The Sun.
London, England, 1857-08-20 00:00:00

isit was the

supply of

IC s were

latter
ac
lo king out anxiously for a geiseral _fa '1 of rain,
wwhich,orui OLIOin thhuewi
o,tcircumstance th uspuruyn
Thereckon e
portion of his A.ustraii'in rr,cords is devotcd to the
politics, finances, and le)islat-ion, and afford some
interesting parliculars of the establislunewt of the
new constitution. The eagerness with -which the
colonists avail themselves of it is a striking pr,of of
its judicious introduction. Speaking of the demo-
cratic tendency in Victoria, the author says it
would be a mistake to suppose it is only moonily
developed, though the sudden accession of popular
strength from the masses brought by the gold dis-
covery has rendered it more conspicuous, .and en-
enabled the colony to surmount with more than
usual colonial rapidity the restraints of the impe-
rial legislation.

"This exemplifies the usual fate of our colonies in

time past ; which, by custom and prejudice of the parent
state, have been held in bonds till they could be held

no longer.
"There is an evil in this repressive imperial system
which needlessly pr.longs unsuitable political insti-
tutions among the colonists. If the bad effect do not
come prominently before home eyes, we may attribute
that circumstance to the forbearance of our colonial
countrymen. They rarely now think of exhibiting die•
satisfaction in any other than constitutional forms ;
while, on the other hand, the remote imperial govern-
ment has been proverbially apt to disregard so gentle
an aspect of colonial discontent. To illustrate how
needless, or rather how hurtful, has been this system of
checking colonial development, I may remark that every
concession to colonial freedom, and every withdrawal of
imperial interference with local colonial affairs, has
been attended by increased attachment to the parent
state—by a resumption, in short, of those natural ties
that had been only weakened by the curbs and precau-
tions of imperial policy. A. severance party, tbat was
ever lifting its head in Victoria, was never effectually
extinguished until the recent concession of complete
self-government."
- -

The great check on the violent democratic party
will be the liberty allowed in local matters to the
colonists, and they gave an emphatic proof of their
good-will towards the home government with re-
spect to the emigration money—a fund destined by
their parliament to be set aside for the encourage-
ment of emigration from the mother country, and
amounting in 1854, to upwards of 865,0001. This
surplus was, owing to some financial difficulties,
employed for other,purpose, add this was censured
by the representatives.

'• The Council condemned the procedure of the Execu-

tive in laying bands on the accumulation of the emi-
gration money, whose tempting accessibility, it is to be
feared, had furnished the chief stimulus to Use extrava-
gance that swallowed it. A motion was passed ordering
the repayment of the whole sum, and that in future the
appropriated moiety be remitted to the Emigration
Commissioners, in accordance with the provision by act
of Parliament.
"The carrying out of this self-denying ordinance
might have afforded a rare trial to the colony's fidelity
to engagements. Towards the end of the same year,
however, came the proclamation of the New Constitu-
tion, which transferred all colonial affairs and revenues
to the control of the local legislature, and we have
heard no more of the emigration fund balance. But
the case, so far as it goes, forms a pleasant illustration
of those views of colonial policy that I have alreedy
touched upon ; for we here find that it was the imperial
administration in the colony that contravened the im-
perial interests, and that these interests were taken up
and defended, not as might be naturally supposed by
the imperial party in opposition to the people, but by
the popular opposition itself, in some of its last con-
tendings with the expiring imperial system in Victoria."
The author having been a member of the Victoria
Legislature, is well qualified to give his opinion on
these local political questions, and his penetration
and observation enable him to estimate clearly the
position of the colony, and to trace its probable
progress. This work is characterisEd by an air of
quiet, good sense, with which prejudice or personal
feeling do-s not appear to mingle. A resident for
many years and a participator in the legislation of
the colony, be is yet an Englishman by feeling, as
well as by birth, and can look on the tumul-
tuous progress of a new state with the expe-
rience of an old one. He gives us some chapters
on Ceylon, Aden, and Egypt, which places he vi-
sited on his return home, and he has prefixed to
his substantial volume some useful maps of the
colony.

A July Holiday in Saxony, Bohemia, and Silesia.
By 'Walter White, author of "A Londoner's
Walk to the Land's End," &c. Chapman and

Among the numerous works of travel that issue
from the press, Mr. White's are always remarkable
for their good sense, quick observation, and plea-
sant style. As the readers of his former works are
aware, ho does not adopt the express mode of tra-
velling for which English tourists are proverbial ;
lie prefers to wander about the quiet bye-ways of a
ceuntry, to mix freely with its inhabitants, and see
something of their domestic system, as well as to
form a personal acquaintance with its chief natural
features. This mode of travelling makes more de-
mands on the traveller's energy than on his purse ;
and those who are accustomed to a more indolent
and extravagant method will learn with surprise
that after a month's wandering over the three
countries, the author reckoned up the sum of his
journeys and outlays, and discovered that ho had
walked three hundred and fifty miles, and ex-
pended, up to Hamburg, fourteen pounds. Those
who are accustomed to travelling charges nearer
home will not be astonished that the passage to
London, with &cetera's, amounted to three pounds
more. The author is well acquainted with German
history, and knows the special points of interest,
historical or legendary, of all the spots he Tisited ;
he therefore adds much to the interest of his narra-
tive by recalling them to the reader's memory. aiS
little sketches of the country people themselves
give a favourable impression of the national cha-
racter. The vexatious passport system is sure to
be felt by a wandering traveller, who does not make
a long stay in any place ; but nowhere did our au-
thor find its numerous annoyances more oppressive
' than in Bohemia. The inhabitaets are not allowed
to go more than twelve miles from home without a
pa sport, which is frequently refused. Passports for
France and England were peremptorily - re-
fused to Hungarians of every degree during
1835, and in 1856, when the rigour was a little re-
laxed, leave was only granted for' three months.
Should any one be known to have visited Kossuth,
whatever his professed opinions, he would be im-
prisoned on his return. An amusing mistake oc•
curred at an inn where the traveller was passing a
night. It is the custom for the landlord to examine
the passport, and enter the guest's name in a book
kept for the purpose, as the inspector frequently
comes in the night to examine it. On examining
his passport the host and his son were hopelessly
bewildered, and invoked the aid of a soldier who
knew a little English. This sage puzzled out the
first line, and informed them that the traveller was
" Vilhelm Fredrich Clarendon, Baron," and as
such, in spite of his remonstrances, he was entered
iu the book, and treated with the greatest deference
by the household, who believed him to be travel-
ling incognito in the German fashion. Another
amusing mistake respecting an English minister
was nearer home. It appears that great excite:
ment prevailed in Germany respecting the
of the poisoner Palmer. Even in little towns the
author saw the Prozess for sale, and eager discti-
When- his
sious in public places were common.
lied in a
execution took place the news wasdtejegl;lPie clerk,
brief despatch, "Palmer is
.htaankee,e
thought it was
by some extraordinaryw
masisthe amazement of the
Palmerston, and
woasfccount of Carlsbad,
n
g ba
lyl
otnhse.
us some curious information re-
the author gives
•ngs. Those who
quantity
goefluiwilagoeetr. poured out every day
have not visited
qsmpueeirec
stt
onigl Germansththe
p r whenit,, great tall
wine a his
may n
spot
a German chemist, calculates
alone is estimated at two million
_,„,,jan.
Spru
that in this
quantity ten thousand tons of glauber salt and
fifteen thousand tons of carbonate
at,hileb
del
of soda are
thrown up in a year. The reader will d • erive much
entertainment from this record of
the experiences
of a wanderer, who combines a love of the pic-
turesque with a sense of the humorous, and has
certainly the happy art
of
adapting himself to the
people and places around him.

THE AMERICAN MAILS.—LIVERITOL, WEDNESDAY.
—The Ut,ited States mail steamship Atlantis, Captain
Oliver Eldridge, sailed from the Mersey this forenoon
for Nog York, with the United States mails, a full
complement of passengers, and a large cargo s( mer-
chandise on freight.
THE BRAZILS.—SOUTLIAMPTON, WEDNESDAY.—In.
telligenoe reached here to-day by electric tel graph to
the effect that the European and American Company's
oLnobEe.r—revvtuerna.re
glad
Paßners' carg"nd
a few days' later advices from the Brazils left Lisbon
screw steam-ship Hyde.speg,
last evening at five o'clock for Southampton. She may
be expected here on Saturday next. The Hydaspes
with
has been chartered by government for the conveyance
ATLANTICinim immediately
to
learn that active steps are being taken to establish a
o f
It
vr troops
Ltyo India
weekly line of steam vessels betwen Liverpoo land
Quebec, ,tor which a grant of 50,000/. e
was voted by the
Canadian Legislature during the late cession . The pro-
prietors of the Montreal Ocean line, whose vessels are
rapidly becoming most popular, have 'contracted with
Messrs. Denny, of Dumbarton, fcr four new steamers
of first-class power and accommodation.—Canadian
ATMs