AUSTRALIAN.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXIII, Issue 7541, 23 January 1896, Page 2

AUSTRALIAN.

Prcßa Aaaooiation— Eloottic Telegraph-Oopyrigh MELBOURNE, Jan. 22. In consequence of the alarming spread of rabbite, complaints have been made as to tho ineffective administration of the Destruction Act. Government has therefore reappointed twenty inspectors dispensed with undet the retrenchment scheme. Sixty police officers, who at present are aoting as inspectors, are also to be paid a bouus as an inducement to give special attention to the destruction of the pest. The Minister of Lands is asking Parliament to vote a sum of £50,000, to be lent to shire councils at 3 per cent., for the purchase of 1 wire netting to prevent the spread of tho bunny. SYDNEY. Jan. 22. There seems some probability of the Broken Hill Proprietary Co. establishing smelting works at the old Port Waratah site on the Hunter river. Mitchell, a farmer at Orange, and his two sons, wero killed by lightning while taking tea. At Bourke to-day the thermometer registered 120 in the shade. Two more deaths from the heat have been recorded. Some dynamite in a shed near Rich's store exploded. The shed was wrecked, and the roof blown 100 feet in the air. A number of persons working in the vicinity were knocked off their feet, but none were seriously injured. The shook was immediately followed by a downpour of rain and a fierce wind which only lasted five minute 3. A number of trees and buildings were damaged. The explosion is supposed to have been caused by the heat. At Brewarriua the thermometer registered 117 to-day, and it was 109 at midnight. Several deaths have taken placo. The s.s. Aldinga ran ashore in a dense fog. It is thought she must have mistaken her bearings. At the championship swimming carnival on the Parramatta, tho only New Zealand competitor who gained a place was Allan, who was third in the diving championship of Australia, won by Wylie, of Sydney, with 82yds. BRISBANE, Jan. 22. In the course of an interview, the Hon. W. P. Reeves said the cable conference had done good work, but the question of amount of Bubsidy would probably require further consideration. He spoke hopefully of the state of New Zealand finances, and the prospects of the mining industry. ADELAIDE, Jan. 22. The authorities are investigating a strange case of illegal detention of a Chinese girl, aged 16, by one of her own countrymen. Some neighbours climbed on the roof of the house, and through a skylight saw the gitl almost naked and in a filthy condition. The police were informed, and broke into the houße. The girl stated she had been detained against her will in the attio for eleven months. The Chinaman's version is that the girl came to the colony with a Chinese woman, who returned to China, and it was subsequently found necessary to restrict the girl's liberty. PERTH, Jan. 22. At tho half-yearly meeting of the Western Australian Bank a dividend of 174 P er ccn t was declared, and 5 per cent bonus voted on all salaries. The directors propose to increase the capital by the issue of fresh shares