OUR AUSTRALIAN LETTER.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 6190, 10 December 1881, Page 1 (Supplement)

OUR AUSTRALIAN LETTER.

(FROM OUB OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Melbourne, November 29th,

A hot discussion is proceeding in tho Victorian metropolitan Press respecting the proper method of disposing of the balance of our public estate. Free selection, which has been the cry of the Liberals for the past 15 years or more, is now condemned root and branch, and the leasing system finds nothing but admiration. Out of "our total area of 50,245,000 acres, we have already alienated, or are in course of alienating, 19,200,000 acres, and some 4,000,000 more are reserved for various purposes, leaving 33,054,000 acres unappropriated. It is estimated that only about UJ millions of this are fit for agricultural settlement, so that wo havo not a very large estate to experiment upon. The Radicids are now making a higli bid for tho support of tho farmers. Thoy aro day by day assuring them that if alienation is stopped and tho leasing system adopted, increased taxation will be avoided, dummy!*",, Jo..fcoj-«J, o»d Viotuili* renaered able to' offer attractions to settlers sufficient to counteract those put forth by the neighbouring Colonies. It is proposed that the State should do the dead and unproductive work of settlement by clearing tho lands preparatory to their occupation by a rent-paving population of cultivators. Supposing, however, that such a policy wero carried out, it is contended with much force that the lessoea would never be content until they obtained their holdings in feesimple. Thoy need only combino for that purpose, aud no Ministry, least of all a Victorian one, would think of incurring tho odium of prolonged resistance to thoir domand. Thus the last state of tho Colony would be oven worso than tho first. It is by no njeans improbable that tho Government will Jot tho Land Bill stand ovor until .n'.oxt" session, and thus' defeat the attempts which are being made to oußt them from their scats. Rumours appoar that negotiations aro on foot for a coalition between tho Liberal-Conservatives under Mr J, G, Francis and tho Red Radicals undor Mr Berry, but Buch an intrigue does not contain many oloments of success. With a Railway Bill so arranged as to placate—l won't uso a strongor word—a veiy largo number of country members, still unpassod, and at this lato period of the session, I am inclined to think it is a very forlorn hopo if the Opposition aro solacing themselves with tho idea that tho O'Loghlen Government will not get into recoss about Christmas.

The Tarilf Commission of Victoria find it rather hard work to bolster up the system of Protection, at any rate so far aa the hat duties are concerned, Some curious revelations have boen mado with respect to the effect of the 15s per dozen duty on men's felt hata and pith hats. The impost is declared by exports to bo moat severe upon the working classes. If the duty were remitted the prico of theso hata would at once fall 18a per dozon, ao that tho Victorian working man payß an unnecessary tax of Is Bd ench on aome G50.000 hats which are now annually made in thia Colony. If this £50,000 went into the pocket of the State something might be said in ita favour, but it ia a contribution by the cohsurnora towards the unearned profits of tho local manufacturers, who admit that without a high duty they cannot compote with the importers. As tho Commission inquire into other branches of trade, the samo story will sure to be revealed. Tho unexpected retirement of Mr Vale, ono of tho foremost politicians in tho Radical ranks, has cauaed considerable surpriae in Victoria. Hia abandonment of politics is duo partly to ill health and partly to pique. Mr Vale is unfortunately cursed with a very bitter tongue—he has beon christened " Viper Valo " —and thia unruly member has made nim many enemies. Latterly, his own side havo become irritatod with him, and thia fooling has beon strong enough to cause somo divisioii in tlie Opposition ranks. Possessed of considerable natural ability and force of character, and having inspired tlje conviction that ho was more disinterested than tl;e. avorago of Colonial politicians, Mr Vale had v grapd caroer beforo him; biit his own recklessness of speech has injured him, and few people on his own or tiie othor aide really regret his retirement from tho aroiia of active party warfare. It is said that ho contemplates practising his profession as a barrister in New Zealand. Should lie do so, he will almost cortainly drift into "political Jjfo again, and should Sir Georgo Grey everlrb'cjnir.e a fiery lioutenant as irrepressible as himself, he might do worse than solect tho late member for Tpi't'zroy- The Conservatives entertain aome hopes of winning this seat, as Mr C. K. Blackott, their candidate, is highly respected and popular. A vacancy has also occurred at Geelong, and the now member will almost certainly lie a more moderate man than the jast. though personally he waa the most quiet and iinobtrusive representative in the Aaaembly. But he was what Mr Higinbothain, tho fiory tribune of 13 yfiars ago, would call "an old hat"— i.e., one who wuliid y.oto as hia leader told him, and not oxerciso his brains, if he had any, and his leader for many a year haa been Mr Borrv. A vyondorful tale of tho sea is related by a sailor *bol.oi;(/ing to tho barquo Gladstone, which -recently'arrive,} (>t Sydney from London. The A.B, fell overboard, npd tho chief oflieor with a boat's crow we'iit'ilj'aeaiwhp.f him, but for a long timo could not find' the unfortunate seaman, owing to the rbughnoas' ,<jf tlio waves. When picked up ho was clinging to the lega and wings of a hugo albatross. The bird liad swooped down on him aa ho was battling witli tho waves, and tried to peek out his oyos, as a preliminary to gratifying its appotito furthor. Twice tho bird wns ropolled by the seaman, but a tliird timo it prepared to swoop. Tlie sight of its widespread wings flapping over iiis head suggested to tlio dosporato man that ho might perhaps save himself by sacrificing tlio bird, 110 roachod up hia hand, and seizing tlio albatross, strove with all hia might to strangle the frantic croaturo. It was a desporato combat; but though bcaton black and blue by the powerful M-'f'lS3 °f "'c bird, and lacoratod by its beak, the victor?/' ;-pmained with tlio sailor. As tho earcasa floated ;i'_ tho waves, the seaman rested on its outstretched yhSS, a,ld found .t' le ,B"P" port without which he w<Mq havo perished, for the fight lind left him brcnthleas fci# ?.Kldy. A more extraordinary iriin'ilie adventure Jms soldom adorned the annals of fiction, and thia is vouched for as sober fact. - A number of sensational accidents havi! eg, eurred within the past fortnight. In Sydney, pn- ii'iat^w' throo men actually lost their livej, and 'iiyi, .more endangered theirs, by the 'singular disregard 7/i #11 ordinary precautions

iii cleaning out a vinegar vat. The primary cause of the sad fatality was a young man named Boyle, who in spite of a warniiiaventured into the vat and was suffocated with the fumes of the carbonic acid gas-resulting from the fermentation of the liquor. With a. reckless courage whieli can'bo admired even when condemned, two of the man's comrades ventured into the vat to help him, but shared the same fate, and more'life would have.been lost had not precautions beon taken to promptly rescue the men, who were rendorod insensible almost as soon as they entered t.ic vat. Another shocking accident occurred a few days since on the borders of New South Wales and South Australia. A woman named Campbell loft her tent with a baby and a little girl of fivo in it, and, accompanied by her three eldost children, wont down to the Government dam, about half a mile off, to draw water. Suddonly she noticed that tho tent had caught fire—probably from some embers of a tire in the open air having been blown against it,— and though tho poor mother ran desperately back, sho arrived only to find the ashes of her two children. The father was away at the time of the tragedy. There seems to be no doubt now that poor Mrs Watson and her bitby were massacred by the blacks who attacked the beche-de-moi* station on Lizard l'ojnt, off tho coast of Northern Queensland. ' She seems to have behaved like a veritable heroine. .Her. diary has been found, and it contains entries up almost to her last moment. She shot one of her assailants dead, and wounded another, before she was overpowered and speared. Her baby was carried off by the bliteks, but its crying annoying them, thoy silenced its wails with a spear-thrust, aud cast its tiny body into the sea. The black troopers of tlie Queensland Government are out in search of the natives who committed these cruel outrages, and may be trusted to exact a bloody revenge. The statement seems hardly credible, but it is made by persons not usually given to exaggeration, that the public lost £1150,000 over the late Melbourne Cup meeting. There can be no doubt that they were relieved ol enormous sums, for the lead ing bookmakers frankly admit that they count their gains by thousands, in several instances by tens of thousands. This gigantic national 'gambling has been felt in business circles, and lieuce the cry that the Legislature" should interfere to moderate—it can scarcely hopo to suppress—tho betting mania. This has been attempted in two forms, one measure aiming at the suppression of racing sweeps—the largo transactions of Messrs Miller and Co., as well as tho smaller ones on tho course—and tlie other at the introduction, or rather the recognition, of tlio totalisator. 1 regret to say that tho latter scheme has been negatived, and tho former is so Draconic in its soverity tliat evon if sanctioned it would defeat itself. Thore is no doubt that tho gambling spirit is spreading with fearful rapidity amongst our youth. Whon young men in church will wager an to which of the collectors will make the round of the paws most quickly, it is pretty evident that thoy are strongly imbued witli tlio prevailing spirit. It would be wise to try and check tlio evil before it - outgrows control. Some very valuable pictures and othor works of art aro being collected by tho Government! of New South Wales. Sir 1 lonry I'arkes, in fact, is becoming recognised as ono of- the patrons of tho fine arts, and during liis Premiership much has been done to. enhance tho attractions of Sydney. At the Melbourne Exhibition ho purchased upwards of i'SIOO worth of pictures, bronzes, statuary, &.C. Tlio pictures—l 4or If) in all—embrace several very choice works, chiefly landscapes. Tliey were secured for ouly £1472, and probably represent a very much higher value. A number of the finest vases exhibited in tho British, French, and German courts havo also been handed over to the Art Gallery, One. of them, known .as tho Aurora Ynse, is unique. Tlio design lias beon worked out of the solid glass when cold, simply by scraping or chiselling with steel chisels, in tho same way as tho celebrated Barberiue or Portland Vuse in the British Museum was worked. It is said by the manufacturers to be tlio only vase of the kind in the world. The statuary and the works of art in marble and bronze are intended to assist in converting the nave and transept of the Garden Palaco—the. Sydney Exhibition—and the grounds adjoining the budding into agreeable places of public resort for the people. About £5000 was spent witli this object, nearly £1500 in securing somo mementoes of the work of the late C. F. Summers, the Victorian sculptor. A prominent Presbyterian clergyman recently'made the startling assertion in the General Assembly "that the very uamo of the Presbyterian Church Courts has come to stink in tho nostrils of tho community.". Whether this sacrod reflection can be justified is a matter of opinion, but the Church Courts are certainly exhibiting a very considerable amount of inconsistency. Tne Melbourne Presbytery, it will be re'nii'uiborod, virtually deprived Mr Stewart, its law agent, of his privileges ns a member of I'iesbytery because lie declined to ret:act certain remarks tlie reverse of win pi * y mi what he pronounced to be the Oliuivh*. interpretation of certain doctrine!, iv the Cuulcision of Faith. The Genoral .'. sajmbly, after debating tho matter, has appointed n committee to confer witli Mr Stewart on his return from Europe in tho hope of inducing him to unconditionally withdraw statements which ho believes to be true, and to express Borrow for having uttored liis matured convictions. If he cannot do this, and it is unlikely that ho will, it is highly probable that his appointmont as law agont of the Church will be transferred to another. It nan neon lound necessary to appoint a temporary agent already, so that tlie transfer can readily bo mado. Meanwhile it is intended to draw up a declaratory act defining authoritatively tho faith of tho Church in regard to controverted points in tho Standards.' Tho great transcontinental railway scheme, which Boine London syndicates aro so anxious to carry out for us are again on the tapis. Genoral Feilding, the representative of tlie capitalists who aro hungering to commence upon tlie lino from Koma to Port Parker, has readied tho latter port, on the Gulf of Carpentaria, and iv reported to have boen extremely pleased with his survey. Tlio difficulty of the future rests more with the Western squatters and the jealousy of tho largo town populations than with the London capitalists. Those obstacles may be overcome, but a Government which has had three or four years of power cannot look for prolonged support, though ot present, to all appearances, tho M'llwraith Ministry aro as strong as ever. In South Australia, Mr J, G. Pitcher has submitted a schemo for tho construction of a lino across the continent to Port Darwin, The conditions, though thoy ombraeo a grant of some 53,000,000 acres of land^ aro not criticised with much hostility, but it is contended, with somo truth, that the work might be done by tlie State, if the contractors who undertook the construction of the lino would be content to accept part payment in land. Probably the Berry Ministry may move in this direction next session. At present thoy have thrown care to the winds, aud aro holiday-making. In all parts of Australia great attention is being devoted to tho subject of water supply. The various Colonial Governments are now importing diamond-drills largely, in the hopo of striking artesian wator in the arid districts, but private enterprise has been tho first to demonstrate the feasibility of such a scheme. A most important discovery has just been made in the Dunlop Run, a station on tho Darling Rivor, in N.S.W. More than a year ago the proprietor of this run succeeded in obtaining a strong Bupply of fresh water from a bore which was put down to a deptli of 4SS feet. This water-bearing stratum belonged to the cretaceous formation. The discovery was regarded as of groat importance, as indicating that two eources of water supply were availablo—from the pleistoceno drifts and from the underlying cretaceous drifts. Encouraged by his success, Mr T. M'Caughoy commenced to sink again. A shaft lift by 3ft was put down a dopth of 300 ft without success through hard blue clay, sandstone, rock, petrified wood, &o. At v doptli of 300 ft a tree IS inchos in diameter was mot with, resembling tho beofwood treo growing on tho surface. How it camo there scientists must decide. Wright and Edwards' water-auger was now brought into use. At a depth of 540 ft another tree was passed through, then hard sandstone rock, and underneath soft sandstone without any fossils. The auger had not penetrated more than two inchos into tho white sand when the rush of water was so great that it drove tlio sand up tho boro to the platform on which the mon wore working, six foot above the bottom of tlie shaft. The water was quite hot when it came up, so much so that it filled the shaft with steam. Tho woll is now full to within 10 feet of tho surface. This discovery is of enormous value to tho owners of back country. The manager of Dunlop is not indulging in hyperbole when ho states that there is a fountain of wealth lying hidden beneath tho surface at from 500 to COO feet. Mr George Coppin, tho veteran actor and theatrical manager, is now playing a series of farewell performances at the Theatre Royal, as lie has decided to absolutely retire from the sceno of his many triumphs. Mr Coppin's reputation is too woll known all over Australia, and I havo no doubt in New Zealand also, to need oulogy from mo ; but his approaching tirement is regarded in Melbourne theatrical circles as too important an event to altogether cacapo romarlS Ho has been prominently associated with Australian theatres since I.S-15. Financially his career has been a chequered one. Great successes and reverses have both to bo chronicled; but in all his disasters Mr Coppin exhibited an honourable and ontorprising spirit which onabled him to rise superior to misfortune. As an actor of the Vv comedian typo, though sometimes rather broadin his interpretations, Mr Coppin has had no rival in Australia for many yoars, and the announcement that ho was likely to appear in quo of his favourite parts was always sufficient to draw a'ggod Ijouso. To his enterprise habitues ol tho't))oatrq aro indebted for many of- their most chorishod rocolloctiqns, for ho gave thorn tho opportunity of seeing the late G. V, Brooko, Mr and Mrs C. Koan, Jladamo Colesto, and many othor favourites of the good old days. But tho versatility and inexhaustible onorgy of tho man" wore displayed m many other walks of lifo. Ho took a keen interest in politics, and sat for some time in. tho Legislative Assonibly. In municipal life also lie took, a somewhat prominenjj part, and ho was never backward to discharge all the duties required of a good citizen. Mr Co^iin; will rotiro into privato lifo rogrotted by all who know him, but accompaniod by every good wish for his future happiness. Tlio Superintendent of Telegraphs in Now South Wales, with characteristic enthusiasm, JjUS boon making the other province of Australia !i7(i\ {'other small by his statistics of the Mmdoi'fui progwiiia pf .the telegraphic system In ivliiit- OT tei-ni 11(0 M*-.tj)f?r Colony. The first* e]«e!-i'i<; telegraph wire in So*** South Wales was opoiiea on Januaiy aiitlj; 1858 ; aim now there aro uu less than ISM) mite Bv»i]-

ablo for public use. This result completely eclipses oui* efforts, though Now Zealand shows * up better than most of the Colonies, as she | has 9557 miles to her credit; Queensland 8907 miles, South Australia 7017, Victoria 0075, and Tasmania 1000. Under tho energetic management of a thorough enthusiast like Mr C. O. Cracknoll, tho system ia almost certain to develop rapidly. Ho has introduced the quadruple system between Melbourne and Sydney, and can despatch messages at tho rate of 0000 words per hour with one line. Tho doublecurrent duplex system is found sufficient for tho work between' Brisbane and Sydney, while tlio lines leading to the interior are still worked upon the Morso principle. In point of revenue tho Victorian linos are the most productive, yielding £85,359 in 1880; New South Wales, £84,110; South Australia, £55,152; Tasmania, £7-122 ; New Zealand, £73,302; Queensland, £40,313. As a revenue-producing branch of tho servico, tho Electric Telegraph Department is not a success in Now South Wales, and probably not in any of tho Colonies ; but as population increases a rovonuo ia certain to be earned. The local-government system is scarcely working satisfactory in New South Wales. The 90 municipalities, or municipal districts, re- * ceived an aggregate income last year of £507,000. This would seem fairly satisfactory i were it not the fact that an analysis shows that, the receipts from general rates only realised * £174,558. In fact not one of tho municipalities can bewailed self-supporting, though many of them are over 20 years old. The amount re- ■ ceived from general rates last year was only : equal to 9s Sid per head. According to the : Sydney Morning Herald the whole amount , raised from public taxes, local ratos, and other municipal contributions combined was only £1,750,483 in 18S0, which was equal to £2 9s per head of tlie mean population, against £3 9s in England. It is argued that the people contribute so little and obtain so much because .tlio land revenue is being squandered to keep tho constituencies in good humour.