Intercolonial News.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 361, 11 January 1879, Page 21

Intercolonial News.

AUSTRALIAN SUMMARY. (rER AUSTRALIA AT AUCKLAND.) Melbourne, January 1. At G-ardener’s sale of cattle, Matilda, a double Brunswick, was bought for New Zealand for 100 guineas. Victorian Meeting.—Midsummer Handicap, for three year olds —Aconite, 1; Drum Major, 2; Savanalca, 3. For the Champion Stakes races, Vulcan did the runniug for the first mile, and then fell back. Calamia and Rhodee were well up at the finish. Wellington took the lead from Vulcan, and was never headed the whole way. , The schooner St. Kilda collided with the barque Seagull off Wilson’s Promontory. The latter was abandoned. The crew were taken on by the St. Ivilda. Sydney, January 1. A disastrous fire has occurred, eleven building's were totally demolished, including the Commercial Bank. The loss is £7OOO. The new steamer Taraoraroura has just arrived from Glasgow. She claims salvage for towin" the steamer Ocean off the reef. The whole of the Mecca’s cargo was lost. A telegram from Brisbane says the unauthorised landing of 300 Chinese on Thursday Island makes the A.S.N. Company liable to a fine of £25 per head, under the Chinese Immigration Act. John Bayo, while acting as umpire m a cricket match, was struck by the ball under the left ear aud fell down and died instantaneously. (per akawata at the bluer.) Melbourne, January 3. Since the departure of the embassy on Saturday last by the mail steamer, politics have been at a discount. There were a good manv Government supporters on the pier to hid adieu to Messrs. Berry and Pearson, but nothin 0- in the shape of a demonstration. The Victoria accompanied the Assam ten miles down the bay, and there were parting cheers. The refusal of the P. and O. Company to take Henderson Africauus on board put an end to that joke, which was made the subject of an indignation meeting. Major Smith has assumed the duties of Treasurer, and Sir Bryan O’Loughlin those of Chief Secretary. Sir Hercules Robinson is en route .to visit his married daughter, Mrs. A. K. Finlay, of Glenormiston. The last tea days have been given up to amusements, principally to cricket. I here are very fine bats amongst the English team, and they are excellent in the field, but the bowling is weak. Messrs. R. D. Walker and Pean have just arrived by the 'mail to join the team. The attendance at the match between (. anfcerbury and Ballarat was very small, especially on tlie second day. The fielding of the local team was very inferior. Hartland, Firth, and Ashley obtained most wickets. The Canterbury fielding was very good. The match against East Melbourne fixed for this week was postponed owing to other attractions. There was a large attendance at the Champion Meeting. Nine horses started for the Champion Race, which Wellington won easily. Six other events made up a good programme. Two accidents occurred on the Victorian railway on New Year’s Day, fortunately unattended with more thau damage to rolling stock, and temporary block on the line. P. S. Winter, who came to this colony in 1838, recently died at his station in the Western District. The weather has been warm, and very little rain has fallen. No business doing owing to the holidays. The recent sales of horse and cattle stocks have gone off badly. The opening of ports is believed to affect the sale of cattle. In a collision between the St. Kilda and the Seagull one seaman was drowned, All the places of amusement continue to be well patronised. The estimated population of the colony of New South Wales on the 30th June was 675,316, showing an increase of 13,014 since -the end of last year. Since 1572 the total amount of land alienated in New South Wales is 16,926,626 acres, of which 9,965,873 acres have been free selections ; while the present Government sold 578,770 acres by auction and under improvements.

There is for the present no intelligence whatever respecting the Mansfield murderers. As showing the feeling of insecurity which prevails, we (Australasian) give the following communication from our correspondent at Wood’s Point, dated December 20.: —“The banks to-day sent away all gold and money. They have stopped all issue, and closed for two or three days, until further notice. The business people are greatly distressed for want of circulating medium.” The Bendigo Advertiser says:—“This week’s number of our comic contemporary (Punch) is almost monopolised by the famous embassy to England. The cartoon represents Messrs. Beiry and Pearson as a couple of mountebanks dressed for their performance. The Professor is arranging a small piece of carpeting for the performances, and Mr. Berry (the framework of iron) is calling out, ‘ Hi ! hi ! Be in time, be in time. We’re just agoing to begin.’ The third ambassador, ‘ Henderson Afrieanns,’ stands looking on with an expresion of supercilious disdain. A likeness of the latter, posed for the occasion, and with his severest intellectual expression, put on for the occasion, forms one of the illustrations with the title, * Men of the Time. The third Ambassador.’ The other two illustrations' represent the ambassadors under different conditions. In one they are on deck at sea very ill, aud in' the other they are dancing iu very questionable company at the Mabille in Paris.

A decidedly fast young lady has just kicked Berry’s hat off, the latter exclaiming ‘ Bccang fay, Madam.' There is the usual amount of humorous writing, nearly all about the ambassadors aud the embassy. The Tasmanian Mail of the 21st ult says that quite an impetus has been given to the timber trade iu consequence of the New Zealand Government having decided to remove the duties on the produce of the forests of other countries from and after the 31st inst., and owing to the large quantity of timber required for the execution of the public works that have been sanctioned. The duties were found to he very burdensome, and in some cases represented from 25 per cent, to 30 per cent of the cost of the articles. They were as follows :—Timber, 2s. per 100'super, feet; palings, 2s. per 100 ; shingles, 2s. per 1000; posts and rails, 4s. per 100. As a sequence of the removal of these imposts, considerable activity has been displayed recently in the harbor in loading vessels with timber for various New Zealand ports, and no little competition will ensue amongst the ships in endeavoring to reach their destination so as to take the earliest possible advantage of the ports being opened to them. The schooner Laurel got away on Tuesday with a cargo for Wellington. There are nine other vessels which ai’e either laden or loading with timber at Hobart Town for New Zealand. They comprise the barques Mary Blair, Huntress, and Corinna, for Lyttelton ; the barques Acacia, Sea Shell,. Free Trader, and the brigantine Dahlia, for Dunedin ; the barque Bella Mary, for Auckland ; and the brigantine Annie, for a New Zealand port. In addition to these the barque Wild Wave is loading timber at Southport for a New Zealand port. As all appear to be equally anxious to arrive in the New Zealand market as near the Ist of January as possible, there will no doubt be quite a rush from this port in the course of a few days.

SECULAR EDUCATION IN NEW SOUTH WALES. (From the Auckland Evening Star.) Secular education has found influential approval from a quarter whence it was least expected. Most people are tolerably familiar with the arguments that have been used against it. Chief amongst these is the oft reiterated assertion that it is a godless system ; and that being such, it is undeserving the countenance of those who are entrusted with the cure of souls. In New South Wales a secular system of education has been in operation for many years past. Whan it was initiated it was com derailed by the clergy of various denominations in no measured terms ; hut time, which “is the nurse and breeder of all good,” has worked a great change in the public mind. At the recent meeting of the Church of England Synod of New South Wales, a debate took place on the subject of religious education, and the conviction generally expressed was that, to quote the Sydney Morning Herald, “the present Schools Act is a reasonable one, and any change that might be effected in its provisions would be more likely to be a change for the worse than for the better.” The Dean of Sydney spoke at considerable length upon the satisfactory working of the Act, and concluded by moving a resolution, which was adopted, urging clergymen to avail themselves of the clause which provides “ that a portion of each day, not less than an hour, may be set apart for the religious instruction of children of any one religions persuasion by the clergyman of such persuasion.” During the discussion at the Synod, the clergymen who had availed themselves of the privilege of imparting religious instruction in the schools bore testimony to the fact that they found no difficulty in the way of exercising their privileges under the Act. But the most remarkable fact disclosed in the State reports on education in New South Wales is that comparatively few clergymen visit the schools, notwitastanding an intimation by the Council of Education that they were willing to gx’ant, not only an hour each day, but an hour and a half for separate religious teaching. The official returns showed that about 80 of the 400 public schools were visited by clergymen for the purposes named, and that out of 500 clergymen about 100 visited public schools. And more striking still is the fact that about 80 of that 100 belonged to the Church of England, the remainder being chiefly Presbyterians, Wesleyans, and Roman Catholics, the latter forming a comparatively small per centage of the whole.

THE RABBIT NUISANCE. (From the Australasian.) The spread of the rabbit evil in the Mallee districts was again brought under the notice of the Government on Monday by a deputation of pastoral tenants and selectors, who waited on the Chief Secretary and the Minister of Lands. They pointed out that so rapid was the spread of these pests that the question had really to be considered whether holdings and runs would not have to be abandoned unless vigorous measures were taken for the suppression of the nuisance. Crops were destroyed, and many of the selectors were on the verge of ruin. The rabbits, it wa3 stated, were now deserting the Mallee, where all the feed had been eaten off. and were now coming among settlement. The deputation asked that as early as possible next session a Bill should be introduced to deal with the subject in a comprehensive manner, and that in the meantime the Government should devote a sum of £SOOO for the purpose of checking the spread of these creatures. Mr. Berry expressed the opinion that those locally interested should join together and undertake this work. Upon behalf of the selectors it was stated that they had no money to do so, and that, while willing to do their utmost to preserve their own holdings, they could not be rightly expected to clear the Crown lands. The pastoral tenants pointed out that with leases expiring in two years, and with tlieir runs always open to selection, they could not afford to go to a large expenditure. Already many of these stations were being worked at a loss, Mr. Berry eventually pro-

mised to consult his colleagues. The subject was considered at the Cabinet meeting in the afternoon, and the following arrangement was arrived at :—The Minister of Lands to be •authorised to expend, under proper regulations to be hereafter framed, a sum not exceeding £ISOO in the suppression of this evil, a similar amount to be contributed by pastoral tenants and selectors in the districts affected. A meeting of selectors is also to be held iu the district to consider the proposition of the pastoral tenants that in consideration of their undertaking to clear their runs, selection thereupon shall be stayed until 1880. If approved, the Minister of Lands will carry out this proposal.