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Title: Australasian Democracy

Author: Henry de Rosenbach Walker

Release date: January 8, 2011 [eBook #34887]
                Most recently updated: January 7, 2021

Language: English

Credits: Produced by Al Haines


*** START OF THE 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

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AN OUTCAST OF THE ISLANDS

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