THE VICTORIAN CRISTS.

Clutha Leader, Volume IV, Issue 184, 18 January 1878, Page 3

THE VICTORIAN CRISTS.

The following- telegrams refer to the present crisis in Victoria.:— (Special to tlw Star). Melbourne, January 8. The revolutionary proceedings of the Ministry have been begun, and the excitement* produced all over the Colony is tremendous. One hundred arid fourteen judges. and- principal Civil servants have been- discharged. Public business is entirely suspended. Renter 1 s Specials. Melbourne, January 9. A Gazette issued yesterday announces that the Government have dispensed with the "service's .of- several hundred of the classified officers, tfcc., -including" all the County Court Judges,. . Police Magistrates, the Engineer in-Cliief: pf-Rail-Avays, and the permanent heads of the Lands, Public .Works, and. Customs Departments, . , '■ "\ ' •''•..'/' '-""'.-'• January. 10. - , Affairs ; here are be'coinip'g 1 alarming: Yesterday a number !oY unclassified

officers of long standing* were dismissed without or claim for coihpsnsation. Fnrther dismissals ar^e contemplated in various public departments, lncluding the Chief Commissioner of Police. Public works h.fi_vf> been stopped, and .large numbers of working* men thrown out. of employment' The compensation allowance for classified'officers, is enormous. ;The police magistrates have received L 40.000. Mr Graham Berry • , a'duressed the people of Geelong, nnd then a mass meeting- in Melbourne. The supporters of the Government have -, addressed their . . respective . con • stifuents on the cause of the present crisis. The wildest excitement prevails. On Thursday, the. Governor, in his speech at the opening of the Portland railway, filluried to the state of affairs, and said it was his duty to give support to the Government so-long as they kept within the. law, and retained the confidence of the majority of the people. His position was one of strict neutrality, and that, was the view taken by the Imperial authorities. . The Civil Service is in. a state of disorganisation, consequent on the uncertainty as to whose dismissal will be next. None were discharged to-day, presumably owing to the absence of seven members of the Cabinet at Portland. Licenses cannot be granted, owing to the absence of the Police Magistrates. January 11. At a meeting of Opposition members it was resolved that Parliament should meet on the sth February. The resolution expressed disapproval and condemnation of the action of the Government. Thirty members were present. - . The political atmosphere is calmer. ; January 12. It is rumoured that unless there is a speedy settlement ol the dispute between the two Chambers of the Legislature a dissolution of the. Assembly may be expected eavlv in March. At a Cabinet meeting on Monday next;" Mr Graham Berry will probably submit the names of officers in the departments under his jurisdiction fordis- . missal from the Civil Service. . . Twelve school Inspectors have been dispensed . with, and other changes in the Kailway and Public Works Departments are anticipated. It is stated that- a Bill to retorm the Legislative Council .has been drafted and will be proposed as the first measure when the Assembly meets on the fifth prox. Should the Council reject the measure there will be. an appeal to the country ! on the ground that the Council refuses ! self- reformation. j January 14. I It is announced that the Postmaster- | Genera] has declined to allow, any officers of his department to be dismissed. In some churches prayers have been offered for the wives and children of Civil servants recently dismissed. : ' The dismissal of other public servants 'is expected next \ver-k. We give the following extracts- upon the above subject from an article in the . Dunedin Age. After referring to the discharge of judges, &c, the article refers to the form, of government in Victoria, and regarding the Legislative Council says that: — Though nominally an elective body, it is in reality an autocracy. Its members, about thirty in number, are elected for a term of ten years. Tiieir seats expire by rotation, and the power of dissolution which the Governor possesses over the Assembly does not affect them. The property qualification of electors for the Uppe.r House is so high as to disfranchise all but a small fragment of the population, and the qualification of members is such as to effectually prevent a choice of representatives. To put the matter simply, the Legislative Council in Victoria is composed of a select body of wealthy colonists who hold their seats as long as it suits their purpose to do so, or if they think proper, for the term of their natural lives. tTheir. chief business is to. examine the measures that have been passed by the. Assembly, and to' care- : fully excise anything which they can discover of a liberal or democratic nature, or interfering in the remotest degree with what they conceive to be the rights of property. The question of payment of members is the ostensible but not the real bone of contention. It is. introduced, in the same. way as the Darling grant was introduced by a former Ministn r , as an essential element in deciding whether the people or this irresponsible Chamber is to have the supremacy. Payment of members has had a six years' trial, and nearly every member in the Legislative Council has pocketed LIBOO ford oing little beyond formally assenting to Bills and frustrating useful legislation. But payment of -members-! has gradually made a marked difference in the. constitution of the -Legislative Assembly, and ■herein-'lies the great grievance of the Legislative Council, Ac the last election it- gave, the Liberals a most decided' victory,^ and overawed by the amazing strength .of the Berry party Uhe Council gave way to public, opinion.; arid' submitted to the passing of a Land: . Tax. The; question of.ajLandTax had been befot-e the country, and they feared •the^result of another. appeal on such an i

issue. They discreetly swallowed the hitter pill, but they determined at the same time to be revenged and to take effectual steps for filtering- the composition of the Assembly. .Payment of members had given the doctors a better choice of candidates than ever they had had before. Jr hud- introduced "from among- the working and middle classes a body of intelligent, independent, consistent representatives. To get rid of these now became the object of the Council, and as the readiest means of doing- so they determined on abolishing payment of members, well knowing that many of the members could not afford to continue their seats if their L3OO a year were withdrawn. The abolition of payment would again confide the popular representation, to large properly holders, briefless barristers panting, for Attorney-Generalships and judicial vacancies, and poor men who would consent to barter their professed principles, like Sir Walter Scott's miser, " for a consideration." In order to restore the Assembly to its old condition, and render its members waiters on Providence and the Legislative Council, this autocratic body has rejected the Payment of Members Bill, and also the Appropriation Bill, because the lafcter provided forpaynient of members. We are glad to" see that, the gauntlet which the Legislative Council of Victoria has thrown down, has beeu taken up by the Berry Ministry and the Assembly. It has said, " You have stopped the supplies, and we cannot carry on the business of the country ; - you have locked the treasury, we must dismiss the public servants." The threat of stopping the railways, throwing the prisons open, and otherwise unhinging the country, is no empty one. By dismissing' the judges, magistrates, and heads of departments, they ha v« only begun to apply the screw that will eventually wring the Legislative Council into subjection to the authority of the popular will, or sweep it out of existence. The Council holds the key of the public purse at present, but the Assembly is vested with the sole administrative power, and it is using it a9 a weapon to bring the Council to reason. If necessary, we believe, the Government will not only throw the gaols and prisons open, stop the railway traffic, suspend the administration of justice, but they will close the post and telegraph offices, and State schools. These extreme steps will not be taken, however, unless the Government is compelled to adopt them by the continued obstruction of the Council, la such a case, there is little doubt that the supreme authority of the British Government will be invoked and used in bringing about such an alteration of the Constitution as will prevent deadlocks for the future. Under any circumstance the responsibility of the present crisis or revolution in Victoria rests entirely with, the Council, and "not with the Government and the Assembly. The battle that is being fought is between the people and an autocracy, between political progress and political obstruction, between liberty and oppression, between the rights of manhood and the rights of a few greedy monopolists. We have confidence in the power of the Victorian people and their representatives, and we will be greatly mistaken if the bloodless revolution commenced in- that colony does not result in a glorious triumph for manhood suffrage and popular representation.