AUSTRALIAN NEWS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XX, Issue 6626, 17 March 1893, Page 3

AUSTRALIAN NEWS

PRBADFTTL MURDERS IVY A FATHER. Melbourne, March 4 A shocking tragedy occurred near Shepperton on Tuesday last. Arthur Pattison, a farmer residing at Caniambo, murdered two of his children, Arthur, aged five, and Florence, six, and inflicted such serious injuries on a third child, Margaret, aged ei^ht, that she ia not expected to live. Puttison rose at about six o'clock and went to the room in which the children were sleeping with their sister Alice, aged ten. He did not attack Alice, but the uoise he made in leaving the room woke her, and she saw him striko himself with an axe he carried. Seeing her brother and aisle r lying in pools of blood, the girl rushed screaming to her mother's room. Her screams brought out Pattiaon'a htcpsou, Arthur Calla'i, who followed the murderer and tried, without success, to take the axe from him. Pattison left the house and walked towns da his brother William's selection, where, meeting William, he turned back with him towards his owu house. Callau joined the brother, and there was a fierce struggle for the axe. in the course of which William Puttison's shirt was torn from his back. Ultimately Pattison was overpowed Callan rode into Shepparton for the police, and Constables Carsey and McPherson went out, as did also Dr. McKenna. They found the boy Arthur dead and Florence dying in great agony. Their skulls were fractured by blows from the blunt side of the axe head The house, a miserable slab building, with a post roof, resembled a shambles. The child Margaret was left lying in a precarioiui condition, and Pattison was taken to the Moorcopna hospital. When asked what was his object in doing it, he said, " I don'; know. I got up and lit the fire, and something came over me. I then took up the axe and went iv and struck the boy." PaUison, who fe a man forty years of age, was v.o have been sold up under instructions from a mortgagee. He seemed quite sane on Monday evening, when he visited a neighbor. THB REAL ESTATE BANK. The affairs of the defunct Companies in Melbourne are every now and again brought before the public, either by liquidators' reports or crimiual prosecutions. The affairs of Mr James Munro's R-al Estate Bank have just had some light thrown on them by means of the liquidators' first report. These gentlemen had a gloomy tale to tell. Hopes were held out a year ago, when the bank was wound up, that depositors would receive a full return of the money which they entrusted to the institution. The dividend payable after twelve months' liquidation amounts to Is in the £, and it appears unlikely that the depositors will ever ses more than about 3s in the £ of the funds they inrest«d. The manner in which the baak was conducted is declared by the liquidators to hare b«en " in the last degree reprehensible, while at the same time they are advised, after the submission of the case to counsel, tint no criminal action would lie against the directors." That they purchased properties at excessive high rates expecting to gain a profit on them by further accession of value was previously known, but until the rvppearance of this report it was hardly realised how enormously the values had been overrated. The liquidators found that the bulk of the estate which they took over was mortgaged in excess of its worth, and as the rents were inadequate to meet the charges for interest the mortgagees were allowed to take possession of their securities. The ascertained loss on freehold properties was £603,550, making w »* n other lesses a total deficiency of £1,026,907. Mr Munro was present at the meeting, but made no explaaation regarding the allegations made against him while he was in England that the late Mr John Woods, M. LA., had acted as a dummy for him in a land transaction, of which a property for which Mr Munro was trustee was sold to the Bc.nk at a profit of £28,00 ). Commenting on this the Age says : — " It is to be regretted that explanations were not tendered by Mr Munro in respect to other transactions, concerning which, when he was in London, he promised to satisfy the shareholders as soon as he returned to Melbourne. It can scarcely be said that he has fulfilled his promise by threatening legal proceedings against certain persons who may probably enough have given an erroneous version of the business to the public. The shareholders are not much interested in discovering whether or not Mr Munro lias been libelled, but they had somo title to expect that he would convince them of hia boni fides in respect to matters which have never yet been cleared up. M n were led to purchase the Bank's shares and trust deposits to its keeping a few months before the smash came by the emphatic and reiterated assertions of Mr Munro, as Chairman of Directors, that the institution was in a magnificent positian with an assured career of prosperity before it. At that very time, as now appears, it was insolvent. If Mr Munro believed in hi 3 own statements, as doubtless he did, he certainly stands convicted of being singularly unfit to 511 the post he held. THE ALLI39N SMITH ENQCIRV. The Age continues its crusade against Mr Allison Smith, and report 3 the evidence at the enquiry still proceeding at great len 'th. It is recognised that all the admission made of laxity of administration helped thafe journal iv its defence of the big libel action brought against it by Mr Speight, ex-Chairman of the Railway Commissioners. Summarising the evidence given so far, the Age says: — "As the evidence stands at present," we gather that goods have been bought only to be stacked away and rot, great works have been undertaken only to be smashed up and the dchis sent to the melting pot, contracts have been made and cancelled, and orders have been made and cancelled, and orders have been given to favored firms. Material to the extent of £713,000 ha 3 been bought; without tenders, and rubbish has been purchased and received, and surplus goods piled up in the store 3. Such is the i>ieture we have drawn for us in the sworn evidence which haa been so far tendered." A DOMESTIC TRAGEDY. Brisbane, March 3. A telegram ha 3 been received from Georgetown in connection with the tragedy at Cumberland, where William Alfred Trevethan. Post and Telegraph Master, shot his wife dead and then shot himself. It appears that Trevethan had been addicted to drink for many months, but lately became worse. His wife apparently tried frequently to restrain him when he became violent. On Monday last he was so bad that she, for personal safety, left him until the morning. Early on Tuesday morning he went to her, being then quiet, and she returned with him. Both* lay down on a sort of sofa stretcher, and he then apparently drew a revolver and shot his wife through the head. The bullet entered over the left eye, death being evidently instantaneous. Trevethan then fired another into his own head, the charge entering through the top of the forehead. The funerals took place in the afternoon, and were very largely attended. First the body of the man was lowered into the grave without any religious service, then the Roman Catholic service was read over the body of the wife. THE DROUGHT IN QUEENSLAND. News from the u,rea lying west of Charlesville, between the Mariuoa and Bulloo, is very unsatisfactory. The drought there is very severe, and iv some localities heavy losses of sheep are anticipated unless there is a good rain before the cold weather sets in, On Beveral stations it has been found necessary to start felling mulga, so that the stock may get at the leaves. The position has become so serious that several station owners at present iv Brisbane have, to cut short their holidays and return home. A telegram from Barcaldine, in the Central district, states that thare are still no signs of rain, and the disastrous effects of tho drought are increasing. The losses of stock are alarming. Two large mobs of mixed sheep from Bowen Downs, travelling towards Darling Downs in search of grass and water, have suffered terribly. The reported losses up to the present time are 25,000. A MAD BLACKFELLOW IN COUKT. Adelaide, Mar. 3. Considerable interest was added to the proceedings at the Criminal Court on Tuesday last by the appearance of a wild blackfellow, Wananmuchoo, who was charged with murdering Welparika near the Queensland border. The prisoner had been brought down 850 miles by a police trooper, with avengers from the injured tribe prowling on h,is tiack to carry out tribal law on the slayer,

Wananmuchoo looked wilder and more unkempt than ever, his confinement within four stone walls having evidently told upon the previously freo and unfettered savage. The Chief Justice emphasised a remark he had previously made concerning the propriety of leaving the execution of tribal laws against such an offender to the people thcmselvos, where the offence was committed beyond the confines of civilisation, and practically did not concern the whites. The jur}' found that Wanamuchoo was unable to understand the proceedings, owing to his ignorance of English. They also found him insane, and he was committed to the lunatic asylum during the Governor's pleasure. The blackfellow was quite unmoved when taken away, and his own countrymen think him insane.