Sir William Lyne, who was first commissioned to form a
Ministry by Lord Hopetoun, the new Governor-General of the Australian Commonwealth, failed in the undertaking, and he thereupon, with a most proper regard for constitutional usage, advised that his rival, Mr. Barton, should be sent for. Mr. Barton was then commissioned to form a Ministry, which he has succeeded in doing, Sir William Lyne joining him. Considering the prominent part taken by Mr. Barton in founding the Commonwealth, it is right and appro- priate that he should be the first Premier. We hope and believe that he will never forget that he is the Premier of all Australia, and that the leaders of Opposition will also remember that in the first years of the Common- wealth they must base their policy on broad and not on sec- tional issues. We do not doubt that they will do so, for Englishmen, on whichever side of the Line they are born and bred, are apt to rise to a sense of their duties and responsi- bilities. And it is indeed no small responsibility to guard the honour and keep safe the person of the "young Queen," as Mr. Kipling has called her, who now takes her seat in the great circle of the Empire. In this work the statesmen out of office must bear their part equally with those who form the Ministry.
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