(No. 112.) 1891. PARLIAMENT OF TASMANIA. LEADING FACTS CONNECTED WITH FEDERATION : COMPILED FOR THE . INFORMATION OF THE TASMANIAN DELEGATES TO THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL CONVENTION, 1891. Presented to both Houses of Parliament by His Excellency's Command. ADDENDUM. UNITED STATES. Since this work was compiled information has reached the Colony that the Senate of the United States of America on 27th June, 1890, passed Bills for the admission of the_ Territories of Idaho and Wyoming to the Union. Whitaker's Almanac and Hazell's Annual for 1891 describe the Confederation as now consisting of 44 States. No particulars are to hand. LEADING Fi\CTS CONNECTED WITH FEDERATION. COMPILED FOR THE INFORMATION OF THE TASMANIAN DELEGATES TO THE AUSTRALASIAN FEDERAL CONVENTION, 1891, ON THE ORDER OF THE GOVERNMENT OF TASMANIA. BY THOMAS C. JUST. TASMANIA: . · PRINTED AT "THE MERCURY" OFFICE, HOBART. :.,, ' ER.RATA. Page 25.-Line 3, for "feasable" read "feasible." Page 58.-In last line, for "November, 1877" read "November, 1777." Page 60.-Sixth line, for " 38 States,,· read "42 States." I TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAGE I. Early proposals for Federation 1 II. · Report of Victorian Select Committee, 1857 2 III. Proceedings on the above Report ... 4 IV. The Australian Association's :Memorial to the Secretary of State 4 Federation of the Colonies (Melbourne Argus, November, 1856) 7 Proposed Bill to enable the Legislatures of the Australian - Colonies to form a Federal Assembly, 1857 •.. 9 v. ~asmanian Action in 1S61 ... 11 VI. Report of the Royal Commission appointed by the Victorian Government, 1870 12 VII. Opinions of Leading Colonial Politicians thereon ... 15 The Sydney Conference of 1881 16 The Australian Convention of 1883 .. 16 VIII. The Tariffs and the Land Question .. 17 Mr. Giblin thereon ... 17 Dr. Lang thereon (waste lands) 18 IX. The Colonial Conference of 1887 18 X. The Federation Conference of 1890 21 XI. Australia's Resources 22 XII. Federation or Separation 22 XIII. The Value of the Colonies to the Empire . 23 XIV. Australia and the Empire (Major-General Strange) 24 xv. · Opinions of the Author of Friends in Council 24 XVI. Anglo-Saxon Federation-Atlantica and Pacifica 25 XVII. Consolidation of the Empire 27 XVIII. Feeling of the · Colonies towards the Mother Country-Press Extracts . 28 XIX. The author of "Ginx's Baby" on Imperial Federation 30 XX. The other side of the question 32 XXI. How the Question should be Approached... 33 XXII. Advantages of one strong Government 34 XXIII. Union of England and Scotland-Queen Anne's Letter.... 34 . XXIV. Colonies or States · . 35 XXV. The American and English systems compared. '36 XXVI. Modes of Federation-A Confederate Republic 37 - XXVII. Character of the American Constitution .. , 38 XXVIII. Wm . .Fosteil.' on the Fallacies of Federation 38 XXIX. The S.M. Herald in reply 39 XXX. What Intercolonial Federation means 40 XXXI. Voluntary Conferences 40 XXXII: Local Jealousies 41 XXXIII. A Constitutional Point · 41 XXXIV. Powers of the Federal and Loeal Parliamoots 42 XXXV. Pqwers must be co-exte,nsive with the objects of Government .• , 44 XXXVI. Australia's Weakness and Australia's Strength ...• 45 11 PAGE .XXXVII. Constitution of a Federal Assembly and the question of Defence 47 XXXVIII. Federal Defence 48 XXXIX. Naval Power : Its Influence on 'Neutrality 49 XL. Commercial Defence ... 49 XLI. The F~scal System-Freetrade or Protection .. 50 XLII. Advantages of Freetrade 50 XLIII. Federal Taxation 51 XLIV. Sir Alexander Stuart's Opinion 51 ·XLV. Taxation or Quotas ... 52 National and State Taxation 54 Madison's View 55 XLVI. Tlie Seat of Government· 55 XLVII. Class Representation... 56 XLVIII. The Laws and a Court of Appeal 57 XLIX. United States of America-How the Constitution was formed... 58 L. · Integral Constituents of the Nation . 60 LI,_ General Government of the United States... 60 LII. Apportionment of Representation . 61 LIII. Homestead Laws (American) 62 LIV. Married Women's Property (American) 62 LV. United States-Historical Dates -States History 62-83 LVI. Canada 83 LVII. The British North American Act 87 LVIII. Mexico 92 LIX. The Leeward Islands 94 LX. · Switzerland ... 95 LXI. The Results of Federation 99 LXII. Federation and Australasian Customs Duties 103 LXIII. A Basis for an Australian Customs Tariff 105 LXIV. Bibliography ... 110 APPENDICES. (a.) Statistics Bearing on the Question of Australasian Federation, Compiled from Official Records, by Thomas C. Just, December, 1890. (~-) Synoptical Table Showing particulars of the Constitutions of Countries having Federal Forms of Government. Compiled by Thomas C. Just, December, 1890. LEADING FACTS; ON FEDERATION. I. EARLY PROPOSALS FOR FEDERATION. The Federation of the Australian Colonies was contemplated with the earliest conception of Colonial self-government. The idea was embodied in several clam;es of the draft of "A Bill for the better Government of Her Majesty's Australian Colonies," submitted to the Imperial Parliament in 1849. The clauses W8re passed in the House ,,f Commons by a majority of !JS, but in the Lords they were struck out_; and Earl Grer thus refers to the subject in his despatch, 30th August, 1850, to Governor Sir Charles A. Fitzroy, of New South "\Vales, when transmitting the Act:- " The clauses giving power foi· the establishment under certain circumstances of a ~eneral Assembly for two or mor~ of the Colonies were omitted from the Bill in its progress through the House of Lords.' This omission was not assented to by Her Majesty's Government in consequence of any change of vpinion as to the importance of the suggestions on this point which are contained in the Report of the Committee of the Privy Council ; but it was found on examination that the clauses in question• were liable to practical objections, to obviate which it would have been necessary to introduce am~ndments entering into details of legislation which there were no means of satisfactorily arranging without further communication with the Colonies. "Her Majesty's Government have been the less reluctant to abandoa for the present this portion of the measure which' they proposed, inasmuch .as even in New South Wales it appeared, as far as they could collect the opinion which prevails on the subject, not to be regarded as of immediate importance, while in the other Colonies objections had been expressed to the creation of any such authority. "I am not, however, the less persuaded that the want of some such central authority to regulate matters of common importance to the Australian Colonies will be felt, and probably at a very early period; but when this want is so felt, it will of itself suggest the means by which it may be met. The several Legislatures will, it is true, be unable at once to give the necessary authority to a General Assembly, because the legislative power of each is confined of necessity within its territorial limits; but if two or more of these Legislatures should find that there are objects of common interest for which it is expedient to create such an authority, they will have it in their power, if they can settle the terms of an arrangement for the purpose, to pass Acts for giving effect to it, with clauses suspending their operation until Parliament shall have supplied the authority that is wanting. By such Acts the extent and objects of the powers which they are prepared to delegate to such a body might be defined, and limited with precision, and there can be little doubt that Parliament when applied to in order to give effect to an arrangement so agreed upon, would readily consent to do so. "I have only, in conclusion, to assure you that in framing this measure and recommending it to Parliament, Her Majesty's Government have had no other object in view but that of establishing in the Australian Colonies a system of Government founded on the same principles of well regulated freedom under which the inhabitants of this country have enjoyed so large a measure of security and prosperity, and under which the British Empire has risen to so high a pitch of greatness and of power. It is my earnest and confident hope that by this Act of Parliament the foundation is laid upon which institutions may gradually be raised worthy of the great nation of British origin which seems destined rapidly to rise up in the Southern hemisphere, and to spread our race and our language, and carry 2 the power of the British Crown over the whole of the vast territory of Australia." (New South Wales "Votes and Pro.9eedings," Session 1-1851.) II. REPORT OF VICTORIAN SELECT COMMITTEE, 1857.. In the year 1857 the Legislative Assembly of Victoria appointed a Select Committee to enquire into and report upon the necessity for a Federal Union of the Australasian Colonies for Legislative purposes. The Committee consisted · of :1\1:essrs. Charles Gavan Duffy (Chairman), J olm O'Shanassy, Moore, A. Michie, Foster. Horne, Griffith, Dr. Evans, Harker, E. Syme, and James McCulloch. This Committee brought up the following REPORT. The necessity of a Federal Union of the Australian Colonies for Legislative purposes, and the best means of accomplishing such an union if necessary, have been referred to the present Committee. They have given these questions of national polity the prolonged and deliberate consideration which their importance demanded. On the ultimate necessity of a Federal Union, your Committee are unanimous in believing that the interest and honour of these growing States would be promoted by the establishment of a system of mutual action and co-operation among them. Their interest suffers, and must continue to. suffer, while competing tariffs, naturalisation laws, and land systems, rival schemes of immigration an.cl of ocean postage, a clumsy and inefficient method of •communicating with each other and with the Home Government on public business, and a distant and expensive system of judicial appeal exist; and the honour and importance which constitute so essential an element of national prosperity, and the absence of which invites aggression from foreign enemies, cannot.