The Sun.
London, England, 1855-01-31 00:00:00

In my last I mentioned the nature of the bill
which had been introduced into the Legislature of
the colony by the Executive Government to super-
sede the " Act for the Apprehension of Convicts
Illegally at Large." Tho last-named bill expired
on the 31st of October, consequently no means
exist by which the exclusion of the worst of the
convict class from this colony can be effected.
The technical objection urged against the expired
act was that it violated the Q LICCH'S prerogative of
mercy. This is not the a cfe in which measures of an
important character can be disposed of by a mere
technical objection. The colonists say, and say
truly, that it is absurd to fall back on the preroga-
tive, if, by pressing the same to its extreme limits,
treat evil will be done to the colony. The pre-
rogative should only be resorted to in order to pro-
mote the public good, and when it is found to work
evil it should be thrown overboard, or rather aban-
doned by the Crown.
Tho substantial objection to the old act is, that
it caught only the best disposed of the convict class,
leaving the worst characters at large ; and this
also is quite true. The well-disposed conditionally
pardoned man who desires to come here embarks
on board a steamer at Launceston or Hobart-town,
and comes openly to Melbourne. He lands on the
wharf, and is at once seized by a policeman, while
the escaped convict, and all the bad characters,
embark, not at Launceston, the great northern port
of Van Diemen's Land, but at some western port in
Bass's Straits, and then, taking advantage of the
prevailing west wind, pass .to the eastward of Port
Philip-heads, and rand at Western Port, from which
place they spread over the country unmolested,
" sticking up" the Queen's lieges, and paying their
way by their depredations.
A word or two about this same " sticking up,"
of which your readers may have heard much. It is
thus managed :—The " old lags" join and form a
party of four or more ; one watches up the road,
one down the road. When the intended victim
roaches a point between the two armed men who
have been "planted" to keep a good look-out, he
is met face to face by a ruffian armed with a
"revolver." Perhaps a whistle or some other sig-
nal gives the victim a painful conviction that he is
surrounded by unseen revolvers. The ruffian tells
him to hold up his arms, or he will have his " nob
scuttled." He is further threatened with having
his brains blown out if he attempt to lower
his arms (or fins.) A low whistle brings up the
" pal," and the pockets of the victim are rifled.
This is the mildest case. Sometimes robbery is
accompanied by violence.

Now to return to Sir Charles Hotham's bill.
Your readers will remember that it proposed to
establish commissioners at Launceston, Hobart-
town, and other places, to grant certificates of
good conduct and passports to such men. Sir
Charles seems to have forgotten that he was legis-
lating out of his jurisdiction, and that the other
Governments, that of Van Dieraen's Land espe-
cially, would thwart him in every possible way.
The passport was to be granted on the certificate
of two magistrates. How could Sir Charles com-
pel the Van Diemen's Land magistrates to enter
upon the duty at all ? It was- clear, therefore,
that Sir Charles's Government would have to de-
pend on that part of his plan which was to be
executed here.

But Sir Charles has been met by an unantici-
pated opponent. The Legislature of Van Die-
men's Land has taken the matter up, and a bill
has been introduced "for the prevention of
fraud by persons assuming to be commissioners
for the issue of passports." By this bill
Charles Hotham's Commissioners are subjected,
upon conviction, to " imprisonment, with
or without hard labour, or solitary confine-
ment, for one month for every offence." All per-
sons assisting them are to be subject to a fine of
100/.

Some people think this bill was the work of Sir
Wm. Denison. Sir William is the bete noire of the
A nAtralians, and I believe they secretly think he
has a cloven hoot under his boots. But Sir Wil-
liam was innocent of it. He is not a man of fine
and judicious expedients. Clothed with irrespon-
sible power, and having no occasion for a very fine
judgment, intensity of mere volition is his strong
point. His mind is utterly incapable of a piece of
finesse like this. It is the unassisted work of one
of the memL•ers for the northern side of the
island.

Of course it cast great difficulty in Sir C. Hot-
ham's way, and the gentlemen who surround him
are not the people to aid him with wholesome ad-
vice. The expedient hit upon was this :—a mem-
ber named Nicholson, who has been lately mes-
merized by a few dinners at Government-house,
brought in a new bill, and it is supposed that Sir
Charles will allow his own bill to drop and accept
the one I allude to, as the voice of the people.
I must hero remind your readers that while all
this was going on the Council of Van Diemen's Land
was petitioning the Queen to convert all the condi-
tional pardons into free pardons. Nicholson's bill
(of which also I send a copy), you will find, meets
this, by extending the penalties of the former act
to persons at large in Victoria who had before been
convicted of any crime. This bill will pass by large
majorities at every stage. It brings Sir Charles
Hotham into conflict either with the Colonial-office
or the people of Victoria; but Van Diemen's Land
will throw its weight into the former scale. There
is a good deal of speculation as to how Sir Charles
will act. He is very close on the matter. No one
even pretends to know. If he accept Nicholson's
bill, he embroils himself with the Home Govern-
ment, backed by Van Diemen's Land ; if he reject
the bill, he comes into conflict with his own colony.
How will he decide ? His position is certainly one
of considerable difficulty—a legacy left him by the
Government of his predecessor, and one which may
yet wreck his Administration.

- The New South Wales papers are beginning to
annouice a fact which has been patent for some
considerable time. The Australian markets are
glutted with goods. This might have been as
easily foreseen and foretold, and was in fact fore-
seen, in Printing-house-square as in this city or in
Sydney. Tho present is the child of the past—
"Le present est gros de l'avenir." High prices
constitute the first link of a chain of causation
which ultimately results in low prices, and the
converse. When geld was discovered the Austra-
lian' markets were fairly stocked with goods, but
not overstocked. The almost sudden addition of
3,000,0001. to the purchasing power of this colony
would in itself have caused and justified a very con-
siderable advance in prices generally, and this
advance was mach accelerated and increased by a
large addition to our population. Immigrants
poured in from all sources. Goods also were drawn
hither by the increased demand, but they kept
rather behind population. At last immigration
declined, but importation continued, and now we
have a glut of almost all articles of every-day use.
The consequence is that a great number of small
failures occur constantly ; but I have not heard of
the insolvency, or oven serious embarrassment, of
any merchants of note.

These little failures have been much increased by
the enormous rents charged for shops in the chief
thoroughfares of this city. These rents the shop-
keepers cannot now afford to pay, and it has been
the chief cause of the failures. Thus A, let us
suppose, has a house and shop in a sort of colonial
Regent-street ; it is his own, and he is therefore
the receiver of his rents, concealed in the price he
obtains for his goods. B has a similar shop, for
which he has to pay 1,0001. or 1,5001. a-year by
way of rent. Now, when bad tines come, the pro-
prietor A can afford to reduce his prices, so as
almost to extinguish his rent. But B has to pay
his rent, and therefore he cannot compete with his
neighbour.
The Sydney Herald complains of this state of
things, arguing that the merchants of London and
others always created this scarcity or abundance,
and that now they ought to regulate their affeirs
better. I suggest that it would be better to leave
the business of regulating supply to the Sydney and
Melbourne merchants, the London merchants only
acting as agents.
One evil certainly requires very great amend-
ment, and it is this :—An Australian merchant
orders of an English house certain goods ; the
English firm, being very cunning, makes up a
similar parcel and consigns them to a house hero.
This has been so extensively done, that it is clearly
the great and most conspicuous cause of the gluts.
There is so much of bad faith in this, that one
,cannot be sorry at the misfortunes of such houses.
As a very natural -consequence of the low prices
and diminished sales, rents hare greatly fallen. I
heard of one case to-day of a large warehouse, or
store, as it is here called, which was let last year
for 2,0001., now being offered for 5001. The ware-
house-rent of goods has fallen from 2s. 6d. per ton
per week to is., and some attribute their insolvency
to this. All building materials are comparatively
low as compared with what they were, so that a
house which sine or teu ;11021t114 P 49 would hire