298 A HISTORY OF THE COLONY OF VICTORIA 



cent, of the total exports of the colony, and the thriving City of 

 Melbourne had been built up out of profits made in supplying their 

 wants and providing for the necessary improvements on their 

 Crown lands holdings. On this question of the franchise Mr. 

 Gladstone spoke with knowledge, but he had other objections of a 

 more theoretical nature. He urged that the new colony should 

 start on its career fully endowed with two Chambers of the Legis- 

 lature, for he wished to see the genuine English type preserved 

 whenever these upspringing dependencies emerged from that form 

 of tutelage implied by a Crown Colony. He also denounced the 

 attempt to fix a general tariff, and would not give that power 

 either to the British Parliament or to a General Assembly of 

 Special Delegates. 



There was considerable discussion, in which Lord John Eussell 

 took an active part, and finally permission was obtained to intro- 

 duce the Bill, and it was read a first time on the llth of June. 

 Thereafter its progress was troubled by receipt of conflicting 

 petitions from Sydney and Melbourne, and by the too active in- 

 terference of injudicious partisans or opponents, and it died with 

 the close of the session. When Parliament re-assembled Lord 

 John Eussell introduced a new Bill, from which the disputed 

 question of uniform tariffs was omitted. He hoped that the 

 Colonies would adopt the fiscal reforms then in such high favour 

 in England, but he laid it down as a cardinal principle in colonial 

 administration that there must be no forcing of free trade upon un- 

 willing colonists, and no interference with their right of self-govern- 

 ment in such matters. Mr. Gladstone was still in opposition to 

 the single Chamber, but he was defeated in a close division in Com- 

 mittee. Another contest took place over the question involved in 

 the creation of the General Assembly of Delegates, and although 

 the Government carried the proposal, the division was so close 

 that Earl Grey elected to withdraw it when the Bill came to be 

 finally dealt with in the House of Lords. Finally the reduction of 

 the franchise was carried on the motion of Lord Lyttelton, 1 and 



1 In a volume of speeches on reform by the Right Honourable Robert Lowe, 

 M.P., published in London, 1867, that gentleman claims to have suggested the 

 clause lowering the franchise. He can scarcely be credited with ultra-liberal 



