FROM THE LATEST COLONIAL PAPERS.

Colonist, Issue 31, 5 February 1858, Page 2

FROM THE LATEST COLONIAL PAPERS.

There was a kind of vague rumour some weeks ago that Miss Madeline Smith had arrived in Melbourne, under an assumed name, but nobody seemed to regard it as anything but an extravagant conjecture. Now, however, it seems to be spoken of as unfait accompli. • The Ballaarat Times teQn the following curious story, which at all events indicates the tendency of public speculation upon the subject:—" A lady recently arrived in this colony relates the following strange storyj which will be perused with no slight degree of interest. On leaving England in a vessel, which shall be for the present nameless, it was observed that a young and handsome female, most fashionably attired, was a passenger in the steerage. She was accompanied by an interesting child, who died upon the voyage; this naturally excited much sympathy on board, and .caused particular attention to. be directed to the lady in question. It was found that her clothes were marked M. S., and she was known in the vessel as a Mrs. or Miss Smith. Upon arrival of the ship in Melbourne, our informant's friend was looking over a copy of the Illustrated London News, and happening to see a likeness.of the celebrated Miss Madeline Smith, at once exclaimed,' That lady came out in the same ship with me.' A child of about twelve years of age, who had- also been in the vessel was interrogated on the subject, and declared that the lady passenger and the portrait were perfectly alike. It may also be observed, that about" the "same time the report of Miss Madeline Smith having sailed for America was published in the public journals. We give this tale as it reached us, only vouching for the integrity of our informant, and leaving our readers to draw their own inference."-

It is said that the opening of the Victorian Session will reveal a remarkable change in the materiel of the Haincs Cabinet. Four or five weeks ago, we stated that Mr. Fellows had resigned the Solicitor-Generalship, but that subsequently, at the solicitation of his colleagues, he consented to retain office till the close of the session. The correctness of our information has been fully confirmed. Mr. Fellows has just positively tendered his resignation; Mr. Haines is in a serious dilemma from the difficulty of finding a presentable man who would condescend to identify himself with such an equivocal company. Mr. Sitwell has been mentioned, but it is apprehended that his conduct during the debates on the Land Question has not yet faded from the memory or Castlemaine. It is not at all unlikely that the mantle of " the comic Chitty," will descend upon Mr., Adamson, as the Ministry can not now afford to be so dainty in their choice as when Mr. Fellows last tendered his resignation.

Reaping is all but concluded by this in New South Wales. Operations have been hurried on by the excessive heat that has prevailed recently, which ripened the wheat most rapidly. . Whilst the area sown is not near so large,, as in former years, the yield is expected to be greater in proportion and better in quality, owing to the favourable season and the absence of rusk ' A littlemoistnre would be of advantage at present to the growing crops of corn and potatoes. The many small patches of sorghum sown by different persons throughout the colony are coming on very" well ; owing to ignorance of the method of sowing, &c, in some cases, failure may be expected, but, notwithstanding, we have no doubt the sorghum will be appreciated as an article of fodder by dairymen, when they have given it a fair trial.

The Sydney Exchange was formally opened by his Excellency the Governor-General.," The ceremony was followed by the transmission of the first- telegraphic communication to .Liverpool; owing to some disarrangement this latter operation was not quite successful., A ball, wag given in the evening in honour of the occasion. . ~:-. ~ •;. • ~ ' ' Pour'"soldiers at Cockatoo Island experienced'a sun-stroke on 2nd January. They were conveyed to Sydney, to afford increased facilities for their receiving medical treatment. One of the four,, it is expected, will not recover, but hopes are entertained that the result, will npt .be, ast fatal as re? gards the other three. „ ' • • Albury.—A public meeting had resulted in the contribution df a sufficient sum.of money to pay for extending the Victorian telegraph line to Albury. An arrangement was immediately made with the contractors, who at once commenced the work; and the first post erected on the N. S- W. side of the river was christened, in the presence of a number of residents. —Arrangements for adding a number of small steamers to the Murray fleet were stated to be in progress at Wahgunyah, arid it was rumoured that a gentleman possessed of large capital had arrived from California, with the intention of taking a trip down the Murray, as,a preliminary step towards laying on a-line of American boats.—Prices of produce are falling, 7s» to Bs. being all that is expected for the new wheat, whilst hay has been sold as low as £6.

Particulars had reached Brisbane, Moretonßay, of the attack of blacks on an exploring expedition of Messrs. Fruth, Walker, and Wiggins, whilst camped near Expedition Range. During the" day they were deserted by two blacks, each armed with a gun, and at half-past two on the following morning (27th Oct.), the moon having just set, a murderous attack was made on the camp by. some/•■ fifteen or more blacljs ' Mr. Walker Received three spear wounds and four from nullah nullahs. . Mr. Wiggins had his head cut open by the blow ' of a nullah nullah, and a friendly black was saved from being killed,by the courage of Mr. W., who shot one of the assailants. ■ The wounded gentle^ men were recovering.. . - :

The Aebrated race-horse Veno, now the property Ot^J. H. Atkinson, Esq., has returned to Sydney by the steamer London. On the Bth ultimo, at Goulburn, New South Wales the thermometer stood in the shade at 89 decrees, the air continuing very sultry until 9 p.m., when a heavy thunderstorm swept over the township. Shortly before midnight, whilst the hea- . yens were illuminated with lightning, the shock of an earthquake was felt, accompanied by a violent squall of wind. On the afternoon of the 9th, Goulburn was again visited by a violent electric storm and a deluge of rain. Intelligence was subsequently received of the following accidents by lightning:—At half-past 3 p.m., whilst three females were cooking in Mr. Wade's inn, at Marulan, the electric fluid descended the chimney, ° threw down the women, and killed a dog by the side of Mrs. Wade. Mrs. W. lost the use of one arm "by the shock, but her companions were not • injured. During the same storm the lightning struck the ring-bolt of a yoke connectingtwo bullocks in a team, whilst travelling on the Binda Koad, severing the yoke, but (strange to say) leaving the animals unharmed. A horse at Cotta Wolla was Btruck on the loins, but although crippled the unfortunate quadruped seemed likely to live. A number of trees were also shattered by the lightning, which appears to have been unusually dangerous. The earthshock made several houses quiver to their foundations, and is said to have been the third felt in Goulburn during the past five years. The jSt. Leonard's Weekly Times is announced in the Sydney papers to appear on the 4th Jan., at the office, Miller-street, North Shore. On the 11th ult. a boy named Croke had been drowned, at Eastern Creek, near Windsor, N.S.W.: on the 12th, another, of 14 years of age, near Richmond Punt; and, on the same day, a ' third,, named! Hind, at Sandy Beach, close to Windsor. : • , Sufferers from the cabbage blight are requested to take notice that a Garden near Wangaratta, Victoria,- has been preserved from the ravages of this pest by being situated under a cattle and sheep yard. . Tins effect has been attributed to the ammonia contained in the urine. A number of cockatoos brought from Sydney had been sold in Beech worth, at from £2 to £2 ss. : each, by auction. An emu and a native companion were bought in, at £1110s. It was reported that six engineers sent by the Prussian Government were making a tour of inspection among the of Victoria, and that they were last seen on Bendigo. The bodies of two men, both with their skulls fractured, had been found in a hole between Dunoily and Jones Creek, Victoria. They were lying on their backs, one above the other, and were' covered with" an opossum cloak and blanket, over . which'a quantity of earth had been heaped, but not sufficient to conceal the legs of the uppermost body; The whole was about four feet deep, and six feet in diameter. One of the bodies was that of a muscular man about six feet in height, and 35; the other of a man five feet ten inches, and aged about 40 years. Whilst a quartz claim on Growler's Hill, Waranga, Victoria, was being worked, a live toad was discovered in a cavity of a rock, at a depth of 150 feet. Apparently stupificd at first, the toad . afterwards became lively, but its activity was only the prelude to its death, which soon took place. The body, winch measured about two inches in diameter, was carefully preserved. . Gold.-—The, amount of the precious metal brought into Melbourne under escort during the . year 1857, has.been 2,290,660 ounces. The total shipments for the year have been 2,540,141 ounces; or, 105 tons 16 cwts. 3 qrs. 3 lbs. 5 ozs., the value of which, at £4 per ounce, amounts to . £10,160.564. The Bendigo Advertiser says, the Chinese are leaving Bendigo in large numbers for Melbourne, with the intention, we understand, of returning to their native country. A Suggestion for the Prevention op the Spread op Fire.—We have been informed by Major Wallace of a valuable apparatus for preventing the spread of fire. It was introduced by , Sir William O'Mallep, Barrack Master, Colchester, when a great body of troops was encamped there during the war with Russia, and it seems to us to be as well adapted to the wants of Ballaarat as it " is to the somewhat similar conditions of a military - encampment. It consists of a large frame con- "" structed upon a platform, fitted with wheels so as to be easily moved from place to place, and upon which a screen can be distended in a few moments. This may be of any noncombustible material, and . should at the same time be capable of absorbing and retaining moisture. When fire breaks out, the apparatus is run in between the tent or the • house attacked and the^ one adjacent, the screen hoisted up or otherwise distended, the water kept playing upon it, and a barrier &> the spread of the fire is established. When eacn tenement stands 'by itself the use of the apparatus is simple and easy, and in employing it on the Ballaarat Mainroad there is not much difficulty to be anticipated. There are frequent breaks in the line of houses, and where no break occurs at a suitable point one could easily be made. We commend this suggestion to the consideration of the fire brigade. The apparatus need not be expensive; the working of it would be easy, and its application prompt: and we are convinced it would be found effectual in arresting the progress of fire. If several such machines were constructed and committed to the care of residents at different points along the road, they would be available at a moment's notice, and fire might be confined in most instances to the house m which it originated. The water necessary to saturate the screen would be readily obtainable at most places, as only a very small supply would be sufficient for the purpose as compared with the quantity required to extinguish fire by the process in ordinary use.—Ballaarat Times. A short time since Mr.' Graham, an innkeeper at Balranald, on the Murrumbidgee, N. S. W., was stabbed by (one Walsh, in a fit of drunkenness, and from which wound Mr. Graham died almost instantaneously. Walsh was tried at the last Goulburn assizes, was convicted, and afterwards hanged for the crime. Dr. Packer, of Balranald, gave evidence on the trial, and on his return journey from Gonlburn lost his life in some creek or lagoon. This made three deaths from this fatal blow of Walsh's. Mrs. Graham (the widow) arrived at Denilinquin some few days since for the purpose of getting married, and while vwaiting for the return of the Eev. Mr. Barker, received the intelligence of the loss of her eldest boy who had been burned to death, and the messenger who left Balranald to convey to Mrs. Graham the sad news.rwas drowned in the MurrumHdgee, making five cbathsas the result of Walsh's blow. Mrs. Graham returned to Balranald, still a widow. Such a series of fatal disasters are often read of in wild romance, hut in the quiet bush of Australia this affair is, perhaps, without a parallel, and all from a quarrel in a lone bush inn. • ' . ■ A correspondent of the Sydney Herald, who was struck by lightning during the recent heavy thunderstorm, in Sydney, thus describes his sensations:— During the storm, 1 was seated by a window engaged in writing,'and when it was-at its height a most vivid flash of lightning followed, or rather accompanied by the most terrific thunder peal, entered the room by the window, forcing, the pen with which I was writing l& metal one) from the holder which it broke, wrenching off the back of the chair on which I was seated, and throwing me with violence to the ground. I lay for some moments incapable of movement, and language is inadequate to describe fully my sensations. The walls of the room appeared oscillating, and my whole body to be an inert shapeless mass. On being able to move, I found the whole of my left side useless, being perfectly paralized, in which state it remained for many minutes. The electric fluid passed from me to the opposite wall, which it stripped of its plaster, and penetrated the bricKwork upwards of an inch in depth for a length of five feet, cutting it as complete as if done by a chisel;, it then passed from the apartment. My wife, who was seated near me with an intent of only a few weeks' old in her arms, received a severe shock, but, with the child, was otherwise happily unharmed,.its were also my elder children, who were in an adjoining, apartment. Ever since I hayebeen, and continue in a state of extreme nervousness, and can scarce'y recall the scene without feelings of-terror. -....■.. j On the morning of the 21th Dec, the acting guard of the 3.80 railway train, when near Sydney, observed some object on the line. An alarm was raised, but the carriages could not Ue stopped until after they had passed »yer the body of & man named Edward Hdggs; the injuries reeulted fatally.

Scandalous Affair.—Our readers will no doubt recollect that about six weeks ago a man of 70, named John Davis, was murdered at Jerrawa Creek, by a man ten years older than himself, named Samuel Nurdiman. This dreadful act occurred over a keg of rum of which more than these parties partook. An inquest was held in duo course on the body of the murdered man, and, horrible to relate, after its conclusion and the departure of the coroner, one of the drunken fellows, who had joined in the fatal debauch took up the body, threw it over his shoulder, carrying it to the creek threw it into one of the waterholes. We believe the body has remained .uninterred. We could not give credit to this disgusting affair had we not received our information from a most highly respsctable source.— Goulburn Chronicle.

At the Buckland diggings the anti-Chinese agitation was acquiring increased intensity.

" Telegram."-—There has been a good deal of discussion in the newspapers about this word, and its claim to be accepted as legitimately derived from the two Greek words out of which the word telegraph has been formed. In the course of discussion it has been several times stated, in letters to the Times, that the word " telegram" originated in the columns of that journal; and the Times was evidently as well disposed to " own the soft impeachment," as Mrs. Malaprop possibly could be. The statement, however, is altogether erroneous. So far as we know, the word first appeared in the Times, when giving the first despatch from Cagliari, about two months ago ; and then it was communicated from the Foreign Office, not only to the Times, but to the other London papez*s. So far as we can discover, the word was first used in India, and appears frequently in the papers relative to the mutinies in the East Indies, laid before Parliament'-during the past session. The earliest instance of'ats use that we have been able to find is containedin a letter from Major Birch, secretary to the "Governor-General, to Major-General Hearsey, dated Calcutta, April 21, i 857, which says—" A telegram to the following effect has been transmitted to you." Subsequently to that date the word appears frequently in the papers. The Word '.' Bosn."—The word " bosh" appears to be a Turkish word, meaning good for nothing. It was a favourite expression of the late Lady Stanhope; and it is in the memoirs of that lady, by her physician, Dr. Meryon, published by Colburnin 1845, that I first met the word in print. Lady Hester, in speaking of the degeneracy of the age, says:—" However, Doctor, I never knew more than four fashionable women who could do the honours at their house, assign to everybody what was due to his rank, enter a room and speak to everybody, and preserve their dignity and selfpossession at all times. It is a very difficult thing to acquire. One was the old Duchess of Rutland; the others, the Marchioness of Stafford, Lady Liverpool, and the Dowager Countess of Mansfield ; all the rest of the lon ton were ' Bosh' (i.e., Turkish, good for nothing)."— Charles Vickers, in Facts and Figures,

Miseries of a Millionnaire.—There is a curious story about the late Mr. Morrison, who has recently died worth four millions of money. It is said that during the last two years of his life he was the victim of a singular mental hallucination, imagining that he was in the utmost poverty, and that but by daily labour could he get daily bread. His friends accordingly used to place a spade in his hands, and sent him to work for a short time in the garden, paving him weekly wages of a few shillings, and in this way alone would he be quieted.— lllustrated Times.

Experiments with Monster Cannon.—The monster cannon which was put through a series of preliminary trials at Woolwich, was examined preparatory to a continuation of the experiments. From the appearance of the segment constituting the breech, it was deemed prudent to order the protraction of the proofs beyond the day originally fixed. Although care had been taken to fill in with sawdust the vacuum left in the chamber by the progressive variation of the charge, a rent was discovered in the metal, and a committee consisting of Mr. Mallett, the founder, and some of the officials of the Royal Arsenal, has been appointed to examine into the nature of the defect. Four only of the seven shells fired on Monday have been found; .the remaining three, it is supposed, are too deeply sunk in the earth to be easily recovered. The depth of the third shot, charged with 80lbs. of powder, has been ascertained to be sixteen feet.

Holloway's Ointment and Pills.—A protection against counterfeits exists in the water-mark, " Holloway*s Ointment and Pills, London," which appears in semi-transparent letters in every leaf of the book of directions. If this is not seen when the paper is held to the light, the same is spurious. Unlike the mineral preparations that drive the virus of eruptions and sores into the vital organs, this marvellous Ointment discharges the poison before it heals the flesh. The Pills inevitably cure dyspepsia and all bilious disorders, purifying and vitalising the blood, &c.