VICTORIA.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 77, 27 February 1884, Page 2

VICTORIA.

(from our special correspondent.) Melbourne, Feb. 11, 1884. Contrasts of fortune in Colonial life are sometimes marked. Two such instances have recently come under my notice. A gentleman, whom I shall call Jones, was, some years ago, a successful — indeed, wealthy—business-man in Swanson Street, investing his profits in the usually safe method of land-purchasing. He owned large slices of more than one suburban township—and they are gifts now-a-days—besides extensive holdings in many parts of the country. As is but too often the case, the husband’s fondness gave way to the wife’s pride; his resolution waxed faint in yielding to domestic importunity. In an evil hour, or succession of hours, he disposed of his properties, and with an abundance of cash —abundance for present purposes, had he not killed the goose that laid the golden eggs—he betook himself off to England, and, with an expensive family, “ did ’.’ an intended European tour, and continued at the little game, until the little game “ did” him. As his means became smaller by degree and (anything but) beautifully less, he thought of returning to the Colony, where he at last arrived, and was recently ruminating the cud of bitter folly in a secluded thoroughfare barely making the proverbial ends meet. The obverse of this is a police pensioner, one of the many who, after years in the “ foorce,” manage to work themselves into nice snug little businesses, generally in the “pub” line, on a comfortable pension. On pension payday at the Treasury it is amusing to note these gentry with big watch-chains, sporting scarf-pins, and ring-bedizened fingers, fold up their cheques with the air of men who, concluding that they “ have done the State some service,” naturally think that State is under an obligation to them in coming periodically for their pittance. One of these “ bobbies” of the “ ex” division is now a magistrate, not that he is any the worse for that, but query is he any the better ? He is wealthy, and that is sufficient to make a noodle a magistrate, or a member of Parliament, in Victoria as in New Zealand, of which fact you, as well as we, have much proof. Another retired “ police officer,” took his pension under medical certificate that he was subject to heart disease, and might drop dead at any moment. At any rate many a long year has passed since ; he has given the lie to the heart disease theory by marrying a widow, calculated to take and probably has taken all traces of infirmity from his system. The lady owned a “ pub,” and her lord and master is one of the opulent magnates of a retired suburb. It is a lesson to see the injured innocence which these people assume if you dare to argue on the absurdity of their being “ pensioners,” while not in want. One of them recently indignantly replied to a question, “ Pension, sir, damn your impudence. Its my testimonial of good service.” What does it matter to a man after he is dead, whether his wife is a lady or not ? So with some men as to the means by which they achieve notoriety. The Government has just given us an illustration of this in a a sketch it has issued of the opening of the first Victorian Parliament. Amongst the members figures a gentleman named Dunlop, who is described to the uninitiated as “ the first man who died of diphtheria in the colony.” Who cannot easily obtain a niche in history I You are aware that New South Wales has an immense advantage over Victoria as regards the Orient Mail Service via Brindisi. Hitherto it has been customary in the former colony to detain any correspondence, not specially marked for the P. and O. Company’s boats, for the Orient line. Your own colony was treated similarly. A cablegram was received the other day from the English Government announcing that in future all out-going correspondence would be forwarded by the first mail-boat, irrespective of service, and notwithstanding it may be marked to go by special route. A similar edict will, doubtless, follow from this end. Anything connected with, or calling for the lower and animal—aye, even brutal instincts of our nature—has always a lot of hungry patrons so long as it will but pay. They are like Ruskin, who established, or indeed, created the seventh lamp in architecture. Everyone else was conversant with six lamps, but the seventh remained undiscovered until Ruskin enquired “ Will it pay?” Thus the Melbourne Sporlsmdn announces its intention of publishing a lifelike, and, probably, a life-size, picture of Sullivan, the ex-champion boxer. Hearing of this, the Melbourne agents are frantic in their endeavors to get advance orders off for hundreds of “extras.” A writer asks how many extra copies would be required of a non-sporting paper, supposing the portrait of Bishop Moorhouse, popular as he is, were to figure in its title-page? Comparisons are, indeed, odious. The guid mines are sorely exercised over the possibility of Lord Loftus, at present Governor of N.S.W., becoming successor to the Marquis of Normanby. Titled families are subject to the same prejudices as ordinary ones, for the very name of these gentry is objectionable, on account of their proverbial stinginess. Any way, the Melbourne folk will regard Lord Loftus with exceptional disfavor, or any other Governor, no matter if it were a Royal Prince, if he excludes himself, and shuts up Government House from gubernatorial hospitality. It is a moot point which of these two is the more economical, while it is now remembered that not long since the market-gardeners of New South Wales sent a protest to Lord Loftus to cease competition with them by sending for purchase vegetables reared in the Government House garden at the public expense. Youngsters of the “ Lord’s Annotated ” are going in for a new club in this city, and which will be called “ The Jewish Literary and Social Club.” Like men of their “ persuasion” in all big cities, the Jewish young mon of Melbourne are both numerous and influential, and having taken premises in Collins Street, are having them handsomely fitted up with club requisites. As far as I know there will be but two distinguishing features connected with it—namely, its exclusiveness from the Gentile element, and ex *rnption from gambling—a vice without which no other Melbourne club is held to be perfect. The rule provides that “ no game of chance whatever shall be permitted ;” b it, if there is nothing more stringent than that to exorcise gambling, f fear these good you’ g m n will not long remain virtuous. The Yor • k Club is, as, doubtless you are aware, composed (or is supposed to be) of pressmen—at any rate, professional men; bat lately the “ trade” element has got a footing there, and the big papers here have been “ sitting” on a certain gentleman, who, altliong i an honorary visiting-member only, had the b id taste to address his letters in reply t» the editors, written on paper bearing the club’s stamp, which has caused much iudig lation, and expressions of opinion that none but pressmen should be allowed within the preciiK t s. Now that the Forbes-lecturing craze is over, and Mr. Moncure Conway has been voted a fraud, our novelty-hunters are looking to the year 1885, in the month of March, when Mr. George Augustus Sala is to make his appearance hen*, under the “coaching” of the much-travelled R. 8. Smythe, who is said to be going to take a run Home to arrange a

year’s excursion in these Colonies, including New Zealand. People now talk as glibly of taking a voyage to Europe and back as if they were merely going into the neighboring town. It is nothing unusual to hear the remark, “ Tatta, old fellow, I am just going to run over to England for a day or two. Good-bye. So-long.” The idea thus far formulated is for Mr. Sala to reach Australia in March next year, where he will remain lecturing until the following December, thence on to Tasmania, finishing in your Colony, and leaving via ’Frisco about March, 1886. Thus man lays his plans for the future. So we colonials provide ourselves with fresh supplies of English G.A.S. The Blue Ribbon Army waxes wrath over the fact that its members are taking to drinking koumiss. This is supposed to be a beverage of a non-intoxicating kind, as is freely set forth in the usual trade advertisements ; but the temperance journals have analysed it, and found, to their horror, that Australian koumiss contains 1*34 per cent, of alcohol, while, according to Dr. Hassall, London “ heavy wet” contains no more than 4-20 per cent. ; and, so far from being a temperance drink, it is asserted that the tribes of Northern Asia have got drunk on koumiss from time immemorial. Koumiss is made from mares’ milk, diluted with water (then why not call it cow-miss ?) in the proportion of one part of the latter to six parts of the former, adding about an eighth part of sour milk (which is stale koumiss) to cause it to ferment. At the end of twenty-four hours, the mixture is churned ; the same process is gone through on the second day, when it should be bottled, and kept several days, during which it becomes effervescent and strongly intoxicant, the more so the longer it is kept. The long-talked-of extension and improvement of the Melbourne General Post Office has at last been definitely fixed, and would have been accomplished long ago but that whenever it was known that Mr. Berry was putting his enquiries into active form he was pounced upon by a lot of harpies, who were willing to make all kinds of sacrifice of their properties by selling them to the Government, strongly advising that, instead of enlarging the building, to provide extra accommodation for the telegraph branch—it is united here with the postal branch—a new building should be erected on the sites they were prepared to sell at sacrificial rates. None of the baits took, and the Chief Secretary has decided on adding another storey to the present Post Office, 30ft. high. The present tower is to be raised an additional 60ft., which will make it 115 ft. from the footpath. The clock’s diameter will be increased from Bft. to 12ft., and the roof at the end of the building will correspond more symmetrically than at present. This will make the edifice of a most imposing character, and will have a commanding view all over the metropolis. The work will cost £40,000, and will take two years to finish. The new Law Courts, which have cost nearly the third of a million sterling, have been taken possession of, and without the slightest ceremony, the Chief Justice putting his foot on “ tinselled demonstrations.” The building covers nearly three acres of ground, and is one of the sights of Melbourne. It beats the “ biggest wooden building in the world” all to smash, and that’s not saying much, you will say.