342 A HISTORY OF THE COLONY OF VICTORIA 



November, 1851, and were housed in a building known as St. 

 Patrick's Hall in Bourke Street, the Legislative chamber being on 

 the first floor and the Parliamentary offices below. The whole 

 thirty were in attendance at the first meeting, and on the motion 

 of Mr. Westgarth unanimously elected Dr. Palmer as their Speaker 

 at a remuneration of 400 per annum. He had been Mayor of 

 Melbourne, and also one of Port Phillip's representatives in the 

 Sydney Council. Though not a man of any distinctive ability, he 

 had a portly presence and dignified demeanour which seemed 

 naturally to fit him for the position. 



Only a few of the candidates had announced their views before 

 election. There had been no exciting local questions afoot outside 

 the Anti-transportation League, and the principal thing to which 

 they had pledged themselves were some provisions for public educa- 

 tion, active assistance to immigration and a generous expenditure 

 on roads and bridges. Some had promised to secure more equit- 

 able electoral divisions, some advocated triennial Parliaments, and 

 one at least was bent on early abolition of the nominee system and 

 a fully elected House. But there were so many distracting sur- 

 roundings owing to the disorganisation of the Civil Service, the 

 police and the labour market by the gold fever, that they saw little 

 chance of redeeming their promises. The first session lasted only 

 eight weeks, and was largely occupied in getting the necessary 

 forms of the House into order, and in calling for and digesting 

 numerous returns bearing upon population, police, goldfields and 

 revenue ; and in condemning the unneighbourly attitude of the 

 Governor of Van Diemen's Land. They passed, however, fifteen 

 short Acts, mostly machinery bills, or adaptations of New South 

 Wales law, the most important being the Act establishing the local 

 judicature. On the 6th of January, 1852, the Council adjourned 

 and did not meet again until June. The six months' rest which the 

 legislators were permitted to enjoy was a period of intense anxiety 

 and strain to the Lieutenant-Governor. His administrative staff, 

 inadequate even at the outset, and with nearly everything to learn, 

 was being rapidly depleted by resignations and desertion. In vain 

 he sought to cajole them with promises of largely increased, even 

 doubled, salaries, and equally in vain ; he threatened that no civil 



