VICTORIA.

Southland Times, Issue 978, 1 July 1868, Page 3

VICTORIA.

" ' (iTJOM OTJB'OWir COEEESPOITDiarT.) • Melbourne, 25th June. J Since my last, the debates in the Aisdmbly have been animated, but not ■violent. ' The Sladen Ministry are still in oflieev and are by every means striving to obtain a compromise, but the. Opposition have not yet yielded to their demands. The Estimates were tabled on the 18th June without the Darling grant appearing. Mr M'Culloch, in committee, before any. business had been gone through, moved the resolution standing in his name. He expressed deep regret that the Darling, grant was not included. He considered there was no excuse for the Government for the course they had taken.. He then moved a formal motion in fevor of the grant, and that a message be sent to His Excellency. The Colonial Secretary defended the Ministry on the ground that ifc was much to be wished that they should avoid a quarrel with the other House, and maintained there was nothing unconstitutional in the mode adopted, the Estimates being quite different to those submitted by .the exTreasurer (Mr Verdon) in 1867 ; and he asked the House to suggest some means of getting rid of the Darling grant subject without asking the Governor to violate his instructions. Mr Higinbotham maintained it was not the question of the Estimates, but the whole hinged on the passing of the Darling grant. He asked the Ministry if they were prepared to advise His Excellency on this subject, in accordance with the wishes of the House ; if they were not, then let them, stand aside, and let the House address him direct, Mr Aspinall, in reply, stated thai the conduct of the Opposition was disgraceful, and their object seemed to be separation from the mother country. Mi IVancis and Mr M'Culloch required a retraction of the assertion, which he refused. Here quite a scene arose, thai was almost the noisiest I have witnessed in the House. After some time Mi Aspinall qualified his expressions, and the debate proceeded, and terminated by th« '.. motion being carried by forty to fourteen Mr M'Culloch then moved the adjourn ment of the House to the following Monday, the 22nd June. The debate was resumed on Monday, upon the mo tioi in com

! mittee on ■ the previous Friday by Mr i Fellows moving an addition to the reso- ■ lution expressive of the opinion of the [ House, that the Darling grant should be recommended in a separate bill. A discussion then ensued, in which Mr Higin- : botham played the most conspicuous part, ; determinedly opposing all compromise, i Others Allowed; but many not remarki all ■ io'. 1 their silence remained mute. There was a quietude in the conduct of this debate that almost convinced the lookers on that the fury of the gale had passed, and ! that although a few squalls might arise — a fair wind would be expected. At a late hour in the evening, Mr Francis, the exCommissioner of Trade and Customs, moved the adjournment of the debate until next day, intimating that he had proposals to make which could not be discussed that evening; the adjournment was agreed to. The debate was resumed on Tuesday, the 23rd inst,, by Mr Francis. Thehon. gentleman stated that he was most desirous that the Darling grant should be passed, but he might gay that he did not completely coincide with his colleagues in the course taken to obtain it. It would not thereforebe inconsistent in him to advocate a compromise. The . question was tno form of the grant ; he objected to it being made a separate bill ; he also objected to it being included in the Appropriation Act. He suggested that a message should be sent down for a supply bill that should include the Darling, grant alone, or other grants with it. He said, if the amendment of the Ministry was lost, and a message brought down, he would bring in a bill for the exact sum, or for a larger one. After considerable discuseion, the debate was again adjourned till the next day, when it was resumed on the amendment of the Colonial Secretary, and at length it was put to the House and delared lost without a division. Mr M'Culloch's motion was carried. There appears now a fair chance for the dead-lock coming to an end, for although the Ministry would not abandon the amendment, it was evident that spine of its supporters were willing to adopt the suggestions of Mr Francis^ and that His Excellency will be recommended to send down a supply bill to cover the Darling grant. Should this policy be adopted; it is believed that but little opposition will bo given by the Council to. the passing . of the bill. Both parties are tired of . the long protracted struggle, and the people are universally desirous of seeing it terminated. I hope in my next to be able to inform you that the Darling grant has been got, the public chest again opened, and the work pf legislation being satisfactorily proceeded with. A barbarous murder has been committed at the Bullock Creek Diggings, which ia briefly as follows:— Two men, named John Hogan, alias Parker, and Martin Eooney, both aged from fifty to fifty-five years, were living together in a tent, and, as it appears, working as mates. About the Bth or 9th inst., Hogan was seen at a store drinking, and it was remarked that there were spots of blood on his trousers. The following day some of the residents talked together about several: suspicious circumstances — such as the disappearance of Eooney, the facts that a very bad smell was noticed at the tent, and that Hogan had a large sura of money in his possession, from all . of which they suspected that he had murdered Eooney. Several of them agreed to go to the tent, and did so. One of them called out, but getting no answer, they lighted a match, raised the corner of the tent, and walked : in. They there found the dead body of Eooney lying on the floor, covered with a blue blanket. The skull was fractured and many wounds were visible about the head, Death seemed to have been caused by blows on the head, inflicted with a large hammer that was found in the tent. The man Hogan was immediately arrested on the charge of , committing the murder. An inquest was held shortly afterwards, when a verdict of wilful murder against the prisoner was recorded. The marriage of Miss Manners Sutton, the daughter of the Governor, with Mr C. Bright, comes off to-day at Toorak. The most splendid preparations have been made to render the auspicious occasion worthy of the great wealth and social position of both the bride and bridegroom. Several very fine diamonds have been recently found in different parts of the colony, some of which are pronounced to beof the first water. The attention of the Eoyal Society has been directed to the matter, and Dr BleasdaL* lias warmly taken the subject up. ; The attention of the public has of late been directed to the neighboring colony of Queensland, and it ,is not unlikely, in the event of the. news con-, tinuing to prove favorable, that a rush will set in to Gympie Creek. There are rumors to the effect that several quartz reefs of extraordinary richness have been recently discovered about forty miles from Maryborough. The estimates for the past year show the total receipts to be £3,200,000, _and the expenditure during the same period, £3,490,439. Several hospitals and benevolent asylums have been obliged to suspend their humane operations in consequence of not receiving the governmental subsidy. . This lamentable state of things arises [ out of the dead lock. [ The late agricultural statistics have been . completed in a loose and careless manner, ' and the Government has taken steps to I prevent a similar occurrence in future.