other districts. Perth and Fremantle were given three new members; the new districts being North Perth, Canning and East Fremantle. The new goldfields districts were Coolgardie, East Coolgardie, North Coolgardie, North-East Coolgardie, Central Murchison, North Murchison, South Murchison, and Yalgoo. One other important amendment to the principal Act made it possible to add a new portfolio to the Cabinet, making six principal executive officers of the Government, and a provision was inscribed to provide for six ministerial salaries, aggregating £6,200.
A general election to the Assembly was completed in May, 1897, but before this took place Mr. A.R. Richardson resigned the portfolio of Commissioner of Crown Lands in the Cabinet, and relinquished politics. Mr. Richardson was essentially a hard-working and conscientious Minister. He was succeeded by Mr. Throssell, M.L.A., a landowner of considerable experience, who has already evinced much courage in his administration, and has infused new vitality into the Lands Department. A few weeks later, Mr. H.B. Lefroy was appointed the sixth Minister, and was given control of the Education Department; later still, Mr. S. Burt, Q.C., whose services to Western Australian politics have been very great, retired from the Attorney-General's Office, Mr. R.W. Pennefather succeeded him.
The Legislative Assembly of 1897 consisted of:—
| Electoral District |
Member | Electoral District |
Member |
| Ashburton | S. Burt | Irwin | S.J. Phillips |
| York | F.C. Monger | De Grey | E.T. Hooley |
| East Kimberley | F. Connor | Northam | G. Throssell |
| West Kimberley | A. Forrest | Murchison | S. Mitchell |
| Bunbury | J. Forrest | Gascoyne | G.Y. Hubble |
| Plantagenet | A.Y. Hassell | Nelson | J.G. Lee-Steere |
| Wellington | H.W. Venn | Albany | G. Leake |
| Roebourne | H.W. Sholl | Fremantle | J.J. Higham |
| Williams | F. Piesse | South Fremantle | E. Solomon |
| Toodyay | T. F. Quinlan | East Fremantle | J.J. Holmes |
| Beverley | C. Harper | North Fremantle | C.J. Doherty |
| Greenough | R.W. Pennefather | East Coolgardie | C.J. Moran |
| Murray | W.J. George | North-East Coolgardie | F.C.B. Vosper |
| Sussex | E.C.B. Locke | Coolgardie | A.E. Morgans |
| Guildford | N.R. Ewing | North Coolgardie | H. Gregory |
| Canning | F. Wilson | Dundas | J.R. Conolly |
| Perth | L. Hall | Geraldton | G.T. Simpson |
| East Perth | W.H. James | Yalgoo | F. Wallace |
| West Perth | B.C. Wood | Yilgarn | W. Oates |
| North Perth | C.H. Oldham | Central Murchison | F. Illingworth |
| Moore | H.B. Lefroy | North Murchison | H. Kenny |
| Pilbarra | — Kingsmill | South Murchison | C.H. Rason |
The most sensational event in these elections was the defeat by five votes of S.H. Parker, Q.C., in the Perth constituency. In July, 1896, H. Briggs was elected to the Legislative Council, vice E.W. Davies resigned; other elections to the Council in that month were:—South-West Province, W.S. Spencer; East Province, Howard Taylor; Central Province, R.S. Haynes; North Province, —. McKay. In May, 1897, G. Randall was elected to fill a vacancy in the Metropolitan Province.
At the end of the financial year, in, June, 1896, the statement of revenue and expenditure was enormously above that of 1895. The revenue amounted to £2,440,390, and the expenditure to £2,362,003. The Treasurer, Sir John Forrest then estimated the revenue for the ensuing year at £2,425,000, and the expenditure at £2,720,390, but on 30th June, 1897, these figures were exceeded, and the revenue reached £2,842,751, and the expenditure £2,839,453. The principal excess was in the Customs receipts, which amounted to £1,087,257. There was a credit balance in the Treasury of £315,362. These figures, when compared with those in the first Budget speech delivered under Responsible Government, are earnest of the prodigious development of the colony. In 1891 the revenue was:—£497,670, and the expenditure was £435,622; in 1897 the revenue was £2,842,751, and the expenditure was £2,839,453. Even since 1895 the revenue had increased by over £1,000,000 sterling. The public indebtedness of the colony in June, 1897, after giving credit for the sinking fund invested, which amounted to £205,637, was £7,105,177. A comparison (Budget speech) in this respect with other colonies is interesting. The public debt of New South Wales is 61 millions, equal to £46 per head of population; of Victoria, 47 millions, equal to £41 per head; of Queensland, 32 millions, equal to £67 per head; of South Australia, 24 millions, equal to £69 per head; of Tasmania, eight millions, equal to £50 per head; and of Western Australia, seven millions, equal to about £45 per head. The ratio of public debt to the annual revenue shows Western Australia, in what Sir John Forrest rightly terms, "a magnificent position." In 1897 the revenue of Western Australia exceeded that of her old-time rival South Australia. In 1896 the revenue per head of population in Western Australia was £19 17s. 5d., comparable with £9 18s. 6¾d. in 1891; in 1896 the expenditure per head was £19 4s. 8d., and in 1891, £8 13s. 9½d.
On 13th March, 1897, Sir John Forrest, Sir J.G. Lee-Steere, Messrs. G. Leake, F.H. Piesse, J.W. Hackett, W.T. Loton, W.H. James, A.Y. Hassell, R.F. Sholl, and Howard Taylor were chosen to represent Western Australia, at a Federation Convention which met at Adelaide, South Australia, on the 22nd March. In recent years the federal sentiment had been growing in the Eastern colonies. The Convention of 1891 was useful from an educational point of view, but it did not arouse the enthusiasm necessary to bring about a federation of Australia. While the possibility of such a desirable consummation was not lost sight of, no decisive steps could be immediately taken. In 1893 the Federal Council met at Hobart, Tasmania, and was attended by Sir John Forrest and Sir J.G. Lee-Steere, as representatives for Western Australia. Several matters of inter-colonial policy were discussed, and the desirability of a general federation was adverted to. It was considered advisable to add to the weight of the Council by increasing the number of representatives for each colony to five, and different Australian Parliaments subsequently carried an address to Her Majesty, praying that this might be done. The Royal assent was obtained in 1894, and at the next meeting of the Council, at Hobart in January, 1895, five members attended on behalf of the colonies interested. A conference of Premiers was held, and regarded Federation as the most "pressing question in Australian politics." Messrs. Turner and Kingston, the Premiers of Victoria and South Australia respectively, were authorised to prepare a Draft Bill as a preliminary to Federation. The popularity of the movement grew in that and the succeeding year, and it was determined to hold another Convention, and Adelaide was chosen as the meeting-place. All the Australian colonies, with the exception of Queensland, were represented at this gathering by ten members, who (excepting Western Australia) were elected (under an Enabling Act) by the people. Sir John Forrest and other local delegates had attended a meeting of the Federal Council in January, 1897, and they had hardly returned to the colony than they were required to proceed to South Australia. C.C. Kingston, the Premier of South Australia, was appointed President of the Adelaide Convention. It was generally conceded that Federation was desirable, and resolutions were debated and a bill was drafted. The Convention finally adjourned to meet again later in the year. It is proposed that the bill to be prepared by the Convention shall be referred to the direct vote of the people.
