s likely to continue
in power so long as they can provide sufficient sensational
legislation.

In Victoria the railways all now belong to the State, and are well
managed, but to stations beyond the suburban lines return tickets
are not issued except on Saturdays, and except to such places as
have a competing steam service, such as Warrnambool or Belfast. The
speed is not high, and to our notions there are very few trains, but
probably enough for the present traffic. Whenever the inhabitants of
any particular district think they would like a railway, they get
their representative to vote for it, and if he can persuade a
sufficient number of other representatives to vote for it, the
railway is made. For some time past the people of the small town of
Buninyong thought they would like a line from Ballarat, from which
it is distant seven miles. As it is not really required, in
consequence of a good service of public conveyances between the two
places, they did not succeed for some time. At length, during the
last session, their representative managed to get 35 others to vote
for it, and the line is now to be made. Each of these 35 may in
their turn require the vote of the member for Buninyong on some
similar occasion. But the actual management of the railways and of
the Civil Service has been put beyond the reach of political
influence by the appointment of Railway and Civil Service
Commissioners, who are permanent officials. When a line is to be
made the Railway Commissioners go over the ground and fix the spots
for stations &c. Every porter has to pass on examination before he
can be appointed. There are only first and second classes. On the
suburban lines the first class are about as good as our second. As a
fact, a number of second class carriages sent out from England are
here used as first, the words "second class" being ingeniously
concealed by a narrow strip of wood. Members of Parliament have a
free pass over all lines. In Victoria the gauge is 5ft. 3in. In New
South Wales it is the same as ours, viz., 4ft. 8-1/2in. Consequently
travellers between Melbourne and Sydney have to change trains at the
border.

In Victoria there is intense opposition to Free Trade. The people
would rather make bad boots and shoes for themselves than import
cheap and good ones from England. Of course I use Free Trade in the
sense of the opposite of protection of native industries. Advocates
of Protection appear to me to confound the en