AUSTRALIAN ITEMS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4817, 4 December 1893, Page 3

AUSTRALIAN ITEMS.

A SAD OCCUEBENCE. oo'H,? 18 Qftelon S Supreme Court on Nov. id Inomas Fletcher was charged with having murdered his child," Donald Fletcher, four months old,.at Barongarook, near Cobden, on Oct. 29i Fletcher had been nursing the infant while his wife was preparing tea. The child commenced to cry, and the accused, after unsuccessfully endeavouring to pacify it, struck it on the face with his open hand. The child died \ mo ™ e ? t later » -nd the examination showed that the jaw-bose had been dislocated and the top of the vertebras broken. Ihe evidence of the witnesses for the Crown Bhowed that Fletcher had been suffering severely from influenza, and was m bed four days of the week on which the affair occurred. He had been delirious for two days. He was a kind father and a good husband. The Judge, in summing up, said it was for the jury to ooneider whether accused was in a sufficiently sound state of mind at the- time of the unfortunate occurrence to have controlled his actions. After a short retirement the jury returned with a verdict of "Not guilty."

POLITICS JN TASMANIA. Mr Henry, the Tasmanian Treasurer, opened the political campaign at Latrobe on Nov. 2. He showed tbat the falling off in the revenue was chiefly caused by the lessened consumption of luxuries, such as wines, spirits, malt liquor, tobacco and cigars, and the decreased income from the railways, post office and telegraphs. Instead of getting this year £862,712, as estimated, he expected only £700,000, while the cost of government amounted to £822,000. The actual deficit was £380,000, notwithstanding retrenchment amounting to £105,000. It was imperative that additional revenue to- the extent of £80,000 Bhould be provided to meet the necessities of the State. The Government submitted taxing proposals in the recent session for the avowed purpose of reducing- the accumulated deficit for 1893j beaideß making the revenue cover the expenditure, and leaving a small surplus towards reducing the current deficit. The people must contribute and Ministers must go to the Customs, land and incomes. The Probate Bill would be reintroduced to get at real and also personal! estate. Referring to the action of the Council in refusing to pass the Land and Income taxes, the Treasurer said: "An unholy combination of Democrats and wool kings has wrecked fair taxation proposals and necessitated an early dissolution, so that as Parliament may meet early in* the year and again determine what taxation shall be imposed, should the country so decide, the Council shall again have an opportunity of saying whether they will stand in the way of the popular will as to the form* taxation shall take. I hope wiser counsels will prevail, and that the expressions of opinion by the people will induce them to yield to the will of the people. It is a weakness in our constitution that the Counoil should be elected by particular • interests in tbe country, and* have power when: those interests are attacked to defend them at the expense of the general taxpayer."

THE MERCANTILE BANE. After a thirty-eight days' enquiry* Sir Matthew Davies, Mr T» JJ. Muntz.and Mr ; F. Milledge have been formally committed : for trial at the December sittings of the Supreme Court at Melbourne, on the . charge of issuing a false balance-sheet, with intent to defraud the shareholders of the Mercantile Bank; As announced. on the previous day, Mr Gaunson, who represented Mr Milledge, recalled Mr Henry Gyles Turner, General. Manager of the Commercial Bank, who. repeated the evidence he had already given,, and emphasised his opinion that the balancesheet in question was true in substance and quite in accord with backing practice. The Court was crowded in anticipation of a lively passage-at-armß between Mr Gaunson and Mr Charles Cox, the informant in the case, .whose fim& fides Mr Gaunson had throughout questioned in unequivocal terms. Disappointment was, however, the lot of : the audience,, few Mr Cox .refused to answer any questioas as to who was financing the prosecution, and would only, say that the reason he bad not attended before as a witness waj because he was advised that the letter sent requesting his attendance was "■ unauthorised and imp-adent." Mr Gaunson, goro Mr Cox an unpleasant-ten minutes in, the box, but no fact, of any great interest- was elicited. The defendants' were then, aommitted for trial, and each allowed oufe on bail on his own recognisance of .£IOO.. PARLIAMENTARY -SCANDAL IN ADELAIDE. Hundreds.©? electors.a-tte_-.ded a meeting on Nov. 22 called by Mr R. Wood, M.L. An for North Adelaide, to, hear him make on explanation with regard to a charge of bigamy brought against him by his awn BQh. Mx Wood: admitted that he was married in. England* but said that his wife was unfaithfjal to. him, and that he left he* and his son and came to Australia. Having had letters stating that she waß dead,, he married again 'and had a family. Mr Wood added that his son, who waß present at the* meeting, came to Australia and accused kirn of bigamy. This aon had been blackmailing him, emd had only made, the matter public because he (Mr Wood) would not get him a billet in the public service. The meting was of an uproarious character, and frequently father and son called each other a liar. Ultimately a motion of confidence in Mr Wooci was carried. THE CANAB2AN DELEGATE. Mr Bowel), in an interview before Mb departure frora Sydney, Baid:— "l have ssen four of the Colonies, and I believe that they a*« &U of them capable of much greater dciYelopment, What each of them will be a hundred years hence it is hard to conceive. Australia, like Canada, is iuet beginning to develop its wealth ar,a resources. If you. can only get under one Government- and become lone people without having barriers across every border line it will tend in groat mea6uro to increase your importance, par-

ticularly in the English market. Then :your revenue could be concentrated upon any object you had in view, and tbe .* greater security that is offered in the money market; knowing as we do how sensitive it is, bo much the greater would be that for obtainiug what you require in order to fully develop the country. We have found that in Canada' we had just as great, perhaps greater, difficulty than you have even in floating your loans on th« English market, but they have all vanished since we became federated, for the reason that the whole revenue of the Dominion is afforded as security, while formerly each province : . alone was responsible. I look forward/* continued Mr Bo well, "to great develop- ' ments in this country at no distant day. What is wanted is to settle people on the land. There are immense unoccupied tracts in what are called the settled por- v tionaofthe country. We have- tho Bame '-■'■" in Canada also. You can travel through ** * thousands of miles in this aort of country, . but in the old settled portions of it you will scarcely find a farm that is not occupied. When I say a- farm I mean two hundred acres at most, and a BOmetimes they the rlMk^hAa^AW hundred-acre. lots. Hereyou can tmyimt miles and miles and not see. any cvdtmfttil tion. That inattet Bhonld be attended to I considor my nrfa&pii -,$ snoceßspfln all the Colonies I found a-verystrajlng feelin* in favour, of eioaer relations!*^ between * Australasia and Cah_^ , Th/«5 x only difference of opinion is'as to hojp* bost it can be accomplished. Tbe feelinfe iij favonr of » direct British cable, inda«>end^it 0 f other countries, is also very ptrong. I would not like to say anything" lin regard to the v" action of the Colonies tfn subsidising the French cable, but I do *Jpt think that the Canadian Government 'will ever subsidise a cable that is not Boldly a British one."

SAD FATALITY #EAR WA&RNAMBOf)L.. A very sad affair) has been reported from Naringal, fifteen miles from Warrnambool. A farmer named William Mahoney, with his wife and child, proceeded across a paddock for the purpose of inspecting their cattle. Mrs Mahoney was walking half a chain in advance of her husband when she saw a branch of a tree breaking just above where the ohild was standing. She rushed to save her child; and the branch fell on her, striking her on the head. Her husband ran to the spot, only to find his wife dead, having apparently been killed instantaneously. The child had a remarkable escape, and would probably have been killed had it not been for the mother's action. The deceased was only- twenty-seven years of age.

A HORRIBLE DEATH. Mr John Lambert Britton, a surveyor, met with a horrible death at. Burwood, near Sydney, a few days ago. During the day he had been on a visit to Mr E. B. Wilkinson, M.L. A., whose houee ia situated near the railway line at Burwood. About half-past six o'clock Mr Britton left tho house with the intention of proceeding to Sydney by train. As there was not much time to spare, he jumped tbe railway fence and made for the station. Just as ho put his foot on the line a train from the south whistled through, the buffer of the : engine striking Mr Britton on the bead, | When picked up Mr Britton's skull was : terribly mangled. . Death must have been instantaneous. The body was taken to the house of Mr R..8. Wilkinson. Mr and Mrs Cohen, who witnessed the affair, state that deceased seemed torun blindfold acroßß the line. He waa thirty years of age, and fol- ■•*. lowed his profession in Bay,