# The Chronicles of Early Melbourne/Volume 1/Chapter 22

CHAPTER XXII.
THE MELBOURNE CORPORATION.—(CONTINUED).
SYNOPSIS:— November Elections, 1845. —Dr. Palmer elected Mayor. — His Brilliant Oration in the Council. —Succeeding Mayoral Broils. —The Election of Aldrmen. —Presentation to Ex-Mayor Moor. —Financial Prospect Brightening. —Mayor Palmer's Civic Hospitality. —Civic Exclusiveness in Church. —Elections of the First Jew, and First Roman Catholic as Councillors. —The Governor Rebukes Mayor Palmer. —Election of Mr. Frank Stephen as Town Solicitor. —Union Bank Loan. —November Elections, 1846. —Ex-Mayor Moor Re-elected. —November Elections, 1847. —Alderman Russell Elected Mayor. —Visit of Speaker of the Legislative Council. —Is Entertained at Dinner by Mayor Russell. —The Mayor's Guests Decline to Meet Mr. William Kerr at Dinner. — Melbourne Streets in 1848. —Melbourne erected to the Status of a City. —Title of “Right Worshipful” refused to the Mayor. —Address to the Queen re the Removal of Superintendent Latrobe. —Governor Declines to Recommend Prayer of Memorial. —Councillor Kerr again in Financial Difficulties. —Annual Elections, 1848. —Alderman Bell Elected Mayor. —Increase of Civic Salaries. —"Boundary Beating.” —Parliament House Site. —"Tam Kissock." —Ratable Property in 1849. —A Runaway Member. —Contempt of Court. —"Jack" Curtis's Practical Jokes. —"Dumb Ass Maa Comb Be Ass Queer." —Projected Gas Company. —Landing of Convicts Prevented. —"Parson Thomson's Cabbage Garden." —A Temporary Benevolent Asylum. —Fitzroy Crescent-cum-Gardens. —Superintendent Latrobe under a Cloud. —November Elections, 1849. —Alderman Greeves Elected Mayor. —Augmentation of the Town Clerk's Salary. —Petition in Favor of Separation. —Irish Orphan Girls. —Alderman Kerr, and Irish Orphan Immigration. —Alderman Kerr's Resignation. —John Hodgson’s First Election. —Creation of Fitsroy Ward. —November Elections, 1850. —Alderman Nicholson Elected Mayor. —First Election in Fitzroy Ward. —Mr. William Kerr Re-elected. —The Streets of Fitzroy. —The “Maze” of Collingwood. —Vote by Ballot Vetoed by the Council. —Mayor Nicholson, the Father of the Ballot.” —Municipal Statistics, 1850-51. —The "Maze" of Fitzroy. —"The Lost Square” of Fitzroy. —Mr. Fitzgibbon’s Official Explanation of it. —Vouncillor Kerr Appointed Town Clerk. —Proposed Extension of the Franchise. —Bonus to Council Officers. —November Elections, 1851. —Alderman Smith, the Last of the Old Mayors. —Final Resignation of Councillor M‘Combie. —Augmentation of Mayor's Allowance.
The November Elections—1845,
EXCITED much interest, though, whilst two of them were warmly contested, in the others there was finally no opposition. The term for which Councillor Palmer had been returned for Lonsdale Ward having expired, he re-offered himself, and was nearly defeated by Mr. A. H. Hart, a very popular Jew. Palmer would have been beaten had his opponent been a week earlier in the field, and, as it was, he got a majority of eight votes only, the number polled being eighty-eight for Palmer, against eighty for Hart. In Latrobe Ward the run was closer. Councillor Sanford was opposed by Mr. James Murray, host of the Prince of Wales Hotel, the result being Sanford seventy-nine, Murray seventy-five. In Gipps and Bourke Wards, the outgoing Councillors, Campbell and Smith, were re-elected unopposed.
The New Mayor.
The 9th of November was anxiously expected, owing to the election of a Mayor, and two Aldermen, vice two of the four elected in 1842, retiring at the end of three years. The Mayor (Moor) would have been readily re-elected, but he declined. Efforts were made on behalf of the irrepressible Mr. Kerr, but to no effect; and in a full Council, Palmer was chosen without opposition. Though crotchety, obstinate, often wrong-headed, and never a public favourite, Councillor Palmer proved an able and accomplished Mayor. His Inauguration Speech on taking the Chair, was alike scholarly and eloquent. Referring to his predecessor, Mr. Henry Moor (the best liked Mayor, in his first Mayoralty, that Melbourne ever had), he offered him this graceful tribute:— ​"I have succeeded a gentleman, w h o has long possessed your confidence in a degree attainable by few, and has discharged the various functions appertaining to his office in a manner which has been impeached by none. That gentleman will pardon m e , though I m a k e the observation in his presence, that his qualifications eminentlyfittedhim for the high office of Mayor. T o mature habits of business, and a quick insight into the characters of m e n , he unites an extensive knowledge of the wants and wishes of the toyvn, an untiring zeal for the public welfare, and an amenity of manners, yvhich, by conciliating differences at the Council table, have smoothed the ruggedness of debate. N o r is it by the possession of these qualities alone that he merits the vote of thanks which I shall have the honour to propose to him in this place; and (as I confidently hope) some more substantial token of public esteem, elsewhere. Disinterestedly, in the very crisis and exigency of the Corporationship, and when the helm yvas well nigh abandoned by others, Councillor M o o r came forward to assume c o m m a n d of it, and I have good reason for believing that in his private bounties also no one is more liberal, or more open-handed and free in the encouragement of every philanthropical undertaking and project for the public good. N o r must I omit to glance at certain lighter traits of his character, though pregnant with important results, I m e a n a warmth and ' raciness' so to speak, of manner which have uniformly succeeded in keeping the attention ayvake, have animated the debate when it flagged, and redeemed from the charge of insipidity, the details of Macadamization and yvooden gullets. Can it be doubted, then, that I shall be deemed presumptuous, and that it will be said and reiterated of m e — w h a t has been so often said, and with so m u c h reason of others—that ' Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.' "
The Municipal programme for the coming year was thus sketched by the new Mayor:— " A m o n g the important subjects which will c o m e under your consideration during the ensuing year, will be the revision of the Corporation Acts, and consequent upon that, the expediency of revising and consolidating our bye-laws. These will d e m a n d your careful attention; and in order that you m a y not be hurried in your deliberations, and that your acts m a y receive the sanction of the Legislature as soon after their assembling as possible, I shall d e e m it m y duty, unless I a m anticipated by others, to bring them under your notice at an early period. T h e Market and the Building Acts are measures of scarcely inferior consequence, and for similar reasons—that no delay m a y occur in their transit through the Legislative Assembly—it will be proper that you should not procrastinate their consideration. T h e selection of a site for the Botanic Gardens, and the disposal of the town-drain question, are measures which also await your decision, as preliminaries which must be settled before w e can avail ourselves of the grants m a d e for the former of these objects, and for improving the approaches to the wharf. T h e improvement and reparation of our streets, are measures of obvious and paramount utility, and will claim for the future, as they have had in time past, your unremitting attention." Not unforgetful of the past, and sanguine of the future, His Worship expressed a hope that, if not unanimity, at least concord and friendliness, might accompany their future proceedings, and continued :— " A n advocate in the fullest sense of the words for freedom of debate; and believing that strength of expression and warmth of advocacy are in no degree inconsistent with this freedom, I deprecate as the greatest of calamities yvhich could befall the honour of this Council, the indulgence of personal discourtesies. N o m a n is more ready to admit, no m a n will more strenuously join in the sentiment, that neither fear nor favour, nor any less worthy feeling should have place a m o n g public m e n , but that in the discussion of public questions, the judgment should be unbiassed, and the liberty of speech unfettered, except by such restraints as are imposed by good sense, good taste, and good feelings. A s a sharer of our c o m m o n nature, endued with the same feelings, with sensibilities as warm, as just and as true as our own, every man is entitled to our regard ; and as the depository of power, by an agreement which has been tacitly assented to by all, the Government is entitled to our respect. T o violate the courtesies of life is to defraud our neighbour of his due. T o assail with vituperation and undistinguishing obloquy the measures and motives of Government, is to subvert order, to invite retaliation, and to create a spirit of discontent. From what has passed at this Council, under m y o w n obseivation, I draw a bright augury of the future, and I believe that any indiscretions of the kind to which I have adverted, will be as infrequent as they are certainly undesirable." ​The Mayor repelled the insinuation as to the incapacity of the Province for self-government; and repudiated the suspicion that there exists a natural incongruity, an inherent repugnancy, and an indefinable antagonism between Municipal Institutions and the Crown, and burst forth into the following glowing eulogium ofthe British Constitution : — " W h e n w e reflect on the height of glory to yvhich our native land has attained, or under yvhat Constitution this has occurred, w e shall not I a m certain fail in veneration for her Institutions, or in loyalty for our gracious Sovereign. In riches unsurpassed—her dominions stretching from sea to sea—her commerce co-extensive yvith the world, her navy has been the mistress of the ocean, and her military glory has not been eclipsed by the brightest periods of history. B y her, Liberty has been nursed to be the example and model of all countries. B y her, Civilization and the Arts have subjugated the refractoriness of Nature. B y her, the torch of Science has been kindled and borne into the most distant corners of the earth. B y her, from all appearances, is likely to be accomplished the prediction of the prophet, the consummation of our most devout wishes, that ' the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.' Our Constitution under which these blessings have arisen, is no m e a n or inartificial contrivance adapted only for vulgar uses, or the c o m m o n necessities of mankind. It is a contrivance of consummate wisdom, receiving fresh increments from every fresh necessity, yvhich has been consolidated by time, and cemented by our best feelings ; and while it is admirably adapted to our c o m m o n wants) it is no less perfectly suited to develop those higher efforts of genius which elevate and dignify our nature. Like some fair and stately edifice, it unites durability and convenience with symmetry of proportions, and the exterior enrichments of style. If such then be the parent, such also should be the offspring. O u r ancestry should stimulate us to noble deeds. W e should love and venerate the parent institution. A sapling of the tree of Liberty which has been planted a m o n g us, comes of so noble a stock that there is no other colony in the world which can boast so unblemished a lineage. M a y its fair and goodly branches overshadow the length and breadth of the land, and may we, yvhile reposing under its shade, and conscious of the blessings which w e enjoy, remit no effort, spare no exertions, think no labour misemployed, to perpetuate the inheritance undiminished to our children." T h e political neglect and contumely with which Port Phillip had been systematically treated, was thus poyverfully pourtrayed by His Worship :— " Our representation is a gross and palpable mockery ; our revenues are seized and transported as tribute-money to Sydney, and our expostulations are not merely disregarded, but treated yvith undisguised derision. W e r e beacons to mark the selfishness of mankind necessary, the Sydney Legislature would afford them. Its conduct, in relation to Port Phillip, has presented an instance of undissembled injustice, and of un-ambiguous selfishness. Set as the guardian of popular rights, it has itself become the perpetrator of the grossest spoliation. Like wreckers, gathering membra disjecta of the battered vessel, this cormorant body —this loquacious blustering assembly—has permitted itself to profit by our misfortunes, and has put forth its rapacious hand on our Poor Box. It is scarcely credible, but the small sum yvhich had accumulated from the sale of unclaimed pounded cattle (which I, yvith others, had looked forward to as the means of furnishing an outfit for the Hospital, and which was applied for by His Honor the Superintendent for that purpose), has been withdrawn with the rest of the spoils, by order of the Legislative body. And, yet w h o can withhold regret, or yvitness without grief, the apathy, inexertion, and want of union visible a m o n g all classes, a m o n g the settlers more especially, which paralyse every effort for redress, and render a combined demonstration of our grievances almost impracticable ? If m e n are sometimes roused to an exercise of their political rights, the effort is only partial, it is an incohate and feeble struggle, or it is disgraced by some ignominious act of trickery. Under these circumstances (and this is the point of m y observations) a duty, as it appears to m e has devolved on the Corporation, yvhich does not naturally pertain to it—a duty, under considerable limitations, of expressing political opinions, and of striving for political objects. Under a more auspicious order of things this duty yvould devolve on the Supreme Legislature of the Colony ; but, betraying its trust as it has lately done, and converting what yvas intended for our benefit into our harm, there appears no other recognized public body, besides the Corporation, by yvhich these objects can be attempted." But this brilliant oration was little more than a rhetorical rocket, for there never was a Mayor more remarkable as a failure, than Dr. Palmer. Low, personal, contentions at the Council meetings, fell away considerably; but this yvas due rather to the improved class of m e n returned, than to the example of the ​Mayor, yvho, during his year of office, contrived to embroil himself in more bitter and serious differences, both in and out of the Council, than any Chief Magistrate preceding or succeeding him. THE ELECTION OF ALDERMEN.
Councillor Moor succeeded Alderman Kerr, who retired by rotation, and Alderman Orr was re-elected. Towards the end of 1843 Alderman Mortimer retired from the Council, when Councillor Orr was elected an Alderman, and now a renewal of the trust was conferred upon him. A well-deserved compliment was paid to the ex-Mayor by the unanimous adoption of this resolution—"That the Town Council of Melbourne, deeply sensible of the disinterested zeal, conspicuous abilities, and indefatigable exertions of Henry Moor, Esq, during the period of his Mayoralty, do tender him their warmest thanks, together with the assurance of their high esteem for his character." Alderman Moor's efficient unremunerated services were so highly appreciated outside the Council, that a public meeting yvas held at the Royal Hotel, on the 17th November, to consider the propriety of presenting him yvith some substantial token of public favour. T h e Mayor presided, and resolutions were passed tendering the grateful acknowledgments of the burgesses and the inhabitants, and initiating a subscription for the purchase of a service of plate for presentation to him, contributions to be limited to five shillings from each donor. A handsome sum was realized, and it was given to Mr. Moor, with a request to have it invested in the manner indicated. Thefirstmeeting of the Civic N e w Year, yvas held on the 15th November, at yvhich it was intimated that the Legislative Council had voted ,£1000 towards the erection of a Lunatic Asylum. The question of reviving an allowance for the Mayor was discussed, and as thefinancialprospect was brightening, it was considered desirable to do so. There was some chaffering over the amount, whether it should be ,£300 or ,£200, and on a division the larger sum yvas carried by the casting vote of the Chairman (ex-Mayor Moor). The salaries of the T o w n Clerk, Treasurer, Surveyor and Messenger yvere increased twenty per cent. A return of the probable receipts and expenditure for the current year (1845-6) was presented, and showed the estimated total revenue at .£4689 8s. 3d.; salaries including Mayor, ,£850; balance for town improvements, ,£3839 8s. 3d. The vacancy occasioned in Bourke Ward by the elevation of Councillor Moor to an Aldermanship wasfilledby the unopposed election of Mr. W . M . Bell (member of the firm of Bell and Buchanan) and the Council was soon engaged in an animated remonstrance against a proposal of the Government to raise a loan of half-a-million, on the security of the land revenue of the whole Colony, and against such a precipitate pledging of Port Phillip territory. A strongly worded memorial on the subject yvas transmitted to the Superintendent. The present site was recommended by a Committee of the Council, and strongly supported by Councillor Greeves, but vehemently opposed by Councillor Fawkner, who preferred Batman's Hill, and declared that the selection of a place so far out of town was simply to have a garden for the future Government-house, the land for which had been long set apart, Alderman Orr and Councillor Stephen also voting against it; but the site was ultimately decided on, and the Mayor was directed to announce the decision of the Council to the Government. The Government, however, would not allow the Corporation to have anything to do with the garden trusteeship or the management. Mayor Palmer yvas not profuse in his hospitality, though he now and then gave a pleasant little dinner to a few picked guests at Burwood (St. James' Park) where he resided ; but for once he took it into his head to do something uncommon in the way of a public breakfast, at the Royal Hotel, on the 4th February, 1846—the event of thefirsttriennial "Beating of the T o w n Boundaries" as prescribed by law. H e could sometimes work himself into an excessive degree of inflated p o m p over a small thing, and he yvas determined to produce some kind of sensation on this occasion. A public holiday yvas proclaimed, and all the school children were turned out in a grand juvenile review over the river near the bridge, where, at 10.30 a.m., 1500 urchins—viz, 1200 attending schools receiving Government aid, and 300 private pupils— ​put in an appearance, without as much as a bun or a lolly, a bottle of ginger-beer or pannikin of tea amongst them. T h e Mayor held his breakfast levee, yvhere there was enough to eat and drink in a genteel way, and the entertainer had all the speechifying to himself; but here, to use an Irishism, in opening his mouth he " put his foot in it," by some very injudicious remarks as to his preferring " the approbation of the educated to the applause of the uneducated." This he ineffectually endeavoured to tone d o w n afterwards, when rated about it by the newspapers. After the breakfast an attempt yvas m a d e to form a procession, but the youngsters were not in the best humour or condition to fall into rank, and though some hundreds started on the boundary excursion, only the Mayor, T o w n Clerk, Chief Constable, and a couple of the Council members saw the end of it. Civic
EXCLUSIVENESS IN CHURCH.
A few days after the children's " treat," the Mayor revived the folly of Mayor Condell, by an attempt to secure for the Corporation a locus (not standi, but) sedendi, at St. James' Church, and in a more puerile manner than his predecessor. H e actually applied for " special seats " for himself and four Aldermen, altogether oblivious of the Sunday spiritual condition of the Councillors, and yvith m u c h gusto, announced what he had done at the Council meeting of the 14th February. T o his extreme disgust, instead of a patting on the back for his unsolicited consideration, he got rapped over the knuckles, and took his "gruel" with a humbleness not unmixed yvith chagrin. H e was roundly and truly told that he had committed a gross impropriety, because as Mayor he was not a member of any particular church, and consequently should not in that capacity specially recognise any religious denomination. T h e Mayor disavowed a preference for any church, but admitted that he had not applied for Sabbath privileges for any other religious persuasion. Councillors Kerr and Johnston animadverted with m u c h severity upon the action of the Mayor in his attempted recognition of Episcopalianism as a dominant church, and the subject was allowed to drop. A question of a general lighting of the town yvas initiated and ventilated by Councillor Greeves. T h e Council had power to levy a 4d. lighting rate, and it was calculated that 128 lamps would answer every reasonable purpose, which at £3 each would be ,£384. A 4d. rate on the assessment would yield .£435 I0S-> leaving ,£51 19s. towards the erection of lamp posts. T h e subject flickered for the moment, and died out. During the months of March and April, 1846, vacancies occurred in the Council through the insolvency of Mr. Kerr, and the resignations of Messrs. Moor, Orr, and Sandford. Councillors Greeves and Bell were elected Aldermen, M r . Michael Cashmore (thefirstJew so honoured) was returned Councillor for Latrobe W a r d in Sandford's place, and on the 20th April, Mr. John O'Shanassy (the first Irish R o m a n Catholic, similarly complimented) yvas elected by the same W a r d for the seat voided by Councillor Greeves' promotion. Mr. T h o m a s M'Combie was a few days after returned vice Councillor Bell, for Bourke Ward, beating Mr. Charles Callow by 31 votes to 23. T h e General Market yvas placed under the management of one officer instead of two, and M r Michael Gallagher (afterwards an Alderman), was appointed Inspector at ,£78 per annum. In M a y , 1846, the state of Collins from Elizabeth to Swanston Streets was such that the shopkeepers offered to pay half the cost of kerbing the footyvays, but were only treated to a shrug of cold shoulder. T h e Separation queries brought the Mayor into a serious collision with the Governor, Sir George Gipps. His Worship yvas at times rather given to m u c h speaking and writing, and some of his published epistles are masterpieces of argument that would have been irresistible if more moderately put but the were marred by dogmatism, and bitter, though polished, invective. O n e of his communications to the Government yvas returned with a memorandum, intimating that as it was " couched in language studiously offensive, and abounding in misrepresentations, His Excellency refused to submit it to his Executive Council." This placed the Mayor on his mettle, and on the 9 th of M a y he submitted the correspondence to the T o w n Council, when a resolution yvas passed approving the action of His Worship, and a copy of the condemned manifesto was ordered to be forwarded to Mr. A . Cunninghame, then' a Port Philli delegate in London, to be by him presented to the Secretary of State for the Colonies.' 'P ​An interesting correspondence on this subject passed betyveen the Mayor, as Acting Police Magistrate, and the Superintendent, in which the former forcibly urged an increased protection for lives and property. H e pointed out that in October, 1842, the month preceding the establishment of the Corporation, the police force of Melbourne consisted of twenty-nine petty constables under one chief, the population of the town then numbering between 5000 and 6000. In April, 1846, the force comprised ten petty constables, four sergeants, one chief constable, and two watch-house keepers, whilst the population had increased to 10,600. Therefore, whilst the population had doubled, the police force had diminished to one-half. The T o w n of Melbourne, including 1 3 ^ miles of streets (independent of those in Collingwood and South Melbourne, and privaterights-of-way)was not lighted, though crowded with immigrants from Van Diemen's Land. At Collingwood, with a population of 1671 souls, a nefarious gang had lately taken refuge, and committed nightly depredations, whilst there was only one constable stationed there. Several large consumers of water obtained the permission of the Council to lay on pipes from the Yarra to their respective premises ; but a strong objection was m a d e to the project of a Mr. Burchett to open a tannery at Richmond. H e promised that the drainage should be from instead of into the river. Subsequently the Provincial L a w Adviser (Mr. Croke) pronounced against the power of the Corporation to lay yvater-pipes, which riled the Council considerably; but the L a w Officers in Sydney upheld Mr. Croke's legal dictum. The principal expenditure was ,£849 6s. for metalling, kerbing, and pitching Elizabeth, from Collins Street to Lonsdale Street; and .£64 9s. 6d. for metalling Collins Street, between Swanston and Russell Streets. T h e chief crossings in Collins, Elizabeth, and Swanston Streets, were to be metalled and gravelled at a cost not to exceed ,£31 ios. M u c h complaint was made at the delay in the erection of the following public buildings, for which sums had been voted by the Legislature : — N e w police office, ,£824 ; powder magazines, ,£2000 ; lunatic asylum, ,£1000 ; and the Council added a share to the grumbling by a petition to the proper quarter. O n Monday the 13th July, 1846, an attempted Orange celebration led to an outburst of inebriated fanaticism, which, but for the interposition of Providence, would have resulted in murder in the street. It is described in another chapter, and is only referred to here to state that the tergiversation of the Mayor as Chief Magistrate, in dealing with the riot, and writing about it afterwards, produced a very mixed feeling towards him in the Council, where a discussion of his action was self-invited, and though entailing no actual censure upon him, most certainly did not result in approval. As the Council had already nominated tyvo learned gentlemen from the higher branch of the legal profession as standing Counsel, a Solicitor was an indispensable adjunct. There was no specific salaryattached to the office, and the remuneration had to be eked out of the scraps worked into the bills of costs, which at the time were next door to nothing. Still ten " limbs " of what by dubious compliment is termed "Old Nick's Brigade," entered for the empty honour. Five started, four were placed, and one was distanced. T h e election was held on the 17th September, 1846, with the following result:—Mr. Prank Stephen, 3 votes; Mr. Richard Ocock, 2 votes; Mr. F. L. Clay, 2 votes; Mr. Jas. Montgomery, 1 vote; Mr. G. W . S. H o m e , no vote. T h e victory was not m u c h to crow over, and was little thought of at the time; but " Frank," by the unexpected turn of affairs, has had good pickings out of it since, for after forty years he is still " T o w n " Solicitor for the prosperous Queen City of the South. T h e finances were n o w once more down to zero, and a second rate of 6d. in the £ was made. A loan was negotiated with the Union Bank for ,£600, to be expended on the Cattle Market, a site for which had been granted some time before. THE NOVEMBER ELECTIONS (1846)
Created a sensation, some of the Wards being contested yvith much bad feeling. Councillor O'Shanassy who, during his term of office, bad done good service, was one of the retiring Councillors for Latrobe Ward and an ungrateful and a purely factious opposition (intensified by the " O r a n g e " riot of the 13th July) was got up against him. There was m u c h difficulty in hunting up a candidate to face a m a n with ​such undoubted claims to a renewal of confidence, but the needful article yvas at length discovered in Mr. William Clarke, professor of music, and a very worthy burgess, but an unknown quantity as a public man. Latrobe Ward yvas then a hot-bed of faction and bigoted exclusiveness; the consequence was that Clarke w o n the seat by polling 80 votes to his opponent's 30. pfor Bourke Ward the retiring Councillor (McCombie) yvas challenged by Mr. Patrick Main, a contractor, and it was a dead heat—33 votes each ; but the Acting-Alderman (Smith) managed the casting-vote for the old member, w h o was accordingly returned. M r . John Bullen (a new m a n ) succeeded the outgoing m e m b e r (Westby) in Gipps 'Ward, without opposition ; and Henry Moor went back to the Council for Lonsdale Ward, vice J. R. Murphy, w h o had retired. O n the 9th November, Councillor M o o r was elected Mayor (for the second time). Councillor Greeves was a candidate, but, uncertain of success, warily yvithdrew in time to save a beating. A n effort was m a d e to trot out Mr. Alderman Bell, but he, too, cannily opined that his hour had not arrived, and bided his time. "Johnny" Fayvkner retired in a few days and shook the Corporation dust from his feet for evermore. H e was succeeded in Lonsdale Ward by Mr. T h o m a s Armitstead, a builder, after little more than a nominal opposition from Mr. M'Culla, a blacksmith of slightly eccentric proclivities. At the second Council meeting, for the year 1846-7, the following salaries were voted : T h e Mayor, ,£300 ; T o w n Clerk, ,£240 ; Treasurer and Surveyor, ,£150 each ; Copying Clerk, ,£100. A new office of Surveyor of Sewers was made at ,£60 a year. A further A m e n d m e n t Act was passed by the Legislature, removing more doubts, defining and enlarging the powers of the Corporation, establishing a Cattle Market, and enabling the Council to borrow money on security of the Municipal revenue. In the Anti-transportation agitation which raged for years, the Council and the public were abvays in accord, and more than one emphatic remonstrance against the long impending evil emanated jointly from them. In this matter Councillor M'Combie took a prominent part. St. Francis' Church in Lonsdale Street was for some time in considerable danger of being undermined F r o m the earliest period, a deep ravine ran along the now channel-way of Elizabeth Street (East side), by the boundary of the church ground. There was no footpath, and the Council diverted the yvater-course from the other side of the street, which so increased the torrent flowing by the church fence, that every day the chasm grew both deeper and wider, and serious apprehensions were entertained that the building foundation would be endangered. Representations were made to the Council, and legal proceedings threatened, yet it took a year to move a body, at other times over-full of vitality, to do an ordinary act of justice and avert the danger. In May, 1847, the Mayor (Moor) made a strenuous effort to procure an addition of tyventy m e n to the police force, and succeeded in getting half what he asked for. In the following month the ex-Mayor (Councillor Palmer) resigned his seat for Lonsdale Ward, and yvas succeeded by Mr. George Annand, w h o had been previously defeated by Mr. Fawkner. A Building Act was now a necessity, and a draft bill was promulgated, which led to discussions both in the Council, and by the Press, the proposed enactment being regarded as m u c h more stringent and arbitrary than the circumstances of the town required. It was also thought that an A m e n d e d Corporation Bill would be shortly submitted to the Legislature, and to watch that measure on behalf of the Council, the T o w n Clerk was despatched to Sydney. It was also found necessary to revive the office of Street-keeper, under the more imposing title of Inspector, at a salary of ,£75 per annum, and a moiety of fines. Jeffreys, the successful candidate, proved to be an excellent officer, and was afterwards Chief Clerk in the T o w n Clerk's department. H e died suddenly, havingfilledthe latter position for several years. A s the time for THE NOVEMBER ELECTIONS (1847)
approached, the nationality of the members of the Corporation was much canvassed. In the Council there were nine Englishmen, five Scotchmen, one Australian, and not one Irishman, though a third of ​the ratepayers hailed from the land of the Shamrock. " Justice to Ireland " yvas therefore the shibboleth under which the Civic battle of November was to be fought, and after the struggle ended, Ireland was no better off than when it began. In Gipps and Latrobe Wards, the retiring Councillors did not re-offer themselves, and in both Wards there were contests, the winners having easy conquests. Messrs. J. O'Shanassy and J. Bowler (a tried and an untried m a n ) were nominated for Gipps Ward, yvhen Bowler polled 62 against his antagonist's 45- H e yvas a quiet-going Attorney, and voted for himself, the only other case of such a questionable display of personal interest on record, being that of Councillor Reid at a prior election in Bourke Ward. In Latrobe Ward, Mr. Kerr, w h o had now been " certificated " and yvas longing to get back to the arena in which he had before been the instrument of so m u c h dissension, opposed Stephen, the retiring Councillor, and beat him by 100 to 69. Councillors Johnston and Armitstead, the retiring members for Bourke and Lonsdale Wards, went back without opposition. THE NEXT MAYOR.
Mr. Kerr's return to the Council, afforded him an opportunity of making another dash for the Mayoralty, and there was m u c h excitement in consequence. But he met with his match in Alderman Russell, who was elected Mayor on the 9th November. It was a close run, for against Russell's six votes, Kerr obtained five, M'Combie (not a candidate) 2, and M o o r 1; Russell voted for Moor, and Kerr for M'Combie, which practically neutralized their votes. At the ensuing Council meeting there yvas m u c h talk over the Mayor's allowance, and ,£300 yvas voted. T h e following scale of salaries yvas also fixed : — T o w n Clerk, ,£240 ; Treasurer, ,£200 ; Surveyor, ,£175 ; T o w n Clerk's clerk, p£ioo ; Market Inspectors (two), ,£78 each ; Cattle Market Inspector, ,£120; Cattle Market Keeper, ,£48 ; T o w n Inspector, ,£85 ; Inspector of Slaughter-houses, ,£60 ; Messenger, ,£52; two Rate-collectors, ,£120 each. Early the next year Mr. J. Sprent was appointed Cattle Market Inspector. O n the 26th November, 1847, the'new cattle yards were opened, when Messrs. Bear and Son, cattle auctioneers, held a maiden sale there. O n the 31st December, 1847, the Corporation statistics disclosed the folloyving facts yvhich evidenced a great disparity between the tax-paying tenements and those enjoying the civic franchise:— Ratable houses in Gipps W a r d Latrobe W a r d Bourke Ward Lonsdale Ward
814 688 443 593
Total houses 2538
Burgesses. 160 276 130 290
Total burgesses 856
Several matters of general utility had been from time to time decided upon, such as the passing of bye-laws for the regulation of the markets, street-crossings, &c. T h e inconvenience of narrow streets (Sir R. Bourke's mischievous hobby), was forcibly represented to the Government, so that in any future town extension, no street should be under one chain in yvidth. A loan for ,£1500 was negotiated with the Union Bank, and the expediency of obtaining a considerably larger sum from the Sydney Savings Bank was more than once considered. In January, 1848, Councillor Cashmore resigned his seat for Latrobe Ward, to which Mr. James Murray (a formerly defeated candidate), was elected unopposed. In February the Speaker of the Legislative Council in Sydney was on a visit to Melbourne, and entertained by the Mayor at a dinner, to yvhich the usual select coterie were invited. T h e acceptances were general, but Mr. E. J. Brewster, the m e m b e r for Melbourne in the Legislative Council, sent the following remarkable apology, and his reason for declining: — " M r . Brewster presents his respects, and regrets that he feels obliged to decline availing himself ofthe invitation for dinner with which he has been honoured by the Mayor of Melbourne, as he understands he would have to associate with Mr. William Kerr.—Club, Melbourne, ist February, 1848." ​Mr. E. E. Williams (one of the Standing Counsel to the Corporation) and Councillor Moor (ex-Mayor), declined the honour upon similar grounds. T h efirststep taken toyvards the establishment of a Benevolent Asylum yvas due to Councillor Smith, by w h o m a notice of motion on the subject yvas giv.n on the 25th May, and agreed to ist June. Melbourne was noyv making considerable progress in the erection of neyv buildings, so m u c h so that in March their valuation yvas estimated at ,£8000, from which there would be a welcome increase to the Civic income, MELBOURNE STREETS IN 1848.
When Mr. Edward Curr, at the Mayor's dinner, expressed an opinion that the Corporation had been prematurely born by a couple of years, people attributed such croaking to private resentment against some persons thrown up like bubbles on the surface of the Civic waters. But he was not far wrong if w e are to judge by the best of all criteria—results. After the Corporation had been six years in existence, the Public Works Committee submitted the following recommendations to the Council :— 1. Bourke Street to be formed, footways gravelled, and a tyventy-five feet wide roadway, in the centre to be metalled from Spring to Swanston Streets, and Elizabeth to King Streets, the water-channel on South side to be kerbed and pitched between Swanston and Stephen Streets. 2. Elizabeth Street to be rendered passable between Lonsdale and Latrobe Streets, by the formation and metalling of a roadyvay twenty-five feet wide in the centre. 3. Queen Street to be formed, footways gravelled, and a centre roadway twenty-five feet yvide to be metalled between Lonsdale and Flinders Streets, and the yvater channel on the West side to be kerbed and pitched for the like distance. 4. Collins Street.—The footways to be formed and gravelled, and the kerbing and pitching thereof completed between Queen and Swanston Streets ; the same street to be formed, footways gravelled, and a roadyvay of twenty-five feet in the centre metalled between Swanston and Spring Streets. 5. Little Flinders Street to be formed, roadway metalled, and footyvays gravelled between Swanston and Spring Streets. 6. Lonsdale Street to be formed, the footways gravelled, and a roadway of twenty-five feet metalled in centre betyveen Spring and King Streets. 7. Brunsyvick Street to be repaired at an estimated cost of .£50. For general repairs and improvements to footways throughout the city ,£100 yvas to be applied. T h e surplus cuttings from Bourke and Queen Streets were to be used infillingup and forming King Street, South of Collins Street, preparatory to the street being rendered passable. THE CITY OF MELBOURNE
Was ecclesiastically created by the arrival of Bishop Perry in January, 1848; but to legally manufacture a city, needs more than Royal Letters Patent. A n Act of the Colonial Legislature was therefore thought to be necessary, and accordingly Alderman Greeves tabled a motion to alter the style and title of Melbourne from a T o w n to that of a City. T h e draft Bill yvas approved, and transmitted to the Government for introduction to the Legislature, but it did not find a place on the Statute Book until the 3rd August 1849, when the 13th Vict, N o . 14, yvas assented to as " A n Act to effect the change in the Style and Title of the Corporation of Melbourne rendered necessary by the erection of the T o w n of Melbourne to a City." T h e Council also applied to the Government for permission for the Mayor to assume the title of "Right Worshipful," a privilege accorded to the Mayor of Sydney. More than a year elapsed before a reply was received, as the matter required a reference to the Secretary of State. In May, 1849, a despatch was received from Downing Street, refusing the request until the erection of Port Phillip into a separate colony. O n Mr. Latrobe assuming office as Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria in 1851, one of hisfirstacts yvas to comply with the demand. ​Councillor M'Combie yvas in his way an awkward, blundering, well-intentioned man, who, once having conceived a notion stuck to it with m u c h pertinacity. Possibly because he was not appointed to the Commission of the Peace, or for some other unknown reason, he got what is colonially termed a " down " on Mr. Latrobe, and indulged it in every way he could, by means of the Gazette newspaper now in his hands, and as T o w n Councillor. There yvas a strong anti-Latrobe party in the Council, and on the 15th June, 1848, Mr. M'Combie submitted a motion for an Address to the Queen, praying H e r Majesty to direct the removal of Mr. C. J. Latrobe from the Superintendency of Port Phillip. There was afierce,acrimionous, and grossly personal debate over it, and on a division the numbers w e r e : — F o r — A l d e r m e n Condell, Greeves, Bell, Councillors M'Combie, Murray, Clarke, Johnston, Kerr, and Annand. Total 9. Against — T h e Mayor (Alderman Russell), Councillors Moor, Armitstead, Smith, and Campbell. Total 5. This act of the Corporation yvas endorsed by a public meeting, which was notable for the Fawknerian revelations that led to the remarkable action of St. John v. Fawkner, for libel. O n the 9th August a despatch was received from Sir Charles Fitzroy, declining to recommend the prayer of the memorial to H e r Majesty. In September, 1848, Councillor Kerr was again infinancialdifficulties, yvhich forced him into an assignment for the benefit of his creditors ; and though ipso facto disqualified, he contended he was not, stuck to his seat, defied the law, and by the help of his Scotch following so " stoneyvalled " as to prevent the Council obtaining Counsel's opinion on the subject.
THE ANNUAL ELECTIONS (1848)
Again yvhirled round with this result:—For Latrobe Ward, Murray was re-elected without opposition; Annand in Lonsdale Ward, beat Meek, an Attorney; and Rankin, a builder, conquered George Playne, a fashionable club J.P. and M . D . ; whilst Michael M c N a m a r a , a mercurial and enthusiastic tailor, yvas returned for Gipps Ward, against George Swanston, a publican. Smith the ex-member for Bourke Ward, having become ineligible for re-election through the omission of his n a m e from the Citizen Roll, rolled himself up in lavender for a time. Bullen got into the same predicament and lost his seat for Gipps Ward. Here there was a dead heat between ex-Councillor John Stephen, and Richard Dowling, an hotel-keeper; but Stephen was returned by the casting vote of the Alderman (Condell). T h e Mayoral election yvas contested by Aldermen Greeves and Bell, when the latter was returned by nine votes to five. Russell and Condell retired as Aldermen and there was a rush for the vacant seats, the result of the voting being :— Kerr seven, Johnston six, M ' C o m b i efive,Armitstead three, Russell two. T h e most amusing incident of the election was that M c N a m a r a voted for Kerr, betyveen yvhom and him there had been war for years; and once when Kerr wrote in his newspaper of M c N a m a r a as a "halfhanged ruffirn," the latter knocked his libeller down in the street. These arcades ambo had become reconciled to each other, and yvere now, apparently, fast friends. Kerr and Johnston were returned, after which, all, with the exception of McNamara, adjourned to the Prince of Wales Hotel for refreshments, supplied by the new Mayor (Bell), yvho committed the unpardonable blunder of omitting one brotherm e m b e r from his circle of invitations—though all were supposed to be officially equal. The salary of the Mayor yvas fixed at ,£300, the T o w n Clerk's increased from ,£240 to £300, Treasurer ,£200, Surveyor ,£175. Mr. O'Farrell was appointed City Auctioneer. The vacancies created by the Aldermanic elevations, werefilledby Mr. Dalmahoy Campbell, a cattle salesman, beating Mr. Robert Robinson, a saddler, in Bourke, and the unopposed return of Mr. William Nicholson for Latrobe Ward. Various small, but "stirring" questions occupied the Council, and some lively debates ensued. In a matter when Judge A'Beckett had given judgment on a mandamus, sued out of the Supreme Court in re Smith's disfranchisement, Alderman Johnston abused the Judge in such unmeasured terms, that an attachment yvas issued against the Argus for the publication of his speech, but it, and other proceedings initiated yvere stayed in consequence of the difficulties of a Judge acting judicially where he was himself one of the parties to the suit. ​The " Boundaries were beaten" for the second time on the 6th February, 1848. These Boundaries n o w encircled the trans-Yarra country, and it was a two-day job. T h e start was m a d e at 10 a.m. from the Mechanics' Institute, across the bridge to the Punt Road, and thence onward to the R e d Bluff below St. Kilda. Returning, the " beaters" halted at the Royal Hotel, kept by a Mr. Howard, at the now Esplanade, for refreshments. T h e Northern Boundaries were examined the next day, and the " feeding " ceremonial gone through at Flemington, where there was quite a jolly gathering. T h e City Surveyor's horse bolted yvith its rider into a swamp, and both were with difficulty extricated. Chief-Constable Bloomfield and his nag took to the bush where they dissolved partnership; the riderfixedhis quarters on the bough of a large g u m tree, and the animal sped away on a spree to M o o n e e Ponds. Aldermen and Councillors, newspaper-men, and the citizens fraternized and nobblerized rather extensively ; but the newspapers were silent as to the accidents arising from the celebration. It is, therefore, to be presumed that, as the " beating" ended yvithout thrilling disaster, those most interested were thoroughly satisfied. There was a dense groyvth of ti-tree and brushyvood, between the beach at St. Kilda, and what was modernly called Fisherman's Bend. T h e Council accordingly begged of the Superintendent to give permission to abate the grievance by cutting it ayvay ; but Mr. Latrobe, beyond a vague promise, did nothing. T h e axe of time, hoyvever, gradually commenced chopping, and a few years beheld the Southern obstruction cleared off. M u c h more offensive was a range of disgusting sheds for the killing of butcher's meat, on the river bank, near the n o w gas works, and the Corporation applied for a site whereon proper Abattoirs could be erected. T h e localities suggested were contiguous to Sandridge, and on a portion of the Western S w a m p ; but Alderman Kerr m a d e bad worse by carrying an Address from the Council to the Superintendent, asking for a space between Batman's Hill and the Yarra, and so bringing the abomination nearer home. T h e Parliament Houses yvere nearly deprived of the present site through pre-occupation by the T o w n Hall. In 1849 tne Public Wforks Committee strongly advised an application to the Government to reserve fifteen acres of the open verdant waste land east of Spring Street, betyveen Melbourne and Collingwood, running parallel to the ends of Bourke and Lonsdale Streets, to be devoted to ornamental purposes of a public nature, and the T o w n Hall to be erected within that area. M r . Latrobe had no objection, but it was strongly opposed by Alderman Greeves, in favour of the corner of Swanston and Collins Street, because of its central and convenient position. T h e report yvas adopted, but subsequently rescinded on a call of the Council being m a d e for its re-consideration. Melbourne was locally unrepresented in the Sydney Legislature through the election of Earl Grey as m e m b e r for the city; and the interests of the Corporation were consequently unattended to. Hence eventuated this " rebuff." Alderman Kerr led the Council to believe that Mr. Robert Lowe, a Sydney member, would take charge of any business the Melbourne Council might require to be looked after. T h e reason why none of the district members were asked, yvas, that as squatters, their interests yvere not identical with those of the town. Consequently they were passed over, and a motion passed requesting Mr. L o w e to do the needful. It seemed that Alderman Kerr had not a scintilla of authority to make any promise on behalf of Mr. Lowe, and that honourable gentlemen, on being advised of what had been done, refused in terms verging on impertinence, and had the bad taste to forward his reply in an unfranked envelope, upon yvhich the Council had to pay double postage. Mr. Lowe's reason for declining to act, was his disapproval of the election of Lord Grey yvhich he regarded as a voluntary disfranchisement, though others looked upon it as an extremely clever coup, yvhich so far from retarding, materially hastened the Colonial Independence of the Province. Alderman Kerr, when brought to book for misleading the Council explained the possibility of his having mistaken what had transpired between himself and Mr. Loyve. S o m e were uncharitable enough to believe that Alderman Kerr had deliberately and maliciously misled the Council. T h e present Old Cemetery which was reserved as a burial ground in 1837, and where Batman's remains were laid in 1839, was n o w considered too near the town, though originally it was deemed inconveniently far away. Accordingly Alderman Kerr brought the question before the Council in the form of a motion : " That the Melbourne burying ground from its dangerous proximity to the inhabited portions of the City, and from the inconvenience of its position, ought not to be longer used as a place of sepulture, and that the Government be asked to appropriate a sufficient portion of land in a suitable locality to form
u ​the future Cemetery ofthe City." This was agreed to, and a communication embodying it transmitted to the proper quarter. O n the 23rd May, 1850, an answer was received from the Superintendent announcing that the Government had reserved forty acres of lane for a N e w Cemetery, distant about one mile from town on the left side of the Pentridge road. This is portion of the present Metropolitan burial ground. About the same time advices were received that Asiatic cholera was raging in England, and the Council resolved to urge upon the Government the appointment of a Health Officer for Hobson's Bay, and the adoption of precautionary measures on the arrival of ships from infected ports. In the course of the discussion that arose, Alderman Greeves announced " as the unanimous opinion of the ' Faculty' that cholera was not a contagious disease." "TAM" KISSOCK.
The honorary posts of the Auditor and Assessors of the Council were continued annually by election on each ist March, but were not objects of ambition. Occasionally, citizens w h o detested the Corporation were subjected to the practical joke of being elected without their knowledge or consent, and if they refused to serve they yvere liable to a smart penalty. There yvas a Mr. T h o m a s (or rather " T a m ") Kissock, a choleric Scotch cattle-seller, always wishing the Corporation anywhere, cold or hot did not matter, so long as it cleared out of this blessed world. There was also a vacancy in the Assessorship of Gipps Ward, and " T a m " had unconsciously the greatness thrust upon him of being returned, not only at the head ofthe poll, but without any poll at all, for he had a " walk over." W h e n " T a m " Kissock heard of this, he purchased a ponderous riding whip, and then started off in search of Alderman Johnston (who, some one told him, had been instrumental in making him an Assessor), swearing he would certainly half-murder him. Johnston, yvhether by accident or design, remained invisible to " T a m " until his wrath had cooled down. " T a m " vowed he would have nothing to do under any circumstances with " such a blackguard crew " as the Civic worthies, and sent in his resignation couched in curt and someyvhat offensive terms. In accepting it the Council were small-minded and spiteful enough to fine the honest, outspoken, sturdy Caledonian .£25, which, well Tor himself, he was able to pay. T h e riding-yvhip was not called into active service, but was reserved for the hides of tougher animals at the cattle yards. There was no other evidence than Kissock's supposition that Johnston was the instigator of the harmless joke, and the matter was undeserving the storm which it brewed in Kissock's mental tea-cup. In April, 1849, there were 3248 ratable tenements in the City of Melbourne, and the assessment amounted to ,£96,378, being an increase of 322 houses, and ,£22,750 value over the corresponding period of 1848. There was a slight decrease in Latrobe Ward, in consequence of the removal of a small colony of brickmakers from a corner of that district. T h e question of yvater supply had more than once been taken up by the Council, and the City Surveyor proposed a scheme for works at the Yarra. A gratuity of thirty guineas was n o w voted to that officer for a survey and report upon the same. In M a y a rate of one shilling in the £ was made, payable in two half-yearly instalments. T w o very laudable motions were carried in the Council, viz, one by Alderman Kerr, asking the Government to place on the Estimates a sum for the establishment of telegraphic communication between Melbourne and Shortland's Bluff, for the convenience of the port; the other, requesting His Excellency to set aside reserves for public recreation in any intended extension ofthe city Northwards (Carlton.) It yvas a long-standing grievance with the Council that the Superintendent steadfastly declined to recommend many of its members for the Commission of the Peace. T h e affix of J.P. had the same magical influence then as it has n o w ; but in modern times it is more easily obtained. T h e Council frequently and loudly remonstrated, but it was to closed ears, for the Superintendent was upon that point deaf as a doorpost. Though others were gazetted City Magistrates, Russell was the only Mayor who, as such, was placed in the Territorial Commission. It was now determined to carry the grievance to the foot of the Throne, and an Address to the Queen was adopted and transmitted. ​In June the long hung-up question where the Town Hall should be built was definitely settled by the issue of a Crown grant for i rood 36 perches of (then) North Melbourne, at the corner of Swanston and Collins Streets, to the Corporation of Melbourne, as a site for a T o w n Hall. In one respect it must be admitted that, amidst their other little extravagancies, the City Council were economical in their expenditure upon the luxury of law. B y a return it appeared that since the foundation of the Corporation in 1842, to the 9th May, 1849, the amount was only ,£179 os. 6d. A legal crux arose at this time which caused some uneasiness. A judgment had been given by the Supreme Court, Queen v. Laing, which tended towards a notion that the streets of Melbourne yvere not legally dedicated to the public; and on the motion of Alderman Kerr the attention of the Executive was called to the subject. A RUNAWAY MEMBER.
In June, Councillor McNamara, one of the members for Gipps Ward, suddenly disappeared from the city, leaving his wife and a host of creditors to hold him in remembrance. It was believed he had taken wing to San Francisco, and it yvas unknown for some days whether he had left his resignation behind. At the Council meeting ofthe n t h July, the Toyvn Clerk read a letter purporting to be the document so m u c h talked of. It bore date Williamstown, 25th June, 1849, was subscribed " Michl. McNamara," and intimated that as the writer yvas about to visit V a n Diemen's Land for a feyv months, he tendered his resignation as a City Councillor. T h e Mayor expressed his belief that the document yvas a forgery, and suggested its reference to a committee of enquiry. Alderman Kerr thought the signature was not genuine, though a good imitation ; the question to his mind was a serious one, for if the resignation were accepted, and not genuine, if M c N a m a r a returned to the colony, he could not take his seat without a quo warranto to eject the interloper elected in his stead. T h e subject was remitted to a Committee (appointed by ballot, and consisting of Aldermen Kerr and Johnston, and Councillors Stephen, Annand, and Murray), yvho reported that the signature of M c N a m a r a was not genuine, and that the forger, if discovered ought to be prosecuted. T h e borrower of McNamara's name never turned up, nor did " Mac." himself. S o m e years after it was rumoured that he had taken a religious turn, after arriving in the neyv country whither he yvent, and closed his life in penitence and prayer; whilst on the other hand, it was averred that his end had come in a less peaceful manner, but nothing authentic of his Californian whereabouts ever publicly transpired. His seat, as required by law, remained unfilled for six months, when a vacancy was declared, and a successor elected. Pending the expected separation of the Province from Neyv South Wales, the Sydney Government declined to proceed yvith any n e w public works in Port Phillip, in yvhich yvas included help towards procuring a much needed water supply. T h e question of the establishment of a Benevolent Asylum was urged upon the Government, which was asked to place a sum on the Estimates as an aid toyvards its erection; and on the 25th July, Aldermen Kerr and Greeves, with Councillors Clarke, Murray, and Campbell, were appointed a Committee to choose afittinglocality for the building. T h e present site in West Melbourne was recommended, and in December the Government sanctioned a grant often acres of land for the purpose. T h e Government had some time before this promised a grant of the present site of St. Patrick's Cathedral (Eastern Hill) to the R o m a n Catholic denomination, and this was most unjustifiably opposed by the Council, on the plea that such a blocking up of the East end of the city would cause confusion in the boundaries of Latrobe and Gipps Wards. They readily forgot that St. Peter's was already in the way, and that they had themselves once by a majority agreed to a complete block-up by asking the Government to enclose the area as a T o w n Hall reserve and pleasure ground. Their objections were futile, for Mr. Latrobe adhered to his promise, and the Corporation was frustrated in its ungenerous opposition. T h e Port Phillip Gazette had passed through two or three stages, as far as one of the partners was concerned, and it yvas n o w worked by a firm known as M'Combie and Strode. Mr. M'Combie was a m e m b e r of the City Council, and Corporation advertisements appeared in the paper, and were paid for • when it suddenly broke upon M'Combie (or rather he was told) that such a commercial connection with the Council not only rendered him liable to pecuniary consequences, but legally vacated his seat. It took some
u2 ​time to convince him upon the point, but at length he considered it prudent to resign his office, and did so. Resolving on more caution in the future, he re-offered himself as a Councillor for Bourke Ward, and was returned without opposition. The absurd proposition to establish the Slaughter-houses near Batman's Hill, was affirmed by the grant of a place for the purpose in August; but the Superintendent, gifted with a stronger prevision than the Council, and apprehensive that a great nuisance yvould be caused thereby, decided to issue a lease for ten years only, at which the Council was by no means well pleased, Councillor Annand and others holding out (though vainly) for a tenure of twenty-one years. Time has proved Mr. Latrobe to be in the right. The Mayor was afterwards instructed to apply for a fourteen years' lease, which was granted; and in March, 1850, the Council adopted a plan for an Abattoir at a cost of ,£1500. In 1851 the building was completed, and when opened was found to be altogether inadequate for the accommodation required. So the eighty-five butchers were up in arms (or rather cleavers) against the bungling of the Corporation, and clamoured lustily for a bigger slaughtering shop. This Abattoir stood a few yards northward from the now Australian Wharf. It was in every sense a failure ; so in a few years the Corporation were obliged to move the public meat factory to the bank of the Saltwater River. The vacated building passed to the possession of the Government, and was used as a lumber depository until it yvas completely wiped away. CONTEMPT OF COURT.
Councillor M'Combie had not very long been seated for Bourke Ward, when at a Council meeting he was the innocent cause of much merriment, by suddenly jumping from his seat and claiming protection for a gross breach of privilege committed on his person by one of the reporters sending him a grossly insulting letter. There yvas then employed on the Patriot {alias Daily Nenis), as a " gentleman of the Press," Mr. John Curtis, a clever, light-hearted, inconsideiate fellow, yvho recked little the consequences, provided he could improvise a piece of fun. " Jack " was so chronically disposed to convivialism, as to be hardly ever in a state of sober seriousness, either on or off duty, and whenever his colleagues (there used to be three reporters everywhere) found him in an advanced state of " freshness," one or other yvas sure tofixhim in the perpetration of some practical joke, in which there would be little harm and no malice. This day it was suggested that Curtis should get a blank sheet of note-paper, enclose it in an envelope, and address it to M'Combie in some manner unlike other superscriptions. A hint to Curtis was no sooner given than acted on, so with a rapidity peculiar to hisfingers,Curtis had the missive ready in about ten seconds, and thus directed in his undisguised hand-writing :— " DUMB ASS MAA COMB BE ASS QUEER."
The Council Messenger was signalled, and told by Curtis to be quick and hand the epistle to Councillor M'Combie. The recipient was considerably surprised, and for a time he thought Curtis (with whose caligraphy he was well acquainted) was only indulging in some Gipsy cant, or "back slang;" but gradually he succeeded in translating it, and was immediately on his feet, in a state of trembling excitement appealing to the Mayor for protection against so gross an indignity. H e denounced Curtis as the offender, and declared that if he did not obtain satisfaction for such an outrageous insult, he could not answer for the consequences. The envelope was then submitted to the Council, and the Mayor had some difficulty in deciphering the scroll. Councillor Kerr, however, solved the perplexity by declaring that it meant nothing more nor less than " T H O M A S M ' C O M B I E , ESQUIRE,"
and he could not see what there was to complain of in that. The penmanship was handed round for general inspection, so that its points might be comprehended, and the Mayor, Aldermen, and Councillors tried to put on long faces, but, with the exception of M'Combie, were unable to restrain their mirth. Seriousness was not restored when Curtis stood up at the reporters' table, and, making a most profound salaam to M'Combie, placed his hand upon his heart, and assured the worthy Councillor that he indignantly repelled the insinuation that any insult or even discourtesy, had been intended by the peculiarly addressed ​letter. Of all men, there was not one for whom he entertained a deeper respect than for his esteemed friend (Councillor M'Combie), and so far from any offence being meditated, the matter complained of was really and truly intended as a compliment—phonetically expressed. T h e speaker's voice yvas here drowned in a loud torrent of laughter that could not be longer suppressed, and so soon as anything like order yvas restored, " strangers" yvere c o m m a n d e d to withdrayv. T h e " strangers," consisted simply of the three scribes already mentioned, and, Curtis included, they retired while M'Combie's wounded dignity was consoled and prescribed for. O n the re-admission of "strangers," the Mayor delivered the judgment of the Court of Honor, viz, that the offending Curtis should be banished from the rest of that day's deliberations, and any repetition of the transgression would exclude him ad infinitum. Curtis took up his hat, and with a very polite inclination wished His Worship and Councillors a very good evening. H e adjourned to a neighbouring tavern, and was soon the centre of a circle of admiring sympathisers. M a n y a laugh was afterwards indulged in at the expense of " T h o m a s M'Combie, Esquire." O n another occasion during the Mayoralty of Dr. Palmer, a still more extraordinary interlude occurred, which m a y be narrated conveniently as a companion to the foregoing. T h e Council used to meet as previously observed, in the large upper room of the Mechanics' Institute. T h e members sat at one table and the reporting trinity at another. T h e meeting hour was 3 p.m., a time of the day when Curtis as a rule yvas mostly " well on." I happened to be one of the trinity on this occasion, and, during some very boring discussion about street-levelling or scavengering, Curtis, turning round suddenly, said : " Look here you fellows, I can't stand this h u m d r u m yvork any longer, listening to those fools. C o m e out and let's have nobblers; or if you won't, let us get up a shindy, so tell m e what I a m to do ? " I replied, " There is 'Johnny Fawkner' opposite you; he seems out of sorts, send him something in the picture line to stir him up." " All right," replied Curtis, " Here goes;" and being a splendid pen and-ink sketcher, he had Fayvkner soon etched off to the life. T h e design ofthe drawing yvas not only objectionable but so grossly indelicate that I attempted to snatch and destroy it; but he was too quick for m e , and half-a-minute did not elapse before it yvas enveloped and addressed to " Councillor Fawkner, with Mr. Curtis' compliments." T h e artist yvas so bent on mischief that he would not entrust it to the messenger, but walking rapidly from the press-table presented it to Fayvkner, who yvas deeply absorbed as if note taking. Like a shot from a gun there was a speedy explosion, a sort of wild Indian yvhoop from Fawkner, and before the deliberative Fathers could recover from the sudden surprise, Fawkner leaped from his chair and pirouetted like a dancing master in front of the reporters' table, brandishing the obnoxious paper in his hand and convulsively shrieking, " H a , ha, ho, ho ! you villain Curtis, ho, ho, you scoundrel. I'll syveat you for this. H a , ha, you blackguard, I'll m a k e you sup sorroyv for this day's work. H o , ho, the rascal that I've often done a kindness to." T h e Mayor c o m m a n d e d " Order, Order," and hastily enquired what yvas the matter. Fayvkner turned towards the head of the table, and holding the paper toyvards the astonished Palmer, screamed out, " Y o u ask what is the matter ? Look there, that villain Curtis has scandalously cartooned m e ; but I'll be even with him yet." T h e Mayor extended his hand for the paper, yvondering yvhat could be inscribed on it; but Fawkner dreyv back and hesitated to give it. Curtis, smilingly enjoyed the exhibition, saw Fayvkner's irresolution and was quick to profit by it. H e yvas a very gentlemanly fellow—yvhen he liked—of strikingfigure,and eyes and face beaming with intellect. H e could be so solemnly polite and consummately suave in his manner and address, as to turn hostility into admiration of his thorough acting. So he rose, and, with the most astounding effrontery, boyved to the Mayor, entreating his Worship to interpose his authority, or otherwise " though he entertained most unmeasured regard for his old friend and esteemed felloyv-colonist, Councillor P'awkner, (to w h o m the community was so m u c h indebted), if his m a d tantrums were continued, he should be obliged, as a gentleman, to disregard the privilege of the place, and corporally punish a person w h o had so outrageously affronted him." Councillor Fayvkner vociferated : " W h y , you scoundrel, how dare you cartoon m e as you have done, and in such a way that I a m ashamed to shoyv it to anyone." Curtis addressing the Mayor said : — " Y o u r Worship, Councillor Fawkner has accused m e of (as he terms it) cartooning him. T h e cartoon of yvhich he complains is a sketch of a landscape near his residence ​at Pascoe Vale. There is some glamour over his eyes if he views it in any other light. Now, to bring this unpleasant and unbecoming interruption to a termination, let him submit it to you, and to the other gentlemen present, and it will be soon seen who is right." Councillor Fawkner : " Y o u infernal scamp, you know well it is notfitto be shown to any decent person. N o matter, let it be all over for the present; but I'll have it out with you yet." A n d so saying, he tore the disturbing foolscap into fragments, which he scattered about thefloor,and skipped back to his seat at the table. The business of the meeting was resumed, but anxious was the curiosity, both in and out of the Council that afternoon, to learn fuller particulars of the annihilated drawing which had been seen by only four individuals, viz. :—Curtis, his tyvo colleagues, and Fawkner. Such are a couple of the numerous extraordinary bits of bye-play yvhich rendered the City Council Chamber anything but a monotonous region of dullness.* THE GAS COMPANY.
A petition was entrusted to Councillor Nicholson for presentation, asking the Council to sanction the project, and to afford any facilities in its power. T h e Council showed every favourable disposition towards the undertaking, and the petition was referred to the consideration of a Committee consisting of Aldermen Greeves and Kerr, Councillors Annand and Nicholson. In 1850, a further Committee consisting ofthe Mayor, Councillors Annand, M'Combie and Stephen, was appointed to report on the conditions which, for the safety and convenience of the public, should be imposed on the Company. O n the 24th November, 1851, the Gas C o m p a n y Bill as introduced into the Legislative Council, was referred for the consideration of a further Committee consisting of Aldermen Stephen and Greeves, Councillors Annand and Guthridge. CONVICTS TURNED AWAY.
The resistance offered by the colonists to the reception of convicts in any shape, always evoked the sympathy ofthe Superintendent; and once when the "Randolph," transport ship, entered the Bay with a full cargo of expatriated crime, that functionary assumed the grave responsibility of ordering the captain out of port, and the prisoners were carried on to Sydney. It was even stated as a fact that in so doing he incurred a personal liability of .£'500 in the event ofthe N e w South Wales authorities disapproving of his action. N o doubt in such a not altogether impossible contingency, the people would have cheerfully re-imbursed any pecuniary loss which Mr. Latrobe might have sustained; but his conduct was in no way less creditable, and a profound sentiment of gratitude for the signal service rendered pervaded the community. T h e City Council always at variance with him, was even moved to an act of justice, and at one of their meetings, on the proposition of no less an individual than Alderman Kerr, Mr. Latrobe's bitterest foe, a resolution yvas passed with acclamation—"That the grateful thanks of the Council be presented to His Honor the Superintendent, for his noble conduct in saving this City and Province from the degradation, and conversion into a Penal Settlement, which would have been the inevitable consequence of the landing of the convicted felons by the ship ' Randolph.' " THE PARSON'S CABBAGE GARDEN.
This little bone of contention yvhich the Council had been picking for years was at length amicably adjusted. Originally there was a block of five acres of land bounded on three sides by Bourke, William, and Collins Streets. Little Collins Street bisected it, leaving tyvo acres on the North side and three on the South. O n the latter, St. James' church was built and a school-house on the former. It was said that Sir R. Bourke had intended the whole area as an Episcopalian grant, and this view was endorsed by Sir George Gipps. O n an old chart of the town a street (now Church Street) was marked, extending along the western boundary of the two acres. This was opposed by Sir G. Gipps and the Executive of New South
after a time when the mistake, or whatever it was, was discovered, the Government notified its intention of closing the street, and including it in the land from which it had been excised. T h e Corporation objected on the ground that the street was legally dedicated to the public, and as such should remain; for without special legislation the Government had no power to alienate it from the public purpose to yvhich it had been duly appropriated. T h e Church authorities of course went in for the full "pound offlesh,"but the Corporation would not give it. T h e Government threatened to shut up the street, and prosecute as trespassers any persons, Corporate or other, who dared to re open it, whereat the Council uttered a shout of defiance, and dared the Government to attempt anything of the kind. At length after a protracted contest, Bishop Perry offered to refer the vexata questio to arbitration, to which the Council agreed, and nominated a Committee to treat with Messrs. James Graham, Germain Nicholson, and George Haskell, on the part of the Bishop. In a friendly conference on the 7th September 1849, an arrangement was agreed to by which the "difference was split," the "Cabbage Garden " or school ground was to have added to it one-half the street's yvidth, the other moiety to remain a street; and so Church Street yvas saved, Parson Thomson's house was soon joined by others, and the " Cabbage Garden " question amicably disposed of as far as the Council yvas concerned. But an unexpected development ayvaited the money value of the " Cabbage Garden." Owing to the speculative enterprise of the past few years, its eastern portion has been (1888) transmuted from the vegetable to the mineral grade, whose value is not approached by many so called auriferous quartz reefs, whose yield of golden ore (in the semblance of a circulating medium) will probably continue so long as Melbourne lasts. T h e land has been secured on lease for a term offiftyyears, by one of the leading financial institutions in the city, and already capacious buildings have been erected thereon at an expenditure of about ,£100,000. It is estimated that on the expiry of the lease, the Church of England will be the recipient, in " unearned increment," of something like £20,000 a year. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION.
It has been already stated that the Council had moved the Government for the establishment of telegraphic communication betyveen Melbourne and Shortland's Bluff (Queenscliff). T h e subject was referred to Captain Bunbury the Harbour Master, whose report was received by the Council on the 29th August. It was in effect that the game was not worth the candle, as the cost of stations would be £ 2 5 0 0 , and the annual expenditure £ 1 0 0 0 . Besides he did not apprehend that the proposed scheme could be of m u c h advantage to the shipping. Four yvrecks had happened at the Heads since the settlement of the province ; one ship was ashore and in danger during the same time, twenty miles outside, and no telegraph at the Heads yvould be of use to her. In his opinion in the then state of the province, no good would result equivalent to even one-tenth of the expenditure on the proposed works. A TEMPORARY BENEVOLENT ASYLUM.
There was no refuge for the destitute where the old and infirm poor could be provided with shelterthough three laudable Charitable Societies did all in their power to alleviate the cases of misery n o w unfortunately beginning to present themselves. A n old wooden building, for years utilised as a Police Court in the Western Market Reserve, was vacated through the erection of a suitable building as a Court, and a few kind-hearted persons, w h o devoted much time to the good offices of charity, applied for the permissive occupancy of the abandoned shed. Though a Government building it was on Corporation property, and accordingly, on the 29th August, a memorial was received by the Council, signed by the Rev. A. C. Thomson, Messrs. John O'Shanassy, Michael Lynch, and John Lush—representing respectively the Societies known as the St. James' Visiting, the friendly Brothers, and the Strangers' Friend—soliciting the use of the place for a temporary Benevolent Asylum. The matter was referred to the Market Committee ; and though there was every disposition to grant the request, it yvas found that it could not be legally done, as the land, though vested in the Corporation was for Market purposes, and if not so used for three years ​the Government possessed the power of resumption. The deed of grant yvas dated 4th November, 1846. This yvas technical straw-splitting of a superfluous kind, because the Council, though objecting to lend the place for a charitable purpose, afterwards rented it to a sailmaker named Graves, w h o held it for years yvithout hindrance from the Government. T h e residents south ofthe Yarra, laboured under many inconveniences, and the cattle breeders for miles complained much of having to pay bridge toll for crossing their stock on the way to the North side Markets. For this reason the Council applied to the Government for ten acres of land as a site for a Southern Cattle Market, but met yvith no favourable response. A n effort to borrow £ 4 0 0 0 from the newly-established Insurance C o m p a n y was made, and some progress towards completion effected, but it fell through in consequence of the Council having no other security to offer than debentures; and the Company required that the Corporate Revenues should be pledged by bond, which there was no legal power to do. EAST MELBOURNE, FITZROY CRESCENT,
Gave an opportunity for a flare-up in Council. The City Surveyor had prepared a plan of certain proposed streets, and this had been for some time under consideration by the Public Works Committee. An improved scheme of a very pretentious character was submitted to the Council on the 12th September. Where the Fitzroy Gardens are now, there was to be a grand Crescent, approached by an extension of Bourke Street; but this was strongly opposed by Alderman Greeves, w h o insisted that the area north of Spring Street should be kept open as a site for a Hall of Legislation, which, built there, would present a magnificent appearance—at the extremity of such a street as Bourke, and with two churches (St. Peter's and St. Patrick's) in its rear, whilst the angles at the ends of Collins and Lonsdale Streets should be reserved as sitesforpublic buildings. H e moved, as an amendment, the alteration of the report so as to embody his view, and after a lengthened debate it was carried. A n d so ended Fitzroy Crescent, and began Fitzroy Gardens. LATROBE UNDER A CLOUD.
The popularity of His Honor the Superintendent yvith the Council was of brief continuance, and their gushing over the Transportation question, yvas speedily transformed into complaint about the publication of a dispatch written by the Superintendent and transmitted to the Secretary of State. In this His Honor ventured an opinion that Port Phillip was not yet sufficiently ripe to be intrusted yvith the privilege of self-governing institutions; and seemed to favour the introduction of, for some time, a Nominee Legislature, similar to what prevailed in Neyv South Wales up to 1843. For his temerity in so doing, he yvas severely brought to book by the Press of the day; and had a hauling over the coals in the City Council where even bitterer things than ever yvere spoken of him, and a remonstrance against his unpardonable presumption placed on record. There yvas an overwhelming majority of the public against him on this point; and yet there were a few cool heads and active minds, disposed to believe that the unpopular opinion so expressed was not, by any means, so unjustified as the masses were disposed to think. The Water Question often welled up without any tangible conclusion being arrived at, and a small private company having started to supply the needful article, a row commenced through a jealousy between it and the water-carters, who vended water from pumps on the river's bank. T h e latter petitioned the Council, and an objection yvas made to the company charging i^d. a load for thefluid,id. being, in their opinion, sufficient. A conference yvas afterwards held with the company, which offered to keep six pumps constantly at yvork at id. per load, conditional upon the Council prohibiting the erection of fresh pumps. This was refused. THE CITY SURVEYOR,
Mr. C. Laing, was in good private practice as an architect, and this had been several times objected to by members of the Council. Mr. Laing at length, preferring his private to his public employers, resigned his office, and there was a professionalflutteras to w h o should have the billet. T h e Council, n o w that the ​Corporation business was increasing, thought proper to increase the pay to £300 a year ; but required the new holder to enter bonds, himself in £ 3 0 0 and two sureties of £ 1 5 0 each. T h e election wasfixedfor the 23rd October, yvhen applications yvere read from Messrs. N. L Kentish, Joseph Burns, J. A. Manton,"James Blackburn, William Stewart, Alex. Cheyne (Hobartown), J. H . Robbins, J. Standon, F. Thompson, Morix Hathem, and James T. Everist. There were 15 members of the Council present, and the voting was thus:—For Blackburn, 10; Burns, 3; Cheyne, 2 ; all the rest, o. Mr. Blackburn yvas a Civil Engineer of much ability, and though in " hot water " occasionally with the Council, he remained in office until his death. At a subsequent meeting, on the 9th November, a motion was proposed tendering the thanks of the Council to the late Surveyor (Mr. Laing); but it yvas opposed by Alderman Kerr, because it had been alleged that Laing had not given satisfaction as to the street levels, that he had had his own carts employed at ios. per day on Corporation work, and had some unrequired billets of wood appropriated to his o w n use ! T h e "previous question" was moved, and on a division the voting was :—Ayes : Alderman Kerr, Councillors Annand, Murray, Armitstead, Nicholson. Noes: T h e Mayor (Greeves), Councillors Rankin, Smith, M'Combie, Stephen. The question was shelved by the casting-vote of the Mayor. T h e Daily News had applied itself to bastinadoing the Council for reasons real and imaginary, and one morning came out yvith a " brimstone" leader denouncing that body as the incarnation of everything diabolical, and accusing it of corruption and venality. This stung through the thick skin of Alderman Kerr, who, on the 18th October, proposed that a prosecution of the libeller be forthwith commenced, but on a vote he was beaten by 10 to 6. THE NOVEMBER ELECTIONS (1849)
Were all contested. In Bourke Ward^Mr. J. T. Smith, for some time out of the Council, offered, and though opposed by Mr. C. Laing (ex-City Surveyor), was elected. In Lonsdale Ward, Mr. R. A. Balbirnie started against Mr. M'Combie, the retired member, and yvas beaten ; whilst in Gipps Ward, Mr. John Stephen was re-elected in preference to Mr. John Bear, w h o had been persuaded into a contest. Russell opposed Clarke, the retiring member for Latrobe Ward, who defeated O'Shanassy at a previous election, and he was now beaten in his turn. A vacancy also occurred in Gipps Ward by the effluxion of six months from the period of M'Namara's absconding. It was disputed by two new men, Messrs. H . J. Chambers, and Lawrence Rostron, and thefirst-namedwas elected. THE ELECTION OF MAYOR
Was held on the 9th, yvhen there yvere tyvo candidates, viz. Aldermen Greeves and Bell. Eight voted for the former, and six for the latter, and in the evening Greeves gave a dinner at the Royal Hotel. A n allowance of £ 3 0 0 was voted to the Mayor, and the T o w n Clerk's salary was raised to £ 3 0 0 . A n Act "For regulating buildings and party walls, andforpreventing mischiefs byfirein the City of Melbourne," had been a topic of much acrimonious discussion both inside and outside the Council, and at length became layv on the 12th October, 1849. It came into operation on the ist January, 1850. T h e first and most important step yvas to secure the services of an efficient Surveyor. Alderman Kerr accordingly moved that applications be invitedforthe office of Building Surveyor "From discreet persons of the full age of 25 years, properly educated and skilled in the art and practice of building." This officer was also to act as an Assistant to the City Surveyor, and, for £ 1 5 0 a year, to give all his time to his new duties. T h e tenure was, in thefirstinstance, to be from the ist January to the 30th October, 1850, and thence annual. The candidates were Messrs. Joseph Anderson, Thomas J. Everist, Samuel Dyeball, and William Stanley. T h e election was held on the 28th November, when Everist obtained 12 votes and all the others nil. Mr. Everist continued in the office until he resigned through advancing age a few years ago; and there could not be found a more zealous, considerate and incorruptible public officer, through trying times and many temptations. Mr. Henry Ginn (Clerk of Works) and Mr. H u g h Laing (builder) were appointed Building Referees. ​A variety of useful and important matters were dealt yvith by the Council towards the close of 1850. Bills yvere drafted for the Establishment of Abattoirs, the Formation of Private Lanes, and the Regulation of Hackney Carriages. A n emphatic petition was sent h o m e in favour of the long protracted Separation. Mr. William Westgarth was thanked for his efforts in promoting G e r m a n emigration, and for the continued zeal with which he advanced the interests of Port Phillip. T h e Government was urgently solicited to place a sum on the Estimates for a bridge over the Merri Creek, and it was alleged that m a n y deaths by drowning had occurred at the crossing-place there. In consequence of the extension of the city northerly, the cattle-yards at the junction of Victoria and Elizabeth Streets, shut up the thoroughfare, and, on the motion of Councillor Nicholson an application was m a d e for another market-site further inland. A couple of vacancies were filled, viz, : — M r . J. C. Brodie was selected from seventeen candidates as Copying Clerk, vice Mr. C. C. Dunn, resigned, and D. Elliot, Inspector of the Western Market, in lieu of M . Gallagher, w h o had given up the surveillance of fruit and vegetables to start a public house. In March 1850, a rate of is. in the £ yvas made, estimated to yield about £ 6 0 0 0 , whilst the other revenues of the Corporation amounted to £ 2 0 0 0 . O n the 27th March 1851, directions were given for lettering the streets and numbering the houses in the city. T h e Council also agreed with the Government to employ prison labour in stone-breaking, at the rate of is. 3d. per cubic yard of cracked metal, and to expend £ 9 0 in the erection of a yvooden stockade at the yvest end of the gaol; likewise to supply all necessary tools, etc. T h e sanitary condition of the city had given rise to m u c h uneasiness in the public mind; and the Council urged it upon the attention of the Government. IRISH ORPHAN GIRLS.
Amongst the various processes adopted in England for peopling Port Phillip, was that of despatching hither an occasional shipment of orphan girls from Ireland. Female servants were always a scarce commodity, and these consignments yvere a great convenience to the public generally, and especially to residents in the country. T h e girls were not the handiest of their kind in household work, but they were teachable, and soon acquired habits of usefulness. But with all their alleged deficiencies, they were, as a rule, honest, virtuous, and faithful to their employers. M a n y of them soon passed into the matrimonial state, and proved to be good wives and mothers. A n outcry yvas however, soon raised against them by the Argus newspaper, yvhich was echoed in the City Council by Alderman Kerr, who, on the ioth April, moved a resolution instructing the Legislative Committee to prepare a Memorial to the Queen, remonstrating against the system of Irish Orphan Immigration; and praying that in the future appropriation of the funds of the colony to immigration purposes, regard might be had to the supply of suitable labour. H e also declared that a more useless or depraved lot of colonists could not be found. T h e proposition was seconded by Councillor Smith, and the Mayor, whilst supporting it, refused to affirm the charge of immorality. T h e resolution was carried, all the members present (viz, the Mayor, Aldermen Kerr, and Johnston, Councillors M'Combie, Smith, Campbell, Russell, Murray, Armitstead, Annand, and Nicholson). voting for it. T h e action of the Council provoked m u c h agitation outside, and an indignation meeting was held at St. Francis' school-room, presided over by the R o m a n Catholic Bishop, where resolutions were passed contradicting point blank the allegations m a d e by the Argus and Alderman Kerr, and challenging them to adduce proof to sustain what were denounced as gross calumnies. This was followed by a special meeting of St. Patrick's Society at the St. Patrick's Hall, which was crowded to excess; and police statistics were there produced yvhich showed indisputably, that so far from being immoral or dishonest, the Irish Orphan Girls were singularly the reverse. W h e n the draft Address to the Queen was submitted to the Council, and its adoption moved by Alderman Kerr, he could not obtain a seconder, which so disgusted him that he sat d o w n almost bursting with rage, wrote out his resignation as Alderman, and handed it to the Mayor, declaring " That the Council was so constituted that it would be impossible for him to be of any further service to the city." But the most extraordinary part of the business yvas that (the Council being in a state of vacillation) a week afterwards Alderman Bell revived the question, and at the conclusion of a bitter debate, the Memorial was adopted, and in due course, transmitted to the Secretary ​of State; but the same mail took remonstrances from the other two meetings, and the Corporation thunderbolt, though hurled, evaporated in a brv.tum fiulmen. In May, circumstances rendered it necessary for Councillor Armitstead to resign his seat for Lonsdale Ward, and the vacancy yvas contested by two new men, viz, Messrs. John Hodgson, and John Dinwoodie (saddler). T h e election was held on the 27th, when Hodgson polled 127, and Dinwoodie 82. Though one of the very early colonists, this was Hodgson's first entrance into public life. H e sat for several years in the Council, and passed through the grades of Alderman and Mayor.
THE WARD OF FITZROY.
At the Council meeting of the 29th May, Councillor Bowler presented a petition from 392 residents of Collingwood (a portion of Gipps Ward) praying that, for various reasons set forth, Collingwood might be erected into a separate and independent Ward of the City, under the name of Fitzroy, after the Governor of N e w South Wales. T h e petition was favourably considered at the next meeting, when the Council agreed to a Memorial to the Governor, advising the formation and proclamation of Collingwood as a separate Ward, but leaving the name blank. O n the 26th September, it was officially made known that Collingwood was to be a separate AVard, under the designation of " Fitzroy." T h e vacancy created by the resignation of Alderman Kerr, was contested by Councillors Nicholson and Stephen, when the former was elected on the 5th June by eight votes to four. Nicholson's emptied seat in Latrobe W a r d was also fought for by Messrs. D. S. Campbell (the resigned member of the original Councillors), and G. B. Hailes, a timber-dealer. Hailes was believed to be an unyvilling tool, and took no trouble to be returned. T h e whole thing was a farce, and the voting was—Campbell, 137 ; Hailes, 12. Sanitary, sewerage, and water became the orders of the day for some time, and on the 26th June a Committee formed of the Mayor, Alderman Nicholson, and Councillors Chambers, Annand and Smith, was appointed to co-operate with the City Surveyor in procuring a comprehensive survey of the several modes suggested for supplying the City with pure water, and a s u m of £ 3 0 0 was appropriated for the purpose. T h e City Surveyor set to yvork with a will, and on the 9th August, 1851, placed before the Council the result of his labours, which led to the construction of the noyv so universally known Y a n Yean reservoir. His report was distinguished by m u c h professional ability, and a fuller notice of it appears in another place in these C H R O N I C L E S . T h e Council (in August) were so considerate as to make the City Surveyor an annual allowance of £30 for horse-forage, but equally inconsiderate in refusing the same favour to the Building Surveyor. In September the Council adopted plans for the erection of the long-talked-of Toyvn Hall and the Public Works Committee were empowered to spend ,£2600 on the building. Councillors also bestirred themselves, on the motion of Councillor Hodgson, in pressing upon the Government the permanent reservation of " From Princes Bridge to the Eastern boundary of Richmond police paddock, as a place of public recreation." In 1845 the Superintendent had been asked for a similar reservation of Batman's Hill and through the action of Councillor Smith, the application was now repeated. T o the lasting credit of this gentleman it must be recorded that he exerted himself much on behalf of the early Charities; and it was owing to him also that on the 12th September, the Council memoralized the Governor for a grant of land whereon to erect an Orphan Institution, and a sum of money towards its erection. It was even contended to be the duty of the Government, not only to subsidize, but to wholly maintain such an Institution. T h e Corporation Balance Sheet for the year ended 31st August, 1850, showed the annual receipts from all sources to be £ 9 5 8 3 9s i o ^ d , and the expenditure £ 9 5 9 9 is. 7d, or a debit of ,£15 1 is. 8^d. In October it was intimated that the Government had acceded to the reservation of Batman's Hill and Richmond Park as places for public recreation, and also that a total area of 2560 acres yvould be reserved to the Northyvard of the city. These would include Carlton Gardens, the Royal Park, and other places,
The November Elections (1850)
Caused much interest to be shown in some of the Wards. In Lonsdale Ward, Hodgson, the retiring Councillor, was re-elected unopposed. Bourke W a r d was contested by Messrs. Dalmahoy Campbell (cattle salesman), and Robert Robinson (saddler), when the latter polled 125, to the former's 70. Bowler retiring from Gipps Ward, and not re-offering himself, Mr: Richard Heales entered the lists ; but Mr. O'Shanassy (who yvas not present) was nominated, and the polling ended in 204 votes for Heales, and 137 for O'Shanassy. Latrobe W a r d was fought for by the retired m e m b e r (D. S. Campbell), and N. Guthridge, when Campbell polled 179, and the other 142. Rankin being disqualified for Bourke Ward, the nomination for his vacancy was held on the polling day of the other election for the same Ward, when there were nominated Messrs. Frank Stephen (city solicitor), J. O'Shanassy, C. W . Rowling, R. Robinson, and Dal. Campbell (the tyvo last being candidates at the previous election). O'Shanassy had the show of hands, and when the Returning Officer (Alderman Bell) asked if a poll was demanded, no one answered in the affirmative. Bell, prompted by some dislike to O'Shanassy, then did what no Returning Officer ever did before, and for which there could be no possible justification, he allowed half-an-hour in which to consider yvhether a poll was wanted, instead of declaring O'Shanassy elected. T h e consequence was that six of Stephen's electoral friends mustered courage to ask for a poll, which was fixed for the 4th November. Notwithstanding this, Stephen and Rowling retired and only Campbell and O'Shanassy saw the fight out, when 123 votes were recorded for Campbell and 121 for O'Shanassy. O n a scrutiny, one vote was knocked off the winner, yvhose majority was reduced to one. T h e gross favouritism of the Returning Officer evoked a loud expression of dissatisfaction, and the Daily News gave Alderman Bell such a merciless castigation, that an action for libel was instituted. M r . G. D. Boursiquot, the editor, conducted his own case with rare ability, and m a d e such a trenchant defence that he obtained a verdict. At the Mayoral election, Alderman Nicholson was chosen without opposition, and the ex-Mayor, on the evening of the 9th November, gave a valedictory entertainment at the Royal Hotel to forty-two persons.
Fitzroy's First Election.
The creation of Collingwood into a separate Ward, under the style and title of "Fitzroy," sent the "Collingwoodians" half delirious with excitement, and there was great work in the locality over the maiden election for Councillors. Mr. Alastair M'Kenzie, the Deputy-Sheriff, was appointed by the Government ex officio Alderman, to conduct the proceedings, and the nomination was set d o w n for the 2nd December, 1850. It was held accordingly on a c o m m o n opposite the Rose and Crown Hotel (now a blacking manufactory in Charles Street) when the following candidates were proposed and seconded :—Messrs. David Young, John Watson, Francis Reilly, Francis Bryant, William Kerr and Francis Clarke. The assemblage was as motley a one, and the proceedings as uproarious, as any similar demonstrations occurring in the same region since. T h e show of hands was in favour of Young, Reilly, and Kerr. A poll was demanded and fixed for the 4th, a day unequalled in suburban historyfordrinking, rowing, and boo-hooing. Every dodge, creditable and otherwise, was resorted to, to make the voters roll up, dead or alive, and it yvas stated as a fact that one of the candidates (whose n a m e I omit) had had the votes of ten names, belonging to as many mouldering corpses, recorded in his behalf. T h e poll closed at 4 p.m., and shortly after, amidst a deafening din of confusion, the little-bodied, shrill-tongued Returning-Officer screamed out at the highest pitch of voice he could command, the following result:—For Kerr, 6 9 ; Reilly, 68 ; Young, 62 ; Watson, 58 ; Bryant, 50 ; Clarke, 48. T h e three first-named were returned, and most certainly they included tyvo of the worst, whilst amongst the defeated were two of the best in the whole squad. T h e constituency of the new Ward yvas very anxious that itsfirstAlderman should be appointed from amongst thefirstCouncillors. This was a ruse got up in the Kerr interest, and a petition was presented with a good array of signatures to support it. But the wish yvas not respected by the Council, for on the ioth December, when the Aldermanic ​election was held, the only candidates were Councillors Smith and Annand from two of the old Wards, and the former yvon by nine votes to seven. Thefirstelected Assessors for Fitzroy Ward on the 2nd April, 1851, yvere Henry Groom of Little Brunswick Street, stone merchant, and Edwin Leadbeatter, Merri Creek, gentleman. The city yvas now in such a state of progression that the Building Surveyor required an assistant. There were 160 neyv buildings going up in Melbourne, viz. :—65 in Fitzroy, 25 in Latrobe, 17 in Lonsdale, 19 in Bourke, and 34 in Gipps Wards. The Mayor, Alderman Greeves, and Councillors Russell, Hodgson, and D. Campbell were appointed a committee to co-operate with the Government (whose assent bad been obtained) in selecting a site for an Orphan Asylum. A portion of Emerald Hill was chosen, and an application yvas subsequently made for the reservation of tyventy acres of land there for the purpose. This was subsequently granted. The impropriety of holding Municipal elections in public-houses, was pressed on the Council yvith such success by Councillor Heales, that he carried a motion disapproving of the practice. The vacancy occasioned in Bourke Ward by the elevation of Councillor Smith as Alderman, yvas contested by two licensed victuallers, Messrs. John Cosgrave, and William Blannin. Cosgrave got in by polling 89 votes against 47. THE STREETS OF FITZROY,
Were a tangled skein of topography yvhich taxed the power of the Public Works Committee to unravel. They set to yvork, hoyvever, and submitted a comprehensive report, declaring that " scarcely any one of the streets is continuous; nearly every one is a mere cut de sac, and the whole arrangement proves a very intricate labyrinth." It recommended that " Brunswick Street be opened out and extended to the proposed bifurcation of Heidelberg and Upper Plenty Roads; that Fitzroy Street be yvidened and proclaimed; that Gertrude Street and W e b b Street be respectively opened from the Eastern to the Western Road; and that the Victoria Parade, or Boulevard, be proclaimed." The report yvas adopted. Writing on this subject, a newspaper of the day thus describes what it terms, THE " MAZE " OF COLLINGWOOD.
" The plan of this suburb, which has been prepared by the City Surveyor, exhibits some very strange features in the topography of the place. Few of the streets are continuous, and many of them are but cuts de sac, and others form elbows, yvhich only lead the bewildered traveller back to his starting post. In one or two instances which yve noticed in the map, the streets are so arranged that when the blocks are built up, a m a n will be half-a-mile from his next door neighbour, having to travel all round a rectangular block. T h e denizens of that favoured spot will have abundant opportunity of studying practically the relative properties of salient, external, and internal angles, and the pedometer and perambulator will be superseded by the goniometer, and we shall hear people estimating the distance from place to place in degrees. Perhaps by degrees this may be remedied." VOTE BY BALLOT.
Hitherto the voting at Municipal and Legislative elections, though nominally by ballot, was not so in fact. Cards or papers inscribed with the names of the voter and candidates yvere certainly deposited in a box, but there was no seal of secrecy, and the neyvspapers had no difficulty in procuring lists of the votes recorded, and published them in the news of the day. T h efirsttime the question of secret votin°- was brought before the Council was on the ioth February, 1851, by Councillor Annand who proposed "That a petition be presented to the Legislative Council, praying that in any Electoral Bill that might be necessitated by the " Australian Colonies Act," provision should be made for real voting by ballot." T h e proposal was seconded by Councillor Kerr, and Councillor Heales (afterwards one of the staunchest advocates of the system) declared that, not so much in opposition to the principle involved, as through ignorance of the mode of voting to be adopted, he moved as an amendment " That it is not expedient to entertain the question of voting by ballot at the present time," O n a division there was a tie, and the ​Mayor (Nicholson) gave his casting vote for the amendment. H e said he did not think the Council was the proper body to take action in the matter. But the Council had often with his (Nicholson's) concurrence, travelled into more foreign regions. Even at the very same meeting they adopted an address to the Rev. John West, and Mr. W . P. Weston, two anti-Transportation delegates from V a n Diemen's Land, and the Mayor acquiesced. Singular that years after, this same William Nicholson introduced a ballot clause in the electoral law of the colony, which has never been altered, and upon the strength of this he received the designation ofthe "Father ofthe Ballot," a distinction which was scarcely deserved. Councillor Annand, tenacious of any purpose he took in hand, tested the Council again on the ballot question (4th April), and was beaten by a majority of 1 ; and in a week after, Councillor Heales introduced a motion approving of a close ballot in Municipal elections, which shared exactly the same fate. CITY MUNICIPAL STATISTICS.
The following comparative return was prepared by order of the Council : Value of House Property
1850
£ Gipps Ward Latrobe Ward ... Bourke Ward Lonsdale Ward ... Fitzroy Ward
1851
5. 2 39
33-9 62
32,033
40,084
i9,r5° 33,984 7,757
25,630
2
37,94o 16,447
Totals £ 118,163 £ 154,063 Increase in Value
... .£35,900
N o . of Houses
1850
1851
Gipps Ward ... Latrobe Ward Bourke Ward Lonsdale Ward Fitzroy Ward
1211
!33 2
862 717
929 803
754 508
737 768
Totals 4052
4569
Increase in number ...
... 517
The Lonsdale Ward decrease yvas attributed to the removal of several petty houses to make room for a better class of buildings. THE " MAZE" OF FITZROY.
On the 23rd May the Council had a tough job over the proclamation of the streets of Fitzroy. Streets had to be proclaimed ; and the difficulty was yvhere to begin and where to end. Every street proclaimed involved liabilities which, in the indescribable condition of such tracks, the Council were loath to assume. Alderman Greeves declared that the suburb covered 316 acres, and it yvould take 25 years to have its main thoroughfares metalled or finished. After much discussion it was decided that Brunswick Street should be opened, and proclaimed from Victoria Parade to Darebin Street, or the North Government Road ; Fitzroy Street proclaimed, but not widened, from Victoria Parade to William (since Moor) Street; Napier Street opened northward ; George Street proclaimed as far as W e b b Street, and the latter from the Eastern road (Smith Street) to Brunswick Street; Charles Street to the boundary line of sec. 69; William (Moor) Street to be opened and proclaimed from Eastern to Western roads (Smith and Nicholson Streets); nothing to be done in re Marion (alias Bellevue) Street, St. David or Gore Streets There were three " William " Streets originally in Collingwood, and one yvas altered to " Condell " and one to "Moor," after thefirstand second Mayors of Melbourne, whilst the third was royalized by having " King " as a prefix. T h efirstMarion Street was altered to " Palmer," after another Mayor, and the now Marion Street jumped up as an afterthought. At this time it was an impassable right-of-way. T h e present Bell Street, named after another of the Mayors, wasfirstknown as H a m b u r g Street. T h e Western road owes its present name of Nicholson Street to another Mayor, and the Eastern road yvas styled Smith Street after thefirstAlderman of Fitzroy. T h e North Government Road received the name of Reilly Street after one of thefirstCouncillors; and what was known as Charlotte Street, running from Victoria Parade to Moor Street, was dubbed Young Street, also after a Councillor of that n a m e ; whilst a bush-way, known as Argyle Street, was called after the well-known Alderman Kerr, and a narrow Argyle Street started as a ​next door neighbour. A Government road from east to west obtained the name of Johnston Street, after a yvell-known Alderman ; whilst the patriotic and persistent William Westgarth yvas nominally honoured by having his cognomen wedded to a street marked on the City Surveyor's plan as N e w Street.
The "Lost Square" of Fitzroy.
In the plan submitted, a portion of the (then) large tract of unoccupied country, desolate and swampish, between (now) Moor and Johnston Streets, was marked out for a public square. By what right or in what manner this yvas done has ever been an unelucidated mystery. N o one then appeared to own it, so the Corporation thought the public might as well have a slice of this " N o Man's Land," and it was, accordingly, handed over to the inhabitants of the new Ward. It was primarily intended to call it " Latrobe," in honour of the Superintendent; but Alderman Greeves proposed that it be styled " Queen Square," in honour of Her Majesty. This was agreed to, and Queen Square became a legally dedicated thoroughfare, though through some clerical error, or otherwise, in the official minutes of the Council, it was entered as "Latrobe" Square. Whether " Q u e e n " or "Latrobe" is n o w a matter of little consequence; but the most unaccountable feature of the business was that, though the Corporation duly took possession, and exercised all the rights of ownership for years, the Square yvas suffered to pass as completely out ofthe Corporate mind as though it never had an existence. N o one gave it a thought for more than a quarter of a century, until some few years ago an industrious fossicker in the abandoned diggings of antiquity, discovered the old Square and disinterred it. Such a singular disappearance of the only Square in Melbourne, in 1851, naturally excited public curiosity, and various were the questions asked concerning it— What became of it ? Where was it? A n d hoyv did the Melbourne Corporation, usually yvatchful after the City Parks and places of public recreation, let it slip through theirfingers? Mr. John M'Mahon, Mayor of Fitzroy for 1880-81, took the matter in hand to ascertain yvhat had really become of the Square ; and at his request Mr. E. G. Fitzgibbon (Town Clerk of Melbourne) furnished an explanatory statement on the subject. Like all the " Fitzgibbon " despatches, the document yvas both exhaustive and interesting. "Boiled down " is in effect thus :— "In the City Council on the 23rd May, 1851, it was moved by Alderman Greeves, seconded by Councillor Robinson, and carried : ' That the ground between the line of Napier Street and Brunsyvick Street, and the line of Hanover Street and St. David Street, be proclaimed an open Square for the use and recreation ofthe inhabitants of Collingwood;' and on the motion of Councillor Kerr, seconded by Councillor Hodgson, ' That the proposed Square be proclaimed as Latrobe Square.' This, as well as a number of the streets opened on the same day which the Council resolved should be ' opened and proclaimed,' was private property. T o enable the Corporation to give effect to its desire for such openings, yvhat was called the 'Fitzroy Ward Improvement Act' was passed in April, 1854, by yvhich the Council was empowered to purchase lands necessary for the opening of certain streets; and named and in the schedule (No. 2) is ' Latrobe Square, extending from Brunswick Street to Napier Street, and from St. David Street to Greeves Street.' T h e Legislature voted ,£50,000 in aid of the purchase, and authorised the levying of a special rate upon Prtzroy Ward, yvhich in the aggregate should not exceed a like sum. T h e powers of this Act were administered by a committee composed of the Alderman, and the three Councillors representing the Ward ; and they so arranged that the whole expenditure was made out of the Parliamentary grant, and no rate was levied on the Ward. " O n the 21st August, 1854, the committee approved of a plan of the streets to be opened, and amongst them Latrobe Square. This was officially signed by the Mayor and T o w n Clerk (30th August 1854.) O n the same day the T o w n Clerk reported to the committee that Latrobe Square had been enclosed and yvas used as a brickfield ; and instructions yvere given to yvarn parties that the ground yvas then a portion of a public street; and that unless they desisted, proceedings should be taken against them under the Towns Police Act. " O n the 27th September, 1854, a letter was read from Looker and Vaughan, brick-makers requesting to be allowed to dig clay on a portion of land in Latrobe Square, recently purchased by them from Mr. David Young. T h e request was not complied yvith, ​"On the 1oth August, 1855, the Ward Surveyor lodged with the committee a tracing of Latrobe Square, with a schedule of same, and of the properties therein required for the purposes of the Act, and instructions yvere issued that notice be given by advertisement to the owners of such properties to lodge claims for compensation. " O n the 24th August, 1855, the claim of M r . T h o m a s M a h o n e y for compensation for land in line of Latrobe Square ,£10,000, yvas referred to the W a r d Surveyor for report; and on the 7th September the committee resolved, with reference to spaces intended for Latrobe Square and Market Square, that the latter should have the prior claim, and directed the W a r d Surveyor to defer proceeding with Latrobe Square until further orders. O n the 15th February, 1856, a letter received from Mr. T h o m a s Walker, of Sydney, stating that the land required for the line of Fitzroy Street and Latrobe Square, claimed by Mahoney, was actually his (Walker's) property, yvas considered. Mahoney was in attendance, and informed of Walker's claim, and also that a clear title must be given by him to the property before any payment yvas m a d e for it. N o further action yvas taken yvith regard to the Square by the Committee ofthe City Council. In 1858 Fitzroy was separated from Melbourne, and became a separate Municipality. In i860 (September) the 'Fitzroy W a r d Improvement Act A m e n d m e n t Act' yvas passed, and transferred the powers, duties, etc, of the City Council to the Municipal Council. It gave the latter an extension of five years to take up any of the lands mentioned in the Original Act, yvhich the City Council had not taken up, and gave power to levy a rate of 3d. in the £ for purchase money. Nothing was done until the time expired, w h e n the powers of purchase ceased. T h e Square was lost, because the money to buy it was not found." Such is the official version of one of the queerest transactions to be met with in the Municipal annals of any country. But the sequel is equally queer. This legally opened and proclaimed " Square " is now said to be the property of a citizen of Fitzroy, that he holds an indefeasible title to it, and the Fitzroy Council have for years been receiving toyvn or city rates for the land. H o w , if all the facts detailed in Mr. Fitzgibbon's communication were disclosed, the title could have been passed, seems unaccountable. Certainly I a m not learned in the law, but yvith all due deference to the dicta of the T o w n Clerk of Melbourne, I incline to the belief that, yvhen once a public place is legally dedicated to the public, nothing short of an Act of Parliament can remove the effect of the dedication ; and that so long as the dedication of this land remains, and until the portions of the " Fitzroy W a r d Improvement Acts" referring to it are repealed, it continues to all intents and purposes vested in the public. T h e payment of a fair price for it, i.e., the value of the land in 1851, with interest, is another matter. If anyone legally oyvned it when it was taken up by the Corporation, either he or his representatives should be paid for it yvithout doubt ; but that is beside the main question at issue. It is also strange that though m u c h of the land about, said to belong to the reputed owner of the Square, has been sold and built on, not an inch ofthe Square has been alienated; and there it is to be seen to-day as open and unoccupied, but in a m u c h more passable condition than it was thirty years ago—yvhen, as the only Square in Melbourne City, it was named after our Gracious Queen.
Time has wrought some marvellous changes in the future of the Square, for I am now (1888) credibly informed that, notwithstanding legal obstacles, the Titles Office has issued a "clean bill of health" as to tenure, and as a consequence the face of things " on the Square " is undergoing quite a transformitory change. T h e locus of the old brickfield has been " j u m p e d " by an extensive skating rink; spacious buildings are springing up all round, and the Brunswick Street frontage, not worth eighteenpence per foot when annexed by the Corporation, is now eagerly sought after at ,£100 per twelve lineal inches 1 A CHANGE IN THE TOWN CLERKSHIP.
In the beginning of 1851, a vacancy occurred in this office consequent upon the acceptance by Mr. King of the appointment of delegate to the Anti-transportation League, and there was a good deal of speculation as to his successor. S o m e of the wise people w h o professed to k n o w everything before it happened, declared that Councillor Kerr had been for some time looking after the billet. T h e world never went over smoothly with him, H e was free-handed but unsuccessful in almost everything he touched. ​He had had good chances, but could not do much good for himself; and, though fertile in starting newspapers, he generally stranded them in the Insolvent Court. W h e n Mr. Kerr heard the rumour he gave it an indignant denial, protesting " that he would sooner 'knap stanes on the roadside, than serve such masters, even though the salary was a ,£icoo a year;" but, nevertheless, he had a wistful eye on theflesh-pot,and quietly bided his time. W h e n King resigned, he had as his clerical "staff" a copying clerk (Mr. J. C. Brodie), w h o acted as pro tern. T o w n Clerk, until the election of a permanent officer on the 15th May, when the following candidates were entered for the stake, viz. :—Messrs. C. C. D u n n (an ex-Council employe), J. C. Brodie, N . L. Kentish,—Andrews and R. Ocock. T h e last named, a well-known Attorney had some chance but spoiled it, byfirstapplying, then withdrawing, and again re-offering himself. D u n n had only that morning, at the persuasion of friends, entered the field. T h e result of the voting was—for D u n n , twelve, Brodie, seven, and the others nowhere. This so disgusted Brodie that he severed his connection with the Corporation. D u n n was a plodding, easy-going sort of man, w h o well and conscientiously waded through whatever he had to d o ; but he had no special qualifications for a T o w n Clerkship. H e had declared himself a candidate more through the friendly pressure brought to bear on him, than from any real desire for promotion ; and now that the plum had unexpectedly dropped into his hand, he yvas even more reluctant to taste of it, than A d a m was of the forbidden fruit; and so, after a miserable tyventy-four hours' half-regretful exultation over his victory, he trailed his new-born laurels in the dust by resigning them. His friends were chagrined, and outsiders were surprised, but Kerr whispered to himself, "the hour and the m a n have come." W h e n D u n n was chided for his supreme act of folly, he replied that he was not fitted for the T o w n Clerkship, nor it for him, and be had no notion of suffering martyrdom for the Corporation. In his letter of resignation he stated that he acted " for reasons over which he had no control," and of this there could not be a shadow of doubt. M r . Kerr had thus another opportunity of moving to the front, and of letting it be understood in Corporation circles, that there was no indisposition on his part to take the T o w n Clerkship if assured to him. O f the two sections into which the Council were split, one half were friendly to, if not enamoured of, their troublesome confrere, whilst the other half cordially hated him. There suddenly sprung up a concensus of opinion in favour of giving him the appointment and so to serve him and be rid of him ; and when the 10th of June arrived, and the new selection was to be made, though three other candidates had offered, of the seventeen members present in Council, fourteen voted for Kerr and three votes yvere " thrown away " — s o eager were both sides to be relieved of what was now admitted to be an exceedingly inconvenient incubus.
THE POLLUTION OF THE YARRA
Is no grievance of yesterday, for many a long day ago it was a source of anxiety to the City Council. Mr. John Hodgson one of the early colonists, resided at Studley Park for many years, and took kindly to the river by whose yvaters he dwelt so long. After his election to the City Council, he constituted himself a kind of river-god, whose function it was to try and save the Yarra from the contaminating influences of civilisation then threatening it on both sides from the Studley Falls to the City. Even as far back as the 24th February, 1851, Councillor Hodgson moved for a committee to inquire into and report upon the impurities affecting the waters of the river Yarra. This body submitted a report on the n t h June which stated that the causes of the impurity yvere the presence of four fellmongering establishments, two tanneries immediately adjoining the eastern city boundary, and one starch, one glue, and one large boiling-down establishment, with fellmongering operations in connection therewith. There were several other fellmongers places on the Yarra as high up as the Falls ; the only drainage these places had was the Yarra, and some of them even carried on their operations on the river. Numerous carcasses, mineral salts, and decaying vegetable matter, were also deposited in the river. Under existing laws there was a remedy for the removal of nuisances which were indictable- but this would only be a partial and temporary remedy, not preventing other establishments from being formed. T h e Committee therefore recommended that application be m a d e to the Executive to introduce a Bill to abolish those nuisances,
v ​T h e report was adopted by the Council on the 17th July, but like m a n y another equally valuable document of a like kind since, its suggestions were never dealt with in the thorough manner, by yvhich only a great public evil can be effectively stamped out. T h e acceptance of an office of profit by Councillor Kerr, caused a vacancy in Fitzroy Ward, and it filled by the unopposed return of Mr. John Fogarty. T h e gold discoveries in N e w South Wales in July, 1851, stirred u p the community to the necessity of finding some auriferous counter attraction in this colony. Therefore, on the 3rd July Alderman Johnston moved in the Council that an Address to the Lieutenant-Governor be voted, requesting the Government " T o explore the resources ofthe colony, so as to ascertain the possible existence of gold mines or deposits." T h e cleansing of the city n o w cost ,£97 10s. per month, and W . M . Harper was the accepted scavenger. T h e s u m of ,£5 was voted for the formation of a footpath from George Street, Fitzroy, to St. Peter's Church ; and some time after, a similar amount for a " shoot" at the intersection of Bourke and Spring Streets. O n the 21st August the question of continuing Victoria Street from Elizabeth Street to the Benevolent Asylum was considered. It would cut through the Cattle Market at the Elizabeth Street junction; but as the Government was willing to give an equivalent of land somewhere else, the abolition of the first Market was agreed to. O n the 4th September a communication was read from a Mr. Rosson, C . E , proposing to supply Melbourne with water from the Yarra above the Studley Park Falls, and it was referred to the Waterworks Committee. T h e City Council agreed to appoint an Assistant Surveyor at .£150 per annum. For this office there were, as candidates, Messrs. John Reilly, Charles Mays, J. H . Stacey, Johnston Wylie, J. H . Taylor, W. Gibbons, J. A. Manton, G. R. Cox, Geo. Mitchell, W m . Standering, and A. F. Ross. Mr. Reilly was elected, and afterwards was appointed City Surveyor, which he held for years, and ultimately received a retiring allowance. In the course of time he re-entered the service of the Corporation, and efficiently discharged the duties of Building Surveyor, to which he succeeded on the resignation of M r J. T. Everist. A n application to the Council by Messrs. Penrose Nevins, R. Campbell, W . B. Hatch, and R. Willan, on behalf of a number of citizens for the establishment of public and private baths for both sexes, and soliciting the sanction and patronage of the Council, was granted. S o m e time before this a Mr. N. L. Kentish had received permission to establish baths, but before they reached the opening stage the building was accidentally burned to the water's edge. T h e electoral franchise for the Legislative Council was lower than that for the Corporation, an anomaly which required to be removed, and to this the attention ofthe Council was directed. O n the 16th October, Councillor Chambers brought forward a motion asserting the propriety of the extension of the citizen's franchise in a corresponding degree with that which prevailed for the Legislative elections Councillor Annand moved an amendment to admit every householder of six months' standing, or residents of twelve months. A n amendment by Alderman Johnston was carried, against the motion and previous amendment, for the enfranchisement of all householders w h o had paid their rates for the prescribed period accordance with the provisions of the Act. THE CITY SURVEYOR IN TROUBLE.
The early holders of this office were unwilling to abandon private practice, or to resist from indirectly intermeddling in the Corporation contracts, and they got into scrapes in consequence. As it was with Laing, so it was with Blackburn; and charges were now and then alleged against him. At length he asked for an investigation, which was held before a Committee of the whole Council on the 31st October, when the following decision was come to :—" That as regarded the posts removed on loan to assist in the erection ofthe Bishop's Palace, such conduct was condemned as not being warranted. T h e charge of interfering in the contract for the T o w n Hall subjected him also to reprehension. T h e other charges fell to the ground, as the Council considered the manner in which the City Surveyor mixed his name up in certain contracts for rubble, etc, was perfectly justifiable, and was in accordance with precedents." T h e "Bishop's Palace" here referred to is the well-known "Bishop's Court" in East Melbourne, then in course of erectionforDr. Perry. ​During the incipient rush to the goldfields the Corporation employes remained at their posts in an exemplary manner, under very tempting circumstances; and in recognition of such good conduct, the Council decreed a bonus of one month's salary to each officer " for his integrity and faithfulness in not absenting himself during the gold crisis." AT THE NOVEMBER ELECTIONS (1851)
There yvas some degree of excitement, especially in Fitzroy Ward, where Mr. Robert Willan (Solicitor) opposed the reelection ofthe retiring Councillor (Young) and beat him by 85 votes to 66. In Bourke Ward, Dal. Campbell, who went out, had no desire to go back, and the vacancy yvas contested by Messrs. C. W . Rowling and R. Matthewson, when the former polled 97 against the other's 60. In Latrobe Ward, Mr. N. Guthridge was returned without opposition; and the same thing occurred in Gipps and Lonsdale Wards, in favour of Mr. Timothy ("Tim ") Lane and Councillor Annand. THE LAST OF THE OLD MAYORS.
As the eventful 9th arrived, there was much intriguing, increased by the fact that in addition to the Mayoralty, the Council had two vacant Aldermanships to give ayvay. Alderman Smith had been for two or three years keenly on the watch for the Civic Chair, and now his time was come, for he not only got it, but without the least symptom of opposition. T h e Aldermanic vacancies yvere caused by the retirement by effluxion of time of Aldermen Greeves and Bell; and the Council knew nothing of the pernicious rule which has grown into fashion during the last twenty years, that "once an Alderman for ever an Alderman" —thus perpetuating an irresponsible appointment never contemplated by the Corporation Act. T h e consequence then was that the Aldermanships, like the Mayoralty, yvere kept rolling, and as prizes of the Council, were distributed as largely as possible. Out-going Aldermen never dreamt of re-election. O n this occasion there were four candidates for the two seats, and the polling thus resulted :—Hodgson, nine votes ; Stephen, nine votes; M'Combie, eight notes; Annand,fivevotes. T h efirsttwo were of course the elected, and Councillor M'Combie took his defeat so m u c h to heart, that in afitof dudgeon he resigned soon after, and the Council knew him no more. At the meeting of the 13th November in the voting of salaries, Alderman Stephen ineffectually endeavoured to increase the Mayor's allowance from .£300 to ,£400, and it wasfixedat .£350. Several casual vacancies, created by the Aldermanic promotions and M'Combie's resignation, were filled thus :— L O N S D A L E W A R D . — M r . W . B. Hatch, vice' Hodgson, elected without opposition. T h e seat abandoned by M'Combie was contested by Messrs. Henry Stooke (butcher), and F. Bryant (merchant), and the latter polling 170 votes against his opponent's 101. G I P P S W A R D , in re Stephen.—Mr. H . Crossley (butcher), beat Mr. J. W . Dunbar (solicitor), by polling 87 to 85. Councillor " Tim " Lane's name dropped off the Citizen Roll; and he, therefore, lost his seat, which yvas popped into by Mr. T. Drewery, a chemist, who counted 84 supporters against Mr. J. W . Dunbar's 78, the latter thus receiving two beatings in the same Ward in a couple of weeks. O n the 2ist November, an extremely interesting report was presented from the City Surveyor on " Melbourne and Hobson's Bay intercommunication." T h e Council yvound up the year 1851, yvith an Address to the Queen and a Petition to the Legislative Council, on the question of Transportation; and giving a much-merited increase of ,£50 a year (,£350) to the City Surveyor. S o m e of the members opposed it through personal dislike for the official, but fair play carried the day, and Blackburn only got what he well deserved.