OUR MELBOURNE LETTER.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11925, 25 December 1900, Page 3

OUR MELBOURNE LETTER.

(Feom Our Own Correspoxdext.)

December 18,

The elections of the two opposed Ministers, Mr M'Culloch and Mr Wynne, in the Legislative Council resulted in their return—that is to say, in a victory for the Turner Government. These results have a certain significance. The elections were fought, as I explained in my last letter, on the question whether the projected reform of Parliament — that is, the reduction of the number of members rendered advisable because of our lessened importance us a Stale under federation —shall be settled by a convention or by Parliament itself. Settling the question by a convention is the Radical proposal, and the AviKiiCtils have m view" something more than a reduction in numbers. They want to reduce the power of the Upper House. Parliament won't do that, because the Upper House won't reduce its own powers. Therefore the Radicals propose a specially-elected convention, which will do it. The Constitutional or Conservative party made these Legislative Council elections a test of strength on this

point. The\' got very good opposition to both men: and the only question of principle before the electors was this very question. The opposition to Mr M'Cullcch was particularly strong; personally lie was not popular in his electorate, of which ho was not a resident,

and which he rarely visited; and Mr M'Lean, the outgoing Premier; whose Assembly electorate it is, worked tooth and nail against him. Yet he got returned. As a matter of fact, two big mining camps—Walhalla and Yackandandah—put him in. But even in the other parts of the electorate he held his own. Mr Wynne beat his opponent two to one. So here on the Constitutionalists' own ground they were badly beaten by the Radicals. The truth is that the Constitutional party is a thing of the past. On. all hands it is badly beaten. Radicalism is rampant and victorious all along the line.

The burning Marshall-Hall question is so far settled that he has failed to secure reelection to the musical professorship. By 10 to 6 the University Council decided against

him, and elected in his Etead Mr Peterson, of Oxford. Curiously enough, Mr Peterson lias relatives here, well-known merchant people; but that fact had nothing to do with his election. He was chosen by the Committee of Advice in London. His brother was a lending professor in the new Dundee University, and is now at the Magill University in Canada. Of course. Marshall-Hal] has many sympathisers. He has this great gift as a musir.il teacher, that he can infuse his pupils with enthusiasm. So ranch is allowed. His sympathisers argue. What do hie poems matter? His poems are not 01 bad as those of men whose names are handed down in honour to posterity—Byron's, for example. To which Ihe reply is, But no one would have set Byron to teach young ladies. But the sympathisers won't bo persuaded r and they intend at all hazards to keep Marshall-Hall in the community, threatening that he'll set up as a teacher and rob the new professor of all his pupils. That, of cnui-se, depends a good deal on what kind of man the new professor is. The Maivhall-Hall-itos are principally Germans: Mar-shall-Hall himself is a German by education, sympathy, and taste: they all regard themselves as the only musical enthusiasts of the commimilv; and they ridicule; thn nossi-

bility of Mr Peterson, a .Scotchman, being a true' enthusiast. But the newspapers have carefully published the fact that he has married a German wife, and they are waverin'o; n little in their allegiance. So a good donl depends on Mrs Peterson. A Scotchman of himself cannot be a musical enthusiast, it is true; but a Scotchman who ha» married a German wife may be in a progressive stage. The Rev. Dr Rentoul is hound for New Zealand—possibly this week—on his annual fishing excursion. He has made another appearance at the Peace and Humanity .Society, where he rend a " hymn " of his own composing—his Christmas message to the members be called it. In two verses of it the rev. gentleman indulged in a fling at the Presbyterian Church, thus: —

She dances in the maudlin throng, Her voice thick and unsteady, Her litany changed to wild war song, Her hands for Thee unready. She adulates the men of blood, She builds God shtinrs to Mammon; She chants, while War flings souls as food, To Moloch, God of Amman. : And he obtained the approval of the society to a resolution protesting in the name of God and Humanity " against the continued employment of Australian troops in South Africa in the degrading and ruthless work of burning the homesteads and crops of a Christian people, of confiscating their properly, of laying bare their lands, waging war on women and children, and turning families out destitute and homeless; against the compelling of Australian citizens to take part in deeds such as these—deeds expressly repudiated by the Hague Conference—this being a blot upon Australian manhood and honour and a shame dono to free men"; and urging that the time bad come for the recall of the Australian troops.

The collision between the mail steamer on her outward trip, the Ormuz, and the Ismaila in the- Rip at the heads was a serious matter, not so much in the light of what it was as of what it might have been. It occurred just in the dusk of the evening, quite a fine night and clear. Each vessel was in charge of a pilot. As usual in a steamer collision it is hard to say where the fault lay. But the Rip is a dangerous place. Melbourne Harbour is a very large land-locked bay, between 30 and 40 miles from the heads to the mouth of the Yarra. The entrance is less

than half a mile wide, and at ebb tide the water rushe3 out at sometimes eight miles an hour. In addition, there is a great jobblc in the passage, for the bottom is very uneven, rocks coming up to within 40ft of the surface, whilo close beside them the depth is over 200 ft. Large steamers are therefore unwieldy objects in the Rin, what with the current and the iobble, and it is probable that neither pilot was to blame in this instance. The Chinese in Ballarat havo been doing

heir best to rival their fellow countrymen in

the Flowery Land. They held a meeting in the joss house on Sunday afternoon to discuss the proposed political reform of China, and fell out over the matter. There were about 200 of them at the meeting, and three policemen were luckily present. The police can't explain how the row arose. It began

when hands were held up, apparently on a vote. In a moment the place was in an uproar. The police describe it as a lightning change. A Chinese asserts that a fellow countryman called out, " Close the door and we'll kill them all." An effort was certainly made to holt the door, but this was foiled by the yolice, who were instantly on

the alert. The ChineFe literally flew at each other's throats. Chairs were used as clubs, and some murderous-looking knives and spears on long poles were torn from a rack in the temple, and would doubtless have been used with deadly effect if the wielders could have cleared a space in which to move. ' Fortunately the crush was so great and the weapons so long and cumbersome that the frenzied men were disarmed before anyone was seriously injured. Three men had to receive surgical attendance.