AUSTRALIA, COMMONWEALTH OF. 



49 





relating to the wages, allowances, or remunera- 

 tion of any persons employed or to be employed 

 in any industry; to the hours of employment, 

 sex, age, qualifications, or status of employees 

 and the mode, terms, and conditions of employ- 

 ment; to the employment of children or young 

 persons or of any person or persons or any class 

 of persons in any industry or the dismissal of or 

 refusal to employ any particular person or per- 

 sons or class of persons; to any established cus- 

 tom or usage of any industry, either general or 

 in any particular locality; to the interpretation 

 of any industrial agreement. The court may 

 regulate its own procedure in every respect. It 

 may admit and call for such evidence as it 

 thinks to be the best available, whether strictly 

 legal evidence or not. Costs may be assessed on 

 either party, though each party must pay the 

 attorneys and agents whom it employs. The 

 court may dismiss a proceeding where it thinks 

 that the matter should and can be amicably set- 

 tled. It may bring before it as parties any per- 

 sons it thinks proper. It may sit in any locality 

 and may call in the aid of expert assessors and 

 compel the presence and testimony of any wit- 

 nesses it sees fit to call. The president of the 

 court has extensive powers of settling all prelim- 

 inary matters in order that a dispute may be 

 disposed of the more speedily. 



Victoria. The 48 members of the Victorian 

 Legislative Council are elected for six years by 

 freeholders, occupants of property rated at 25 

 a year, and members of the learned professions. 

 The Legislative Assembly has 95 members elect- 

 ed for three years by universal male suffrage. 

 The number of electors for the Council in 1901 

 was 130,672; for the Legislative Assembly, 276,- 

 314. The Governor is Sir George Sydenham 

 Clarke. The ministry constituted in September, 

 1901, was composed as follows: Premier, Treas- 

 urer, and Minister of Labor, A. J. Peacock; 

 Chief Secretary and Minister of Railways, W. A. 

 Trenwith; Attorney-General, Sir Samuel Gillott; 

 Minister of Agriculture, J. Morrissey; Minister 

 of Public Instruction, W. Gurr; Minister of 

 Lands, D. J. Duggan; Minister of Public Works 

 and Health, W. M. McCulloch; Solicitor-General, 

 A. Wynne; Minister of Mines and Water-Supply, 

 J. B. Burton; without portfolios, R. McGregor 

 and E. J. Crooke. 



The public revenue in the year ending June 30, 

 1900, amounted to 7,460,855, of which 2,984,- 

 592 came from taxation, 3,008,521 from rail- 

 roads, 586,061 from posts and telegraphs, 

 388,255 from Crown lands, and 493,426 from 

 other sources. Of the tax revenue 1,972,216 

 we're derived from customs, 329.377 from ex- 

 <-ise. 108,222 from the land tax, 126,478 from 

 duties on estates of deceased persons, 18,660 

 from a duty on bank-notes, 170.600 from the 

 stamp-duty, 43.968 from tonnage dues, and 

 215,071 from the income tax. The Government 

 expenditure was 7.293,136, of which 1.852,088 

 was for the public debt. 1,801,954 for railroads, 

 259.869 for other public works, 521,918 for 

 posts and telegraphs, 655,579 for public in- 

 struction. 320.118 for pensions, 299,610 for 

 charitable institutions, 312,759 for police and 

 prisons. 201,611 for defense, 95,032 for cus- 

 toms and harbors, 68.879 for Crown lands, 

 198.850 for mining and agriculture, 171,838 

 for law courts, 231,189 for general Government 

 expenses, and 301,842 for other purposes. 



The funded debt on June 30, 1900. amounted 

 to 48.380.859, of which 36.740.813 were bor- 

 rowed to build railroads, 8.342.895 for water- 

 works, 778,775 for state school-buildings, and 



VOL. XLII. 4 A 



2,518,376 for various public works. The aver- 

 age interest on the debt is 3.83 per cent. The 

 local debts in Victoria amount to 10,059,300. 

 The local revenues amount to 1,573,626, and 

 expenditures to 1,602,377. 



The ministers offered their resignations col- 

 lectively in November, 1901. No immediate ac- 

 tion was undertaken, and when the letter was at 

 last presented they proposed to withdraw their 

 resignations on the ground that circumstances 

 had altered. They were therefore retained in 

 office. A popular agitation impelled the ministry 

 to go further than was intended in framing a 

 measure for reducing expenditure on Parliament. 

 The Labor party alone in Victoria, as in New 

 South Wales, opposed the reduction of the num- 

 ber of representatives or the curtailment of their 

 salaries, on the ground that it would weaken the 

 representation of the working classes. The Gov- 

 ernment brought in a bill reducing the number 

 of members in the Assembly and the Council, and 

 limiting the ministers to 6. The qualification 

 of voters for the Legislative Council was altered 

 to simple registration as a ratepayer. Adult 

 suffrage for both sexes was proposed, and provi- 

 sion was made for a dissolution of both houses 

 after a joint session has failed to settle a dead- 

 lock. To meet a deficit of 229,000 in the 

 year's accounts a loan of 250,000 at 3 per 

 cent, was raised locally at the issue price of 94. 

 After the assemblage of the state Parliament on 

 May 27 the ministers handed in their resigna- 

 tions. Mr. Irvine, who led the victorious Oppo- 

 sition, formed a new Cabinet on June 8 as fol- 

 lows: Premier and Attorney-General, Mr. Irvine ; 

 Treasurer, Mr. Shiels; Solicitor-General, Mr. Da- 

 vies; Minister of Railroads, Mr. Bent; Minister 

 of Education and Health, Mr. Reid; Minister 

 of Public Works and Agriculture, Mr. Taverner; 

 President of the Board of Lands, Mr. McKenzie; 

 Minister of Mines, Mr. Cameron; Chief Secre- 

 tary and Minister of Labor, Mr. Murray; with- 

 out portfolios, Messrs. McLeod, Kirton, Pitt, 

 and Sachse. The new Cabinet proposed to re- 

 duce the number of members in the Assembly 

 from 95 to 56 and in the Council from 48 to 28 

 and the number of ministers to 7. Provision was 

 made for the settlement of deadlocks similar to 

 that in the Federal Constitution. These pro- 

 posals were satisfactory to Parliament, but 

 when, in view of a probable deficit of 650,000, 

 the ministers proposed a reduction of salaries in 

 the public service they encountered a fierce oppo- 

 sition. The railroad men threatened to strike if 

 Parliament approved the retrenchment scheme. 

 On Sept. 9 the Cabinet was defeated in the As- 

 sembly by 44 votes to 33 on the proposal to re- 

 duce salaries. The ministers appealed to the 

 country. The dissolution caused the factories 

 act and the decisions of wages boards fixing the 

 wages in many trades to lapse, thereby incensing 

 the trade-unionists. The Government wished to 

 prolong the operation of the temporary act for 

 another year, but the Legislative Council insisted 

 on discussing the whole subject. A commission 

 was appointed to consider legislation of a per- 

 manent character. Meanwhile wages boards 

 were empowered to fix minimum wages in the 

 various trades. Employers who paid less were 

 liable to a penalty. Nevertheless, they often 

 evaded the act by various subterfuges. 



Queensland. The Legislative Council ha> i_ 

 members, nominated for life. The Legislative 

 Assembly consists of 72 members elected by the 

 ballots of all males of full age who have at least 

 resided six months in Queensland. Property 

 owners and lessees of pastoral lands can vote 



