Foreword/ Acknowledgments/ List of Illustrations/ Editors’ introduction/ A note on the text
The Stable Society and its Enemies
A stable society of growth
The population and progress
Sectarianism
Federation and nationalism
Great Expectations — the 1870s-1880s
Federation Advocated
Why federation?
The role of the state
Conservative advocates of federation
New liberal advocates of federation
Some opponents of federation
Federation Achieved
The relations of the Commonwealth and the States
"A compromise, with all the faults of a compromise"
Solving the problem of dissolutions of parliament
The electoral franchise problem
Establishing a High Court
A Constitution of checks and balances
The distribution of powers
The Australian state is made
Epilogue: Federation and the New Liberalism