[Footnote a: An interesting incident occurred at the opening of the second session. The Speaker announced the receipt of a writ of election endorsing the return of the Right Honourable John Bright as member for Kennedy. As Mr. Bright had not been present during the preceding session--which had only lasted from 26th April till 4th May--the seat was declared vacant. This was not the first instance of an Australian constituency voluntarily disfranchising itself by electing a prominent British statesman by way of protest against some real or fancied injustice.] [Illustration: TOWNSVILLE: FLINDERS STREET, LOOKING WEST] CHAPTER II. PUBLIC FINANCE (1859-1884). Importance of Sound Finance.--A Great Colony Starts upon a Bank Overdraft.--First Year's Revenue.--Land Sales as Revenue.--Deficits in First Decade.--Transfer of Loan Moneys to Revenue to Balance Accounts.--Heavy Public Works Expenditure.--Crisis of 1866.--Inconvertible Paper Currency Proposals.--Flotation of Treasury Bills.--Higher Customs Duties.--Wiping Out a Deficit by Issue of Debentures. --Transfer of Surplus to Surplus Revenue Account to Recoup Loan Fund.--Incidental Protection.--Railway Land Reserves. --Proceeds Used as Ordinary Revenue.--Three-million Loan. --Condition of Affairs at Close of First Quarter-Century. --Phenomenal Progress; Prospects Bright. Sound finance is the sheet anchor of any Government, whether despotic or democratic. Without a prudent guiding hand at the Treasury the ship of State might as well be rudderless. In the fifty years of Queensland history financial mistakes have been made, from which much public loss as well as individual suffering has resulted. If those mistakes, or some of them, are laid bare in this book, the object is not to reflect upon Governments or individual Ministers, but to treasure the lessons thus taught for future use.