Things did not go according to plan after the Federation Convention in Sydney in March and April 1891. Although there was enthusiasm for Federation, the Devil was in the details. In our own lifetimes we have seen something similar, with great enthusiasm for Australia becoming a Republic, but the proposed model was not popular, and the issue was hit for a six, ending up in a barbed wire canoe with people crying over spilt milk, as Cox described it. Quite probably Australia will eventually become a Republic, just like the colonies eventually became a Federation in 1901, after many delays. Time has passed and Federation has now completed 110 years. We continue the story from where we ended last week, when the 1891 Federation Convention ended with a draft Constitution Bill.
Within a short time the 1891 draft Constitution Bill was transmitted to the various colonial Parliaments with instructions for the Parliaments to seek the approval of the people. There was an expectation that Federation was imminent. This was not to be, however, because the colonial Parliaments did not adopt the draft Constitution.
In NSW, for instance, George Reid the prominent Free-trader, rejected absolutely the notion that Parliament should merely pass on the Constitution for the people’s verdict. Reid’s chief objection to Federation was that it would destroy free trade and thus make things more expensive in NSW. For Reid, free-traders trusting a Federation was “like a teetotaller setting up house with five drunkards with the question of beverages to be decided later”.
Reid also had many other objections to the draft Constitution. He was opposed to equal representation in the Senate, because smaller States could decide how to spend the money, the bulk of which would be raised by NSW and Victoria. Edmund Barton, on the other hand, argued that the smaller States would never agree to Federation unless they had equal representation in the Senate.
In May 1891, within two weeks of Sir Henry Parkes declaring Federation as the most important piece of legislation, he dropped it to the bottom of the agenda. His cabinet revolted. George Dibbs moved a motion of no confidence. Sir Henry only just survived, so he dissolved Parliament and went to the people. The elections in June 1891 demonstrated the influence of the social unrest which had been brewing since the shearers’ strike of 1890.
When the 1890 maritime strike snowballed into a general strike, the various colonial Governments used force to maintain law and order. The 1890 strike accelerated the unions’ resolve to form a political party to ensure they controlled the Governments. Labor made its stunning debut at the NSW elections in June 1891, winning 35 of the 141 seats in the Legislative Assembly and immediately holding the balance of power. Similar organisations emerged in the other colonies. The new labour parties were preoccupied with wages and living conditions for workers, and were suspicious of, or openly hostile to, Federation.
In particular, the draft Constitution was criticised for its lack of democratic principles. Many people claimed it was “a constitution by politicians, for politicians”. It proposed that the Senate would be elected solely by the State Parliaments (as was the custom in the USA at that time) rather than directly by the people of each State. In addition, the draft Constitution disenfranchised some existing voters, especially some of those in South Australia. Changes would have to be made to the Constitution before it would have enough support, but other matters seemed more urgent.
Although Labor initially supported Sir Henry Parkes in NSW, the new party quickly switched to Dibbs and the Protectionists. When Barton joined Dibbs, Sir Henry fell out with Barton. Reid then became the leader of the Free-traders in the NSW Parliament. Sir Henry Parkes made no further contribution to Federation and died in 1896.
Meanwhile, an economic depression increased the social problems. The economy collapsed when the London money market refused new loans to Australia. Some land companies failed and the drain on the bank deposits became a run. In the autumn of 1893 most of the country’s banks suspended business, plunging commerce and industry into chaos. Many building societies and banks collapsed. Between 1891 and 1895 the economy shrank by 30 per cent, and there was high unemployment. Then a drought began in the eastern half of Australia in 1895 and would continue to 1903, with sheep numbers being halved. So the 1890s were a time of discord, depression and drought. Yet, for all these problems, there was still a push for Federation.
