meetings of the Committee of Management. Mr. Smith is a member of that body, and, judging by his reported utterances, his oratory seems the reverse of old wine, for it was m u c h better flavoured and possessed infinitely more body when exercised in the Primitive Debating Society, than in its present developments. In April, 1851, a Melbourne Literary Association was formed, and its inauguration meeting held on the 28th, when the President (Mr. W . S. Gibbons), delivered a lengthy and interesting address. It was virtually a Discussion or Debating Society, and thefirstquestion ventilated by it was the repeatedly well-threshed theme of Temperance. T h e close of the same year witnessed the opening of the first Legislative Council, an articulating machine which, in some form or other, will never more shut up in the colony so long as grass grows and water runs. ALMANACS.
This medium of a Day and Meteorologic Guide is of early introduction ; for the first sheetalmanac was issued by the proprietors of the Port Phillip Gazette on the 1st January, 1839. It was a small, poorly-bordered production, containing little more than a monthly calendar, with a few items of general information. In 1842, a Geelong Almanac was prepared by Mr. James Harrison, and published by Harrison and Scamble, at the Advertiser office, Yarra Street, North Corio, Geelong. Sheet-almanacs were occasionally presented by way of a Christmas Box, or N e w Year's Offering, by the Gazette, Patriot, and the Herald newspapers to their subscribers. T h e Herald, being superior in " plant" to its contemporaries, produced the more picturesque article. Its Separation sheet-almanac brought out several successive years, was extremely creditable, and exhibited considerable typographical taste. This periodical at length became interwoven with the names of William Clarke and John Ferres (two well-known Herald overseers), who, in their time held first rank in their craft, or " profession," as some typos, fondly and grandly call it.
DIRECTORIES.
The first effort of this kind was made so far back as the end of 1840, and though bearing little comparison with the corpulent and well-filled publications of the "eighties," was, considering the times and circumstances, extremely creditable to the industry and enterprise of its projector. It was intituled Kerr's Melbourne Almanac and Port Phillip Directory for ifyi—a. compendium of useful and accurate information connected with Port Phillip. Its compiler was the well-known old journalist, Mr. William Kerr, and it was published by Kerr and Holmes, at their book and stationery warehouse, Collins Street, Melbourne. It was no light task to undertake such a work at such a day in consequence of (to quote the language of the preface) "the difficulties which have everywhere to be encountered in getting up for the first time a work of this nature" and the "almost insuperable obstacles which the perpetual changes incident to a n e w settlement, and the complete absence of any certain means of obtaining information." T h e compiler, however, settled d o w n to his work with a will, and the result of his labours was the issue for 12s. 6d per copy of 264 pages, royal octavo, bound in cloth-boards. It was printed on good paper, in pica 'and long primer type, with the matter arranged in convenient form. T h e table of contents indicated a diversity of topics-Eclipses and Wharfage Rates; Vaccination and the position of the Crocodile R o c k ; the Gardeners Calendar; Abstracts of the Acts of the Legislature most commonly in force; the several codes of Government Regulations in existence; the Public Departments, Companies and Institutions are summarized, and other addenda convenient to persons engaged in business. Twenty-three pages of the Directory^contain names, places of business, and private residences. T h e Melbourne houses were not numbered for years after; and it is a matter of m m r i ™ L ^ U U , , , , . , } , ' matter ot surprise h o w such a collocation could be obtained Irom extremely scanty and imperfect materials T b o JI„ AJ , ' . ' "Liieriais. J he Almanac Advertiser at the end contains twenty-four pages of trade notices, on different colour^ ™ ™ » ~ . -J • • ,,- ,- , t J t b ucru ' coloured papers, a strong evidence in itself of the rapidly
