a great failure, for it had resulted in "spoiling the country by having dotted over it small locations which it would have been better for the colony never to have sold." Under the existing regulations he considered that the tenure of leases was insecure, uncertain, and unsuitable to a new country, and he advocated tolerably long leases in localities not needed for agriculture. "The agricultural and pastoral interests require to be encouraged, fostered, and maintained—both are necessary in the interests of the colony, and both deserve equal consideration ..... When circumstances arise the flock-owner must give way to the farmer, but he should not be interfered with until there is a necessity for so doing."
In 1883 Mr. Forrest, Sir T. C. Campbell, Messrs. Lee-Steere, Brown, Venn, Carey, Wittenoom and Marmion, forming a committee, proposed a new regulation, giving the pastoralist a greater hope to obtain a renewal of his lease. They recommended that any lessee making an application for renewal within three months of the termination of his lease should have a prior claim, subject to the regulations in force at the expiration of the lease. Mr. Carey dissented, on the grounds that such a regulation would virtually lock up the land for eighteen years (until 1901) at the same rent that was paid twenty-five years before. When the Legislative Council had the recommendations of these two committees under debate, Mr. Burges made a heated attack on free selection and free selectors, whom he, termed "robbers and spoilers." Mr. Carey retorted by saying that some of the best colonists of Western Australia, including Mr. Burges himself, had sprung from the ranks of these "robbers and spoilers." Mr. Burges, said he, now that he had got to the top, would fain kick the ladder away, lest others should put a foot upon it. The chief interest of the debate centred upon the subject of free selection, and personalities were freely indulged in. The Council agreed to modify the regulations relating to the Kimberley district and to the renewal of pastoral leases, and the Secretary of State gave his assent.
While settlement was extending in the north and north-west, the Commissioner of Crown lands persisted in his advocacy of more liberal land laws. Governor Broome in 1881 tried to stem the tide by suggesting that no further modification should be made until after the general elections. In a message to the House on 27th July, 1885, after the elections had taken place, he expressed the opinion that it was impolitic to disturb the regulations oftener than was absolutely necessary, but, as many of the leases in the old or central district would soon expire, he advised that the regulations be examined. A week earlier Mr. Forrest supplied the Governor with a carefully worked-out scheme, liberalising the whole system in a manner which he deemed to be suitable to the state of the colony. In this memorandum he declared that his main object was to settle a population—"a bold peasantry—on the soil; to see the country utilised and occupied; to encourage the agricultural progress of the colony; and, while doing this, to give as much security as possible to the pastoral tenant, especially in centres not suited for agricultural development." He was apparently anxious to make the land laws as liberal as the most advanced in the Eastern colonies, and advised that the tenure of leases be extended, that improvements be compulsory, and that a reduction be made in rental. Governor Broome in his message doubted whether some of these recommendations were advisable, but remitted the entire matter to the free and full consideration of the Legislative Council. The inflexible will which was characteristic of John Forrest as an explorer was effectively demonstrated in politics. He was willing to even stake the tenure of his office as Surveyor-General upon his views. The Legislative Council appointed a Select Committee, consisting of Surveyor-General Forrest, Messrs. Brown, Harper, Burt, Crowther, Grant, Marmion, Lee-Steere, Venn, and Wittenoom, to report on the revision of the regulations. No stronger combination could have been chosen; each member had a wide knowledge of local conditions, and possessed his own views on land matters. The report was presented on 9th September. The members were not unanimous on all points; Messrs. Lee-Steere, Brown, Venn, and Wittenoom dissented; but substantially Mr. Forrest obtained an important compromise to his views. The report was printed, and consideration was postponed until 1886.
During the recess Governor Broome gave the regulations drafted by the Committee careful consideration, and when the debate took place in the Council he made certain suggestions. The debate was interesting and instructive; Mr. Forrest conducted his case with great earnestness and shrewdness. He spoke trenchantly of the policy which encouraged pastoralists to buy up the springs and waterholes on their selections, and very effectively asked, in effect, what the heir to an ancestral estate would say if upon entering into possession he found that his predecessor had sold all the springs and waterholes on the land, and alienated a piece out of every valuable portion of the property. He thought that he would be inclined to call his ancestor a fool, or probably a much worse name. But, he contended, no private person in possession of his senses would act so unwisely. Of the large area held under the Special Occupation system only a small percentage was cultivated—a fact which proved the necessity of a compulsory improvement clause, which he affirmed must be adopted sooner or later. It was impossible to get away from it. Mr. Harper supported the principle of compulsory improvement. Mr. Randell believed the question of settlement, and of increasing the productiveness of the land was a paramount consideration, compared with the amount of present revenue derived from the land. For this reason cash payments for Crown lands should be low, and in some cases—so long as real improvements were secured—nothing. Amendments were made in the proposed regulations, and Governor Broome, in proroguing the House in September, promised to recommend Her Majesty's approval of them.
The Imperial assent was obtained, and on 2nd March, 1887, these regulations, the most progressive and suitable to local circumstances yet issued, were proclaimed. They marked a great advance on all previous regulations; at the same time they protected the interests of the State. The restrictions on Government officers and members of the Survey Department acquiring Crown lands remained about the same, except that surveyors could acquire land after the approval of the Governor-in-Council was obtained. By the new code, land could be acquired, subject to conditions of residence and improvement, on very easy terms, and the tenure of pastoral leases was greatly extended. The colony was divided into six divisions:—The South-west, Gascoyne, North-west, Kimberley, Eucla, and Eastern. The South-west comprised the agricultural districts in the south-west corner of the colony. Attempts were being made to attract settlers to the country in from Eucla, and a division, with specially liberal regulations, was declared for it. The Eastern Division comprised the central territory.
Town and suburban lands in all these divisions were to be
