OUR MELBOURNE LETTER.

Evening Star, Issue 4150, 15 June 1876, Page 2

OUR MELBOURNE LETTER.

MelbourKb, June 7. Fires on the Queen’s, birthday are not to be wondered at, nor to be considered an ob jectionable way of expressing loyalty, and rejoicing. But they ought in all reason to be confined to bonfires. In Melbourne, however, we have had no less than four -■ three of them very serious. Two occurred in premises of firms beyond suspicion, and one was only a small affair in a dwelling house. Messrs Sander, Lazarus, and Co., Messrs Harper Bros., the millers, and Hicks, bonded store keepers, were the sufferers.- Harper’s was the first place noticed to be in flames. This was the mill facing the Hobson’S. Bay radway station in Flinders street, and-the fire was observed about three o’clock in the morning. Before it was fairly subdued, the bonded store was found to be burning.. ' About, one o’clock in the afternoon of the -next day Lazarus’s place was attacked. It is very remarkable that ' the very day when sll these things took pl&ce ' was the day in all the year when the Fire Brigade was absent from Melbourne or might be presumed to be, if ever, less alert than usual. The Queen’s Birthday was the day universally known to be selected'for the “ demonstration ’’ of Fire Brigades at. Ballarat. There were no fires at Ballarat, but there were some at many of the places whose brigades went thither. Evidently the band of incendiaries '(for there can be no doubt, morally, that such a gang caused these fires) calculated that the Brigades would not return till the day after the! festival, and would probably be in route till about four o’clock p.m. ’ But as a mattir of fact the men returned by- the last train on 1 the 24th, so that the whole of the intended mischief was not consummated. What motive can have prompted such acts ? Only two present themselves to my mind. We know that a certain class of people, consider all destruction of property as “ good for trade/’ because labor must be employed; to replace it. On the other hand, we know 1 that the lower classes in Constantinople use fires as a signal of political feeling. The alternative is not a pleasant one; the only ' other supposition - pure accident—is shut out, by the circumstances. The number of fires, their proximity, the different classes of buildings and of interests affected by them, the absence of motive in the parties whose property was destroyed to cause its destruction, the time, and the absence of the preventive force, are too significant to be mere coincidences. 1

By-the-bye, “ Mob ” has been emulating Cob and Chittabob. There is a dub of fanny fellows in tlm town who call themselves “ The National Reform League,” who, out of pure love for their fellow-citizens, meet together occasionally to make fools of themselves. They make believe to discuss politics and motions to Judges - and like matters—all of coarse in pure jest. But since this kind of thing soon oecomes stale, they keep up the fun by pretending to quarrel (simply in jest you must bear m mind), and tell one another that “ the motion is calculated to . bring ridicule upon the League.” To this club went Mr. Berry one night, evidently under a most laughable delusion that these fanny fellows were in earnest. And he made them a speech, whereat they were all amused most mightily. But then, to secure that he should be made ridiculous (for it is the life and soul of the League to make everybody else laughable'as well as itself), they showed their amusement‘,by pretending to applaud, and by eggihg him on to still greater lengths of absurdity. ticUlarly did they do this , wheni he dropped an. “hj,” or put one where hobo,dy^jdse'does. And finding that th% applauded whenever he did this, he set to work to do it of set purpose, and made double his Usual number

of “ was*s"for “ were,” smAettar tical elegancies (for they lire know!). Andthewholething wtsapeneot success, for the public laughed at the League even more than the League did at thegreat mob. ' ' • v ■ Stevenson was prosecutea in the Police Court to defraud the/Co*. Toms by false entries.. The case lasted several days, and all theevidenoewas'one nay except Trowell, the imormer’s.’ The experts were all in favor of the .defendant. Some evidence, squeezed, in edgewise, was very damaging to TrowelTs character. By five inagistrates' opinion against four the case was dismissed. At fust the Government said they would noriproceed4«rith-a,j second charge, but after a Cabinet meeting' (when the Ministry, asa body, threw aS the onus on the Customs andthe law depart* mente)-it was-decided *q jgooeed -with another charge to-day.