VICTORIA.

Colonist, Issue 67, 11 June 1858, Page 3

VICTORIA.

We have news from Melbourne to the 13th of May, ' ' ... ■ ;

The Sydney' Herald's correspondent of that date writes:—-"During the brief Parliamentary recess—for so the adjournment of the Assembly for a fortnight must be termed-—there has been very little to excite public attention in Melbourne. It is true that the Council has held several sittings, but the business brought forward, and the mode of disposing of it when entered upon, has been such as to interest the community very slightly. Among.it the most notable of the matters submitted to our' honorables' has been a motion by Mr. J. P. Fawkner, affirming the disapproval of the legislature of the principle, of gentlemen holding high offi> cial positions as directors and governors of bauking houses, also holding the places of respectable ministers, either in the Council or Assembly. The reasons brought forward, by Mr.' Fawkner, in support of his theory, were cogent enough, and his arguments were well pointed by the illustration of the case of the Bank of the United States, which—exasperated at the refusal of General Jacksan to assent to the bill for the renovation of its charter— threatened to ' sweep the old Western country with judgments and executions' if they, supported him. The bank made an actual step towards the fulfilment of this threat, by extend-, ing considerably its discounting operations in the West; and Mr. Fawkner urges that banking Ministers here may find means of conciliation or intimidation in the Legislature itself. It was, perhaps, by no means an argument against the fears of Mr. Fawkner that, at the conclusion of hi 3 speech, the Council maintained a dead .silence, and no one rose to second the motion, until at length Mr. Bennett seconded it for the sake of discussion, and in seconding it announced his opposition to it and his intention to vote against it. Of course, the President ruled this to be out of order, and the motion then lapsed for want of a seconder.,

" Some agitation prevails at present amongst our ultra-reformers—who affect to see, in the long adjournment of the second reading of the Reform Bill by the Council, a spirit, inimical to its provisions; and some meetings have been held in consequence—but chiefly convened by the convention. (By the way, this body is now sadly in want of a grievance, and can scarcely find enough of political and social ills to enable it to exist.) I do not think that there is any danger of the Reform Bill being altered by the Council. It does not affect the constitution of their body, and I am sure they would feel much aggrieved if they passed an analogous bill, affecting their own branch of the Legislature only, and the Assembly were to presume to meddle with and maim their offspring. So touchy are some of our bonorables on their dignity, that Mr. Fawkner affected to consider the number of petitions presented in favor of the bill as an attempt to dictate to the House-—forgetting that 'the right of petition is inalienable from the British subject.'

" The discussion of the probability of a rupture with France has engaged much attention, and all kinds of suggestions have been made for the defence of the c Jony. These have been very good in their way, but, like Nicholas Niokleby's plans of retribution on the schoolmaster, ' have but the one drawback of being wholly impracticable.' It is admitted, on all hands, that we are in a most dangerous position ia the event of an actual outbreak of hostilities, and it is the intention of Government to appoint a miitary commission to report on the best means of defending the city and the shipping in the bay. The sooner this report is given in and acted on the better, for it seems absurd that a large city and community like burs should be ao defenceless that a single 36-gun frigate, anchored in Hobsou's Bay, could inflict incalculable destruction of life and property while keeping out of the line of fire of the two batteries (in my humble opinion, very improperly situated), which she could easly do» As a specimen of the prudence with which the sites of these heavily armed batteries were selected, it is only necessary to state that the lighthouse stands in the centre of the one at Williamstown, and as it is painted white, neither shot nor shell, unless fired by blind men, could miss the works which have in their centre so excellent a mark for guiding the aim."

The first sod of the Melbourne and Murray River Railway was to be turned at Footscray on the Ist June, by Sir Henry. Barkly. This important event would be signalised by an entertainment, which the Government intend giving on a scale worthy the magnificence of the project which these ceremonies are to initiate.

A number of American ship captains assembled in the Argus Hotel, on the 6th May, for the purpose of considering what course they ought to adopt in consequence of recent unsatisfactory proceedings in connection with American vessels at this port. In the course of the observations addressed to the meeting, the employment of the Victoria steamer to compel the return of the General Newell to port, in consequence of an unsatisfied claim on the captain, was characterised as a decided act of piracy. It was also asserted, that in the case of the Witch of the Wave, the seamen, who were brought ashore on account of refractory conduct, were instructed by the police to to assault the captain, in order that they might escape being returned to the ship, and that one of the water : police furnished one of the seamen with the sling-shot with which he struck the captain in the Williams Town Police Court, and on which occasion none of the police interfered to protect the captain from the rush that was made on him. With respect to the case of the Tornado, it was stated that on the day of her departure two bouts full of armed men boarded the vessel and stove in the hatches, broke open the temporary prison in which the men were confined, and knocked the irons off six of the men, whom they then took ashore, and who were snbsequently sentenced to seven days' imprisonment; and the laws of the United States, in respect to mutineers, were thus infriuged. These are charges of so serious a nature that it is scarcely possible the authorities can allow them to pass unnoticed. There were some other startling proceedings alluded to, such as American captains and their officers proceeding on shore armed with cutlasses and revolvers, to resist any attempt on the part of a refractory crew effecting their escape, which the Government will probably be required to take notice of. The result of the meeting was the adoption of a resolution to transmit a memorial on the several cases referred to, to the United States Government.