316 THE PASTORAL AGE IN AUSTRALASIA 



and the Duffy of Queensland, most of them more than 

 once, and others still. In the first nine parHaments 

 the squatters seem to have had an ascendancy ; in 

 the tenth, when Sir T. McIl-WTaith, was Premier, the 

 pastoral element almost disappeared, or, at least, was 

 greatly reduced. They had been Premiers, ]\Iinisters, 

 Speakers, and Presidents since the separation from New 

 South Wales, and in legislation and administration they 

 maintained the pastoral traditions long after they had 

 become extinct in New South Wales. Lawyers, mer- 

 chants, agriculturists, and Labour members took their 

 places. NoAv and then a squatter got into the Assembly, 

 like the popular George Story ; but he seldom strode 

 into office. The pastoralists' day was gone by, at least 

 in the first chamber. The Legislative Council, as the 

 native home of Conservatism, was the natural refuge of 

 the class that had been driven from the more powerful 

 chamber. In it they long held a prominent place, 

 there they steadfastly resisted the advance of the agri- 

 cultural stage, and there, in a large proportion, they still 

 remain. 



James Taylor, who rose from being stockman to 

 being a squatter, represented the Darling Downs for 

 many years ; for a brief space he was Minister for 

 Lands ; and he was a member of the Legislative Council 

 till his death. Such men conceived themselves the 

 natural rulers of the community. The successful 

 manager of a large station, in Mr. de Satge's opinion, 

 might aspire to fill any position, from the dispenser of 

 justice " from his own bench of magistrates " (the 

 words are notable) to that of Premier.* 



In 1881 the pastoral interests of Queensland were 

 still represented in the Legislative Assembly by twenty 

 out of twenty-five members. In 1891 it would have 

 been difficult to pick a dozen squatters out of seventy- 

 two. 



Much the same story might be told of New Zealand, 

 which has witnessed the slow decline of the once all- 

 * Saxqe, Journal of a Queensland Squatter, p. 98. 



