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  of the Council of the Law Amendment Society down to 1850, when he emigrated to Victoria, being admitted to practise as a solicitor in Melbourne in 1851, and was registrar of the diocese from 1854 to 1887. During the gold fever he published a pamphlet entitled "Gold and the Government," and was nominated to the Legislative Council on July 14th, 1852. On the inauguration of responsible government in 1855 he unsuccessfully attempted to enter the Lower House for Collingwood, but was elected to the Legislative Council for the central province, and sat from 1858 to 1878, when he retired from political life, in the course of which he opposed the ballot, the abolition of state aid to religion and the export duty on gold, and gave his adhesion to payment of members. Mr. a'Beckett was a member of the Ministry without portfolio from Nov. 26th, 1860, to Nov. 11th, 1861, and was sworn of the Executive Council on Jan. 7th, 1861. In April 1868, on the resignation of during the Darling Grant crisis, Mr. a'Beckett was applied to by Lord Canterbury to form a conciliation ministry; but this, after considerable negotiation, he found himself unable to do, and in the result the  Ministry was formed. Mr. a'Beckett was Commissioner of Trade and Customs in the third MᶜCulloch Administration, from April 9th, 1870, to June 19th, 1871. He was a member of the Royal Commission on the Civil Service in 1862, and Chairman of that of 1870. Mr. a'Beckett was also for many years a member of the Council of Melbourne University, and a trustee of the Public Library. He was Chairman of the Hobson's Bay Railway Company down to the time when the line became absorbed in the Government railway system. Before leaving London, Mr. a'Beckett published "Remarks on the Present State of the Law of Debtor and Creditor," 1844; "Railway Litigation, and How to Check It," 1846; "Law-reforming Difficulties: a Letter to Lord Brougham," 1849. After his arrival in Victoria he published "A Comparative View of Court Fees and Attorneys' Charges," 1854; "A Defence of State Aid to Religion," 1856; "State Aid Question—Strictures on Pamphlets of Dr. Cairns," 1856. Mr. a'Beckett from time to time delivered lectures at the Industrial and Technological Museum, Melbourne. Several of these, including "Painting and Painters," have been published.

a'Beckett, Sir William, first Chief Justice of Victoria, was the eldest son of William a'Beckett, and the brother of (q.v.). He was born in London on July 28th, 1806, and educated at Westminster School, where, in conjunction with his brother Gilbert Abbott a'Beckett, he started two periodicals of very promising ability, entitled the Censor and Literary Beacon. He was called to the English bar in 1827, went to New South Wales in 1837, and was in 1841 appointed Solicitor-General, and subsequently Puisne Judge. He became judge of the Supreme Court for the district of Port Phillip on Feb. 3rd, 1846, and on Jan. 19th, 1851 was made first Chief Justice of the newly constituted colony of Victoria. In the same year the reckless abandonment of the population to the excitement of the gold fever called forth a cautionary pamphlet from Sir William. It was published under the pseudonym "Colonus," and was entitled, "Does the Discovery of Gold in Victoria, viewed in relation to its Moral and Social Effects as hitherto developed, deserve to be considered a National Blessing or a National Curse?" The judge evidently leant to the latter view. The experiences of a holiday trip to Europe are contained in a volume by Sir William, published in London in 1854 entitled "Out of Harness," containing notes on a tour through Switzerland and Italy. Sir William's health failed, but he postponed his retirement to suit the convenience of the Ministry. In 1857, however, he left the bench and returned to reside in England in 1863, where he published in London "The Earl's Choice, and other Poems." Sir William died at Upper Norwood, in Surrey, on June 27th, 1869. In 1832 he married Emily, daughter of Edward Hayley, who died in 1841. In addition to the works already mentioned, Sir William published "The Siege of Dumbarton Castle and other Poems," 1824, a large number of biographies in "The Georgian Era" (4 vols., 1834-4): "A Universal Biography; including Scriptural, Classical, and Mythological  2