AUSTRALIAN NOTES.

Evening Star, Issue 3070, 20 December 1872, Page 2

AUSTRALIAN NOTES.

The members of the new Tasmanian Ministry have been re elected, and they will meet Parliament on the 12th inst. The Hobart Town Mercury is authorised to contradict a statement which has been made by certain papers in Tasmania, respecting the marriage of his Excellency idr James Fergusson, Governor of South Australia. A week’s salmon-fishing in the river Lune is described by the Lancaster Guardian “From what 'we hear, all the net fisherman have drawn heavily, and it has been estimated that upwards of 1,200 fish have been taken during the week. Large numbers have been sent off every day to Manchester and other places, and any quantity could be had in town at Is per lb. We hear of one ‘haul’ in which eight fish, averaging 30lb apiece, were taken, making 2401b. weight altogether. If we strike an average, and estimate the 1,2 0 fish at 101b. each, we have a total weight of 12,0U01b, f which, supposing it to be sold at lOd per lb., will bring the fisherman and the lessees A of the fisheries L 500,”

Hallway extensions are to be undertaken next year. The southern line is to be continued on to Wagga Wagga, on the Murrumbidge, the western to Orange, and the northern to Tamworth. The Assembly has rejected the motion of a private member L r the adoption of the narrow gauge, but a 3ft. Gin. railway is to be constructed from the Clarence Liver to connect with the Queensland line, west of the Living Range. The southern extension is the most important, as it will bring the Sydney markets nearer to the H iverine districts, and leaves a gap of only 90 miles in the railway communication between Melbourne and Sydney. Ivo effort or expense will be spared to secure every one on whom suspicion falls in connection with the Carl murders, and to prepare the case for the prosecution in such a complete form that there will be no way of escape for the guilty. An experienced superintendent of police has been despatched from Melbourne to Sydney to procure evidence, and do all that is necessary to forward the ends of justice. )f the people of England will only try to understand the case, they will sec that, so far from there being any blame attaching to these Colonies, they deserve praise for their activity in the matter. The only blunder made as yet has been committed by an Imperial officer in giving a safe conduct to an informer without ascertaining whether his evidence was absolutely necessary.

One of her Majesty’s lieges, summoned to attend as a juror at th* Central Criminal Court, at Darlinghurst, a few days ago, sent a letter to his honor the Judge, earnestly bcgsjing to be excused on account of his great weight. This stout party pathetically stated that he was twenty-seven stone weight, and could not possibly stand the fatigue of a whole day’s martyrdom in the jury box. The lamentable petition of the obese juryman created some merriment amongst the casehardened Court officials, but the circumstance stated was kindly allowed to be a valid excuse by the courteous and compassionate Judge. Hereafter, when any “lean and hungry citizen” shall vainly seek to escape from the anxieties and responsibilities of jurydom, his sympathising friends will say of him as Cassias did of Caesar— •* Would he were fqttq\" The prospects of the Colony are likely $q be advanced by the discovery of extensive fields of iron ore at Ilfracombe, near the mouth of the Tamar Haver. The ore ig spread over the surface in large boulders. The intention of the companies which have taken up ground ie to produce the superior sort of iron for export to England. If they were to smelt the ore (brown hematite) by means of coal, they might not bo able to compete even in the Colonial market with importers of inferior iron from England. With an abundant supply at hand of timber for conversion into charcoal, they think they can deliver raw steel in London at L 9 a ton. The percentage of pure metal in the ore is between CO und 70 per cent. The companies already formed are the Ilfracombe and the Swedish Charcoal Iron Company. The projectors in both cases are Victorians. The companies have commenced the erection of buildings and furnaces, A third company, which intends to use coal, has been projee ed. The field is about five miles from Ilfracombe Bap, which has good harbour accommodation Specimens of the ore, and of the iron smelted from it, have been exhibited in the Victorian Exhibition. From the plentifuluess of the ironstone and the quality of it, the discovery is regarded as one of great importance. Between 2000 and 3,000 acres have been taken up. The Launceston correspondent of the Ar;jn* writes Have we succeeded in acclimatising the salmon ? I have been a decided sceptic. But latterly I confess lam prepared to give the experiment the benefit of the doubt. 1 am not inclined to believe that the two small fish recently caught in the saltwater portion of the river were salmon smolts, but I do believe that the fish recently seen leaping in the upper portion of the river are salmon. Without any record of such a sight previously, a peculiar kind of jumping was observed in fish in the river four years ago--two years after the salmon were turned adrift. Each succeeding November the same thing has been observed, and each year in an increasing degree. There is the negative proof that arises from the question, if these fish are not salmon, what are they ? But, in addition to this, we have the assurance of trust-worthy disciples of Izaak Walton, living on the banks of the Derwent, that they know the habits of the native fish, and that the re-cently-observed “jumpers” do not belong to any known Tasmanian species. Keport, pretty substantially supported, says that the fishermen have caught and eaten salmon—one grilse of 41b. is specially named; but that for fear of leading to the river being closed* they keep the secret to themselvas. Doubt, however, will hang over the rpatter till an angler lands the real sahno solar. The question will be fairly put to the trial this season, notwithstanding that the scrubby state of the river banks is adverse to favor* able angling.

The produce of the Queensland tin mines has risen to 100 tons per week, and the yield of copper and gold improves steadily. A cake of gold weighing 5800ozs—the largest known in the Colony—has been received from Gvmpie, It is the produce of 739 tons of stone obtained from the South Monkland Company. Sir William Manning mentioned that there were 2250 public houses in New South Wales, and also 250 wine shops. This, with a population of half a million, gives one drinking house to every 200 of the people. The amount spent therein was about L 2.000,000 sterling, or at the rate of about LBOO for each house.

Some months ago the Governor suspended Mr E. W. Landor, the Police Magistrate at Perth, and removed three justices for the manner in which they disposed of the charge of murder preferred against Mr L. C. Burfess, who was subsequently convicted of illing a blackfellow. By direction of the Secretary of State, Mr Landor and the justices have been restored to the positions they before occupied, because there were no adequate grounds for the imputation of improper motives. The business of Mr George Robertson, bookseller, Melbourne, has so increased that he has been compelled to erect a large store in Little Collins street The frontage is o4 feet by a depth of 88 feet, while the extreme height from the footpath to the parapet is 53 feet. On, the occasion of the completion of the building a banquet was given by the proprietor, which was attended by the most influential of the citizens. A few words spoken by Mr Robertson in returning thanks show what may be achieved by steady industry and active business habits, and also give some idea of the increase in the prosperity and intelligence of the country. Mr Robertson said he had started nineteen years ago with a capital of L3OO, and sold LBOOO worth of books in the first year at a large profit. From that time until now his sales had exceeded L 1,000,000, a fact which accounted for the necessity ot enlarging his premises, and for his ability to do so. A good story is told of how a lady recently outwitted a clever attorney and a rapacious landlord. The lady in question conducts an hotel not very far from Emerald Hill, and as she was considered to be doing a very fair business, her landlord, by way of encouragement, determined to increased her rent from 30s to LI 17s Gd per week. v he protested and beseeched by turns, but in vain ; no alternative was left but to submit to the advance or relinquish possession of the premises, She accordingly acceded to the terms, i and by arrangement the landlord and a well- j known police court practitioner attended at | the hotel for the purpose of executing the lease. It was late in the evening when they met, and the affair assumed a much more convivial aspect than might have been anticipated. Business was not however forgotten. The learned gentleman drew out the | necessity document, read it out solemnly to | both parties, and they having signitied their j assent to the terms contained therein, it was duly executed in duplicate ; the lady under- j taking to pay LI 17a Gd per week for the | hotel. The parties separated mutually satis- j lied, but the astonishment of the landlord I and the chagrin of the attorney can be better | imagined than de-cribed w hen they found on | the following morning that the amount of j rent put in the lease was only 7s Gd, instead I of LI 17s Gd. They at once hastened to the lady to explain the mistake, hut no amount of blandness or cajolery could induce her to surrender her lease. She had taken time by the forelock and deposited the document j with her banker. If the landlord had taken the advice of the elder Weller respecting widows ho might hive escaped this very awkward predicament. The extraordinary manner in which women of the lowest class will forg vc bad treatment from the men to whom they are married, or with whom they live—a characteristic which has often caused Mr Sturt, P, M., to say that the more they are kicked the more they like the kicker—was exemplified at the Melbourne City Court lately A hard-featured man, named John Armstrong, who was found that morning near Prince’s bridge savagely beating and kicking a woman named Mary Thomas, was charged with assault, and the j oa'c was clearly proved by a witness who saw the assault and got a constable. The woman, supposed by the police to be a swamp loafer, was called, and her first words were, “Well, I don’t want to go against him ; be did do it, but 1 don’t think he did it through any animosity. He had a drop of drink in.” The man did not seem at all to regret his violence, but said he “ had a few pints of beer in,” and being annoyed about different things, had beat' n the woman. The woman said they were not married. A constable deposed that for the last fortnight every night, be had seen the woman patrolling the wist end of Bonrke street, and “shepherded” by the prisoner, who took from her what money she got from men. The Bench, disregarding the woman’s wish to let the man off, sentenced him to three month’s imprisonment, with hard labour. The woman left the court crying. The result of the recent public examinations at the Sydney University has just been published, and on the wh<>le it is not very flattering to our educational establishments. Out of 271 candidates, only 111 have passed. Of those that presented themselves, 80 were candidates for the civil service. These yopng gentlemen only have to undergo a mere fraction of the examination, namely, preliminary papers which are set on the first day, and without passing which candidates cannot get ranked at all. This examination is ao thoroughly elementary, that Dr. Badham has pronounced it really worthless as a teat, Yet, lightly as this veteran examiner thinks of it, it was found effective in shutting off, for the present year at least, more than half the young gentlemen who are pressing their talent on an ungrateful country. For the senior examination there are of course lew'er candidates than for the junior, but none of them have been declared worthy of either the first o-i second prize, and none have even passed well enough to be ranked in the first class of proficiency. Only four are ranged in the second class, ard all the rest that have succeeded in passing are ranked in the third grade of proficiency. There has been cor sidcrahle slaughter this year amongst the female candidates, half having been plucked. Those results will cause a good deal of disappointment, but at the same time the disclosure will he very wholesome. It is high time that the shallowness and the inexactness of much of the teaching that is falsely called education should be shown up. If so many of the picked scholars from our schools fail at a simple examination, what must be the intellectual condition of the ordinary run of pupils? The public schools have sent a fair contingent of candidates, and on the whole, have perhaps come off as well as more pretentious establishments. The pupils from these schools have to contend with some special difficulties, as a good deal of their time is wasted in the school routine, and they are obliged to study history after hours, as that subject is excluded from the programme of the public schools.