AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 6487, 6 April 1908, Page 2

AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

A DIM CALAMITY. A dire calamity has befallen some of tho towns in the North Coast district of New r South Wales! Owing to the strike of wharf labourers at Sydney some of the hotclb in towns up (there are running: short of beer. One firm of brown re has chartered ita own oto«M----or to sail at once to the relief of th» distressed northerners with 100 lona of alo on board. CHINAMAN’S WIFE FINED. A fine of A 59 imposed by the Bundeberg police magistrate on a dashiag looking lady, whs gave her name as Hose il'unro, for . haring 35 tins of. opium and a quantity of cnarraral opium in her possession, was paid recently. Defendant’s husband is a Chinese laundry man, resident in Melbourne, named Hum Low. Ho arrired in haste by train, and as soon as the police office Wee opened paid orer fifty sovereigns, and his spouoo was liberated. KILLED CHASING HIS HAT. Nicholas O’Connor, of North Carltsn, T.. was walking along Sipring street, Melbourne, laet week, when his hat blew eff. O’Connor rushed after It, but had only gone a few yards when he collided with a passing phaeton. His head was badly injured, and, cerebral homorrh«r» ensuing, he died. At the inqneot a rerdlot of accidental 'death was returned, __ A FI GUT ABLE HORSE. A raluable lorry hors* owned by Mr T. H. iMeketls, Clermont, town carrier, was bitten bv a snake, but, luckily pwyr the Prafc Downs “Telegram”), the animal did not. succumb. In treating th* horse a bottle of brandy and two bottles of painkiller were administered. It ts stated that the animal took the liquor with great gusto, and that night wanted to light any other animal on the flat. GRUESOME DISCOVERT, A number of youths went, last week, in tho Minders to bathe, and were exploring a great wash-out, caused by the previous day’s flood waters from Station Creek. One young man of strong nsrve touched Borne foreign substance, and took a second dip, and brought up a man’s foot and leg. He called f*r assistance, and a comrade ruehed to tho scene. When the whole body was brought j to view, No. 2 retreated hastily, but No. | 1 hung on manfully and . landed ths corpse. The body wan that of a man between 55 and 60 years of age, of splendid ghysique, and found by medical examination to be of sound organa. PLUCKY WOMAN. By her pretence of mind Mrs Frances Eae saved her child from certain death at Northcoto, V., though in doing so she was severely injured. Mrs Hae was wheeling a perambulator containing her child, and while in tho act of crossing tho lino was struck by a truck and knocked down. Tho wheel passed over her right leg and left foot. When the truck came on to her the mother reab ised her danger, and, catching up the baby, threw it clear of the line just as the track struck tho perambulator, which was smashed. The child was uninjured. Mra Has was admitted to the hespital. CHAMPION CLUB-SWINGER LOSES HIS FINGERS. The days as * club swinger of Jack Harrison. Victoria’s champion, are over. Lasrt week ho waa engaged testing due of the cutting machines in Cameron and Sutherland's timber yard at South Melbourne, where he was foreman. Ilia jacket was caught in tho ' revolving drum, and part of his body and his left leg were drawn into the machine. Ho put his hands ent to save himself, and they unfortunately were also caught In the cog-wheels of the machine and wera dreadfully crushed. Ho sustained a compound fracture ef the left leg, three of his fingers on the left hand were •evered; two fingers on the right hand were also taken off. Harrison is twentyeight years of age.

PIBHT. Sown newspaper esmpoaitertl, going homo at 3 o'clock in the morning at Horsham, V., were passing Ryan's corner when they heard erieo for assistance from a man who oeuld mot ba ween. Inrestigatien disclosed the fact that tho cries cute from a man who was in tho chimney of a barber's shop. A oenslablo went on ts ths roof, and found William Macguire some feet down ths chimney. Efforts were mads to get ths man out with the aid of ropes, hut ho wao oo tightly jammed that ths ropes broke. The polios then pulled down portions of tho chimney from the top, and when they got tho man out they arrwrted him on a charge of haring broken into tho shop. He said that he had been put down the chimney head first, hut hod managed to re reran his position. Ha refused to giro tho names sf the persons who put him into ths chimney, aa ha did not want ts "iput anyone away." llacquire'* hat and beota worn subsequently found in ths hack yard et the prsmiew adjoining Eyan'a. DEFIED DXKAMITS. ' At attempt was made to break open tho safe at the office of the Stannary Hills MHwb .and Tramway Company at their mill at Rocky Bluffs, about eaten miles from ths township last week. Brerybody in ths plasm heard lend imports in the mill between IS and 13. SS, bat aa it happens that at tie mill dyna-

mite is used to blow a broken piece of tho r.hank out of the head of a stamper, no particular notice was taken of the occurrence. It was not until next morning that it was discovered that a daring attempt had been made to break open the mill safe by exploding dynamite. The safe, however, being an unusually strong one, defied the efforts of the thief or thieves, and it took the employees of the company some five hours to get it cjpcn, when the contents were found to be intact.

BOY’S BIG COMPENSATION. While some twenty boys from the TJnircieity High School were inspecting the works at the Metropolitan. Gas Company’s premises at Fitzroy, V., on June ilfth last, a platform gave way, And the boys wore precipitated to the ground. Several wore injured, among them being Henry Bramble Makin, fifteen. who aa a result was confined to tho Melbourne hospital for some time. Subsequently tho father of the lad made a claim on the Metropolitan Gas Company for .£I2OO compensation, and the company agreed to pay this amount on tho father obtaining tho sanction of a judge to the compromise. The matter came before tho State Chief Justice last week, when tho necessary sanction was forthcoming. ROBBED THE DEAD. Robert Campbell Smith, a plumber, 1 was charged under the Towns Polio© ; Act, at Oiiarleville, with having property in his possession reasonably supEosed to hare been stolen. It appears mith. was at the Ward river when the nnfortnnate Arthur Mutter wiw drowned. It is alleged ho stole a ring set with two diamonds and a sapphirt from tho clothes, previous to the police taking poewession and searching them on tho bank of the river. The evidence proved conclusively defendant stole the ring out of the dead man’s clothes, aim afterwards sold the ring to Jas. Gillignu, a bookmaker. Tho police magistrate sentenced tho to three months’ imprisonment in tho Brisbane gaol with hard labour.

THE DISAPPEARING TRICK. At the conference of th© Independent Order of Oddfellow©, held *t i&kuoa, Vic., tho matter of the payment of th© sum of J: 2O to the widow of Bro. Bbrdner, who had been treated as dead, but who was reported to hav© been subsequently seen on (a suburban racecourse, created a f?omewhat lively ouw?ion. stom? members seemed to think that no. probate of his will had been formallr granted, he was dead in the eyes of tho law, and that until they could pcasitirely (prove that he was alive they muejt also treat him as if he were dead, although the evidence of hi© haring .been wen alive was sufficiently conducive to compel his executor to repay tho inaur•nc© company the insurance monies received.

BUNT'S IMMORTAL SOUL. Mr Bent, Premier of Victoria, has received a letter frdm Mr James Darnea, of Sydney, remonstrating with him for saying that ho had an immortal ooul. Th© writer contend© thnt immortality hae to bh ©ought for, striven for, and can only b© obtained conditionally. Th© I*reader ©till thinks his soul immortal, and say© ho will continue to do eo.

RECENT QUEENSLAND ELECTIONS. how the Notes went. The return of the totals and analyse ef the voice recorded at the recent St»te eledtiosu tabled In the Assembly By Homo Secretary Hawthorne, la as follows : (1) IW.flCrr rotes were east by 153,591 TOters. 13) The number of women who voted wao (3) The number of rotes polled (a) for Government cand’dates, L ,Bt3, cart by 39, W 5 voters; (b> -for Opposition candidate*, 55.M3 votes, east by 90,712 voters; (c) fbr labour candidates, 59,977 votes, cast by 3S, Sffi voters; (d; tor Independent, 965 votes cast by 034 voters; (e) Informal, 1398. ..... (4) The number of .applications tor postal votes issued was 21,»04. (5) The number of postal votes returned was 90,634. (g) The number of postal votes polled in town electorates was 13,615. (7) The number of postal votes polled In country electorates was 7099.

DROWNED AT EIGHTY-NINE. Mr Ludwig Judas, a selector at Cox's Crack, near Westwood, left home recently. Next mornlg his son, William Judes, called at the selection, and. found tho door of the house locked on the outside, while his father’s horse was grarlng in the paddock with the saddle on. He immediately suspected that something had happened, and reported the matter to the poliee. Constable Griflltha made a search along the hank of the creek, end discovered the body of Mr Jndae about three-quarters of a mile from the crossing in front of the deceased's house, where it had been caught in a twig. It,is surmised that the old man tried to cross the creek, which was in flood, and was swept from the saddle. The deceased was eighty-nine years of age.

TWO DAYS DP A THEE. Telegraphic communication being restored, further news is to hand concerning the floods in Central Australia. Six inches and a quarter were rogisterd at Mr G. Bennett s Allendale station, and 6in at Mr J. A. Breeden's Todmorden Station. Between Dalbousie find Maomaba stations, a plain about forty miles long, was under water. Mr J. Harvey, who manages Mrs Williams’ station at Nydrle, had a very unpleasant experience. His camp was on the bank of ths Albergo, which rose so rapidly as to compel him to eeefc safety in a tree, where he remained for two days and two nights, with « wide expanse of water around him, and in which he saw some of his goat* drewned. Ths

well at Nydrie is situated fairly high, but the waters washed a goat into it.

WALKED IN HER SLEEP. An extraordinary caso of somnambulism has occurred in Toowoomba. The subject was a young lady of sixteen, residing on tho Range. One morning recently, when the mistress of the house arose, eho could find no trace of her help. During the night the girl had dreamt that a relation of her master's was ill, and that she must proceed to her succour. The dreamer, under the •üb-conscious impulse, then dressed her®£lf during her sleeu, but did not take her hat, and wore her sUppefs instead

of her bools. She travelled over ft road she had never traversed before, towards a friend's home she had not seen before. However she went past the home, and wafc oronght to the wakened state by the mischief of a collie dog. The girl then inquired for the house, an-* nn being informed, proceeded theretoless to say, there was unbounded joy in the safe return of the somnambulist.