MELBOURNE TOWN TALK.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XXXIII, Issue 11281, 30 May 1891, Page 2

MELBOURNE TOWN TALK.

• [Special to ChboniciiK.] By Boccaccio. We have been aroused to the inadequacy of our Life Boat service by the' wreck of the Craigburn and the lose of half a dozen lives. Nine hours elapsed between the time' at which the Craigburn .fired -the first signal rocket, asking for aid-at 8.5. on Friday night and the arrival of the lifeboat at the .scene of the wreck on Saturday morning. - It had left. .Queens-- '-• cliff at 11 at night, foughfcitsway across the bay to the Sorrento jetty by half past two in the morning and had comethereat of the wag/on a dray. Nine hours delay -' makes any help of the kind -priystioglly " worthless. The Marine Board desired to enquire into the e.ntire subject, bnt the Commissioner of Customs, to whom the ':. ■ life boat'and rocket, service ib reeponaible, has intimated that he will, himeelf, hold an independent and searching investigation. The Marine Board may enquire to . its heart's content, but Mr' Turner will be guided by his own enquiries' when he dispenses punishment. 1 He will, in short " wallop his own nigger." But the practical outcome of the diaster will be that a life boat station will be established on the ocean beach at Sorrento, where many a vessel has been endangered and now and then one lost. No timely help can come in such cases from Queenscliff., It , is no joke to cross the bay in a lifeboat in the v teeth of the gale, and of course it is in stormy weather srich services are inmost request. ■ ' ' ■ t Really it seems as if the late Sir John Bobertson was right, and in so far as New South Wales is concerned "Federation is . as dead as Julius Ccesar." There is no mistaking the strength of the AntKFederationists in that country; the/- have ho-nled down Mr McMillan, refused to listen to Mr Bruce Smith, ■ driven Mr Daniel O'Connor from the platform, forced Mr Burns and Mr Barton to go to Manly to speak, and have returned ■ two anti-Federationists at the two bye.i elections, for East Sydney and Newcaßtlej-^ held since the convention separated,' It is useless to shut one's eyes to facts. New . South Wales ia, at tbiß moment,- by no means united on the subject/and of course the more yictorians favour it the less popular it will become. Sir , Henry . Parkes may have a trump card'"up his sleeve, bnt for the moment it looks very much as though we were to see the whole question shelved. We cannot federate without New South Wales.and she shows no desire whatever to join us. It is very likely that neither the railway question nor the Federal Convention will, give the, Parliament .any real trouble, but that the "One man, one vote" measure will be the bone of dissension. Mr Munro has promised-that it shall be one of the first measures of the coining session, and-has asserted that he can pass it in the town house but will not answer < for the action of the Council. In. that case he will have an elegant cry from the country if the Council should throw out the measure. Plurality of voting is only popular with those who enjoy it, and if he can work up enough feeling to infect the country with any part of his ardour' and enthusiasm the doctors and (lawyers o; the Legislative Council will find themselves all of a sudden in a very particular fix amid a shower of public indignation. Supposing Mr Munro be successful in getting tha public to sympathise,'with him, the agitation will spread like a bush fire in a dry paddock. .. ' ' . The unlucky Victorian orchestra is very . near its last gasp and it does not seem v likely to be allowed to finish its days in peaco. Tlie organisation has never had a fair chance. It began with only fifty-.' ■ two members against the seventy-six., which followed Mr Cowen's baton and therefore was unable to do justice to Mr Wagner's music, which is mostly scored for eighty performers. It was then reduced to thirty-five and became thus, ■ numerically, unequal to the,. proper, ren- j dering of any good orchestral works at •' all. The salaries of'the musicians were .: decreased by one-fourth last year and the Committee, which .always harassed and . hampered the accomplished and popular conductor and interfered with the .programmes, now asks the unlucky artists ;to - play gratuitously at ten conceits to make up* their deficiency. This a piece of downright impertinence. The hard working players have done their best to carry out the eccentric directions of the .Committee, and are of course entitled to.be paid. The Committee is composed of ■ wealthy men who have managed the . business to please their own fancies, and they must pay. The expenses for the year are about 414,000; Government subsidy .£3000; yearly subscriptions and other receipts for playing, about .£5000; public payments for admission averaga^j&33per • cent, may .£3600 j deficiency 42500. That is about the state of the case. Mr Speight has put forward a - very ingenious defence against the attack made : upon his large outlay in the Eailway department. He was for the moment staggered by the fact that the New South Wales railways have been managed-for 56 per cent of the annual receipts while ours cost 68, but he soon recovered himself. He points out that we pay 4100,000 a year more for coals than New South Wales, which is a difference of 8 per cent, that our departments pays grattutities and pensions amounting to 1 per cent and that we have added 40 per cent to our mileage, while New South Wales has only added 7 per cent. He holds that'no new railway pays and that those last figures explain the difference; more than ' that, he avers that the New South Wales .Parliament voted a million to pnt the railways in order, and that a lot of that money has been spent on items that ought to have been charged to working expenses. N6 one now believes in' Mr Speight to the same extent to which everybody believed in him five years ago, "^ but no one can deny his dexterity in de- JT"* defence. Despite the distress and despite tha cold weather and almost nightly fogs, all the places of amusement are doing very good business. Two Music Halls holding at least 2000 people between thorn ; five theatres collectively accomodating 10,000 more, are always fairly attended and on Saturdays crammed; add to these the .' Rev. Charles Olark with 1500 hearers at the Athenaeum; a full Town Hall with 3000 more whenever there is anything worth hearing, and now and then some great crowd at the Exhibition; count in addition all the local concerts, assemblies . - and entertainments at tlie suburban Town Halls, and you have to conclude • that Melbourne nightly finds amusement '* for an average of 20,000 people at leqst, which swells to §0,000 a,t any time of at? traction. The chief question in the minds of the amusement seekers just now is whether it will salt them to pay double prices to see Sarah Bernhardt at the Princess Theatre, '. and whether she will be worth seeing. That great actress, who is now close upon 60 years of age, is still fair to look upon, -' - and is splendidly costumed; moreover, she has a good company, and though they all play in French, yet as they play pieces which are known by heart— "Camille," "La Tosca," "Frou Frou," " Fedora," and so on —the public will know what is going on. Certain it is, that if she does not take, some one will suffer. Mr H. E. Abbey has managed to '-; secure her 420,000 for a sixteen weeksseason or 41,25,0 per week. He: has to, make his profit after that, and William? . son and Garner have not only to make i theirs, but also to pay the heavy expenses of the Princess Theatre into the bargain. Unless the fair Sarah draws to the ex- >• tent of 4500 per night, no one will gety> very rich out of the transaction. If she does that, why, then, in sixteen weeks, Australia will have found 448,000 for one artist alone. . :