AUSTRALIA.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXXX, Issue 10219, 13 December 1893, Page 5

AUSTRALIA.

THE NEW ZEALAND DAIRY EXPERT. SYDNEY, Dec. 12. Mr Valentine, the New Zealand dairy expert, has arrived here. He will visit various parts of this Colony and Victoria before proceeding to New Zealand. DISTURBING A MEETING. The “ active service brigade ” put in an appearance last night at a meeting addressed by the labour members with the object of preventing the meeting. During the disturbance, when Mr Kelly was speaking one member of the brigade produced a loaded revolver, and intimated that he would do,some shooting if he was interfered with. The man was quickly THE POSTAL CONFERENCE. MELBOURNE, Dec. 12. The Deputy-Postmaster will represent the Colony at the Postal Conference at Wellington, New Zealand, next month, the Postmaster-General being unable to attend, RECONSTRUCTION. Owing to falling revenue following on the recent bank failures, thd reconstruction scheme of the Melbourne Permanent Building Society, agreed to in March last, is found to be impracticable. A new scheme has now been submitted, under which a dividend will not be paid until the sum of £30,000 has been added to the present reserve fund out of profits. It was announced that Mr Johnston, the late manager, misappropriated something like £12,000, of which £IBOO had been advanced by means of fictitious' loans, and over £6OOO advanced to persons believed to have been his nominees. A UNION COMPANY’S STEAMER DISABLED. SYDNEY, Dec. 12. The Union Company’s steamer Ovalau, bound from Newcastle to Melbourne, is being towed into Twofold Bay with her machinery disabled. The Ovalau broke her shaft. She was bound to Fiji via Sydney, and will. probably be towed here by the steamer Oonah for repairs.