The Chronicles of Early Melbourne/Volume 1/Chapter 8
CHAPTER VIII.
THE SUPREME COURT AND MINOR TRIBUNALS—(Continued).
Court of Quarter Sessions.
SYNOPSIS:— Mr. Edward J. Brewster, first Chairman. —The first Military and Civil Jury Panel. —First Criminal Trials. —First Sentence of Transportation. —First Female Tried. —First Perjury Prosecution. —"Pulling the Professional Nose." —First Conviction for Libel. —Sentence on Mr. George Arden. —Cremation. —Fawkner: Boniface and Library Proprietor. —Advocate Carrington's Supersession. —Military Juries Discontinued. —First "Strikes." —Mr. J. G. Taylor burned in Effigy. —The Insolvent Court. —Mr. Wm. Verner's Appointment. —The First Insolvent Estate. —A Payable Insolvency. —The Minimum and Maximum of Insolvent Estates. —M'Connell's Sufferings. —The Court of Requests. —Mr. E.J. Brewster, first Commissioner. —Mr. Richard Ocock, first Registrar. —Commissioner Barry's "Little-Go." —A Lady Litigant's Politeness. —Extension of Jurisdiction. —Augmentation of Salaries. —Marsden and Frencham. —The Rev. Mr. Barlow in Court. —Commissioner Barry's Retirement and Successor. —A Police Court and Lock-up. —The Stocks. —Petty Sessions. —First Magisterial Roll. —The Rev. E. J. Brewster. —From Bar to Pulpit. —St. John and the Reporters. —The Wolf and the Lamb. —"Watch-housing" the Newspapers. —Muzzling the Major. —St. John and "Garryowen." —Boniface Sibering and his Wife. —St. John's Peccadilloes. —A Court Squabble. —Finn's Note to the Major. —Unpaid for Whisky. —St. John's Transgressions Annotated. —The Major destroys Finn's Inventory of Accusations. —The Magisterial-cum-Reporter's Compact. —St. John on the Road to Ruin. —The Compact Inviolate. —"Jimmy Whistler." —The Evil Eye. —Forensic Birds of Prey. —"Staggering Bob." —Opening of the Police Buildings, Swanston Street. —Racy Scenes on the Bench. —Arson and "Shindyism." —The "Axe" of Parliament. —The "Scabbard" of the "Apple of Discord."
THIS was the first Criminal Judicature in Port Phillip, and was established under the Melbourne Quarter Sessions Act 2 Vic, No. 5 (15th August, 1838). It could try "crimes, offences, and misdemeanours" in addition to a small appellate jurisdiction from the Courts of Police and Petty Sessions. It was presided over by a Chairman, and in its jury system possessed the dual peculiarity, that a prisoner had the privilege of being put on his country before either a military or civil jury. This was a remnant of the old Penal Laws of New South Wales, and its origin may be thus traced. The New South Wales Constitution Act Geo. IV., c. 83, sec. 5, provided for the trial of offences before the Supreme Court, by a jury of seven commissioned officers of His Majesty's Land or Sea Forces, whether on full or half-pay, a species of semi-martial law, necessary, no doubt, in the infancy of a convict colony, where the material for civilian juries did not exist. The 10th Geo. IV., No. 7, establishing Courts of Quarter Sessions, passed some time after, extended this mode of trial to such Courts. As free settlement progressed an Act was passed in 1833 (4th Wm. IV., No. 12) modifying the original system so far as to make informations triable either by a military jury, or a civil jury of twelve inhabitants of the colony at the option of the accused; and Sec. 12 extended this sort of trial to Quarter Sessions. The military juries were abolished by the 3rd Vic, No. 11 20th September, 1839, from and after 31st October, 1839.
The first Chairman was Mr. Edward Jones Brewster, an Irish barrister, and the inauguration of the Melbourne Court was appointed for the 28th March, 1839, but it was adjourned to the 13th May, when the Chairman, having arrived from Sydney, business was commenced in the old Police Office, at the south-western corner of the Western Market Reserve. The names on the military and civil jury panel (previously compiled by a Mr. Michael O'Brien, a sheriffs officer), were called over. The military jurors were Captain Smith, commanding the military force; Smyth, of the mounted police; Scott (on half-pay), of Royal Marines; Mr. Howard, the Acting Commissary-General; Lieutenants Newton and Addis, R.N. (on half-pay), with Lieutenant De Vignolles, and Ensign M'Cormac, commissioned in the Regimental Detachment stationed in the town. Mr, H. N. Carrington, a solicitor, had been appointed Crown Advocate and appeared accordingly. The Chairman congratulated the public upon having obtained a "Home Tribunal," which would afford protection to person and property, at but little inconvenience and expense. T h e judicial functions of the Court would be performed by the magistrates of the district, w h o possessed both local experience, and a knowledge of the people. Matters of fact would be decided by the juries, w h o would, he felt assured, act independently and honestly. T h e particulars of a General Sessions of the present day would be far from interesting; but as the first criminal trials ever held in the colony took place at this ancient tribunal, a certain novelty attaches to some of them ; and for this reason I enter into some details which, in 1888, can hardly be read without a curious interest. There were twenty cases on the calendar, and thefirstprisoner placed on trial was John Robert Pritchard for robbing his master, a Mr. Snowdon, of is. and a pair of trousers. O f the prisoner's guilt, no doubt could be entertained, but on his behalf evidence was adduced which, while it left no uncertainty of his previous good character, rendered his sanity very doubtful, so he benefited so far by the doubts as to be acquitted. T h e first person convicted was George Reynolds, for stealing some wearing apparel from Thomas Nicholson, and sentenced to six months' imprisonment. T h e first person sentenced to transportation (for 14 years) was Joseph Hudson, for robbing Mr. Pittman's store of a quantity of silk and other articles. Though a " free " m a n , he had served two previous sentences of transportation. T h efirstw o m a n tried was Henrietta Neil, as a receiver of the property stolen by Hudson. She was found guilty, and sent for two years' imprisonment in the 3rd class of the "factory." T h e first perjury prosecution was heard on the 14th M a y against a sly-grog seller n a m e d Moore. T w o constables swore point blank to the offence, and a David T h o m a s point blank the other way. The magistrates preferred the "two to one," fined Moore, and remanded T h o m a s , w h o was n o w tried for the false swearing, and transported for seven years. T h e 15th May, 1839, was a somewhat remarkable day on account of two trials which created quite a storm of sensation in the public mind. There were two well-known residents, both sporting m e n and favourites of the people, viz., Dr. Barry Cotter and Mr. John W o o d . There was also (a not unusual occurrence) a lady in the case, from w h o m the medico considered himself justified in warning all trespassers, which so annoyed W o o d , that one day meeting Cotter in street, he not only gave him a sample of his tongue, but wrung the professional nose, and even resorted to rougher treatment. Doctors don't like to be "nosed" in this way, though some of them often deserve it, and "Barry" prescribed for his assailant by pulling of another kind, viz., bringing him before the Police Court, where he was sent for trial to the Sessions. Here he was convicted, fined £ i o o , and imprisoned for a month. Mr. W o o d was also prosecuted the same day for libelling Lieutenant D e Vignolles, by writing a defamatory epistle to him. T h e proof of the hand-writing broke down, so in this case the defendant scored a victory, as a partial set-off to the other. T h e first conviction in the colony for libel was obtained on the 16th M a y . Mr. George Arden rented premises as his Port Phillip Gazette office from a person for w h o m Mr. W . F. Rucker acted under power of attorney. Arden called one day at the agent's office to settle a rent-account, and in the course of conversation took it into his head to ask Rucker to produce his authority for acting as receiver. This threw Rucker into what is vulgarly known as " a scot," and he ordered Arden to clear out, or "he'd precious soon make him." T h e offended editor withdrew in great dudgeon, and in the next issue of his newspaper gave Rucker such a peppering as caused him to apply to the law for protection. Arden was subjected to a criminal prosecution, and the jury returned a verdict of guilty. T h e Chairman passed a sentence of twentyfour hours' imprisonment and ,£50 fine. The August sittings commenced on the 5 th, during which some noteworthy charges were investigated. Mrs. Catherine Reardon was indicted for keeping a disorderly house in Collins Street, and loudly protested her innocence, saying she had no objection to place herself in the hands of a civil jury. T o her surprise she was convicted, fined ,£50, and in default six months' incarceration. James Morris was called to account for feloniously assaulting a young w o m a n n a m e d Dobey, a domestic servant of Lieutenant Addis, at Geelong. T h e chief witness for the prosecution was a Master M'Arthur, a nephew of Addis, w h o deposed to having seen the prisoner attempt improper familiarities with the prosecutrix, which she repulsed, whereupon he struck her with a paling, causing her to cry out " murder!" Lieutenant Addis proved to hearing a disturbance at his place, and on going to ascertain the cause, saw the w o m a n with her dress torn, and bearing marks of a violent blow. T h e prisoner was found guilty, and sentenced to be imprisoned lor twelve months, one week in each of thefirstthree months in solitary confinement. A trial unparalleled in the criminal annals of the colony was investigated on the 8th August. James Davies and Abraham Brackbrook were arraigned for misdemeanour. T h e indictment contained two counts, viz.—(a), indecently burning the dead bodies of two aboriginal natives contrary to civilized usage; and (b), burning the same with intent to defeat the ends of justice by removing the traces of a supposed murder. T h e prisoners were the assigned convict servants of a Mr. Bowerman, a station-holder in the Western District. A m o b of blacks one day gathered near the homestead, when a conflict arose between them and some of Bowerman's bush hands. Shots were fired by the whites, as alleged in defence of their lives. T w o blackfellows were killed, whose bodies Bowerman caused to be removed and burned by the prisoners. T h e prosecution was promoted by Mr. Sievwright, one of the Assistant-Protectors, and he and a Mr. Allan (a free superintendent on the run) were the principal witnesses for the Crown. In defence, it was alleged that the shooting had been necessitated in self-defence; that the circumstance was forthwith reported to the Police Magistrate in Melbourne, and that after this had been done the cremation took place. T h e Chairman ruled that the mere act of burning the bodies was not a recognisable offence except done with a view to defeat the ends of justice. Unless the jury were satisfied of the existence of a criminal intent in the action of the prisoners they were entitled to an acquittal. T h e jury, under this direction, found a verdict of not guilty. T h e Port Phillip Gazette of the period declared that the Crown Advocate manifested m u c h ill-temper during the proceedings, and a desire to brow-beat and sneer d o w n the jurors after the verdict was returned. At the November sittings a fraudulent sale prosecution was heard. T h e defendants were John Mills, a brewer, and Edward Symonds, the master of a coasting craft k n o w n as the "Pickwick." T h e information alleged a fraud in disposing of, to John C u m m i n s , a rival beer-maker, as an imported article, a quantity of very inferior barley. Mills, it seems, had on hand some rubbish which he wished to get rid of to advantage, and so induced the skipper to palm it off on C u m m i n s as having been recently brought by him in his vessel from Launceston. T h e dodge succeeded, and C u m m i n s was victimised. T h e defendants were found guilty and fined—Mills £50, and Symonds £100. T h e principal butcher in Melbourne, John M'Nall, was indicted for a nuisance generated from the deposit of offal and other kinds of noxious debris about the premises. H e was fined ^ 2 0 , and the Chairman strongly censured the Government for neglecting to provide a system of town sewerage. T h e last trial of the year presented two very notable persons. In order to supply intellectual, as well as spiritual, recreation for his customers, Mr. J. P. Fawkner, thefirstinnkeeper, attached a small library to Fawkner's Hotel. There arrived in the district a Mynheer-Von-Bebra, who, though sporting Dutch and German prefixes to his name, vauntingly proclaimed himself an Italian Count of very distinguished pedigree. H e was a smart, accomplished, pushing sort of young fellow, with pockets almost as empty as his title, and he lost no time in looking out for something to do, for necessitas non habet legem, and even a Mynheer-VonCount, as he was bombastically designated, should procure bread and cheese in one way or other. "Johnny" Fawkner's bibliothical collection was not very extensive ; but the addition of a curator of his circulating library, possibly descended from one of " Old Etrurias' ancient kings," seemed such a trumpcard, that he clutched it and appointed the Mynheer-Von-Count his book-keeper in the most comprehensive sense of the term, for he was charged with not only the care of the library, but authorised to get in some little grog scores and other trifling assets outstanding. T h e " V o n " went to work with a will, and was more generous with Fawkner's cash than the latter liked. O n e day it transpired that portion of a disputed account had been paid to Bebra, which he denied, and when Pawkner began to bully, in that nettlesome style so peculiar to him, the Italian Count magnanimously cast all distinctions of rank and position to the wind, and treated Fawkner to such a hammering as to give him a pair of decorated eyes, and a nose so twisted as to resemble an inflamed cork-screw. For this he was brought before the Police Court, Fawkner supplementing a charge of obtaining money under false pretences. T h e Count was committed for trial to the Quarter Sessions, but the case was laughed out of Court, Fawkner vowing vengeance against Judge, jury, and "every mother's soul" involved in his discomfiture. At the beginning of 1840, Mr. Crown Advocate Carrington was superseded by Mr. James Croke as Clerk of the C r o w n and C r o w n Prosecutor. There were no longer military juries, which were, as a rule, preferred to civil juries by the prisoners. "Strikes" occurred at an early period, and in February several journeyman bakers struck for increased wages, and assaulted and burned in effigy a Mr. J. G. Taylor, one of the employers. B y an unreasonable m o d e of set-off, the master bakers got up a "strike" against the bread-eaters, by entering into what was considered an illegal combination to exact extortionate prices. Prosecutions were c o m m e n c e d against the offending parties, w h o were tried at the April Quarter Sessions and convicted, w h e n Henderson, the leader of the m o b who assaulted and burned the Taylor imitation, was fined ,£50, and imprisoned for fourteen days, whilst some of the smaller fry of journeymen were let off with fines of £$ each. O f two master bakers indicted, a Mr. Overton was fined .£100, and adjudged one month's incarceration. T h e following batch of aboriginals were tried at the June Sessions :—Tar-roke-nunnin, Nan-der-mile, Longer-ma-koom, Cowen-yow-let, Mor-rer-mal-roke, Peel-beep, Lam-bid-er-nuc, White-gum, Pine-gin-goon, and War-war-rong. T h e prisoners were accused of having committed various acts of assault and robbery. AVar-war-rong was discharged. T h e remainder, though ably defended by Mr. Barry, were found guilty, and each sentenced to ten years' transportation. At the termination of 1840, the Department was thus constituted :—Chairman, M r . E. J. Brewster, ,£350 per annum ; Clerk of the Crown, Mr. J. Croke, ^£400 per a n n u m ; Clerk of the Peace, Mr. James Montgomery, ,£100 per annum ; Crier, Charles Jones, ^ 4 0 ; Allowance to Witnesses and Jurors, &c, ,£500; Stationery and incidentals, ,£100. Total ^£1490. O n the introduction of the Supreme Court in April, 1S41, the Criminal Jurisdiction of the Quarter Sessions was transferred to the higher tribunal, the Chairmanship tacked on to the duties of the Resident Judge, and the whole staff disbanded. T h e Court itself dwindled into little more than a cipher, languishing in inglorious ease until it got its quietus by the passing of an Act establishing our present General Sessions. THE INSOLVENT COURT.
The initiation of this well-known, oft-used, frequently abused, and highly popular institution was contemporaneous with the establishment of the Supreme Court, of which it was a subordinate off-shoot, and originally the Resident Judge acted as Commissioner. It was just the kind of work that suited the temperament of Judge Willis—a fresh arena in which to stir up strife, m a k e mischief, and pitch into any unfortunate who incurred his displeasure. A n d here he had a rare hunting ground in which to amuse himself, for some of the insolvents w h o figured before him were such unmitigated swindlers that they bore away the bell from all the black sheep appearing there since. During the commercial crisis of 1842-3, it was an asylum for scoundreldom, to which dishonest traders fled like the murderers of old to a church for sanctuary, with this advantage, that the Insolvent Act white-washed the former with ease and impunity, and t,iey re-appeared like whitened sepulchres to rogue and rob afresh. Take the veryfirstcase that came before the Judge as an example. His Honor presided in Insolvency for thefirsttime on the 3 rd June, 1841, and the very first business brought before him was an application to discharge from gaol one G. P. Anderson, detained there as a debtor. T h e prisoner, as is almost invariably the case, was able to retain counsel and Mr. Brewster appeared in support of the application, which was opposed by Mr. Barry on benalf of certain creditors. It was elicited that Anderson was incarcerated for non-payment of ^ 4 5 , and though his assets were returned at ^ 1 3 0 0 , it was probable that not so m u c h as one farthing would be realised ! T h e Commiss.oner indignantly refused the application. During this year there was not a single sequestration, and H.s Honor began to think that it was infra dig. for the sole Judge of the Supreme Court to officiate longer in the Insolvent Court, and where, in the event of an appeal from his decision as Commiss.oner, it would be to himself in the Appellate Court. T h e cogency of the latter objection induced the Executive to consent to the appointment of a separate Commissioner, and the office was bestowed upon M r . William Verner, a gentleman of good discretion, not deficient in educational acquirements, but of no legal attainments. H e was of high social position, a territorial magistrate, and one w h o took an interest in public affairs, but a trusty henchman of Judge Willis, and between them a strong friendship subsisted. T h e Insolvent Court hitherto held in the Supreme Court building was, in 1842, removed to a small brick cottage, one of a row that ran along a right-of-way, off King Street, where n o w is Gallagher Lane, but then k n o w n by the fashionable designation of Roache's Terrace. T h e following year when the Supreme Court travelled away from the " red barn " to the newly-erected Court-house in Latrobe Street, the minor Court followed in its wake, and found shelter in an apartment afterwards turned into a Judges' Chamber. Originally the officers received no stated salaries, the Commissioner being allowed to retain all the fees, and remunerate his underlings as he liked, and for a couple of years, no doubt, he gathered in a paying harvest as shown by the following figures:—In 1842, there were 114 insolvencies, with scheduled liabilities amounting to ,£212,805 IS- 9^-> assets, ,£143,862; deficiency, .£68,943 is. 9d.; whilst in 1843 the sequestrations were 123; liabilities, ,£468,467 8s.; assets, ,£215,410 7s. 5d., and ,£253,057 os. 7d. as a deficit—the realised dividends are unobtainable, or they would show a curious result. I have c o m e across an old scrap, however, which I transcribe, as affording some queer information about the indebtedness of the olden time, when Melbourne was a very small place, and the population of Port Phillip numerically inconsiderable. T h e first sequestration of an Insolvent Estate was on the 8th of February, 1842, and during that and the next year the total was 237, whilst there were only 46 in 1844, and n in 1845, or 294a for the four years. T h e total liabilities were, for the same period, ,£812,785 7s. 6d. ; assets, ,£458,269 18s. iod.; balance, deficiency, £"354,515 8s. 8d. T h e highest dividend realised was in the estate of T. B. Alexander, which paid 20s. in the £, with 10 per cent, interest, and left a surplus of 1500 sheep for the (miscalled) insolvent. T h e lowest dividend was nil, and could not well be less. T h e two next lowest dividends were severally one halfpenny, and i^d. in the £. There was a "nil" dividend in 122 cases, and estates were indebted to official assignees in 63. In 17 instances the property was mortgaged to or over the full value—debts were not recoverable or no assets realised, and in two cases only the insolvents bolted. T h e largest amount of liabilities in an estate was ,£74,148 12s. 3d., and all the realised assets were absorbed in two actions at law, brought by the assignee. T h e minimum amount of liabilities in any case was ,£22 14s. 6d., and the dividend was nil. At the end of 1843, the " farming " plan of remuneration was altered, the Crown taking the fees and assigning certain salaries to the officials ; but as business rapidly fell off with the disappearance of the commercial crisis, it was a losing "spec" for the State, and after a year's experiment the old system was reverted to, but so modified that the Commissioner, Clerk, and Messenger shared the fees rateably. U p o n this principle, the Chief no doubt had the lion's share, but even his modicum was sometimes not worth acceptance by a gentleman. In the beginning of 1845, M r . Verner decided to pay a visit to Europe, and as he had no difficulty in getting leave of absence, M r . R. W . Pohlman was nominated his locum tenens, w h o entered upon his duties appropriately enough on Fools' D a y (1st April), for he was no sooner installed than Verner changed his mind, and the befooled Pohlman felt himself in honour bound to resign in his favour. H e was not m u c h of a loser, for during the year 1845, the insolvencies dwindled to eleven, and the fees shrunk accordingly. During November, about the best month, the takings reached only
- £5 11s. 6d., which sum was thus apportioned
- — T h e Commissioner, £3 16s. 8d. ; Clerk, _£i 8s. 9d.
Messenger, 6s. id. T h e Clerk was a Mr. James M'Connell, and this state of things drove him into private life, whilst the Messenger—a huge wild-looking North of Irelander—found that afifteen-pence-a-weekpittance would not only not keep him in bread and cheese, but it would not buy him oatmeal and water. His face gradually assumed a wolfish appearance, and as he strode starving through the streets, he would often stand opposite the butchers' windows, glaring at the uncooked carcases of beef and mutton, as if disposed to banish any vestige of Christianity remaining with him and turn cannibal. But the life was tough in him, and poor Jim was chastened by his enforced fastings and invalided for life in his acoustic organs. Business more than doubled the next year, and he was put on a one-and-nine-penny day wage, Sundays included, and after all his abstemious tribulation he n o w deemed himself happy as a king. The self-cashiered Mr. M'Connell, was succeeded by Mr. J. M. Seward, for many years favourably known as Chief Clerk in the department of the Master in Equity ; and M r . Verner unconditionally surrendering in April 1846, M r . Pohlman was recalled en permanence, and was sworn in on the 29th. On the 15th July, 1851, the Equity Mastership was affiliated A'ith the Insolvent Court, and Pohlman and Seward became Master and Clerk in addition to their other duties. M r . Pohlman held the combined offices for some time, when he was appointed Judge of the newly created County Court, where his long, laborious, and conscientious career was well-known and appreciated. T h e oldest Official Assignees were Messrs. Archibald Cunninghame, James Graham, Archibald M'Lachlan, and Edward Courtney. They were recompensed for their services by commission on the amount of realised assets. THE COURT OF REQUESTS.
This was a legal contrivance for the recovery of small debts, restricted to sums not exceeding ,£10. T h e first Commissioner was M r . E . J. Brewster, at a salary of £ 1 0 0 a year. T h e first Registrar was Mr. Richard Ocock, a solicitor, afterwards residing at Ballan, but finding that he could take his intellectual wares to a better market, bid the establishment good-bye, and was succeeded by a Mr. Kirkland, who, in turn, m a d e way for Mr. John Sealy Griffin, a doctor, w h o threw his physic to the dogs, and preferred the small Government billet with little to do, and but little pay in the beginning. T h e Court opened for thefirsttime at 8 a.m. on the 1st April, 1840, with a cause-list of sixty-two plaints. M r . Brewster held office for some eighteen months, w h e n he resigned. T h e second Commissioner was Mr. R e d m o n d Barry, w h o stuck to the place so long that it acquired the sobriquet of "Barry's Little-Go," and in course of years became one of the minor standing institutions of Melbourne. It was a good deal knocked about in finding quarters, for it was bundled out of the Police Office and hurried away from west to east, where it found temporary shelter in a building erected at the south-eastern corner of the Eastern Market Reserve, and long k n o w n as the Eastern Hill Watch-house. The exigencies of the times sent it whirling back again, towards the Occident, at the intersection of King and Bourke Streets, to the brick tumble-down, which did duty as a Supreme Court from 1841 to 1843, and here it squatted until March, 1846, when it was transferred to a superannuated billiard-room, a portion of the appurtenances of the L a m b Inn, a once fast weather-board hostelry, thrown together on the ground where Scott's Hotel now flourishes. T h e billiard-room was of brick construction erected at the west end of the wooden tavern (which was a little in from the street-way), abutting sideways on the public thoroughfare, the entrance at the end facing a small area in front of the main building. T h e room was approached by a few stone steps, and when the Court was in session, a stranger, the m o m e n t he got inside, was surprised with the h u m a n contrasts presented by the principal performers in this drama of real life. The centre-piece was the Commissioner at the other end of the room, perched above the c o m m o n herd, in forensic costume, a veritable gentleman in black, with his head wreathed in Chinese mourning, his bands and neck-cloth of glistening white, an unmistakable symptom, which demonstrated that, even then, the manual art of the laundress and the digital skill of the gofferer, had arrived at almost perfection ; and as for the wig it always looked as if just taken off the block of the perruquier,— not a wrinkle in the curls, not a single hair awry, and set with as m u c h precision in its position as if glued to a marblefigure-head.The Barry bust was on such occasions well worth seeing, and the more so, because underneath there was what might be denominated an actualfiery"Griffin" only for the crowning broad patch of baldness, which looked like a small, bare, blaze-girt islet—so red was Registrar Griffin's encircling hair, and so utterly hairless his largely developed pate. Like twin griffins of a different species, were posted near the bench two other individuals known as bailiffs, both of w h o m were as ugly as sin, though of different patterns of facial unattractiveness. O n e of them was as bluely red in the face as the gill of a turkey-cock, and the other with a countenance so peculiarly indescribable as to render it impossible to tell by his physiognomy from which of the primitive branches of the great h u m a n race he derived his descent. T h e red-faced official was in some respects the reverse of his colleague, because he was generally civil enough to the suitors; whilst the other was coarse always, and discourteous at most times. It is one of the paradoxes of h u m a n nature hard to be accounted for, that Commissioner Barry never had a good-looking fellow a m o n g his " Little-Go " followers. H e was himself a splendid specimen of 'masculine organisation some forty odd years ago, and one would think that his well-known appreciation of thefitnessof things in most other respects would have stepped in here, and saved his Court from the imputation of never, even by accident, having a presentable servitor connected with it. Though the Court of Requests could never compete with the judicial establishment of Judge Willis, in putting on its stage the " stunning pieces," which rendered the Supreme Court, in its infantine days, so highly sensational and entertaining to the public, nevertheless, there used to be, occasionally, a deal of genuine fun, betweLn the Commissioner, the suitors, the Registrar, and especially the unhandsome bailiffs. O n e of them usually acted as Court Crier, and he went through this stereotyped duty in such a comical manner as induced one to believe that he had lost his vocation in not having been brought up to the stage—for if so, Coppin never yet had his equal in screaming farce or low comedy. N o one but a born genius could ever evoke the peals of laughter out of a simple cause list, a string of plain, c o m m o n , though sometimes uncouth names, as this Stentor used to effect, by the tone of voice in which he would vociferate them, a style of utterance midway between a wobble and a bray. T h e audience used to get convulsed with laughter, the suitors called, purposely closed their ears thereby ensuing an encore, the howler would be c o m m a n d e d by either the Griffin or the Commissioner to howl louder, but plainer, the tongue used to pop in and out as if there was a spasmodic hneute amongst its tissues, and the barking, though noisier, grew more inarticulate at every repetition. T h e people would renew their screaming, the Griffin would flop down in his seat, with his face as fiery as his hair, and begin to pat the islet with the palm of his hand to keep it cool—whilst the Commissioner would lie back in his chair of judgment, inclined for a good laugh but for its gross impropriety, and eyeing the unconscious cause of all the boisterous merriment, with a look of bland severity, give himself up to a temporary dignified resignation. W h a t I have feebly endeavoured to describe was of frequent occurrence, yet it was permitted to go on, for Barry was good-natured, and no doubt inwardly amused with what passed before him. Yet notwithstanding all these funny episodes, an amount of business was got through, actually astonishing. T h e "Little-Go" used to sit once a month, and though it commenced with sixty cases in 1840, in 1842 and '43 the list was often over a thousand. In one month, early in 1843, there were between three and four thousand plaints taken out, though hundreds of them never came lo trial, and the wonder is h o w any m a n with the mental calibie of Mr. Barry, could wade through the mass of trash that was thus developed. Yet he did so with methodical stateliness, courteous solemnity, and a rigid conscientiousness not excelled, when in after years he was the Acting Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. All this he did for £ 1 0 0 a year, at a time when he had a considerable practice at the Bar, and he was rarely absent from any public movement calculated to promote the public good. M r . Barry's most trying moments in the Court of Requests were when there was a lady in the case. In the ,£io jurisdiction the plaintiffs and defendants had to conduct their suits without legal assistance, and though, on the whole, it m u c h expedited the business, it sometimes produced irregularities which led to occasional small "scenes." Where the disturbing element was a " lord of creation " the Commissioner had not m u c h trouble in bringing his lordship within the bounds of propriety, but he could not lord it so easily over a lady. Occasionally a maiden lady or matron would (in some case about the making of a dress, or the cost of a head of cabbage) dispute his law, laugh at his logic, jeer at his polite remonstrances, and flout his decision. At this he would first smile and bow, next politely remonstrate, then grow severely serious, and when at last driven into a corner by the volubility of the feminine tongue, sometimes fluently polite, and not seldom vulgarly emphatic, he would turn at bay and bring his tormentor sharp up by a curt little oration, of which the following may be taken as a sample :—" M a d a m , pardon m e for a moment. I must not be interrupted. Permit m e to observe, m a d a m , that you have outstripped all the bounds of decorum. Y o u have transgressed the limits of strict propriety, and disregarded the amenities that should be observed within a Court of Justice. If you were a m a n I should experience but little difficulty in meting out condign punishment, for the contemptuous manner in which you have comported yourself in m y presence. Your sex, however, protects you from the extreme measure, which I should otherwise be prepared to take. N o w m a d a m , you have already heard m y decision, and you will have the goodness to withdraw." Whilst the " lady " thus talked at drew in her breath for a rejoinder, a graceful semi-circular bow, low as the inkstand before him, astonished her, and then a rebound of the wigged head and a mandate to the crier to call the next case clinched the business, and the litigant would take herself away with an incipient sob of dissatisfaction, which broke out into a good cry before she reached the outer door. Mr. Barry's indiscriminate " Ma-dam-ising " had a magical effect, and acted as a soothing balm to the ignorant dames of the lower grade of society. M a n y took it as a compliment for such a great m a n to speak in an unknown tongue to them. But one day, an old lady w h o kept an oyster shop in Little Bourke Street, was suing a cab-driver for an unpaid shell-fish account, and when she was treated to the eloquent infliction, misapprehending the allusion to the male sex, and the "out-stripping" propriety, she defiantly exclaimed : " Look ye here, m y nice bit of a bloke with your rigged up jasey. Y o u gab a deal about gents and unstripping, but I tell you what, m e fine cove, if I was m y Bill, and not Bill's ould ooman, so help m e Bob, if I wouldn't stack m y duds there foreninst you on theflure,and have a go into you slick off. C o m e now, that's the chat, and I don't care that for you " (snapping her fingers). T h e bland Commissioner was horrified, but what could he d o ? H e could not under any circumstances take up the gage of battle half thrown down ; and it wouldn't look well to have the pugilistic termagant locked up. H e was obliged to swallow the retort which he did with a ludicrously austere grimace, and by his directions the "lady "was bundled out; but the laugh at him was such as he must have remembered for m a n y a long day after. In addition to the regular Court staff, there was a " small fry " k n o w n as sub-bailiffs taken on when business was brisk, and they were often the cause of m u c h worry to the urbane Commissioner. S o m e were arrant rascals, and used to harass the poorer people by the manner in which they levied under distress warrants. N o w and then one or other of these fellows got well thrashed by some ill-treated defendant, and on the fracas being reported to the Commissioner, if he found that the bailiff in any way deserved what he complained of, he not only did not sympathise with the official, but dismissed him to boot. O n the other hand, where his legal minions were unjustly maltreated, he took the offenders into the Police Court, and appeared there himself to obtain satisfaction for the wounded feelings or contused head of his deputy. S o m e of the " Little-Go" bailiffs did well out of their business, not in the way of pickings or perquisites, but in small usurious transactions, justifiable according to the strict letter of the law, but most certainly on the shady side of equity. Having saved up a nest-egg in dry money, they put their shillings and pounds out to hatch amongst the hard-up, though not insolvent, customers of the Court, and m a n y clutches of golden chicks were multiplied therefrom. Sometimes a glaring case of something verging on gross extortion would come to light, and though the Commissioner would see a technical difficulty to his actively interposing, he would censure, and caution, and wasfinallydriven to issue a prohibition against any of the officers of his Court engaging in such generally lucrative, though sometimes hazardous, speculations. In one notable instance he was cooly defied by an underling w h o had landed m a n y a good haul of the goldfish,and the consequence was that the recusant was obliged to disconnect himself from the establishment, but he little cared about the consequences, for he died one of the wealthiest m e n of his time. M u c h dissatisfaction was felt at the smallness of the jurisdiction of the Court of Requests, as both expense and delay were entailed by the recovery of debts in the Supreme Court, wherein all claims exceeding ,£10 (except servants' wages) were determined; and on 26th May, 1846, a public meeting was held with the Mayor (Dr. Palmer) presiding, to petition the Government for an extension of the jurisdiction of the Court from ,£10 to £30. A memorial was prepared, numerously signed, and transmitted to Sydney. T h e Superintendent strongly recommended its prayer, and the result was that by the commencement of the ensuing year the favour asked for was granted. In 1847 the Commissioner's pay was raised from ,£100 to ,£250 ; T h e Registrar's from ,£100 to ,£200 ; and the Bailiffs' (two) from ,£40 to ,£70 each, with an extra hand at ,£30 per annum. T h efirst,£30 sitting of the Court was held on the 7th April, 1847, before the Commissioner and two Assessors (Messrs. Isaac Buchanan and Charles Bradshaw). T h e only member of the Bar present was Mr. Stawell, and thefirstcase on the list was Boursiquot v. Fulton, for the recovery of £2$ 7s. 9d., for advertising in the Melbourne Daily Netvs, and there was a verdict for the defendant. As the Court acquired additional powers and importance it decreased in fun. Nearly all the spontaneous drollcy of the "Little-Go" had disappeared, and a solemn sameness ruled in its place. T h e Commissioner sat enthroned, as lugubrious-looking as an undertaker on duty, and the Assessors were as staid and silent as a pair of mutes. Even the voluble tongue of the inharmonious crier had lost m u c h of its intermittent elasticity. T h e ,£30 -jurisdiction communicated this [despondency to the ,£10 branch, and all was dull as ditchwater during the residue of the Barry reign, O f course there were exceptions, when a strayflashof the old merriment would burst upon the scene ; when some recalcitrant suitor would be committed for a few hours for contempt; or someflippantscoffer fined for allowing a refractory oath to slip through his teeth, and the Commissioner sometimes shrugged his shoulders, and indulged in a genteel yawn as if bored by ennui. I more than once fancied he felt lonesome, and would take it as a god-send if the old oyster w o m a n were to appear and re-invite him to a bout atfisticuffs.O n e day, however (25th April, 1851), within three months of the Barry exit, something did turn up to give afillipto the somnolent atmosphere of the old billiard-room. As one of the individuals involved is a respected citizen, still alive, I was in some doubt whether I should not omit it from this notice, but it was such an unparalleled occurrence, before cr since, that even at the risk of incurring his displeasure I cannot pass it over. I transcribe it verbatim from a Melbourne newspaper published the morning after it happened. "MARSDEN AND FRENCHAM V. THE REV. THOMAS BARLOW."
"This was a suit to recover the sum of ,£10, for cash paid on account of the defendant, who was a minister, attached to a Congregational Church at Collingwood. The reverend defendantfileda plea, and in this document he set forth that one of the plaintiffs (J. A. Marsden) was a blackguard, a drunkard, and a glutton. As soon as the Commissioner observed the tenor of the plea, he addressed the defendant by asking him how he dared, by an assertion of this kind, to offer an insult to the Court. As a warning to others to be more guarded, he would order the defendant, for the language he had thoughtfitto employ, to be committed to gaol for fourteen days for contempt of Court. U p o n this announcement, two or three respectable individuals came forward and entreated the Commissioner to retract his decision, as the defendant had erred more from ignorance than wilfulness, and with no intention to insult the Court. T h e Commissioner, moved by the venerable appearance of the Rev. Mr. Barlow, and the intercession of his friends, required the defendant to alter his plea, and pardoned the indiscretion. The case was ordered to stand over until the next sitting." T h e reverend defendant was served right, and it was an error of judgment for the Commissioner to let him off with impunity, for the plea was not only a gross impertinence, but a malicious libel. N o member of the community was better known and respected than the plaintiff so grossly calumniated—and as will be shown in other portions of this work, no colonist, old or new, ever served his country in more various ways. But religious disputes, like religious wars, are, as a rule, most irreligiously fought out; no quarter is given, it is a conflict to the bitter e n d — w h e n the winning side is shamelessly vituperated, and as to the loser it is va victis with a vengeance. The time had at length come when Commissioner Barry was to be divorced from the Court which he had nursed from its infancy, and for which he had conceived a kind of affection. A higher sphere was opening for the exercise of those abilities, which were in the future to secure for him a reputation that will endure in the judicial annals of Victoria. O n the 1st July, 1851, "Port Phillip" blossomed into the "Colony of Victoria," and Mr. Barry into a Solicitor-General. T h e Commissionership and he parted company for evermore. Mr. E. E. Williams was appointed his successor, and commenced duty as such on the 21st July. A n d so drops the curtain upon m y imperfect sketch of " Barry's Little-Go," and the old associations by which it was surrounded. THE POLICE COURT.
A police office is incomplete without a lock-up, for they go together as naturally as brandy and sodawater, the one acting as a corrective to the other, and both combined constituting one of the ingredients without which the existence of modern society would become an impossibility. In all m y peregrinations through the misty past of Port Phillip, the tomb-searchings and exfoliations accomplished, and the multifarious and minute enquiries prosecuted, the tracing of the early police courts and watch-houses have been the most difficult. What has been written of them is little or nothing, and even that infinitesimal quantity is absolutely mythical. T h e existence of thefirsttheatre, the identity of thefirstpound, the whereabouts of thefirstbarracks, or the construction of thefirstbreakwater, was perplexing enough in all reason ; but the sites of thefirstplaces where Justice fixed up her scales, and where the early law-breakers were detained for judgment, are buried in a dense layer of obscurity, from which it is a task of extreme difficulty to disinter them. After six months' persistent investigation, this mildewed old topic, more intricate than a cluster of spiders' webs, I have endeavoured to unravel in the following narrative, of the correctness of which there can exist n o reasonable doubt. W h e n Captain Lonsdale arrived as Police Magistrate in 1836, and possessed himself and his small convict settlement of the "Government block" previously described, hisfirstbusiness was to provide quarters for himself, and almost the next was to set going the legal machinery necessary to keep his rascally retainers to their good behaviour. It was not needful then to have a Court-house gazetted as such, for the Police Magistrate carried about him the inherent privilege of making a Court when and everywhere he liked, so that if he only had his ink-horn and goose-quill (steel pens were then ranked amongst the " things not generally k n o w n "), his constable, and flogger, he could open his law-shop anywhere sub Jove or sub tegmine, according as his whim or duty dictated. Lonsdale, having billeted himself off the north-west terminus of Little Collins Street, he fixed upon the other side, a little eastward of the Sailors' H o m e , between Collins and Little Collins Streets, as the position of the Police Court. It was something of a " betwixt and between " an aboriginal mia-mia and a roughly m a d e summer-house, formed of wattle-tree boughs and branches, and thatched, or rather heaped over on the top with reeds. This rural retreat had for itsfloora solid substratum of mother earth, and its dimensions were about twelve feet square. T h e entrance or hole for admission faced the rising, whilst a chair or some convenience passing for one, was backed towards the setting sun, and here by himself, minus a clerk, with a kind of rheumatic table before him, sat the C o m m a n d a n t of the embryo colony, " monarch of all he surveyed," the sole representative, judicial and ministerial of the majesty of Britain, dispensing justice to those w h o claimed it, and to others who would be only too glad to escape it. His business was mainly confined for s o m e time to the punishment of insubordinate or drunken convicts—prisoners w h o could only, under the surrounding circumstances, be kept within proper bounds by a brisk application of the lash, and lashed they used to be accordingly. A few yards away from this bower, in the direction nearer to Collins Street, was the guard-house and lock-up, built also of ti tree, reed-roofed, but of more compact and substantial m a k e than the Court-house. This place consisted of two compartments, an outer and an inner division. T h e former was always occupied by a small military guard on duty, whilst the other was the lock, or rather, shut-up, for into this oven the prisoners would be crammed, and secured, but whether by lock or bolt and bar is uncertain— probably by nothing more than the presence of the guard, whose loaded muskets were always on the qui vive to pop off should any confinee attempt an escape. T h e two divisions communicated with each other by a door, very shaky in the hinges, with a circular aperture cut out of the upper half, through which the guard could peep in, or the prisoners peep out whenever they liked. This whole concern was, in 1837,firedby some black sheep-stealers screwed in there, in a manner exhibiting no small native ingenuity, and the entire place went up in a grand blaze. Particulars of this extraordinary outrage—thefirstfirein the colony—will be given when I c o m e to write of the conflagrations of the early times. T h e effect of the arson was to compel a shifting of the lock-up across near King Street, in another hut edifice, placed close to the prisoners' barracks, and where, by a strange coincidence, the West Melbourne Police Station is now located. A guard-room was also put up here by the utilization of a second hut, and the miserable d e n — t h e lock-up— occasionally served as an hospital. Towards the end of 1838, thefirstreal watch-house was erected at the south-west angle of the Western Market Reserve. It was built of stone, from a plan prepared by Mr. Russell (the Clerk of Works), and though a palace as compared with its predecessors, its great fault was smallness. It contained three apartments, i.e., a central room of ten feet by nine feet, as a residence for the keeper, with a cell at each end,fifteenfeet nine inches by nine feet, for the reception of prisoners, and an entrance corridor four feet in width. In 1840, a second watch-house was built at the south-east corner of the Eastern Market. It was on a somewhat larger scale, and in after time served occasionally as a relieving prison, where w o m e n used to be enclosed. It was also useful as a temporary Lunatic Asylum. The Police Office followed the house of detention, and the Police Magistrate shifted the pennant of office to a turf and sod hut, roofed with bark, and pitched about the centre of the Market-square. This Court-house was about fourteen feet by twelve feet, and here Lonsdale "captained" it, until the beginning of 1839, when the establishment of a Court of Quarter Sessions rendered it absolutely necessary to provide something like suitable accommodation regardless of expense. A sensational canard in connection with an early Police Comt-aem lock-up has been found floating in the clouds of antiquity, and this vagrant was deemed even worthy of a niche in print. It is to the effect that one night, either some intoxicated roysterers or a bull of Batman's rushed the place, and laid it in ruins and that a reward was subsequently offered for the identification and apprehension of either the bull or the bull-ies- I have tested the accuracy of this statement, and to a query transmitted to Mr. Robert Russell, the best living authority, have received the following reply':— " O f the tradition to which you refer as to the Police Office, the bull and the rowdies I k n o w nothing. Batman had no bulls running about wild, but his well-known horse, ' Post Boy,' onefinemorning m a d e a flying excursion through ' the settlement,' to the great terror of the inhabitants—and a small building (not a Police Office), belonging to Mr. Nodin, having become offensive, was violently assaulted and overthrown, bodily, one dark night, by four or five rowdies, whose names I could give you, but not the sketch by D'Arcy of the event, for I have lost it. O n these stern facts, I think Mr. has built his pleasingfiction."Mr. James F. Strachan, one of the primitive merchants, having had built a brick store at the corner of Collins and Queen Streets, vacated a wooden tenement in William Street, and this was purchased by the Government for conversion into a Police Office. It was shifted bodily, or rather, simply moved round close to where the new watch-house had been put up, and as it was in a somewhat dilapidated condition, it underwent a thorough overhaul to m a k e it ship-shape, for the new and important role in which it was destined to play a prominent part for m a n y years. O n the 15th February, 1839, official instructions were issued for the doing up of this old rookery. 'Phis looked like business, and Captain Lonsdale lost no time in abandoning the m u d hut, ensconcing himself comfortably in the vicinity of the new-madefireplace,and enjoying his comfortable quarters, never dreaming of ejection until the morning of the 13th May, when he was suddenly awoke by the startling intimation that he must clear out to m a k e room for the superior tribunal of the Quarter Sessions, to open on the same day. H e could not do otherwise than yield, and as the Sessions would continue for some days, he forthwith despatched a curt m e m o , to the Clerk of Works (Mr. Russell), commanding him to "give up the Clerk of Works' office that the necessary arrangements may be m a d e to hold the Police Office duties there during the sitting of the Quarter Sessions." T h e building, so unceremoniously asked for, was the one-roomed brick cottage erected the year before in King Street, for the special accommodation of the then Public Works Department. But if Lonsdale, w h o had ordinarily m u c h of the slow-coach in him, could be imperative in minuting his desire, he had his match in Russell, w h o sent back a counter-memo., the next day, " declining to give up his office, because he required it for the security of such documents as he had received from the Colonial Architect, and also because it was requisite that he should have some room in which to make the necessary drawings, & c , for the public buildings under his superintendence." Though nominally subordinate to the Police Magistrate, the Clerk of Works was then professionally responsible only to the department of the Colonial Architect in Sydney, of which he was an officer, and this circumstance m a y be considered in justification of his non-compliance with the wishes of Captain Lonsdale. A personal conference subsequently induced the Clerk of Works to obey the order of the " Commandant," and the Police Court was transferred temporarily, as desired, but was moved back to the Market Reserve as soon as the Quarter Sessions had terminated. T h e Police Court had acquired a "local habitation," but to render it sufficiently effective for the time, it had to be provided with an instrument of punishment and exposure known as " the stocks." For the information of such as m a y require it, it m a y be stated that " the stocks " was a modification of the historical pillory, but intended for the feet instead of the head and hands. A bench, capable of seating halfa-dozen persons, was m a d e fast in the ground to the right of the Police Court door, a few yards away, and facing all w h o passed to and from the Court. Fixed in front was a strong wooden frame, composed of two beams, the upper one working on an hinge at one end, and secured with a strong padlock at the other. T h e beams were fashioned with leg holes, so that a person seated would have his legs fastened something on the hand-cuff method, and when the upper beam was let d o w n and locked, he was securely hobbled. Only offending ticket-of-leave convicts and incorrigible drunkards used to be condemned to this pillory, and very coolly and philosophically used they to " take it out" there. There was no guard to object to the passers-by having a "yarn " with the unfortunates, so that it often came to pass that their " pals" and other sympathisers would have a confab with the fellows in trouble, and give them figs of tobacco, as modern philanthropists treat the monkeys to nuts at the Acclimatization Society's Gardens. Even instances have been known when a nip of rum was surreptitiously supplied-a m o d e of sly-grogging which perhaps under the circumstances was not altogether inexcusable. Three or four times an outrageous harridan of an abandoned w o m a n was " stocked," the concession being m a d e in her favour that only one of her feet was shackled, and she could kick away as she liked with the other. " T h e stocks" remained a not-muchpatronised institution until 1846, when three or four well-dressed rowdies were consigned to a couple of hours' baking there one hot day, and that same night they returned and m a d e smithereens o the affair, which was never after replaced. T h e regular out-and-out scoundrels m u c h preferred a spell in the stocks" to the watch-house, for it was a sort of State-outing m u c h enjoyed. It was "baccy and grog free gratis, without the trouble or danger attending the contrabrand transit of presents to prisoners now-aRegular Petty Sessions were not held until 1839, and the first Magisterial Roll consisted of Captains W Lonsdale P M , F. Fyans, Smith (80th Regt.) Lieut. D e Vignolles, Messrs. J. Simpson, W . H . Yaldwyn, with the Aboriginal Protectorate-Messrs. G. A. Robinson, E. S. Parker, James Dredge, William Thomas, and C W . Sievwright. T h efirstCourt had a certain martial air about it which consorted but poorly with the shabbiness of the hovel Court-houses, for the Captain-Police Magistrate had as his official " Friday " another Captain, i.e. the Mr. Baxter already mentioned as the second Post-master. H e was appointed Clerk of the Bench (16th January, 1838), and a series of officers followed in quick succession, viz., Ocock, Kirkland, a red-headed, sulky-looking worthy named J. M . M'Lauren, a rather mild-faced, black-haired customer, C. Forrest, and then Mr. William R e d m o n d Belcher. H e had been an auctioneer, and transferring his abilities to the Police Court, applied the mental h a m m e r there for so m a n y years that he got to be regarded as one of the best-known m e n in town. H e was not a very pleasant m a n to look at, and used to "ride the high horse " with the Bench, some of the members of which were rather cowed by him. T h e newspaper reporters and he often had a tiff, but they were too many for him, or, rather, they had power to carry their wordy war out of Court in a way denied to him, and a caustic paragraph or cutting remark m a d e him cut up anything but comfortably. Belcher was a thorough m a n of work, an indefatigable official, and at heart a kindly good fellow. It was easy to get up a breeze with him, but when the squall blew over he was not unwilling to forgive and to forget. H e held the office of Chief Clerk of the City Court for many years, from which he was deservedly promoted to a Police Magistracy more than a quarter of a century ago, and an efficient and impartial Magistrate he made. Poor " W.R.B. " has long gone to his account, where many a worse fellow had preceded and will follow him. But I a m making too much way, and must reverse the engine and return to 1840. Captain Lonsdale was appointed Sub-'Preasurer, and Mr. James Simpson was nominated Police Magistrate. O f the latter, there could not be found a better selection, and the public business was n o w disposed of with some propriety. At the beginning of 1841, there were thirty-six gentlemen in the Commission of the Peace, and of these there is only one living, viz., Mr. E. J. Brewster in England.* Previous to the incorporation of Melbourne in 1842, there was only a territorial magistracy with a jurisdiction running throughout the colony, but the Corporation Act introduced an order of town magistrates by excluding from the town adjudication any justice not on the Burgess Roll. Judge Willis was not long acting as Resident Judge when he so quarrelled from the Bench with Mr. Simpson, as to cause that gentleman to resign to save further judicial snubbings, and Major Frederick Berkley St. John, another retired military officer, was appointed in his place. This hefilleduntil 1843, when the T o w n Council and the Government disagreed over the levying of a police rate, which so irritated Sir George Gipps that he declined to continue the pay of a Police Magistrate out of the Colonial Revenue, and so St. John lost his billet, and the duties of Police Magistrate were performed by the several Mayors until after Separation. T h e Major was not altogether shelved, for he was appointed a Commissioner of Crown Lands for the Western Port District. In 1841, the salary was ,£300, with two clerks, one at ,£150, and one at .£100. Major St. John set to work with m u c h earnestness, but he was bounceable and capricious, and felt a sort of enjoyment in hectoring some of the early newspaper reporters. Praise orflatterhim, and he swallowed the bait; frighten " M r . Brewster gave up practice at the Bar some years ago, and is now officiating as a clergyman of the Church of England at Chester, in England him if you could, and he fawned on and feared you; he was altogether such "a mixed lot," that it was difficult to say whether his good or bad points preponderated. T h e probability is that though his virtues were few, his vices were not numberless. After being divested of the Police Magistracy, he knew better than to discontinue his attendance at Court. H e was qualified by his franchise to act as a T o w n Magistrate, and acquired an almost irresistible influence as a Licensing Justice, from the fact that several of the early Mayors were, from their carrying on either brewing or Wine and Spirit selling businesses, debarred from interfering in cases coming under the Licensed Victuallers' Act. T h e unedifying scenes of daily occurrence in the Supreme Court, between Judge Willis and the Press reporters as well as editors, extended the contagion to the Police Court, and St. John got touched by the epidemic. It therefore amused him to be down like a small clap of thunder upon any reporter w h o spoke above his breath, laughed, or m a d e any noise in the reporters' box, or sat anywhere out of it. These funny incidents amused the people, and tickled the Major immensely, who, though he never liked being laughed at, m u c h enjoyed being laughed with. T o bellow at a reporter, c o m m a n d him to keep quiet, and threaten that he should be dragged off to the watch-house by the Chief-Constable, was a species of by-play in which St. John revelled. Take the following as a specimen :— Mr. Joseph Byrne, a reporter of the Herald, took a seat one day in December, 1841, at the table reserved for the legal practitioners in consequence of the Press box being crowded, and on being asked some question by a person during the progress of the case, was quietly replying when the Police Magistrate thus addressed him :—" I order you to leave that place at once. Hold your tongue, sir, will you, and don't disturb this Court, or I'll order you out of it. Chief-Constable, do not, in future, admit any person except legal gentlemen." T h e reporter complied without demur, and moved into the reporters' box. After the business bad concluded, the reporter, addressing the Magistrate, expressed surprise at the discourtesy shown to him, and supposed it was in consequence of some remarks on the Major's conduct, which appeared in the paper he represented. Major St. John declared it was nothing of the kind, and threatened if the journalist spoke again in Court he would have him put out. Thereupon ensued the following lively dialogue :— R E P O R T E R : " D o so at your peril. If you so insult me, I shall appeal to the Judge for protection." T H E M A J O R : " If I allow you to come into m y Court to report, I a m not to be disturbed. I will not have it, and the next time you speak I will have you turned out." R E P O R T E R : " A n d I shall not be insulted by you in the discharge of m y duties. T h e Judge will protect me, and I shall appeal to him." T H E M A J O R : " Silence, sir. I say, will you ?" R E P O R T E R : " Y o u say I a m allowed to come here; a m I to understand that it is on sufferance then ?" T H E M A J O R : " Certainly ; this is my Court, and I will not have it disturbed." R E P O R T E R : " This is a public Court of Justice, open to the public, and as such I claim and do not ask admittance. I will not be insulted by you, and shall appeal to Judge Willis." T H E M A J O R (terribly excited and in a loud voice) : " I tell you if you do not hold your tongue, I will commit you for contempt of Court." R E P O R T E R : " D o so, then, and I shall appeal for protection to the Judge, and he will give it t o — " T H E M A J O R : "Silence, sir, I tell you, immediately, or I will have you taken into custody and commit you!" R E P O R T E R : " Very well, do so, then, and I shall appeal to the Judge." T H E M A J O R : " Silence, sir; another word and I'll commit you." T h e cream of the joke is that the same Byrne w h o so readily threatened to seek protection under the aegis of Judge Willis, used to be threatened with committal by Willis for misreporting and paragraphing him in the Herald. But Byrne was soon quits with the Major. About a fortnight after the occurrence of the scene narrated, one L a m b appeared before the Court on an information charging him with sly-grog selling. H e was convicted and fined ,£30, whereupon he inveighed loudly against the decision, declaring "that he had not received justice !" T h e Major, very touchy when his impartiality was questioned, jumped up, and, looking like a hungry wolf preparing to spring upon a veritable lamb, roared out in a thundering voice, " Another word from you, and by God I'll send you to gaol for forty eight hours !" The " L a m b " subsided and m a d e himself scarce, but not so the reporter Byrne. H e waited until the Major had retired from the Bench, and then applied to another magistrate for a s u m m o n s against Major St. John for blaspheming in Court. T h e case was heard some days after, and the Major wasfined5s. for taking the name of G o d in vain. Poor Byrne, however, was made to pay the piper for his indiscretion, for in a week or two his services were unceremoniously dispensed with by M r . Cavenagh, the Herald proprietor, owing, it was believed, to the Major's underhand influence exercised against him. "WATCH-HOUSING" THE NEWSPAPERS.
Mr. John Davies, one of the best known of the early reporters, and for years employed on the Patriot and the Gazette, was on the 2nd February, 1842, sitting in the reporters' box and talking to some bystander, when the Major ordered a Sergeant of Police to turn him out amongst the crowd. This was done, and the next morning the Magistrate got hotly peppered by a newspaper paragraph ; and on Davies making his appearance in Court, the Major ordered him to be itistanier locked up in the watch-house. Here he was kept sweating for an hour, when, by St. John's direction, he was brought back to Court, and there informed that he was discharged, and the reason he was not sent to gaol until next day was the fact that the prison was overcrowded with inmates ! Davies commenced an action for false imprisonment, which was privately arranged by the intercession of mutual friends. T h e Major even sometimes had the hardihood toflyat such high game as an editor. In August, 1842, an article appeared in the Patriot, censuring in severe and offensive language the public conduct of the Major, who at once issued a summons against Mr. William Kerr, the editor, and on Kerr's appearance, in addition to a sharp scolding, to which he would permit no retort, the Major committed and sentenced him to twenty-four hours' imprisonment with hard labour in the c o m m o n gaol. Kerr was marched off to durance vile, but in the course of the afternoon was brought before Judge Willis on a writ of habeas, and discharged through an informality in the warrant of commitment. H e subsequently brought an action for false imprisonment, which was heard the following year, and obtained a verdict of ,£"50 damages. St. John had various quarrels with other editors and reporters towards w h o m he would comport himself in an insolently over-bearing manner, but they never went so far as to end in the lock-up or the gaol. MUZZLING THE MAJOR.
There was one representative of the Press, however, one of the smallest and least pretentious of the units of old journalism, in w h o m the Major, very m u c h to his astonishment, met his match, and the following amusing circumstances now see the light of print for thefirsttime. Major St. John was ostensibly a man who would as soon think of committing suicide, as trafficking in justice, in any shape or form. H e professed to entertain such a horror of bribery of every shade and degree, that he would mercilessly sack an unfortunate policeman for receiving as m u c h as a glass of beer, or afigof tobacco; and yet he gradually established a system of his own, by which for years he unblushingly, not only accepted bribes, but in some cases solicited them, where he thought there was a reasonable chance of success and concealment. Rumour of his doings in this line crept abroad, atfirstonly as big as a man's hand, but increasing from month to month and year to year, until the cloud burst and overwhelmed the offender. At an early period Mr. E. P'inn* (until recentlyfillinga government appointment in Melbourne) joined the reporting staff of the Port Phillip Herald, and rendered himself so useful to the paper, that in very changing times, when there used to be m u c h chopping and changing amongst newspapers, he remained the same through every alternation, and so by continuous attendance at the Police Court, was well-known in what was then a favourite resort for those who had and those who had not business there. H e got on tolerably well with the Major, because he was gifted with a fair share of caution, and the journal to which he was attached was the semi-official organ of the Melbourne Club, and of the would-be aristocratic coterie, of which the Major was for a
- Garryowen, considerable time regarded as one of the shining lights. Finn had special facilities for acquiring a
knowledge of the Major's shortcomings in the tip-taking line; and he and M r . Charles Brodie (ChiefConstable of the County Bourke Police), barring the Major himself, knew more of that high official's peccadilloes than any other two in the Province. A n y well authenticated tit-bits of St. Johnian scandal with which he became acquainted, Finn dotted d o w n in black and white, so that he had a log book of the Major's obliquities with days and dates, and all other etceteras. At the corner of Market and Little Flinders Streets, stood a small cosy tavern kept by a Mr. T h o m a s Ball Sibering, the host and hostess of which were so m u c h alike that, allowing for the difference of sex, they looked like fat twins, the male twin being larger in size, and the female inclining to the condition known as "squatty." T o m Sibering was civil and his wife was plausible. G o o d liquor was kept there, and " tick " to the newspaper m e n was encouraged as long as there was the remotest chance of payment. T h e newspaper fellows, the Chief-Constables, and some of the Sergeants of Police often met there for the consumption of the excellent bottled porter, and "two ales" always on tap : the Major and his doings were often on the lapis too. Such of the reporters as had undergone the ordeal of the Major's " bossing" used to be freely chaffed, and amongst those w h o most freely indulged in that kind of amusement, Finn was conspicuous. It was often predicted that it was only a question of time between him and the Major for his turn to come, and the wonder was h o w he managed to escape so long; but he took the presaging lightly, and was heard to declare repeatedly that the first encounter that took place between him and St. John would also be the last. A s for thefirsthe used to say laughingly that if it were to come, the sooner the better; but of this he was certain as he was of his existence, that there would never be a second. It is very possible that Chief-Constable Brodie, the Major's most trusted myrmidon, mentioned this vaunting to his chief, for though the event was long deferred, it came off in July, 1847. T h e business of the District Court used to be transacted on Tuesdays and Thursdays; and as it was a tedious drudging through petty wages, trespass and impounding cases, was not much affected by "gentlemen of the fourth estate." T h e proceedings, as a rule, were not reported at length, and often not noticed at all. O n a certain Thursday afternoon there was a lengthy cause list, and Major St. John and Dr. Wilmot, the Coroner, composed the Bench. T h e only reporter in the Press box, was M r . Finn, absorbed in the perusal of one of Lever's raciest novels. Major St. John was chairman of the Bench, and it was noticed from his gruff and imperious treatment of the suitors that something had gone wrong with him—that, in slang phraseology, he was " off his chump." H e started and looked round, sniffing the air, like a war-horse scenting the battle from afar—in fact, he was eagerly looking for something to turn up in the shape of a row. Even Brodie noticed this, for, coming over near Finn, and tapping him on the arm, he said, sotto voce, " Don't go away ; there is some mischief brewing, and there'll be fun to-day." "All right," replied Finn, and was off again to the companionship of the harum-scarum hero of the novel. In ten minutes, an introduction to that drollest offictitiouspersonages, the inimitable " Micky Free," helped probably by Sibering's X X . — f o r it was after lunch hour—caused a peal of laughter to rin"- like a small bell through the Court. T h e explosion burst from the solitary student of the Press box, and the m o m e n t he heard it, the Major turned his chairfiercelyround towards the corner from which the bell music came, narrowly escaping a tip over, and addressing the cause of the merry outburst, exclaimed, " W h a t do you mean, sir, by such mockery? D o you think you are in a bear-garden—thefitplace for you? Let m e have no more of that." R E P O R T E R : " I beg your pardon, Major St. John, I a m well aware I a m not in a bear-garden, for which you are so complimentary as to say I a mfit;though I assure you there are others in Court that would adorn a bear-garden more than I." T H E M A J O R : " C o m e , come, I won't allow you to address m e in this style.
This is my Court, and
I'll m a k e you behave yourself in it." R E P O R T E R : "Your Worship, l a m sorry if I have offended, but m y laughing was involuntary. It was the book I was reading that laughed, and not myself. Knowing m e so long, I think you might have been a little more ior-bcarm^ in the tone of voice in which you addressed me." T H E M A J O R : " H o ! ho ! and so you are going to lecture m e on the proprieties, eh ! By gad, that's g o o d — E h Wilmot ? N o w , look here, you fellow, if you ever dare to interrupt the proceedings of m y Court again as you have done to day, I'll m a k e very short work with you." R E P O R T E R : " Major St. John, even at the risk of being committed for contempt, I must respectfully submit that your oft-asserted theory as to this Court being yours, is based, to put it mildly, on misapprehension This Court belongs to the T o w n of Melbourne, and not the County of Bourke, as a Justice of which you are n o w sitting, and even were it otherwise, Dr. Wilmot, the other Magistrate, is for the present, at all events, a co-proprietor." T H E M A J O R : (shaking with passion); " Confound you, will you stop that jawing of yours ? Have you the impudence to talk to m e about what constitutes a legal title to a police office? Look here, Brodie," (to the Chief-Constable), "if that fellow says another word, I order you to take and lock him up for six hours in the watch-house." During this verbal altercation the second Magistrate (Dr. Wilmot), looked through his spectacles at the talking pair. H e appeared as a m a n dazed, trying to comprehend what was going on, and with difficulty half succeeding. H e was a mild-mannered, amiable, old gentleman, with a great deal of the "old w o m a n " in his disposition. H e would have liked very m u c h to act as peacemaker, but he wanted the pluck to interfere ; and so he prudently let matters alone, through a fear of making what was undoubtedly bad decidedly worse. Mr. Finn had no notion of being incarcerated for the six hours, so he immediately rose, bowed to the Bench, and marched out of the Court, followed by the sniggering of Brodie w h o chuckled at finding him in for it at last. At seven o'clock that evening, Mr. Finn stood at the door of Major St. John's private residence in Brunswick Street. T h e Major was in, but could not be seen. T h e visitor, prepared for this, had a peremptory note written, requesting a private interview on business that brooked not delay. A n d this was taken in. Amongst the more thoroughly developed bumps in the Major's craniological system was that of curiosity, and when he read the missive he felt an amused interest to know what on earth could the person w h o m he so roughly-tongued that day want with him, and in private too, at his o w n house. The Major was by no means an unread man, and possibly at the m o m e n t the well-known lines from Scott's Marmion occurred to h i m — " A n d dar'st thou then T o beard the lion in his den, The Douglas in his hall?"
H e was neither ungenerous nor unforgiving, especially after dinner, and in something approaching a gleeful humour, answered the note in person, received the stranger cordially, and ushered him into a small back room, where a lively log-fire burned, and a natty table displayed certain appliances by no means discouraging. There were two chairs, and the Major, drawing one towards thefireplace,motioned his visitor to be seated. Retiring for a few moments, he returned with a bottle of whisky, and declared he would give the other something, the like of which he did not taste since he left the land famous for potatoes and potheen. Hot water and sugar were not long behind, and after the grog bad been mixed, stirred, and tasted, the Major said : "Well, h o w do you like it ? " to which Finn replied that "It was the best un-paid for whisky he ever drank." T h e Major, atfirstnot understanding the drift of the remark, was a little puzzled h o w to take it, and asked Finn " W h a t did he m e a n ? " when the answer was, that " T h e bottle of whisky was no doubt portion of a present which the Major received the week before from Mr. , a spirit merchant, who was interested in the issue of a license to a tenant of his." T h e Major burst into a terrible fume of 'rage, and asked Finn " If he had the audacity to come into his house to insult him?" simultaneously taking up the poker, and stirring the fire with it, declared that only the fellow was in his house, he had a notion of breaking his head. Finn took the business very coolly, and also another taste of the toddy, and quietly spoke to his host to something like this effect:—" Look here, Major, put your bluster in your pocket, and your poker aside. Though you are in your o w n house, you are not in your o w n Court now, and there is no Brodie to lock m e up, so I a m grateful for your hot whisky, and reciprocate your respect for the laws of hospitality. I have come here to-night forced by your outrageous treatment of m e to-day, to do a little business and to that let m e come. Your goings on for the last few years are sufficient, if known, and circumstantially verified, to ruin fifty like you. N o w I have in m y pocket an inventory of a few of your transgressions, annotated with day and date, chapter and verse, and just have a little patience while I recapitulate them." Drawing from an inside pocket a sheet of foolscap, Finn proceeded to read the "inventory " he had prepared to the first astonished and then thunder-struck Major. The narrative entered into minute details of the Major's peccadilloes, viz., the receiving of divers and sundry bribes and presents given to him in his capacities of a Licensing Magistrate, and Commissioner of Crown Lands, such as a load of hay from one man, a hamper of wine from another, a case of whisky from a third, a ^"5-note from a fourth, and ringing the changes from a h a m of bacon, a bag of potatoes, a fat goose, a load of wood, a hen and clutch of chickens, a wheelbarrow of bottled beer, and a basket of fresh butter, d o w n to two dozen of eggs. T h e names and residences of the donors, with date of delivery, even the quality of the articles, were enumerated, in a resolved, defiant tone, the Major during the recitation moving in his chair like a cat on a hot griddle; and when at length it came to a close, Finn wound up by saying " N o w , Major St. John, is it to be peace or war between us? Y o u may some day have m e locked up in the watch-house, but I'll then bring an action against you, and certainly will get heavier damages than Kerr did, for he was obnoxious to three-fourths of the jury panel s u m m o n e d in the case. Y o u cannot have m e dismissed from the Herald, as you did poor Byrne, for your friend Cavenagh cannot do without me. N o w should there be a second ' set-to ' between you and m e at the Police Office upon any pretext whatever, as I'm a living man, the following day, will find Superintendent Latrobe in possession of even a longer ' black list' than you have heard from m e to-night; and to prevent the possibility of his ' burking' it, which I think impossible, I shall transmit a duplicate by the ensuing overland mail to the Colonial Secretary at Sydney. Say then, once for all, are w e to have peace or war?" T h e Major was n o w working into a state of intense excitement, though he affected an unnatural coolness. At length he burst out :—" I don't believe you read what you pretend is written in that paper, at all. It is only a sham • show m e the paper and let m e see." T h e paper was handed to him, and clutching it eagerly, he threw it into thefire,stirred the logs, and a sudden flame blazed up the chimney. " H a !" roared the Major, "you confounded little thief, there goes your pack of lies, and a brass pin would m a k e m e shove you up the chimney after them. I defy you now, you rascal." Finn burst out laughing and rejoined, " Major, you must suppose m e a born idiot, if you fancy I would be fool enough to hand you that paper if I had not the original at home. W h y , man, it's only a copy, and surely, as a Magistrate of no small experience, you must know that an original is the real thing." " I suppose," responded the Major, " it is so. You're a bigger rogue than one would think for your size. C o m e , let us mix another glass, and by the time 'tis drunk, I'll tell you what I m e a n to do with you." T h e punch was encored and leisurely drank, and the unwelcome guest praised the whisky a couple of times, at which the Major most perceptibly winced. After the tumblers had been emptied, the Major turned round suddenly, and, with a cordial smile, said—" Look here, I always believed that the Irish were good-hearted fellows. M y wife is an Irish w o m a n and a countrywoman of yours. Give m e your hand, and promise solemnly that what has passed to-night shall never be revealed as long as I a m in the colony, or alive. F l D m your years you will in all likelihood outlive me, and when I a m dead I care not w h o knows. Promise m e this, and you and I, so far as I can prevent it, shall never quarrel more." T h e offer was accepted, the plight was given, and as the Major showed his visitor to the door, and bade him good-night, he expressed a strong desire that all notice of the fracas might be kept out of the newspapers. This was easily managed, as only the one reporter, the actor in the scene, was present when it occurred. T h e Major's marked courtesy to the Herald reporter thenceforward, was often the subject of remark and wonderment, but the reason why, never transpired. Anything in the way of exclusive local news, official or otherwise, in the Major's power to communicate, was imparted either verbally or in notes to the office, so that Mr. Cavenagh, the Herald editor, was frequently surprised, and tried unavailingly to penetrate the mystery. Both the high contracting parties faithfully adhered to the treaty negotiated through the m e d i u m of the un-paid for whisky. Meanwhile, the Major travelled rapidly along the road to ruin, and Finn's " log-book" continued to receive some racy additions to its previous collection. At length his d o o m overtook St. John, and his misdemeanours became the subject of a Supreme Court trial, described elsewhere. J.P. Fawkner, at a public meeting, denounced the Superintendent, as conniving at the Major taking bribes, whereupon Mr. Latrobe directed St. John to bring a civil action for libel, which eventuated in the cause celebre of S T . J O H N V F A W K N E R tried in the Supreme Court, and the jury disagreed. Messrs. Fawkner and T. M'Combie took m u c h trouble in hunting up evidence for the defence, and tried hard to elicit some information from Mr. Finn, who it was surmised, could put them on the trail of m u c h valuable testimony; but he shook his head, and said simply he had nothing to say. More than once they consulted the oracle, but it remained d u m b . If it had spoken, and produced the " log-book," the chances were five hundred to one, that instead of a disagreement, there would have been a verdict for the defendant. Mr. Finn, however, was no private detective; what he k n e w in globo was known to others partially, and he left those individuals free to tender their evidence voluntarily, or the defendant's agents to find them out. H e was neither a profiter by, nor a contributor to, the Major's blackmailing, and washed his hands of the business. Besides, he was never amongst the Fawkner following, but very m u c h the other way, and therefore so far as he was concerned, the Fawknerites should fight it out without help from him, and if they failed, let their principal take the consequences. A n d such is the queer story of h o w the Major was muzzled, n o w told for thefirsttime. Mr. James Smith (of w h o m some amusing reminiscences are given in the chapter on Banking) was a plodding, painstaking, well-meaning magistrate; but so tedious in groping his way through any but the plainer cases, as to be almost intolerable. Sometimes he would be adjudicating singly in some petty Crown prosecution, with the Chief-Constable on one side, and an Attorney on the other, and to make confusion worse confounded the clerk (Belcher) would strike in as amicus curia;, when the verbiage would be so overwhelming as to addle the poor old gentleman. It was as if three small hoses of Y a n Yean water, slightly different in temperature, played in succession, and about every two minutes simultaneously, on his head. H e would stoop over a law-book, apparently so stunned as to be incapable of comprehending a fractional part of what was said, and slowly raising his head would look bewilderingly about him and decide as well as he was able. H e was known by the alias of " J i m m y Whistle." At times he would snarl at the newspaper representatives, and once refused permission to the editors to sit at the Solicitors' table (a courtesy usually conceded) for which he got paid off in a style that caused him to relent. There was one prominent m e m b e r of the reporting staff, M r . John Curtis, the deftest hand at inditing exaggerated paragraphs that ever troubled a compositor. His style was of the paraphrastic, piling u p half-a-dozen small fictions on an atom of fact, and in police reporting, "Jack," as he was called, was unequalled in his line. " J i m m y " Smith couldn't bear him, and Mr. William Hull abhorred him. "Jack " liked to pitch into the magistrates whether they deserved it or not. H e came after the Major's time, and was, therefore, never ordered to the lock-up; but he was often turned out of the reporters' box, and had to take notes on his hat in the crowd of unwashed outside the barrier. If a magistrate was five minutes late, Curtis would write him down as an hour and a-half behind his time, and he annoyed their worships very m u c h by so doing. "THE EVIL EYE."
One day the Rev. Irving Hetherington, a well-known and respected Presbyterian minister, came into Court to speak on some pressing business with Mr. Hull, w h o was on the Bench. They had a couple of minutes' conversation, and Mr. Hetherington departed. In the next issue of the Daily News (Jack Curtis' paper), appeared a third of a column of a most spitefully written, though florid notice, in which Mr. Hull was "roasted" for wasting a couple of hours of the public time, in a confab with a black-coated, whitechokered expiree from V a n Diemen's Land. Hull read the paragraph, and bottled up his wrath carefully until the following Wednesday, the day he was rostered to officiate, when he m a d e his appearance, uncorked the bottle, and gave poor Curtis the full measure of it. H e denounced him as everything that was unbecoming a gentleman of the Press, winding up with what he thought would be a stunning clincher, by proclaiming Curtis to be a writer of fables, the humour of which so tickled " Jack," that he laughed uproariously, and a policeman was ordered to remove him from the box, which was done, and the offender ook his stand in the body of the Court. Mr. Hull warned him, on pain of committal to prison, never, on a Wednesday, to dare to enter the reporters' box, and so every other day Curtis used to appear in the prescribed place, but on Wednesdays he appeared amongst the ignobile valgus, in a particular spot that would bring him vis-a-vis with the irate Magistrate, at w h o m he stared as if resolved upon looking him down. Mr. Hull was ever on the most friendly terms with the Mr. Finn before mentioned, and between them there subsisted a mutual esteem, only broken by Mr. Hull's death. In a conversation one day the subject of Curtis' perpetually eye-focussing Hull was mentioned, and Finn told the Magistrate, with a view to get Curtis back to his old place, some nonsensical stories about the superstition of the " Evil Eye," or what the Italians call malocchio, and cited instances of its pernicious effects upon friends of his o w n in Ireland. This information, so authenticated, seemed to make a strong impression upon the not usually simpleminded Magistrate. Whether it did so or not was never known, but, singularly enough, Mr. Hull so far relented on the ensuing Wednesday as to invite Curtis to offer an apology for his misbehaviour; which " J a c k " had-not the slightest objection to do, and so, with a gentlemanly caution to be better behaved in future, he was permitted to re-enter the Elysium, from which, like a fallen angel, he had been banished. OFFENDING ATTORNIES.
Now and then a legal practitioner would get into trouble through some sort of misconduct, ex. gra., appearing in a " state of beer" before their Worships, extorting money from a client, or using disrespectful language. S o m e of the Attornies of the time were the most arrant pettifoggers, though in the colony the profession has never been free from that species of bird of prey which profits by, if not battens on, everyone having the misfortune to be numbered amongst its clientele. T h e greatest rogues of them were hunted, through fear of Judge Willis, from the Supreme Court, but the large and small vermin ratted about the Police-office and watch-house on the look out for scraps or crumbs. Having only a trifle more law than honesty, bounce was often tried on, sometimes successfully, with the more timidminded Magistrates, but often a sad failure. I heard Major St. John one day order a drunken Solicitor out of Court, and tell him if he was not quick about it he would kick him out; and in one week after the same fellow so ignominiously evicted, returned "tighter" and cheekier than before, when the Major, happening to be in high spirits of another kind, considerately adjourned a case, in which the Bacchanalian was engaged, for a couple of hours to enable the " gentleman by Act of Parliament" to take himself over the way to Sibering's for a sleep, and a bottle of soda. T h e sinner, overwhelmed by the consideration shown him, hiccuped out his acknowledgment, and reeled off, but instead of taking his two hours' grace in seidlitz or balmy sleep, he wooed a different " Nature's sweet restorer," and if he did take half the Major's advice, and dip his lips in the soda water, its effervescing restorative potency had been well dashed out by a copious admixture of P.B. T h e result—"Half-seas-over," and the m o m e n t the Major caught a glimpse of " Staggering B o b " struggling to enter the sacred precincts, he roared at him to get out of his sight, commanding the constable at the door not to let him pass. T h e case in which the delinquent's valuable services were retained, was then called on, and so that justice might not be frustrated, the Major actually leant to the party done out of the fee, and pulled him safely through the difficulty. Attornies were often suspended by particular Magistrates for offensive expressions, and as there was a doubt whether a general suspension could be legally enforced, the offended official would simply decline to adjudicate in any case in which Mr. So-and-So appeared. O n one occasion the whole Bench struck against a particular Attorney. Attornies, as a rule, were the aggressors, and Magistrates bore with more impertinence than was becoming. O n e thing, however, must be recorded to the credit of the Justices, that no matter how outrageous the disrespect, they were always ready and willing to forgive the m o m e n t an apology was tendered. T h e suspended Attornies often bounced a good deal, and threatened an appeal to the Supreme Court, but cooler moments taught them that an apology was a cheaper and surer m o d e of putting matters right. For years the " T o w n and District" business was transacted in the one room in the old wooden store by assigning certain days of the week for each branch ; an arrangement unacceptable to the Territorial Justices, but there was no alternative, for they had no other place wherein to meet. A special meeting of the District J.'sP. was held on the 3rd March, 1845, Mr. James Simpson (then Warden of the County of Bourke), presiding, at which resolutions were passed, viz:—(a) in favour of separating the T o w n and District business, and (b) asking the Government tofitup an old abandoned gaol building in West Collins Street as a District Police Court. A memorial to such effect was transmitted to the Executive ; but nothing ever came of the movement, and the L a w Courts remained joint tenants of the Market Square Establishment so long as it continued such. Increase of business, the growing importance of the community, and the advancing infirmities of what was once Strachan's store, n o w wheezy and asthmatic, at length rendered it necessary that a suitable Police Office should be built in a central locality, and where the Police buildings now stand in Swanston Street, was chosen as the most desirable site. Tenders were accepted for the present edifice in June, 1847. T h e first contract was for the blue-stone shell, and M r . James W e b b (a well-known builder) was the tenderer at ,£2000. T h e digging for the foundation began on the 1st August. Further contracts were from time to time entered into, and the building took just two years to complete, for it was opened for the first time for public business on the 2nd August, 1849, w h e n the following Magistrates (City and District) appeared on the Bench, viz., the Mayor (Mr. W . M . Bell), Messrs. James Smith, Andrew Russell, William Hull, R. W . Pohlman, Archibald M'Lachlan^ W . B. Wilmot, William Firebrace, Charles Payne, and Alexander Johnstone. Not one of these gentlemen is n o w alive. T h e present watch-house was not commenced until October, 1849, and, as originally built, containedfivecells for prisoners, and another (styled a room) for the keeper. It was opened for the reception of prisoners on the 22nd December following. T h e double Court business continued to be transacted in the new building for some time, when that of the District was removed to a two-storied house in Little Collins Street East, which, for many years, formed the business premises and private residence of Mr. Andrew Russell, an ex-merchant, and one of the ex-Mayors. O n the establishment of a separate Court for the District, Mr. Robert ("Bob") Cadden was appointed its Clerk, and during the m a n y years hefilledthe post, there could be no better officer.or greater favourite with Magistrates, police and suitors. T h e City Police office and watch-house of to-day are very different from the structure of 1849,for though the kernels of both remain, they have been so altered, added to, and built about, that either externally or internally they are almost unrecognisable. Yet I doubt m u c h whether more substantial justice is meted out now than in the olden time. T h e early unpaid Magistrates were, perhaps without an exception, m e n of good position, and possessing a degree of education and culture in which the three R's. did not rank as an occult science. Though they sometimes packed a Bench, they could not be rounded up like sheep in a paddock when a case affecting some special individual or interest was set d o w n for hearing. There used to be queer and racy scenes occasionally, of which a few specimens are here selected, all of which owe their parentage to the modern age of J.P.-ship. I purposely omit names, times, and places, as I wish not to be personally offensive. O n e day at a Court not twenty miles from Melbourne, a person was charged with the offence of arson, and though there was strong circumstantial evidence for the prosecution, the presiding Solon dismissed the case with these sapient remarks, and a withering scowl of contempt at the Sergeant standing near him : " Arson ! what does it mean ? There is no such law crime as that, why didn't ye pull the fellow up for shindyism, and then I'd send the scoundrel to gaol !" In another place the police hadfiledseveral qui tarn informations, which were entered on the causesheet as Regina v. T o m , Dick, and Harry, &c. W h e n thefirstcase came on, T o m did not answer the roll-call, and "Regina v. T o m " was repeated several times. T h e noise seemed to wake up the Magistrate from a condition of semi-consciousness, and he roared out " Rejinee ! Rejinee! I suppose he's some foreigner chap ; maybe a Chinee ! Constable, go and call him three times more at the door, and if he don't answer this time, I'll issue m y warrant to arrest him !" Again, there was a legal discussion on a certain Bench as to what branch of law a particular transgression came under, when the Mayor of a municipality pompously declared " That c o m m o n law was the law of the people generally, and Equity the axe of Parliament! " O n another occasion a fussy little Justice Shallow, with less brains than impudence, in his eagerness to clear up some abstruse point to the satisfaction of his "learned " compeers, rushed the Clerk as if going to butt him, saying, " C o m e be quick and get m e the Hact of Parliament that has the c o m m o n law in it ! " T h e Clerk would be a deal cleverer than the Magistrate if he could do so. A respected and inoffensive Attorney was once mildly arguing a case before another J.P., when some remark m a d e was snapped up as offensive, and the " worshipful " was down on the practitioner accordingly. H e said something harsh and vulgar, whereat the other expressed a hope that at least he should be treated in a gentlemanly manner. " Y o u a jintleman," yelled the supposed representative of all that was right and proper, " W h y you're only a 'solster,' an' if you don't belay your gab in a jiffy, be Jove I'll have you in chokey before you can say Jack Robinson." There was once a meeting of Magistrates in Melbourne to consider some knotty point of procedure, and the warmth of debate threatened to rival a modern Legislative Assembly in its liveliest of moods. It resembled a " P o w W o w " more than a quorum of Justices, and, in the midst of the yabbering, one iron-lunged voice roared down the rest by exclaiming: " N o w , jintleman, I'll tell you w h a t — I came ere to-day with a desire for conciliation—to talk the question hover in a mild hand rational way; but now has the happle of discord as been hintroduced I throw haway the scabbard." T h e rhetorician had once been in the spirit-selling business, and if he watered his grog as imperfectly as he blended his metaphors, he never would have succeeded as he did. A n d so on ad nauseam. U p to the date of Separation there were only three Police Magistrates in Melbourne, viz., Messrs. Lonsdale, Simpson, and St. John, thefirstand second did good service in their time, and the third might have done equally well but for himself, and upon himself he brought the consequences which almost invariably, sooner or later, wait upon official misdoings. THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE.
Though this could not be classed as one of the Public Departments, being a ministerial adjunct of the Supreme Court, it m a y be as well to include a brief notice of it. Prior to the introduction of a branch of the Supreme Court in 1841, Port Phillip was within the circuit of the N e w South Wales shrievalty, and the business was exclusively confined to levies and sales of property, under writs of execution sued out of the Courts at Sydney, and entrusted to the management of a Mr. Michael O'Brien, as curious and wide-awake an old card as it was possible to find. H e was one of the raciest story-tellers of his generation, and as a raconteur of anecdotes of the old convict times, it would be difficult to find his equal. O n the arrival of a Resident Judge, "Old M i c k " found his occupation gone, a dead-lock he did not long survive. During the connection of Port Phillip with N e w South Wales, there were only two Deputy Sheriffs in the Province, and thefirstwas Mr. Samuel R a y m o n d , w h o accompanied Judge Willis from Sydney. Mr. R a y m o n d was a Barrister, and during his stay in Melbourne, both officially and privately, he m a d e himself a favourite by his courteous and gentlemanly demeanour. His appointment was provisional only, and at that time permanent appointments had to be confirmed by the Potentates in London. In 1842 a Mr. Alastair M'Kenzie was shipped out, a cut-and-dry Sheriff from Downing Street, and Mr. R a y m o n d thus relieved, joined the Port Phillip Bar, got into fairly good practice, and would have done well had he remained. His father, Mr. James Raymond, held the office of Post-master General of N e w South Wales, and as he was a m a n of good colonial influence, the son obtained the appointment of Chairman of Quarter Sessions, then a gift vested in the N e w South Welsh Magistracy. Mr. M'Kenzie continued in the office until 1851, when he was appointed to the Treasurership, vacated by Captain Lonsdale. H e died in the new colony of Victoria. H e was something of the same stamp of Treasurer as Lonsdale, and throughout his official career m a d e few, if any, enemies. H e was punctual and precise, often ratherfidgety,but civil and obliging, doing m u c h more good than otherwise. T h efirstSheriffs office was a brick cottage, close by the Insolvent Court, in Roache's Terrace, off King Street, already referred to. T h efirstSheriff's officer was a Mr. John Bullivant, the second Mr. W . J. Sugden (afterwards Chief-Constable of Melbourne), the third Mr. David Lyons, and the fourth Mr. Henry Addison. So ends the list as far as 1851. This quartette subsequently embarked in the business of licensed victuallers, at which two of them did well, and the other two otherwise. Mr. Bullivant retired from business, comfortably provided for, and died many years ago. Mr. Lyons, after doing well at the Bar, did not keep his money idle, but embarked in various other enterprises. H e succeeded with everything he took in hand. H e was one of the most enterprising of the old colonists; and at Sydenham, on the Brighton Road, in the "sunset of life," reaped the reward of a long career of honourable industry until his death, some four years since.