Colonial Times (Hobart, Tas. : 1828 - 1857), Friday 10 December 1852, page 2


VICTORIA.

On 30th ult, Mr Johnson's motion for abolish ing state support to religion, was refused a second

reading by a majority of from 15 to 8. It was followed by a notice of motion for Mr Rutledge to increase the amount now secured by the sche-

dule; hut we hardly imagine that this measure will pass, as the sum though small, is neverthe-

less a grievance from it being made compulsory. " A select committee, consisting of the Attor-

ney-General, the Auditor-General, the Chairman

of General Sessions Messrs O'shanassy, Mur-phy, Palmerr, and Fawkner, has been appointed

to enquire into the cxpediency of establishing an , university, and the principles on which it should be founded.

Tho following resolutions were te he brought

before the Council by Mr. Splatt on Tuesday .

last :-. '

" That this Counoil, as the guardian of the public interests, is anxious to record its entire disapprobation of the permission enjoyed by the

South Australian armed Escort to visit the Vic- toria Gold Fields and His Excellency the, Lieu- , tenant Governor is earnestly entreated by this Council to take the requisite steps, to prevent the present or any other armed escort whatso-ever from South Australia or NeW South Wales from visiting the gold-fields of the colony of Victoria. That in the opinion of' this council

thee Victorian Government Escorts should be kept in the most efficient state and that no charge

whatever should be made by this Government for escorting gold from the gold fields of Victoria to

Melbourne and Geelong. That an address em- bodying the foregoing resolutions be presented to His Excellency'the Lieutenant Governor."

We are astonished that a colonist, much less a

legislator, of Victoria, should be found avowing such distorted economic principles as those which form the basis of these resolutions. Pro-tection in its worst form is there displayed; for

not only is the policy narrow and ???? restrictive but it is calculated to evoke ?????????? ??????? between the colonies by exhibiting the interests of each as antagonists. The whole tendency of

the age is towards free trade, and it is strange

that the exploded errors of protection should be revived in Victoria. The people will never per- mit such a suicidal measure to become law, and

will scout this attempt to divide Australia.

Mr. Hargraves has been appointed a magist

trate. A mark of public respect was to be paid to him as the discoverer of Australian gold by a dejeuner on the 3rd inst.

A very full and elaborate map of Melbourne and its extension has just been published by Mr.

Green of Bourke-street

The Lady Eveline has been released from quar-

antine.

Edward Colton, Esq , has been appointed sergeant-at arms to the Legislative Council.

The "home'' for houseless immigrants is so far completed as to enable parties to obtain shel-ter, and such additional buildings were con-tracted for at the last meeting of the Committee as will enable the Committee, when they are finished to afford the full benefit of the Institu- tion to those requiring it. Upwards of £3 200 has already been received by the Treasurer entitling the Committee to upwards of £6 400 from the government ; and there is already £200 more promised, but not yet paid But it is ex-pected that nearly all promised will be got in.

The judges have resolved from a desire to save in quelling the disturbances.

THE DIGGINGS.

An extensive robbery was effected at the store of Mr Jack on Golden Gully Friar's Creek, by four armed men, who carried off gold to the

value of £800

The yield of gold at Ballarat and Eureka was

said to be increasing.

A serious disturbance occurred on the 25th ult. at the Ovens diggings, in consequence of the government enforcing payment of the full licence for only a few days at the end of the month. The nature of the disturbance may be gathered by the following extract of a letter:-" Last night a meeting was held and many parties expressed themselves, very dissatisfied at being fined £3 and made to pay a license for the remainder of the month, now so nearly expired; having some of them but just come in from Sydneyside and their means being very limited. It was stated many had been taken up and fined-and the meet-ing unanimously agreed that payment for balance of the time should be resisted. Today five armed police made their appearance for the be-fore-mentioned purpose, which was the signal for a general muster, and they were shouted off the diggings Sticks and stones hastened their pace to which were added hooting and a discharge of firearms. After which an old Californian made a speech, the substance of which was that the diggers were intelligent enough to settle their own difference without the aid of a Commis- sioner: that they had no right to pay for work-ing a country which belonged to the people and not to an imbecile Government ; and that they would from that time forth set an example which he hoped would be followed throughout the length

and breadth of the Island Mr. Commissioner

Clow, accompanied by the Police Magistrate and two mounted police, afterwards came on the ground, and another muster took place. The former was surrounded and said something which from the noise, I could not hear. I after

wards heard it was to the purpose that for the rest of the month the license fee would be remit-ted. He was told that a lot of men had been chained up to a tree all night, because they had not paid it. How far this is true I can't say. As soon a he remounted he was assailed with sticks, stones and hooting, and finding it per- fectly useless to do otherwise wisely left. He was once or twice hit, I believe, but not seriously the mob following and hooting for upwards of half a mile. Another meeting is to be held on Saturday, and much excitement at present ex-ists."

A party of the Mounted Police were dispatched to the Ovens, and a second detachment of the same body were to follow to aid the authorities expense, that one demurrer book will be suffi- cient if sent on the first day of term to the Chief Justice. If however, the delivery of the copy be delayed beyond that day, a copy for each of the other Judges will be required.

The correspondent of the Argus writes as fol-   lows from Forest Creek on 29th November -   The news of the throwing out of the Export Duty Bill has caused general satisfaction to the whole community of diggers. Mr. Steel, a store-keeper at Fryer's Creek was robbed of £600 in broad day and in the vicinity of his store, by four men who hailed bim up. His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor visited these diggings on Thursday last, and expressed a determination to accede to many little advantages for the diggers - such as selling the land in small lots etc. Mr. Commissioner Hutton underwent a trial for cut- ting into Mrs Woodman's tent, but as the pro secutor did not press the charge the case was

dismisied. The weather continues fine. I have just heard that Mount Korong is once more being deserted. The thousands who went there from Bendigo aro returning in great numbers. It appears that one gulley alone, of all the dig-gings, has turned out very rich, and notwith-standing miles of the surrounding country have been prospected nothing of any consequence has

been discovered.

LATEST NEWS FROM BURMAH.

(From tho Sydney Morning Herald.)

W«f have fites of Calcutta journals whoso dates extend to the 2nd of August The capture of Prome i« thus described by a correspondent of the Co 'cutta Citizen, who «rites from Rangoon:

Something at last worth telling bus been brought'ahout by the gallant little fl it thnt was sent up some short time «go at the earnest recoin, mendation of the Commodore to riconnoiiro Prome. It was pretty wellguossid that Cap- tain Tarleton, the c mmnndvr of the expedition, would speedily follow his reconnoitre hy some-thing moro decisive and sitisfactnry, and those who from the high spirited qualities ol the gallint sailor had thus suppnso.l ol him, have had their (.pinion of Jiis charm ti r juslihed, for he h is made a regular case'* vi ni \iili \ici"ofit The river below Prome divides it-elf into two streams; the left of tin se 1s th<> deeper of the two. indi ed the onlv navigable channel at any other season of the jiar than the present ; on the lift bank of this, that is the left bank of the river the Bur-mese were located in,great nutnheis. and on this bankin very" commanding positions were stono bastions mounted with connon, which could en-tirely enfilade that branch of the liver, thmugh this our,fr'n nils of course thought the fleet must pass to reach Prome. mid well had they provided to «ontest severely tho passage. But to th, ir disnppnintmt,nt and great grief, ibu steamers took the other channel namely, tho right branch, and thus got into the m .in river comparatively unharmed by the (.uns on the formidable bnstiona On rear hing the stockade at Prome, tho garrison appearing a feeble one, the marines and the seamen wero landed_and tho place with no resistance taken-28 guns, including some mor-tars wero captured, and havo been brought down, -one seaman alone was killed, two officers wounded, and those severely-Lieutenant Elliot, of the Royal Marines, received a ball in his foot, where it still is, and som« of the bones having being fractured,, it is feared he will bo lanie for lire. Mr. Fraser, of the Pluto, severely ? wounded in tho arm.,, . r '

'J The seamen and marines on lancing at Prome found the place vacated for them ; they remained twenty four hours ti«, re-, and somo went a mile and n-half into the country'without seeing any apijB'irance of the <numy. So different is'the clunite up there', that actually dust was blowing about, whieh shows how'little rain had fallen lately. Caploln I nrli ton deeply regretted he lind not a regln,«« with him and that his instructions did not admit of going higher up/for from what T.ÏÏ 'hor?.',!arnt "«*etn» that between Prome and Arra there would ha-ç beennoihing found to p>event the latter place being attained. It was ropo. t,dI that,.-Mi«"cr belonging,o ,hë king>0| .bl? hJ.d rï f,,r Avtt ""'J' 'ne,,,,y P'«»ious to i.f "J1?*"-1 0f ÍT,,eame»- '''.'«» Commodore is «ceedinely anxious to secure this, as she Is a light craft, and wuuldhn'of great use. > No one

st-am.r hesld.« ,thei onclaken and «burnt by the

ETer"?iin. Ap,U Ail »rn »nxtou«l/«í¿5! big tom.-ihjoi.l,« movo will be ordered bv the

S^Tpr»»"' *li*'h-|"«" «hat ha. taken6 Favourable.?.?-' r"^ fa l"'°rn"d of tho V«*«t

í1 " The assistant surgeon ofthe tax was slight'y I wounded in the shoulder, making three officers L wounded, and not two only, as mentioned. The General has returned from his tour of inspection | of Moultnein. Miirtatmn, and Hassan It is sup-

posed the defences at the"bitter are going to be increased fruin the circumstance »f money havinu ¡been sent there from the engineer's deparloient

> Amherst is found nut lo he bo healthy n place ns I was sitiiposed frnmwh.it cause it <g not known. |hut rertain it is lliat neither . fficersnor men rally

'there as they ouuht e-peciullv. dvsentiry rases, j 'The'wing ol' the 80th have innv« > into their new lia micks besirle the 18th Nati» e Infantry. 'I he health of the tionps continues pretty much the samt' 'I he llhulo>tan> et are getting well reconciled to Ihn place and find much less fault with both the water and thoclimato, Theatricals nie getting on np ice. scenes are being tiainteil, dresses prepared : and a performance is to come off while the Govi rnor-Geni ral i< hete. Vilo ciiiild have supposed a few mouths ago that, io the month of Jnlv. 18h2, a hmiy of Urili«h officers would he p. t fut ming on the boards of a theatre in Rangoon, unit that nmonglhespeelators would be the Govornor-Gcnnral of India. Three months hence probably Iheatriea's will bo got up in Prome-aye, and at Ava 'ton, fiorhaps in the King's palace, though ¡t ¡g not likely.so distin-guished nu individual as Loid Dalhousie w ill be among the audien.ce