The usual order had been given that the governor, during his residence
in the colony, should enjoy the complimentary distinctions of office. It
was commonly understood that his stay would be prolonged; but he died
soon after his retirement (Feb. 3, 1847), in the sixty-fourth year of
his age. The treatment he had received from the colonial-office, and his
death far from the honored sepulchre of his fathers and the scenes of
his early political fame, produced a general sentiment of regret. All
the houses of business showed marks of mourning. A public funeral,
attended by the administrator and the newly-arrived governor, was
thronged by the citizens. It had been officially arranged that, except
the ministering priest, the clergy of all denominations should walk in
their several classes, but in one body, and the archdeacon, the
moderator, and the vicar-general, as representatives of the three
endowed churches, abreast. The Anglican clergy evaded this plan by
stepping up before the coffin. When, however, the bearers were in
motion, the catholic priests, by a rapid evolution, shot a-head of the
procession. An ornamented Gothic tomb was erected in St. David's
burial-ground to the memory of Sir Eardley Wilmot by subscription. It
stands near the highway. His remains were interred close to the tomb of
Collins.
Sir John Eardley Eardley-Wilmot was descended from the ancient family of
Eardley of Audely, Staffordshire. He was grandson of Wilmot, lord chief
justice of the court of common pleas--a judge celebrated for justice and
piety. Sir E. Wilmot was twice married,--first to Elizabeth, daughter of
Dr. Parry, of Bath; and afterwards to Elizabeth, daughter of Sir R.
Chester, of Bush Hall, Staffordshire.
Charles Joseph Latrobe, Esq., Superintendent of the Port Phillip
District, and subsequently first governor of that territory, now called
Victoria, superseded Sir E. Wilmot (October 13, 1846). During his short
stay as "administrator" he was employed in a careful scrutiny of the
probation department. In performing this difficult duty he displayed
exemplary activity and decision. He resolved to remove every officer
chargeable with incapacity or neglect, and thus many were dismissed.
This promptitude exposed him to imputations of harshness; but although
it is probable he did not wholly escape errors of judgment, the chief
acts of his administration were amply vindicated by the facts he saw.
The opinions he expressed sustained the colonial impressions respecting
the convict system. While he suggested many improvements in its details,
he concurred with the general wish for its extinction. Mr. Latrobe never
met the legislative council; and his government being limited to the
established routine, left nothing to record.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 246: Motion proposed October 28, 1845.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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