LATER NEWS FROM AUSTRALIA. STOPPAGE OF THE VICTORIAN PROVIDENT INSTITUTE (FROM OUR OTAGO CORRESPONDENT.)

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XVIII, Issue 1633, 15 October 1862, Page 4

LATER NEWS FROM AUSTRALIA. STOPPAGE OF THE VICTORIAN PROVIDENT INSTITUTE (FROM OUR OTAGO CORRESPONDENT .)

Duuedin, 'Id, IS&2 By the aiTival of the 'Lightning,' and the 'Sci Bieeze,' I am enabled to furnish yon with Austia lian news to the lSth instant . — A gieat sensation has been ci cited thtoughoiit Tictona by the sudden stoppage ot the Victonau Piovident Institute. On the 12th the dnectois issued a uohee to the eftect, that, owing to a laige amount of deposit 1 , having been suddenly withdiawn, ehielly by emigiants to New Zealand, and intending pui-cha-eis under the new land 1 emulations they weie uo loi.gei able to meet the demands upon the funds of the Institute Fioni all accounts theie vill be an awful amount of fiaud and deceit re\ealed It is e\en stated that ou the day pie\ious to the stoppage, the embanassed state ot the Institute was known to the muiageis, and the step w.is iliseu-sed of the piopriety of closing the doois ou that d.ij, but will it be belie\ ed that the dntetois actually conhuued to recene deposits fiom then pool uonfidiug clients thtoughout the da> ' One case i> mentioned of a poor woman who paid in £100, all <-he was woith, on tint veiy aftei noon, when the banktupt state ot the concern was u ell known to the official* The Institute is Mipposed to hold about £ 270,000, entnely composed of the savings of that class 'foi who-e benefit the Institute was foimed Thecncumstances attending this stoppige, aie singulaily anaHgous to tho^e under which the Royal Bnttsh Bank, of execrable memory, faded At the annual meeting of the Institute, held only so latch as Ist Julj, the lepoit declared the Institute to be in a most pi osperous state, and the piofits weie stated to be so large as to recommend a dn ldend of 12{ per cent to the shaieholders ' The balance --licet was a most edifying document, —not dn item of loss was mentioned, and the auditois, managing direotoi, and accountant all signed and ceitihed the accounts ,ts be ng conect ' Although the withdi iwal of deposits within a limited pei 10 1, has been veiy considerable, (about" £40,0(10 since June) and so has been the immediate cau-e of the stoppage, it had only pi capitated an event w Inch must soonei or latei h,i\ c occuned. The ol 1 lu-toi y of banking i.a*-cahty has been closely imitated Money lias been advanced to shareholders on seem it^ of the In-titute's own sliaies, rash speculations and he.v y losses, which have nevci been allowed to appeal in the accounts. In fact, if yon read the histoiy of the faduie of the Buti-h Bank, oi the latei cisc of the Bmk of Deposit jou will hnd the histoiy of the Pi.iudeut Institute'stoppage The amount of individu.il and sou il ni'seiy which this aff.ni will pioduce, i> incalculable The depoiitois numbci ne.n 2,000, and most of them, if not all, weie com] iaiati\cl\ pool peisou-, who had enti listed then sawngs of yeais of haid labour to the keeping of the Institute It is anticipated that the depositois will iiUiiiia/eli/ get a good dividend, of coui^e at the e\peu-e of the shnieholdu-, whoaie liable to the full extent of then means Many of these will be i inned entiioly, and in the meantime the depositois aie also <.uffeimg Mr Duffy's new Land Regulations, which weie expected to tluow open immense aieasof agiicnltuial land foi the small capitalists, and hona fide settler-., have not pioved so satisfactoty m their working as had been anticipiled The fiist sales under the new code took place a few days ago, and a gieat deal of disgust and dissatisfaction has been caused by the unblushing luannei in which the squatteis and laige capitalists ha\e contaved to evade the law. The applications for laud must not exceed a ceitain number of acres by each pei-on. but the speeulatoi s appeal to have paid a lot of "dummies' to apply foi them, as if on then own behalf, but in i c.ility for then own employer One instance is mentioned of a =-f|nattci, who<-e inn was adveitiscd foi sale, ha\inLC chaitcicd all his shepheids, help-, caipeutei-, and '-civants, to apply as if on their own account, with an undent aiding that the title deeds weie aftei v. aid- to be handed o vet to him This pioxy system has in some < ases been attended with unfoiseen and \eiy disngieeablc lesidts A gieat many instances .tie mentioned, wheie certain persons (proxies) had applied for land, and paid in the money reg lined for the pin chase, some watchful lawyers and otheis had impounded the money, the ostensible applicants being, unceiLilicated insolvents Of couise the original ownei of the money has no lemedy, m fact dare not for fear of cx'posme, seek one The illegal applications, amounting m fact to dnect perjiuy, have induced the government to offci a reward of £100 foi the conviction of the offendei -.. The rush to Otago continues to increase; fomteen large ships are laid ou for Duuedin, and .ill vapidly filling. The Victoii.ui papers aie hying to write down the Otago gold-fields. Instructions weie leceived in Sydney by the last mail from England, for the immediate discontinuance of the colonial extia allowance lntheito given to the crews and officei-. Tins, unless to apply also to the troops, and the icason alleged is that the plan hitherto adopted has caused envy and dissatisfaction to the forces on othei stations The late cases of "Sticking up, " including the lobbcry of the Lachlan Escort aie alleged to have been committed not by the famed Gauliuer, but by the son', of neighboring settlero. This levelation is stated to have been made by a man lately arrested and who has turned approver. Great efforts aie being made by the fiiends of Mr. Buchanan to secure his re-election. Mi. Jarves Buchanan, late Gold Commissioner for northern district, is Btated in the Morning Tleruld of the 13th, to have been committed foi tiial, for forging an acquittance, or receipt for £20. Theie aie also other grave chaiges against him. Thete was uo uews leeeived in Adelaide, of Me Kinlay the explorer. A telegram from Sydney of the 17th, says :—"ln: — "In the Legislative Oouncd the debate on the second reading of the bill to abolish State-aid to leligion, occupied all last night It was opened by the lion tlie Attorney-General, and in the course of the evening an amendment was moved, that the bill be read that day six months. This was, however, negatived, and the debate on the ouginal motion that the bill be lead a second time was adjourned until Thursday (to-morrow) afternoon,

Tn Queensland the drought was pioducing fearful effects, cattle dying by seoies. Prayer had been offered in all the chinches foi rain, but none had fallen. The inhabitants of Hobarfc Town have petitioned for the removal of the restrictions on the importation of cattle.