VICTORIA.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 552, 2 December 1879, Page 2

VICTORIA.

At a caucus of Ministerialists on November 19 the .majority were unfavorable to proceeding to extremities. The action proposed to be taken respecting. Gaunson and Bent... is to debar those two members from speaking for a period, but they will be permitted to .vote. . _.' .. „< The defalcations of Mander,. late, manager of the National Bank at.Eens-' hurst, are stated to amount to £4700.., . The Hon. J. Woods offers, if the Assembly'give him £30,000 to bring coal, from Kilcunda and Cape Patterson at the rate of 50,000 tons per' annum, at Sydney prices. In the case of the Daily Telegraph v. Berry, for slander, only formal evidence was * given for the plaintiffs, and none whatever for the defendant. Mr Berry's statement constituting the slander was proved. Judge Barry summed up strpngly in favor of the plaintiffs, saying that .the allegation against them was niqst serious. . The verdict for the plaintiff was for £25. It is not improbable that the Argus and Evening Her'aid : will als!o bring actions against Mr Berry for similar slanders. ; . „ ' . .. Three directors of the Provincial and Suburban Bank appeared on summonses before Judge Molesworth to show cause ■why they should not pay over £7087 to the official liquidators. The money had been paid by the defendants into another bank in their own, names. The Judge ordered them to pay over the : money to the liquidators, as it was a preferential paymeut to creditors by ;the directors, must be refunded to the bank. „ , JAt the annual, meeting- of. the Reform League, : Mr Berry, Sir Bryan O'Loghlen, Major Smith, and Mr Longmore . were present. The latter was elected, president- Mr Berry spoke at some length on the opinions expressed by the English journals on Victorian affairs, which, he said, only echoed the Argus, but all leading articles whatever would not influence the elections.