AUSTRALIAN NEWS.
VICTORIA. A remarkable instance of self-poisoning occurred at Brighton on the 28th ult. An engine-fitter named John Bentick, about 2B years old, was to have been married at II o’clock on that day, but a few minutes after the appointed time be approached the house, fell down at the door, and was found to be suffering from the effects of.strychnine. He told Mr Casey, who was called, that he had taken a small quantity—only a grain—of strychnine when coming from Melbourne to Brighton in the train, but appeared, very anxious to recover, and seemed to regret extremely his rash act. He died in a couple of hours, though the stomach-pump and other remedies were used. He said he could not keep his promise, and apparently had wished to break off the marriage, but not to kill himself. He was notin good circumstances,, hut there seemed no other motive for a wish not to fulfil his engagement. There was no evidence of insanity. Ml Casey thought the young man must have taken more than a grain of the- poison. At the inquest on Thursday tlie jury found that deceased died from the effects of self-administered poison, but that there was not sufficient evidence to show whether he intended to destroy his life or not. The Nunawading “ Messiah ” was made the subject of a lecture lately in the district by a former dupe of the impostor, and the revelations of the lecturer are calculated to set people seriously cogitating upon the intellectual status and religious culture of that section of the population to which he and Fisher belongs. Here is a man professing to work miracles; to perform acts of sorcery, to fte able to will the death of other men, and tq be immortal himself ; and he is both feared and followed. He is a sort of sylvan Mokanna, with a taste for concubinage, and a good deal of grim fiuniov ip hia composition, He pftlls hia thfee wives Truth, Justice, and Prudence; hut his notion of justice is a complication of adultery and bigamy. His father-in-law lie has christened Abraham, but upon his mother-in-law—an unbeliever —he has lies: owed the epithet of Jezabel. He himself has assumed the name of David, because it is scripturaliy asaciated with a plurality of wives, He succeeded in persuading one young woman that she was Mary Magdalene, aud that she had been taken possession of by seven devils, and he seems to possess some mesmeric power which lends a color to his preposterous pretensions. Altogether, the strong'h and prevalence of the delusion should teach us to he less selfcomplacent on the subject of popular intelligence in this Colony. The monthly batch of despatches from the Agent-General in London still keep up their interest. One despatch states that the certificates of competency as masters, mates, and engineers in British sea-going ships which are granted in Victoria.are to be held to be of the same force in the United Kingdom as the like certificates granted therein. Another announces that the House of Commons have finally adopted the report iu favor of the Martini-Henry rifle fhe best weapon of its kind, Jp respect to the “litliowhose deadly explosive properties were enlarged upon in the English news received a mouth asm. Mr Vcrdnn sends a report, The article is, he says, composed of nitro-glyceiiuc, earth-sulphur, nitrate of soda, cu.al-i uat, &c , mixed up to resemble a species of putty, hut it is ju hq way superior to gun-cotton.. On# of the passengers by the Queen of the Thames -writes to ’the Argus:-—The remaind r of, the passengers were to leave Cape Town by the steamer Good Hope, sailing II days after the Briton, say on the loth April. This steamer is rather slow, but may. be looked for any day. When I
left Cape Town on the 4th April by s.s. Briton, the passengers remaining were well. This will very possibly explain to many people in your city why by this mail they do not hear front their friends who were passengers by the Queen of the Thames, Till the arrival of the Good Hope, I do not believe anyjaction will be taken here. I think there is little doubt a full inquiry will be instituted into the loss of so fine a steamer, with so valuable a cargo, and so many passengers on board. The matter cannot rest in its present extremely unsatisfactory position, and the truth must come out. The passengers have as yet refrained from making any public statement, pending an official inquiry, A fine ship, well found, completely thrown away. Judging from my experience of her sailing qualities, I think she would have made a 54 or 65 days passage. The A rgus has quoted from the writings of Carlyle a remarkable prediction, uttered in 1887, with respect to the crumpling up of Franco by Germany. The words of the Chelsea philosopher were these : - “This Gaelic fire,' through its successive changes of colour, and character, will blaze over the face of Europe and.afilict and scorch all men, till it kindle another kind -of fire, the Teutonic kind, namely j and be swallowed up, so to speak, in a day.” We can match this with a prophecy published in the Gazette d’Augs • bourgh in 1841, by Henri Heine, at that , time a resident in Paris, and a Frenchman by sentiment, and adoption. At the time he wrote, the project of fortifying the capital Was under discussion in the Chambers. He says “ The future belongs to the people of Germany, and it will be long-enduring and of the highest importance. The’ French act so quickly, and are so .precipitate to take advantage of the passing hour, because they foresee perhaps the approach of the evening twillight, and therefore hastily accomplish their day’s work. . . France is no longer subjected to the audacious intoxication of her invincible preponderance. >She has been sobered like a hero of the carnival on Ash Wednesday by the conciousriess of her vulnerability, and alas ! .he who cogitates on death is already half deceased. The fortifications of. Paris are perhaps the gigantic coffin which the giant, by a sombre presentiment has prepared for Lis, own remains. . . If the day comes—which heaven avert!— in which that giant must succumb, the shock of his fall will make the earth shudder. . .
But I am convinced that, if Paris should bo destroyed, its inhabitants will be dispersed throughout the universe, like the Jews of old, and that they will distribute more,efficaciously the seeds of social transformation.”
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Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2629, 21 July 1871, Page 3
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1,090AUSTRALIAN NEWS. Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2629, 21 July 1871, Page 3
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