VICTORIA.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25, 13 December 1861, Page 3

VICTORIA.

mm run ov;'o>e>;. (iorrespondeiit.) scrmemo luscavvmiy em mmc'UAmoDs iicmaixs. JmVITAO OF THE RUSH. ■Melbourne, Thursday, sth December. "Banquets have lately grown into an institution iiere. It dme not matter much whether a, eaudl- ' ome ;s dehruted ov c lee red, tiie occasion is considered weossey of a bampiet. Two ot these celebrations c cue otf yester lay, one at Warrnambool to ecle-- . brute tee return of J. ID. Wood, Esq., tlie late Drrshknt of Ltod and Works. The latter aiehr -a.is quite ;m ovarian in its way. Tho large hail of the Mechanics' lustituton was crowded. The Mayor presided. Amongst tee guests were Messrs. Honics, Grant, A.spinaii, and about a, dozen ofthe supporters ot the bate ministry. It would not be ony surprise fa have seen the whole ofthe present o_op<>.hrton there, asthey travel free on the government railways and could enjoy their trip without auy expense and .have a good v tuck in " to the bargain. Tim local papers describe the banquet as " econom-cal but substantial and satisfying.'" . Ida Dronkewss rec Deed, w.t-h tremendous npphmse, ' end aker thanking them for the honor, &o, made a 10-ig speech in defence of his bite policy, ami an { attack upon and exposure of the policy of the , present government. The occupation licenses and protection was the key note of all the speeches, , until towards tbe close, Don made rather a savage attack on die jiersoiiucc of the present address ol , h;s I-bu-eheuey. If it were possible to give an impartial opinion it would be that the present minis- . try having been all returned can u'fbrd to smile at these lame attempts to traduce their character, &c.; (ley can claim to have tiie opinion of the country w.tb them quite us much as the late government. It, is notorious that the finales' ministry, however good intended., were not the men callable of taking advantage ed their position. They brought in a Dili, about six weeks ago, to allow your gold to be exported from, this colony free of duty, and, instead of pacing tt as they ought to have done in a few ,s It rings, they debtyed it for the purpose of trying to reduce tiie duty at the same time. The result was the bill never passed, and Otago gold is only allowed to be re-exported duty free by sukerance instead, of by taw. Several ) .-ar ties con tit iue hud ustr iottsly prospecting the Hughes blush, near Geelong, and a iitile — but very bstie—-go! I basal last been discovered ; aoul some arc sanguine that it may turnout after ad payable. ddie provincial papers all speak of the late news J'rom your colony as having cruised considerable excitement, and the coaches aud trains arriving iv town have a marked increase in passengers boo mi Otago-ward. intelligence from Adelaide would lead to the belief that the remains found hy MdG.tday, near Cooper's Creek, were those of Leichardt's p irty, but it cam perhaps never be known to a certainty. it appears tbat Mbbbday met with very savage jmtivos — compared io those Wide and Durke found. They made mt attack on IM'Kin lay's po.rty, led on by a bDckfellow, who bore the marks of severe gunshot wounds. IdhKhbay iired upon them, ami escaped without any damage to himself or party. There is little or no change in emr markets. .Now Adelaide wheat is coming in, ami for milling purposes command a somewhat higher figure. A bnge sale of sugars was held yesterday, when the puces realised was veiw satisfactory—former rates being fally imuntained. " Tb.c cry is still tbey come ! "—From the Argus' ofthe sth. .'December, we extract the following : — '• '.Flic effect otthe late favourable news from New Zealand is beginning to show itself once more. The coaches to Gee Jong' last evening were crowded, ami the number af 'swags' that wore •pitched on the top as well as strapped on behind wore self-evident facts that there are yet some who tire venturesome enough to give the mov gold-fields a lair trial.'' Tho Inyhnvood Ac!~ rerii^er says : —'" Tbe favorable news from New kluahmd has apparently quite eclipsed the Lac hi an In tbe estimation of tlie miners. Yesterday morning the coaches were crammed, and we tindorsiund that, nearby all tiie available seats arc engaged for this morning a.md to-morrow. From the letters received last week, it would appear thai the bugle wood men have been pretty fortunate, aud most of them speak well of the prospects of the diggings.

It is now finally arrantmd that the first grand international match shall take place on the Ist •January next. On the 2tJth of December, and the two following days, arrangements havo been made Ar thee celebration of the annual Caledonian Jet-' upon the Melbourne ground ; so that there \vill be no lack of amusement during that period. Considerable progress has been made with the Aemutic e;r*md stand in course of erection by 'Messrs. Spiers and Pond. Already the huge frame forms a conspicuous object in the Richmond Paddock, ami gives an earnest of the cxtonsh-c plan upon which Messrs. Spiers and Pond have determined to carry out their spirited undertaking. —Argus. The death of tlie once celebrated Tom Thumb is announced in the thuds papers. He died in great poverty in one of the hosph;bs, after having fallen so low as to have been a show dwarf at the country fairs. — Court Journal. A Novr Codfish Bank.— A curious discovery has lately been made in the North Atlantic by some Scotch fishermen —n.ofchhur less than a rock in mid-ocean, whose base is the home of innumerable codfish, who, being tmnrquAtited vrb.h 'the appearance of a hook and line, bite sharply, cud become an easy prey to oyger fishermen. Some years ago, otic of our New England captains made a somewhat similar but more valuable discovery, but-thc game was larger. He came by accident upon a new cruising ground for sperm whales, where lie Idled up his ship in a very few weeks, and, keeping his own counsel, went homo, libit the fame of his short voyage 'seed spread, and f-m his outward passage he found himself dogged. by other vessels, whoso commav he vainly sought to throw ode They followed him, aud partook oi Ids good luck-;- but they "whaled it" so energetically that those who cine for a second season :i.b;md the whale-! nuruiudie; ■m shy thet they could get vfeoy few. — Neoe Y^rh 7bem;vy. Aug. 2d.