VICTORIA.

Evening Star, Issue 2840, 26 March 1872, Page 3

VICTORIA.

(From the Grey Fiver Argus t Correspondence. ) A scene unrivalled, save by the demolition of the interior of a hell in New \ ork, as told bv Hayward in one of his works, occurred on the night of Wednesday last, the Mechanics Arms, in Little Cdllibs street, a notorious house of assignation, having been the locale of the outrage. The then tenant, it appears, had gone to some considerable expense in furnishing the house in a manner worthy of his patrons in the full anticipation of the reward of the license, but unfortunately for his calculations the Magistr. t s would not allow of the house being rehccnsed. The house, however, continued to be oc. iipied, and on the above-mentioned day, the ground landlord a well-known brewer, sent a strong party of special bailiff's to take possession, to distrain for arrears of rent. On arriving at the house they managed to gam admittance, though with some difficulty, andiafter a struggle succeeded in incontinently ejecting the tenants into the street. Their triumph, however, was not for long. The repulsed went straightaway to the classic retirements of Little Bourke street and Bdkinw square, in a few minutes organised a force of the most lawless and determined “ larrikins” in Melbourne, and hastened back to the scene of action. The besiegers then essayed entrance from the front, rear, and even roof of the premises, succeeding eventually in forcing an entrance through an unprotected window, and then ensued a fierce struggle. Chair aud table legs were wrenched off and |used in the now unequal encounter. Oaths, cries, {and blows made a frightful medley of sounds—h Up to heaven went that wild halloo !” till at length numbers prevailed, and the bailiffs were in their turn thrown into the street, one man bleeding frightfully from a gash in his cheek, and all the rest more or less bruised or cut from their rough handling. And now commenced the work of destruction. Determined nothing of any value should be left in the house, after they had nailed up doors and windows, they with axes and hammers demolished furniture, fittings, crockery, pier-glasses, &c., and as they had strong waters in abundance, the carnival was complete. At one time during the melee the leader of the " larrikins ” was arrested by the police, who were on the ground to the number of six or seven ; but by a determined rush he succeeded in eluding their grasp and joining his friends, and the blue-coated gentry did not seem ambitious to attempt his re-capture, and so the party of disorder were left masters of the situation. Despite the success that has .attended gold mining, and the general prosperity that has attended mining speculations lately, there is a large falling off in the yields for the last two months compared with the correspondingperiod in 1870. Nearly 30,0000zs more gold were exported in the first two months of last year than this, and this in the face of some 18,5000zs more received from New Zealand for January and February, 1872, than in 1871. The long-talked-of Government House, to be erected on the Botanical Reserve, is at length to be commenced, tenders having been issued for the foundations, &c. Whether its issue and progress will be as rapid as that of Parliament House, future generations will yet discover. Melbourne just now is unusally full of amusements. A rather successful season of Madame States’ Italian Opera Troupe, assisted by members of Lyster’s English Opera Troupe, is proceeding at the Princess’s. The subscription nights occupy every alternate evening, while the off nights are devoted to English opera, at million prices. 8o great is the rush that numbers had to be refused admittance when Offenbach’s popular “ Grand Duchess” was given. In the favorite operetta, Miss Alice May assumes the leadingpart with tolerable success. At-the Royal, MissErnstone, a young actress of considerable merit, “ brought down the house” nightly in a drama of Falconer’s—" Snare”—and she is replaced, herengagementhaviug ended, by Mr James Cardin, who is described as a juvenile tragedian, who appeared on Saturday evening last in a dramatic version of Tennyson’s "Enoch Arden.” His acting so far is rather unequal, but it is rather premature to Judge qf his real merit. An experiment has been tried by Mr Coppin, of reducing the prices of admission, beginning on Saturday night. With a quiet bit bit of sarcasm, he gives a covert Jiue at the lovers of the "legimate drama” by announcing that, in consequence of the success of Boucicanlt and the Zavistowski trio of burlesque actresses, he is in no position to run the hazard. The dress circle has been lowered to 35., and the two next divisions of the house proportionately, while the pit and the classic heights of Olympus remain unaltered. It will remain to be seen whether this new scheme will fill the hiatus between the pit and upper circle. At &t George’s Hall,

Rickards draws immensely, having had a longer run thdn Was ever accomplished in this house before. Thanks to a seemingly endless repertoire custom cannot stale his infinite variety. He is very efficiently aided by Miss Lizzie Watson, a young lady with any quantity of dash and Verve. Between the two I think “honors are easy.” Any way they have thoroughly acclimated the entertainment they appear in. On Saturday last Harris and Mahony met on the Melbourne Cricket Ground in a match for a trophy valued at LIOO. Mnhony won the first event, a hundred yards spin, by a little over a foot—time, As Harris has run the same distance before in nearly a second less-unking, of course, some eight or ten yards difference —the “ squareness ” of the transaction is manifest. Curses both loud and deep by the visitors present greeted this performance, and the result of the next cven t —3oo yards—in no wise modified the expression of public opinion. At the end of the race Mahony died away, allowing his opponent to win as he liked. The final cvent was a quarter spin, and as Mahony runs well at this distance, it was fully expected he would win. This he did, and the time was very much better, being accomplished in 53secs, Among other sports, the mile race, all winners, was a grand affa r Hewitt, starting from scratch, winning in 4min. 304secs , the fastest time ever made in Victoria, with four yards to spare. Between this latter peel, and Bedford, “ the boy wonder,” a match for L2OO is on the to} its. The distance is to be five miles, Bedford receiving 300 yards grace. If run fairly it will be worth seeing.