VII
DISCURSIVE NOTES ON TASMANIA
The restriction of the immigration of coloured races—Betting and lotteries—The adoption of a modification of Hare's System of Voting—Conflicts between the two Houses of Parliament—Finance and taxation—Land Grant Railways.
The session of the Tasmanian Parliament in 1896 was of a quiet character as far as the Ministerial programme was concerned. Measures were introduced, among others, for the extension to certain coloured races of the restrictions imposed upon the immigration of the Chinese, for the better suppression of public betting and gaming, for the inspection of certain products intended for export, for the consolidation and amendment of the electoral laws, and for the reference to a plebiscite of disputes between the House of Assembly and the Legislative Council.
The first of these measures was introduced in pursuance of a resolution passed at the Premiers' Conference at the commencement of the year, and was based upon the Chinese Immigration Act, 1887, which limits the number of Chinese, not being British subjects, that may be brought to Tasmania in any vessel in proportion to its tonnage, and throws upon the masters of the vessels the duty of paying a capitation fee of £10 for every such Chinaman that they introduce into the Province. It was proposed to apply this provision to "all male persons belonging to any coloured race inhabiting the Continent of Asia or the Continent of Africa, or any island adjacent thereto, or any island in the Pacific Ocean or Indian Ocean, not being persons duly accredited on any special mission to Her Majesty by the Government or ruler of any country, state, or territory, or to Tasmania under the authority of the Imperial Government." The Bill, which also exempted from its operation the native races of Australia and New Zealand, was accepted by the two Houses of Parliament, but was reserved by the Governor for the Imperial assent, which was likely to be withheld, as the measure would undoubtedly lead to the strongest protests from the Japanese, who will scarcely submit to be treated as an inferior race by an Australian Province. Should this attitude be adopted, a considerable amount of friction may be anticipated, as measures on similar lines have been adopted by the two Houses of Parliament in some of the other Provinces.
The Bill for the better suppression of betting and gaming should rather have been called a Bill for their regulation, as, while it aimed at the entire suppression of book-makers and betting-houses, it did not interfere with the totalisator or with any lotteries which had been authorised by Act of Parliament or were carried on solely by correspondence through the post-office, and in accordance with regulations which might be made by the Governor in Council. The totalisator is now to be found in all the Australasian Provinces except New South Wales and Victoria; in the latter its adoption has widely been advocated, but has been opposed by the clergy, who have entered into an unconscious alliance with the book-makers. The organisers of the large "Tattersall" Sweeps, which are worked from Tasmania and attract subscribers from all parts of Australasia, will also be unaffected by the Act; to a certain extent they will even be benefited, as they will be freed from the competition of many of their more humble rivals.
The measure dealing with the inspection of exported produce was deemed advisable on account, partly of the proposed action of other Provinces in regard to Tasmanian fruit, partly of the importance of enabling Tasmanian producers to obtain an official certificate of the quality of their produce. In outside markets, it was contended, in which the Provinces come into competition with each other, dealers gave the preference to, and paid higher prices for, imports which had received the imprimatur of the Government stamp. The interests of the community also would be protected against those of selfish and dishonest traders. It was, therefore, proposed that all dairy produce, fruit, or timber intended for exportation should be examined by an inspector, and should not be shipped until he had certified that it was sound, free from disease, and likely to reach its destination in a good state of preservation. The Governor in Council was also authorised to make regulations for the inspection of the ships in which such produce was to be carried, for the protection from unnecessary suffering of live stock when carried by sea, and for the branding and shipment of products approved of by an inspector for exportation. The Bill was read a second time in the Assembly on the understanding that it would be referred to the persons who would principally be affected by it, and was so unfavourably received by them, and especially by the fruit-growers, that it was shortly afterwards dropped. In several Provinces inspection has been accompanied by a system of bonuses to producers, but in this respect Tasmania has taken no action. Substantial bonuses were, however, offered some fourteen years ago to manufacturers of considerable quantities of sugar, sacking, and woollen goods, but of these the last alone has been claimed.
Tasmania has not followed the example of New South Wales and South Australia in the adoption of manhood or adult suffrage and the abolition of plural votes, but has passed a new Electoral Bill which adopts a modification of Hare's system, and thus secures a considerable representation of the minority in both Houses of Parliament. It provided, as introduced, that the two principal cities, Hobart and Launceston, which return, respectively, six and three, and four and two, representatives to the Assembly and Council, should thenceforward be single constituencies, and that "each elector shall have one vote only, but may vote in the alternative for as many candidates as he pleases; and his vote shall be deemed to be given in the first place for the candidate opposite whose name in the ballot-paper the figure 1 is placed; but in the event of its not being required to be used for the return of such candidate, it shall be transferable to the other candidates in succession, in the order of priority indicated by the figures set opposite their respective names; and the elector shall insert opposite the names of the candidates for whom he wishes to vote, the figures 1, 2, 3, and so on, in the order of his preference." The method by which the returning officer was to decide who were the successful candidates was so complicated as to require two pages of the Bill for its explanation. Briefly stated, it was as follows: the total number of votes divided by the number of representatives being the "Quota" necessary for the election of candidates, the returning officer declares the candidates who have a number of first votes equal to or greater than the quota to be elected; he then notes how many of the second votes on the papers of the successful candidates are given to each of the other candidates, and distributes the surplus votes among them in accordance with their respective proportions. One or more additional candidates are probably thereby elected, and the process is repeated until the requisite number are elected or a further quota is no longer reached. In the latter case, the candidate who has the smallest number of votes is excluded, and the second votes of those who supported him in the first instance are counted to the other candidates. The second votes of the candidates who successively become lowest on the list may be distributed, as often as may be necessary, among the remainder; in this manner a final result must at length be obtained. The Assembly provided by an amendment that each elector should vote for as many candidates as there were vacancies, while signifying the order of his preference; the Council reduced the number of requisite votes by one-half, and limited the operation of the Bill to the next general election. A doubt was expressed whether the benefits would counterbalance the additional trouble and inevitable confusion which would attend the first application of the new system. It was also contended that, among a population of not more that 160,000 persons, if the experiment were worthy of a trial, it should be extended to the whole country. The only other electoral peculiarity that I have noted in Australia is to be found in Queensland. Under an Act of 1892 which deals with the election of members of the Assembly, an elector may "indicate on his ballot-paper the name or names of any candidate or candidates for whom he does not vote in the first instance, but for whom he desires his vote or votes to be counted in the event of any candidate or candidates for whom he votes in the first instance not receiving an absolute majority of votes." These contingent votes are not counted unless the requisite number of candidates fail to obtain an absolute majority of all the primary votes; they are of no value where the candidates are not in the ratio of more than two to one to the vacancies, as it is provided that in such cases the candidates who receive the greatest number of votes shall be elected.