VIEW FROM SOUTH MELBOURNE, 1868.
"A few minutes after we were through with breakfast a gentleman called for us and gave us a carriage-drive, in which we saw more than we can begin to describe. We visited the Botanical Gardens, which are about a mile from the city, and on the south bank of the Yarra; they cover an area of not far from a hundred acres, and do great credit to the gentlemen who designed and perfected them. The collection of plants and trees is very large, and everything is labelled, so that the scientific student can know at once its history and character. We strolled along a winding walk among the ferns, and could easily imagine ourselves in the heart of a tropical forest. We also visited the Fitzroy, Carlton, Treasury, and other gardens and parks, of which Melbourne has an abundant supply.
"On many of the streets trees have been planted, and they add much to the attractions of the city. The water-supply of Melbourne comes from an artificial lake nineteen miles from the city, and is brought in by the Yan Yean Water-works, which are not altogether unlike the Croton works of New York or the Cochituate of Boston. Water seems to be abundant in all the houses, and we are told that there are more bath-tubs in Melbourne than in any other city of its size in the world.
"We can't begin to name all the churches we have seen in our rides and walks along the streets. Suffice it to say there are no finer modern churches anywhere than here, and the inhabitants of Melbourne have shown great liberality in their contributions for building these religious edifices. There is no State Church in the colony, but the Church of England is the fashionable one, and has a greater number of adherents than any other church.
PART OF MELBOURNE IN 1838.
"In their order, and omitting the smaller figures, there were by the last census of the colony 311,000 Episcopalians, 203,000 Catholics, 132,000 Presbyterians, 108,000 Methodists, 20,000 Independents, or Congregationalists, 20,000 Baptists, and 11,000 Lutherans and German Protestants. On the first of January, 1886, there were 2150 churches and chapels in Victoria, and about the same number of public buildings and dwellings used for public worship, or more than 4000 in all.