VICTORIA.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 92, 25 March 1884, Page 2

VICTORIA.

(from our special correspondent.) Melbourne, March 11. In my last I touched lightly on the reported financial condition of some half dozen of the Friendly Societies in Melbourne. In the meantime the fuller promulgation of Mr. Hay ter’s statistics has caused a little alarm not only amongst the members of those particular institutions, but the public mind has been greatly exercised over the matter, and particularly that portion of it which some of the newspapers delight in torturing on the one hand, and pandering to on the other. As a Pharisee in this respect the Age stands out pre-eminent. No pabulum you can offer to this controversialist journal is so suited to its taste as statistics; and if (as is the case in the present instance), an unfavorable comparison can be instituted on the part of the “Mother Colony,” New South Wales, it is in the seventh heaven of journalistic delight. No matter what the subject is, so long as an army of figures has to be deployed into brigades, regiment, companies and sections, aye I even to the “ awkward squad,” the Age is the Commander-in-chief that can always succeed in vanguishxng an enemy—from its own point of view. Conservation, Free Trade, Population, Manufactures, Wealth, Immigration, Land Sales, Intelligence, Marriageable Women, the Social Evil, all in turn have been unearthed from the Government statistics book, and the single comparison instituted with N.S.W., and, of course, always to the disadvantage of the latter. It will not surprise you therefore to learn that the Age has had to eat a good slice of leek on discovering that its own figures, previously expressed with regard to the value of the possessions of the “ Working Classes ” (a caste that journal is always pandering to) are set down at just so much in excess of tnose as have been shown by Mr. Hayter to be a loss—a liability and not an asset. And you will not be surprised further to hear that a correspondent has written to that paper on the subject of the proved deficiencies of the Friendly Societies, and particularly those of the Manchester Unity. There is one feature in the political life of Victoria that beats you New Zealanders into the proverbial cocked hat, and that is feeding and feting the Ministry of the day, or such members of it as may be useful for a purpose, and not disliking that sort of thing. Hardly a week passes but you see a report of something of this kind taking place. Is a railway station to be opened, or a new branch line of a dozen miles or so completed, the joyous occasion is celebrated by an invitation to the Railway Minister, and as many of his colleagues as will accept a like compliment to come and have a feed. If the Minister for Lands announces his intention of taking a trip into the country, the local bodies rise en masse, and banquet him accordingly, not forgetting to ask him to bring as many others as can spare the time, and don’t mind the infliction. The Minister of Customs organises a party and proceeds to the Lake country ostensibly to “inspect the fisheries” there; no sooner is the fact wired throughout the country, than hospitable preparations are made for their reception, and grievances and axes to grind are brought forth that never were dreampt of. No sooner is one banquet over, than another is organised, and on the slightest pretext. Sometimes, indeed, on no pretext at all. One of this latter kind took place last Saturday in what is known as the liop garden of Victoria—Bairnsdale, in North Gippsland. The President and Shire Couucil of that interesting district had no particular axe to grind, at any rate not one that it would be advisable to make known, so they gave a kind of social invitation to the Ministry generally, to come and make themselves right hearty at the expense of the ratepayers—and they did, at least Messrs. Berry, Sargood, and Tucker went there. But the fun of the spread was that the President, either forgetting, or finding no excusable excuse for banquet, made no allusion to it in proposing the toast of the evening, and the Chief Secretary’s quiet sarcasm in reply, reminding the company that their chirman had omitted to state to what particular circumstance he and his colleagues were indebted for the honor bestowed on them, can easily be imagined. Mr. Kerry’s good nature took the sting out of his remark by adding that they accepted it as a mark of approval of the policy of the coalition Government. This adroit inference answered the double purpose of getting the President out of a difficulty and eliciting a hearty round of applause, which must have been flattering to Ministers, although Mr. Berry could not resist the temptation of saying that generally these invitations to Ministers were actuated by a lively sense of favors to come, and, of course, he was glad to find that the present occasion was not of that class. As if he didn’t know I As a set-off against this kind of official feeding, the Commissioner of Railways, Mr. Speight, has recently sent word to the Mayor of Ballarat, who had intimated his intention to celebrate the occasion of a first visit to that city in the customary manner, that he 4 and his colleagues do not require any public greeting.