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OUR MELBOURNE LETTER.
Monday,
Our Premier considers the session
practically at an end. He tells me
that the mission of the Ministry was
to set the finances straight. That has I
now been achieved, and all that remains
flin nefimnfjit i1ama tk. I
IS CU vUo
session. From the ministerial point of
Tiew this is a excellent programme.
There would be something like a nine
months' recess, and that would be the i
longest we have had so far as my recol
lection serves since 1862. And from I
the public point of view it would be a I
good thing too. When you have a I
fairly balanced Ministry in office,
which has done good work and possesses
the confidence of the public, it is far
better that it should be in recess than
continually fighting the Assembly. In ,
recess it matures- its measures, and
what is better still, governs the country
with care and thought, and without ,
hurry. Certainly where legislative
action is required it is not in a position
to secure legislative authority. But|
clever Ministers know a hundred Wars I
of carrying out whatever they desire,
whether contrary to law or not, by
anticipating theauthority of Parliament,
which is always given. If Mr Patterson
does get into recess by November, he I
will certainly have achieved a record
nnique. Hi- «ruIU,"6 pnuciples nave
been those of Shakespeare's Richard J
the Third, " I'll be in, men, despite a I
nnrl "Dangers retreat when!
boldly they're confronted." The Go-
yernment came into office with a
majority of three, which appeared to
melt away #8 soon as it met the House, j
gincs then it has beon living on its j
dukes, never clearly knowing whether it |
Konld be in a majority or minority when I
the question was put, but trusting to
its reputation. It doesn't appear to
have consumed all its sustenance yet,
and therofore if it can survive until the j
end of the session, it will deserve a
recess.
" We are going to make the Govern
ment sit op to-night," said one of those
members who are always in the know
to me on Thursday morning. " There
are six dicky birds already, and we hope
io make them into eight before night."
i tu rinlit." T said. " von mav abaka 1
them ; you'll find you can't beat them."
My confidence proved justified ; but for
about three hours in the evening it
looked as if the sugar division would be
too close to be pleasant, as it was the
Premier's rally and the Opposition sup
port just pulled the duties through.
The Government are naturally in-
tensed at the action of New South
Wales and Queensland in arranging
behind their backs a convention with
France which gives tho exclusive right,
not only of landing cables on the coast
of Queensland for thirty years, but to a
subvention for that period. Of coarse,
this means that the other colonies will j
have to pay differential cable' rates, but
it is not this that it objects io. It is
Ihe duplicity of the two elder colonies in
making a secret arrangement of this
character against tne interests ot tne
whole of Australia that is so Jkeonly
felt. How is federation possible nnder
sncli circumstances, asks one Minister ?
Still more is the blow felt by the heads j
of our defence department. It was bad
enough before, when our sole means of
cable communication with Europe was
liable to be cut at a score of points bv
either Turkey or Russia. uuw,
when wo had hopod to have an alterna- 1
tivo line nnder British control through-
. , i. iAnnfh to a. find nnrRfilvaa
Qub lis wuuie icugw") I
auddenly placed at the mercy of France,
bo that in the event of war we should
he absolutely without news how mat
ters were proceeding in the old world at 1
all, and would have to trust entirely to
the smartness of the mail boats, the news
brought by which would necessarily be
terribly stale. Accustomed as we have
been for a long time to have the news
of the day placed each morning on our
breakfast tables, the sudden cessation!
of cable communication would be felt by
all Australians as a terrible grievance
and cause for profound anxiety, and it
is therefore not surprising that in
offioial circles the treacherous aetion of
New South Wales and Queensland in 1
handing over the alternate cable to our I
natural enemy, is viewed with feelings
of surpriae an animosity.
The settlement of the people on the
lands necessitates that there musb be
lands upon which they can settle.
And it is pretty evident that there is
about to arise a struggle between those
who would cultivate the land and the
State, in order that the farmer may in
places infringe on the State forests and
KBerves. There was a remarkable in
stance of this the other day in a fight
between two deputations before the
'Minister of Lands, the one section
desirine that the Clones and Elling-
ton State forest should be thrown open
for selection ; the other that the reser
vation should be continued, particularly
because it was held to be in part auri
ferous. Bub the modern system is to
afford all possible facilities to the
cultivation of the surface and leave
the mines to take second chop, so those
in favor of selection won, subject to I
certain mining rights reserved. It is
worth while to note the trend of Minis-
terial and Parliamentary opinions in
this direction. There are plenty ofl
eligible reserves and State forests in
all parts of the colony, out of which
little likely bits might be snatched, j
and this hint may impel people who
want them, to look after them. The
ball is just now at the foot of the
cultivator — it may not always remain
there,
Our friend Mr Peacock is, as you
areaware, tne possessor 01 apnenouiouoM
laugh. I am sorry to say that like 1
many other things with which we be- 1
come in time too familiar it is becoming j
unfashionable. Its cadence breaks 1
upon the ear at all times, places and
seasons, so that it is beginning to be
regarded as altogether too much inop
portune. Said a growler sitting next me
the other day, u Why on earth does'nt
he toon wi; in Isle nnnlffif. Al» VlAttiAf Stillla
— — IU iu uia uvnuvj v w v- — - » i
use it as a tooth-brush 1 " But really j
it would be well that Mr Peacock I
should realise that bis phenomenal ca-
chinnation is becoming unfashionable,
and endeavour to reduce it to a modi-
fied snigger a gentleman so smart and
well educated should readily realise
" that its better to be out of the world
than out of the fashion." |
The startling statement was made to
the Factories Board the other day that
so completely have the Chinese obtained
the dominancy over the furniture trade
that there arebut twenty-six Europeans
now employed in it. This is very
serious, esneciallv as the Chinese do
not come to stay, and are consequently
neither useful nor permanent citizens.
What they do is so to work their
naturalisation papers that when one
leaves the colony another returns to
take his place. They do not increase
much, it is true, hut they do not de
crease, It may be explained here that
I the great ambitfoTtfa nh !
I save ont of hi. » - 0hlnese is to
I pounds. On tha» niDgS iusfc thirty i
his native cou "U® h® "turns to
"quires to do is t, allLfchat he then
hoarding-hous0 W ®r hlmself to »
pounds the hn!8r't thirty
unrff.ui. hoarding-house ImnnRrl
and afford Wm b food
his life, be thi?ng £or the resfc
IM,in'Ca''irt.W?tag or short.
| which the j- insurance nnder
otonca £ riE75T?OUSt k-H
'moment he IiVDO t £?" Ym that
without a care and
the Chinn.s u-B ®metimes, of course, |
[?]
he replied ' «R„fT m banIc."|
were to hrp.lT SLUpPose the bank
ever break in nk- »" "Ho bank
roieht " w "But still it
you do with X " and What W0Hld
fchpti tint . ni.ana£er and officers
instantaneous reTlv Tt
vi8fo ISCkCn!i8Ja.b0n.t 0nc8 "ore to
vr uWT "rJaiftofcdrice before— that
this is one of the most brilliant com
binations of artistes in Jthat particular
line of bnsinns.q f.hnf ko. .u."
colonies. Mr Fillis's bareback riding
is one of those marvellous things that
| most be witnessed— it cannot be de-
' scribed ; whilst Madame Fillis is the
most perfect equestrienne I ever saw in
my life. The peculiarity of this circns
is that there is a curiously graceful hich
I tone about the exhibitions. Compared
| with ordinary ones, it is like the Italian
opera contrasted with a Music-hall
troupe. I don't nsually attend circuses ;
I do this one, and that I suppose ex
presses my idea of the difference of the
entertainment.
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