MELBOURNE COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE (From the Argus.)

Otago Witness, Issue 549, 7 June 1862, Page 8

MELBOURNE COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE (From the Argus.)

There has been a fair inquiry to-day, (2Gth) not withstanding tho pro oecup.iuoii of the trading public with preparavi uib for the out-gouiK mail. Country ordurs hay come ia freely. Flour has been in more inquiry, and piid's are rather firmer. Wheat lm also been in better demand, and ho!dsis are Übking higher prices ; 4s. 9d. per bushel has bueu refused for a good parcel to-diiy. By auction, Me.si a. Grcipnnd Murray sold at the Huron's Bay Railway, a shipment" of Allsopp's ale, ex Cmibbean, at fcs. Od. to Uj. per dozen. At DegTavc-'s Bond (all faults,) 35 cases Macauley tern tobacco (in bond), at Ib. lid. per lb., net cash. And at their rooms— l,ooo bags Mauritius sugars, medium pouuteis, nt £38 pt-i-ton ; low browns, £31 155. to £J2 per ton j (lour of sulphur, £lb per ton; Tasnianian butter, Js. sii. p~r lb. (.tub*, 5*.), &c. There ha* beon a steady business doing to-day (24ih), but no of nny "importance are reported, 'i he mnrket3 for ilour and grain continue without animation, tiansactions btinp: lhnited to the sales o parcels of small amount, at unaltertd prices. Draught ales are in demand, ami holders of the new brew are seeking higher rate, LlO 10s to Lll bring asked f>r Bass'a No. 3. Theic has been further inquiry for tobacco, but, stocks beinc; now iv few handg, holders are indisposed to soil to any extent, holding for still further advances.

By auction, Alp^rs. Fra«cr nnd Cohen offered a parcel of 3,000 ha;js of j.lauritius iiiqnrn for sale, and disposed of about, half the quuntity, at the following rate*:— Middling white crystals, at Ll3 10s. ; very bright jnllow counters, at HO 10s. : Rood counter sorts, at L39Nk to L'W 17a. C l. ; inj lium counttis, aD Lo7 455. ; middling ti pood In owns, at from L's3 to L*A 10< per ton. Messrs. J.Lovy and Sons report h iviit; sold, on the railway platform >e-.ter*l iv, the daninp^d portion of the cusro, ox Ell' 1 !!, from Mauritius, vnryina: from ration to whilv eiys-tal?. at from £-24 to £40 10s. per ton. Also, at thrir rooms, a shipment of canvas, more or Ips 3 damaged, n'. Is. '21. prryanl ; galvanized nails, 17f. per keu' : chloride of lime,* Bs. 01. per keg; and an invoice of indiarubbcT and other goods.

COLLISION ON THE ST. KILDA AND BIUGnCON RAILWAY. ( From the Argws, May 22. )

Olo.«e upin the heels of the late disastrous uccident on thr> Melbourne Kailwnv, which took place on the Stn in.-t , another catastrophe has oociurcd. At about twelve minutes to one o'clock yc«terd.\y afternoon, two trains ran into each other in the mi'l'iie of n deep cutting, which is si/.inned by the ffoiliam-strcct Bridge, about a qaaiCer of a mile on tho Melbourne side of the Elsremwick Shition. Differing from the Inst accident in results, insomuch that the injuries to passengers won* generally considerably less in extent, jet the very nature of yesterday's afivir is of a character far more alarming, for while the carelessness which produced the first collision was of a comparatively slight kind, the cause of this appears to be of much greater importance

The nccidpnt}lmp]jcned in this wise. The crdinavv Briubton train which usually loaves the Melbourne Kail way Station at a quarter to ten a.m., i>nd arrives at Brighton at ttventy minutes pant ten. was a little behind time. On its arrival at tlie Beach terminus however, the engine ran her leading wheel" oiV the line, tho lails being out of gauge. Mattinson, the engineer, forthwith pent amc-sage to the Bay-street Station foi a screw-jack, and got the engine back to its place again. Oiling the gear and,, fixing everything right, occupied some little time; so Unit, though the engine was on the line again by twenty-five minutes past 12 p.m. — the hour at which the train should have left Brighton (the five minutes past II a.m. train from Brighton being missed) — it did not start till twenty minutes to 1 o'clock. Stopping at each htation in the ordinary way, this uptrain arrived at Elsternwick Station, just beyond which is a deep cutting, curving under Ilothamstreet, at a quarter to 1 o'clock. Suddenly Mattinson became aware of the fact that a train was meeting him. Both engines were whistling loudly; but the curve shut them from the view of each other till too late, and a collision was unavoidable. Tucker, the stoker, and Billing, the guard, jumped off. Mattinson reversed his engine and then jumped, but so unfortunately that he broke his leg in the fall. The force of the collision was tremendous, and its effect extraordinary. Those acquainted with tlie rationale of the3e accidents know that on a collision something must give way, and upon the whereabouts in the trains that will so give way depends the danger to passengers In the last accident, it will be remembered, it was tho passenger carriages that did this, and hence the great number of injuries. In the present instance, the guard's van of the up-train suffered. The downtrain was the heaviest, and had the most impetus ; and not content with smashing into the coal bunkers of the up-train engine, it absolutely drove the guard's van out of the train, by forcing the wheels and cross pieces under the long carriage adjoining it, and smashing the upper part info splinters ; in fact, at first sigbt, after the accident, the train appeared to have been without a guard's van at all. Half of the np-trtiin engine was thus driven through the guard van into the long ladies' carriage, one end of which was raised on the back of the engine some five or six feet higher than the other end. This carriage, which wa> a late invention, and described some time ago in the fagus, amply vindicated its reputation by firmly holding together under these circumstances. Strongly bound by iron ties, it remained ritji 1 under very nearly the same circumstances which smashed the guard's van.

The consequences of the collision to the passengers were various. The bhock was, of course, terrific, and this, the fright, and the suddenness of the aflkir made matters appear terrible. There were women shrieking on every side, and everybody in the carriages were upset one against the other. The inmates were soon releastd ; but everybody hud received a' severe shaking, and a large number of persons even worse injuries. Tongues bitten through, faces and limbs severely bruised and wounded, clothes torn, and feet and anclos sprained, were common, but, with one exception, few of the injuries went much farther. The Hon. R. Thomson, M.L.C., was in the downtrain, and the shock of the collision broke his right leg jubt below the knee. This was serious, especially as Mr. Thomson is somewhat of a full habit of body. He was conveyed to bis residence in town as soon as possible, and his leg has been set, but there was a compound fracture, and though it is to be hoped nothing worse will ensue, there is no certainty on the point. The driver (Mattinson) was taken to the Hospital, where he is doing well. Dr. Patterson, of St. Kilda, was on the spot shortly after the accident, and actively attended to the wounded.

The causes assigned for the accident are various, nor, jtt a somewhat late hour last night, we-e the railway authorities themselves quite aw are of them. Information that the Brighton engine had got off tho line was certainly received in Melbourne, and Mr. Sncre, the inspecting engineer of the line, was in the^own train; but it docs not exactly appear what message was given at the Chiipel-strect Station respecting the nature of the accident by which the engine had got ofi* the line at Brighton, Od that is supposed to depend the cause of the accident. Crang, the engine-driver' of the down train, was arrested by Inspector Taylor (who was on the scene of the accident, with a body of police, shortly after the affair), but he has "since been bailed out. The engine of the up train is the same that drew the up train on the ocraMuu of the previous accident. Its repairs had only been finished tne day before.

All last night gangs of men were employed removing the debris of the accident from tho line. They worked by the light of torches and a fire composed of the splinters of the smashed guard's vac. Save the damage done to tho whcelwork of the long carriage, the passenger carriages were little hurt, except in the matter of the disarrangement of the seats. The line was nearly clear at a lute hour last night, Tlie company have suspended their connexion with the Melbourne Company, and their passengers will now be curried, as before, by the Melbournfi and St. Kikla Company, from the Hobson's Bay Hallway station. Train* will run to Brighton this morning as usual, only at different hours and from a different station.

•GREAT FIRE AT CLUNES. (From the Ballarai Star, May 22.) Onr dunes correspondent writes as follows :— " On Monday night a terrible fire took place in the main street, Clunes, and six houses were burnt to the ground. The fire originated in the Exhibition Store, at about nine o'clock p.m. The occupier of the store was at the time absent delivering certain parcels sold

during the evening. The flro originited at tha westward corner of the store, !jut by what means is not at present known. Some vevy serious remarks have lieen made upon tUis unhiippy occurrence, which, j until an inquiry L> made into tlie matter, it would bo j unfair to refer to further. Six stores are burnt to the ground— namely, the one in which tho fire fiist occurred, occupied by Mr. Lugg. known as the Exhibition Mart ; next to that the" cottage of Mrs. Rankin, who was al-o the owner of the foreiuentioned store ; Mr. King's butcher's bhup ; Mr. O'Neil's business places; a tailor'h catabli-hiaflnt; and Mr. Moses's watch and jewellery establishment. The latter placo was pulled down by the public to stay the fire, which, had it got hold, of Dauber's large tinsmith's factory adjoining, would lnve undoubtedly caused the conflagration co go on to the end of the street. The whole of the residents in the place acted most honorably and fearlessly, ruining into danger, and working utterly rejj.v.-dlesi of ifc. It falU to my lot to eulogise 'the men who aided the unfoituuate sufteveis by the fire ; to mention one or twenty would be wrong, and to say simply that scores aete I manfully, would not meet the cise. I nuv>t thereibie connue myself to stating that all those who w-re at the time called " Chines boys'* did thtirduty wall. Dr. HoMason had hia garden pump conveyed to the spot, aud this much assisted in keeping the Nag's Head Ilotel fium taking fuc. Mr. Vr . (i. .Morgan, Mr. Nichols, and others of the municipal council were nx, the point of danger, assisting as one man. I may mention, as one instance, the use of Dr. liobinson"s garden pump. It saved to all intents the Nag's Head Hotel, which is charred VIT7 much, and h.id it caught fire would kwe spread to a fearful extent. Besides Mr. Moses's premises, which were pulled down to stay the progress ol tue fire, Mr. 11. 'Morrison's farriery shop was also destroyed in order to prevent the spreading of the lire. I learn that Mr. Luc\;, of tlie Exhibition store,. is insured to the amount of £1,000, and that, with the exception of one other person who is insured to the amount of £200, none other has ilie benelic of insurance."