Patrick Edward Quinn was born in Darlinghurst to postal officer Edward Quinn and Catherine McCarty (d. August 1900). He attended Marist Brothers School and Fort Street Public School in Sydney.
A son of Australia, raised on visions of green hills, bush tracks and a blue Sydney harbour, so imbued with our salt breezes that he resided at Manly and was the author of A Run To Pittwater (1889) while a companion of a golden age of poets leading into the Federation of Australia, was always going to be one who stood for and fought with his mind, soul and pen for this place.
Many a politician has the gift of the blarney stone and can reel off facts, figures and appear to be one of us – they must be one of us, they are from us, live among us.
But when a person with the strains of a poet trains their self, with good heart and clear head, on bringing a betterment to any place, you may find their guise is ‘politician’ while their credo is closest to ‘statesperson’. Any state needs more statespeople and those who may summon up and communicate that invisible communion through the shapes of other words, transposing even to breath a keener rhythm within its natural rhythms, are those we will place our trust in as only the pure can sing the pure – you won’t catch them lying, their song tolls true – and you can test and hear that, in the innermost parts of you.
Statespeople with the gold vein of poet in them, who can work as politicians, are what any place needs as it ‘comes of age’ – they are there time and time again at these turns in that kind of tide, and have been any time that kind of tide arises for thousands of years.
Although he later stated that the ‘golden age of the Australian poets had passed’ – he was well aware their songs had helped bring in the changes those here had long wanted. By the time Patrick Quinn was among those, on all sides of political parties, aiming to establish an Australia of self-autonomy, he had had a few examples and mentors to go by:
Poet Politicians.
Australasian Examples.
Remarkable Army.
By "P.C."'
NO poet seeking inspiration would turn to the prosaic pages of "Hansard." Even the most impassioned speeches culminating in Acts of Parliament, in which the misplacing or the omission of a comma may lead to protracted litigation, have scarcely any influence on the imagination. There is so wide a gulf between the measures framed by politicians and those of versifiers that Pegasus might be pardoned for preliminary pawings of the ground before attempting such a great leap.
One remembers with tolerant amusement the doggrel of a Former Federal Cabinet
Minister who not only issued departmental instructions in spavined verses, but alto used the same medium when advocating his pet theory that hot water, taken internally, would cure almost every bodily ill. One recalls, too, that the late Sir Henry Parkes, with a courage which angels might have envied, sent a book of his verses to a famous British poet noted for his tact. The great man truthfully informed Parkes in a letter that his poems were amazing and that never before had he read anything like them!
Noted Statesman.
There are, however, even in Australia, a number of politicians u ho have written excellent verse. Gordon can be dismissed in a word, as he was never in any sense a politician, always remaining a poet.
The earliest Australian statesman who wrote good verse was William Charles Wentworth, the founder of the Sydney University. In 1823 he unsuccessfully competed for the medal given by the Chancellor of the Cambridge University, the subject of which was "Australasia." The prize went to Mackworth Praed; but posterity has decided that Wentworth’s was the better effort.
Sir Henry Parkes, whatever may be his shortcomings as a versifier, will always be gratefully remembered for his appreciation of literary merit, and for the assistance of which he so frequently gave to needy writers. Although many of his verses almost excite laughter, he can at times sing with something approaching virility and grace :
"Three score and ten-the weight of years
Scarce seems to touch the tireless brain.
How bright the future still appends,
How dim the past of toil and pain."
Legislation in our own State has proceeded with almost breathless rapidity, yet Queensland poet politicians have been numerous. Among those is found the late Sir Samuel Griffith, who made translations into English of "The Inferno of Dante Alighieri," and of "The Divina Commedia." Peter Airey, too shows that at least his literary measures are worthy of note :- '
And as the years go fleeting by
And locks of brown are flocked with
Gray
And shadows loom across the rim
Of what was once a perfect day.
There sways a cadence through my brain,
A cadence born of sun and flowers;
When all the dell enchanted sang
With' that dear song the dial sang,
"I only count the shining hours."
Prolific Writer.
No Queensland writer has been more prolific than Randolph Redford; and few have surpassed him in strength. A hard and somewhat incautious hitter in politics, he also takes off the gloves when writing verse, and is careless of conventions. He has made Queensland, particularly the North, his own poetical province :
The shark, the sea snake, and the ray
The horrors that the dim depths crown
I meet by reef and sandy cay
Deep down ! Deep "down !
Yet unafraid-below-ashore
Foe death once come, can come no more;
I seek the jewel tor the Crown;
Deep down.
Francis Kenna, another lyric legislator, who was member for Bowen in 1902, has numerous verses to his credit. Lines from his "In The Bush" will be remembered when his speeches, recorded in "Hansard," will have been more deeply forgotten than they are today:
A plover’s pall in the stillness rises,
A lamb in the marshes bleats
But O! for the lights, and the passing faces.
And O! for the city streets!
Postmaster-General in 186, Richard Bingham Sheridan's Parliamentary exploits are almost forgotten, but his writings are still remembered for their accuracy of expression, their humour, and their satire. There is grace and sweetness in his -"Irish Biddy";
The Queensland sun may brown your face,
And Erin's milky hue erase;
But spot or speck shall come in vain
The whiteness of your soul to stain,
O Irish Biddy.
Parramatta, in 1894, returned to the State House in New South Wales Dowell O'Reilly, whose four years of legislative activity did not damage his Irish gift of poesy. In the “Sea Maiden" he sjngs:
This tangled weed of Poesy,
Torn from the heart of a stormy sea,
I fling upon the love divine
Of her who fills this heart of mine.
For six years Patrick Edward Quinn, a brother of Roderick Quinn, was a member of the Legislative Assembly of New South Wales. Some of his verses have a great deal of the charm which marks those of his more noted brother. There is a tender pathos in "A Girl's Grave":
The stone is battered and all awry,
The words can scarcely be read,
The rank weeds clustering' thick and high
Over your buried head.
I pluck one straight as a Paynim's lance
To keep your memory green,
For the lordly sake of old romance
And your own sad seventeen.
"Not Understood,"
“NOT Understood" is a poem which has been recited or read by hundreds of thousands of persons in the British Empire. New Zealand is justly proud of its author, Thomas Bracken.
Very few of his admirers, however, know that he was also a politician.
"Not understood we move along asunder
Our paths grow wider as the seasons creep
Along the years; we marvel and we wonder
Why life is life, and then we fall asleep,
Not understood.
While assisting in the drafting of new measures, Alfred Domett, another New Zealand legislator, found time to describe in verse the scenery for which the Dominion is noted. He also recorded in pleasing stanzas the legends and habits of the Maoris. In ''Ranolf and Amohia" he enrols:
"Many creatures-varied features
Dark and bright, still onward moving,
Tyrants-tumblers-boors and beauties,
Kings and clowns alike approving
To them all the gods are gracious,
To them all the gods are loving.
Another politician noted for the freshness and vigour of his verse was Daniel Henry Deniehy, who was returned for the East Macquarie electorate in New South Wales in 1858. He was a keen debater and an eloquent speaker.
John Cash Neild was subjected to a great deal of criticism when his book of verses appeared. One Sydney publication commented on the resemblance which his sea story bore to "The Ancient Mariner." Neild indignantly replied that there could be no likeness as he had never read Coleridge’s famous poem. The journal then asked. How could any one aspire to be a poet if he had never read such a work as "The Ancient Mariner"?
One verse from Neild's sea poem which is often quoted, is :- , .
Eftsoon a nocent waterspout would rise,
And link its head
With its weird counterpart from the skies,
Did downward spread:
But though the ship was threatened oft
No harm befel,
There are many other politicians who have sought fame in verse as well as in Parliament. Some of these legislators will doubtless be remembered by their lyrics, and their attempts at law-making will be forgotten by the multitude. The names of others will be recalled by the statutes for which they were responsible, and the remainder will ingloriously achieve that great boon, oblivion.'' Poet Politicians. (1925, August 1). The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), p. 18. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article20947931
Patrick was the son of Irish parents Edward Quinn, letter-carrier, and his wife Catherine, née McCarthy, one of nine children and brother to Roderic and James Quinn. Two sisters, Nora and Frances, also survived into adulthood.
THE LATE EDWARD QUINN.
It is with regret that we record the death of another old colonist in the person of Mr. Edward Quinn, who arrived in Sydney as far back as mid-way in the "fifties." Mr. Quinn had passed his 70th year, forty years having been spent in the Public Service of the colony. His death took place on the evening of Friday, 13th May, after a long illness, and he died fortified by the last rites of the Church. He bore a character for integrity, true independence, and unflinching candour, and detested tyranny in every form. As an Irishman, he was passionately patriotic. Years ago, when Sir Charles Gavan Duffy was prosecuted for seditious libel, Mr. Quinn, then in the Royal Irish Constabulary, was called as a witness by the Crown, and electrified the Court by endorsing all which Duffy had written, and, in addition, frankly told the Judge that he would not arrest any of the Young Ireland conspirators. For this fearless act he was publicly banqueted by the Mayor and citizens of Cork. The late Rev. Roderick Quinn, of Galway, Ireland, a distinguished scholar, was a brother of Mr. Quinn. Father Quinn was known as an expert in the Greek and Irish languages, and was an eloquent preacher in the latter tongue. Father Tom Burke, the renowned Dominican orator, was a cousin of the deceased. One of the deceased gentleman's sons is in the Agricultural Department, and is well known in Catholic circles. Another is Mr. P. E. Quinn, a well-known and talented pressman and politician. A third is Mr. Roderick Quinn, who is one of the foremost writers in Australia in fiction and verse. Mr. Quinn leaves a widow and nine children to mourn their loss. On last Sunday his remains were interred in the Rookwood Cemetery, in the presence of a large and sympathetic gathering. THE LATE EDWARD QUINN. (1898, May 21).Freeman's Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1850 - 1932), p. 15. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article115383638
Educated at the Marist Brothers' and Fort Street Model schools. He studied law, but at 20 became a journalist and worked for newspapers, including the Star, Echo and Illustrated Sydney News. In 1898-1904 as a Protectionist (Progressive from 1901) he was member for Sydney-Bligh in the Legislative Assembly, and in 1912-17 was deputy trade commissioner for New South Wales in the United States of America.
MR P. E. QUINN.
A splendid type of citizen and a man well respected in every sphere of the State's commercial and professional life, Mr. Patrick E. Quinn, brother of the well known Mr. Roderic Quinn, passed away at Manly after several weeks illness at the age of 64 years. Mr. Quinn, who left a widow and daughter, was a man of broad capacity. A well-informed and cultured journalist, he edited a newspaper at Narrabri at 20 years of age, and subsequently served on several Sydney newspapers, commencing with the 'Illustrated Sydney News,' now defunct. Until recently he was on the editorial staff of 'The Daily Telegraph,' where his writings were distinguished by force, clarity, and a sure literary touch.
He wrote much verse of high quality, and it was a matter for regret among his friends that he never troubled to publish these poems in book form. He did achieve two publications, however, one a textbook on art that has been used in schools in Australia and abroad, and the once well-known cantata, 'Captain Cook,' written in collaboration with Mr. J. Delany. Verse-writing, it is to be noted, is strongly implanted in the Quinn family; Mr. Quinn's brother, Roderic, is well known in this capacity, and so also is his daughter, Miss Marjorie Quinn.
For six years Mr. Quinn was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, having entered politics at the beginning of the present century as member for the Bligh Division, Sydney. Politics, however, was not his forte, for though a thoughtful and broad-minded debater, he was too retiring a spirit for the hurly burly. Subsequently (in 1912) Mr. Quinn became Deputy Trade Commissioner for New South Wales in the United States, a position he held with credit to himself, and advantage to his homeland for six years. MR. P. E. QUINN. (1926, April 8).Freeman's Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1850 - 1932), p. 19. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article116760230
Returning to Sydney, he wrote for the Sydney Morning Herald and later joined the editorial staff of the Daily Telegraph. The Quinn family were long-time residents of Manly, living in Darley Road and then Addison Road. Those who knew Patrick Quinn speak of his 'love for the sea'.
So what did Mr. Patrick Quinn write of Manly? His oft-used pen-name of 'Viator' ('traveller') tells us:
ROUND AND ABOUT SYDNEY.
NOTES OF A TRIP TO MANLY.
BY VIATOR
Although on week days Manly Beach meets with a certain amount of patronage from the public, Saturday and Sunday are its field days. During the week the visitors to this most popular of our seaside resorts consist mainly of people from the country upon a visit to Sydney, who go down for a good " blow " of sea air. They are barely sufficient in number to dot the two long beaches on opposite sides of the township. For the most part they stray off gathering flowers in the "bush," where they may be found in various shady seaside nooks, enjoying the pleasures of al fresco lunches, and watching the ocean with that peculiar delight characteristic only of people whose views are bounded all the year round by plain and forest, and to whom the sight of the great blue se swelling to the horizon in its mystery and majesty, is a revelation and a delight. Some amongst them, perhaps, crossed the ocean a quarter of a century ago from the old country, and having penetrated to the interior in search of a spot suitable for settlement, have passed the interval in the arduous labours of the pioneer without leisure to take a holiday in the metropolis, or a glimpse of the sea.
Nevertheless they have not forgotten it, and some-times by night when the wind is high in the tree-tops extracting strange music from the oaks and gums, tell their children that just such a sound has the great ocean beating on the barriers of the land. How far ago it must seem to these Australians born and bred in the parched, waterless interior, where even the rivers and lakes dwindle into creeks and swamps, and the only ocean in eight is one of waving grass and forest greenery, to hear these tales of the great body of clear blue water belting the world and washing the limits of their own land a couple of hundred miles to the east. It must be a day of great, joyful expectation when the settler at last determines to take his family with him and renew his acquaintance with the deep-an expectation which is one of the very few in life not thwarted or meanly fulfilled, for no imagination can picture the ocean as it is in its illimitable grandeur-realising all dreams and fulfilling all prophecies. No less interesting than the ocean itself to those rural visitants are the lovely shells, and curious weeds and sea-creatures, which the tide leaves stranded on the golden beach, the 'gathering and examining of which are a great and absorbing pleasure. On my last trip I saw some country people filling several small bottles with sea-water, doubtless with the intention of convincing sceptics at home that there is such a thing as the sea, and that it is really salt. When they return to their peats by the fireside and in the saddle, to the axe and the plough, the memory of their holiday by the sea, with its magic and music, will doubtless often arise to biro them to another visit. For the sea is somewhat of an enchantress, and scarcely will allow anyone who has felt her strange influence to withdraw wholly from it.
On Saturday afternoon, however, a large number of city people crowd the fine boats of the company. Fashionably-dressed young men, into whose daily experience gloves and cigars enter, make up a large proportion of the passengers. These are mostly clerks from Government and private offices, whose Saturday half-holiday enables them to take the trip, with a sprinkling of the professional and leisured classes. A great number of ladies are present, brightly and coolly dressed in light summer fabrics. They are all of the better class people, whose fortunate circumstances render the toil for daily bread needless. A band of stringed instruments is on board, which, as soon as the boat leaves the wharf, commences to play, and continues uninterruptedly till the end of the journey is reached. These itinerant musicians are repaid by whatever they are able to obtain from the people on the boat, which is, no doubt, a considerable sum.
It is strange how few of the artisan class are present. Half-a-dozen are scattered here and there throughout the boat. Yet the Saturday half-holiday should enable many of those to visit Manly. Perhaps they have little taste for such a simple recreation, which, if true, is a pity, and prefer other and, it may be, less innocent pleasures, or perhaps they are wearied after the work of the week, and lie indoors in the luxury of that real rest, which only the tired can feel. The girls belonging to the same class are absent, simply because most of them have to work on Saturday, just the same as upon any other day. The poor dressmakers, tailoresses, and milliners in the great proportion of the establishments in town, merely because they have no trade unions and labour organisations like the men with which to combine and demand like favours, are compelled to spend their Saturday afternoons in tediously bonding over a machine, or serving behind a counter from year's end to year's end, with only one day in the week upon which to rest and enjoy recreation in the lap of Nature. And yet it is to these girls, as well as those belonging to more favoured classes, that we must look for the mothers of that great race which we are sure is to people the broad acres of this fair land in the near future.
What a blessing the run over to Manly in the teeth of alight north-easter upon a clear, warm, sunny day, would be to these poor girls! Everyone knows the trip. Past the shipping in the Quay, the old fort in the harbour, Bradley's Head, Double Bay, Rose Bay, with a view of the heights of scrub and sand dominating the " sea-blue dreams of the bays"-past the various headlands, and the Heads themselves, with their bases washed by snowy foam,-with the long billows of the great Pacific rolling in between, sometimes tumultuously enough to titillate the stomachs of those prone to sea-sickness, and at other time with a long, pleasant, harmonious roll-the steamer ploughs swiftly on, amidst sunshine and laughter, and chatter and music, as if there never could be anything else in the lives of the gay company on board, till the pier is reached, and the passengers betake themselves, some to the Esplanade and the ocean beach, and some to the sylvan recesses of the Fairy Bower.
What a wonderfully progressive spot Manly Beach is. Some years ago land was cheap and plentiful in this lovely spot. Now it is very dear, and scarcely to be had for the money. Houses are going up very rapidly upon all the unoccupied ground, and soon, every inch of Manly proper will be covered with buildings. it is bound to be a very popular resort for the dwellers in Sydney when the city becomes in size and population a second London. There is plenty of land outside Manly, however, which it will take a very long time to people. Between Manly Beach and Newport is some of the finest land in the colony, covered with a splendid growth of native timber. This is now being bought up rapidly. But there is not, and never can be, any scarcity of beautiful sites about the numberless inlets of the harbour. Many of these sites are unpeopled at present, on account of the difficulty of access to them. Civilisation, with its trams, trains, ferries, and bridges, will, however, soon remedy this whenever the increase of population demands it.
The two most prominent eminences about Manly are occupied one by the Ecclesiastical Seminary lately taken possession of by Cardinal Moran, and the other by a semi-feudal castle, where a right hon. gentleman is lying in a severe sickness, with the sympathies of his country with him in his sufferings. The hotels appear to be doing a fair trade, as also the shops wherein one may obtain a cup of tea and other light refection, the latter, in justice to the sterner sex, it may be observed, being mainly patronised by the ladies.
The Manly Aquarium also attracts a large number of people, despite the fact that the thrilling excitement of the seal and shark fights can no longer be experienced there. The greater number of people, however, promenade on the ocean beach, where a perfect feast of colour is presented by sky and shore and sea. What a royal view is that taking in the silvery beach, and the pale green waves which flow over it, and soaring out over every gradation of tint that blue is capable of exhibiting, till it is last limited by the horizon where the marvellous blue sky bends down like Narcissus to kiss its own reflection in the azure waters.
The groups of ladies scattered about the beach with their attendant cavaliers render the scene quite festive by the gaiety of their attire. Looking at the clear waves one is tempted to regret that bathing in the day on the open beaches is not indulged in here as in other countries. The opportunities for such exercise are simply unsurpassed. There is one draw-back, however, and that is the rapacious shark. Bathers about Manly have to be very careful about their exercises, for the lovely waters are infested, and the whole place besieged, by a terrible army of these fearful brutes. Some years ago a boy was swimming at one of the beaches, and although he was in quite shallow water, a large shark attacked him with such honest earnestness that it succeeded in stranding itself on the beach, where the tables were turned upon it, the liver doubtless realising a goodly sum. In view of circumstances like this the residents, and the camping parties about Manly, are satisfied to bathe in the lagoon, some little distance to the west of the town, and the enclosed baths which are indeed good enough for such exercises. All the people appear to be enjoying themselves thoroughly. This is evidenced by their contented demeanour on their return trip. There is not nearly so much noise as on the downward voyage. That silent characteristic of all deep enjoyment is abroad. The time, evening, assists the feeling of pleasure, and there are few more charming trips than that from Manly to Sydney at the close of a lovely day unless, indeed, it be the same trip on a moonlight night in summer. ROUND AND ABOUT SYDNEY. (1887, November 26). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 15. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13679764
Manly Beach, circa 1880-1890, Item e00324_0011_c, courtesy State Library of NSW
Also from his pen:
A RUN TO PITTWATER
BY VIATOR."For what reason do the tall pine and the white poplar love to associate their branches in a hospitable shade?" was the question put by one of old who knew how to enjoy the good things of life to his friend Dellius. To the epicurean no verbal answer was necessary. The friendly trees made this grateful shade so that he might lie upon it in remoto gramine per dies festos and drink the good Falernian. This is the true way to look at life, as only the men of a fairer day knew it. For them-true beauty worshippers - the sea danced and laughed in the sunlight, the fleecy clouds were blown across the clear blue of those astounding skies, and the winds made a pleasant susurrus in the deep woods, and the birds sang, and the bees made sleepy music and sweet store of honey : for them the cataract roared, the grass grew and the violet crept across it, and the whole world lightened on its way simply to add to their pleasure. And all the wisdom garnered since by this wise old world shows that they were, in this right, by reason of philosophy, as simpler people were by intuition, who did the same. The other day I had an opportunity of spending a few dies festi on one of the many arms of Broken Bay.
To those who have not journeyed to Pittwater it is, perhaps, necessary to say that the route via Manly Beach is the most convenient way of reaching it. When the passenger arrives at Manly the Pittwater coach awaits him, and a drive of an hour and a half will land him at his destination. If the weather is gray and cold the trip should not be at- tempted. To be seen at its best Pittwater should seen in sunlight . There are several houses of accommodation about which offer the traveller all the necessary comforts. For my part I put up at the house of a friend who has one of the loveliest spots on the coast. Part of his land forms a peninsula, with deep, rich soil, in which the fig, the lemon, the orange, the olive, and the vine flourish to full perfection. There was at one time some excellent timber growing along the Pittwater road, tall, straight, sound, close-growing trees, which have for the most part disappeared under the woodman's axe within the last five years. This is a pity, but perhaps it could not be otherwise. The forest was too close to Sydney to escape the attention of wood merchants. There is still, however, quite sufficient native woodland to give the proper rustic air to these regions. How long this will be so under our present reckless system of forest destruction it is impossible to say, but those at least who own mighty tracts of virgin land along this road should endeavour to protect the native growths as far as possible from annihilation. We will regret our apathy in the matter of preserving our woods some day, when it is too late, perhaps, as the Herald has often pointed out, for anything but regrets.
Enlargement of section from - New South Wales. Department of Lands. Parish of Narrabeen, County of Cumberland [cartographic material] : Metropolitan Land District, Eastern Division N.S.W. circa1886. MAP G8971.G46, courtesy National Library of Australia.
Something at least may be said in favour of the sense of beauty of the inhabitants of this district. Along the road every now and then the traveller may catch a glimpse of the graceful aspiring crown of tall, slender cabbage palms, which have been spared by the ruthless hands which have destroyed so much besides that was beautiful. Two or three handsome growths stand like sentinels on either side of the road, though the army which they guarded has long since faded away - ended in smoke probably. The cabbage tree splits easily into light serviceable planks, and this made it much sought after for the gunyah of the early settler. When dry it burns like tinder, and these two fatal qualities have been its ruin. A few, as I have said, still remain. One magnificent specimen, standing back some distance from the road, must be from 80 to 100ft in height, and with its plumy head and symmetrical trunk visible among the amorphous forest shapes about it, is full of graceful tropic suggestiveness. There are one or two other species of dwarf palms scattered about, which have failed to attract the attention of "flower show" prospectors - a class of people whose ruthless hunt after specimens is responsible for a large proportion of the destruction which has visited our most ornamental native plants.
The road traverses the Narrabeen lagoon, an imposing marine "billabong," such as our coast has several notable examples of. These are connected with the sea, either by a shallow channel with a sand-bar across it, or as in the case of the Narrabeen lagoon and that of Curl Curl nearer Manly, are severed from the sea, by a sandbank, which, however, offers no impediment to the influx of the sea under the influence of a spring tide or a heavy easterly wind. These are the true nursing grounds of our young fish. Within those charmed waters the shark may not enter to disturb their peaceful inhabitants. By reason of the clear sand bottom they are beloved of the sole, the sand-flathead, the whiting, and the sand mullet which reproduce in the tender complexions of their bodies something of the transparency of the waters and the whiteness of the sand. Consequently the Narrabeen is a favourite resort of camping parties, which, rumour hath it, have never yet gone unrewarded from its shores.
There is a pretty legend about the name of this lagoon, which it is said was first born by the dusky daughter of a lord of the soil and a chief of his people. This chief had planned it in his black head to destroy a party of white men located at this spot; but Narrabeen flew to Manly and informed the authorities, bringing back help in time to rescue the party. This pretty legend does not state that Narrabeen was in love with one of the white men, but surely this must have been. What became of Narrabeen is not stated, but knowing the character of some of the early settlers, and the manner in which the blacks were treated, it unquestionably could not have been ill for her if she found an early grave in the clear water of the shining sheet which bears, and shall always bear, her name.
Narrabeen Crossing. Image No.: a106063h From Scenes of Narrabeen album, ca. 1900-1927 Sydney & Ashfield : Broadhurst Post Card, courtesy State Library of NSW.
Across the lagoon in a direction different from that taken by the road the telegraph line takes a short cut, passing the water in a few giant strides. Not very long ago the coaches had to pass through the water too, and this must have conduced to many a good ducking suffered by the traveller of the past. On some of the lagoons, which are plentiful along this road, the black swans congregate at certain seasons, probably when the hot breath of the drought has made them fearful that the inland waters were about to forsake them altogether, as Lake Albert and other extensive sheets of water actually do in a season of prolonged dry weather. From time to time, from an elevation over which the road passes, the traveller catches a view of the coast as far as the famous headland of Barranjoey. Bluff after bluff fronts the sea in curious and beautiful regularity, now calm and clear in contour as the cuttings in a cameo, now veiled in a light blue mist, which bestows harmony and tone on the scene, and whose impermanent curtain every breath of sea-borne air momentarily dissipates. On a bright, clear day this view, which may be obtained from the hill lying between Fairy Bower and Manly Beach, is superb. But our two stout horses stay not for the picturesque, and we soon arrive at Pittwater, an arm, as every one knows, of Broken Bay.
This latter inlet is for once well named. Equally happy is the title bestowed on Lion Island, that grim image of stone rudely shaped by Nature to keep perpetual watch and ward over the picturesque waters within, and appropriately gazing over the ocean, from which the white sails and black smoke of the enemy of our long tranquility are some day to spring. According to General Schaw the defence of Sydney will be incomplete until Broken Bay is strongly fortified. Was it to emphasise the weakness of the place that this Titanic lion was placed in frowning strength immovable in the war of winds and the whirl of waters? Absit omen. It may yet be renowned in history ; it surely will in romance. What significance could be drawn from its apparently meaningless symbolism Hawthorn has shown us in the " Great Stone Face." To the majority of the world, however, this rock is like the rock in the desert from which the Israelitish leader smote the living water. We poor exiles might touch it with our little wands for years, and all in vain, until the due hierophant comes along and strikes it with his sacred force, when, behold, a spring of glittering song or sparkling prose gushes out which we all rush to drink. And forevermore the spring is as much ours as his who caused its pure initial flow.
After a journey there is nothing more pleasant than the after-tea gathering about a glorious wood fire, sipping the mellow liquid that glimmers in polished glasses, while every head is dimly seen bulking through a nebulous halo of aromatic smoke. My host had Theosophistic tendencies, and before long the conversation turned on the doctrines of the esoteric Buddhists. It is curious that quite a number of intelligent young Australians appear to be opening their mouths to swallow this many-humped camel of the Orient. Men who scorn the faith which accepts the Christian miracles are willing to receive as truth the tremendous miracles of the Theosophist, and do this without any apparent sense of the incongruous. Theosophism, however, can only be a vogue. It will never lay hold of Western minds as it has fastened on the men of the East. It has its foundation in the mind and not in the heart, and consequently it is a system and not a religion. But it is curious to note that it is growing here - most curious to hear its strange esotoric doctrines discussed in the spirit of a disciple in this isolated cottage, with all about it the mild growth of Australian life. How near we are to primitive nature is evidenced by the presence of a little black lizard, which, attracted by the warmth, comes out of some secret hiding-place and creeps towards the strange and beautiful fire which lures it to its doom. Outside, the southern stars blaze in the lucent night with a brilliance undimmed by a day of smoke. The dark waters sleep beneath, tranquil and secret.
There is a philosophical foreigner inhabiting these regions whose wont it is to row out on the water in his boat and fill himself up with whisky. His last wilful acts are to set the sails of his boat and then lie down to sleep, letting his bark go whithersoever the winds of heaven list. For hours this fatalist drifts hither and thither before his boat is driven to land. It is a whimsical enjoyment truly, but one that instinctively commands respect. He in his boat and we on the shore are in much the same position, drifted hither and thither, willy nilly, by winds and currents known not of till our boats ground upon the shore. We talk about the insularity of the Englishman, while humanity itself is, and always has been, insular. When the first man gazed on the first stars ever beheld of human eyes, he probably imagined they were made for his delight. We know that of old it was firmly held that the sun was a satellite of the earth, and even now it is the common belief that the little spheroid on which we have our being is the control globe of a system as wide as God's own mind - the only planet upon which life is found. Those stars above most of us think are shining deserts made without a purpose, or, if for a purpose, for that of shedding an infinitesimal ineffectual portion of their lustre on our inefficient eyes. All this springs from the inborn insularity of the race. In the end, when the whole scroll of creation is unrolled, as it may be, before our purged vision, how small a portion of it all this little earth of ours may prove to be. And yet, despite this possibility, how infinitely cock-sure mankind is, and always has been, about its own importance. It is a positive relief for one who perceives this weakness, and who probably shares it, to think that somewhere in a starless roadway of space, unnumbered millions of leagues away, a huge comet may even now be on his way to batter the earth and its egotistic inhabitants to dust, smiting one side of the globe before the inhabitants of the other are conscious of its dread appearance in the sky. Would such a planetary catastrophe cause a single quiver in the nerves of the universe ? And yet there are those who believe that earth is the universe. We may be sure that the philosophic foreigner aforesaid is not one of these, but has a due conception of the helplessness of the race of which he is a distinguished atom. It is this Universe itself which the modest theosophist wishes to make the stool of a foot which must wear boots, and is liable to corns - the elongated degenerated hand, perhaps, of the tertiary troglodyte.
Right: Head of Lovett Bay - from Photographs - New South Wales, 1879 - ca. 1892 / N.S.W. Government Printer. Image No.: 294068h, courtesy State Library of NSW.
In the cool early morning I took a stroll through the garden and orchard surrounding the house, on whose trees late oranges and lemons of unusual excellence were still pendant. Down by the waterside were millions of oysters, whose careless profusion suggested a flouted industry.
A well-worn path under giant gums and sassafras trees led to a noted part of the grounds. Here was a waterfall tumbling fifty foot in smoke-like spray. The whole face of the cliff which was watered by the spray was covered with clinging plants, ferns, and funny looking creepers.
About this spot the vegetation was as beautiful and luxuriant as I ever remember having seen it in the mountains. There were fern trees, as tall as the stateliest in the mountain gullies. Bangaloes of magnificent size, and 40ft, upon the trunk of a glorious blue gum there was a mass of Staghorn ferns as big as small cottage.
From the trees the rope-like Supple jack descended, and the bushes about fairly blazed with blossoms. So thick was the growth that it was impossible to force a way through it. A fairer spot there is not on the coast anywhere in the vicinity of Sydney.
A huge Government reserve runs, back from the shores of Pittwater to Gordon, and this also was unusually brilliant with all kinds of our beautiful, barbarously-named bush flowers. Tearing through this vegetation was splendid work, if somewhat trying to the clothes; and on reaching the elevated ground overlooking Cowan Creek: the guerdon was well worth the pleasant travail.
Hundreds of feet below, blue as turquoise, Cowan Creek nestled in dark green environing hills. It is sea-blue in colour as well it might be, for it is an eccentric arm of the sea, which winds its way far into the bowels of the, land, being, in fact, the longest arm of Broken Bay. Anyone, however, would mistake it for a fresh-water river. On those breezy heights the draughts of fresh air to be inhaled are delicious.
Over miles of eucalyptus leaves a deep balsamic gale rushes up charged with the health-giving qualities that the old settlers found so soon in the eucalyptus woods. After a long and arduous climb, of several hours I found almost instant recuperation in this elevated air, interfused with forest perfumes. It would be hard to be sick under the influence of this " balsam of the forest".
A medical friend informed me that he got rid of an unusually persistent cough of many months duration by going to the mountains and chewing the young eucalyptus leaves every day.
The virtues of the "gum-tree " are not unrecognised, but are not all known yet, and its place in medicine is, perhaps, destined to be one of great importance.
Topham - Yeomans Bay, from NSW State Library Album - Photographs - New South Wales, 1879 - ca. 1892 / N.S.W. Government Printer. Image No.: a924070h, courtesy State Library of NSW
On the rock beneath my feet were some curious drawings. A glance revealed them to be specimens of the initial artistic efforts of the Australian aboriginal. There were two figures - a bird and a fish - clumsy enough in all faith, but not without a close resemblance to the living originals. Some day they will have a deep interest to Australians, as relics of the old inhabitants and their totemistic religion. Beside the art glories of perfect Greece, how poor they are; and yet, as mythologists tell us, many of the religious rites and legends of the ... Australian blackfellow have their counter- parts in Greek myth. Truly, there is nothing new under the sun, and man is always man. The same instinct which moved the chisel of Phidias and the pencil of Apelles directed the pointed flint of the dusky artist of these rude rock sculptures.
As the setting sun fires splintering crag and bush-grown hill, and flings a purple glow over far inflowing waters, the birds twitter in one choral burst of song, and then grow still; and all the voices of Nature but one are still. The mists troop forth from their hiding-places and sit on the vacant thrones of the sunlight, and a dull insistent moaning down the bay tells us that the sea's sleep is disturbed by dreams of coming storm. The dawn sees us once more on our way to the "big smoke."
A RUN TO PITTWATER. (1889, September 21). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 7. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13739295
That inner voice you listen to when researching Pittwater history inkles the friend Mr. Quinn visited may have been Artist and renowned Singer Arturo Steffani / Arthur Steven who had a property at Rocky Point where apparently many Artist and Literary friends were entertained.
Visit: A Historic Catalogue And Record Of Pittwater Art I – Of Places, Peoples And The Development Of Australian Art And Artists: Artists and Artists Colonies - or any of these gentleman:
....This road ends at Church Point, a lovely spot commanding a view of Pittwater the town and hotel of Newport at the head of Navigation, Broken Bay, and Barrenjoey directly in front; Scotland Island and Towler's Bay right across the water, with the long and deep arm known as McCarr's Creek on the left. On the Towler's Bay side there are several residents who pull across the water to the wharf at Church Point and meet the steamer from Sydney or the coach from Manly, as the case may be. The dynamite powder hulk is moored in Towler's Bay, with residences on shore for the officers in charge. Mr. Robert Robinson has his residence of Raamah at the same place. Mr. Robinson informs me that he can grow to perfection such tropical fruits as bananas, guavas, ginger, mangoes, pineapples, Brazilian cherries, &c. This fact will demonstrate that there can be little or no frost in this locality. Other residents of this side of the bay are Mr. F. Chave, Woodlands, who has a very nice orchard, mostly summer fruit ; Mr. E. C. Johnstone, who has a nice residence and orchard; Mr. A. Steffani is another prominent resident, while the residence of the firm of Flood and Oately occupies a lovely peninsula in the quiet waters of the bay. Mr. Geo. Brown has a residence and an orchard in the neighborhood, and there is also a small church and cemetery at Church Point. Manly to Broken Bay. ... (1893, November 11). Australian Town and Country Journal (NSW : 1870 - 1907), p. 19. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71191632
Mr. P. E. (Patrick Edward) Quinn, the member for the Bligh (a part of the old East Sydney electorate), is a native of Sydney. At the age of four he was sent to the Catholic Denominational School of St. John's, Kent-street. Later he had the advantage of the training afforded by other city schools. At 14 he secured a junior position in the Civil Service, but being ambitious to make a mark in a learned profession, resigned from the Service and studied under the late Mr. Sheridan Moore, and subsequently under Mr. Frank Butler, B.A., with the view of qualifying for the legal profession. Meanwhile he became a contributor to the FREEMAN’S Journal and the Bulletin, and at 19 edited the Namoi Independent (Gunnedah). A few months later he controlled the Maitland Mail. Returning to Sydney, the young journalist lectured on literary subjects. He also displayed power as a political speaker. Having given up legal aspirations, Mr. Quinn devoted himself entirely to press work. For 15 or 16 years he has been an occasional contributor for leading articles, reviews, and poems to the Freeman's Journal. A few years ago Mr. Quinn wrote a series of excellent articles under the pen-name of ‘Viator' for the S. M Herald. His hand has also appeared in the Herald's editorial columns. While contributing to numerous papers, including the Star, Mr. Quinn found time to write a variety of short stories, a collection of which will shortly appear in book form. He is the author of 'The Jewelled Belt,' an interesting detective study. Mr. Quinn has not yet published a volume of verse, but he is responsible for the libretto of the ' Captain Cook' cantata, set to music by Mr. J. A. Delany, and rendered with conspicuous success on several occasions by the Sydney Fiedertafel. In various debating societies of his earlier days, Mr. Quinn was a prominent member and effective speaker. THREE NEW MEMBERS. (1898, August 20). Freeman's Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1850 - 1932), p. 17. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article115388842
Patrick Edward Quinn a member of the Dawn and Dusk Club of the late 1890s. P E Quinn also wrote poetry, as did another brother.
The Dawn and Dusk club was formed around 1880 in Sydney, Australia by poet Victor Daley. Foundation members of 'the Duskers', a small and exclusive group of friends were Daley, Fred J. Broomfield, James Philp, Herbert Low (journalist), William Bede Melville (a reporter for the Sydney newspaper, The Star),Angus Sinclair (writer), Bertram Stevens and Randolph Bedford.
The club sometimes met at Broomfield's home on the corner of Ice Road and Great Barcom Street, Darlinghurst, near St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney about September, 1898. Daley was elected 'Symposiarch' of the Duskers and the seven 'heptarchs' were Lawson, Stevens, Nelson Illingworth, Frank P. Mahony, George Augustine Taylor, Con Lindsay (journalist), and Philp, who drafted the rules. Artist Norman Lindsay was also a member. Truth magazine publisher John Norton called them "a band of boozy, bar-bumming bards", but that's possibly because he had a little poet envy and regularly attacked others through the publication he was Editor as his sole means to have his name beside theirs.
Two more of his articles:
PONDS.
BY VIATOR.
Ponds of all kinds are a pleasing feature in a landscape. To the young, nothing more delightful is to be found in nature than pools of water. To verify this it is only necessary to call attention to the swarms of small boys and girls who people the streets after every heavy shower of rain, and walk against the rushing currents of muddy gutters, or puddle with bare brown legs in the shallow pools situated in depressions in the roadway. They are generally the representatives of the initial stages of that love for water-at least for other than drinking purposes-which is a characteristic of certain races of mankind. Further on in life the youngster deserts the gutters and roadway pools for higher game. Thousands of boys wore formerly in the habit of bathing in the ponds at the back of Moore Park, and at any hour in the day at which the pedestrian might pass these lagoons a company of diminutive figures, clad in the costume rendered fashionable by Adam in the early days of his career, might be observed sprawling on the tiny beaches, or splashing in the steel-blue waters. Cosmopolitan assemblies were those I speak of. Side by side swam the gently nurtured boy, whose fond mother had no sort of doubt that her dear boy was at school climbing swiftly up Parnassus, and the tiny barbarian of the streets, who luxuriated in an opulent independence of mother altogether, or who, if he had one, found the main exercise of his life to be in keeping out of her way as effectually as might be. All social distinctions were lightly thrown away in those assemblages, and a union of the most binding nature established between the two classes. So far from the young pirate of the street looking up to his friend of the respectable class, the reverse was generally the case. In the various Olympian games indulged in on the shorelands of those miniature lakes the pirate invariably had the advantage ; and in subtle and wonderful physical contortion, in the curious art of placing the head on the ground and filling its ordinary place in the atmosphere with a pair of brown muscular feet, in diving, and other aquatic exercises, he was always singularly and admirably proficient Added to this, his familiarity with strange oaths, and complete mastery over the mysteries of a clay pipe filled with weed of indescribable strength and foulness, rendered him an object of the sincerest admiration to his more conventional companions. 0, mothers if you only knew into what desperate company the sons whose jackets you love to brush, and whose hair it is your delight to curl before their setting forth in the morning, occasionally stray ero their coming home in the evening, how would your fond hearts palpitate ? And yet after all it is questionable whether such association is really harmful. The weak will fall away at the early temptations instead of the later, but the strong will have strength enough to sift the good from the bad in their education, and will grow more manly and liberal by knowing from experience both sides of a big social question, having their moral as well as their physical shoulders broadened so as to touch the proletariat on one side and the antagonistic classes on the other.
Those ponds I speak of are covered in the centre and within some 10 yards of the shore with long reeds, and through' this the youngsters would go crashing like diminutive river horses. I never heard of any snakes being found in these reeds, but it looked a likely place for them. After a dip and paddle round in this pond, it was peculiarly luxurious to lie about on the narrow fringe of golden sand which formed the beach, and enjoy the luxury of a sun bath. The extra-ordinary popularity which these places wore wont to enjoy is an evidence of the juvenile appreciation of anything like a considerable expanse of fresh water. Perhaps it is the scanty supply of lakes and rivers in this country which accounts for this. Although we have our magnificent harbour almost at our doors, it does somehow seem as if Nature made a mistake in not planting a big lake somewhere near the city, or sending a river right through to "Woolloomooloo Bay. No landscape is perfect without water in it, shown or suggested. In landscape gardening, a pond of some description is a desideratum, and where nature fails, art supplies the deficiency. This leads up to a few remarks upon the ponds in our various parks. First come the ponds in the Botanic Gardens These, while very beautifully designed, it is impossible to view without a foaling of disappointment The system upon which they are formed has not, unfortunately, proved a success. The bottoms are composed of mud, black as ink, and probably a foot thick. The sides have been lined with wood, which, from all appearance, has long since survived its efficacy as a protection to the ponds. The creek which flows into the Gardens receives, if I mistake not, some portion of the drainage of the Sydney Mint, and this, as well as being objectionable from the point of view of cleanliness, may possibly be injurious to the fish in the ponds. Latterly, in walking through the Gardens, I have seen several fish of fine size and appearance, floating quite dead on the surface of the largest pond, while other sick fish were upon the top of the water, as though endeavouring to gain fresh air. Those fish were of the mullet species, and at the spot where the water from one pond flows into the other, I saw one of them almost dead, together with an eel of gigantic size, evidently in a bad way also. They were within a yard of the bank, upon which several people were standing, and were apparently too much engrossed in their misery to take alarm at the proximity of their natural enemies. I was informed that there are numbers of golden carp in those ponds, which have attained a large size, and these must certainly suffer from the insanitary condition of the water. It is a pity to see fine fish dying through the operation of causes which a little care would render inoperative.
The first thing to take the observer unpleasantly about these ponds is the muddy opaque waters. Ina pond where aquatic plants are cultivated such a character in the water is doubtless unavoidable. Such plants must have soil to nourish them, and this soil will in itself be sufficient to discolour the water; but in the larger ponds of which I speak such plants are not grown. That there is no blame attachable to Mr. Moore, the accomplished Curator of the Botanic Gardens, is evidenced by the care, taste, and science exhibited in the Gardens, which are a living monument to the skill of their designer. ' However, with the expenditure of a sum of money, which should not be considered where so much has already been expended with such delightful results, these ponds could be made much more attractive. The most apparent improvements are to line the sides and bottom with concrete, and to allow no impure water to flow into them. This would render the water clear and transparent, and make the fish which inhabit it lively and healthy, and, probably, abolish the huge eels which revel in its present muddy condition, and are no doubt responsible for the loss of occasional ducks of too tender an ago to look after their own welfare. Having ventilated these grievances, which have been a burden to me any time within these few years past, it is pleasant to say a few words in praise of the taste with which the ponds have been designed and stocked. Their positions materially enhance the beauty of the gardens, and the little islands with which they are adorned, crowned with thick foliage and noble white lilies, are of the most picturesque description.
Those which have been reserved for aquatic plants are covered with the most magnificent lilies, huge in form and various of hue. The little creek flowing through the upper gardens has been made the most of, and is crowded with graceful fern trees, palms, willow, and other trees, which overhang it and form a cool and beautiful vista to look through from cither end, particularly in the hot, drowsy days of midsummer. If one is lucky, too, he may catch hereabouts a glimpse of a gorgeous kingfisher, sitting by the creek as calmly as if lie were in his native wilds. Pleasant it is, too, to drowse by the ponds under a willow, and watch the water's surface, which the sun bur-al lies, broken every now and thon by the sudden leaps or the silvery mullet after some tantalising fly, with somewhere in your ears the shy tinkle of tumbling waters, while the stately swans sail by, like the curious ships of the old Norsemen, and bring back at once, like magic, the old glamourous days of enchantment, of Arthur and Guinevere, of knight and lady, and lance and pennon, and
Magic casements opening on the foam
Of perilous seas in fairy lands forlorn.
The pond at the Zoological Gardens is an undoubted charm not eclipsed to my mind by any of the zoological exhibits in the cages about it. The improvements effected in this ground within the last 15 years have been remarkable. Originally it formed one of the series of swamps in the vicinity of Randwick, which have for so long a time past furnished the water sup-ply of the people of Sydney. Another of this series is the pond, near the Agricultural Grounds in Moore Park, which is so favourite a resort of those, young and old, who are afflicted with a love of the pastime of sailing miniature yachts. These ponds wore originally more extensive than they are at present; but the banks have been narrowed, and the water confined to the deeper portion of the bed, thus rendering these of a more permanent character. The great opportunity is, however, in the Centennial Park. Here there are shoots of water of real magnitude which only require a little of the decorating touch of art to become very beautiful. Moore Park and its vicinity have been favoured in an extraordinary manner by nature in the matter of water. One might travel for scores of miles in any other direction from Sydney, with the exception perhaps of Waterloo, and not find water in similar abundance. How grateful the merest quantity of water is in the " bush " everyone addicted to rambling knows. The other day I paid a visit to Gordon, to the land since, with questionable economy, parted with by the Government. After walking half a mile through the scrub, very thick and luxuriant, albeit springing from a thirsty soil, I came on a rock pool of water. About it the vegetation was softer and cooler looking, and the birds were singing in adjacent bushes. It was only a miserable, shallow, disjointed pool, not more than 20 yards in circumference, but, for all that, in such a spot it had the freshness and graciousness of the Promised Land. How all poets worth a rush have loved lake and ocean and their tributary streams ! How passionately Moerike loved his river :
" River ! My river in the young sunshine,
O, clasp afresh in thine embrace
This longing burning frame of mine,
And kiss my breast, and kiss my face.
So, there ! Ha, ha ! already in thine arms
I feel thy love-I shout-I shiver.
" The droplets of the golden sunlight glide
Over and off me, sparkling, as I swim
Hither and thither down thy mellow tide,
Or loll amid its crypts with outstretched limb:-
PONDS. (1888, December 15). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 8. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13707313
WAYSIDE NOTES.
By Viator.
Any Irishmen deplore with Father' Dunne, the disgfaceful discord of the Irish Home Rulers, but few of them, I believe will agree with him in' his advice or suggestion of the expediency of suppressing news of the Home Rule dissensions.- How should readers of the Freeman be able to form an opinion' on the miserable matter if you did not from time to time give the sum and substance of the dissension if I wish you had done more in the past, that you had been less forbearing and had dealt in your incisive style with the originators of the offending. Parnell
was a powerful political cuarauser, a great leader, another Moses, as Some of his admirers say. Admitting that he was the greatest champion of Home Rule we had, and that ... was another Moses, I should like his admirers (among whom I class myself) to follow the example of those who had been led by Moses. When Moses was deposed for his sin his followers did not split into Mosites and Joahitites. Stiff necked as they were, they held together under the leadership of Joshua until they entered the promised land. A Joshua was appointed to take the place of Parnell to lead the Irish people onward's. All except a few discontented, self-seeking politician's accepted the leadership. These, in my opinion, are responsible for bringing the great cause of Home Rule into a state of disrepute, if not chaos. They have been guilty of a foul revolt. They have now no peace or rest, being haunted by Nemesis and Remorse for the black crime against their country. Most of your readers will, I am sure, be sorry for Father Dunne's last letter. His references to 'politico' arid religion,' and 'threatened schism,' are unfortunate. Irishmen, as O'Connell often said, take their religion from Home, but not their politics. In 1812 the great champion of Emancipation said', 'I for one most readily offer to postpone our emancipation' in order to promote the cause of our country' (Repeal of the Union),' And on the question of the Veto he would take no dictation from Rome, as shown in the following declaration — ' The Catholic laity were totally repugnant to allow the Crown any power to nominate the Catholic Bishops of Ireland. We steadfastly oppose the Court of Rome, as well as the inclinations shown by our own prelates; we resolutely resisted the wished of our nobility, and of so many of our merchants, backed as they were by the almost universal voice of England, and we firmly and emphatically declared that we would not accept of Emancipation upon terms so derogatory to public liberty as the power of nominating the Bishop's of another Church must be if vested in the Crown — that is the ministers of the day.'
Would Faith'ef D'lm'ne call these declarations of the Liberator' sclifsmaiiid ?' Measts, O'Brien and Dillon in opposing the Pope's interference in the Plan of Campaign only followed in the footsteps of O'Connell. It was notorious at that time' that there was what we call underground engineering at home to induce his Holiness to condeming the Plan of Campaign. Was it not Errington who was working the machinery under orders from the English' Government — those statesmen who required Catholics to swear that the Pope neither had, nor ought to have, any temporal authority in Ireland ? Rescripts from Rome on a purely temporal matter, instigated by a conspiracy of English statesmen, should, as Mr. O'Neill Daunt once said, 'be treated as so much waste paper.' Home Rulers, like Repealers, were sworn foes of all foreign dictation in their domestic affairs. The Irish would not be fit to govern their country if they did not resent the interference referred to. It was the prudence and foresight of the majority of Catholic bishops that averted the ' threatened schism' in the Plan cf the Campaign. They interpreted the Rescript in a different way from the interpretation put upon It by the Bishop of Limerick. O'Brien, Dillon, and others were as innocent as Father Dunne of inciting to schism. In many parishes in the country branches of the Guild and Hibernian Society are established, competing side by side with one another, which sometimes gives rise to unpleasantness, if not to disedification. The Catholic population is too limited in most of those districts to afford a profitable field for two societies. To ray thinking, it is a waste of funds and energy to try to maintain them. Each society has its separate officers, its separate meeting nights, its separate expenses for conducting the affairs of the respective societies. Now, the double expense might be saved, besides the gain in harmony, if the two societies only amalgamated. Their objects are the same, viz., providence and insurance against sickness and death, medical attendendance for their families, and generally the well-being, spiritual and temporal, of their households. They are both benefit societies, without signs or passwords, and nonpolitical. What, then, is to prevent them combing? Union is strength. A united body, being larger, could secure better and cheaper 'medical attendance and better medicine than is possible Under present circumstances. The Guild is confined to New South Wales. The Hibernians have, I understand, branches in all the colonies, which is a great advantage to members, enabling them to continue their membership upon removal from one colony to another. The Guild would benefit to that extent by union. In the opinion of those to whom I have had an opportunity of speaking on the subject both societies would benefit in many ways by their amalgamating. The profundity of bush-lawyers is proverbial, but who can measure the length, breadth, and depth of the sagacity of the bush politician r Last week in the best room of the best inn of an inland town I heard a species of this genius. give vent to his feelings thus :-' The Premier, I say, is a clever man ; he has the gift of the gab galore ; he played his cards well in going to the country on the reform of the council, which nobody doubted or disputed. Some people call him the 'Bomba of Botany Bay.' I think he is more than that, he is the Bombastes Furioso of politics. I am, however, disappointed in him for not clearing out the old fossils as he threatened. Why, what did he do but leaven the old mass ? Why did he .not go the whole bog and swamp the Upper House as Jack Robertson did in 1861 ?? That is what he ought to have done, but the labour party would- not let him, I hear. Now, that same party will be his- ruin and the ruin of the country, for they have turned their backs upon labour and are destroying its- prospects. They see labour in rags and tatters asking for bread, and they offer it a stone*. Accursed was the day that the country listened to them, for we have had nothing since but want and misery. 'Tis a misnomer to term them a labour party. They have proved themselves an anti-labour party, a destructive party, for freetrader as I am it goes to my heart to see the bone and sinew of the country idle and starving while we are importing the works of foreigners who have no claim upon us. A. few more years of the rule of such a party and this will be the worst country under the sun for white labour. Gentlemen, I will have another pint and then finish my speech,' As I had to make tracks for the train, I missed the conclusion of the speech. WAYSIDE NOTES. (1895, August 31). Freeman's Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1850 - 1932), p. 19. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article111105152
In 1898 he was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly as the Protectionist member for Sydney-Bligh, serving until 1904; he was subsequently Deputy Trade Commissioner for New South Wales in the United States from 1912 to 1917.
BLIGH
Mr. P. E. Quinn's Campaign.
Mr. P. E. Quinn, who is making the most gratifying progress with his candidature for Bligh, addressed another large and enthusiastic gathering last night at Dickensen's Liberty Inn, Liverpool and Riley streets. The meeting was presided over by Mr. Alderson, J.P., who Introduced Mr. Quinn as the only candidate for the division from whom the electors could expect a sincere and an Intelligent advocacy of the great cause of federation. Mr. Quinn made a stirring Speech, in the course of which he again emphasised the fact that it was ‘no petty provincial issue, but the cause of nationhood' that was before the people on the present occasion. Dealing with Mr. Reid, and his federal protestations,, Mr. Quinn declared that the Premier had done all he could to block the cause of Australian unity. If he had enjoyed the confidence of the people Mr. Reid would have been at the head of the federal poll. As showing that he was not jealous of the magnificent tribute that the electors had paid to Mr. Barton by giving him pride of place on the poll, the Premier was constantly tolling them that he had proposed Mr. Barton as the leader of the Convention, but this statement Mr. Barton had characterised as a fabrication. The Premier professed to be a warm advocate of federation, but how had he acted? After having assured Mr. Barton that he would not put any obstacle In the way of federation he went to the Town Hall and pointed out all- the defects In the bill that his ingenious criticism could suggest,, but : at the same time said - he would vote for it. ("Ugh!") Then, this friend of federation went to Bathurst and to Newcastle and delivered even more destructive speeches against the bill. Mr. Reid claimed to be an advocate of majority rule, but what happened on June 3- last? The bill was endorsed by a majority of 5400, yet the Premier was calmly asserting that it was defeated. In the most audacious way, therefore, they were told that the minority was going to rule the majority. Was that right? (“No, no.")Mr Reid had proved a traitor to the cause.(A voice; "So he has, so he has. ) As Mr. Barton had finely said of him, his hands were soiled with repudiation, and he ought to be blotted out of the public life of the country. (Cheers.) Upon the motion of Mr. Solomons the meeting unanimously expressed its confidence in Mr. Quinn, for whom enthusiastic cheers were given, also for “Mr. Barton and federation. " BLIGH (1898, July 16). The Australian Star (Sydney, NSW : 1887 - 1909), p. 5. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article228470874 Mr. P. E. (Patrick Edward) Quinn, the member for the Bligh (a part of the old East Sydney electorate), is a native of Sydney. At the age of four he was sent to the Catholic Denominational School of St. John's, Kent-street. Later he had the advantage of the training afforded by other city schools. At 14 he secured a junior position in the Civil Service, but being ambitious to make a mark in a learned profession, resigned from the Service and studied under the late Mr. Sheridan Moore, and subsequently under Mr. Frank Butler, B.A., with the view of qualifying for the legal profession. Meanwhile he became a contributor to the FREEMAN’S Journal and the Bulletin, and at 19 edited the Namoi Independent (Gunnedah). A few months later he controlled the Maitland Mail. Returning to Sydney, the young journalist lectured on literary subjects. He also displayed power as a political speaker. Having given up legal aspirations, Mr. Quinn devoted himself entirely to press work. For 15 or 16 years he has been an occasional contributor for leading articles, reviews, and poems to the Freeman's Journal. A few years ago Mr. Quinn wrote a series of excellent articles under the pen-name of ‘Viator' for the S. M Herald. His hand has also appeared in the Herald's editorial columns. While contributing to numerous papers, including the Star, Mr. Quinn found time to write a variety of short stories, a collection of which will shortly appear in book form. He is the author of 'The Jewelled Belt,' an interesting detective study.
Mr. Quinn has not yet published a volume of verse, but he is responsible for the libretto of the 'Captain Cook' cantata, set to music by Mr. J. A. Delany, and rendered with conspicuous success on several occasions by the Sydney Fiedertafel. In various debating societies of his earlier days, Mr. Quinn was a prominent member and effective speaker. THREE NEW MEMBERS. (1898, August 20). Freeman's Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1850 - 1932), p. 17. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article115388842
With the coming of Federation in 1901 he also stood for the seat of Darling:
MR. P. E. QUINN IN EAST SYDNEY.
A largely attended meeting of the friends and supporters of Mr. P. E. Quinn, M.L.A., was held last night at the Mission Hall, Palmer-street, Mr. John Donald being in the chair. Mr. Quinn addressed the meeting, and pointed out the necessity for opposing the Right Hon. G. H. Reid on account of the fact that the Federal Government had really no sins on its shoulders, and should not be dispossessed until it had had an opportunity of displaying its capacity for safe and prosperous government. He said that the main lines of the policy of the Opposition might be embodied in the combination of Mr. Reid's phrase " a white Australia "with another phrase-" A white Australia in which white men can live." Mr. Reid, he said, had allowed the duty of £3 per ton to remain on sugar when he had had the opportunity of carrying out a policy which he now advocated to do away with the specific duties. He justified his policy on the ground that there was flesh and blood behind the sugar industry. Mr. Quinn stated that that was a very good protectional argument, and pointed out that there was also flesh and blood behind other industries by which Australian men live. He touched generally on the aspect of the question, and advocated the necessity of giving the Barton Government a fair trial.
At the conclusion of the address Mr. J. Burt proposed,-. That this meeting pledges itself to support the candidature of Mr. P. E. Quinn if selected for the National Liberal Association." The motion was seconded by Mr. J. G. Taylor, and carried unanimously. MR. P. E. QUINN IN EAST SYDNEY. (1901, February 6). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 8. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article14368677
Ministerial Candidature.
P. E. Quinn's Speech.
On Wednesday evening Mr. P. Quinn addressed a good crowd from the Grand Hotel balcony. Mr. W. J. Hogan, Mayor, occupied the chair, and introduced the speaker, who at present represents Bligh division of Sydney. There was a good number of townspeople on the balcony. Mr. W. Davis, M.P. for Bourke, accompanied the speaker, and also addressed the meeting at the conclusion of Mr. Quinn's speech. Mr. Quinn was greeted with applause. He regretted that owing to hurried arrangements the meeting had not been so widely advertised as it might otherwise have been, but he intended to visit Cobar again before the election. He felt that as he was a stranger to many of them it was only due to the electors of Cobar that he should speak here as early as possible. He was the SELECTED CANDIDATE of the Liberal Association of Australia, to attempt to win the Darling seat in the Federal interests, and he would endeavour , to accomplish the task set before him. It was his second appearance before a Cobar audience, having addressed them previously on the question of the second referendum in favor of the Common-wealth Bill. He had a grateful re-collection of the courtesy then ex-tended to him. He had travelled N. S.W. far and wide in the interests of that bill, which he had advocated with pen and tongue. Then there was bitter opposition, but he felt as an Australian that those who then op-posed it were earnest and sincere, being actuated by a desire to see the Commonwealth of Australia fairly and squarely and honestly launched on the sea of new existence. Mr Reid said in Sydney that the real question be-fore the electors was 'who should be the Federal Premier,
REID OR BARTON?' Voices : Reid ! Reid! Barton ! Well, continued the speaker, for the present that has been settled, and Barton was the Premier, because the consensus and vast preponderance of Australian opinion suggested to the Governor-General that he should be entrusted with the mission. Barton had formed a ministry, which now awaited the verdict of the people. If the Governor-General was wrong in his choice, then the verdict of the 29th would establish it. He hoped that it would be in favour of Barton. He always recognised Reid's great ability, and if matters had gone differently Reid might have achieved his great ambition, viz, to be the first Federal Premier. Barton was, however, installed in power (Voice : Where he ought to be) and his ministry contained an array of talent of which any Australian should feel proud. He then dealt with the personnel of the ministry. Mr Lyne was a devotional Australian. Sir George Turner steered the destinies of Victoria from distress to prosperity. Alfred Deakin's voice and influence were as potent through-out Australia as that of any man in public life (applause). The Hon. Charles Kingston was the most democratic man in our public life. He won for himself a democratic reputation only equalled by Mr Seddon, the ruler of the most democratic country on the face of God's earth. (Applause.) Even Mr Reid could not belittle the personnel of the Ministry, yet he wanted to turn them out without a trial. The instructs of fair play demanded that before a man or a government should be decapitated it should be shown that he or it had sins on its head. To throw out a newly-born government would be infanticide. The next question raised, and Mr Reid was responsible for it, was THE FISCAL QUESTION. Mr Reid had failed to get the position of Federal Premier by constitutional means, and he was now endeavouring to get it from the people, who certainly had the right to decide their own destiny. No matter how deep they might sink the fiscal question, it always seemed to rise to the surface and divide people into two political parties. It was the only bone of contention. It had all to do with the situation. He was a Protectionist, and had always been one through conviction. For many years he had advocated the cause of Protection as a leader writer on the daily papers of Sydney. (Hear, Hoar.) At the time of the referendum they were told that the fiscal question would be decided once and for all by 'Federation, and that it would be Freetrade within the Commonwealth and Protection against the outside world, and that was the understanding on which many Freetraders then voted. He honored the men who laid down their convictions for the good of the Federal Government. But now all that fair promise of peace had faded away, and once again the fiscal question was resuscitated to perplex and divide the intelligence of the people. Even Reid had then told them that there must be a high tariff, but to day he said that while the tariff would be high it should not foster and protect native industries, and that he would not impose a tax to create industries, Reid believed in the Customs House, then he, the speaker, failed to see why the tariff should be devised so as to exterminate native industries. Surely AMONGST WORKING MEN there should be nothing to object to in an industry by which other working men earned the bread of life. Reid recognised this whilst in office, by the duty on sugar. Hundreds of farmers and thousands of men earned their daily bread by the sugar industry. (Voice : What about black labor.) 'The speaker said he was referring to M.S.W., where there was no black labor. Reid, when he had the opportunity of establishing Freetrade, decided to reduce the duty £1 per year. This he did for two years, until per ten was left on. Then he was face to face with the problem : If he carried out his promise he would be loyal to Freetrade, but if, on though other hand, ho allowed that duty to remain, he would save an industry on which a great many white men were living and supporting their wives and families.
A VERIATABLE WAIL of anguish went up from the sugar growers, who prayed him to stay his hand, and ha would say to Mr Reid's honor that he did stay his hand, adding that ' when flesh and blood were behind an industry he would not strike it down.' He now changed bin tune, and said that the tariff must go into the revenue and not into the pockets of the monopolist. The man that said Protection was had and did not strike it down when he had the power was false to his principle. (Applause). Voice : Why didn't you stay and fight him Mr Quinn replied that he didn't stay and fight him because he didn't think it wise to do it. He would be sorry if Mr Reid was not returned to the Federal Parliament.
THE BRADDON BLOT
Somebody interjected about the Braddon Blot, when the speaker said it was not much use talking on it as they had it for 10 years and could not alter it. It had brought about the high tariff question. CENTRE OF EMPIRE. Many Freetraders cited the centre of the Empire for Freetrade arguments. He gave them an instance of the House of Commons action on the sugar question of India. There ' was an instance whore Freetrade had an opportunity to work itself out logically. They had Cooley labor, the best of soil, and a sugar climate. The labor was the cheapest in the world. The Indian sugar industry was threatened by the German beet sugar. The strict Cobdenite view was that if an industry could not live without a. tariff then it should die. The Indian Government, however, put on a tariff equal to the bonuses paid by the German government, which had the effect of shutting out the foreign article. The matter was taken up in the British House of Commons, and a motion was tabled to the effect I hat the Indian sugar duly should be disallowed. The matter was debated by the ablest men in the land, and the vote showed that the House distinctly refused to disallow that duty, which remained on to the present time, protecting the Indian sugar grower against German aggression. STRONG ARGUMENT. If the British House of Commons adopted protection for the black labor of India, was it not only fair that the white laborer of Australia should be protected ? (Hear, hear.) REFERENCE. . Mr Reid had stated that British goods should have preference. He asked them was that not an illogical position for a Freetrader to take up, The only country that could give a preference to another country's goods was a Protectionist country. He cited the case of Canada, where' Sir Wilfred Laurier gave British goods a 25 per cent preference, which meant that the goods from other parts of the world wore taxed to make up for it.
PROTECTION BENEFITTED LABOR.
Protection benefitted the worker He considered that anything which eased the labor market must be profitable to the working man. In his constituency men wore for ever asking him for Government work. The tales were almost too sad to hear, and the position could only be rectified by multiplying the avenues of industry. The state treasury was always being exploited for the purpose of giving employment to the workless workers, and it was in the midst of such a time as that that Reid, in his airy, reckless fashion, proposed to strike down what industries remained in Australia. No working man who had the interests of his homo, his class, and his people could support Reid.
MR BARTON'S AMBITION.
Mr. Barton had expressed the hope that the Commonwealth of. our own Australia would adopt such a policy as would do away with the painful music of the pattering of the bare feet of its people who had been driven out of employment. He not only wanted a white Australia, but an Australia where white men could live without depending on its Government for scanty employment, such as scrubcutting and sand-shifting.
OUR RESOURCES
Here in Cobar they had large mineral resources, but there were other industries in the colony. They had untouched and unexploited as virgin as when Captain Cook first touched our shores vast deposits of iron, which with a 10 or 15 per cent, duty would allow to come into existence an industry which would give employment to thousands of miners and thousands of artisans. Under Freetrade that industry would never come into existence, because of the imports from America, Germany, Belgium, and even China, the money for which all went into the pockets of foreign owners and workmen. It was estimated that if our iron industry was developed 20,000 or 30,000 men would gain employment in a very short time, which would considerably ease the labor market. Yet they were asked to say that this huge industry should never, never, never be called into existence. He argued with all the fervour with which he was capable that anything which put money into the pockets of the people was a good thing for the country. (Hear, hear). So long as he lived in Australia, he would raise his voice in favor of a policy that would bring about the development of our industries. It was no compliment to the mother country to let her goods in free because it was, after all, only placing her goods on an equality with that of the Chairman, etc Freetrade was not loyalty to the Empire. ]f they placed a fence around the Commonwealth and left down the sliprails to British goods alone that would be giving a substantial concession to the Empire, like Canada.
BLACK LABOR.
He was in favor of getting rid of black labor as speedily as possible. It was the black Hot on our country. He believed that our ports should be closed against every kind of coloured workman. America today had to face the problem of a vast aggregation of inferior races. They were too near, to Asia to allow our gates to remain open to the vast hordes of yellow men. They should preserve Australia for the Australians. (Hear, Hear). They should not allow the crimson current suffer with the black tint which would effect generations yet unborn. They were the trustees of posterity. He knew Australians too well to think that they would tolerate the black man. Any Government that would support the introduction of black labor would risk a revolution. He dwelt at length on the proximity of Japan, but held that whilst they were an intelligent race their presence would be hostile to Australian interests. The Federal Ministry had decided that the Kanaka must go as soon as possible, and in the meantime ho would not he added to. In a few years the white men would be doing the work in which the Kanaka was employed at present.
NATIONAL DEFENCE.
He believed that the Commonwealth should not launch out; in an extravagant system of defence. He believed in a cheaper and more effective system. .Give an Australian a rifle and a horse, and he stood the equal of any soldier in the world. The destiny of Australia could not be; placed on a better or sounder foundation than the arms of her own sons. (Hear, Hear). The man who could ride and the man who could shoot was the ideal soldier of the future.
OLD AGE PENSION'S.
He was proud that he was a member of the Parliament which passed the Old Age Pension Bill— a, great measure of which humanity might be proud. He paid a compliment to New Zealand which had led the world in democratic legislation. (Applause). It was the first country in the world to adopt the principle'. The payment of wages certainly cleared employer and employee, but every man had a claim on his country. Every man had helped to build up the House of Empire, and the state was under a distinct obligation which had not been paid. It owed him the promise that when the time came, owing to the inevitable operation of the law of old ago when one had to lay aside the tool, being unable any longer to follow the vocations of life, that they should not be a pauper driven to beg alms in the street or end his days in a benevolent institution; but that he should be able to go to the Treasury and demand his pension, holding ;his head as high and honorable its ever he did in the full vigor of manhood; The Upper House realised the necessity of the principle, which was now law, that the aged poor— man or woman — should be no longer dependent on the bitter bread of charity, but would be in a position to draw from the State sufficient to enable them to find pleasure in the evening of their days. It was better than keeping an army. He hoped – the time would come when the weapons-of war would, be laid aside, and all the money dragged from the pockets of the people for the reddened sword would be devoted to some more munificent purpose. The question of persons moving from one state to another at present, presented a difficulty in N.S.W., but he thought if that might be arranged by an interstate arrangement to the effect that a man's career of service would entitle him.
ADULT SUFFRAGE.
He cordially endorsed the adult suffrage -plank. Women should have a voice in the making of laws to which they were equally subservient with them.
OTHER MEASURES.
He favoured the compulsory conciliation and arbitration proposals. He was quite conscious that he came as a stranger amongst them, and he gave them his views as honestly and capably as he knew how. He trusted they ..would see fit to return him as their member, in which case he hoped he would prove worthy of their confidence. Watkins, the Labor candidate for Newcastle, had himself announced in favour of Protection, and a follower of the Barton Government. Ferguson, one of the brainiest and most capable men in Australia, was like himself a candidate of the Australian liberal Association. He wished those who believed that the Barton Government should at least be given a trial, to vote for him. (Hear, heir.) If they voted according to their own consciences he would not complain. It was his great ambition to serve his country in the first Federal Parliament, and he placed his fate in their hands, trusting that his utterances had shown that he was a patriot and a democrat. Mr. H. Cornish congratulated the speaker on his lucid address, which was to the point. Mr Loyd asked would Mr Quinn support Mr Barton in allowing the Kanaka to remain for 10 years. Mr Quinn said he would only allow the Kanaka to remain so long as it was absolutely necessary for the preservation of the industry, but if it came at once to a question of immediately expelling the Kanaka then he would sacrifice the industry. Several noisy persons disturbed the meeting considerably. The speaker was frequently applauded and made a good impression, bringing out salient points hitherto not given in Cobar. He left for Nyngan on Thursday morning. Ministerial Candidature. (1901, March 9).The Cobar Herald (NSW : 1899 - 1914), p. 5. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article103829451
Whom To Vote For Australian Liberal Candidates
Each Elector is entitled to VOTE FOR SIX — not , more nor less— Candidates for the Senate. The following six are those selected to run in support of the Bartonian policy THE SENATE. Hon. R. E. O'CONNOR, K.C.
... W. P. MANNING. . Mr. JOHN KIDD, M.L.A. Colonel G. W. WADDELL. Mr. MAKE HAMMOND. ELECTORS MEST VOTE TOR SIX CANDIDATES for the Senate. To vote for more or less will be to render the ballot-paper informal, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. THE AUSTRALIAN LIBERAL CANDIDATES pledged to support the Bartonian Policy of ENCOURAGING LOCAL INDUSTRY are:— West Sydney.— Alderman J. C. BEER. Dalley.-Hr. I. K. COHEN. Parramatta.— Mr. W. SANDFORD. Illawarra.— Mr. A. HAY. Macquarie. — Mr, W. J. FERGUSON, M.L.A. Canobles.-Mr. B. R. WISE, M.L.C. . Riverina.— Mr. J. M. CHANTER, M.L.A. Wentworth.— Mr. J. T. GANNON. Werriwa.— Mr. T. ROSE, M.L.A, Hume-Sir WILLIAM LYNE, M.L.A. Cowper.— Mr. F. CLARKE, M.L.A. New England. -Mr. W. SAWERS.M.LA. - Robertson — Mr. J. D. FITZGERALD. South Sydney.— Mr. J. S; T. M'GOWEN, M.L.A. Bland.— Mr. JVC. WATSON, M.L.A. Gwydir-Mr. G. A. CRUICSHANK, M.L.A. Richmond.— Mr, T. T. EWING, M.L.A. Darling.— Mr. P. E. QUINN, M.L.A. Each Elector can vote for only ONE CANDIDATE for the House of Representatives, The Voter must SCORE OUT THE NAMES of the Candidates for whom, he DOES NOT DESIRE TO VOTE by running the pencil THROUGH EACH NAME SEPARATELY. Only the Names of the Candidates for whom he desires his Votes to be counted must be LEFT UNTOUCHED.
Mr. Mark J, Hammond. A, Bartonian Candidate for the SENATE.
Mr. Mark J. Hammond, one of 'the selected-Liberal candidates for the Senate, Is a native of New South "Wales, and during his younger days he was occupied as a miner on the gold-fields of the State. In 1876 he was elected an alderman of Ashfield, and had the honour of being chosen Mayor of Ashfield three times In succession. He was twice elected at, the head , of .the poll for the Parliamentary electorate, of Canterbury, then consisting of 14 municipalities, and containing the largest number of electors of any electorate in Australia. While In the height of his popularity he retired from politics owing to ill-health. He was the author of the Municipal Gas Act of 1884, which has already saved gas consumers not less than £1,600,000. Under the Act something like £500,000 has already been . spent in the construction of municipal gasworks In N.S.W. In company with the late ' Mr. W. A. Hutchinson he was one, of the founders of the Municipal Association of New South Wales. During the Federal campaigns of 1898-9 he took a very prominent part on the platform, In the press, and on the various committees in favour of the bill, and occupied the position of one of the vice-presidents of the Federal Association. He is now one of the vice-presidents of the Australian' .Liberal Association. Mr. Hammond has for many years been a contributor to the metropolitan press on various subjects. He Is a moderate protectionist, and with the ' view of finding employment for the people advocates an import duty, on articles the like of which -the country, is adapted to produce. On his retirement from- Parliament in 1887 the press generally spoke in the Highest praise of Mr. Hammond as a public man.
Mr. John Kidd, M.L.A. A- Bartonian Candidate for the SENATE.
(Photo. by Freeman.)
Mr. John Kidd, M.L.A., one of the protectionist "bunch" for' the Senate, is fairly well known throughout the State. A Scotchman by birth, Mr. Kidd is now in his 63rd year, having been born in September, 1838. He arrived. In Sydney at the age of 18 years, and after devoting about four years to various pursuits in the city he removed to Campbell-town, -where, towards' the end of I860,' he set up In business on his own account. For 16 years he continued in business, and the end of that time made a trip to the old country. Upon his return he was invited to contest the Narellan seat under the old Electoral Act for Parliamentary honours. His candidature was, however, not- successful. Under the Electoral Act of 1880 Narellan was absorbed by Camden, a district entitled to return two members. Mr. Kidd again entered the Held, and was returned at the head of the poll, his colleague being the late Mr. Thomas Garrett, sometime Minister for Lands. Since then he
has represented Camden for the greater part of the time. He was Postmaster-General from 1891 till 1894 in the Dibbs Government, and is at present the sitting member for Camden.
Colonel J. A. K. Mackay. Bartonian Candidate for the SENATE.
The Hon. Colonel James Alexander Kenneth Mackay, who is now serving his King and country in South Africa, has been Included in the Liberal "bunch" for the Senate. He made hl3 appearance in politics In 1894, when he was elected as the representative of Burrowa. He was returned for the (Same constituency in 1895 and 1S98. In September, 1899, he accepted the position of Vice-President of. the Executive Council in the Lyne Administration, and resigning his seat in the popular Chamber was elevated to the Legislative Council, where he- represented the -Government with vary considerable ability. Mr. Maekay is better known probably as a military man than as a politician. It was he. who founded the First Australian Horse, which is at once one of the- most picturesque and effective branches of the volunteer service. When the Im-nerial Bushmen's Contingent was being formed for South Africa he volunteered, and was anointed officer in command, His acceptance of the' position, of course, involved his retirement from the Legislative Council. Shortly after his arrival In South Africa he was given an Imperial appointment, and Is probably stationed in Pretoria. In politics he has always been a protectionist, a staunch party man, and a member of comparatively few words, whose few speeches were uttered with a knowledge of the subject he dealt with In the event of his election to the Senate he has made arrangements to return to Australia without delay, and will reach Melbourne in time for the opening -of the first session of the. Federal Parliament.
Colonel. G. W, Waddell. Porinnian . Candidate for-the SENATE.
This gentleman is a native of Ireland, who came with his family to this State at an early age. He was educated at the Goulburn Grammar School, an institution which has turned out some of our most prominent citizens. On leaving school Mr. Wadde entered the service of one of the principal banks, and served for many years as a branch manager. Latterly, before retiring from the service, he filled the responsible position of inspector. Colonel Waddell. who has for nearly twenty years taken an active part in the defence forces of New South Wales, is. colonel commanding the 2nd infantry Regiment. He is also commandant of the chief section of the defence scheme of the State. He is a brother of Mr. T. W. Waddell, M.L.A. for Cowra, and for some time . these gentlemen were jointly Interested In pastoral pursuits. Colonel Waddell is an active politician, and has always been a staunch advocate and supporter of Australian unity,
THE RIGHT HON. EDMUND BARTON. Australians Prime Minister.
It is not too much to say that no man living has been so closely Identified through years of struggle with the Federal movement In Australia as the Right Hon. Edmund Barton, K.C., M.A., P.C., the first Premier of the Commonwealth. The late Sir Henry Parkes was associated with the question in Its earlier stages before it became a people's question', and at his death Mr. Barton, by general consent, assumed the leadership? Australia looked to him as -the man who was to secure the accomplishment of Union. Recognising the vast responsibility cast upon him, Mr. Barton never tired in his efforts to educate the masses in the all-important subject, and the magnificent victory scored for the Constitution Bill at the second referendum was, in a large measure, due to the splendid 'work he did throughout the length and breadth of the colony. : It Is eminently appropriate that the first Prime Minister of the Australian ' nation should he an Australian native. Born at the Glebe, Sydney, on January 18, 1849, he has just entered his 53rd year. His early education -was obtained at the Fort-street Public School, whence he subsequently went to the Sydney Grammar School, and ultimately to the Sydney University, where he graduated B.A. He studied for the legal profession, and was called to the Bar of the Supreme Court of New South Wales In 1871. When only 28 years of age he turned his attention to active politics, and in 1877 he was returned, under the old Electoral Act, as the Parliamentary representative of the Sydney ' University. Four years later he successfully contested Wellington, and at the general election in 1882 he was returned as one of the representatives of East Sydney, retaining the seat till 18S9. When the new Parliament assembled on January ?, 1883, Mr. Barton was elected to the Speaker's chair, a position which he filled With ability and dignity during the life of that Parliament. He was re-elected to the chair in October, 1885, and retired from the high office in January. 1887. Immediately -afterwards he was nominated to the Upper House, and when Sir George (then Mr.) Dibbs formed his short-lived Ministry in January, 1889, Mr. Barton accepted the portfolio of Attorney-General and Representative of the Government in the Legislative Council. The Government was defeated In March of the same year. The downfall of the Parkes Ministry in 1891 again brought Mr. Dibbs Into power, and Mr. Barton once more became' Attorney-General and representative of the Government in the Upper House. At the ! general election in 1891 he, having retired from the Council, contested East Sydney, and was returned second on the poll to Mr. M'Millan, Mr. Varney Parkes being third, and Mr. Bernhard Langrose 'Wise Is the second son of the late Mr. Justice Wise. He studied At Queen's College, Oxford, and took his degree of B.A. In 1881, having two years' before, ,in 1879, entered at the Middle Temple. He was called to the bar both in England and New South Wales in April, 1883. In 1884 Mr. Wise married, on April 2, Miss Lilian Margaret Baird, the third surviving daughter of Sir. John Forster Baird, of Beaumont Hill, Northumberland, and St. Aldan's, Hampstead. His first election for the Legislative Assembly of New South Wales was for South Sydney, and in 1887 he became Attorney-General to the Parkes Government, a post ha resigned In February, 1888. In 1889, at the general Election, he lost his seat for South Sydney, and contested unsuccessfully that for West.
Mr. G. H. Reid fourth.
It was in this year that such an impetus was given to the Federal movement by the holding of the intercolonial convention arranged by the late Sir Henry Parkes. Mr. Barton was a delegate, and his services in framing the. Draft Constitution Bill, upon which the Constitution of Federated Australia was largely based, stamped him as second only to Sir Henry Parkes In earnest and able advocacy of the union which was destined to become an accomplished fact within ten years. During the interval between the 1891 Convention and the Convention of 1897-98 the death of Sir Henry Parkes occurred, and his place in the Federal arena was assumed by Mr. Barton, who set to work in real earnest to make the question one for the people. He went back to the Legislative Council, and there championed the cause In the face of a stubborn , resistance from the anti-Federalists. When the elections to the popular Convention eventuated Mr. Barton was returned at the head of the poll for this State, with the magnificent record of 98,540 votes. His position was recognised by the leaders of the Federal movement In the other colonies, and when the Convention met In Adelaide, in 1897, he was chosen leader, and acted in that capacity throughout the deliberations in Sydney and Melbourne. Mr. Reid's attitude on the Federal question when the Bill went before the people at the first referendum induced Mr. Barton to enter State politics again, and though he was defeated for Sydney-King Division, Mr. Reid's servile following was rendered Impotent, and the Federal leader was not long In obtaining a seat as the representative of the Hastings and Macleay. Upon' his return he took the leadership of the Opposition, and under his guidance Mr. Reid took such stops as secured the second referendum, and the victory of the cause for which Mr. Barton had fought for so many years. When It became necessary to send a delegate to London to confer with the Imperial authorities respecting certain points In' the Bill, Mr. Barton was chosen by the Government as the representative of this State,.' and subsequently became the spokesman of the Australian delegation. His labours In that connection, and the success which attended his mission, need hardly be cited now, though they were no doubt Important factors In the chain of circumstances which caused. his selection as first Premier of the1 Commonwealth to be hailed with such' ' delight throughout the length and breadth: '.of the continent. Mr. Barton is a Fellow of the Senate of the University of Sydney, and a trustee of the Free Public Library.
MR. B. R. WISE, K.C. Bartonian Candidate for the House of Representatives for the CANOBLAS.
Macquarie, but he was re-elected for South Sydney In 1891. Mr. Wise has been a frequent writer "upon Australian questions in English magazines, and his. articles on those Subjects are the theme' of much eulogy In Charles Dilke's "Problems of Greater Britain." In 1892 he published "Industrial Freedom; a Study In 'Politics," wherein he approaches Industrial ' questions In n spirit akin to that of his friend and associate Arnold Tonybee. His exertions in the cause of Federal Union are too recent to have faded from public memory, and the industrial world is not likely to forget the energetic and enthusiastic mariner In which, as Attorney-General In the Lyne Ministry, he last year engineered the Compulsory Arbitration Bill, which he nearly succeeded In passing,- '
Mr. W. P. Manning. Bartonian Candidate for the SENATE.
Sir William Patrick Manning, than whom there is no more ardent and staunch protectionist in New South Wales, belongs to a type of man too seldom met in politics. He Is of the calm, dispassionate class, and is not swayed by the eccentricities of popular outbursts. He. is better known In municipal matters than in State polities, and for many years he was regarded as one of the ablest of the city aldermen. He had had the honour of being Mayor of Sydney, and his terms of Mayoralty proved him one or the best of the administrators who have occupied, the dignified position. In olden times, before local politics degenerated, he was a keen fighter in the ranks of the national party, and on more than one occasion he represented the South Sydney electorate In the Legislative Assembly.' Sir William has an intimate knowledge of all the political questions of the day, and his election to the Senate would be a distinct acquisition to the Federal Parliament. He came Into the contest rather late, and his Inclusion in the Liberal bunch was somewhat of a surprise.
Mr. I.. R. Cohen. Bartonian Candidate for DALLEY.
Alderman I, B. Cohen, the Australian Liberal Association's candidate for the Dalley Federal electorate Is a .native of New South' Wales. Having completed his education, Mr. Cohen launched out in literature, and in 1885 he was associated with Mr. Bailey in founding "The Globe" and "Sunday Times." It was not till 1893 that he became actively identified with politics, but since that .time he has been closely associated with' the protectionist movement, his writings In this connection having earned for him a reputation as an able fighter,-. In 1806 he was chosen as secretary of the Annandale Protection Union, and his powers of organisation soon made themselves apparent in the importance which the body assumed under his direction. Shortly ... the Annandale Council. This was followed by his election as a member of the executive and various committees of the National Protection Union. When the dissolution of the Assembly occurred In 1898 Mr. Cohen was the selected candidate of the protectionists and the Federal organisation for Annandale, and in what had been regarded as a free-trade stronghold he was defeated by only 91 votes. In the following year lie was a delegate from the National party to a Federal Conference held In Melbourne, and in 1900 he' was' a delegate to the Intercolonial Tariff Conference. . He has all along been an ardent advocate of the Greater Sydney movement, and he was elected general secretary of the Metropolitan Municipal Reform body. He Is a member of the board of the Australian Natives' Association, and he holds numerous other official positions. In his candidature for Dalley he has met with unqualified success. and is sure to give a goorl account of himself at the ballot-box. The splendid organisation of the National forces In the electorate Is largely due to ills personal exertions, and the electorate with which he has been, identified forms an example In this respect to other electorates in the colony where the work of organisation has been neglected.
Mp. W. Sandford. Bartonian Candidate for PARRAMATTA.
Among the Liberal candidates for the Federal House of Representatives no one stands In higher appreciation as an energetic promoter of Australian Industry than does Mr. W. Sandford, of the Eskbank Iron and steel rolling mills at Llthgow, Mr. Sandford is a candidate for the Paframatta seat, and the following particulars of his colonial career will no doubt be of Interest; — Seventeen years ago he came to Sydney as the representative of the well-known Iron firm of John Lysaght', Limited, for whom he started wire-netting works on the Parramatta River. His energy was, however, not sufficiently employed in the superintendence of these works, and looking about for a new outlet for his activity he discovered that there was a market in Australia for certain sizes and gauges of iron not kept In stock by Iron-merchantB here. Finding that all endeavours to Induce his principals to secure either the Mittagong or' Lithgow works failed, the homo firm being unwilling to enter on the venture, lie took the Eskbank "works on blown account, arid ultimately purchased them" The initiatory difficulties in his ease, as in those of most people who start In a new line, in the colonies, were- very great, but Mr. Sandford proved himself a perfect Napoleon in overcoming all obstacles, and has achieved success. The amount paid away In wages alone last year was over £46,000, which, of li-»ef, speaks volumes for the energy and character of the gentleman who now seeks to enter the field of higher politics. Needless to say, Mr. Sandford Is it protectionist, and he says that In the past his Industry has been protected by the availability of large quantities of old scrap iron and rails at reasonable rates, and the continuance by the Hallway Commissioners of the "concessions in rail, way freight in Iron made at Eskbank. in his candidature for tho Parramatta seat Mr Sandford is meeting with very encouraging' support, and his chances are so good that he is reckoned among the certainties by both sides. ' '
Mp. J. S. T. M'Gowen, M.L.A, Bartonian Candidate for SOUTH SYDNEY. . (Photo, by Kerry.)
The selected Liberal candidate for South' Sydney Is Mr. J. S. T. M'Gowen, M.L.A., who Is also the labour leader In the State Parliament, and the nominee of the labour party for the Federal constituency. For many years he was connected with the Railway Depart, ment, and was always foremost in advocacy, of reforms in the service, and an ardent trades unionist. In 1891 he came forward as tho selected labour candidate for Redfern, and went into Parliament as the result of the wave of popular awakening which followed on the adoption of payment of members. He has been the leader; of the party In several Parliaments, and has displayed a great deal of ability In ' controlling the destinies of a. body which has been a recognised power In politics for a decade. At each successive election he was returned by a very safe majority. The probabilities are that he will be the representative of South Sydney In the first House of Representatives.
Alderman J. C. Beer. Bartonian Candidate for "WEST SYDNEY.
Alderman James C. Beer, (the Australian Liberal candidate for "West Sydney, has been a resident of that part of the city for 20 years; and is consequently intimately in touch with the electorate for which he 'Is a candidate. He is an Englishman, having been born at Bath in April, 1853. He was apprenticed to Messrs, Slothertt and Pitt to learn the mechanical engineering, and in 1879 set out for Australia. Since his arrival In Sydney he has taken ail active part In general elections for many years, and was prominent in the agitation for Federation on each occasion when the bill was submitted to the people. He occupied the position of chairman of the Pyrmont and Ultimo branch of the Federal Association, and was secretary of the Pyrmont branch of 'the National Protection Union. At the last municipal elections in the city Mr. Beer was induced to offer himself as a candidate for the council, and he had the satisfaction of being returned with Mr. S. Smith, M.L.A., as one of the new aldermen. That was the first occasion upon which he offered his services to the public, and his success was, therefore, all the more gratifying. In business Mr. Beer is a cooking-stove manufacturer and general ironworker, having started in business on his own account in 1884. Politically he is a protectionist, and a supporter of the Ministerial policy In other respects. ,
Mr. W. B. S. C. Sawers, M.L.A, Bartonian Candidate for 'NEW ENGLAND.
Mr. Sawers was horn at Sterling, In Scotland, and came to New South Wales at the age of 21, where he has since been engaged in pastoral pursuits. He spent some years in the western district, and during the rule of the Jennings Ministry represented Bourke in the Legislative Assembly, but retired for private reasons, and did not again enter Parliament until the last election, when he contested and won the scat for Tain worth against Mr. A. B. Piddington. Mr. Sawers, who is a moderate protectionist, fought as a pure Federalist on that occasion. After leaving Bourke Mr. Sawers resided for some years In New England, but has now taken up his residence In Sydney.
Mp. W. J. Ferguson. Bartonian Candidate for MACQUARIE,
The Liberal party's candidate for the Macquarie seat Is Mr. William John' Ferguson, JI.L.A. He first came into prominence In connection with the Broken Hill strike, when he proved an ardent and eloquent advocate of what he deemed to be the rights of the workers. In July, 1894, be ran as the nominee of the labour party for Sturt, and was returned. He has represented Stunt ever since In the-Legislative Assembly. Mr. Ferguson is a protectionist and a fluent and able speaker, whose views on democratic questions have always claimed the most respectful attention of members of the Assembly.
Mp. F. Clarke. Bartonian Candidate for COWPER-
Mr. F. Clarke, M.L.A., the Liberal candidate for Cowper, has a. distinct claim upon the Federal electors for his patriotic act in resigning his seat in the Legislative Assembly In 1898 to make room 'for the Federal leader. Mr. Clarke is an ex-student of St. Stanislaus College, Bathurst, and is by profession a surveyor. He has represented the Hastings and Macleay In the Legislative Assembly for a number of years, and he has been associated with municipal matters as an alderman and mayor of North Sydney. Mr. Clarke Is a protectionist, and enjoys a widespread popularity on the northern rivers.
Mr. G. A. Cruickshank.' Bartonian Candidate for GWYDIR.
The Gwydir appears perfectly safe In the hands of Mr. G. A. Cruickshank, the Australian Liberal candidate. He is an old Parliamentary hand, and an extremely popular man locally. He came Into Parliament in 1898, and has been returned at the four elections since that time for the same seat. Though hardly to be classed as an orator, Mr. Cruickshank has a . close grasp of all the burning questions of the day, and he is regarded as a high authority on all matters Affecting the land-laws. He is a protectionist, believing that only by encouraging local manufactures can the prosperity of the Commonwealth be assured.
Mr. J. M. Chantep. Bartonian Candidate for RIVERINA
An old Parliamentary hand who has done much good service in the national cause is Mr. John Moore Chanter, M.L.A., the Liberal candidate for Riverina. As far back as 1885 he won his seat in Parliament as one of the representatives of The Murray, rind he has been continuously Identified.' with that portion of the colony ever since. He was reelected for the seat in 1887, 1889, and 1891. When the new Electoral Act came into force he selected the Deniliquin division of the electorate as the sphere for his future triumphs, and he was returned- for that seat In 1894. lS9!i, and 1898. He has had a short Ministerial career, having been Minister for Mines In Sir George Dibbs' Government from January to-March, 1889. In 1891 he was appointed a member of the Public Works Committee, and lie has for some sessions past been one of the temporary Chairman of Committees of the Legislative Assembly. Mr. Chanter Is a protectionist, and he has always been a staunch advocate of democratic legislation, giving his support to all reforms of that .character whenever a Government Introduced a' liberal measure. - ' .
Mr. Thomas Rose. Bartonian Candidate for WERRIWA. .
Mr. Thomas Rose, M.L.A., the Liberal candidate for Werriwa, has long been identified with the national party, and his advocacy of the national cause has done much to advance it to Its present position. In his younger days he was connected with newspaper work, but in 1891 he entered upon his political career and at the first attempt won Argyle for the protectionists. He has represented the same constituency ever since, having been triumphantly re-elected in 1894, 1895, and 1898. He is a speaker of no mean order. He buttresses his arguments with statistical facts, and his intimate acquaintance with fiscal controversy makes him a formidable opponent. He has been president of the National Protection Union, and his work in that position resulted In a considerable increase of the party. He has a certain seat at Werriwa. .
Mr. P. E. Quinn. Bartonian Candidate for DARLINGMr. Patrick E. Quinn, -M.LA., who has undertaken the fight in the Darling on behalf of the Liberal party, is a comparatively young politician, though none the less ardent and able on that account. A journalist by profession, he gravitated, as many journalists do, into the turmoil of political strife. He contested Bligh Division, of Sydney unsuccessfully in 1895, but his efforts in 1898 were crowned with success, and he went to the Assembly the representative of that seat with a very substantial majority. He is a protectionist, and his speeches are above the average. Advices from the Darling Indicate that he is almost sure to be the representative of that constituency in the first- Federal Parliament. Mr. Quinn composed the "Commonwealth Ode," which the children of St. Mary's Cathedral school sang with much, success on January 1 in connection with the Commonwealth Inaugural celebrations.
Mr. J. C. Watson. Bartonian Candidate for BLAND,
'A democrat amongst democrats is Mr. John Christian Watson, M.L.A., the Liberal and labour candidate for The Bland. A compositor by trade, lie took an active interest In all matters affecting unionism, and his ardent, advocacy of the workers' cause, combined with his prominence as a member of the Typographical Union, won him in 1892-3-4 the presidency of the Trades and Labour Council. He represented the Typographical' Society of New South Wales on the Trades and Labour Council from 1888 till 1894. In the latter year, when payment of members came into force, he was selected as the labour nominee for Young. He secured an easy victory, and since then has held the seat as -a sort of pocket borough, having been re-elected in 1895 and 1898, defeating in the latter year Mr. R. E. O'Connor. He was president of the Australian Labour Federation in 1895, and is at present a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee .on Public Works, and one of the temporary Chairmen of Committees of the Assembly. Since his entry Into public life he has developed Into, a good speaker,, and expresses his views in such a manner as to carry conviction. The Bland should prove an easy Federal-constituency for him. He is a protectionist, and before entering Parliament he worked with -the national party to secure the return of protectionists for the old West Sydney seat
SIR WILLIAM LYNE, M.L, A., K.C.M.G. Minister of State Fop Home Affairs. ......
Sir William Lyne was born at Apslawn, Tasmania, and began the active duties of life-as council clerk at Swansea in that State.-At a later date he came to New South Wales, : and entered upon pastoral pursuits In the. Albury and Dubbo districts. For the Hume electorate he entered Parliament 20 years ago, and he has ever since continuously represented that electorate. In 1885 Mr. Lyne became Minister for Lands in the Dibbs Government. 'He held the same office in the Jennings Government of 1886, and again in the Dibbs Ministry of 1889. In 1891 he joined the last Dibbs Government as Minister, for Works, quitting office when that Ministry-roll in 1894. The highest office the State: can bestow, that of Premier, fell to him by the defeat of the Reid Government in 1899, and Is still in his hands. When the Governor- , General desired to form his first Federal Mm-', Istry he entrusted the task to Sir William-Lyne, but that gentleman, finding himself pnable 'to procure the colleagues "he desired, gave way to Mr. Barton, 'and accepted the post of Minister for Home Affairs in Mr. Barton's' Government, lie will thus have the onerous task of bringing into application the Federal Commonwealth Bill, which, as a member of the Federal Convention, he helped to construct. The Premiership of Sir William Lyne : had many important and unprecedented duties to perform. It has had to send contingent after' contingent away to the war in South Africa, to stamp out a sudden attack of plague, and to take measures for the sanitation of the city. In all these matters the promptitude and business ability of the Premier', have . been exceedingly valuable, and -have been highly appreciated by the public. : Under his 'guidance, too, the Ministry has passed many beneficial measures, among which may be specially noted the Early Closing Act, the Navigation, Harbour Trust, and amended Land and Mining Acts of the country Sir William Lyne will administer as Home Secretary he may be said "literally' to" know it personally from end to end, from the Gulf of Carpentaria to the farthest south of Tasman.
MR. R. E. O'CONNOR, K.C., Bartonian Candidate, for the SENATE.
Next to the Federal leader himself few men in politics to-day have done more for the accomplishment of Federation than the Hon. Richard Edward O'Connor, K.C, Apart from . this . claim he has on the electors of New South Wales as a candidate- for the Senate, Mr. O'Connor enjoys a widespread popularity amongst all classes of the community, and particularly in legal and political circles. He' Is, like his chief, an Australian born, and the view he takes of the Federal question is from the national- standpoint, as opposed to the provincial advocated by Mr. Reid. He was educated in Sydney, and had a brilliant, scholastic career. He studied for the Bar, and while yet a young man was admitted to practice. He soon forced his way to the front, and is now looked upon as one of the soundest legal authorities in Australia. His first appearance in active politics was in 1887, when he was appointed a member of the Legislative Council. He graced that Chamber for a number of years, and during that, time his speeches were amongst the most weighty delivered on all subjects. He was Minister for Justice In the Dibbs Administration in 1891 (when Mr. Barton was Attorney-General), and he displayed good administrative: capacity in the circumscribed sphere allowed by his position in the Cabinet. Since 'Mr. Barton became Federal leader. Mr, O'Connor has been his first lieutenant, and he paid excellent service in "bringing about the consummation of the nationhood. He was a candidate for the People's Convention- which drafted the Constitution Act; and the prominent position he occupied on the poll, though : politically a": comparatively unknown .man, - was eloquent testimony of his great popularity. Subsequently he contested Young, but met defeat at the hands of Mr. J. ,C. Watson. On more than one occasion he has been honoured with an appointment as Acting-Judge of the Supreme Court, and his calm, deliberative disposition, proved him admirably capable as an impartial administrator of justice. He Is a staunch protectionist, and a fluent speaker, whose reasoning, is close and whose deductions always carry weight. -When Sir. Barton formed his Federal Cabinet Mr. -O'Connor was offered and accepted the position of Vice-President of the Executive Council. He will be the representative -of- the Government in the Federal Senate.
Mr. Alexander Hay. Bartonian Candidate for ILLAWARRA
The Australian Liberal Association has secured a man of unusual qualifications for the Illawarra Federal electorate In 'the person of Mr, Alexander Hay. The constituency is essentially a farming one, and Mr. Hay's intimate connection with that Industry places him in sympathy with the dairymen along the coast and In Upper Illawarra. He Is widely, known, owing to his- connection with the extensive Berry Estate, the management' of which has been in his hands for some years. He has always interested himself, in the advance of the dairy factory system, and in introducing the most modern appliances for carrying on dairying in the most profitable manner; .He Is extremely popular with the Berry Estate tenants, and has the good wishes of all the people on the land. The organisation of the farmers, owing to the universal adoption on the coast of the cooperative factory system, is very complete, and Mr. Hay should find little difficulty In 'securing the seat for the national party. In politics he is a protectionist, and though this -is his first attempt to enter Parliament, he is a- good speaker, and has a remarkably wide knowledge of political subjects.
Mp. T. T. Ewing. Bartonian Candidate for RICHMOND.
The fight in the Richmond Federal electorate between Messrs. T. T. Ewing and R. Pyers, M.'sL.A., should result In favour of the former, though the result can make no -difference to . the Governmenlt. Mr. Ewlng has the advantage of running with the; Imprimatur of the Liberal party, a distinction which lvis position in State polities and in the electorate enltitles him to. Mr. Ewlng entered Parliament in 1885 as one of the members for the Richmond, and he continued to represent that portion of the State till 1894. The redistribution of seats under Ithe new' Electoral Act out the Richmond up, and Mr. Ewlng choosing Lismore, was returned In 1S94 as the member for that district, which he has continued'. to represent ever since. He is an ardent protectionist, a finished speaker, and makes it his business to thoroughly understand all questions which crop up in current politics. 1-Ie is an ex-chairman of the Public 'Works Committee, having filled the position for one term."
Mr. J. D. Fitzgerald. Bartonian Candidate for ROBERTSON.
The Liberal candidate for Robertson is Mr. J. D. Fitzgerald, a rising barrister-at-law, who has pushed his way to the front in a mariner Indicative of much energy. By trade a compositor, he was, before he entered the political arena, an ardent advocate of the benefits of trades unionism. He was president of the Typographical Society, and was amongst the foremost in the work of improving the organisation of that body. In 1891 he was one of the chosen four labour candidates for West Sydney, and was returned with Messrs. A. Kelly, T. Davis, and G. Black. After entering politics he studied for the Bar, and was subsequently admitted, His loyalty to the cause of protection, however, incurred the displeasure of the single tax element, which at that time practically controlled the labour organisation, and he was defeated in 1894. At a subsequent election he appeared late in the field for Bathurst, and went very nearly ousting Mr. Sydney Smith. When the City Council Reform Act came into force at the close of last year he came out as a progressive candidate for municipal honours, and was elected. He is a sincere protectionist, a democrat, and he is one of the best speakers of the old labour party.
Mr. J. T. Gannon. Bartonian Candidate for WENTWORTH.
Mr. J. T. Gannon, the Liberal candidate for Wentworth; is well known in political circles as a man of democratic ideas and progressive tendencies. He has taken a prominent part In the past in political contests, and he has always been ranged with the Liberals. His candidature for the Federal Parliament has been conducted with a great deal of vigour, and his lucid treatment of all the burning questions of the day has made him many political friends. He has the support of a very influential section of the electors right through Wentworth, and his friends anticipate a heavy poll in his favour on Friday next.THE NATIONAL TICKET. (1901, March 23).The Australian Star (Sydney, NSW : 1887 - 1909), p. 4 (Commonwealth Elections Supplement to The Australian Star). Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article228499609
Patrick didn’t win this seat in the first Parliament of Australia. The seat of Darling was won by William Guthrie Spence (7 August 1846 – 13 December 1926), Australian trade union leader and politician, who played a leading role in the formation of both Australia's largest union, the Australian Workers' Union, and the Australian Labor Party.
The first federal elections for the new Parliament, which consisted of 36 senators and 75 members of the House of Representatives, were held on 29 and 30 March 1901. Eighty seven of the newly-elected parliamentarians, all of whom were men, had served in their colonial parliaments, including fourteen who had been colonial premiers. Several had also participated in the drafting of the Constitution and were active in the push for federation–ten had been at the 1891 Federation Convention and 25 attended the 1897/8 Convention. The first Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia was opened at noon on 9 May 1901 by the Duke of Cornwall and York (later King George V). The lavish ceremony, which was attended by over 12 000 guests, took place in the Exhibition Building, Melbourne. The Argus reported that:
'The ceremony was marked by the splendour and solemn impressiveness which befitted its historic importance. By the hand of Royalty, in the presence of the greatest concourse of people that Australia has seen in one building, and with splendid pomp and ceremonial, the legislative machinery of the Commonwealth was yesterday set in motion.' - The Argus, 10 May, 1901.
In his address, the Duke told the gathering:
It is His Majesty's [King Edward VII] earnest prayer that this Union, so happily achieved, may under God's blessing, prove an instrument for still further promoting the welfare and advancement of his subjects in Australia, and for the strengthening and consolidation of his Empire.
Members of parliament were sworn in by the Governor-General and then proceeded by foot and horse-drawn carriage to Victoria's Parliament House in nearby Spring Street. The Senate then met at 1.10 pm in the Legislative Council chamber and the House of Representatives assembled at 2.30 pm in the Legislative Assembly chamber for the first session of federal Parliament. The Victorian Parliament House remained the temporary home of federal Parliament until 1927, while a new national capital and Parliament House was built in Canberra. During this period, the Victorian Parliament met in the Exhibition Building.
In Melbourne the opening of Parliament was marked by two weeks of celebrations. The enthusiasm with which Australians greeted federation and the first federal Parliament demonstrated the nation was eager to unite as 'one people'.
The Duke of Cornwall and York opens the first federal Parliament, 1901 - source Museum of Victoria Australia
The members of the Australian Parliament assembled for the first time in Melbourne on 9 May 1901. One hundred and eleven members, comprising 36 senators and 75 members of the House of Representatives, had been elected in polls held in all states on the 29th or 30th March.
Some of these men were already well-known in their states or Australia-wide, while others made names for themselves in the first years of the Commonwealth. A number were virtually unknown at the time of the first election, and have now faded from public memory.
The members of the first Parliament were all men. Although women were eligible to stand for election in South Australia, no woman did stand for federal Parliament until the election of 1903.
The members of the first Commonwealth Parliament included some of the most prominent men in Australia at that time. A considerable number were ‘founding fathers’, having participated in the framing of the Constitution, and having led Australia to federation. Ten had been at the National Australasian Convention of 1891, and 25 at the 1897/8 Convention.
Of the 111 members of the first Parliament, 87 had previously served in a colonial parliament (29 senators and 58 members of the House of Representatives). Fourteen of these had been colonial premiers. Four serving premiers—Lyne (NSW), Holder (SA), Turner (Vic.) and Forrest (WA) resigned their positions to take up places in the first Commonwealth Parliament.
The men of the first Parliament continued to lead Australia for almost a quarter of a century. Every prime minister up to 1923 had been a member of the first Parliament.
Fifty-seven of the first members were born in Australia. Only three were born in Queensland and just one man, Sir John Forrest, was born in Western Australia. The length of their service varied from four months (William Henry Groom) to 51 years (William Morris Hughes).
They were drawn from a wide range of social backgrounds, education and occupations. Twenty-eight were lawyers, but they also included labourers, tradesmen, union officials, journalists, farmers, a clergyman, and a doctor.
Backbench parliamentarians in 1901 received a salary of 400 pounds per year. While they were entitled to free rail travel throughout Australia, initially they had no entitlement to free travel by sea, or to allowances to cover the expense of accommodation or food while attending Parliament. Their families were not entitled to any travel expenses or allowances.
Serving in the first Parliament created financial difficulties for many of the first members. The great majority were not wealthy men. It is probable that a number left the Parliament poorer than when they entered it. - from Members of the First Parliament Exhibition, retrieved from:http://exhibitions.senate.gov.au/pogg/members/parliamentarians.htm
New South State Elections were held the same year, on July 3rd, 1901, with many MP's 'retiring' as they had been elected to the federal House of Representatives. Mr. Quinn stood again:
BLIGH.
Mp. P. E. Quinn's Candidature
Mr. P . E. Quinn, candidate for Bligh Division, is progressing, as favourably as could be desired. The candidate himself is at present laid up with a throat affection, and being unable to attend last night's meeting at the corner of William and Riley streets wrote to his committee, thanking them for their endeavours on his behalf, and expressing the utmost confidence as to the final result. The wet night also prevented the Premier, who is another sufferer oh account of a sore throat, from speaking in the open air, but his place was taken by the Hon. W. Bennett. Mr. Bennett had a good reception, and at once inquired Into the cause of the opposition of certain newspapers to the Government. Even as late as the Federal campaign the "Dally Telegraph" so freely supported the Government that an Albury newspaper attacked it for throwing over Mr. Goddard, the free-trade candidate for the Hume. (Cheers.) The policy of the present Ministry was one of progress, whereas that of its predecessors was stagnation. He referred to the purchase of the yacht Victoria. In 1899 £10,000 was voted for a new hull' for the Thetis in 1899 £15,000 was voted for a steamer .to replace the Thetis, which was condemned j and in 1000 a further sum of £10,000 was voted for the same purpose. Those Votes, totalled £35,000, and as the Victoria which cost £100,000 to build, was secured for £33,000, It was absurd to say that the Government had, illegally spent the money. (Cheers.) He eulogised Mr. O'Sullivan's vigorous works policy, and thought that gentleman the most progressive man who ever sat in that department. The Government could take credit for the resumption of the Rocks. That was no new question. Sir Henry Parkes had spoken of it, Mr. Reid had even threatened to carry it out, but it remained for the Lyne Government to act. He stigmatised the attacks' on the Government as specious and trivial, and concluded by asking the electors to vote for Mr. Quinn, who, besides being a young Australian, was one of the ablest men In Parliament, and would, in the near future, rise to a very prominent position In the political world. On the motion of J. E. Birt, seconded by J. Purcell, a vote of confidence in the candidate was carried amidst cheers. The meeting terminated with cheers for the Government and the chairman, Mr. E. W. Butler. BLIGH. (1901, June 28). The Australian Star (Sydney, NSW : 1887 - 1909), p. 3. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article228513602
MR P E QUINN
Though he has Written some graceful verse, Mr. P. E. Quinn, journalist and politician, recognises that he 'is overshadowed by his younger brother, Roderic, and is content to play the role of critic rather than of poet. He is not without consolation. Not only does poetry spell poverty for the writer who Is unable to do anything else, but in Mr. Quinn's opinion the days of the poets are numbered.
"The race is losing its singing power,' he affirms, 'not that it lacks the qualifications of art and expression, but because the impulses that make great poetry are not to be looked for now.' Science, he thinks, is taking the place of 'poetry in satisfying the Imaginative needs of man to a far greater extent than popularly supposed. The poet has no special message now.
As Macaulay predicted, poetry is declining with the advance of civilisation. A world-movement in the direction of humanitarianism is manifesting itself, and its needs will be satisfied by legislation. Poetry may retain its' place among the arts, and that which is transcript of the emotions of the romantic period in the life of individuals may Always be appreciated; but as the expression of the spirit of the age poetry will lose its significance. Of course, he says, we cannot foresee what tricks Fortune may play upon us.
Here, in Australia we may experience some national crisis or discipline, which will act as an Incentive to national poetry. Nobody can tell.
Mr. Quinn does not see how there can be any specially distinctive Australian poetry any more than there can be distinctive American poetry, seeing that it is not the Accidental environment of the eucalypts or the great plains that determines the direction or character of literary genius. That, he points out, was decided for us long ago.
' We are dominated by the genius of the English language, and we cannot get away from it, even if we wanted to try. Hence, it is that our poetic explorers find to-day nearly every sea charted. POETS AND POETRY IN N.S. WALES. (1909, June 9). The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), p. 20. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article164292770
He was then posted to the United States, his wife and daughter going with him:
AUSTRALIA AND CALIFORNIA.
ADDRESS BY MR. P. QUINN.
That California, with its water power, is destined to become one of the great manufacturing centres of the world, was the prediction of Mr. P. E. Quitiu, trade commissioner of New South Wales, in an address last month before the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco, California. He said that he had been making a tour of the western States of America, and had become Impressed with the possibilities of cheap power in California. In New South Wales they cut millions of pounds of the finest wool in the world each year, and that California should be manufacturing it.
"Instead of importing cloth," he said, "California should be sending it all over the world. Here Is power running to waste up in your mountains, and hardly twice the distance from New York are unlimited quantities of raw material. It is' only a question of time when these conditions will be seized upon by some group of far-seeing manufacturers. It can be landed in California by the cheapest mode of transportation known, and California is the logical place for its manufacture."
Along the Feather River he had seen a trail running down the mountain side for miles by the side of the railway track, he asked v.hat it was, and was told that it had been made by the gold-rush pioneers of 1849.
"Many of those pioneers," he said, "were our pioneers. It was only a few years after gold was discovered In California that we found it in Australia, and the Californian gold-diggers showed us the way. The two places have been linked by a similarity of early history. Stories of the wealth and beauty of California were taken to Australia years before they were known elsewhere." Australia was in need of some expert irrigationists. They were just attempting irrigation In that country and a practical demonstration was needed there to show just what could be done with water. "We need some good men,-" he added, "who have a thorough practical knowledge of irrigation work, in California the fruit and vegetable growers have had years of experience in this kind of work, while Australians are only just beginning It." AUSTRALIA AND CALIFORNIA. (1912, October 16). The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), p. 19. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article239175828
Mr. P. E. Quinn, Acting-Trade Commissioner for the New South Wales Government, returned to Sydney on leave a few days ago, from Vancouver and San Francisco, and in the course of an interview said that news of the Australian Navy had created a splendid impression on the minds of the American people. PERSONAL. (1914, October 29). Freeman's Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1850 - 1932), p. 21. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article111297316
Recently Mr. Levy asked several questions in the Assembly respecting the position occupied by Mr. N. R. Neilsen. From a printed reply, circulated by the Premier last week, it appears that Mr. Nielsen is still in the employ of the Government of New South Wales as Executive Commissioner at the Panama Exhibition and Trade Commissioner to the United States and Canada, and that he receives a salary of £4 per day.
His staff consists of Mr. P. E. Quinn, officer in charge of the Vancouver branch, salary £750 per annum; and a secretary, clerk, and typist in the head office at salaries of ;£500, £275, and £180 respectively, in connection with the Exhibition, Mr. J. W. Niesigh is also temporarily engaged, at a salary of £720 per annum. The other expenses provided for in Mr. Nielsen's estimate of expenditure are— Rent £600, travelling expenses £500, cost of railway travelling £200, incidental expenses £850, and furniture for new office £250. [So that, independent of the expenses incidental to the first hurried spiriting away of Neilson, that gentleman is now running a useless show costing the country about £6000 per annum. As the Government is looking round for money they might disband the Neilsen crowd and put the saved money into some' reproductive work— Ed. B.B.]. LOCAL AND GENERAL. (1914, December 2). The Bega Budget (NSW : 1905 - 1920), p. 2. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article109717609
TRADE WITH AMERICA.
MR. P. E QUINN ADDRESSES NEW YORKERS.
The efforts on the part of the New South Wales Government to establish closer trade relations between Sydney and New York have aroused unmistakeable interest in America, both at San Francisco and New York (writes our 'Frisco correspondent), and congratulations are being showered upon Mr. P E Quinn, Deputy Trade Commissioner at San Francisco for the New South Wales Government, by reason of his being deputed to proceed to New York with the object of organising the new direct communication.
At the Panama Exposition Mr. Quinn was specially invited to address the New York State Exhibitors' Association in the New York State Pavilion. Mr. Daniel L. Ryan, of New York, presided over a large and influential attendance, which included several of the millionaire merchants of the capital State. In the course of his speech, Mr. Quinn mentioned that considering the trade of Australia was worth more to America than that of Japan, one wondered why the attention of American newspapers persistently focussed itself upon the Oriental trade. The balance of trade between Australia and the United States was very much against the former, and that was why the New South Wales Government sent trade commissioners to the United States to endeavour to assist in rectifying the incidence of trade.
Having shown that the trading between Australia and San Francisco had quadrupled from 1910 to 1914, Mr. Quinn proceeded to deal with the New York project, and said that Australia took about 14 per cent, of the American imports through San Francisco, and the bulk of the balance of imports came from New York, originating in the manufacturing centres of the Eastern States. About three ships monthly left New York for Australian ports, mainly British, and not concerned In return cargoes to New York. They discharged their Australian cargo, they loaded up in Australian ports with wool, wheat, metals, etc.,. for European destinations. This service was of no use to Australia, as it prevented them from reaching the great markets of the custom States with their products.
The Panama Canal offored an opportunity, and in a visit to New York which he made in the early part of this year, he found a unanimous agreement among prominent New York shorehapts and shippers that a direct line should be established. He believed it would have been established but for the intervention of the war. Formerly, much of the goods sent from Now York to Australia were taken to Liverpool, and there transhipped to Australian ports, necessitating unnecessary expense and delay. To secure stability of international trade, It was not only necessary to have reciprocity in trade, but it was also necessary that an exporting nation should transport its own goods in its own ships. He believed it would be for the best interests of the United States to have an adequate merchant marine of Its own. Australians were a people well worth trading with, considered from an economic standpoint, for per capita they possessed £406. In reply to the chairman, Mr. Quinn said he had noticed remarks made from time to time in American newspapers to the effect that the Australian tariff discriminated against American goods. That was not so. Australia had the same tariff rates against Canada as against the United States, and against France, so there could be no ground for complaint on account of the tariff.
Mr. Quinn was cordially thanked for his instructive address, which will be published In the Eastern commercial press. TRADE WITH AMERICA. (1915, September 16). The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), p. 4. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article239117990
He passed away in 1926 after a long illness and was interred in the Manly Cemetery.
QUINN.-— April 2, at a private hospital, Manly, Patrick Edward, dearly beloved husband of Julia Quinn, and loved father of Marjorie, aged 64 years. R.I.P. Family Notices (1926, April 3). The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), p. 10. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article245770715
The funeral took place the next day, April 3rd.
MR P. E. QUINN.
A splendid type of citizen and a man well respected in every sphere of the State's commercial and professional life, Mr Patrick E. Quinn, brother of the well known Mr Roderic Quinn, passed away at Manly after several weeks' illness at the age of 64 years. Mr. Quinn, who left a widow and daughter, was a man of
broad capacity. A well-informed and cultured journalist, he edited a newspaper at Narrabri at 20 years of age, and subsequently served on several Sydney newspapers, commencing with the 'Illustrated Sydney News,' now defunct. Until recently he was on the editorial staff of 'The Daily Telegraph,' where his writings were distinguished by force, clarity, and a sure literary touch.
He wrote much verse of high quality, and it was a matter for regret among his' friends that he never troubled to publish these poems in book form. He did achieve two publications, however, one a textbook on art that has been used in schools in Australia and abroad, and the once well-known cantata, 'Captain Cook,' written in collaboration with Mr. J. Delany.
Verse-writing, it is to be noted, is strongly implanted in the Quinn family; Mr. Quinn's brother, Roderic, is well known in this capacity, and so also is his. daughter, Miss Marjorie Quinn.
For six years Mr. Quinn was a member of the New South Wales Legislative 'Assembly, having entered politics at the beginning of the present century as member for the Bligh Division, Sydney. Politics, however, was not his forte, for though a thoughtful and broad-minded debater,- he was too retiring a spirit for the hurly-burly. Subsequently (in 1912) Mr. Quinn became Deputy Trade Commissioner for New South Wales in the United States, a position he held with credit to himself, and advantage to his homeland for six years. MR. P. E. QUINN. (1926, April 8). Freeman's Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1850 - 1932), p. 19. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article116760230
OBITUARY.
MR. P. E. QUINN.
The funeral of Mr. Patrick Edward Quinn, the well-known Sydney journalist, took place on Saturday afternoon in the Roman Catholic Cemetery, Manly. Prior to the funeral a requiem mass was celebrated in the Roman Catholic Church, Manly, by the Rev. Father J. McDonald, parish priest. Monsignor Hayden officiated at the graveside, being assisted by Dr. Niven and Father McGovern.
The principal mourners were Mrs. Quinn (widow). Miss Marjorie Quinn (daughter), Mr. Roderic Quinn (brother), Misses Nora Quinn and Frances Quinn (sisters), Miss Mary Bourke and Mrs. James Quinn (sisters-in-law), Misses May Quinn and Kathleen Quinn (nieces), and Dr. Roderic Quinn (cousin).
There were also present Messrs. W. Farmer Whyte (representing the Institute of Journal-ists), W. Somerville, T. Courtney, and H. Hall ("Daily Telegraph"), P. D. S. Murray (representing Sir Hubert Murray, Governor of Papua), P. Courtney, E. J. Forbes, J. Donnelly, P. Coonan, W. J. Spruson, J. J. Taylor, J. P. McCarthy, A. M. B. Clarke. J. P. Hickey, H. Bartier, W. Bourke, J. Carroll, T. Brewer, J. Beatty, Darrehy, R. Caldwell, T. Bergin. S A. Burns, D. Quinn, R. S. Quinn, Jones, Chapman, W. O'Brien, A. T. Butler, and re-presentatives of the Marist Brothers.
A large number of floral tributes were sent, including a wreath from the Institute of Journalists. OBITUARY. (1926, April 6). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 8. Retrieved November 23, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16268252
Daughter Marjorie also became a prolific poet and writer of some renown and one of the champions of women's literature in Sydney.
