Australian Federation

“ There can be no federation if we should happen, any of us, to insist upon conditions which stand in the way of federation; there can be no complete union of these governments, of these communities, of these separate colonies, unless we can so far clear the way as to approach the great question of creating a federal power as if the boundaries now existing had no existence whatever. I cannot too fervently impress upon my co-representatives from all parts of Australia the necessity of keeping in view the one object of the better government of Australia, the whole Australian people. ”

“ So soon as this was recognized, patriotic men set themselves to put things right, and the result was a Federation of the States, which is called the Commonwealth of Australia. The different States are left to manage for themselves their local affairs, but the big Australian affairs are managed by the Commonwealth Parliament, which at present meets in Melbourne, but one day will meet in a new Federal capital to be built somewhere out in the Bush—that is to say, the wild, empty country. ”

“ These all soon began to cry out for parliamentary government of their own; and in 1850 a Whig ministry began to give it to them freely. The Australian Federation.Quite in our own days an Act of the British Parliament has made all the Australian Colonies into a single ‘Federation’ of States, with a ‘federal’ or united Parliament for the whole continent. New Zealand, which was first recognized as a colony in 1840, has got her own Parliament and is not included in this Federation. The great wealth of both New Zealand and Australia Consists in their vast flocks of sheep ”

“ 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 ”

“ By my second condition I seek to define what seems to me an absolutely necessary condition of anything like perfect federation, that is, that Australia, as Australia, shall be free—free on the borders, free everywhere, in its trade and intercourse between its own people; and that there shall be no impediment of any kind—that there shall be no barrier of any kind between one section of the Australian people and another; but, that the trade and general communication of these people shall flow on from one end of the continent to the other, with no one to stay its progress or to call it to account ”

“ The fear lest Australian Federation might ultimately lead to separation from the Empire was publicly and expressly assigned as a reason why New Zealand should not be a part of the Australian commonwealth. Inside an Australasian Federation New Zealand's influence would be steadily thrown in favour of British national unity. ”

“ What influence would we have in Australia? We would have none, and none beyond. Even if our population should increase to a quarter of a million or more, what influence would we have in the counsels of the Empire? I would like everyone in the colony to look these facts straight in the face and then say which is best: Federation, with three and a half or four years' full protection for our farmers and manufacturers, equal representation in the Senate for all time, and more than our share of representation in the Lower House at the start ”

“ There is no greater security that anyone can ask for—that before any part of Western Australia can be divided, if we enter the Federation, the Parliament of Western Australia shall approve of the division and, more than that, the people of Western Australia, at a referendum shall approve of it also. There is no such security as that if we remain out of Federation. We are absolutely dependent upon the Imperial Government, which can divide this colony to-morrow by an Act of its own Legislature. ”

“ No such thing could be possible in a British community as that one colony in the Federation should be wronged and unjustly treated. We may therefore, leave that fear out of calculations altogether. We must remember that Australia is not the first country that has federated, and that we are federating on much more favourable terms than in other Federations. (Applause.) In the United States, all the customs revenue goes to the central Government. In Canada it is the same, with the exception that certain small allowances are made to the States. ”

“ Can they for a moment realise what it all means? Take the case of Australia, with a kindred population, contiguous territories, and interests in common: it has, so far, been found quite beyond the skill of their most influential statesmen to federate any two of the colonies. Almost ten years ago Sir Henry Parkes proposed to establish what he called an "Australian nation," merely by federating New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia—thus simplifying the problem by entirely eliminating Queensland and Western Australia ”

“ It was considered advisable to add to the weight of the Council by increasing the number of representatives for each colony to five, and different Australian Parliaments subsequently carried an address to Her Majesty, praying that this might be done. The Royal assent was obtained in 1894, and at the next meeting of the Council, at Hobart in January, 1895, five members attended on behalf of the colonies interested. A conference of Premiers was held, and regarded Federation as the most "pressing question in Australian politics." ”

“ It is thought by many people that Federation means unification, or that there will be one Government in Australia to do everything, which will have all the power, and that our local government or home rule will be taken away from the colony. ”

“ For the first time in history, as Sir Edmund Barton pointed out with apt terseness during the campaign for federation, there has been 'a continent for a nation and a nation for a continent.'
Such a country, so situated and with these resources, should have a great destiny, provided that its people are well directed and possess a clear conception of their public duty. What, then, is the Australian people? And what the aims and methods of its politics?
The Reaction.
English sentiment toward Australia is suffering from a cold fit. People are a little 'tired' of her! ”

“ We have plenty of room here, with unrivalled gold mines, which should attract and encourage people to come and throw in their lot with the people of this colony, and thereby add to the population, and make this a great country. As I have already said, Federation, when it comes upon us, as I hope and believe will be the case, will no doubt bring with it plenty of drawbacks, disappointments, and difficulties. Even now we have some of them to confront, and it is a very good thing, because the world would be very uninteresting if we had no difficulties to surmount. ”

“ The difficulties under Federation may be even greater than at present, yet I think we should be in no way dismayed. I hope and believe that Federation will do many good things for us. I believe that it will elevate and dignify our public life, and everyone throughout Australia desires that. ”

“ It is the rise of a definitely national spirit in the greater members of the Empire. To this a great encouragement has been given by the political unity which some of these communities have for the first time attained during these years. National sentiment in the Dominion of Canada was stimulated into existence by the Federation of 1867. The unification of Australia which was at length achieved in the Federation of 1900 did not indeed create, but it greatly strengthened, the rise of a similar spirit of Australian nationality. ”

“ I am quite positive of this—that the new population that has come to the colony, especially those on the Eastern goldfields, will never be content to remain out of the Federal Union. The second reason is that it will be to our advantage to join now rather than in a few years. In our own interests, in the interests of this colony, we cannot afford to stand aloof. Our interests demand our presence in the Federal Parliament. I should like to know the position we should be in if we were out of Federation when some great question affecting us was being discussed in the Federal Parliament. ”

“ After the statesmen of Australia had succeeded in bringing about the federation of the Australian states, the natural result was the formation of a large standing army, which, as our readers are aware, the Federal Government, from its headquarters at Albury, made ample use of as a valuable auxiliary in their determined maintenance of "law and order," "freedom of contract," and the right of the syndicates to employ men at as low a wage and as long hours as the necessities of the laboring people might compel them to accept. ”

“ The one thing needed in order to realize the dreams of Federal enthusiasts is a complete revolution in the character of Australian politics and politicians, and without that there seems very little prospect of the new order of things being much better than the old. The appearance of a higher order of candidates than those we have been so long accustomed to would certainly give confidence in the future of the Federation ”

“ If those who are opposed to Federation, and think that the colony has everything to lose and nothing to gain, would take a trip through Eastern Australia and see those who are inhabiting it, and how they are utilising it, they would come back with different impressions.
Producers and Manufacturers.
I would like to say a word in regard to those who look at Federation solely from a soil producer's and manufacturer's point of view. I would like to ask my friends the farmers and manufacturers, for they are my best friends, a question. ”

“ The visit of the Australian premiers to England on the occasion of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee gave an additional impetus to federation, and in September 1897 the convention reassembled in Sydney and discussed the modifications in the constitution which had been suggested in the local parliaments. In January 1898 the bill was finally agreed to and submitted to a popular referendum of the inhabitants of each colony. Those of Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania agreed to the measure; but the majority in New South Wales, 5458, was not sufficient to carry the bill. ”

“ This is clearly understood by the people, and when it is understood that the duties will gradually come to an end in five years (one-fifth every year) , the honourable feelings of the people of the colony will lead them to say, "Let the Bill take its course. We have Federation—that clause was placed there to protect the industries and finances of Western Australia during the early years of Federation—it will disappear gradually in five years and we will keep faith with our fellow colonists who are producers and manufacturers, and will say no more about it." ”

“ That being so, they are all in favour of Federation, as they believe it will be to their material advantage." I do not wish to be understood that I deny to the people on the goldfields the same feeling of patriotism we all have, but there is a feeling as deep if not deeper than the desire for nationhood. There is the desire to do well, and to avoid being impoverished, and that feeling affects us all to some extent—some more than others. ”

“ On 11 June there was a garden party at Buckingham Palace, and on 28 June at Windsor a state banquet to the khedive of Egypt, who was visiting the country. Her old friend the Empress Eugenie was her guest at Osborne in September.
Apart from the war, she was interested during the session in the passage through The federation of Australia, 1900. the House of Commons of the federation of Australian commonwealth bill, Australia, which was to create a federal union among the Australian colonies. ”

“ Surely it is not to help the few at the expense of the many, or to enable a few to flourish and grow rich? The great object we all have in view, especially those who are entrusted with great responsibilities as leaders of public opinion, is to uplift and exalt the masses of the people— (cheers) —and to build up a nation of healthy, intelligent, happy, and high-minded people. That is the great work that we have before us, and I believe that under Federation that great work will be better done. ”

“ The Australian colonies, which, taken together, come next to Canada in size and population, have not reached this point, but are struggling towards it. Yielding to what appears to be the general tendency of modern political development, and following the example of the United States and Canada, the Australian people are wrestling with the problems of local federation. With two great precedents to guide them the task might seem an easy one. ”

“ In the realm of art, and especially in vocal music, several Australians have excelled. The average Australian is active, alert, and keenly critical. The public men are bold and enterprising—as, for example, when in despair at the lethargy of the Imperial Government, Queensland hoisted the Union Jack in New Guinea, and secured a province for the Crown.
It is in the achievement of federation that the political initiative and resource of Australia have been most conspicuously displayed. ”

“ That, the Honourable Sir Henry Parkes, G.C.M.G., Premier of New South Wales, do take the chair as President of this National Australasian Convention.
He said: I think this is a fitting honour to confer upon the author of the movement on the part of these Australian colonies, which resulted in the Conference held in Melbourne last year. The hon. gentleman has taken a deep interest in the subject of federation for a great number of years, and we, moreover, meet in the colony of which he has the honour to be Premier. ”