AN ERA OF CONSTITUTIONAL STRUGGLE, 1864-1868 121 



three prominent men in the Cabinet of 1865 suddenly turned 

 their backs upon the economic principles which they had, until 

 then, so vigorously upheld. No financial exigency at the Treasury 

 demanded increased taxation, and indeed, had it done so, it would 

 have been a very roundabout way of reaching revenue to impose 

 duties intended to stop or largely reduce importation. Mr. Verdon, 

 in making his budget statement, was compelled to admit that the 

 revenue was satisfactory, and in order to make some sort of excuse 

 for spreading the grip of the Custom-house officer over the whole 

 area of commercial imports, he had to reduce by one-half the duty 

 on tea, sugar and opium, and to surrender the substantial revenue 

 derived from one of the most equitable forms of taxation ever 

 imposed, the export duty on gold. In view of the widespread 

 antagonism to the Chinese, it seems strange that a drug almost 

 exclusively used by them should be selected for a reduced duty, 

 but the explanation offered was that, in consequence of the lower 

 duty ruling in South Australia, it was being largely imported to 

 Adelaide and smuggled across the Murray to the goldfields. It 

 is difficult to escape the conviction, which was certainly widely 

 spread at the time, that, so far at least as Mr. McCulloch is con- 

 cerned, the retention of place and power was the main influence 

 that led him to accept the verdict of the majority, and to trim his 

 politics to suit them. And, however unpalatable the adoption of 

 such views may have been at the outset to the Attorney-General, 

 when they had once involved him in the dispute with the Council, 

 every consideration gave way before the one dominant desire for 

 victory. It was sufficient for the Chief Secretary that a majority 

 of the members had been elected pledged to Protection, and that 

 nearly a score were pledged to follow the ardent Graham Berry to 

 any extremity to ensure its recognition by the State. The miners, 

 too, were naturally eager to add half a crown an ounce to the value 

 of their products, without inquiring what proportion of the saved 

 export duty they would disburse in the enhanced cost of their food, 

 stores and appliances. It is true the export duty had been paid by 

 a comparatively few, but in all cases they were the successful ones, 

 and this was really the only charge imposed for the privilege of 

 helping themselves to so valuable a product and protecting them in 



