AUSTRALIAN.

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 9321, 23 January 1896, Page 5

AUSTRALIAN.

Press Association—By Telegraph— Copyright. WRECK OP A COLLIER. Sydney, January 22. The steam collier Aldinga struck tho Bcllambo Roef at daybreak, and became a total wreck. The crew are safe. Tho Aldinga ran ashore in a dense fog. It is thought she must have mistaken the bearings. PROPOSED SMELTING WORKS. There seeni3 some probability of the Broken Hill Proprietary Company establishing smelting works at the old Port Waratah site, on the Hunter river. KILLED BY LIGHTNING. Mc Mitchell, a farmer at Orange, and his two sons were killed by lightning while taking tea.

Later. Tho two Mitchell boys arc not dead, though seriously injured. THE RABBIT PEST. Melbourne, January 22. In consequence of the alarming spread of rabbits complaints are made of: the inefficient administration of the Destruction Act. The Government, therefore, has re-appointed twenty of the Inspectors who were dispensed with under the retrenchment scheme. Sixty police officers, who are at present acting as inspectors, will also ba paid a bonus as an inducement to them to give special attention to the destruction of the pesfc. The Minister of Lands is asking Parliament to vote the sum of £50,000 to be lent to tho Shire Councils at 3 per cent, foi , tho purchase of wire netting to prevent the spread of bunny. HON. W. P. EEEVES INTERVIEWED. Brisbane, January. 22. In the course of an interview the Hon. W. P. Beeves said that the Cable Conference had done good work, but the question of the amount of the subsidy would probably require further consideration. Ho spoke hopefully of the state of New Zealand finances and the prospects of the mining industry. ALLEGED ILLEGAL DETENTION. Adelaide, January 22. The authorities are investigating a strange case of alleged illegal detention of a Chinese girl aged sixteen years by one of her own countrymen. Some neighbours climbed on the roof of the house and through the skylight saw a girl almost naked and in a filthy condition. The police were informed and broke into the house. The girl stated that she had been detained against her will in the attic for eleven months. The Chinaman's version is that the girl came to the colony with a Chinese woman, who returned to China and it was subsequently found necessary to restrict the girl's liberty. THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN BANK. - Perth, January 22. At the half-yearly meeting of the Western Australian Bank a dividend of 17£ per cent, was declared and a 5 per cent, bonus voted on all salaries. The Directors propose to increase the capital by the issue of fresh shares. SALE OF THE LONDON MINE. Coolgahdie, January 22. The sale of the London mine was completed yesterday, when a cheque of £27,000 was paid to the lucky prospectors, who had already received a deposit of £30,000. Last night, after the payment, Davies, one of the prospectors, was garrotted and robbed of Bank receipts of the value of £30,000. A SENSATIONAL LEAP. Hobast, January 22. A sensational leap from the mail train running between Hobart and Launceston was made by a young girl named Brown. When travelling in a compartment with Mr Davidson, a member of a firm of engineers, the girl fell asleep. Davidson alleges that he took a sip of a cough mixture containing peppermint and aniseed. The girl awoke, believed the smell to be that of chloroform, and tried to attract the attention of passengers in the next compartment. Failing to do so she then dropped from the window. The girl was found uninjured except for a few bruises. Davidson was taken into custody, but it is generally believed that she was labouring under a hallucination.