INTERCOLONIAL. MELBOURNE, August 22.

Otago Witness, Issue 2685, 30 August 1905, Page 26

INTERCOLONIAL. MELBOURNE, August 22.

"An employee in the Footscray Woollen Mills died from an intestinal worm, which is prevalent in tropical climates. Deceased became infected through handling cotton from Egypt. August 24. The Assembly declined to accept the Council's amendment to the Revenue Bill, j which omitted the vote for the proposed ' State brickworks. Some time ago the brewers raised the price of beer, and a number of publicans thereupon started a co-operative brewery, and secured a large measure of support by lowering prices. The. subsequent battle of

prices brought the value down to b7s 6d per hogshead, and the secretary of tho Brewers' Association has declared that before the battle ends beer will be sold at a penny per glass. August 25. Mr Deakin gave a sympathetic reply to a deputation of Chinese merchants who* asked for legislation on the New Zealand lines for the suppression of the opium, traffic, but &aid he consideied the matter one for the Slates and not for the Commonwealth. The Assembly rejected a motion moved by a member to provide for Scripture reading, prayers, and hymns in the State schools. SYDNEY, August 22. A sensational robbery occurred on th» western mail train. On arrival at Redfern Station this morning it was discovered that nine ordinary mail bags from the stations on the Cowra-Blayney branch line had been cut open, the registered bags extracted, and the contents stolen. The registered bags were afterwards replaced! in the ordinary bags. Evidently the thief in his hurry overlooked a few registered letters. It is a mystery when, and how the robbery was committed. So far as is known the bags -vrere intact when they were transferred at Blayney to the western mail train. No mail van was attached to the train, and no postal, official was in charge. Beyond seeing them placed on board in the usual way, the railway officials took no further notice of the bags. They were not aware of the robbery until the traiß-^reached Sydney. It is believed the amount mis&ing will not exceed £20. August 23. The estate of the late Mr H. C. Whit* has been valued for probate at £280,000. As a result of the recent cases of th» bursting of military rifles the authorities, after an inquiry, have withdrawn the ammunition, considering that it was responsible. Some deeds forming portion of the mail robbery have been found on the railway near Bathurst, thus indicating that the robbery was committed after the departure of the train from Blarney. August 24. The police have found on the railway between Blayney and Bathurst a number of registered envelopes and unopenecl private letters., while others were torn up. ' These are the proceeds of the mail robbery. One envelope contained a postal order for £5. August 25. The long-standing dispute between ths colliers and the Hellton and Pelawmain collieries has been settled. The men return " to work pending voluntary arbitration. The Lord Mayor proposes theresump* tion of the Wexford-Goulburn street slums, at a cost of £40,000: Details of ihe late hurricane at the Marshall Islands show that 71 lives were lost. Jaluit was almost completely submerged. A tidal wave 6ffc high swept over the I island, leaving devastation in its track. i The Jaluit Company's big jetty and all | floating plant were swept away. There 1 was great destruction of copra. The only i houses left Standing aTe the Governor's and ; portion of the mission station, where many i natives took refuge. August 26. The City Council has approved th» scheme of slum resumption, and a bill will be submitted to Parliament. An epidemic of strangles has broken out in the Adaminaby distirct. A number of deaths are reported. August 28. While the Austrian warship was quitting Farm Cove she narrowly missed ramming H.M.S. Challenger. Both her anchors were let go, and she was hauled up within a few feet of the Challenger. ADELAIDE, August 23. Earth tremors have been felt in the citjr and various parts of the State. They wer» severe in the northern districts. August 24. The wreck of the missing schoonerCygnet was found off Cape Yorke. lfr is believed that all the crew perished. August 25. Forty students at Roseworthy College are suffering from ptomaine poisoning, owing, it is suppo&ed, to the eating of corned beef. BRISBANE, August 25. In the Assembly Mr Plunket gave notice to ask if the Government would take steps to bring about the secession of Queensland from the Commonwealth. The Government dairy expert reports that exhaustive tests disprove the statements that Queensland white pine is noti suited for the manufacture of butter boxes. The Guthrie brings details of the insure rection in South Borneo. It appears that; the Sultan of Boni rebelled, and that the Sultan of Gau supported him. The rising was caused through the Dutch imposingtrading restrictions on the nativeSj who refused to pay the demands made. A Dutch force, including some marines, totalling 4000 men, assisted by four warships, went against the natives? Two battles were fought, in both of which the Dutch .were successful. Fighting is still going on. The impression in Batavia is that tliai Dutch will be> successful in the pitched battles, but that the natives will then retira

■ inland -and'j arguerilla warfare will be cartied; on. ...In -one. battle, ..it /is stated, .250- natives and 14 Dutch! 1 were- killed. • • '< August 26. Twa nuggets- of -940z and 70oz respectively have been found at Dee. A rush " la© set in. , !