226 ADELAIDE AND VICINITY Right ho„. sir s.j. Way exclusively to barrister's work. When on circuit at Mount Gambier, in i86S, the ability of Mr. (now Sir Josiah) Symon, who was then a clerk with his cousin, Mr. j. I). .Sutherland, a local solicitor, attracted Mr. Way's notice, and he invited him to complete his articles in his office. On Mr. Brook's death in 1872 Mr. Way admitted Mr. Symon into the firm, and he succeeded to the entire business on Mr. Way's elevation to the Beiich less than four years afterwards. The Right Hon. C. C. Kingston, K.C., was another pupil of Mr. Way who exhibited great promise, and so also were Mr. T. B. Gall and others who afterwards became leading Adelaide lawyers. In 1869 Mr. Way took a trip to England to recruit from the effects of overwork. During this visit he appeared twice before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, of which he was afterwards to become a member. He was entertained at Gloucester by the members of the Oxford Circuit, and he was fortunate enough to hear most of the trial and the celebrated charge of Lord Chief Justice Cockburn in the Overend Gurney case. In September, 1871, Mr. Way was a])pointed a Queen's Counsel. He was frequently urged to enter Parliament, but he steadfastly refused until he regarded himself as independent of his profession. At the (ieneral Election in 1875 Mr. Way, who had received requisitions from six other constituencies, was returned to the Assembl)- on Eebruary 10 for the District of Sturt. In the debate on the address in reply which Mr. Way had moved, the Blyth Ministry was defeated. Mr. Townsend, the mover of the amendment, having failed in forming a Ministry, Mr. (now Sir James) Boucaut was sent for, and succeeded in the task. Mr. Way accepted the Attorney-Generalship in this administration, which was sworn in on June 3. Mr. Boucaut's policy included a comprehensive scheme of railway extension and other great public works, as well as the necessary taxation to pay interest on the loans which had to be raised to meet the great expenditure. It also included a system of primary education. This "bold and comprehensive policy," as it was called, commanded the support of the House of Assembly and of the country. The Legislative Council temporarily defeated the Ministry's proposals by rejecting a stamp tax, which was an instalment of the taxation required, and threw it out a second time, in a special session convened to give them another opportunity of passing it. During these two sessions Mr. Way established his reputation as a ready and effective debater ; but his Parliamentary career came to an abrupt termination in the following recess. .Sir Richard Hanson, the then Chief Justice, died suddenly on March 10, 1876. The Premier and his colleagues invited the Attorney-General to become his successor. The opportunity was in some aspects a tempting one which might never occur again. On the other hand the salary attached to the office was only a third of Mr. Way's professional income, whilst he had the prospect of still further distinction both in Parliament and at the Bar. On the advice of his friends Mr. Way determined to accept the vacant office, and on March 18 he w^as appointed Chief Justice. His advancement had been remarkably rapid. He was a few weeks under 40 years of age and he had been fi'e days less than 15 years at the Bar. With the exception of Sir Hy. de Villiers, the Chief Justice of Cape Colony (afterwards his colleague on the Judicial Committee), Mr. Way was probably the youngest Chief Justice in Her Majesty's dominions. He is now the senior Judge in Australia, and few Judges in any part of the PLmpire have had a longer term of judicial service. He took his seat on the Bench for the first time on Monday, March 27. His father preached his farewell sermon as a stated Minister on the previous day. On May 18 the newly-appointed Chief Justice had the honor of presiding at a public breakfast in the Town Hall in celebration of his father's Ministerial Jubilee, which was attended by about 400 guests, including the Premier and many other leading colonists. "At the present moment," said the Register on the day on which the Chief Justice's appointment was announced, " Mr. Way is the natural lender as well as the mere
