VICTORIA.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1360, 16 February 1865, Page 3

VICTORIA.

The dates of our files by the Albion extend to the Ist inst. We take the following town and country news from the Australasian.

The Large Meteorite.—We are informed that, on Saturday afternoon, the large meteorite, which so long formed the most remarkable and famous colonial specimen in the public Museum was removed,s without acquainting the director, in whose charge it was, by three persons purporting to act on verbal orders of the Government storekeeper, to ship it on board the Red Rover, to sail on Monday morning. A formal protest was made against the removal without a written authority from the Chief Secretary. Fire. —About two o'clock on Sunday morning a fire broke out in Drummond-street, Carlton, by which the three houses numbered 119, 121, and 123 were destroyed. All three of the tenements were constructed of wood, and one of them, No. 121, was insured for £250. The fire brigade succeeded in saving the adjoining property. The cause of the fire is unknown.

Thunderstorm. —The correspondent of the Adelaide Register at King George's Sound reports that " the town of Albany, King George's Sound, was visited by a very severe thunderstorm, at six o'clock on the 6th inst. Several persons were affected by the lightning, but most fortunately, with the exception of one man, the cases are not serious. His name is Prior, and from below the waist heis completely paralyzed, and not expected to recover. A flagstaff on the Parade was shivered to atoms, and several houses injured." Figure-head of a Ship.—A correspondent of the Portland Guardian, dating from Narrawong, states that he had found on the beach; about two miles west of the mouth of the Fitzroy river, a figure-head board of a large ship, with the name "T. E. Millidge "in sunk gilt letters. It measures about ten feet long, and has the appearance of having been in the water a short time only. The staples by which it is intended to. be fastened to the ship's head are quite perfect, proving that it could not have been violently wrenched off. It is nicely carved in scroll work, and has evidently been used in harbour only, for show. If you will be kind enough to publish this, some light may be elicited. The Prize Painting.—The Government prize of £200, offered to Australian artists, has been awarded to Mr. Chevalier, for his fine painting of Gipps Land scenery; a painting which now becomes the property of the state. It is not too much to say that this decision of the Fine Arts Commissioners gives general satisfaction. The picture will be a worthy addition to those sterling works of art which we have lately congratulated the country upon acquiring. Protective Duties.—The following report from the Select Committee on Manufactures, was laid before the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday. " The select committee appointed by your honourable House on the 2nd Dec. last, to inquire into and report upon the progress and present condition of the manufacture in the colony of tobacco, cigars, and spirits, under differential duties, and of ale and porter under an import duty, have the honour to report that they have examined a number of witnesses in reference to the action of the differential duties on spirits and tobacco ; and have arrived at the conclusion that the imposition of these duties has led largely to the investment of capital, the employment of labour, and ! a decrease in the cost to the consumers of the articles manufactured. Your Committee are of opinion that the protective duty on beer has been most beneficial in its results, and has led to the establishment of a large number of breweries throughout the colony. In consequence of the differential duty on spirits, and the import duty on beer, a market has been found for barley, the cultivation of which is greatly on the increase ; and your committee believe, from the tenor of the. evidence, that the production both of spirits and beer would be further developed by a small additional duty upon malt, which would stimulate the farmer to improve the quality of his barley, and to increase its production." Hares at Barwon Park.—We learn that Mr. Thomas Austin has been much more successful with the hares at Barwon Park than he expected. The last account from liirn was that seven had been seen in a small paddock where only four were turned out. A few days ago, Mr. Austin himself counted thirteen, and there can now be little doubt that these animals are thoroughly acclimatized at Barwon Park.

Victorian VOTiUNTEEiis.—The number of volunteers who qualified themselves during the past year to rank us effectives was 2,832. The strength of the corps, exclusive of paid officers, was on the Ist of January last, 3,301, so that eighty-five per cent, of the force passed through the course of drill required by the state. In addition, 1,283 men have passed in gun drill, and have thus qualified themselves for work in the batteries, High as the per centage of men who have passed is, wc understand a large number who fully expected to attain the rank were disappointed, through some of the parades which they attended being rejected in consequence of the attendance at the same not being equal to the regulation standard. A field-battery, consisting of six Armstrong twelve-pounders, ordered for the use of the Volunteer Artillery, has just been landed from the Coleroon. This is the second battery of these splendid field-pieces the Volunteer Artillery has acquired. Tun Shenandoah.—A question relative to the appearance in Ilobson's Bay of the Confederate war steamer Shenandoah, was put to the Chief Secretary, in the Legislative Assembly, yesterday. Mr. Gra | m ™ Berry asked whether the Government intended take steps to confiscate the vessel, for an i"*" l . l # * ment of her Majesty's proclamation of neutvaii y.

Mr. M'Culloch required that notice should be given of the question, and notice was accordingly given for to-day.

Thk Opium Duty.—-After a discussion extending over four nights, the first item in the Government tariff scheme—the reduction of the opium duty to 10s per lb has been carried in the Legislative Assembly by fifty to twenty-one. The division took place in the Committee «f Ways and Means, shortly before two o'clock this morning. There was a large attendance of strangers in the galleries during the greater portion of the night. Cape News.-—By the Tararua, s.s., we (Argus) have dates from the Cape of Good Hope to the 29 th December. Governor Sir P. E, Wodehouse, in company with Lady Wodehouse, returned to Cape Town on the 23rd of last month, after an absence of about ten months from the capital. The Cape Argus has the following account of the circumstances connected with the loss of the steamship London's lifeboat:—" It appears that on the 27th of last month a man was washed overboard from the bowsprit. Several life-buoys were at once thrown to him, one of which he reached, and a boat was lowered as quickly as possible, manned by Captain Harris, the sailing master, and a crew of five men. The boat was seen to pull about two miles from the ship, and wjas last observed at the top of a wave. The vessel was under sail at the time of the accident, but steam was got up as quickly as , possible, and she made for the spot at wbich the boat was last observed. Nothing, however, could be found, and the ship steamed round the spot at a distance of fifteen miles, with no greater success. Another circle of thirty miles was then completed, and as night was coming on, the ship resumed her course." Singular Suicide. —We take from the Hobart Town Mercury the following account of a remarkable case of suicide:—" We have been favoured by Mr. Chapman, of Port Esperance, with the following account of a most determined suicide by a man named William Cummings, in his employ. On Monday, the 10th inst., the man. was at work as usual, but left about noon, complaining of being slightly unwell, and on the morning of the next day the following notice, which we give verbatim et literatim, was found stuck upon the shutter of his window:—'Notis.—l am Soon About to find thee grand Secret Out By committing Suicide. I dont see enny perticler cose to wish to live longer. If thar Is an existance After Natural life thee change Will B for superor, if I dont Return Within three dayes from this date Report it to the constable. January 10th, 1865. William Cummings.' On the following Friday the body of the deceased was found floating in the water, about half-a-mile from his residence, by Mr. and Mrs. Vaughan, and the probability is that he must have walked deliberately into it on the Tuesday morning, or some time previously. An inquest was held before Dr. Daldy, coroner, and the jury returned a verdict of felo de se. The deceased was about forty-five years of age, and a steady workman."

Bushrangia—An Adelaide paper indulges in the following piece of sarcasm at the expense of the New South Wales Government:—" Gazette Extrar ordinary. Bushrangia to wit. Whereas I, Ben Hall, have captured and deposed the Right Hon. Sir John Young, Bart., K.C.8., formerly her Majesty's representative in New South Wales, and I have changed the name of the said deprived province to Bushrangia, and assumed the government thereof: Now, therefore, I order and command all drivers and guards of her Majesty's mails to deliver up the same upon demand to such officers as I may appoint. Given under my hand and revolver this Ist November, 1864, at Mudgee and Yass the same day. By command, H. Vane, J. Gilbert, Joint Hangers." An editorial note is appended to this mock proclamation, which says:—"We presume this notice sufficiently accounts for six mails having been stuck up in the last five days." The joke is of the mildest, but it serves to show the wide-spread contempt which the conduct of the Neiv South Wales Government in reference to these bushrangers has excited. A Goulburn telegram in the Herald of the 28th ult gives the following particulars of the late murderous exploit of Ben Hall's gang:—"Yesterday, Hall'sgang stuck up about thirty persons on the road, taking from them various amounts, from half-a-crown to £11 12s. Twelve drays were stopped. The robbers broke open cases, took a little clothing, and a double-barrel gun. They drank bottled porter, and gave some to the people. Two watches were stolen, one horse, saddle, and bridle. Judge Meymot passed along the road just before, escorted by two troopers; Gilbert rode out from the bu'sl, and Constable Gray gave chase, but vas called back by the Judge. The police, on reaching Collector, were joined by two others, and, accompanied by Mr. Voss and a magistrate, went in search of the bushrangers. After they-had gone, Hall, Gilbert, and Dunn went into Collector, and stuck up Kemberley's Inn. On this reaching the ears of the lock-up keeper, Samuel Nelson, who was the only policeman there, took his carbine and went up towards Kemberley's. Dunn met him on the road, called upon him to stand, firing at the same instant. Nelson cried out' Stop,' and fell. Dunn fired again. Both shots took effect—one on the head ; or neck, the other in the heart. Nelson never spoke after receiving the second wound. After he committed this murder, Dunn went to Kemberley's Inn, and the bushrangers left the township. Subsequently, the police sighted them on the brow of a hill and charged them. The bushrangers leaped their horses over logs, and made off, and were lost sight of, the evening being, intensely dark. They abandoned a stolen horse. Mr.' Yoss held a magisterial inquiry on the body of Nelson last evening, and the coroner held an inquest to-day. Nelson had been in the police force for some years, and was much respected. He leaves a wife and eight children. Two of his sons saw him shot—one was holding the bushrangers' horses at the time." A Snake Story—The latest, and not the least surprising, snake story of the season is recounted as follows in the Ballarat Star-.—" On Friday last a dog, belonging to Mr Persse, of the Junction Hotel, Warrenheip, succeeded in killing a large snake,which, on being opened, was found to contain the very large number (as we are informed) of sixty young ones. After killing the snake, the dog became very uneasy, and made great exertions to vomit, which he at length succeeded in doing, the result being one of the young snakes, which had got down his throat by some means. The snake re-appeared in quite a lively condition, and the dog seemed much relieved when he got rid of it." A Large Whale. —The Geelong Advertiser is responsible for the following story of a whale:—"On the 28th inst., as the cutter Spray was about twentythree miles south by west from Cape Schanck, and about three o'clock in the afternoon, a large whale was seen spouting about two miles distant. The cutter was under all sail, going about ten miles an hour. In about ten minutes after he was first sien, he broached about 250 yards ahead of the vessel, and in a few moments after the whale rose right under the bowsprit, and the cutter went clear over him, those on board experiencing a slight shock as the little craft evidently had touched the monster, and who, to show his contempt for her, threw up his flukes, as if to crush her for the insult. He shortly after this rose just off the lee quarter, and lay almost motionless, allowing those on board to have a good look at him. He was a right or black whale, of about 100 barrels, and one of the largest whales seen in these waters for many years. The schooner suffered no damage from the fish, but all on board seemed but too glad to get rid of his company-" A Whirlwind.—One of the most extraordinary whirlwinds (says the Riverine Herald) it has fallen to our lot to chronicle occurred yesterday afternoon, about four o'clock. It came from the direction of the Campaspe, immediately behind the Echuca Hotel, and after committing serious devastation there, in the shape of stripping the back verandah of sundry sheets of iron, passed between the Hall of Commerce and Mr. Shackell's private residence, crossed the Murray, making almost a clean breach through the river, and expended its fury on the New South Wales side. The column of dust, &c., which accompanied it was something to be seen rather than to be be believed. ' The Border Duties.—The Riverine Herald remarks that scarcely a week passes without the occurrence of some unpleasantness in connexion with the border duties, which usually arises on the part of the New South Wales authorities. It is now two or three weeks ago that a party of Germans en route for New South Wales, were stopped at Moama, in consequence of a pound of tobacco being discovered in their dray. Incredible as the fact may appear, they are ncamped there yet, their horse and dray being se. 'Ed and retained, pending the receipt of instructions, from Sydney. Whether these instructions result in the return of the dray, &c., to them or its confiscation, the loss of time and money will be equally vexatious. The greatest inconvenience too was experienced on Thursday, when, in consequence of the Government holiday, the conveyance of dutiablegoods into New South Wales was entirely suspended.