FIFTY YEARS OF AUSTRALIAN POLITICS.* SIR HENRY PARKES' political autobiography
is the most interesting and informing book which has appeared on Australia, or at least New South Wales. A career which began when New South Wales included what are now Victoria and Queensland, and had only 114,386 inhabitants, and is not yet terminated when New South Wales alone has 1,132,000, could hardly fail to be of interest. But when it is the career of a man who, in 1848, first came into public notice as the chief promoter of the candidature of Robert Lowe for the Australian Parliament on the basis of anti-transportation, and in 1856 in return obtained support from Robert Lowe, then in the English Parliament, for a lowering of the Aus- tralian franchise ; and has since then been five times Prime Minister, in which capacity his last act was to draft the Federal Constitution for an Australasia with a population of four millions ; and when the person who has done this left England without an "h " in his tongue, then it becomes of the highest and, indeed, of unique interest.
Perhaps the most curious thing about the history of Australian politics during this period is its parallelism with that of politics at home. The New Smith Wales Parlia- ment has been confronted with precisely the same ques- tions in kind as Parliament at home ; but, as was natural where the forces of immobility were less organised and developed, the questions have ripened more quickly and been solved more effectually. And not less curious is the paral- lelism between Sir Henry Parkes' career and that of Mr. Gladstone. Sir Henry Parkes, like Mr. Gladstone, is clearly a Conservative by birth. His first impulse is to resist change, and refuse to consider it. But he has the same large capacity for being influenced by circumstances ; and when he conies to study a question, brings to it a pliancy and, if attracted by change, a fervour of sudden conviction and energy of purpose which carry him to the front of every successive onward movement. It is this conservatism of dis- position, combined with mutability of temperament, that has given Mr. Gladstone here, and Sir Henry Parkes in Australia, the longest and most frequent terms of power enjoyed by any Ministers in democratic times, in spite of occasional and, at the time, apparently irrecoverable defeats. Sir H. Parkes, indeed, affects to write as if his latest defeat at the hands of an unholy alliance between the Labour party and the Tories of Australia, was final. But he is only seventy-six years old ; and it would not be a very rash prediction that New South Wales will again acclaim him Prime Minister, if he maintains his life and strength for another three years.
Notable among the instances of the politician's intuition for discerning the "psychological moment" possessed by Sir Henry Parkes, is that of the Public School Act. From 1866, Parkes had steadily refused to vote for purely undenominational education, and professed his intention of adhering to the compromise of 1866, which was essen- tially the same as our "settlement of 1870," if, indeed, it was not, as a letter from Mr. W. E. Forster would seem to suggest, the model of it. The basis of the compromise was that Denominational schools received State grants so long as they complied with the conscience-clause, and were taught by State-qualified teachers. Parkes steadily resisted all efforts on the part of Secularists on the one side, and Orangemen on the other, to depart from this settlement. But suddenly, in October, 1879, the Roman Catholic Archbishop Vaughan, in the interests of the Roman Catholic Church, began to fulminate against the settlement, claiming State money for exclusively Denominational schools. The violent spirits of the Church of England made common cause with the Catholics. A more violent opposition was aroused on the other side. The * Fifty Years in the Making of Australian History, By Sir Henry Parkes, G.O.M.G. London; Longmans, Green, and CO. result was that Sir Henry Parkes, as Prime Minister, brought in a Bill which not only established Secular education for Elementary.selleele, but for Grammar-schools as well, which -were now for the first time made State schools. The Roman Catholic Archbishop denounced the Bill as "tyranny and per- secution more odious than the more expeditious way of tearing out the heart and bowels of a living and grown man." But the only result was the passing of the Bill by enormous majorities, with the result that between 1880 and 1890 the schools were doubled in numbers, and included sixty-four 'Grammar-schools and five High-schools with a system of scholarships to the Universities, and a Technical College ; -and while the cost doubled from 1880 to 1883, rising from 2381,000 to 2821,000, it had sunk again in 1890 to 2704,000. Would that there were any chance of our education estimates .exhibiting a like reduction ! This Australian example may perhaps serve as a warning to the more fiery managers of -Voluntary schools, and the curious head-masters who lately demonstrated in favour of converting our great Public 'Schools into exclusive Church of England seminaries, from trying to upset the settlements of 1867 and 1870.
Other curious parallels to Mr. Gladstone's official action to be found in Sir Henry Parkes' career, are his intense adherence to 'constitutional etiquette, and his disregard, in important public -appointments, of the maxim of "the spoils to the victors," —a notable instance of which is to be found in his appointment of the ex-Prime Minister, and then leader of the Opposition, to be Chief Justice. Perhaps to us here the two most interesting points in Sir Henry Parkes' later career—that is, his last Ministry—are the action he took as to Australian Federation, and the cause of his defeat in spite of it. In 1890, a convention of representatives of the Australian Parliaments was summoned at Sydney to discuss the whole matter. An abortive attempt had been made in this direction in 1883, when a Federal Council was authorised. But it was based simply on arrangements for military defence—a -very unimportant matter to the nations of Australia at present—and it never came into effective existence. Sir 'Henry Parkes lifted the question into the higher atmosphere 'of common freedom and mutual intercourse. The Convention definitely approved of the creation of a Federal Parliament and s. Supreme Court, on the principle apparently of the American rather than of the Canadian Federation, each Colony re- taining all powers not expressly surrendered, but subjeot to definite resolutions for absolute intercolonial Free-trade, and ,common Customs and Excise duties. The Convention was 'closed in April, 1891. Owing to Sir H. Parkes' defeat on suite other matters, nothing has been done since, and Federa- tion was regarded as a Parkes' fad. But while we write, news has just come that New South Wales has taken the matter into serious consideration, and that the Legislative Assembly—the House of Commons—had passed resolutions in favour of the Bill of the Convention practically drawn by Sir Henry Parkes, and has referred it to a Committee to discuss and summon a 'further Convention. So that already Sir Henry Parkes' political ideas are dominant again, if not his personality.
The fall of Sir Henry Parkes at the hands of the Labour party, who professed to support his Ministry, has a curious resemblance to the action of Labour candidates nearer home. Sir Henry Parkes appears to share Mr. John Morley's views on the Eight-Hours question, and was therefore thrown out by the Labour Members on a Coal-mines Bill, of which they professed their approval, merely for the sake of venting their spleen. In the course of the debate, Sir Henry Parkes referred to Herbert Spencer, and Mr. J. D. Fitzgerald, one of the Labour Members, gave utterance to the following Liberal and intellectual sentiments :—" Smother him ! What has he got to do with it ?"—Sir H. P.: "Who says smother him P"— Smother his opinion ! Is his opinion to influence this House ? Are we intelligent men, or are we to be insulted ?" We have not been without similar demonstrations already in this country. But if the Labour Member is to exercise influence and advance his views, be must learn a little tolerance and a little respect both for himself and others.
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