The Sun.
London, England, 1858-10-22 00:00:00

A DESCRIPTION OF MELBOUIM

The following description of Melbourne is front
a correspondent of a Mauritius paper:—
" Six years ago everything betokened disorder,
confusion, and misery in Melbourne. The streets
were unpaved, undrained, and unlighted, the roads
were quagmires, houses were scarce, rents enor-'
mous, prices of things fabulous, extortion the order
of the day, and comfort was not to be had for love or
money. Men, women, and children were huddled
together in squalid wretchedness in canvas tents)
hundreds of people night after night stood exposed
to the drenching rain, homeless and shelterlesS,
But now what a change ! The growth of Mel-
bourne has been wonderful, and affords another
illustration of the colonising powers of the Anglo-
Saxon race. Shops and public buildings of owl'
siderable splendour and architectural pretensions
have everywhere risen. The streets are as welt
flagged and lighted as those of London. Gas lull
been introduced into the Houses of Parliament, the
theatres, the hotels, the churches, and many private
establishments. Cabs,- carts, carriages, and vehicles
of every description, are constantly whirling about.
Collins-street reminds one of Cheapsido ; peoplo
are to be seen there in thousands, humming, buy'
zing,. and swarming, like a mighty hive of bees.
" The mail for England closes to-day, and the'
post-office is besieged by throngs. Boys of all sorts
and sizes ply their noisy craft, and cries of Sum'
mary for England,' Argus, Argus,' Herald,
Herald," Age, Age,' resound on all sides. Here
and there in every principal street you discover men
presiding over small tables provided with pens, ink,
and paper, where for a consideration persons can
write letters or address newspapers for England.
Further on you observe at short distances phizzes
like Sam Weller, the boots. The stock in trade of
these persons consists of three brushes, o bottle of
blacking, and a resting log. The shoe-black brigade
do well here, What a place Melbourne is for meet"
ing old faces ! Within the last two hours I have'
been hailed by men from London, Mauritius, Se3lll`.
Africa, Adelaide, and elsewhere. How hearty istht?
shake of the hand. How absolutely English you
feel Come along, old fellow,' says an old friend I
have not seen for years, let us have some tiffin at
the Criterion.' We get to this hotel at 1 p.m. The
dining-room is very large, a fountain is playing in
the centre, 300 people are feeding; the fare is
varied and excellent, the wines are A 1, and the
attendance unexceptionable. lam delighted with
the guests. How well they dress, how fast
they talk, and how fresh and healthy they
looks The way in which each one squared his se'
count took my fancy. There was no Waiter,
what is to pay ? ' Every one knows what he has
had, and can see by the carte what the figure is'
You will notice them take out half-a-crown or Os.'
place it on the counter, and walk out. Tke hotel'
keeper says that it answers people's purpose to be
honest when they are properly dealt with, and in-
stead of sustaining a loss by the system he has been
a gainer, because the time saved is equal to a dozen
waiters. If you ask for a nobbler of brandy the de;
canter is brought to you, and a man must be a bees•
'
who would take advantage of the confidence re!
posed in him.
" There are three very good theatres in Mel'
bourne, viz., the Royal, the Princess's, and the
Olympic. The Royal is the Drury-lane of the
colony. Then there are all sorts of exhibitions;
and last there is Cremorne. Of course, I droppe.d
in at all these places occasionally, and to the credo
of Victoria I never in my life saw peoyle in any
part of the world behave themselves better than
the men and women who frequent these resorts.
" Amongst the various public buildings I visited,
during my stay in Melbourne, none pleased 01°
better than the Public Library. You enter a largie
hall supported by Corinthian columns, and pavel
with tessellated marble. You ascend a fine bron
staircase, and are in the library—a really splendid
apartment, diffused with that soft and studious liglo
which ground glass so beautifully affords. The ar:
rangement of the books, 8,000 in number, is excel'
lent. You can get at what you want in a minute',
The books are all bound in calf and gold, and are a
the best and latest editions. The accommodation
is very superior. In fact, a nobleman's library
would not furnish you with better. I visited
several times, and on no occasion saw less than 5,t;
or 60 persons present. The Legislature voted
£5,000 for books last year, and another £5,00
for the same purpose this year ; besides which
the munificent sum of £20,000 has been granted
for adding another wing to the structure. l'h°
average attendance at the library, which is open
free of charge to the public, from 10 o'clock in the
morning till 9 o'clock in the evening, is 200 dailS'
" I paid a visit to both Houses of Parliament, th°
exterior of which is not yet completed. The dot?:
rations of the interior are very gorgeous. Eve,'
in golden Victoria I was quite unprepared.for
a display of costly splendour. When all is finisheo
the outlay will ,not fall very short of a milli°
sterling.
"In the House of Assembly I heard Ebden,
O'Shanassy, Duffy, Blair, and others of less note.
Ebden is the treasurer—rather a fine-looking inetti
and the exact image of his father at the Cape °
Good'Hope. Duffy is a small, spare, bilious-look"
ing mart, with a rather rueful countenance; but he
has a fine, dark, piercing eye, which flashes with
warmth and intelligence. His voice is thin and,'
shrill, but he speaks rapidly, earnestly, and to the
purpose. O'Shanassy is a big, bushy, stout-looking,
gentleman. He speaks with great fluency, and you
see at once he is an old hand at debate. He is one
of the leading men, and possesses great influence'
From all I could learn, it would appear that Mich'
(the Advocate-General) is the great gun of the As-
sembly.
" The suburbs of Melbourne, such as Colliog'
wood, Brighton, Richmond, and St. Kilda, half°
more than kept pace with the progress of the city,
Some of the villas and many of the terraces th.L6
stud these favourite places of 'resort would not do"
credit any of the suburbs of London. The railwae
are in full play to various parts of the country. iv
a few years the iron horse' may be expected to
seen travelling over every part of this go-ahead
colony. Some people prophesy all sorts of misfor:
tunes as the penalty of Colonial extravagance. But
I share in none of these doleful predictions. I hal°
faith in the development of the resources of the
country, and the indomitable energy and persever-
ance of the people."

REIGATE ELECTION.—REIGATE, October 21.-
meeting had been advertised for this evening at the Town:
hall at which Mr, he
Edwin James had announced his ten,
tion to attend and explain to the electors the course fr
should pursue at the approaching election. As the time 03,
holding the meeting approached a number of railway ntorl'
gators and labourers of the lowest class were seen to congre;
gate near the hall, and at the time for holding the meeti,,,,B'
they rushed in and took possession of the building. INrin
Mr. James came forward to address the meeting a scene 0
disgraceful riot and confusion ensued, lighted firework
were thrown with other missiles, and the majority of the
persons present being provided with railway whistles and
cat-calls, an almost indescribable scene of confusion and eS'
citement prevailed. This continued for a considerable times
and Mr. James at length, finding that it was imposible to
obtain a hearinF, bowed and retired. From what emigre'''.
this evening it is anticipated that the same .parties will re'
new the scene of violence to-morrow, and the authorities
have felt it their duty to swear in a sufficient number of
special constables to prevent any disturbance of the public'
peace.
A GREAT GUN AT WINDSOR CASTLE.—On Wed'
nesday a monster piece of ordnance was brought from -Wee
with to Windsor Castle, by command of her Majesty, an"'
placed on the North-terrace, where it will be inspected by
the Prince Consort, and a suitable situation selected for itO
permanent position. The gun was taken during the late
war from the Chinese, and brought to England by the shiP
Sibyl ; it is an admirable piece of workmanship in brass'
and weighs 7 tons 31cwt. 81b. its length is 13 feet, girt'
7 feet 3 inches, and '2 inches in the bore. It requires ug;
wards of 301 b. of powder to load it, and it will carry a bx"
of 2001 b. weight. The value of the brass alone is estimate"-,
at between £5OO and £6OO. It is somewhat remarkable that
as so many officers of the Guards, as well as of Eton CO2"
lege, have fallen in the late Crimean war, that no trophY
has yet been received by the authorities either at Windsor
or Eton, although we perceive that most of the large town!
in England have been presented with some memorial of do'
war.

CROWDED STATE OF THE LIVERPOOL TII4-101/
DoeKs.—The Brunswick Dock at the south end of the
Liverpool range, and the dock which is at present chiefly
devoted to the accommodation of the timber trade, is at pre'
sent so crowded by vessels laid up and idle, that vessit
actually laden with cargoes cannot find room to enter. Tu,
state of affairs was brought before the attention of the Deck
Board yesterday, but after some discussion the chairman
(Mr. C. Turner) said that no permanent relief could lre
afforded until the persons interested would'consent to has
the Brunswick Dock run dry, in order that the water Cow
flexion with other docks might be made. The dock sur,
veyor (Mr. Hartley) sail that the running of the dock a'-,1
would soon loe a matter of necessity, as eleyen years ha,j
elapsed ~:ince it was dry, and the gates were in a veil bu
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