may be called a “home circle.” Such a want keeps back the influx of a female population, especially of the class required to make a home comfortable; but it will be supplied in time, and, in fact, is being rapidly supplied now. Not much more than six months ago, Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, and the seat of the government of the colony, was in a most deplorable state, and without anything like the accommodation required for its population or its commerce. Stores and warehouses there were almost none; and we heard, by every arrival, of merchandise being sacrificed on this account. But more recent advices report that— “Melbourne is branching out upon every side. Townships spring up in localities where a short time ago there was not a single dwelling of any description; houses seem, in fact, to swarm like mushrooms from the ground in a single night. A little more than twelve months since, and North Melbourne was merely the site of a few scattered tents; it now contains a population of several thousands, with comfortable homes, shops, hotels, and schools to meet the wants of its inhabitants. The suburbs, that are being formed in the opposite direction, offer a still stronger proof of the growth of a taste that has always been peculiarly English, and one that will do more than anything else to place the prosperity of this colony upon a secure foundation—namely, a desire for home comfort. In former times the pursuit of money was the whole, the engrossing passion of the community; so long as this object was attained, the feverish seeker cast not a thought upon the manner in which he lived; he appeared to have an utter disregard of the comforts of home. If he happened to have a run of luck, and was successful, what benefit did he reap from his success! He would run riot for a time, and spend the hard earnings of a month in the dearly-bought pleasure of a few hours’ debauchery. The principal reason for this, next to our abominable land-system, was, that the colony could not offer the swarming mass of new-comers any domestic comforts. Now, however, the case is becoming far different: at Richmond, Prahran, St Kilda, and Brighton, the passer-by can gaze everywhere with pleasure upon pretty cottages enclosed in their own little gardens, cheerful, trim-built English-looking villas, and some dwelling-houses that may fairly lay claim to the high-sounding appellation of mansions. Each of these suburbs, hemming Melbourne in on every side, constitutes a town of some size; and we have no doubt that, in a very short space of time, they will form part of Melbourne itself, much in the same manner that Chelsea and Putney do of London; indeed, St Kilda, Windsor, and Prahran are already connected by a line of houses almost the whole of the way with the town.”