Earl Grey wrote prior to 1850 that Western Australians might obtain the form of government possessed by New South Wales when they were strong enough to dispense with a parliamentary vote and able to bear the whole expenses of their civil government. At that time he was studying the big question of colonial government, and, after numerous difficulties, carried through the Imperial Parliament in 1850-1 the Australian Colonies Government Bill, by which other colonies obtained a certain form of representative government. Western Australia was beyond the pale of the provisions from a financial point of view, so that the withholding of the privilege from her in nowise impeached the wisdom and intelligence of the people. It was, however, promised that when the inhabitants petitioned for the New South Wales form of government and were rich enough to meet the charges hitherto covered by the parliamentary grant, they would obtain the privilege.
A meeting was held in Perth on 21st February, 1865, and about sixty persons, presided over by the Sheriff, Mr. A. Hillman, appointed a committee to draft a petition for presentation to the Governor and the Legislative Council. The petition, which was signed by 1,303 colonists purporting to be landholders, was presented to the Legislative Council in June, and formally asked, under the Imperial Act, for the establishment of representative government. Mr. Samson, who presented the petition, moved that it be read in a forlorn speech wherein he accused the non-official members of want of independence and of being lukewarm. Governor Hampton deemed it necessary to repeatedly call him to order. Mr. Hardey, while not in favour of the petition, seconded the motion that it be read. A committee, consisting of Colonial Secretary Barlee, Attorney-General Stone, Commandant Bruce, and Mr. Samson, was appointed to report on the document and its prayer. These gentlemen subjected the signatures to a searching scrutiny, and struck out 150 as being of persons unknown, of ticket-of-leave men, or of persons not in actual occupation of a house. This left 1,153, of whom 255 were declared to be expiree men, and thus they set forth in the report that the petition was signed by 898 householders who had always been free. The Imperial Act (13 and 14 Vic. c59) giving constitutions to the colonies recited that, upon the petition of one-third of the householders in the colony, it would be lawful for the Legislative Council to pass an ordinance to establish a Council, to consist of one-third nominee and two-thirds elective members, and to make the necessary regulations for the duly carrying out of the Imperial Act. The Committee found that the requisite number of signatures was contained in the petition even to 230 in excess, and it remained with the Legislative Council to do its work.
The councillors, while willing to introduce a more popular element, would not go the full lengths permitted them by the Act. Mr. Hardey moved, and Colonel Bruce seconded, an amendment to the petition that the constitution of the Council be improved by the addition of two non-official members to the existing four, and that the six be nominated for three years only, instead of for life. This amendment, which made no mention of an elective Council and really negatived the petition, was a blow to the advance party, and Mr. Samson was the only member who voted against it. Mr. Barlee, the Colonial Secretary, made a sympathetic speech in favour of the petition, but refrained from voting. Mr. Samson handed to the Council a written protest against the right and authority of the Legislative Council to negative the prayer of the petitioners, declaring that it was incumbent, according to the Act, on the members to support the petition. Continuing, he recorded that the wording of the Act made it imperative, not discretionary, on the part of the Council to adopt the wishes of the people, especially as no counter-petition had been presented. If, he affirmed, the Council had power to reject a petition signed by one-third of the householders, they might reject a similar petition signed by every householder in the colony. Mr. Hamersley now resigned his seat, and Messrs. Samson and Hardey placed a discretionary resignation in the hands of the Governor.
Another petition was circulated in September upholding Mr. Hardey, the compilers of which, however, weakly proclaimed, in regard to the six non-official members, that they should "very much prefer" that they be elected by the people. For a time public opinion was divided. On 12th October a meeting was held at the Court House, Geraldton, when, on the motion of Messrs. Du Boulay and L. Burges, a resolution was carried protesting against the Council's rejection of the people's petition. Another petition was proposed, and by 1866 it seemed that a more general enthusiasm was awakened in favour of an elective Council. Governor Hampton, during the debate on the petition, did not express any opinion one way or other, but, in his despatch of 21st July, 1865, after giving a brief history of the memorial and explaining that he carefully abstained from any interference, he concluded by saying that he had "reason to believe" that a large majority of colonists would vote against the proposal. In a second despatch, dated 22nd August, 1865, however, he declares:—"I am convinced that it will be impossible to arrest the progress of the movement unless some concession is now made." Then on 21st December, 1865, he forwarded the original memorial, and observed:"–Such a change, to me, seems to be very immaterial, seeing that, to whatever extent I might be allowed any voice in the matter, I should endeavour to nominate the persons most acceptable to the free inhabitants generally, and fairly representing every interest throughout the colony—a very difficult task which I would gladly see delegated to the electors.
Mr. Cardwell, the Secretary for the Colonies, pigeon-holed the documents until he left office, and his dilatoriness was resented by colonists with some impetuosity. Governor Hampton was openly blamed for this inaction, and accused of suppressing the salient points of the petition, of omitting all mention of Mr. Samson's protest, and of numerous other things usually uttered in times of excitement. But the Governor considered that he was innocent, and therefore bore the calumnies in silence.
The long looked for despatch was received on 13th September, 1867. Under date of 9th July of that year, the new Secretary for the Colonies, the Duke of Buckingham, signified Her Majesty's assent to the proposal which had been "made by the Legislative Council," that non-official members equal in number to the official be appointed for a period of three years. Mr. Samson's protest was completely ignored, nor was any mention made of the petition. The Fremantle Herald hotly attacked the Governor and his satellites, and held up to reprobation the "trickery" by which the Home Government was led to reject the householders' petition. The Inquirer, however, considered the Secretary for the Colonies had made an important concession, and, as was common among the half-hearted section of the community, pointed the finger of disdain to the eastern colonies, where, since the establishment of autonomy, public
