to attack such a man in those days of authority.  But Fawkner’s bite was too deep for any laissez faire cure, and so, nolens volens, the Commissioner had to defend or retrieve his character.  The verdict of a farthing damages, at which amount the jury estimated that character in the case, was complete justification to Fawkner, and laid the whole Province under lasting obligation to him for a most important public service.

Another of his more prominent services was upon the first Gold Commission, 1854-5, summoned hastily together by the Governor, Sir Charles Hotham, under the surprise, not unmixed with consternation, caused by the Ballarat riot, an incident which, in some of its aspects, such as the stockade structure, deserved rather the graver name of rebellion.  Already in his 63rd year, in broken health, and certainly the weakest physically of the membership, he was the most active of all, ever running full tilt into every abuse or fault or complaint that might help to explain this unwonted, and, indeed, utterly purposeless and stupid incident of a British community.  In my capacity as chairman, I appreciated Fawkner’s untiring, or more properly, unyielding spirit, and under travelling fatigues, too, of no mean trial even to younger men.  For the Colossus of Rhodes, as my energetic friend, Dr. (now Sir Francis) Murphy, was humorously called, on accepting, recently before, the charge of the rutty and miry ways of golden Victoria, had as yet made but feeble progress in his most urgent mission.  We learned enough to explain, at least, if not to excuse the miners; and were thus guided to a reconstruction of goldfields administration.  This was chiefly in that national element, hitherto utterly absent there, of local representative institutions; and the change has since assured the future from even John Bull’s proverbial growling.  General McArthur, with a few troops, promptly, but not without considerable bloodshed, ended the sad farce.  In view of the very exceptional features of an incident extremely unlikely to occur again, Fawkner and most others of the commission were most decided for a general condonance; and this was agreed to in the report by all except the Official Commissioner, Mr. Wright, who, excusably enough, sided with his official superiors for a treason trial.  But the jury, as might have been anticipated, acquitted the prisoners.  One of their leaders, Mr. Peter Lalor, who lost one of his arms in the cause, has since been for many years Speaker of the Victorian Assembly, and as loyal to his Queen as he is genial to his many friends.

When we wound up the Commission’s inquiry at Castlemaine, and on the morning of a hot midsummer day embarked upon one of the springless “Cobb and Co’s” of the time, with the prospect of ten or twelve hours of terrible jolting before us, poor old Fawkner seemed so much enfeebled that I was in some doubt as to his being landed alive at Melbourne.  But, game to the last, he rode uncomplainingly