Excerpt from Australia's Awakening, Thirty Years in the Life of an Australian Agitator The hidden seed does not spring forth until it is surrounded by the necessary conditions to start its fermentation. When first its little bud reaches the light of day only the keen observer can tell to what family it belongs; by most it is unnoticed. In years it may become a very giant amongst trees. The Labor Movement in Australia has now become an almost dominant factor in the political life of the community; hence its history, its character and aims should be studied by every citizen of our great Commonwealth. The need of some work setting forth the causes leading up to the present position has been felt for some time. I have in this book attempted to meet that much-felt want from the Labor point of view. In What I feel to be an incomplete form I endeavor to furnish a mirror of the past, and to present from the inside what I conceive to be the future outlook. If the Socialist' Movement of the world is helped, encouraged, and stimulated by this record of our success in Australia, I shall have ample reward. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.