CABLE BREVITIES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10421, 25 July 1895, Page 2

CABLE BREVITIES.

The, ; Gambling Bill has passed the Queensland LfgislEtive Assembly. Lord Roberts succeeds Viscount Wolseley as commander of the forces in Ireland. ;

The Sydney Daily Telegraph has apologised to the Hon. Mr Viekery, and paid 100 guineas to charities. ;■ ■. '

'Tae ' Commercial Banking Company, Sydney, has declared. a dividend of 8 per cent.,, and carried for sard L 14.000. Lord Selborne-has personally returned the calls of the' Agents-general on behalf of the Right Hon. Mr Obamberlain:': •-..■■■-

From .Hughenden . (Queensland) comes word that a shearer died suddenly, and that a number, of others are ill. A party of police have been despatched to the-placs. Lstters give lamentable stories of gross mismanagement by French officers in connection.with tbe stores of the Madagascar expedition, and it is stated.that the troops are decimated by disease. : The imports for the quarter in Queensland have increased by L 178.000, compared with the corresponding quarter of last'year. The exports for the : same period have increased by L 196.000.

ln.the libel action brought by Mr Alison Smitlv against the Age the plaintiff receives casts ia the issue in which he succeeded, ano che defendant: newspaper obtains costs m the issues concerning which the olaintiff was unijuccec'sful.- ■■■-.-._

In-New South Wales the sea is the heaviest experienced for many years oh the sDutnem. coast. The country is covered with snow m many parts, and old cattle and noraes are perishing. ■ -* ' A large formation atrack in the Maritana miso at Hannan's, Western Australia, is of similar character, to the lode in the Hannan's Reward claim. It carries good coaree and Hae gold,-and the prospects are said to-be splendid.

, .lhe Premier of South Australia, in a spesca at Tanunda, defended the principles ot the reciprocity treaty and State advances to setfexers.' He'argued "that* the former was a federal act, while the latter was only hated >* use 0 lfc *'ould exterminate the Shylocks. Ine Scotch depositors, after two hours' ciscusaion, declined to agree to the scheme submitted by tbe City of Melbourne Bank, but appointed a committee to consider it, and also to consider the general position of the bank. They have requested Mr Loader to cab»e to Slelbpurne to postpone the mesting called for July 30 pending the report of the committee. .

A telegram from Barcaldine says tbat a man named Thomas, one of those poisoned at Bowen Downs,'has died in frightful agony. Tne Government effer a reward of L2OOO for information that -will lead to the conviction of the perpetrators of the crime, aad the owners of the station will supplement this with' LSOO. A post mortem revealed the -presence of poison in Thomas's stomach. Mr Knight, the Victorian" Government expert, reports thn.t ihe tobacco crops are suffering greatly from blue mould, a fungoid f/rr,r?t) ti aQ( j that in many cases as much as 50 per cent,.has had to be destroyed. Ha recommends more efficient methods of curing the leaf, and says that if these are adopted a big market can be opened with other countries which is not now available owing to the primitive methods of curing.