MISCELLANEOUS EXTRACTS.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 12, 19 December 1862, Page 3

MISCELLANEOUS EXTRACTS.

Settlement at Menindie. — A letter dated from Menindie, Bth November, published in tlie Adelaide papers, gives cheering news of the progress of settlement in that neighbourhood. Two waggons had arrived from Melbourne, with stores, implements, &c, and accompanied on horses by six experienced wellsinkeis, who, under the management of Mr. M'Pherson, late of Castlemaine, are to be employed, in sinking wells in the back country, on the blocks purchased from Mr. Jamieson by Mr. Urquhart, M.L.C. for the Murray. The letter adds—" Mr. Urquhart was here a short time since. He went out' to view the country he had purchased — about one thousand square miles. Unfortunately he was pressed for time, and it required the first and part of the second day to pass through the Menindie run. Upon arriving at Stevens Creek water could not be found, the last obtained being on the Menindie Station; but with 'aidour .unabated, Mr. Urquhart, after resting only about two hours, waiting for the moon to rise, proceeded on, and judging by general appearances of the country, plants, scrub, and trees, portions of which, collected from time to time, being somewhat similar to those he had seen during the day, enabled him to form a very correct idea of the character and capabilities of the country passed over during the night. About daybreak he again found himself on the Menindie run, with a creek of pure water at his feet, and expressed himself much gratified. Men of energy and capital, like Mr. Urquhart, are what we require in this or any new country. Good water for stock can be had by sinking from 70 to 120 feet; cost of sinking, 20s. per foot, in addition to all tools and materials being found. I hope the venture will meet •with ample reward.; It is a fearful risk to place out stock from 60 to 70 miles back from the river, unless a constant Supply of water can be depended upon. The iiver coutinues low. The steamers will not be able to get up this year ; in consequence carriage to and from Wentworth is excessive — £16 to £18 per ton. ' Drays laden with wool are travelling down. The clip, so far, appears good. There are but few shearer's on the river this year. At several stations shearing has only commenced, instead of being finished. The country is looking well from the Menindie Station (at all seasons about the best run on the Lower Darling). About 2000 head of fat cattle have been sent off within the last three months." — Geelong A dvertiser.

Blackfellows at Law. — As civilization advances, so it is said, advances litigation also, but however well this maxim may hold good among other races, it is certainly new to hear of a blackfellow, instead of settling his disputes with any of his sable bretheren by " dint " of waddy, seeking redress of his wrongs in a court of lawAn instance of this litigious spirit in an aboriginal, ho wever, lately occurred in the township of Wagga Wagga. Davy, a well-known blackfellow, presented himself the other morning to Mr. Shelly and asked for a summons against Yarry, another bla ckfellow. Davy said he had given no provocation, beyond interfering to prevent Yarry from beating his gin, an interference with his martial rights which Yarry deeply resenting, had broken a bottle over the woolly sconce of the chivalrous Davy. Davy on being asked if he kne-v the nature of an oath, grinned and replied, "my word!" and on enquiry as to whether he would be sworn on the ' Bible, intimated that that* or any other mode of administering the oath would be equally agreeable to him. With reference to a future state, Davy had his doubts, thinking it more probable that he would "lie still under the ground, I ' than that he would goto another place, although it was in his opinion just possible he might jump up whitefellow, in^which case he would certainly go to heaven. Davy wasp., however, induced to settle the matter out of Court, and it. is thought that Yarry's " bottle trick" will prove a lesson to him to avoid interfering in conjugal differences in future* — Wagga Wagga Express.

The block of Geelong marble, presented to the Burke and Wills Monument Fund by Mr Shanklin, has notturned out so satisfactory as was anticipated. Messers. Hanson Brothers, of the Creswick Koad, on cutting it have found it porous and uneven, and totally unfit for presenting a polished surface.— Ballarat Tribune.

Tins Confederate Steamer Alabama. — The intelligence respecting this vessel published in the 7'imes has occasioned a rise in war risks. The Alabama is nearly 1000 tons burden and 500-horse power, and when she left the Mersey she accomplished under unfavourable circumstances nearly thirteen knots an hour, She is armed with 100---pounder Blakeley rifle gun forward, a 08---pounder smooth bore aft, and four 32---pounders. Her crew, all picked men, numbers 110. She will, prodably be heard of off Nassau and Charleston, opening a passage for vessels carrying munitions of war fur the Confederate Government. The Alabama" look her armament on board in the Westren Islands from the Bahamas steamer, notwithstanding a heavy sea -\vhich_ prevailed. She is considered to be quite a match for the Tuscarora, and is superior in speed. She can cany twenty-one days coal. Late advices from N*ew York state that the sloop-of-war Adiromlach had been heavily armed, and despatched from Portress Monroe to cruise in Bahamas waters. — Maritime Register.

Plan ov the Temple ov Jerusalem. — The lady of the consul of Jerusalem has prepared a plan of the Temple, with its various courts and arrangements, which will be found to agree with the earliest authorities, and just fills up the space of the present sacred enclosure, iipon which the temple is presumed to have stood. The plan takes for its basis the holy of holies, 20 cubits square ; then forms a series of squai'es, comprising all that is required, till the largest square, commonly called the courtjOi'the Gentiles, is attained. It isnext found that the dimensions of this court exactly coincide with the present width of the precincts from east to west, assuming the cubit to have been 21 in. English. The north and south walls must then be measured off to the same size, in order to constiutte the great square. Hitherto, the difficulty has been to find the square. As yet, it seem most probable that the startingplace for the holy of holies is the rough rock, the "Sakhara," otherwise unaccounted for. If so, the great square leaves a strip at the north and south, at the ends of the present oblong ; the former of these serving for the Castle of Antonia and its appurtenance?, the latter occupied mostly by Solomon's Porch, or grand colonnade, which woiild communicate in one Hue across the bridge with the Xystusor Sioa.— Literary Gazette.

" Well, Mavy, are you going to the hew place?' 1 " Sure; no, ma'am! the lady couldn't give a satisfactory leference from her last cook."

The Police and the Press at I3au.ak.at. —Within the last few clays Mr. Hill, the buperintendent of Police in Ballarat) has thought proper to issue a Circular toter to the police cautioning them against affording information of robberies or other oflences that may be committed in the. district to per-, sons making inquiries on the subject, and intimating that in future the applicants are to be referred to the superintendent s ottice. This order has evidently been issued to prevent the police giving information of outrages, &c, to the reporters of the local press, and is opposed to the rule adopted m Melbourne, where the reporters of the press are afforded every facility in the discharge oi their duties, and the reports of outrages and robberies are even laid before 1 them. If the object of Mr. Hill is to conceal from the public the committal of crime in the district, lie has made an egregious mistake, as we opine that persons whose houses have been burglariously entered are quite at liberty to communicate with the press on the subject; and the reticence of the police hitherto on the subject is too well known to the representatives of the local press, and requires no comment. Independently "of this, we are aware that hitherto the very announcement or the arrest of offenders with property in their possession, described in the press, has conveyed the first intimation where such property might be found by the owners thereof; and consequently the press has aided the police in the lexecution of their duty in many instances. As the matter stands at present, we see no leason-why the police should be prohibited from giving information respecting every case, especially where the ends of justice would not be frustrated by so donig,^and as for "oing to the superintendent's office for information, it m.y be regarded as a farce, as the office is closed at certain hours during the evening and not open to the xeprpsentatives of tke press. Probably, the outcry, raised by the Western Council, and the quotations made from the local press at its meetings of the outrages in the district, have had something to do with the ukase issued from the office of Mir. Hill, the like of which hitherto has been unknown m Ballarat.— Star, Nov. 28. .

An Editohiax Excuse.— The Ovens -Advertiser, says "there is little use waiting a political article for the Beechworth people, when there is nothing but cricket in men's minds. Accordingly cricket forms the "editorial" of Saturday.