AUSTRALIAN ITEMS

Wellington Independent, Volume XXVI, Issue 3192, 10 May 1871, Page 3

AUSTRALIAN ITEMS

At Campbell's Creek last week an old gentleman, Mr Seeraer, died at the ripe old age of 92. He was 86 years old when the battle of Waterloo was fought, and retained a vivid recollection of that stirring period. The number of persons who arrived in Victoria by sea in the month of February was 5,279. The number who left during the same period was 2,105. As an instance of longevity, a correspondent of the " Ballarat Star" mentions a couple named Fyland, living at Lai Lai. The husband is now in his 91st year, enjoying physical strength unusual for his age ; and the wife, now in her 80th year, is hale and hearty. She milks a cow every morning, and also discharges other domestic duties. The " Clunes Gazette" mentions; — "As Cobb's 4 o'clock coach from Ballarat came in on Monday opposite Mr Godenzi's store, a little child belonging to him fell before the leaders, when the sagacious animals opened out and left the child scatchless. The polers not being able to extend themselves as fully, yet, with astonishing care, picked up their feet and passed over the little creature without harming it ; the coach also passed over without touching it." The " Daylesford Mercury" states that on "Wednesday a peculiar and fearful accident happened to Mr Patterson, one oi' the proprietors of the Telegraph Saw-mills. While standing beside,the circulur saw, a splinter, three feet long, broke off the log on the bench, and struck the unfortunate gentleman full in the chest. Such was the force of the blow that the wood passed through the ribs near the clavicle, and very nearly came out of his back. The sufferer drew out the splinter himself, leaving, however, it is said, a piece in the wound. Mr Patterson lies in a critical stato from internal haemorrhage. " Potatoes are so cheap in Creswick," writes the " Creswick Advertiser," " that on a farmer asking a produce merchant lately whut he would give him for a load of ' spuds,' coolly told him if he liked to leave them there he would return him civility and the bags in a few days, but they were worth nothing more." One of the collectors of the census, whose district was an outlying one, assures the " Yass Courier" that during his travels he witnessed more abject poverty amongst the settlers than he had ever seen in the poorest portions of Ireland during famine time. He de-

scribes the feeling existing in many localities in the bush as unneighborly in the extreme.

" Only a drunken spree." Such, says the " Kilmore Guardian," is the exclamation of a witness at the adjourned inquest on the body of James Charles, who died in the hospital from injuries received at the hands of three or four drunken rowdies at the Dry Creek, Of course the disturbance occurred at one of those iniquitious colonial institutions — "a shanty;" and the result is that one poor fellow lost his life while defending his neighbor's property.

These " shanties" are like so many plague-spots along the railway line, and every means should be used to do away with them, and thus prevent strife and murder.

Our leaders, says the " Yass Courier," may remember that on the 20th May, 18G9, bushrangers attempted to stick up the mail from this place to Goulburu, and on that occasion Mr J. Longfield, dentist, of Goulburn, who was a passenger on ths box, was badly wounded and lost the sight of one eye. On Friday last a man named Peter Gray, residing at Woodhouseleigh, about 20 miles from Goulburn, was committed for trial, together with another man, for the armed robbery of John White's place at Pcjur, also in the Goulburn district. Mr Longfield had occasion to go into court while the case was proceeding, and he then recognised Gray as the man who shot him. Gray was accordingly brought before the police magistrate on Saturday, and, after the cvi. dence of Mr Longfield had been taken, was remanded.

The two pastoral journals, the " Guardian" and the" Western Times," stand in anything but harmonious relationship to each other. They are, perhaps, superior to all other Victorian journals in their command of the expletive and vituperative resources of the English language. The last issue of the " Guardian," in treating the subject of the wreck of the Bar* on, and replying at once to remarks of its rival contemporary and to some observations published by Captain Shoobert, writes in this strain : — " The mistake of Captain Shoobert in the character of the ' Guardian' is perhaps pardonable, but if ho were better acquainted with its editor, he would know the policy is to speak the truth irrespective of smiles or frowns, and that in the whole course of his career he was never carried home drunk in a wheelbarrow. But the captain in continuation says: — 'I have been in and s ailed for years out of a country where a strip of well-seasoned cowhide would,' «vc, and his bottleholder in the ' Western Times' says : — ' There are those who would regard the provocation as a sufficient justification.' Now, we (Argus) can only sny as regards the captain, that it is a great pity he ever left the delightful country to which he refers, and that if he would ship himself back at onee — that is, if he gets the opportunity — and take the editor of the ' Western Times' as first mate, both would be sure to do themselves credit where cowhiding, not as the awarders but the deserving recipients, is practised, and we can assure both there are parties who would say, ' sawed them right.' " To show that the captain is well able to hold bis own in a contest of this kind, it is only necessary to quote the last paragraph of his letter to which the above, is a reply. Says Captain Shoobert, " I repeat that a more mean and cowardly attack was never made by any man, and could have only been devised by one who possessed more of Satan than salvation."