AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

Evening Star, Issue 12852, 18 January 1908, Page 10

AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

THE COMMON"WEALTH. !hi- (lovornmeiu steamer Federal returned to Fort Darwin aiter a four weeks’ cruise round the coast of the Northern Ternton. Tile officers succeeded in fixing a beacon at the month of the Roper River, and in locating a forest of cypress pine at Cape Shiels, close to the water’s edge. Sixty fair-sized logs were brought back in proof thereof. Tbe forest is reported to be in an accessible locality, and of largo extent, although the bulk of the trees are comparatively young. Knowledge of tbe existence of this forest confirms inferentwlly the statements of bushruen that many such forests exist in the north-east corner of Arnheirn Land.

10very few days the Postmaster-General is presented with the names of agents of lattcrsall's in Tasmania. The prohibition of these agents, however, merelv leads to tho appointment of others unknown to the department. Money used to be forwarded through banking institutions, and an intimation that this means of communication existed was printed on all tickets and circulars issued by Tattersall's. The Post-master-General's attention was drawn to this, and he conveyed to banking institutions such a stern threat that Tattersall sent out to all his clients who had sent money through that channel a message of warning advising them to take other means. The Postmaster-General continues to wage a war of prohibition against individuals. Mr W. P. Hill, of Sydney, who has arrived from Port Darwin, in the course, of an interview, said that a clergvman in tho Northern Territory had made the startling statement that fully 80 per cent, of the deaths in the Temtorv were due to alcoholic excess, and his own investigation bore tins out. There were between 500 and 600 shanti'-s, and only seven hotek Sly grog-selling was carried"oa in uw.> i.-,ost open manner, and the loanlers at hotels went ar-ioss the street to the shanties to pnrchase taer. This was done because the shanties supplied much'cheaper liquor than the hotels. The blacks could obtain driii!. :n plenty. The authorities' only excu.<-.' was that it was impossible to catch the <'tfe:;ders.

Ah hough a strong party in the Federal Parlia.iiHi:t are determined to reverse the decision ot the lr.st Parliament in favor of establishing the Federal capital at Dalgety, in eider to select Canberra as the °site! therir_ is another party e.piallv determined to l.r.id fast to Dalgety. Sir John Forrest, when interviewed on his return front Western Australia., strongly deprecated anv alteration of the site. He said : " There is likely to be ,t determined ert'ort made nest session ;» have the capital feed at a place called Cmbcira. which is about 200 miles from Sydney, L,::t having inspected the locality. I ean say that it has no great qualifications as tne site for the Federal city. It has no water frontage. It is situated between two ridges of hills on a plain, and although its water supply is suliicieni. it has to be brought a considerable distance, ido not think mvself that it compares with the site already "chosen at Dalc-eiy. on the banks of the Snowy River Zul I iuily admit that a decision should be arrived at a-s soon as possible, as the delay that has arisen has caused a good deal of diiticulty and ill-feeling between the two .States most interested."

The Immigration League of Australasia has marked oat Scotland as one of its chief spheres of influence. Fifty thousand emigrants are leaving Scotland annually, and the Lcv.giic are determined to secure a proportion for Australia, as they are regarded as among the most desirable of colonists. The Scotch country papers are being supplied with articles" about Australia by writers who have intimate knowledge of the districts in which their papers circulate.

THE STATES. Frederick William Hunt, who lost his memory at, Bairnsdala on November 25, recovered it quite suddenly on New Year's day Unnt bad left his home at CoDingwood on November 15 to seek work in the

country, and was found lying in the roadway on November 25 by a police constable at Baimsdale. He was then apparently unaware of his own identity, but police inquiries discovered that he was Hunt. He was sent to .Melbourne bv the police, and at the Collingwood watehhonse on Decemblr 3 he stated that he was a lieutenant on the warship Nelson. He declared then that the year was 1887. and that his ship was in "the bay. Question and cross-question failed to shake hie state-

; incuts. He had forgotten even that he was 4 manicd, and would not rccoirnise his wife

or any of his fivt> children. He appeared at the Collingwood Police Court on December 4, and the magistrates committed him to the receiving-houso at Royal Park. During the proceedings in- the court Hunt showed intense indignation at the slight that was, as he declared, being put upon an officer of Heir Majesty's Navy. He dieclaimed all knowledge- of any wife, but adhered to ihe .statement that the year was 1887. Hunt is now in bis normal condition, and has returned to his home. Surf-bathing seems to be attended in New South Wales with a good deal of excitement. On December 4 the life-savers were kept busy, five people having to be rescued from the grasp of the undertow. One man waded to a spot near the danger area, and seddonly threw up his hands, and signalled that he was drowning. With great promptitude several bathers dashed to his assistance, while the lifelines were got out. As he was reached, however, the elderly practical joker calmly walked in, l.Tnghing uproariously at having befooled those who were willing to risk their lives for his sake. His perverted sense, of humor would doubtless have met with ite deserts but for the fact that two of those who had gone out to him were themselves caught in the grip of the current. Three members of the life-saving Club went out and held them up. Owing to the line being already extended some yards away, considerable delay ensued until it was dragged across, and at one time it appeared possible that both victims and savers would alike rooeA thair deaths, but ultimately they were got ashore. In the confusion that ensued the author of the joke, a man about sixty, made himself scarce.

In the matter of expense, as well as of long duration, the Wallace divorce case (according to the ' Age') is -certain to distance any similar suit heard in Melbourne for a great many years. Whether it will or will not put up an absolute record is a question that only the oldest habitues of the court profess to answer, and even they are divided on the point. The most reliable estimate of expense places the sum at from £l9O to £220 per day. The foes of counsel aggregate £l3O a day; in addition, there are jurors' fees, amounting to £l2 a day, the shorthand writers' fees, the witnesses' expenses, the solicitore , fees, aid a large number of incidental items. At a low estimate, the total expenditure, when the twenty-five or twenty-six days of hearing are over, will probably be found in the vicinity of £5,000.

Whilst bathing in a waterhole at Shelly Beach, Wajmambool, Miss Anderson, of Wbngoora, was caught by the foot by a largo octopus. Fortunately, the girl managed to shake herself free, and a young man subsequently killed the octopus, which was sft across.

Walter Burns, a dealer, was before Mr Isaacs, S.M., at the Sydney Water Police Court, charged with assaulting Jessie Fieseetin on December 23. Accused pleaded guilty, and was lined £lO, with the alternative of three months' imprisonment, with hard labor. During the taking of the doctor's evidence with regard to the nature of the wound the magistrate had occasion to give a sovere rebuke to the witness, Dr Arthur Charles Cahill. The doctor, who is attached to the medical staff of the St. Vincent's Hospital, at the outset said that he could not recognise the woman. Mr Isaacs : " Don't you recognise the wound?" Witness: "Might." Mr Isaacs: "Go and have a look at it." Witness: "Yes, that is tho woman." Mr Isaacs: "Don't yon mako a note of these things?" Witness: "Oh, yes; but I can't remember every trivial case coming to the hospital, as there are so many of them." Mr Isaacs: " Supposing the woman had died, that would have been serious. Would you have recollected then';" Witness :" Do you remember case coming under your notice?" Mr Isaacs : "Do not bo impartinent. It is part of my duty to remember cases, and should be part of yours as a doctor." After witness had described the wound, Mr Isaacs further said : " You are most imperiinejit. I shall take the first opportunity of bringing tho matter undor tho notice of tho hospital authoriWitness: "Much obliged, I am sure." Mr Isaacs: "You can go." From New South Wales, for the six months from July 1 to December 31, 652.540 crates of rabbits, each containing twenty-four carcasses, were exported to places beyond the Commonwealth, while the export of hares amounted to 12,029 crates, each containing one dozen. Picnic and camping parties at Cap* Couran and the Old Station, on tho x\mety-mUe Peach, had a most tryin- experience (says the Melbourne 'Argus'). A bush fire broke out shortly after noon and raged along the coast. The day was extremely hot, and a high north wind drove the fire tlirough the timber and scrub to the water's edge, forcing the picnickers, with their horses and buggies, to take refuge in the sea. Fortunately' no serious accidents occurred, although a number of poeple were overcome by the intense heat and dense smoke blowin"- seawards Mr T. Hardy was slightly burned, while his two children's clothes were set on fire by the sparks and blazing bark blowing about. A drowning accident, under unusually sad and sensational circumstances, took place at Tarriaro, near Xarrabri. \ sulky, occupied by Mr David Codv and his two children, aged seven vear's and eighteen mouths, backed oyer'the bank of the river, and the younger. child was drowned. Two men 'named Levy and Malone were attracted by the screams of Mrs Cody, who had jumped from the sulky just in time to avoid going i nto the water with her husband and children. Malone was in time to take the elder child from the father, who wiks exhausted, and lould not haw got to land without assistance. .No tr.iee of the infant could oe found. Levy had meanwhile remained on the bank with Mrs Cody, who became panic-stricken. She went into violent hysterics, and could scarrelv be restrained from jumping into the river. The horse which was still attached to the sulky. tought hard for life, but was ultimateJv drowned.

A thief was discovered tampering with the library box, containing money,"in St. John's Cathedral at West" Maitland. He was secured after a violent strutjcle ov the sacristan of the Cathedral. Thomas }J'?<.amara. and Bishop Maitland's coachman. James Brady. The man, with a screwdriver, prized open the outer lock of the box, but the second lock baffled him. He was taken to the Bishop's residence, where ha piteously pleaded poverty to Dr Hand, the vicar-general. He was admonished, and allowed to go on promising to leave the town.

j A distressing case has been brought i under the notice of the Sydney City | Coroner by the Newtown police in a reI port touching on the death of a skI months' old infant. According to the. ! statements supplied by the officer in I charge of the case, the baby was anpar- : ently quite inadvertently starved to , death. The mother was seventeen vears ;of'a<;e, and had fed her child for' two months on nothing else but barley water. j Dr Dariaey. in his report to the "coroner, stated : " The child and mother were looked after for the first four months at the Salvation Army Home, Burwood. ; Since then they stayed at the father's ' house at St. Peters." and the child has ! been fed only on barlev water. Continual j feeding on such a diet for two months means practically starvation. No , at- [ tempt was made to obtain medical nt- ! tendance or supervision till December 26, ! when the child was brought to the hosI pital at 10.5 a.m., and admitted in an exI tremelv wasted and dying condition. I She died two hours later from the effects | of malnutrition, caused by improper feccli ing."

The subscriptions received in Sydney towards the Shackleton expedition funi. amounting to nearly £SOO, were returned on the Federal Government agreeing to supply the whole of the £5.000 needed. A child of eight yeans, Thomas Joseph CTSnilivan. living in Evans street. Balmain, died at Sydney- a few days ago in pathetic circumstances. Two other children were fighting near O'Sullivan's.home, and the little chap intervened in an endeavor to separate them. In so doing he received a push which caused him to strike his head against the kerb and fracture his skull. He wds taken home, and beenme worse, until his death occurred as stated. The Chief Justice delivered judgment at

Adelaide in tho Supreme Court in the' matter of tho will of William Jones, late of tho Eagle-on-the-Hill Hotel, under which testator directed that the whole of his estate (valued at £11,000) should go, after the death of his son and daughter, to the " Incorporated Body of Freethinkers of South Australia." His Honor mentioned when testator died, in 1905, the Freethought Society had ceased to have any existence according to the requirements of its own rules for nearly ten years, and its corporate existence under the Associations' Incorporation Act of 1853 was also extinguished. The trust in the will in favor of the incorporated body failed, and tho remainder expectant on the determination of the life interests of the testator's son and daughter was undisposed of, and would go to them as the next of kin. Tho record of the Melbourne branch of the Salvation Army Anti-Suicide Bureau presents a striking contrast to that of the London bureau, where 1,500 persons, the cablo messages tell us, were saved from self-destruction in 1907. At Melbourne, sinco the inception of the bureau, only three applications for help against the spirit of despair have been made. " Staffcaptain " Arnott, who has charge of tho bureau, stated that all three applicants had been saved from their evil promptings. Tho method of the bureau is to invite communication from despondent persons who are contemplating suicide, and then to endeavor to bring the " patient" to a healthy frame of mind. It is patent, from the figures supplied, that Australians lack the despondency and weakness which led 1.500 people to seek the aid of the bureau in Jyondon. It is intended to enlarge the scope of the hureau's work a little,"to approach persons wlio have attempted suicide. In c-iscs where there is likely to be any tendency towards further attempts, the Salvation Army will proffer its aid. if the individual concerned lws not relatives or friends who can give him sympathy and encouragement. Air O. H. Relph. owner of the large motor boat Invincible, wliieh has established records in Sydney Harbor, took the craft to Newcastle, and brought, her back to Sydney. The distance from heads to heads k 62 knots. The journcv to Newcastle was accomplished in 4h lOmin. Confused, choppy seas were met with, but nothing but spray was shipped. The return trip, in smooth water, was done in hours—an average of 13 knots. The Rev. H. Worrall, of Bendigo, recently preached another of his series of sermons on gold-stealing. Ho said it had been said that he had been in collusion with a man who possessed wealth. Thernever was a greater lie than that. He stood to declare what he believed to ho the righteousness of God against what ho believed to be a great sin of that crtv. When he came to the city two years ago ho knew nothing of gold-stealing"; but he had since heard from all classes in the community that there was dishonesty prevalent that was corrupting the imagination of the youth of the city. He had heard' men say that because their working conditions were bad thev were justified in stealing S old. Others'had said that God liad put gold under the ground for the iirst man who saw it to take it. Why did ho stand to denounce gold-stealing? Not Ikecause he had vested interests in mines, for ho had none; but because it destroyed human souls. Some time ago Mr Worrall challenged any representative miner to debate the of gold-stealing. Mr J. R. Little, of Eaglehawk. who is vice-pre-sident of the Bendigo branch of the A.M. -\ , has decided to take up the challenge and arrangements will be made for the debate. A block occurred on the telegraph line between Kilmore and High Camp last week. An oflicor was sent along tho line to inquire into the fault, and it was found to bo duo to tho presence of some thousands of crows perched on the wires, the weight of the birds ca.usin<; the top wires to join the lower ones. Tho presence of the crows was due to the mvriads of Grasshoppers in the locality. Gainers and employees on the railway line had to throwstones to drive awav tho crows, when communication was restored