6. The federal constitution to make provision to enable each state to
make amendments in the constitution if necessary for the purposes of
federation.
Other formal resolutions were also agreed to, and on the 31st of March
Sir Samuel Griffith, as chairman of the committee on constitutional
machinery, brought up a draft Constitution Bill, which was carefully
considered by the convention in committee of the whole and adopted on
the 9th of April, when the convention was formally dissolved. The bill,
however, fell absolutely dead, not because it was not a good bill, but
because the movement out of which it arose had not popular initiative,
and therefore failed to reach the popular imagination.
Although the bill drawn up by the convention of 1891 was not received by
the people with any show of interest, the federation movement did not
die out; on the contrary, it had many enthusiastic advocates, especially
in the colony of Victoria. In 1894 an unofficial convention was held at
Corowa, at which the cause of federation was strenuously advocated, but
it was not until 1895 that the movement obtained new life, by reason of
the proposals adopted at a meeting of premiers convened by Mr G.H. Reid
of New South Wales. At this meeting all the colonies except New Zealand
were represented, and it was agreed that the parliament of each colony
should be asked to pass a bill enabling the people to choose ten persons
to represent the colony on a federal convention; the work of such
convention being the framing of a federal constitution to be submitted
to the people for approval by means of the referendum. During the year
1896 Enabling Acts were passed by New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania,
South Australia and Western Australia, and delegates were elected by
popular vote in all the colonies named except Western Australia, where
the delegates were chosen by parliament. The convention met in Adelaide
on the 22nd of March 1897, and, after drafting a bill for the
consideration of the various parliaments, adjourned until the 2nd of
September. On that date the delegates reassembled in Sydney, and debated
the bill in the light of the suggestions made by the legislatures of the
federating colonies. In the course of the proceedings it was announced
that Queensland desired to come within the proposed union; and in view
of this development, and in order to give further opportunity for the
consideration of the bill, the convention again adjourned. The third and
final session was opened in Melbourne on the 20th of January 1898, but
Queensland was still unrepresented; and, after further consideration,
the draft bill was finally adopted on the 16th of March and remitted to
the various colonies for submission to the people.
The constitution was accepted by Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania
by popular acclamation, but in New South Wales very great opposition was
shown, the main points of objection being the financial provisions,
equal representation in the Senate, and the difficulty in the way of the
larger states securing an amendment of the constitution in the event of
a conflict with the smaller states. As far as the other colonies were
concerned, it was evident that the bill was safe, and public attention
throughout Australia was fixed on New South Wales, where a fierce
political contest was raging, which it was recognized would decide the
fate of the measure for the time being. The fear was as to whether the
statutory number of 80,000 votes necessary for the acceptance of the
bill would be reached. This fear proved to be well founded, for the
result of the referendum in New South Wales showed 71,595 votes in
favour of the bill and 66,228 against it, and it was accordingly lost.
In Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia, on the other hand, the bill
was accepted by triumphant majorities. Western Australia did not put it
to the vote, as the Enabling Act of that colony only provided for
joining a federation of which New South Wales should form a part. The
existence of such a strong opposition to the bill in the mother colony
convinced even its most zealous advocates that some changes would have
to be made in the constitution before it could be accepted by the
people; consequently, although the general election in New South Wales,
held six or seven weeks later, was fought on the federal issue, yet the
opposing parties seemed to occupy somewhat the same ground, and the
question narrowed itself down to one as to which party should be
entrusted with the negotiations to be conducted on behalf of the colony,
with a view to securing a modification of the objectionable features of
the bill. The new parliament decided to adopt the procedure of again
sending the premier, Mr Reid, into conference, armed with a series of
resolutions affirming its desire to bring about the completion of
federal union, but asking the other colonies to agree to the
reconsideration of the provisions which were most generally objected to
in New South Wales. The other colonies interested were anxious to bring
the matter to a speedy termination, and readily agreed to this course of
procedure. Accordingly a premiers' conference was held in Melbourne at
the end of January 1899, at which Queensland was for the first time
represented. At this conference a compromise was effected, something was
conceded to the claims of New South Wales, but the main principles of
the bill remained intact. The bill as amended was submitted to the
electors of each colony and again triumphantly carried in Victoria,
South Australia and Tasmania. In New South Wales and Queensland there
were still a large number of persons opposed to the measure, which was
nevertheless carried in both colonies. New South Wales having decided in
favour of federation, the way was clear for a decision on the part of
Western Australia. The Enabling Bill passed the various stages in the
parliament of that colony, and the question was then adopted by
referendum.
In accordance with this general verdict of all the states, the colonial
draft bill was submitted to the imperial government for legislation as
an imperial act; and six delegates were sent to England to explain the
measure and to pilot it through the cabinet and parliament. A bill was
presented to the British parliament which embodied and established, with
such variations as had been accepted on behalf of Australia by the
delegates, the constitution agreed to at the premiers' conference of
1899 and speedily became law. Under this act, which was dated the 9th of
July 1900, a proclamation was issued on the 17th of September of the
same year, declaring that, on and after the 1st of January 1901, the
people of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland,
Tasmania and Western Australia should be united in a federal
commonwealth under the name of the Commonwealth of Australia.
Provisions of the Act of 1900.
The six colonies entering the Commonwealth were denominated original
states, and new states might be admitted, or might be formed by
separation from or union of two or more states or parts of states; and
territories (as distinguished from states) might be taken over and
governed under the legislative power of the Commonwealth. The
legislative power is vested in a federal parliament, consisting of the
sovereign, a senate, and a house of representatives, the sovereign
being represented by a governor-general. The Senate was to consist of
the same number of members (not less than six) for each state, the
term of service being six years, but subject to an arrangement that
half the number would retire every three years. The House of
Representatives was to consist of members chosen in the different
states in numbers proportioned to their population, but never fewer
than five. The first House of Representatives was to contain
seventy-five members. For elections to the Senate the governors of
states, and for general elections of the House of Representatives the
governor-general, would cause writs to be issued. The Senate would
choose its own president, and the House of Representatives its
speaker; each house would make its own rules of procedure; in each,
one-third of the number of members would form a quorum; the members of
each must take oath, or make affirmation of allegiance; and all alike
would receive an allowance of L400 a year. The legislative powers of
the parliament have a wide range, many matters being transferred to it
from the colonial parliaments. The more important subjects with which
it deals are trade, shipping and railways; taxation, bounties, the
borrowing of money on the credit of the Commonwealth; the postal and
telegraphic services; defence, census and statistics; currency,
coinage, banking, bankruptcy; weights and measures; copyright, patents
and trade marks; marriage and divorce; immigration and emigration;
conciliation and arbitration in industrial disputes. Bills imposing
taxation or appropriating revenue must not originate in the Senate,
and neither taxation bills nor bills appropriating revenue for the
annual service of the government may be amended in the Senate, but the
Senate may return such bills to the House of Representatives with a
request for their amendment. Appropriation laws must not deal with
other matters. Taxation laws must deal with only one subject of
taxation; but customs and excise duties may, respectively, be dealt
with together. Votes for the appropriation of the revenue shall not
pass unless recommended by the governor-general. The constitution
provides means for the settlement of disputes between the houses, and
requires the assent of the sovereign to all laws. The executive power
is vested in the governor-general, assisted by an executive council
appointed by himself. He has command of the army and navy, and
appoints federal ministers and judges. The ministers are members of
the executive council, and must be, or within three months of their
appointment must become, members of the parliament. The judicial
powers are vested in a high court and other federal courts, and the
federal judges hold office for life or during good behaviour. The High
Court has appellate jurisdiction in cases from other federal courts
and from the supreme courts of the states, and it has original
jurisdiction in matters arising under laws made by the federal
parliament, in disputes between states, or residents in different
states, and in matters affecting the representatives of foreign
powers. Special provisions were made respecting appeals from the High
Court to the sovereign in council. The constitution set forth
elaborate arrangements for the administration of finance and trade
during the transition period following the transference of departments
to the Commonwealth. Within two years uniform customs duties were to
be imposed; thereafter the parliament of the Commonwealth had
exclusive power to impose customs and excise duties, or to grant
bounties; and trade within the Commonwealth was to be absolutely free.
Exceptions were made permitting the states to grant bounties on mining
and (with the consent of the parliament) on exports of produce or
manufactures--Western Australia being for a time partially exempted
from the prohibition to impose import duties.
The constitution, parliament and laws of each state, subject to the
federal constitution, retained their authority; state rights were
carefully safeguarded, and an inter-state commission was given powers
of adjudication and of administration of the laws relating to trade,
transport and other matters. Provision was made for necessary
alteration of the constitution of the Commonwealth, but so that no
alteration could be effected unless the question had been directly
submitted to, and the change accepted by the electorate in the states.
The seat of government was to be within New South Wales, not less than
100 m. distant from Sydney, and of an area not less than 100 sq. m.
Until other provision was made, the governor-general was to have a
salary of L10,000, paid by the Commonwealth. Respecting the salaries
of the governors of states, the constitution made no provision.
The choice of governor-general of the new Commonwealth fell upon Lord
Hopetoun (afterwards Lord Linlithgow), who had won golden opinions as
governor of Victoria a few years before; Mr (afterwards Sir Edmund)
Barton, who had taken the lead among the Australian delegates, became
first prime minister; and the Commonwealth was inaugurated at the
opening of 1901. The first parliament under the constitution was elected
on the 29th and 30th of March 1901, and was opened by the prince of
Wales on the 9th of May following. In October 1908 the Yass-Canberra
district, near the town of Yass, N.S.W., was at length selected by both
federal houses to contain the future federal capital.
Labour movement.
The Great Strike of 1890.
The Labour movement in Australia may be traced back to the early days
when transportation was in vogue, and the free immigrant and the
time-expired convict objected to the competition of the bond labourer.
The great object of these early struggles being attained, Labour
directed its attention mainly to securing shorter hours. It was aided
very materially by the dearth of workers consequent on the gold
discoveries, when every man could command his own price. When the
excitement consequent on the gold finds had subsided, there was a
considerable reaction against the claims of Labour, and this was greatly
helped by the congested state of the labour market; but the principle of
an eight-hours day made progress, and was conceded in several trades. In
the early years of the 'seventies the colonies entered upon an era of
well-being, and for about twelve years every man, willing to work and
capable of exerting himself, readily found employment. The Labour unions
were able to secure in these years many concessions both as to hours and
wages. In 1873 there was an important rise in wages, in the following
year there was a further advance, and another in 1876; but in 1877 wages
fell back a little, though not below the rate of 1874. In 1882 there was
a very important advance in wages; carpenters received 11s. a day,
bricklayers 12s. 6d., stone-masons 11s. 6d., plasterers 12s., painters
11s., blacksmiths 10s., and navvies and general labourers 8s., and work
was very plentiful. For five years these high wages ruled; but in 1886
there was a sharp fall, though wages still remained very good. In 1888
there was an advance, and again in 1889. In 1890 matters were on the eve
of a great change and wages fell, in most cases to a point 20% below the
rates of 1885. During the whole period from 1873 onwards, prices, other
than of labour, were steadily tending downwards, so that the cost of
living in 1890 was much below that of 1873. Taking everything into
consideration the reduction was, perhaps, not less than 20%, so that,
though the nominal or money wages in 1873 and 1890 were the same, the
actual wages were much higher in the latter year. Much of the
improvement in the lot of the wage-earners has been due to the Labour
organizations, yet so late as 1881 these organizations were of so little
account, politically, that when the law relating to trades unions was
passed in New South Wales, the English law was followed, and it was
simply enacted that the purposes of any trades union shall not be deemed
unlawful (so as to render a member liable to criminal prosecution for
conspiracy or otherwise) merely by reason that they are in restraint of
trade. After the year 1884 Labour troubles became very frequent, the New
South Wales coal miners in particular being at war with the colliery
owners during the greater part of the six years intervening between then
and what is called the Great Strike. The strong downward tendency of
prices made a reduction of wages imperative; but the labouring classes
failed to recognize any such necessity, and strongly resented any
reductions proposed by employers. It was hard indeed for a carter
drawing coal to a gasworks to recognize the necessity which compelled a
reduction in his wages because wool had fallen 20%. Nor were other
labourers, more nearly connected with the producing interests, satisfied
with a reduction of wages because produce had fallen in price all round.
Up to 1889 wages held their ground, although work had become more
difficult to obtain, and some industries were being carried on without
any profit. It was at such an inopportune time that the most extensive
combination of Labour yet brought into action against capital formulated
its demands. It is possible that the London dockers' strike was not
without its influence on the minds of the Australian Labour leaders.
That strike had been liberally helped by the Australian unions, and it
was confidently predicted that, as the Australian workers were more
effectively organized than the English unions, a corresponding success
would result from their course of action. A strike of the Newcastle
miners, after lasting twenty-nine weeks, came to an end in January 1890,
and throughout the rest of the year there was great unrest in Labour
circles. On the 6th of September the silver mines closed down, and a
week later a conference of employers issued a manifesto which was met
next day by a counter-manifesto of the Intercolonial Labour Conference,
and almost immediately afterwards by the calling out of 40,000 men. The
time chosen for the strike was the height of the wool season, when a
cessation of work would be attended with the maximum of inconvenience.
Sydney was the centre of the disturbance, and the city was in a state of
industrial siege, feeling running to dangerous extremes. Riotous scenes
occurred both in Sydney and on the coal-fields, and a large number of
special constables were sworn in by the government. Towards the end of
October 20,000 shearers were called out, and many other trades,
principally concerned with the handling or shipping of wool, joined the
ranks of the strikers, with the result that the maritime and pastoral
industries throughout the whole of Australia were most injuriously
disturbed. The Great Strike terminated early in November 1890, the
employers gaining a decisive victory. The colonies were, however, to
have other and bitter experiences of strikes before Labour recognized
that of all means for settling industrial disputes strikes are, on the
whole, the most disastrous that it can adopt. The strikes of the years
1890 and 1892 are just as important on account of their political
consequences as from the direct gains or losses involved.
Political consequences.
As one result of the strike of 1890 a movement was set afoot by a number
of enthusiasts, more visionary than practical, that has resulted in a
measure of more or less disaster. This was the planting of a colony of
communistic Australians in South America. After much negotiation the
leader, Mr William Lane, a Brisbane journalist, decided on Paraguay, and
he tramped across the continent, preaching a new crusade, and gathering
in funds and recruits in his progress. On the 16th of July 1893 the
first little army of "New Australians" left Sydney in the "Royal Tar,"
which arrived at Montevideo on the 31st of August. Other consignments of
intending settlers in "New Australia" followed; but though the
settlement is still in existence it has completely failed to realize the
impracticable ideals of its original members. The Queensland government
assisted some of the disillusioned to escape from the paradise which
proved a prison; some managed to get away on their own account; and
those that have remained have split into as many settlements almost as
there are settlers. Another effect of the Great Strike was in a more
practical direction. New South Wales was the first country which
endeavoured to settle its labour grievances through the ballot-box and
to send a great party to parliament as the direct representation of
Labour, pledged to obtain through legislation what it was unable to
obtain by strikes and physical force. The principle of one-man one-vote
had been persistently advocated without arousing any special
parliamentary or public enthusiasm until the meeting of the Federal
Convention in 1891. The convention was attended by Sir George Grey, who
was publicly welcomed to the colony by New Zealanders resident in
Sydney, and by other admirers, and his reception was an absolute
ovation. He eloquently and persistently advocated the principle of
one-man one-vote as the bed-rock of all democratic reform. This
subsequently formed the first plank of the Labour platform. Several
attempts had been made by individuals belonging to the Labour party to
enter the New South Wales parliament, but it was not until 1891 that the
occurrence of a general election gave the party the looked-for
opportunity for concerted action. The results of the election came as a
complete surprise to the majority of the community. The Labour party
captured 35 seats out of a House of 125 members; and as the old parties
almost equally divided the remaining seats, and a fusion was impossible,
the Labour representatives dominated the situation. It was not long,
however, before the party itself became divided on the fiscal question;
and a Protectionist government coming into power, about half the Labour
members gave it consistent support and enabled it to maintain office for
about three years, the party as a political unit being thus destroyed.
The events of these three years taught the Labour leaders that a
parliamentary party was of little practical influence unless it was able
to cast on all important occasions a solid vote, and to meet the case a
new method was devised. The party therefore determined that they would
refuse to support any person standing in the Labour interests who
refused to pledge himself to vote on all occasions in such way as the
majority of the party might decide to be expedient. This was called the
"solidarity pledge," and, united under its sanction, what was left of
the Labour party contested the general election of 1894. The result was
a defeat, their numbers being reduced from 35 to 19; but a signal
triumph was won for solidarity. Very few of the members who refused to
take the pledge were returned and the adherents of the united party were
able to accomplish more with their reduced number than under the old
conditions.
The two features of the Labour party in New South Wales are its
detachment from other parties and the control of the caucus. The
caucus, which is the natural corollary of the detachment, determines
by majority the vote of the whole of the members of the party,
independence of action being allowed on minor questions only. So far
the party has refrained from formal alliance with the other great
parties of the state. It supports the government as the power alone
capable of promoting legislation, but its support is given only so
long as the measures of the government are consistent with the Labour
policy. This position the Labour party has been able to maintain with
great success, owing to the circumstance that the other parties have
been almost equally balanced.
Parliamentary Labour party.
The movement towards forming a parliamentary Labour party was not
confined to New South Wales; on the contrary, it was common to all the
states, having its origin in the failure of the Great Strike of 1890.
The experience of the party was also much the same as in New South
Wales, but its greatest triumphs were achieved in South Australia. The
Labour party has been in power in Queensland, Western Australia and
South Australia, and has, on many occasions, decided the fate of the
government on a critical division in all the states except Tasmania and
Victoria. Different ideals dominate the party in the different states.
The one ideal which has just been described represents the Labour party
from the New South Wales standpoint. The only qualification worth
mentioning is the signing of the pledge of solidarity. The other ideal,
typified by the South Australian party, differs from this in one
important respect. To the Labour party in that state are admitted only
persons who have worked for their living at manual labour, and this
qualification of being an actual worker is one that was strongly
insisted upon at the formation of the party and strictly adhered to,
although the temptation to break away from it and accept as candidates
persons of superior education and position has been very great. On the
formation of the Commonwealth a Labour party was established in the
federal houses. It comprises one-third of the representation in the
House of Representatives, and perhaps a still larger proportion in the
Senate. The party is, however, formed on a broader basis than the state
parties, the solidarity pledge extends only to votes upon which the fate
of a government depends. Naturally, however, as the ideals of the
members of the party are the same, the members of the Labour party will
be generally found voting together on all important divisions, the chief
exception being with regard to free trade or protection. The Labour
party held power in the Commonwealth for a short period, and has had the
balance of power in its hands ever since the formation of the
Commonwealth. (T. A. C.)
Recent legislation.
Australian legislation in the closing years of the 19th century and the
first decade of the 20th bore the most evident traces of the Labour
party's influence. In all the colonies a complete departure from
principles laid down by the leading political economists of the 19th
century was made when acts were passed subjecting every branch of
domestic industry to the control of specially constituted tribunals,
which were empowered among other important functions to fix the minimum
rate of wages to be paid to all grades of workmen. (See also the
articles ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION; TRADE UNIONS; LABOUR
LEGISLATION.)
Victoria.
Victoria was the pioneer in factory legislation, the first Victorian
act of that character dating from 1873. In 1884 a royal commission,
appointed two years earlier to inquire into the conditions of
employment in the colony and certain allegations of "sweating" that
had then recently been made, reported that:--"The most effective mode
of bringing about industrial co-operation and mutual sympathy between
employers and employed, and thus obviating labour conflicts in the
future, is by the establishment of courts of conciliation in Victoria,
whose procedure and awards shall have the sanction and authority of
law." This report led to the passing of a number of acts which,
proving ineffectual, were followed by the Factories and Shops Act of
1896, passed by the ministry of Mr (afterwards Sir Alexander) Peacock.
This measure, together with several subsequent amending acts, of which
the most important became law in 1903, 1905 and 1907, forms a complete
industrial code in which the principle of state regulation of wages is
recognized and established. Its central enactment was to bring into
existence (1) "Special Boards," consisting of an equal number of
representatives of employers and workmen respectively in any trade,
under the presidency of an independent chairman, and (2) a Court of
Industrial Appeals. A special board may be formed at the request of
any union of employers or of workmen, or on the initiative of the
Labour department. After hearing evidence, which may be given on oath,
the special board issues a "determination," fixing the minimum rate of
wages to be paid to various classes of workers of both sexes and
different ages in the trade covered by the determination, including
apprentices; and specifying the number of hours per week for which
such wages are payable, with the rates for overtime when those hours
are exceeded. The determination is then gazetted, and it becomes
operative over a specified area, which varies in different cases, on a
date fixed by the board. Either party, or the minister for Labour, may
refer a determination to the court of industrial appeals, and the
court, in the event of a special board failing to make a
determination, may itself be called upon to frame one. The general
administration of the Factories and Shops Acts, to which the special
boards owe their being, is vested in a chief inspector of factories,
subject to the control of the minister of Labour in matters of policy.
Before the end of 1906 fifty-two separate trades in Victoria had
obtained special boards, by whose determinations their operations were
controlled.
South Australia.
A similar system was introduced into South Australia by an act passed
in 1900 amending the Factory Act of 1894, which was the first
legislation of the sort passed in that state.
Queensland.
In Queensland, where the earliest factory legislation dates from 1896,
keen parliamentary conflict raged round the proposal in 1907 to
introduce the special boards system for fixing wages. More than one
change of government occurred before the bill became law in April
1908.
New South Wales.
In New South Wales, whose example was followed by Western Australia,
the machinery adopted for fixing the statutory rate of wages was of a
somewhat different type. The model followed in these two states was
not Victoria but New Zealand, where an Industrial Conciliation and
Arbitration Act was passed in 1894. A similar measure, under the
guidance of the attorney-general, the Hon. B.R. Wise, was carried
after much opposition in New South Wales in 1901, to remain in force
till the 30th of June 1908. By it an arbitration court was instituted,
consisting of a president and assessors representing the employers'
unions and the workers' unions respectively; in any trade in which a
dispute occurs, any union of workmen or employers registered under the
act was given the right to bring the matter before the arbitration
court, and if the court makes an award, an application may be made to
it to make the award a "common rule," which thereupon becomes binding
over the trade affected, wherever the act applies. The award of the
court is thus the equivalent of the determination of a special board
in Victoria, and deals with the same questions, the most important of
which are the minimum rates of wages and the number of working hours
per week. The act contained stringent provisions forbidding strikes;
but in this respect it failed to effect its purpose, several strikes
occurring in the years following its enactment, in which there were
direct refusals to obey awards.
Western Australia.
In the years 1900 and 1902 acts were passed in Western Australia still
more closely modelled on the New Zealand act than was the
above-mentioned statute in New South Wales. Unlike the latter, they
reproduced the institution of district conciliation boards in addition
to the arbitration court; but these boards were a failure here as they
were in New Zealand, and after 1903 they fell into disuse. In Western
Australia, too, the act failed to prevent strikes taking place. In
1907 a serious strike occurred in the timber trade, attended by all
the usual accompaniments, except actual disorder, of an industrial
conflict.
Federal Arbitration Act of 1904.
In all this legislation one of the most hotly contested points was
whether the arbitration court should be given power to lay it down
that workers who were members of a trade union should be employed in
preference to non-unionists. This power was given to the tribunal in
New South Wales, but was withheld in Western Australia. It was the
same question that formed the chief subject of debate over the Federal
Conciliation and Arbitration Act, which, after causing the defeat of
more than one ministry, passed through the Commonwealth parliament in
1904. It was eventually compromised by giving the power, but only with
safeguarding conditions, to the Federal arbitration court. This
tribunal differs from similar courts in the states inasmuch as it
consists of a single member, called the "president," an officer
appointed by the governor-general from among the justices of the High
Court of Australia. The president has the power to appoint assessors
to advise him on technical points; and considerable powers of
devolution of authority for the purpose of inquiry and report are
conferred upon the court, the main object of which is to secure
settlement by conciliatory methods. The distinctive object of the
Federal Act, as defined in the measure itself, is to provide machinery
for dealing with industrial disputes extending beyond any one state,
examples of which were furnished by the first two important cases
submitted to the court--the one concerning the merchant marine of
Australia, and the other the sheep shearers, both of which were heard
in 1907. An additional duty was thrown on the Federal arbitration
court by the Customs and Excise Tariff Acts of 1906, in which were
embodied the principles known as the "New Protection." By the Customs
Act the duty was raised on imported agricultural implements, while as
a safeguard to the consumer the maximum prices for the retail of the
goods were fixed. In order to provide a similar protection for the
artisans employed in the protected industries, an excise duty was
imposed on the home-produced articles, which was to be remitted in
favour of manufacturers who could show that they paid "fair and
reasonable" wages, and complied with certain other conditions for the
benefit of their workmen. The chief authority for determining whether
these conditions are satisfied or not is the Federal arbitration
court.
Old age pensions.
The same period that saw this legislation adopted was also marked by
the establishment of old age pensions in the three eastern states, and
also in the Commonwealth. By the Federal Act, passed in the session of
1908, a pension of ten shillings a week was granted to persons of
either sex over sixty-five years of age, or to persons over sixty who
are incapacitated from earning a living. The Commonwealth legislation
thus made provision for the aged poor in the three states which up to
1908 had not accepted the principle of old age pensions, and also for
those who, owing to their having resided in more than one state, were
debarred from receiving pension in any.
Tariff.
An important work of the Commonwealth parliament was the passing of a
uniform tariff to supersede the six separate tariffs in force at the
establishment of the Commonwealth, but many other important measures
were considered and some passed into law. During the first six years of
federation there were five ministries; the tenure of office under the
three-yearly system was naturally uncertain, and this uncertainty was
reflected in the proposals of whatever ministry was in office. The great
task of adjusting the financial business of the Commonwealth on a
permanent basis was one of very great difficulty, as the apparent
interests of the states and of the Commonwealth were opposed. Up till
1908 it had been generally assumed that the constitution required the
treasurer of the Commonwealth to hand over to the states month by month
whatever surplus funds remained in his hands. But in July 1908 a Surplus
Revenue Act was passed which was based on a different interpretation of
the constitution. Under this act the appropriation of these surplus
funds to certain trust purposes in the Federal treasury is held to be
equivalent to payment to the states. The money thus obtained was
appropriated in part to naval defence and harbours, and in part to the
provision of old age pensions under the Federal Old Age Pension Act of
1908. The act was strongly opposed by the government of Queensland, and
the question was raised as to whether it was based on a true
interpretation of the constitution. The chief external interest,
however, of the new financial policy of the Commonwealth lay in its
relation towards the empire as a whole. At the Imperial Conference in
London in 1907 Mr Deakin, the Commonwealth premier, was the leading
advocate of colonial preference with a view to imperial commercial
union; and though no reciprocal arrangement was favoured by the Liberal
cabinet, who temporarily spoke for the United Kingdom, the colonial
representatives were all agreed in urging such a policy, and found the
Opposition (the Unionist party) in England prepared to adopt it as part
of Mr Chamberlain's tariff reform movement. In spite of the official
rebuff received from the mother-country, the Australian ministry, in
drawing up the new Federal tariff, gave a substantial preference to
British imports, and thus showed their willingness to go farther. (See
the article BRITISH EMPIRE.) (R. J. M.)
GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY.--For Physical Geography: Barton, _Australian
Physiography_ (Brisbane, 1895); Wall, _Physical Geography of
Australia_ (Melbourne, 1883); Taylor, _Geography of New South Wales_
(Sydney, 1898); Saville Kent, _The Great Barrier Reef of Australia_
(London, 1893); A. Agassiz, _Visit to the Barrier Reef_ (Cambridge,
Mass., 1899); J.P. Thomson, _The Physical Geography of Australia_
(Smithsonian Report, Washington, 1898); J.W. Gregory, _The Dead Heart
of Australia_. For Flora: Maiden, _Useful Native Plants of Australia_
(Sydney, 1889); Bentham and Mueller, _Flora Australiensis_ (London,
1863-1878); Fitzgerald, _Australian Orchids_ (Sydney, 1870-1890);
Mueller, _Census of Australian Plants_ (Melbourne, 1889). For Fauna:
Forbes, "The Chatham Islands; their Relation to a former Southern
Continent," _Geographical Journal_, vol. ii. (1893); Hedley,
"Surviving Refugees in Austral Lands of Ancient Antarctic Life,"
_Royal Society N.S. Wales_, 1895; "The Relation of the Fauna and Flora
of Australia to those of New Zealand," _Nat. Science_ (1893);
Tenison-Woods, _The Fish and Fisheries of New South Wales_ (Sydney,
1883); Ogilvy, _Catalogue of Australian Mammals_ (Sydney, 1892);
Aflalo, _Natural History of Australia_ (London, 1896); Flower and
Lydekker, _Mammals, Living and Extinct_ (London, 1891); J. Douglas
Ogilby, _Catalogue of the Fishes of New South Wales_, 4to (Sydney,
1886). For Statistics and Miscellanea: T.A. Coghlan, _A Statistical
Account of the Seven Colonies of Australasia_, 8vo (Sydney, 1904); G.
Collingridge, _The Discovery of Australia_ (Sydney, 1895); W. Epps,
_The Land Systems of Australia_, 8vo (London, 1894); Ernest Favenc,
_The History of Australasian Exploration_, royal 8vo (Sydney, 1885);
R.R. Garraa, _The Coming Commonwealth: a Handbook of Federal
Government_ (Sydney, 1897); George William Rusden, _History of
Australia_, 3 vols. 8vo (London, 1883); K. Schmeisser, _The Goldfields
of Australasia_, 2 vols. (London, 1899); G.F. Scott, _The Romance of
Australian Exploring_ (London, 1899); H. de R. Walker, _Australasian
Democracy_ (London, 1897); William Westgarth, _Half a Century of
Australian Progress_ (London, 1899); T.A. Coghlan and T.T. Ewing,
_Progress of Australia in the 19th Century_; G.P. Tregarthen,
_Commonwealth of Australia_; Ida Lee, _Early Days of Australia_; W.P.
Reeves, _State Experiments in Australia and New Zealand_; A. Metin,
_La Socialisme sans doctrine_.