AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 2200, 23 February 1869, Page 3

AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

Wo observe, from the Brisbane papers, that a shipload of Papuan negroes had been landed at Burketow'n, Thoy had all been cng»g<*d excepting one—for whose services a sum of LlO was wanted—by the squatters on the Plains of Promise.

The first locomotive seen in Tasmania wan landed thero by tho s.s. Tasmania on her last trip, for Messrs Overend aud Itobb, tho raUway. contractors. Its advent created some excitement in Launceston. The arrival of the rails for the Launceston and Western line, from England, is now anxiously looked for, that tho " iron horse" may get to work. 'fho following advertisement, which appears in a. Hamilton paper, is significant of the difficulty to which drought and want of grass have reduced proprietors of stock thero, as elsewhere :—" To be given away, 1000 ewes, from four-tooth to atced, with 95 per cent, increase of lambs. Tho larn'-s will be sold cheap—ewes given in ; or (lour, wheat, oats, potatoes, &c, in exchange. Apply to," Ac.

Wo Hesrn by letter from California tbat Mr Armes Beaumont had not improved in health, as regards hia sight, by the voyage from Sydney to that port, witb Mr Lyster and the other members of his opera troupe, but that tho voyage had not done him harm. When the company landed they found that small-pox prevailed in tbo city, and thoy all, accordingly, submitted to vaccination before proceeding on shore. Speaking of tho goldficld eaid to havo been discovered at Fingal in Tasmania, the Hobai t Town Mercury says:—The foUowing a>o the particulars to hand, rs given by tho discoverers, who report tho discovery of a rich quartz reef close to tho base of Tower Hill, at the head of Major's Gully, and about 10 miles from FingaL The reef crops out and shows a wall of quartz of between 500 and 000 yards in length, and is supposed to range from Gft to 10ft in thickness. They say that in five minutes they picked up over 50 largo specimens aU showing gold without breaking tbe stone. 1 hey say, further, that there is not the slightest doubt the discovery will prove not only a payable, but a very rich goldfie!d. Tho surface of the hll is represented as being covered with a thick scrub, the rocf being about IOOOit above the level of Major's Gully. The discoverers say in their communication to the Colonial Secretary that thoy could have picked up a dray Josd of loose stone, all showing gold, lying on tho surface.

The discussion wbioh took placo at the meeting of the Medical Society on the 10th inst., on the small-pox or chicken-pox question, left the controversy very much where it found it. Dr Thomas, who initiated the debate, adhered to his opinion that tho disease was smail-por, and ho was sustained in this ▼iew hy Mr Girdlcstone, Dr Jonanson, and Dr Macarthy; whilst Dr Motherwell aa stoutly maintained that it was chicken-pox, and Dr Hunt, Mr Blair, Dr Day, and Mr Wooldridge, without expressing any deelded convictions, leant to this view. Nor were th*y unanimous about the advisability of revaccination—tho balance of opinion being that it was dangerous to vaccinate indiscriminately, especially during an epidemic Tbe barque Alfred will take her departure this morning (tho llth) from Hobson'a Bay, for Fiji. Sho procteds direct to Ovaau, with a mail and despatches few King Thakombau, from the Polynesia Company, together with the company's representatives, who proceed to take up their; lands and settle the shareholders, as a preliminary step in the-establishment of the future operations of tho'company, which arc now being poshed forward vigorously.* Much interest has been attached lo tho despatch of this vessel, which !ia the first of the lino of Polynesian packets lately established hero to open up tho Fiji I trade, which is.now becoming of considerable interest and importance. The Alfred takes a full assorted cargo and several pas-1 sengers, and, being in fine trim, is expected, as 'the season of the year is favourable, to make a rapid passage. Wo understand that thePolynosia Company havo given fuU instructions to their agenta to proceed to the immediate laying out of the <aty of Suva, at the head of the magnificent harbour of that name, which they propose making eventually the great commercial entrepot of the Polynesian group The efficacy of the nolutioit of salpkite of lime as a meat preserver baa been P***** beyond question 'ty the experiments that bare fr*mtime to tuna been sysdei, and there ha little doubt that tKii^«t>te W»t *fll

beforo long bo oxtensively used. Messrs. BL Skinner and Co., who are now manufacturing tho sulphite for the market, have been successful in nearly all the experiments they havo tried, while somo that aro yet in progress aro also turning out very satisfactorily, A leg of muttou, wbich has been washed onoo a dayin a solution, consisting of ono part of sulphite of lime and fcix parts of water, has kept perfectly fresh and sweet ainca tho JBth January, aad another joint which, waa dipped one* in a solution of double tho strength, aud then bung inside a barrel containing some of tho mixture, was found on examination yesterday to bu almost in tho same condition aa when thu meat loft tho butcher's shop. Other rxi,crimenta havo been tried by Messrs Skinner nnd Co., who are quite confident of tbtir ability to preserve tho freshness cf any sort of moat for three mouths at least. Tbo cost of tho solution of tho requisite strength- is much less than that of ordinary brine, sa that the newpreservative cannot bo objected to on tho ground of oxponsivcucsn. The plan adopted, by Mcssis Skiuncr and Co. in the production, of tho sulphite, is to make a solution of limo and water of a certain s'.rength, which ia afterwards impregnated with volatilised sulphur. Tho machinery now employed by tha manufacturers enables them to produce about 500 gallons of tho sulphite per week. The serious effects arising from tho poUtttion of tho Yarra have been felt at tho Botanical gardens It appears that during tho week several of tho employe* partook of: tho I water, aud wero i 1 for so-.-.eral days subsequently. A number of dilicnte greenhouse and other plants have also been killed by fcho application of tho Water.

Wo commend, writes the Ballarat Courier, to all improvident diggers tho conduct of thu fortunate finder*of the "Welcome Stranger" nugget at Moli.-igul. Instead of "going on tho sprco," having a "burst," "randan," "racket," or whatever namo tho process ia known by, by which the health is impairod and tho pocket emptied, we understand that Decson and Outcs, afier drawing a few pounds for current expenses, ard paying off their littlo debts, went quietly to work again; They desorvo to havo a " Welcome Strangjoi** apiece.

Tho revenuo of South Australia for tha quirtor ending on the 3ht December xeutL 107,358, aud the expoadituro, LISO.OOft There was. therefore, a surplus of over L 17.000. It is stated, however, that th*. excess was duo to tho land sales, and tha Adelaide journals do "not tako a very hopeful view ot the state of things. The receipts from tho Customs showed that the business of tho year had only been of nn average character. Assessments, rent*, and licenses had fallen off; and tho returns from,tho public. works, and especially the railway, had been much under tho estimate.

An experienced minor, who loft Spring Creek yesterday morning and arrived in town in tho evening, gives us his impression of tho locality. Ho thinks it will ultimately prove a permanent goldllold, but the amount of present success is not at all commensurate 1 with tbe labour expended, or. ths number of people at tho rush. Tho recent raius hail not extended to tho locality, and tho place waa ; still knoo'decp in dust. Those who had washstuff to cradle^ had stiU to cart it a distance of sev.iral miles to obtain water. Tho. busincsa Bites wero not considered qnitb so valuable, and a number of persons woro scU- , ing out; amongst other*, the Criterion Hotel had changed hand a for LIOOO. The dancingsaloons and hotel bars appeared to be well patronised as regarded numbers, but, generally speaking; the amount of money parsingseemed to bo very limited indeed. The; busy ring of change out.ho counter—the test of prosperity in the go d old times. of new rushes—was ominously wanting. Thero are a good-many Chinamcu at spring Creek, and tbey appear to havo got a fair share of what is considered the good ground. Their new year had juafc commenced; and it was ushered ia by groat rcjoic'ng,' including a. vast amount of celestial discord, relieved only by intermittent volleys of Chinese crackers.

In connection witb. tho disotvery reported yesterday of the largest lump of gold over yet found in Victoria or in the world, it may bo interesting to recapitulate some particulars of several of tho greatest nuggets hitherto discovcreid. Rcforonoe to Mr Birkmyro'a list prepared for a pamphlet pub.iahod by the Secretary of Mints, and contributed to thu International Exhibition of ISC2, {jiving a. catalogue of a very large nmuhor of the pnncipil masses of gold discovered in the various auriferous districts of thu world, shows that tho li»t (arranged in order of size) fa headed by several nuggets of Victorian origin. First of all stands the great Welcome Nugget, whichwan found byapat-tyof twentyfour at Bakery-hill, Bal-arat, June 15, 1859, at a depth of 180 feet. This magnificent nutss of gold contained only about ten pounds of quartz, clay, kc, and its net weight of gold waa 1841b 9ms troy.V It **as sold for L9.T25. Other good nuggets had been previously found by tho party in the same hole. Next to this comes the Blanche Barkly nugget, which was got by a party of four mon at a dopth of 13ft, at Kingowar, on August 27th, 1857^ It weighed Mslb 3oz, and was worth LG9OS. On the 31at January, 1853, there was found at Canadian Gully, Ballarat, at a dopth of (COft, and immediately after tho discovery of a lump of 70oz, a fino nugget weighing 1341b lioz, and of tho valuo of L 5532. Next to this in point of size, but before them aU in date and also in historical fame and importance, is the cole^ratod " hundred-weight of gold," found in 1851 by a native boy on the aurJEaeo of the ground at Mcroo Creok, near the river Turon, New South Wales, which did so much to attract European attention to the first-opened goldfields of Australia. This mass was, iv fact, in three pieces, although orijzinaUy one, and besides tho hundredweignt o£ quart/, in contained, it yielded lotflb o£ gold. Two specimens of gold distributed through a rust-coloured matrix, found together at DunoUy, in 1857, yielded 1131b. 70a:., and wero worth L 5500. At Burrandoug, near Orange, New South Wales, thero was found, in 1858, a nugget weighing 1071b. and worth IA3SO. The " Lady Hothant nugget," discovered near Canadian Gully, at a depth of 135 ft, was a fino specimen, containing 98lb. of gold. From tho same claim, thero waa obtained upwards of 2201b. in smaller nuggets, the value of the gold tnkcn from this hole feing moro than L 13,000. Wa may state that there will shortly be issued bjr the Mining department a work which wilL contain a complete list of all tho great nuggets found in tho colony. ' Tho portion reFerringto the districts of Danolly, Berlin, near Kingower ; the Gypey diggings Wattle-flat—a neighbourhood fertile in. burjfpa nuggets—has been compiled by Mr Knox Oram, warden. .; ,,.,." ' '/"'* ''"'