INTERCOLONIAL.
Mataura Ensign , Issue 512, 24 November 1898, Page 4
About this newspaper
INTERCOLONIAL.
Melbourne, Nov. .22. Splendid rains have fallen throughout the colony. A shipment of Italian oranges of the value of £300 has had to be destroyed owing to being infested with scale. Sydney, November 22. The Labor party in caucus decided to strenuously oppose the tea duty. The Premier has announced that he has no present intention of aiding the Antarctic expedition projected by the Royal Geographical Society. The session closes before Christmas, necessitating the postponement of a good deal of legislation. Great destruction has been .wrought by bush fires in the Pambula district. The selectors fought the fire right, np to the boundary of the town of Pambula. Many residents had to fly from their homes. Phyiloxera is ' spreading in the . Central Cumberland district, creating grave alarm. Adelaide, Nov. 23. The report of the Old Age Pensions' Com-? mittee has been laid on the table of the Legislative Assembly. It recommends the erection of cottage homes for the accommodation of such inmates of destitute asylums and such applicants as are deemed suitable, including all married couples, with land attached to give light employment to the in-" mates — to be the nucleus of a system with a view to the gradual disuse of the present barracks system. It further recommends that a certain number of inmates of destitute asylums be boarded out as an experiment ; that provision be made for a system of pensions to colonists who contributed to a fund for such a time and at such a rate as with the subsidy. from the Government may be necessary to place the fund on a satisfactory basis. Out of seven Commissioners only three signed the report as presented. Perth, Nov. 23. A 40oz. nugget has been found at Bnlong deep lead. An alluvial rush has set in to New England, in the Murchison district, and already a hundred claims are on gold returning from 3 to 8 dwts. a day.
