MELBOURNE,

Otago Witness, Issue 1630, 26 August 1871, Page 17

MELBOURNE,

(ffRoM OUR OWN CORRKSI'OXDEXT.) August 10th. We have a new tariff in force now, the third during the present year. First we had tho old tariff, which had been in force since 186.1J; ' then in May a new one was brought in by Mr Francis, and although the M'Culloch Government went out on its provisions, the duties it imposed have been ever since collected ; and now we have the protective tariff introduced by Mr Berry. The Treasurer in his speech at re-election promised, on behalf of the Administration, to establish a tariff " as simple and complete as possible," and which, while affording adequate protection to some industries would do so " in such a way as to inflict the least injury, or rather, cause 'the least embarrassment to commerce." Mr Berry gives effect to this promise by producing a list of import duties quite as voluminous as that brought in by Mr Francis, and the only effort at simpliiication visible is by substituting two scales of ad valorem duties for the three of Mr Francis. Instead of 7V, 10, and 121 per cent, duties, he has only 10 and 20 per cent, classes. The 20 per cent, class includes all articles of clothing, all articles of furniture and of domestic use, tools, ironmonger)' in all its shapes. The goods comprised within this group, which have a fifth added to their price, are all articles of daily necessity, and necessity pretty much to all orders of people alike. The ten per cent, list includes such articles of luxury as silks, watches and clocks, glass, chiuaware, porcelain, perfumery, and plated ware, and although many of the goods it comprises are matters of utility, a3 a whole the division of the tarifF is scarcely objectionable. A 10s per ton duty is imposed on potatoes. The result of these imposts, as anticipated by the Treasurer, is the yield of a revenue from the Customs of £1,57G,000, of which he expects £230.000 from the increased duties. The expenditure is estimated at £3,447, 050, and his aggregate revenue at £3,538,750.

The tariff, although it will probably be passed, of course fails to satisfy politicians of either side. Freetraders denounce it as protective, and as ruinous to commerce ; and the protectionists declare that they will not consent to accept as a protective measure one that imposes duties on goods that this colony cannot possibly manufacture. In reply to general attacks on the tariff, Mr Duffy has argued that as the last general election showed there was a preponderance of the voters of the country in favour of a pi otective policy, it was understood by the House that the question was to bo regarded as removed from the arena of controversy. The decision of the country had been already expressed, and the only thing to consider was how best to give effect to that decision. On these grounds he deprecated any discussions directed merely at a general principle which was already determined. The course the Government seems disposed to adopt is to let the House have the most unrestricted liberty in modifying the tariff in any manner, and to whatever extent, it pleases ; so that at the end the needful amount of revenue will be yielded under it. The importing class complains that the tariff will, by raising serious difficulties in the way of granting draM-backs, exert the most damaging influence on the intercolonial trade. There is, apparently, good ground for the complaints, but as all are getting weary of the endless wrangling on the matter, as it is clear that in some way or other the revenue must be raised, and as a state of prolonged uncertainty and ceaseless change is more injurious to trade than the worst tariff, it almost appeared like relief when, on Wednesday night, the tarifF was practically passed. 1 should add that the Treasurer has announced the intention of the Government to bring in a measure to confirm the former scale of duties under which, for the last few weeks, revenue has been collected. This* retrospective measure will, it may be presumed, bring to an end any chance of litigation against the Government for the recovery of the duties so jjaid.

The very dull course of our Parliamentary proceedings has been to some extent diversified by a little incident in the Legislative Council, for which we are indebted to a young member, Mr W. A. 0. A'Beckett, to whom I don't think we were ever indebted for anything before. Mr A'Beckett rose in his place the other evening, and in a tremulous accent, faltering with emotion, detailed a most unwarrantable breach of Parliamentary privilege which had been committed, and of which he had been the subject. He had owed some money to a mining company for calls, and though lie had a defence to the claim, a police magistrate, Mr Heron, had issued a warrant of committal against him in default of payment. The House was indignant, although one or two members had the bad taste to suggest that if Mr A'Beckett would pay his debts this would not have occurred. It was decided that the offending police magistrate should be summoned to the bar of the House to answer for his temerity. However, before the day at which Mr Heron was to appear, Mr A'Beckett made a discovery. He found that the warrant which had been delivered to him was not a warrant to arrest, but only to distrain on his goods for the amount of the debt, and that he had put himself into a rather sorry position. So when the fated day came, and the order of the day was called on, Mr A'Beckett (who had just announced that he had been appointed the representative of the Government in the Council) got up and explained to he House that the whole thing was a. mis*

take— that he \va9 very sorry, and would apologise to the House and to Mr Heron. And, amidst hearty laughter from the whole community, Mr A'Beckett subsided into his former condition of harmless inactivity. The old steamship Great Britain has again come into port, bringing with her the usual complement of old returning faces, and of new visitors. Amongst the former as the well-known jovial countenance of Mr Fellow s, M.L. A., and the latter included Mr Anthony Trullope, the novelist, who is on a visit to Australia. Jlr Trollope, after staying a few days in Melbourne, has gone on to Queenslaud, where he has a son residing. Having made a short stay in Queensland, he will, it is understood, return to Melbourne, and will make a tour of the colonies, which is expected to occupy some eighteen months. Mr A. G. Fisher, well known both in j racing and mercantile circles, met with a ' very serious accident the other day while jumping his iior.se over some fences. He fell and sustained a concussion of the brain, which for the time was believed to jeopardise his life, but ho has since made good progress. A meeting of his creditors has been called, and his estate shows liabilities amounting to ' £3,731, for which a composition of 7s Gd in the £ has been offered. It seems that lie had losses in a recent year amounting to £10,577. Another Fisher, the " Nunawading Messiah," has been trying to keep his name before the public, by delivering a lecture at the Haymarket Theatre one Sunday evening. Large placards announced that " Fisher, the Nunawadmg Messiah" would address an audience on the doctrines and practices of his sect. It was believed that the hand of a well-known theatrical manager could be traced in the business ; but if so, he must have found the speculation a failure, as hundred? of people made their way in without paying, and the receipts at the doors must have been very small. Fisher began to address them, but failing to supply them with the spiced de- 1 tails of domestic life which they anticipated, and owning only to one wife, their interest in his disclosures fell off, and after making a great disturbance, putting out the gas, and | so on, the crowd lett in disgust. The tale is told that a genial jolly old actor, who has often amused audiences on almost every stage in the colonies, came to the theatre to hear the lecture, and arriving after the row had begun, asked one outside what all the uproar was about. A man said. ' ' Well, Sir, there is a fellow inside who says lie is the Saviour." " Ah, my boy," replied the comedian, "it takes a good actor to play a leadi ing part like that." At present, Victorians ai-e in a mood for celebrating centenaries. Almost every little I town in the country is making a move toj wards celebrating the centenary of Sir Walter Scott. j Concerts, balls, demonstrations of all kinds, are to take place on that day ; and sums arc to be raised to endow Scott scholarships, to buy Scott busts, and jto commit all sorts of extravagances. The i project to hold a Waverley oall in Mcl- ! bourne, all the visitors to be dressed so as to J represent characters from the Waverley novels, fell through, in consequence of the bad way in which it was managed, and the narrow feeling of nationality by which it was directed. But we are to have a great con- | cert in tlie Town Hall on that clay. Young I men of a supposed turn for poetic numbers { are racking their brains to find rhymes for j prize poems on the genius of Scott, of which in many cases they only know by hearsay. This was all very well, but now some people have started a movement for a celebration of the fourth centenary of William C'axton. The object is to get the literary and the printing guilds to unite in some worthy commemoration of the man who brought printing into England. No doubt a very meritorious man. We owe him much. Without him, where would be our penny papers, and our abundant and cheap novels ? But whether there is any particular claim to observe 3iis fourth centenary, is another matter. Somebody has asked, "Why the fourth? why not leave it to the fifth ? " Another asks where we are to stop ; why should not we celebrate the memory of all the great worthies of the world '! points out that, according to the Usher chronology, there is an anniversary at hand of the commencement of the life of Adam ; and asks why should the father of our race go uncominemorated ? There is no doubt that the thing is getting overdone. The interest represented m some of these cases is a purely fictitious one, and the matter very much like a sham. The Marquis of Normanby has, after staying some days at Sydney, sailed for the seat of his Governorship in H.M. S. Olio. Queensland is engaged at present in some very stormy elections. Somehow political and election matters seem to give rise to a greater virulence of feeling in Queensland than in any of the other colonies. Most of us take our politics very quietly, but not so in Queensland. To burn politicians in eltigy, or to hang their stuffed representative forms on a gibbet, are the ordinary ways there of expressing dislike. In South Australia energetic efforts are made to urge on the construction of the overland telegraph to meet the cable which, in tho course of a few months, will be laid from Java, and it is j hoped that in spite of recent hindrances the end of the year will see us united by wire ! with London. Our theatrical matters have undergone some change. Mr Howe last night took a farewell benefit before going to India with Mr Lewis's troupe. Mr J. W. Smith, with Mr Heller, will also sail for India by the : next mail. Our Italian Opera Company, also, has almost completed its season in Mcl- : , bourne, and unless some novelties soon visit 1 us, we shall be left in dullness and desertion. ' i