AUSTRALIAN ITEMS.

The following supposed suicide, is reported in the Buninywig Telegraph : — "John Aivery, miner, Black Lead, informed Constable Daly ; that his son, Joseph Aivery, ngefl 17 yenrs, left his home m Rnturday, the '29th iilt, at 3' p.m. taking a fun with him to go shootine bird.", and not returning home that night they became ..alarmed. Qn_Sunday_they-went-in search - of him, arid about 8 am. one of the party, Josiah Aivery, uncle to the deceased, found I im dead a,t the back of the No, 2. shaft of. the Leviathan. Company, Napoleons. The constable immediately went to the place,, where he found deceased lying on his back on the ground, with a single-barrelled gun between his legs, the muzzle pointing towards his body and the ramrod placed in the trigger as if put there to enable- him to fire, the gun off, which had been discharged. Powder and shot flasks were lying .on the ground beside him, and. from the position of the body and the way the : gun was placed the assumption was that deceased, bad shot .-himself. The constable had. trie body removed to Collas's hotel, Black Lead, where an inquest will be held , to-day, at 1 o'clock.. No reason is assigned .for the raslraet. i - • , ; „, . . ..'••. v'-, ."• ■-•■ „ ; ,.. •' A'trightful storm of, bail," says the Brisbane Telegraph, " took place on the south side of the Albert River aid on Pimpama Island :pnth«, 18th Novemlxr. Tbe hailstones, which were of ik enormous'

size, did immense damage' to the sugar cane and ffliit.-treesj.,; We understand al i t'v.u - v so*n?"' : c»tf le^hißVo ; kiliuu-^ud:.. mii \.j jirtiil/,'." 1 .". "■■'■;:. ■/■■ • ■",'." V .tiy.uttbiuqf tit wrtaWJshing hospitals tbr pereoiM Buffering from incurnlj'e diseases and for convalescents ha* ba^n recenOy mooted. . Few people are apparently aware that such, hospitals have for many years been associated with the /Immigrants' Aid Society. As far Jiack as August, 1866, a large brick buiding was erected on the we^t fide of tbe St. Kilda road, near, the barracks, for the reception of persons suffering from incurable diseases. It is built upon the pavilion principle, and contains two large wards, each capable of receiving 32 .beds, i A large number of persons suffering from chronic incurable diseases, sued as parahsis, consumption, severe forms of heart disease, acute rheumatism, &c, have -availed themselves of accomodation thus afforded. Many of them have been discharged as incurable from the Melbourne hospitals, and others fn.m similar institutins in the provinces During the present year 147 patients have jb'een treated here, and for five or six years past the average number of inmates lias boen 50. During the last nine years 220 persons have died in ; the .hosp.itah The duration of their stay ranged from a year, to two years and two years and a half The wards are kept scrupulously clean, and the patien s are supplied With all necessary medical comforts. They are under the medical control of Dr Sturt, of Eme-rald-hill. Between 30 and 40 person* who are less dangerously ill, or are recovering from sickness, are accomodated in wooden cottages which are ranged round .the main hospital. A female ward, capable of accomodating between 20 and 25 patients, is built on the eastern side of the road. This ward is full: at the present tim 6 with cases of a similar character to those alreidy referred to. The total >üm granted to toe Immigrant'" Aid Society by the Government is £5,500, and out of that ti cv have tomaintai.. these hospitals, as well as to give temporary assistance to a large numb r of other persons.' Tbe hos- , pit -.ls are under the superintendence of Mr J.S. Greig, the resident secretary of the society. The anplicai ions for admission are dealt with by the : maoaging committee.