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first Commissioner of that Court in Oct. 12th. Mr. Baxter <jur first Clerk of the Bench was Gazetted January 16th, 1838. Mr. James Montgomery was the earliest Clerk of the Peace, and Mr. Horatio Nelson Carrington, Registrar of the Court. The means of protection were not extensive. In February 1839, Melbourne boasted only of four constables. The stations for the few Mounted Police were Melbourne, Geelong, and the crossings of the Goulburn, Broken, Ovens, and Hume or Murray. As before intimated the constable who came with Capt. Lonsdale was named Hooson. But Henry Batman officiated as the first chief constable of Melbourne ; he expired suddenly while sitting on a sofa in 1839. As that was the era of Convict Discipline, some prisoners might be expected to be in Port Phillip. The Government employed them, and private parties had their assigned servants. But it was not considered safe to trust these exiles so far from head quarters and control. In the Sydney Gazette of March 8th, 1837, we find that persons requiring assigned men to go with them to Port Phillip were first to obtain permission from the superintendent of Convicts. On the 12th of December 1838, we have this notification : “ His Excellency takes this opportunity of making known the instructions which have been given to discourage as much as possible the assignment of convicts in the Port Phillip District, in order to prevent disappointment to settlers who may in future become purchasers of land in that part of the colony.” On January 1st, 1839, assignment in towns was totally discontinued. On August 15th following, all male domestic servants were disallowed in town and country. This colony was therefore never nurtured in prison discipline, nor did it owe its national progress to convict labor. Our Post Office history is interesting. First kept in the humble Police Office, it was transferred to the care of Mr. Bagster, who lived behind where the Royal Highlander now is in Flinders Street. Mr, Skene Craig next received the troublesome and thankless charge ; this was on March 30th, 1839. A month after, through the kindness of the newspapers, he published his first list of unclaimed letters, then about 300 in number. Mr. Kelsh was the first orthodox Post-Master, being sent from Sydney as District Post-Master, Sept. 9th, 1839. His habitation was a brick house, situated a little westward of the present Temple Court, Chancery Lane, on the opposite side. The Office hours were from 10 to 12, and 3 to 5. The postal revenue for the year
