THE TRANSITION TO RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT 69 



serve the interests of Australia ". His speech was a fine rhetorical 

 effort, fully charged with burning denunciations of alleged attempts 

 to prejudice his candidature by unworthy appeals to sectarian pre- 

 judices. He was followed by B. C. Aspinall, J. M. Grant, Wilson 

 Gray, and other speakers who joined in prophesying great things 

 for the first free Parliament of Victoria under the stimulating 

 influence of their eloquent guest. 



The long looked-for day arrived at last when the business of the 

 country was to be undertaken by the selected ninety, and on the 

 21st of November they gathered in the unfinished chambers of the 

 handsome building in course of erection, and were duly sworn in 

 by Judges Barry and Williams. In the Council Dr. J. F. Palmer 

 was unanimously chosen as President, but in the Assembly there 

 was a contest for the position of Speaker, which mainly turned on 

 a novel point of Parliamentary ethics. The candidates, Dr. Murphy 

 and Mr. Griffith, had both held office in the old Council. The 

 former gave an unconditional promise that if elected to the chair 

 he would abstain altogether from debate. Mr. Griffith, while fully 

 admitting the impropriety of the Speaker being a partisan, declined 

 to pledge himself to a course which he thought might disfranchise 

 his constituents. Dr. Murphy won the position, and gave such 

 satisfaction that he held it almost continuously for fifteen years. 

 The formal opening of the session by a speech from the Acting 

 Governor took place on the 25th of November. On this occasion 

 Mr. Duffy made a characteristic stand. The Chief Secretary in- 

 formed the House that the Governor would "command" their 

 attendance on his arrival. Mr. Duffy, after consultation with the 

 Speaker and Messrs. O'Shanassy and Chapman, "frankly told the 

 official leader of the House that this phraseology could not be 

 permitted," and, he adds, " after some negotiation, the Governor 

 ' requested ' our attendance ". 



The supremacy of the people through their representatives, 

 indicated in this brief interlude, was the key-note of much that 

 followed. It continued to assert itself through succeeding legisla- 

 tion until all restraint, except the power to coerce the Upper House, 

 was swept away. The demands of the more radical democrats were, 

 one after another, acceded to. When the property qualification for 



