AUSTRALIAN NEWS

Globe, Volume XXIII, Issue 2240, 7 June 1881, Page 3

AUSTRALIAN NEWS

[By TEiEaEAPK.J

r Per s.s. Ringarooma, at the Bluff.] MELBOURNE, May 31,

The fate of the Beform Bill ia still uncertain, though the corner members are expected to abandon the position recently taken up. It haa been positively ascertained that Mr Berry’s interview had reference to a possible dissolution, and fears of this seem to have had the effect of stifling all opposition, but the difficulty regarding the franchise still remains unsettled, and whilst the Government appear resolved to insist on a £lO qualification, the Council will certainly not go beyond their last offer of £25.

Captain Mandeville’s reply to the torpedo report was presented to the Assembly on the 26th. It maintained that he was not liable for the accident resulting from electric currents, but only for the discipline of the ship. It regrets that he was not on board the Cerberus when the accident occurred, but submitted that the committee was not qualified to judge of the discipline of a man-of-war.

Mr Berry attended a meeting of the AntiOhineso League on the 27th, and expressed sympathy with the objects of the League. He said that a Bill similar to that of Now South Wales would be introduced at the earliest possible time next session. The Victorian Government haa been invited by the Italian Government to take part in an International Geographical Congress and Exhibition, to be held at Venice in September.

SYDNEY, May 31. The Anti-Irish Land League meeting, held yesterday, proved a fiasco, owing to the presence of a large number of sympathisers with the League, who prevented the motion being put. A breach of promise case, Brookes v Smith, is now before the Supreme Court. It appears that the plaintiff, who was married in 1855, obtained a divorce, and subsequently married Ooults, a draper, of New Zealand, and the marriage proving invalid, Ooutts refused to legalise it. His wife afterwards met Thomas Conlan Smith, who is said to have promised marriage. The owner of Progress offered the owner of Mata to make a match for £SOO, but the offer was declined.

ADELAIDE, May 31,

The wheat statistics show that about a hundred and forty thousand tons of wheat are available for export.

[Per s.B. Wakatipu at Hokitika.J MELBOURNE, Juno 1. At the annual meeting of the Colonial Insurance Company, a satisfactory report was presented; 3428 policies, assuring to £831,000, had been issued during the year. The present annual income exceeded £130,000. The Senate of the University has agreed to a proposal to establish a chair of Mental and Moral Philosophy. In the Assembly the early part of the sitting was occupied in an endeavor to obtain from Mr Berry some statement as to whether ho had received the promise of a dissolution. Mr Berry was silent on the subject. The Kelly Reward Board is practically defunct, and the members have tendered their resignation. Mr Murray Smith explained that it was not pique, but it was no use the gentlemen giving their time and work to be afterwards sot aside.

SYDNEY, Juno 1. Parliament meets for the disposal of business on July sth. The Queen of Nations, barque, from London to Sydney, was wrecked yesterday five miles north of Woollongong. The foro and mainmast are gone, and a man was drowned. All the other hands came ashore, except the captain and chief officer. Tho steward brought the ship's papers ashore. When tho tide ebbed in the afternoon a volunteer crow put off to the ship, in response to signals of help from tho captain and chief mite. On arrival alongside, both officers disappeared below, and although repeatedly called, declined to show themselves. The boat returned to the shore, and tho officers again signalled. Tho boat returned, and the same conduct was repeated. It was concluded that tho captain and chief mate were either mad or drunk. Four of the crew have sworn informations against the captain and chief mate for assault and battery. The vessel appears to bo sound, and not much damaged. The crew of tho Queen of Nations state that the captain and chief mate were most eccentric during the voyage, and that the weather was quite clear when the vessel struck. When she struck the chief mate presented a loaded revolver at some of the crew and threatened to shoot them if they left the ship.

Mr Bussell, the Government Astronomer, reports that a large spot is passing over the sen's surface. ADELAIDE, June 1. The Chief Secretary has arranged with the general agent of the Orient Company that the steamers of the Orient line shall alternate with the P. and O. Company’s vessels in the departure from Adelaide, thus giving _ the benefit of a weekly service. Probably this is a preliminary to further arrangements with the former company for the conveyance of the South Australian mails.