Page:History of Adelaide and vicinity.djvu/182

 ,56 ADELAIDE AND VICINITY The Railway-BuUders and the Legislative Council objected, but Sir James Fergusson decided to take the advice of his Ministers. " Squabbling and place-hunting " had occupied the time of two sessions. On February 2> Parliament was prorogued, and the Government went into recess without an Appropriation Bill or even a Supply Bill. Parliament was dissolved on March 2, and on May 27 the sixth Parliament assembled. There was a goodly number of new members, "but," writes Hodder, "it was thought by many that the wire-pullers had been guilty of a practical joke, so incongruous were the selections." The diversity of views and " platforms " was astonishing. It is said that, on the day before Parliament met, 24 or 25 members arranged to eject the Ministry without waiting to hear what its programme was. An emphatic vote against the Strangways Government was recorded, and on May 30 it was succeeded by a Ministry under the leadership of Mr. Hart. Mr. vStrangways left the Province in P'ebruary, 1871, and has since resided in England. The Hart Government introduced a Land Bill, the provisions of which were fought inch by inch. There were many amendments, and about 150 divisions. Finally the measure was thrown out on the casting vote of the Speaker. Then the Strangways Act was amended, and 19 Bills were introduced and sacrificed. Retrenchment was again debated to little purpose, but several alterations were made in the tariff. The finances were so seriously embarrassed that a loan of ^100,000 was sanctioned to meet current expenses. The session terminated on January 13, 1871, being as unsatisfactory as its predecessor. The inevitable Land Bill was introduced at the re-opening of Parliament on July 28. Again tedious discussion took place, and maundered through weeks and months. When the committee stage was passed in the Assembly, Mr. J. P. Boucaut submitted the usual want-of-confidence motion. Mr. Hart tendered his resignation, and Mr. Boucaut was invited to form a Ministry. He declined the responsibility ; after which Mr. H. Ayers, and then Mr. A. Blyth, were communicated with. The latter took office on November 10, and, finding that the forces in the House were so evenly balanced, recommended a dissolution. Again the Legislative Council and a section of the Assembly opposed the suggestion. Parliament was dissolved on November 23, having been in existence for only 18 months. Among the measures sacrificed was an important Education Bill. At the end of the financial year in 1871 there was a deficiency of about ^75,000. The ex-Premier, Mr. John Hart, did not again take office. In January, 1873, he dropped dead when about to address a mercantile gathering. The seventh Parliament was summoned on January 19, 1872 ; and such strictures were passed upon the recent dissolution that, on the 22nd, the Blyth Government resigned, after being a little over two months in office. Mr. Ayers now came into power, but the change did not please everybody. A want-of-confidence motion was discussed, and on March 4 a re-construction took place. On the following day both Houses adjourned.