Page:History of Adelaide and vicinity.djvu/232

 206 ADELAIDE AND VICINITY Conclusions Civil Service, is another example. It was drafted by the Premier, and was designed as a solution of strike difficulties— a very serious question in political economy, especially a few years ago. While the measure was admittedl) clever in conception, it has not been extensively utilised. Among the most important measures introduced and carried by the Kingston Government were Adult Suffrage, an p:mployers' Liability Bill, a Closer Setdement Hill, a Bill to provide for the establishment of a State Bank, a Factory Bill, and bills providing for a progressive system in land and income taxation, and in succession duties. Under the Adult Suffrage Act the vote was extended to women, and they for the first time appeared in practical politics at the General Election in 1896. The vote did not Weir on the River Onkapakinga at Clarendon seem to materially affect the balance of parties. The Closer Settlement Act empowered the Government to purchase, under certain conditions, large estates that were believed to be insufficiently utilised, and to cut them up into sections principally for the benefit of farmers. The .Succession Duties Act was of such a nature that the Imperial Government, when effecting a modification in the British laws, used it as a precedent, and transferred many of its principles to a new bill introduced into the Commons by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Among advanced measures which the Government has not yet been able to carry are some dealing with early closing, law reform, and the abolition of a property (jualification for electors in the Legislative Council. The Kingston (jovernment,