Immigration Bill — Second Reading
Queensland Parliamentary Debates, Legislative Council,
Wednesday, 23 June 1869, pp. 378–388.
Full transcription, commencing with the Postmaster-General
(John Douglas) moving the second reading and concluding with the House agreeing
to the motion.
The POSTMASTER-GENERAL, in moving the second reading of the
Immigration Bill, said the Parliament of Queensland had always been remarkable
for its endeavors, by legislation, to attract a good and wholesome stream of
European immigration to the colony; and in such legislation had always
exhibited a wish that the population so brought into the colony should be
settled throughout the territory.
Shortly after Separation, one of the first acts of the
Legislature consisted of an attempt to attract a European population to the
colony by offering a premium, in the form of a grant of land, to immigrants. As
a field for immigration, Australia was placed at a great disadvantage as
compared with other countries. The great colonies of America, for instance,
were in a position to compete, advantageously for them, with the Australian
colonies. While it only cost something less than five pounds for a passage from
Liverpool or Cork, to Boston or New York or Montreal, in fast steamers or
well-appointed sailing vessels, it cost more than fifteen pounds for a passage
from England to Australia.
It had therefore been found that there was a great
disadvantage in the way of attracting people to this colony, seeing the
facilities of attracting people were so much greater in America than in
Australia. The premiums, in the shape of land orders in Australia, had not been
sufficient to attract the class of people who could not afford to pay their own
passage. It had, therefore, become apparent—and it had been carried into effect
by all the Australian colonies—that it was absolutely necessary to find some means
of bridging over the difference between Australia and America, by paying the
passage of immigrants who preferred coming to this colony.
Consequently, to accomplish this end, land orders were
issued, which, at first, were made transferable, and were, therefore, a sort of
currency; but, he was sorry to say, those land orders, in the process of
transfer, were greatly depreciated. Still, they had the effect of carrying out
the intention of the Legislature, and effecting the introduction of a large
population. The success of the scheme might be attributable to the fact of
their having an indefatigable immigration agent, who took up the work in a
spirit of great earnestness and self-denial, and carried it on to the benefit
of the colony.
That gentleman had no need to look back on his career as
other than a success. Chiefly, the credit of that success was due to Mr.
Jordan, by the earnestness he displayed in working out the system, and the
influence he exercised by his lectures upon the people of England. Next in
importance to the advocacy of Mr. Jordan, was the natural facilities for
production afforded by the climate, which, when they became known, greatly
induced immigrants to come here.
Another reason for the success of their former immigration
scheme was the large amount of confidence that had been displayed by
capitalists in the legislation of the colony. The result of that confidence
was, that large loans were placed at the disposal of the Government, which
enabled them to give effect to the land-order system—for those land orders had
to be converted into money. All those reasons combined, brought about the
success that attended their immigration system.
But it soon became apparent that there were defects in the
land order system, which required to be met. Persons who had large interests in
the colony took advantage of the land orders to accomplish their purposes, but
their doing so was much to the disadvantage of the people of the colony. It
therefore became necessary to contract the land-order system, and eventually it
assumed a very different aspect from what it possessed when it was inaugurated.
Mr. Jordan twice crossed the ocean, and, as it were,
appeared upon his trial, but on both occasions he succeeded in justifying
himself. Now, he would ask honorable gentlemen to look at the result of that
gentleman's labors under the land-order system, with all its defects.
He found that the population of Queensland in December,
1859, amounted to 23,520, and up to the end of 1868 it had increased, according
to the calculations of the Registrar-General, to 99,000. The census was taken
shortly afterwards, by which it was proved that the calculations of the
Registrar-General were correct. It was found by the census which was taken in
March, that the total population amounted to 99,901.
It therefore appeared that during that decade something like
70,000 persons had been introduced into the colony. No doubt a considerable
number came from the neighboring colonies, but the total number that arrived in
the colony from Europe probably amounted to about 55,000 people; and that, he
thought, might be considered a rather remarkable thing.
Now it would be his duty to call the attention of honorable
gentlemen to certain facts, as to how the people were occupied—to what they had
done, and were likely to do. Quoting from the last published "Statistical
Register of Queensland"—and he was sorry he was not in a position to give
the latest calculations—the population amounted, as he had stated, to 99,000;
the total extent of land under cultivation amounted to 31,829 acres—which was a
very considerable increase on the acreage under cultivation during the previous
year. The increase amounted to 7,126 acres.
Now, that fact might fairly be accepted as an indication
that the people were stirring themselves greatly in the direction of
agricultural pursuits. Those agricultural pursuits were, in Queensland, of a
very varied character. The land under wheat cultivation amounted to 2,637
acres; under maize, the large extent of 10,508 acres; sugar, according to the
return he held in his hand, 1,912 acres; but he could inform honorable
gentlemen that over 3,000 acres were now under cultivation with sugar-cane. In
1867, there were 8,149 acres under cotton cultivation; but now, the acreage
amounted to at least 11,000 acres.
At page 14 of the last published "Statistical
Register," there was a table showing the quantity, as well as the value,
of the agricultural produce imported into the colony during 1866 and 1867. By
that table, it would seem that the decrease of imports of agricultural produce
in 1867, as compared with 1866, was remarkable, and showed that to some extent
they were beginning to supply themselves with those commodities which they had
previously been obliged to buy from their neighbors.
At the end of 1867, it appeared that the estimated value of
exports and imports, stood thus: imports by sea, £1,747,000; and exports,
£2,198,000. Here, then, for the first time, it might be remarked, their exports
exceeded their imports.
Political economists, he was aware, had argued as to the
value of such facts. Some argued that it was the most prosperous sign when the
exports exceeded the imports; and that in a new country, such a state of things
indicated a large amount of capital and enterprise as coming into the country.
He was far from assuming that the exports exceeding the imports, should always
be accepted as a satisfactory feature; but this much might be admitted—that the
exports increasing, must prove that the producing powers of the colony were
also increasing, and that commensurate profits were derived from the several
productions of the colony.
The total increase in the value of products exported in
1867, amounted to £832,116 over the value of exports for 1866. That, he
thought, clearly indicated that the colony was on the right road. In the same
year, also, there was a larger quantity of wool exported than in any previous
year. In 1866, there were fourteen million pounds of wool exported; but, in
1867, there were twenty-one million pounds exported.
Then, again, in 1867, there was an increase in the revenue,
which was very remarkable, as compared with the revenue for 1866. The increase
for 1867, as shown by the "Statistical Register," at the 17th page,
amounted to £76,000; and the expenditure for the same year, though an increase,
as compared with the expenditure for the previous year, practically amounted to
a decrease of expenditure when compared with the increase of revenue. The
increase of expenditure amounted to £23,000; but the increase of revenue
amounted to £76,000.
Then, again, there was another important feature in those
statistics. Though the revenue from general sources had increased so largely,
the revenue from land, the most important source, had fallen off very much;
not, however, that less land was sold, but because the value of the land had
greatly diminished. The land sold in 1865 and 1866 amounted in value for those
years respectively, to £218,000 and £191,000; but in 1867, it fell off to
£69,000. Still, he presumed, a corresponding advantage was felt by the people
of the colony, from the facilities afforded for the acquisition of land.
In the same year there had been a large increase of revenue
from rents and assessment. The amount derived from those sources, in 1866 was
£17,000, while in 1867 the amount increased to £156,000.
He was afraid he had rather trespassed on the time of
honorable gentlemen in entering upon these dry details, but he had felt it
necessary to refer to them in order to justify him in asking the House to
assent to the second reading of the Immigration Bill; for he felt that without
entering upon some examination of the condition of the colony, he could hardly
stand up in his place and justify a return to a system of immigration which for
a time had been rather overdone.
He would now wish to draw the attention of honorable
gentlemen to an interesting fact connected with the subject of immigration. He
found that in 1865, they were introducing into the colony population, by
immigration, at the rate of 11,000 souls per annum from Europe. That was at a
time when they had a population of 87,000, and the result of that was that the
power of the country to absorb such a large immigration was greatly overtaxed.
However admirable a thing immigration might be for a new
country, it must be conducted on a scale proportionate to the power of the
country to absorb that population. Now it must strike honorable gentlemen, when
he referred to the fact, that one country—the United States—could absorb a
greater immigration than any other country. Well, during the year 1865, the
United States received 250,000 immigrants, which was far less in proportion to
the population of that country than the 11,000 received in 1866 was to the
population of Queensland.
The population of the United States, in 1866, so far as he
could make out from statistics, was thirty-five millions. Now the proportion of
250,000 immigrants to a population of thirty-five millions was only as 1 to
140; but the immigration to this colony, in 1865, was as 1 to 8. He would like
to know what would be the fate of America if there was an immigration into New
York of a like proportion, which would be about three millions per annum.
The immigrant population of America had to endure great
hardships from the time of their arrival, till they were finally settled in
their homes in the Western States. Honorable gentlemen would see that, if
immigration to America were to be carried out on a scale proportionate to what
it was in this colony in 1865, the effect would be something similar to that of
an invading army.
He trusted he had made it apparent, from public statistics,
to which honorable gentlemen could refer, that there were no grounds for the
affirmations that had been made, to the effect that the country was going
backward instead of progressing. In the view he took of the matter, every fact
appeared to prove the contrary.
He now wished to direct the attention of honorable gentlemen
to the causes of the depression that had rested upon the colony for some years
past. What he now alluded to, was the remarkable contraction of credit which
took place in the monetary establishment of the colony. He had a few figures
which he intended to quote, on the subject; but before doing so, there was one
fact to which he would like to allude.
It had been stated that the number of departures from the
colony exceeded the number of arrivals. Now he found, on reference to the
statistics of the Registrar-General, that the arrivals in 1868 exceeded the
departures by 4,287. The arrivals during the year amounted to 13,382, and the
departures to 9,895; showing a balance in favor of the colony, as he had
already stated, of 4,287. The facts, as honorable gentlemen would see, were,
therefore, all in favor of the colony, instead of being against it.
He had just alluded to one of the causes of what he must
confess to have been a considerable amount of depression. Now he could refer to
statistics, to the returns of the banks, as published in the Government
Gazette, from which, he thought, it would be apparent that there had been a
most remarkable contraction on the part of the banking institutions, which, to
some extent, might account for the want of spirit which was at one time evinced
by the community.
He did not say this with any desire to depreciate the
admirable effects of those institutions. They were dependent on the functions
those institutions performed for the carrying out of their arrangements; but he
thought it was right that he should draw the deductions that could be fairly
deduced from published and authoritative returns.
He found, from making a comparative statement of the assets
and liabilities, as published in the Gazette, that the liabilities of the five
banks established in Queensland, amounted, on the 30th of September, 1866, to
£923,573; and two years afterwards, during the time the colony was undergoing a
great reaction, and while there was an excessive number of immigrants flowing
into it—on the 30th of September, 1868, the liabilities of the banks had
increased by £229,376, making a total of liabilities of £1,152,949.
Now let them look at the assets. On the 30th September,
1866, the assets of the five banks, amounted to £2,250,221; but, on the
corresponding date, two years afterwards, the assets amounted to only
£1,978,545, showing a decrease of £271,676.
Again referring to the same subject, and extracting also
from the same official returns the facts he was about to state, he found from a
comparative statement of the capital issued, distinguishing that of the banks
from that of the public, that the total capital belonging to the public, in the
hands of the banks, in 1866, amounted to £888,891; and on the 30th September,
1868, to £1,118,925, showing an increase, in round numbers, to the credit of
the public, of £230,000.
Then, again, he found that the capital in the banks,
belonging to the banks themselves, amounted, in 1866, to £1,326,642; whereas,
in 1868, it had diminished by half a million—the amount being only £825,595.
Now, the inference he drew from those facts was, that the
colony had been subjected to an unnatural and, as he thought, unwise system of
absorption on the part of the banks. That such had been the case was, he
thought, apparent in every instance, and whereas the money deposited by the
public had increased, the money invested by the banks had decreased; and all
that had been done in the face of a marked improvement in the general industry
of the country.
That industry might not have been very profitable, but it
was evident that it had been put to a good purpose, so far as it could be
tested by results. Now, he thought, on those grounds, and admitting that they
had derived no great benefit from their immigration—admitting that that
immigration had been overdone, it could still be shown that the country was in
a sound condition.
If these 99,000 people scattered throughout this vast extent
of territory, extending from the Gulf of Carpentaria to the 29th parallel of
latitude, could do so much as they had done in spite of the unfortunate
circumstances they had had to contend with, especially during the last year,
from the fall in the price of wool, and other disadvantageous circumstances,
surely much more could be done if the number of the population was largely
increased.
It now became a question, however, as to how an increase
might be made to the population without detrimentally affecting those in the
colony who were struggling for an existence. Everything, of course, would
depend upon the judicious manner in which the system might be carried out; and
any system that might now be inaugurated ought, he maintained, to be conducted
on a moderate scale.
He would now ask the attention of honorable gentlemen to the
Bill itself, and especially to the general scope of it. Under the Act at
present in force, but which this Bill proposed to repeal, the Government were
authorised to spend £10,000 per annum on immigration. There were features, he
might state, in that enactment, which it would be desirable to terminate. In
its place it was proposed to establish a system different from any that had yet
been in force.
In doing so, three objects must be kept in view; and these
were—in the first place, to afford encouragement to persons who were prepared
themselves to pay the cost of their own passages to the colony; in the second
place, to assist those who were in a position to pay only a portion of their
passage-money; and in the third place, to pay the whole of the passage-money of
those who could not contribute any portion of their passage-money.
In the latter case, it was proposed that the immigrants
should be required by the Government to give a security for the repayment of
their passage-money; and there were provisions in the Bill which would be
binding on them to repay the Government.
The three objects the Bill had in view was to attract paying
immigrants; to assist those who were prepared only to pay a portion of their
passage-money; and to afford facilities for entering into engagements with
those who would bind themselves to enter into service for a certain period, and
recoup the Government for the advances it would be necessary to make in their
behalf.
Now, much would depend, no doubt, upon the manner in which
details connected with the Bill were carried out; and he had observed that the
late Agent-General, Mr. Jordan, had, in the other branch of the Legislature,
said that much depended upon the appointment of such an officer, and his
capacity for performing the work.
Mr. Jordan had affirmed that it would be of no use to
appoint a gentleman to carry out the system, unless he was prepared to give
effect to it, as he, Mr. Jordan, had done, by lecturing throughout the length
and breadth of the United Kingdom. No doubt, when Mr. Jordan made known to the
people at home the resources and nature of this colony, his lectures were very
remarkable in their result, as he threw the whole energy of his character into
them, and no doubt the success of the immigration system was mainly due to
those lectures.
He (the Postmaster-General) did not say that it would be
necessary for the success of the present Bill, that similar lectures should be
given, as this colony was now becoming well known to those in the
mother-country. What would be required would be a systematic and persevering
explanation of the details of the scheme, to afford every information, and to
exercise a very careful supervision over the class of immigrants sent out, as
he believed that the success of the Bill would depend upon the discretion used
upon the last point.
There were a great many persons, both in the United Kingdom
and in Germany, who were anxious and ready to move off to a new country, and
who might be acquisitions to that country; but there were also a great many in
England who were burdens there, and whom it was thought it would be desirable
to remove—they would not be very valuable to us.
Then there was another class, namely, persons having some
little capital and experience, people who did not expect too much, and were
prepared to rough it; who having once settled upon the land, would make up
their minds to remain amongst us, and look forward to the hope of ultimately
earning an independence.
Another class that would be of great benefit to us, was that
of the agricultural laborers in the inland counties of England, who, as
honorable members were no doubt aware, were receiving very small wages, and who
would not be able to pay even a portion of their passage-money to this colony.
They would do good to the colony, and also better their condition, and if
induced to enter into an engagement to serve for a certain period, in the terms
of the Bill, they could come here.
He would invite the attention of honorable gentlemen to the
clauses under that head, and they would see that it was a new feature—one not
tried before. The experience of many, at least, of some honorable members, no
doubt, years ago, in hiring immigrants in England, was so successful as to
encourage the hope of it being equally successful, if provided for by the Bill,
and he believed that there were a large number of persons, of the class
described in the clause, who would look with some satisfaction on the certainty
of being paid a certain amount for a number of years immediately on their
arrival in the colony.
The Bill also provided for the formation of depôts, and for
forwarding immigrants up the country to places where they had been engaged, or
were likely to be. He was happy to see that a movement had lately taken place
in the city, to form an association in order to provide immigrants on their
landing, with information, and to assist them in other ways; he hoped it would
be carried out.
Similar institutions had been tried in Canada and the United
States, and had been found of great use. There, gentlemen were appointed to
receive the immigrant on his landing, and not only give him all necessary
information, but, if desirable, forward him by the railways hundreds of miles
into the interior, where he could obtain work.
There were one or two amendments which he proposed to make
in the Bill when it was in committee, in the thirteenth clause and others, and
he trusted that he would receive the assistance of honorable gentlemen.
He was quite sure that the honorable members of that House
were anxious to contribute to the welfare and progress of this great country,
and he believed they could not do so more than by passing the present Bill into
law. There were some honorable gentlemen who, no doubt, would be willing to
make suggestions and amendments, but so long as the main principles of the Bill
were kept intact, he should be satisfied, as he was confident it would be an
approach towards removing difficulties which now existed, in the way of
immigration to this colony from other countries.
With those few remarks, he would now move the second reading
of the Bill.
The Hon. T. L. M. PRIOR said, from what he could see of the
Bill—and he had read most of it—he should be glad to give it his support. There
were a few points, especially in the thirteenth clause of the Bill, which, he
thought, required altering; for it seemed extraordinary to him that, whilst
other classes of immigrants should have land, those brought out by their
friends should have none at all.
There was, also, another clause which he would like to see
altered—it was clause 21—where allusion was made to the proportion of emigrants
"from England, Scotland, and Ireland, being as nearly as possible to the
population of each of those portions of the United Kingdom respectively; and
from Germany, not exceeding one-third of the number of those from the United
Kingdom."
Now, in one of those places, emigrants might be willing to
come here, whilst there might not be the same proportion in others. On the
whole, however, he liked the Bill, the principle of which seemed to be that
persons should promise to repay, in a given time, the money expended in
bringing them to the colony; and should then be entitled to receive grants of
land to the amount.
It had been said that persons would not pay back the
passage-money, but his experience went to show that persons were nearly always
willing to conform to the regulations, in order to obtain the land.
Then, again, with respect to clause eighteen, by which
persons could be hired, and brought out here, and in which case the employer
would endorse an agreement to pay to the Government the sum named in the
original undertaking, between the Government and the person brought out, and,
in the event of the servant refusing to pay, the person endorsing the
undertaking would, after a certain time had elapsed, be entitled to receive the
land order, without the conditions provided in another part of the Bill. That, he
thought, was a very good feature in the Bill.
The great difficulty to him was, how was the stream of
immigration to be directed? There were at present a great many men who
complained that they could not find employment, but that was, he thought,
because they required more wages than the times would allow, or were unfit for
the work for which they applied; but, if the Bill was to be a boon, that would
be met by paying considerable attention to the class to be brought out.
If they could get such men as those mentioned in the Bill,
they would soon obtain employment; but if, on the other hand, the gentleman
employed as Agent-General did not select the proper class, the Bill would only
be detrimental to the colony, and there would be paupers unfit to meet its
requirements.
He must allude to one point mentioned by the honorable the
Postmaster-General, namely, when he referred to the late Agent-General. The
name of that gentleman had been frequently brought before that House, and in
other places, and he had been frequently blamed for the way in which he had
carried on immigration. When these complaints were made, Mr. Jordan was not
here, and then everything was badly done. Now, however, that he was in the
colony, everything had been well done.
He (Mr. Prior) gave that gentleman great credit for the very
great ability he had displayed, but he could not help thinking that when
delivering lectures about the colony, he painted in too vivid colors the many
advantages which could be derived from coming to it. Indeed, he had no
hesitation in saying, that many persons were attracted to this colony who would
not have come, had it not been for the way in which it was painted by Mr.
Jordan.
He thought the effect of that was bad, as it would be far
better to have immigrants who were prepared to fight their way through any
difficulties, than those with high-flown ideas of what they would do here. He
did not wish it to be understood that he was detracting from the value of the
services rendered by Mr. Jordan, but his name had been so often mentioned, and
he was now in the colony, that he thought he was only right in saying what he
had said, and he believed many honorable members agreed with him.
With a few alterations, the Bill would be a very good one,
and he should therefore support the second reading.
The Hon. ST. G. R. GORE said that, before proceeding with
his remarks on the Bill, he would suggest that the honorable gentleman who had
just sat down had labored under a mistake when he referred to the class of
immigrants mentioned in the thirteenth clause, as, on looking on further, the
honorable member would find that the fourteenth clause provided for those
persons.
In respect to the general question, he might say that he had
been much pleased with the statements made by the honorable the
Postmaster-General; as not making such things much his study, he was under the
impression that what was contained in the statistics quoted by the honorable
gentleman, did not exist.
It appeared to him to be generally conceded that we required
a large amount of immigration, and that any system by which it was induced
should be as nearly as possible self-supporting, and should by its own
machinery regulate itself to the requirements of the colony. He certainly
should be most averse to importing immigrants in a reckless manner, and would
oppose any Bill which had such an object; but the present Bill appeared to be
fenced around with such regulations as to provide against such an evil.
Still, after all, Bills, no matter how carefully drawn, were
but the work of human beings, and therefore could not be expected to be
perfect; and he had, in perusing the one before them, seen a few objections to
which he would revert.
The first was in the eighth clause, where they endeavored,
by every practical means, to create residents in the colony. It would appear
that the clause was so closely worded that it was not likely that there could
be any escape from it, but he recollected the time when magistrates would
almost give facilities to persons to take what did not belong to them, and they
had no business to, and he believed that the clause would be evaded, however
closely persons were tied by it, as there would always be found persons
possessed of sufficient ingenuity to escape them. In fact, anything that could
be done would be found ineffectual to prevent them.
He most certainly approved of those provisions in the Bill
which related to assisted passages, and enabling persons to nominate such class
of immigrants as might be required, but in the case of those nominations there
would, he believed, be a great deal of trouble in keeping the persons nominated
to their undertaking. They might be engaged on wages quite adequate to their
expectations on first landing, and above those they could earn in England; but
when they had been in the colony a short time, great difficulty would, he
believed, be found in retaining them.
No doubt immigrants of the class referred to would, on their
first landing, feel more afraid of defrauding the Government than they would a
private individual, who had not the same means of enforcing the fulfilment of
the agreement; and he feared that on this point the Bill would be found to have
no effect.
Supposing that, as the Bill stated, the person employing
could, in the event of the immigrant breaking his agreement, claim the land
order to which that immigrant was entitled, that would be very poor
compensation to him, as he conceived, that employers in such cases, were
expected to pay the full amount in the event of an immigrant breaking his
agreement. They would take care that the immigrants did not break their
engagements, and, therefore, the caution of the Government was unnecessary,
for, although the employers might have compensation, in the shape of land
orders, it would, after all, be very small.
He had often thought that it would be a good plan if an
immigrant, who broke his agreement, was incapacitated from recovering any wages
for two years; he believed that that would have a good effect. For instance, a
man might be engaged in Europe to come here for £25 a-year, and, on his
arrival, find that a higher rate of wages was ruling—one ruinous to the
employers—and absent himself from his engagement in order to get a higher wage
elsewhere.
That had been his experience, and at one period he had been
in the habit of hiring a great many men. He had always found the natives of
Germany—to their credit let it be said—more faithful to their engagements than
his own countrymen.
It must be quite apparent to those who knew anything of the
colony, that one of the greatest things to keep it down was the enormous price
paid for labor, and it would be necessary to reduce that price to make any
occupation profitable. How that was to be done without a large population he
could not see.
On looking at the Bill, he considered it was, on the whole,
very good; and, although he had no doubt that honorable gentlemen would be
prepared to suggest many amendments, he should give it his support.
The Hon. J. BRAMSTON regretted to say that he differed from
the honorable gentleman who had spoken, in not being able to support the second
reading of the Bill. His reason for opposing it was, that whilst he allowed the
scheme to be a very good one, the provisions would be found inadequate to carry
out the scheme.
It had been brought before them as a deliberated scheme, on
which immigration was to be carried on in future. It was the result of the
careful consideration of the other branch of the Legislature, and he presumed
they had to accept it as what was considered the best method which could be
offered to the public of England, to induce them to come to this colony.
Honorable members must look upon the Bill, in short, as an
advertisement posted on the walls of the labor market in England, and
containing the terms upon which people could leave England for this colony, in
preference to Canada, or any other colony which was bidding against us, or we
against them, to attract the surplus population of the mother-country.
He objected to the Bill in the first place, for the absurd
manner in which it had been prepared. For instance, the people of England, to
whom it was addressed, had a right to expect that we should tell them, in plain
terms, what we required from them, and also what we offered to them. But on
looking to the clauses 6, 7, and 8, he found that they were so intricate that
they could not be understood by the class for whom they were especially
provided.
They were, in fact, in accordance neither with common sense,
English grammar, or, in many instances, English law. The eighth clause
provided, amongst other things, that no person should be entitled to a Crown
grant unless they had resided on the land for three years, and had fenced it
in, &c.; and then it referred to something else, and instead of being split
up into several clauses, was left an elaborate entanglement, out of which some
immigrants could not possibly get.
Honorable members fortunately knew what homesteads meant,
having met with the word so frequently in the Crown Lands Alienation Act of
last session, which would not be, however, in the hands of the people of
England. Therefore, the Bill offered to those people something which, by the
terms used, was perfectly unintelligible. Men could not be expected to come to
this colony unless they had placed before them, in plain language, the benefits
which would accrue to them by their so doing.
The eighth clause was much longer than it should be—it was
involved in its construction, was not English, and when it came into technical
language, it made one of the most absurd blunders that he had seen in any Act.
He would refer to a few of the blunders contained in the
Bill, beginning with clause seven, which provided that a certain warrant should
entitle the person to whom it was issued, or in case of the death of such
person, his legal representative, to receive immediately on his arrival in the
colony one non-transferable land order. That was to say that supposing a young
man died on the passage out, the benefits for which he had paid would go to the
legal representative.
Thus, whilst the young man might have been full of vigor and
strength, his representative might be his father—an old man who, in order to
obtain the land, would have to come to this colony, and reside on it for three
years; if he did not do that, the land order was useless. Now, he (Mr.
Bramston) did not see why an old man should be dragged out in that way, and he
trusted some explanation would be given by the honorable gentleman representing
the Government on that point, in order to show that a man should be sent to a
place to which he did not wish to go, and where he was not wanted.
Passing on from that, he now found that the non-transferable
land order shall be available to its full extent, &c. Now what was that,
what did it mean? He would ask honorable members whether it was likely or
probable that a ploughman, from England, coming out to this colony, who
scarcely, perhaps, knew his own alphabet, as was the case with most of his
class, and whose education was not at any rate equal to that of the framer of
the present Bill—a man who came out to make his fortune—was it likely that such
a man would know the meaning of "full extent."
Then it went on to say that it was only available for the
selection, as a homestead, by the person to whom it was issued, or, in the
event of his death, to his legal representative in the colony.
Next came below it a most extraordinary part of the
clause—"The person applying,"—to whom must he apply? No mention of
that was made in the Bill—he could not apply to the bush around him.
The Hon. G. HARRIS: The land agent.
The Hon. J. BRAMSTON: Nothing was said about a land agent
until some time after. Well, he had to make an application to the land agent,
and after that he had to make a declaration before a magistrate. Was he to go
before the magistrate by himself, or in company with the land agent?
Those might appear simple objections, but slight as they
were they should be removed, so that the Bill might be made intelligible to the
emigrant. He assumed that the fortunate holder of the land order had the
permission of the land agent, and that he went before a magistrate to make the
declaration, it was yet in the power of that magistrate to take it or not as he
pleased.
He was made to say that the application was made for the
purpose of actual settlement or cultivation. Now, that was the first clause,
which stated what inducements should be offered to immigrants, and yet all
those absurdities existed in it. He confessed that he had taken up the Bill, as
a man would take it up, who wished to understand it, but he found on carefully
perusing it that it would be quite absurd to expect an ignorant man to
understand it; and if he could not understand the terms, how was it possible to
expect him to come to the colony?
"And that said entry is made." What entry was it?
"And upon filing the said declaration with such land agent, he or she
shall thereupon be permitted to enter upon the quantity of land
specified." Was there ever heard such nonsense? He thought honorable
members would agree with him that he had quoted absurdities enough in that
clause, and yet they were not one quarter of those which existed.
It went on to say—
"Provided however that no grant shall be given or title
issued therefor until the expiration of three years from the date of such entry
and if at the expiration of such time or of any time within two years
thereafter the person making such entry or if he be dead his widow or in case
of her death his heirs or devisees or in case of a widow making such entry her
heirs or devisees in case of her death shall prove &c."
Now, under what principle of the law of Queensland or of
England had a widow a right to the land. All she was legally entitled to was
her dower, and if there was no will she would have one-third of the property,
or one-half, if childless.
The Bill got worse and worse as he went on. As it stood at
present, in the event of a man dying after having been on the land for two
years and eleven months, his heir or legal representatives would have to reside
on it for three years more before a grant was issued to them. Was there
anything more absurd?
When he read down further he presumed that the document had
not been in the hands of a professional man, as it implied gross ignorance of
the words, "right" and "fee-simple." If a man had a
fee-simple, no person could touch the property, and they all knew that—
"A tenant in fee-simple is he,
Nor need have to quake or to quiver;
He holds his lands free of demands,
To him and his heirs for ever."
Yet, in the Bill there was no distinction made between
"right" and "fee," and the fee was to go—to whom? To the
children? It could not do that; it could not be touched, nor could it even in
the case of two children, but to the heirs-at-law. If there was a right, what
was it—a personal right, or what?
The whole clause was a bungle, and he pointed all those
matters in order to show that, whilst honorable members were told that the
great merit of the Bill was to induce immigration, it was so involved that it
could not be understood. They were told that it would ensure to the colony a
stream of happy immigrants, who were to make fortunes by cultivating the land,
but he failed to see that it would have that effect as it was now worded.
At any rate, they were told that the fee was to pass to the
executors—to whom, as a rule of law, it could not pass; to infants—who were not
entitled to it; and to be granted by the Crown—what could not be given; and by
payment of deed fees—which they could not be forced to pay.
The clause went on to say, "Nothing in this portion of
this Act shall be so construed as to prevent any person who has availed himself
of the benefit of the foregoing provisions from paying the usual upset price
for the quantity of land so entered for any time after two years and before the
expiration of five years and obtaining a grant therefor from the Governor on
making proof of residence and cultivation as required by this Act."
That was even more unintelligible than anything that had
gone before. It applied to something about conditional purchases at the upset
price, but what was the laborer to know about "upset price;" yet that
clause was to be the mainspring of the Bill.
He would take the case of a laborer, coming to the colony
with his sister, determined to work and live here, and having arrived at an
understanding of the clause—let honorable gentlemen see what were the benefits
offered to them.
The laborer came here, and, as many did, paid his passage;
his object would be, not to settle on the land at first, but to work for higher
wages than he could get in England. But what did the Bill say? If you pay your
own passage and work for wages you get nothing.
The Hon. ST. G. R. GORE: Just the opposite.
The Hon. J. BRAMSTON: He could get it afterwards, but then
what advantage would the man have in coming out under the provisions of the
Bill. To him it offered nothing, and to his sister, who came out as a domestic
servant, and would have to enter into an agreement to pay £16 in the course of
two years, what did the Bill offer?
She, wishing to have a free passage, would have to pay first
of all £1 for ship-kit—well, perhaps what she got was worth the money;—also the
expense of going to the port of embarkation, and then two years afterwards £16.
Yet that was what was called a free passage.
Every one knew that there was a great deal of trouble in
getting good domestic servants, and yet to get them one must give them a
"free passage" which they would have to pay afterwards. The whole
thing was a sham, and that was one of the first things which had struck him
when looking over the Bill.
He had spoken to several persons on the subject of the
engagements of servants, and they had said, "Oh, but they will not keep
their undertaking," and he believed that such would be the case. Now, the
Government had taken every precaution to guarantee the morality of those coming
under schedule 1 of the Bill, but it was not likely that the class desired
would sign the undertaking. So that persons would have either to take an
inferior servant or go without. That was another serious sham in the Bill.
Supposing a servant agreed to pay the two £8 instalments,
what did the colony offer her? Why, forty acres of land on condition that she
resided on it and cultivated it. That was what they were advertising in England
to induce people to come here.
Again, on looking at the description of persons eligible for
free passages under the Bill, he found engineers, engine-drivers, railway
carriage builders, shipbuilders, wheelwrights, &c. Now, assuming that a
shipbuilder paid his passage, what did he get? Why, the liberty to live for
three years in the bush, and to put up a house.
But the shipbuilder did not come here for that, but to carry
on his own particular industry—the one to which he had been accustomed all his
life—then why offer to such a man the privilege of embarking in an inland
undertaking of which he did not know anything, or of coming out here without
any inducement. That was another palpable sham in the Bill.
Then on looking at clause thirteen, which referred to the
nomination of immigrants, he found it was most ruinous. At the present time
there was a very good system by which persons in the colony could assist their
friends or relatives to come out—that system had worked well, and a great many
persons had settled down in the colony who had been brought out under it. Under
the present Bill, however, friends made themselves responsible for what they
received no return.
The POSTMASTER-GENERAL: Will the honorable member look at
clause fourteen.
The Hon. J. BRAMSTON: Under the thirteenth clause a man
might bind himself to pay the money required, but would not get any land order;
and yet the people thus brought out were of the most useful class, as had been
proved by experience.
He would only allude to one other point, which was mentioned
by the honorable Mr. Gore, and that was, with regard to employers engaging
immigrants. The 18th clause seemed especially framed to keep employers from
applying, as they could not go to a depôt and hire a man, unless they paid for
the so-called free passage.
Now, would any person be so anxious to obtain a land order
that he would go to a depôt and hire, it might be, a useless man for two
years—for he could not hire for a less period—and pay the Government for the
passage of that man before he could avail himself of the man's services? He
would not say more, except that there was a charming candor about the last
clause he had mentioned.
He should most decidedly vote against the second reading of
the Bill.
The Hon. G. HARRIS said, under the circumstances in which
they were placed of having an Immigration Bill passed as soon as possible, he
should vote for the second reading, and would also make a few remarks on the
Bill.
It appeared to him, in the first place, that the sum of
£5,000 as security for the Agent-General was too large; that, however, was a
matter for consideration when in committee.
The Bill, as it now stood, seemed to apply to the
introduction of immigrants only from the United Kingdom and Germany; but he
could not see why it should not be extended to the Australian colonies and to
other places. There was nothing to prevent persons coming from New Zealand,
Singapore, Java, Tahiti, and the colony of South Australia, and from other
parts of the world.
They would be, for the most part, laboring men, and could
come in sailing vessels for less money than they could be brought from England;
and although the expenses would be less, he thought they should be entitled to
the advantages given by the Bill.
There was nothing to prevent persons coming from Tahiti,
Western Australia, or the South Sea Islands, where there was a large
agricultural population settled, and engaged in the growth of cotton. Those
would be very desirable immigrants; and his object in directing attention to
them at that stage of the Bill was, that when the House went into committee,
they should not be overlooked.
He would go further, and would like to see the Bill extended
to all the Australian colonies. With reference to the grant of forty acres of
land, he thought that it was too small, and might be increased to fifty, as
there was plenty of land in the colony. It should also be extended to younger
members of a family.
There was another point to which he would refer, namely, the
lectures. He was of opinion that the Agent-General should be bound to deliver
lectures, and that it should not, as was proposed by the Bill, be left to the
option of that gentleman.
Reference had been made to Mr. Jordan, to whom he thought
the colony was much indebted for the exertions made by him, and the able manner
in which he had performed his duties. He only hoped they would be equally
fortunate in securing the services of another Agent-General like him.
The Hon. W. THORNTON said he had listened with much
attention to the objections which had been raised to the Bill by honorable
gentlemen, and he thought that they were more of a technical and legal nature
than otherwise.
The honorable Mr. Bramston had objected to the terms used in
the Bill, on the ground that they were not such as the people to whom the Bill
was directed, would be able to understand; but he was of opinion that those
people would be in the same position in respect to any Act of Parliament.
He thought the difficulty might be overcome by having
pamphlets published, which the agents could circulate among the laboring
classes, explaining the objects of the Bill in a more simple and attractive
form. He hoped that means would be found to get over the difficulties which now
existed; as if the Bill was thrown out, the country would remain without
immigration for twelve months, as it was not probable that the Government would
introduce another Bill during the present session.
He quite agreed with the honorable the Postmaster-General,
that the time had arrived when there should be a renewal of immigration; and
the statistics, which had been quoted by that honorable gentleman, proved, that
with immigration, the prosperity of the colony increased.
He wished that the honorable gentleman had gone a little
further with his statistics, to show still more than he had done, the great
necessity which existed for a larger population, for the purposes of developing
the resources of the colony, and producing many things for the supply of which
a large sum of money was annually sent out of the colony.
It appeared from the "Statistical Register" of
1868, that, in that year, there was imported £353,765 worth of produce which
could be grown here. Of that amount, £189,530 was for flour, £31,679 for rum,
£108,146 for sugar, £10,182 for potatoes, £1,655 for onions, £3,677 for hay,
£2,170 for oats, and £6,726 for maize.
It had been mentioned by the honorable member that the
quantity of wheat grown on the Darling Downs was encouraging; and he (Mr.
Thornton) had no doubt it would be increased. Every one of the items he had
quoted, with the exception of flour—and some time would elapse before the
colony could supply itself with that—could be produced here, if there was only
a sufficient quantity of agricultural labor.
He should support the second reading of the Bill, as he
approved of the general principles on which it was founded. He believed it
would induce a suitable and industrious class of immigrants—a class which would
be most likely to settle on the land, and make the colony their home.
The present Act had failed to settle the people; and
although it had been very successful in inducing persons to come, in other
respects, it had been a failure. He thought that, so far as an individual with
his £16 land order was concerned, the Act was a delusion, as it was impossible
that he could do anything for himself on so small a grant.
It was only when the members of a family clubbed together
that they could obtain sufficient land to settle on it profitably; besides the
agricultural areas frequently comprised some of the worst land. The country was
now, however, prepared for the reception of immigrants, as by the Land Act of
1868, the greater portion of the settled districts had been thrown open for
selection.
He thought also that immigrants would be encouraged by the
prospects before the farmers now more than they were two or three years ago,
when they were looked upon as being in a most ruinous condition. They were now,
he was happy to say, in a much better position; and from his own observation he
had no hesitation in saying that they were in as thriving and prosperous a
condition as any in Australia, or probably elsewhere.
The large farmers around Oxley Creek, the Bald Hills, and
those districts, appeared to be a very superior class of men, if they were to
judge from the various farmers' societies before which questions were very ably
discussed upon theoretical and practical farming.
Then, again, the small farmers were, he was sure, succeeding
far beyond the same class in the mother-country. They were principally Germans;
and he could allude to the neighborhood of the Burnett Swamp, where they had
taken up land with their orders, and, for a time, had been content to live in
any sort of houses made of bark, and merely divide their properties by slight
fences for the first year or so.
They had gone on prospering each year; and now, in place of
the bark, they had nice shingled houses, and vines and fruit trees of all
descriptions growing in their gardens. There were also other evident signs of
their having succeeded.
The same might be said of the farmers on the Logan, after
the first two years, during which they had to contend against all the
difficulties attending new settlers; and they had now become contented, and
made money.
He hoped that the difficulties referred to by the honorable
Mr. Bramston would be overcome. On them he was not competent to express an
opinion; but he thought that the Bill should be passed, as it was absolutely
necessary that steps should be taken to promote immigration, for which the
colony was languishing.
It was frequently said that there were already people in the
country who could not obtain employment; but under any circumstances that was
the case; and he believed it generally arose from their own unfitness or
unwillingness to do any work.
The Hon. J. F. McDOUGALL could not allow the question for
the second reading to be put without making a few remarks on the Bill. He had
arrived at the conclusion that it was necessary to have immigration, and
therefore he was inclined to, and would, support the present Bill.
Doubtless there were numerous inconsistencies in it, but
when it was in committee they could be rectified, and it could be brought up in
a better shape. It had been said that the Bill was not sufficiently liberal in
its inducements, and with that he quite agreed.
It appeared that land was the only thing they had to offer
to immigrants, as they could not give money compensation or a bonus in any
other way than by a warrant entitling a person to a certain section of land.
That being the case, he thought the quantity was too small; however, they could
alter that in committee.
He wished to say in reference to the late Agent-General that
his opinion was, and always had been, that that gentleman was a most zealous,
energetic, and efficient officer, and that the Government would perhaps find
considerable difficulty in obtaining the services of so good a man.
Whoever the gentleman might be who was appointed to that
important position, he thought he should be compelled to lecture in England; as
he considered that that was the only means of disseminating information among
the class of people we required, who had no other mode of ascertaining the
inducements offered, and who were not likely to take up an Act of Parliament.
As to pamphlets, persons would not take them, as there would
be many who could not read them, or would not take the trouble to, if they
could. He hoped that, when in committee, they would make the Bill as good as it
was possible to be, and he should vote for its second reading.
The question—That the Bill be read a second time, was put and carried, and its consideration in committee was made an Order of the Day for Wednesday, 30th June.
