VICTORIA. (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Otago Daily Times, Issue 247, 4 October 1862, Page 5

VICTORIA. (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Melbourne, September 27,

(Saturday.)

You have again been most unfortunate with your homeward mails. The City cf Hobart arrived off Cape Schaack yesterday, at five o'clock p.m., and half an hour afterwards Captain Darby observed the Northam mail steamer coming through the Heads afc Queenscliffe. He gave chase, thinking the Northam mi^ht see his signals, and He to for a few minutes. She, however, steamed on. The City carried on the chase till dark, buruing blue lights and firing rockets, and although within three miles of the mail, the latter refused to stop, and Captain Darby returned, very much annoyed and chagrined that his endeavors to serve you should be thus haughtily treated by the P. and 0. Company. The loss of" .an hour to the mail would have been trivial, compared to the loss and vexation it will entail on New Zealand, as on this occasion it is understood the mail was of more than ordinary importance.

The Aldinga has been on the slip, and will soon be ready for sea. She may indeed be expected a few days after the Gothenburg. Yesterday she had a very narrow escape from being burned. Some composition of an inflammable nature was being boiled on board, for some purpose connected with her repairs, and the composition taking fire, a large numbei of men were immediately employed to hand water over the side of the vessel, and in about fifteen minutes the fire was extinguished.

The Omeo has just put in an appearance, having been obliged to take shelter in Twofold Bay. The weather has lately beeu very severe off the coast, and the Gothenburg was delayed on her last voyage by being obliged to put into Waterloo Bay for a short time.

The tenor of the news brought by the Gothenr burg allayed the feverish excitement relative to the Dunstan diggings ; and the City of Hobart's news has altogether smothered any lingering hope there was of a great exodus to your colony. You will, for the present, therefore, most likely receive only that moderate addition to your population that the summer was sure to bring you, independent of any new discoveries, ■The Nor'wester sailed yesterday, for Otago, with 460 passengers. . The working of the new Land Act has been the chief, topic of political interest during the last ten days. The number of applications sent in, and the limited accommodation at the country land offices, gave the appearance of a great rush, and in some places the rush was of a most keen and exciting nature. Conflicting accounts were promulgated, and the partizans of the Ministry or the Democratic party,-as the case might be, held the Act was working well, or that the squatters were seizing all the best lands for sheepwalks, and that the bonafide settler was crowded out by a large number of spurious applications and unscrupulous agents. If it were possible to judge of the matter-without any bias, it might be said there is a large amount of truth on both sides. At some of the principal land offices, where the land was of choice quality, the most unscrupulous means were used to possess the coveted lots. The land was bought up by squatters, in some instances, to the extent of twenty thousand acres, and for such lots as the squatter or capitalist was anxious, the poor settler had very small chance. The ultras raised a cry on this, and not without some reason. But when it is considered the squatter is as much a bonajide settler as the small farmer, and that wool, tallow, mutton, and beef, are as much necessaries as cereals, and that the squatter is a valuable colonist;, it does seem hard if he 19 to be precluded from following his business any more than o.ther people. For other lots, amounting to a million and a half of acres

there hasnot been such a scramble, and a return recently published, shows that the entire'amount already taken up, does not exceed half a million of acres. There, is, therefore, abundant land in the market for any one who chooses to go and select it. - -

The cry against large slieepwalks appears to arise from the mistaken notion that if the land were taken up by fanners, it would never become a sheepwalk. This is, undoubtedly, a mistake, as hundreds of farms in the Highlands •of bcotland have been found to be more prohtable if turned into runs than used lor agriculture.- And, even supposing bona Jide settlers .should squat on lands adjoining a station, it is preposterous to suppose the sheep farmer should be precluded from buying that man out, and making his possessions as large as his capital and energy are capable of. One thing is certain, the Lund Act is too recent an experiment to^ pronounce an authoiifcative opinion.' Only tins much is clear ; it is an Act like all the Acts of our Victorian wiseacres* capable of being used by men of money and men of talent to suit their own purposes. The great additions that recent explorations have made to the available territory on the Australian Continent, render it extremely ludicrous to endeavor to confine an energetic population to cultivate cabbage gardens and feed silkworms, when there is land enough of a magnificent character to give every one of the present inhabitants a run of ten * thousand acres ! The great strides the colony of Queensland is making is a sufficient proof that the pastoral element is the natural way of settling new territory, and any attempt to discourage that, and foster new industries instead, is not sound polic}-. .-; It is finally ordered that Parliament shall meet for the despatch. of business on the 7th of November next. It is expected to be of a rather boisterous character, and there is no telling but the present. Government will find great difficulty in retaining their places. They have had some rather quarrelsome meetings, and dissensions are said to be of an alarming character, but time alone can develope this. One of the causes of alleged strife was, that some member of the Cabinet had divulged the contents of a despatch of the Duke of Newcastle to the Argus. The nature of this despatch, puts us in pos>e3sion ot two facts—the i one that the Bill to reduce the salary of the Governor has been disallowed by her Majesty, and the other is that the present Governor is to be retained in his office probabably for another six years.

The Supreme Court yesterday reversed Mr. Justice Chapman's decision in the matter of a certificate to Mr. William Perry, the well-known auctioneer. It will be remembered that the Commissioner of Insolvent Estates, Mr. Noel, decided that an auctioneer acted as an agent, and had no right to use monies so received in his general business, but must keep such monies in trust to pay over to the parties who employed the auctioneer to sell; and he refused Perry's certificate, on the ground that he had used the n-oney in general business, and lost what was not his own. Agaiust this decision Mr. Perry appealed, and Mr. Justice Chapman decided that the auctioneer in that resppct was not an agent, and he dr-icted the certificate to issue. The creditors carried the case before the full court, who upheld the decision of Mr Commissioner Noel, ami refused the certificate.

Mr. F. B. Franklyn, well-known as one of the proprietors of the Melbourne Herald, is a passenger by the mail steamer Northam for England. Mr. Franklyn has long been known in this city as a man of great integrity, and is universally esteemed by a large circle of friends—many of whom accompanied him on board the steamer to bid him good-bye. It is not supposed his stay in Europe will be of long duration.

This day the last number of a journal is published that has been for some time before the Victorian public. I allude to the Christian Times. Bat though it ceases to exist under that name, it will not altogether die off, but will be inched into another paper to be called the Weekly Review, which will take its place. Its cessation is attributed by the editor in his valedictory address to the prevalence of rampant denominationalism which pervades the colony, and to the fact that each section of the Christian Church here has its own peculiar organ ; so that an unseetarian publication has little chance of flourishing. The new journal will not be so thoroughly a religious one as its predecessor, but will contain much more general and scientific news, together with articles having a religious tendency, I understand that it has beenj purchased by Mr. David Bjair, a gentleman well known here as a writer and lecturer of no mean order, and one of the editorial stafF of the Herali newspaper. From the well-known ability of this irentleman, and from the fact that the publisher of the defunct journal will manage the present one, there is every reason to believe that it will be successful.

The mystery that has for so many years rested over the interior of Australia is rapidly being cleared up. The late unfortunate Burke and Wills party were the pioneers in this glorious enterprise ; but it has been reserved for two other gentlemen to carry out the work they inaugurated at the sacrifice of their lives. Intelligence was received a few days back that Mr. Landsborough, . the -head of a small party sent out by the Queensland Government in search of Burkes party, had successfully crossed the continent from Carpentaria to Melbourne. And a few days later news was received to the effect that Mr. M'Kinlay sent out by the South Australian Government, had also accomplished the same task—that is, form Adelaide to Carpentaria—whence he travelled through'the settled districts of Queensland to the. sea coast, where he took ship for Melbourne, arriving here in perfect health two days ago, after an absence from South Australia of over twelve months. Mr. Landsborough speaks of the country through which he passed in the most glowing terms, andas being in every way fitted for agricultural and pastoral purposes. Mr. M'Kinlay, too, gives an encouraging report, and further states that even in the Stony Desert he was able to procure a good supply of water. It was not this explorer's intention to have proceeded to Carpentaria, but he was compelled to deviate from his course by the flooded state of the country, and from which he and his party had some narrow escapes. It now seems fully certain that in.the rainy season, the central portion of this colony is one vast lake, the water from which, in the summer, either percolates through the soil or is evaporated by tbe sun. This will explain the discrepancy in the reports of various explorers, who have at one time found water, and at another no signs of any beyond the winter flood marks. A testimonial is about to be presented to Mr. Landsborough for his successful efforts in the cause of exploration, and Mr, M'Kinlay has also been received with great enthusiasm, and there is every probability of these two fellow-labourers in the same work being publicly entertained.

Of thea tricalnews there is some little of in terest to report. The new theatre lately built at the east end of Bourke-street, by Mr. George Coppiu, has been opened, and begins its career with every probability of success. Mr. Jefferson, an American actor of some note, has been starring there, and he has been well supported by a numerous and talented company. The Hon. George Coppin '"''. intends appearing on the boards shortly, and from his ability aud popularity as an actor, he will, no doubt, draw large audiences—though, by the way, it is questionable whether his appearance as an actor<does not detract from his status, as a member of the Legislative Council. The Princess's is having a fair share of public support. The " Midsummer Night's Dream" has had a very good run, which it well deserved, from the manner in which it was put upon the stage, and the ability of the dramatis persona who took part in its representation.- At present the Maori warriors are performing there, and are attracting a considerable share of attention.

The Marsh family still occupy the Lyceum Theatre, but 1 believe their performances are not so well attended as was expected. Considerable interest is beginning to be felt in the approaching Champion Race, which takes place on the Ist October, at Geelong. At present there are thirteen horses enteied for the ♦• blue riband" of the turf, and a close and exciting struggle is expected. The favorites are Aicher, Mormon,and Talleyrand, and it is fully expected the race will be beween these three. The trains on all the Victorian lines will run on the day at half fares, and in Geelong it will be kept as a general holiday The unusually wet weather has had the effect of considerably; retarding agricultural operations,

besides in many cases of injuring to an almost irremediable extent the cereal crop, so that it is to be feared the harvest will be considerably below the average. Some of the more northern and higher lands of the colony have however escaped. The Port Phillip Farmers' Society hold their annual meeting on the 9th October, and two following days, and there is every reason for its being as successful as in previous years. A trial between the only two steam ploughs in the colony is also about to to come off, the Board of Agriculture having offered a premium of LIOO for the most efficient one. All kinds of stock are at a low figure, and likely to continue so. The failure of the Provident Institute has caused a great sensation throughout Victoria, and as most of the depositors are liard-working individuals who have, placed their all in this bank, its stoppage has been severely felt. Two or three meetings of the-depositors have beenhel.d,but they have ended -n no practical results. Il has now gone into the Insolvent Court. It appears that its liabilities are estimated at L260,l 69 14s, and its assets at L 228,825 Is, leaving a deficiency of L 31.344 13s. The causes alleged are depreciation in the value of landed property, depreciation in the value of property on- which money had been lent, and the non-payment of principal and interest by the mortgagors. It was at one time expected, and publicly stated, that a dividend of at least 15s in the £ would be paid, but the numerous expenses attending its sequestratipn make it very problematical whether more than 10s will be realised. It is an institution that has never been regarded with favour by the press of the colony, and its failure is no matter of surprise to those who have been behind the scenes, and are acquainted with its working. Both directors and shareholders seem to have acted most injudiciously in the matter.