SYDNEY

Otago Witness, Issue 529, 18 January 1862, Page 6

SYDNEY

(From the Duily Times Correspondent.) December 31, 18G1.

Very little of interest, either in the Assembly or Council, has occurred during the past fortnight. The remainder of the estimate?, with slight niOvlificaMon. biis been voted, after no little opposition, and Mr. Robertson having succeeded in passing his much cherished Land Bill into law, has now resigned his seat in the Upper House. Mr. John Garrett, the late Member for Shoalhaven, kindly vacates in his favor, and we shall soon again have the lion. Minister beside his colleagues in the Lower Chamber. In taking leave ofthe house, he congratulated himself upon the measures he had been instrumental in carrying, feeling confident they would be of considerable advantage to the country, and after announcing his mission had been accomplished, thanked the hon. Members for the courtesy they had invariably shown him, and declared his intention of again taking his place in the other branch of the Legislature. It is expected the Session of Parliament will be closed in the course of a few days, and it is now considered certain that no measure for the reconstruction of the Upper House will become law proving t o tlm 'ifUmu-nment. The Government liili lor that purpose has been discussed at great length. Upon the motion for the second reading, it was proposed to refer it to a select committee ; the amendment was carried. A wish was expressed that the elective principle should be introduced in the formation of a new House, that the number of Members should he half that ofthe Assembly, and that the constituencies should be larger. It is quite certain the present Council will not pass Mr. Cowper's Bill, and the only means the Government can adopt, for forcing the Bill through the House, will be by swamping it ; but from the opinion Sir John Young expressed respecting the attempt to swamp the former Council, it is not believed he would again give his sanction to a similar procedure. The Police Regulation Bill, for bringing all the police of the colony under one central authority, has been read a second time in the Assembly, and some of the clauses have been agreed to in committee. It is proposed to adopt the Irish constabulary system and divide the colony into nine districts, each to be placed under the charge of a Superintendent, with Inspectors and sub-Inspectors ; their relative rank to be that of captains, lieutenants, and ensigns. The Bill was strenuously opposed on the ground that it would confer arbitrary powers on the head of the police, and that the force would be a semi-military one, while the comparative efficiency of the existing arrangements was also urged as rendering interference therewith unnecessary.

A case came before the Supreme Court in its common law jurisdiction, which has excited considerable attention. It was an application by habeas corpus made against Alexander Keith Collins, a squatter, and its object was to procure the discharge from his custody of an aboriginal boy, called Tommy. It was contended that Mr. Collins had carried off the boy against the wish of his parents and relations, from the Queensland tribe, by, which Mr. Wills and his pa ty were subsequently murdered. Respondent stated that he had gone with the full consent of his father. That was unsupported by affidavit, and the Court ordered the lad to be handed over to the Government. Another boy, named Archie, one, also in the occupation of the respondent, who was present during this enquiry, was taken possession of by the Government. Subsequently a rule n/.« was issued, at the older of the Court itself, calling upon Mr. Collins to show cause, why a writ of attachment should not be issued against him for making a fal->e return, in reference to the black boy Tommy, the result, however, was quite satisfactory, and the rule was discharged. Our new tramway lias been permanently opened for traffic, and great numbers of people have watched with more than usual interest the progress of the strange looking conveyance, which now moves with such ease and rapidity along our streets. The car is about twice the length of an ordinary omnibus ; is entered at both ends, and will accommodate conveniently about sixty persons. The vehicle is equally wide in proportion, and iron steps for reaching the roof are provided at either end. The exterior has a most gaudy appearance, the body being painted with a color of the most dazzling brimstone, and all the other embellishments have a similar striking appearance. The experiment of The tramway has, up to the present time, been perfectly successful ; the motion is barely perceptible, and the entire absence of rattling and jolting, which usually attends all vehicles, is a luxury only known to modern travellers. A most melaucholly boat accident, resulting in the death of the chief officer and two of the seamen of the Loehicl, has occurred in our harbour. They icft the ship in the life boat, under canvas for the purpose of proceeding up the Parramatta River. When they had arrived thus far, they hove to ; but a squall caught the boat, and they were all capsized. Every endeavour was made to save the unfortunate men, but without success Mr. Morrison, ihe chief mate, was a most promising young man, only 2G years of age, and although this was his first voyage, had gained the respect of all on board, by his uniformly kind and gentle demeanour. His two companions were also very young men, neither being more than four and twenty.

January 3rd, 18f>2

The accounts from the. Lachlan Gold Fields vavc been most satisfactory, and hopes are still entertained that they may turn out rea ly payable diggings. The returns from «ome of the first claims opened, will vie with anything ever found, not excepting B.Ukmmt. The following quantities have been washed out in dishes : One claim 317 ounces ; another 1 .'5 ; others 111, 98, and 7-2 ounc es respectively. The last escort arrived with 1411 ounces. The gloom that pro iously existed has been completely dispelled ; without a doubt the fie Id is thoroughly established, and with the extent of the finds that have been made, the quantity of ground known to he auriferous, and the population now assembled there, which inclu "es a •*reax number of the most experienced miners from Victoria, ther must be great faith in the capabilities of the place.

A prisoner named Charls Coles, has been suffocated at Cockatoo Island through being al-lowed,a Ilowed, while labouring under a disease of the heart, to sleep in a ward which had just been fumigated with brimstone.

A disgraceful attempt has been made to set on fire Messrs. Dunbav's ship, the 'La Ilogue,' and there is too much reason to believe it was the work of an incendiary. On Saturday, about one o'clock in the morning, smoke was observed in the cabin, together with a glimmer of fire in the main hold. Immediate assistance was procured, and m a few minutes it was completely subdued. All the damage done was to one loose impressed bale of wool, which was partially burnt. It is sincerely to be hoped, that the perpetrator of this diabolical act may be discovered. Occurrences of this nature have now become far too frequent, and the strict enforcement of the law may tend to put a stop to such atrocious crimes.

A most lamentable accident, attended with fatal results, has occurred at the works of Messrs. P. N. Russell & Co., iron founders. It appears that the deceased (Peter Harkuls), who was a boiler-maker by trade, was employed in hoisting a steam-chest of about 25 cwt., to the top of a paitlv finished boiler, for the purpose of marking with accuracy where certain boles should be punched. The steam-chest having been placed in its proper position, the chain guy was then, slacked oft' a little to clear one corner of the boiler ; shortly after this a link in the chain gave way, and the shears fell with a crash to the ground. In their descent one of them struck the decea«cd on the chest, — the one blow knocking him down, the other causing the chest to roll over him. Medical assistance was immediately procured, but it was of little avail, the edge of the stcam-che&t having fallen across the poor fellow, causing the most terrible laceration of his internal organs ; he wa co iveyed to the Infirmary, but he survived only about three-quarters of an hour after his admission. An inquest was held on the body and the jury returned a verdict of " Died from injuries accidentally received." One of them however considered there had been some neglect, in not having had the guy chain properly tested, before using it for such a purpose.

A frightful murder lias been committed on board the Schah Jehan. A portion of her Lasoar crew have been confined in Darlinghurst gaol for insubordination, but were released from their imprisonment the other day. It appears that the Lascars having provided themselves with handspikes and belaying pins, two of them seized the Serang, while a third struck him a fearful blow with an adze on the back of the head, causing immediate death. Others then came aft under the pretence of speaking with Captain Adams, who no sooner was on deck than he received a blow twice from a bucket, which completely laid open the skull. The European portion of the- crew hastened to the Captain's assistance, and drove the

Lascars all forward, until they were taken into odcusty by the Water Police.

A lot of Irishmen have been creating a disturbance at Lambing Flat, A row took place at a public-house, sticks were brought into request, and three men were dangerously wounded. The police mud'} several arrests, and some of the men were sentenced to two months' hard labour. The police foice theie is most ridiculously Mnall, and they would be quite useless in case of a serious outbreak. There is a determination On the part of the Victorian miners to suppress these riots, so we may not possibly have a repetition of them. A sum of £4250 lias been voted for a naval brigade.

A meeting was yesterday held for the purpose of considering the propriety of forming some stringent regulations for the prevention of incendiarism on boaul ships while in harbour. The attendance was principally composed of gentlemen connected with the Marine Insurance Companies. Various proposals were made, but ultimately the following resolution was agreed to :—": — " That the suggestions now made at this meeting be submitted to the various Insurance Offices, and that another meeting be held at the Chamber of Commerce, on Ctli inst., when it is hoped some satisfactory measures may be adopted, that the agents and captains of the various ships in harbour, interested in the conveyance of wool, be requested to attend. New Zealand wool, Is. 3d. Departures. Dec. 18 — Frowning Beauty, for Otago. Arrivals. Dec. 19 — Prompt, from Otago. Dec, 25 — Policeman „ Dec. 29 — JancLockhart „ " Oscar „ '• Ellen Simpson „