"I am in the place where I am demanded of conscience to speak the truth,
and therefore the truth I speak, impugn it whoso list."
--"The Argus" motto.
Another of O'Shanassy's oft-repeated jokes was a good story about Kerr,
and always told with that stereotyped good temper which I fear the
latter, with his strong Orange antipathies, would, upon opportunity,
have but grudgingly reciprocated. Two "brither Scots," happening to meet
one day in Melbourne, one of them, presumably not long arrived,
"speered" of the other, "Did ye ken ane Weelum Kerr here aboot?" "Weelum
Kerr!" replied the other, in reproachful astonishment; "No ken Weelum
Kerr, the greatest man in a' the toon!" That a hard-headed,
liberal-minded commonsense Scot, as Kerr was in most things, should have
had the Orange infirmity, may be excused, or at least explained, by the
fact of his being of Stranraer, a Scotch town almost within hail of
Ulster. That small, and not overmuch known place, has not been the least
among the cities of Scotia in contributing heads and hands to the
colony's progress, including, besides Kerr and others, James Hunter
Ross, a leading Melbourne solicitor, and my good old friend Hugh Lewis
Taylor, who, ere well out of his teens, was made manager at Geelong, and
is now manager in London, of the prosperous Bank of Victoria.
Kerr had a high order of abilities in certain literary directions, which
might have given him a much better position than he ever secured but for
his indolence and negligent want of method. He had also a bad physical
constitution, which had probably much to do with the other defects.
Perhaps it was his literary turn that led him first, in his new home, to
try a stationery business, which, under the style of Kerr and Holmes,
afterwards Kerr and Thompson, in Collins-street west, was, I think, the
precursor of that particular trade in little early Melbourne. But that
had to be given up, and after some looking about, with not overloaded
means, he established the Melbourne "Argus". The preceding press efforts
had, at my arrival, established three papers, which, by tolerant mutual
arrangement in a bi-weekly issue respectively, gave the small public the
almost indispensable food of a daily paper. Almost at the beginning,
Fawkner's practical hand supplied "The Patriot," hand-written for the
first eight or ten numbers, until type came from Launceston. This was
soon followed by "The Gazette" of George Arden, and that again by "The
Herald" of George Cavenagh. All three had, I think, the common prefix of
"Port Phillip". "The Gazette", after a brief career, under its very able
but rather erratic owner, went to the wall. "The Patriot", under
Boursiquot, who had succeeded the overworked Fawkner, was, somewhat
later, bought up by the "Argus", under Wilson and Johnston, in
succession to Kerr. The Herald, when quitted after an excellent and
timely sale by its founder early in the gold times, was soon after
shipwrecked in the storm of vicissitude that characterized some of the
first years of gold-digging.
With the editorial pen Kerr was in his element, and his naturally
combative tendencies found their fitting expression in the motto he
adopted, and which still heads the paper, "I am in the place where I am
demanded of conscience to speak the truth, and therefore the truth I
speak, impugn it whoso list." But even the little "Argus" required
management, and Kerr was no manager. He was induced to sell it, and for
no great sum--pounds going a long way in those times--to Mr. Edward
Wilson, who thus laid the foundation of his subsequent great position
and fortunes.
Kerr was fortunate after this in securing the town-clerkship of
Melbourne, in succession to Mr. John Charles King, the first clerk. The
Corporation was still hardly beyond infancy, and Kerr's natural legal
acuteness was of great service at his new post, where reigned he
practically master, and was an authority far outside his official
sphere, and even in legislative difficulties of the young Parliament,
for we are now entering into Victorian life, and the importance that was
fast being developed with the gold.
But after a time the old besetting infirmity turned up here also, and in
a rather serious form, as connected with irregularities in Corporation
moneys and accounts, which might have been compromising to any other
than Kerr, with his well-known indifference to such vulgar good things.
He had a remarkable resemblance, in more than one point of character and
circumstances, to his brother Scotchman, and fast friend till death, the
Reverend Dr. Lang, of Sydney; and had he possessed the physical vigour,
not to say the stately proportions, of that most combatant of members of
the church militant, he might have been his Victorian rival in a far
more prosperous and protracted career. In each there was a very
combative mind behind the mildest of manner. Besides the pulpit, Lang
sought successfully also the Legislature, where, somehow, clergymen are
not favourites. He was, in fact, in the first instance, one of our
members for Port Phillip, and it was chiefly to his efforts and
abilities that separation from New South Wales was eventually conceded
from Home. In the elective contests we saw some of the peculiar talent
with which Lang fought his many political foes, when, with an inimitable
blandness of address, and the softest of mellifluous language, he would
build up a many-sided argument, patiently and leisurely, and at last, as
with the bitterly biting end of a stockman's long whip, flay the
Wentworths of opposition, who, with more noise than effect, were ever
snapping at his heels.
But, alas for the cause of human perfection! The Doctor, being on a
mission Home, and by no means for the first time, for the promotion of
the emigration of Scotch Presbyterians to Australia (his great and not
unworthy hobby), and being short of funds after raising in one direction
all he could upon his bill of lading, horrible dictu! pledged elsewhere
for the balance of his account a spare copy of the set, left with him in
trust and confidence. Now was the day of vengeance for his foes, and
they duly essayed to take it. But the imperturbable Doctor was not
troubled with too thin a skin, especially in a matter which was totally
devoid of personal pecuniary advantage. The overdraft was, as he
expected, readily made up by the public. Nor did he sustain any great
moral damage, even with his foes, as his indifference about money was
too well known--first his own money, and after that other people's.
Kerr was in a like plight, but a great deal more helplessly. If he
escaped as to character with the many who knew him, yet of necessity he
lost his good post. He was succeeded by Mr. Fitzgibbon, who, more fitly,
I doubt not, than Kerr, has held this important office ever since, a
period of no less than thirty-two years. This serious loss of means and
position completed a breakdown that had probably begun before, so that
Kerr was no longer able for first-class work. We may envy this
opportunity to his old opponent, O'Shanassy, who, in power at the time,
generously found him a small appointment--a station upon one of the
railways--which gave him, at least, a comfortable, and, in a social way,
by no means ungenial home for the short remainder of his life.
It was mainly at my good friend Kerr's urgent instance that I entered
public life, which was in 1850, for the representation of Melbourne at
Sydney. Doubtless he had his own aims quite as much as my interests in
view, as he wanted the supposed good card, a Melbourne merchant, Scotch
and Presbyterian like himself into the bargain, to play against the
anti-Orange and Irish-cum-O'Shanassy party. I fear that his expected
henchman was too cosmopolitan at times. But Kerr rendered me a more
direct service at the subsequent election for Melbourne in Victoria's
first Parliament, by bringing me in at the head of the poll, which
happened in this way:--At the first count the poll stood thus:
O'Shanassy, Westgarth, Johnston, Nicholson, the latter being out, much
to his own and his friends' astonishment, as there were only three
seats. Kerr, who was resolved O'Shanassy should not be declared first if
he could help it, called for a scrutiny prior to declaration. He had
knowledge of a goodly scale of false voting on the Irish side, where, in
fact, there was a legion of busy Kerrs to my one, many of them having
voted double, or, as with Sheridan's proposed yearly Parliaments,
"oftener if need be." One had voted nine times in succession at
different polling places. I fear Kerr was wrong, and that scrutiny
should have been applied for after declaration. But Kerr was the most
dogged of mortals when he had a mind and an object, was then in the
zenith of his influence, and, best of all for his side, he was king of
the position as town clerk. So he secured his purpose, and O'Shanassy
and I changed positions.
I have a better service than this, and of much more general interest,
with which to conclude my present sketch. A year later, the second year
of the gold, during which it was estimated that fifteen millions of gold
had been washed out of the drifts, chiefly of Ballarat and Bendigo, the
colony was already flooded, and no wonder, by the convict element from
Tasmania. To intensify this evil beyond all bearing, that colony's
Government, in view of relief from accumulating prisoners, had lately
enacted a "conditional pardon" system, the condition being that the
criminal was at liberty for all the world except to return Home, and
forthwith, Her Majesty's pass in hand, he crossed to golden Victoria. A
cry of despair arose there, for almost immediately the towns,
goldfields, highways, and everywhere else where havoc was to be made,
were the almost daily scenes of the most atrocious outrage. One forenoon
word reached town that five ruffians, taking position on the St.
Kilda-road, had stuck up and robbed some twenty of the merchants and
traders on their way to Melbourne, including my friend John G. Foxton.
The Anti-Transportation League, then some years in existence, held a
great meeting, at which a large committee was appointed, and was
enjoined to find an effective mode of dealing with this novel form of
evil. I think that it was at my suggestion that each of the committee
was to write out his thoughts and bring the paper with him, so as to
have a basis for arriving at a prompt conclusion. Kerr was made
convener, and he was not long in convening us.
Only Kerr and myself responded! We may take a mitigated view of the
others, for everyone was busy over something in those days, many
embarrassingly so for want of servants, who had "bolted" to the
diggings, while most of the committee had had legislation and incessant
deputations and public meetings to look after besides. As to myself, I
had vainly tried to find fifteen consecutive minutes for the subject.
When Mr. Kerr asked me for my paper, I excused myself by pleading that
it was so meagre that I would rather first hear his. Thereupon, in his
deliberate way, he drew forth a sheet of foolscap, and read to me "The
Convicts Prevention Act." Such it was, for, with a few comparatively
unimportant mitigations, secured by the ability and influence of
Attorney-General Stawell, the impatient Assembly, highly appreciating
and determined to have the measure, promptly passed it by a large
majority. This was Kerr's culminating public service, and I am the more
pleased to have this opportunity to say so, as my name was rather unduly
attached to the bill, from its having been committed to my charge. His
prompt remedy, I doubt not, saved many a colonist, not only as to life,
limb, and property, but from outrage in some cases worse than death. His
scathing measure introduced, indeed, a new principle, for we
unceremoniously clapped people into prison who held up to our courts the
Queen's pardon. Her Majesty's representatives at Home did not at all
like it. The Home Government, indeed, refused to confirm the temporarily
enacted measure; but by that happy safety-valve understanding, which has
perhaps saved some explosions, it was renewed and re-renewed as long as
required. The letter of imperial law was doubtless violated; but Her
Majesty's Government first violated the spirit, by authorizing men unfit
for England to go to Victoria.