AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 3609, 4 November 1879, Page 2

AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

[Br TBLBGBArn.]

VICTORIA.

The Hon Graham Berry has announced that as soon as he has recovered from his recent illness he will stump the country with the view of influencing the forthcoming elections.

It is understood that Bir Gavan Duffy will retire from parliamentary life at the end of the session, and that he will proceed to England.

It is considered likely that the session will drag on until February, thus affording an excuse to postpone the dissolution until May. The proposed stamp duties give little satisfaction. The Assembly exempted receipts up to five pounds. It is intended to greatly modify the tax on the Insurance companies. The P. and O. steamer Hindostan, bound .from Suez to Calcutta, has been totally wrecked off Madras. The vessel was over 8000 tons.

Tho permanent Exhibition buildings provide 550,000 feet of apace, nearly 100,000 more than the Exhibition building of Sydney. It is intended to call for tenders for the temporary additional courts, which will supply 300,000 more feet of space. •■

The manager and director! of the Provin-

cial and Suburban Bank have been committed for trial, bail being allowed. They are charged with conspiring to defraud the public and shareholders of the Bank. The Government engineer reports that the boilers of the ironclad monitor Cerberus rannot boar a pressure of more than 171 bto tho square inch, though the nominal pressure is TCV*