SIR DOMINIC DALY was the only Roman Catholic governor that the colony has ever had, and while his co-religionists were gratified by his appointment, his judiciousness and liberality of sentiment rendered it impossible for others to object to him on that ground. By his venerable appearance, urbane manner, and strict attention to constitutional principles, he maintained from first to last a high degree of popularity. He held the position of governor for almost six years —from March 4th, 1862, to February 19th 1868, when his career was terminated by his death —and the whole period was one of great expansion.

The Imperial Government rewarded South Australian enterprise, as exhibited in the explorations of Stuart, McKinlay, and others, by adding to its territory the immense expanse formerly, known as Alexandra Land, stretching from the northern frontier of the colony, as originally defined, clear through the centre of the continent to the shores washed by the Indian Ocean. It was resolved to found a settlement in this Northern Territory, and to provide funds, extensive land-sales were held; the plan adopted when the colony itself was formed being imitated to some extent; but, unhappily, many of the early experiences that have been recorded were here repeated. The first expedition, under the Hon. Boyle T. Finniss, became disorganised, for the chief and his subordinates could not agree. There were difficulties about exploration, disagreements as to site, and delays in executing the surveys. Years rolled away while these preliminaries were being settled, and the land-order holders had become clamorous for the repayment of their money, when Mr. Goyder was sent north with a strong staff of surveyors to bring matters to a conclusion. He promptly decided on Port Darwin as the best site for the capital of the settlement, and his choice has been thoroughly approved. He laid out the town of Palmerston in a short time, got the necessary surveying done, and, in brief, put through the entire business in a business-like way, thereby increasing his previously high reputation and saving the credit of the colony. Facilities for the further development of the interior were provided by Sir Thomas Elder, who in 1862 imported a breeding herd of one hundred and seventeen camels specially selected by an agent he had sent to India for the purpose. Heavy losses had to be borne until the method was ascertained of treating them under the new conditions of their Australian life; but these useful animals are now fully acclimatised, rid have proved inestimable as a means of inland transport.

Sir Dominic was the first governor who had the honour of entertaining a royal guest in Adelaide. The visit of the Duke of Edinburgh afforded an opportunity for unbounded and enthusiastic displays of loyalty. His Royal Highness laid the foundation stones of two splendid buildings, the Adelaide Post Office and the Wesleyan College, which by his consent is called by his name. Every visitor to Adelaide is expected to admire the former, and Prince Alfred College has become one of the foremost educational establishments in Australia. 1 has from three to four hundred pupils in attendance, and several of its alumni have taken high honours at British and other universities. Five months after the Prince’s visit the fine old Irish gentleman who had been his host quietly passed away at the age of seventy years, and the many thousands who followed him to the grave testified to the universal respect he had inspired.

As the officer commanding Her Majesty’s forces in the province, Lieutenant-Colonel Hamley administered the government for almost twelve months. Sir James Fergusson arrived on February 16th, 1869, and retained the position rather more than three years. In some respects, he was the ablest and most brilliant governor of the series. His parliamentary and diplomatic experience qualified him to address public meetings on political topics, and he was fond of doing it. His speeches were often sharply criticised by the press, and he had to endure a considerable amount of lecturing on the duties and functions of the governor, but there is no doubt that his views were frequently both sound and sagacious. His ideas were sometimes appropriated by others without acknowledgement, and it may be claimed that his public utterances contained the germ and the first broad outlines of the policy which Mr. Boucaut subsequently elaborated. Both he and Lady Fergusson were active patrons of various religious and philanthropic movements, and the decease of the latter was greatly deplored.

An extension of the northern railway to Burra, one hundred miles north of Adelaide, took place during this period, and other schemes for improved communication were initiated, but unquestionably the greatest achievement was the construction of the transcontinental telegraph which connected Adelaide with London. Various proposals for a telegraph from England to Australia had been mooted since 1859, but the necessary cost and the great difficulty of both constructing and maintaining the land-line had prevented anything being done. To cross the continent seemed totally impracticable, and the principal suggestions were to make the terminus of the submarine cable either in northern Queensland or at some point in Western Australia. After Port Darwin was settled, it was seen that it offered greater advantages than any other place, and Stuart’s explorations had encouraged the belief that the transcontinental route would prove the best. There were evident advantages in the construction and maintenance of the work being in the hands of one colony alone, whether the others contributed to the cost or not, and South Australia was the only one that had the requisite geographical situation. Mr. Todd, the superintendent of telegraphs, had always favoured that method, and when in 1870 the British-Australian Telegraph Company offered to lay a submarine cable to Port Darwin, he strongly urged that it should be met by a wire stretched from Port Augusta. Mr. Henry B. T. Strangways, who was then premier, warmly endorsed his views, which were acted upon by the government, and the work taken in hand.

It was a bold enterprise for a colony containing only about .two hundred thousand souls. The entire distance from Adelaide to Port Darwin was one thousand nine hundred and seventy-five miles. Hundreds of miles together in the interior were without a solitary white inhabitant. A large amount of exploration in the selection of a suitable route had to be done. Permanent waters and sites for stations had to be found and tested. Very much of the country was known to be destitute of suitable timber for telegraph poles, and the extent to which this affected the severity of the task may be estimated, in some degree, by the men ion of the single fact that no less than nineteen thousand iron poles had to be used. The difficulties proved even greater than was anticipated, but Mr. Todd was energetic, and the young colony, by its representatives, ministers, and governor, sustained the original resolution to do the work single-handed, and without delay. It was entered upon at both ends, and in less than two years from its commencement the wires met, and were joined near the centre of the continent. "There," Mr. Todd says, "seated on the ground, and working a pocket relay I received and acknowledged congratulations from the governor, foreign consuls, and friends in all parts of the continent." In Adelaide there were, of course, great rejoicings.

An important change in land legislation was effected by the system of deferred payments being incorporated in Strangway’s Act of 1872. Many amending and consolidating laws have been passed since then, but the principle of credit selection after survey which it introduced has continued in operation. Its immediate effect, together with the opening of the great northern areas to farmers, was to spread agricultural settlement very rapidly, so that within a comparatively short period the land under cultivation was increased twofold.

FOR several years after the departure of Sir James Fergusson, changes at Government House were uncommonly frequent. The office of administrator fell to Sir Richard D. Hanson, as chief justice, for six months, and by him its ditties were ably discharged. The next governor was Sir Anthony Musgrave, who remained for three years and a half. He was a man of distinguished ability; he was thoughtful, conscientious, free from any appearance of partisanship, and he enjoyed a large amount of public respect and confidence. During his term the chief justice died somewhat suddenly, and the event was felt to be a serious national calamity. Sir Richard Hanson was universally esteemed as a learned lawyer, an able statesman, and an upright judge. He was succeeded on the bench by the Hon. S. J. Way, who in virtue of his office has been acting-governor for three periods in rapid succession, amounting in all to fourteen months. Between the first and second of these, Sir W. W. Cairns, formerly governor of Queensland, came and went, like a shadow, leaving no trace behind. He was in the colony less than eight weeks. Sir W. F. D. Jervois was then appointed, but not long afterwards obtained leave of absence to visit England. During this period, as on the two previous occasions, Mr. Way proved himself to be an efficient administrator. He has spent nearly the whole of his life in the colony, and has won his way to his present high position by his personal merit. As attorney-general, chief justice, and deputy-governor, he has displayed learning, talent, and ability, of which the colonists are justly proud.

The one great feature of the period covered by these successive administrations was what is conveniently and comprehensively, styled the Boucaut policy. At the close of the session of 1874, Mr. James Perm Boucaut, who was one of the ablest lawyers and foremost politicians of the colony, delivered a remarkable speech in which he outlined a bold programme. It included borrowing a large sum for the purpose of extensive railway construction on a progressive and systematic plan, the imposition of additional taxation, and the introduction of a considerable number of immigrants. It was an attractive scheme in many respects, and found so much favour that the following year he was enabled to displace the government of which Mr. Arthur Blyth was the head, and form a cabinet, with himself as premier, for the purpose of carrying it out.

This "broad and comprehensive policy," as it became generally styled, had for its dominant principle the development of national resources on a regular plan. It was well sustained at the outset by the House of Assembly, but some parts of it, and notably the taxation proposals it included, were so strongly opposed by the Upper House that it was never carried out in its entirety. The portion that related to public works, however, was initiated and adopted by the ministry, of which the Hon. J. Colton was premier. Thus for a series of years it was the chief political subject, and indeed long after Mr. Boucaut, through his having accepted a seat on the judicial bench, ceased to have any direct connection with it.

There were, and are, two widely different opinions with regard to this scheme. On the one hand, it is represented as eminently far-seeing, bold, and sagacious, the work of a statesman rather than of a politician; and on the other, as imprudent and burdensome, being one great cause of the depression that has been so seriously felt. This much is certain, that it gave a great impetus to the work of opening up the country, and led to unprecedented activity in the construction of railways. At the end of 1873, there were only two hundred and two miles in the colony, but seven years afterwards there were six hundred and sixty-seven open for traffic, and three hundred and nineteen miles in progress, besides lines that had been authorised.

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