thereby allowed to more completely guide her own destinies. In December, 1890, the elections for the first Legislative Assembly took place, and Mr. John Forrest was returned unopposed for his native district of Bunbury. The proclamation of the new constitution had the effect of abolishing his appointment of Commissioner of Lands and Member of the Executive and Legislative Councils, but he was specially permitted by Her Majesty to retain for life the prefix of "Honorable" to his name.
After the elections it was a most felicitous decision on the part of the Governor of the day, Sir William Robinson, G.C.M.G., to send for Mr. John Forrest to form the first Cabinet under Responsible Government, and to confer on him the honour of being the first Premier. He it was who had served his colony above all his contemporaries, whose whole career had been distinguished by undoubted integrity and patriotism. Mr. Forrest, taking the portfolio of Treasurer, willingly set to work to form a Cabinet from among the pioneer members of the Assembly and the Legislative Council, which should be talented enough to inaugurate the era of Self Government, and place the various State Departments on a sound basis. It is one thing for a government to enter office when the machine of State is in full swing, quite another matter to start that machine and overcome all the initial difficulties of friction, &c. But Mr. Forrest, with the aid of his colleagues, was as equal to this occasion as he was in the leading of his exploring expeditions. By dint of continuous work he has guided public affairs through a period of most phenomenal prosperity, so great as to have been hardly equalled in any British dependency. The discovery of gold has certainly helped him, but his wise leadership and progressive laws and Public Works policy have done wonders. Early in his Premiership, in March, 1891, he went to Sydney to represent Western Australia at the historical Convention which sought to weld together the various Australasian Colonies under one flag, with one common object. The remainder of the year was devoted to inaugurating useful laws during the first session of the newly-constituted Parliament. In June, 1891, the Queen, in recognition of his splendid career, conferred upon him the honour of knighthood, and no Australian ever deserved the title more than Sir John, as will be conceded by every one reading this biography.
To successfully guide the colony through the last four years has been a problem of paramount importance. So many new interests have sprung up requiring new laws, and problems of such magnitude entailing the greatest anxiety have had to be faced, that the most experienced legislator might well have been daunted. This applies more particularly to meeting the requirements of the goldfields. Gold discoveries have been made from place to place over an immense area, and without any absolute proof of their permanency it needed great enterprise, tempered with caution, to serve them with the necessary complement of facilities. They were near those parts visited by Sir John on his first expedition, and as difficult of access as one could conceive. After careful recapitulation of all the circumstances surrounding the goldfields, and their probable ultimate value to the colony, Sir John and his cabinet decided on supplying them with railways and all the facilities so requisite to the stimulating of a mining industry. Thus Coolgardie is already linked to the seaboard by the railway, as also is Kalgoorlie, Cue, and other valuable goldfield centres. There are telegraph lines and post offices, regular services of mails, police protection, magistrates, and mining laws calculated to suit the peculiar necessities of the fields. Much expenditure has been incurred, yet naturally enough many people have been found who are only too eager to accuse the Premier and the Government of want of enterprise. Comparing this colony with what has been done under similar circumstances elsewhere, shows, even to the biassed, that the Government has been more than usually courageous in their policy. The agitators in their ignorance expect to find in the inhospitable interior all the conveniences of populated cities.
Sir John Forrest was very fortunate in the men whom he took into his first cabinet, for they one and all worked hand in hand with him in re-organising the Government Departments. Of his first colleagues only the Hon. S. Burt now remains in office. Without going too fully into the details of measures Sir John has been instrumental in placing on the Statute Book, only the principal are here mentioned. In the Constitution Act the qualification required by a candidate for a seat in the Assembly was £500 worth of freehold property; the elector's qualification was £10 household. Sir John has caused these restrictions to be wholly removed. He is responsible for "The Homesteads Act," which presents splendid opportunities to people in the colony and those taking up their residence here to acquire 100 acres of land without monetary consideration, provided they comply with certain conditions. This measure should have wide-reaching effect, and is at one with all Sir John's career in his efforts to place the local resources of soil on a stable footing. Closely related to both in progressiveness and incidence is the "Agricultural Bank Act," by which agriculturists may borrow from the State under special circumstances. The establishment of a Royal Mint in Perth is due to Sir John Forrest. The Leeuwin Lighthouse is another result of his exertions. In keeping with progressive goldfields policy, Sir John is active in supplying Fremantle with every facility in harbour accommodations. He wishes to make the port able to accommodate the great ocean liners, and harbour works are being actively pushed on, which will ultimately cost about one million pounds. While paying due attention to these matters, and especially to railway connection with the various goldfields, Sir John recognises that the landed industries must be stimulated, that the agriculturists and the pastoralists may have encouragement to serve the gold producers, and vice versa. He has already had railways laid to Bunbury, Vasse, and Blackwood, and he advocates still more activity in this direction.
Still in the turmoil of office the Honorable Sir John Forrest leads a busier life than ever. In the earlier days, when out surveying or exploring, he was the most eager and energetic of the parties, and let there be a hill to climb from which to take observations, no matter how rough the ascent, Sir John was the first to essay the task. In leading his expeditions he suffered with the rest, and would even rather undertake the most tiring work himself than ask his companions to do it. To-day in his political life he is just the same. He is a cautious general, and works continuously and energetically. He leaves no stone unturned to further what he conceives the true and patriotic cause of Western Australia. His heart is still securely in the colony, and though he is burdened with many honours, he remains a friend of rich and poor.
There may be many people in Western Australia who do not coincide with his political views, yet they all look upon him as the greatest man among them, and admire his resource, courage, determination, and the heart which tempers everything he does. Sir John is just at that age when ripe experience is best coupled with strong energy, and his country may yet expect many valuable services from him.
[In 1897 Sir John Forrest attended the Federal Convention in Adelaide, and represented the colony at the Queen's Reign celebrations in England.—Ed.]
