VICTORIA.

Otago Witness, Issue 847, 22 February 1868, Page 3

VICTORIA.

! . (l)E<^ OtTB OWJ CO^EBOTOOT)ENT.)' ... ! ,, 1 >i ,,' ,,. ( ', .MBLBoiiBWE, iith February. , The second batch of ejections ;has just been concluded, and the result is equally favourable to' the Ministry" with that of the preceding list. Out of 41 members now'returned for the "New Assembly, {he ■Melbourne journal, the least ' favorable to the'present Government, gives them 30 votes .■against eight Oppositionists, and three . neutrals. Of ■ the members thus mentioned under the latter heading, it is very likely. that two will support the Ministry on the Darling Grant question. Taking into 3 consideration the' probable results of. "the- third' and last series of .elections, which, include those for Melbourne and., most of the chief urban constituencies, it is tolerably certain that Mr M'Culloch and his colleagues, will return to the House with a slightly increased number of supporters," and that the passing of the Darling Grant, in the Appropriation Bill, will be carried by at least three-fourths .of the Assembly. The opinion is gradually gaining- ground that, in the face of so decided a majority against them, • the Legislative Council w£ll think it better to yield the :point in dispute between the two .Houses :to- the extent of passing the Bill.v under protest, and with- a separate resolution, by way of a proviso that the obnoxious grant in the Appropriation Bill shall not be drawn into- a precedent. Amongst the new candidates in' the field for the third "batch" is Mr ' James Service, a gentleman already well known to political fame' in 1 Victoria, who, at the eleventh hour, has consented to come forward for the suburban constituency of Collingwood, 1 " with the view 'of ousting tine ' '. of 1 1" the •" three ministerial candidates, who ' would, 1 in- all probability,] otherwise be 1 elected. ■ Mr Service has .published' a •■ very long "and elaborate address, in which he sets forth his reasons for opposing "the Ministry, in the matter of the Darling vote, and endeavors to justify hii departure .in the present instance; 'frbm'/thosepopular views which; •as a" rule, he has- hitherto' taken upon political subjects. Mr O'Shanassy has positively declined to come forward for a seat in the' Lower House, but : it is rumored'that he' will' take an early opportunity of putting himself in nomination for one in the Legislative Council. ' An attempt has been made by some of the less 'scrupulous members of the opposition, to keep Mr'Higinbotham, the AttorneyGeneral, out of the House, by what may be' called an" electioneering "fluke/ the planning of 'which- is by no means creditable to anyof -the persons concerned in the affair ; and I ' am happy to be able to add that the 'trick has' been 'condemned even by the leading organ of' that party. The <" dodge?' put in practice by the persons referred to, was that of purchasing a .small block, of, land in the electoral district of 'Brighton, ,. for . wiiich Mr Higinbothani is the late member and the present candidate, and cutting it • up into some ninety-four plots, which were distributed amongst an 'equal number, of electors, holding correct opinion's, who were to vote" in virtue of being ratepayers. The 'schemers '.and would-be t manufacturers of -"faggot votes," weie, however, ' disappointed J ' for the Magistrate refused to 'place the ' names" ' upon the ! electoral roll';J and the ' Supreme Court, on appeal, has taken a technical 'objection, which, fortunately- for the interests of the boiia, fide electors 6f the Colony," is held to be 'insuperable. ••••"'•-;:< • •' • - v The greatest, event here lately/ and, in- ! deed,' almost the only one of general interest since the despatch of my last letter, ;hasbeen the arrival of the H.M. c. s. Nelson, thefirst line' of 'battleship which" has ever I dropt' ; anchoiv in ' Hobson's- Bay, .and a perfect model of the old style of naval architecture; ' 'It will no doubt be in the memory of your -'readers,- that on the recentivisit of pur Colonial Treasurer, Mr „Verd,qn,*i,)to : England, :^.that "'gentleman 'obtained,;a promise, , from the, Imperial Government to ,send !; us a- spare, man-of-war, in aid of our general scheme of harbor defence. , In.the Nelson we have the fulfilment of that, promise, and. the ' Home authorities are certainly entitled to great credit, ,as ' well as. to the best thanks of the colonists of ..Victoria, fori;the very hand-, some manner in which they haye. carried out jtheirr part of -the - undertaking. Besides jvirtually making us. a present of .the^shipjherself, .worth, perhaps,,LBo,ooo, ' the Admiralty has added -about L13,00Q >WjOrth,.of warlike 1 and' other stores, < and •gone to. considerable- 1 expense' ,in .order to make, the old ship,, thoroughly sea- worthy into/the bargain.' .The armament of. the Nelson consists of six -12- pounder- howitzers for .boat and field-, practice,-, and ntwo conyerte4.iiiiKallißßr 1 ,.;150-pounders,r{pn ; iti^ejupper^deck, ;' twenty. 32-ppunders3 on the. P main-deok; and- twenty (H-pounder • rifled on the lower-deck. r . /The 3&pouj{deEs ar& intented..chipfly^W bo^s* ./practice, and are. not regarded as,of, much value for actual service ; but the 64-

pounders on the lower deck, . as well as the two larger guns of the same make upon -the., upper-deck, may . be - looked upon as belonging tothe most, formidable kind of naval guns afloat, and are reported to be capable of piercing the sides of ironclads like the Warrior or La Gloire. The ship came out insufficiently maimed; the only, crew that could be got ..together, in addition to a'number of .boys "who .were to . be ; distributed amongst - the Beveral war steamers on the Australian station, consisting of ai~out 150 merchant seamen. She is under the command of Captain C. ! B. • Payne, R.N"., formerly Secretary of the Victorian Steam Navigation Board, and Captain of our. Naval Brigade. The Voyage out was made almost entirely under .canvas, and occupied altogether 107 days. The vessel is, however, provided with a powerful screw propeller, and. under steam she is capable of performing twelve knots an hour with ease. Her crew has been already paid off, and the boys and some of the officers whom she brought out have been transferred to H.M.S. Chary bdis, so that until the new arrangement, 'under which she will be converted into a naval training school, and the head-quarters of a reserved Naval Brigade, are complete, she will be- comparatively destitute of living occupants. It is understood that Captain Payne will retain his present command and rank on board-; -but with respect to all other of our new naval appointments, nothing at present seems to' have been decided upon. I should> have, mentioned ttat the Nelson was built* in 1814, and vras .re-modelled as a screw-steamer in 1860. „It is a fact, too, worth noting, that on the occasiou of her being overhauled" previously to sailing for' this port, it was found necessary 'to replace most of the timter used in altering her in 1867, owing to its decayed state, while her original "wooden walls" of 1814, were found to be as sound and strong as ever. ' > ' Mining .matters in this Colony have recently received.' an additional impetus, owing to the, discovery of some exceedingly rich patches of alluvial ground in the Ballaret district."'. As a; -natural' consequence, ' 'Several fresh companies have been f ormed "f or'thg" alleged purpose of working' the new ground, and amongst these there have, of course, ibeen -the usual proportion of bubbles, .blown the special benefit of the promoters. ' Some, however, have turned out to be genuine, and have succeeded in realising, very handsome profits.. „. As an instance of the wonderful' turns.' "-of &■ Dame Fortune's wheel, which investments in speculations of this . kind - sometimes lead to,> > I may mention the.case of a servant girl, residing at Geelong, who invested' about L4O in one of these new -ventures, -and a few mornings afterwards, woke up and found herself worth L 2500. ". „.,..-•: -. The official inquiry into the cause of the loss of the ship Light of the Age, which was proceeding at the date of- my last letter, has resulted, as at that time there was" every reason to anticipate it would; in a most unfavorable manner for Captain Porter, her commander. The Board, in pronouncing their decision, referred, in .very, strong terms, to the habitual drunkenness of the captain, .and cancelled his certificate. As in the course of the investigation it had been proved that on the morning following the wreck, Captain Porter had, while in a drunken state, handed over the ship and her cargo to the charge of -.the pilots, an inquiry into that circumstance has also been held by the Board of ; Navigation^ ' On that occasion thefollowihg document was read and put, in evidence :—"I: — "I hereby authorise Mr Draper and 1 Mr Rich to act on behalf of all "concered, {sic], as my agents in cace, [sic]. 'of wreck" of I Light of" the Age. (Sighed) Thomas' Porter.'";" The ,Board decided that the pilots were' not justified in taking the document in questiori'from ,the" Captain, while he was in a drunken state^ and recorded the opinion that in so doing they had "committed an error of judgment!!' "" '■ ' '/' ' ', ' '..! '

-*~ The Iron Plate ik thjs . Firk' Gra.tb.x- ! The iron plate for the fire grate (remarks the Clielmsford OJironicle) we find is- being v*>ry generally adopted in this neighborhood, and is found jto, be ,a great success . AMr Woodman, ■writing in the" t 'i?HJWer, ' says :—: — "Having 'read.' the recommendation of this grate, ,1 told 'a poor man-' to 'get One,, try 1 it, and I'would'paythe cost (Is)', for it.'" He | found it excellent. •' The plan as ' designed is to cat a piece, of paper lj inch Smaller than the bottom of the grate ; get a smith to make a plate of iron* the size of a paper pattern, of the-;thickness< of a halfpenny,/ with three small holes in it the size of a straw. jQne hole in the, middle and one hole an inch from each end,\ the, burr to be filled off level.' These holes prevent the plate frpm warping with heat,, and being small, and covered with fuel, do not', allow cold air' to pass up, 'iior'h'ot' air 'below to escape?' 'On 'this princfple wooden straight-edges have seven small holes Wed in them; "one in the middle and three 1 holes in each' end, • tor keep them i from'twißting. If in' round wooden.^ breadplates- a' hole the size of a small pin; were. [ bored, they would always be flat." .; ; '