OUR AUSTRALIAN LETTER.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10599, 20 February 1896, Page 2

OUR AUSTRALIAN LETTER.

(Fjkom Oob Own Correspondent.)

Melbourne, February 12. THE ETERNAL RAILWAY QUESTION.

!A singular position of affairs... has been arrived at over the Railway Bill. The Government adopted the recommendations of the ! Railway Inquiry Board, and submitted them lin a bill. The Assembly turned the bill inside out. The Government proposed a board of commercial managers, with s first-class general ! manager at their head./ The Assembly did !awßy with the. advisory board, placing the Minister at the head of affairs, with a general traffic manager under, him. Now the Legis- ) lative Councillias returned the bill inside oub, ! and sent it backtotheAsEembly as the Government originally brought it in. The GovernI meut, both in the Lower and Upper Houses, j were simply leg.. The-Lower House scorned j the original bill; the Upper House scorned the I amended bill. The fact chat the Government I supported first the one measure, and then the ! other, went for nothing, air Frederiok Sargood, in the Upper House, has made a name for.himself over the matter. Mr M'Calloch, Minister for Defence, had charge of the bill, : but Sir Frederick was the real leader of the House. His speech in condemnation of the Government was very 'five. He was -utterly amazed that Ministers should so far have forgotten what was due to themselves as to cousent to the alterations which had bten made. There was not a member of the Ministry but believed tbat the bill if passed into law. would be against the beat interests of the country.. Why on earth the original bill should have been set. aside and this " thing " brought before the Council he did not know, Sir Frederick electrified the Councillors, who cheered him heartily; but when he saw his speech in cold type next day he was a little surprised, and asked to be excused for his waiinth. j

The singularity of the position is added to by the fact that the Government asked Parliament to sit after tbe New Year on purpose to get tha railway question out of haud. But here we are, further off a solution thau ever. The A»sembly and Couucil are hopelessly at loggerheads, and. the Government have entirely lost control of either Assembly or Council on the question. The Assembly won't accept the Cjancil's bill, the Council will insist, aud the Go?erument will drop the whole thing and close up. That appears likely to be the outcome.

I Sir Frederick Sargood spoke out very plainly about Mr Speight, whom he considered in every way capable of managing the railways. If Sir Frederick would taise Mr Speight up enthusiastically he would go back flying, and then wouldn't there, be lopsy-turyydom entirely. There would bo some champagne spilt at the Athenteum Olub1 if tbat were to come off. Punch has a good cartoon—David Synie "in his chamber napping," aud Richard Speight the raven, "bird of evil 01119:1," sitting evermore above his chamber door. Alison Smith, also, has the Full Court, all'to himself these days, tryiug to petsuade their Honors to grant him a new trial. He has talked and read evidence for three or four days already, aud threatens to occupy at leas, a week longer.

LETTING THE LIGHT IN.

j-_ A bright light.i_ being tbrown upon the j justice of the peace system in tbis big city. It j is a long-standing scandal that the benches'are j packed—that justices roil up when their friends j are defendants and announce "cast! dismissed" lin the most unblushing way. But it.was hard | to believe there was straight-out bribery, yet i that it. would seem there has been. Mr | Lormer, oue of tbe justices, secured a j board of inquiry, which is taking some senj aafcional evidence. The two justices princi- ( pally couoti-ped in tho accusations are Mr j Bear lUpiport, » blind Jew, and Mr Allan j Baxter, secretary of the Bowling AssociaI ticii. The evidence is that tbey accepted j and used free passes to ths theatres, though theatre lessees are often before j tbe courts for overcrowding, aud they, are specially shown to have taken free ndmisoions from Frank M. Clark, and sat on a, civil summons against him. Mrs Boulter, a publican, interviewed Mr Rapiport about ber case, and pays she gave Mrs Rapiport two (sovereigns to buy gloves. The Chinese are ' asserted to have set aside £20 for "tbe blind magistrate" when a gambling charge was to be heard against th'.-ni. Mr Baxter'.visitad tho notorious Aunie "Wilson's about the time a case over a missing £10-not'e was to come ou. And so forth. If a despairing defendant, could only interview, "R_pi," as ho is familiarly known, " Rapi',' would iuterview his friend Baxter, and between ,them they "ran tbe show." At least so the evidence leads you to believe, and the two justices' explanations do nob seem at all satisfactory. The board's- decision has yet to come; but whatever it may be the published evidenoe is damaging, arid will bave a bad effect.-

Mr Rapiport is doubly unfortunate in having the ease, against-his wife revived.. Sho was aceiised cf haying-stolen Mrs Simon Fraser's watch and chain from the sea baths. Tbis is Beven or eight years ago, and she was acquitted. Detective O'Donnell now says tbat Mr Rapiport asked him uot tv bring out Mr 3 Rapiport's admission of guilt, and promiasd iv return to be h}s friend on tbe bench. Mr Rapiport declares the detective's story to be a wilful falsehood.

Anoth.r justice has had to resign—Mr J. H. Kelly, a sporting bootmaker of Russell street. In a midnight street brawl he took to abusing the .'police. Tbe be3t word he gave them was "cow." His fine was 10s. He did noi await consequences, but resigned.

TURF LIBEL,

I mentioned Mr H. H. Champion's paper (tbe Champion) -in a recent letter." Mr Champion i 3 now under committal for trial for criminal libel. Mr C. D. o*Halloran, the solicitor, is-the proseoutor. Charley O'Halloran races under, the name of C. Denis—his second name. His best-known horse was Moss Rose. At one of tbe suburban meetings a Ally of his named Dowry ran peculiarly—so peculiarly that some good judges considered she was pulled.' Possibly enough these good judges had backed ber on - tbe strength of her previous win at Mooney Valley. When even the best of judges has his money on, and is disappointed, his judgment is ' apt to run pulling-wards. Mr O'Halloran bad not backed her, and he was not disappointed when sbe did not win. Mr Champion made a great to-do about the incident iv his paper. Mr O'Halloran is a member of the V.A.T.C. Committee, and your readers can comfortably imagine the kiud of thing he wrote. But tbere are two side 3to every question. This is the healthiest of proverbs for journalists — especially when they risk libel. Mr Champion did not know that Mr O'Halloran had a note from his trainer in his pocket telling him the filly had done a poor trial. Tbe uobo justified him in nob backing her, but why did hs run her ? Meantime Mr Champion seams to have overshot his mark.. But he is keeping his defence for the Supreme Court. Possibly, however, Mr«O'Halloran may never go oa. In the Police Court he has had the satisfaction of telling his story, and. that may be all he wants.. It is fcarcely worth his while.a.kinit fchst Mr Champion shonld be sent to gaol. Mr Champion has a private income, tbey say. of £200 or £400 a year ; aud he rur^a a newspaper to enable him foair bis .views. He is one of thesa socialistic individuals, being still young.

BIG FIGURES.

Since the Tasmanian match the Melbourne cricketers have been setting themselves with ardour to the task of establishing records, and with success; too. The Tasmanian match is one to be forgotten. The record was on tho reverse side. Read the remarks, half in pity half in satire, of " Felix " (Tommy Horan) in the Australasian if you wish to realise how severe a drubbing the Victorian eleven got from Eady, Windsor, and Co. Worrall, Johnny Worrall, was one of tbe eleven, and he has done his best .to wipe out the reproach of his 12 and 0. Plnying for Carlton against the University he defied the bowlers, and has the pleasure of seeing '! Worrall, nob out, 115" in Monday morning's papers. He was at the wickets for tbree afternoons. . Though the total score of Carlton was 924-, yet Worrall was the only three-figure scorer, but there ware two 90s. Worrall -is au all-round cricketer—next to Bruoe the smartest of fieldsmen, a rattling good bowlor, and a dashing bat; and he is one of the best footballei'3 iv Melbourne too. Any number of people think he ought to be in the Australian Eleven. ;

There wero other attempted records on Saturday—that is, the innings ended on Saturday. Melbourne ran up 683 against St. Kilda. The highest scorer was Trumble, not out, 163, aud there were two other three-figure meu. And East Melbourne had 876 against Richmond—Vautin 2 r'4. M'Allister 124, Lewis 154, and Albert Trott 86.

SAD ENDING TO A HONEYMOON.

A sad accident is reported from Coolgardie. Mr«i Burbank was reburning with her husband to the goldfields, after spending the honeymoon on the coast, and they travelled by a four-horse team. They were also bringinß their luggage and household effects. At the Nine-mile Hock, where the road io steep, the vehicle capsized, burying Mrs Burbank underneath the furniture. Mr Burbank also sustained severe injuries. Mr Burbank was the discoverer of tbe Birthday Gift mine, and is very popular on the field. He is a.Melbourne man, aud.Mrs Burbank is a Melbourne Isdy also, being the sister of Dr Black, of Carlton.

A SERMON ON GAMBLING,

The Key. John M'Neil, a local evangelist, gave a discourse at Wsrrnambool on Sunday right on "Long Odds Against Betting and Gambling from Pitch aud Toes to Suicide." He read an extract from the Australasian of tha 21st May last:—" Since Corrigan was killed on the llth Augußt 1894, no less than 13 jockeys bave been killed outright or have died from injuries received while riding in a race." Those people who went to races were responsible in God's siaht for thawteious Uyes wbiah

were thus ont off. This wm how it touched them, even though they did not bet. Ha was there to condemn .gambling in connection with the churoh, ahd his hearers were very simple if they, did not know this was carried on. There t were raffias, lucky bags, and sweeps in connection with church bazaars. It waa as a protest against this that he had been tempted on one occasion to resign bis position in the Presbyterian Church of Victoria— — .

The Rev. W. Gray Dixon here interrupted to protest that the church authorities had never allowed or countenanced gambling in any shape or form, but he had to admit that it might be carried.,on within the church without the authority of the assembly. • Mr M'Neil went on to say tbat Aristotle, 300 years before Christ, classed the gambler with the thief; Robert Louis Stevenson (who was not a parson) spoke of it as " the disgusting vice of gambling." Could true gentlemen and true gentlewomen touch a disgusting vice ? It was time the church began to look upon men and women who gambled—no matter in what nociety they moved—as vicious and immoral people,, because in God's sight it was essentially immoral.

A MESMERISING CRIMINAL.

Reuben Keirl, a stylish young fellow with a .very persuasive tongue, who has been carrying on biasifiess as a turf tipster under the names of "Dan O'Brien" and " E; Gorry," has been sent to gaol for issuing valueless cheques and other offences. He has previously done two years far forgery.. He is also under committal for swindling a pork dealer named Schultze out of abour, £150 iv various ways. Schultze avers that Kairl mesmerised him, and Koirl boasts that he did so. Colour was lent to ttiese assertions by what took place in court. P.'ioc to the commencement .of the court Keirl was sitting talking to the detectives outside the courthouse. Wbilethus engaged Schultze approached. Hewalketl with ordinary gait until he caught sit_h't of Keirl, uod immediately he collapsed. Ha commenced to cry and tremble violently, and h. became so weak in the legs that he could not stand, and hid to be supported. Later, when giving his evidence in court, he had the same symptoms of weakness and distress when looked at by the prisouer. Indeed, so great was his nervous agitation that the detectives had finally to ask that the prisoner should be compelled to stand at the rear of the court, where the witness could uot see him at all. This request was complied with, and all went well until Keirl moved round to a point where the witness could see him again. Then tbe witness collapsed once more. After the court Keirl smilingly referred to his power over Schultze, as evidenced by tbe latter's agitation,, and said : "As soon as I come out of gaol the first thing I'll do will be to borrow £10 from him." '