New Caledonia.

Auckland Star, Volume X, Issue 3009, 9 December 1879, Page 3

New Caledonia.

A BEMARKABLE DOUBLE SUICIDE. The intelligence from the above colony is to November 25th. Our correspondent ■writes :—A tragedy.of a character, fortunately as rare as it is sensational, iately occurredjhere. A double- -suicide was committed by two surveillants—transportation, service police—who,' during a long time, have been defrauding and embezzling the service in which they were employed. Finding no doubt that their, game was_ at the point of being discovered, they visited a certain" house some miles from Noumea, where for some hours they indulged to the utmost of their desires, and then quitted, ostensibly to proceed to Noumea, but in reality to take a longer journey thoroughly planned beforehand. Two shots were heard. One corpse was found with a pistol-bullet through the temple, beside it the gasping form of the second surveillant, dying rapidly from a similar wound inflicted by the one pistol, still in his hand, four chambers of which were not discharged. It is stated that defalcations to the amount of 20,000 francs (£800) are discovered in their ac'tount3. This, it is asserted upon authority, ii an exeggeration from about one-third of th&t sum.—The frigate Loire left on the first November, at 6 p.m., on her return v °yage, via Cape Home, to France, taking 450 amnestied Communists, and 350 soldiers ■^hostterm of service had expired.—A boat contahrhig five runaway convicts was found thirty miles out, bound for Australia. On beingapproached by the cutter Bose, one of the convicts, crying out that he would never again be a prisoner, flung himself into the sea, and in spite of every effort made by a native who was sent to prevent him, he effected his purpose by determinedly diving and sinking himself.

An American paper observes that England may be "masters of the Cs," but she "e Tref, yei,has fairly able to master the I •*• •?■ rematkis severe, and we may meet it with the suggestion that America makes too great use of-bis N.O's.—" Court