CHAPTER III
PRIME MINISTER
Policy of the Duffy Government—Southern industries—Land policy—Designs to adorn Melbourne—Spectator's estimate of the new Government—Judge Bindon's report on the reception of the new policy by friends and enemies—Convention of Australian Governments at Melbourne—Contest with Sir James Martin and its consequences—Vote of want of confidence, and its reception in Parliament—Comments on my defence by Wilberforce Stephen and others—Protection adopted, and why—Social reforms and impediments to them—Letter from John O'Hagan (note)—Banquets to the Government in great towns and goldfields—Dangerous banter—Appointment of Mr. Childers as Agent-General—National Gallery—Letter from Mr. Verdon—Letter from Thomas Carlyle—Reassembly of Parliament—Vote of want of confidence—How it was carried—Mr. O'Shanassy's interposition and its consequences—Proposed dissolution of Parliament—Conduct of the Governor, and comment of the Spectator on it—Letters from John Forster and the Bishop of Kerry—My use of power—The Chief Justiceship of New South Wales.
I undertook the administration of public affairs with the confident determination that for once there should be a Government framing large and generous projects, and against whose exercise of patronage or encouragement of enterprises no man could utter a just reproach. But reproaches which are not just can no more be shut out than the east wind. A quarter of a century after the events of that day, I look back on them with the confident assurance that nothing was done which needs to be repented, or which I would not repeat if the occasion occurred.
Among the designs in which I had been baulked by the ignorance and prejudices of successors, the design of establishing new industries suitable to a southern soil and climate, was the most important. I determined to take it up anew. Without importing more than a score of teachers there were
