234 A HISTOEY OF THE COLONY OF VICTORIA 



Council. In 1859 Sir John O'Shanassy carried a resolution im- 

 posing an additional residence tax of 1 per quarter on all Chinese 

 in Victoria, which led to much petitioning from the victims for a 

 more even-handed justice. The Chinese digger then had to pay 10 

 on arrival, 4 a year for residence and 1 for his miner's right, yet 

 so assiduous was his labour that even with this handicap he could 

 live well and accumulate money off abandoned fields where white 

 men were unable to earn rations. In 1862, on the motion of Mr. 

 E. D. Ireland, the residence tax was abolished. In May, 1863, a 

 Bill was introduced to suspend the poll tax for two years on the 

 ground that it was no longer necessary, the exodus of Chinese hav- 

 ing commenced. The debate was exceedingly lively. Mr. K. S. 

 Anderson made the somewhat extreme statement that the number 

 of Chinese in the colony had decreased from 40,000 to 20,000, but 

 it is exceedingly doubtful if the higher number was at any time 

 reached. The proposed Bill was supported by McCulloch, Francis, 

 Duffy, Gillies and others, and vehemently attacked by the members 

 who were under the influence of the then unorganised labour party. 

 The arguments based upon equity and humanity were scornfully 

 rejected, and the opponents mainly confined themselves to menda- 

 cious abuse of the proscribed race. Charles Jardine Don, who was 

 then the Parliamentary representative of the nascent Trades Hall, 

 declarsd that it was false to imply that the opposition was based 

 upon a question of wages. The men of his class he declared were 

 not at all afraid of such competition, and he wound up a fine burst 

 of invective by saying, with fine inconsequence: " They were a race 

 of atheists, and an Englishman could do more work before breakfast 

 than a Chinaman could do in a week ". Anything much wider of 

 the mark could hardly have been spoken, but as it symbolised the 

 logic of the opposition it is not surprising that the Bill was carried 

 through both Houses. In 1865 McCulloch brought in another Bill 

 to make the temporary revocation of the poll tax permanent, which 

 became law in due course. 



For fifteen years Parliament was untroubled by the Chinese 

 question, for it was solving itself. At the census of 1861 their 

 numbers were returned at 24,732 ; in 1871 they had further de- 

 creased to 17,935, and in 1881 to 12,132. In the face of these 



