VICTORIA.

Otago Witness, Issue 567, 11 October 1862, Page 7

VICTORIA.

(I'HO.U THE DAILY TIJUS OOniIESPONDEXT.) Melbourne. Srpf. 30, 1862,

As mentioned in my last per Gothenburg, the land bill but \v en pervprted chiefly by land jobb.Ts. More litfht has been thrown on their tran s actions, and it now appears that there is no safepunrd against the multiplication of any amount of dummy applications. A man with L4OO can put in as many as a thousand applications, if he is sufficiently well known to the bank manager to be trusted with a similar number of stamped cheques, each of which is genuine if the allotment is drawn by the holder, ar.d the remainder are cancelled. By this means speculators have been known to buy up entire blocks and le-scil them to the squatters. Of course the squatters use similar moan?. Thus the working: of the lot system, which was praised by the Convention party, as being the only hope of the poor settlers, has been f und to be the best friend of the capitalist and schemer. This was foretold by Mr. Ebden, who instanced the case of New Zealand, and argued that as in that colony the lot system had not answered, it would not suit this colony. He even prophenpd that mmupd men would put in numerous applications, and that ia practice, the result would be ihe capitalist, would still fret the land, and that at a much less figure than he ought to pay for it. His wen' 1 - hn\e been fullfilled to the letter, although tlie «o eii'drcl liberal party in the House, wei - e too ignorant oi- too conceited to profit by Mr. Ebden'& advire.

Parliament will now mnet Foon and it is expected to be rri'her a stormy mePcu'pc, a-s many of the old friends of tlie present MinKtrv arp now uudoistooil to be conti>niph<tina amove to the opposition Mrte, and the fato that has just overtaken the Adelaide Ministry is said to :.w ait our fJoverr.m-nt in tho session thi-t K'tuns in November.

Some further particulars have been published by Me=M-s Nicholson and Co., the agents tor the T S N Company, rtspectinu: the unfortunate circumstinre of your mails bovine; been too late ; and these tei.d to show the conduct of the Atinvralty asent in anything but a favoiab!c lijybt. Messrs IVichohon state I that when they found that the City of Hobart could not an ive tn time in Hobson's Bay, they waited upon the Aiiiniriiltv asent, and drew from him a re'uctanl consent to pllow tlie mails to I>p taken on board the Northi.m it the Heads. It appears that when the Nortl.am was it the Heads, thf City was not only in sight, but actually near enouuh to exclnnjre sionals. As has been prc I . iuufely static!, Captain Dmby us^d every pos-iblp means and exertion to come up her anil attract her attention, but ineffectually Whit mal es it the mnre aiiiioyino; is the fact, tint to make up for tlie ternpc=!uons v j;;thcr slip expei ienced, the City of Hobart had been diiven at pome risk and considerable evpen^e ar full speed during the whole voyaae. Mes=rs Nicholson complain that this i« not the fir-ttime they have e-xpeu'enced di.soous'tr-sv and an unaccommodating spiiit on the part of Admiralty agents. As the time dia^s neaier ami noarpr to the grea event of she racing c eason, the excitement and interest culminate, and judging from present appearances, there is e\pry icr.son to believe tha' the Ist October will Le quite a reel-letter day in the annals of the " pivot."

A great many str-wspprs and sporting men have already " pitci ed their tents " at Gcelonc;, and their numbiiN w il! Le considerably augmented by the special train;-, which will inn en the Victorinn Railways nn that <'.iy. Tl p v enthcr p\es promise of all that could be des'tc', t! c course thouph a tiifle too heavy, is in fir-t-rr.te condition for rnnnincr.

An immon^e stand has bepn erected, and every arrangement lias been made Air tho eomfoit and enjoyment of the vi^itois. In my last I s'atal that there wtre 'ixtetn entries, of ihese 1 however, three have sub'-oquei.tly leen sciatched, and the subjoined is the amended list.