Australian.

Evening Star, Issue 7484, 31 March 1888, Page 2

Australian.

* The man Grocock, who was sentenced to death for the murderous M»nlt on OpUuft, the station-master at Glen Huntly. in December last, has had his sentence commuted to Bfteen years'penal semtnde and two floggings of fifteen lashes each. - A silver rush has taken place to St. Ainand, 158 miles, from Melbourne. The leues applied

for include public streets ami reserves. The Miaes Department consider the ruah unjustifiA deputation has asked Premier Gillies to reduce the grain freights 50 per cent, to temporarily relievo farmers suffering from tho low prices. The deputation urged that the estimated loss of LIOO.OOO could be recouped to the railways from the general revenue, ahe Victorian Premier, in reply, said that Parliament would have to decide such an important matter. The Melbourne Opera House had » narrow escape of being decoyed by fi.v on Thursday night The hotel adjoiuing the theatre caught fire but fortunately the Haines were extinguished before serious damage was done, although it -ras not without great trouble that the brigade subdued what at one time looked as if it would result in a serious conflagration. The five men in custody on a charge of taking part in the recent fatal fight at Melbourne pleaded guilty. The Crown Proiecutor stated that the fight was a fair one, and the Judge released the men on their entering into recognisances to come up for sentence when called upon. A decision delivered by the Victorian Appeal Court on the appeal of one of tho female teachers involves that provisiou must be made by the Elucation Department to pay from LIO.OOOto L 15.000 accumulated increment salaries, principally those due to females. The Premier of Victoria has received a communication inviting the colonies to send delegates or be represented at the congress arranged by the Spanish Government, to discuss the question of fradulent wine marks, and also to amend the sugar bounties. The conference is to be held in April. A crowded anti-Chinese meeting was held at Sydney on Tuesday night, when resolutions objecting to the great influx of Chinese and the action of the Chinese Government in encouraging the emigration of Chinese to Australia were tabled and carried unanimously. A deputation from the meeting waited on the Premier next afternoon, and laid before him the resolutions passed by the meeting. In reply. Sir Henry Parkes said the Government aimed at practical prohibition of Chinese immigration to New South Waleß. The whole question, said the Premier, would shortly be submitted to the consideration of Parliament. The Broken Hill Proprietary Silver-mining Company's Bhares have dropped to between L 330 and L 340 in all colonial markets. The captain of the Changsha has been fined L2oofor allowing seven Chinamen to escape from the vessel at Sydney without paying the necessary poll-tax. News haa reached Brisbane to the effect that the French troops are heartily glad to leave the New Hebrides. All but two of them had fever while on the islands, it being almost impossible to sleep ashore witnout catching the fever. Sir Samuel Griffith has forwarded a long memorandum in reply to the protests made by the Trades and Labor Conference against Queensland not joining in the anti-Chinese agitation with the other colonies. Sir Samuel, in the memorandum, stateß that the Queensland Government took no part in the agitation, thinking separate replies from each of the colonies would be more effective. Sir Samuel, in replying to a deputation from the anti Chinese meeting, said that he would urge tho members of his Government to bring pressure to bear on the Chinese Government to discourage, and, if possible, forbid emigration to Austialia. The Legislative Council of Western Aus tralia have refused to authorise a contract with the Hampton Plains Railway syndicate. The Surveyor-General urges that it would be better to wait tho results of similar enterprises in hand before encouraging others. He believed the proposed line would ruin the promoters, and he condemned tho alienation of any more large areas to absentees. The report which found circulation some months ago to the effect that castaways were on the Crozet Islands has been confirmed by the receipt by His Excellency the Governor of Wottern Australia of a cable message from the French Government stating that a vessel had just returned to France, reporting that sailors had landed at the Crozets and left an inscription to the effect that, the provisions having become exhausted, they had removed to another island some distance off. The vessel went in search of them, but found no further trace It is surmised that they have bßen picked up by a passing ship. The New South Wales Government intend erecting smelting works for the purpose of assaying bulk samples of ore iustead of small quantities. Last year 2,200 assays were made. It is expected that 5,000 assays will bo made this year. . The ' Evening News' spates that the inquiry made by the Sydney municipal authorities into the alleged frauds shows that there has been a triple system of plundering carried on for upwards of twenty years, large numbers of the weights, prices, and articles supplied by the contractors being altered. The amount of the fraud is likely to swell to LIOO.OOO. Legal ad»ice is now being taken as to the prosecution of several of the officers, and it is mentioned that the prosecution may extend to circles little suspected. The books and vouchers which were missing from the municipal offices have been discovered in the storeroom of the Town Hall. ~ . . Several new lodes have been discovered in the Que'na Bilver district. Five hundred men are now on the ground, and the field is daily increasing in importance. A conference ©f delegates from the various chambers of manufacturers in the colonies is fixed to be held at Sydney on June 6. Mr Bernard C. Molloy, M.P. for Bevy, King a County, Ireland, is a passenger for Aucklahdby the Tarawera. ' A gatekeeper on the Parramatta railway line, in attempting to save the life of a little girl who had wandered on to the line, was run over and killed. The child was also killed. A serious outbreak of typhoid fever has taken place at the Broken Hill silver mines. Owing to the presence of the Hessian fly in New Zealand the local Agricultural Sooiety are urging the Government to prohibit the importation of hay from there into Adelaide; M. Levi, M. Pasteur's nephew, with M. Fermont, French doctor, and Dr Hinds, English toctor, are passengerß by the Cuzoo, which has arrived at Adelaide. They come to Australia to conduct experiments in connection with M. Pasteur's rabbit extermination proposals. M. Levi, in reply to an interviewer, stated emphatically that the possibility of any ill effects from the experiments had been disproved by M. Pasteur. The disease with which it was proposed to infect rabbits was not allied to cholera; and M. Levi stated that perßons had been infected from poultry without experiencing the slightest inconvenience or discomfort. He also stated that after being infected the rabbits die painlessly within twenty-four hours. In reply to further questions, M. Levi Baid he was Lot aware what effect the disease would have upon skins. .