TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1861. - The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) - 26 Nov 1861 (original) (raw)

Tue 26 Nov 1861 - The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957)
Page 4 - TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1861.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1861.

For the sake of KING, and for the

credit of the community, it is to be

hoped that no immoderate transports

will be indulged in on his return, and

that the popular tendencies to hero

worship will be restrained within reason-

able bounds. To make him the object

of frantic enthusiasm one day, and to

remit him to obscurity and neglect a

month hence, is very likely to be the

course pursued by our fickle and im-

pulsive populace. Let us testify the

satisfaction with which we witness

his return, and our admiration of

the zeal and fidelity with which he

served the leader of the Expedition, as

well as of the tact and judgement which

he displayed in his dealings with the

blacks) let us confer upon him a sub-

stantial and durable reward ; but do not

let us make him the theme of hyper-

bolical praise, and the subject of the

same ovation which we should have

awarded to BURKE and WILLS, if,

haply, they had survived to enjoy the

honours they had earned. We depre

cate such a violent effervescence of

public feeling, quite as much in the

interest of KING as out of regard for

the reputation of our fellow-citizens ;

and we shall not be suspected of under-

valuing his desert when we point out

why he should be spared a preposterous

glorification. Abroad distinction should

be drawn between moral heroism and

physical endurance. That KING is a

brave man, we do not doubt; that he

was loyal to his chief, faithful to his

comrades, and fertile in resources when

assailed by the horrors of solitude and

starvation, is indisputable; but he seems

to have owed bis preservation to that

tenacity of life which characterises some

constitutions, and which is not a

moral quality, but a physical accident.

On the other hand, it is not improbable

that the death of BURKE and WILLS

was accelerated by the activity of their

minds, by the incessant play of their

emotions, by disappointment, depression,

and despair. These corrode the prin-

ciple of life, poison its very sap, and

break down the frame of the strong man

more effectually than privation or ex-

cessive toil. The " sword wears out its

" scabbard,"and the finer its edge-or, in

other words, the more delicate the moral

and mental mechanism of a man's

nature, the more rapidly and fatally

would intense emotion operate upon

a body emaciated by hunger and debili-

tated by strenuous and sustained effort.

Hence we should be careful to distin-

guish between the moral courage of

BURKE and the physical undergoing

power of KING, so as to avoid the error

of awarding extravagant praise, and of

placing a worthy man in a false and

embarrassing position." He will suffer

by a sudden elation, which, like all

other "violent delights," will be very

transitory in duration, and will be fol-

lowed up, at no very remote period,

by indifference and neglect; and it

will encourage other people to mount

upon his shoulders, and obtain the noto-

riety they covet. Theatrical managers

may be tempted to make a stalking

horse of him ; and a healthy and deco-

rous feeling of admiration will be vul-

garized and burlesqued, for the sake of a

little dramatic effect, and in order to

put money into playhouse treasuries.

There is too muoh of this pandering to

a morbid craving for " sensations" in the

public mind already ; and we should be

extremely sorry to see the heroic achieve-

ment of the Exploring Expedition

sullied and degraded by parading its

sole survivor on the stage of a theatre,

as seems to have been done at Sand-

The gratification with which we wel

come KING must be tempered by the

recollection of the tragic incidents of

which he has been the witness, of the

solemn story of which he is the narrator,

and of the melancholy confidence of

which he is the sole depository. Some-

thing is due to the dead as well as to

the living, and our respect for their

memories demands some sobriety of

demeanour in the reception we accord

to their surviving comrade. It will be

far better to give him a solid and

durable recompense than to fête him for

a season, and to forget him afterwards ;

and if he is a modest and self-respecting

man, he will prefer seeking the repose he

requires, and recruiting his wasted

faculties, to being dragged into a pain-

ful notoriety, and beset by the demon-

strative attentions and mistaken kind-

nesses of well-meaning but indiscreet

We believe that already speculative

innkeepers have come forward with offers

of gratuitous board and lodging to KING,

no doubt with the most benevolent

motives, and without any ulterior view

to the benefit which would accrue to

their establishments from the domi

ciliation of a " lion." One enterprising

theatrical agent is understood to have

offered to " farm " KING for a twelve-

month, and to give a lump sum for the

privilege ; in which event, we pre-

sume, the hardy explorer would be

exhibited throughout the country like

BARNUM'S woolly horse or spotted

baby; and no doubt other specu-

lators in theatres and shows will

be cagey to turn to profitable account, and to

I make money, by first stimulating, and

then gratifying, the curiosity of the,

people to see the hero of the hour. All

this is in wretched taste, and is on a

par, in that respect, with the conduct of

the London manager, who produced a

dramatic version of WEARF's murder

upon the stage, and exhibited the horse

and gig of THURTELL, the principal

On the subjeot 'jf free trade, Mr.

DUFFY'S address t,0 his constituents is

sufficiently explicit. He tells them that

money spent in. protective duties, would

be as muob wrested as if thrown into the

sea. But wliilo ho would not, by pro-

hibiting or obstructing the importation

of the product of foreign industry, pro-

tect native industry, he would create or

stimulate it by tho moro direct and

simple process of subsidizing tho

native producer, thus enabling bim

to sell his goode at a cheap rate, the

state having borne a portion of the

cost of producing them. He considers

" that it l8 the duty of the Btato to aid

" in planting new industries, for whioh

" unusual facilities exist (in the abund

" ance of the raw inatorial, for cxamplc"),

" by subsidizing manufacturing enfcer

" prise within certain limits, for a few

" years, till they have reached a point

" at whioh they may maintain a com

" petition on moro equal terms with

" long established rivals," and states

that his colleagues, who, wo aro glad to

find, do not all concur with him, " have

" authorised the appointment of a oom

" mission of practical men to report

" upon the probable effect of suoh an

" experiment in this country."

To bestow a bounty on those who

planted such industries, would bo

entirely inconsistent with the frcc

trado doctrines which Mr. DUFFY pro-

fesses. In advocating the encourage-

ment of those industries for whioh un-

usual facilities exist, wo may fairly infer

that the existence of these facilities is

to guide the state in supporting the in-

dustry which takes advantage of them,

and that the natural inducement is sup-

posed to oall for the addition of an arti-

ficial. On such a principle as this,

the more liberally the gifts of nature

aro oiFered us, the more highly should

wo bo rewarded for turning them to

account - the moro ready aro the

materials to our hands, the more assi-

duous Bhould be the state in urging us

to make use of them. As the country is

rich in gold, the digger might ask for a

bonus upon every ounce whioh ho ex

traots ; as the soil is fertile, the farmer

might olairn a percentage upon tho

value of the crop which he raisea. It

can never be intended that demands Buch

as these should bo satMcd, yet it would

be impossible to find any other test whioh

could be more safely applied in deter-

mining whether a new industry should

or should not be supported by the state.

The extreme difficulties whioh besetthc

application of the bounty system dearly

evidence the danger of departing from

the natural laws which would secure the

employment of eaoh colonist in the work

most profitable to himself, and hence

most profitable to the whole community.

If, to create new channels for labour,

wo were to subsidize enterprise, whether

immediately remunerative or not, in tho

hopo that it would afterwards become so,

we should have absolutely nothing to guide

usinextendiDgourmisehievousassistance.

It would be hard for the state to refuse

ita aid to any soheme, however imprac-

ticable, when the consideration of its

being at first unprofitable to the pro-

jector was the ground on which ho was

entitled to a&k for a subsidy. On the

other hand, if ho had satisfied himself

that it would be remunerative, the anti-

cipated profits would be sufficient induce-

ments to enter upon it without the

costly persuasion of the Government.

If the undertaking should be too

large for private enterprise,

company can easily be formed to

furnish the necessary funds, and share

in its gains or losses. No branches

of industry languish from the excessive

caution of those who believe them to be

profitable, but hesitate to engage in

them. If the class of industry to be

subsidized should be that which cannot

promise success, where the prospective

profit is small and uncertain, the most

powerful arguments would be needed

to convince us of the expediency of

enoouraging it. Mr. DUFFY tells his

constituents that he has read them

" the dieta of politioal economists,

" from ADAM SMITH to JOHN STUART

" MILL, sanctioning his dootrino," We

presume that he did not read them

the following dicta from the Wealth of

" Bounties, it is allowed, ought to be given to

thoso branches of trade only which cannot be

carried on without them. But every branch of

trade in which the merchant can sell his goods

for a price which replaces to him, with the ordi-

nary profits of stock, the whole capital employed

in preparing and sending them to market, can be

carried on without a bounty. Every such branch

is evidently upon a lovel with all the other

branches of trade which are carried on with-

out bounties, and cannot, therefore, re-

quire one more than they. Those branches

only require bounties in which the merchant

is obliged to sell his goods for a price which

does not replace to him his capital, together

with the ordinary profit, or in which ho is obliged

to sell them for less than it really costs him to

send them to market. The bounty is given in

order to make up this loss, or perhaps to begin a

trade, of which the expense is supposed to bo

greater than the returns, of which every opera-

tion eats up a part of the capital employed in it,

and whieh is of such a naturo, that, if all other

trades resembled it, there would soon be no

capital left in the country. The effect of bounties

can only be to force the trade of a country into a

channel much less advantageous than that in

whieh it would naturally run of its own accord.

" Bounties on production tond directly, it may

be supposed, to render the goods cheaper in the

home market than they otherwise would bo. In

other respects, their effects, it must' be neknow^

ledged, aro the same as those of bounties upon

exportation. By means of them, a part of the

capital of the country is employed in bringing

goods to market; of which the price does not

repay the cost, together with the ordinary profits

Wo have quoted from ADAM SMITH,

not bcoause ho expresses opinions more

strongly or more clearly in opposition to

Mr. DUFFY'S views than other polftioal

economists, who agree in condemning

the fallaoy on whioh they are founded,

bnt because he is an authority to whom

Porfc. of them. Mr. RICARDO speaks of the

bounty system as " diverting capital to

"an employment which it would not

"naturallyseek," and " causiDg a perni

" oious distribution of the general funda

"of tho socioty, whoso manufacturers'

" it bribes to commence or continua

" in an unprofitable employment," and

as being " the worst speoics of taxation."

Mr. JOHN STUART MILL can scarcely

bo considered as having said more in

favour of Mr. DUFFY'S plan than that

such a system is the least injurious mode

in which tho protective principle can be

applied, by giving a spcoies of state in«

surance against the dangora of a com-

mercial experiment, from whioh, if

successful, the public may derive a bene«

fit. The Legislature may Boon be called

upon to decide whether such expensive

encouragement can be afforded to specu-

lation. There is little doubt that suoh

an encouragement would be as much

opposed to truo philanthropy as to

economy, and a most mischievous de-

parture from the simple course of leav-

ing those moat interested in the success

of an experiment to decido for them-

selves whether they shall make it, un«

biassed in balancing the probabilities of

gain and loss-a salutary precaution,

which Government has neither the

means nor the motives to take. Of the

increased taxation whioh the adoption

of Mr. DUITY'S proposition would in-

volve, wo will leave the writer on whom

he relics to speak :-" It can very

" seldom bo reasonable to tax tho

" industry of the great body of tho

" people, in order to support that of

" some partioular olass of manufacturers*

." yet, in the wantonness of great pros

" perity, when the public enjoys a

" greater revenue than it knows well

" what to do with, to givo such bounties

" to favoured manufactures may be as

" natural as to incur any other idle ex

" pense. In public as well as in privato

" expenses, great wealth may perhaps

" frequently bo admitted as an apology

" for great folly, but there must surely

" be something moro than ordinary ab

" surdity in continuing such profusion

" in times of general difficulty and dis«

Mr Jimes Stewart Johnston, the Ministerial

candidate for the representation of St Kilda,

addressed two meetings of tho electors of that

district last evening Tho first was held at the)

WmdBor Castle Hotel, Windsor There were

only about twenty peoplo prêtent to whom Mr.

Johnston briefly explained the policy of the

Government A vote of confidence »n him was

carried unanimously. The next place of meoting

was at the Balmoral Hotel, Prahran There, as

was expected, Mr Johnston mot with great oppo-

sition Throughout his address, ho was constantly

interrupted by a person named iVtstlake, who

appeared to follow him about from placo to

place, and at the closo of it ho was closely

questioned concerning the various points ni

tho policy of the Government There wera

about sixty persons present, including those

outside of the room. An amendment, that Mr.

Johnston was not a fit and r roper person, wag

carried by a small majontj-so small, indeed,

that had it not been for the candidate expressing

an opinion to tho contrary, the original motion

of confidence m him would havo been declared

carried Mr Gordon presided at both meetings.

At the Sandridge Police Court yesterday, be-

fore Messrs Philip Leigh and Thomas Swallow,

two men, named Thomas Bingham mid Joseph

Kenyon, appeared, charged by Mr Campbell, the

pier master at Sandridge, with having committed

a breach of the 36th clause of the port regula-

tions It appeared that the defendants, on the

20th inst, blocked up tho passage on the wharf

b> placing some stone ballast on it They pleaded

ignorance of tho law, and Mr Cunpbell, not

pressing the charge, they were dismissed with an

admonition from tho Bench - Jacobus Verbrugge

was charged by Mr Moody, the inspector of dis-

tilleries, with selling spirituous liquors without

having a licence to do so The evidence as to the

sale of some port wine and gin was most contra-

dictory, and the Bench gave tho defendant the

benefit of the doubt, and dismissed the case with-

Mr. E. S. Anderson again addressed the electors

of Emerald Hill, last night, at the Mechanics'

Institute, Cecil-street. The hon. gentleman de-

voted tnc first part of his address to a reply to

the " personalities" of Mr. Ferguson, which the

latter indulged in in his speech on Thursday

night last. Alluding to the part which Mr.

James Service was alleged to be taking- in

the present election, Mr. Anderson said that

gentleman was, doubtless, able to take care of

himself, but he considered tho charge a3 brought

against him (.Mr. Service) far mora excusable

than it could bo when preferred against members

of the Legislative Assembly, who, unliko Mrs

Service, had no interest whatever in the district.

Mr. Anderson then passed to the land question, and

defended the policy announced forth by Mr. Duffy

and intended to bo embodied in a Land Bill, as

far more practical and conducivo to the welfare

of the community at largo than the occupation

licence system of the late Ministry. Adverting

to the subject of protection, ho said the pre-

sent Ministry did not intend, in rovising

the tariff, merely to take the duty off one

artiole of the poor man's consumption, in

order to lay. it upon another, us did the

late Administration, but rather to equalise

its pressure. The meeting, which nearly filled

the hall, gradually became very noisy, and

every one who attempted te speak or ask

questions was rendered quito inaudible for

minutes together, so that the proceedings

were prolonged till considerably past ten o'clock.

In reply to a question, Mr. Anderson stated that

the Ministry had obtained a guarantee from a

majority of the members of tho Upper House

that they would pass a Land Bill which should

embody the policy sketched in the address of Mr.

Duffy. Ho was of opinion that a considerable

majority of the Assembly would also agree to

such a bill. At the conclusion of the proceed-

ings, the usual resolution wai moved, with a

result for and against it so nearly equal, that the

chairman said he fouDd it impossible to decide

whether it was carried or not.

The Third Class Engineers will meet Captain

Carter at the orderly room at fivo o'clock to-

" Fashion " was the subject of a lecture de-

livered by Mr. Michie, last evening, at the

Mechanics' Institute, St. Kilda, in aid of the

local Ladies' Benevolent Society. The subject,

perhaps, could not have been entrusted to a

gentleman more able to do it justice. Long resi-

dent as Mr. Michie has been in the colonies, he

bas had ample opportunity of observing the

various changes adopted by what are called the

fashionable, people ; and, with his keen sense of

ridicule, his rich fund of humour, his power of

conveying home thrusts inafunny way,and hisuni

verBal popularity, the subject of " Fashion " eould

not have been more successfully dealt with than

it was by him last evening. As usual, Mr. Michie

rendered his subject amusing by those piquant

pieces of drollery for which as a lecturer be is so

justly celebrated, and whilst directing the atten-

tion of his audience to plain wholesome facts, he

indulged in touches of humour that rendered the

ontcrtainmont a treat that all present would be

glad of an opportunity of again enjoying. The

room was quite filled, and it is to be holped that

the deserting cause for which the leeters? watt

doroy wa« in the chair At the termination of hu I
address, a vote of thanks waa unanimously ac- I

corded to Mr. Michie.

The Melbourne Propor Rifles will attend at tn0
orderly room, at half past six o'clock to- morrow
morning, " to receive new clothing."

The commanding officers,' parado of the
Prahran and South Yarra, Rifles will tako place
to morrow morning at six o'clock.

Tho First St. Kilda Rifles will parade at six
o'olock to-morrow morning in front of tho Court

house

Tho second eleven of the Essendon and Fle-
mington Cricket Club played their maiden match,
with two first-eleven men allowed them, ogainst
a mixed eleven of the Abbotsford Club, on Satur
day last, the locale being the Essendon ground.
The local team scored 102 in their first innings
D Campbell contributing thirty-four, Hoffman
sixteen, and King and Ford eight each. Their
opponents in their first innings made only thirty -
five, of which Mills scored seven , and in their
second innings sixty-eight, fourteen of which were
obtained by Bowie, and nine by Warner. Essen-
don thus won by sixty-seven runs, and one innings.
An eleven from tho Model Schools played a match
on Saturday at Williamstown against a sieond
eleienof the local club T*ie visitors were for-
tunate, the respectivo scores being-the schools
seventy four, and Williamstown twenty-unie On
the fall of their fourth wicket tho schools were
six a head, but their opponents agreed to play
out the ltinrngB

King, tho explorer, and sole sunivor of the
first party which over crossed this continent,
arrived in Mclbourno yesterday. The Explora
bon Committee had at firfct intended lo get bim
to the Royil Society s building at once, but,
having failed to mako the necessary arrange-
ments, they weio disappointed. In fact, thero
was no {.ytttunatic reception wliateter, and
King left the railway station in a car, which
conveyed him and bia friends to Government
House, where they had an interview with the
Governor, Ho was then conveyed to his Wbtor's
homo at St Kilda, which ho is not likely to leave
for a few da} s, his health having suffered from
the over-excitement attending his return. An
account of the proceedings will be found else
ithore, and it will bo seen that at Swan Hill and
Bendigo King has been received m tho most cn

thuiiastio manner.

Pito boys wero sontenced at tho City Poheo
Court jesterday to two months' impriBoumcnt,
va h hard labour, for usiog obsceno language and
bung guilty of disordeily conduct in Fitzroy
Gardens. Tho culprits appeared greatly asto-
nished at the severity of the Bench m repressing
a nuisance which has been several times matter
jof complaint recently.

Patrick Hogan, formerly a police constable, re-
manded on the charge of making a false declara-
tion of dismissal from the force, was discharged
at tho Ci y Court yehterdaj, there being legally
no case against him.

An inquest was held yesterday afternoon, before
Dr Youl, coroner, a* the Napoleon III Hotel,
Emerald Hill, on view of the body of William
Henry Washington, a builder, of that plico, who
cime by his death, tho previous doy, during a
pugilistic encounter in which ho waa encaged
with Leonard Haffiior, a plabterer. Tho de-
ceased und Hitffner met at the Clarendon lietel,
Clarendon street, ou Sunday, betneen twelve
and ono o'clock, and there they had a
quarrel o\er their beor. The landlord was
at dinner at the time, and hearing the two
indulging m htwh words about "bricks,' he
ncnt to the room where they wero Bitting and
ordered them out of the house. No ono was
present, and, therefore, the preciso cause of
quurrel is unknown On leaving the house, tho
deceased and Ilaffner walked rnpidly in the direc-
tion of the Sindrid_e Butts, and on their way
beckoned to Thomas Bryan and William Cox,
both cab-drivers, to follow them. Tho cab
drivers complied. Arm ed at the butts, deceased
and HufJucr stripped, shook bauds, and com-
menced lighting. Tho deceased appeared the
most eager for the fray, and was appealed to by
the cabmen to refrain, but ho refused Tho men
fought six or Bevcn rounds, and the deceased
appeared at first to have the best of it, throwing
Boffner twico. At tbo sixth round Haffncr fell
heavily, and complained thit his ribs wero injured.
Tho deceased called upon him to "como on
again," stating that in another round cr two the
affair would be finished Deceased then rushed
at Ilaflfuer, who struck him and knocked him
down This blow was given, according to the
statement of one cabman, on the left side of the
neck, and according to the other underneath
the jaw. Deceased jumped up, made a rush,
describing almost a semi ctrclo, and then felt
forward on the ground. The cabmen turned
him o\ cr, and found him senseless. One man
then ran for water, and the other went for a doc-
tor Mr Jame8Byrnc,surgeon,was speedily in at
teiulrince.but he found the unfortunate man dead.
Haffncr was accordingly taken into custody, and
brought u p as a prisoner before the coroner's court.
Mr James Keene, who made a posl-mortan exa

ruination of the deceased, stated that there were
no external marks of violence beyond a bruise
over the left ear. Ho found an effusion of blood
over tho surface and at the base of the brain,
and at tho upper part of the spinal cord, caused
by the bursting of a blood-vesBel at tho bas» of
the brain. There was no fracture, and the other
organs, vi ith the exception of the heart, which
was overloaded with fat, were comparatively
healthy. The cause of the effusion of blood, and
consequent death, was the external injury referred
to, which must have been produced by a
blow or a fall. Mr. Byrne, who was present
at the post mortem examination, agreed generally
with the last witness, but was of opinion that
the cause of the effusion of blood was more likely

to be a fall than a blow. The coroner, in ad-
dressing the jury, explained that when persons
were engaged in doing an illegal thing and death
ensued, those who wore concerned were respon-
sible to a certain extent for that death. It ap-
peared that there was no malice in the affair 5
the parties bad a dispute, and this led to a fight,
which, according to the account of those pre-
sent, was fairly conducted. The thing, how-
ever, was illegal, and under these circumstances,
if the jury hclicved the evidence, it would bo
their du'y to return a verdict of manslaughter
against Haffncr. After a short deliberation, the
jury returned a verdict accordingly, Haffner
was thereupon committed, under the coroner's
warrant, to take Ins trial for manslaughter, Tho
deceased, Washington, was about forty years of
age. He has left a widow and child.

By the Balclutha, which arrived in Ilobson's
Bay last evening, we have our Sydney files to
November 22nd. They acknowledge papers from
Auckland to the 6ti], Nelson to the 12ib, Welling-
ton to the-9th, Taranaki to tho 2nd, and Otago to

the l»th hist.

Mrs. JErederick Youngo and Mr. -Farquharson
sang ai the Exhibition yesterday, both in the
afternoon nnd evening. IZejalin's band was also in
.attendance. 'iPho number of visitors during the
.Hay, exclusive of ieasoa-tiuket holders (200), was

£¡062.

frequent complaints have been lately made of
the ßangs of boys who infest tho Fiteroy and
Carlton Gardens on Sundays, .oommitting all sorts
of sets of profanity aid indecency, to the great
disgust csf the quiet people, nnd.espociolly ladies,
.»ho visit those places on such oecasions. Yes-
terday, » boy named Thomas Dark was brought
up at the Fitzroy Police Court for an act of gross
indecency, committed in Carlton Gardens on the
preceding afternoon. The Bench were at first
resolved to punish tho lad with gTeat «everity
but, at tho earnest entreaties of his father, he
was let tiff with the fine of £1, or three days'
imprisonment in default of payment. It is to
be hoped the case will be a warning to other

offenders.

The City Counoil held their UBUBI weekly

meeting yesterday. The chief business trarfir"

»oted wai the adoption of a motion, brought for-.

ward b-j Alderman Smith, to the effect that no I
furib'sr expenditure should Ive inourred by 'the '

council until their debt, to. tho bank be reduced
to the sum £10,000. T'je motion provoked some
.bitter discussion, and an amendment was moved
upon it, but ullimately the motion wti carried by
a majority of cloven to six. The other business
was not of much importance.

A lctttir, just received from St. Arnaud, says,
" I havo the honour to inform you that four
English eli j larks havo made thoir appearance in
our locality. Tbey bave remained for the past
three weeks on tho farm of Mr, S. Wembridgc
Unfortunately, the cat killed one of tho cock
birds last week; tho other three still remain,
and can be seen and heard every day. The one
killed was rather darker in plumage than the

reBt."

We hivo the Launceston Examiner of the 21st
and 23rd of November.

Tho weekly returns of the gaols of Melbourne
show that there are altogether 30-1 prisoners con-
fined thero, as follows:-Awaiting trial at tho
Supremo Court, 12; remanded by magistrates,
15 ; bobnging to other stations, ¡5 ; rond-gang,
17; hard labour, 112 ; imprisonment only, 102;
lunatics, 25; in default of bail, G; debtors, 9.
Total, 203 males ; and 41 females,

The Ballarat Star sajs :-" We leam that the
recent frost has moro seriously damaged tho
crops than was thought some dais ago. We
hear that tho greater portion of tho oat crop, in
addition to tho wheat, his been destroyed by the
frost, and tho damago is estimated at £100,000,
instead of £50,000. In \annus parta of tho
country the wheat is being cut down for hay, and
persons who thought their crops had escaped un-
injured, find that they are sufferers like their
neighbours."

Tho business of the Supromo Court sitting
in banco yestorday was very light, and tho Court
rose very early. There was nothing scL down for
the day in the paper. In five oises tried last
sittings, rules nisi were obtained by tho unsuc-
cessful party, calling upon the successful party to
defend his verdict or nonsuit Tno applications
for prohibition against magistrates were for tho
present refused

At a publie meeting at Daylesford, last week,
a committee was elected for tho purpose of raising
contributions towards a national testimonial to
tho memory of Burke and Wills.

Tho entertainment at the The it r o Royal this
evening will bo for the benefit of Mr. and Mrs,
Winterbottom, who aro on tho evo of departing
for Europe

The Public Library will be closed, for stock
taking and goneral cleaning, from the 1st of

December

The bazaar in aid of the Industrial Home
Building Fund will be held about three weeks
hence The ladies who spend so much of their
time in oarrjing on the ordinary operations of
the Benevolent Society aro malling great addi
tional efforts to render the bazaar successful.

Thehomo has now been in opeiationfor upwards of
two yeare, and tho necessity for extending tho
accommodation, and at the eamo lime getting
quit of the paj ment of rent has led to the present
effort. It is pleasing to leam that the committee
have bad the munificent gift of a site, with
buildings, which, so far as they go, ire admirably
ndiptod to the requirements of tho home.

The municipal council of Hotham met last
evening, Councillor Gell in tho dmr A letter,
received from the secretary of the Acclimatisation
Society, requesting the support of the council
towards the society, was referred to the Financo
Committee. A ballot having been taken for the
election of un assessor for tho municipality, Mr
Lindsay was declared by the chairman to havo
been duly olee'ed. A ballot was thon taken
for a rate collector, which resulted m the re
election of Mr. Poole, the rate collector for the
past year. In speaking to Ihe motion, Councillor
Hardes? characterised the conduct of the council
in supporting the tender of Mr. Poole, which was
at the rate of three and a half per cent., in pre-
ference to a lower tender of two and a half
per cent , as "nefarious." Ho was called to order
by the chairman, and Councillor Carroll then
moved that tho words bo taken down by tho
town clerk, and that Councillor Uardcss bo re
quested to withdraw the expression Councdlor
Richardson seconded the motion. The chairman
said the language of Councillor Hardess, ever
stneo ho entered tho council, had been vulgar and
insolent, and argued a total mistake on his part
of his functions as a councillor. By a standing
order of tho council, Bhould a councillor,
on being called upon, refuso to withdraw
any such expression, ho was hablo to a fine not
exceeding £10. Councillor Carroll moved, that
if Councillor Hardess would not withdraw the
expression, ho be fined JE I. Councillor Richardson
seconded the motion, which was agreed to. Coun-
cillor Hardess, having been called upon, rofused
to withdraw the expression unless the chairman
wouldwlthdrawthe words "vulgar and insolent,"
as applied by him to his conduct. The chairman
ruled that Buoh a proviso had nothing to do with
the question before the chair, and as Councillor
Hardess would not withdraw tho expression, he
declared the resolution earned.

Tho ease of irregularity in the matter of taking
bail, was commented on at tho Fitzroy Police Court
on Saturday last, when Joseph Clarke was given
in chargo for cutting down live timber in tho
neighbourhood of the Quarry Butts. This offence
has long since become a really Borious one ; iu
fact the trees about the place are nearly all de-
stroyed, and the polico have been called upon to
keep a sharp look-out. On Saturday last, Con-
stable Conway saw Clarko come to a largo
and handsome tree, and out it down with
an axo that he carried. Clarke was then
arrested and brought to the Fitzroy watch
house. Ho was subsequently bailed out, and in
this procoss consisted the irregularity above men-
tioned. The lion. 0. Vaughan, the chairman of
the Bench, asked to see tho authority by which
the prisoner had been admitted to bail, and the
following document was theroupon handed to
him:-"November 23, 18Û1. Joseph Clarko,
charged with cutting live timber on Crown lands.
Amount of bail to be fixed 5s. R. C. H.-John
Foley, A189, W. H. Keopor." The chairman
pointed out that this was no authority to bail at
all. Besides the absurd smalhiesa of the amount
of bail, tho mere initials of a person who might
be a magistrate were not enough, and he
informed the police that he considered that
they had noted very irregularly in taking such
authority, it being a fortunato circumstance that
the prisoner had chosen to answer the charge.
Tho clerk of the bench remarked that the offenoo
with which the prisoner stood charged might
havo been considered to amount to felony. The
case was then proceeded with. The prisoner
confessed his crime, and pleaded for leniency on
account of his poverty. Ho was lined 203., or, in
default of payment, three days' imprisonment.
On inquiry from the polico, we learned that the
initials to the " authority," were those of tho
lion. Robert Culbertson Hope, JI.L.C. and J.P.,
and that that gentleman had positively given in-
structions that bail should be taken in the amount
he had fixed.

A,-public meeting, called by advertisement in
the Melbourne journals, was hold yesterday
evening in the JTitzroy Markot, the object being
to draw out an «xpressiou of opinion from the
olectors and genoral public<of Fitzroy on the sub-
ject of the occupation licenoe system inaugurated
by the late Ministry; and also upon the free

trado policy of the present Qiwernmout. Viewed ,
osa "grandopen-air demonstration," it may bo
considered a failure, there being only nome five
or six hundred persons presont, and of these only
about one-half appeared to take any interest in
the proceedings. Mr. G. Wilson was called
upon to preside, and the speakers were
Messrs. Bon, Ramsay, Graham Berry, Wilson
Gray, members of the Legislative Assem-
bly, with Messrs. Vines, Watkins, and the chair-,
man. Two resolutions were submitted to the
mering, ono pronouncing in favour of the ooou-'

pation licences, and against the present Govern-
ment ; and the second introducing a district
political league, to act in unison with the National
League, receäfy established. The speeches of

tho various gentlemen who addressed the meeting
wore loudly cheered throughout, and tho resolu-
tions were carried unanimously. It was an-
nounced that the names of porsons willing to
enrol themselves members of tbo branch society
would bo received at tho rooms of the National
League, on the upper floor of the Australia Folix
Hotol, Bourke-Blroot.

At the City Court, yesterday, Thomas Stephens
appeared, on remand, to answer a charge of
forging an acceptance for £119 3s. 6d. on Mr.
John Young, contractor, of Stephen-street. The
bill was paid to Mr. Thomas, an auctioneer and
timber broker, and by him, as a collateral secu-
rity, to Messrs. McMeckan and Blackwood, mer
chants, together with another for £100. Both bills
were paid by Stephens before maturity, but on
the larger bill being sent by Mr. Blackwood to
the Union Bank for collection, and thence to the
Colonial Bank, on the 2nd November, the ac-
ceptance was pronounced to be a forgery.
Stephens asserted that the John Young was
John Young, of Yea, and that the address,
"Stephen-street," had been added to make the
bill negotiable. Mr. John Young, of Stephen-street,
said he should not have proceeded in the matter
but for what he thought some prevarication on
the part of Mr. Stephens, who, when questioned
by himself as to the address on the bill, replied
that he did not know how it got there. The de-
fence was, that the bill had been paid, and that
no fraudulent intent whatever had been made
out. The Bench, feeling in doubt, remanded
the case for eight days, to enable the prisoner,
if possible, to produce evidence of his bona fides
in the transaction, and to show that there really
existed such a person as Mr. John Young, of

Yea.

Mr. Candler, the district coroner, held an in-
quest at the Lunatic Asylum yesterday on the
body of Stephen Sherwin, a patient, who died
there on the 23rd from dysentery. Deceased was
admitted into the asylum on the 10th June last,
and was very troublesome, and continually try-
ing to effect his escape. On one occasion, suc-
ceeded, but was retaken almost immediately. The
jury found a verdict as above.