VICTORIA.

Southland Times, Volume III, Issue 23, 30 December 1863, Page 2

VICTORIA.

(FROM OUR .OWN CORRESPONDENT.) Mklqocrne, 23rd December, It will be too. late when you receive this, to wish you and all the inhabitants of Invercargill (more especially the subscribers to the Times), "a merry Christmas," but I trust that the coming year may be a happy and prosperous one, and that the same spirit of enterprise displayed in the origination of the Railway from the Bluff to your town, may stimulate still further the progress of Southland, until she takes a foremost rank in the Australasian colonies. So far as Victoria is concerned, things wear rather a gloomy aspect, as. although the damage done in the interior from the late flood, is comparatively trifling, the loss and destruction in and around Melbourne, is frightful— families, who a few short days since, were in the enjoyment of competency , and all the comforts) of life — are left ruined, houseless, and, in too many instances, destitu c ; nor, is it probable, that the full amount of misery sustained, will ever be known, as there are always many, who, however pressed by adverse circumstances, shrink from the idea of soliciting or receiving what they look upon in the light of Eleemosynary relief. As a matter of conrse, meetings to devise measures for the assistance of sufferers by this calamity are about to be held in all directions, tiie suburb of Kew having the honor of taking precedence on Saturday last, when a committee was formed, consisting of Sir Win Stawell, the Mayor and Councillors, Mr O'Grady, M.L.A , and other. influential gentlemen, to operate with ..any committees in neighboring localities, and the central ons in Melbourne. A collection was made in the room to facilitate immediate aid to the more pressing cases, amounting to the sum of one hundred and eight pounds odd, which, for so limited a suburb, was exceedingly liberal. It is impossible, until the waters have thoroughly subsided, to form any idea of the amount of damage done. The merI cantile men are, of course, heavy losers from the overflowing of their stores, but it is in the orchards and vineyards on the banks of the river that the most permanent injury is sustained, and it will :ake at least ten or fiftaen years of unremitting exertion to efface the marks of this unprecedented inundation. As was to be expected, everything in the shape of farm produce is rapidly rising in price ; acres upon acres cf potatoes, hay and grain of every description having been swept off, and even the soil carried away, or rendered comparatively sterile. Such a Christmas Melbourne has never known, and I fervently hope never may again. Nevertheless, whatever may be the shortcomings of her citizens, slackness in charity is not their characteristic, and the most active exertions are being made to ameliorate as far as possible the distress. The Roman Catholic Bishop has ordered that all collections in the churches of his denomination, on Christmas Day, are to be appropriated to this purpose, an example which the clergy of other sects will not be slow to follow, so that there is little doubt, but that the contributions will amount to a very large sum, though it is to be feared, far inadequate to the occasion. There is one feature for which we have great cause to be grateful to Providence, viz : — that notwithstanding the great danger to which so many were exposed, the loss of life has been so. trifling. The waters have gone down very considerably, railway communication with Sandridge and St Kilda being restored, bat Emerald Hill was still insulated last night, and no communication except by boat practicable. To particularize the sufferers would be an endless task ; but the laboring classes will heavily feel the destruction of the manufactories, tanneries, &c, all of which have disappeared, both up and down stream, leaving the proprietors nearly as poor as their former employees. Theodore Hancock and Henry Pownall Sawell appeared before the Court on Thursday, to receive sentence for conspiracy in the matter of the Provident 1 Institute. The former called a number of gentlemen 'as to his character, which was vouched for by theni. in the most flattering terms; particularly by the Hon. Henry Miller, and Mr Cireenlaw, accountant of. the Colonial Bank, wheni after hearing Dr Sewell and Mr Dawson, counsel for the defence, His Honor Judge Barry consented to state a case upon the points raised for the consideration of a full court; and the defendants' were liberated upon the same bail as that hitherto given, to uppear oh the last day of term to

hear judgment. This was in j>*der to obvj^to the necessity at moving for;a naw triaVwhich ifMonerwonld.liave had" the 1 effect of impri*, coning/them jfor. nearly, three months, a*4be; next, term does .npt commence until the middl^of March. ' *• ,<~~^ -„ A ItJs.an ill wind that, blows no one gpod^ t says "the adage, .and this has been fully res;-' lised by the ColMngwood Gas Company, which has been inundated with applications from parties who,<during the, f100d,.- were left,] in darkness" by the submerging of the gaso-H meters of the Melbourne Company's .works at Batman's Hill. Having for sometime, past been in shockingly bad odour. for alleged breach of faith in the matter* of' price^the directors of the Collingwood Gas Company ' are cer respond ingly delighted at this turn of. affairs, which has placed the rebellious suburb in. a great measuie at^iheir mercy, and are rather • charyas ' tb "laying it on," for'tKe more prominent of the promoters of the threatened opposition company, which seems to have dropped to* the ground. ■ .Captain Gray of the'dreat Britain, appears to literally win golden opinions evety trip, a purae of sovereigns accompanied « by a most flattering' address being, presented to him at' sea on the Monday previous to his arrival, in return for- which) after' expressing his tliaaks, be invited his friends to supper', a meal generally ignored on board ship, and notwit--Btanding-the heavy weather at the time, it is said to have been served, in a style that -would i kave done credit to even Spiers and Pond in' the palmy days of the Cafe de Paris. Being near the holidays the usual examinations of the different schools have taken place; and judging from the unvarying and indiscriminate praise, accorded by the Melbourne journals, our educational matters are in a flourishing state, though it is but fair to record that generally, the rising generation display a most precocious aptitude' A for the different branches of study. The elecutionary display on tbe " speech night" of the Scotch i College, was of a most superior order, and spoke volumes for the talent and assiduity of Mr T. P. Hill and the principal Mr Morrison., His Excellency who was to have presided,; but was prevented by illness, was represented by the Chief , Secretary, Mr M'Cullbch, who I no doubt derived . some useful hints for the -i coming Parliamentary campaign, in which-an improved style of oratory would-be of no little use to him, fluency of speech not being-, the most prominent of the Hon.. Premiers "| giftS. -,'■:,* . -- | A verdict was obtained against the Bank of Australasia in the County Court on Thursday last, by an Irishman named Mullane, whose friends had remitted him £101 in n j letter of credit, which came irito.the hands of aMrT. Madigan, an ironmonger its Melbourne^ J who had been in the habit of receiving Mullane's letters. The latter knew nothing o£ the matter until he received a further communication from home, when, on inquiry, he found that the money had been paid to the credit of Madigan, who was in New Zealand, through the Bank of New South Wales; the draft purporting to bear Mullane's endorsement, but which he declared to be a forgery, and, having received the duplicate draft brought his action. The Judge, upon this unsupported statement, decided in his favor, much to the astonishment of all in Court, although such decisions are given in it that one ought not to be surprised at anything occurring there. Until lately there was no appeal, but by a recent act a cause may be removed, at a very tiifling expense, by a Writ of Certiorari into the Supreme Court — an excellent alteration — as justice is not obtainable in the lower one. A woman named Elizabeth Browne, whose husband is in New Zealand (supposed at Dunedin), hanged herself at Ballaarat on th* 13th. Verdict, insanity. The estate of Mr. John Randle Pascoe, formerly merchant in Collins street, and in whose affairs there has been so much litigation, will be released from sequestration, the creditors having accepted a composition of one shilling in the pound. Mr. Alfred Howitt, the explorer, is gazetted Police Magistrate, Warden and Coroner at Omeo, an appointment of questionable discretion, as, although it is all very well to acknowledge these gentlemen for their services, such a post should be reserved for professional men, as the ignorance of law constantly displayed by the local Benches throughout the country, too often gives rise to hardship and injustice, from which there is no appeal, except at an expense far beyond the,rneanß of two-thirds of the sufferers by magisterial incapacity. The roast beef of Old England s^ems in danger of becoming a tiling of the past, Professor Gamgee, Principal of the Veterinary College of Edinburgh, having published a report showing a loss in tLe cattle of the Dnired Kingdom, for tbe six years up to the enel of 1860, of no less than 2,255,100 head, one half from pleuro-pneumonia ; and describing most awful results from eating the flesh or drinking the milk of the diseased, or even fro-n the consumption of pigs or other animals fed upon it. We have already a sufficient uneasiness of feeling here fls to our animal, food, but the publication of this learned e«van is likolj to increase it to a panic. With the fact of the increase of the disease daily before us, and that there exists no test whereby to pronounce upon the healthiness of the carcass after the removal of the lungs, it is no wonder that the nervous and timid are somewhat alarmed j though many of our citizens laugh at the idea, and declare that the whole thing is fostered by the medicos here, who, finding the season "cruel healthy, '' as a Yankee would say, have resorted to this means of creating an artificial demand for, their services. This is all very well for a joke, but as Power the Irish comedian used to say in one of his farces — " There's sartain subjects too sarious for jisting upon, and potatoes is won;" "Which singularly enough was painfully illustrated ".by" " the wellknown potato blight, which occurred shortly after the production of the piece in question — for myself I am not the least apprehensive, and shall adhere to the faith of my forefathers, and never consent to the deposition of ' baron ' and ' sirlion ' in favor of ' tapioca ' and ' sago,' as recommended by those astute geniuses the ' vegetarians,' a class ot'lunatics even worse than the 'teetotallers,' wbosejfavorite. { Y&n Yean' contains more animalculsß in a quart of its water than would be found in a whole herd of cattle or. flock of sheep. B/ recent advices from the Mauritius' we learn that/the steamer Lady Jocelyn from India, with reinforcements for General datneron, hadput into Port Louis, but was placed in quarantine, several casps of cholera having occurred on board. The subscription list in the -'Mary Fraser ' delusion has culminated in the collection of L2L2, a standing monument of the gullibility of our good j /tillcs, but who' now have in the flood a legitimate i occasion for the indulgence of their benevolent in- i stincts. An inquest into the cause «f the destruction by /fire, on the 2nd instant, of the Australian Hotel, Forest Greek Road, has resulted in the committal of Edwin Trevorah, landlord of the house, as the incendiary, and the proprietor of the freehold, John Rogers, as the accessory, they *ill be tried at the ; next Circuit Court. Rogers had., a similar case with another property, the Telegraph, at Castle* maine. A great controversy, is raging just now in one of our religious periodicals, The Church Gazette, between two gentlemen signing themselves respec? tively ' A Communicant' and : 'Another.Communicant,' the former advocating th<» - lawfulness .of theatrical amusements as innocent recreation for Christian people; the latter as strongly deprecating it. : . ,/•■.,.- '.:' ■ ' ; . '~...\""-:hl ":!-?", : . '.'.'■ ■ A man named Charles Forrester was tried on Friday for the murder of His wife, Bhoda Wills, alias 'Forrester, af 'Mount'Macedon;' jbufalthpugh the evidence |r^qui^clea)r-f:th"<9jßsrgMn>Kearing that the woman's neck had been dislocated by being forcibly twistedr^from »id& to; side, together with other corroborative pTOipfi^-the'jury. acquitted him, to the intense indignation "of ' : Mel6puine i matrons, who declare that ; married women's lives are. valueless in the eyes of jurors. Certainly it ~ was a startling _ver<iict,*and coupled with several , other similar cases which have taken place here : in the last two or three^ears, almost bears out the remark. Prior to leaving the Court the prisoner wished to make a statement, jbut.ftis Honor the Chief Justice in a very marked manner refused to 1 hear him. '' " "'':"" ■ i ~" ---•"■-^- ■-- -■, ~>: Mr Ca»tellai;oftYering StationTbnthe JUpper Yarra,,losj6 no le»f *han^ooi uheep bys the, flood,; i which augurs well fpr^theplumpnMa of the Murvay i cod this" Beaiori, who do not^bfteti get what anglers

call sudta do«e*of "gtoun^wt^sHW*ip«o* f * Mjnt-~aT aoclinwtuirm thli ft^Mffi^Mtf ami 1 ■attfcsfol, a. they art a^afSit; ' 1 •Unding the penalty «M«elft*4*> MH*fht 1 exertion* if Colonel How Muttht FHMaj Bhrigtyt ' i ?«re CMftht in Jam number*. . opened it Stfymotir at an «tpeiM»,«r:«9«r ' exclusive of tbi'handsome froo^wkieh waa.pt** sented'by a. neighboring squatter, Mr Brook*. Conditional pardons are henceforth to eeaw in. - *We>tenr?Austi«liv by 'virtu* of a kb»,,dwpata» T ortfiflTDuice of TTewcartte. IWls mrwpH ot halfconcession to;our anti-traMportatkm^UttafJ^o . .which, by the way, *he^e#h~jp«ne»;:rto jMH*M condescend to allude, when^rejoicing qyer a »peedy_ Kcpnsignmentof " bonif-labor.'- - <•- .» '•' " Samuel Jones, pf-Maidstone, was' found dead id a waterhole, fnto which it is suppose I he hodjeiiher " fallen or thrown himself ywhile laboring under delirium tremena, but which of the two was unlcnown«_T . * , *\ * ' i !.' . * A case of «ticking-up in Carlfon GaHens came before our Police Cmtt on .Friday, when two ruffians named -George-~Wentworth and James Bandle were", charged with assaulting "andjrobbing one.C -arles S nithoa the previous evenrn*, at the t early hour 'of half-past nine, taking from htm bit purse, £o. The. case -was ~*allubately/ ' adjourned until Thursday nextrfor farther iaenti. fieatbn, Smith 1 only being sbleto swear to One .of them. The audacity of this; robbery, bjth~M~to time and place, in astonishing, but is in some mea. sure compensated for by the activity of the.poltoe, who do not allow .these sort of .vagabonds a Icng tether. I The Herald attacks .the present Government * on the ground of Forrester's acquittal, .which- it jn a great decree attributes^ the prosecution being V condu«ted,by a raw inexperienced barrister, named Quinlan; recently admitted, to whom it was entrusted in the absence of Mr Adamson, who was engaged 7 in the other Court in the Provident Institute case. In justice to the learned gentle* man, I must say that* I do i not "see* that any one is to blame but the Jury, who certainly took an> extraordinary view of matters ; the fact is, I, believe it to be a mere piece of professional jealousy, from the Crown briefs,, having been entrusted to three junior, barristers— all Irishmen j_this J _under__ Ireland's regime, would have been only deemed natural, but under the present men, excites^ the ire of the- bur, "and I am the more confirmed ia ► this view, from the fact that Punch, which is- < edited by Mr Aspinall, one of our leading criminal advocates, originated the complaint— a Very paltry one to raise fronts such a source, in_wbich~flllCll petty nationality is out of place. - - ' ..Tremendous apprehensions reign just now; inf the banking world,? from^the^apprehensioaofia^ „ ■ flashily dreaded, individual whovdeßcribed himself as Horatio' Nelson, a ■ British; nobleman, but wh6 on signing the charge sheet, moderated-his-preten— sions to plain gentleman.v This vprthy scion of the aristocracy had on : his person when arrested, no less than" twenty hi?n(l!e8 of ftr?ed 4 fiv>-pounaj' notes of tbe Bank of New South ' Wale-., firetaa^ - drcd in oiwh~/b'undle,.amQuntid£,'^r£lff l^Qp7*eze« euted in a style which wpuirl l defy 'all the experts !in' the colony to detect.' It ia supposc^'atpresenti^ " that they are done by photography— the signatures/ being perfect. The arrest was made by Detectives _ Eason and Berliner, who had been watchin^Nel-' S'm's movements fdvivro months past With .8,8. ._ much anxiety as the French? Admiral did .those p& his illustrious namesake... He wasferougfit before) the Bench on Monday, and remandoi for eight days for further enquiry.' It is"; believed' that no notes of this kind'have- > been'lciireulatc^..buf;||,.i*L impossible to discover this, and .the question arises, whether, these ingenious artjstf have iohfined~ tboi^_ operations-to this one B mk— the 'prbbaliUkiea are^ greatly agiinstit— arid'as :the forgeries were 3|idt^ tended to be circulated by the p i irchM' li of^jJpTdbjOßy the diggings, paper money will; be lookod^TiipOTi.- , " with great suspicion, where .it bears the imarfcof^"' .recent-issue. ;, ; .. „: <\ ':.-' i. VJ TJ£ "'■%•? V&" This" season seems to^beunfprtunarely'prbliScia. misfortune— the. Beechworth miil being unset /S Saturday while' passing through J 'Penlridge,^by whfch^tlie" "the coach falling on him, and one of the lamp sockets striking hirabri the head With: feMful*force.:itte>xpifgii in a quarter of an hour afterwards leaving a ivifi and family to deplore^ his loss-; ;Althougbithe ; vehele was full, 'th« only passenger who^sustained any serious' injury, was* Mr Hobson i"Qf..JT.ioJet. Town, whose collar bone wa*brt>ken. -The pthera . pelting off with i a few bruits'. "P. »or Sanders was/ 1 highly respected by the Post Offices autuqritieisiwhose servant he was, and #ho, doubtleVs, wilf -do comething substantial for the widovr : and.<f«phans. "K t'M While I record this last bereavement, intelligence reaches me of two more families plunged into misery, and their, expected /festivities turned into mourning. Two young lads, Thomas Ha'len and George Bligb, having been drowned on Monday evening, while bathing in the river near the, Johnston Street Bridge, arid the .bodies, which werepromptly recovered j now lie at the Abbotsford Hotel, waiting the inquest.' "The distress of the families, who. reside nvCollingwood'is'inost poignant, while the occurrence of so many fatalitier just now, is enough to incline one to fast rather than feast. .....; ... - Despite everything:, the Cricket mania con* A tinues intense, the Eleven, on their arrival, being *■ received, by a deputation, who accompanied, them on the railway, at the terminus of which they "were transferred to a six-horse coach -conveyance into, the city, together, with^ various! oth^r foolerie*. which mast- have disgusted, instead' of - pleased them. A hospitable i ' welcome is whit they deserved ; but all this uanee&ssafy deification of men; of whom, with orieexception, weknow nothing, is to my n.md abaurd.'and, under our present "melancholy circumstances,, indiscreet, to use the mildest term. As an old English cricketer of thirty years standing, and an ardent lover of the game, it annoys me to see it made the object of mere pecuniary speculation, for it is solely to Marshall's anxiety to get "up the steam, that we are indebted for all this clap trap and humbug, which makes tbe judicious grieve. Richard Green, the Champion Sculler of-Aus-tralia, who arrived by the Great Britain, was on Friday evening, presented, at the Haymarket Theatre, with a Silver Claret Jug and Salver, weighing 87 ounces, valued at 60 guineas. In returning thanks, he declared his willingness- to go once more to England, should his backers wish hint to row Chambers again. No doubt a trip homeoa such frrms, with merely a few hours exertion when there, is not to be despised:; not but what -his pluck, under the unfair treatment he experienced at home, entitles, him' to respect.* Still another death in the Yarra. On M mday evening, Elizabeth Murray, a young girl of eleven years of age, while playing oaitß:ban,ks, at the end of King Street, fell in , and was .hopelessly swept away, it being impossible to 'recoyerr the body. Such casualities cannot be fairly attributed to the flood, but to the carelessness of parents in allowine their children to foam thestreets unchecked. " The body of a man, James Wynd;*"' native of Dundee, who has been missing July, w*s found in a. horrible state of decomposition. oa.tEa borders of a ewamp; near Emerald Hill, ftocn which the waters had partially subside!.- It- is supposed that he ha I ■lostAhisKwayT and gofc smothered amongst the mud and reeds which-con-cealed his remains until driven on to the 'higher ground by the torrent which recently swept over the locality. Decease 3 was a 'carter in the employ of the Municipal Council, -aiad y . when last seen was in a state of decided intoxication. A little boy named Bryant- also perished ga Saturday by filling into a water-hole onthe'Sandridge road, while playing with his companions. In short, it looks' as if my list of melancholy events will never close, for intelligence reached town, this week of the ; burning : ot^ the, Banyip steamer^ Captain Bandell, on the river Murray, near Ohqwilla station".} Two barges laden with five hundred bales of wool .were also, burnt. table to relate, a Mrs Fraser.and child perished in the flames, and James. Mullina, fireman, and Gunner the mate, were drowned, leaving wives and children. The other'-Wssengers 'and crew.about "twenty in number, suffered Various Injuries from, burns and scalds; but 'alt-were hospitably received 7a€the station, andi every assistance iender#i;rnothing was saved, from the v wreck. Part offthe wool was insured, which unfortunately was not the case with either the^VesseljJr the barges. Tlie . origin" of "the fire , isVa mystery v ~ The value of the & steamer, which was the ; sole property of the captain, is estimated at L6ooo,£he barges at" L 250 each, and the wool at tl o,ooo. Such a blow baa never before been given.to the Murray navigation, :andit»esects wilLbe.long'felti^Sorapidwer'^he flames thalr nobody saved any thing but what-tbey «tood upright in. " y . -. - .'^^irA^^^r?:' , '": i 'Bw""B?i»flencT;;^ x> ,pubJh^Ma-'- a despatch, i wscwejk.-b"y i : *th'e}liw 1 Peruvian Government haye notified to Britain the I total' abolition of the' R»lyn^n>%e trade, and re« i questing?* ihai.any further information on the sub. ■ lie«tthat"niaycome under thenotiwof the Vie^iaa ) Goyer^entrmajvibe^&irwa^^ i street/- ■ — '■ -- -;■--; -.~- ■'■■-■■■- : .^~?zy-~^. A destroctive #re todk r plac» in .Chapel street, ; Prahran, on Monday night, consuming -a- whole ;■ row of shops'irii^>*UMtio^ r 4 ' (wheie it e6mmejn|edK^H«rnsi^E^tj^^ i Adcock -and

■^Pand wlmSS?"**' *^o\f > f°' > * and r> ' R^^^M^e point wj^^^^^^^| id <PSgM9i^H|^^^^^^^^H 0Tk %>mmitteea- for ooUeci^^^^^^^^^^M IT? 0 !* down amounting^^^^^^^^^^^^^^M M nw has issued &'prd^^^^^^^^^^^^H I ?, D f I forfeited runs foi^^^^^^^^^^^H H ber v 1870. Tt^^^^^^^^^^H mljflustry. 1 1 named Jol^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H °ofcfc, fell int^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H rjunicatinJ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H tmoat decorum rat on the ali^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H lice place.bir^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H IpLi^^ e|*SfM tip, and^^^^^^H tW*f;pfoVes;iili that could TTa^^^^^B sim.J,Tte?jT»andsoine sum of £54 la^^^H ibstiilS kjr the idiiabitants of Cani'poel}^^H adifJ distributed amongst the fortunsM iD»it tbe close of the day. We are sorry' ir it* forbids us giving a detailed account f Uttroceedings. The usual Old English ion jore the order of the day, and everything tssUnff with perfect: cordiality, a large an* of sailors from the shipping helping to jellie crowd. The most exciting event of ie q was the six-oared boat race for £10, for hiitofessrs. Pordhara and Co , and Messrs. iUbnd'Co. entered. The start was from he Mty, round the flag-boat near Spencer's slamnd back, to ihe red buoy. ,This was a plf»g«\ Fordham's boat was manned f jH^l-.-'dham, W. Hayman, G. Reid, !orjjk. Elliott and Bartlett; Qjlroy's, by Siltt Spencer, Parker, Cuff and f wo others aliolames we were unable to learn, Messrs Foifco and Co. were the winners by two niitl only. On New Year's-^.-i? JJvjß_j)eop'.e )[ feluff intend^getting^up funber sporty parlg more of the character of a jljledonian gatlg. The will also be aregitia,and a ballMessrr Lockyer and Hal's Royal