The Life of the Right Honourable Sir Samuel Walker Griffith ...

"By reason of the time limit for the moment placed upon me, I have decided to confine the consideration of my subject to the following matters. I propose briefly to refer to his birth in Wales and emigration to Australia, and to his early and university education, and then at more length to his visit, as has himself recorded it, to the old world, as the holder of the Mort Travelling Scholarship. Thereafter I shall speak of his call to the Bar of Queensland and his successes there, and so will come to the commencement of his political career. At that point I shall discuss the conditions of the Colony of Queensland at the time of his first election, and their effect upon his political appearance. I must deal at some length with his political life, and in particular I shall attempt to show how far he succeeded, and where he failed, in the two main issues of his fighting creed - the defeat of the power of the Squattocracy and a White Australia. I shall naturally make reference - necessarily but regrettably short - to the benefits he conferred upon this state by his non-contentious legislation in the matters of law reform and education. Time will not permit, I fear, of my paying the full mead of praise which his efforts toward the Federation of the Australian States deserve, but I propose to speak at length of his career as Chief Justice, first of Queensland, and then of Australia."--Introductory, page 2.