Our Contributors.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume VI, Issue 526, 29 July 1881, Page 2

Our Contributors.

ECHOES OF MELBOURNE

(From our Own Correspondent)

July 19. _ Our new Ministry—the twenty-first that Victoria has been blessed with in the course of twenty-six years—have put forth their policy, and an uncommonly Liberal one it is, and one to which no objection could be taken if Sir Bryan O'Loghleu had sufficient men to carry it out, which he has not, having no supporters except his own Cabinet, seven men, in the Assembly. 'Tis amusing to think that seven men should govern seventy-nine who are utterly oppesed to them, and yet, owing to the divisions existing in the House, it is probable we will see this, at least for a few months. As to the policy, Sir Bryan found one ready to his hand, agreed on by all parties, and took it up. Party politics are to be left severely alone, and we are to have the three P's, peace, prosperity, and practical legislation. Then, as the remainder of the Stat* lands are not very valuable, or far from market, the area which can be selected is increased from 320 acres to 640 acres, the improvements reduced from £1 to 10s per acre, and the age of the selector from 18 to 16, while family groups will be allowed to select. The mallee and similar country is to be let in moderate-sized runs on condition rabbits and other nuisances are to be exterminated. There is to be a revision of the tariff, so as to get rid of vexatious and useless duties, but the Premier declared Protection was to be retained. The most original and startling item of the new programme is the financial proposals. Within the next five years eight millions of our 6 per cent, debentures fall due, and Sir Bryan proposes to offer them to the present holders at 4 per cent., or whatever lower he can get—refunding the debt, in fact, as America has done—and to borrow four millions more. At 4 per cent, about the same interest would have to be paid on the twelve millions as we now pay for the eight, the odd four millions being devoted to complete our railway system, give water supply to the selectors on the parched northern areas, and build new schools. Sir Bryan has the courage to propose a Koyal Commission to examine into the cost and working of the E iucation Act, and to investigate the alleged grievances of the Catholics.

The result of the Ministerial elections will be known before this appears. Only two seats seem in doubt, those of the Premier, in West Bourke, and of the Minister of Lands, that champion trimmer, Mr David Gaunson, at Ararat. The Conservatives have been forced into a very difficult position, that of giving a tacit support to the Ministry by their leader, Mr Murray S.nith, when they could have cas'ly got in a candidate for West Bourke, and the result is that some of them swear they won't vote at all. The Liberals, or rather the Berry section of that party, are going to hold a great demonstration to-morrow night, at which the future platform of the party will be formulated and the new flag unfurled. To be a success it must be moderate, for we all want a rest.

Big Jack, Sir John O'Shanassy, is dissatisfied, and he stalks about Collins street looking very mysterious. There is very little change in this venerable Australian statesman, tie is as cunning and able as ever, though over seventy years of age. At five o'clock every afternoon he is to be seen walking down Collins street towards the train with several books under his arm. " What are you going to do with those books Sir John ? " a friend may ask. " Going to bring them home, sorr, to learn my lessons " is the invariable reply. Mrs Manting, the landlady of the Clarendon Hotel, a place of gay resort, has been found not guilty of stealing £33 from a miner named Donohue, who complained that he had been robbed by her in the hotel when on a spree. The plea for the defence was that Donohue had given her the money to take care of for him, and that he was too drunk to recollect the occurrence, and the judge summed up in the prisoner's favor, laying stress upon the inordinate quantity of drink the accuser had by his own acknowledgment indulged in during the day. Judge Williams seemed to think that if a man got drunk it served him right if he lost his money. Everyone is displeased at the verdict, as great complaints have been made about these hotels, especially by our visitors during the Exhibition.

Burglars find boots an encumbrance when pursuing their vocation, but one of the fraternity would have been glad of a pair the other morning. Himself and a mate had " cracked a crib " at Brighton, the jeweller's shop of a Mr Cattlin. Mrs Cattlin was waked by the noise they made and woke her husband, who went for the thieves in his nightshirt, only to see their shoeless feet vanishing from the sill. He bravely gave chase, however, but lost the game in a paddock. Meeting a constable he detailed his woes and the minion of the law remembering his fellow country mau, for his name was Kelly, had a ball that night, and that the visitors were probably waiting on the platform for the first train, made his way to the Brighton station, but failed to find a likely party there. At this time " the grey dawn was breaking " a Iα Kathleen Mavourneen and the chilled ball people moved and carried a resolution that an adjournment should be made to the nearest hotel to knock up the publican and get a drop of whisky. They all left the platform except one man.

Othello said of Ingo that he could see by his feet that he was a devil, but constable Kelly saw very plainly by the solitary passenger that he was one of the thieves by his wearing no boots. Over £300 worth of jewellery was found upon him. This comes of thieves being luxurious and desiring to travel in trains. These are civilized times and we talk much of the liberty of the subject and the like, but Mr William Smith has no reason to think that the world has mended or that the dark days have passed away. Mr Smith is a re* stable man aged 53, married to a v a few years younger. He is hiir<- X an old colonist and has been for year* in the employ of Fraser and Company, the indent auctioneers, and he pit his wife in a store at Emerald Hill. This was a false step. Smith was in town all day, and right opposite Mrs b. s shop was that of a butcher aged 40, named Strugnell, between whom and his better half Smith fancied matters were thicker than proper. Prompted by the green-eyed monster, he peeped one morning out of the glass door and saw, as he says, Strugnell behave naughtily to his wife and kiss his hand to her. A row was the consequence, and Smith chastised his wife, .she said nothing just then, but wheu he carried on the vendetta and advertised that he would not be responsible for her d.-bts she went to Drs Iflla and Foster, and represented her husband was insane, being subject to delusions and violent. These Galens examined poor Smith, and finding that he persisted in believing his wife's infidelity, they signed a certificate that he was mad, and he was sent off to Kew. There he might have remained, but that Mrs Smith applied for his property and money. The law took little notice of Smith's being confined as a lunatic, but when the property came into question a strict examination was made before Judge Williams, who found him perfectly sane an'i ordered his release. Property is the god of the English law, life and liberty nothing. The wave of what is called aistheticism, " finickinism " some name it, is reaching our shores from England, and some of our young men and women are already taking to talking in the " Utter" etrain and wearing what they call Renaissance dresses and artistic colors. By Harpers Monthly I see they have established an aesthetic colony near London where the houses and their decorations look like pictures. It in in decoration these folks particularly shino. We have not seen much of it here, but aastheticism must be strong in England for the standard jokes of the comic papers are based upon it, and Gilbert and Sullivan's latest opern, acknowledged to be a splendi 1 satire on the new innnia, " Patience, or Bunthorne's Bride," is a pure travestie of the craze, and is a great success. It could hardly be comprehended in the Colonies. But I warrant Melbourne fashionables will soon take it ypeow amore Mr Dewhurst has appeared in Othello and made a comparative failure. He has a fine presence, a good voice, and dresses well, but there was a lack of genius and fire in his Othello that chilled the audience. Perhaps in some other character he may do better. Actors who make their debuts here invariably choose their worst impersonation. Otherwise, theatrical matters are very dead.