The Sun.
London, England, 1857-02-24 00:00:00

AUSTRALIA

The official opening of the new Parliament took
-place on the' 25th of November. The day was ob-
served as a general holiday, the streets were deco-
rated with flags, and the roofs and windows of the
houses were crowded with people. The pa•hways
were lined with military and police. As his Ex-
cellency left his residence trumpets sounded, and a
salu' eof 19 guns was fired.- The Parliament-house
w,s densely packed With ladies and gentlenien, and,
what with the decorations and the variety of dr( sies,
the effect was striking.
Dr. Palmer, the former Speaker of no L?gisla-
live Council, had bent re-e!e:-...t,d to that pu.A. ion.
Dr. E- Murphy had be'en elected Speaker of the
Assembly. The followir.g account is given of the
proceedings :
" His Excellency, in his address, expressed the satisfac-
tion he felt at having the opportunity of congratulating the
Assembly upon the attainment of the object—self-govern-
eint—fer which the country had struggled for many years;
and also his confidence in the people- of Victoria not, only
valuing the privilege, but preparing to meet the increase of
responsibility which it imposed mall, and to throw off that
apathy with which political affairs had hitherto been too
generally treated, and in doing which they would con-
duce to the happiness and prosperity of the whole
country. He pointed out that it would be their
constant duty to watch the operation, and to amend
the defects, of the fundamental froiu which
they derived their existence and powers. The circum-
stances under which the charter was prepared and granted
rendered it likely that many changes would be necessary,
but he should only call upon them to alter those which
actual experience demonstrated were necessary. He did
not approve a partial reform, without the, component parts
being considered, but while he would not recommend a
recasting of the electoral division of the country until the
results of the census, proposed to be taken during the sum-
mer, were assertnined, their aetealion would be drawn to
the patent imperfection and inequality of the electoral
franchise, and they would be asked to extend the basis of
'the suffrage, and to amend the law regulating the registra-
tion of electors. He impressed upon them the desirability
of promoting public works, especially railways, and of
extending municipal institutions, measures .for securing
which would be submitted to them. Preliminary steps
had been taken for extending the lines of electric tele-
graph to the northern an i western frontiers, so as to
connect all the principal towns and gold fields with Mel-
bourne, which would be proceeded with upon their sanc-
tion being obtained. Provision for the construction of
roads and for tho improvement of the main lines of
road, which would require a large expenditure ; the
amendments in the operations of the Municipalities Act,
which experience had shown,to be desirable; the subject
of the agricultural capabilities of the country ; the ma-
nagement of the Customs and merchant shipping, the
latter including provision for the examination of masters
and mates in the colonial marine, and for the better pro-
tection and management of seamen would be placed before
them, and would require their attention. Ho also directed
their attention to an entire change in the law restraining
certain trades, especially the sale of fermented and spi-
rituous liquors and distillation, the evils from the prohibi-
tion of the luster being productive of much public immo-
rality. A measure to amend the laws relating.to banking
and the issue of notes payable on demand would be sub-
mitted to them. They would perceive from the papers
which would be transmitted to them that the Governors
of South Australia and Tasmania had agreed to propose to
the respective Legislatures a scheme for connecting Mel-
bourne with Adelaide and Hobart Town by means of the
electric telegraph; and he anticipated that by the concur-
rence of the Governor of New South Wales the union of
the four principal towns of the eastern colonies would be
completed. A plan for the better lighting of the Austra-
lian coastand the maintenance of the lighthouses would be
submitted for their approval. A proposal for an assimila-
tion of the tariffs of all the other colonies in conjunction
with New South Wales had been made, full particulars of
which would be communicated to them. It was his inten-
tion to submit to them a measure for promoting education
by the establishment of an uniform and comprehensive
system of public instruction based upon and in consonance
with the religious sentiments of the people. -
" His Excellency, in his address to the Speaker and gen-
tlemen of the Legislative Assembly, having informed them
that the estimates would be laid before them, stated that
he should recommend them to appropriate considerable
sums for the purposes of immigration. Great success had
attended the alteration recently made in the regulations
for the selection of immigrants by their friends in that
country, and he hoped by the extension of the se stem and
by arrangements under which commercial enterprise would
be more directly enlisted in the service they should obtain
a steady stream of assisted immigration at a cost to the
public treasury decreasing from year to year. He should
propose the discontinuance of the services of the Colonial
Land and Emigration Commissioners, and the establish-
ment of a distinct agency for Victoria in the United King-
dom.'
- - - - -

--
His Excellency retired upon the conclusion of his
speech, the Rouse paying him the compliment, as
they had upon his entrance, of rising. The House
then adjourned for a short interval previous to the
appointment of a committee to prepare a draught
address to his Excellency. The address was very
soon prepared and read to the legislators. ID coin-
cided in all the proposals and recommendations of
his Excellency, and expressed au opinion con-
genial with that. of his Excellency's, that the
financial credit of Victoria was most firmly
established ; that hor mineral treasure was
still unlimited ; and that under the practical
experience of the miners themselves the improved
methods of working would continue to develops her
mineral wealth for ages. The metion that the ad-
dress should be presented to his Excellency by the
President and members of the committee by whom
it had been drawn up was carried unanimously.
The Chairman of Committees having been apponted
in the person of Mr. Hodgson, the house, after
being asked to express an opinion as to the pro-
priety of members taking off their hats in the pre- ,
sence of the President, a negative one as far as re-
garded invalids being given, proceeded to business.
His Excellency's address met with considerable
adverse criticism, which did not, however, lead to
any result.
The Argus states that in the Legislature consi-
derable amusement had been occasioned by Mr.
G. Duffy. By virtue of his Parliamentary experi-
ence he bad been lecturing the raw levies, perhaps
somewhat more than was quite judicious, about the
"usages of the Imperial Parliament," and accord-
ingly it was gratifying to the lectured to see their
preceptor at fault, and (on a highly important di-
vision) voting by mistake with the side he had
spoken against. He claimed, however, to have his
vote recorded, not according to the side of the
house at which he sat daring the division, but
with the "Ayes." While preferring this claim he
startled the House by addressing the Speaker sit-
ting and with his hat on, the practice, as he ex-
plained (on being called to order for it), not only
permitted, but enjoined by the " usages of the Im-
perial Parliament." He carried both points—kept
his hat on and got his vote, which turned the scale,
recorded with the "Ayes."
The new clip of wool is coming down fast.
Melville, the man concerned with other convicts
in the attempt to escape from the convict guard,
in the course of which two men were murdered,
had been condemned to death. His fellow-pri-
soners were acquitted. Melville, after being sen-
I toned, delivered a long harangue on the horrors
and cruelties which the convicts had to suffer daily.
His address had gained him many sympathisers,
though the evidence showed him to be an atrocious
villain of superior ability:
The Sydney Empire reports the discovery of a
rich gold field near the Manning River.
" Black sand" is likely to become a most im-
portant article of commerce. Persons who when
its valuable qualities were only known to a few
would not invest in its shipment to England now
perceive that handsome fortunes might have been
made by speculations in it, and are turning their
attention to it. The Ovens and Murray Adver-
tiser remarks—
" Hardly a day passes but some new fact or other in con-
nection with this article, its value, and its component parts,
reaches our ears. We have not 3,14 heard of a thoroughly
reliable assay of any kind having been made in the neigh-
bourhood, and cannot, therefore, apply to any local autho-
rity for confirmation or contradiction of some of the state-
manta which have reached us. We are now informed that
this black sand contains no inconsiderable quantity of pla-
tinum, the marketable value of which is about equal to
that of silver, and that the average percentage of tin oon-
Oar
taiued in it is higher than we stated some weeks ago.
information then led us to believe that the average was not,
higher than 70 per cent.; we have now goodreason for be-
higher
that it reaches 80 per cent. We must attach credit
to these statements, since the raw material ha
h s rise!
ca p ! and
is rising in price, notwithstanding the fall in te ri of
tin, of which we wero informed by the last mail. Under
these circumstances we cannot but imagine that our black
sand in reality is worth moro than the highest price now
obtained for it on these diggings, and we take the liberty,
that a fair sample should be assayed
therefore, of suggesting
by any competent assayer, in order that the producers may
have a guide as to the real value of their article. In the
meantime we would advise all holders to remain so as long
as possible."
The Melbourne Herald states that three nuggets
weighing respectively 381, 323, and 189 ounces had
been picked up at Korung diggings.
At Mount Alexander a promising lode of copper
had been discovered.
The weather was warm and genial, with refresh-
ing showers.
Improvement was noticeable in the returns
from
nearly all the gold fields, particularly
Msryborough • also fromBallarat and
Bendigo, Ileathcote, and
Creswick Creeks.
Respecting the gold-market the Argus says :
. " The supply has been good and a large business has
been done, especially in bars for which there. is always ,a
good demand, merchants preferring
- ll but certain
profit to the chance of finding aheavy loss upon a purchase
of gold dust, there being so much of adulterating the pr,(:)::
duce of one field with that of another. As an instance
n 2,
this we may mention that nearly the whole of die gold::Zis
the Goulbutn diggings finds its way to San"ust' ofa that
then bought up by the gold buyers as the produce