MELBOURNE ITEMS.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 2962, 9 July 1891, Page 4

MELBOURNE ITEMS.

[By Teleimxonus.] MkCißOCkn'b, June 16. Oi;k public men are terribly worried just uow, find the fourth estate is beginning to be counted among the terrors of life. A certain ilnily took it into its head recently to forecast the report of tiie Railway Committee. To some extent it succeeded, but only by the adoption of measures which half a dozen years ago would have- been scouted as Yankee journalism. A persevering reporter was told off to interview every member of the committee and see what would happen. Hu had not a rosey time. The first person he called on was a member of the Legislative Council, who had made himself rather conspicuous as questioner- general during thu sittings of the committee. By this gentleman ho was accused of tempting him to dishonour, and was sternly ordered out of the house, the M.L.C. going before, and assuming the "Go forth, young man, ,, attitude, in which Mr Peekemlf is depicted by the artist who illustrated "Martin Chuzzlewit." The second told a tale of woe as to how hu himself was ready to reform the railways and the world ; but, at the end of an hour's dissertation, avowed that lie differed with his colleagues and would not sign their report, and did not know what would be in it. Finally, at midnight, the reporter reached the house of the last man on his list. It was in darkness, and tha M.P. had gone to bed ; but be rang, and the master of the honse himself, in nightgown and slippers, opcued the door to the untimely visitor, who held him in discourse until tbe legislator's better half screamed out to him that he ought to come back to his bed and not stand there collocjuing with newspaper trash. When that reporter reached the office and began to reckon up what he had learned and to sot it down in good order, ho found that in spite of all the rebuffs he had experienced he had obtained a good idea of what was going on, and he managed to forecast events very fairly. And, oddly enough, the main clue had been given him by the irate M.L.C. who had ordered him out. Since that gentleman had replied "I'll see you blanked first," wheu asked a leading question, the reporter had wit enough to see that it was the question itself, and not the fact of being questioned, that was uppermost in the good man's mind at the moment. Mr Speight, who knows how to drag a herring across the tail of reform as well as any man, has prepared a paper on the Betterment Bystem as established in America. He is sure it would not answer in A r ietoria. The great peculiarity of Mr Speight's reasoning is that it is never directed at other people's points but at always at some aide issue. Its direct aim always, ia to prove that nothing will answer in Victoria if it is unsuccessful anywhere else. No one has tried to introduce the bettorment system here, but certain deputations have now and again told Mr Speight that they would very gladly submit to some such impost to secure railways provided the assessments were levied, not merely on the bi-sected lands but on all that were im. proved in value by the making of the line, the assessment of course, being batitxl on tho valuation. He is, therefore answering, not the committee, but the people who want the lines which tho committee have to consider. Privately, various members of the Ministry, have intimated that it is the ntentiou of the Government to assent to tiie proposal to be made to morrow by the o'lnferetico of Vigneruous, that lic.Mists to sell Victorian, wines shall be issued and renewed quarterly instead of yearly. It is felt that this course will stimulate the distribution of our wines among our people and lvmovi"- the colonial wine trade from the urdiuary hotels whoso licensees do not liliP it and who do n>t v.wjt it. In any ordinary Melbourne hotel you have to drink colonial claret out of the same thimble-sized grpnn glass which is pi ven to ynu for French claret and you pay tiie samn sixpence too. But tho wine shops of which wo have too few will sell a bottle of wine for a shilling and give a tumbler full for threepence and the more we have of them the less spirits we shall put away. Melbourne is bigger, richer, and more populous than Manchester and is also quite as full of people who under stand and appreciate good music yet Manchester has supported for many years, air Chailea Halle and hie or-

cht.-itra of 10"> performers all the year round, while our Victorian Orchestra of 35 in all is fizzing out like u damp fquib, after an inglorious existence of two yearn, 'luring which it haa received ,£">00(> of public money. The roil reason was conclusively demonstrated on Saturday night-., when Sir Charles Halle engaged the same orchestra, added '!') more to it, and gave a concert attended by an irr.mensc audience, which yielded a handsome profit after all tho business was paid for. The truth if", tint our orchestra has been managed by a fussy and faddish committee, while Sit Charles Halle has managed his own orchestra himself. Had he settled in Melbourne instead of Manchester, he would have made as big a success here aa there. Our race are supposed to be brave, of course, and so we will suppose that the hero of tin , following anecdote was a foreigner. At any rate, he was an old Melbourne resident. He was not well, and he got a lotion and .1 draught. Ho swallowed some of the lotion instead of the draught, and when he had found out what he had done, he ruehcd off to tho Hospital, where it was quickly discovered that the lotion was harmless, and that no evil results could ensue ; but they did. lie fainted with fear before he could be reassured, and he fainted again when told that he was safe, and the fainting fits returned again and again, each time being more difficult to cure until at last, after a few days' prostration, hn died from failure of the heart's action, induced by shock, the doctors said in their certificate, but of sheer fright aud unmanageable fear in real sober earnestness. AH preparations have been made tor the work of the session, the Ministry tell us, but the truth is that the preparations for the end of the session are very nearly as forward. A dissolution may come at any momeDt after the House assembles. It is true that the direct opposition and the Ministry are at one over the Federation question, bnt that counts f*r little. The great difficulty lies in the financial part of the business. The Ministers will not propose a single railway, and therefore all those who desire railways will combine to turn them out. This is a dead certainty, and the agreement concerning the Federation question will only make matters worse, because a new Ministry would be entitled to claim their support on that question. The workmen can hardly believe their own ears when they hear that in spite of the existing distress, railway construction is to be absolutely stopped, and the publicans are furiouß at the inspired proposal to re-impose the beer duty, which appeared to-day. The feeling is this, that whoever comes after can do no worse than this, and if a vote of censure be proposed, it will go without difficulty.