AUSTRALIAN SUMMARY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2206, 11 June 1896, Page 40

AUSTRALIAN SUMMARY.

Sydney, June t. BAD WEATHER. The high winds and coastal storms of last Week proved the precursor of the regular winter rains, which this year were unusually l&te. The fears of & dry winter, however, were effectually dispersed by the -week's almost continuous downpour of tropical copiousness. The rain wa» almost general, even the droughty Northern Territory participating. Locally the weather is again clear, bnt evidences of winter have fairly commenced. Heavy frost and snow are reported on the high lands. WBATHEK CYCLES. At the commencement of the wet ge»son Mr Russell, the Governments astronomer, announced the discovery — or rather rediscovery, as he alleges it waa previously known and acted upon by the ancient Jews and Egyptians— of a weather oycte system. In an interesting paper isfore the Roya! Society, he undertook to demonstrate periodically good and bad seasons, dating his calculations back to b o. 1705, at the time of the Pharaoh famine. Taking the world as a field for his observations, with * special reference to Australia, from the foundation to the present day, he arrived at the conclusion that «11 historic data, Ancient and modern, pointed to the fact ihfit prononnced droughts recurred regularly every 19 years. He quoted numerous authenticated instances in support of the nineteenth cycle,. Mr Russell added the comforting assurance "that drought j ears were always preceded and succeeded by good years. He forecasted such good aeaiona for 1897 and 16S8 Scientists will be specially interested in th* statement (hat as Mr Russell's ihvestigatioßg proceeded the ireight of evidence gradually coaverged upon the moon as the exciting ■c&nae. He never had any sympathy with the theory of Luna's influence on the weather, and received the «vidence against his will ; but the logic of fact* left him no alternative but to Accept the moon rb the prime motor. VIOLENT DEATHS. \ The week produced a he»vy list of violent deaths, suicides predominating. At Bopoiue a crime of a quarter of a century ago was revived by the suicide of the instigator. During a festive gathering in the Geroghery district a man named Ebel poisoned some wine with. BtrythDine in order to kill his wife, snd, but for hiß -miscalculation of the quantity of poison, a large number of persons would -undoubtedly ; have fallen viotims. Ebel's death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. After serving 20 years he was .released. -A youDg mar- j • ried woman mysteriously disappeared from the ] Albury district, and foul play is suspected. At j {Newcastle Captain Alexander, an old sbipxaatfcer, disappeared. Wyudh&m (Wesfcraha) contributed a tiagedy, Dr Banner, the resident j medical officer, havisg shob the assistant postmaster dead. The doctor fired a shot through the window ; the assistant postmaster closed . with - his assailant and endeavoured to wreit ■ the revolver from his grasp, but it went off, killing him instantaneously,. A verdict of "Death by misadventure " was returned. A j suicide at Ealgoorlie, -one at Melbourne, and another in this colony complete the list. j SEARCHING 808, PRECEDENTS. j Me*gber's counsel searched history for pre- j cedentw, »nd served up Lord Brougham'i : r observations in the defence of Queen Caroline , —that an advocate, by the sacked duty which he owes to his client, knows in the discbarge of th*t office but one person in the world, and that is hie client, «nd none other. To save that client by all expedient means, to protect that , client at all hazard and oott to «11 others, is the . highest and uaost unquestioned of his duties, , aod he moat not regard the alarm, suffering, torment, or the destruction which he may bring upon any other pereon>; that he must separate the duties of patriot from those of advocate, aud cast them, if need be, to the winds ; that he must go on to reckless couseqv.6nces, if his fate should be unhappily to involve hie country in confusion for his client's protection. MISCELLANEOUS. The centenary of Burns Called forth a memorial wreath from the Scotsmen of AustrAlia. It will be despatched by the outgoing mail steamer. Two old military officers here, Colonels Spalding snd Airey, who saw active service in various parts of the world, and who took part in the Soudan contingent, retire from the Government service at the end of June. The proceedings in Parliament have been devoid of interest. The most important matter was a motion for the second reading of the Lands for Closer Settlement Bill, but the motion was adjourned till next week. The . Treasurer gave an indication that when the - Budget was delivered he would declare a surplus en the year's work. Melbourne, June .7. THE CONVICT BUTLER. Butler's arrest ' has led the local press to recount hU acts. Since his return from Maori- . land Butler has been shadowed by two detectives. The ex-convict was apparently well aware of his espionage, and at times eluded his followers by cunning devices. The M'Phee robbery, which bore a close analogy to the crime perpetrated by Butler in Dunedin, together with the fact that several daring burglaries were recently perpetrated, led the po.'ice authorities to exercise the power tbey possessed under the Criminal Influx Act, which precludes it prisoner from entering Victoria three years after his release from gaol, and Butler was arrested. Mr M'Phee identified him as his assailant, and several other charges of burglary will be preferred against him. . A RAIDER OF OFFICES. M'Kay, a raider of offices, when 'on trial wished the judge to make his sentence Bhort, sharp, and decisive*. The presiding judge cheerfully granted the request, and gave him two years' " hard " with solitary confinement. INSANITARY MELBOURNE. Typhoid and scarlet fever are rampant in the city ana suburbs, while the hospitals are Badly overcrowded. At the last meeting of the Melbourne Hospital it was stated that during the fortnight 11 fever patients bad been refused admission owing to overcrowding, while others were discharged in a condition which was cettainly dangerous to the community. There | were so many new cases that the authorities were obliged to send many away Jar too early. A. deputation was appointed to wait on the* Government nd p»>u t ou 1 ; the urgent necessity j of 'a fever (^• < «'dt yrr>i>er ambulance. The doctor* stat- " ■! *i it <gAs itnioshible at present to cope with oi fcke proper precautions. Adelaide, Juno 7. TIBED OF PROHIBITION. The Rennmrk irrigation settleineft has so far been run on strictly cold water iines, the act nnder which it was established stijiulsting that do place for the sale of spirituous beverages would be allowed to esut. -The settlers are tired of enforect teetotajUm, and are petitioning

the Government to consent to the granting of a license. They ate willing to content themselves with the Gothenburg system as far as Ideal circumstances permit. OHAFFEY BROTHERS. The application of the liquidator of the Chaffey Brothers to deal with certain assets brought to light further startling facts as to the condition of the management of irrigation colonies. By agreement between the liquidator and the Trustees and Executors Agency Company of Victoria, the liquidator sought power to sell certain assets of the company now at the Renmark settlement, -which th« Trustees Company contended were specifically charged in favour of certain debenture-holders. The evidence showed that the mortgage bond under which the claim arose was executed in 1891, bat w&b kept secret «nd was not available till the company went into liquidation. The secretary was even unaware of its existence. •The position arose owing to 'the fact of Chaff ey Bros., though they had assets in Adelaide and were a foreign company hiving a domicile in Victoria, taking advantage of this mortgage for £100,000 on Renmark, which was executed bnt not registered in Adelaide ; and the court was asked to decide whether the deed ought to have been registered, and whether, under the circumstances, it secured to the debenture-holders a charge over all the a«6ets not otherwise charged. The Chief Justice title! that the mortgage did not require to be regie- • tered local!/, and that the Trustees Company , were entitled to the assets in question. Brisbane, June 7. PUNISHING HEADHUNTEKS. The Togeri, a New Guioean tribe notorious for their head-bunt ing exploits, are reported to j have received a terrible thrashing at the hands of Sir William M'Gregor and party. Several of these undesirable gentry were killed and 50 canoes destroyed. It is believed that their power is broken, and that they will give little trouble for a long time to come. At a meeting at Wellington attended by about 60 persons a National School Defence Association was formed, one o? whose purposes' will be to organise -a band of teachers who shall give unsectarian instruction after school hours. Sir William Thomson has recently been making experiments to discover what the effect pf a cannonade of quick-firing guns would be on "board the vessel firing and the ship subjsct to the fire. He finds that after 15 ruinates' firing the survivors of the 'crews of both vessels would be reduced to a state of mental, if not physical, incapacity, owing to the concussion of the projectiles on the sides of the vessels and the noise of the guns. » A "man-carry ing kite" is the latest novelty in military circles. It will surprise many per- ■ sons to learn "that a kite, or rather "five hexagonal Mteß flying at varying distances ' apart on a continuous line/ may I>e made to raise a, man 50ft above the earth's surface. At Ipßwich this apparatus has been practically tested by Lieutenant Baden-Powell, who easily raised himself, and subsequently two other' | persons, 50ft into the air. To"the last kite of the Hoe a basket is attached, and above it a parachute, to ease the descent in case of accident.