working on any field. The prospectors at Kimberley drew up a petition to Governor Broome, praying that Chinese should not be allowed to work on any goldfield for at least three years after its first discovery. The white pearlers at Sharks Bay complained that by evading the labour conditions of the Pearl Fisheries Act the Chinese were rapidly monopolising the pearling ground, and asked that an arrangement should be made which would prevent this. Governor Broome communicated with the Secretary for the Colonies, who promised, on 3rd April, 1886, that Her Majesty's Government would not oppose restrictions on the influx of Chinese based upon precedents afforded by the action of other colonies; but, unless for strong reasons, he deprecated the immediate introduction of any stringent measure.
As seen, a clause was attached to the Goldfields Act of 1886 preventing any Asiatic or African alien from obtaining a miner's right for five years after the first proclamation of any goldfield. In 1886 the Chinese Immigration Act was passed, and provided that no ship might bring to the colony more than one Chinese passenger to every fifty tons of her register; a penalty not exceeding £100 was imposed for each Chinese carried in excess. A poll tax of £50 per head was also levied. An Act assented to in 1889 abolished the poll tax, but raised the tonnage of vessels per each Chinese passenger to 500 tons. To prevent the Chinese from monopolising the pearl fisheries in Sharks Bay, an Act was passed in 1889 giving the Governor power to grant licenses for pearling for defined areas. Concerning other immigration, Governor Broome formulated a scheme which was ultimately carried into effect. Assisted passages were allowed to people whose character, age, and physique were testified to by persons appointed for that purpose. Large sums of money were expended in this way. In 1884 the passages and expenses of 351 persons were paid, the cost to the colony being £4,850; in 1885, 381 persons, at a cost of £5,825; and in 1886, 1,556 persons, at a cost of £15,611. In 1887 the sum of £11,735 was spent on 1,000 immigrants introduced by the Great Southern Railway Company, and £11,812 on 200 other immigrants. Only a few assisted immigrants arrived in 1888. The original scheme of Governor Broome was not considered a success, and was amended.
An increase is observable in the annual figures of export. The Blue Book returns of exports and imports are:—
| Year. | Imports. | Exports. |
| 1879 ... | £407,299 ... | £494,883 ... |
| 1880 ... | 353,669 ... | 499,183 ... |
| 1881 ... | 404,831 ... | 502,769 ... |
| 1882 ... | 508,755 ... | 583,055 ... |
| 1883 ... | 516,846 ... | 444,764 ... |
| 1884 ... | 521,167 ... | 404,000 ... |
| 1885 ... | 650,390 ... | 446,691 ... |
| 1886 ... | 758,011 ... | 630,393 ... |
| 1887 ... | 832,213 ... | 604,656 ... |
| 1888 ... | 786,250 ... | 680,345 ... |
The ten years' increase is less than that of the previous ten years. To the small returns for wool and sandalwood were largely due the falling off in export in 1883-4-5. Unfortunately, the value of the imports again exceed the exports, especially in the latter years, when the goldfields attracted population, and caused merchants to import heavily. The large importations of flour, grain, hay, fruits, and wines, all of which could be produced in the colony, served to greatly swell the amounts of imports. The farmers did not take advantage of the object lesson thus afforded.
The export of stock was:—
| Year. | Horses. | Sheep. | Cattle. |
| 1879 ... | £11,987 ... | £438 ... | — |
| 1880 ... | 8,975 ... | — ... | — |
| 1881 ... | 11,125 ... | — ... | — |
| 1882 ... | 7,600 ... | — ... | £1,043 |
| 1883 ... | 11,350 ... | — ... | 714 |
| 1884 ... | 13,100 ... | — ... | — |
| 1885 ... | £10,475 ... | £454 ... | £679 |
| 1886 ... | 3,783 ... | — ... | — |
| 1887 ... | 5,811 ... | — ... | — |
| 1888 ... | 4,836 ... | — ... | — |
The annual export of wool was:—In 1879, £175,284; 1880, £271,412; 1881, £256,689; 1882, £301,234; 1883, £225,279; 1884, £249,255; 1886, £332,578; 1887, £333,785; and 1888, £423,762. Lucrative returns were obtained for skins.
Pearling was pursued with all the zest of former years. The Government appointed an Inspector of Pearl Shell Fisheries, Mr. B.E. Mayne, who supplied periodical reports concerning the industry, and generally watched over the Government interests. The native question as applied to pearl fishing was greatly improved. In 1884, Mr. Mayne, who had spent many years in the tropics, announced that the local pearling industry was one of the best regulated and most orderly he had ever seen. In 1885, however, he imposed heavy fines—5s. per head of natives out diving—on the pearlers for overworking the divers. There were engaged in the work in 1884—104 Europeans, employing 560 aboriginal natives; seventy-two Malays, and nineteen South Sea Islanders. In 1883 a Pearl Fisheries Act, passed by the Legislative Council, sought to regulate the industry, and provided for the more efficient protection of divers. An amending Act, passed in 1887, placed somewhat severe restrictions on diving in deep waters, and prescribed the dress which must be worn by divers. The object desired was to protect human life. The Europeans were incensed at the regulations, which they considered too strict, and calculated to cripple the industry.
Severe losses to life and property took place among the pearlers. A storm devastated the fleet in 1881. In the first week of January the pearling boats were quietly pursuing their quest on the coast near Roebourne, but one day the weather lowered and the mercury steadily fell. A storm was expected, and several boats got to what was considered safe anchorage. On the following morning the wind was strong, and at eight a.m. the sky became gloomy and the morning almost dark. The wind increased to a hurricane in a few minutes, and the mercury fell as low as could be indicated by the dial. The vessels strained at their anchors, and every few minutes one and another parted and was driven on in the scud and gloom. The day became so dense that it was impossible to see a few yards ahead, and the wind so violent that the pearlers had to crawl if they wished to move about the decks. The Adela, Alpha, Banangora, Emma, Ethel, Florence, Fortescue, Kate, Morning Star, Nautilus, Sarah, Yule, and other boats were wrecked, and several lives were lost. About four p.m. the day cleared, and there was a great calm. The wrecked men who managed to get to shore were in an unenviable situation. The country was flooded, sand-hills were carried away, mangrove trees were completely denuded of leaves and showed merely the twisted outlines of their limbs, and well-known creeks were no longer to be seen and new ones appeared. Shoals and banks were shifted about and their previous positions were so altered as to perplex the oldest seamen on the coast. Captain Simpson reported that the cyclone was accompanied by a tidal wave which must have been thirty feet in height, for it swept completely over the Twin Islands. The sight of the wrecked pearling fleet was sadly picturesque. While the loss of life was not great—no clear estimate was given—the loss to the pearlers was serious. Happily, the cyclone only caught that portion of the fleet stationed near Cape Kearny Island. Serious damage was done inland on the Ashburton, where the strength of the wind carried such volumes of sand with it as to nearly suffocate
