200 A HISTORY OF THE COLONY OF VICTORIA 



when the junketing came to an end he had to face an unpleasant 

 ordeal on returning to Melbourne. From all quarters, except the 

 irresponsible mob, tutored to applaud anything that resembled an 

 onslaught upon capital, he met condemnation. Trade and com- 

 merce were unhinged by doubtful anticipations ; banks developed 

 a conservative stringency ; shopkeepers suffered from diminished 

 business and impending losses ; skilled artisans were confronted 

 with a cessation of building and other enterprises ; pending con- 

 tracts were withdrawn, and generally the man who had any money 

 kept it in his pocket until affairs had become more settled. 



A fortnight after the Gazette notice Sir George Bowen wrote to 

 the Colonial Secretary of State excusing himself on the ground that 

 interference would have involved a contest between the Assembly 

 and the Crown. He palliated the removal of the minor judiciary by 

 saying that the unpaid Justices of the Peace were available for the 

 work, which was a ridiculous evasion of the fact that the Courts 

 were closed. He said that after all only about sixty officials had 

 been dismissed, many of whom were old and ought to be super- 

 annuated ; while the public records show that the number exceeded 

 200, and included many of the ablest men in the service. He 

 further declared that no great injustice was done, as the dismissed 

 officials would be compensated at a cost of 44,000, which was 

 available under the Constitution Act without an Appropriation Bill. 

 Finally, he assured the Secretary of State he had formally warned 

 his Ministers that he would be no party to the proposals for tamper- 

 ing with the currency or interfering with the trading and shipping 

 interests of the port. 



Having thus vindicated himself with his employers he turned to 

 his Ministers, and informed them that as even some of their own 

 supporters had questioned the legality and expediency of the course 

 pursued, he would like them to consider " whether it would not be 

 right and prudent to reinstate such of those judicial officers as 

 might be willing to dispense with their salaries until the passing of 

 an Appropriation Act ". The reply of his Ministers was diplomati- 

 cally polite, but amounted to a reiteration that the control of the 

 Civil Service rested with them. Thus appearances were kept up in 

 public, but both parties were secretly uneasy and many private con- 



