It called for the outright abolition of the convict-lease system, in which convicts were leased out to work as cheap laborers for "railway contractors, mining companies and those who farm large plantations".
It called for the outright abolition of the convict-lease system. In this system, during times when there wasn't enough space in the prisons, allowed convicts to be leased out to work as cheap laborers for "railway contractors, mining companies and those who farm large plantations".