AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

Evening Star, Issue 3651, 4 November 1874, Page 3

AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

LARRIKINISM ' < T ‘ : ELBOURNE, The “hoodlums” f Melbourne are becoming outrageous. A few evening’s ago the local larrikins ao I tbs “ middies" from the ships lyng at V T, mstown came into collision. For aeve>ul »i,-;tits previously the two elements had 1 ■ • n threatening hostilities* and that eveniu Hie crowd of hobbledehoys of both sert- ho p .ra-led the streets of the borough coul oot have been less than about 300 At half ~ast nine in the evening a sailor and In . ilcin opened the battle with a fight in tb front street, but the police were on the aiert, and the combatants were quickly tran°ferred to the lock-up. s ' ext diy the magi rates sentenced Michael Kennedy, the landsman, to a week’s impri sonment without the op - inn of a fine, as any reasonable penalty would have been paid by his comrade?, who without much difficulty raised LlO to bail him out the previous rd.ht. Roberts, the se‘-,.pprentice, was discharged, as the rrru;i t rt •itf cons dered he was less to blame lor'i.L disturbance than the other. A FAMILY LIVING ON BEER, A revolting set tv .deli occurred in Sandhurst, is thus d->c t ; dby the Bendigo ‘lndependent’;—‘-'b nr. three days ago a widow shut hersf 1 ;cd her three young children up in hrr mm with a quartercask- of beer, for t* o i uruuse of having an orgie. The house r mvdiing very quiet" the neighbors began to g -t a armed, aud seeking the assistance of tuo i c;! police, proceeded to the spot Entr L' e in" obtained to the house by means of a v TrL v which had been left unfastened. T>- :ii tints of the persons leaping inside a ei- i-\nin-, cere was presented to their viev. Ou a bed in the room the woman and ’'or vlmee children lav huddled together i * -"mi-nude state, all of them being very mi- - ; '.oxicated The floor was covered „ ordure, and the stench was awful ” - was plenty of food, but none co- •> t*. family appear to have lived on bi a v. s the large cask was nearly empty ,ai presented an idiotic appearance. * nothing was wrong with them. Fjndi f 'v-.-re was no oe-cafi-.n for their in‘ on. ,h 0 visitors withdrew, greatly i. -d at the sickening scene presented to ‘ . v.-.”

▲ DEADLY FRAY BEWPEN TWO BROTHERS. The Smytheßfla’- c.t ■*; ondent of the 4 Billarat Star ’ giv.v, the following further particulars of the aff-uv at -Told n Lake Ihe two brothers n ■■ G-oideu Lake, Samuel Holt and Benjam-■. -vho, while under the influence of ij'v’ur. engaged in such a deadly fight in L r fi u t on Bun ay morning, were o ■ -onday brought to Smythesdale ia M- ' aide’s coach. ou their way to the Bilk t r'...pital, They were taken before M- .f-,ra-;3 Lewin, J.P., at Sraythesdale Polco C..,.rt, and were re* mrmded for sever : ; It appears that the particulars which • u are even a mild description of the The appearance of the hut in which -.h- struggle took place is horrifying p. ts of the tenement bearing marks of ci ■ o’ence of the combatants. The ver ■. . w frame is battered and smashed to : ."‘cei: a’d over a bunk there is a mark aa ix a head covered with blood had TiHea a.u':..st ; j- building. Benjamin Holt has be v • '■' bed iu the arm and in several places r n the head, and one side of the head appears ♦ almost battered in. Samuel Holt ia set :njured about the hands and arms. The implements used iu the struggle were two picks, an axe, and a table kuife. Very few particulars, so far, cm be obtained as to the cause of the quarrel, as the men themselves state that they were so drunk they cannot remember much of the affair. THE HALT-?o’-’EH.,:3N’ DODOR.

A man who gf the name of William Campbell was tak j< ro the Emerald hid Bench of Magistra recently, charged with doing the “half c. en-igu dodge,” which, however simple it r v b-* to those who understand it, is s . die eut-ly perplexing to deceive many upoi. - . hum it is tried for the first time, Camp' l ' ‘i ami another man, who is not yet in custo went into the shop of Mr Clarke, grocer. Clarendon street, and bought something ; ... e of which was Bd. from M a : larke. a..,i she returned 9s 4d in change, on which • other man sard, “Oh, by-the bye, the lr - might want the change,” and put 8r on the ... hi, and said he would take the half sov. o. back again. Mrs Clarke returned ■ n • ba!i sovereign and then one of the men pi: ..it, two lots of money togel.ier, and asked T she could oblige them with 1.1 for the .■ age. The whole thing was done very ra •' v, s.-l Mrs Clarke overlooked the fact th. • I Os m change or else the half s-vereigr .3 iv already, and gave a 1.1 note for tin The men trh d the dodge on si, .'awards with Mrs Davis, landlady . 0.-s Keys Hotel, in Clarendon street C. had heard of it before, and was m. victimised. They thin went awayi cm nouse. and she gave information to < ■ ' • e M'riormack, who succeeded in arc Ampbeil. He was charged at the on . with fraudulently obtaining money La Mr* Clarke, and kttemtping to do so from Mrs Psris, aud for

each offend received a sentence of one year’s imprisonmjufc, or two years cumulative. CHINESE IN VICTORIA. Rome most iuaccurat slate.uents regarding Chinamen have been put in circulation recently. He has been represented as a marrying man. Nothing is further fom the truth. In 1871 ttcre Mere 18,0.»0 Chinamen in the Colony, and thirty-six Chinawomen, all of whom had been born in China. In the same year only thirty-three Chinamen got married, twelve of whose wives were Victorian born, six of the wives did not know their birthplace, eight of the wives were English born, and only three of the wiv< s were Irish. The respectability of a few Chinamen's wives in Victoria is beyond all question, but, f.s a rule, John marri s the lairikiness to assist him in his unlawful calling about Little Bourke street. It has been erroneously asserted also that the Chinaman settles down. Quite untrue. Only thirtyfour took out letters of naturalisation during the last ten years. Oat of the 18,000, 500 are now in the gaols of the Colony, 25) for the crime of felony. W hat becomes of John? it may be asked, the fact is, he shares one characteristic in common with what we call the Hite of Victorian society. He is a most shameless absentee. Fifty or sixty leave our shores every month for the Flowery Land, abstracting all the plunder they have com:; by through fossicking and prigging, brothel keeping and gambling. About an equal number arrive.