GENERAL NEWS.

Cromwell Argus, Volume III, Issue 146, 27 August 1872, Page 7

GENERAL NEWS.

An Auckland telegram states that at a sale ,f flax, nearly all the lots were purchased for (hipruent to America. It is stated in a New South Wales paper hat sugar now manufactured on some of the jiantatkms of that Colony is equal to the inest kinds imported from the Mauritius, [he price at the mill is £32 per ton. The magnitude of mining fluctuations in Melbourne was vividly illustrated a few days jgo, when the oscillation in a valuable and favourite variation to the en tent of L. 84,000 in about forty-eight hours, | The last annual report of the Inspector of Bankruptcy reveals the fact that during the last twelve months 453 bankrupts filed their schedules in this Colony. They were divided as follows :—Auckland, 78 ; Canterbury, 89; Kelson, 21 ; Otago, 116 ; Wellington, 46 ; Taranaki and Hawke's Bay, 20; Greymouth, 42; and Westland, 41. A publican in Christchurch has been fined L.6 for supplying a man with liquor while intoxicated, —the magistrate remarking that, when the friends of a man were trying to keep him from ruinous drinking, it was very wrong that publicans should supply him with drink, and encourage him as it were. It seems that the publican had been repeatedly warned by the police not to supply the individual in question, who appears to be a dipsomaniac, with liquor. The Princess Royal of Prussia is said to be engaged on a work entitled " Female Labour in Germany," the object of which is the enlightenment of the British public with regard to the resources of female workers in her adopted country, and the suggestion of the same domestic activity amongst the women and girls of the working classes in England. Her Royal Highness has made herself highly popular in Berlin by her attention to the education of the poor. Mr Brogden has not got his labourers on such cheap terms as we were first led to suppose. In the first place, the Messrs Brogden had to provide them with passages ; in the second, they had to furnish them with outfits, varying from a cost of L.2 to L.7 ; they pay their fares to London, find them bedding and mess utensils, and lastly guarantee them work in this Colony for two years at ss. a day. In some cases, the men leave their wives and families behind them, and the latter receive 12s. a week while the men remain in Messrs Brogden's employ. The men are at liberty to work for other employers before the two years expire, on paying what they owe to Messrs Brogden. Bishop Perry, of Melbourne, in replying to the address presented to him on the celebration of the 25th year of his episcopate, in j thanking the members of other denomina-! tions than his own for taking part in the j movement, expressed an opinion that the! differences existing among the various Protestant churches in matters of belief and ecclesiastical discipline did not justify their separation, and that they ought all to be united in one outward communion. It would be a remarkable result of the happy separation between Church and State which now exists through Australia if the various Protestant churches should become united. The Presbyterians have already set the example. There has been a singular case of attempting to jump the line of the long tunnel at Addison's Flat, which will likely come before the Court in Westport. The long tunnel party are engaged driving a tunnel 4000 ft. long. Having completed over 3500 ft., a party from Westport has marked out and applied for a lease including their line of tunnel, a little ahead of where they have driven up to. Our legislators seem never to have contemplated any tunnel longer than ■ 1000 ft.; so that the original party have been ' unable to get any protection for a requisite amount of ground to make their tunnel se-1 cure, unless they had leased ground on the whole length of tunnel, which would be a ! very expensive affair.— Grey Biver Argus. Travelling in Coromandel must be attended I with difficulties, and not without dangers, to i judge by the following from the Mail of the i 30th nit.:—" The late heavy rain has made ' havoc in many instances with our roads, and ' the effect is severely felt by the carters. Yesterday afternoon a team was returning from Lynch's Flat with an empty sleigh, and while attempting to cross a small watercourse I just below the John Bull claim, one of the horses got his forefeet into a soft place, which caused him to swerve, and get off what is at present called a road into a sort of moss J swamp, from which the poor animal was un-1 able to extricate himself. A number of men and two horses made several ineffectual attempts to drag him from his dangerous posi-1 hon, but at the time our reporter left the beast was buried up to within six inches of his back."

From late Thames papers, we take the fnl»»uig items :—The celebrated "Can-Can" «ance has been performed at the Thames and » Auckland. Much disgust has been occasioned thereby.—ln the latter end of July, naUstones fell as large as geese eggs. One who went out in the fury of the prrn, was nearly knocked senseless.—A bul°ck, winch was only recently landed, while oeing driven down the street towards the waughten-ard, became infuriated. After nearly killing a man, it made its wav into «Il a the Thames and there it Played np" considerably, breaking manv of ne liquor-bottles and decanters, and spilling rf Suable liquor.—A man named John jawlor was killed in the Caledonian mine at 2 f hames on July 30. While he was remullock in the tunnel, a large flake oi stone fell f rora the wall on to him. He llv W only a few hours.