MELBOURNE TOWN TALK.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1891, 12 July 1888, Page 3

MELBOURNE TOWN TALK.

(From our own Co-iRESPONDENr.) The forthcoming Budget will, 1 hear, contain a number of pleasing surprises The prospeota will be shown to be highly satisfactory, and a heavy balance will be oarrled forward. We are to have the water rates reduced, railway freight lessened, and various duties lightened. A. year of peace and plenty indeed — of prosperity, advanoe, and good fortona. Wei), weil, Providence pulls the strings, and we ought to he thankful that she pulls them so deftly. Truly everything is prospering with us, and to my miad the most remarkable proof of it m the wonderful elasticity and buovanoy of the money mark-it here as exemplified by the impotenoy of the silver oollapsa to seriously Interfere with the commercial peace of the community. The season has been good, wool is high, money plentiful, new industries starting on every hand, and so I say, " Laudamur " — long may it be so. !

I am glad to see from the report of the mcc ing of the Exhibition committee that come of them aro beginning: to think it time to put a stop to the lavish expendi lure m which they have indulged from the commencement, and for which of course tho country will have to pay. It seems to me, for instanoe, that the expenses m connection with the musical performances are quite excessive. Of the amount paid to professionals 1 take no notice, but these are not all. I notice that about £20 a week ia paid for the (i business management " of the musical department. Now what work can there be for this item? Surely any theatrical agent who understands tha business could be got for half a quarter, and as surely still, the publio will stand anything if they put up with such things &b this.

At last the Government has come to see tbe desirableness of removing the Yarra Bend Asylums from their present Bites. It is folly, without doubt, to perrrit some 800 acres of valuable and picturesque land to be monopolised by such institutions, when they could be removed further afield, and the land cut up into, allotments aod sold, or otherwise iqade qse of. J. woqld suggest that the site of the Yarra B^nd Asylum, be turned iflto a people's park.; it is la*ge enough, and would prove a good pair of lungs for tho crowded suburb of Collingwood, But anyway, whatever is done with it will be better than wasting it as now Lunatics of course must be provided for, but no argument oq earth oaa show they benefit at; all m being near a city. No, let them go further atieUi, and allow the Bane people to hav3 the land.

Frledrlo'i Teohow iqa name well known m Melbourne, the average citizen,' however, it is merely familiar as belonging to an upright grey-bearded old gentlemen who keeps a gymnasium and fencing- school at Jollmont. Bat thfs same qalet old gentlemen has perhaps the a'rangeat history of any man In Melbourne. He was In his younger days a resolution Ist, and whilst a.n officer m th,a Prussian army, delivered up an arsenal to the mob In the, Revolution, of '48, For this he was tried by aoart-martlal, and sentenced to fifteen years imprisonment, He succeeded, however, m makiog his escape, and oarae out to Melbourne. Within the last few monthß he has returned to Europe, and has petitioned the Blmpetor for permission to rgtajeci to! his native land, T-hls has been denied on the score of hlB disloyalty of forty yeara baok, ani poor old Teohow has to bring his old bones baok to this strange land. A good deal of talk has been going on In Melbourne about this affair, for the poor old gentlemen, la well known and reapecjtad here, and everybody knows o^ hiu longing to pass hia Iwt few years %nd to^find his last reetln^-plaoe m I}as Faterland. Me Melton Prior, tne'weil-kqovrn artist of the " Illustrated. Londqn Newß/ 1 1b dug here tomorrow from New hayIng been npeojally despatched tq "do" the " Centenaries." flo (a a. regular piling Btone, hftvlrjg pretty well all over the world for his paper, He went all through the Toroo-Russlan war, the Soudan expedition, and was present during the Afghan troubles. He has applied for facilities to be afforded, him at the opening ceremonial tp complete a special Exhibition auppiemfot "i> be sablfshed m London, His drawings w|! probably be the mosi universally-known reoord of our great show, foe "the pencil epaaks the tongue of every land." I am gad to say that the prospectus of the projected •' Australian E^ch^nge Co." h,aa l\eon vfithdraWn, as the publfc did n,6t respond to the invitation to ipveaj. I pride myself personally, on the \\qen.viable publicity I was enabled \o give to the eonteinpla>\ed arrangement of shaves, by which tb.e promoters were to benefit to the tune of £50,000 worth. lam heartily glad too that Ihe affair fell through. It shows the Melbourne public is. not quite mad, however near the tine it n^ay go. But aprbs cela on a Visommyice, de plws^ bdU, whioh may, be freely translated "one dowjij t'jother up." Ttye V Australasian Exo'ha'Dge Co/ withdrawn, the ♦'Mcl bourne rfgehange Oo " makes .its appearance, and appeals to the publio for support. But this is a horae of an entirely different color, and being already an es-

tabhshed concern, offers a. good inrestm.ont, especially as tho original members aro not asking anything exorbitant 1 . Tho rush for shares h'n's been something phenomenal. The Uoion Bank acted as agents for applications, and the way the bank was stormed directly tho prospectus came out was something marvellous. Orowdß of excited applicants beseiged the place, and it even went so far that naero application forms were aold, at 5s each. We "are truly a' speculative] people, and always ready to rush after"' the first new thing that offers. 1 gave Rome particulars last week aa to the. rent Messrs Williamson-, Garner and Musgrove pay for the PrinQess's. 1 wrote fchen Ih,at I was unable ta say how muoh the koncjon Gaiety Company got paid, but sines writing that inspired paragraph I have learnt gome particulars. I am informed that Nellie Farren and Fred. Lenlie get £80 oach per week, Miss Marion Hood gets £40, Mies Sylva Grey and Mies Letty Lind £30 each, and the otherg all good money; lam t,he expense per night pf running fete show ia £iSOO, totalHog £1,200 a week, and for the eight weeka the company is to stop m Melbourne about £10 000. The reault of "the font fortnight's takings iceportod. to be £^000. Should itj'%6 1 op lijce 't^at, it will leave a c.'enr b,o,lanpe of five to six thousand pounds for the enterprising triumvirate — and I am sure they deserve it for their