AUSTRALIAN NOTES.

Evening Star, Issue 4208, 22 August 1876, Page 4

AUSTRALIAN NOTES.

The report of the Commissioner of Railways shows that the coat of the lines open, including rolling stock, machinery, workshops, &c, is a little over L 7,000,000, or an average of L 16,500 per mile. The earnings leave a profit of L 4 7s lid per cent, on the eapital expended. There has been a very large increase in traffic during the last four years. • The * Riverine Herald' reports that a man natiied M?Cabe, employed on Mr O'Shanassy's' station, has been the subject of a> curious experience. For six months past he had been suffering from the presence of a fpreign.body—then long and sharp-in his lefV side, which frequently gave him great pain. He was told by one doctor that it was a rib splinter, butTnot satisfied he on Monday last went to Dr Cros'sen, who, on examination, found the true cause of the irritation to be a strong sewing needle about two inches in length, which he at once extricated with the aid of a lance. The enthusiasm with which " Romeo and-' Juliet" is received at the Theatre Royal in <areases with each renewed pi esentation. rbe house is every evening literally packed from floor to ceiling,-and the manner in which Mrs Scott-Siddons enthralls her audience from her Jr%t appearance on the stage till the end of "the death scene with. Romeo is acknowledged as constituting one of the most unequivocal histrionic triumphs ever achieved in the Australian metropolis. The principals in the 100 mile horse race at Howlong were prosecuted, but the case was dismissed cm the ground that cruelty was that. Rush will.row Trickett "returnto Sydney. . ' . A'letter from Wilcannia states that it is ,-clifiGfctllt'tonavigate the steamers owing to the dead cattle floating down the river, lhe •manager of one- of- the largest cattle stations on the Darling : estimates hie loss at 2,500 head. , The loss of; revenue on. the land through four months' cable • interruption is estimated ratl&,soo. • ~,,-' Six Chinese minew have been brutally assaulted by ten miners at Gould s, near .Launceston diggings, who objected to the in-; ! troduction of Chinese. ' - "JLgles" saya an esteemed but somewhat eccentric County Court judge tried a case not long ago in whichdamages were sought ' for the worrying of sheep. An expert was called by the defendant to prove their value. This witness'valued- them at 2s 6d per head. ••Why," 1 said his Honor, "do you value them at so low a figure 1 " " Because, : your ' Honor, theyhadn't a tooth in their headsy and were ewes; 1 ' "What, asked his Honor, "would have been the value if they had . had ~ teeth ? " " Oh," said the witness, •'"from 14s to'l4s 6d." " Stand down, sir said his Honor, with warmth, "or I shall eommuVyou for contempt. Do you mean, to tell me that: a sheep's teeth are worbh 12s, and its carcase only 2s 6d ! " And it really took some time to make him understand • how it was that the teeth made the differ-

."• Hewitt informs the in-re- " slyto Davis's challenge, that he is going to Sydney on Tuesday, and consequently -"will "beunable to run on the 12th inst. Hewitt also states' he is under a promise to see Watson, of Scone, and to make another match . -with him, to come off about the time the Melbourne Gup is fun. Hewitt -would like to run Davis at the same time, so that one ■training would do for.both.ocoasions, and if Davis'-will leave articles at this office Hewitt will put down any sum he requires to bind a match between them. The well-known actress, Mrs Alfred Phillips, expired at her residence, MadelineBtreet, Carlton, on the sth hist, after a very brief illness. Mrs Phillips's last appearance took place only a fortnight previous to her decease, when she played in "Fanchon'' at the Prince, of .Wales Opera House, a piece in which she .had for a week delighted the old theatrical patrons by an exhibition of her J tmdoub&d and admitted abilities. The lady who has so comparatively suddenly left the scenes of her former triumphs has been before the public for over twenty years, and was ever a great favorite -with the lovers of the legitimate drama, fche arrived in the colony about 1853 or 1834, and has played with all the great stars, or. nearly all of them, that have visited this end of the world, and always with success. The following letter, concerning the visit to -Victoria of the All-England Meven, appeared in ' The Argus' of last Saturday : " Sir,—A paragraph appears in your paper which is calculated to do me, and the AllEngland Eleven that I represent, a very serious injury if uncontradicted; I therefore trust to your well known love of fair play for a reply thereto. The paragraph states :—' It is understood that Mr Bennett ■ has abandoned the idea of bringing out an eleven to Victoria,' which is so far from "having any shadow of truth in it that our latest advices inform us that our team, with Lillywhite as captain, will positively leave England next month, and will arrive here in time to carry out the numerous matches I have already entered into on their behalf throughout the Colonies. Had I the slightest intention of or cause for abandoning the project, my first course of action would be to communicate immediately with the numerous secretaries of clubs and other gentlemen throughout the Colonies with whom I have made match arrangements, to carfcel the same. As such is not the case, I simply give the statement

contained in the paragraph a full and final Contradiction, arid remain, yours, &c, J. H. Bennett, Cricket Club' Hotel, Emerald-hill, August 5."