OUR MELBOURNE LETTER.

Evening Star, Issue 4100, 18 April 1876, Page 3

OUR MELBOURNE LETTER.

T ® lo T a L was toe state of things iJplinders Lane the day before yesterday. The Customs authorities having got information about Messrs Stevenson s business that led them to believe false invoices bad been used, proceeded to take possession of the warehouse goods, books, papers—every thin* This was done without any conviction of the parties accus. d and on grounds that legally are said to be totally insufficient, even if the charges were true The Act (so it is said) only authorises theso extreme measures m cases of actual smug. .. wilore tho offence is the use of salted invoices still less whore tho offence is not proved. Acting under the advice of a strong bar, Messrs Stevenson ejected the Custom-house occupants. The latter obtained a writ at once from the Supreme Court and proto break open the warehouse. The owners defended it vi et armia, and broke the collector's head while he was leading a storming partv The doors were chopped away, but their inner iron lining resisted axes, and main force was unable tn move the huge piles of linen bales behind them Ineffectual parlays having been held, a bystander showed the way to the police, customs, and all bv breaking a cast-iron window guard, forcing the cel or wmdow behind it, and marching straight up stairs. A little resistance was made on tho eteris but the fortress was virtually taken and hestllitieß soon ceased. One of Stevenson's employ tesrot e ? ts ftbout th e face, and will hibit them in Court to-day as defendant hi a summons for the; injunee done to the wUector by his hand. Another story, however has it tbi-t Mr Guthrie’s (the Collector of Onstoms) head was ?™,^ t P y .r a £ l 0W ’ b !J t ** 60 «° br °keP frluaa falling from one of the windows, gfeeanson’s have com ?mm«u ß « n Mti !? n 9“ tbrie f or trespass, &u. + b Tfl J dß collected to see the fight, and eur. founded the doors on Sunday. Scarcely n»y other topic of conversation is touched upon in town P^ Hc op i? iop wndmwiiff Messrs Stevenson for forcible resiat-

UtcA. One would fancy that the whole population hj« sld Jacobite views as to a subject 1 ! attitude towards la wless acts of the Crown.

Parliament was prorogued on F*day, but nobody pajdmuch attention to it. People were heartily tired end ashamed of it—it led a disgraceful life, and made its end accordingly thereto. A meeting of more interest than most “demonstrations” by societies was held iu the Town Hall on Thursday evening. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has taken a very practical step in forming a juvenile branch in connection with the Sunday School Union, and to celebrate the alliance this meeting was held. The Mayor occupied the chair, and the hall was crowded. There wore speeches, but not very good ones. The great attraction was music by the Blind Asylum which was very good indeed. The instrumental, however, was very far superior to the vocal section of the concert.

My last letter began with gales, tho present one with blows —lot us make an end in peace. The weather is the perfection of beauty, calmness, and good promise.

two cases of brutal cruelty on the part of police officers stationed in the Northern Districts of Queensland are of recent occurrence. In one instance a sub-inspeetor, for some offence, ordered a gin to be tied up aud flogged by one of his black troopers. The order was carried oat and the vvpman flogged, the white officer, we believe, looking on. Another white man, from an adjacent public house, witnessing this brutality had too manhood to protest in terms sufficiently strong to result in his being “ hammered" by the officer with toe help of a black trooper. The officer has since been dismissed the service. In the second case, a young hlackfellow suspected of intriguing with toe woman of a police camp was by the orders of toe officer in charge arrested, menacled with handcuffs, hands aud feet, and flogged first by toe officer and afterwards by two of the troopers. It is stated that a riding-whip and a leather saddle-girth were the weapons employed. The boy died two days afterwards.