MELBOURNE.

New Zealander, Volume XVIII, Issue 1658, 8 March 1862, Page 4

MELBOURNE.

On the morning of the sth ult., the land bill introduced by the government had passed the second reading by a majority of 38 to 26 ; since when, some nine clauses have been passed in Committee with slight amendments. Adverting to the appointment of Mr. H. S. Chapman, who, several years ago, held an appointment as Judge in New Zealand, to the office of a Judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria, the Argus remarks: —This announcement will be received With a good deal of surprise by the public. We have been slow to believe the rumour which for some weeks past anticipated this piece of Ministerial patronage. We could not give the' Government credit for meditating so jiross a blunder, to call it by its mildest name. We did not believe that it would venture to try so bold an experiment upon the public sense of propriety as would be involved in the creation of Mr. H. S. Chapman a Judge. For more than one reason such an appointment seemed almost incredible. It is not as if Mr. Chapman was merely a man unfit, by attainments and by legal standing, to take a place on the judicial bench. Mr. Chapman is sufficiently well known to the public to have had ample justice done to his qualifications. He is no stranger in our community, but. has lived long enough amongst us to have had his talents and character thoroughly weighed and appreciated. He has had ample opportunity for achieving distinction in a great variety of ways, and he has enjoyed more advantages than most men in his colonial career. He has been, at least, once before a Judge, so that we are able to know what he is, even in that capacity. He is not any young or bashful aspirant, whom excess of modesty can be said to have robbed of any share of his just rewards. He has taken such excellent care of his deserts, that in some shape or other we have had him constantly before us for the last seven or eight years. And it is no injustice to so persevering a gentleman to declare that there has been a constant difference between himself and the public as to his qualifications. The public have never acknowledged those qualifications to be any other than very mediocre; and they have never been induced to view his character in any more glowing light than one of cold distrust. As a lawyer, Mr. Chapman cannot be said to hold any high position at the Victorian bar. As a politician, he is perhaps still more commonplace, if not less respectable. On the whole, he is about as unfit a man to be a Judge of the Supreme Court as could be found in the ranks of the legal profession. The late death of Underwood by the bite of a snake, has tended to cast suspicion on the efficacy of the antidote which he long claimed possession of, and which he unsuccessfully offered for the public benefit for £IOOO, it would seem however that the secret has not died with him, whatever it may be worth. A correspondent of the Bathurst Times writes to that journal, saying he became possessed of the secret accidentally, and promised not to reveal it during Underwood's life, fie now, being released from his promise, says it consists of the expressed juice of the young shoots of the umbrella fern, boiled with ipecacuhanna, but is not able to say in what proportions. Of course our scientific men could easily try this antidote, and place beyond a doubt whether it is really a certain cure or not, and I believe a chemist of somo colonial repute has already determined on the experiment. The necessity for an antidote in this colony is very great, as in the summer season we are much exposed to danger from snake bite.

SYDNEY. Now that the Assembly has been prorogued, cricket seems to have become the absorbing topic of the day. A very commodious grand stand was erected for spectators in the Domain, capable of holding 3000 persons, and this was literally crammed. The match, which which was between the All England Eleven and the united elevens of Victoria and New South Wales, had not been finished at the time of our latest date, the 15th. The following account from the Lachlan is from the Sydney Morning Herald: Gardiner, the bushranger, and his mob are again at work. On Friday they stuck up every person between this place and Lambing Flat—teamsters, diggers, and women—no less than twelve persons at one time, robbing them all. They stopped Mr. Greig's coach, which runs between this place and the Flat, searched the passengers, and took two packets of letters addressed to the Oriental Bank, containing a large amount in cheques (useless to them), and then allowed the coach to proceed. On arriving at the Flat, information of the robbery was immediately given, and three troopers' started in pursuit of Gardiner and his mob. Yesterday, they were still on the road sticking up everyone they met. The troopers overtook Gardiner at Mealy's station, his horse hanging np there. A rush was made to secure the horse, but Gardiner succeeded in eluding them all; and although upwards of a dozen shots were fired at him from revolvers, he escaped It is said that one of the shots took effect in his arm. He fired two shots. Trooper King mounted another horse and followed him, bnt has not been seen since. A shot was heard afterwards in the bush, and search made, but King was not found.

If there be any truth in one half the reports with respect to the behaviour and equipment of the troopers, it is a disgrace to the colony, and a strict official enquiry ought to be made into the affair.