OUR MELBOURNE LETTER.

Lake County Press, Volume VIII, Issue 449, 18 December 1879, Page 3

OUR MELBOURNE LETTER.

(Fadii' otm Own v Correspondent:) 1 Melbourne, December Bth. The Bill to legalise the introduction cf a system of stamp duties has passed the Legislative Assembly; and now only waits the'sanction of the Council' to' pass into law. The Government have .Bad printed' and ready for use no less"than* £600,000 worth of. this various kinds'of stamps, varying in value from Id to £100.; Of course the' Hill met with considerable'opposition during the time it was before theLower House both from the friends and foes of the Ministry, very important , changes jfnd alterations being made ; and it is now'as perfect as the unltedVisdom • of our legislature can make it. As to the expediency of the measure opinions differ Some regard it as a fair and equitable means of raising the revenue, while others' look' upon' the matter as a decidedly objectionable innovation. If your humble ebrrespond'ent may be permitted to eX-» press an opinion he looks upon it as a somewhat common-sen's~e mode of getting free from ; most of the objections which are properly urged against many of the forms" of direct taxation and protective duties; and I am disposed to tlink that when people get used to them they will not find them so irksome as they now imaghie. Persons who have- for many years'resided in the sis*fer Colbnh.-sv where neWspaDei s free of post, when they come here" find the necessity to put a stamp on every newspaper they send' away rather annoying until they get used to it; and, although the analogy is far from perfeet, still I fancy people will fall into the routine without much difficulty. T'don't see" that it is much more trouble to put a stamp on a cheque, bill, or receipt than 1 it is t6 pot them on letters, newspapers, <r'parcels to go by post. Of course, like most other'kinds" of Government taxes, the money will really come out of the pockets of the working classes; for those rrferchau's and tradesmen whose transactions are large' enough to compel then? to pay hundreds of pounds every year on these duty stamps will have to increase the cost of" their goods, and the lower_classes will Bnd a slight increase in all they eat, and drink, and wear. But the Government want money and'they must" nave it somehow or other; and I fancy these stamp dvfties are open to less' objections than any form of tax' the Ministry could have derised. The third reading of the Reform Bill is fixed for Thursday next and' m'any who are wise in matters political predict* that the requisite absolute majority of votes'to pass the Bill will never be secured ; others more,sanguine affirm that the Bilf will pass by a large majority, and a third party tell us that nothing definite can be said about the matter because some ten or twelve members hare not yet decided how to vote, but will be guided by " certain circumstances." Politicians of all shades of opinion are manifesting considerable anxiety about the matter. This much' is clear, that e'ven if the Bill does passf the Lower House it will be ignomiously rej. c'ed by fie " Lords." I am disposed to believe with those who assert that no amendment of the "Constitution Act "will ever be acceptable or ever receive the approval of the Imperial Government that does not coittain the' elements of the "reasonable compromise" suggested by Sir Michael Hicks»Beach- With every desire to be fair and just I.cannot admit that the Bill now before the Assembly can in any way be regarded as a " reasonable compromise," and hence we may assume that it will never become the law of the land, and that the'time which has been given to its discussion is so ranch time wasted. Mr J. Dwyer, M.L.A., has been declared insolvent by the Supreme Court,- • and his seat for Tilliers andr Heytesjjury declared vacant. It is rumwed v tnl%he will again contest the seat. He is" a staunch Ministerialist, and 'Mr Berry has promised him the support and assistance of the Government. He is to be opposed by Mr «T. Jones. Considering the closeness of the general election it is not likely the matter will attract much attention. On Tuesday night Dr Beariey's friends entertained him at a grand dinner in the large hall at the Atheuseum. There were 150 gentlemen present. In responding to the toast of his health Dr. Beaney de> livered one of those excellent speeches' for which he is famous, and in felicitous language told the gentlemen around how thoroughly he had enjoyed his visit to the mother country; but that during the period of his enjoyment he had not neglected to gather useful and valuable information in reference to Hospital practice. He was engaged in preparing a report which would contain a host of really important matter calculated to be of great use to the Melbourne Hospital. The illustrated papers are well supplied with pictures of " Captain Mobnlite's " recent professional visit to New South Wales, and also relate the various movements of the gentlemen who accompanied him officially; and graphically podrtray the unfortunate episode which tended to cloud the" enjoyment of the visit of our fellow colonists to the sister Colony. We learn, however, with considerable satisfaction' that their entrance into Sydney was markied with all the eclat which ever accompanies the visit of our well known citizens to the capital Of New South Wales and we earnestly hope that during the time they remain in that delightful retreat on Darlington heights they will remember that the ways of transgressiors are hard. That scurillous print called " Sam Slick " has also published some pictures of the bushrangers, and I remember nothing < ao vile as the so-called sketches. The

proverbial' spider immersed in ink could never manage to produce anything so Horrible. The people who support this abominable publication ought to be ashamed of themselves and thf paper.