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The rapid growth of democracy in Victoria created contradictions for parliament (‘the Talking Shop’) in its early years. Because working men preferred candidates of their own class, men with little money or education were elected to the Legislative Assembly. But although they’d voted for men like themselves, voters expected their parliamentary representatives to be – or at least to act like – their ‘betters’. Parliamentarians were unpaid and many members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) had little income. Even so, they had to adopt a gentlemanly appearance: long frock coat, kid gloves and top hat. Their manners often were less gentlemanly. While Victoria’s upper house was renowned for its exclusivity, the lower house became a byword for bad behaviour. Victoria’s constitution gave the lower house responsibility for shaping legislation and the upper house the power to approve or reject it. If the Council rejected a money (budget) bill and the lower house refused to change it, parliament would be deadlocked – a situation to which the constitution offered no remedy, causing ‘infinite trouble and confusion’. Four times during the 1860s and again in 1877 the Council used its power to block money bills, starving the government of funds. Is this how responsible government was meant to work? Shouldn’t the lower house – the seat of responsible government – have the last word? The constitution that gave the upper house its power could be changed only with the approval of … the upper house. In 1878, premier Graham Berry attempted to bypass the upper house by asking the British government to change Victoria’s constitution. But the authorities in London refused to interfere and the upper house kept its power. Some time between midnight and lunchtime on Friday 9 October 1891, the parliamentary mace disappeared from its locked case in Parliament House. The only clue: three dirty fingerprints on a window ledge. Rumours of wild parties in the House and of a ‘mock parliament’ conducted in a city brothel led the public to believe, however, that this was no ordinary robbery. The mace was never found, but the rumours persist. As recently as 2001, a fresh reward was offered for information leading to the mace’s recovery. Illustrations |
