VICTORIA.

Otago Witness, Issue 537, 15 March 1862, Page 7

VICTORIA.

tnOTC \TtTMTY OF WAR. PANIC IN MEUiOULUNE.

(From the Daily Times Correspondent.) iM'V.nnirne, Wednesday, lV.>ruai\y 26. We have row given up all hopj of this month's mail, and h.ive settled down to wait p itiently for the next one. Rumor has been very rife, and every little scrap of intelligence has been very easterly looked for, and although in reality we have no later dates — as we had telegrams up to December 2 — we have newspapers per " Suffolk" two days later than that brought by the mail These give very full particulars of the capture of Messrs Sliddell and Mason, the Southern Commissioners, by the Federal steamer " San Jaeinto." It appears that on receipt of the intelligence in England the whole of the Press denounced the capture as an insult to our flag, and several warm public meetings had been held con deninatory of the outrage, and calling upon the Government to demand ample redress. A vessel from the Mauritius, three days ago, brought us one or two additional items to the effect that the matter was formally discussed in the Cabinet, a case drawn up and submitted to the British Crown Law Officers, and that they have decided that the act committed by the American captain was a violation of the rights of nations and of international law, and an insult towards England, and that satisfaction should be demanded. Prom the same eource we have the following additional item dated :—: — London, Dee. Ist. The Times, and the Mornimj Po.it admit that probably the Northern States will not yield to the demands of England, If tha Federal Government refuses satisfaction, the English Minister will quit Washington. The export of saltpetre has been prohibited in England. The intelligence spread through the colony, and Avas considered sufficient to prepare us for hearing that war had actually broken out. Our neighbours at Sydney report they were also very much excited at the above information. So great was the feeling here, that yesterday people felt very uneasy at a telegram which appeared in the "Argus " from Cape Shanck, mysteriously hinting about cannonading having been distinctly heard at sea on Saturday night for at least two hours. Of course it could be nothing more or less than the Americans off our coast ; and during the day it oozed out it was actually an American vessel that had been firing, and that she had actually taken — not the battery at the lighthouse — but a pilot ! It was simply an ordinary firing after dark for a pilot, and the re- ' turn salute of .the pilot schooner "Corsair." This i little incident received needless importance from the fact that the telegram did not come in the usual way, but was sent to the Government, and the Chief Secretary had sent ir to the " Argus " at four o'clock in the morning, as something very startling. But the rumours did not end here. The "Laughing Water" arrived during the day from Mauritius, with dates from that place a month old, and was presumed to have later news on board. Later in the evening it was asserted the Government were in possession of 14 days' later news, and that war had been declared. Every pound of tobacco was immediately out of first hands ! Whether the captain as well as Ills ship vras a "Laughing* kind of individual, I don't know, but no satisfactory answer could be got from him, except that he left just as the steamer supposed to be the mail was entering Mauritius. The rumour this morning was, that the captain had actually later and important news, and, finding how matters stood, wished to turn an honest penny, by refusing to divulge anything until paid for it. There does not appear to be any truth in that rumour. The " nrysterious " does not end here, but is the "order of the day." and the latest is that sonicthing very important has transpired in India, of so very grave a nature that the Governor-Gene-ral had chartered a special steamer, at a cost of £15,000, to convey the expresses to London. The following are the particulars as they appeared in the Argus, as nai rated by a passenger per last mail ; why he has kept it secret till now is another "mystery" : — He met at Suez the captain of the P. and O. Company's steamer "Ganges," then lying at anchor in that port, and learnt from him that tiie " Ganges" had. been sent off, at a very short notice, from Bombay, to overtake the regular steamer, and to carry an officer with special and highly argent despatches from the Indian Government to the home authorities. The capfciin of the Ganges was ordered on no account to allow of any communication between any of his crew and the shore, either at Aden or at Suez ; and he was to wait at the latter port for a reply to the despatches. At the time of the Benares leaving Suez, the Ganges had been a week in port, and her appearance there under the circumstances, and as a supplement to the regular mail steamer, was exciting considerable curiosity. The Indian papers, we are informed, were strictly forbidden to take any notice of the Ganges sudden depaitmc, or to indulge in any speculations as to her errand ; but we gather that it was generally believed that she was the bearer of some extraordinary news, of a nature not to be trusted even to the Mediterranean telegraph wires. Whether the mystery refers to the discover)' of another rebellion in India, the appearance of a foreign enemy on the frontier, or any great financial difficulty, it i?, of course, impossible for us to conjecture." The Land Bill has! got over some of its worst difficulties. Not only Mr. Service, and Mr. Loader's amendments have been negatived by considerable majorities, but others of not much less importance have been disposed of in a manner equally satisfactory to the Government and their squatting friends. The bill has now reached the 29th clause, two clauses having been postponed. Its m'n features are preserved, and only very unimportant amendments have yet been made in it. There has not yet been any rain, and tlw upcountry districts aie beginning" "to feel the effects of the long continued drought Ballarat is begiuing to get afraid that unless rain fall speedily ,their water will be eufere'y cut off, as not mo c than six inches remain in the swamp whence they draw their supply, and the Municipal Councils and local papers advise the people in the meantime to be very economical in the use of the water. The All England Eleven, after suffering defeat at the hands of the combined Elevens of Sydney and Victoria, havebeen playing inllobart Town, ■where, so far as the game has gone, they appear to be very successful, A curious instance of the working of the new tariff in Tasmania lias come to light ; on the arrival of Sir William Don, he was charged £10 as ad valorem duty on his private carriage. Mr. M'Culloch, the ministerial candidate, waa returned for Morniugton by a large majority. Miehie retired at the last moment ; indeed never consented to stand ; and the Opposition, or I idles party, are so politically dead and pecuniarily done for, that they could not get up another candidate, and left M'Culloch to walk the course. The local publicans did not believe in this, and started a Mr. William Notley, lately retired from business (in their own line.) lie appeared to have no programme, and could not " spout," and therefore, to all intents and purposes, he was a sljam candidate. A rather disgraceful scene occurred on Saturday morning in the Assembly. Mr. Wilson Gray fiaid O'Shanassy had ouce been a brawJiug deinociat, when the last-named hou. member promptly replied, had he said so in another place, he would have applied the toe of his boot to the hon. member. After some angry recrimination order was restored and business proceeded.

The City Counpil h.ave heen so famed for scenes (hat it is not every day desirable to call attention to them, but on Monday last it was rather beyond ordinary, and the expressions of "beasts," "geese," and " liars," were freely bandied about. It is considered advisable to bring in some stringent measure into the legislature to provide a remedy for th : s kind of uproar, which seriously reflects upon the credit of the city generally. The Mayor is notable to maintain order, and at times he is himaelf assailed in a most discreditable manner; at last meeting he wis called a "wretched muff" (which is no doubt nil the more offensive because it is true) and that he had " no business in the chair."

Hyhes, a Ballarat farmer, sentenced to death for shooting one of his men, has been reprieved, and sentence altered to imprisonment for life, first three years in irons. Sir .Dominie Daly, the new Governor of South Australia, lately arrived by the Suffolk, is on a visit to Ballnrat. He leaves for his new sphere of duties bj the Eavilab. on Saturday first.

The markets iaCs!y have been very dull on account of the non-arrival of the mail. Flour is declining, and quotations for r>? r t Ad^'r.irle are tv,M..., *Ylii"<-;-, k>\. :• th.w '•• <■ a.lviu > to your poit being now £13 lCs Oidinary hinnds ase £1-2 10s. to £12 l.is.; wheat, 5.«. 3d. to ss. 4d. Oats aie firm and den a shade h-'^ln-r, but the first rai-.is we {jet will immediately lower this nnd odor desciipfons of hfir.-'o feed There has been j some speculation m American imports.