THE BERRY INFLUENCE, 1875-1882 185 



ful scene between Sir James McCulloch and Mr. Higinbotham. 

 The latter impugned Sir Wm. Stawell's impartiality in the matter 

 of dissolutions in terms that evoked the disapprobation of the Cham- 

 ber. Suddenly Sir James McCulloch turned upon him and delivered 

 a scathing indictment, charging him with being the cause of all the 

 disorganisation that had ever arisen in the Assembly, and declaring 

 that if it should be his lot to direct the next Government, he trusted 

 Mr. Higinbotham would be careful to sit in direct Opposition, for 

 the speaker would give no countenance to any schemes for embroil- 

 ing the colony with the Imperial Government. This irruption of 

 wrath swept away the last vestige of the close friendship that had 

 subsisted between these two men for more than ten years past. 

 From that day forward the brilliant orator, who refused to believe 

 that any good thing could come out of Downing Street, was a waning 

 power. In the numerous changes of Ministry he frequently had to 

 cross the floor, but he always sat in Opposition to McCulloch, and 

 he always displayed a special regard for Mr. Service. 



It was not easy to satisfy Mr. Berry and his ousted colleagues 

 of the Acting Governor's impartiality, and they fomented many 

 public meetings, and inspired many broadsheets with denunciations 

 of the infamous cabal that had overthrown them, and the tyranny 

 which obstructed an appeal to the people, who so frantically believed 

 in them. 



On the 20th October, when the roll of the new Ministry was 

 called, it was found to contain four members of the late Kerferd 

 Cabinet, viz., Messrs. Kerferd, Gillies, Anderson and Eamsay ; and 

 four members who had taken an active part in turning them out 

 of office, viz., Sir James McCulloch, Messrs. McPherson, McLellan 

 and Joseph Jones. The Ministry was completed by the appointment 

 of a brilliant young barrister, Dr. John Madden, as Minister of Justice. 

 No explanation was deigned to the House as to how this coalition 

 had been brought about, nor how such prominent and experienced 

 men as James Service, Edward Langton and Murray Smith had 

 been overlooked in the selection. 



On the 23rd of November Sir James McCulloch submitted his 

 financial statement, by which time he had apparently forgotten his 

 protest against the extravagance of his predecessors at the Treasury. 



