AUSTRALASIAN DEMOCRACY

BY

HENRY DE R. WALKER

LONDON
T. FISHER UNWIN
PATERNOSTER SQUARE
MDCCCXCVII

[All Rights reserved.]

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PREFACE

The following pages have been written from the point of view of theyear 1896, the greater part of which I spent in Australia. During theearlier months of the present year I was in New Zealand, but I wasunable to continue my survey of general Australasian affairs.

A result of the limitation that I was compelled to impose upon myselfwill be observed in the apparent antiquity of the chapter dealing withAustralian Federation; but this is not so great as might have beenanticipated, the new Federal Convention having drafted a Bill which isbased, to a large extent, upon that of 1891. For purposes ofcomparison I have, with the kind permission of the London agents of theMelbourne Argus, included an article in which that newspaper hassummarised the provisions of the new Federal Constitution Bill.

I have also included a brief account of a visit to the Coolgardiegoldfields which, though alien in purpose from the remaining chapters,may not be without interest as a record of personal impressions{viii}of a Province which has but recently felt the effects of a buddingprosperity.

It has been suggested to me that I should attempt to discussAustralasian problems with reference to their applicability to GreatBritain; but I have preferred to leave this task, of which theimportance cannot be overstated, to persons of greater experience, andto confine myself to a record of Australasian action and to acomparison of the points of similarity or the reverse between theseveral Provinces. It will be seen, however, that, in some cases, aswhen dealing, for instance, with the results of payment of members andwith the powers and privileges of Australasian Upper Houses, I havenoted differences of conditions which must render deductions by analogya matter of extreme difficulty.

The terms "Liberal" and "Conservative" are used to denote,respectively, the more and the less advanced parties in Australasianpolitics, and must not be taken to imply differences in opinion similarto those prevailing in Great Britain.

In conclusion, I would only say that my studies would have beenimpossible in the absence of kindly communicativeness on the part ofpoliticians of all shades of opinion; and, on the social side, that Iretain warm feelings of gratitude towards the committees of clubs andnumerous acquaintances who extended to me the cordial hospitality ofkinship.

H. DE R. WALKER.
23, CORK STREET, W.,
    July 25, 1897.

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CONTENTS