VICTORIA.

Otago Witness, Issue 560, 23 August 1862, Page 8

VICTORIA.

THE DAILY TIMES COURESPOSDENT-) Saturday, August 9th. Much disgust is evpresaed by all parties at our railway management, and the department lias received a severe bundling, both from the Aryus and the Tlerahl The appointment of Air. Wright, an old Gold Fields' Commissioner, to the important post of permanent head of (,'ie department, U one not calculated to bring credit on the present Government, and is certainly not calculated to bring the department into a greater state of efficiency. Mr. Wright singly kuows nothing of railway maivitfomont, and it is a great pity for himself that lie took the situation, for, if ever the lines are leased, the company Till assuredly not consider him the (W)ii-iit ma-i in the right place. Mr. Service hm been feted both in his own district and at Emerald Hill. At the latter place Mr. Duffy showed how uneasy he is duriuo- the recess, because he cannot " walk up to the top of Bourke-strect" and deny the "foul insinuations" of the press, his most unfortunate for him as it is asseited he will be able to prove tho "Miller scheme " a truly excellent one, and calculated to settle the people on the soil in a manner the most complete and satisfactory. Mr. Duffy will not have long to wait, as the areas are proclaimed today in the Lands Gazette, a new publication, specially printed for emanations of this kind, and it will not take long to test the validity of the objections that have been raised against the gigantic swindles, as they arc called. _ We have just heard from Landsborough that he is on the Darling. Mr. Vcrdon has also returned, and states that ho met with him on" the Murcluson, delivered his despatches, and has brought a receipt for the same to the committee. Young vcrdon seems just the fellow to make a ftyinSvisit with a "despatch" of this sort, and tlie rapidity and safety with which he has travelled makes one feel sorry he was not engaged as travelling postman between Cooper's "Creek and this, so as to let us know all the doincs up in that locality. The Exploration Committee intei'd to-day to telegraph to the bouth Australian Government, to ask them to at once despatch a letter by mounted troopers to Howilt at Cooper's Creok, requesting him to at once come down with the remains, via Adelaide or any other route he may deem best. - '

The difficulties of travelling at this seasofl^ have been experienced by young Venlon, who declares he had to swim swollen streams nearly every day, and the dangers he was subjected to were of a rather serious nature.

Mr. Chambers, the well-known squatter, who assisted Mr. Stuart jn his explorations in Adelaide, was taken very suddenly ill yesterday and died.

Mi-. Dcnovan has come to the conclusion that he will resign his seat for Sandhurst. He is embucd with the same spirit as Wilson Gray, a thoroughly scrupulous honest young man, and he cannot reconcile hi 3 position in the House with his position outside, which is one of " honourable poverty," as the term goes ; that is, he is not rich, and he considers no man has any right in the House unless he has a " balance at his banker's," or has something of a business to keep up'a position; and he feels grieved to think that however pure his motives are and have been, he is subject to suspicion. Under these circumstances, Mr. Denovan retires into the " happy obscurity of a pnddlcr's life," in the hope of some day coming forth with monoy to back him "if he should ever again be called upon to take a seat iv the House." It is not yet known who will come forward. Mr. Casey has decided not to attempt it. Mr. Moore, storekeeper, is looked forward to by Mr. Denovan's friends, and he is i very likely man. Mr. Harker is also likely to be persuaded to try his chance of election, which under all the circumstances would be a remarkably good one, 'as "Honest George" is remarkably well liked on Bendigo. Ifc is stated that Mr. Panton will receive the appointment of Sub-treasurer at Castlemaine, in the room of Naylor, who received four years for embezzlement.

Mr. Johnson, landlord of the Clarence Hotel, a man worth three thousand a year, in a desponding mood yesterday, took some strychnine. He is expected to recover. No motive can be assigned as yet for the rash act.

Meadows, lessee of the Gcelong Theatre, destroyed himself by the same means. He intended to do so for a month, and at last had the fatal courage. He was in a penniless condition, and poverty was the cause which drove him to self destruction. The weather has been of a most disagreeable nature lately, and continued falls of rain have made it very disagreeable. A queer thing took place in Sydney and Adelaide the other day. A gentleman departed this life at the former place, and the quidnuncs were astonished to find, eight days afterwards.his funeral at Adelaide I A shipment of merchandise, per the steamer from Sydney to Melbourne, and from Melbourne transhipped by the Havilah to Adelaide, is supposed to explain the mystery, but the captains and agents are indignant that they have been done, and deny they conveyed the merchandise in question. The telegraph authorities are "mum" about the matter, and the officers who are to bring Torrens'. Act into working order say they are not up to this " cheap and easy method of conveyancing." During the past week the clerk of the weather enforced a prohibition against theatrical performances, much to the disgifet of the managers. The sub-lessees of the Royal are becoming convinced that the public have little or no appreciation of circus ride-s and cordes volantes as a substitute for the legitimate drama. In another week the great circus will be amongst the things that were. At the Princess, " The Cricket on the Hearth" is still played to good house?, and will be succeeded by the great Shakspenan play, " Midsummer Night's Dream," splendidly mounted, and with a cast unequalled— every character by a star. J

Charles Young, Kohler, and Mr. Birnie, the barrister, sailed for Otago on .Saturday, the former to pay a month's engagement, and on his return to join the company at the Princess. The celebrated actress, Joey Gougenheim, has returned from Tasmania, and has got an engagement from Mr. Iloskins for the Ballarat Theatre From the versatility of this lady's talent, there' is no doubt she will draw crowded houses. The Argus' special mining reporter lias completed his tour, and notwithstanding the remarks that his errand was rather Quixotic, he has the ability, and will no doubt do ample justice to the subject upon which he has been engaged. The first of a series ot letters will appear this week.

NEW AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT. Messrs Horwood and Sons are, we are informed, about to supply to the agriculturist a desideratum, when the price of labor and the economy of time is taken into consideration, and which will, no doubt, render the operations of harvesting a more easy matter than it has been hitherto. They have imported from Adelaide the reaping and thrashing machine which won the first and second prices at the Great Mount Barker Reaping MatcU ; beating a number of competing machines proposing to manufacture them for sale ; their use will^ doubtless become very general, ' The peculiarities of the machine arc, that it not only reaps, but thrashes out the grain, its peculiar lightness, and (from the absence of complicated machinery,) its simplicity of management. Its action is not like the usual reapers— of a cutting description, but really that of a comb with shar£ edged teeth, the ear of grain being combed off a set of sweeps revolving upon an axis geared to the wheels of the machine. It shells the ear, and then scrapes the corn up and throws it into a receptadein the body of the machine, which can be emptied as required. The machine is on two wheels, one fitted to gear, with the shaft for crushing the ears, with a framework on one side on which the driver sits, having fully under Ma command a break upon the main wheel, a lever for working the guide wheel, and an elevator to raise or depress the combs so as to reap a crop of six inches in height, or one of upwards of four feet, any of which he can make use of without dismounting. A number of testimonials from bouth Australian agriculturists who have used and are using the machine, were exhibited to our reporter, all speaking of it in terms of approbation. In this establishment are considerable improvements, returning out of ironwork a less difficult task than formerly. We allude to a large boring and slotting machine, also an iron planing table (all made by Smith, of Keighley.) Messrs. Horwood are also making to order some large retorts, of a capacity to heat six cwt. of quicksilver at a time. These arc for some of the ELuntly mill-owners, with a view to solve the question, ' Whore does the fine gold go to ?" A marked improvement in the efficiency of these instruments in effecting perfect condensation has been introduced by Mr, Horwood, viz., the fitting on the condensing pipe, a hollow tubo or water-jacket having a feed pipe on the top to receive a small Jltream of water, and a similar oue at the bottomso that a constant supply of cold water will be kept upon the pipe, instead of the uncertaiu and ineffective method at present in use, of putting on wet cloths.— Bcndigo Advertiser.

*i U , N " APPT America !—A Memphis paper contains the tollowitiga h ertiseraent :— " Wo, the undersigned will pay 5 ciols. per pair for 50 pur of well-bred hounds, and 50 dols. for one pair of well-bred bloodhounds, that will take the track of a man. The pur. pose for which these dog 3 are wauted is to chase tha infernal cowardly Lincoln bush-whackers of East Tennessee and Kentucky (who have taken the advantage of the bush to kill and cripple many good soldiers) to their dons and capture them. Ths said hoim Is must be delivered at Captain Haniner's livery stable by the 10th of December next, where a mustering officer will be present to muster and inspect them." Twenty dols. per month is pnrnised by the advertiser to a person who is competent to train and take care of tho " above dogs.'' " CtxjfotiNE m Arms."— The manufacturers of lioopod skirts for ]•><!; -a, who eiuslov no lesa *),»« 20,000 peresns in the City of New York, an up in arms against the war-lax ou their particular commodity, and have prepared a remonstrance to be rift, hvored by a deputation at Washington. New Plasm.— Biota Famam.— We already possess in gardens several varieties of the beautifiii mota oriental; the Japanese have a&J?£al further addition to the series of formes appeal in the plant now about to be mentioned. When U? J Q- \ eitch, whose safe return to his native country loaded wit}, valuable acquisitions we have fcreat Sure in announcing, was a t Yorkhama, iv Jjapan? hefcJod trom twelve to fifteen feet high, and great green cones warcls hke a small s lc kle. Among the Japanese dried specimens for wluch we are indebted to Mr. Fortune what appears to the be same plant also occurs. It i£ ditterent trom any of the biotas in cultivation, as far as we can judge from the examination of dried specimens, and thus requires a name. That which we propose refers to the long curved spines of the cones • and wo see no need of adding the word orientalist which is not required by botanists, and can be of no use to others.— Gardeners' ChrovitaU