Of all the Corporators and public men of whom I had any knowledge, Councillor
Thomas McCombie
Puzzled me most. He was a mixture of sense and silliness. He went by the sobriquets of "Silly Billy" and "Tammy Ass," and it would have been no mistake to call him so, but for the shrewdness and occasional snatches of ability that leavened his dulness. In the Gazette, of which he was for a time Editor, at the Corporation, public meetings, or Legislative Council, it was always the same. The good things he said and did were impaired by a deep-grounded belief that he was a booby; and yet some of his public acts, his leading articles, and two or three literary publications showed that "Tammy" had many a "lucid interval," and knew at times pretty well what he was about; but how he compassed a work of fiction that found some favour in England, and wrote his "History of Victoria," are insoluble conundrums. McCombie was very anxious to be Mayor, and more than once made hard running for it, but he never had even the ghost of a chance.
John O'Shanassy
Was only a few months connected with the Corporation, and was just beginning to give some earnest of his mental calibre, when he was put aside in favour of Mr. William Clarke, familiarly known as "Old Music," full-faced, pompous and rubicund, well liked in his music shop, and tolerably admired at the public concerts, at which he occasionally appeared. But to serve the public in any representative capacity was out of his line, as he belonged to the same category as Councillors Beaver, James, Bowler, Armitstead, Reid, and a swarm of similar small fry, who usually watched the motions of the faction fugleman and obeyed accordingly.
"Johnny" Fawkner
Pops up like a "Jack-in-the-box" so often in these pages that it is superfluous to refer further to his Corporate career, than to observe that he fell foul at some time or other of everyone of his contemporaries, butting and horning them whenever his capriciousness willed. The Council table was kept alive by him, and it would be difficult to pronounce whether his "riling" or his "roaring" was the more annoying or amusing. Those he attacked often winced, though they despised him, but the outsiders applauded, and the performances were never allowed to grow flat.
THE CORPORATION OFFICIALS.
The First Town Clerk
Was Mr. John Charles King, who, turning up in Melbourne as an advertising Commission Agent, was Government Auctioneer for a time. Coming from the North of Ireland, he brought with him more than a moderate share of the tact and shrewdness characteristic of the Scoto-Hibernians of that corner of the world. His tall, spare figure,glassed intelligent eyes, and shrillness of voice, were often joked about in the newspapers opposed to him. Mr. King, if I mistake not, had taken a University degree; he possessed much cleverness, and was so reputedly a diplomatist, that he was afterwards appointed by the Australasian Anti-transportation League to proceed to London as its Delegate. Indeed, the wonder was that he accepted the Town Clerkship with its small emoluments; and it was some years before the Council would give him even a copying clerk. He had a miserable time of it with the Council, but most of his troubles he brought on himself by mixing in the pettifogging intrigues by which the early Council used to be agitated. On his return from his English mission he entered political life, obtained a seat in Parliament, and once held office for a few weeks as Commissioner of Public Works, when circumstances compelled him to withdraw from the public arena. For years he fille da responsible position on the Argus newspaper, the
