The Brisbane Courier,
Tuesday, 20 October 1896, pp. 5–6
“A
RETROSPECT.” FIFTY YEARS OF AUSTRALIAN HISTORY: LECTURE BY THE HON. JOHN
DOUGLAS, C.M.G.
“A Retrospect”
was the title of an address delivered by the Hon. John Douglas, C.M.G., in the
lecture-room of the School of Arts last evening. The chair was occupied by Sir
S. W. Griffith, Chief Justice. There were also present on the platform—Sir
Charles Lilley, Mr. T. Macdonald-Paterson, M.L.A., and Messrs. J. Fenwick, C.
M‘Lay, J. Blaikiston-Robinson, R. Galley, and N. Lassell. Among the audience
were—The Hon. H. Tozer, Home Secretary, the Hon. R. Philp, Minister for
Railways, and Messrs. J. G. Drake, J. T. Bell, M.M.L.A., R. H. Roe, J. G.
Anderson, W. L. G. Drew, J. Shirley, J. W. Sutton, C. Seymour.
The Chief
Justice, in introducing the lecturer, said there were few men who had taken a
more philosophical view of events in Queensland during the last few years than
their old friend, Mr. Douglas.
Mr. DOUGLAS,
who was received with loud applause, after a few remarks as to old friends he
saw around him, and to others, long associated with the School of Arts, who had
joined the great majority, said:—“My theme to-night is what Humboldt calls the
‘unforgotten past.’ That is rather a large order, but I propose only to give
you a brief outline of contemporary Australian history since I started on my
journey to Thursday Island. It may certainly have a personal colouring, and may
be a little sentimental, but on the principle that all unsentimental beings
should be hanged I may save my neck, and live to fight another day.
“I may here
remark that I had been to Thursday Island before—in 1877. I had indeed laid the
very foundations of the new settlement, for it was at my instance and on my
recommendation that the annexation of the islands of Torres Straits to
Queensland was made, but I am not going to give you a history of Thursday
Island. I am going to ask you just to glance for an instant at what was then,
and is still, the outward environment of the little island commonwealth—a
dependency of a dependency of the British Empire.
“In 1885, then,
as now, there were aspirations for closer union in this island continent of
Australia, of closer union with the great mother of nations across the seas.
The years which have passed since then have been described by an Australian
writer as a period of ‘feverish delirium.’ However that may be, they have left
their mark in our history, recording a series of events in themselves perhaps
unheroic, yet full of presage for the future of our race in these Antipodean
countries. There has been no one event in that series which the historian of
our times could point to as commandingly critical. There has been no
modification of the sovereign authority, no change in the personality of the
dynasty. There has been no outward transformation of the Constitution denoting
a new birth of any kind. The congeries of Britannic States or nations are as
they were. There has been no declaration of independence—no new republic has
been recognised. No great naval battle has been fought. The horizon has
sometimes been obscured by distant storm clouds, but not as yet has it been
dimmed by the ominous smoke of contending European navies. Nowhere through the
wide expanse of the British Empire have there been any signs of retreat. The
proverbial drum which encircles the earth still beats in unison with our
prevailing commercial instincts.” (Applause.)
NO SIGNS OF
DECAY.
“There has been
some foolish talk lately of ‘splendid isolation,’ but ‘delenda est Britannia’
has not yet been proclaimed by the combined Powers of Europe under the
leadership of a great naval and military dictator. To all outward appearances
there are no signs of decay. The influences at work seem to have gravitated not
so much to the centre as to the circumference. Yet there has doubtless also
been a growth of National as distinguished from Imperial influences. It is
permissible even to conclude that for a healthy growth of the organism it is
essential that there should be evidence both of the centrifugal and centripetal
influences, and that neither the one nor the other should preponderate.
“It is not my
purpose in this brief sketch of the last few years to attempt any general
survey of the great commercial and maritime Power, which has truly been defined
as the greatest ‘secular influence for good now known to mankind.’ My purpose
rather is at the present time to refer to a few of the events of the period
during which I have resided at Thursday Island and in New Guinea, so far as
they have affected Australia and Australians.
THE FLOWING
IN OF MONEY.
“Going back,
then, to that period—1885—let me remind you that a strong tide of material
prosperity had set in throughout Australasia. Money was abundant, and continued
to flow in for some years all too abundantly to our shores. There seemed to be
no limit to the possibilities of the future. ‘For God’s sake, take our money,’
said the capitalist. ‘We can only get 3 per cent for it in the home market;
give us 5 or 6 per cent, and you may have as much as you like.’ It was a
tempting offer, and it did not require much persuasion to lure us on to the
acceptance of the offer. That was the commencement of the period of delirium.”
(Applause.)
THE CRY FOR
ANNEXATION.
“At that time
also there was a good deal of excitement in Australia about annexations in the
Pacific. The French in New Caledonia gave us some trouble, for a good few of
their recidivistes filtered through the channels of commerce into Australia.
The people of New South Wales and Victoria, while friendly enough to the
French, felt very cold to the recidivistes, who reminded them too much of the
old convict times. It was an outrage they felt to continue the system, and a
breach of all international comity, for France was then and still is the only
great European Power which does not dispose of its criminals within its own
boundaries.
“It was and is
an outrage, indeed, and if it were not that it seems to be coming to an end, we
should still regard it as almost amounting to a menace. Partly from this cause,
and partly also from a strong feeling that the rivalries of European nations should
find no place in the Pacific, an urgent demand had been made for annexation.
New Guinea should be annexed, the Solomons should be annexed, the New Hebrides,
Samoa, and Tonga—everything should be annexed, in order to keep foreigners at
arms’ length.
A NATION OF
SQUATTERS.
“Be it
remembered that we were a nation of squatters in the early days, and had taken
up more country than any men living in those times. We had an inherent dislike
of neighbours, having learned to regard nothing less than a mountain range as a
suitable boundary for a sheep or cattle run.
“SHE CLAIMS
THE WHOLE.”
“You have
heard, I daresay, the story told of Lord John Russell which illustrates this
feeling. Once upon a time he was asked by a distinguished French diplomatist,
‘What part of Australia does her Britannic Majesty claim?’ Lord John never
hesitated for a moment. ‘What part, your Excellency? She claims the whole.’ It
was a laconic assumption, and if he had added, ‘She also claims the Pacific
Ocean and all the islands in midocean,’ he would doubtless have given
expression to our prevailing feeling in Australia.
“At the time I
speak of we were threatened with German annexations in the Pacific, and even
Russia, it was supposed, on the other side of Baron Maclay’s explorations in
New Guinea, had some ideas of annexation. When, then, Australia got alarmed
about New Guinea, and when Queensland made a special annexation of New Guinea
on her own account, there was no small consternation, for Lord Derby repudiated
the act, and left us lamenting. Of course Lord Derby got well abused for his
timidity. We had our hands full of Egypt at the time, and it was said that he
intrigued for Bismarck’s support in Egypt, for Bismarck, we know, was always
ready for a bargain.
“However that
may have been, those who looked calmly on saw some good reason for Lord Derby’s
masterly inactivity. The Germans were watchful neighbours of the French in
Europe. Might it not be a stroke of policy to make them watchful neighbours of
the French in the Pacific? Thus it has come about that Germany has a portion of
New Guinea, and a portion of the Solomons, not perhaps to the perfect
contentment of some of us, but manifestly, as I believe, to our advantage, for
the idea of our Australian isolation has vanished into thin air.” (Applause.)
THE POSITION
ALTERED.
“Such is the
logic of events. A few years have completely altered the position. Ten or
twelve years ago, say fifteen years ago, we knew nobody, and did not wish to
know any one beyond the family circle, and now, perforce, we know everybody,
French and German, Russians and Americans, Italians and Japanese, all send
their men-of-war to have a look at us, and we are wondering what they want in
these outlandish parts. It is thus that the times are changed—and what next?
“Not only have
we these vagrant men-of-war of all nations visiting us, but French and German
steamers frequent our coasts, and vie with the finest of our P. and O. or
Orient liners; and now along our Queensland coasts we shall shortly have a line
of Japanese steamers, setting us thinking a good deal about the new Eastern
Power in the Pacific. So that after all this Pacific of ours may belie its
name, and may in truth become the cockpit of contending navies.
“Seclusion may
be very delightful, and we may look back with pleasure to the days of our
innocence when nobody came near us, but now we see that these times are gone
for ever. We must accept the inevitable, and Australia must not flatter
herself, any more than America, that she is outside the eddies of possible
European and Asiatic contentions. Whether on the Atlantic, then, or the
Pacific, we must be prepared to face friends and foes alike, and, more than
ever before during these latter years, we have learned that we cannot stand
alone. ‘Splendid isolation’ can no more be our fate than it can be the fate of
the great mother community.
THE MAKING
FOR UNION.
“Meanwhile we
have a good slice of the earth’s surface, and it will be our own fault if we do
not make the best of it.” (Applause.) “Above all things, in what measure, as a
people, are we prepared to take our part in defending our shores? Our very
existence depends on the freedom of the seas which surround our shores. In this
respect, are we making for union among ourselves? Are we shaping for union with
those whom we must look to as the great conservators of freedom on the high
seas?
“First of all,
we look to England, the mother of young nations, as we have a right to call
her.” (Applause.) “She is foremost in our interests, foremost in our
affections; but almost with equal interest we look to America, not only to
Canada, but to the United States of America, as one of the best friends we can
have in the great issues of the future which depend so much, as we all know, on
the freedom of the seas.
“I say this,
because, loyal as I believe the people of Australia to be, it ought not to be
assumed that they are bound by any indissoluble ties of Imperial supremacy. If
it were so, we should not be the free sons of a mother who has born us unto the
heritage of freedom.” (Applause.) “In this, then, we must first of all be true
to ourselves, and next to that, we must be united with those who will respect
our liberties, and help us to hand them down unimpaired to a distant posterity.
EDUCATIONAL
PROGRESS.
“Reverting,
then, once more to our starting point in 1885, let us see what progress we have
made in our education as self-governing States. There was, as I have said, the
New Guinea craze, for craze it was, as originally conceived—New Guinea must be
annexed, and not only New Guinea, but all the islands of the Pacific—one and
all. There was a resolution to that effect at one of the conferences held about
that time. But how about the responsibilities of annexation?
ANNEXATION
OF NEW GUINEA.
“New Guinea was
not a country to be conquered. It has inhabited, certainly; but the inhabitants
were primitive savages, who had not yet emerged from the Stone Age. So, also,
of the Solomon Islanders, and the Islanders of the New Hebrides group. They
were primitive men and women, very different from the nomads of Australia;
still, they were savages, only armed with spears and bows and arrows, and there
was really no fight in them—no fight in them such as there was in the Maoris.
They were not likely to cost so much as the Maoris had, though the people of
England and some of their statesmen were not so sure of that.
“Nevertheless,
everything must be annexed; so said the Australians. ‘Will you must have them,’
said our English statesmen, ‘what are you prepared to pay for them? Will you
take the responsibility of their occupation and Government? Our English
taxpayers have enough to do already; what with Egypt on our hands and India,
and Africa, we have enough to do already. Will you bear the expense? Will you
share it? After all, it is rather a serious responsibility to undertake the
care and the government of several hundreds of thousands of primitive men, who
are probably the most interesting survivors on the face of the earth of a
bygone age.’
“This was the
utilitarian and humanitarian view of the matter, and Lord Derby was the chief
exponent of it. He had to submit to a good deal of obloquy at the time; still,
he stuck to his point. First for a year, then for two years, and three years,
and finally for ten years the Australian colonies supplied the small dole of
£15,000 a year which was all that was said to be necessary for the government
of New Guinea.
“It was at
first reluctantly given, but it has come to be seen that there was justice in
the claim, though it was felt, also, that it might have been more generously
reciprocated by the British Administration and Parliament. Let me add in final
reference to this New Guinea incident that from first to last it was carried
out honourably and satisfactorily to all concerned, to the natives themselves,
who were chiefly concerned, to the British Government, and to the Governments
of Australasia who had undertaken these responsibilities. It has resulted in
the annexation of a splendid province, the full value of which will not be
thoroughly understood until we are well advanced in the next century.”
(Applause.)
STIRRING
TIMES.
“Passing, then,
from this incident, the following year came to us with a warlike awakening.
England was in Egypt, and Gordon was at Khartoum. Australia, as we have been,
was exceptionally prosperous, brimful of money and of enterprise. The critical
position of Gordon and the picturesque aspects of the occupation of Egypt
seemed to fire the imaginations of the thousands of men in Australia who were
thirsting for enterprise. Then, when Mr. Dalley, in sheer rivalry with
Victoria, suddenly announced that the Government of New South Wales had offered
to despatch an artillery contingent to the Soudan, Australians shouted for joy,
and fairly rent the air with their acclamations.” (Applause.)
“This was at
once accepted as an indication that whatever wranglings we might have among
ourselves, we were keen to join the great game of war, just as we had proved
that we could play with the best of them at football or at cricket. This
enthusiasm, it is true, was evanescent, and the flow of generous excitement
slackened off when the bills were presented for payment. It showed, however,
that there was no lack of martial ardour, which would come to the front if it
was once roused in a good cause. It served also to direct our attention to our
defences.” (Applause.)
THE RUSSIAN
SCARE.
“And then, too,
came the Russian scare. The borders of Afghanistan were threatened, and it
looked much as if we should have war with Russia, and if war on a grand scale
commenced, who could say where it would end? Not very much was done, but the
note of preparation was sounded from Cape Leeuwin to Cape Howe, and thence to
distant Cape York.
“We were all on
the alert, and the Australian Governments summoned their naval and military
authorities to say what was to be done. We had no telegraph wire to Thursday
Island in those days. The Advance was bought, and sent up to us so that
she might keep watch and ward of any danger and steam off along the coast to
apprise you of it. A small contingent also of the Naval Brigade was sent up to
assist us to blow up our coal hulks, if it should prove to be necessary.”
(Laughter and applause.)
“We all felt
very heroic on the sentinel island, and some of us thought that we might have
to die at our posts if a Russian fleet made its appearance. Suffice it to say
that there was no necessity for such an excited sacrifice. The Russian scare
subsided. I should not be surprised if we had another before long; or, perhaps,
it may be varied by a Japanese demonstration. This Russian scare, however, led
to our laying the foundations of our present military and naval organisation,
such as it is.
NAVAL AND
MILITARY DEFENCE.
“The
fortification of Thursday Island and King George’s Sound followed in due time,
and the Naval Defence Bills were passed under which the Australian auxiliary
squadron was built and manned. At both of these schemes you, Mr. Chairman,
worked indefatigably, and so did the late Admiral Tryon.” (Applause.) “They
remain still as evidence of your patriotic zeal. Then came the London
Conference of 1887, when matters concerning the common interests of the Empire
were discussed. At that conference you, sir, were also present. It bore
testimony, to make use of a euphemistic expression in one of our Queen’s
speeches, if I remember, to the essential unity of the Empire.”
“It led to the
final ratification of the agreement as to the administration of British New
Guinea—the details of the plan for the naval and military defences of Australia
were then further elaborated.
A CHANGED
POSITION.
“The next two
years were years of gestation rather than of active generation. There was
another conference in Sydney, and the Pacific cable began to be talked about.
At this time we were drifting along, dreaming still of plenty, and flattering
ourselves that the perennial flow of fertilising capital would, like the brook,
continue to flow on for ever and for ever.
“But as the
year waned towards the end of 1889 there were premonitory symptoms of a change.
For five years all nature had been smiling along beautifully over summer seas,
‘Youth at the prow, and Pleasure at the helm.’ It was a bright picture. But how
long would it last? Melbourne had held its Exhibition, and Melbourne affluence
in Collins-street went up to fancy prices, threatening to curt out
Lombard-street.
“Then came
1890, with a decided chill in the barometer, and signs of a coming storm. The
demand for labour was restricted, and strikes were commencing. Still, there was
a good deal of enthusiasm abroad.
THE
FEDERATION MOVEMENT.
“The air was
filled with a sough of federation. Early in the year all our notabilities met
in conference in Melbourne under the leadership of Sir Henry Parkes. The usual
resolutions were carried, and there was much healthy fraternisation. It led up
to the meeting of what was called ‘the National Australian Convention,’ held at
Sydney in March, 1891. Things looked as if federation would come at last. The
members of the convention went to work with a will. New South Wales had thrown
herself heartily into the movement. A bill was drafted and adopted which it was
believed would prove to be the precursor of the future Commonwealth of
Australia. Of course it had to be submitted to the various Parliaments of
Australia.
“Sir Henry
Parkes, in due course, laid it before the Parliament of New South Wales. In
like manner, you, sir, laid it before the Parliament of Queensland. Some people
think that Sir Henry Parkes missed a great chance when he failed to move its
adoption. When the iron was hot it might have yielded to the hammer and taken
shape. Possibly it might have been so. But the fates were against it. Sir Henry
Parkes knew best, I suppose, what he could do and what he would not do.
“Any way, the
storm which had been brewing now broke on us with its full fury, a fury which
would have blown the Commonwealth bill to destruction in twenty-four hours. We
found ourselves in the vortex of a storm which threatened to uproot the very
foundations of our hearths and homes. Once more in the phraseology of one of
our Queen’s speeches, ‘an organised attempt had been made to over-ride the
reign of law and order by an irresponsible tyranny.’
A
DISTRESSING NIGHTMARE.
“It was a nasty
and most distressing nightmare, resulting in much distress and ill-feeling, as
all strikes do, but it, too, came to an end, and in 1892 it was announced that
the organised interruption to industry had almost ceased. Nevertheless, the
effects of the storm began to be felt in various ways. Confidence was, of
course, undermined. Borrowing came to an end. The fertilising flood of foreign
capital had already ceased to flow, and we learned by bitter experience that we
must rely on our own resources.
“Both public
and private advances ceased. Once more, in the language of her Majesty’s
Ministers, at the opening of one of our Parliaments, a hope was expressed that
‘these sad experiences would prove of permanent advantage, if they result in
teaching us to depend upon our own resources’.” (Applause.)
“Of course
retrenchment was the order of the day, and all superfluities were dispensed
with. But we could not retrench our liabilities, and the interest almost
crushed us. No wonder that the Commonwealth Bill was allowed peacefully to
slumber on the tables of our Houses. Scarcely a whisper about it was heard.
“Then, when the
final crash came in 1893, and when the banks began to close their doors, we had
no patience even to think about it. We had to hold on for our lives and look
for brighter skies. There never had been such a time, and none of us knew what
would happen next. Was everything going crash, and should we have to begin life
again with a clean sheet? It looked very like it.
“Still, we
never lost our heads. The finances of the country were admirably managed, and
adjusted to the necessities of the time. Acting on that fine old Lowland maxim,
‘Dinna be feared,’ we did the best we could, and now the weather and the sea
look as if they were moderating, though there is still a ‘nasty squall’ which
may betoken further trouble.
“The bad
weather cannot last for ever, and if the ship is kept steadily on its course we
shall arrive safely in port.” (Applause.)
“I wish that I
had time to say a little more to you about this, and about United Australia—I
have lately seen many influential men in New South Wales who are really warming
to the subject. I wish that some of our leaders in politics and in public
opinion here were a little warmer than they appear to be on this very vital
question. But if I made a serious attempt to deal adequately with this subject,
I should quite exhaust your patience.
THE SCHOOL
OF ARTS.
Mr. Douglas
then traced the history of the School of Arts, referring to his connection with
the institution and its early struggles. A period had now been arrived at which
indicated a future successful career; but additional buildings were required,
and these must be provided—with, of course, the land to build them upon. £5000
was required for the purpose. £2500 ought surely to be raised in Brisbane, and
if that amount were obtained, Sir H. Nelson should smile on the committee to
the extent of £2500. (Applause.) Every worker in the city should contribute to
the building fund according to his means, and every employer of labour should
contribute to the best of his ability. As an investment it was one of the very
best that could be made; for the more they cultivated and energised the working
man, the more they elevated him by the influences of art, the better return
they would get for the products of industry. In the course of his subsequent
remarks Mr. Douglas promised a donation of £5 to the funds of the institution.
VOTES OF
THANKS.
Sir Charles
Lilley, who was received with applause, said he had much pleasure in
discharging the customary duty on that occasion of moving a vote of thanks to
their friend, Mr. Douglas, for the eloquent address they had listened to that
night. It was always pleasant to hear the voice of a friend, but when it was
that of a very old friend with whom many of them had been intimately associated
in good works, it made it pleasanter still. He hoped his friend would long
remain a trustee of the institution. (Applause.) Mr. Douglas, he saw, was not
aware of the risks they ran in the city. He might find some electoral-roll
purger addressing him in the laconic terms addressed to many of our citizens,
“You are dead.” (Laughter.) Happily the words of the roll-purger did not always
effectively produce that result, and he hoped that in defiance of all these
gentry, Mr. Douglas and himself would live to do some still more useful public
work. (Applause.)
Nevertheless,
although he rejoiced to see him there and hoped to hear him often again, and
that he would be there with them when they had an enlarged institution, with a
separate institution to be called the Technical College, he also trusted his
ultimate destination would be to meet their intimate friend, John Petrie, and
that he (Sir Charles Lilley) would be to meet him. (Applause.) He saw round him
many who had worked hard in the cause of the School of Arts. He himself had
been connected with it for nearly forty years, and some of those present had a
connection of an even longer period. He had had the honour of being president
of the institution for years, and associated with him were many friends who had
gone. (Applause.) He asked all present to tender their thanks to Mr. Douglas,
who was one of the old friends who remained. (Applause.)
Mr. R. Galley
seconded the motion.
Mr. J.
Blaikiston-Robinson, in supporting the motion, referred to the lecturer’s
extreme modesty, and related how Mr. Douglas had, when the institution was in
difficulties, rescued some £1100 out of the hands of the mortgagee.
The motion was
carried with acclamation.
Mr. Douglas, in
reply, said he hoped he had not presumed on the ignorance he must plead guilty
to, as to their actual position at the present time. He had merely outlined
what he thought they might possibly do. He hoped, also, he had not presumed on
his old acquaintance with them; but suggestions had been couched in the form he
had presented them from a desire to promote the welfare of the institution.
(Applause.) They had worked their way on small means to an extent that was
creditable to them, and he believed they had now got hold of the most important
branch of the educational system of our country. (Applause.) Let them follow
that up; for upon the manual dexterity of our workmen—upon their love of art
and the faithful execution of whatever they did, whether it was digging
potatoes or carving an image—depended the future prosperity or condition of the
people.
Mr. C. M‘Lay
moved a vote of thanks to the chairman. This was seconded by Mr. C. Lassell.
Sir S. W.
Griffith formally acknowledged the vote, and the proceedings terminated.
