Luckily for Australia, the separate functions of her two Houses of Parliament—the Legislative Assembly, or Lower House, and the Legislative Council, or Upper House—are more definitely defined than those of the House of Commons and the House of Lords are at home—or have been till just lately. Still, Australian politics represent a tangled web to the new chum, and one which I have had very little time or opportunity of studying. I scarcely know, indeed, how I ever got started on the subject of Preference, but as the chapter somehow began itself in that way, and as this book is most likely to be read by people at home, who, by some chance, may happily know even less about the matter than I do, a few of the leading points of the game may not come amiss.
Frankly, I confess that the first day I was present at a debate in the Legislative Assembly I was reminded of nothing in the world so much as the trial scene in “Alice in Wonderland”:
“‘No, no,’ said the Queen; ‘sentence first—verdict afterwards.’
“‘Stuff and nonsense!’ said Alice loudly. ‘The idea of having the sentence first!’
“‘Hold your tongue!’ said the Queen, turning purple.
“‘I won’t!’ said Alice.
“‘Off with her head!’ said the Queen; but nobody moved.
“‘Who cares for you?’ said Alice. ‘You are nothing but a pack of cards.’
“At this all the cards rose up into the air and came flying down upon her.”
The question in the House at that time was, if I remember rightly, something to do with the duty on cloth caps made in Tasmania, and it really seemed astounding that so much excitement could be got out of such a little thing. Everything anyone said was frankly contradicted even in plainer words than “stuff and nonsense!” Everybody seemed to speak at once—or, rather, shout in a vain hope that they might be heard above the babel—and personalities of all sorts were freely indulged in, either to be completely disregarded or replied to by more abuse; often, I must confess, rather wittily put; while, should any orator succeed in shouting down his fellow, even then his troubles were far from ended, his every peculiarity being ruthlessly registered by the Press. The other day I came across an amusing and most characteristic notice of the New South Wales Premier in the Bulletin, from which I cannot resist quoting, affording as it does a very good example of this freedom of speech: