Farm and Factory 155 



leader, contested the seat of East Sydney. Mr. 

 Reid had made full use of the six-hatters episode 

 throughout the session of Parliament, and by a 

 curious coincidence found the six dwelling in his 

 own constituency. Moreover, they were all on 

 the committee of the I/abour candidate who op- 

 posed Mr. Reid, and who was heart and soul in 

 favour of the legislation by which they might 

 easily have been excluded from Australia. This 

 conclusion to a much discussed episode is re- 

 counted as affording proof of the one certain result 

 of the experimental legislation now on its trial in 

 Australia. The workman, at any rate, is reason- 

 ably contented with it, as, indeed, he has every 

 reason to be. 



It is never safe, however, to argue a priori about 

 Australian affairs. The statistician who predicted 

 an Australian population of 5,678,000 for the year 

 1901 had no prevision of the ten years of stagna- 

 tion that almost immediately followed his pro- 

 phecy. The return of normal and favourable 

 climatic conditions will afford the observer a bet- 

 ter chance of determining whether the country can 

 support manufactures hampered, as far as outside 

 competition is concerned, by industrial legislation 

 so favourable to the workers. 



A more immediate issue may be found in the 

 policy now being initiated by the Government, of 

 attracting population to the vacant lands of Aus- 

 tralia. This policy implies the throwing open of 

 areas of land suitable, by reason of soil and 



