AUSTRALIAN NOTES.

Evening Star, Issue 3231, 28 June 1873, Page 2

AUSTRALIAN NOTES.

Mr Plimaoll seems to be wanted at Newcastle, in Nsw South Wales, quite as much as he is at the original Newcastle in England. Daring: the trial of a number of seamen for refusing to obey the commands of the captain ol the ship Heatherbell, it was elirited that the ship was in such a rotten condition that a leak, caused by a rat-hole, by the captain’s own confession, had to be stopped to make it safe sailing; while, according to another witness,, ope might as well be in a shower of rain as in the forecastle.” And yet, beeahse the unfortunate sailors yielded to a prudish sense of self-pre-servation, and still', declined to go in her, they were sentenced to twelve weeks each in Maitland gaoL Twelve weeks, indeed, seems to be the standard punishment in the, Newcastle pqlice courts for this sort of offence against the prescriptive rights of shipowners to send theic vessels to seafor the purpose of sinking .them. Two other cases are recorded in wmch the treatment dealt out to the crew of the Heatherbell was repeated in the same court. Of course, even three cases do not necessarily prove the existence of a system of tyranny and reckless disregard of human life such aa which Mr Flimsoll’s investigations have disclosed in England. But they undoubtedly justify the suspicion that there is a tendency, on .the part of those who have to administer the law, to value the personal comfort and health of seamen r& The of the Conned of Education of New South Walesior 1872 has just been pub- t UshecL and it furnishes some interesting facts regarding educational matters In that Colopy. Fromlß67 there has been a steady increase m , the number of schools. In that year, including denominational institutions, they numbered o42; in 1873 they amounted to 902. . This increase has however taken place in the State schools only. In 1867 there were only 325 of these, but in 1872 theymxmbered 69L On~the otherhandi a large decrease has taken place in the denominational schools which received assistance from ithe Government treasury. In 1867 of these there were 317, bit in 1872 there wereonly 211.; The purely State schools hate therefore increased more than 100 per, .cent., while the sectarian ones have decreased about 33 per cent. The number of children undo: instruction, have advanced from 64,740 in 1867 to 88,487 in 1872. Here again it is found that the State scholars only have increased, these haring been in, 1867 29,434, arid in 1872.54,923. The dtenominatiiM scholars were 85|306 in 1867, and only 33,564 in 1872. The total amount of income for all the schools in 1872 was L 166,086 16s. Of this L 45,994 2s 7d came from school fees, and L 4.154 18s 2d from local cash' contributions. The character of the schools does not seem to rank very high, for upon inspection of 825, it was found that 323 were below standard, 240 equal to it, and only 86 above it. During the. yew 1872, but of 216 candidates iof the office of pupil teacher, only' 97 passed, the remaining 119 being disqualified for appointment. The atten« dancbatlghooUis got-so good as in Victoria." for while the atfcmdange with ip fs qne fqt five, in New South Wales it is pge fqr every of the population. An Architect ” -writes an amusing, letter to the Argus, to give the public information a» to way in which churth lands are sometimes used. He met with an advertisement addressed to architects, offering a premium of LSO for the . best design for a parsonage and “one of a range of business premises,” to be erected on the Church of England reserve at Sandhurst. Passing over a trick by which the church trustees tried to get for LSO what—according to the professional charges—would cost L 144, it is interesting see that the particular ‘'business premises” which it was desired to erect was a “family hotel” The delicacy with which the trustees concealed ; their intention of “ going into the public line,” and building a public-house close to the house of their minuter, under the convenient euphemism “business premises,” is deserving of .all; admiration. Mr Longmore presented a petition to the, Victorian liegislative Assembly from the Hampden Shire Council, in favor of the resumption of assisted immigration.. The peti-., turners stated “that there are so manypublio works being carried on at present, and so many outlets wfoph arrin thq labor market, that the farmer cannot spcure can he obtain any class of labor except at ruinous rates. From this. cause many fanners , have been compelled to give cultivating their lands and farms altogether, a circumstance which must inevitably lead to disastrous results, affecting, as ft will, seriously* the whole., population of the Colony. ” As the most expe-' oitioas way out of the difficulty, the petitioners prayed the Honse to resume the system ofassisted immigration. ■ - % A Portland correspondent writes that a most disgraceful scene occurred on. Sunday,, the Bthi inst., in the Portland It C.school th consequence of adispute between, the schoolmaster and the B. C. clergyman, the latter has received instructions fromjns bishop to hold himself in readiness to bb removed from the district, And ■ on Sunday night after prayers the clergyman denounced from the altar all those who were the cause of his removal and intimated that a meeting would be, held iu the .'school, at. winch all those present were to attend. At about ten o’clock p.m. the meeting opened, when lights were obtained from the church, and about fifty put in an jmpearanoe. When the chairman was appointed, a dispute arose; tiro , of the parties, stripped, and oonmfonoed parties emtotutogeddhe-various by shouting at the totrof then: ridots, 44 Pftmilnto' Mm,' Jim 1 Go it,l>an I <lite iito The fight raged fierte, forms attd desks* were;

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where it wa.fongM.wt me the. school-room bell rope was cut down, thetohlete from the walls, and books and slates scattered about. The meeting again assembled, and everything continued peaceably till it Krokfi un about eleven o clock, when some otthe SSpaiKbr Mr Bown’s, of the Standard Iwweiy, broke his windows, as it was Supposed he was favorably disposed towards the schoolmaster. . . The parsons are conspicuous by their absence on the newly chosen victoria School Boards. A very few nave been elected, and these we * well known as holders of liberal and unsectarian views. Priest-craft and education dont run well in double harness. So think the laity, who an bound to have more of their own way than when subjected to the gentlemoraltyrannyof the associated parson. Free from this, laymen will, take a vigorous practical interest in the cause of education, which can scarcely fail in producing the happiest results. Beyond the confines of the Colony the influence of free education will be felt, and the newly adopted system will have its effect on the good cause in England. Well done. Sydney I L7OO subscribed fora widow and a stranger, who had no better claim upon the New South Wales eom’nmnty than that she had suffered a crushing disaster. That Captain Longmuir was murdered upon his v®yJfto the Colonies did not impose anv r «W® 1 ’ ffity upon the people at his ship s destination to provide for his bereaved family. ®ut toese wnerous folk ire more liberal than logical, and Ibe-Thave made noble provision. Once more, wSdone, Sydney! May ntercolonudmalnes oltentSe so humanising a direction.- *' .dEgles ” in the Auttralasian. Tho following melancholy fecte are related fay the Muvrwnmdi, Times'—ln the carlypMt oflast week Mr Porters, the newly appointed «t Wallabadah, took dl, betraying syin toms of what appeared to be a cold, accomMnied bv a dry nttsky cough. He continued toget worse, and eventually died, after amite sufferine. On the Friday following his widow 5S g ajamingly ill, exhibiting the same symptoms. Three doctors were summoned, Sot Si spite of their combined scientific know{2£ sue gradually sank, and in a few hours idne£ her husband in that unknown region &h£L.n™> ..turn,ol thetoflj tjo children now remamei The mfant of the deceased parents next sickened and. died. The other also experienced an attack of the fatal disease, but ite life was spared. This temWe mortality is attributed by the medical attendants to lie disease known as pleuro-pneumoma, similar to the pest which raged among the cattle some years ago in this Colony. No inquest was held on the bodies. The immediate muse of the attack is a mystery ; more especially as the disease only visited this one family- The Inferred cause of death has been certified to in SwJLes. At Wallabadah the greatest con- ■ stemation prevailed, fearing the dire epidemic new Victorian Electoral Bill some very radical changes are proposed. In the first place it is intended to increase the number of members in the Assembly from seventy-eight to ninety. A Bill is to be brought in altering the number of members in the Upper Chamber from thirty to thirty-six. Twelve Provinces are to be created, the qualification of electors for the Council being reduced to L 25, each Province to return three members for six years, twelve of the thirty-six retiring every two years. For the purposes of the Assembly, representation will be Wed on population The country is mapped out into ninety constatueneies, with populations averaging about 10,000 in the cities ana towns, and about 7,000 in thorureldistricts. Householders will not be disqualified from voting by reason of non-payment of rates. Manhood suffrage continues without payment of fees or residential qualification. Ihe formation of single .electorates is regarded on the whole with favor. A case of some importance, and one that has created a good deal of interest in mercantile classes, was recently heard in the Melbourne Supreme Court It was an action brought by the hon. Mr Degraves, M.L.C, who was extensively engaged in squatting transactions, against Mr ATldullen, the Inspector of the Union Bank, in Ms individual capacity, to recover L 30.000 for breach of agreement There was «n unusually large Bar engaged, and the hewing extended over several days. It appeared that in the year 1867 Mr Degraves, who transacted business at the Union Bank, and was one of its directors in Melbourne, entered into a partnership with the defendant in thepurchase of two stations, named respectively St Anne s and Dotswood, both situated in Queensland. The former had been for a long period in the possession of the bonk, and it was agreed to purchase it by the parties for LB,OOO on Mils at long dates. The other station cost 1,8,800, and was bought on similar terms, so that the joint liability of the partners was about Dl 7 000. At this time Mr Degraves was doing an immense business, and was reputed a millionaire. His transactions with the Union Paplf alone amounted to between L 300,000 and U4OO 000 per annum, and his overdraft ranged frT’TaToOO to L 300,000. # In 1868 W M‘Mullen became disstisfied with the purchase of the station, and applied to Mr Degraves to be released from the partnership. The plaintiff expressed a willingness to accommodate his friend, and sought to obtain a substitute, but found it impossible, as station property about the time was at a discount, and ver£ heavy however, between the parties that M‘Mullen should be released on the condition that Degraves’s bills should be discounted by the Union Bank at the rate of seven per cent., until mob time as the stations could be satisfactorily disposed of, Degraves .lodging ample securities in the hank. Soon afterwards the defendant went to New Zealand, and in his absence the manager of the bank, Mr Curtayne, commenced to press Degraves, and finally foreclosed upon the mortgage. M'Mullen repudiated tfier alleged agreement, which was stated to havo been made verbally*. The testimony adduced was most conflicting, and the documentary evidence put in threw comparatively tittle fight upon the question at issue, the jiffy returned a verdict for the plaintiff, and awarded him damages L 10,248. Degraves has, it is stated, served a writ upon the bank, and intends proceeding with an action to recover 160.000. x , ‘ There have been some very methods of pyiriHlihg exhibited in Melbourne by the various defaulters in bdnks, merchants’ offices, pnd pphEp institutions, who have been discovered afid punished for their roguery. It an improvement dpph paeteopohtan modes of A man named Archibald Turner KCrr, a native of Lisbon, has levanted from Ballarat, after robbing his employer, Mr Fvy, the miller, of LfiOO. Kerr’s modus operandi was to go round to Mr Fry’s customers, collect the money due by them, forge acceptances for the amount of their accounts, and hand these acceptances into Mr Fry instead of the cash he had received. It is thought that Kerr has left the Colony, but Mr Fry has made up his mind to spare no expense to obtain the defaulter’s arrest. A striking incident, showing the vicissitudes o! Colonial life, came to light at a recent meeting of the Melbourne Hospital Committee. Everyone at all at conversant with the caterers of amusement for the public about the gold diggings era will remember Mr T. H. Rowe, of Rowe’s Circus, at the corner of Lonsdale and Stephen streets. Like many other colonists who had golden opportunities of making a handsome fortune, Mr Rowe did not avail himself of the chances which nightly crowded and enthusiastic audiences offered him, and, after leaving Victoria and buffetting the world in other parts, he came to the scene of his former prosperity. This time he came not as a proprietor, but as an employe in Chiarini’s mammoth circus troupe from CaHfomia. He continued his engagement with Ohiarini until the latter left for Sydney, since when ha has been thrown out of employment. In the ear days he extended a bounteous hand to all < Melbourne charities, and the Melbourne Hospital benefited to the extent of L 732 by various benefits which were given in aid of that institution. It was incidentally mentioned by a member of the committee that he had received a letter from Mr Rowe-appeallug through him to the committee to give him tome aid in procuring a passage backto. California, where he could obtain employment, No notice was taken of Mr Rowe’s request officially, bat it is anticipated that the gentlemen who manage the institution will do something to assist one who was in the heyday of his prosperity so liberally and charitably disposed. A very Important judgment has just been delivered by Judge -Dunne, at Sandhurst, and one which completely substantiates the soundness of the principle insisted' on in the Argus columns, namely, that mining companies should be held reeponsibl* for the damages sustained by their workmen from accidents occurring in claims through Want of foresight or caution on the put of the manager. A miner named Fallovbr had been mecipitated to the bottom of a Shaft through ihe breaking of a ladder which was proved to have been insecurely fixed by roj>esthat west unequal to the steam put upon ths9k , lApleawas put in by the defendants that the manager did not know of their conditfon, Mthe Judge very properly ruled that he

ought to have known, and that the means of 1 knowledge must be considered equivalent to knowledge. Judge Dunne has not rated the responsibility of the Shenandoah Company a bit too high in awarding Failover a hundred pounds, and if it operates as a warning agamst that penny Wise and pound foobsh system which is carried out under the pretext of economy by some companies; his decision will be hailed as a valuable boon by the mining community generally.