VICTORIA.

Lyttelton Times, Volume VIII, Issue 490, 15 July 1857, Page 4

VICTORIA.

Our latest date from Melbourne is the stli June. A special general meeting- of the Melbourne Chamber of Commerce took place on the Ist of June, for the purpose of discussing the proposal of the Royal West India Mail Company to establish steam communication via Panama. ' Mr. Wetton, the agent of the company, was in attendance. We have gi7en elsewhere the resolutions passed. Mr. Champ, the new Inspector-General of Penal Establishments, arrived x from Launceston, the 3rd of June, and at once took charge of this department. It is stated that important changes are in contemplation, and that Mr. Champ is decidedly averse to employing in situations of trust those who have been prisoners ; a system which was to some extent acted upon by the late Mr. Price. The two ends of the Melbourne and Geeleng Railway were expected to be united in a few days, when there would be a through line between Geelong and Williamstown. The opening had not yet been formally announced, but the rumour is that it would take place in about a fortnight, i and that the event would be significantly marked by a festival and ball. A meeting of tradesmen and others interested in the progress of the labour ! question in Victoria had been held at the ' Belvidere Hotel, Melbourne, for the purpose of taking into consideration the best means to prevent a portion of the, revenue of the

colony being sent to England for the introduction of additional labour into the crowded labour market of Victoria. . After the consideration of some preliminary arrangements, those present resolved themselves into a provisional committee to take action on the subject. The census of Victoria for 1857 is nearly complete. The gross results have been arrived at, and they show an increase in the last three years of over 58 per cent. The number of males in Victoria on the day of the census was 258,116., and of females, 145.303; making a grand total of 403,419. The trades of Melbourne were prepared to make another demonstration against the immigration scheme. A meeting took place on the 4th. The resolutions proposed affirm, very emphatically, that there is plenty of unemployed labour in the country to satisfy the most extravagant requirements of capital, and that the bill now before the Legislative Council is consequently unnecessary and unjust.