Our absolute right to our own coastal trade is the text on which the whole of the new Shipping Bill now in its second reading in the Senate depends. The object is, as much as possible, to give all the interstate trade to local shipping houses, by imposing conditions which the British shipowner cannot compete with agai the competition of his rivals. Westralia on account of its distance and inaccessibi lity by rail is excluded from the conditions, Opponents of the measure, led by Senator Sir J. H. Symon, describe it as an act "which in a circuitous, furtive stealthy way, is intended to bar British shipping from our coasts." But it is merely an exposition of the policy of which the " white ocean" ides is such a prominent factor.
The Felton Bequest.
A munificent bequest has been made to the national gallery of Victoria by the will of Mr. Alfred Felton, who lately died, ing half a million of money. The for, who was a partner in the firm of Folton, Grimwade & Ca., was a noted lover of art and possessed a fine collec-life. Having no family ties he has left tion of pictures made during his long the bulk of his fortune to public institutions and among them, £5,000 a year in perpetuity to the trustees of the National Gallery for the purchase of pictures.
future acquisitions shall be stored is already agitating the public mind, for although we have fine picture os in the Public Library buildin, on St. they are already nearly full, Over every picture bought for the gallery a fierce discussion is bound to ensue. In the past fancy prices and an overwhelming amount of wall space have been given for dull uninteresting historic cal sconces and landscapes of no great importance.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.