The Chronicles of Early Melbourne/Volume 2/Chapter 66
CHAPTER LXVI.
THE GENERAL ELECTIONS.
SYNOPSIS:— The Melbourne Election. —The First Legislative Council Chamber. —The First Council Establishment. —Mr. John Barker, First Clerk of the Council. —Captain Conron, First Sergeant-at-Arms. —The Parliament Library. —The First Legislature. —The First Meeting. —Dr. J. F. Palmer, First Speaker. —The Opening Day. —The First Legislative "Row." —Fight Over the Lord's Prayer. —The First Prorogation Ceremony. —The Thirty Pioneers. —The First Legislatorial Death. —Elevation of Redmond Barry and W. F. Stawell. —The Bicameral Legislature. —Dr. Palmer, First President of Council. —Mr. Murphy, First Speaker of House of Assembly. —Political Knighthood.
BY "The Victoria Electoral Act, 1851," it was enacted that the Legislative Council of Victoria should consist of thirty members, one-third to be appointed by Her Majesty, and the residue elected. The colony was divided into sixteen electoral districts, of which the City of Melbourne was to return three members, the Town of Geelong and the Northern Division of the County of Bourke two members each, and every other District one member each. Bribery was defined to be, "the giving by candidate or agent of money, or any article whatever, to any elector with a view to influence his vote; or the holding out to him any promise or expectation of profit, advancement, etc., or to any of his family or friends; or the making use of any threat, or intimidating any voter, or supplying voter with meat, drink, lodging, horse or carriage hire, or conveyance by steam or otherwise at, coming to, or going from, election; paying voter money for acting or joining in any procession; the keeping, or allowing to be kept open any public-house, shop, booth, or tent, or place of entertainment, whether refreshment of any kind be distributed there or not; the giving of any dinner, supper, breakfast, etc., at any place by a candidate, etc. The polling was not to extend beyond one day, and the voting was by an open ballot or slip of paper. Various contingencies were provided for, and several of the clauses were a re-enactment of the Colonial Electoral Law previously in force.
The first member returned (6th September), was Mr. Adolphus Goldsmith for the United Counties of Ripon, Hampden, Grenville, and Polwarth. He was opposed by Mr. James Thompson, and obtaining a show of hands, neither Thompson nor six electors for him being present to demand a poll, the event was a "walk-over."
The Melbourne Election.
The number of electors on the Roll was:-Gipps Ward, 1063; Latrobe Ward, 750; Fitzroy Ward, 652; Lonsdale Ward, 630; Bourke Ward, 556; Total, 3651.
The nomination took place in the porch of the old Supreme Court in Latrobe Street on the 10th September, 1851, and the candidates proposed were:-Messrs. James Stewart Johnston, George Ward Cole, William Westgarth, John Hodgson, A. F. A. Greeves, William Nicholson, and John O'Shanassy.
The poll, fixed for the following day (11th), was held at the following places, viz.:— Bourke Ward—Crown Hotel, Lonsdale Street; Latrobe Ward—Bull and Mouth Hotel, Bourke Street; Gipps Ward—Say's Hotel, Lonsdale Street; Lonsdale Ward—The Imperial Inn, Collins Street; Fitzroy Ward—The Crown and Anchor, Charles Street.
A good deal of hard work was done in the way of vote coaxing and hunting in the city; a "dead-set" was made to oust O'Shanassy, and national and religious jealousies were invoked as allies. O'Shanassy was now fairly in the front, as probably the ablest public man of the time, and the citizens could ill afford to lose his valuable services. Nicholson was popular, and his defeat was a surprise. Hodgson, though plausible and complaisant, carried but a small quantity of metal, whilst Greeves' unquestionable ability and acquirements were lost in the general unbelief in him. Captain Cole was too independent to canvass, and paid the penalty, though he could have stood no chance in such a race. Westgarth's lengthened services furnished him with an undeniably first claim, whilst Johnston had established himself as a fluent, pungent speaker, a thorough "hard-hitter" when he liked, a reputation he did not quite retain in after years. Westgarth and Nicholson obtained more of the general voting power than the others; but the Hibernian "plumpers" told effectually for O'Shanassy, as did the Caledonian contingent for Johnston. Though intense interest was manifested during the day, there was nothing like the acrimonious violence or riotous effervesences of the first town election in 1843, and the close of the poll showed:— For Westgarth, 1202; for O'Shanassy, 1168; for Johnston, 1128; for Nicholson, 1094; for Hodgson, 618; for Greeves, 257; for Cole, 219.
Through some unaccountable whim one vote each was recorded for Robert Hoddle, John Patterson, and William Stewart. Westgarth, O'Shanassy, and Johnston were returned, and much satisfaction was felt at the compliment paid to the gentleman who headed the list, who richly deserved it, as a return for a series of distinguished honorary exertions employed on behalf of the new-born colony.
The First Legislative Council Chamber.
There was not much difference of opinion as to the most eligible site whereon to erect a permanent Parliament House. The north of Spring Street had been years before suggested and ably advocated by Dr. Greeves. Others went in for the Public Library Reserve, but its proximity to both gaol and hospital put it aside. The corner of William and Latrobe Streets, opposite the Government offices (now the New Law Courts), had convenience and other advantages in its favour, but, finally, in February, 1851, the site subsequently built upon was chosen. There were only three buildings that could supply the room absolutely necessary, viz., the Mechanics' Institute, the Protestant Hall, and St. Patrick's Hall. The Colonial Architect (Mr. H . Ginn), selected the St. Patrick Hall as the most suitable, and the Directory of the St. Patrick Society was not unwilling to accept such a solvent tenant as the new Government; for, at the time, a fat slice of the public money, in the shape of a liberal rent, was not undesirable. The Milesians accordingly surrendered their stronghold upon handsome terms. It was little more than a large, cold-looking, two-warded barracks, but under Mr. Ginn's prompt operations it underwent a complete transformation. The upper compartment was converted into a Chamber for the senators, a reporters' gallery, and the strangers' gallery. The ground-floor was subdivided into four apartments, three of them to be used as clerical offices, and one as a Committee-room. The hall had originally but one staircase (in front), and this led to the Members' entrance. To provide a mode of ingress to the strangers' gallery, the Jews very obligingly lent a few feet of their Synagogue land, immediately westward, which was fenced in, and constituted a side avenue. The large upper apartment was thefinestthen in Melbourne. Primarily it was lighted by a row of windows in the eastern wall, but now a flood of illumination was admitted through the roof, in which was fixed "the first horizontal light introduced into the colonies."
The First Council Establishment
Was framed in accordance with the other small beginnings, and contrasts so amusingly with the state of things in 1888, that I transcribe in extenso the amounts provided for its maintenance in the first estimates:— Salaries per Annum.—Speaker, £400; Chairman of Committees, £200; Clerk of the Council, £400; Sergeant-at-Arms, £100; Shorthand Writer, £200; Clerk of 3rd Class and Reader, £200; Messenger at 2s. 6d. per day, £45 15s.; Housekeeper, £25; Doorkeeper at 2s. 6d. per day, £45 15s.; Additional assistance during the Session of the Council, £300. Total, £1916 10s. Contingencies.— To provide books and papers for the library, £500; Bookbinding for the library, £25; Stationery, £50; Bookbinding, £25; Postage, £100; Fuel, £22 10s.—Water, £7 16s.—Light, £100; Incidental expenses, £100; Paper for printing Council Papers, £150. Total, £1080 6s. Total, Legislative Council, £2996 16s.
Mr. John Barker was appointed Clerk of the Council, and so continued until November, 1856, when the original Legislative body died, and two Chambers of Legislation were substituted, viz., a Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly, and to the Clerkship of the latter Mr. Barker succeeded. In this post he remained through periods of intense Parliamentary turbulence, and performed his onerous duties with an ability and impartiality which few men in such a trying position could attain. In April, 1882, he was transferred to the less onerous, though really more responsible joint office of Clerk of the Parliaments and Clerk of the Legislative Council, and his retirement from the Assembly was signalized by the well-merited compliment of a special resolution, acknowledging his invaluable services, accompanied by the presentation of a rare and costly silver souvenir, subscribed for by members of the Assembly. The clerk-assistant was Mr. Edward Khull, who was a fish-out-of-water in his new vocation, and soon made way for Mr. Charles Ridgway, who remained for many years a member of the corps of Parliamentary officials.
The first Sergeant-at-Arms was Captain Conron; he was soon succeeded by Mr. Edward Cotton, who also officiated as Registrar of the County Court, a duality that became inconvenient, and Cotton surrendered his place to Mr. William Palmer, who wields, or rather shoulders his mace, to the present period (1888). In the Old Council the Sergeant was mace-less, for that Historical Parliamentary "bauble" was not introduced as a Speaker's official double until 1856, when it crept into our Legislative system with other so-called " privileges " of the Imperial House of Commons.
The Parliament Library
Started from the smallest of beginnings, i.e., nothing. A sum of £500 was appropriated to the purchase of the intellectual pabulum required, and the earliest opportunity was taken to utilize it. One of the first sessional transactions of the Council was the appointment of the Speaker (Dr. Palmer), the Solicitor-General (Mr. Barry), Messrs. W. Westgarth, C. J. Griffith, and J. P. Fawkner, as a Library Committee. A catalogue of the books and periodicals required for a start was prepared, and entrusted to Mr. Henry Moor, who was about leaving for England.
In February, 1853, the temporary apartment erected at rear of St. Patrick's Hall, was shaped into a Library, and Ridgway, the Clerk-Assistant, was appointed Librarian. Early in April, a shipment of eleven cases of books, &c., arrived in the Bay. Ridgway nursed his infant Library as affectionately as a fond mother tends her first-born babe, and beheld it increase and multiply each year. In 1856 the Library was formed into a distinct department of the new Parliament Houses, and its dry nurse was most deservedly promoted to the position of Chief Guardian, and so stayed for several years to within a short period of his death. Few persons who have not witnessed the extraordinary change that has taken place in the Parliament Library can form any conception of what it once was and now is, from the time when it was domiciled in a single weather-board room a few yards square, to its transfer to the magnificent structure in which it is now tenanted. As is well-known, the Parliament Library of 1888 is an eastern adjunct of the Parliament buildings on a level with the two Chambers of Legislation. It consists of the main Library, with an area of 70 feet by 45 feet, and the north and south corridors, 50 feet by 25 feet, flanking it on each side.
The First Victorian Legislature.
The elected members were thus notified in the Government Gazette:—
North Bourke: Charles Hilton Dight, and John Thomas Smith; South Bourke, Evelyn, and Mornington: Henry Miller; Grant: John Henry Mercer; Normanby, Dundas and Follett: James Frederick Palmer; Villiers and Heytesbury: William Rutledge; Ripon and Hampden, Grenville and Polwarth: Adolphus Goldsmith; Talbot, Dalhousie, and Anglesey: John Pascoe Fawkner; Gippsland: Robert Turnbull; The Murray: Francis Murphy; The Loddon: William Campbell; The Wimmera: William Francis Splatt; Melbourne: William Westgarth, John O'Shanassy, and James Stewart Johnston; Geelong: Robert Robinson, and James Ford Strachan; Portland: Thomas Wilkinson; Belfast and Warrnambool: Thomas Hamilton Osborne; Kilmore, Kyneton and Seymour: Peter Snodgrass.
This score was supplemented by a nominee element of one-half as many members appointed by the Governor, which was further subdivided into five official and as many non-official members. The official nominees were:— W. F. Stawell, Attorney-General; William Lonsdale, Colonial Secretary; Redmond Barry, Solicitor-General; C. H. Ebden, Auditor-general, and R. W. Pohlman, Master-in-Equity. The non-official contribution being:— A. C. W. Dunlop, Charles J. Griffiths, W. C. Haines, J. H. Ross, and Andrew Russell. Professionally, or avocationally, the thirty might be thus approximately classified:— Miller, 1; Financier, 1; Merchants, 6; Landholders, 4; Squatters, 7; Barristers, 3; Attorney, 1; Newspaper Proprietors, 2; Medical, 2; and Shopkeepers, 3.
The First Meeting.
On the 17th October, the Lieutenant-Governor issued a proclamation convening the new Legislature for the 11th November, an eventful day in the Parliamentary annals of the colony. Though the weather was unpromising, a crowd collected before noon in front of the Council Chamber (Bourke Street West), the strangers' gallery was well filled,though the lady segment was sadly deficient. The small area in the " House " outside the Bar, was occupied by members of the City Council, the Sheriff a few Magistrates, and others of the then large fry. Twenty-seven members were in their places, and as the three absentees joined them before the swearing-in ceremonial was over, there was a full House.
The Clerk having read the proclamation or summons, the Colonial Secretary produced a Commission from the Lieutenant-Governor authorizing himself and the Attorney-General "jointly and separately, to administer all oaths and affirmations to each other and the members," etc., etc., which was handed to the Clerk and by him read; after which the Attorney-General subjected himself to the testamentary ordeal, and all present followed through the same. The Letters Patent appointing the non-elective members, and the Writs returning the elective members, were produced as each individual presented himself to be sworn. The Colonial Secretary congratulated the House on its first assembling, and expressed a hope that the advantage to be expected from the system of self-government at length established would be fully realized.
Election of Speaker.
Mr. Westgarth moved, "That James Frederick Palmer, Esq., do take the Chair of this House as Speaker," which was seconded by Mr. Rutledge, and there being no other member proposed, Dr. Palmer was conducted to the Chair by his mover and seconder. The Colonial Secretary and Mr. Murphy offered their congratulations.
The pleasure of the Lieutenant Governor to receive the Speaker next day at Government House having been notified, the House adjourned.
At 11.30 on the 12th the Council met, and on motion to that effect, the members proceeded to the Government Offices to present their Speaker. Having done so, and returned, the Speaker formally reported "That the Lieutenant-Governor had not is allowed their choice, and had granted the usual privileges." It was also communicated that on the morrow, at 12 o'clock, the Lieutenant-Governor would in person "declare the purposes for which he had called the Council together, and open the Session thereof."
It was agreed to:— "That a suitable Chair be prepared for His Excellency on the occasion of his opening the Session, and that proper respect be shown to His Excellency by all the members standing," after which the Council adjourned. The Opening Day.
From 11 a.m. of the 13th the Council Chamber commenced to assume a lively appearance, and by noon, there was, in theatrical parlance, a "bumper house." In the body of the Chamber the members' benches were surrendered to the ladies, of whom there was a fair sprinkling, whilst the strangers' gallery was, in the hyperbolic language of the newspapers, "crammed to the ceiling." The Resident Judge (A'Beckett), the Sheriff, and other Government officers were present, and prominent around the Bar were the Mayor, Aldermen, Councillors, and Town Clerk. Four pieces of artillery, planted on an eminence in the Government Reserve, boomed forth the departure of the Lieutenant-Governor for the Council Chamber. His Excellency travelled in an open carriage, and was accompanied by his Private Secretary and Aide-de-camp. His escort consisted of a few mounted troopers, and in front of St. Patrick's Hail was a guard of honour picked from the military detachment. His Excellency was received at the door by the Speaker, the Colonial Secretary, and the Attorney-General, and followed by them, he took up his position to the left of the Speaker's Chair. All the members rose as His Excellency passed, and at his request, Mr. Speaker asked them to be seated.
The Lieutenant-Governor, in a lengthy address, thus adverted to the goldfields:— "There is still one subject of great and absorbing interest to which it may be proper for me to advert, as it is one which will undeniably exercise a great and lasting influence upon the future position and prospects of our colony. The discovery of the existence of gold in large quantities in New South Wales earlier in the year, has been quickly followed by that of mineral wealth in equal, or perhaps greater abundance within our own limits, under circumstances which might leave it to be inferred that it may be found to exist throughout the length and breadth of the colony. The immediate effects of this discovery, the influences which it has at the outset exercised more or less upon the whole population, and monetary difficulties and anxiety to which it has given rise, can only be glanced at. I am encouraged, however, to hope that the more immediate consequences of these discoveries at this particular season of the year may ultimately prove less productive of general embarrassment than may have been atfirstanticipated, and that it will be found that neither the agricultural nor the pastoral interest will suffer to any very serious extent. I am also encouraged to trust that the large influx of population from the neighbouring colonies—at the same time that it must involve many grave considerations of a general character—may not be productive of the scarcity which some have apprehended. The prospects of the harvest throughout the whole of the colonies are most satisfactory, and there can be little doubt but that abundant supplies from without, sufficient to meet the demand, however great or unexpected, will not be wanting.
"And now, Mr. Speaker and Gentlemen, I am not, for my part, inclined to undervalue the responsibility of the task which the favour of our gracious Sovereign, the law of our country, and the voice of the community have placed in our hands. It is a noble one, and far higher interests than those of the passing hour demand that it should be well performed. What we sow our children will reap. It is for us to prove to the Mother-country, by the temper and prudence with which we fulfil our duties, that we are not unworthy of her; and we have to show to the world that in the case of Victoria early precocity, and an extraordinarily rapid, physical, and perhaps moral development, are not necessarily followed by early decay and failure of power, but that under God's good Providence, her mature age will not be unworthy the promise of her youth." His Excellency was dressed in full uniform, and wore the "hat and feathers" afterwards destined to figure for years as a historical bogey, which almost frightened The Argus out of its propriety. After His Excellency's departure the Council adjourned to three o'clock.
The First Legislative "Row."
On the resumption of the House, Mr. Dunlop gave notice of his intention to move, "That public prayers to Almighty God be offered up daily at the opening of this Council, so soon as the Speaker shall have taken the Chair. That it be referred to a Committee of this Council to select or prepare a suitable Form of Prayer for this purpose; and that the said Form of Prayer, when approved of by the Council, be used exclusively on all such occasions, and be read by the Speaker."
Mr. O'Shanassy immediately rose, and notified his intention to move, contingent on the Council adopting Mr. Dunlop's motion, "That it be an instruction to the Committee appointed to draw up a Form of Prayer, to move an Address to his Excellency, praying that his Excellency will be pleased to place a suni not exceeding £10,000 on the Estimates, to be placed by this Council at the disposal of the Prayerful Committee, to enable them to offer a premium for the best Form of Prayer submitted to them by tender, designed especially not to interfere with the civil rights or religious opinions or privileges of any Member of this House; and also that it be a special instruction of this Council that every member of the Committee of Prayer shall, on agreeing to their Report, accompany it with their letters patent of Inspiration, and the date of their origin.[1]
Mr. Stawell objected to the reception of the amendment, and he moved That, inasmuch as the contingent notice of motion is blasphemous and unparliamentary, it be expunged from the notice paper of the Council." Seconded by Mr. Haines.
Mr. O'Shanassy designated the original motion as one brought forward with indecent haste. An official member had that day communicated to him that such a motion would be introduced, and of this he complained. Under the circumstances, he was ready to admit that the amendment had been prepared under the influence of excited feelings.
Mr. Stawell, after such an admission, would withdraw his motion if a similar course were adopted as regarded the amendment.
Mr. O'Shanassy would agree to do so if Mr. Stawell would withdraw some of the remarks in which he had indulged. He entertained as deep a horror of blasphemy, and knew what it was, as well as Mr. Stawell did, though, perhaps, not its legal definition. The use of a set Form of Prayer in the Legislature of Victoria would be an invasion of his right of private judgment as a member of the Council, and an insult to him as a Roman Catholic. Furthermore, it would be a violation of Her Majesty's instructions to Colonial Governments, that there should be no interference in matters of religion.
The discussion was continued for a short time in a rather peppery style, and eventually the amendment was by consent withdrawn.
On the 14th November the Prayer Question was to be discussed, and an amusing contretemps occurred, for it had dropped out of the notice paper, and Mr. Fawkner stoutly objected to its restoration. The Speaker ruled that as regular notice had been given, and the motion handed to the Clerk, it could be proceeded with.
Mr. Dunlop moved for permission to divide his motion, which was objected to, but on a division leave was given by a majority of 21 to 5. The first portion was next formally proposed, and seconded by Mr. Rutledge, upon which Mr. O'Shanassy moved, and Mr. Johnston seconded, the "previous question." Another acrimonious debate followed, and an amendment "That the question be now put," was carried. As this was the first division on record, the names are appended:—Ayes, 13: Messrs. Mercer, Campbell, Rutledge, Haines, Pohlman, Russell, Lonsdale, Stawell, Barry, Goldsmith, Griffith, Wilkinson, Dunlop (teller). Noes, 14: Messrs. Ebden, Miller, Robinson, Fawkner, O'Shanassy, Murphy, Ross, Westgarth, Dight, Johnston, Snodgrass, Turnbull, Strachan, Splatt (teller). Absent—Messrs. Smith and Osborne. So the Prayer Question was shelved, and allowed to rest in peace, until the inauguration of our double branch Parliament in 1856, when it was revived in the Legislative Council, every sitting of which to the present time has been commenced with a solemn Presidential Pater Noster.
The Council settled to work, and Mr. Francis Murphy was appointed Chairman of Committees. As a maiden effort, the Session did credit to the newly-born body, and some of the members put forth symptoms of the business aptitude and debating powers for which they were subsequently distinguished. With the exception of a five days' Christmas recess, the sitting was continued as a rule for four days each week, and they met twice on Saturdays and Mondays—in all 34 meetings, and the general result of their legislation may thus be summarised:— Number of Bills passed and received the Royal assent, 15; Lapsed in Committee, 1; Lapsed in the Council, 2; Negatived on third reading, 1; Withdrawn, 3; Disposed of by the question that it be read a second time that day six months, 1; Total Bills introduced, 23.
The Prorogation Ceremony
Was effected on the 6th January, 1852, at half-past one o'clock, and when the Speaker took the Chair, the Chamber was well filled, but not to the same extent as on the Opening Day, a circumstance accounted for by the intense heat of the weather. The discharge of artillery posted at Batman's Hill, announced that the Lieutenant-Governor had set forth on his mission.
After the usual salaams had been interchanged, and the standing members requested to be seated, his Excellency read "in a clear and distinct voice," a Valedictory Address, from which I have transcribed two or three passages "The Provision which you have sanctioned for the maintenance of the different branches of the Public Service, would, doubtless, in ordinary times, be held, in the great majority of instances, to be amply sufficient for the purposes intended. Its insufficiency in certain important particulars, under the extraordinary circumstances in which the colony is placed, must nevertheless be conceded; and as the Council has not felt disposed to admit as charges upon the ordinary revenue, any expenditure which, however obviously necessary, it may consider consequent upon the gold discovery, and has declined to make the requisite provision to meet the extraordinary circumstances of the time, I have assumed the responsibility of sanctioning such additional expenditure as appears absolutely requisite, if the Public Service is not to be subjected to the most serious embarrassment, and have directed that such extraordinary expenditure should be borne upon the territorial revenue, pending reference to the Home Government. The Council will nevertheless be aware that there are branches of the Public Service which no justifiable sacrifice or exertion on the part of the Executive Government can place upon a thoroughly satisfactory footing, or render thoroughly efficient, under the existing circumstances."
It afforded His Excellency pleasure to accede to certain suggested modifications in the Estimates originally submitted; and, in the prospect of a rapidly increasing revenue, to sanction various additions to the original scheme of appropriation. A considerable addition had been made to the sums devoted to purposes of internal improvement, and he promised to provide for their effectual and economical employment, whenever the circumstances of the colony might give the required facilities.
Acknowledging the attentive consideration given to the subject of the future Administration of Justice in the colony, and the readiness with which the Council supplied the deficiency in the sum devoted under the Imperial Act to the maintenance of the various branches of the Public Service, His Excellency thus continued:—
"The Address presented to me by the Council, deprecating the continuance of the system of Transportation to these colonies, with the request that I would forward it to the Right Honourable the Secretary of State, has already been transmitted to its destination, with a confident expression of my belief, that on whatever grounds of expediency the continuance of this system may have been hitherto sanctioned, it will no longer be persisted in.
"I fully concur in the opinion of the Council that, notwithstanding the great addition to our population, which the present development of the mineral resources of the colony is effecting, its interests urgently demand that the emigration of certain classes should, as heretofore, be amply provided for from the public revenues; and I am glad to have found myself in a position to make further considerable remittances to the Home authorities to this end, from the balance in the Treasury to the credit of the territorial revenue.
"The various Addresses which I have received from the Council on subjects of general interest will meet with the consideration from me which they are entitled to."
His Excellency concluded by proroguing the Council to the 10th February, and forthwith withdrew, when the Chamber was rapidly emptied, and left "like some banquet hall deserted." And so there was an end to the first Session of the first Legislature of the infant colony of Victoria.
{{c|The Thirty Pioneers.}
Though just half-a-dozen of them had figured prominently in the antecedent political agitation, they constituted a tolerably faithful reflex of public opinion. The regular "old stagers" were Ebden, Fawkner, Johnston, Palmer, Stawell, and Westgarth. O'Shanassy was then only coming to the front, and Smith and Russell were only known as prominent members of the City Council. The Session had not more than opened when some of the team began to show to advantage. On the Government side the Colonial Secretary (Lonsdale) would have been completely overpowered by the Opposition but for the Attorney-General (Stawell), seconded by the suave and gentlemanly Solicitor-General (Redmond Barry.) Stawell worked with the will of an Atlas. The sonorous affectation of the pompous Auditor-General (Ebden), and the innocuous lispings of Pohlman, wrought but little effect against the dashing and self-trained ability of O'Shanassy; the plodding persistency of the veteran Westgarth; the biting sarcasm and pungent points of Johnston; and the impetuous personalities of Fawkner. The nominee Members mostly sided with the Government, for which they could not be blamed; and the squatting Representatives often followed suit. Miller (even then by common accord known as the Money maker) quickly established himself as an adept in finance, and promised in the early future to become a formidable opponent, though the reputation thus early shadowed forth for him never realized the success anticipated.
It may be interesting to briefly note the fate and future of the historical group. The first to die off was Dunlop, and in this present year of grace (1888), only the following (so far as I am aware) remain in the land of the living, viz.— Johnston, Murphy, Splatt, Stawell, and Westgarth.
Barry was, in 1852, elevated to the Supreme Court Bench, whither Stawell, after a memorable and tempestuous legislatorial career, followed as Chief Justice in 1857. For nine-and-twenty years he exercised the functions of this high and honourable position to the satisfaction of the Bar and the public, and abdicated under the pressure of advancing years in September, 1886, the recipient of a much larger amount of salary-income than was ever netted by any Government official in Victoria, and entitled to draw two distinct pensions conjointly realizing an unprecedentedly liberal annuity.
Haines succeeded to the office of Colonial Secretary in 1854, and was subsequently twice Premier, and once Treasurer. Ebden jumped from the Auditor-Generalship to the Treasury, an office which he twice filled. Miller, Johnston, and Smith, were also Cabinet Ministers. Pohlman left the Equity Office for the County Court Judgeship, and twice acted as locum tenens in the Supreme Judiciary, whilst O'Shanassy was three times Chief Secretary. Murphy resigned the Chairmanship of Committees to accept the control of the Department of Roads and Bridges, and was succeeded by Snodgrass. On the inauguration of our present duplex Parliamentary system, Palmer ascended to the Upper House or Council, of which he was elected the first President, Barry, Murphy, in November, 1856, whilst Murphy obtained the Speakership of the Assembly. Palmer, Stawell and O'Shanassy respectively received the honour of Knighthood. Westgarth, whose services to the colony extended over a lengthened period, obtained neither official honour or emolument; a fact accounted for by his having left Victoria, and permanently settled in England.
Such were some of the veritable Patres Conscripti, who constituted the fons et origo, the spring-head, from which burst forth the stream of legislation which now rolls its waves through the colony.
- ↑ I cannot resist the temptation (for which I trust to be excused) of here stating, that Mr. O'Shanassy did me the honour to submit for my opinion his amendment before its public announcement, when I frankly declared my disapproval of its style, and questioned the wisdom of moving it; but O'Shanassy was a man, who, though from some mental vagary, would occasionally condescend to seek advice, seldom or ever took it when given. Of this failing, or otherwise, I was well aware, and it was, therefore, with no surprise I heard my opinion scornfully derided in terms he reverse of complimentary to my self-supposed sagacity.—[The Author]