MELBOURNE.

Otago Witness, Issue 904, 27 March 1869, Page 11

MELBOURNE.

(from otjr own cokrespo^dent.) j March lGth. ! " In lowest depths a lower still is found," Bays the poet, and it has just struck me that the line forms no inappropiiate text for a homily upon the startling political disI closures that have been made here within the last few days in connection with the more recent phases assumed by the great Jones scandal. The charge involved m the late trial of " Alexander against Jones" was ' bad enough in all conscience ; but unless a member of the Legislative Assembly, whose ! character for honour and veracity has , hitherto been unchallenged, has, without the j slightest conceivable motive, made a public statement utterly at variance with the truth, there is far worse behind; and not only outside, j but within, the walls ot the Victorian Parliament bribery and corruption have already been organised into a system closely allied to the American practice as said to be pursued in the lobbies of the Congress, at Washington. The facts which have led to these remarks are these : — Owing to a statement incidentally made by one of the witnesses in the case of Alexander v. Jones, with regard to a rumour which had been floating about town as to certain improper influeneesbrought to bear on the defendant in that action, at the period when a measure called the " Quieting of] Titles Bill" was under discussion in the Assembly, it was formally asked in the House the other night, whether the Government intended to take any actionin consequence of the rumours referred to. The question elicited a conversation, in the course of which Mr Williams stated that he had been told by Mr Butters that he (Butters) had given Jones L2OO, in order to induce him to vote for the Bill, a statement which Mr Butters emphatically denied. The allegation of Mr Williams was, however, supported in so many points by further evidence of a circumstantial character as to leave very little doubt in the minds of most; people that it was true. For instance, that gentleman stated that on the morning subsequent to the day on which Mr Butters informed Mm that Jones was to have the L2OO bribe, he saw the latter come out of Buttera's office in Collins street, when

Butters said he had "just tipped him the money." It came out, too, in the courae of the same discussion, that in tne evening on •which the second reading of the '1 itles Bill came on, Butters took the very questionable course of trying to get another hon, member, a solicitor atd an opponent of the measure, out of the way by requesting him to go to Ballarat to conduct a supposititious mining case under promise of a very heavy fee. Mr Butters's anxiety for the Bill— the fate of which, by the way, hung upon a thread — also led him to bet another member of the House LSO to 2a 6d that it would not be earned. The hon. member in question took the w odds," but voted against the Bill, and won his bet, as it actually did pass that particular stage. The accused party endeavoured to lead the House to suppose that the wager was only made in jest ; but as he admitted having paid the money, it certainly turned out a very sorry jest for him. A further revelation was made the same evening relative to the political connection of Mr -Jones with the Opposition, according to which it clearly appeared that, as soon as the late htm. member for Bjllarat West had resigned the position of "Whip" to the Ministry and the salary of L4OO a year attached to that office, he was engaged '<y the other side in a sort of "generally useful " capacity at a similar rate of remuneration. As may well be imagined, the "corporate honour" of the Assembly was severely hurt at finding not only that the most unblushing bribery had been practised by hon. members, but also that the t ribers and acceptors of bribes were being found out ; and a great deal of indignation was expressed. The discussion ended in the appointment of a Select Committee to enquire fuliy into the whole business, and the report of that body will be looked forward to with extreme interest. It has been proposed that the sittings of the Committee Bhall be open to the Press, and that all witnesses shall be examined upon oath. As it appears, however, that the Committee haa no legal right to administer oaths in such cases, it is intsnded to pas 3 a short Act of Parliament conferring upon it that power. But it now seems doubtful whether such an Act can re assented to by the Governor, as ifc will confer powers upon Committees of the Local Assembly which are either unclaimed by the House of Commons or have fallen into desuetude in the proceedings of Committees of that body.

I regret to have to inform your readers that four or five cases of undoubted, and, indeed, most virulent small -pox have, within the last lew days, occurred in and around this city. Strangely enough, these cases seem to have happened without any possibility of the disease having been caught from other persons ; and although the disease took- out so soon after the arrival of the infected ship Avon vale, its origin, as it now exists here, cannot be traced to that vessel. Lnfortunatelythe drainage of this town, and the condition of its " back slums, "are not at all what could be desired for the purpose of ward, ing off this deadly enemy of the human race, and our only hope of staying the plague seems to depend upon the carrying out oc a general scheme of vaccination, and re vaccination, throughout the length and breadth of the colony — a scheme which is being strongly recommended by the principal members of the medical profession here.

Considerable anxiety was excited in Melbourne on Sunday, by the indu-,trous circulation of a false report, to the effect that H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh had been again shot at, and dangerously wounded, in Sydney. The supposed fact was even announced from the pulpit of one of our most largely attended churches, by a clergyman who had been imposed upon by a canard, and a suitable prayer for the recovery of His Royal Highness from his wound was offered upon the occasion. As the telegraph office was closed as usual during the greater part of the day, it was impossible to ascertain whether the rumour was true or not, until late in the evening, when some of the officers of that department being in attendance to look out for the arrival of the Mail, communication was opened up with Sydney, the result of which was that the utter groundlessness of the report became at once apuarent.

In addition to the monster nugget, the discovery of which at Dunolly 1 mentioned not long since, I have now to refer to the finding of another tine tump of the precious metal of over seventy-tour pounds Veight, at Berlin, a few days acjo. As in the case of the Dunolly monster, this splendid nugget was found very near the surface, and consisted of the purest metal. Berlin is a comparatively new "rush," situated m the Inglewood district, and as, although this seventyfour pounder is the largest, it is not by any means the first nugget that has beeu found in this locality, it is very probable that the township will before long become the centre of a large and prosperous mining community.

Our Otepopo correspondent, writing on Friday last, informs us that harve3t operations have been carried on in that district very industriously by the farmers for the last month. The weather has '■ een excellent; for harvesting, and the crop 3 are nearly all stacked, with the exception of thobe on the flat near the township. The farmers in general appear to be satisfied with the returns.—The Acclimatisation Society wil- be glad to learn that on Wednesday last two coveys of partridges were seen in Otepopo, The birds were very strong on the wing, and appeared healthy. Several pheasants have also been seen lately in the Big Bush Reserve,