47 



the expense of the big owner, who was most interested. Ho could produce figures to show that the small 

 owners at the present time outvoted the big owners on the Stock and Pastures Board, and the big owners 

 had no say. They had been told by the Minister that the Crown must have representation, and it was 

 only right that he should have representation. He had spoken against the ways and means of carrying 

 out the Act, but he was never against the Minister having representation. The Minister, however, should 

 not be over-represented. The Pastures and Stock Act gave the power to tax unstocked runs, and a run 

 within the meaning of the Sheep Act was 40 acres. They had got the franchise low enough when it was 

 brought down to ten head of large stock, and it' the small owners of under 40 acres could not trust the 

 Minister to look after their interests, then they could not get a Bill at all. This amendment of his would 

 make things as plain as could be. It would save trouble, and yet give representation to every class ; and 

 if a man had less than ten head of stock in the country he would have very little interest in the rabbit 

 question. 



Mr. WILKES' amendment lapsed for the want of a seconder. 



Mr. T. BKOWN, M.L.A. (Budgerabong), said it had been decided to place the whole of the control of 

 this Bill under the Stock and Pastures Board ; and, from a statement which had been made in reply to his 

 question, he understood that this llabbit Bill g.ive additional powers of taxation equal to those exercised 

 under the Diseases in Sheep and Pastures and Stock Acts. Tlio powers of taxation under this proposed 

 Bill, by the resolutions of the Conference already carried, were equal to what obtained under those two 

 Acts in their present operation. Now, that would add very considerably to the powers of this Board, and 

 it brought in a large number of other holders, who had not so far been called upon 1o pay any form of 

 taxation under the existing Acts, because under this Bill they brought in unoccupied lands, and assessed 

 them as carrying so many sheep to the acre ; and they also assessed cultivated land, not carrying stock, 

 as carrying so much stock to the acre. And though these lands are not taxed under the Acts which 

 constitute the present Board they will bo taxed under this proposed Bill, and it has been generally 

 conceded that in order to give fair representation all round, the basis of the franchise should be enlarged; 

 and what they had to consider now was how to enlarge it. Now, he wished to invite their attention to 

 the franchise as it stood at present. The Stock and Pastures Board consisted of eight members, three 

 of whom were elected by the holders of large stock horses and cattle and five elected by the owners of 

 sheep. These members, elected by the holders of different stock, constituted that Board, and had different 

 powers on it, and it was now proposed to add the administration of this Act to those powers. It w r as now 

 desirable to broaden the franchise so as to bring in others who had not the right to vote under these Acts. 

 Now the Honorable Rupert Cariugton proposed to add two members to this Board, and so far as those 

 two members were concerned, to have them elected on the one man one vote principle, without any 

 reference to stock. Under the present franchise the holder of 5,000 head of large stock had the right to 

 four votes, and the holder of 30,000 sheep had the right to four votes also, and now under the Honorable 

 Bupert Carington's proposition they would have two further votes. How would the small holders stand? 

 They would have the two votes under the one man one vote principle, and then if they had a less number 

 than 500 sheep or ten head of large stock they would have only one vote. The most that any small 

 holder would have would be four votes, while some of the large holders would have ten. Under the 

 conditions of this Act they should broaden the basis of representation, considering the fact that they 

 would double the amount of taxation. Let them broaden the basis under the Pastures and Stock Act 

 and under the Sheep Act, particularly under the Sheep Act, so as to bring in a large number of taxpayers 

 under this Bill who would be excluded from participating in the franchise if something like this were not 

 done. Then there was 1he representation, which they must be prepared to give to the Minister on those 

 Boards. They required the Government to come in and bear an important share of the expense which 

 was necessary to bring the rabbit plague under, and to enable the Rabbit Boards to carry on their work 

 effectively. There was not a bit of use in the Boards trying to cope with this question so long as the 

 stuck routes, &c., were left as No-man's Laud, and the plague allowed to flourish there. They must bring 

 the Department in and make a provision that the Department should bear a fair share of the expense 

 of clearing those lands. The Minister had distinctly told this Conference that certain powers of 

 representation on the Board charged with the administration of the Act must be given to the 

 Department. Tic could not go to the general taxpayer and ask for a contribution towards funds 

 which would be expended in this way unless he had a voice in that expenditure, and the only way out 

 of the difficulty that lie could see was to allow the Minister to nominate the Chairman. They could take it 

 for granted that the Minister would only nominate the best man for the position of Chairman, and he 

 would be of considerable service in helping the other members in dealing with this question. It would 

 maintain the dignity of the Department, and he contended that it would in every way strengthen the 

 position of the Board, and he thought they should make provision in this constitution for the Minister to 

 have the right to nominate the Chairman on those Boards. It need not be elaborated, but there would bo 

 extended powers given to those Boards which would necessitate something in the nature of a permanent 

 Chairman, and he thought judging from the manner in which the Land Board Chairmen had been 

 appointed they had a guarantee that the Minister, to whom those powers were given, would appoint 

 proper and good men to those positions, and would bo in a position to help the Boards to deal witla this 

 important question. It might be said that one member of this Board should be elected on the rabbit 

 basis of taxation. He was not particularly strong on that, because lie did not want to see the expenses 

 of the Board eaten up by too many representative?, but the notice of motion he gave during the morning 

 would meet the situation as far as it was in his power to solve it. He wished to move, now, " That, for 

 the purposes of this Bill, the constitution of the Stock Boards be altered so as to provide for (1) The 

 appointment of a Chairman by the Governor ; (2) That one additional member be elected on an equal 

 franchise by all contributors under the llabbit Act assessments ; (3) That three members be elected under 

 the Stock and Pastures Act as at present provided, with a minimum voting power of five head of largo 

 stock; and (4) That five members be elected under the Diseases in Sheep Act as at present provided, 

 with a minimum voting power of 100 head of sheep." This reduced the voting power fro'in 500 sheep to 

 100 sheep so as to bring in the small men, and it was the best way out of the difficulty. 



Mr. ALISON (Canonbar) said that this was an original motion, and he did not think it could be dealt 

 with until the Honorable Eupert Carington's motion had been dealt with. If it came in as an amendment 

 they should have to take it and debate it from beginning to end as an original motion. He thought the 

 best way to arrive at a decision on this matter would be to have all these different propositions printed, 



when 



