Suchergebnisse

When the life of George Swinburne is first reviewed a wide diversity of work and interest is the immediate impression. He controlled and influenced in many ways the business and public administration of his country, and the story of his life is in a sense the history of the public affairs of Victoria for a long period. It was considered therefore that it was impossible to appreciate his life fully without an understanding of the public problems which he handled, and the biography will, it is hoped, fill a gap in the history of Victoria in a way that will be interesting to many readers and useful to students. Dr H. Sugden, as a close personal friend, has written the first part dealing with his personal life, and the Hon. F. W. Eggleston has written the second part dealing with his public life. This second part is a connected history of the Parliament of Victoria for thirteen years and an account of the institutions in which Swinburne acted after he resigned from the Legislative Assembly. The history of Parliaments is not usually described in detail, but in the Victorian Parliament from 1900 to 1913 great issues were fought out, issues of morethan ordinary interest in their effect on the history of the State and vital to our problems to-day. The fight of Sir William Irvine for constitutional government, the struggle in the House over the Liquor and Gambling Bills, the fate of land reform in Victoria, are most significant episodes for the student of political science; while the career of Bent and his struggle with Watt and Murray has dramatic interest. [preface]