INTERCOLONIAL. Melbourne, April 13.

Otago Witness, Issue 2251, 22 April 1897, Page 15

INTERCOLONIAL. Melbourne, April 13.

While Mr Justice Williams was on a holiday trip he slipped and broke his kneecap. He will be incapacitated from duty for several weeks.

As a result of continued pestering by members of Parliament on behalf of unemployed constituents, the Commissioner of Railways has forwarded a letter to members stating that the Premier forbids acceotance of re -

commendations for employment in the railway department from member?.

At a special meeting of the Cabinet it >was resolved to commute Phillips's death sentence to imprisonment for life, which means 20 years.

In the case of Jennings, who was sentenced to death for criminally assaulting a girl, the sentence was commuted to 15 years' imprisonment.

April 15.

Robertson, the defaulting cler'-c in the employ of the Colonial Mutual Insurance Company, hae been committed for trial.

Over LGOOO has been already subscribed towards the Jabilee Fever Hospital. April 19.

The eight-hour demonstration on Saturday was highly successful. The weather was gloriouf, and the societies largely represented. In a speech at the luncheon Mr Taverner said he hopsd all Australian meat exported would be branded so that the British public would have the opportunity of judging properly of its merits, and guarding against the shameless frauds perpetrated by English butchers.

The statement prepared by the Minister for Water Supply shows that mortgages on orchard lands in Mildura total over LI 68,000.

Sidney, April 13

H.M.S. Royal Arthur has arrived with relief crews for the Wallaroo, Katoomba, and Waterwltcb.

A deputation representing tha Stookton miners a«ked the Minister for Mines to reinstate M'Donald and M'Aulitife. They said they had no desire to cast reflections on the decision of the Court of Inquiry or the new management, but the mine was dangerous and the old managers knew better than anyone else, and the mineis were aafer in their hands. The Minister sympathised with the old managers, but said he could not ignore the decision of the court, which had found them guilty of negligence nnd inoompetency. There are no aigna of tho drought breaking up. Tha heat and dust are stifling. The thermometer registered 88drg in the city yesterday — a record for mid-April. Reports from the country are generally of a distressing nature. The Sydney Morning Herald says that New Zealand has reason to feel satisfied with the position diecloi ed by the Colonial Treasurer, especially as the increase of revenue has been obtained over the wide area embraced in customs, railways, stamps, and direct; taxation. Mr Sadder, it says,- has behaved with prudence and self-denial. The paper adds, with reference to Mr Saddon's hint at something like a free breakfast table, that it caanotr wonder at the necessity for lowering taxation accordicg to the plain rule in the case of a surplus becoming obvious in a country where taxation is nob light.

April 14

At the Royal Agricultural Sbow, Mr Baldwin's Autonomy waa first and took champion orize for blood stallions, Mr Hordern's Meridian was first and champion in mares, and Mr Douglass's Nabob first; and champion in coaching stallions.

Noamean news states thai; two cMefp, with tneir families and attendants, who were banished from Raiatea, have been located at New Caledonia, where they are allotted land and supplied with agricultural implements.

April 15

The Austrian scientific expedition to the Solomcn Islands interrupted by the massacre of Baron Norbeck will not be abandoned. Dr Mann has arrived to take up Norbeck's work, and the cruiser Albatros3 leaves for the Solomon Islands in a few days.

The steamer Cornwall sailed for London with 84,614 carcases of mutton and a large consignment of joints of mutton and beef. This constitutes a record shipment of moat from Sydney.

Ministers state that there is no foundation for the Adelaide rumour linking the names of the Premier (Mr Roid) and the Colonial Secretary (Mr Brunker) for the Agentgeneralship.

A fire at Berrigan destroyed eight shops. The gold yield of New South Wales for the l&st quarter was G3,6000z— 10.0000z below last year's quarterly averages. April 16. The weather for the holiday was glorious.

There was a big attendance at the agricultural show and Easter encampment. The troops are only to have fonr days' training this year, and the cost of training is to be limited to a little over L2OOO, as against about L 30.000 before the retrenchment policy was inaugurated. At the agricultural show of the Government (special export priz^;, the Fresh Food and Ico Company won the LSO prizs for butter, also prizes for poultry and rabbits. The Meat Preserving Company took the prize for meats, and Messrs M'Lean Bros, for bacon. A large number of people observed to-day as a day of humiliation and prayer for rain. The drought is daily becoming worse. Many pUces are without watar, and, there beiDg no feod, cattle and sheep are dying in large numbers. The portions of the colony that are soffsring most severely lie south of a line from Wilcannia to Cissilie and Newcastle, where no raia of consequence has fallen since the middle of last year.

April 17. la a hailstorm at Douglas the average of part of the stones weighed over 6:z. Windows were broken wholesale, tin and elate roofs pierced, and fowls and gaese killed in large numbers, while enormous damage was done to the fruit trees and crops. April 19. There was fine weather in all the colonies for the holiday. Forty thousand people attended the New South Wales agricultural show to-day. A terrible'murder was committed to-night. Two Swedish seamen named L^rsen and Johnson, belonging to the ship Westgate, quarrelled. Laraen strnok Johnson, whereupon the latter seized a razor and attacked Larsen, and made a fearful gash in bis throat. The wounded man jumped off the wharf, ran a couple of hundred yards along the street, and then dropped dead. Johnson has been arrested. Brisbane, April 13. At the half-yearly meeting of the National Bank of Qaeensland the retiring directors did not offer themselves for re-slection, bub stron£tly supported the scheme of reconstruction, which" would place the bank in a very strong pogition. The chairman of directors stated that hs expected after Jane next, when tUB scheme was in fall force, the bank would make a net profit of L 100.003 a year. Messrs Milne and Murphy were elected directors, and the report was adopted. Apiil 15. The New Zealand Government have secured 850£t of space for the International Exhibition at a cost of L4OO. April 19. The Intercolonial cricket match Qaeeusland v. New South Wales was begun on Saturday. In the fir3t innings tho home team made 180 (Hoare 56, S. P. Jones 46). The New South Wales team have lost fonr wickets for 289 (Poidevin, 27; Iredale, 36 ; Pye, a colt, not out, 140 ; Evers, not out, 59). New South Wales won by an Innings and 101 runs. New Ssuth Wales's first innings closed for 354 (Pye 166, Evera 6G). Qaeensland in their second innings only made 73, of which Hoare scored 27. Rockiiamptoj*. April 17. A large number of miners returning from New Guinea give most discouraging accounts of the goldfislds. Adelaide, April 13. A thousand tons of cargo h*s been damaged by the fire on the steamer Both well Castle. Structurally the vessel has Buffered very sligjtly. April 14. A ramour is current in political circles here that Sir Saul Samuel, Agent-general for New South Wales, is about to resign, and that the Hon. J. N. Brnnker, Colonial Secretary, is named as his successor. April 15. The owners of the Bofchwell Castle presented the officers and the whole of the craw with new uniforms in recognition of their exemplary conduct during the fire. April 19. The Himalaya waß quarantined on arrival from London. Sbiel, the steward, i 8 suffering from smallpox in a mild form. Cooktown, April 19. A sohoonor has arrived from New Guinea with a number of minerp. Almost all are suffering terribly from fever and dysentery. During the voyage saven out of 40 died. Another went mad. Moat of the men remaining on the field are sick, and dying fast, Perth, April 14. Writs for the general elections have been issued. Nominations are on April 24, and the elections from April 27 to May 18. The Premier states that he intends at the earliest possible opportunity to publicly deny the rumours that the Govarament propone to repeal duties on certain articles of food.

April 14.

The team of cricketers chosen by Giffen and made up of several members of the late Australian Eleven and other leading players are now touring this colony. The visitors were defeated by a Fremantle Eighteen. The members are: Giffeu, Jones, Lyons, Darlice, Hill, and Green, of South Australia:

• Gregory, Kelly, and M'Kibbln. of New South | Wales ; Trott and Graham, of Victoria. HOBAET. April 16. A deputation waited on the Minister for Lands and protested against leasing Macquarie Island to New Zealand. The main i objection waa that the island was useful in ! connection with whaling', and that proposals j were afoot for resuscitating Tasmanian ' whaling, and the success of the enterprise j greatly depended on being able to use the inland as a depot. The Minister said New Zealand's offer was made with no intention o£ interfering with Tasmanian rights, but to prevent the island being used by poachers who now swooped down on the Campbell and 1 other islands and destroyed seals out of | season. The matter would remain in abey- [ ance till the reiurn of hiß colleagues from the I Federal Convention.