AUSTRALASIA. 



57 



of two chambers, the Legislative Council, of 

 21 members, nominated by the Crown, and the 

 Legislative Assembly, consisting of 119 mem- 

 bers elected by universal manhood suffrage by 

 secret ballot. In Victoria both branches are 

 elective : the Legislative Council, numbering 42 

 members, elected for six years, one third retir- 

 ing every two years, by citizens possessing free- 

 hold property of 10 annual ratable value, or 

 occupying rented or leasehold property of 25 

 ratable value, and members of the liberal pro- 

 fessions ; the Assembly, by universal suffrage 

 for three years. In Queensland there are 34 

 members in the Legislative Council, nominated 

 by the Crown for life, and 55 in the Assembly, 

 elected by universal suffrage for five years. In 

 South Australia the 24 members of the Legis- 

 lative Council are elected for nine years by 

 voters possessing the property qualification re- 

 quired. Eight are elected every three years, 

 two from each district, by the whole colony 

 voting as a single district. The 52 members of 

 the House of Assembly are elected by univer- 

 sal suffrage. The Legislative Council can not 

 be dissolved by the executive. In Tasmania 

 there are 16 members in the Legislative Coun- 

 cil, elected for six years by citizens possessing 

 a high property qualification, freeholds of 50, 

 or leaseholds of 200 annual value, and 32 in 

 the House of Assembly, elected by smaller 

 freeholders, and householders paying 7 rent, 

 for five years. In New Zealand the Legislative 

 Council consists of 50 members appointed for 

 life by the Crown, and the House of Represen- 

 tatives of 95 members, elected for three years 

 by universal suffrage. There are four native 

 representatives, elected by Maori freeholders 

 or rate-payers. The counties and boroughs 

 possess a certain amount of local self-govern- 

 ment and power to assess rates. In Western 

 Australia there is a Legislative Council, com- 

 posed of 8 nominated and 16 elective mem- 

 bers. In all the colonies the executive power 

 is vested in a Governor appointed from Eng- 

 land. Except Western Australia, legislative 

 and administrative business is directed by a 

 responsible ministry, as in Great Britain. 



The area of the several colonies and their 

 estimated population on Dec. 31, 1883, are as 

 follow : 



The Federal Conneil of Australasia. In pursu- 

 ance of the conclusions of the Intercolonial 

 Federation Conference that met at Sidney in 

 the winter of 1883-'84 a permissive bill was 

 brought forward in the British Parliament in 



1885. In preparing the bill the Colonial Office 

 was in constant communication with the cabi- 

 net ministers of the various colonies. Owing 

 to divergencies between the colonial govern- 

 ments, Lord Derby's enabling bill was not 

 completed until late in the session. The sub- 

 ject of imperial federation was prominent in 

 the public mind at the time, and had many 

 warm advocates in both parties. The English 

 feeling toward Australia was particularly kind- 

 ly because of the sending of the Australian 

 contingent to the Soudan, although the offer 

 when made by the New South Wales Premier 

 was but coldly accepted by Lord Derby. The 

 Federal Council bill was, for these reasons, one 

 of the measures that survived the change of 

 ministry, and was passed without serious oppo- 

 sition. During its elaboration New South 

 Wales and New Zealand desired to have as 

 loose and elastic a form of federation as possi- 

 ble. They were very jealous of any invasion 

 of the legislative powers and independence of 

 the individual colonies. The other colonies, 

 following the lead of Victoria, wished to clothe 

 the Council, within the range of subjects in- 

 trusted to its consideration, with real powers, 

 and to make the union as binding and durable 

 as possible. At the suggestion of the New 

 South Wales Government, a clause was in- 

 serted allowing any colony to withdraw from 

 the federation at any time. The other colonies 

 wished the clause to be struck out ; but for 

 fear that New South Wales would refuse to 

 join the federation, it was retained. 



Decisions of the Council, recorded and ap- 

 proved before the withdrawal of a colony, 

 were, however, made binding on that colony. 

 This feature was disapproved by Sir Alexander 

 Stuart, the Premier of New South Wales, and 

 after his recovery from sickness in July he 

 asked that it should be altered, saying that 

 otherwise he would be unable to advocate the 

 adoption of the bill in the Colonial Legislature. 



The New Zealand ministry proposed in May 

 that all measures passed by the Council should 

 be subject to the ratification of the separate 

 legislatures, but this suggestion was not adopt- 

 ed. The burning question of the annexation 

 of Pacific islands by foreign powers, called forth 

 by the colonization movement in Germany and 

 France, and that of the proximity of penal set- 

 tlements and the influx of criminals, suggested 

 by the French recidivist bill, gave the first im- 

 pulse to the federation project. The question 

 of a union for the organization of military and 

 naval defenses became prominent during the 

 Afghan complications. There are many com- 

 mercial and social subjects on which common 

 laws and common action have been a crying 

 need, yet for which the colonies would not lay 

 aside their jealous rivalries without the impul- 

 sion given by these exaggerated anticipations 

 of outside danger. The enabling bill gives 

 them the choice of any degree of union, be- 

 tween their present inconvenient separation 

 and a close federation, with a common army, a 



