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and Insolvency suits which engaged the attention of the court. And then Judge Willis had not the advantage of a learned brother on the Bench with w h o m to confer on questions of doubt or difficulty. Thus the Court in which he presided was the scene of most unbecoming exhibitions : he was never in a state of peace, and the hatchet was never buried. His antagonists goaded him without intermission ; but his adherents, though weak in social status and influence, kept manfully by him. In November, 1842, a public meeting was convened to express confidence in his administration of justice, but a breach of the peace was anticipated, and the Judge, for once, had the good sense to insist on the abandonment of the project. A n address was, however, persisted in, and when three hundred names were appended a deputation waited upon him in Chambers (nth March, 1843), and presented it through M r . John Bear, a cattle salesman of high repute. T h e Judge was m u c h gratified by the compliment, and, in replying, intimated that he had written to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, soliciting an inquiry into his conduct. O n the other hand, four memorials were transmitted to the Governor, praying for the Judge's recall; and one of them bore the names of 523 persons, including 18 magistrates, with its prayer recommended by his Honor the Superintendent. This occurred in May, by which time the Judge had quarrelled with the Governor, the Executive Council, and the Judges of N e w South Wales, the Superintendent of Port Phillip, the magistracy, the legal profession, the press, and was otherwise distasteful to more than one-half of the community. His removal was, therefore, inevitable, and h o w and when it came will be gathered from a report of what occurred on the last occasion of his presiding in Court (25th June, 1843). Judge Willis was sitting in banco, and M r . Williams had moved for a writ of Habeas to bring up a prisoner named Hill, with a view to his discharge from custody. In the course of the argument, the Judge, with accustomed irrelevancy, declared that the Queen could not delegate to any person the power to appoint justices of the peace; and therefore it was doubtful if Governors of Colonies possessed such a power. H e cited 27th H e n . VIII. C. 24. Messrs. Croke, Barry and Williams joined in a sort of conversazione, in the course of which the Judge averred that he held his Commission from the Queen direct, and it was only through illness, or absence, the Governor could interfere with the Judges at all. After this digression, the Habeas business was resumed, and the Judge was beginning to grow personal in his remarks to the Crown Prosecutor (Croke), when the Deputy-Registrar signalled to him in such a significant manner as induced him to rise and leave the Bench. Returning after an absence of a couple of minutes, His H o n o r remarked :—" That circumstances over which he had no control had transpired, which will prevent his proceeding any further in this Civil Court. It might have been otherwise had he been sitting in the Criminal Court." H e ordered the crier to adjourn the Court, which was done, and then retired ; whilst the barristers, attornies, and public also withdrew, wondering what the Judge was going to do next. Their wonderment was soon dispelled by the news that the overland mail from Sydney that morning had brought the Judge's suspension. This event was the cause of m u c h public emotion, though it hardly surprised any thoughtful person, for the way in which matters had been drifting from bad to worse, rendered the Judge's removal inevitable. T h e Gazette and the Herald were subdued in their crowings over their un-benched foe ; but the Patriot flared up like a maniac, inveighing furiously against the Superintendent and the Governor. It had been more than once broadly hinted, and as often denied, that the Patriot was under pecuniary obligations to Judge Willis, and it was not until years after, that the publication of official correspondence revealed the fact that the Judge had lent ,£1200 at 20 per cent., ,£550 of which was for the Patriot proprietor (Mr. Fawkner), and the residue to accommodate the editor (Mr. Kerr). T h e indignation of his party boiled with great intensity, and a requisition was forthwith forwarded to the Mayor to convene a public meeting to protest against the injustice with which they alleged Judge Willis had been treated. T h e meeting was held at the Mechanics' Institute, and Dr. Greeves appointed chairman, but the proceedings were very disorderly. Resolutions of confidence and sympathy, and an address embodying them were adopted; but the uproar was so loud and incessant that the demonstration could be regarded in no other light than that of a turbulent and rowdy ebullition. During the evening the letter of the Colonial Secretary was read, in which it was stated that so far back as January, the Judge had been warned, and he was removed from office pending the Queen's pleasure. A virulent personal