at Pascoe Vale. There is some glamour over his eyes if he views it in any other light. Now, to bring this unpleasant and unbecoming interruption to a termination, let him submit it to you, and to the other gentlemen present, and it will be soon seen who is right." Councillor Fawkner : " Y o u infernal scamp, you know well it is notfitto be shown to any decent person. N o matter, let it be all over for the present; but I'll have it out with you yet." A n d so saying, he tore the disturbing foolscap into fragments, which he scattered about thefloor,and skipped back to his seat at the table. The business of the meeting was resumed, but anxious was the curiosity, both in and out of the Council that afternoon, to learn fuller particulars of the annihilated drawing which had been seen by only four individuals, viz. :—Curtis, his tyvo colleagues, and Fawkner. Such are a couple of the numerous extraordinary bits of bye-play yvhich rendered the City Council Chamber anything but a monotonous region of dullness.* THE GAS COMPANY.
A petition was entrusted to Councillor Nicholson for presentation, asking the Council to sanction the project, and to afford any facilities in its power. T h e Council showed every favourable disposition towards the undertaking, and the petition was referred to the consideration of a Committee consisting of Aldermen Greeves and Kerr, Councillors Annand and Nicholson. In 1850, a further Committee consisting ofthe Mayor, Councillors Annand, M'Combie and Stephen, was appointed to report on the conditions which, for the safety and convenience of the public, should be imposed on the Company. O n the 24th November, 1851, the Gas C o m p a n y Bill as introduced into the Legislative Council, was referred for the consideration of a further Committee consisting of Aldermen Stephen and Greeves, Councillors Annand and Guthridge. CONVICTS TURNED AWAY.
The resistance offered by the colonists to the reception of convicts in any shape, always evoked the sympathy ofthe Superintendent; and once when the "Randolph," transport ship, entered the Bay with a full cargo of expatriated crime, that functionary assumed the grave responsibility of ordering the captain out of port, and the prisoners were carried on to Sydney. It was even stated as a fact that in so doing he incurred a personal liability of .£'500 in the event ofthe N e w South Wales authorities disapproving of his action. N o doubt in such a not altogether impossible contingency, the people would have cheerfully re-imbursed any pecuniary loss which Mr. Latrobe might have sustained; but his conduct was in no way less creditable, and a profound sentiment of gratitude for the signal service rendered pervaded the community. T h e City Council always at variance with him, was even moved to an act of justice, and at one of their meetings, on the proposition of no less an individual than Alderman Kerr, Mr. Latrobe's bitterest foe, a resolution yvas passed with acclamation—"That the grateful thanks of the Council be presented to His Honor the Superintendent, for his noble conduct in saving this City and Province from the degradation, and conversion into a Penal Settlement, which would have been the inevitable consequence of the landing of the convicted felons by the ship ' Randolph.' " THE PARSON'S CABBAGE GARDEN.
This little bone of contention yvhich the Council had been picking for years was at length amicably adjusted. Originally there was a block of five acres of land bounded on three sides by Bourke, William, and Collins Streets. Little Collins Street bisected it, leaving tyvo acres on the North side and three on the South. O n the latter, St. James' church was built and a school-house on the former. It was said that Sir R. Bourke had intended the whole area as an Episcopalian grant, and this view was endorsed by Sir George Gipps. O n an old chart of the town a street (now Church Street) was marked, extending along the western boundary of the two acres. This was opposed by Sir G. Gipps and the Executive of New South
- Tru,y if <(>e au'hor ha» •">' overdrawn the picture, the above are two of the most "extraordinary" incidents that ever occurred in anyDeliberative Assembly. — E D .
