192 A HISTORY OF THE COLONY OF VICTORIA 



Sir James McCulloch recognised that the fiat had gone forth ; 

 he did not palter with the position, but tendered his resignation 

 before the House met. Sir George Bowen entrusted Mr. Berry 

 with the formation of a Ministry, and although that gentleman had 

 a large crowd of expectant place-hunters to select from, the task 

 presented many difficulties. Even though the electors appeared by 

 their votes to have condoned, nay, even approved of the turbulent 

 action of his party during the "stonewall" period, Mr. Berry was 

 sensible of the latent feeling of distrust and anxiety with which his 

 return to power was regarded by the more settled classes, notably 

 the commercial and professional men. There had, it is true, been 

 somewhat of a revolt all round against the abuse of the "Iron 

 Hand ". It had only been tolerated upon the ground that desperate 

 diseases require desperate remedies. But to the crowd which so 

 enthusiastically responded to the Berry oratory it had become the 

 symbol of everything that was tyrannical, the expression of brute 

 force by a chance majority over a high-principled party most un- 

 deservedly in a minority. While Berry was in opposition, the rule 

 of the majority expressed to him the rule of the unfittest, such as 

 many opponents of manhood suffrage had declared that it would. 

 When he was returned at the head of an overwhelming phalanx, it 

 signified the only way of salvation. He promptly brought to bear 

 upon the minority from which he had escaped the contumely and 

 denunciation under which he had writhed for eighteen months. 



It may be counted to Mr. Berry's credit that, flushed as he was 

 with success, he risked offending his ardent followers by seeking 

 the support of some of the less radical members in whom it was 

 certain that the classes who had anything to lose were disposed to 

 place more confidence. To this end he made overtures to Mr. 

 Service and Mr. Casey amongst others, but in view of the policy 

 Berry had unfolded during the elections they found it impossible 

 to listen to them. He then approached Sir Charles Gavan Duffy, but 

 that gentleman, while quite willing to take office, would accept no 

 position short of Premier, to have granted which would have sown 

 dissension in the party. Sir Charles excused his rejection of the 

 overture by saying so many complimentary things to Mr. Berry, 

 and so won him over, that the latter with swelling pride assured the 



