AUSTRALIAN SUMMARY.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXIII, Issue 7544, 27 January 1896, Page 3

AUSTRALIAN SUMMARY.

WEEKLY NEWS LETTER.

(Per Uaitea Press Association.) v Sydney, Jan. 25. | Along the coaat cool weather with rain j ; predominated during the week, though it l again became oppressive at the close. The I unfortunate dwellers on the plains, however, l had not even the satisfaction of the small r mercies doled out to the coast residents, for r the thermometer maintained a consistent ° desire to remain above 100. Little relief t comes when the sun sets, for the sun-dried earth gives off sufficient heat to make the '• nights almost unendurable. Many families ' availed themselves of the railway concessions c to reach the highlands in search of a more l temperate zone. " If statistics go for anything, there appears l to be an immunity from the effects of the heat in some religious persuasions over ' others. Of the deaths last week attributable ' to the heat in the metropolis and suburbs, the Church of England contributed 79, and the Catholic 60, while the Presbyterians and 1 Wesleyans more than doubled the average. ( On the other hand, Congregationalists seem t to bo the greatest heat-resisting body in the community,' for they had only four inter- r ments, which is below the usual average. t Throughout the country tho death-rate ( was alarmingly high, and far exceeded any- g thing of the kind through disease or epidemic t which the colony has ever experienced. ( Two pathetioinstances are recorded from s Bourbe. Mrs Wright, while attending her [ aged dying husband, became seriously ill, i and shortly afterwards expired. Mrs Honey- i suckle succumbed to the intense heat, and r her son-in-law went to Bourke to engage a a railway carriage to convoy the body to a Mudgee for burial. After returning home a he had just completed soldering the coffin d lid, when he was stricken and died within n an hour. The carriage which he had ordered b conveyed his body also. o . Over 200 deaths were recorded in the v country alone, Bourke heading the list with A 50. o A ghastly sight was witnessed by the crew s of the brigantine Handa Isle on the voyage n from Eaipara. The lower half of a human t body, supposed to be that of the steward fi who jumped overboard from the steamer t Rotomahana, was passed 250 miles east of p Sydney, and a flock of seagulls were screech- g ing and flying over it. h The Pacific Cable Conference ended in the li seleotion of several Agents-General as dele- n gates. In football parlance, the Daily V Telegraph " barracked " vigorously for the ii Hon. Mr Reeves, not because he was Agent- It General for New "Zealand, but because_ he h left the colonies with ideas on the subject f( up-to-date. However the conference pro- ti bably did not wish to tread on the corns of c the gentlemen selected by placing a younger man before them. The fitness of one of the delegates appointed may be gathered from the fact that he has only visited the colony once during fifteen years. A step forward in cause of Methodist union has been made. The Federal Council appointed by the Wesleyan Primatives and United Free Methodists is drafting a scheme » of nnion for submission to several conferences ° of the churches named in New South Wales. a The Primitive Methodist Conference has P already agreed to the proposed union. The tl council state that after a complete investiga- " tion into the numerical strength, finances, I and properties, no barrier to union is disclosed. Believing that it is of vital importance to fix a date, the council recommends that a union be effected not later than the year 1900. From the moment of union a ministers' circuits, or stations, will form one J 1 body with a common name, fund, laws, and " equal rights. AH ministers joining will w become members of the Weßleyan super- _ numerary fund, unless satisfactory provisions 1 is shown in some other way. The reports w ■deal in extiiiso with tho distribution of circuits and other cognate matters. The New Zealand swimming representatives had rather a bad time from a competitor's point of view. Whether the men were out-classed by rivals or out of form through the severity of the climate is uncer- C tain. Allen, the colony's crack diver, had a n cither unfortunate experience. In the diving C .contest on the Paramatta river, after cover- h ing 70 yards, he rose to the surface and then a, evidently Bank from exhaustion. Several al bystanders got him out, and he soon re- j covered. The North island contingent have sailed for home- The remainder journeyed to Newcastle to participate in tho newly- " formed Federal Club's gala, when Fox, of n ■CnriGtchurch, with 30 seconds start, won the 120 Yavds Inter-club Handicap in lmin 8 48sw. The Canterbury representatives, with I fthe taeeption of Fox, leave for home to-day. 8 S Melbourne, Jan. 25. i In the recent retrenchment scheme are a 7 set of victims who have some reason to con- 7 gratulate themselves. The defence force b felt the effects of Premier Turner's pruning J knife pretty severely, and now that we are I face to face with an European situation, the I political gardener feels he has seriously I weakened the chief means of defence, and oteps are being taken to rectify tho matter a by bringing the present artillery up to the 1 original strength with preference to the g trained men who were dispensed with, g Those who have not obtained other positions will find themßelvesreinstalled afterreceiving ( compensation for loss of employment. It 0 will be impossible, however, to get all the 5 .men back, and the necessary recruits with ( pfa.chaps a little knowledge, will fill the j vacancies. The latter cannot be said to jj bring the force to anything more than the f numerical strength. ] Parliament got to work again after the r t Christmas recess, but the session, if all goes ] well, promises to be of short duration. The Railway BillwiM bathe chief measure of the session. It is understood that Government will invite applications for the position of general manager in Europe and America, 1 •which is a clear indication that the Cabinet i does not think good men can bo obtained Jocally to extricate tho railways from the i chaotic atate into which they have drifted. 1 The Argns puts a finger on the weak spot in the railway administration. It says half of tbe railway troubles have arisen from political influence beiog used and political orders given, while at the same time a demand was made that the railways should pay. Parliament shirked the responsibility cl its action, and gross demoralisation had been far reaching. When the Bill came up for discussion in tho Houso an amendment by Mr Hancock that Mr Speight ho the first commissioner raised the fighting spirit, and an acrimonious debate followed, Mr Turner intimating that he would retire rather than arnke such an appointment. The amendment was ultimately withdrawn, though it was supported by the Opposition, and then an amendment demanding the detection of a commissioner within the colony produced another hot debate, tho Opposition carrying tho point by 40 votea to 37. On the clause fixing the salary at £3£oo Government received another rebuff by a reduction to JE2OOO. A discussion ensued on tho new clause appointing n departmental board to hear offences against employees. This was the Labor party's chance, and they succeeded in carrying an amendment to have workers represented on the Board. The political horizon looms darkly, and there is a feeling of unrest which may culminate at any moment in an attack on the "Government. A rift in the Opposition late us the only safeguard the Government has, and if itiSce Opposition can arrange matters with the reaaloitrant corner, then the fate of the Government js sealed. A rumor is industriously circulated in the lobbies that the Premier came to an understanding with the leader of the Opposition by agreeing not to go outside the colony to make any appointments, but Mr Turner emphatically denied the truth of it. The railway juggernaut has crushed Ministers before, and it looks as if it would add Mr Turner to the list of wictima. Another important measure to be dealt witfa is tho Companies Bill. If it is true that Mr Chamberlain is about to introduce j comprehensive legislation on the samo sub- j jeet in tbe Imperial Parliament, it would be wiser to await his Bill, with the view of bringing the colonial legislation into line with the Home statute on the subject. Such an idea will have for its chief benefit the advantage of rulings in the highest Judicial Court .in the; United Kingdom. What is wanted now is a tentative measure giving 1 companies power to write down their capital to £he actual existing point, . ■When the Bill reached the Legislative Assembly tbe second reading was carried, -"/' but in Committee consideration was post- * uoned for a week. I'Jiis ,may be regarded as -• £ virtual abandonment of the Bjll ; which

after all was a crude ono, and the. wisest course has been pursued. The Council sent, down a small Bill permitting companies to write down capital so that they could pay a small dividend. This much-needed reform will in a measure satisfy requirements till a fuller measure is introduced. The Premier, however, threw a wet blanket on the Bill by declaring there was little prospect of it passing because the members feared it would hinder a larger Bill, imposing additional responsibility on directors and company promoters. The Bill was formally committed and progress was reported, which may be the end of it. When tho Government defence proposals came before the House, Mr Moate opened fire by stating that Government had totally demoralised and disorganised the service by its amateurish method of retrenchment., and after doing mischief they were trying to retract their steps. He suggested that Cabinet should obtain an Imperial artillery officer to take charge of the forts. " Try a Boer or two," suggested Mr Hancock. Adelaide, Jan. 25. The weather has been intensely hot, and 111 in the shade was registered on Thursday. One or two cases of sunstroke have occurred, but without fatal results. Miss Van Qu, the heroine of the Celestial romance, is a bright intelligent girl, and talks English fluently. When taken to the Government Offices, the Executive was sitting, and the Governor requested to see tho girl. She chatted freely with the Governor and Ministers. She states she was sold in Canton for 103 dollars, and accompanied her purchaser to Adelaide, but there is a reverse side of the picture. Way Lee, in whose house she was found, is one of the most respected Chinese merchants here. His account is that the girl was nob bought, but adopted, the money paid to the mother being advance wages. The girl was of a wayward disposition, and this is borne out by the statement of soveral ladies with whom she was brought in contact. Way Lee, at tho request of the girl's adopted father, took charge of her until she could be returned to China. Accordingly he detained her, and made a careful watch over her because he was afraid : she would run away and contract a European marriage. Such a catastrophe would, under the Chinese law, make it necessary for her foster father to have his head removed by the public executioner. To avoid this unpleasant consequence was the reason of the girl's incarceration. Way Lee eeems to have had a lot of trouble lately with Chinese ladies. Another Chinese custom permits a man's mother to find a wife for him, and Mr Way Lee's mother, having no suitable bride iv her mind's eye for her son, persuaded a lady who brought the girl out to go to Adelaide to decorate Way's hearthstone. Unfortunately Way is already married. He thus found it necessary to ship his mother's choice back to China.