money had been wasted, imprudent debts contracted, and important interests disorganised, through strife of party, political stubbornness, and abuse of office.
A month later, on 14th October, a public meeting was held in Perth, presided over by Mr. A. Hillman, the Sheriff. Mr. S. Leake read extracts from several of Governor Hampton's despatches, and Mr Carr moved that as the change assented to by the Secretary for the Colonies was an improvement on the old system, it be accepted. Mr. Brockman submitted an amendment that colonists had not been fairly dealt with, and that the meeting decline to accept any alteration unaccompanied by the elective franchise. Mr. Carr's resolution was accepted. Mr. Bickley then carried a motion affirming that colonists should be allowed to select the non-official members, and a committee was appointed to carry out the objects of the meeting, the members of which were L. S. Leake, C. A. Manning, R. King, T. Fawcett, E. Newman, S. A. Barker, A. Francisco, S.S. Parker, J. Drummond, S. Burges, T. Burges, J. G. Lee-Steere, F. Lochee, P. Clifton, T. C. Gull, E Stirling, J. T. Cooke, W. Padbury, E. Birch, H. Saw, G. Glyde, B. Mason, J. T. Reilly, J. Hardey, T. Farrelly, B. B. Ranford, J. G. C. Carr, R. De Burgh, G. Shenton, W. D. Moore, and G. Johnson. The committee met on 19th October, and forwarded copies of the resolutions to the Colonial Secretary, and requested the Governor to favour them with suggestions for their guidance. A reply was read at another meeting on 22nd October. The Governor supported the movement, and hoped colonists would nominate six gentlemen pledged to perform all the duties of members of the Legislature. A circular letter was then sent to representative gentlemen in different districts, asking for their co-operation.
As it was necessary to choose representatives as early as possible, in order that the names might be submitted to the Governor and the Secretary for the Colonies, arrangements were quickly completed to take advantage of Governor Hampton's permission. The colony was divided into six electoral districts—Champion Bay, Eastern District, Guildford and the Swan, Perth, Fremantle, and the Murray. The Government rendered assistance, and it was decided that all male adults, except ticket-of-leave men, should have the right of voting by ballot; no proxies were permitted. The Perth election was held on 11th November, and at 2 p.m. the Sheriff took the chair in the Court House. The balloting closed at 5 o'clock, and at 5.30 the Sheriff declared the results to be:—J. G. C. Carr, 185 votes; W. Padbury, 68; L. S. Leake, 52. On 18th November Fremantle was gaily decorated with flags on the occasion of the election, and the town was unusually excited. When the votes were counted, W. Bateman was found to lead, with 209; E. C. Newman next, with 112; C. A. Manning, 99; and R. King, 2. At Guildford, on 2nd December, some commotion was apparent:—W. L. Brockman, 87 votes; T. C. Gull, 60; R. De Burgh, 10; and J. W. Hardey, 4. Party spirit ran high at Bunbury (Murray district); canvassers on horseback met voters coming into town. The elections were held in the Wellington Hotel on 5th December:—J. G. Lee-Steere, 182; D. Eadie, 98; and Captain Fawcett, 29. The balloting was keen in the Eastern district, which included such important centres as York, Northam, and Newcastle. The returns were:—E. Hamersley, 433; S. P. Phillips, 398; and S. E. Burges, 37. The Champion Bay people disdainfully refused to accept the "Governor's gracious privilege," and had no election. Governor Hampton was therefore compelled to nominate a sixth representative, and retaliated by choosing J. W. Hardey, whose opposition to the 1865 petition had rendered him unpopular.
The names of Messrs. Carr, Bateman, Brockman, Lee-Steere, Hamersley, and Hardey were submitted to the Secretary for the Colonies for his approval, and on 7th July, 1868, an Order-in-Council was passed constituting them members of the Western Australian Legislative Council for three years. One important reason why colonists so readily accepted this irresponsible method of electing representatives was the conviction that with the new members any future petition for Representative Government would receive better treatment from the Legislative Council than was granted in 1865. They wasted no time in leading up to this point. At a meeting held in Perth on 21st February, 1868, with Mr. Lee-Steere in the chair, on the motion of Mr. S. P. Phillips and Mr. A. Shenton, a resolution was carried, affirming the expediency of taking immediate steps to procure the establishment of Representative Government, and proposing that a petition be presented to the Legislative Council for that purpose at its next sitting. Messrs. S. Burges, Lee-Steere, Samson, Phillips, Padbury, Bickley, Birch, and A. Shenton all signified their earnest approval of taking what Mr. S. E. Burges termed "decided and well directed action" to have the memorial widely signed, and of great weight. A committee was unanimously appointed to further the project, and a resolution carried requesting Mr. Lee-Steere to introduce the memorial into the Legislative Council. A petition was drawn up and circulated.
But Governor Hampton, evidently impressed by the trend of public opinion, partly forestalled the petition. When submitting to the Secretary for the Colonies the names of the six gentlemen elected for nomination to the Council, in his despatch of 27th December, 1867, he recommended that at the end of the first term of three years, half the Council be elected, the other half consist of official members, and that the Governor have a casting vote. The Secretary of State, on 27th March, 1868, gave his approval, but required that the electoral divisions and franchise proposed should be described to him before any provisionary measure was introduced into the Western Australian Council. Before they knew that such a proposal had been advanced by the Governor, it was announced to the people in May, 1868, that in three years' time they would be allowed to directly elect their representatives to the Council. Some demur was made even to this privilege, for with an evenly-balanced House of official and elective members the Governor would, in the event of equal voting on any measure, have the casting vote. The petition went its way through the colony. Thus the matter stood at the end of 1868. The new Legislative Council met on 20th July, 1868.
Governor Hampton's tenure of office closed in November, 1868, when he left the colony. His administration was latterly somewhat stormy; but, nevertheless, he was able to confer numerous substantial benefits on the colony, memorials of which, in public buildings and roads, exist to this day. Western Australians, in debate or agitation, could say many bitter things, and they fully believed they were justified in saying them, yet they generally knew how to appreciate those who did them service. As early as August, 1867, a memorial was transferred to the Secretary for the Colonies signed by hundreds of persons, praying for the continuance of Governor Hampton's term of office. The heads of the Civil and Military Departments, followed by a long string of carriages, escorted him to Fremantle, on 2nd November, 1868, where a demonstrative farewelling was made. Several addresses
