358 A HISTOEY OF THE COLONY OF VICTORIA 



months of deliberation, the eleven Commissioners submitted a report 

 which was only signed by three unconditionally. Seven others 

 signed subject to four different protests, and one who refused to 

 sign at all stigmatised the document as "subtle, insidious and 

 one-sided ". The report made no attempt to reconcile conflicting 

 interests of vast importance to the community. By regarding the 

 question from a narrow legal standpoint rather than from that of 

 the statesman, it ignored the principle of compensation, emphasised 

 the discretionary power of the Governor, and practically reduced 

 the rights of the Crown tenant to a mere nullity. In one of the 

 attached protests signed by Dr. Palmer, the Speaker, it is estimated 

 that carrying out the recommendations of the Commission would 

 involve depreciation of individual properties to the extent of 

 470,000. But they were not carried out at the time, though 

 the report formed a basis of future land legislation, when the 

 Parliament under the New Constitution took the matter in hand. 

 For, in the last session of the Legislative Council, the Governor 

 laid before it an Act of the British Parliament repealing the Land 

 Act of 1842, and thus handing over to the colonists, through their 

 representatives, the absolute control of their grand domain. 



On the 7th of September, 1852, a despatch from Sir John 

 Packington was laid before the Council advising the surrender by 

 the Home Government of the entire revenue derivable from gold 

 mining, upon the bare condition that henceforth the Council would 

 be responsible for the maintenance of law and order on the gold- 

 fields. This was a wise and telling concession on the part of Lord 

 Derby's Cabinet. Combined, as it was, with a transfer from the 

 Executive to the Legislative Council of the expenditure of that 

 portion of the land fund not specially hypothecated to immigra- 

 tion, it placed the Council in an exceedingly good humour, and it 

 formally passed a gushing expression of thanks for the favour 

 shown. By so generously providing for ways and means, the 

 bickering and snappish attitude which the House had so frequently 

 evinced towards the Executive was, for the time being, removed. 



The efforts of this single-chamber Parliament were brought to 

 bear on many matters of importance to the community during the 

 four years of its existence. Not always very wisely or successfully, 



