The charges of bribery and corruption so openly made by Mr. Fawkner fell like a shell in the somewhat select and exclusive camp of officialdom, and the heads of departments were so panic-stricken that they assembled in conclave on the 7th July, and prepared a manifesto to this purport:— They invited the attention of his Honor the Superintendent to the accusations so made, which, if not rebutted, affected their characters as gentlemen and Government officers, and disgraced them in the eyes of the community. As general statements pointing directly to none, whilst involving all, they pronounced them false and slanderous to a degree, and means ought to be taken for their refutation. They declared solemnly on their honour as gentlemen, that they, neither by selves nor others, directly or indirectly, in any shape or fashion, had received, or allowed to be received, any bribe, present, or consideration for anything done or expected in their capacities as officials ofthe Government, save only such fees as were duly authorised by law. They requested that publicity should be given to this declaration, and expressed an anxiety for the most rigid public investigation.
This document, subscribed to by all the prominent chiefs of departments, eighteen in number (including the signature of Major F. B. St. John, the Commissioner of Crown Lands for the County of Bourke, and the individual to whom it was known to everybody Mr. Fawkner referred), was transmitted to the Superintendent, who had it immediately published in the Government Gazette, with a notification of his own, avowing his readiness to investigate any charges of misconduct officially brought before him. The Herald and Daily News at once openly declared that Major St. John was the public official indicated by Fawkner; and J. P. Fawkner on the 13th July wrote direct to the Superintendent naming Major St John as the person whom he charged with the receipt of bribes and presents, and declaring his readiness to substantiate the accusations before any open and impartial court. The Superintendent, in reply, informed Mr. Fawkner "that any specific charge or charges of misconduct in the performance of duty on the part of the officers named, or any other in the service, which may be transmitted in proper form, will meet with full and immediate attention on the part of the Government." All this time the subject formed the absorbing topic of discussion everywhere, from the bank parlor to the lowest tap-room ; from the newspaper leader to the gossip of every street-crossing. That the question could not be pigeon-holed was beyond doubt, and there is no reason to think that the Superintendent had any disposition to do so; but the difficulty was as to the proper mode of dealing with the case. Some of the newspapers suggested that Fawkner's letter should be placed in St. John's hands, with a peremptory direction to commence a civil action in the Supreme Court; and this suggestion seems to have been adopted, for it was announced that legal proceedings had been instituted. Fawkner, not content with writing to the Superintendent, with his accustomed impulsiveness also wrote to the newspapers preferring some half-a-dozen specific charges against St. John, and it was upon this unprivileged communication, the authorship of which was admitted, that the suit was based. Major St. John seemed not to be in the least put out by the turn things had taken, and regarded it with the utmost nonchalance, at least to all outward appearance. Even the Sunday after the public meeting he patronised the Superintendent's pew in the Episcopalian Church, at which it was alleged that Mr. Latrobe's sense of propriety was so offended that he next day wrote to Major St. John, expressing a wish not to see him again, either publicly or privately, until the charges hanging over him were cleared up. It also soon became understood that the Major had been interdicted from transacting any official business; in fact, that, though not literally, he was practically suspended. There is reason to believe that he subsequently placed his resignation of office in the Superintendent's hands, by whom it was held over until the result of the appeal to the Supreme Court could be known. The particulars of the memorable case of St. John v. Fawkner are narrated in another chapter, and, though the non-verdict of the jury rendered it a drawn battle, Major St. John accepted it as a virtual defeat, and the terminus of his official career in Port Phillip. His resignation was accepted, and in June, 1849, be left the colony in the "Stag," ship, for England, and never returned. It may be added here that the meeting out of which the St. John episode was evolved, though it indirectly ruined the Major, left Latrobe unscathed. The Memorial was duly transmitted to Downing Street, and, after a long course of post, officially acknowledged; but its prayer was not granted.
