petty sessions[1] are not established, for fear of incurring the expense of the salaries of a constable and a clerk of the bench, and that by this means hundreds of miles of country are left without any tribunals to resort to for the adjustment of their disputes—that the police magistrates are withdrawn on the same ground—that the police force[2] is ridiculously disproportioned to the wants of the district—that public works, having for their object general utility and convenience, are not undertaken—and above all, that a new mode of taxation has been adopted by the establishment of district councils, and that we shall have to pay separately for police and public works, although the fund raised from the district by general taxation has not been exhausted—when all these circumstances are taken into consideration, it is not to be wondered at that a strong feeling
- ↑ By an act of council magistrates cannot hold petty sessions except in places proclaimed by the council, and there are only three of these in the district— Melbourne, Geelong, and Portland.
- ↑ With respect to the police force, there is such a mixture of parsimony and profusion, that I should perhaps have omitted mentioning it in the text. Their inadequacy may be inferred from the following facts:—There are in all seventy men, who are divided into four distinct bodies, totally independent of each other, and wearing different uniforms. Of these, the mounted police, who are commanded by a sergeant, are chiefly used in carrying despatches. The border police, consisting of twenty-four men, are divided into two bodies, of which one is in attendance on each of the two principal crown land commissioners, and are principally engaged in carrying out the squatting acts. The black police are the only body who are regularly officered, and whose other avocations do not interfere with their duties as police.
