VICTORIA.

Southland Times, Volume III, Issue 40, 8 February 1864, Page 5 (Supplement)

VICTORIA.

! .(fKOM OTjB. OWX CORRESPONDENT.) { . . . _____ _ | MEI'BOUENE, j 25th January, 1861. | The long missing mail has put in an i appearance at last, the delay having I occurred through the breaking of the j^nachinery in /the Bed. .Sea, a locality ; famous for the disarranging of that I sort of gear since the day when Moses I pulled out the • lynch -pins of all j pharoah's ehariote, — Bishop Colenso I notwithstanding. ?1 War in Europe seems unavoidable, I prance having renounced all friendly 1 relations with Russia, and the King of 1 Denmark's death having, still further 1 complicated/ 'the Schleswig-liol stein ! question.. It is not by any means j improbable that ere the'y ear is out we 1 may be fayored .with a (hostile cruiser | iu Hobsori's '. .Bay," in- which case, our I defenceless ■ condition.' would render' i submission the only policy ,as Melbourne could be- < shelled : witli imp unity j and, every facilit^'for'entry. < is alior.decl.. The> I Colonial ''steamer Victoria, havhig just ; returned from "clearing 'away tlie im- * pediments to navigation at the .Head*. 1 i The Bank. Managers, in their shirts aud drawers, with a rope^ round each ) of their' : respective ..- necks, . groUoed i on the quarter-deck of ■ au' enemy's ; frigate, prior to ; handing over the contents of their strong rooms, would : be a most picturesque "tableau, and I furnish a tine -eqisode for the future | historian of Australia. V ... I The distress arising from the- late i inundation appears to be much more { extensive than was at first expected, ; the committees being overwhelmed : with applications for relief— ;-it is iu contemplation to appoint a surveyor ■ to ascertain /the exact. amount of in- \ jury sustained by the various, properties, on, and in the vicinity of the ■ Tarray with a view of getting a sum j placed upon the Estimates when Pari liament ' meets^-the, expectation of ;" which being 'done is probably the \ reason why private charity is so slack, ceatributions coming i'nbut very ■■ slowly. It is rather^ an -unfortunate coincidence that bread; is rapidly,. getting dearer, fle"ur having* risen £5 per ton, aud is ; expected tjo be; still higher, as our : millers cannot obtain wheat, aud the j coming harvest will be very short from : the late severe weather, which has I destroyed, ;on an average, fully onehalf .of the crops. ! Captain Hart, the Treasurer of Adelaide, was over here ■ a few days since,- on a supposed political ; errand, but aii point of ,fa,ct, he. came I simply to rig : the flour market, which is / extensively supplied from South .■ Ajfctralia, aiid. ' the present- upward \ liw^ment in prices isthe result of his \ operatipns. •., Fortunately it is summer, or this rise in the staff ot'life would-be :* productive, of much misery in the. working classes.' . . ;. "I?* 1 The Quantity of all kinds of employ-. ..inent here is -fully illustrated by the ..'■ number who have accepted Maj or ; Pitt's* -'otters and enlisted as military r settlers for New Zealand, comprising artisans of every, description, some of Avhom will be sorely missed here. The . Press tries in vain to check this exodus by enlarging upon the certainly some-, what apochrypal advantages offered in future, 1 to these new : volunteers, notwithstanding over four hundred have accepted the terin&, and the first detachment embarked on board the Q-i-esh am on Saturday. According to, the Mount Alexander Mail the action brought by one Bank t against .another for fraudulent assaying and sale of gold; at : the Castlemaine Branch, has been 'discontinued, the matter having been hushed up by the delinquent 'lnstitution paying the difference ' in ; value and all costs ; the editor, however; threatens to expose all the ; particulars : of[ this nefarious transaction, and scouts the idea of a felony being thus coolly- compounded. Whether .this .is honest : indignation or & mere feeler to make his silence worth purchase, time alone' can show, . meantime, the- conduct of ., all parties concerned is " rayther " dubious. ■ A- valedictory tea- meeting was held in the Wesleyan Schoolroom, Lonsdalestreet,; on Monday last,, to, bid farewell to the Rev. . C, " E. Jenkins of Madras, ■who has been ;on a visit to these colonies' for a few months past, .during -which- period he_ has delivered many : valuable-andinterestingrlectures upon • . the state, progress,., and,-, prospects of Christanity .in India. After the refreshment part of the affair was con-' ■eluded, and adjournment. took place to tke Church, the Superintendent of the ; Victorian. Body, .the, .E.ev.,D. 3\. Draper topic the chair,.Vnen an address - was /read <bj' : Dr. Cutts, for presenta 1 tion; expressive of the sense entertained of the ''benefits ; derived' by the connexion from the services of (the Revi gentleman- during his sojourn, and of the hope, that should he not return to India, he would come and settle in Melbourne,., Mr., Jenkins feelingly acknowledged the compliment paid to himself and. wife, and in reviewing the progress of Metnqdistisrii in Australia urged up the Church the necessity of *k£e£'iiig up the' education 'standard of ■ministers in this colony, "where the bulk, of the population were 'much J more mfelligent'than the inhababitants of England," and the advisability of. ibrmingaTheologicallnstituteainliated to the -Melbourne . University, where young men acquainted with the colony could be trained for the ministry, a - p**ce of sound 'advice, -which I trust will be acted upon; as although earnest and zealous in the discharge of their duties, the' pulpit'' ' oratory of the majority of the Webleyan clergy, with some few brilliant exceptions, is rather

below what is requisite to -impress a congregation of -well-educate.d hearers. -The ,Hon. A. Eraser, IVI.L.a, aud several other gentleman, leading members of the denomination, also addressed the meeting, which notwithstanding the size of, the ,-noble structure was a crowded one, a proof of the warmth of welcome which is ever apcorded here, to' every able 1 aud consistent champion of Divine truth, no matter to what particular division of the' Chaistian Church he may belong. The bench of magistrates at Dandenong has got into bad omen with the legal profession and the press, in adjudicating upon a case of assault preferred by the senior-constable in charge of the station, against the clerk of the Petty Sessions, which they finally dismissed, despite the evidence as proved by one of their colleagues, Mr. Brisbaue, who left the bench, declining to accede ito their decisions. In the- course of the proceedings it became necessary to place Mr. Walker, the Chairman of the Bench, in the witness box, he having been duly siibpo3uaed for that purpose; it never being imagined that as he Avas mixed up in the matter he Would have the indecency to ! sit, on the case, much less to preside ; this precious specimen of a magistrate, however, peremptorily refused te leave his seat to ; give evidence ; &nd in conjunction with the other magistrates Messrs. C' and J. Wedge,' hurriedly dismissed the Case. TJpon "the 'attorney for the plaintiff' remarking that the ca.ie would be duly represented in the public papers, one of these last named gentlemen, in reply, volunteered the statement that " he didn't care a straw for the opinion of the. public ; " an indecent observation which has .drawn 'down, upon him the wrath of the Melbourne journals, who call loudly upon the proper authorities to promptly remove from the magisterial bench persons so eminently unfit to hold the Commission of the Peace as Messrs. "Walker and Wedge ; it is more thau probable that some step will be taken in' the matter, as the doings of these small local benches, this one especially, have called for, stringent supervision for some time past. Mr. Brisbane writes to the Herald on Thursday " altogether ol> jeeting to be identified with (what he wittily terms) these Wedrjeable aud Gnarled proceedings. " Still considering the verdict as contrary to evidence, and not having the same lofty contempt for the opinions of his fellow citizens, avowed by the illustrious " Wedge, " who evidently considers himself, both by name and position, the tiptop SpH'tcr of the Dandenong. Ranges. Mr. L. L. Smith, M.L. A., for South Bourke, who has been lecturing with great eclat at Adelaide and Greelong," (at the former of which places he received the thanks of the G-oyornor Sir Dominick Daly,) is to be entertained this evening by. his constituents, Avho have invited the hon. member to a public dinner, at ; -Clinton's Hotel, Hawthorne, when it is their intention to present him with a piece of plate, "in appreciation of his long and consistent services as their representative in the Legislative Assembly "—tins manifestation is equally creditable to both parties, and to give Mr. Smith his due, the House does not contain a more industrious or consistent member, and although the medical profession look down upon him as an advertisingpractitioner, his recent lectures evince a thorough mastery of surgical science, as well as a large amount of knowledge and keen observation upon general subjects. The election for the vacancy in the Fitzroy Council, caused by the retirement of Mr. Bryant, alias "the polite letter writer," took plaje on Tuesday, the candidates being Mr. Eushall, an Estate Agent, a very old resident in the Municipality, and Mr. M"Kean, a loquacious attorney, of ftb-'standing or experience — very active-exertions were used by both parties, the contest being unusually keen, and the. profession' of faith on both sides being nearly identical, "" Economy, and no Tramways," forming the chief article of their creed. At the close of the poll, the numbers stood E-ushall, 620 ; M'ELean, 335 ; giving the former a majority of 2^5 — a result which augers well for the interests of the ratepayers, who have had the wisdom to prefer a steady practical man to a noisy pretender, who would have proved as great an obstructor of business as the departed Solon, whose mantle he ought to assume. ' : '" It is an ill wind which blows n o one good," a proverb which has been amply illustrated in the case of- the Collingwood G-as Company, whose business has increased fully fifty per cent, since the- late floodj On which occasion half the^ city- was placed in darkness, owing to thQ""submergnig of the gasometers of . their' 'rival the ; Melbourne' G\ C. In consequence i of? the improved, state of their affairs, -the -young company are about to declare a dividsud. oi' twelve per cent., to the great delccta- j tion of their shareholders, and morti- , fication of their older competitors, who only pay eight this half-year. The Philharmonic Society held its Tenth Annual Meeting on, Tuesday, .when from the report made its affairs appeared to be in a most fionrishing condition. The officers for the ensuing year were' appointed without discussion, Sir Redmond Barry being elected President. A- keen* debate as to the office of conductor then ensued, the candidates being Messrs. C. E. Horsley and Gr. "11. G-. Pringle, each of whom was lauded by. his professor as the best musician in the colony. The friends of the" latter, however, proved to be very few in numbers, Mr. Horsley — on the ballot being taken — being elected by forty votes to. Mr. Pringle's six. '- ' , The utter disregard of both matri-

monial and other moral ties — which is so aa'd a feature in the lower order of colonial society, was forcibly lllusi rated at the Palmerston Police Court, (lipps Land, a few days since, a man named English being charged l»y ono Hollingswoi'th with stealing some property The former, it appeared;' had fallen in love 'with "Mrs. Hollingsworth — during her husband's absence—^ and married her, having previously put away a woman with whom' he had be'en cohabiting for upwards of twenty years. On Hollingsworth's return, he found his wife and some of his goods gone, both of which he discovered in the possession of English, whom he at once gave, in charge, Mrs, : — or rather the quasi Mrs.— H, denies in toto that she ever was the wife "of Hbllingsworth , alth ough they had lived together for sixteen years,— while he Vtdutly affirms th at they were legally married, $ie onus of proof resting on him. Whichever statement is the correct one., the case is a frightful proof of the extent to which vice prevails amongst the bush population, in spite of the efforts made to diffuse religio\is ordinances amongst the thinly populated districts. In a former communication: I expressed my doubts as to the genuineness of the piety of the Eev. Mr. Taylor,, the revivalist . Wesleyan preacher- from California ; a circumstance has, however, recently occurred which places his conduct in so favorable a light that I deem it only fair to mention it. It seems that the rev. gentleman had become responsible for a large sum of money expended in the erection of a church in Sail Francisco, for which he had given his acceptances in various sums. Hearing by chance tljat an American seamen, who was the holder of one of them for £201), was an inmate of the Melbourne Hospital, and in poor circumstances!, he at once went to- him and took up the bill to the astonishment and. delight .of the tar, who in token of his gratitude for so unexpected a blessing, gave £50 of the amount towards the funds of the. institution, of whose benefits he has proved so worthy a recipient. It seems that the primary object of Mr. T.'s missionary tour is, if possible, to raise funds to liquidate his engagements, as well as to re-build the chapel, that for which he incurred sucn heavy liabilities, having bt % en burned down very /shortly after it was finishe 1, in which" liS lias been very successful hitherto,/ A further ctpology to the Eevd. A. I. Campbell;' from Messrs. Douglas and De Little, the proprietors of the Grrlonq AlozrtUcr, appears in the columns 'of that journal, but without a word of explanation as to why its publication has<been delayed so long after those of Mr. Martyr, and the editor; however, it completes the reparation due to Mr. C, magna est writ as eb prrvalcebit. Mr. W. C. Smith, the member for Ballarat, has resigned his seat upon plea of pressure of private affairs. His constituents are indignant, as they think he might have held on till the dissolution in July, it being difficult to obtain an eligible man to y;o through the trouble of an election for so short a period of office. All sorts of men are spoken of, but none have issued and address at present. The proximity of the river to our i Lunatic Asylum seems to increase a tendency to. suicide amongst the .patients, as one yesterday week. Sunday, the ITthinst., a young woman of 24 years of age, named Ana Davidson, who had been confined s ; nce the J2th. : June, 1^63, managed to make her esijape^during..! the' itemp orary absence of the .a'ttendanjb^by climbing to a window ten feet 'from 'the ground, and before the nurse and warders, who saw but could not prevent her exit ii-oin the inside, could reach her, threw herself into the Tarra, and refusing to grasp a piece of timber handed to her, sank in a few minutes. She ha'd made a similar attempt in November last, but on that occasion was rescued. No blame is to be attached to the officials, and a verdict of suicide from insanity was returned. The Rev. James Bullen, of * Canterbury, New Zealand, is the President of the Wesleyan Conference this year. The proceedings commenced on Wednesday and was largely attended, religious service being held at noon, in which many of the ministers joined, after which the members of Conference dined together in the newly erected Odd Fellows Hall, in Swanston-street. The township of Daylesford seems to be going ahead rapidly, as, in addition to a second newspaper, which Mr Sail, late of the Mount Alexander Mail, is. about to start, a meeting has been held, at which it was resolved to establish a Gras Company forthwith, so that between editorial and engineering gas, the Daylesfordians must prove a thoroughly enlightened community. Mr W. Wnliains, the anti-eight hours aristocrat, is a candidate for the vacancy in the Town Council for La Trobe Ward, caused by the retirement of Mr. Isaac Lyons, who has made a composition with his creditors, and ■ -thereby forfeited his seat. At present no opposition has appeared, but the workiug men are determined that their arch enemy shall not walk the course, and intend to Vnaico him disgorge some of his " Ten-hours " pel,- if they cannot, defeat him as easily as on the former occasion, when Mr Lyons beat him by a large majority. Dr. James, house surgeon for the last two years at the Melbourne Hospital, resigns at the close of this ; month, intending to engage in private practice, for which his long^ official experience will doubly qualifyliim. In mentioning the progress of Daylesford, I forgot to mention that their Turf Club Races are fixed for the 18th" and 19th" of next month, and that the prizes will, amount to £220, a very

respectable amount for i\ country meeting 'of so recent establishment. A' man- named- Thomas Jordan was killed on the HobsoiM Bay Bailway Station on the evening, of the 3 Bth, having, while in a state of.intoxi cation, jumped oil* the platfornj .* among the trucks, which were in motion. He waa promptly removed' to "the" hospital, but died in about seven minutes after his admission, from" profuse hemorrhage i caused- by a wound ifi the groin. ' A man of color named Thomas Home, a native of. Boston, U.S., cook and steward of the tug-boat Resolute, lying at the Ann-street pier,"Sandridge, was found drowned cloae to the vessel, his hat, coat and vest lying in a boat alongside. There being no evidence as to how he got into the water, and no marks of violence on the body, an open verdict was returned by the jury at the inquest. Two men named' James Bracken and Thomas Dowd, left 'Melbourne last I week for the Hoddles Creek Diggings, 1 and .having made Btitfhy Creek camped , there ; in the morning the former complained of illness,' and his mate ' left him' to procure assistance, but" when it arrived he was fast sinking, and died in half an hour afterwards; the cause- of death being disease of the' valves of the heart, — the frequency of which in this colony is most frightful, especially as the predisposing causes are as yet quite a matter of conjecture to the medical profession. Themaii was only "five aud twenty,. and it is a startling peculiarity of this malady that 'all ages are equally liable to it, which is not ordinarily, the case with organic complaints. Ou Wednesday morning last, the. body of a' miner-named William Edwards was found I ' lying over one of the harrows of the', lioyal Standard Company, at Beaufort, having a severe fracture Avound onthetemple, supposed to have been caused' by the handle of the puddling machine, while he was engaged in putting the; 'dirt nifco it. The Hon. William Nicholson has been dangerously ill, having fallen down in an apopletic fit, in his store, aud which was fbllowed^y paralysis, so as to cause the gravest fears for his life ; he is however progressing favorably, "and his medical attendants entertain hopes of his perfect restoration to health very shortly, • Mr. Barry Sullivan was also in a very precarious state from a sudden attack of spa3ms of the heart, on Wednesday night last. G-eorge Parr, the; captain of the English Eleven, has,' had an- attack of erysipelas, which- threatened to prove fatal ; he is, however, so far restored as to have left Sandhurst for Melbouurne, and will. ;b.e ..all right to accompany his team to New Zealrnd. Charles Kean, too, is reported to have been . alarmingly indisposed at .'Sydney, and does not return here for some days to come, ..so. that illness has been rife amongst our notabilities. It is reported that Sir Charles Darling is about^t.bpi;pye his surname to be indicative of- ,jhjs disposition,. so far as the ladies" are ton'ceriied,"'by giving a fancy dress ball on au extra magnificent scale. Such a decidedly infra dig proceeding for a Grove rnor, is hardly credible, but if the old gentleman is bent on a frblie, -he might as well go the entire animal, and make it a masquerade- at once. l?ov the sake of the dignity of his office, it is to be hoped that the statement is merely a hoax, which is more than likely, as it emanates from the correspondent of a provincial journal, rather celebrated for the vividness of h'is imagination, a huge coii-.-octor of sensatiou paragraphs, and who recently stirred-up the.Melbourne Cricket C! :1; to its very centre. The Chu-- : " '■•!' F. '.^land Assembly has been sittiM: ' " ■-■ no days, and, in consequence, tl:;- pi -r-> have been crammed with dr;\,r_> ;..;:■■■■ rta, of no earthly interest to ;v.\ : ' l-wi -.:^ aristocratic few within the ■*; nale — the principal debate ha*. •:■■■■■• ;•■: in- Mier a building should be emi-,'J ;;n ihe cathedral-reserve at once, or ;. .-.i' v. arrival of the bishop, who in ; ..-;. -'-\ home getting , out additional men, for whom, it is alleged ! vides, by docking . ; ihe sau... those already established hen, .-> n very paternal proceeding. '";*; sumption of this denomirK.u<.:i dividing Melbourne into .paiv-iH-.-.. otherwise aping the style and ■ of a State Church, is most <.ii< the perfect equality between "• • ! being one of the best feature* • system of the Australian colon : its infringement should l<e v, over with a jealous eye by <.\ c of civil aud religious Jiberfy. The English Cricketerr- jvt\. town on Friday, from .M: !,!•;> 1 where they achieved au if; wy \ one innings,with seventy -*rv> spare. The Englishman J-.-a'/f---dm this morning, and, aft r p.. the Otag.onian Twenty-tw^, perform a similar .op er<M >o church. On their re Lur between two Elevens w:il i the Melbourne ; groun< L, All-England Eleven ,pl:\ v i team, after which their vi. maine comes ' off. Tiii* • proceed to Sydney, winecareer by another Twen here, by which time t\h •liad- enough of the color, torians of cricketing ;— t !■ Britain, and we — it is U business, which, bcinv( rv. •and cricketing, is rathf< abeyance. The Lord Eaglan, eta which left Liverpoc-1 to 1 on the 23rd ITebruai'y, ui been finally given uj> i'v lost, posted at Lloyd s»'' ancos upon her paiY * \ spoken. on the 24th .]>ij« vc i when nothing has brt'u- ' probability, ever /'will \t< her. The large liumbcr of . ■ ,

'on board fenders tins un< erta.'nty the greater calami tj~ as very many of our colonists had friends aad relatives coming out in her.' This is, in faot, a more painful case than even that' of the Ultonia, which left Liverpool some six or seven years since, and disappeared in a similar manner j but ha*d comparatively few passengers. These events, coupied with the non-arrival of the homeward-bound -gold ship Madagascar, whose fate has never been ascertained, form a sad portion of our i maritime records. j The master-bakers of this city held a meeting at the Albion Hotel, on Eri•day, at which it was resolved that, as flour had risen to £18 per ton at the mill, the large, or 4-lb. loaf, should be raised to nniepence on and after Monday next. By the Formosa, which arrived from •the Mauritius on the 22nd, we have at last received some of the celebrated fish " gouiMinier,*' Captain Beaton having succeeded in bringing thirty of them ahve ; all previous endeavors to oiiect this had hitherto totally failed: This is a great triumph for the Accliiuatisatioh JSoci ety,, as , from their del jc.aey and great size,.these 'iliustripus strangers will, be worthy,: companions to the Murray cod, a. fine-specimen.. of which, weighing 4<7 IBs., graced the cricketers' luncheon table, at Maryborough, the other day. . . -.; ■.-.- ... .„ ' .... - A telegraphic announcement . iwas made from Adelaide, on I'riday, to the eifect that' Western Australia- had been abolished as a penal-"- settlement, and. that no more transportation to that colony would /take place. Where our neighbours got this gratifying piece of intelligence they did not state, and it certainly seems too good" to be true;, nor is.it credible that we who have taken so prominent a .part in the question should 'be -left to acquire our 'information at/ second hand. To add to the tightness of our flour market, extensive orders for the article have been received in South Australia from Hong Kong, the war having put a stop to supplies from America. Large shipments of both grain and flour have just been, made from Adelaide to Sydney and G-iuim, which will further reduce the stock in hand. Amongst the more prominent items of provincial news during the current week, are the murder of a bullock driver, near Harrow, in the Portland district by his mate, . after a drunken quarrel ; the body was fearfully mutilated, the le.?s being chopped off, aud the head and trunk hacked' to pieces, apparently with a tomahawk, which the perpetrator had been seen sharpening the evening previous to the discovery of the' crime. The mon, whose names aro unknown, were from the statiou of Mr. 2Jyan, at Mai lee ; no cine has yet been obtained as- to the whereabouts of the murderer, who has absconded. A most shocking- casualty by fire occurred this dav week .at Blind Creek, near Kidd's G-ully, in the Dayiesford district ; a woman, the wife of an Italian, named Fidulo de Curls, having heated her oven for the purpose of baking some bread, left her hut for a short period, when before she had time to return, it caught fire, aud sad to relate,' before assistance could be rendered, in less than a quarter of an hour it was totally consumed, together with her three chil- ' dren, one of whom had apparently been vainly endeavouring to reach the door ; the youngest, an infant of three months, was found with the head separated from the body, which was a mere heap of ashes. As may be supposed the greatest sympathy is felt throughout the district for the bereaved parents under this tremendous visitation. Want of pabulum compels me to abridge the present communication, which, considering the English Mail reaches you bv the same post, neither vonrsclf nor your readers will probably ; „,-,.. ,. 0 f . ]_■„,{■. , v -. ovn , talking shop re- ■ • •■■■- .-•<■■::•<•;,! L >!i t.i.i-mo; ■-: '■"•*. there