VICTORIA, Melbourne, August 29.

Evening Post, Issue 185, 11 September 1865, Page 2

VICTORIA, Melbourne, August 29.

Since the date of my last communication, a conference Committee, consisting of several leading members of each House of the Legislature, was sitting nominally for the purpose of discussing certain amendments in the Water Works Bill, but in reality not without some ulterior views with respect to an arrangement of the now serious difficulties involved in the Appro-priation-cum-Tariff Bill, and the respective rights and privileges of the two Houses, as affected by the "laying aside by the Legislative Council of that measure. The reports of the two sections of the committee were present to each House on Tuesday, the 22nd inst., when from the tenor of those documents, it was found that after several long discussious the Conference had not been able to agree of the two Chambers with respect to each as to the general question of the privileges other. An arrangement had, however, been made, by the terms of which the Water Works Bill would be allowed to become law, after being re-introduced in the Lower House and passed through all its stages in a slightly modified form. On the same evening Mr. Snodgrass, a somewhat eccentric member of tho Assembly, who has a singularly unhappy knack of cither doing wrong things, or right things at a wrong time, moved for an address to the Governor, calling his Excellency's attention to a notice in the Government Gazette olthe 28th of July, signed George Verdon, announcing the suspension of the payment of salaries, wages, and contingences, and praying him to adopt such measures as he might think fit to protect the civil servants under these " cruel and unjustifiable" circumstances. A very brief discussion ensued, and the motion, which met with a very limited amount of support, was rejected without a division. On the following Thursday, Mr. M'Gregor, a supporter of the Ministry, in a speech setting forth the evils that would arise from a longer continuance of the " dead-lock,' ' moved — " That an address be presented to his Excellency the Governor, respectfully representing, that in consequence of the laying aside by the Legislative Council, without message or communication to the Legislative Assembly, of the Bill oi Supply and Appropriation passed by this House the salaries of civil servants, for the month of July, have not been paid, and othe r public obligations are undischarged; and praying his Excellency that such measures may be adopted as shall, in the opinion of his responsible advisers, be expedient or necessary for satisfying the liabilities aforesaid, and for maintaining the efficiency of the public service." The resolution was adopted by the Ministry, in accordance with a decision previously come to in a private meeting with their supporters ; but^ while accepting the motion, they declined to bind themselves to any definite course of action in the matter. After a long and animated debate, the motion was carried by a majority of 40 to 16. It has not yet publicly transpired that anything has been done by the Government, on account of the resolution so triumphantly carried in their favour ; but I find that amongst the civil servants themselves a very general expectation prevails that their salaries will be duly paid early in the ensuing month. In the meantime the Ministry have lost none of their popularity with that largesection of our community which soi disant conservative politicans here choose to designate " the mob," and the Legislative Council is, by the sarftg many-headed monster, still regarded with feelings akin to hatred and contempt. It does not aappearr r however, that the policy of the present advisers of tire Crown is at all popular with the Council electors of the Eastern Province, since they have jus^elected Mr. Haines — who comes forward as a decided opponent of that policy— to fill the vacant seat created by the retirement of Mr. Harvey, the late representative of the Government in that House, in preference to the Ministerial candidate J\lr. Carr and that, too, by a large majority. T,he subject which, next to the poetical iffkulties of their own, " situation," Iftas.

been / most important question discussed* at several recent meetings of the Cabinet, has been that of the guilt or innocence of the unhappy man David Young, who had been found guilty of the murder of Margaret Graham, at Daylesford, and sentenced to die by the hands of the hangman. After several long and earnest discussions as to the merits of the whole case, and a careful consideration of the circumstantial evidence adduced at the trial, it was finally resolved to allow the law to take its course, and the fatal sentence was carried out atCastlemainegaol, on Monday morning, the 21st inst. The culprit, even with the rope round his neck, protested his innocence of the crime for which he suffered, although after he had been placed under the fatal beam, he had been solemnly charged by the Roman Catholic clergyman who attended him upon the scaffold to confess the crime if he were guilty. Aa may well be supposed, from the peculiar circumstances of the case, public opinion here is divided as to the justice of the Executive Council in this matter, and I am very far from being alone in holding the belief that the evidence against him was not sufficiently conclusive to warrant his conviction. is clear, however, from the culprit's own admission, as well as from an abundance of other evidence, that he was an "old hand" and a hardened criminal of the very worst stamp. — Correspondent of the Otago Daily Times.