AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1950, 4 April 1889, Page 27

AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

FATAL FIRE AT A COFFEE PALACE. A fire broke out in the Coffee Palace, in Hendley street, Adelaide, on the morning of the 22nd ult., and spread so rapidly that the inmates had hardly time to seek shelter in an adjoining stable before the whole of the upper story was f in a blaze. A dozen people were sleeping in the building, including the Rev. F. W. Taplin, of the Point Macleay Aboriginal Mission station. He was one of the first to be alarmed by the policemen's whistles, and he got out of the building, but he went back again to arouse a young lady,

a school teacher, who was sleeping on the premises, and was never Been alive again. A man named King fell off the low part of the building on to the kerbing on hia 3pine, and, was taken to the hospital. The building very .light and inflammable. The insurances are as follows :— On the building-South British, New Zealand, South Australia, Union of New ( Zealand, £1500 each ; on the contents— Colonial Mutual, £1200. Mr Taplin, who was not ordained, was about do years of age. He was married to a daughter ol Mr 0. Blackwell, of Hiadmarsh, and leaves a widow and five children. His father, the late Rev. Gh Taplin, was the author of a book etitled "Aboriginal Folk Lore," and was the founder of the mission. A PITIABLE CASE. A sad case of a man of education reducing himself to a state of, semirmadness by drink came under the notice of the Fitzroy bench recently, when Arthur Wellesley Towers was brought up on a charge of threatening to take the life of his .wife. The story told by Mrs Towers was an extremely pitiful one. Her husband was a master of arts, and at one time was lecturer in Ormond College. From being a good husband and affectionate father he had made himself a loathsome drunkard and the terror of his family. For days the wife and her children lived in a room with the doors barricaded to escape his violence. -When he came home tipsy he thrashed his children unmercifully, and ill-treated his wife. Helosthiß appointments through drink. , Fortunately for the family they had purchased some property in better days, and in a fit of sanity the accused transferred it to his wife's name. From this source she obtained £2 10s per week. This constituted their sole support. On Saturday,23rd ult. the accused was so violent, and threatened his wife with Buch extreme penalties that she was obliged to call in Constable Law, and the husband was taken in custody. The unfortunate woman completely broke down in relating the history of her misfortunes, and her husband s cruelty. The defendant, Who endeavoured to deliver a speech, ascribed all his drunkenness and misconduct to his wife's " flow of eloquence—on the wrong side, your Worships. To prove this he rudely ordered a son of his, aged 12 years, into the witness box... The poor lad was unable to utter a word, but sobbed bitterly. Mr Nicolson, P.M., the chairman, remarked that, this was the saddest case of a husband's cruelty that had ever come before him The sample of the defendant's temper and'extraordinaryconduct which he had given the court showed him pretty plainly what the unfortunate woman, had to suffer.. He made an order that ,the defendant, find two sureties of £50 each for his good behaviour, m default to go to gaol for 12 months. The sureties not being forthcoming, the defendant went to gaol. DEATH FBOM CHLOBOFOBM. A painful sensation was caused at Sale, Victoria, on the 23rd ult., when it became known that Mrs Reid, the wife of Dr Reid, had been found dead in her bed. When found in the morning she was quite dead, with a bottle ot chloroform in her hand and a handkerchief over her face. The deceased lady, who was near her confinement, was in the habit of taking chloroform to induce sleep, and on this occasion Bhe had evidently been overcome before she was able to put the stopper in the bottle. Dr Reid was absent in Melbourne, and it is highly improbable that the mishap would have occurred had ne been at home. The only occupant of the room with Mrs Reid was a young child, who merely thought that its mother was asleep. The deceased was the second daughter of the Rev. W. S. Login, for many years pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Sale, and she leaves a family of four young children. A SERIOUS CHAEGE. A serious charge was preferred against Captain Jones, the master of, the ship Glen Coyne, at the Newcastle Police Court by Otto Hermannes, one of the crew. The evidence showed chat on the 13th February, after ,the vessel had left Townsville,,,the captain had Hermannes placed in irons for ref asing to work when theship was lying at Townsville. Hermannes was lashed to, the stanchions, and kept there for four days arid nights. The first night it rained incessantly for , eight hours, and Hermannes was wet through. He was afterwards removed to between decks, and lashed to the stanchions near the lower hold, and, had he gone to sleep, he would have fallen down the hold and broken his wrist The only food he had each day was one biscuit, which was fall of maggots and weevils, and a pannikin of water. SHOOTING WITH INTENT.

At the Port Augusta Circuit Court on Friday, before Mr Justice Boucaut, Henry Richardson was charged with shooting at Leonard Woodman with intent to kill, maim, &c. The evidonce showed that the prisoner had repeatedly threatened Woodman's life on account of his suspected intimacy with the prisoner's wife, and that on Woodman's return to Port Augusta from a business trip to Queensland the prisoner went to his hotel and fired three shots at him, wounding him in three places. The prosecutor denied all improper intimacy with Mrs Richardson. The judge declined to take evidence relating to matters that had occurred two months before the shooting as evidence of provocation. The prisoner stated that his wife had confessed to him. that the prosecutor had seduced her. He maintained that he had fired in self-defence. The jury found the prisoner guilty of shooting with intent to do grievous bodily harm, with a strong recommendation to mercy, on account ot the provocation he had received. The judge sentenced the prisoner to seven years hard labour, and said that but for the jury's recommendation the sentence would have been 1U years. The prisoner's act was a cowardly,anci unjustifiable- one, even if his suspicions of his wife's infidelity were proved, but there was no evidence in proof of this, only the unsworn testimony of the prisoner as to a confession by his wife. A THEATBICAI, ASSAULT CASE. Mr Monty Browne, the well-known theatrical manager, was brought up at the Water Police Court, Sydney, charged with tfvmg assaulted William S. Balfour, Matilda Balfour, Charles A. Harding, and Annie Harding. Browne, ,who had acted as manager at the Bondi Aquarium, , accompanied by his wife went to the Aquanum to witness the entertainment. Because of some supposed insult, offered after their arrival to his wife by persons in the ffi mgerßoffioe,he went thither to remonstrate, but the door, was slammed in his face. Enraged at this he went to therefreshment room and made an extensive

Durchase of jam tarts, custards, and other confectionery. • Returning to the manager's room he threw the jam tarts, &»., through the open window at the complainants, who were inside. Fines were imposed upon Browne amounting altogether to £13.

AN EXCITED HIVH OP BEES. An extraordinary accident happened to a man who was driving along the Bayswater road, in the suburbs of Brisbane. He was in a spnngcart with a number of hives of bees, when by some means he upset one of the hives. The tow attacked the horde, causing it to bolt. After iralloping some distance the horee fell and fractured its foreleg. The bees swarmed upon the animal and soon stung it to death, bo dense and vicious were the bees that traffic on the road was suspended for a considerable time.

LAND BOOM VICTIMS. Victims to the land boom continue to succumb, The Mowing are recent cases j-Gustav Lachal, jeweller, of Bourke street. Debts, , £322,984; assets, £477,452; surplus, £154,467. The whole of the bankrupt's losses are in connection with the recent land boom. Augustus Willoughby Rodd, auctioneer, at Dandenortg. Assets, £84,343; liabilities, £46,148 ; surplus £38,195. Cause of insolvency, depreciation ol valJe of- real estate. Dalston, saddler, Bourke street. Approximated assets, £53,620; liabilities, £44, 184 ; surplus, £9435. AN IMPOSING MABONIC CEREMONY. , The proceedings in S^e^^SwSS' inauguration of the United Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Victoria took place on the 21st ult. in the Melbourne Town Hall, when Sir W. J. Clarke as P.G.M. was instalfed IV Lord Carrington,,G.M. of New South Wales, assisted by Chief Justice Way, G.M. of South Australia. The great hall and galleries were crowded to the utmostfcapacity, tiU the space in front of the organ had to be utilised. It is computed that fully 3000 brethren were present! A splendid Brussels carpet of large dimensions, representing the floor of a Masonic lodge, was spread in the centre of There were the usual chairs for the [principal officers, and also pedestals, columns, &c. ffi Carrington, M.WGLM of New South Wales, Colonel Stokes,' R.WD.G.M., and otter officers were heralded by the, sound of the trumpet. After the usual formalities, Lord Carrington called on Sir W. J. Clarke to take the obligation of office, at the conclusion of which the G.M. was invested with the insignia and placed on the throne, amid cheering. Lord Carrington then said: "I now hail jou, Bro. Sir William Clarke, Baronet, Most Worshipful Gcand Master of the United Grand Lodg^ of Victoria. Brethren, behold your Grand Master." Chief Justice Way, in addressing Sir W.J. Clarke, said probably that gentleman s experience was unique in masonry, as he i had been the District and Provincial G.M. of^the Bnglißh, Scotch, and Irish CtaMbons £* the same time. In stating that the G.M. installed that day was now not the subject or representative of H.R.H. the G.M. of .England, or of the noble and distinguished G.M. of Ireland and Scotland, but their fellow ruler and teasdnie peer, with supreme authority, he reminded him that he was at the same time servant of the Great Architect of the Universe and the brother of the humblest member of the craft. Sir W. J. Clarke said the United Grand Lodge numbered 140 lodges, containing about 7000 Masons, whilst also 10,000 Masons in Victoria were not affiliated, lwo lodges had not come under the banner The colony from time to time had expended £20,000 it charity among distressed brethren from all over the world, and had erected almshouses on a pieceoflandliberallygrantedbytheGovernment. He then appointed Bro. George Baker .as R.W.D.G.M. Later in the afternoon a Supreme Urand Chanter of the Royal Arch Masons', of Victoria was inaugurated. Chief Justice Way, as Grand Z. of South Australia, Presiding, i installed M.E. Companions Sir W. J. ; Olar f e » George Baker, and John James into the three grand principal chairs. In the afternoon the jf W G M., attended by Lord Carrington and Chief Justice Way, held a reception in the council chamber. In the evening a banquet was held in the Town Hall to celebrate .the inauguration of the body. About 500 brethren were present. MISCELLANEOUS. The funds for the Victorian Orchestra now amount to £2749, leaving £2300 still to be made up to complete the list. The Melbourne police have issued a summons against the Rev. Father Heffernan for allowing St. Francis' Roman Catholic Church to be overcrowded on Sunday. Harriet Corston, late of Auckland, has been committed for trial for bigamy in marrying Wm. G.'Hibble, a justice of the peace for New South Wales, while her rightful husband was alive W. G. Hibble is charged with marrying Corston, knowing that her husbaud was alive. A splendid deposit of tin has been discovered near Blackwood, Western Australia. The washdirt is said to be superior to anything yet found, An elderly man named John O'Rourke was roasted alive in a hut in Mount Misery Ranges, Ballarat district. He was in bad health, and preparations were being made for his admission into the Ballarat hospital. It is .supposed O'Roucke was too weak to crawl from the flames. When dug out his remains were simply a blackened and charred mass. m The Melbourne police have succeeded m arresting one o? the gang of notorious swindlers who have latfily victimised suburban tradesmen in a wholesale manner, having netted during the last two months at least £2000. Accused, when arrested, had nearly 100 pawn tickets in his possession. „. , , Since Ist December last the official return for Melbourne shows that 2255 cases of typhoid fever have been reported, with 246 deaths. In the same period 249 diphtheria cases with 94 deaths have been reported. ««,««« A most mysterious loss or robbery ot iljWO worth of bank notes occurred on the 25th ult. in connection with the English, Scottish and Australian Chartered Bank, in Melbourne. It appears an exchange clerk placed a bag containing some thousands of notes in a safe m the bank, and securely locked the bag, only himself having the key. On Monday morning upon opening the bag he found a roll of notes for the amount stated, on the Commercial Bank, missing. Every search was made without success. The matter is the more mysterious, as it; was found the bag had not been broken open or injured.

At the Resident Magistrate's Court, Timaru, on Friday last the South Canterbury Kefrigerating Company were J?™ 8e ? ute d uu< £j; the Stamp Duty Act, section 10, id effect for insuring a shipment of frozen meat in a Home office and paying no stamp duty in the colony on the policy, the penalty for which is £200. The chief evidence was obtained from the secretary, under a strong objection by counsel for the company. Decision was reserved. Welm' Haib Balsam.— lf grey, restores to original colour. An elegant dressing, aof tens and beautifies. No oil nor grease. A Tonw. Restorative. Stops hair coming out; strengthens Jeanses, heals scalp.