280 A HISTORY OF THE COLONY OF VICTORIA 



Thomas Walker, a leading merchant ; Doctor (afterwards Sir 

 Charles) Nicholson, and, at the bottom of the poll, the Eev. Dr. 

 Lang, who defeated the only other candidate by nine votes. This 

 was Sir Thomas Mitchell, the explorer and sponsor of " Australia 

 Felix," whose reputation should have secured him a better place 

 but for the fact that he was Surveyor-General of New South 

 Wales, and was regarded unfavourably by those who feared the 

 domination of the official class, already amply provided for in the 

 Crown nominations. There was not much excitement at the poll 

 for the district, which took place on the 20th of June, 1843, but the 

 election for Melbourne, which was held three days previously, 

 aroused very bitter feeling, and resulted in discreditable turmoil. 

 The candidate generally named as the most eligible for the 

 town was Mr. Edward Curr, a man of independent means, formerly 

 manager of the Van Diemen's Land Agricultural Company, but now 

 resident in Melbourne. It was not thought that he would be op- 

 posed, for he had taken an active interest in public affairs, especially 

 in the question of Separation, in which he was destined later on to 

 take quite the leading position. He was a zealous Roman Catholic, 

 but he bitterly resented the sneers with which the truculent Dr. 

 Lang referred to him as being under priestly influence. He lost 

 no opportunity of retorting by disturbing the harmony of the Eev. 

 Doctor's election meetings, throwing at him quotations from his pub- 

 lished speeches and writings, and generally denouncing him as a dis- 

 graceful calumniator. The recrimination grew so hot that at length 

 Curr injudiciously published a letter to the electors in which he re- 

 quired them to choose between him and Lang, for if the latter was 

 returned for the district, the writer would decline the honour of a seat 

 in a Council of which he was a member. The wily Scot soon turned 

 the indiscretion to account ; his friends gathered around him, and 

 they clamorously condoled with the insulted electors on the im- 

 pudent dictation of their opponent. Eather than submit to such a 

 threat they determined to find some one to contest the seat, and 

 though the time was very short they persuaded Condell, the mayor, 

 to offer himself, Lang undertaking, according to his own account, 

 to write out all his speeches for him. So successfully did Lang 

 and his friends canvass the town that Condell was returned, 



