YESTERDAY'S CABLES.

Evening Star, Issue 7655, 4 July 1888, Page 4

YESTERDAY'S CABLES.

Australian

In the Assembly Premier Parkes stated that a judicial inquiry some years ago had determined that the Murray was the property of New South Wales, and he assured the House that the Government were unlikely to do anything which would impair the authority of the colony over the river.

Owing to the interruption of the cables the Captain of the Alameda has been unable to obtain a reply from Messrs Spreckles as to what action he should take with reference to the request of the Maritime Labor Union, that all non-Unionists and Chinese on board the steamer should be discharged before the Union will agree to work the ship. Under the circumstances, the captain offered if he were allowed to depart that he would undertake not to return with the Chinese portion of the crew. The Union, however, will not agree to this, and insist on those to whom they object being discharged now.

The first general meeting «f the Australasian Society for the Advancement of Science will be held at Sydney on August 28. A man, who has not been identified, has been brutally murdered at Elmore, Bendigo. The charge of murder preferred against Mrs Spann resulted in her acquittal. [Briefly stated, the facts in connection with this case were as follow :—A man named Gillett, possessed of considerable means, who was drinking himself to death, had been staying for some time in the restaurant kept by Mrs Spann. He visited her private house, and in a muddled condition took fro-n her son's room a bottle containing poison instead of a sleeping draught he had been ordered. After returning from a drive with Mrs Spann, Gillett asked for brandy, but agreed to take his sleeping draught. Mrs Spann took a bottle taken from her son's room out of a bag and gave Gillett a dose of acetic acid without looking at the label, the time being just about dusk. Gillett drank the mixture, but at once noticed the mistake, and said he was poisoned. All efforts mad* to save him were in vain. An inquiry was held, when it transpired that Gillett had left all his property to Mrs Spann, and this, together with the fact that the acid had a strong pungent smell, which ought to have led to its detection, no doubt influenced the jury in bringing in a verdict of " Wilful murder," a verdict reversed in the Supreme Court.]