MELBOURNE TOWN TALK.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1974, 19 October 1888, Page 2

MELBOURNE TOWN TALK.

(From our own Correspondent.)

Troth to tell, Melbourne Is nnusnally quiet just now . In the political horizon tnere la absolutely nothing. The Govern, meat seems to have been defeated oa every measure of importance it haa lately put fo't'i— the Stock Tax, the Budget, and nu.v the Eleotoral BUI, They bad to withdraw the two former, and will m all probability be defeated la their plan of altering the electorates. Parliament dissolves at the end of the year, bo that members are, as It were, lying In wait for the February eleetlons, end going m for •a much non-committal polioy as is possible. The tag end of a Parliamentary session is seldom any good, bo that people are not gl7ing much attention to things Parliamentary just no«r . There Is some good news from Government House though, His Exoellenoy'a term of office aa Governor has been extended for twelve months, making it alx years m all. It Is simply a mark of esteem, of course, and ss 1b generally known, ooines from Downing street In response to the request of the colony at large, which la desirous of showing m some praotio»l way, the eateem and honor they feel for the Looh family —Sir Henry Brougham and his wellbeloved spouse.

The Speaker of onrLagislatlre ABaembly, tbe Hon. H. M. Davles is a notable mm m bla way, Immensely wealthy and widely charitable. He has made an immense fortune out of land, and some time ago surprised Melbourne by coming down with a charitable donation of £10,000, a weighty sum truly. It won him the apeakershlp of the Ho ebb undoubtedly, and I daresay will win him further honors to oome. He la notable, m another way, In being the first native-born Speaker of the Victorian House. Strange to say too, not a single Englishman or Sootohman haa held the position. Up to the present Speaker's time it wos always hold by an Irishman. En .rtvanelie, It ia oarlona to note that the corresponding position m the Upper House -the Presidentship, h»B alwaya been In the hands of an Eogllshman, until the reoord was broken by the accession of the reigning Scot, Sir James M'Bain.

A function took place on Tuesday last, which is well worthy o£ mention. I refer ■ to tbe opening by Sir Henry Loch of a 1 new wing of the Women's Hospital at 1 Oatlton, But irhat fa interesting abont , It is that this large addition to the Hospital is due almost solely to the charity, energy, and philanthropy of one woman. . Who this is, I think most of my readers mustknow ; but for those who do not I may iaform them that tbe lady, through whose endeavors this added accommodatlon for poor women who need it most is I doe, is Miss Genevieve Ward, tbe actress, i La«> November she inaugurated a Greek i play for the purpose of raising money or tbe Hospital, and the rejult was made i rcaiifest on Tuesday. A splended new 1 wing has been added, accommodation for ■ nearly a hundred poor mothers has been ■ provided — and all done by one woman. 1 <Jloricu*, u«ly, talented, tender-hearted ; Gtenevleve Ward 1 What a livlcg monu- | ment to her goodness and worth haa she not raised ! What alleviation of Buffer' ing, what a saving of life, will she not be 1 Instrumental m. M»y she live and pro* 1 sper cxc jedlngly, for suoh women ate rare .You remember, no doubt, her great piece ia that beautiful drama, " Forget Me Not." Well, I was pleased to see at the opening ceremony on Tuesday nearly ■ everyone wore a sprig of forget-me-not, In token and memory of her, which was, I thought, very graceful and aptopos. Last week caw the opening of our new Priuce'a Bridge — a fine example of engineering science and cons. motive skill, i.nd one that will stand when all tho busy thousands that throng the city to-duy have Tanished, a monument of the energy of this generation. I know the principal engineer well, and have followed tbe course o£ erection with unusual interest during the three years it has been going on. He tells me, %o % that not only has the bridge been built, but the river itself has been transformed to fit the bridge. Itß width has been more than doubled, and the reef juet underneath, which was foHable at low water, has been removed, 1 and there is now a depth of 22ft and a waterway of 316ffc wide. Altogether, we ought to be proud of oar new Prince's Bridge. It has a fine masaivonesa and dignity of general effect, and, though not anything like so hi«h as tho Tay Bridge or the Brooklyn, it is, with oae or two esoeptioa^, the widest bridge m the world. Apropos of this one of our Melbourne wits has already given it a name, Many of our readers will remember the evil notoriety the Kichmond Bridge haß gained m tho way of suicides. It seems to be the favorite epot for distraught and betrayed young women to jump into the Yarra from. Well, our wit, one Uay lasb week, at a pnblio dinner, dnbbed the Richmond Bridge, " Bridge of Sigha," and the new Prince's Bridge, the " Bridge of Size."

I have given my readers nothing about the Exhibition of late, and bo I think it time 1 made a few jottings relative to wlnt Is going on there. I muat confess it maintains its popularity, and tha a ( t9ndanoeß are good, though I am afraid it is not the Exhibition per se which li the great Attraction. The Aveoua of Nations running right through the main building la the great centre of interest. It makes a capital promenade, and there being a band stationed at one end, and plenty of color and light and movement, oar worldly, frivolous Melbourne folks love to promenade up and down, especially on a Saturday eveniog, m all the glory of purple and fine linen. One aeea half Melbourne there, everybody en grande I tenue , bowing, aralllng, chatting, munching lollies, either nlowly walking up and down, or resting In the chairs placed alone eaoh Hide- As a matter- of -courae, the Avenue has beoomo a most popular place rfc rencontrs, Lovers meet there ; sohoolgirls make appointments with their friends f heavy mammas meet hasband aud eon there after bnaineu honrs : dorks and aaleameo, released from tbelr duties, oolleot therein ahopls and patrol aa do all the reat j unsH a« | «a,y, one ueea h.Alf the tpwn there. Bat gq into the annexes, loojc roqnd the v»r ions coarts', and "you will fiad |hem empty. A* a press friend of mine ealci to me oyoioally last Satqrday evening, at we sat watohing the crowd of gatiy-dressod promenaders after a lonely etroil through the annexes, " The people here don't come to ccc the Exhibition, but to »ik 9ia cyhlb|t|oti of tbenielTQi."