OUR SYDNEY LETTER.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume II, Issue 289, 23 April 1889, Page 2

OUR SYDNEY LETTER.

[from oub own correspondent. j Stdnxy, April 15. Perhaps the best new* of the week is the tidings of copiou* rain* in the south and west. Th»se are not merely passing showers like those which have tantalised the " backblockers ” for so many months, and although they have temporarily freshened the feed, have given no supply of permanent water. There has already been a snaking rain which has extended right out to the far west, not only in this colony, but in Queensland. A* muon a* six inches has been recorded in tome places, and It is now pretty certain that over nearly the whole of the country there will be abend* anoe of feed and water for the winter. Perhaps it may be thought that this ia not an appropriate item of new* to mention in a metropolitan letter. But, as a matter of foot, the prosperity of Sydney ia more intimately bound up with the welfare of the pastoral interest than with that of any other section of the community. From Sydney they obtain their supplies. To Sydney they send th*ir wool and other produce. To Sydney finan. cial establishment* they appeal for the pecuniary assistance necessary to improve the carrying capacity of their runs, and to protect the stock from th* ravage* of the drought and famine, In Sydney they spend the lion'* share of their profits, when there i* any to spend. For some month* there ha* been little or nona. The country has been scorch, ing and baking under a semi-tropical sun. The waterholee have long ago dried *w*y. Even great lakes that have never betor* been dty, at least in the memory of this generation, have been parched up. In place of increase and prosperity, there have been monotonous tidings of death and disaater, flock* and hard* slowly dying nt hunger, and their ownir* reduced to the verge of desperation. Along with all this there has been the inevitable concomitant of man discharged, of improvements postponed or disoontinusd, of country storekeepers unable to meet their liabilitiM. Distrust had taken the place of h*althy confidence. One of the principal itrssm* of wealth from which the prosperity of Sydney is replenished wae cut off at it* louroe, aal men were beginning to ask thsmaalv**, gloomily enough, whethar thia state of things was ever going to have an end. At last it seems almort certain that th* *nd has eom». The darkest hour ia just baton day, and the day has begun to dawn, It i* almost certain that the tain which ha* tallan will be followed hy more. Even now it is transmuting itself into grata, th* grass into flesh and fat and weol, that is to *ay into wash or its equivalent. Ot course there i* a gnat deal of lost ground to make up. But the recuperative powers ot the interior an vary great, and assert themselves with marvellous rapidity. Probably there i* no country in th* whole world where a few inches of rain maha* so much difference, not only to tbs fan of tht country, but iu the aspect st the mi flitani

cikl ar.d commercial interests. Whether it ia

exactly creditable that a British-speaking community should be thus almost entirely * dependent upon the mercy of the elements, is another question, and one which I shall not at present attempt to answer. Another good item of news for us metropolitans, whose welfare is so intimately bound up with that of the dwellers of the interior, is the fact that both the Government and the Opposition are agreed as to the necessity of amending some of the most radical defects of the prassat land law. Ths tenure which it accords is capau e ot a much more equitable definition. At present it discourages the con•traction of improvements by confiscating them at the end of a short term, and it further exacts an arbitrary increase of rent, irreapec.ive of the seasons or the carrying Upacity of the runs, it will be very creditable to'the Opposition if they succeed iecarbing their party zeal until a more healthy state of things .2 brought ibout. and at ■ leaders seem determined to do it. Uniortunaie'y, however, one or two recalcitrant members have it in their power to interpose numberless obstacles to the course of legislation. The great libel action, Diabs v. The Daily Telegraph, has at last been concluded. The ' coats and damages in the first case, in which Mr Dibbs gained a verdict, have been paid, and the proceedings which wets si .■ g for a second libel action -.gains' bt • Ki, have been withdrawn. The case las bee i u great windfall for the lawyers, -ho must it - divided some five or six thousand pounds among themselves. But I question whether it has given any solid satisfaction to the successful plaintiff, and I am certain it has given none t« the defendant newspaper. The military world of Sydney has been amusing itself for some weeks by holding a <reat courtmartial. One Webster, a non cc'immissioned officer, to whom was entrusted tbe| business of obtaining clothing from the Mnjgrsotors, and distributing it to the men, ‘ nX charged with embezzlement. We usually .■Ecord to military men some reputation for promptness and decisiveness. The “ drumhead courtmartial,” whatever else it is gynonymous with, is not usually associated with any idea of the law's delay. But in this ease the trial has been prolonged for several weeks. And it was virtually prolonged at the prisoner’s expense, He was represented by counsel, and the expenses of his defence will amount to something like £7OO. Thus in addition to the punishment which military law prescribes for his defence, his wife and family are reduced to beggary, Tried at Quarter Sessions, as all such oases ought to be, the ease would not have occupied more than two or three days at the outside. The mill* t*fy men, however, wished to make an inquiry into the system ot clothing the force, ana at Webster's expense. They succeeded in demonstrating that under their own management they allowed a system to grow up which offered a premium to fraud, and Which except in the case of men ot exceptional intregity was almost certain to lead to ft, They also succeeded in demonstrating their entire unfitness for the onerous work ot judges. Jt is hoped that the inquiry and Jts revelations will lead to the entire recon* gtruction ot the Permanent Force and the abolition, at all events, in time of peace, of the abeurd privileges which are claimed tor

The arrival of the Calliope, after her hairbreadth escape from the Samoa hurricane was the signal for a great ovation. In spite of the inroads ot modern civilisation there js still something left in us of the old Viking spirit. We glory in the courage and skill of tne dashing skipper who saved his ship by steaming out to sea in the teeth of the hurricane, whilst so many other warships perished ingloriously at their moorings. As usual the theatrical profession are early in the field to take advantage of the popular adoration of this latest-nautical hero, Mr George Bignold, one of the most enterprising of our theatrical lessees, gave a special" welcome ” performance the other night in honor of the exploit. The Governor and Lady Carrington were present, * With a distinguished party from Government House, while close up sat Captain Kane of the Calliope, with his officers in full fig. Behind was a large muster of blue jackets. Her Majesty’s hasn’t presented such a nautical appearance since it was opened. Of ppurse there was only one piece which could Appropriately be played, and that one piece I need hardly say, was “Black-eyed Busan.” Parliament has hardly got to work yet, J-ast night, however, they managed to pass a in favour of paying their noble selves an honorarium of £3OO a year. The mover, Mr Waddell, had the decency to make bis motion applicable to the next Parliament. But thia would not at all suit the mere greedy members. The resolution wrs therefore amended so as to apply to the nresent Assembly. The division was not nearly so close as that on Free Trade and Protection. Forty five members voted in favour of putting public money into their own pockets against only twenty-five who had the courage and •elf respect to resist the insidious temptation. From a democratic point of view, the case in favor of payment of members is irresistible. JBat members who allow thems'lves to ba elected to a position which the» ar w 11 ware parries no emolument, should be v r- I— h j give a vote for their own pecunle r y advents'" Already, after only a few day’s life, the G - vernment find themselves instructed to bring in two Bills, both of which are outside their avowed programme. How long they will consent to submit to this dictation I can’t say, but the position cannot be a very pleasant agricultural returns, just published by the Government, reveal a very discouraging state of affairs The acreage of wheat, after making full allowance for that which was cut for hay, has diminished by over 40,000 acres, \ and that of maize by 5,486 acres. The total A ppea of land under cultivation in 1889 shows “ g decrease, as compared with the previous year, of 50,320 acres. The decrease in the yield of wheat amounts to 3,000,000 bushels, pgt this is due to the exceptionally bad season, as well as to the influences which have caused the land to go out of cultivation, This state of retrogression is very discreditable, and it is to be hoped that a remedy will be devised.