OUR MELBOURNE LETTER.

Otago Witness, Issue 2396, 1 February 1900, Page 10

OUR MELBOURNE LETTER.

(Feoii Our Own Correspondent.)

January 10.

The Victorian Parliament opened -yesterday, without a no-confidence motion. The general impression is that Mr Miiean and Mr Shiels will be let alone till towards the end of the session, which is expected to last only till the end of this month. The fiery spirits were, for giving battle right away, but Sir George Turner is not a fighter, and he counsels patience. Anyhow, nothing will 'be done until the .business of getting away the second contingent for South Africa is concluded. 'Then the Factories and Shops Bill comes on, and the Water Supply Bill ; and once these are out • of the way a no-confidence motion seems certain. Whatever happens, the Ministry lias not f the confidence -of the country — that is certain ; and principally because it contains Mr Shiels. And it remains as certain that Sir George Turner, in spite of the fact that he is a spineless and non-partisan politician, has the confidence of the country. A couple of nights ago there was evidence of the fact at the patriotic fund meeting in the Town Hall. He was received with prolonged cheering — a significant demonstration. Mr M'Lean, the new Premier, was not nearly so well received.

The filling up of the second contingent from Victoria lias not proceeded very smoothly. The chief difficulty has been lack of men. The Mounted Rifles has lieen Victoria's boast for years, but it has proved a rotten reed. On paper the corps numbers some 800 men, but it truns out that oiily some 300 could be depended on as effective, and instead of supplying 300 men easily for the contingent it couM supply only a little over 100. The remainder had to be made up from the militia and volunteers. These men, many of them, could not ride, and, of course, .they had no horses ; and it is probable the departure will have to delay so that the jnore backward of them can be taught to sit respectably in the saddle. Horsing the* TChole troop has been no small difficulty, for the horses even of the Mounted Rifles -v, r ere generally weeds. T3ie proposal to -send an Australian -mounted bushmen's -corps of -1000 men is -being taken up warmly in New South Wales. Anyhow, these men will be able to r.iac, even if they, cannot shoot, wdiich is more than the Victorians can do., Amongst the volunteers for the -bushmen's corps are two brothers, who write: — "We are New Zealanders by birth, and are used to the roughest country imaginable. We can ride anything, and are excellent sliots, liaving done a lot of wild cattle shooting in our native land. We do not either drink or smoke, are thoroughly healthy, and as tough as hickory. We trust that we are just the stamp of men for South Africa." And so they are. A lively incident-., has occurred at Ballajat. Mr Coghlan, a well-known auctioneer, was busily conducting an auction sale at ] the yards when Dr Lalor came up and at- j tempted to shoot him with a revolver. Dr Lalor is a -son of the faXnousdßefcei .Lalor, f tb.p hero of the Eureka stockade riots, and renowned also as 'Speaker oi ' the Victorian Assembly loK^scmie years. He was one of ' the diggers' -leaders against the Government in the early Ballarat days, and escaped from the stockade with a bullet ,i wound in one arm," which had to be..amputated. The Government 1 put £1000 on his ' head as a rebel, but lie iid away success- 'j fully until the trouble was over. Years ] after he got into and made i a picturesque and romantic Speaker, till he died honoured and respected/ Dr Laloi, his son, practised in Ballarat till tiyo or three years ago, and he and Mr "Coghlan were close friends. Then the doctor went to one of the New South Whiles couatry towns. He has given way to drink of late. A few days ago he telegraphed 'to a friend of Mr Coghlan's that a, " desperate man'" was coming over ; but the friend ** dkl not understand apparently that the doctor had Coghlan in his mind, and did not warn that gentleman. The doctor went up to Mr Coghlan as lie was in the 'box. and after .some remark placed the revolver close to Mr Coghlan's breast and prJlecl the trigger. Luckily the weapon miesed fire, and in anothei moment the doctor was disarmed. He had evidently been

drinking, and in his better senses since his arrest " thanked God it was no worse." He is said to have nursed a grievance against Mr Coghlan in connection with his wife ; but Mr Coghlan asserts that it was entirely unfounded.

The affairs of Dr and Mrs Eraser 'have again -been under public notice this week. Since Dr Fraser was discharged from the hospital, after being shot by his -wife, he has been in a- private hospital. He still has the levolver bullet in his brain. Eveiy now and then' Mrs Fraser is brought before the 'court for the shooting and another remand granted, pending her husband being fit to appear. 'For a time "the papers spoke gushingly -of Mrs Eraser's xittendance at her "bedside ; but lie soon 'had enough of her, .or she of him, for the next thing was a 'story of a bitter quarrel, .and Mrs Fraser being ordered away,' not only, from the bedside, -but from the premises. A few days ago she astonished -the community by a request to the Minister of Defence to be sent to South Africjb — not as a nurse or in any other 'womanly .sphere 'of action, but that her services might be utilised as a spy upon the Boers. Naturally the Minister declined to gratify her wi&h. The evening paper interviewed her, and produced a couple of columns or so of her reasons for believing she would fill the bill as a spy. She could shoot — • that was proved by her expert use of the revolver when she met her husband ; she could ride ; she had roughed it in .the Tasmanian bush in men's clothes, or a near approach to -them ; and so forth. Next night there was an interview with .Dr ' Fraser, who in another couple of columns gave the reasons for his belief that -his wife was not even fit for a spy ; but Jie wearily wound up with the expressive statement, "J do not care where on earth she goes, as long as she doesn't come near me." They are a -singular couple.

Mr F. W. Ward, formerly editor of the Sydney Daily Telegraph and of the Brisbane Courier, and now chief leader .writer -of the Melbourne Argus, and who is originally from Taranaki, has -just lost -a son of '.15 • under .affecting circumstances at Kyneton. The -lad had -passed his uni j -■ yersily matriculation examination in _the beginning of December, and was spending -his school holidays with a class-mate, young "Fysh, grandson of the . ex-Tasmanian. Treasurer. Young "Ward went' out shooting "on alone, and as >he .did not) ' return 'it -was concluded he had- got -lost.. 1 'Search parties went out, and on Monday morning "diis -dead body was -discovered under , a -tree. "He --had evidently lam-d own tired at the foot of the tree, '.which, 'had fallen on him and killed him.

When the terrifically hot .spell of weather at Itfew Year came to an end, the southwest gales which sprang up raged like a ' cyclone in rome .parts of the country dis- , tricts of Victoria. A great deal of dam- ! age was done, and one death occurred. A' Mr Mitchelt and Jiis family, residing on. the "B.irr Creek, had a terrible experience. The Toof of .their house was completely j .torn off and blown away, and the family j then endeavoured to seek shelter at Yeo-< burn. The force of the -gale, however, prevented them gaining cover, and the father gathered several of the dhildren' on the "ground" with' .fheir- 'heads , together, and ; then, kneeling' down, bent over ■fhem "-with ! .his hands on the -ground, so, as to shelter .... them -as much as possible. The" m6 r thii'"> •was carrying an infant, and was Oborn© clown to the -ground by the force of the ! wind, but managed to protect the child, ' aud. -to some extent, herself. One of the i little ones., however, a boy of about four ■years of age. was blown away to a dislance of '6ft or 7ft, and. falling on his back,ihis face was exposed to the full fury of the hailstorm. His face is now black and swollen beyond all -recognition, while, even protected -by .clothing, his 'body is badly bruised from head to foot. Mr Mitchell, in sheltering his children, received the -full f orce of the storm on the'back of his meek and .ears, and the whole of the sur-i ifaoe exposed is covered with bruises.

Thero are 50 applications from Australia and New "Zealand for the position .of town, clerk at Auckland.

An unusual '.reversion of -the climatic 'Conditions of Thuwdin 'and the Tfieri Plain oo 'curved on jVloiulcuy, when .the -latter place was/ subjected io a sharp thunderstorm, whilst not' -a drop of moisture fell on the .city streets.-^ Advocate-