Australia confederated : a lecture delivered in the Town Hall, Adelaide

Date

1880

Authors

Jefferis, James, 1833-1917.
Jervois, W. F. D., Sir, 1821-1897.

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Australia confederated : a lecture delivered in the Town Hall, Adelaide / by J. Jefferis ; with speeches on the occasion by...W.F.D. Jervois...[et al]

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The Rev. James Jefferis was pastor of the North Adelaide Congregational Church from 1859-77 and a keen promoter of secular education in South Australia, being influential in the founding of Union College and the University of Adelaide and a foundation member of the Council of the University. In 1877 he had accepted an invitation to become pastor of the Pitt St. Congregational Church in Sydney, where he was similarly active in promoting education and 'common Christianity'. His contribution to the federation debate, begun in the 1870s in a series of articles in the Adelaide Advertiser, were based on his conviction that 'Australia was destined to be a new and nobler nation spreading Christianity, civilization and liberty throughout the southern seas'. In this lecture, though he began with reservations as to the appropriateness of his comments in view of what he called the 'secularization' of politics, he urged the importance of the issue to all citizens and strongly supported the need for union among the colonies. In examining the form union might take he discussed the Canadian Dominion model and argued in favour of federal union rather than Henry Parkes's 1879 proposal of a legislative union, as the system best ensuring 'the development and preservation of liberty' and protecting the interests of the smaller colonies.
Scanned from the original held in Rare Books & Special Collections, Barr Smith Library.

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Rare Books 342.94 A938o 11

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