The Court of Quarter Sessions, of which the Judge was chairman, sat on the following Monday (4th July), and its machinery was m a d e available to bring Arden to his senses. T h e Crown Prosecutor accordingly applied for the issue of a warrant to bind him to the peace, in support of which the Judge (or Chairman) swore an amended affidavit, setting forth that the publication of the libel complained of "was calculated to excite the resentment of deponent's friends, and thereby provoke a breach of the peace." Arden was in attendance, and was ordered to enter into peace recognizances. H e then preferred a counter application to have Willis also bound over for the use of " violent, calumnious, and offensive language," but after some discussion the application was refused on the ground that the Bench had not the power to enforce a decision against the chairman. M r . Carrington next applied for copies of the Judge's two affidavits, but was interrupted by the Chairman re-appearing, and peremptorily commanding the instant adjournment of the Court. Not many days were permitted to elapse ere the Herald was showing up the Judge, both in leader and paragraph, and on the morning of the 8th of July the figure of the well-known "Tipstaff" appeared at the Herald office to c o m m a n d the attendance of Mr. Cavenagh to the angry presence of His Honor, who treated his solitary listener to a long talk against a licentious Press, and declared solemnly that the next time the journal transgressed, either through the editor or reporter, he or they should be sent to gaol. At the opening of the Criminal Sessions on the 15th, the Judge read a lengthy dissertation on libels, censuring Arden in unmeasured terms, and indirectly rating Cavenagh. H e w o u n d up by a fulsome eulogy of the Governor (Sir George Gipps), whose arrival in Melbourne was shortly expected, and a most exaggerated panegyric of Mr. Gurner, w h o m he characterised as " A n honest man, the noblest work of God."
This generous outburst was occasioned by Gurner's contemplated retirement from the Deputy-Registrarship, in which office he had shown himself one of the Judge's most faithful satellites. W h e n the Judge had finished, Mr. Cavenagh, w h o was in the jury-box, rose and declared that after the remarks which had fallen from the Judge he hoped he should be excused from serving, and Willis, mirabile dictu! allowed him to retire. A SHORT TRUCE. " Like the breeze o'er the seas Where the halcyon hath her nest."
T h e gusts of discontent swelling almost to a gale were stilled by the presence of Sir George Gipps, who poured oil on the troubled waters, and during the temporary calm Judge Willis performed an act of grace by annulling the peace-bonds given by Arden, but destroyed its moral effect by an injudicious admonition. There was quietness for two or three weeks following the departure of Sir George Gipps, but the Court pantomime soon recommenced, and the Judge directed the Crown Prosecutor to proceed against Carrington for what he deemed a gross offence of sham pleading; the squall was suffered to blow away, but not for long. T h e next deal of cards turned up what the Judge fancied would be a grand trump, w.-tbe argumcntum ad crumenam—and sought to punish the newspaper-men through their pockets He discontinued subscribing to the three journals. T h e silliness of this act was ludicrously accentuated by Cavenagh, of the Herald, refusing to accept His H o n o r s discontinuance of that paper without payment of the current quarter's subscription, for which, according to journalistic usance, he was liable H e even threatened to sue the Judge in the Court of Requests ; so the back money was paid up and the Herald dropped. T h e Christmas vacation deprived the numerous Court frequenters of their fun for a few weeks, but the new season set in with renewed vigour. O n the 12th February, 1842, there was an Arbitration case at hearing, and the inspection of a deed of partnership in the possession of Mr. Cavenagh, was considered necessary Cavenagh, happening to be there when the application was m a d e for its production, the Judge ordered him to produce it at once. Cavenagh objected to the peremptoriness of the order The production of the deed might affect his personal interest, and he asked for the suspension of the mandate until he could consult with his solicitor. T h e Judge refused to allow even a minute's -race and the following colloquy ensued :—
