realising Australian unity before
+appreciating, 299
+
+Cockburn, Hon. Dr., Minister of Education and Agriculture in South
+Australia, 3, 22, 26, 28
+
+"Colonial," objection to term, 297
+
+Colonial Office, Australians' resenting interference of, 298
+
+Conciliation and arbitration in industrial disputes [see title
+Arbitration and Conciliation]
+
+Conflicts between Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council:
+  Causes of contention:
+    New South Wales:
+      Rejection of Taxation Bill, 36
+    Tasmania:
+      Female Suffrage Bill, 177
+      Public Works Expenditure, 178
+    Victoria:
+      Additional Taxation, 124
+      Electoral Bill, 125, 126
+      Protective Tariff, 123
+      Right of selection upon pastoral properties, 123
+  Proposals for remedying, 273-276
+    New South Wales, 130
+    New Zealand--Proposed joint session of the two Houses, 131
+    South Australia--Dissolution of both Houses, success of, 178
+    Tasmania--Plebiscite, 180
+    Victoria:
+      Dissolution of both Houses, 131
+      Royal Commission's recommendations, 129
+  Town and country antagonism, reflex of antagonism
+    between the two Houses, 131
+  Ultimate appeal, absence of, 129
+
+Consolidated Goldfields Company dispute, New Zealand, 286
+
+Constitution Bill for establishing "the Commonwealth of Australia,"
+1891, 218
+  Governor-General's Executive authority, 219, 224
+  Failure of Bill, 227
+  Money Bills, authority of Senate with regard to, 222
+  Parliament of Commonwealth:
+    Aboriginals, special provisions for, 220
+  Postal and telegraph services, &c., to be exclusively managed by, 221
+  Revenue and expenditure, regulations for, 221
+  Salary of members, 220
+  Senate, composition of, 219
+  States:
+    Provinces to be so called, 219
+    Powers of, under Commonwealth, 226
+  Supreme Court of Appeal, 225
+  Tariff, uniform, to be imposed, 222
+  Territories surrendered by states, administration of, 221
+
+Constitution Bill for establishing "the Commonwealth of Australia,"
+1897, draft of, reprint from Melbourne _Argus_, 237
+
+Consumptive persons, Bills forbidding immigration of, 295
+
+Continuity of representation in Australian Houses of Assembly, means of
+obtaining, 276
+
+Coolgardie Goldfields:
+  Camp settlements, 310
+  Coolgardie town, 308
+  Drunkenness and rowdiness, absence of, 314
+  Earnings of the miners, 311
+  Kalgoorlie, 309
+  Mines, description of, 311
+  Perth to Coolgardie, discomfort of journey from, 307
+  Population of Western Australia increasing since discovery of, 305
+  Salvation Army services, 312
+  Waterworks for supplying water from a distance, 164
+
+Coolies [see title Kanakas]
+
+Co-operative construction of Public Works, New Zealand, 105
+
+Crown Lands:
+  New South Wales, Act of 1884, means of diminishing political
+    pressure in, 37
+  New Zealand:
+    Local land boards for disposal of, 117
+    Sale of, 93
+  Western Australia--mining rights on acquiring, 165
+
+
+D
+
+Darling Downs, Queensland, pastoral industries, success of, 70, 71
+
+Darling, Ex-Governor, proposed grant to, cause of conflict between
+Legislative Council and Assembly in Victoria, 123
+
+Death Duties, graduated, assessment of in Australia, 278
+
+Democratic Government established in New South Wales, 48
+
+Democratic tendency:
+  Gold, discovery of in Australia, result of, 244
+  South Australian democratic tendency due to Constitution, 2
+
+Denominational Schools, Western Australia, termination of grants, 159
+
+Dibbs, Sir George, 36, 50
+
+Dilke, Sir Charles, 300
+
+Domestic servants' weekly half-holiday, Bill for establishing in New
+Zealand, 203
+
+Drunkenness and rowdiness, absence of among Coolgardie miners, 314
+
+Duffy, Sir Charles Gavan, 214
+
+
+E
+
+Eastern Railway, Western Australia, course of, 162
+
+Ecclesiastical Grants, Western Australia, Abolition Act of 1895, 159
+
+Education:
+  South Australia:
+    Primary and Religious Education in, alterations proposed,
+      plebiscite taken on, 29, 274
+    Religious instruction in schools, 29
+    Secular character of, effect on working classes, 32
+    State system of in Australasia, 256
+    Western Australia--Assisted Schools Abolition Act, 159
+
+Elective Executive:
+  New Zealand Bill, 277
+  South Australia, substitution of, advocated, 26
+
+Electoral Legislation:
+  Queensland--Contingent vote, 176
+  Tasmania--Modification of Hare's System of Voting, 173
+  Victoria--Electoral Bill, cause of conflict between
+    Legislative Council and Assembly, 122
+
+Electoral Reform Policy:
+  New South Wales Labour Party, 48, 49
+  Queensland Labour Party, 74
+
+Expenditure [see title Revenue and Expenditure]
+
+Export [see title Produce and Export Department].
+
+
+F
+
+Factories and Shops Acts, Victoria:
+  Cabinet-making, Chinese competition, 136
+  Definition of factory, amendments, 133, 139
+  Protection of workers in factories, 137, 140
+  Royal Commission of Inquiry into working of the Act of 1890, 134
+  Shops, hours of closing, 140
+  Tailoresses' Union, formation of, 135
+  Wage Boards, appointment of, 138
+
+Factories and workshops in Queensland, Royal Commission of Inquiry
+into, 77
+
+Fair Rent Bill, New Zealand, 103
+
+Family Home Protection, New Zealand, Act of 1895, 101
+
+Federal Council:
+  Abstention of New South Wales and New Zealand, from, 216
+  Act of 1885 establishing, 215
+  Permissive character of, 216
+  Status of, effect of Federation agitation on, 229
+  Utility of, causes tending to minimise, 217
+
+Federation of Australasian Provinces:
+  Artificial boundaries between the provinces, 299
+  Australasian Federation Enabling Act [see that title]
+  Benefits of, 235
+  Climatic differences engendering divergence of opinions, 299
+  Committee appointed by House of Assembly, Victoria, to consider, 214
+  Constitution Bill [see that title]
+  Federal Council [see that title]
+  Hobart, Premiers' conference at, 227
+  Interdependence of Provinces, hastening establishment of, 230
+  Inter-provincial conference on, 214
+  New South Wales, Governor of, receiving commission as
+    Governor-General of Australia, 213
+  Plebiscite, new Federal constitution proposed, referring to, 228
+  Prospects of, 236
+  Sydney conventions, 215
+  Town and country inhabitants, difference in development of, 299
+
+Female Suffrage:
+  New Zealand:
+    C.D. Act, Repeal of, advocated by female voters, 196
+    Domestic servants' weekly half-holiday Bill, 203
+    Elections, Radical returns, 193
+    Electoral Bill of 1892 conferring franchise on all adult women, 192
+    Equal wages for similar work of men and women demanded by female
+      voters, 209
+    Juvenile Depravity Suppression Bill, 203
+    Liquor legislation and prominence of temperance movement, due to, 194
+    Modifications of female voters' views, 207
+    National Council of Women, resolutions passed by, 204, 205
+    Sentiment, tendency of subordinating reason to, danger of Female
+      Suffrage, 210
+    Totalisator, suppressing, result of, 196
+    Women's franchise leagues inducing female voters to support
+      candidates on moral considerations, 205
+  Queensland, result of adopting in, 185
+  South Australia:
+    Election to Parliament, women eligible for, 187
+    First elections under new franchise, 188; results of, 189
+    Licensed Victuallers' Act, prohibition of employment of
+      barmaids, proposed under influence of, 191
+    Plebiscite [see that title]
+    Voting privileges accorded to female electors in, 192
+  Tasmania:
+    Plebiscite, proposed application of for, 177
+    Result of adopting in, 184
+  Victoria:
+    Plural voting, abolition of, included in Bill, 186
+    Result of adopting in, 184
+
+Finance [see title Revenue and Expenditure]
+
+Financial crisis in Australia, causes of, 246
+
+Financial extravagance in New South Wales, means of diminishing, 34
+
+Financial statement, Queensland, 1896, extract with regard to export of
+home produce, 79
+
+Foreign competition in Australasia:
+  Great Britain, hostility towards in consequence of, 296
+  Labouring classes' opposition to, 294
+
+Foreign politics, Australasians' imperialistic views of, 298
+
+Forrest, Right Hon. Sir John, 157, 166, 253
+
+Free trade policy of New South Wales, 212
+
+Fremantle, Government harbour works to induce mail steamers to call at,
+303
+
+Friendly societies and savings banks, individual efforts of labouring
+classes demonstrated by, 259
+
+Frozen meat industry:
+  Queensland:
+    Distributing agencies, 80
+    Financial statement of 1896, 79
+    South Australia, receiving depot at Port Adelaide, 21
+    Victoria, State advances for, 148
+
+Fysh, Hon. Sir P. O., 178
+
+
+G
+
+Gold-mining:
+  Discovery of gold, effect of, on Australasian Democracy, 244
+  New South Wales, right of mining on private land obtained by
+    Labour Party, 49
+  New Zealand goldfields, roads and water-races on, Government
+    constructing, 105
+  Victoria, state encouragement 147
+  Western Australia:
+    Coolgardie goldfields [see that title]
+    Crown lands, miner's rights on acquiring, 165
+    Inducements offered to immigrants, 165
+
+Goldstein, Colonel, Honorary Secretary of Leongatha Labour Colony,
+Victoria, 151
+
+Government advances to Settlers Act, New Zealand, 99, 118
+
+Government Architect Department of New South Wales--designer of Crown
+Lands office receiving less salary than principal messenger, 44
+
+Government Railways Act of 1888, New South Wales, means of diminishing
+political pressure, 39
+
+Graduated Death Duties, assessment of, in Australasia, 278
+
+Great Britain:
+  Closer union with, Australians' indifference to, 298
+  Friendly relations with, suggestions for maintaining, 298
+  Ill-feeling towards, causes of, 296
+  Sympathy of the middle classes of Australia with, 297
+
+Great Southern Railway, Western Australia, loan for purchase of, 163
+
+
+H
+
+Hobart, Premiers' conference on Federation of Australasia at, 227
+
+Homesteads Act of 1893, Western Australia, free grants of land offered
+to settlers by, 166
+
+Humanitarian Legislation in Queensland:
+  Factory Act of 1896, 77
+  Labour Party's complaint, 74
+  Royal Commission of inquiry, 77
+
+
+I
+
+Immigration:
+  Chinese Immigration Act of 1887, Tasmania restricting immigration
+    of coloured races, 170
+  Consumptive persons, Bills forbidding immigration of, 295
+  State-aided immigration, workmen's objection to taxation for, 294, 295
+  Western Australian goldfields, inducements offered to immigrants, 165
+
+Improved-farm settlements, system of in New Zealand, 111
+
+Income tax:
+  Assessment of in:
+    New Zealand, 89
+    South Australia, 17
+    Tasmania, 181
+  Property and personal exertion incomes, difference between taxation
+    of, 279
+
+Industrial disputes, settling by conciliation [see title Arbitration
+and Conciliation]
+
+Inter-provincial conference on Australasian Federation, 214
+
+Irrigation and water supply works, Victoria:
+  Failure of, 143
+  Inadequate preliminary investigations of, 145
+
+
+J
+
+Juvenile Depravity Suppression Bill, New Zealand, 203
+
+
+K
+
+Kalgoorlie, visit to, 310
+
+Kanakas:
+  Sugar cultivation in Queensland:
+    Importation of Kanakas, question as to necessity of, 66
+    Number employed in, 64
+    Protection of, 63
+    Re-engaging after expiration of contracts, 64
+  Traffic in Kanakas decreasing population of Pacific Islands, 64
+
+Kingston, Right Hon. C. C., 3, 16, 25
+
+Knutsford, Lord, 57
+
+
+L
+
+Labour Bureau and Casual Labour Board for relieving unemployed in New
+South Wales, 45
+
+Labour Parties:
+  Legislative Councils attacked by, 273
+  New South Wales:
+    "Caucus" meetings, 51
+    Electoral Reform policy, 49
+    Gold, right of mining on private land obtained by, 49
+    "Solidarity," vote of, 50
+    Tariff question, disagreement on, 49
+    Taxation of land values obtained by, 50
+  New Zealand, 263
+  Queensland:
+    Electoral reform policy, 75
+    Failure of, 74
+    Grievances against Government, 74
+    New Zealand and South-Australian Labour Parties
+      compared with, 73
+    Socialistic tendencies of, 73
+  South Australia:
+    Development and work of, 3
+    Liberals working in connection with, 4, 263
+    Queensland Labour Party compared with, 74
+  Victoria, 263
+
+Labouring classes:
+  Building societies, labouring classes availing themselves of, 260
+  Condition of, on the whole satisfactory, 301
+  Foreign Competition:
+    Great Britain, hostility towards in consequence of, 296
+    Labouring classes' opposition to, 293
+  Larrikinism of Melbourne and Sydney, exaggeration of, 301
+  Protection, labouring classes in favour of, 292
+  South Australian education, secular character of, effect
+    on labouring classes, 32
+  Thriftiness of, 258
+
+Land Act of 1893, Victoria, for relief of unemployed, 149
+
+Land for Settlements Acts, New Zealand authorising repurchase or
+exchange of lands, 93-97
+
+Land Grant railways, 251
+  Tasmania, for encouragement of private enterprise, 181
+  Western Australia, 162
+
+Land tax, assessment of in:
+  New Zealand, 88
+  South Australia, 17
+
+Legislative Assembly:
+  Australian Provinces, continuity of representation in, means
+    of obtaining, 276
+  Conflicts between Legislative Assembly and Legislative
+    Council [see that title]
+  New South Wales, salary of members, 48
+  South Australia:
+    Elected on basis of Adult Suffrage, 2
+    Salary of members, 2
+  Victoria:
+    Committee to consider advisability of Australasian
+      Federation, appointed by, 214
+    Elected on basis of Manhood Suffrage, 122
+    Salary of members, 122
+  Western Australia:
+    Salary--members receiving no salary, 158
+
+Legislative Council:
+  Conflicts between Legislative Assembly and Legislative
+    Council [see that title]
+  Labour Parties' attacks on, 273
+  New South Wales and Queensland, members nominated for life
+    without salary, 121
+  South Australia:
+    Property qualification:
+      Electors', 2
+      Members not subjected to, 28
+    Salary of members, 2
+  Tasmania:
+    Property qualification not required for membership, 122
+    Salary of members, 122
+  Victoria:
+    Property qualification of members, 122
+    Public expenditure, Legislative Council failing to
+      check extravagance of, 126
+  Western Australia:
+    Property qualification:
+      Electors', 157, 158
+      Members not subjected to, 122
+    Salary--members receiving no salary, 158
+
+Leongatha Labour Colony in Victoria, 151, 268
+
+Liberals in South Australia working in connection with Labour Party, 4
+
+Licensed Victuallers' Act of 1896, South Australia, proposed
+prohibition of employment of barmaids, 191
+
+Life insurance, annuities, &c., in New Zealand, department of the
+State, 104
+
+Liquor Legislation, New Zealand:
+  Local Option and Licensing Committee polls placed on basis of
+    adult suffrage, 198
+  National prohibition of licenses proposed, 201
+  Prohibition and reduction of licenses, results of voting on, 200
+  Temperance movement, prominence of, effect of Female Suffrage, 194
+
+Local land boards for disposal of Crown lands, New Zealand, 117
+
+Lotteries in Tasmania unaffected by Betting and Gaming Act, 171, 172
+
+
+M
+
+McPherson, Mr. J. A., leader of Labour Party in South Australia, 5
+
+Maoris of New Zealand:
+  Conflicts of 1860-70 with European settlers, 84
+  Improvement in relations with Europeans, 84
+  Lands obtained by Europeans from:
+    Pre-emptive right of the Crown, 83
+    Validation Court for considering titles to, 84
+  Sovereignty of New Zealand ceded by, 83
+
+Meat and Dairy Produce Encouragement Act of 1893, pastoral industries
+of Queensland assisted by, 71
+
+Melbourne waterworks, 143, 145
+
+Midland Railway, Western Australia, 162
+
+Murtho--village settlement of South Australia, success of, 11
+
+
+N
+
+National Council of Women, New Zealand, resolution passed by, 204
+
+Native-born Australians, increase in proportion of, 297
+
+Nelson, Right Hon. Sir Hugh, 60, 79, 253
+
+New South Wales:
+  Democratic Government established in, 48
+  Federal Council: Abstention of New South Wales from, 216
+  Female Suffrage, result of adopting, 184
+  Financial extravagance and political pressure in, means of
+    diminishing, 34
+  Free trade policy of, 212
+  Governor of, receiving commission as Governor-General of
+    Australia, 213
+  Government Architect Department--Designer of Crown Lands
+    Office receiving less salary than principal messenger in
+    1895, 44
+  Labour Party [see that title]
+  Legislative Assembly, salary of members, 48
+  Legislative Council, members nominated for life without salary, 121
+  Unemployed [see that title]
+
+New Zealand:
+  Australian provinces and New Zealand, differences of condition
+    between, 82
+  Cheviot estate purchased by the Government, 93
+  Crown lands:
+    Local land boards for disposal of, 117
+    Sale of, 93
+  Elective Executive Bill introduced into, 277
+  Expenditure, reduction of public expenditure, 88
+  Fair Rent Bill, 103
+  Federal Council, abstention of New Zealand from, 216
+  Female Suffrage [see that title]
+  Improved-farm settlements system in, 111
+  Industrial disputes, Boards of Conciliation appointment of, 284
+  Labour Party compared with Queensland Labour Party, 74
+  Land for Settlements Act of 1892, authorising repurchase
+    or exchange of lands, 95, 97
+  Legislative Council [see that title]
+  Life insurance, annuities, &c., 104
+  Liquor legislation [see that title]
+  Maoris [see that title]
+  Mayor of Onehunga, inability of Mrs. Yates to fill position, 208
+  Pastoral Tenants' Relief Act of 1895, 118
+  Political patronage, charges brought against Government, 269, 271
+  Provincial legislatures, abolishing, 83
+  Public works [see that title]
+  Technical instruction in agriculture, &c., by experts, 104
+  Unemployed [see that title]
+  Village settlements [see that title]
+
+Norman, Sir Henry, 61
+
+Northern Railway, Western Australia, course of, 162
+
+
+P
+
+Parliament of Commonwealth--Constitution Bill for establishing
+Federation of Australasia [see that title]
+
+Pastoral industries:
+  Queensland:
+    Darling Downs industries, success of, 70, 71
+    Irregularity of employment in, 69
+    Land tenure, new form of for shearers, 70
+    Produce, disposal of:
+      Financial statement, 1896, extract with reference to, 79
+      Meat and Dairy Produce Act, assisting, 71
+  Victoria:
+    Protection of the State, 154
+    Right of selection on pastoral properties dispute--cause
+      of conflict between the two Houses, 122, 123
+
+Pastoral Tenants' Relief Act of 1895, New Zealand, 118
+
+Peace Preservation Act of 1894, Queensland, 74
+
+Plebiscite:
+  Establishment of in Australasian legislation, 276
+  Federation of Australasian Provinces, proposed framing of
+    new Constitution and referring to, 227
+  Legislative Council and House of Assembly disputes, proposed
+    settlement of by plebiscite, 273
+  South Australia:
+    Bill for establishment of, 29
+    Educational system, alterations in, question referred
+      to plebiscite, 29, 274
+  Tasmania, Female Suffrage, proposed application of plebiscite
+    for, 177, 187
+
+Plural voting:
+  South Australia, plural voting forbidden in, 2
+  Victoria, proposed abolition of, 186
+  Tasmania, partial abolition of, 173
+
+Political patronage, misuse of, in New Zealand, charges against the
+Government, 269, 271
+
+Postal and Telegraphic Department, Parliament of Commonwealth's
+exclusive control of, 221
+
+Produce and Export Department:
+  Queensland, concessions to producers:
+    Financial statement of 1896, extract with regard to, 79
+    Meat and Dairy Produce Act, 71
+    Sugar Works Guarantee Act, 65
+  Relations between, Provinces strengthened by promotion
+    of enterprise, 253
+  South Australia:
+    Institution of, 21
+    Output of the Provinces, means of securing uniformity, 23
+  Tasmania--Inspection of exported produce, necessity of, 172
+  Victoria--State advances to producers, 148
+
+Property Qualification:
+  South Australian Legislative Council:
+    Electors', 2
+    Members not subjected to, 121, 122
+  Victorian Legislative Council, 122
+  Western Australian Legislative Council, 157
+
+Prospecting Boards in gold-mining districts, Victoria, appointment of,
+147
+
+Protection:
+  Development, result of, 292
+  Interchange of commodities between the Provinces impeded by
+    protective tariff, 212
+  Labouring classes in favour of, 292
+  South Australia adopting protective tariff, 24
+
+Provincial Legislatures of New Zealand, abolition of, 83
+
+Public Service Board, New South Wales, for investigating all
+departments of Civil Service, 44
+
+Public works:
+  New South Wales, Parliamentary Standing Committee of Public
+    Works, means of diminishing political pressure in, 40
+  New Zealand:
+    Communication, improving means of, by public works scheme, 85
+    Co-operative construction, 105
+    Encouragement of settlement--public works scheme valueless
+      without, 120
+    Railways, preservation of Crown Land for constructing,
+      withdrawn by Government, 92
+  Queensland, facilitating occupation in outlying districts
+    by construction of public works, 78
+  Victoria:
+    Audit Commissioners to recover arrears of money due to State,
+      proposed authorisation of, 146
+    Extravagant expenditure, on, 143
+    Irrigation and water supply works:
+      Inadequate preliminary investigations, 145
+      Liabilities--failure of works to meet their own liabilities, 144
+    Railway Commissioners' libel action against Mr. David Syme, 143
+  Western Australia--difficulties of the Government, 160
+
+
+Q
+
+Queensland--Australian Federation Enabling Bill, rejection of in, 235
+  Central and Northern Queensland's separation from the South:
+    Agitation for, 55
+    Arguments in favour of, 56
+    Boundaries adopted by Separationists, 56
+    Claims of Central Queensland, 56
+    Constitution Bill, attempt at introducing, 59
+    Decline of agitation, 61
+    Federal Convention delegates--proportion of Northern and
+      Central Queensland representatives proposed to be sent, 60
+    Financial Districts Bill, 59
+    Imperial Government's intervention, Lord Knutsford's reply
+      to Northern deputation, 57
+    Natural products, interchange of between the separated Provinces, 58
+    Public Debt Liability, 59
+    Revenue of the districts--Royal Commission of Inquiry into, 59
+    Supreme Court judges, appointment of, 60
+  Female Suffrage, result of adopting in, 185
+  Humanitarian legislation [see that title]
+  Labour Party [see that title]
+  Legislative Council, members nominated for life without salary, 121
+  Pastoral industries [see that title]
+  Railways, management of by the State, 251
+  Revenue and expenditure--development of industries by the State, 77
+  Sugar cultivation [see that title]
+
+
+R
+
+Radical result of elections after establishment of Female Suffrage in
+South Australia and New Zealand, 193
+
+Railways:
+  New South Wales, appointment of railway Commissioners, 39
+  New Zealand, reservation of Crown Lands for constructing,
+    withdrawn by Government, 86
+  Queensland railways, management of by the State, 252
+  Tasmanian land-grant railways, encouragement of enterprise by, 181
+  Victoria:
+    Extravagant Expenditure on, 142, 246, 249
+      Railway Commissioners' libel action against Mr. David Syme, 143
+  Western Australia, 162
+
+Referendum [sec title Plebiscite]
+
+Reid, Right Hon. G. H., 36, 50, 51, 227
+
+Religious bodies, Western Australia, grants to, abolition of, 159
+
+Responsible Government:
+  Australasia, advantages and disadvantages of, 264
+  Western Australia obtaining, 156
+
+Revenue and expenditure:
+  Federation of Australasian Provinces--revenue and expenditure
+    of Commonwealth, regulations for, 221
+  New Zealand, reduction of expenditure, 88
+  Queensland:
+    Central and Northern Queensland--revenue of the districts,
+      Royal Commission of Inquiry into, 59
+    Development of industries by the State, 77
+  Victoria:
+    Extravagant expenditure of, 142
+    Legislative Council's inability to check, 126
+  Western Australia, causes of improved credit, 167
+
+Rowdiness and drunkenness, absence of among Coolgardie miners, 314
+
+Russell, Captain, misuse of political patronage charges brought against
+New Zealand Government by, 269
+
+
+S
+
+Salaries:
+  Australasian Parliaments, effect of salaries on members, 267
+  Parliament of Commonwealth proposed salary of members of, 220
+
+Salvation Army services at Coolgardie goldfields, 312
+
+Savings Bank returns:
+  Individual effort of Australian labouring class demonstrated by, 259
+  South Australian, 33
+
+Seddon, Right Hon. R. J., 106, 119, 120
+
+Shops in Victoria, hours of closing, 134
+
+Socialism:
+  Queensland Labour Party, socialistic tendencies of, 73
+  State Socialism in Australasia, origin and extent of, 245, 249
+  "Solidarity" vote of New South Wales Labour Party, 50
+
+South Australia:
+  Democratic policy due to Constitution, 2
+  Dissolution of both Houses after disagreement, success of, 178
+  Education [see that title]
+  Elective Executive, substitution of, advocated, 26
+  Female Suffrage [see that title]
+  Income tax on incomes derived from property or personal exertion,
+    distinction between, 279
+  Industrial disputes, Boards of Conciliation for, 284
+  Labour Party [see that title]
+  Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council [see those titles]
+  Legislative measures, 24
+  Plebiscite [see that title]
+  Plural voting forbidden in, 2
+  Produce Export Department:
+    Institution of, 21
+    Output of the various Provinces, means of securing uniformity in, 23
+  Progressive Taxation first introduced in, 16
+  Savings Bank Returns, 33
+  Tariff question settled in favour of Protection, 24
+  Village Settlements [see that title]
+
+South-Western Railway, Western Australia, course of, 162
+
+State Farm in New Zealand for relief of unemployed, 113
+
+State Socialism in Australasia, origin and extent of, 245, 249
+
+Stout, Sir Robert, misuse of political patronage, charges brought
+against New Zealand Government by, 271
+
+Succession Duties, assessment of in South Australia, 20
+
+Sugar cultivation in Queensland:
+  Irregularity of employment in, 69
+  Kanakas [see that title]
+  Modifications in, 64
+  Sugar Works Guarantee Act, industry developed by, 65
+
+Syme, Mr. David, 153
+
+
+T
+
+Tailoresses' Union, formation of in Victoria, 135
+
+Tariff:
+  New South Wales, Labour Party's disagreement on question of, 49
+  South Australia, tariff question settled in favour of Protection, 24
+  Victoria, protective tariff in, cause of contention between
+    Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council, 123
+
+Tasmania:
+  Female Suffrage [see that title]
+  Graduated Death Duties, assessment of, 278
+  Immigration of coloured races, restriction of, 170
+  Income tax on incomes derived from property and personal exertion,
+    distinction between, 279
+  Legislative Council [see that title]
+  Produce and Export Department--inspection of exported produce, 172
+  Public works, taxation for obtaining funds for, 181
+  Railways--land-grant railways for encouragement of private
+    enterprise, 181
+
+Taxation:
+  Additional taxation cause of conflict between Legislative
+    Assembly and Legislative Council, 123
+  Australian Provinces' form of direct taxation, 279
+  New South Wales Labour Party, taxation of land values obtained by, 50
+  New Zealand, assessment of land and income taxes in, 89
+  South Australia, progressive taxation first introduced into, 16
+  Tasmania, public works outlay, taxation for obtaining funds for, 181
+
+Technical instruction in agriculture, &c., by experts, New Zealand, 104
+
+Telegraphic and postal departments--Parliament of Commonwealth's
+exclusive control of, 221
+
+Town and country antagonism--reflex of antagonism between Victorian
+Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council, 131
+
+Town and country inhabitants, difference in development of, necessity
+of considering with regard to Australasian Federation, 299
+
+Trade Unions, workmen's willingness to form, 281
+
+Traditional Conservatism, absence of among Australasian politicians, 277
+
+
+U
+
+Undesirable Immigrants Exclusion Bill, forbidding introduction of
+consumptive persons into New Zealand, 295
+
+Unemployed:
+  Indiscriminate assistance, 255
+  New South Wales:
+    Casual Labour Board and Labour Bureau, 45
+    Loafers, placing in Industrial Homes, proposed, 48
+    Money spent on works for, 46, 47
+  New Zealand:
+    Charitable Aid Expenditure of 1896, 116
+    Compulsory labour for loafers, 115
+    Improved-Farm Settlements system, 111
+    State Farm near Wellington, 113
+  South Australia:
+    Village Settlements, 6
+  Victoria:
+    Land Acts of 1893, 149
+    Leongatha Colony, 151, 268
+    Public subscriptions for, 150
+    Shiftlessness of men, 153
+
+Union Steamship Company, New Zealand, engineers' industrial dispute,
+290, 291
+
+Upper House [see titles Legislative Council and Conflict between
+Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council]
+
+
+V
+
+Van Dieman's Land Company, Tasmania, Bill authorising construction of
+railway by, 181
+
+Victoria:
+  Australasian Federation Enabling Act--provisions of Victorian Act, 230
+  Confidence of the people in efficiency of State action, 154
+  Factories and Shops Acts [see that title]
+  Female Suffrage:
+    Abolition of plural voting included in Bill introducing, 186
+    Result of adopting, 184
+  Gold-mining, State encouragement of, 147
+  Income tax on incomes derived from property or personal
+    exertion, distinction between, 279
+  Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council [see those titles]
+  Produce and export--bonuses given to producers, 148
+  Protective Tariff:
+    Cause of contention between Legislative Assembly and Legislative
+      Council, 123
+  Public works [see that title]
+  Unemployed [see that title]
+
+Village Settlements, 255
+  New Zealand, 95, 99
+  South Australia:
+    Closed by Government, 10
+    Difficulties, encountered by settlers, 10
+    Failure of, 8
+    Formation of, 6
+    Murtho, success of, 11
+    New Zealand Settlements, differing from, 99
+  Victoria, 149
+
+
+W
+
+Western Australia:
+  Aborigines, protection of, 158
+  Assisted Schools Abolition Act, 159
+  Australasian Federation Enabling Act--Provisions of Western
+    Australian Act, 233
+  Churches, grants to, abolition of, 159
+  Constitution Bill, 157
+  Female Suffrage, result of adopting, 185
+  Gold-mining:
+    Coolgardie Goldfields [see that title]
+    Inducements offered to immigrants, 164
+  Legislative Council:
+    Property qualification:
+      Electors', 158
+      Members not subjected to, 121
+  Public works, Government difficulties, 160
+  Responsible Government, 156
+
+Women's Franchise Leagues, New Zealand, inducing female voters to
+support candidates on moral considerations, 206
+
+Working classes [see title Labouring Classes]
+
+
+
+Y
+
+Yates, Mrs., Mayor of Onehunga, inability of to fill position, 208
+
+
+
+
+  The Gresham Press
+  Unwin Brothers
+  Woking and London.
+
+
+
+
+  T. FISHER UNWIN, Publisher,
+  11, Paternoster Buildings, London, E.C.
+
+
+
+A FIRST FLEET FAMILY: BEING A HITHERTO UNPUBLISHED NARRATIVE OF CERTAIN
+REMARKABLE ADVENTURES COMPILED FROM THE PAPERS OF SERGEANT WILLIAM DEW,
+OF THE MARINES
+
+BY
+
+LOUIS BECKE and WALTER JEFFERY
+
+Second Edition.  Crown 8vo., cloth, 6s.
+
+"As convincingly real and vivid as a narrative can be."--Sketch.
+
+"No maker of plots could work out a better story of its kind, nor
+balance it more neatly."--_Daily Chronicle_.
+
+"A book which describes a set of characters varied and so attractive as
+the more prominent figures in this romance, and a book so full of life,
+vicissitude, and peril, should be welcomed by every discreet novel
+reader."--_Yorkshire Post_.
+
+"A very interesting tale, written in clear and vigorous
+English."--_Globe_.
+
+"The novel is a happy blend of truth and fiction, with a purpose that
+will be appreciated by many readers; it has also the most exciting
+elements of the tale of adventure."--_Morning Post_.
+
+
+WORKS BY JOSEPH CONRAD
+
+I.
+
+AN OUTCAST OF THE ISLANDS
+
+Crown 8vo., cloth, 6s.
+
+"Subject to the qualifications thus disposed of (_vide_ first part of
+notice), 'An Outcast of the Islands' is perhaps the finest piece of
+fiction that has been published this year, as 'Almayer's Folly' was one
+of the finest that was published in 1895....  Surely this is real
+romance--the romance that is real.  Space forbids anything but the
+merest recapitulation of the other living realities of Mr. Conrad's
+invention--of Lingard, of the inimitable Almayer, the one-eyed
+Babalatchi, the Naturalist, of the pious Abdulla--all novel, all
+authentic.  Enough has been written to show Mr. Conrad's quality.  He
+imagines his scenes and their sequence like a master; he knows his
+individualities and their hearts; he has a new and wonderful field in
+this East Indian Novel of his....  Greatness is deliberately written;
+the present writer has read and re-read his two books, and after
+putting this review aside for some days to consider the discretion of
+it, the word still stands."--_Saturday Review_
+
+
+II.
+
+ALMAYER'S FOLLY
+
+Second Edition.   Crown 8vo., cloth, 6s.
+
+"This startling, unique, splendid book."--Mr. T. P. O'CONNOR, M.P.
+
+"This is a decidedly powerful story of an uncommon type, and breaks
+fresh ground in fiction ...  All the leading characters in the
+book--Almayer, his wife, his daughter, and Dain, the daughter's native
+lover--are well drawn, and the parting between father and daughter has
+a pathetic naturalness about it, unspoiled by straining after effect.
+There are, too, some admirably graphic passages in the book.  The
+approach of a monsoon is most effectively described....  The name of
+Mr. Joseph Conrad is new to us, but it appears to us as if he might
+become the Kipling of the Malay Archipelago."--_Spectator_.
+
+
+THE EBBING OF THE TIDE
+
+BY
+
+LOUIS BECKE
+
+Author of "By Reef and Palm"
+
+Second Edition.  Crown 8vo., cloth, 6s.
+
+"Mr. Louis Becke wields a powerful pen, with the additional advantage
+that he waves it in unfrequented places, and summons up with it the
+elemental passions of human nature....  It will be seen that Mr. Becke
+is somewhat of the fleshly school, but with a pathos and power not
+given to the ordinary professors of that school....  Altogether for
+those who like stirring stories cast in strange scenes, this is a book
+to be read."--_National Observer_.
+
+
+PACIFIC TALES
+
+BY
+
+LOUIS BECKE
+
+With a Portrait of the Author
+
+Second Edition.  Crown 8vo., cloth, 6s.
+
+"The appearance of a new book by Mr. Becke has become an event of
+note--and very justly.  No living author, if we except Mr. Kipling, has
+so amazing a command of that unhackneyed vitality of phrase that most
+people call by the name of realism.  Whether it is scenery or character
+or incident that he wishes to depict, the touch is ever so dramatic and
+vivid that the reader is conscious of a picture and impression that has
+no parallel save in the records of actual sight and
+memory."--_Westminster Gazette_.
+
+"Another series of sketches of island life in the South Seas, not
+inferior to those contained in 'By Reef and Palm.'"--_Speaker_.
+
+"The book is well worth reading.  The author knows what he is talking
+about and has a keen eye for the picturesque."--G. B. BURGIN in
+_To-day_.
+
+"A notable contribution to the romance of the South Seas."--T. P.
+O'CONNOR, M.P., in _The Graphic_.
+
+
+PADDY'S WOMAN
+
+BY
+
+HUMPHREY JAMES
+
+Crown 8vo, 6s.
+
+"Traits of the Celt of humble circumstances are copied with keen
+appreciation and unsparing accuracy."--_Scotsman_.
+
+"....... They are full of indescribable charm and pathos."--_Bradford
+Observer_.
+
+"The outstanding merit of this series of stories is that they are
+absolutely true to life .... the photographic accuracy and minuteness
+displayed are really marvellous."--_Aberdeen Free Press_.
+
+"'Paddy's Woman and Other Stories' by Humphrey James; a volume written
+in the familiar diction of the Ulster people themselves, with perfect
+realism and very remarkable ability....  For genuine human nature and
+human relations, and humour of an indescribable kind, we are unable to
+cite a rival to this volume."--_The World_.
+
+"For a fine subtle piece of humour we are inclined to think that 'A
+Glass of Whisky' takes a lot of beating....  In short Mr. Humphrey
+James has given us a delightful book, and one which does as much credit
+to his heart as to his head.  We shall look forward with a keen
+anticipation to the next 'writings' by this shrewd, 'cliver,' and
+compassionate young author."--_Bookselling_.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Australasian Democracy, by Henry de R. Walker
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AUSTRALASIAN DEMOCRACY ***
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