MELBOURNE.

Otago Witness, Volume 25, Issue 1004, 25 February 1871, Page 16

MELBOURNE.

(from our own correspondent.)

February 11th. The election war grows hotter. Politioians of all shades of opinion are offering themselves in large numbers, and if the different constituencies are not perfectly represented in the next Parliament, it certainly will not be because there is a paucity of candidates. The first batch of the nominations have been made, and in only one constituency were the former members, Messrs Bayles and O'Grady, returned unopposed. It is at present impossible to form any definite expectation as to the result of the elections in improving or otherwise the character of Parliament. We are yet too deeply in the turmoil of contest, the prevalent lines of drift are yet too undecided, to justify any inference as to the general issue. But there is strong reason for thinking that the hopes which were entertained of relegating to private life some cf our mere objectionable members will be sadly disappointed. When we see some of the most worthless of the former representatives receiving warm, or at any rate loud, expressions of confidence from their constituencies ; when we see Mr Vale not only supported by the highest favour of the voters of Oollingwood, but actually invited to select and name for the guidance of the eleotors the candidates whom he judges worthy to sit with him in the Assembly ; when we see Mr 0. E. Jones receiving the most enthusiastic promises of a triumphant return from the electors of Ballarat West, any hopes of this kind must look very remote. The case of the lastnamed — Mr O. E. Jones — is a deeply significant one. In estimating the position of Mr Jones, political considerations sink into comparative unimportance. The question is one as to the character of the man, the character of the constituency whioh returns him, and the character of the Parliament in which such a man can find a place. The turpitude of Mr Jones is no ordinary degree of baseness. Amongst many who have dabbled in corruption, Mr Jones is the most corrupt of all. In the race of political and moral degradation he is first, and the rest are nowhere. That such a man should be returned at all is deplorable enough, but that he should be almost the dictator of the important constituency which promises to return him, the keeper of th 9 political consciences of the electors, their guide and advwer in their choice of his colleagues, all this undoubtedly is a symptom of very painful significance. It seems to show a degree of moral laxity in the judgment of men, which knows no distinction between right and wrong. It would serv& to show that a. large number of persons in the community are totally indifferent to all such considerations. An unpleasant state of things truly, but we can only hope the best from the improving influences of time. All infatuations are from their nature temporary, and the time must come when the awakening moral judgment of the constituency will consign Mr Jones to the shame and obscure disgrace which should have been His fate long ago.

The most prominent feature of the elections so far has been the great speech of the Chief Secretary, Sir James M'Culloch, to his constituents at Mornington. In calling it great, I allude only to its length. The report of it covers upwards of ten columns of the Argus. Independently of this element of greatness, it also of course possesses importance as the statement of the Government policy. As an oratorical effort, it, like all speeches of Sir James M'Culloch, is remarkable only for it« want of everything that could render so long a discourse interesting. It is a dry, matter-of-fact statement. Like its author, it is destitute of even a single gleam Sf wit, or humour, or fancy, or oratorical grace, or genial human feeling. Perhaps the only passage in it possessing the smallest interest to New Zealand readers is that in which Sir James referred to the Californian mail route. He declared that the Government were never averse to the Panama service, or to that via California ; but as neither could be made to alternate with the Suez mail, so as to give this colony the benefit of fortnightly communication, it was felt that it could not be of sufficient benefit to this colony to entitle it to a (Subsidy in the manner requested. He was of opinion that as soon as direct telegraphic communication with England is established, the only mail service necesiary will be via the Cape of Good Hope, & route by which he anticipates that it •will be performed in 45 days. He appeared utterly to ignore the advantage the colony would derive from a service Which would link us by a rapid and regular communication with America,

gome remarks mad© by Sir Jame» Wulioeh, in yinAisftte of the tariff w

tested by its results, have been dismissed and replied to by Mr Edward Langton, his old opponent on questions of a financial nature. Mr Langton has decidedly got the better of the argument, and in addition to showing that under the tariff our import and export trade has immensely declined, he proved that the Chief Secretary had attempted to elude this result by quoting returns which were so framed as to afford no base whatever for the deductions drawn from them. After reading Mr Langton's criticism, it seems scarcely possible to avoid the belief that Sir James M'Cullooh must have known that his data did not warrant his conclusion, and that he must have been aware that he was laying a fallacious statement before his hearers. It is very unsatisfactory that a man in the position of Sir James M'Culloch should lay himself open to such a charge, but unfortunately he has done so before. In the meantime our protectionists have almost ceased to discuss the question of the advantages of the present tariff. They say that, even admitting it has not proved so beneficial as they hoped and believed it would, this must be because it is not protective enough. If 10 per cent, is found to be insufficient to call manufactures into existence, and to afford abundant employment to everybody, why, makw it 25 or 30. In addition to this, they think that some classes of goods, which they are assured are the products of " prison labour," should be prohibited altogether. They have drawn up a formula embodying these ideas, and propose to offer them as a test to Parliamentary candidates. However, the movement is very limited in its scope, and seems to have but little hold on the mind of the public. It is gratifying to find that the arbitrary provision in our Publicans Act, rigorously prohibiting Sunday selling, after occasioning great inconvenience to the publio, and still greater to many unfortunate publicans who have been severely fined for disobeying it, has at length called into exlstenoe a strong feeling of reaction. So long as the measure was left unenforced, and so long as it was only open to the speculative objections of being a too rigid repressive law, of being an unwarrantable extension of the province of legislation, and of being an uncalled for limitation of individual liberty, it was little heeded ; but now that actual effect has been given to itß puritanical provisions, and that great general and individual annoyance has been produced by it, the question has assumed the less abstract character of a publio grievance, and an agitation has been started to amend the Act. There seems to be little doubt, in spite of all the cant and sham puritaniam with which this community is so much imbued, that the matter will be again brought under the attention of Parliament, with a view of obtaining a modification of the offensive limitation. That the cause of public order is at all advanced by the restriction has been clearly shown to be erroneous, and if not that, it is hard to see on what principle the provision can be defended.

The Melbourne morning journals on the first day of February presented a rather singular appearance— -one not likely to very favourably impress a stranger with the honesty or solvency of the community until the explanation was given to him. The last day of January was the day on which the former Insolvency Act ceased to have effect, and the new one, with its more rigorous provisions, and its refusal to afford release to debtors who did not pay 7s 6d in the pound, was to come into force on the next day. Under these circumstances, all the people — and there are so many of them — who enjoy the pleasing excitement of constantly hovering on the brink of insolvency, wisely thought that as that fate was inevitable, they would be let down very much more easily under the old Act than under the new. The Idea of insisting on the payment of 7s 6d in the pound to people of this class must have seemed quite preposterous, and they felt quite justified in somewhat anticipating the course of events, and baffling the rigorous demands of the new measure, by taking advantage of the more lenient conditions of the old one. So in the one day about 80 sohedules were presented to Judge Barry for signature, the aggregate liabilities being somewhere about L 60,000 and the nominal assets L 12,000. The Judge remained in the Court late in the afternoon to give full opportunity to all those who wished to enjoy the mercies of an old and milder dispensation. The following day the long list of schedules of persons of all classes and professions filled about a column and a half of the morning papers. The discovery of extensive defalcations on the part of George Moore, collector to the Ballarat Hospital — defalcations amounting to at least L6OO or L7oo— has excited a good deal of uneasy feeling. It was only a very little time previously that 9 man swwd H»y w&rd, rajs collector t&

the Fitzroy Borough Council, was detected in embezzlements to the extent of L3OOO, which he had extended over some years. In the latter case, the accounts of Hay ward, besides being inspected by the Town Clerk and che Financial Committee of the Council, had been what they call " duly audited and found correct " year after year. They contained falsifications of the grossest character, which the moßt cursory intelligent examination must have detected ; but year by year the auditors went through the farce of examining then and signing them as correct. And now the case of Moore occurs, somewhat similar in its nature, but not of such long duration. These occurrences have tended much to expose the hollowness of the system of audit in force at many of our public institutions, and especially of that hollowest of all systems, which would be a fraud if it were not a farce, and would be a farce if it were not a fraud — I mean audit by what are called " honorary auditors," who often prove, as in this case, the most expensive of all. The matter is one of far more public importance than at first sight appears. There is the direct pecuniary loss to these institutions; to those dependent on public subscriptions there is the far greater indirect loss. There is the opportunity, which becomes a temptation, to the employes to beoome dishonest. And, in addition to all, it is always found that a confused and lax administration of money matters occasions that confusion and laxity of moral feelings in which the distinctions of property become very uncertain, and the limits of right and wrong are unfixed and vague. And experience proves that this is a Btate of things more widely injurious to publio morality than one in which great and flagrant breaches of right occur. The latter must by their nature be exceptional, but the former condition tends to spread and become general.

From Sydney we learn that the Government have declined to entertain the proposal submitted to them by Mr Moore, the agent of the Queen of the Thames, on behalf of a mail Bervice via the Cape. They informed Mr Moore that the Californian route was more suited to the requirements of New South Wales. It further appears that the Sydney Government have had the offer of a weekly service to and from Europe by San Francisoo for a Bubsidy of 145,000 per annum ; and it is also stated that they are prepared to pay half the expenses of a steamer to run between Normantown, Queensland, and Batavia, to bring telegraphic news during the present period of complications. The Treasurer in his budget speech stated that the Government will consider the opening of the direct mail service to California when the present mail contract ceases. The Government tariff has been submitted, and is very similar in ita character to that of Victoria. In his financial statement the Treasurer estimates the deficit at the end of last year at L 334,000, and he declines funding it, preferring its extinction by increased customs duties and retrenchment. The present reduction in the civil servants salaries was merely preliminary to a permanent plan for lessening the expenses. The railways are not to be extended at present. Treasury bills are to be renewed on maturity. An absentee tax is to be imposed from the Ist day of January next. Ad valorem duties on articles of luxury are to be raised to 10 per cent. Numerous items are transferred from the ad valorem to the fixed duties list. The South Sea Islands trade is to be fostered by abolishing all duties restricting it. He also intends to give increased facilities to whalers refitting there.