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T h e charges of bribery and corruption so openly m a d e by M r . Fayvkner fell like a shell in the somewhat select and exclusive c a m p of officialdom, and the heads of departments were so panic-stricken that they assembled in conclave on the 7th July, and prepared a manifesto to this purport : — T h e y invited the attention of his H o n o r the Superintendent to the accusations so made, which, if not rebutted, affected their characters as gentlemen and Government officers, and disgraced them in the eyes of the community. As general statements pointing directly to none, whilst involving all, they pronounced them false and slanderous to a degree, and means ought to be taken for their refutation. T h e y declared solemnly on their honour as gentlemen, that they, neither by selves nor others, directly or indirectly, in any shape or fashion, had received, or allowed to be received, any bribe, present, or consideration for anything done or expected in their capacities as officials ofthe Government, save only such fees as were duly authorised by layv. They requested that publicity should be given to this declaration, and expressed an anxiety for the most rigid public investigation. This document, subscribed to by all the prominent chiefs of departments, eighteen in number (including the signature of Major F. B. St. John, the Commissioner of C r o w n Lands for the County of Bourke, and the individual to w h o m it yvas k n o w n to everybody M r . Fawkner referred), was transmitted to the Superintendent, w h o had it immediately published in the Government Gazette, with a notification of his own, avowing his readiness to investigate any charges of misconduct officially brought before him. The Herald and Daily News at once openly declared that Major St. John yvas the public official indicated by Fawkner; and J. P. Fayvkner on the 13th July wrote direct to the Superintendent naming Major St John as the person yvhom he charged with the receipt of bribes and presents, and declaring his readiness to substantiate the accusations before any open and impartial court. T h e Superintendent, in reply, informed M r . Fayvkner " that any specific charge or charges of misconduct in the performance of duty on the part of the officers named, or any other in the service, which m a y be transmitted in proper form, will meet with full and immediate attention on the part of the Government." All this time the subject formed the absorbing topic of discussion everywhere, from the bank parlor to the loyvest tap-room ; from the neyvspaper leader to the gossip of every street-crossing. That the question could not be pigeon-holed was beyond doubt, and there is no reason to think that the Superintendent had any disposition to do so; but the difficulty yvas as to the proper m o d e of dealing with the case. S o m e of the newspapers suggested that P'awkner's letter should be placed in St. John's hands, with a peremptory direction to c o m m e n c e a civil action in the Supreme Court; and this suggestion seems to have been adopted, for it yvas announced that legal proceedings had been instituted. Fawkner, not content yvith yvriting to the Superintendent, with his accustomed impulsiveness also yvrote to the neyvspapers preferring some half-a-dozen specific charges against St. John, and it yvas upon this unprivileged communication, the authorship of which yvas admitted, that the suit was based. Major St. John seemed not to be in the least put out by the turn things had taken, and regarded it yvith the utmost nonchalance, at least to all outyvard appearance. Even the Sunday after the public meeting he patronised the Superintendent's pew in the Episcopalian Church, at which it was alleged that Mr. Latrobe's sense of propriety yvas so offended that he next day wrote to Major St. John, expressing a wish not to see him again, either publicly or privately, until the charges hanging over him yvere cleared upIt also soon became understood that the Major had been interdicted from transacting any official business; in fact, that, though not literally, he was practically suspended. There is reason to believe that he subsequently placed bis resignation of office in the Superintendent's hands, by w h o m it yvas held over until the result of the appeal to the Supreme Court could be known. T h e particulars of the memorable case of St. John v. Fawkner are narrated in another chapter, and, though the non-verdict of the jury rendered it a drawn battle, Major St. John accepted it as a virtual defeat, and the terminus of his official career in Port Phillip. His resignation was accepted, and in June, 1849, be left the colony in the "Stag," ship, for England, and never returned. It m a y be added here that the meeting out of which the St. John episode yvas evolved, though it indirectly ruined the Major, left Latrobe unscathed. T h e Memorial was duly transmitted to Downing Street, and, after a long course of post, officially acknowledged; but its prayer was not granted.