MR. JOHN DOUGLAS, M.L.A., AND THE ELECTORS OF EASTERN DOWNS.
Warwick Argus and Tenterfield Chronicle, Wednesday 15
July 1868, p. 2
Mr. J. Douglas, M.L.A., addressed the electors of the
Eastern Downs on Monday evening. The Court House was crowded to excess, and his
Worship the Mayor (Mr. James Morgan) was called to the chair.
The Chairman in a few brief remarks said that the meeting
had been convened for the purpose of giving the honourable member for Eastern
Downs an opportunity of giving an account of his stewardship, and he was quite
sure it was unnecessary for him to ask that meeting to give a patient hearing
to any person who might address them. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. Douglas, M.L.A., who, on coming forward, was received
with loud cheers, said that it was now rather less than twelve months since he
had last addressed them, when they had done him the honour to elect him as their
representative. Not being a resident of their district, he had not the
opportunity of becoming so well informed of many matters which had occurred,
and were of deep interest in the district. There were many things of which he
had been informed, however, not only from private correspondence, but also from
the channels of public information. He had much wished to have been present at
their Agricultural show, as at such times they could meet together in genial
intercourse, and, as it were, throw aside all political feelings. In addressing
them that evening, he did not come there to stir up any angry political feeling
or animosity, but there were some plain truths which he must certainly bring
before them. He would, however, first refer to the agricultural meeting, which
tended in so many ways to the development of their agricultural resources. He
congratulated the members of the E. D. H. and A. Society, on their successful
efforts. He believed from what he had heard that the show was a success, and he
was glad to see their esteemed friend, Mr. Deuchar, taking an active part in
the society. If the residents of that district would only rally round, and aid
the objects of the society, there would be no better one in the colony of
Queensland. The district had long been famed for the choiceness of the stock
raised in it, and it was quite right that such should have been at the show.
From all he could ascertain their show had passed off quite as successfully as
the Royal Agricultural Show at Dalby. He thought they should keep the
head-quarters of that show at Toowoomba, it would in the long run be better for
their interests, as Toowoomba was easily approachable from all sides. He hoped
that their society would so grow and increase, that the Royal Society could
make over to them all their land and properties. If the farmers, landholders,
and proprietors united to support them, they would succeed in establishing the
society on a sure and firm basis.
He had always thought and hoped that this would be the great
wheat-producing district of the colony; why was it not so? It was not because
it would not grow it, neither was it because money, enterprise, or perseverance
had been wanting, but solely in consequence of the rust, which had been so
prevalent as to have deprived many farmers of their entire crop. But they must
not be disheartened, for if they could only produce wheat in large quantities
they would add immensely to the wealth of the district and the colony at large.
Rust prevailed throughout the whole of Australia, and the average growth of
wheat in South Australia was but seven bushels to the acre. This ought to
induce them to try some remedy, and the object of their society should be to
give some attention to the matter, and try and find a preventative. As
agriculture had been brought to a science of the highest knowledge, they might
very fairly hope to gain some knowledge of the cause of rust in wheat, its cure
and removal. Their future depended far more on these local matters, than on
politics, and their welfare depended upon the development of the industry of
the district. Scotchmen were acknowledged to be at the present day the best
farmers in the world, but that very high farming was acquired from England
itself, even ploughing was only introduced into Scotland about one hundred and
fifty years back, and that too, by an English lady who married into a Scotch
family. They should reciprocate the knowledge they each possessed on these
matters, and by local agricultural societies, ascertain the best mode of
farming, and thereby arrive at such a solution of the question as would tend to
the permanent welfare of the district.
He would now go into the political events at issue since he
last met them. They would remember that when they last elected him, he was then
in office in the Government of Queensland, the election being the result of an
appeal to the country on the land question. A majority had been returned to
support their measures, when they suddenly found themselves, through the
defection of one or two of their members, in a very uncertain position. He saw
that Dr. O'Doherty, when addressing the electors of Brisbane, had also referred
to the unparalleled position in which ministers had found themselves placed.
Two of their supporters, Messrs. Pritchard and Pugh, had turned round on them,
and Mr. Pugh actually wrote to Mr. Macalister, advising him to resign,
believing that his colleagues in the ministry would be so mean and despicable
as to accept such a piece of advice. Another gentleman took a like opportunity
to desert us (name, name), he did not intend to withhold his name, it was Dr.
Challinor, who gave as his reason that it was in consequence of him (Mr.
Douglas) being appointed Minister for Public Works. This was the accusation
brought against him, and he might safely say that he was not more incompetent
than any Minister for Works who had ever yet held office in the colony (hear,
hear), at any rate he had done his duty (loud cheers), and he should like to
know if the present ministry had ever done so?
One of his first duties in that office, on discovering that
Mr. Bourne, the contractor for the Dalby Line, had overdrawn his account, and
that they had no power to compel him to complete it, was to cancel the
contract, and put it into the hands of effective men; unless such had been
done, the contract could not have been finished for twelve months. (Hear,
hear.) And again with Mr. Fitzgibbon, who, in his opinion, was most
inefficient; there was no lack of boldness or determination in his measures,
but he (the speaker) found it necessary to terminate his connection with the
Government, and did so. (Hear, hear.)
When Mr. Macalister found himself shamefully deserted by
some of his supporters, he called a meeting of them, and it was agreed they
should resign. He (the speaker), believed that, although they had only a
majority of two, they should have fought it out; at any rate until they had
carried out their Land measures, or until they had received a direct vote of
want of confidence. He could not fancy a more humiliating position for a
Government to be placed, and then the late ministry went out of power.
The present Government, without waiting for the verdict of
the country, by a side wind, changed the whole policy of their land measures.
The sham selections dated from the very first day the ministry came into power
(hear, hear), and the result has been the system which has been carried out,
and been so prevalent in this district. There had been no new law passed, a
hint, probably, and then we saw a complete change in their policy. The previous
ministry had proclaimed large reserves, and the policy of that ministry had
been to afford every facility for the people to settle on the lands of the
colony. But from the date of their entry into power sham selections came into
force, and they had recourse to all sorts of, to use a very mild term,
duplicity, and thereby gain supporters by enabling them, as it were, to rob the
public estate. (Hear, hear.) It was never the intention of the people or the Assembly
to allow the lands of the colony to be dealt with in the manner they have been,
yet they found the Government prepared to allow of this, to gain a fugitive
support, which will fail them shortly, (hear, hear), preferring thereby the
fleeting support of a few, which he hoped would, ere long, fail them, (loud
cheers), to the welfare of the people and of the colony generally.
A Land Bill, a good one in comparison with the present one,
was introduced and partially discussed—no one liking to tackle it. They were
determined, however, to take the wind out of Macalister's sails. If the bill
had been passed in its integrity it would have worked well, and not have had
such a miserable effect as it has had, more particularly in their district. The
Colonial Secretary said, we wish you to worry a Land Bill, not to death, but
into life. The House submitted this Bill to a Select Committee; every day the
Government Printer had new clauses and alterations to make, and he must say in
praise of Dr. Challinor that he was never absent from his place when the Bill
was in committee, and gave his opposition to every clause of it. It was
ridiculous to suppose that a Ministry could safely entrust such a bill, unless
a tight and firm hand was held over those who directed it, but the result of
their labours had been most unsatisfactory and inconclusive, and would be so,
unless a Ministry had a defined policy from which they would not depart.
The sole advantage he could see in it was, that it gave
homestead selections for a mere trifle. Numerous clauses of it his experience
led him to totally disagree with. He knew it was said that it gave an opening
for a new class of settlers, between the farmer and the squatter, but the
administering of it had proved quite the contrary, and he was quite sure that
it would be eventually found that it would be only a repetition of the dummying
system. He was quite sure that as a way had been found to carry on that system,
an equally easy way would be found to ride over the present regulations. He
sincerely hoped there would be some independent men who would become
proprietors of from one to five thousand acres of land, he should consider them
as the most favourable men that could settle amongst them.
He must take that occasion of expressing his regret at the
glaring and shameful manner in which the divisions of runs had been made, and
in the lands which the Government had leased for ten years. That men who had
occupied country for twenty and even thirty years, and after all claims had
been satisfied, should be granted an additional lease of ten years, seemed
nothing less than a crying shame. (Hear, hear.) He believed that such a measure
should never have been allowed to pass. It was satisfactory for him to know
that he had never voted for any less reserve on each side of the railway lines
than ten miles; he would that all the members for their district had done the
same. (Hear, hear.)
His attention had been specially directed to the manner in
which the Act had been administered. There was no doubt whatever that the Bill
was badly administered. They were told that pre-emptive rights had been given
for improvements on freehold land, and that the country most valuable for
agricultural purposes had passed into the hands of leaseholders. (Hear, hear.)
He did not wish to prejudge the Minister for Lands, defective as all his acts
had been, until he had ascertained certain facts, but if it was as it had been
represented to him, it would be one of the primary duties of Parliament to
enquire in what manner the provisions of that miserable Bill had been carried
out. (Hear, hear.) He did not wish to make imputations unless he was prepared
to prove them, but he would express his belief that the mal-administration of
the Land Bill was even greater than was now believed.
There were two primary principles which must be carried out.
He did not say that the mischief, if mischief there had been, was irremediable,
there was no doubt but that during the short time it had been working, it had
done immense wrong to that district, still some districts would profit. He
would now for a brief time draw their attention to the mode he would attempt to
remedy the evil. He would retain the homestead selections, believing that if
men undertook farming on a small scale, and chose to go through the
difficulties, trials, and obstacles, which presented themselves, let them do
it, and every advantage should be thrown in their way. That was a principle
that never would be upset. (Hear, hear.)
Then again, he was in favour of a return to the old system
of sale by auction for cash. His experience did not lead him to think much of
the system of deferred payments and selection. If full scope was given to the
system of auction for cash, and which in other countries had proved so successful,
he was certain it would work better. He would rather see every acre of the
Darling Downs sold for cash, than the miserable manner at present in vogue.
(Hear, hear.) What were the consequences of the present system? The lands were
surveyed at a great expense; large portions were being given to station-holders
under the pre-emptive right or on ten years' leases. Would it not be far better
for them to have been sold for £1 per acre each? Where was the land revenue to
come from if there were no sales for cash? and the question could not be looked
at apart from finance.
With respect to the finance question, last year landed them
with a considerable deficit—some £100,000 in the year's transactions. Mr.
Mackenzie had also estimated that there would be one at the end of the present
year—in fact, every year they were getting behindhand, and the total
liabilities of Queensland were now about four millions; this is about four
years, [made?] the expenditure about one million a year of borrowed capital. If
they were to continue in such a way, they were bound to inevitable ruin, unless
every man, woman, and child in the colony were subject to increased taxation;
and he felt sure that no Government who had the brass to come down and ask to
impose additional taxes would meet with any support.
Some remedy for this state of affairs would be the auction
sale of lands for cash, and he should certainly prefer it to the present
indefinite deferred payments. The question of the upset price of lands was a
matter of great consideration. He would not sell any country lands on the Downs
for five shillings per acre—it was a matter which might be left to any Minister
for Lands to fix the upset price. In some districts it was quite probable that
the lands would not be more than five shillings per acre, and for that reason
he had determinedly voted against the upset price being fixed at twenty
shillings. There was Mr. Davenport, himself a dummy, who would invest a great
deal of money if he could only get a slice of the Darling Downs, and was quite
prepared to give the twenty shillings per acre for it. He (the speaker) knew
that some of the old landholders and leaseholders, especially those who had
been playing their vagaries lately, did not like the foreign capitalists, but his
best wishes were with them. (Hear, hear.) He only hoped they would stake their
money on the chances.
Many were looking forward to what was called their resources
to relieve them from debt; others seemed to think that a day of reckoning would
never come, and that they could be as jolly as possible for the next few years.
He believed that the present Government intended to ask for another loan in the
forthcoming Session; the amount would be only a small one, and it would easily
go down. His idea would be not to have one at all—that it would be better to
defer the loan to a time when they could report more favourably of their
prospect than at present. He should rather wait till they could show an excess
of revenue over expenditure, as it would be more honourable and creditable to
their present creditors.
Another thing was, they should not enter on any fresh public
works under the assurance that they could get money whenever they liked. The
habit hitherto had been to first accept the contract, and then to see where the
money was to come from; the result of that system was that they had been
compelled to sell their debentures at a great sacrifice. Let them look at
Victoria, the greatest, most magnificent, and grandest colony in the world; and
again at Tasmania, when after having surveys taken and plans prepared, applied
for a loan of £400,000; they received the offer of more than a million, at only
one per cent premium, instead of paying for it as Queensland had done.
It fell to his lot when Treasurer, and when the contractors
were pulling at them, in order to complete contracts, to be compelled to sell
at ruinous sacrifices; and he hoped no future Treasurer of Queensland would be
placed in the same position as he was when holding that office. No contracts
should ever again be entered into, without it being first ascertained how,
when, and where the money was to come from to carry them out.
In conclusion, he might say, that he had always attempted to
do his duty to the country and to them. He had certainly never followed out his
own personal ends, neither had he sacrificed his principles to his profit, and
so long as he continued to represent them he should do so faithfully. He feared
that it might not be long that he should be permitted to remain in the colony;
he could however safely say that he had never dishonoured himself or them
during the many years he had been their representative. He should always carry
with him a happy recollection of the country and their district, and hoped that
others would look forward to perform the duties which he had endeavoured to
perform in a perhaps feeble but never distrustful mind. (The honorable member
resumed his seat amidst loud applause.)
Three cheers were then called for Mr. Douglas, M.L.A., and
three for the Mayor, (Mr. Morgan), and which were heartily responded to.
Mr. Douglas proposed a vote of thanks to the Chairman, which being duly acknowledged, the meeting separated.
