Australasian Democracy. Henry de Rosenbach Walker
of the Premier in the representation of West Adelaide, who has risen from subordinate employment on the Government railways to be, at the age of thirty, President of the Railway Association and Secretary of the Party. Mr. Batchelor is a man of broad views and a keen student, and has brought forward a Bill for the institution of the initiative and referendum, which he considers to be suited to the small population of South Australia. The Party are fortunate in their leading men and show no signs of cleavage, their only serious difference of opinion having been in regard to the qualifications of Labour candidates. As long as solidarity can be maintained and the present leaders remain in the ascendant, no fear need be felt that they will subordinate the interests of the community to those of their own class, though they would be the first to admit that their main object is to protect the working man and to improve his position.
The principal measures of the present Administration, such as the Taxation Acts and the establishment of the Village Settlements and of the Produce Export Department, may be said to be the joint product of the Liberal and Labour Parties, and may be regarded as an example of the policy pursued by a pure democracy in the face of financial depression, dislocation of trade, and widespread scarcity of employment.
The object of the Act of 1893 which authorised the formation of Village Settlements was to prevent men of small means, who found difficulty in obtaining employment, from leaving the country by affording them the opportunity of settling upon the land and working it co-operatively with the assistance of advances from the State. Its main provisions were, that any twenty or more persons might form an association for the purpose of taking up a grant of land not exceeding 160 acres per head; that the work should be done under the direction of trustees appointed by members of the association from among their number, who should manage the affairs of the village upon principles of co-operation and equitable division; and that the Commissioner of Crown Lands might advance to any such association out of funds provided by Parliament, an amount not exceeding the sum of £50 for each villager and not exceeding one-half the cost of the improvements upon the land. The advances were to be repaid in ten equal annual instalments, with interest computed at 5 per cent. per annum on the moneys for the time being remaining unpaid; but the first of such instalments was not to be payable until after the expiration of three years from the date of the advance. The formation of settlements on a purely communistic basis was rendered possible by Section 78 of the Act, which states that "the rules" (of an association) "may require payment to a common fund or otherwise as may be determined of all or any part of the earnings of the villagers whether earned within the village or elsewhere." Twelve associations were formed, mostly on the banks of the Murray, between the months of February and August, 1894, but not, with a single exception, on the lines intended by the Government. The extreme scarcity of employment and great poverty at Adelaide and in the neighbourhood in the early part of that year led them to form the remainder of persons who were almost entirely destitute. They were necessarily assisted at the start, but did not afterwards receive advances until the Government Inspector had certified that they were justified by the improvements made upon the land. The action of the Government was illegal throughout, as the Act stated expressly that the advances should be made out of funds provided by Parliament, and no funds had been voted for the purpose, but it may be condoned on the ground of the extreme urgency of the crisis. At the expiration of a year the limit had been reached in most cases, and further advances were indispensable to prevent the immediate collapse of the majority of the settlements. The Commissioner of Crown Lands, accordingly, introduced a Bill in which he asked for authority to increase the advances, under the same conditions, to £100 per head, and for further powers of control over the settlements. The Bill, which was hotly opposed, was not passed till a Select Committee had been appointed to inquire on the spot into the conditions and financial prospects of the settlements and had reported in its favour.
The report, which was dated November 14, 1895, and the evidence upon which it was based, gave a complete picture of the disadvantages under which the settlers laboured and of the drawbacks of the system of distribution. The land selected for the villages was such, it was pointed out, that it could not be cultivated except under irrigation. This had necessitated the erection of a costly pumping plant, which the settlers had difficulty in purchasing, as they could offer no security for payment. When the plant was finally obtained, it was found, in some cases, to be unsuitable; in others it could not be properly worked in the absence of a capable engineer. The settlers, brought together at haphazard by destitution and not by their knowledge of agricultural pursuits, had wasted much time and labour through ignorance, incapacity, and insufficiency of proper tools. They had lacked a strong controlling hand to direct their operations, and had disobeyed the trustees whom they had themselves appointed; and as the trustees had little power discipline had been nonexistent, and quarrels, at several settlements, of continual occurrence. Order had been restored with difficulty, as the only punishment was expulsion, upon a decision of the trustees ratified by a vote of the villagers, and many villagers had voted against expulsion from the fear that they in their turn might be subjected to a similar penalty. The arrangements for the distribution of rations also had caused considerable dissatisfaction and led to disagreement between single and married men, as the former felt that the latter received a share of the stores out of proportion to the work they had done. The general system was, that rations were issued on a sliding scale, according as a man was single or had a large or small family, and was to that extent purely communistic.
The difficulties encountered by the settlers had been such as would have discouraged most men, but, in spite of them, the total number had only fallen in eighteen months from 598 to 440, and the majority of witnesses expressed themselves satisfied with their lot. They admitted the necessity of further advances, but pleaded that they had a heavy burden to bear in the cost of machinery, and that their labour, especially in the planting of fruit trees, could not yield an immediate return. The financial position was thus summarised:—The Government had advanced £26,000, the unpaid accounts amounted to about £11,000, and the improvements were valued by the Commissioner of Crown Lands at £41,000.
During 1896 the further advances had been expended, but the settlements had not become self-supporting, and the increased burden of debt and uncertainty as to the future had caused many of the settlers to become disheartened and others to leave in despair. On the other hand, the appointment of an expert to exercise the additional powers conferred upon the Commissioner and to give advice to the settlers, had led to the diminution of quarrels and disagreements among them and to a better direction of their work. In view of these facts the Government decided to close four of the settlements which had been formed upon land unsuitable to the purpose, owing to the poorness of the soil or the absence of facilities for profitable irrigation. It has been estimated that the remainder have sufficient irrigable land to maintain a population of about three hundred families, and that they require an average of about £25 per settler to make them self-supporting. A few enthusiasts alone believe that any portion of the principal of the loans will ever be repaid; but the Government will have no cause to complain if they receive regular interest on the money. Some difficulty is likely to arise in the disposal of the produce. There is a considerable market for vegetables on the river, but it will soon be overtaken by the supply. The settlers will probably devote most of their land to fruit growing and dairying, and will be able to take advantage of the Export Department.
The settlers should have a better chance of success in the future, as loafers are gradually being weeded out, and the process is to be continued until the settlers shall have been reduced to such as have shown an honest desire to make homes for themselves and their families upon the land. This course has been rendered possible by the large exodus of working men to Western Australia, which has reduced the pressure upon the local labour market. The Government desire to approximate all the settlements to the level of Murtho, which alone was formed of persons who had considerable means of their own. The settlers, about twenty in number, put an average of £60 each into the venture and left good situations out of enthusiasm for the principles of co-operation. They are intelligent, well-educated men and women who are bound to put forward every effort to be successful, as otherwise they will be in a worse position than at the start. They work all the land upon the method of joint cultivation on the ground that, as different forms of produce are grown, it is of importance to be able to concentrate the greater portion of the labour at any point where it may be required, and, under the influence of communistic ideas, give to all an equal share of the results of their united efforts.