INTERCOLONIAL.

Southland Times, Issue 3064, 24 April 1878, Page 2

INTERCOLONIAL.

•m ' ■■ Messrs McMeckan and Blackwood's steamer Tararua, from Melbourne via Hobart Town, arrived at the Bluff yesterday forenoon, bringing Australian dates to April 16tht We have compiled, as under, from our exchanges :— VICTORIA. The first session of the ninth Victorian Parliament was closed in due form on the 9th inst. It was of extraordinary length, for as the Argus remarked the notorious Stonewall session closed a few days earlier than this one, which lasted ten months and a half. Parliament was prorogued to May 21. Mr Justice Fellows's funeral took place on the 10th inst. The estimation in which the deceased gentleman was held was manifested by the character of the funeral cortege. The Publio offices were closed and many places of business partly closed. The place of sepulture was the St. Kilda cemetery. The Rev. Mr Walker, incumbent of St. Matthew's Church, was taken ill during divine service on Sunday, and died the foi lowing day. One of the effects of the recent crisis was the throwing of a large number of civil servants out of employment, and their case is both demanding and receiving nuoh atten tion. The Ar_jus champions their cause in an article to be termed masterly even for that ably-written journal. After a hiding to the action of the Government in dismissing the officials, and the probable causes of that action, the Argus recommends a reinsta'ement of the dismissed officials en matte, arguing that as the cause of their dismissal, inability to pay salaries, had been removed, things should be completely restored to their former position. 'The good faith of the Crown is involved in seeing that the civil servants receive the salaries provided for them by Parliament, and that all those whose services can be dispensed with should be allowed an opportunity of resigning, or »f severing their connection with the public service in some way not painful to their feelings, after receipt of due notice. His Excellency must see that if only a partial restoration be effected, he l iriU Inre bm wduoed to discharge »*

number of pub io servants on false pretences | Taking ah the circumstances into consideration, we can but regard the Ministerial intention to carry out a scheme of permanent re» trenehment, under cover of au extraordinary iuid ostensibly temporary reduction ia the various departments, as xattj&ihi Governor who has been seemingly* misled, and degrading' t > the Crown, w ioh is prevented from carrying out its implied eng •gements.' The Argus then proceeds to show that the ministerial proposal was an insult to Parliament, inasmuch that the estimates originally submitted to the Assembly contained the full items of salaries, as also did the estimates recently passed. 'To ask Parliament to sanction an establishment on one scale when it has been definitely determined to keep it up on another is to reduce the financial control of the Assembly to a farce, aud to discredit it utter'y in the eyes of the publio. s~ben, again, this discriminating reinstatement is injurious to the oountry. The dismissals destroyed to a very great extent the independence of the Bench and demoralised the civil service. Nothing short of a complete restoration could partially undo the misobief accomplished. A timid judiciary and a time-serving civil service are two of the greatest curses which could bo inflicted on any country.' Alluding to the promise ef the Government to introduoe an. Electoral Reform Bill next session, the Argus, in supporting the propoied measure, exposed a monstrous abuse that exisfctd in connection with tbe publican interest of a certain distriot. Says the Argus — " In this electorate it is alleged that certain publicans are in the habit of keeping 10, 20, or 40 electors' rights safely secured under look and key. In the cour-e of the year they send to the registrar so many men who may be casually visitors at their establishments, and they keep the rights these men obtain. When an election comes they have a little store of these documents on band, which they oan either sell or can use in the interests of a party. As the law stands, there is but a poor chance of detecting the fraud. A man goes to the polling booth and produces an electoral right made out in the name of Tim Flaherty, and there is no one to say that he is not Tim Flaherty." The pure democracy of Victoria is exposing itself to grave suspicions of corruption. A case is reported of one William | Huthmane, who, caught by a crown lands bailiff in the act of lemeving timber without a license, wm brought before tne bench and fined in the usual sum of 50s and costs. No more was heard of the affair until a week or two afterwards, when the police received orders from the department of the Minister of Justice to return the money. Says the Argus : — - Thisjproceeding is most extraordinary. 'The right of the Minister of Justice to constitute himself a court for the re-hearing of caseß in which defendant's think themselves aggrieved is altogether to be denied, and were suoh a practice persevered with the result could not be disastrous Publio confidence would be but destroyed. Id the caio undor noticegrave suspicions have been excited in the district. The allegation is made that the favored man is a Ministerial partisan, and people are asking themselves what other reason tban political favor can there he why they should be mulcted when tbey transgress, and this person should bo let off. A brief outline of what was done at the Cabinet Counci , held on the 15th inst.. to deal with the question of the reappointment of dismissed officials was 'orwarde >o us ty calogram. he reports of the proceedings in our contemporaries state that only the law department was finally dealt with, Jn ges Skinner, Hackett and Nolan being reinstated as jud.-es of county courts and chairmen of general sessions. Messrs Armstrong, Smith and Garnett were reinstated as Crown Pr eeeutors. Out of thirty two police magistrates dismissed fifteen have been re-appointed, six have been superannuated, and one died. The Cabinet Council discussed the question of reinstatements in connection with other departments, but nothing final was settled. It was, however, thought that the number of reappointment* would be small, excepting in the Education and Lands departments, and in those it was thought the Government would undo most of its work of destruction. Heavy claims for compensation bave been made upon the Treasury by dismissed officials, so that the immediate effect of the so-called retrenchment was to embarrass rather tban relieve finances. A definition of the value of children's evidence was given by Mr Justice Molesworth at the '. riminal Sessions, Melbourne, on the 15th inst. Asked if ehe knew the nature of an oath , a girl about nine years old replied that it was bad to tell a lie, and good to tell the truth. The Crown Prosecutor contended the answer was satisfactory , but his Honor thought otherwise, and observed that ' tutored answers were of very little value/ A shocking accident occurred on the evening of the 12th inst., near Colao. Messrs Roper and James were riding heme from Colao when Mr Roper met another horseman, Mr Cook, of Vorewarra, fuU tilt. Both horees were at their ntmost speed, and the shock was a fearful one. The animals were dashed into the air, aud fell beavily on the ground, with their forelegs locked together. Mr Cook himself was greatly hurt, and was brought at once to Colao, but Mr Roper was taken up apparently dead, with a terrible gash on bis forehead. Mr Cook's horse was killed on the spot, and Mr Roper's severely injured. When assistance was procured, it was found that Mr Roper was quite dead, his neck being apparently dislocated. It appears tbat Mr Cook was en his right side of the road, and that at the moment of tbe collision both riders spoke. The darkness of the evening, and the rapid pace at which _ Mr Roper was riding, prevented the possibility of them see* ing each other. To give an idea of the Melbourne cost of a certain kind of work, we quote the following from the Argus of the 13th inst.:— The lowest tender opened in the Lands office yesterday for the supply of 50 wrought iron buffers for the Railway department was that of Messrs Wright and E Iwards for the sum of L 1,987 15s. It was provisionally accepted. Larrikinism is still rampant about Melbourne. At Carlton, gangs' of larrikins and larrikinesses infest the highways, and are an immense nuisance, their language and conduct being disgusting. Tbe police are accused of lack of vigiiance in dealing with them, and also with dffendors of another class, a drunken mm being permitted to remain on the verandah of a house all night, disturbing the inmates by singing and talking to himself. A lady named Mrs saved another lady from drowning at the Emerald Hill baths on the Bth inst., this being the third life she has saved under similar circumstances within six months. She is j ustly described as havißg exercised oourage and presence of mind.