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£255,417; judicial and legal expenditure, £168,896; police and jails, £299,415; customs, harbors, etc., £97,595; mining, £85,696; defense, £194,020; other expenditure, £618,877. Of the total debt the sum of £36,835,095 was borrowed for the construction of railroads, £7,197,706 for waterworks, £1,105,557 for school buildings, and £1,613,702 for other public works.

Of the revenue of Queensland £1,290,795 were derived from customs, £70,417 from excise and export duties, £100,052 from stamps, £52,685 from licenses, £53,033 from the dividend duty, £358,279 from pastoral leases, £195,888 from other rents and sales of land, £1,052,692 from railroads, and £238,115 from posts and telegraphs. The chief expenditures were £1,286,531 for interest of the public debt, £63,138 for endowments of municipalities, etc., £222,850 for public instruction, £166,815 for the colonial Treasurer's department, £640,662 for operating railroads, £296,491 for posts and telegraphs, and £99,491 for the administration of public lands. The expenditure from loans during the year was £592,158, mostly for new railroads, roads and bridges, harbors, telegraphs, waterworks, etc. The sum of £157,192 was paid out for guarantees to sugar works. The estimated total revenue for 1897 is £3,667,940, and expenditure £3,601,500. The revenue of South Australia is mainly derived from customs, excise, posts and telegraphs, railways, and lands, and the largest part of the expenditure is for the public works and railways, and for interest on the debt. The civil administration, judiciary, police, prisons, and defenses absorb about a third of the revenue. The receipts for 1897 are estimated at £2,583,732, and expenses at £2,590,597. Three quarters of the public debt has been spent in the construction of railroads, telegraphs, and waterworks. The railroads of this colony yield a net return of 3-65 per cent. per annum.

Of the total revenue of Western Australia in 1895 railroads, the post office, and leases of lands produced nearly half, and the rest, £621,825, was derived from customs.

In Tasmania the receipts from customs in 1895 amounted to £304,365. About three fifths of the revenue is derived from taxation, and one fifth from railroads, posts, and telegraphs. Of the expenditure 43 per cent. is for interest, 31 per cent. for public works, 8 per cent. for general administration, 5 per cent. for education and religion, 6 per cent. for charities and sanitation, and 7 per cent. for law and protection. The bulk of the debt pays 4 per cent. interest. The whole of it was raised for public works. The revenue for 1896 was estimated at £768,790, and expenditure at £743,655.

The revenue of New Zealand given above does not include receipts from sales of land, amounting to £126,571 in 1896. Of the ordinary revenue £1,649,310 came from customs, £707,188 from stamps, posts, and telegraphs, £1,182,280 from railroads, £271,399 from land taxes, and £92,778 from the income tax. The land tax rate for 1896 was 1d. in the pound. In addition there is a graduated tax ranging from d. on estates worth between £5,000 and £10.000 up to 2d. on land worth £210,000 or over. The rate of the income tax was 6d. in the pound on taxable incomes up to £1,000, the first £300 being exempt, and 1s. in the pound on all higher incomes. The chief branches of the ordinary expenditure were £1,683,775 for the debt, £744,200 for railroads, £453,156 for education, £338,836 for posts and telegraphs, and £196,999 for constabulary and defense. The ordinary revenue for 1897 is estimated at £4,699,558, including a surplus of £215,558 carried over, and the expenditure at £4,452.165, leaving an estimated surplus of £247,393. The total expenditure out of the public works

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There were 1,348,600 acres under cultivation in New South Wales in 1896, producing 5,195,312 bushels of wheat and 5,687,030 bushels of corn, besides barley, oats, potatoes, lucerne, and hay. There were 1,231 acres planted to tobacco; 32,927 acres to sugar cane, yielding 207.771 tons of raw sugar; 7,519 acres to the vine, yielding 885,673 gallons of wine and 7,149 gallons of brandy; and 11,956 acres to oranges, yielding 5,954,940 dozen. There were 47,617,687 sheep, 2,150,057 cattle, 487,943 horses, and 221,597 pigs in the colony in 1896. The quantity of wool exported in 1895 was 329,992,675 pounds, valued at £9,976,044. The value of the gold produced in 1895 was £1,315,929; of silver, £81,858; of silver-lead ore and metal, £1,560,813; of coal, £1,095,327. The export of tallow in 1895 was £1,102,145 in value; of coal, £773,954; of hides and skins, £924,466; leather, £294,708; preserved and frozen meat, £695,504; gold coin, £2,710,560. Of the total imports £6,420,107 came from the United Kingdom, £7,321,668 from the other Australasian colonies, £611,021 from other British possessions, £624,268 from the United States, and £1,015,351 from other foreign countries. Of the total exports £9,371,418 went to the United Kingdom, £7,590,985 to the other Australasian colonies, £360,702 to other British possessions, £683,606 to the United States, and £3,928,073 to other foreign countries. The value of home produce exported was £16,436,210, and of foreign exports £5,498,575. The foregoing figures relate to sea-borne commerce only. The overland imports amounted to £1,783,368, and exports to £4,748,129.

The cultivated area in Victoria was 2,864,000 acres in 1896. The production of wheat was 5,668,000 bushels, an average of only 4 bushels to the acre; of oats, 2,879,000 bushels. Vines covered 30,712 acres. There were 431.547 horses, 1,833,900 cattle, 13,180,943 sheep, and 337,588 pigs in the colony in 1895. The value of the gold output of 1895 was £2,960,344. There were 29,897 miners working in the gold fields, of whom 2,014 were Chinamen. The number of hands employed in manufactories was 41,273. The tariff duties average 15 per cent. of the value of imports. The imports of wool were £2,367,915 in value and exports £5,151,153. The exports of gold and specie were £3,570,737; of live animals, £294,886; of leather, leathern cloth, and articles made of leather, £285,194; of breadstuffs, £629,960; of refined sugar, £82,554; of apparel, £105,592; of tallow, £249,904; of all other articles, £3,997,801. Of the total imports £4,759,546 came from the United Kingdom, £5.800,710 from Australasian colonies, £215,238 from India, £113,719 from Ceylon, £16,669 from Canada, £255,419 from other British possessions, £359,680 from the United States, £343,371 from Germany, £132,527 from France, £130,835 from China, £93,769 from Belgium, £96,743 from Java and the Philippines, £79,675 from Sweden and Norway, and £74,443 from other countries. Of the exports £8,068,121 went to the United Kingdom, £4,461,638 to

Australasian colonies, £150,930 to Ceylon, £99,859 to India, £10,406 to Canada, £103,275 to other British possessions, £560,098 to Germany, £320,003 to Belgium, £281,394 to the United States, £224,122 to France, £18,636 to Java and the Philippine Islands, and £249,250 to other countries.

About half the area of Queensland is forest. Of the total area 12,453,840 acres have been alienated and 1,757,755 acres. are in process of alienation, leaving 413,626,485 acres still owned by the state. The receipts from land up to the end of 1895 were £7,543,460. A large proportion of the area is leased for pastoral purposes under the law of 1884 allowing 20,000 acres or less to be selected on a lease for thirty years. The same act provides for the selection of agricultural land up to the maximum of 1,280 acres on a lease running fifty years, with the privilege of purchasing it under certain conditions. There were 3,339 pastoral runs in 1895, aggregating 264.882,426 acres. The live stock of the colony comprised 468,743 horses, 6,822,401 cattle, and 19,856,959 sheep. The cultivated area was 299,278 acres. The corn crop was 2,391,378 bushels in 1895. There were 77,247 acres under sugar cane. The gold product of 1895 was 631,682 ounces. Tin was produced of the value of £68,133; copper, £13,097; silver, £30,042; opals, £32,750; coal, £123,530. The chief exports in 1895 were gold, of the value of £2,272,109; copper, £31,324; wool, £2,991,413; sugar, £796,117; hides and skins, £456,506; tin, £74,187; silver, £48,379; tallow, £595,992; pearl shells, £71,856; preserved and salted meat, £402.480; frozen meat, £583,409; meat extract, £42,791; green fruit, £58,555. The trade is chiefly with Great Britain and the other Australian colonies. The imports from the United States were valued at £130,885.

In South Australia there were 2,625,741 acres cultivated in 1893, of which 1,732,711 acres were under wheat. The wheat crop of 1894 was 13,618.062 bushels. The live stock consisted of 187,666 horses, 323,602 cattle, and 7,267,642 sheep in 1895. There were 112,762 square miles leased in pastoral runs. There was £266,494 worth of copper produced and exported in 1895. The export of wool in 1895 was £1,438,776; of wheat, £445,461; of flour, £392,974. The imports from the United States were £241,886 in value; exports to the United States, £14,439.

In Western Australia agriculture and stock raising have made great progress, as well as mining. The land under cultivation in 1895 was 218,239 acres, a minute fraction of the surface of the colony, which embraces 624,588,800 acres. The live stock comprised 58,506 horses, 200,091 cattle, and 2,295,832 sheep. The chief crop is wheat, of which 8 bushels are raised to the acre. There are silver, copper, lead, tin, and coal mines, as well as gold mines. The gold export increased from £226,284 in 1892 to £421,385 in 1893, £787,094 in 1894, £879,748 in 1895, and £1,068,808 in 1896. The export of pearls in 1895 was valued at £20,000; pearl shells, £27,298; sandalwood, £30,863; timber, £88,146; wool, £183,510; skins, £18,941.

In Tasmania the land sold or granted to settlers amounts to 4,711,074 acres. The unalienated land, embracing 10,860,426 acres, not counting 1,206,500 acres of lakes and islands, is mostly heavily timbered and contains valuable minerals. The area under crops in 1896 was 212,703 acres; under grasses, 221,970 acres ; leased as sheep runs, 630,035 acres; planted with fruit trees, 11,037 acres. The yield of wheat in 1896 was 1,164,855 bushels, 18 to to the acre; of oats, 906,934 bushels, 27 to the acre; of potatoes, 81,423 tons, 4-23 to the acre; of hay, 62,345 tons, 1.14 to the acre. Large quantities of fruit are exported. There were 510,387 bushels of apples gathered. The hop product was 543,650

pounds. The live stock consisted of 31,580 horses, 162,801 cattle, 1,523,846 sheep, and 70,142 hogs. The colony is rich in gold, iron, tin, copper, silver, lead, and coal. The export of gold in 1895 was £218,308; of silver, £227,916; of tin, £167,754; of timber and bark, £65,125; of wool, £202,341; of hops, £18,210; of green and preserved fruit, £161,464.

Of 66,710,320 acres, the total area of New Zealand, 21,131,251 acres had been alienated up to April, 1895. About two thirds of the surface of the island is suitable for agriculture and grazing. About 20,000,000 acres remain under forest and 9,000,000 acres are barren mountain, lakes, and waste lands. There were 9,285,170 acres sown to grasses in 1896, and a total area under crops of 10,698,809 acres. The public lands leased for pastoral purposes amounted to 12,469,976 acres. The wheat crop of 1896 was 6,644,000 bushels, averaging nearly 28 to the acre. Of oats, 12,264,000 bushels were grown, over 33 to the acre. The live stock consisted of 237,418 horses, 1,047,901 cattle, 18,982,080 sheep, and 239,778 pigs. The values of the principal exports in 1895 were: Wool, £3,662,131; frozen meat, £1,262,711; gold, £1,162,181; butter and cheese, £378,510; hides, skins, and leather, £382,254; Kauri gum, £418,766; tallow, £260,999; grain and flour, £218,996; timber, £141,892; preserved meat, £66,137; grass seed, £64,112; New Zealand hemp, or phormium, £21,040; live animals, £37,256; hams and bacon, £6,450. The export of wool was 144,295,154 pounds; of frozen meat, 1,025,243 hundredweight; of butter, 60,771 hundredweight; of cheese, 55,655 hundredweight; of Kauri gum, 8,338 tons.

Of the total imports, £3,992,359 came from the United Kingdom, £1,261,125 from Australian colonies, £394,223 from the United States, £282,571 from Pacific islands, £233,135 from India and Ceylon, £38,664 from China, £12,474 from Mauritius, and £185,578 from other countries. Of the exports £7,045,646 went to the United Kingdom, £1,035,753 to Australia, £316,639 to the United States, £125,643 to Pacific islands, and £26,543 to other countries.

Navigation.-There were 3,121 vessels, of 2,929,758 tons, entered during 1895 at the ports of New South Wales, 2,900, of 2,604,664 tons, being British and 221, of 325,094 tons, foreign. The total number cleared was 3,090, of 2,930,280 tons, of which 2.881, of 2,610,510 tons, were British and 209, of 319,770 tons, foreign. The shipping registered in the colony comprised 479 sailing vessels, of 54,222 tons, and 485 steamers, of 57,820 tons, having been increased during the year by 13 sailing vessels, of 1,363 tons, and 13 steamers, of 5,172 tons.

The number of vessels entered at Victorian ports during 1895 was 1,948, of 2,181,539 tons, of which 408, of 885,839 tons. were British, and 1,440, of 1,065,234 tons, were colonial; the number cleared was 1,889, of 2,167,147 tons, of which 398, of 876,468 tons, were British and 1,390, of 1,061,925 tons, colonial. The shipping registered in the colony consisted of 261 sailing vessels, of 41,925 tons, and 153 steamers, of 48,029 tons.

In Queensland 584 vessels, of 469,710 tons, were entered and 634, of 502,195 tons, cleared during the year. The shipping of the colony consisted of 137 sailing vessels, of 10,780 tons, and 92 steamers, of 12,415 tons, including river steamers.

There were 1,106 vessels, of 1,483,440 tons, entered and 1,110, of 1,496,203 tons, cleared at South Australian ports. The shipping of this colony consisted of 95 sailing vessels, of 17,715 tons, and 214 steamers, of 22,930 tons. In Western Australia 485 vessels, of 814,368 tons, were entered and 433, of 764,185 tons, cleared in the course of 1895. The

vessels on the register of the colony were 11 steamers, of 3,504 tons, and 144 sailing vessels, of 4,770 tons. At the ports of Tasmania 711 vessels, of 463,979 tons, were entered and 742, of 473,546 tons, cleared in 1895. The colonial merchant fleet consisted of 162 sailing vessels, of 10,009 tons, and 51 steamers, of 8,159 tons. The number of vessels entered at the ports of New Zealand in 1895 was 611, of 672,951 tons, of which 579, of 636,722 tons, were with cargoes; the number cleared was 597, of 648,946 tons, of which 554, of 622,311 tons, were with cargoes. Of the number entered 146, of 299,667 tons, were British, 420, of 319,313 tons, colonial, and 45, of 53,971 tons, foreign. The vessels registered in the colony consisted in 1895 of 299 sailing ships, of 35,925 tons, and 180 steamers, of 38,856

tons.

Railroads, Posts, and Telegraphs.-The length of railroads in operation in New South Wales on June 30, 1896, was 2,531 miles, costing £36,852,194 to build and equip. The receipts for the year were £2,820,417, and the working expenses £1,551,888, being 55-02 per cent. of the gross earnings. There were besides 84 miles of private railroads.

The railroads of Victoria, all belonging to the state, had in 1895 a length of 3,103 miles, built at a cost of £37,909,626. The receipts in the fiscal year 1895 were £2,581,591, and the operating expenses £1,543,393, giving a net return of 2.75 per cent. on the capital, which was borrowed at the mean rate of 3-91 per cent. per annum. There were 40,250,000 passengers and 2,435,857 tons of freight carried in 1895.

In Queensland there were 2,379 miles of railroad open for traffic at the end of 1895, all belonging to the Government and built at a cost £16,603,427. Including loan expenses the cost was £18,458,536. The receipts for 1895 were £1,048,634, and expenses £608,709.

South Australia had 1,888 miles of railroads in 1895, of which 146 miles were in the northern territory. The railroads pay a net profit of 5 per cent. to the Government.

In Western Australia there were 1,164 miles of railroads open for traffic at the end of 1895, when 115 miles were building and 283 miles being surveyed.

Tasmania had 475 miles of railroad at the close of 1895.

The railroads of New Zealand had on April 1, 1896, a total length of 2,189 miles, of which 775 miles were on the North island and 1,239 miles on the South island. The latter figure includes 175 miles of private lines. The receipts of the Government railroads for the year ending March 31, 1896, were £1,183.041, and the expenses £751,368. The cost of construction was £16,328,964. There were 4,162,426 passengers and 2,087,798 tons of freight carried during the year.

The postal traffic of New South Wales for 1895 was 68,079,000 letters, 957,400 postal cards, 44.902,900 newspapers, 11,259,300 packets and book parcels, 422,772 parcels, and 406,235 money orders for the total amount of £1,269,200. The postal revenue of Victoria in 1895 was £509,721, including receipts from telegraphs and telephones, and the expenses were £652,752. In Queensland 18,278,870 letters, 11.885,858 newspapers, 4,834.453 packets, and 134,603 parcels were carried. The post office of South Australia forwarded 17,073,913 letters, 2,129,994 packets. and 8,723,501 newspapers. The Western Australian post office in 1895 handled 17,867.952 ordinary letters, 273.615 registered letters, 17,996,387 newspapers, and 4,079,368 packets. The number of letters passing through the Tasmanian post office in 1895 was 5,692,376; of postal cards, 202,

332; of newspapers, 4,506,191; of packets, 1,354,551. The revenue of the post office alone was £55,876; of the telegraph and telephone service, £14,939; expenses of the department, £61,927. The postal traffic of New Zealand in 1895 was 28,949,936 letters, 637,013 letter cards, 1.201,633 post cards, 11,023,330 books and parcels, 12,675,973 newspapers, and 243,497 money orders issued and 183,995 paid; receipts of posts and telegraphs, £365,727; expenses, £362,325.

The telegraph lines of New South Wales had a length of 12,316 miles at the end of 1895, with 28,799 miles of wire, erected at a total cost of £840,380. The number of messages for that year was 2,635,456. The receipts were £367,316, being £145,901 over the expenses, but the Post Office Department as a whole took in £647,845 only and spent £758,130. Victoria in 1895 had 7,091 miles of lines, with 14,409 miles of wire. The number of dispatches sent during the year was 2,033,630, paying £95,896. The telegraphs of Queensland had a total length of 9,979 miles, with 17,790 miles of wire. There were 853,156 messages sent and 112,952 foreign messages received, besides 89,507 official messages. The receipts from telegraphs were £76,011, and the postal revenue was £158,682, while the expenses of the department were £295,065. South Australia had 5,620 miles of telegraph, with 13,473 miles of wire. There is an overland line connected with the British Australian cable crossing the continent from Port Darwin to Adelaide, 2,000 miles. The Government earns a profit on its telegraphs above running expenses and interest charges.

The telegraph lines in 1895 had a length of 4,577 miles in Western Australia, where 240 miles were being added. There were 720,992 messages sent during the year. The net revenue was £61,673, the total expenses of telegraph service and post office being £108,578. The telegraphs of Tasmania had a length of 1,789 miles, with 3,004 miles of wire, besides 422 miles of cable and 520 miles of telephone wire. The number of dispatches in 1895 was 190,277. The length of the New Zealand telegraphs on March 31, 1896, was 6,245 miles, with 15,764 miles of wire. The number of messages during the year was 2,124,211, of which 1,899,632 were private messages, paying £92,289.

Australian Federation.-At the conference of premiers held at Hobart in February, 1895, it was agreed to dispense as far as possible with the necessity for further parliamentary action in relation to the federal movement, and to appeal by popular election directly to the voters of each colony. But to give validity to the proposed elections, it was necessary first to obtain parliamentary sanction to the scheme in several colonies. For this purpose each colonial parliament was asked to pass an enabling bill. The same difficulty that had been experienced in connection with the draft commonwealth bill of 1891 as to harmonious action on the part of six parliaments was again felt in regard to the passing of the enabling bills. After two years' delay the colony of Queensland had for local reasons still failed at the beginning of 1897 to pass the enabling bill. The necessary legislation had been carried through all the other parliaments, though with a slight departure in Western Australia from the purely popular programme adopted at the Hobart conference. All the Australian colonies, Queensland excepted, were ready at the beginning of 1897 to take action on the bills that had been passed. The lead in the matter was accorded by common consent to New South Wales. A procclamation was issued in that colony by which the enabling act was brought into force on Jan. 4, and after a consultation between the premiers of the principal colonies, from which Western Australia

at first abstained, it was agreed that writs for the elections to the federal convention should be issued on Jan. 20, that nominations should be received until Feb. 11, that the elections should be held on March 4, and that the convention should meet on March 29. Western Australia at first refused to join, but at the last moment decided to take part and to hold its elections on March 13. The enabling act passed in each colony in practically identical terms took the matter henceforth out of the hands of the parliaments. It provided that the convention charged with the task of framing the federal constitution should consist of 10 representatives from each colony elected by the voters for the Legislative Assembly. When three or more colonies should have elected their members to the convention, it devolved upon the governors of those colonies to summon the convention. After framing a constitution the convention was to adjourn for at least thirty, but not more than sixty days, to enable the constitution to be criticised. After the adoption of the constitution by the convention, it was to be referred to the direct vote of the electors for acceptance or rejection. If three colonies accepted the constitution, it should be presented for imperial enactment by the British Parliament. The convention possessed a groundwork for its labors in the comprehensive commonwealth bill framed by the Sydney convention of 1891 after six weeks of deliberation. In that convention Queensland took part, and the scheme of federation drawn up there was in great part the work of the Chief Justice of that colony, Sir Samuel Griffith. New Zealand was also represented at Sydney, but even then showed no strong bent for uniting with the Australian colonies separated from it by 1,200 miles of sea. The elections of delegates to the new federal convention were governed in Victoria and New South Wales largely by the consideration of state rights. The commonwealth bill of 1891 proposed that the Federal Parliament should consist of two houses, of which the lower was to represent the population of Australia, and the upper was to represent the states. State rights were fully guaranteed by the provision that each state was to be represented by 8 senators, each senator to have one vote. Thus every state, small or great, was to have equal power in the Senate, while for the lower house the representation was to be proportioned to population, each state having a representative for every 30,000 inhabitants. The smaller colonies in sist strongly on equal state rights, which they regard as the only guarantee that they will not be swamped in the Federal Parliament by the greater representation in the lower house of the more populous colonies. The great colonies of New South Wales and Victoria, on the other hand, demur to an arrangement that will enable Western Australia, South Australia, and Tasmania in combination to out vote them in the Senate. A federal council met at Hobart on Jan. 27 to consider joint action by the colonies to celebrate the sixty years' reign of Queen Victoria, trade relations between Great Britain and Australia, the New Hebrides question, federal quarantine stations, and uniform bank laws. The Victoria delegates deprecated proceeding with business of importance in view of the early meeting of the federal convention. The Queensland and Western Australia delegates strongly opposed inaction, predicting that the labors of the convention would prove abortive. Finally it was decided to proceed with the business. The conference discussed Mr. Chamberlain's suggestion of a Zollverein, but were unable to determine whether it involved free trade within the empire or lower duties on British as compared with foreign goods. The Australian premiers here, and

later in London, declared generally in favor of preferential duties on British goods on condition of a like protection of Australian products in the British market. The delegates to the federal convention were elected in the five colonies of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, and Tasmania. In New South Wales and Victoria several delegates were elected on a platform of state rights. The Victorian delegates held a meeting with a view of coming to an agreement on debatable questions, but they decided to go to the convention free to vote at their individual discretion.

The convention met on March 22 at Adelaide, the central capital between Sydney and Perth. An amendment to allow women to vote for members of the House of Representatives was rejected by a vote of 23 to 12. On the questions of state rights and federal finance widely divergent opinions were expressed. As the debate did not lead to a satisfactory agreement, the convention adjourned till September, when it was hoped that Queensland would also be represented. The Queensland ministry proposed to the Parliament to authorize the election of delegates to the September convention, but the bill was defeated.

The second federal convention assembled at Sydney early in September.

In the interval all the colonial parliaments had discussed amending bills to the commonwealth act, and the results of their deliberations were laid before the Sydney convention to serve as a guide to the framing of the final federal constitution. In the spring convention it was proposed that the Senate should control money bills, and this was carried by the votes of South Australian, Western Australian, and Tasmanian delegates against those of New South Wales and Victoria. It was decided that amendments to the federal constitution, after passing both houses, should be submitted to a referendum. Sir George Turner proposed that deadlocks in the Legislature should also be settled by the popular referendum, but this was negatived. The New South Wales Assembly proposed various amendments of a democratic nature to the constitution which the convention had framed on conservative lines in close imitation of constitutional precedents. The Senate, instead of being a permanent body, re-elected at intervals in segments, it was proposed to make dissolvable at any time by the Governor at the advice of the ministers-that is, at the dictation of the House of Representatives. Equal representation in the Senate of each state was pronounced unacceptable to New South Wales, and a plan of proportional representation on the basis of population was proposed, with popular election of the senators in separate election districts. All money bills, including those that fix fees or salaries as well as taxation and appropriation bills, must originate in the House of Representatives. In case a difference should arise between the two chambers, the referendum would settle it. Judges were to be removable by address from both houses. Constitutional amendments would require only a majority vote of the people of the whole commonwealth, not of each state. The parliaments of the smaller colonies-South Australia, Tasmania, and Western Australia-insisted on equal representation in the Senate of all the states, large or small. The Victorian Assembly conceded this. The Adelaide convention gave the Senate power to reject bills imposing taxation, but the question of the right of amending such bills was compromised, a small majority deciding that the Senate should only have power to suggest amendments to the House of Representatives by message. This compromise the parliaments of the

smaller colonies rejected, desiring that the Senate should have full power to amend. The assemblies of Victoria and New South Wales, on the other hand, wished to deprive the Senate of even the right to suggest amendments. The problem of how to surmount deadlocks between the houses was left by the Adelaide convention without a solution. The assemblies of Victoria and New South Wales suggested three methods of settling such disputes: By the simultaneous dissolution of both houses; by a clause providing that if the bill should be passed a second time by the House of Representatives and the Senate should again reject it, the latter should be dissolved; or by the decision of the people in the form of a referendum in case a bill has been twice passed by one house and twice rejected by the other. The Adelaide convention adopted an elaborate scheme for the distribution among the states of the surplus revenue of the commonwealth derived from the uniform federal tariff that would be adopted. The colonial treasurers of New South Wales and Victoria attached great importance to the scheme, but the others thought that the question ought to be left to the commonwealth Parliament. The Victorian Legislative Council offered few and unimportant amendments, but the Council of New South Wales, led by the Attorney-General, voted for numerous and drastic changes in the draft constitution as it issued from the Adelaide convention, being actuated by the confessed purpose of wrecking the bill. The very word "federal" was struck out of all the clauses, and the commonwealth Parliament was deprived of the power of imposing duties or taxes of any kind or of raising revenue by any means. In view of the serious character of many of the parliamentary amendments, the prospects of federation were not regarded as favorable when the Sydney convention came together at the beginning of September. Sir George Turner proposed adjournment for a year in order to give the colonies opportunity for further discussion and to enable Queensland to be represented. Sir Samuel Griffith, Chief Justice of Queensland, wrote to urge adjournment. When the enabling bill was introduced in the Queensland Assembly it was expected that it would pass without opposition, and as soon as an amendment was proposed the minister withdrew the measure. After the Federal Convention assembled in Sydney the Queensland Assembly requested it not to conclude its labors until Queensland was represented by a direct vote of the people. A motion providing for the election of delegates by popular vote in the same manner as in the other colonies was finally carried in the Queensland Assembly on Sept. 16 by the majority of 34 to 8. The other parliaments that placed obstacles in the way of the scheme of federation adopted at Adelaide were not fairly representative of the people on the subject of federation, which was expressly intrusted to the delegates to the convention elected by the direct vote of the people. It was therefore expected that the commonwealth bill, as finally elaborated at Sydney, would meet no further opposition in the parliaments if it proved acceptable to the people of the several colonies and received a large majority of their votes when submitted to their decision.

The second session of the Federal Convention opened at Sydney on Sept. 2, and, in response to the request of the Queensland Government that Queensland should be represented in the convention before the commonwealth bill was finally adopted, adjourned on Sept. 24 until January, 1898, when a third session was to be held at Melbourne. The convention rejected the principle advocated by New South Wales of proportional representation in

the Senate as well as in the House of Representatives, which would give the larger colonies an overwhelming majority in both houses and place the destinies of the smaller states in all federal questions in their hands. By a majority of 41 votes to 5 it was decided to give all states, large or small, equal representation in the Senate. It was moreover decided that the members of the Senate should be elected by each colony voting as one electorate. In the case of new states entering the federation, however, representation shall not necessarily be equal. A proviso favoring female suffrage was negatived. The delegates of the smaller colonies, after being helped to their decisive victory on the question of equal representation in the federal Senate, were expected to make concessions to the larger colonies on the question of limiting the powers of the Senate in regard to money bills and in the matter of providing against deadlocks. A number of them proved themselves accommodating by rejecting the proposal of Sir John Forrest, Premier of Western Australia, to give the Senate full power to amend money bills, which was lost by 39 votes to 29. Even the compromise that was adopted at Adelaide in order to save the commonwealth bill was now dropped, and it was decided that the popular house should have sole control over the finances of the commonwealth. On the question of the best method of dealing with or averting deadlocks between the houses, which the Adelaide convention left undetermined, strong diversity of opinion was disclosed. Victorian delegates were disposed to support the proposal of a referendum emanating from New South Wales, but since this would place the Senate ultimately under popular control the smaller colonies objected to this system as tending to nullify state rights. Most of the delegates were in favor of a simultaneous dissolution of both houses and were willing to adopt a dual referendum, requiring a majority of states and a majority of the people to agree on the subject referred. Another proposal was that the lower house should be dissolved, and if the disputed bill was passed a second time after an appeal to the country and a second time rejected by the Senate, that the Senate should then be dissolved. The proposed dual referendum seemed farcical to Sir John Downer, of South Australia, and a monstrous absurdity to Mr. Reid, of New South Wales. Josiah Symons, of South Australia, proposed the dissolution of the Senate in the event of its rejecting a measure passed by the lower house after an appeal to the country, and this was accepted by the narrow majority of 5 votes. Amendments providing for a referendum in the event of the further rejection of the same bill by the newly elected Senate for a dual referendum, for allowing the Government a choice between dissolution and a referendum, for the dissolution of the house that had been longest elected, for a joint vote on the disputed measure by both houses, were rejected in succession, and after a long and heated debate the convention finally accepted a compromise suggested by Mr. Wise, of New South Wales. This provides that in case of deadlock both houses shall be simultaneously dissolved, and a further amendment proposed by Mr. Carruthers, of New South Wales, provides that in the event of the double dissolution proving insufficient the matter in dispute shall be decided by a three fourths' majority of both houses sitting together. Financial questions were left to be dealt with by the Melbourne convention. Though the view prevailed in the colonial parliaments that the distribution of surplus revenue should be left to the future consideration of the Federal Parliament, it was decided to refer the question to a finance committee for special consideration and report.

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