INTERCOLONIAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 1893, 2 March 1888, Page 13

INTERCOLONIAL.

(Per Pbess Association.) Melbourne, February 23.

Much surprise was occasioned in this city last evening by the sudden appearance of Mrs White, who went Home with Bearder, the jewel robber, some months ago. Mrs White states that she merely happened to go Home by the same steamer, and upon arriving in England Bearder saw her safely in the care of her friends, and she saw no more of him. As soon as she saw the newspaper reports and learned Bearder's real character, and the position in which she was placed, she determined to return to Melbourne at once and clear herself of the suspicion in which she was held in connection with the jewel robbery. A telegram has been received from the observatory at Kiel University announcing the discovery of a comet on the 18th inst. The comet has since been observed in this colony. The grain sales were well attended. Wheat, 3s 4£d. Feed grain easy. Oats: Stout, 2s lOd. Barley: Malting, 5s G£d. Maize, 3s Bd. Bran dull. Sugar is selling steadily at reduced rates. February 24. Two startling cases of criminal assault on women are in the hands of the police. One was committed in the middle of the month, and only became known through the woman being on the point of death. In the other case a number of men are concerned, and in both instances the victims were brutally illused. February 25. The Minister for Education estimates the first cost of a technical university at from £500,000 to £1, 000,000; besides a yearly endowment of at least £30,000. Mrs Cummings, one of the women who was criminally assaulted a few days ago, was so badly injured that she had to be removed to the hospital for treatment, but succumbed shortly after being admitted. The police have arrested three men on a charge of being concerned in this case, and in the other case two arrests have been made ; while the police are searching for a third man who it is alleged took part in the assault. The assault on the women was a most brutal one, and the clothes worn by them were saturated with blood. February 27. The barque Diamond, which arrived yesterday from Kaipara, had a narrow escape from foundering during the voyage. On the 16th inst. a terrific hurricane was experienced, which blew away all her canvas, and bore the vessel down till the water reached the middle of the main hatch and found its way into the cabin. It was only with the greatest difficulty that the crew succeeded in righting the vessel again. The gale lasted two hours. A man named Kyrow, who was engaged in a prize fight which lasted an hour, suddenly fainted and died in the hospital shortly afterwards. February 28. Evans, the other fighter in the match which resulted in the death of Hyrow, has, together with a number of men who were present, been arrested. Neither Evans nor the deceased was an expert in boxing, and both received severe punishment. The Herald reports that a regular duel was recently fought at Caulfield between a civil servant and a local barrister. The quarrel, it is stated, arose out of a ballroom dispute. The belligerents used pistols, and fired at each other at twelve paces, the result of the shots being that the barrister was wounded in the arm. All the time-honoured observances in such matters were strictly adhered to — a second and a doctor being on the ground. Sydney, February 23. The Government were defeated last night on the State House Bill, the repeal of the bill being being carried by 40 to 30. The action of the Premier in persevering with his proposal for the erection of a State House is strongly condemned by all shades of political and public opinion. At a fire in this city last night, one fireman was killed and another had his arm broken in falling down a lift. A scrutiny demanded by the defeated Freetrade candidate in the recent Paddington election has resulted in the Parliamentary Committee appointed to carry it out more than doubling the sitting member's majority. The morning train for the South ran into a goods tram near Granville Junction, smashing up nine trucks and the engine and blocking the line for some hours, The fireman was slightly injured, but there were no other casualties. Another violent and disgraceful scene took place in the House of Assembly to-night. Mr G. R. Dibbs accused Mr Garrett, Minister of Lands, whose absence has caused the Land Bill to hang up for some days, of having been blind drunk. Mr Dibbs repeated this taunt at intervals in various forms until Mr Garrett became exasperated, seized a water-bottle, and attempted to strike his tormentor. A number of members seized Mr Garrett and wrested the bottle from his grasp before any damage was done. Mr Garrett then retorted that Mr Dibbs' statement was false and malicious. The House

presented a scene of great disorder, which was ended by both sides making lame apologies. There had previously been a brisk skirmish over the White Rock mine incident, during which oaths and accusations of lying had been freely bandied about, New Zealand bran is dull at Gd; New South Wales bran, 6£d, Pollard, 7d to 7£d. Oats: Bright milling sorts, 2s 2dj horse feed, Is lOd to 2s. Maize, 3s 3d,- with a downward tendency, and sales hand to mouth. Bu:ter: Hand-made, 8d; factorymade, lOd to lid. Cheese : Loaf size, sd ; large, 3d to 4d. There is a plentiful supply of New Zealand bacon, which is selling at 9d ; home-made, lid to Is. February 24. Mr W. H. Paling, head of the well-known piano importing firm of Paling and Co., of this city, has given an estate of 450 acres of suburban property, together with plant and stock and £10,000 in cash, for the purpose of founding a convalescents' hospital, and as a memorial of the centenary of ttie colony. A condition is that the institution shall be named the Carington Hospital, after Governor Lord Carington. The recently-discovered comet is distinctly visible in many parts of New South Wales this morning. February 25. The affected rabbiter who recently applied for admission to the Wilcannia Hospital is pronounced by the doctors to be suffering from blood poisoning, not rabbit disease. The rabbits are reported to be dying by thousands in the Darling district of the disease on which Drs Butcher and Ellis are I experimenting. I February 26. i Mr Mitchell, who stood in the interest of the Freetraders, has been returned by a majority of 147 as member of the Legislative Assembly for Newtonville. The Hon. W. J. Foster has accepted the Supreme Court judgeship rendered vacant by the retirement of his Honor Mr Justice Fawcett. The Rev. Mr Jones, who was recently exI pelled from the New Hebrides by order of the French authorities, states that he was never warned by the French for the alleged advocacy of Australia annexing the islands ; and he asserts that he never took any action in the matter, but, on the other hand, when he found the French in occupation of the New Hebrides, he did all in his power to induce the native inhabitants to submit to French rule. It is stated that the Reform Club intend to take notice of the Dibbs-Garrett scene in the House on Thursday, both being members of the club. Mr Garrett has served a writ on Mr Dibbs for £10,000 damages for accusing him of drunkenness. In order to test the grounds for the charge, Mr Garrett proposes that if Mr Dibbs will waive the plea of privilege, which, as a member of Parliament, he is entitled to raise, he will pay all costs of the action. Mr Dibbs has not made any reply, and it is thought improbable that he will accept the challenge. The late Attorney-general (Mr B. R. Wise), referring to the recent discreditable episodes in the House in the course of a speech to his constituents, said no one who had been in the House during the last week could leave it without a burning feeling of shame and discouragement almost amounting to despair. Obscene language was freely used. February 27. Mr Dibbs refuses to waive the plea of privilege in connection with his accusation against Mr Garrett, Minister of Lands, in the House of Assembly last week.

The moderate members of the House on both sides propose to hold a meeting with the object of discussing this and other like disgraceful scenes in the House and devising some means to restrain the disorder which now so frequently occurs. The Speaker is blamed for a good deal of the trouble, and is generally condemned as being too weak. Mr Garrett has written to the president of the Reform Club demanding that an inquiry should be held by the club into Mr Dibbs' charge of ungentlemanly conduct against him.

The Central Board of Health have drawn up a recommendation to the Government on the rabbit extermination schemes proposed by M. Pasteur, Professor Watson, and Drs Butcher and Ellis, in which they urge that no disease for that purpose should be introduced into the colony until it is positively certain that it will not have a fatal or dangerous effect upon human beings. The stock report describes the scheme of Drs Butcher and Ellis, of which a thousand rabbits are now dying in the Darling district, as merely an itch; whilst of the scheme of Professor Watson they consider it is not of a sufficiently fatal character to make it of any permanent use to the colony. The Government have replied to the memorandum to the effect that it is proposed to ask for legislative power for controlling the experiments within the colony, and to authorise them to introduce any disease, providing that it is absolutely innocuous to stock and human beings, pending the consideration of the whole subject by the proposed intercolonial commission of experts on the rabbit question.

A tablet erected by the members of the Permanent Artillery Force of this colony to the memory of four of their comrades who died when the regiment was stationed in the Soudan, was unveiled yesterday at St. Andrew's (Anglican) Cathedral. The sheep disease which was recently leported from Queensland, and which was stated to be of a mangy character, has now made its appearance among the stock in the Clarence district, New England, in the northern part of this colony. Speculation in silver mining still continues brisk. Last week a quarter of a million of money changed hands on the Mining Exchange. A rich silver find is reported to have been made at Gownkcy, near Carcoar. Claims have already been extensively pegged out.

A heavy fall is reported to have taken place at the Zigzag Colliery, Lithgow.' The miners had to ruu for their lives, and it is feared the mine will be ruined by the accident.

A public reception is being arranged for the arrival of Sir Saul Samuel, late Agentgeneral, who is expected to reach Sydney, via Adelaide, in the course of a day or two. February 2%. Keelas Watson, the man who was sen-

tenced to death &t Shooting at Thomas Parker, a publican, in tb<3 early parb of last month with intent to mur<fef f has had the sentence commuted to penal servitude for life three years of the sentence tc? be served in irons Parker, the victim of the oarage, is recovering"-from the effects of the bullet wound in the heck which he received on the occasion referred to. _ The accident at the Zigzag colliery, Lithow, yesterday, is attributed to defective pillaring. The debris is now being cleared away, and it is hoped the results of the accident may not be so 1 serious as at first anticipated, and that work may be resumed in the mine. The first report, to the effect that the miners were driven out by the fall of earth, w£*s incorrect, it having transpired that there v?as nobody in the mine at the timo of the accident. A silver company has been Jloated to work a mine in the Tuna district with a capital of £100,000. The capital was subscribed seven times over before Jhe prospectuses were issued. The Great Cobar Copper Company havtf sold the output of their mine for three years to the French syndicate for £60 delivered ire Sydney, the produce being restricted to 2500 tons per annum, with the option o£ extending the term for a further period off three years. The average price obtained in Sydney by the company during the last 12" years has been slightly over £52. Under the new engagement the company expect to clear a profit of £12 per ton. Adelaide, February 23. A thousand Chinese have been landed in the colony since the Ist December last. It. is reported that the instigators of the Chinese movement towards the ruby fields will dispute the thousand-mile limit imposed upon the Chinese, and will advise tho Chinese to refuse to pay the poll tax of £10 per head now exacted from them. Wheat is selling at 3s 2.|d for shipping parcels ; 3s for farmers' lots f2s 30rt for outports. Flour: Roller-made, £8 i0»to X 8 15s. Oals : 2s 8d to 2s lOd. Barley ; 5s to 5s Gd for malting only. February 24. The mining mania is stronger than ever,, and fresh companies are being iloated daily, A vciy largre amount of capital is pouring in daily from England and the colonies. Hobaut, February 215. Two ladies died during the voyage of the Rimutaka, which arrived yesterday from Plymouth. A consignment of stoats and weasels, which had been shipped at London for New Zealand, had to be landed at Plymouth, as no food lor their sustenance during the voyage had been provided. The steamer leaves this morning for Wellington. Adelaide,^February 27. Sir Saul Samuel lias arrive! here fiom Plymouth by the P. and O. steamer Chnsan. His health has been greatly benefited by the trip. During the course of an interviewhe said that he was returning to New youth Wales partly for private reasons. Ho whs confident that it was the desire of Great Britain to conciliate the colonies and draw them closer to the mother country. February 28. The Government have agreed to a conference of rabbit experts to decide on the best means of exterminating the pest. Brisbane, February 24. A new sheep disease has appeared in some portions of the colony. It is of a mangy character and rather virulent. It is thought that the grass of the districts in which the disease has made its appearance may bo tho cause of the disorder. The steamer Gcelong, which went ashoreat Boulder Beach, Long Island, during tho recent gale, has been abandoned. Great excitement was caused here to-day by the report that the Queensland penal establishment on St. Helen's Island, situated in Moreton Bay and 22 miles from this town, was on fire, and that the convicts were escaping. A large body of armed police went on board a steamer to proceed to the island, but it was ascertained that the gashouse on the island was ablaze, and that the terrified mon, thinking the prison was on fire, set up screaming and had to be released from their cells. The fire souii burnt itself out, and tranrjuility was restored. The Government steamer Otter collided with Messrs Howard Smith and Co.'.s si earner Derwent in the river to-day. Both vessels had large holes knocked in them, which will take some time to repair. The Derwent was only prevented from sinking by her watertight compartments. February 2(3. The Colonial Secretary has despatched a message to the Hon. F. Playford, Premier of South Australia, urging that the utmost expedition should be used in dealing with the influx of Chinese into tho northern portion of South Australia. The message further suggests that the importance of the question demands attention, and if the Government have not power to deal with the matter, Parliament should at once be sumraonod. It is reported from Rockharapton that a mailman has been drowned there during the late heavy Hoods. Four men who were encamped on the bank of one of tho creeks have been shut off from communication with any of the towns, and had to remain iive days without food. All efforts were made to assist the unfortunate men, but the heavy flow of water prevented this being done. February 27. Tremendous rains have again fallen all over the colony, and further iloods are likely to ensue. A system of corruption has been discovered amongst the police in this city, and two constables were to-day sentenced to six months' imprisonment each for vaking bribes to permit unlawful games being played in licensed houses. February 28. A number of lifebuoys, hatches, and a gangway bearing the name of the ship East Minister have neon picked up at Keppel Bay, about 400 miles north of this city. The East Munster arrived at Maryborough on the 29th January last with immigrants, and left; for Newcastle on the 17th February. It is feared she may have met with an accident, in the recent hurricane off ihe coast. "Rough on Catabiui" corrects offensive odours at once. Complete cure of worst chronic cases ; also unequalled as gargle f <y^ (jiphtheria^ gore throat, foul breath.jj