Page:Diary of ten years.djvu/395

 377 April 1st.—Yesterday, Alfred, the boy who looks after the sheep, managed to shoot two turkeys—the mother and the poult—close to the house. The mother weighed 12lbs.; the chick 6½lbs. It is a very good bird to eat, but "of all the birds in the air," as we used to say in our play, commend me to the barn door fowl, after all. There has been a cricket match played in Perth between the country people and the town people.

Friday night.—I am very tired. Have just come from Perth after a rather severe week's work. On Tuesday we sat in Executive Council till five o'clock; on Wednesday our sessions commenced, and I was engaged till six in the evening with a very heavy calendar. On Thursday I was at work at six o'clock in the morning, preparing for Council, as we had an adjourned meeting of our Executive Council at 10 o'clock, in order to prepare for Legislative Council at one o'clock. Only think of sitting in Executive Council to discuss and settle the heads of a Bill at 10 o'clock, which was to be read a first time in the Legislative Council at one o'clock on the same day. We had barely time to change our dress, and we sat then in Legislative Council till five o'clock. I thought I had done a pretty good day's work, and had gone home with the intention of getting some dinner, when I was sent for to conduct a heavy prosecution for burglary at the sessions; so I hurried to the court. The case had just commenced, and was not finished until after 10 o'clock at night. Schoales was engaged also in the case. I brought him home with me after the trial, and we got our dinner at 10.30 p.m.—fashionable. On this day the sessions were still continued but finished about midday, being the heaviest sessions we have had yet. There were twelve cases for trial.

Saturday.—The Governor brought forward the finance measures for the year on Thursday. His speech did not give any bright picture of our finances. He stated there was a decrease in the revenue, but did not mention the cause of it, which was very simple, namely, the fact of our principal