AUSTRALASIA. 



69 





Western Australia. The Legislative Coun- 

 cil consists of 24 members, elected for six years 

 by British subjects holding freeholds or occupy- 

 ing property worth 25 a years. The Legislative 

 Assembly consists of 44 members, elected in as 

 many districts for four years by British subjects 

 resident for at least two years in the colony or 

 in possession of freehold or leasehold property or 

 mining licenses. 



The Governor is Sir Gerard Smith, appointed 

 in October, 1895. The Cabinet in the beginning 

 of 1899 was composed of the following members: 

 Premier and Colonial Treasurer, Sir John For- 

 rest; Commissioner for Railways and Director 

 of Public Works, F. H. Piesse; Commissioner _pf 

 Lands, George Throssell; Minister of Mines, H. 

 B. Lefroy; Attorney-General, Richard William 

 Pennefather; Colonial Secretary, George Randell. 



Western Australia has suffered from a depres- 

 sion owing to the withdrawal of capital conse- 

 quent upon overspeculation in gold mines. The 

 production of the gold fields has nevertheless 

 increased, and recently ore has been shipped as 

 well as gold. Nine public batteries are working, 

 and more are being erected. Coal mines have 

 been opened at Collie and tin mines at Green 

 Bushes. The ill treatment of natives by some 

 of the local magistrates resulted in these losing 

 their commissions. The mole at Fremantle has 

 been extended so as to accommodate more ship- 

 ping. Parliament was opened on June 21. New 

 measures deal with a tax on dividends, rural and 

 land improvement, the encouragement of local 

 industries, boards of conciliation for labor dis- 

 putes, trade unions, and free education through- 

 out the colony. The labor bills were suggested 

 by a fierce strike of dock laborers that inter- 

 fered for many weeks with the commerce of Fre- 

 mantle until it was settled early in April. The 

 dividend duty is 5 per cent, on the dividends of 

 joint-stock companies doing business in the col- 

 ony, including banking and mining corporations, 

 but excluding insurance companies. Resolutions 

 in favor of woman suffrage were voted by both 

 houses. 



Tasmania. The Legislative Council is com- 

 posed of 18 members, elected under a property 

 and educational franchise for the term of six 

 years. The House of Assembly has 37 members, 

 elected for three years by householders and per- 

 sons in receipt of an income of at least 40. 

 The electors for the Legislative Council num- 

 bered 9,359, those for the Assembly 31,613 in 1898. 



The Governor since 1893 has been Viscount 

 Gormanstown. The Cabinet in the beginning of 

 1899 was composed as follows: Premier and 

 Treasurer, Sir E. N. C. Braddon ; Chief Secretary, 

 W. Moore; Attorney-General, D. C. Urquhart; 

 without portfolio, Thomas Reiby; Minister of 

 Lands and Works, A. T. Pillinger. 



An attempt to upset the ministry in June fell 

 far short of success. A motion in favor of 

 woman suffrage was passed by the Assembly. 

 On Aug. 18 this chamber approved a bill extend- 

 ing throughout the colony the Hare system of 

 voting, which had already been tried in Hobart 

 and Launceston. 



New Zealand. The Legislative Council con- 

 sists of 48 members, who hold their seats for 

 seven years, except those appointed before 1891, 

 when the term was for life. The Legislative 

 Assembly has 74 members, including 4 representa- 

 tives of the Maori nation, elected for three years 

 by the votes of all adult persons of either sex 

 who have, resided in the colony a year. In 1896 

 there were 339,230 registered voters, of whom 

 196,925 were men and 142,305 women; in the 70 



European districts and in the 4 Maori districts 

 there were 13,008 votes recorded. 



The Governor is the Earl of Ranfurly, appoint- 

 ed Aug. 10, 1897. The ministry in the beginning 

 of 1899 was composed as follows: Premier, Co- 

 lonial Treasurer, Commissioner of Trade and 

 Customs, Postmaster-General, Electric Telegraph 

 Commissioner, Minister of Labor, and Minister of 

 Native Affairs, R. J. Seldon; Minister of Lands, 

 Minister of Agriculture, Commissioner of For- 

 ests, and Minister in Charge of Advances to Set- 

 tlers' Office, J. McKenzie; Minister for Railways 

 and Minister of Mines, A. J. Cadman; Commis- 

 sioner of Stamp Duties, Acting Colonial Secre- 

 tary, and Member of the Executive Council repre- 

 senting the Native Race, J. Carroll; Minister of 

 Immigration, Minister of Education, and Minis- 

 ter in Charge of Hospitals and Charitable Aid, 

 W. C. Walker; Minister for Public Works, Min- 

 ister of Marine, and Minister in Charge of Print- 

 ing Office, W. Hall- Jones; Minister of Justice, 

 Minister of Defense, and Minister of Industries 

 and Commerce, T. Thompson. 



No community has gone so far as New Zealand 

 in experimental social reforms since the estab- 

 lishment of the principle of one man one vote. 

 The public men of this colony have given their 

 chief attention to the prevention of social con- 

 ditions detrimental to the well-being of the 

 poorer classes, such as are flagrant in the moth- 

 er country. The newly enacted old-age-pension 

 act provides that every man and woman in New 

 Zealand from the age of sixty-five onward is en- 

 titled as a matter of right, not of charity, in con- 

 sideration of services rendered and labor per- 

 formed in helping to build up the colony, to a 

 pension of 18 a year from the state, provided 

 they have been residents of the colony for twenty- 

 five years, have never been in prison for a longer 

 term than four months, and have not deserted 

 their families. The money to provide these pen- 

 sions is taken from the ordinary revenues, and 

 three years must elapse before Parliament can 

 repeal the enactment or revise it by either in- 

 creasing or reducing the amount of the pension. 

 Maoris and naturalized foreigners participate in 

 the benefits of the act, but Asiatics are excluded. 

 The railroad revenue of the colony has increased 

 so much that the Government intends to reduce 

 freight charges to home markets in order to en- 

 courage production and trade. Inland postage, 

 which is still a penny, will probably also be re- 

 duced, but the Premier does not think it a good 

 policy to reduce taxation, as it is necessary to 

 spend money to improve the colony. The Parlia- 

 ment was opened on June 23. The harbor de- 

 fenses are almost completed, the volunteers fully 

 armed, and the Defense Committee are studying 

 a complete scheme for the defense of the colony. 

 Large areas have been purchased under the land 

 settlements act, but the number of applicants 

 far exceeds that of available farms. The act is 

 to be extended so as to provide land for work- 

 ingmen's homes and villages. Bills were intro- 

 duced dealing with workmen's compensation and 

 accident insurance, facilitating the settlement of 

 native lands, and providing for a direct vote of 

 the people on questions of colonial, importance 

 and the decision of such questions by a bare 

 majority of voters at the polls. The operation 

 of the industrial conciliation and arbitration act 

 had so expanded that delays resulted, and pro- 

 posals were submitted to remedy this. The ex- 

 periment of compulsory arbitration as far as it 

 has gone is approved by all the workers and by 

 many of the employers, but the majority of the 

 employers are still distrustful, and some are bit- 



