Late Australian News.

Hastings Standard, Issue 262, 4 March 1897, Page 4

Late Australian News.

[N.Z. Times.] A former shipmate of the alleged murderer Butler was fined £6, or two months, at Newcastle (N.S.W.) the other day for impersonating a constable. He went to gaol. The impersonator, whose name is John Brown, has been acting as boarding-house runner. He will be called to give evidence against Butler at the latter's trial. The Sydney police are endeavoring to ascertain the whereabouts of a man named Smith, who lately resided at Privett-street, offMort-street, Balmain and who is supposed to be suffering from leprosy. Smith consulted Dr McMurray, who, after examining him, informed him that he had leprosy. The man then left, and Dr McMurray gave information to the Board of Health, and to the police. Dr Tidswell, of the Board of Health, was sent over to examine Smith, but learnt that he had not returned home. The Brisbane Carpenter's Union is endeavoring to fix the mininum rate of wages at 8s a day. A peculiar case of attempted murder is reported from Tarnagulla (Victoria). An aged man named John Thomas Weir, while prospecting a mile from the town, came on a nice prospect of gold. He showed the result of a few dishes to an old fossicker named Harry Thomas, and when he started work in the shaft next day Thomas was present. A few minutes later a stone weighing 201b came clown the shaft and struck Weiron the head. The latter, on reaching the surface, saw Thomas, but no one else, in sight. Weir's skull was fractured, and Thomas has been arrested on a charge of attempted murder. A brisk trade and passenger business is being maintained by Sydney with Westralia. Every boat is crowded, when the last mail left seven high-class steamers were announced to leave Sydney for the Western Colony. At Geelong a married woman named May Lyons, aged 19 years, made a desperate attempt to strangle herself in one of the cells at the Police Court. She had been sentenced to three months' imprisonment for being an idle and disorderly person. For nearly half an hour the police were engaged in bringing her back to sensibility. Safe robberies have been quite numerous lately at Boulder (Kalgoorlie), five being reported in a couple of weeks. The Premier of Westralia says there is absolutely no cruth in the rumor that the Government is disposed to abandon the goldfields water scheme, but the present time, he says, is inopportune for raising a loan, owing to the high bank rate existing. A ten-year-old lad named Bennett had a miraculous escape from death at Maryborough (Victoria). He was out using a shanghai, and was walking backwards, in order to obtain a clear aim at a bird in a tree overhead, when he stepped over the mouth of an abandoned shaft 60ft in depth. He was badly bruised, but escaped without breaking a bone. A despatch from Lord Salisbury to the Governor of New Caledonia, dated 21st December, has reference to recruiting in the Solomon Islands. The despatch states that instructions have been given to the British warships to take action, with a view to preventing French vessels from recruiting labor in the British part of the Solomon group. At the same time the despatch covers a prohibition of the sale of arms to natives. Great interest has been manifested in Sydney in the convention of young Australians. Over 200 delegates were present, and some knotty points discussed re Federation. It was affirmed that the Senate should be elected by the State Parliaments, and that the members of the House of Representatives should be elected on the franchise existing in the different colonies. Also that the representatives in the Lower Chamber should be in the proportion of population, that each State should have an equal number in the Senate, and that the members of the House of Representatives should receive payment to the total amount of £SOOO per annum. The output and the value of the gold produced in New South Wales during 1896 amounted to 296,6710z lGdwt, valued at £1,073,860 4s 7d. There are over a hundred men at Cooktown who intend starting for New Guinea shortly, The Sydney wool traffic is alleged to bo of an unimportant character just now owing to it being the off season. The season begins on July 1, and by February the traffic has generally reached small dimensions. Taking the season as a whole, the figures show an increase of 25,000 bales as compared with last season. Since the first of the month 4000 bales have been received at Darling Harbor. For the whole season the quantity of wool received at three principal stations, viz.. Darling llarbor, Morpeth, and Newcastle, was (508,000 bales, as against 578,000 bales for the previous season. At Brunswick (Melbourne) recently a man commonly known as the "whistling thief" was sentenced to three months' imprisonment for stealing a horse collar. He had unharnessed a baker's horse and taken the collar. Tho Queensland Railway Commissioner intends calling for tenders for the construction of the railway from Kockhampton to Broadtnount, at an estimated cost of £4t>,ooo The Brisbane Customs officers recently seized the principal jwtrtion of the stock-in-trade of the Australian .1' wellery Company, amounting t" over £IOOO, on suspicion that the duty was unpaid. After a searching inquiry, the Collector of Customs i* satisfied that the suspicions were unfounded, and has returned the good*. I A peculiar dispute has arisen tad I twwa the employees of Messrs Bick-

ford and Lucas, furniture manufacturers, of Perth, and their principals. The firm has amongst its workmen one Wall Sing, who was born in Auitiv.lia of a Chinese father and English mother, raid who has served two years in a militia ivgiment in the Eastern colonies. The employees object to him as a Chinaman, while Messrs Bic-kford and Lucas declare him to be English. Several cabinetmakers who signed a protest against him have been discharged,and the rest have gone out. The local Furniture Trades Society is supporting the strikers. The traffic between the coast and the West Australian goldfields capital shows no diminution, passengers arriving in hundreds daily, and merchandise in thousands of tons. The January returns from Coolgardie alone amounted to £20,000, while Kalgoorlie (with Kanowna, Bulong and other adjoining centres) contributed £13,000, or a total of £83,000 for the month.