AN ERA. OF CONSTITUTIONAL STRUGGLE, 1864-1868 119 



the pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night that heralded the 

 redemption of the working man from his hard lot, and gilded his 

 future with glowing promise. Holding the views he did, it was not 

 unreasonable that he should distrust the Ministerial professions. 

 For, had not McCulloch said on the hustings at Mornmgton in a 

 previous election: "I am opposed to Protection. . . . What this 

 colony wants is to buy in the cheapest market and to sell in the 

 dearest." Had not the sarcastic Michie withered the Protectionist 

 cause in many witty public addresses? And had not Attorney- 

 General Higinbotham quite recently declared that he would never 

 remain in a Cabinet that sought to promulgate such a doctrine. 

 Even the Treasurer Verdon, who in response to the mandate of the 

 people made tentative advances towards it, showed by his apologetic 

 manner that he had been trained in a commercial school where its 

 theories had no honour. The Ministry were, however, strong enough 

 in supporters to be indifferent to criticism, and the reply to the 

 speech was promptly carried. The real debate on the tariff was 

 postponed until the land legislation had been disposed of. 



Mr. James McPherson Grant had on the death of Mr. Heales 

 succeeded him in the charge of the Lands Department, and on the 

 30th of November he introduced an amending Land Bill, which 

 reached its third reading on 18th January following. It was further 

 amended by the Legislative Council, and sent backwards and for- 

 wards several times, until finally a conference between the Chambers 

 adjusted all difficulties, and it became law on 28th March. This Act, 

 commonly known as the Land Act of 1865, was based upon the 

 principles propounded by Grant in his election address : " that bond- 

 fide settlement should precede alienation of any description ; that 

 not an acre fit for agricultural purposes shall be alienated until the 

 person who selects it shall have given evidence to the State and the 

 best evidence to the State that he is a bond-fide selector by the im- 

 provement that he puts upon his allotments ". Conditional leases 

 were therefore granted for seven years at 2s. per acre to any appli- 

 cants for allotments of no less than 40 nor more than 640 acres in 

 extent, in any proclaimed agricultural area. If the holder of such 

 lease resided continuously thereon for three years, and during the 

 first two effected improvements to the value of 1 per acre, he could 



