as the addition would cause additional expense, he thought botanic would do just as well. After an animated discussion, enlivened by a few buffooneries (which by the greatest expansion of compassion for the perpetrators could not be construed into wit), it was resolved that the word should stand, as there was no necessity that it should be altered.

Annihilation of the purist Gruel, the great projector of a colonial dictionary of the English language on the basis of Webster improved. This gentleman having accidently got elected by a district, where all the electors excepting sixty had been disfranchised through an informality in the Registration Act, crowed amazingly, and rejoiced exceedingly that he had been returned by the most enlightened constituency of the colony. At the next election, when the defect was remedied in the electoral roll, and the people had votes, this learned grammarian was rejected, and ever afterwards went by the cognomen of the " rejected of the most enlightened constituency in the colony."

TWADDLE emboldened by the linguistal turn of the debate, observed, that in a recent despatch from the Duke of Newcastle to his Excellency, his Grace had made a glaring grammatical mistake.

THE ATTORNEY GENERAL intimated that the Duke of Newcastle was right, and Twaddle was wrong.-Solemn silence. Nobody venturing to decide whether the word in question should be an adjective or an adverb.

GRUEL observed that a slight admixture of courtesy

from the ministry would not militate against their position, and be more acceptable to the feelings of the members.

THE TREASURER informed the honourable member that the ministry took lessons in manners from no one-(Great applause from the ministerial benches); and hear, hear! from Mr. McGroggins in the gallery. This notable example of colonial patriot and aspirant for legislative honours, being an important personage and whipper-in of the fag-end of the Irish mob, has his polite approval of the sentiments of particular members reported in the papers. This gentleman can hardly read and write, but being possessed of stentorian lungs and unblushing effrontery, he is considered one of the leading old colonists, having gone through all the gradations to form an accomplished colonial minister, viz. :-Policeman, barman, publican, landowner, and gentleman.-On another occasion an animated debate takes place, on the habits of one of their agents in London, who, according to accounts received from some superior butcher who has wandered to the great metropolis, indulges in easy chairs, and in spite of the luxurious and unnecessary accommodation does not contrive to get to the office until a late hour in the day.

These are a few specimens I retain from memory, not possessing a colonial Hansard or a file of daily papers, which give an extension of the eloquent debates on dog taxation, extirpating thistles, or deducting sixpence a-day from the pay of policemen, or reducing clerks' salaries twenty pounds ayear, to make up a deficiency in the estimates; and being reformers and friends of progress, leaving

those with large salaries in due enjoyment of their emoluments. Some of the printed addresses of aspirants for the colonial House of Commons are rich productions of political advancement and progress; and one gentleman wrote a letter to another, asking him to explain his political sentiments, informing him if they were not satisfactory he would oppose him, containing no less than twenty-three orthographical errors on one side of letter-paper, which the opposition lithographed for the benefit of the public; but the friends of the patriot who rejected orthography, and who had the most perfect contempt for grammar of any man of his time, elected him by a large majority, evidently delighted with a colonial Demosthenes, who approved of the pure Saxon, and familiar phraseology, such as "I knows a thing or two." On one occasion there was a contested election, one candidate being a gentleman who went by the familiar designation of "death and his opponent of drunkenness ;" and at a small meeting of electors, the relative merits of the two were discussed; and one orator, on concluding an address summing up their virtues, exclaimed, "Take your choice, gentlemen, it lies between drunkenness and death. All these modest men, members of the House, attach M.P. to their names, although it does not appear that there is any special Act authorising them to do so; and it is not probable the British legislature will interfere on such an important point of privilege, they can continue in peace to use this well-known affix. The people of Victoria have got a Punch, as may be expected, only a diluted imitation of the great original, but at times contains happy hits against the ignorance of many candidates for legislatorial honours; and as а specimen of colonial addresses, gives the following

E

as expressing the views of Mr. Sykes, who is anxious to attain to a more elevated position in society.

HELLECTRAL HEDDRESS. -2 the helectors ov enywere, Gemmen, hit his mi wish 2 henter parlimint, an tho i sez hit know wun cud be beter fitted for the puppos. I av been 3 times hinsolvent, and wuns konwicted ov a kapittal offhence, which tho the laws agin mi bekuming a mimbir; the law ken bee got hover, has know wun nos beter then meself. I ham knot abel 2 rede or rite, and as got a kongenal kove has his a pal ov mine 2 rite for mee; moorhover i ham a madjistrait. If eni konstitushun chews 2 tak mi, I wil stand know hend ov lush: kept darc has betwene frends. Me prenceples his purtecshun pamint ov mimbirs, and down wid the perlese, which his a skandel to a fre kuntry. I av been a long time ere an hon the hother side and ham hup to hevery muv on the borde, konsekwently av moor hexpeerence then monny ov the fellers hin parliment; hiv eni konstitushun vonts me, let them sing hout, and isle showt like a gudon.

"I ham humbly 2 kemmend,

"WILYAN SIKES."

This stereotype address will be a suitable completion to this sketch of the South Australian mimic House of Commons.

CHAPTER XI.

A MINISTERIAL CRISIS.

A MINISTERIAL Crisis is quite a colonial insti tution. In the formation of the first ministries under the constitution Act, there was a regular scramble of patriots anxious to get situations, and enjoy the prefix of "Honourable" so liberally be stowed by Her Majesty on the members of the executive government, although members of the Lower House. Five gentlemen, of incongruous principles and character, form a Ministry, and in a week symptoms of disunion begin to appear. The sarcastic Bloggs repudiates the plebeian Hoggs, and Hoggs is suspicious of the principles of Nobbs, who, on the other hand, cannot tolerate Snoggs, and ultimately another list is presented to his Excellency, who approves of it, anxious for a quiet life, and after another fortnight the same amusement is again perpetrated. At last a stable ministry is formed, at least the colonial public are told so by the talented exponents of the press, and this continues for a longer period, until a gentleman disputes with his compeers on a point of policy, and is put down by the majority, and is compelled to resign, which he does, smarting with indignation. at the loss of his situation, and being compelled to work for a livelihood, an occupation never very palatable to a real patriot, and retires, like a second Cincinnatus, to his small farm, and devotes his powerful intellect to the most expeditious way of filling up jam pots and labelling them for disposal in the Adelaide market, until a grateful country