MELBOURNE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 4175, 6 July 1875, Page 3

MELBOURNE.

(FEOM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Jime 2Cth.

The most characteristic,. if not the most creditable, part of the Parliamentary proceedings of the last week or two has been the quiet, unassuming introduction and progress of the Bill for the Amendment of Officials in Parlia-

menfc Act. This statute, which was passed in earlier better days, is, as it stands, something to the credit of our Parliament. It is an honest, well-intentioned, self-denying Ordi-

nance. It provides that no member of the Parliament shall be appointed to any place of honour or profit under the Crown —with cer-

taiu obvious exceptions—during tlie time of

his being a member or for six months afterwards.. It assumes that members and Minis-

ters are alike weak and fallible—that the fornier are subject to temptation, and that the latter may find themselves in the position of the tempters. It therefore comes to the aid of imperfect human virtue.by assisting it with whai; has iv practice proved a rery effective protection. No member now can sell his vote for ar place without consenting to run the risk of a hazardous half year, during which time the Government who, to-, night, may go out of office and be succeeded by another which might heartlessly repudiate the transaction. But now comes forward a legislative market gardener—Mr Bent—who complains that this Act is " a slur" on the character of every member of the House. Another member, with unmistakeable fervour, denounces it as a "blot on the legislation of the country." Well, so fur as the sentimental argument about the " slur " is concerned, it may be at once admitted for what it was worth. If it means that the Act implies a suspicion of the immaculate purity of members and Ministers, the answer is that the general outside feeling is that neither the one nor the other is above suspicion. We do not absolutely trust these gentlemen, and prefer to keep a little check upon them. However, the Bill 'to abolish this measure has been brought in, and very quietly passed its second reading. Honourable members did not care to say much on the subject I They debated the Land Bill for three weeks, and then passed its second reading by 52 vote.'* to 9. But they did not,air. much eloquence about the other BUI. They voted straight, but did not discuss the matter very muck Mr Carey drew an affecting picture of a good fat sinecure the Government now have to give away, and that it is unable to give it to any honourable member, on account of this flagitious Act. Honourable members were moved to tears by the picture, and their souls bura ed with indignation against the conduct of the Parliament which had been base enough to pass thin wicked measure. However* it is [■iretty certain "that the little Bill will not get through the Council. The members of that august body are not likely to profit much by any exercise of Government patronage, and will, without doubt, make a cheap display of disinterestedness by rejecting a Bill, by which they would have but .a very small chance of profiting. But so that it is rejected it does not matter how or why the .good result is accomplished ■■,-.. A curious repetition has been made in the House by Mr G. P. .Smith of a charge that was once made in the Upper- Chamber by I)r Dobsou against the same Minister. Both of these honourable members declare that they mooted to Mr Casey the subject of land selection., and regretted their inability to comply with the residence condition of the. Act To both of them Mr Casey was most accommodating, and promised them that their objects should be forwarded as far as possible. He was also good enough to point out to them how they could evade the conditions of the Act by declaring that it. was their .intention to reside on the land, and"" change their intention five minutes afterwards." This is political Jesuitism with a vengeance, but not therefore irreccncileable with the character of Mr Casey. That honourable gentleman, however, flatly denies the statementI*. The misfortune is tha they have been made very often hy independent witnesses, and that Mr Casey has nothing but his word to urge against them. The' conse-" quence is that public opinion has home very hard on that self-complacent gentleman. A strange rumour has obtained currency to the effect that many members who wanted land were more compliant than Mr Smith or Dr Dobson, and that they have token up and expended money on selections which they hold iv fcvai'ion and direct violation of the Land Act They are thus thoroughly under the thumb of the Minister, and are compelled to vote at his dictates. It would be interesting_ to know how much of truth there is in this singular

report. , The English Government has of late earned a good deal of public Maine by delegating some of ite duties to .'Committees of. Enquiry, which have had to investigate and deal with matters which the Government ought itself to dispose of. Our own Ministry is proceeding in aHimiLu: course, and an instance of the practice j'b , the Kew Lunatic Asylum Board of Inquiry, now sitting and taking evidence on the statement of a patient that he had been brutally uflett by one of the warders. The evidence called in support of the statement is, so far, quite ridiculous, and is abundantly refuted by the counter-testimony. The man's statements seem to be merely the result of his disordered intellects, and it" seems perfectly absurd for a Board to sit and "gravely take evidence, of which the following is a specimen:— I recollect a time when a patient named Stafford told me that if he died I would know that he was smothered. He did die two days later, and I then knew he'had- been smothered. • He also told me that 25 patients had been smothered in one week. I believed it because he told me so. I believe patients were smothered in those days, but Ido not think it is done now. 1 intend to lecture at the Town Hall, by which I shall make a lot of money, and I will then give £5(10,000 to all the hospitals. I shall also i,ive all the members of the Board £1000, a diamond rin" and a gold watch and chain. I have not Kot°any money to-day, but I will borrow £10.000 this afternoon from Mr Allan. I went to a jeweller's yesterday and told them to pack up all their diamonds; as I would "buy the lot. I shall fetch them as soon as I get the money. Mr James got my coat out of pawn for me this morning. I had to leave it for. six dozen of oysters. When I get my money I wiU go home and make the .Queen a handsome present. 1 I will give her a gold box and two millions of money." It may lie readily inferred what light is likely to be elicited by an inquiry when isucn men as this are the witnesses. The only Clung noteworthy which the investigation has elicited is the complaint made by the Superintendent, Dr ilobertsoh, of the injury done to the discipline and efficiency of the asylum by the manner in which "political influence" interferes with its management Men are appointed, not because they are suited to the work, but because they have some member of Parliament to back up their applications. ■ Men are sometimes found to be -unfit, but they cannot be discharged on account of political influence." One man was once convicted oi cruelty and was sentenced to be dismissed,, but " political influence was brought to bear, ' and he w:ts only lowered in rank. In other words, political corruption—for this is what it means —prevents the Asylum from being managed as it i-lio uld be. It may readily be seen how futile are inquiries into its management when the efforts of those in charge are counteracted by sudri influences as these. . A Bill has lately been introduced into tno Lc-'Mative Council by the representatives of the Government to amend the law relfttag to attomeyH. It proposes to incorporate ft ham

Society, and to invest it with gr«afc privileges.. On the one side, laymen are to be strictly prevented from doing work that is now perfectly open to them; and on the other, the common law right of barristers to engage in conveyanci lg, or to see their clieutri direct, is taken away. In fact, the measure seel?n- to establish «• eloKe mid unfair monopoly, to create a favoured gmlcl, ami tii give it privileges of a most important diameter at the cost- of the general public The Bill has excii^l a good deal of opposition out t»f doors, and, although it may get througn the CVamcii, it can hs«lly fail to come to grief in the Assembly. And thus do the two Houses ffiufoally s"]>J% fiach other* deficiencies and isrreefc each utSier's partialities.

ITie H«i; <f. G. Francts: has been very unlucky ilurfag his absence fi'oin tlie Colony. The other day the Tictoria Sngaa- Fiicte-ry, in which he was a ls»ge proprietor, was burned (lown, and now a rfore owned l»y Min y and in the occupancy of Messrs Luke amtl Co-, las been destroyed by another fire.. JJwufr the same time an explosioa took place in ii gi s inanufaetory attached to the Theatre' Royal, employed to produce qua for the lime-Bj,'''.* effects in the theatre. THe result was tli\y lnllir gof a young man named Sidney Smith, a>Ti a distant gasiitter, to whose negligence, it appeair, the accident was due. It is satisfactory,, however, to find that even this rough test did -rtot in the slightest jeopardise the interior of tlie theatre: so that, if there is a dangerous manufactory of gas just outside, dangerously liable' to explosion, it is well to know that there is no danger of any damage being done to tlie ni-ude of the building or to any of its inmates.The affair reminds me of a little incident that I once observed at the1 Theatre Koyal some years ago. During the course of a performance some disturbance arose1 in tic pit or stalls, and several persons walked out of the house, apparently to settle matters outside. The sight of so many quitting the house in the midst of the performance caused,. on_a small scale, one of those unreasoning panres that occasionally beset large assemblages- The people in the dress circle took tlie alarm and hurried out, but, after waiting for some- time, and finding that nothing came of ft r they gradually and unobtrusively stole Tiack again to their places. Some came in looking very sheepish, others with an air of innocence, as though they had merely gone for a drink. When all was quiet again, a gentlbman who was in. my company, isaid, "Did you observe that there were only four of us wlio kept our seats, and all four were pressmen V And this was the case. The great event of the commercial world is still the insolvency of the Messrs M'Ewen, wholesale grocers, with liabilities amounting to about £100,000. At the first meeting of the creditors of the firm, the Manager of the Colonial Bank, which lost about £50,000 by the linn's failure, absolutely refused to give any information whatever regarding the transactions between the firm and the bank. The re-

fu«il caused a good deal of indignation, and it was resolved to at once place the estate in the Insolvent Court. It would seem that the somewhat (raculent manager was brought to book about his behaviour, about which there was but one opinion in commercial cu-cles, as he has since shown a much more accommodat ing spirit, and has offered terms to the other creditors, which they have taken time to consider. ! The Eev. Cbas. Clark is still the rage. The ; lecture on tlie Tower i f London is to be repeated for the fourth time to-night, and it appears likely to be as crowded as on the former deliveries. Of all the brilliant lecturers that we Lave had in Melbourne there have been none that realised a success at all approaching that of Mr Clark. His success is indeed something wonderfuL The hall in which he lectures holds, I think, some 3000 persons, seated comfortably. But this has been crowded on each occasion, and hundreds have been turned' away from the doors. Whatever explanation may be offered for this success, it is clear enough that Mr Clark has been able to give a new pleasure to thousands of people who, withnuthis aid, would not get the entertainment which he has been enabled to give them. At the Theatre Koyal, the " Shangraun" still holds sway. It is not portry of a very elevated order—it will hardly remain to future ages as a high achievement in dramatic literature—but it tickles the ears of the groundlings, and gives them a pleasing stimulus and excitement fairly adequate to their mental powers. Miss Alice May (Mrs Allen) is doing very well at the Opera House. The lease taken by her husband, Mr Allen, has been extended, and the prima do him has won warm praise for the way in which she surprised the public by sustaining a part in serious opera. Her Marguerite, 5d Faust, extorted a high tribute of commendation from critics who went prepared to pass censure on Miss May's presumption in attempting a performance so far out of the range of her abilities.

Birakbsrs paying * -isit i© tmncdin are often at a loss to know which la the befit establishment to visit for tha purchase ol drapery Mid clothing. Herbert, Haynes, and Co. offer special advantages to the public that can bo met with nowhere else in the city. They keep at all times the largest and best assorted Btock of every clas3 of goods, imported direct from the leading manufacturers and warehousemen at home, which, being bought entirely upon cash terms, they are enabled to offer goodß of auch sterling value as cannot bo equalled by any other house in the trade. Every Article in stock is marked at a fixed price for re»dy monoy, frcm which no abatement is ever made, so that the most inexperienced buy their goods at the gamo price as' the best judges. Their terms are—net ensh without discount or reduction of any kind. A fuller description o th<sir stock will be found in an advertisement in the first case of this Daner.-f Advt. HOLiiOWAV's PtLLfl. - Etifwblcd Exigence.—Thi medicine embraces every attribute required m a general and domestic lemcdy; it oierurus the foundations of diueaf* laid by defective fo >d aud impure air. In ol'ntructions or congestions of the Uver, lunp, bowels, or any other organs, theec Pil's are especially serviceable and eminently BucccSKful. They should be kept in readiness in every family, being a mcilicine ot inconn arable . utility; for younc person", erocclally those of feeble constitutions. They never cause lain or irritate the most sensitive nerves or most tender bowels. Holloway's Pills are the best known purifiers of the blood, the most active promottcra of absorption and secretion, whereby all poisonous and obnoxious particles ore removed from both solids arid fluids.