"BIGJOHN" O' BUNBURY

NZ Truth, Issue 695, 12 October 1918, Page 5

" BIGJOHN " O' BUNBURY

THE LATE LORD JOHN fORREST

An Autocrat with Democratic Principles

One ©f the Last >f Australia's Big Men

Over m West Australia, where there has been a mourning note owing to the demise of Lord Forrest, Perth "Truth' has drawn attention to what may be termed an historical contrast. Parenthetically, it may be mentioned that when the late Lord was appointed Treasurer m the Cook Federal Ministry, Perth "Truth" suggested that • it was a fitting time for Westralians to show their admiration for "Bigjohn" by ereoting a statue of the knight, or m some other form giving evidence oi their appreciation of his life work while he was still living. Though there was then no pretext for wartime economy, the Liberals of the State decided that the proposal was excellent! but, aa It ; meant money from their private purse, . there the matter ended. Now that Lord John is dead, a memorial will be mooted, arid as v it will be defrayed from the public purse, Liberal enthusiasm will fly to fever heat, Now for Perth "Truth's" latest;— At a time when laudatory notices concerning the very excellent qualities of the late Lord Forrest are flooding the press of Australia, any little incidentseven if but remotely connected with the career of Westralia's greatest sonare of peculiar interest. It is common knowledge that the name of Forrest first attracted attention • through the exploring feats of two brothers— Aleck and John — of the Forrest family. It was the" memorable overland' trip of 1874, when these two brothers, accompanied by two other white men and a couple of aboriginals, succeeded m crossing from Geraldton to the overland telegraph line m South Australia, that set the seal upon the fame of the then plain John Forrest as an explorer. IT WAS A GRIM EXPERIENCE. Eastward from Geraldton, where the expedition said good-bye to civilisation, a vast stretch of unexplored and, supposedly, desert country reached across to and beyond the South Australian border. Death hovered over the little band almost from the start of the journey — death m one of its most excruciating forms, from the torments oi thirst. Yet, with an outfit that would excite the derision of the "bushwhacker" oi to-day, John Forrest led the little party across that practically waterless expanse of desert and brought them safe — if not altogether sound — to the settled district of Peake, m South Australia. In those days tinned or preserved foods were an unknown quantity m W.A. Besides blankets, a few rough cooking utensils, and the leader's surveying instruments, nothing was carried tmt pork, flour, tea, sugar, guns, ammunition and horseshoes. With but 18 horses for a party of six, it is riot to be wondered at that towards the end of the trip the members of the expedition were suffering from semistarvation. Attacked on more than one occasion by hostile • natives, with the gaunt spectre of famine dogging their steps, and with dry "stages" behind them that could riot be reci-ossed, their only hope lay m successfully accomplishing their task. Time and time again the weary men, and still more weary horses, were forced to camp on a scanty arid fast-disappearing supply of water while THEI^ INDOMITABLE LEADER pushed ahead, ranging the country to discover a fresh . supply. It .was no place for weaklings. The arixiety of the leader oh those solitary scouring trips was not a whit less keen than the suspense of the men m camp, who, watching the famished horses, were hoping with a hope that defied, their knowledge of the country, and past experiences, for the speedy return of their leader with the heartening news of "good feed and water" ahead. With only 18 horses to caffy the provisions and paraphernalia of six men— not to mention the men themselves — for an indeterminate period, there is only one plan to pursue. No horse must be allowed to knock up or go lame through lack of skiU and attention to the most vitally important parts of a horse when travelling — its feet. ON THAT GRUELLING JOURNEY of '74 this responsibility rested on James Sweeney, a bushman and farrier of no mean ability. He discharged his trust faithfully and well, and to the careful and skilful performance of his duties the success of the expedition was, mno small measure, due. That, m his loyalty to his leader, he gave the best that waa m him, a short extract from a record of the trip places beyond all doubt. It reads :-r"On the lith of September, 1874"— the party started out on March 18 or the same year— "Sweeney, a member of the: expedition, exhibited signs of illness, the lengthened strain and excessive privations having told severely on his constitution. The meat ration (pork) carried by the party had long ago been consumed, likewise the tea and' sugar, and, failing the ' presence .of ;. native game, damper and water constituted the daily diet of the explorers. A departure was made, therefore, from the usual procedure,' and the journey was coritiriued on Sunday, arid on September 27 a burst of cheering announced the first sight of the overland telegraph line." - "■•' ' 'By a strange coincidence, while condolences on the death of Lord Forrest were' pouring m from all parts of the Empire, Sweeney was officially notified that he had better look around for another job.' Not exactly sacked — superannuated. As he bears an excellent record he will, of course, receive the usual allowance provided for by the regulations,, but no peftjsion. In' civil life pensions are only for persons of importance. Lord Forrest drew a State pension of £500 per annum for many years prior to his death. ; The death of Lord Forrest furnished 1 an opportunity for the release of a lot of copy kept m cold storage by the Westralian press. " It was, m every instance, a rehash of what has been printed over and over again by the same papers and all about as interesting as a solemn announcement that Julius Caesar invaded Britain. Of the many who now declare, with a sigh, that "I knew him well," riot one has attempted to criticise the man, John Forrest, nor . the characteristics . which peculiarly marked him but as a'•different sort of man, These few remarks following do not pretend to deal fully with the subject, but simply to touch upon ' ' . . SOME FEATURES OF THE DEAD WESTRALIAN. . John Forrest, fo r the tinsel title does not add one iota to his rugged greatness, was a political phenomenon. He had strong traces of democracy m Ms composition, but he firmly believed m applying them as an autocrat. Democracy without autocracy, did not appeal to him at all. And, to get further back into that phase it was, as it so often | is, environment that was responsible

for the development. Nowhere on earth was there a more conservative, non-progressive, narrow-minded people than that John Forrest had to deal with. He recognised if W.A. was not to remain a small corner m the backyard of Australia, that it was necessary for other people, such as the abhorred "t'othersiders," to be attracted here. To achieve that end meant to defy all the hidebound characteristics of the "Grpper." There had to be some quantum of democracy, but to impose it democratically upon W.A. was an absolute impossibility. , . Jphn . Forrest knew that, he knew his "Gropers," and he knew that autocracy was the only method that ensured success. The first great works he proposed were bitterly opposed by the, old "Groper" regime, who, m those, days, regarded John aa the epitome of all that is called 1.W.W.---ism or Bolshevism to-day. But h« "carried on," and he made the OLD "GROPERS" GRUNT AND . WHINE, ■ ; but — they gave m. Other matters he subsequently proposed were also scowled at, but population was coming m, and, strangely enough, it was the "t'othersider" element that was helping him through against his old "Groper" friends. When he liberalised the franchise, over twenty years ago now, and swelled the rolls with "t'otherside" votes, the horror of the ancient "Groper" element was something that only a Dante could display m all its anguish. The liberalising of the land laws, with the "free 160 acres homestead block;" which the late Geo. Throssell enthusiastically boomed all over Australia, shook the; citadel of ancient "Groper" conservat- . ism to its foundation's. But John went*; , on, and to make W.A. more democratic he enforced his autocratic will on> everybody, friend or foe. One minister, Venn, opposed one project. There wagno shilly-shallying, with John. He merely said, at midnight, "Get out," and Venn got out, not only from the ministry, but before long from political life altogether. John, believed the peo-. pie wanted: a certain thing, and they: were to get it; A Minister did hot', count, and so, to be democratic, John, was once again the autocrat. -4 Again m later years a union waa,. formed m the railway service, but it/ was as helpless as a baby m a cage. All official doors arid channels wero;' closed to it. Without what was termecfe "official recognition," the union was a£> farce. Railway potentates could seer naught butinsubordination and mutlnyj m a union under any circumstances. To recognise it was unheard of and" unknown m the Empire. Leaders m the movement were suddenly transfer-. ' red, , DARK THREATS WERE CIRCULATED; and the union did not look like a long liver. Then the matter was brought before the great dead man. He ruled that State employees had as muck right to a union as anybody else and to 'have facilities for ; dealing direct with their more immediate employers, the railway "rajahs." He told his political railway head, the late F. J. Piesse,. to recognise the railway union. Piesse, egged on by the railway 'heads to "be firm," refused to obey, and m two days John emptied him out and appointed another Minister, or Commissioner/ as then termed. It was another instance of being wholly autocratic In order to be democratic and, m this instancefet was something unheard of m railwy working that he had forced upon tlrei© daring to oppose his will. . Getting nearer the end of his term as head of the State he recognised that strikes were not profitable propositions.' Arbitration, as a legal entity, was generally regarded as a New Zealand fad, and best left to that part of the Empire. John Forrest saw possibilities In it, and the ' Labor bodies of that day found m him a willing listener and a warm sympathiser. Labor was then a small force, and politically unknown. ' But John had some of the farsighted vision of the statesman, and he could see that it was going to expand. To . him it seemed advisable that arbitration should replace strikes and he imposed his will again, despite all the old "Groper" grumbling, and the W.A. Arbitration Act became an accomplished fact. The Act fell short m many ways but it was at least, a move forward on democratic, lines. Once more he 'had proved that he believed m ENFORCING DEMOCRATIC • PRINCIPLES by autocratic methods. The growing political force of the workers had ita influence m this particular matter, but the fact remains that the man born, and reared up, m a- confined "Groper" atmosphere could dare to.be democratic. * The late big Westralian had ialso, m a marked degree, that, sublime confidence m himself .which carries men over, so many obstacles. When ho made up his mind to do something it was absolutely right m his estimation .--•exactly, like the great South Australian, C. C. Kingston. That was due to the natural .autocracy of the man who had overcome the dangers of the desert " and who ■■ was not going to' allow , the obstacles of cramped • "Groperism" to deter him from doing what he believed was required. An instance of his belief m himself can be illustrated by. a little anecdote. He had a big State scheme on hand. An admirer met him and remarked, "You will be going to tho banks, Sir John." "Go to the banks?" he_ replied indignantly, "I go to tho banks? " The banks come to me." That was typical of . the man and typical of the' spirit with which he inaugurated the advancement of his native State and pulverised to fragments the armourplated shells of the old "Gropers." , The remark's herein contained are only a fragment of a big subject, but they indicate i'a little of the bigness ofi the dead man, who amongst Australian politicians, was never accused of any shady transactions. True, m the Federal sphere he coalesced with enemies like Hughes for place" and pay, but ha did not squander the people's money aa THE RENEGADE CLASS DO. The only pity was, as we have before stated, that the blandishments of titles and tinsel appealed to him, but here again, it was most probably the autocratic spirit getting another leg m. Many great undertaking's can be laid to the credit of John Forrest. Under ■his regime, railways were built connecting the gbldfields with the coastr another gigantic scheme being the goldfields water supply, while the Freanantle Harbor is a monument to th(" progressive instincts of f'Oom John."