VICTORIA.

Southland Times, Volume 2, Issue 86, 1 September 1863, Page 3

VICTORIA.

(FBOM OCR OWX CORBKBPOSDEtf*-) Melbourne, 25th August I hope that your numerous readers are jot ,ver S of the « Sensational," as the everyday rents of Victorian life are very tame corned with those of the neighbor**^^ cannot boast, like Sydney, rfjT pjb of robber, mies of. a senu-convict rat _p P fy the authorities «d^» P^ i. iththepolicejnorha^^^ ££ata»=s bur' South Australian brethren who h™ L crisis" abemt every forty-eight hours, suiting hi about six new' ministries within rTaays I" contrast wKhttese our annals one dull unvarying ; level, on^y Rifled by an occasional squabble in the Seor a contested election, only one o dch lrtfor. by the way, followed the recent ange in Government. I will, however en you well posted up in all matters of DOr t which from time to time may occur re likelv to interest your constituents and „ these few introductory observations JJeed to give a resume of the leading events the last few days. There hasbeen nothing particularly remarklei^ our legislative matters lately, all to Uraing heart!* desirous of^finish ing gUon. Mr Brooke made a feeble atK«t to embarrass the ministers on WednesK P hst ta ßation to the occupation tnses 'uncL the unfortunate Land Bill ■enses unt« undergoul g all kinds of K5 n i fl nd will ultimately satisfy no one, Ig'b&y being heartily sick of it. On Mini liis motion to a division the hon Seman was left in a glorious minority of Siderin" that he was the mover of the Son whieh effected the expulsion of the Swnassvlot, is tantamount to political SSn Tnd shows .kow utterly distrusted is bv all sides of the House, while Ins mce of re-election at the next general elects small inde d. The charges of bribery ' ht by Mr M'Lellan, the member for Araacainsfc divers members-of the House, are ely to be got rid- of by a side wind, viz., ; jujpointment of a committee to enquire i 0 one particular case, in which Mr SinIHr' member for North Melbourne, alleged it Mr Wilson, member for the Wimmera, realthy squatter, had offered him the conct for building a house in the country, jn condition that he (Mr S.) voted for ruing the squatters' leases, and that as he not so vote he lost it. This i3 denied by Wilson, and the matter having occurred htcen months ago, satisfactory proof on ler side is scarcely likely to be forthcom--while the eagerness of the House to rat so weak a case as an exposition of the ole question, is mo&t suspicious. The leral impression is that the charges made ! too true to render searching investigaa pleasant to parties on either side, which itrengthened by the conduct of Ministers the occasion, Mr Michie, the Minister of stice, interrogating Mr Sinclair in the use, in a most cross-examinatory style. Che Electoral Act Amendment Bill has tsed its second reading in the Upper use, and clauses having been introduced iventing any tampering with the ballot )ers, and disfranchising certain classes of ers, will tend to restore public confidence the M'Culloch Cabinet, which has been newhat shaken by the debate on the bery question, as well as by the extraortary appointment of Mr Ireland to the ;nity of Queen's Council, in conjunction th Mr Micliie. As the avowed intentional stroyer of the ballot, and narrower of the Inchise — he being the author of the bill v in course of amendment — it is difficult conceive what earthly claim the late torney-General could possibly have upon liberal Government, while to find Mr chie acquiring a silk gown by clinging to ■ Ireland's skirt, is discovering " Trinculo ler ilte gaberdine of Caliban," with a vennce. 'ho disputed question of pensions to reng Ministers has been temporarily anged by the issne of warrants under seal favor of Messrs Duffy and Ireland, of ich the Treasurer is to refuse payment, en & mandamus is to be applied for the Supreme Court, the result of ich is to finally determine the question. b claim of Dr Evans, the other applicant, 1 only one really in need of it, was at first ibeyance, but has since been placed on the ie footing. Of the positive iniquity of thening a young colony's resources with ension list for services of so short a period, re cannot be two opinions, but it appear s re is no remedy, as the Constitution Act ler which they aie granted, cannot be sred without the concurrence of two-thirds both Houses — a most improbable event. Vo elections have recently taken place, a third is pending — Mr Michie having n returned for South Grenville in the n of Mr Nixon, resigned, by a narrow ority of four, and Mr Casey for Mandug, vice, Dr Owens, whose retirement is ;h regretted as one of the intelligent and sistent members of the Assembly. Out ie former case twomattersof interest have en, Government having sent a comn<isdown to enquire into the charges made Mr Michie after his return, of inal praci on the part of the returning officer, the sing Magistrate, Mr Hugh Murray of ic, and the defeated candidate, a Mr Geo. litage, who, it is alleged acted unfairly through the contest, and the fact that ' were all three discovered at seven <5k in the morningby Mr M'Cann, M.L.A. Hichie s election agsnt, deliberately vioig the secrecy of the ballot, in the hope PSetting the majority speaks volumes. ddition to this, Mr Sidders of the Geelong mwle, an obscuio organ of little or no ilation, has fceeu committed for trial on a ■inal prosecution, f Or a libel on Mr ■ann, contained in a letter sent through Vest and inserted in the Geelong Chronicle ■ing charges of a libellous character, ■signature to which was proved to be a ■iry, and the document itself was manu-■n-ed by the Editor, a Mr Alfred Clarke. ■e his committal, Mr Sidders has resigned ■position a» a member of the Town ■icil of Geelong. As a counter blast to ■ibove, the Aimitage party arc circulating ■orts of rumours as to the inducements ■ out to Mr Nixon to effect his resigna■in order -to create a vacancy for the Fof . th , e Minister of Justice ; altogether, ■ a mighty pretty quarrel as it * taijds ' ■ coming election i s for the v Be, a vacancy having occurred for the ■em Province by the death of the Hon. » Stewart (of the firm of Brown and »«t, wine and spirit merchants of this B three candidates aie in the field Mr ■ Pinnock, formeily Emigration Agent • Manna, a previous candidate and sup ' ■p of the late ministry ; and a Mr Crai"- --■ electoral boundaries are so badly arl Hd that very few voters ever poll,— as an ■ice, only eight electors were present at ■oroination,— it is impossible therefore to ■ct who will be returned, and neither ■f the triumvirate are in any way eligible. ■10U8 irregularities have been discovered' ■b management of the Melbourne ceme■the accounts for 1862 not having been ■ n > a "d the sureties of a trustee having, V stated, had to pay £250 for defalcaB Mr Heales has ordered the accounts ■furnished without delay, when they -will ■mediately laid upon the table of the ■consequence of the number of bridges m away throughout the country by the !

recent-floods, .which have occasioned such serious loss 'of life and property, it is intended by Government to ask for a Vote of L12,000 for their re-erection. ' The proprietors oC the Bank of Victoria having objected ; to the election of the Hon. J. P. Bear, as one of the Board of Directors, on the ground of the creation of fictitious votes by transferring shares to nominal shareholders, he has resigned, and' will be succeeded by the next on the poll, 1 the Hon. W. Highett, It is generally understood that the real objection to Mr Bear is that he is a leading director in a private bank of deposit and discount recently established in Queenstreet. . A man named Guest, a farmer at Micldebarn, near Broadmeadows, was sentenced :to death on' "Wednesday, for violating the person of a married woman named Anderson, to whom he had given a lift on his dray. A petition signed by upwards of 3000 persons, including the prcsecutrix, has been, presented to the Executive, so that it is unlikely that the extreme penalty will be inflicted. Meetings have been held in the various municipalities in opposition to th6 proposed Local Government Bill, on the grounds of its requiring u property qualification for municipal councillors, disfranchising freeholders under L8 per annum, giving three votes to rich electors, and dispensing with nominations. A small island in the River Murray has been a bone of contention between the Governments of New South Wales and Victoria, each claiming it. What its actual value is did not transpire, bnt a long correspondence has taken place, the last of which was laid before the Assembly on Thursday night*' by Mr Heales, who stated that this colony still insisted on its claim to the territory in question. The appeal of your colony for assistance from our volunteer force is, I rejoice to say, being cheerfully acceded to, and a large addition to your means of defence will speedily arrive, to aid in terminating this disastrous contest. The details arriving by every fresh mail add to the warm sympathy entertained by all classes here for the fiery trial through which New Zealand, or at least one portion of it is now passing ; may it be long before the sound of war is heard in your locality. The supply of gas is a prominent subject here just now, the Colling wood Company which was established to cheapen the artiele, having broken faith with both the Parliament and the citizens, by coalescing with the old or Melbourne one, to keep up the prices. A new company is threatened, but it is doubtful whether the authorities would permit the streets to bo again disturbed by laying down fresh mains. Tlie foundation stone of a hall for the Manchester Unity of Oddfellows, was laid on Tuesday last by His Excellency, with the usual ceremonies. The building, the design of which is very elegant, will be opposite the Public Library, in Swanston-street, next to the newly erected John Knox Church, and like it will be a great ornament to that part of our city. Sir Henry, who was most warmly received, ami presented with the customary silver trowel, acknowledged the compliment in one of his usually felicitous speeches. His Excellency also presided on Monday at a meeting for the purpose o£ organising a Moravian Mission to the Aborigines at Cooper's Creek, when ho delivered an admirable .address, replete with Christian feeling, unbiassed by sectarian prejudice. These are probably his last appearances here for similar purposes, us the time of his departure is fast approaching. I need scarcely say that his loss will be severely felt by all classes. No Governor has ever been so popular. Remarkable for his urbanity and tact, his public and private career has been equally admirable, and it is a pity that such high qualifications should ba buried in so comparatively insignificant a colony as the Mauritius. Of his successor, Sir Charles Darling, little authentic is known, but that little is totally unlike his predecessor, coming after whom he will be at a double disadvantage. A serious accident took place at Ballarat on Wednesday last, by an engine getting off the line. Fortunately no lives were lost, but much property was destroyed, and two persons injured. The Directois of the Provident Institute are to be tried this week, Mr Fox ton, one of them, having returned from Queensland to meet the charge, and appeared at the Police Court yesterday. A tremendous array of counsel is retained, both for the prosecution and defence. A conviction is dubious, the chief malefactor; John Porter, having escaped to Callao, where he is safe from apprehension. The affairs are being wound up better than was to be expected, 12s in the pound being already realised, while there are the shareholders still to fall back upon. An immense lire broke out at Geelong on Tuesday last, in Moorabool-street, consuming a number of shops fully stocked with valuable goods, a great portion of which were uninsured ; no lives however were lost. The principal sufferers were Messrs Jacobs, draper (where the fire began) ; and Mr Wilkinson, tinsmith ; Mr Allen, bootmaker ; and Mr Myles, draper, are also considerable losers from the hasty removal of their goods. Since writing the above, I learn that the trial of the Provident Directors is postponed, Mr Foxton being remanded for eight days at his own request, to prepare his defence. Dr Evans moves to-night that the colonial steam-sloop Victoria be dispatched to the aid of your Government, Part of the 40th are under orders, and Colonel Pitt is rapidly filling up his ranks. Being our mail summary day, there is no further lr»cal news.