Australasian Democracy

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Henry de Rosenbach Walker. Australasian Democracy

PREFACE

I. LIBERALISM AND LABOUR IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA

II. DEMOCRACY AND ITS SAFEGUARDS IN NEW SOUTH WALES

III. PROBLEMS OF QUEENSLAND

IV. THE LAND POLICY OF NEW ZEALAND

V. CHARACTERISTICS OF VICTORIAN LEGISLATION

VI. THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

VII. DISCURSIVE NOTES ON TASMANIA

VIII. FEMALE SUFFRAGE

IX. THE EVOLUTION OF A FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

APPENDIX TO IX. THE NEW FEDERAL SCHEME.15

X. SALIENT FEATURES OF THE AUSTRALASIAN DEMOCRACY

XI. A VISIT TO THE COOLGARDIE GOLDFIELDS IN MARCH, 1896

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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 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.

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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, 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 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 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 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.

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