AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 338, 14 June 1869, Page 3

AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

{From the Argus, May 21 to May 31 inclusive.) It is intended that delegates representing New South Wales shall visit Victoria in July, to take part in a conference on certain intercolonial questions. Proceedings are beiog commenced by several members of the Church of England in Adelaide egsunst the Her. Messrs Webb and Stauton, for Ritualistic practices. Temperance principles appear to be making rapid headway in the west. Upwards of 1000 persons have signed the total abstinence pledge at Warrnarnbool, and more than 400 at Koroit, during the last seven weeks. The unusual sight of a crop of wheat and barley in ear at^;thi3 season of the year can now be witnessed, saya the Bacchus Afarsh Express, ou the farm of Mr Louis Scott, Parwan, who haa six acres of green crop which he sowed fifteen weeki back, and which he is now about to mow. I jjnbout two feet high, and most luxuriant. A despatch has been received by the Governor of South Australia from the home Government, announcing that it is intended to recall the military from the colony, and stating that the colonies must take their defence into their own hands. The Chief Secretary intends suggesting a conference of the various Governments on the subject, as it is understood that similar despatches have been sent to all the colonies. Mr Muhleback, of the Maorabool, has this year obtained ninety-seven hogsheads of wine from twenty-six acres of vines. Mr Pedrisat, of the same district, has been equally fortunate, having aold 300 cases grapes, and made twenty-five hogsheads of wine from the produce of twelve acres. Last year he had only 200 cases and thirteen hogsheads. The wine made in the Moorabool Valley ia said to be of superior quality. Her Majesty* war steamer Rosario has captured the schooner Daphne, of Melbourne, for contravening the act against shipping slaves. The Daphne had 100 Kanaka natives on board. A prize crew was put iv charge of the schooner, with instructions to bring her on to this port. The commaader of the Rosario states that he has information of the very worst form of the slave trade having been practised amongst the South Sea Islands. The Gee/ong Advertiser states that a new colonial industry has been lately started by Mr E. 11. Cole, a wine and spirit merchant of Geelong, the article made being neither more nor less than curacoa. It is not a chemical preparation, real orange peel being the chief ingredient. The flavour is very flue, and as the article can he sold at a much lower rate than the imported liqueur, it will doubtless meet with a ready sale. There is a strange diversity in the supply of the labour market at different places. While many in Melbourne complain of inability to get work, we learn that in Brunswick, only three miles away, the borough council have to postpone the letting of contracts on account of the paucity of tenderers, and to deal with contractors behind in their engagements, whose only plea for merciful consideration is inability to get stonebreakers and drays to cart the metal. /SCho Chamber of Commerce (Adelaide) have passed Mr Tarleton's resolutions affirming that in districts remote from any port, where there is a considerable area of agricultural land, it is preferable to open up the same by iron roads in preference to macadamised roadlfjjfand that, in the event of the Parliament "determining in favour of iron roads, the Chamber are of opinion the Government should guarantee a certain rate of interest on the capital expended thereon. The Pastoral Times mentions that " during the late severe drought, the manager of Perricoota Station on the Murray, saved thehalfstarved stock on the run by crops cut from prairie gra6s paddocks, some thirty-five acres of which yielded seventy or eighty tons of good serviceable rough hay. We believe that about 500 head of the very quiet cattle, that will not wander far from the homestead, were carried successfully through the drought by the means alluded to. The fashion for the use of velocipedes has brought about the establishment of a new industry here. Messrs Vail and Mallam have contracted for the construction of 200 of these and kindred machines, oh a new plan of manufacture, which has been patented for all the Australian colonies. It is intended that these shall be offered to the public for sale or hire. A higher rate of speed, it ia asserted, will be attainable upon thase patented machines than on all others previously in use. The quarterly abstract of the estimated population of the colony of Victoria states the total population on the Slflt March, 1869, at 689,538, being an increase of 5222 for the quarter. The males are estimated at 387,844, the females at 301,694. The arrivals by sea were 6665 males, 2651 females ; the birthi 3062 males, 2870 females; against departures by sea, 4944 males and 1936 females; and deaths 1798 males aud 129S females. The increase by excess of births over deaths was 2836, viz., 1264 males and 1572 females. The she oak trees, of which there are large quantities in the sandy soil of the Baltbuib. country, proved very.servic»able during the late drought. Some of the settlers caused thousands of she-oaks to be stripped of their boughs, and it was a sight to see some of the famishing cattle rushing after the men who were .employed in thus supplying the poor animala with the means of sustaining life. The cattle ate the boughs and the bark with the greatest avidity, and the bushman's axe as it felled the she-oak was music to their ears. The whaler Sapphire has arrived at Hobart Town with fifteen and a half tuna of oil. She reports having spoken the Derwent Hunter, at Cape Northumberland, with twenty-two tuns; the Irf>uisa, with fourteen; the Runnymede, with fourteen ; the Planter, with fifteen ', and the Zephyr, with six and a half tuns. The City of Hobart, which arrived to-day, bad spoken with (he Victoria whaling

brig, with eighteen tuns of oil on board. She was fast to a large whale, which she lost in in the night. It was picked up next day by an American whaler, which had been Beven months out without ever having cast anchor. Messrs. Sargood and Co. were defendants in an action tried in the Supreme Court yesterday, in which Mrs DeLacy, wife of a tailor, claimed damages for injuries she sustained through the negligence of the defendants, in keeping unguarded a hole in one of the floors of their warehouse. Mrs DeLacy had gone to the store to purchase some goods, and accidentally fell through thiß hole a distance of fifteen feet, fracturing her collar-bone, and breaking two ribs. Her husband claimed £1700 aB compensation, and Mr Sargood proposed to refer the matter to arbitration. This offer was refused, and this action was brought. The jury awarded the plaintiff £750. The hopes of the inhabitants of Tasmania are once more excited on the subject of a payable goldfleld. The Lavnceston Times says :— We have heard tit little for some time past from the rich auriferous quartz lead discovered at Waterhoue ou the northeast coast in March last ;but Mr Williams having forwarded alargeßampleof the quartz to Melbourne for assay, we are now in a position to announce the result. The quantity of quartz operated upon weighed 4501 b., and this produced 14dwt 2gr of gold; equal to 3oz 2J'lwt to the ton. The gold is of the staudard of eighteen carats, and is value for £3 2s per ounce. It is stated by the Cornwail Chronicle that the prospectors have applied for a lease. A new improved chaff-cutting machine, the invention of Mr A. Lugton, engineer, who intends' patenting it, may be seen at work on the premises of Mr Say, chaff-cutter, in Gertrude street, Fitzroy. The principal improvements on the old machine are those of increased durability and immunity from accident. The flywheel is much stronger than is customarily made, having a web on the back of the arm. The machine is fitted with a self-acting break, which stops everything the moment any foreign body gets in, and, by touching the handle, work can be resumed instantly. The big wheel has been dispensed with, and in its place there is a smaller wheel, which will prevent accidents to the men feeding, which are so common. There will also be no accumulation of straw in the top coomb, the machinery clearing itself. The new machine is expected to cut fifty bags an hour, and it will cost £2 or £3 less than the old one, besides being much more durable, Mr Lugton undertaking to guarantee them for twelve months. Writing on the practicability of cheap railways the Adelaide Evening Mail observes : — " If the Fort Argusta tramway should be successfully executed, it may solve the problem which obstructs the future progress of this and all similarly situated colonies. The mixed pastoral and agricultural traffic for which permanent channels have yet to be opened, requires none of the usual requisites of railway traffic. The object in constructing a railway for it, would not be so much to save time or to cheapen carriage, as to avoid the expense of temporary experiments, such as metalled roads. Knowing that the iron road must overtake them some time or another, the settlers would prefer to have it at once, if it could ba modified into conformity with their actual wants. They desire a rudimentary line, not to cost at the outset much more than a road, but to be capable of being developed into a complete railway as the local trade increases. The engineer who can give them this will be the true Stephenson for the colonies. He would rid them of all their road boards, and dispel the gloomy prospect of road taxation which hangs over them."

THE CUSTOMS TARIFF. The following is the Customs Tariff, including the latest decisions by the Commissioner of Customs: — Alet porter, beer of all sorts, cider, andpesry, in bottle, Is 3d per gallon; do. do. do., in bulk, Is per gallon; almonds, in shell, Id per lb; do, shelled, 3d per lb; alum, 3s per cubic foot; ammunition — sporting powder, 6d per lb ; apparel, not otherwise described, 5s per cubic foot ; apples, dried, Id per lb; apothecaries' wares, not otherwise described, 3s per cubic foot ; arms— firearms, 5s each ; axles, axle arms, and boxes, 2s per cwt; arrowroot, in bulk, id per lb ; do, in bottles, jars, or tins, 2s 6d per cubic foot; arsenic, 4s the cwt. Bacon, and hams, Id per lb ; bagging, bags; sacks, and woolpacks, empty, Is Gd per cubic foot, baskets and wickerware, 6d per cubic foot baking powder, Is per cubic foot ; beef, salted, 2s per cwt; beer engines and fittings, 4s per cwt: bellows, Is per cubic foot; bicarbonate and carbonate of soda, 2s per cwt; biscuits, plain and unsweetened, 3s per cwt ; do, fancy, Is per cubic foot; do Abernethy, and arrowroot, 3s do ; bitters, 12s per fallon ; blacking, Is per cubic foot; blacklead, Is o ; blankets and rugs, 3s do ; bonnets nnd hats, trimmed, 6s do; do, untrimmed, 3s do; boots, shoes, slippers, and goloshes, 5s do ; boots, men's common watertight and liiceup, aud diggers' long, 3s do; do, youths' watertight and laceup,ssdo: do, shooting, 5s do; boot and shoe vamp and uppers, 6s do ; brass, and brass manufactures, 4s per cwt; brushware and brooms, Is per cubic foot ; buckets, of wood, 2s per dozen ; buckets and tubs, of iron, 4s per cwt; butter, Id per lb. Candied peel, 3d per lb ; candles, tallow, \A do, do, other than tallow, Id do; capers, 2s 6d per cubic foot; caps, apparel, 3s do; eps, percussion, Is per thousand; cards, playing, 6d per pack; carpet bags, 3s per cubic foot ; carpets, woollen, 2s do ; do, of hemp, coir, or jute, Is do ; carraway seeds, 2s 6d do ; carriages, carts, drays, and waggons, 5 per cent, ad valorem; carriage and cart wheels, 5s per pair; catsup, 2s 6d per cubic foot; cement and plaster of Paris, Is per barrel ; chains, except gold and silver, #ths of an inch diameter and under, 2s per cwt ; cheese, Id per lb ; chicory, 3d do ; china, porcelain, and parian ware, Is per cubic foot; China preserves (not being fruit), 5s do; chocolate, 3d per lb; chutney, 2s 6dpcr cubic foot ; C'gars, 5s per lb ; cocoa, 3d do ; coffee, raw, 3d do ; do, roasted, 6d do ; do essence of, 2s 8d per cubic foot; collars and cuffs, of paper, 5s do; combs, Is do; composition gas piping, Is per cwt; confectionery, 5s per cubic foot; copper manufactures, not otherwire described, 4s per cwt ; copying presses, 4s do ; cordage, three inches in circumference and under, 3s do ; cordials, 12s per gallon ; clocks and watches, £10 per £100 value; cotton manufactures, not otherwise described, and all articles made of cotton mixed with any other material, 6s per cubic foot; cotton counterpanes, 3s do ;■ cream of tartar, Id per lb ; cruet bottles, Is per cubic foot; curry powder and paste, 28 6d do ; cutlery, 4s per cwt. Doors, of wood, Is each ; drapery, not otherwise described, 6s per cubic foot ; drugs, and druggists' sundries, not otherwise described, 3s do ; duck, 6s do ; dyes, 3s do. Earthenware, 3d per cubic foot; engravings, prints, drawings, paintings, and pictures, Is do enamelled cloth, 5s do; essences, flavouring, 2s 6d do. . Fish, dried, pickled, or salted, 2s per cwt ; do, potted and preserved, 2s 6d per cubic foot; fish paste, 2s 6d do ; fish, red herrings, in casks and tins, 2s per cwt; floorcloth. Is per cubic foot ; Forfar sheeting, unbleached, 3s do ; fruits, bottled or preserved in syrup, 2s Qd. do ; do, dried, Id pei lb ; furniture and cabinet ware, of wood, 6d per cubic foot ; furs, 5s do. Gelatine, 2s 6d per cubic foot; ginger, preserved, 2s 6d do ; glass, crown and sheet, Is per 100 superficial feet ; do, plate, Is per cubic foot ; globes and chimneys, for arid with lamps, la do; glassware, Is do; glue, 2s per cwt; groats, prepared, Is per cubic foot ; grindery, Is do ; gutta percba manufactures, not being apparel, Is do. Hardware, 4s per cwt ; haberdashery, 5s per cubic foot ; hair seating, Is do ; hair cushions, 6d do; hams, Id per lb ; harness, 2s per cubic foot; hats, 3s do ; do, men's, with plain ribbon binding, 3s do ; holloware, 4s per cwt ; hops, Id per lb ; horseshoes, Is per cwt; hosiery, 5s per cubic foot. Ink, writing, Is per cubic foot ; iron fencing wire, staples and standards, straining posts and apparatus, Is per cwt ; iron gates and gate posts, 4s do f iron hurdles, 4s do ; ir o n, galvanised sheets, tiles, ridging, guttering, sp_o ting, rivets, washers, screw nails, and wire netting, Is do; ironmongery, 4s do ; isinslass, 2s 6d per cubic foot. Jams, jellies, and marmalade, 2s 6d per cubic foot ; japnnned and lacquered metal ware, 4s per cwt ; jewelry, £10 per £100 value. Lamps, lanterns, and lamp wick, Is per cubic foot; lamp black, 2s per cwt; lasts, and shoo makers' wooden pegs, Is per cubic foot ; leadsheet, pig, and pipi»g, Is per cwt; do, manufactures, not otherwise described, 4s do ; leather, sole, per lb ; do, other kinds, Id do ; do, bags, 5s per cubic foot ; do, leggings, 5s do; do, manufactures, not othorwise described, Is do ; linen man ufacturos, not otherwise described, and all articles made of linen mixed with any other materials, os do; linseed meal, 3s do; lithographs, Is do; liqueurs, 123 per gallon ; liquorice, 2s Gd per cubic foot; looking glasses, Is do. Maccaroni, 2s 6d per cubic foot ; maizena and corn flour, Is do ; malt, 6d per bushel ; mangles, (patent), 4s per cubic foot; mantelpieces, Is do ; marbles, (toys), Is do ; marble or alabaster ornaments, Is do; matches and wax vestas, Is do; mats (door mat?), Is do; matting, of cocoa fibre and other kinds, 6d do ; mattrasses, spring, Gd do ; meats, potted and preserved, 2s 6d do ; millinery, not otherwi«e described, 6s do; musical instruments, Is do; mustard, 2s 6d do. Nails, of iron, Id per cwt; nuts, of all kinds, except cocoa nuts, Is per lb. Oil vegetable, in bulk, 6d per gallon ; do, do, in bottle, 2s Gd per cubic foot; do, mineral, 6d per gallon; oil, in bottle, 2s Od per cubic foot; do, perfumed, 2s 6d do ; do, cod liver, in bottles, 2s 6d do ; do, not otherwise described, 6d per gallon ; olives, 28 6d per cubic foot; opium, £lper lb; do, tincture of, 3s per cubic foot ; oysters, preserved, 2s 6d do. i Pain-kiner, per . cubio foot, 3s ; paints and colours, per ewt, 25. ; paper, writing, per cubic | foot, Is; do, wrapping, and bags, do, Is; do, hangings, do, Is; papier mache ware, do, Is; pearl barley, per ewt, Is ; pearl ash, per cubic foot, 3s ; peas, split, per cwt, Is ; pepper and pimento, unground, per lb, Id; ditto, cayenne, per cubic foot, 2s 6d ; do, ground, per lb, 3d ; perambulators, per cubic foot, fid ; percussion caps, per thousand, 1b perfumery, not otherwise described, and toilet vinegar, per cubic foot, 2s 6d; photographic chemicals, do, 3s ; photographic goods, other than chemicals, do, Is; pickles, 2s 6d; picture frames, do, Is ; pipes, tobacco, do, 2s ; pitch, per barrel, Is; plate, gold and silver, for every £100 value, £10 ; plated ware, per lb, 3d ; pork, salted, per cwt, 2s; portmanteaus, per cubic foot, Is; preserved soups, do, 2s 6d ; prunes, in glass jars, per lb, Id*

Soapberry vinegar, per cubic foot, 2s 6d ; rice per cwt, 2s ; diito, ground, per cubic foot, 2s 6d rugs, woollon, cotton, or opossum, do, 3s. Saddlery, per cubic foot, 2s ; sad irons, per cwt, Is ; safes, iron, do, 4s ; sago, in bulk, do 2s ; do, in bottle or canister, per cuhic foot, 3s; sago and tapioca, in jars, do, 4s; sash weights, per cwt, 2s Gd; saltp-tre, do, 2s ; sarsaparilla, per cubic foot, 3s ; sauces, do, 2s 6d ; sausage machines, per cwt, 4s ; sashes, window, the pair, Is ; scrim cloth, per cubic foot, Is ; shirts, navy, serge, and Scotch twill, do, 3s ; do, white, regatta, Crimean, do, ss ; shot, per cwt, 10s ; silk manufactures, per cubic foot, 6s ; silver cups for presentation, £10 per cent, ad valorem ; snuff, per lb, ss ; soap, commonc per cwt, 2s 6d ; ditto, scented and fancy, per cubif foot, 2s 6d ; do powder and washing powder, do, 6d ; soda, crystals, per cwt, Is ; spices, cassia, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, mace, nutmegs, mixed and ground spices, per lb, 3d ; spirits, and strong waters of every kind, sweetened or otherwise, of any strength not cxc eding the strength of proof by Sykes' hydrometer, and so on in proportion for any greater strength than the strength of proof, per gallon, 12s ; spirits of tar, do, 6d; starch and blue, per cwt, 2s ; stationery and account books per cubic foot, Is; steel, per cwt, Is; sugar, treacle, and molasses, the lb, Id; sulphur, per cwt, Is; swords, each, ss; syrups, per cubic foot, 2s 6d. Tacks, per cwt, 4s ; tapioca, in bulk, do, 2s ; do, in bottles iars, or tins, t)er cubic foot, 2s 6d ; tar, the barrel, Is; tartanc acid, per lb, Id; tea, do, 6d ; tinware, per cwt, 4s ; timber, sawn, the 100 feet superficial, Is ; do, shingles and laths, the 1000, Is ; do, palings, the 100, Is ; do posts, 4s ; do, rails, do, 2s ; tobacco, per lb, 2s 6d; do, for sheepwash, subject to its being rendered unfit for human consumption, and to such regulations as the Commissioner of Customs shall from time to time prescribe in that behalf, do, 3d; do juice, do do, do, 3d ; tools, carpenters' and others, not otherwise described, per cwt, 4s ; toys and fancy goods, not otherwise described, per cubic foot, Is; trousers, moleskin and cord, do, 3s; do, woollen cord, do, 3s ; trusses, do, 3s ; twine, per cwt. 2s ; tubs of wood, the nest, 2s; turpentine, the gallon, 6d. Umbrellas and parasols, per cubic foot, 6s. Varnish, per gallon, 6d; vermicelli, per cubic foot, 2s. 6d ; vinegar, per gallon, 6d. Weighing ma hines, per cwt, 4s ; whips and walkiog sticks, per cubic foot, Is; whiting and chalk, per cwt, Is ; wine, in wood and bottle, containing less than 25 per cent, of alcohol, of a specific gravity of .825, at the temperature of 60 degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer the gallon: or for six reputed quart bottles, or twelve reputed pint bottles, per gallon, 4s ; wine, ginger, do, 4s; woollen manufactures, not otherwise enumerated, and all articles made of wool mixed with any other materials, the cubic foot, sd. Zinc sheets, tiles, ridging, guttering, piping, and roll, the cwt, Is ; do manufactures, not otherwise described, do, 4d. List of Exemptions. — Anchors; anvils; blacksmiths' bellows; blasting powder; bottles of all kinds, empty; cabin furniture and effects which have been in use, and not imported for sale; canary seed; carriage springs, mountings, and trimmings; carriage fittings of iron; chain cables and shackles over § ths of an inch diameter ; cheese presses ; churns ; cotton waste ; copper and composition rod, bolt*, sheathing, and. nails : coriander fee.ls; corn sieves and riddles; chaffcutters; crab winches; cranes; capstans and windlasses ; disinfecting fluids ; drainage pipes and tiles ; emery cloth ; earth and patent water closets; felt, for sheathing; filters; fire engines and hose ; fish oil in bulk ; forges ; gaspipes and machinery, and all material wh ; ch may be specially imported for the construction of gasworks ; hayrakes ; helmets for fire brigades ; indiarubber sheets ; iron bridges, and all material which may be specially imported for the construction of bridges, wharves, jetties, or patent slips \ iron — rod, bolt, bar, hoop, black sheet, and pig ; iron lamp posts; iron tanks ; iron plates, rivets, bolts, buts, screws, and castings for ships ; iron weighbridges for carts ; lard ; lawn mowers ; lime juice; machinery for agricultural purposes ; machinery for boring, brick and tile making, planing punching, sawing, shearing, turning, aud quartzcrushing ; machinery for mills and looms ; machinery for steam vessels ; machinery for wood and hay pressing; machine saws; maps and charts; medals, gold and silver, prize; mouldings, gilt ; nicotine ; oil, cocoanut, olive, and palm, in bulk; opera glasses; organs, harmoniums, bells, and furniture, specially imported for places or public worship; passengers' baggage; printing machinery, presses, type, and materials, printing ink and paper ; printed books, paper, and music ; ploughs and harrows ; pumps and other apparatus for raising water ; putty ; railway plant, and all materials which may be specially imported for the construction of railways and tramways; resin; rennets ; rope above three i' ches in circumference; sailcloth ; sewing machines ; ships' blocks ; ship chandlery not otherwise described ;. school books, slates, and apparatus; shafts for carts and carriages; soda ash and caustic soda; sodawater m. chines; spirits, methylated; steam engines and parts of stfiam engines ; sulphate of copper ; sulphuric acid ; tarpaulins ; tallow ; telescopes ; theodolites ; Wfttc'i movements and parts of unfinished wut ches; water pipes not otherwise described; and all material which may be specially imported for the purpose of constructing water works ; wood hurdles ; wire ropes for ships' use ; wooden spokes for wheels ; and all other articles not otherwise described.