A history of the Australasian colonies; (from their foundation in the year 1893)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1896 edition. Excerpt: ... chapter xiv. present day questions. Limits of space, already somewhat exceeded, forbid more than a brief reference to one or two of the more important political questions at present awaiting solution in the Australasian colonies. The equally interesting and perhaps more vital questions of education, economics, and social organization generally must be left untouched. The key to the political movements in Anglo-Saxon communities during the past century has been the tendencies. desire of the individual for political power. The extension of the franchise, the elaborate arrangements for its exercise, the developement of local government, the increasing importance of political conferences, the impatience of historic institutions which check the free exercise of popular influence, the growing desire for immediate information on political questions, are illustrations of this tendency. But all these contrivances have been already adopted in Australasia. With the extension of the franchise to women, and this is a step which, after the example set by New Zealand, the Australian colonies are pretty sure to follow, the British programme of political freedom (for British it really is, though the colonists have outstripped their teachers in performance) will be fairly exhausted. It will hardly be possible to organize a party in favour of conferring the political franchise on children. The Electoral Acts already make elaborate provision for securing the secrecy and honest exercise of voting privileges. Local Government (in the ordinary sense) can hardly be more highly developed, until the increasing wealth and population of the country districts enable them to dispense with the material assistance of the central government. The control of the...