THE ALLEGED MURDER AT OAMARU.

Globe, Volume VIII, Issue 936, 25 June 1877, Page 3

THE ALLEGED MURDER AT OAMARU.

It was reported in our telegrams on Saturday that a young man named Q.uarrie Lad given himself into custody at Waimate, alleging that lie had murdered his mother at Oamaru. The circumstances of the woman's death were first described thus in the North Otago Times: —" Sudden death of an old resident. —Mrs Q.uarrie, one of the oldest residents in this district, died very suddenly yesterday at her residence, Reed street. For some time past she had complained of dizziness at morning and night, but when her two sons went home to dinner at noon yesterday she seemed to be in her accustomed good health. Having given the boys their dinner, she walked outside into the yard. Her daughter going out shortly afterwards, saw her mother falling, and called the attention of her brothers to the fact. They rushed outside at once, and carried her into the house, but she never spoke, nor even gave the slightest sign of life. Dr De Latoui* was sent for immediately, but he could do no more than state that life was extinct."

At the inquest on Friday, the Coroner, in opening the proceedings, said that he only heard on the previous night, on his return to Oamaru, of the sudden death of Mrs Quarrie, an old resident in the town, and did not then suppose that it would be necessary to hold an enquiry as to the cause of death, which he had looked upon as probably resulting from intemperance ; but an intimation had since been . received from the Canterbury police which altered the aspect of the ease. It was that a son of the deceased —Daniel Quarrie —had given himself into custody at Waimate, on a charge of killing his mother. Under these circumstances, it would not be desirable to proceed beyond necessary preliminaries until the accused was present. The Jury would proceed to view the body, and if there were any signs of violence about the head, their attention would be drawn thereto. He proposed that their further proceedings should be adjourned until Monday, at such hour as might be most convenient to the jury. Whether the lad had really committed the deed with which he had charged himself, or whether the sudden death of his mother had had such an effect upon his mind as to cause him to imagine that he had done so, it would in any case be better to give him the opportunity of being present from the rerj beginning of the enquiry. The jury then proceeded to view the body of which a post mortem examination had been previously made by Dr De Lautour. It was that of a woman of about forty-live years of age, and the face showed two bruises or abrasions —one on the nose, being a fresh abrasion on an old bruise; and the other on the left side of the face. Dr. De Lautour informed the jury that there was also a large lacerated wound under the cap on the left side of the head, apparently near the ear. Further proceedings were adjourned till Monday.

There are estimated to be over 75,000 journeyman cigar makears in the United States.

Four tons weight of valentines have been returned to tlie Dead Letter Office in Lot:<'o:i this year from all parts of the kingdom. This immense mass of amatory gush is to be worked into pulp before being sold to the paper makers.

In commercial circles at home some notice has been taken of a project submitted by an American to the Russian Government for joining the Black and Caspian Seas. The latter, says the engineer, Mr Spalding, occupies the lowest part of a vast basin situated at the south of the Russian Empire, in the midst of land which is below the level of the ocean. He states his belief that in consequence of the natural action now proceeding the Caspian Sea will altogether disappear, and leave a blank waste. In order to prevent this he proposed to connect the two seas by means of a canal of 266 kilometres in length. It is expected that the new scheme will prove of great v lue to the internal commerce of Russia, but it has not yet been formally accepted, and there are many difficulties—amongst others, the financial one—in the way of carryingit out.

Evert Temperance Law hitherto framed admits the necessity of stimulants as medicines, and no teetotaller of sense denies that they are essential elements of cure hi a variety of diseases. Only fanatics deny the utility of an alcoholic preparation. The rapid and positive cures of nervous debility, dyspepsia, kidney and bladder complaints," uterine ailments, wrought by Udolpho Wolfe's Schiedam Aromatic Schnapps, give the lie to those who deny the utility of spirituous medicines.—[Advt.J