INTERCOLONIAL NEWS.

Grey River Argus, Volume IV, Issue 273, 12 October 1867, Page 3

INTERCOLONIAL NEWS.

v acfct to» following from the letter . °f^the Melbourne correspondent of the "^OtagoJidily Times:— ' . ( ..;, jn Parliament, since "the passing of the , ; 4 d -*^ S^ busine33 transacted by both Houses lias been of a formal character ; ; But tlie preliminary steps for bringing in a /ireah : Appropriation Bill havingbeen taken in the 'Assembly, it is probable chat in the ■ . course of a day or two that measure, inh - eluding the Darling grant of L 20,000, will - again; be sent up to the Council. ■\-':' M these events have been passing ;• inside the walls of Parliament, the sup" porters of the respective parties to the existing quarrel between the two Houses, out of doors, have not been altogether inactive. Two memorials, one calling upon . the Upper House to stand firm in the .']' antagonistic position which it has taken ..up, and the other, endeavoring to instil intp the same body a spirit of conciliation, liave each been numerously signed: and while the Argus continues to tell our „■■■> Colonial Lord 3, that if they give way in the slightest degree they are lost; the Age Bays give way, sooner or later, they must, - and* that the sooner they become fully • ■■'■:- aware of the fact, the better it will be for themselves and the country. Whatever may be tlie^ ultimate results of the contest, it fortunately seems certain that tho two high contending parties havejresolved, if riot to settle their differences entirely before the arrival of the Duke of Edinburgh, who is expected to be here in the bourse of the next three or iour weeks, a*, »U' events to forget their quarrels for a .time upon that auspicious occasion, and to unite in partaking of a grand Parliamentary banquet, to be given to the Royal guest. 'An. influential commission, composed of the members of the Government, and some other leading public men of all shades of political opinion, has. been formed for the purpose of arranging the . plan of the Date's reception and entertainment, and the proposal to which I have just referred was onj of the first steps taken. A resolution in accordance with it was last night adopted by both Houses ; arid no pains or expense will bo spared to make tho proposed banquet worthy of the colony and of the Royal guest. The '-': general, preparations for the reception of that distinguished visitor are, however, in. anything but a forward state, and con- % sideririg the fact that with the L 15,000 ; voted by the Government, and the LSOOO by the City Council for J^wSW.i.^.^poses upon the auspicious occa- „ Bion, there/will be L 20,000 to be got rid , of, somehow or other, in the course of a fortnight or so, it does seem that' we are a little behind hand in this matter. We Have certainly, been less active in this respect than 6ur South Australian neighbors, who for the last three months at _ least, appear to have devoted themselves, 1 extirely and exclusively, to the -one sole object of preparing for their august visitor. ; Altogether, it seems impossible that the - Prince can fail to be impressed with the enthusiastic loyalty of the Australian ■ Colonies, and I have no doubt that on his ... Arrival in New Zealand he will be greeted with equally hearty, if not equally ex- '/" .pensive, demonstrations of loyalty. A'fc'a recent election of a member of the Assembly for South Grant", in the place of who was convictel of forgery, ; Stutt, the Ministerial candidate, was re- ; turned by a very large majority. Mr Stutt, who is the keeper of an eating house arid hotel, called the City Buffet, in Bpurke street, ia entirely unknown as a politician, and his election to a place in .Parliament has been seriously commented upon in the opposition journal. Some excitement was cansed here a few days ago by the arrest on a charge of robbery of a well-known actress, Mrs Aaiia Maria. O'Neill, who, however, is batter known amongst play-goers by her miiden name of Miss Quinn. The. arrest fk made by Detective Hams, of New "■.Zealand, on four warrants issued there ; and amongst the offences of which the " prisoner was accused were those of stealling a sum. of L 270 from tho landlord of tie Hibernian Hotel, at Hokitika, and a quantity of clotliing from a Mrs Holland, kit Ross Town. On her appearance at the jPolice Coilrt, she was defended by Mr lispinall, and after being remanded on ■ail for a week, she was again brought Before the Bench yesterday, when her lounsel having succeeded in convincing Ihe Magistrates that, under the Justices Act, they had no power to remand her to New Zealand, she was discharged: A sad circumstance in connection with this case, ig the fact that Mr O'Neill, the husband •of the acensed, is now lying^ dangerously ill. An entirely new state of circumstances /arose out of this extraordinary case. Mr Kelly, the prosecutor, who declined to go into the witness-box and substantiate any single item of the charge, has been arrested pn a ca. re. Mr Aspinall, instructed by Mr Creswell, applied yester- " day to Mr Justice Williams for an order to hold Mr Kelly to bail to answeran '-.^saetiqn.for malicious prosecution, in which the damages are laid at L2OOO. The 5 JuSge", however, only signed an order to hold tofcail in L2OO. Mr Ores well applied to Mr Justice Williams for an order to ftrreajt Detective Hams, of the New Zealand force, on the ground that he had, withpujb any authority, searched the boxes of Mrs O'Neill, and taken therefrom two Bilk dresses and a. chemise, the property ; of the latter, the whole, being valued at /L3O. Mr Justice Williams held the de- j tective officer to bail in the sum of L3O. r Both Kelly and Hams were arrested. ; portly before the Gothenburg steamer and they were secured ; but by the same steamer a man named Lyons, charged Vith forgery in New Zealand, was shipped off. The man was. discharged, by the Bench at the City police vfeurt ; but on getting outside the building he^was re-arrested by the detectives, and '. taken on board the Gothenburg as a pri- ■/•■'• soner, just as if he had been, remanded by ' ■ the city magistrates to the New Zealand tribunal. A plain question naturally arises — can our detective police, efficient as they are, over-ride the law? If Mrs O'Neill could not; be" remanded to New Zealand, under what authority was Lyons taken there? The Melbourne Herald, of the 28th ult., gives the following addi- ' iional detail of the "proceedings in the re- I ' "markabie case:— " We understand that though Detectiye Hams has ..been detained in Melbmirrie as. defendant in an : action taken against him by Mr and Mrs. O'Neil, for riot restoring the property 'which he found in Mis O'Neil's boxes, . that there is every, probability of an effort being made to Jiave ihe criminal in- . vestigationagainst Mrs O.'Neil. proceeded ;" with in Melbourne, as the necessary; wit--i nesses have been sent for to New Zealand.

Detective Hams arid ISr Kelly, of the Hibernian Hotel, Hokitika; were released on bail from the Melbourne Gaol yesterday morning. Detective Hams is tp have an interview with the hon. the At-torney-General this morning in reference to the case. Hams tells us that an intimation was conveyed to him, that if he would restore the property; valued at about L4O, he could leave Victoria. This offer he promptly refused." A victim to one of the most brutal and determined attacks ever made upon a. traveller on our public roads, died from the effects of his wounds, in the Geelong Hospital, the other day. The uufortnnate deceased, a man named Thomas Bramley, while journeying with a horse and cart in the neighborhood of Rokewood, was- met by a wretch named Whelan, who, after demanding his money, shot at him three times with a pistol, aftersvards beating him about the head' with the butt end of the weapon, leaving him for dead. Tho perpetrator of the diabolical outrage is in custody, and was fully identified by the dying mau at the Hospital. Just now our farmers and stockowners are so ill satisfied with the low prices realised for their produce that, especially with reference to live stock, various propositions have been made, and a number of different schemes put forth, for turning the surplus of the prime necessities of life to. better advantage. In view of the higher rates recently quoted for breadstuffs in Englaud, some hopes are entertained that it may be found profitable to send Home wheat and other cereals, and a few ventures of lliat kind have recently. been made ; while a public company has been initiated for the purpose of boiling down and preserving beef and .mutton for exportation. It is, indeed, many years since most of the articles of daily consumption were so cheap here as they are at present ; and an artizan who earns, say 40a a week, is better off than he would have been a few years ago, with twice that sum For instance, excellent- mutton may be purchased in and around this city at 2kl per pound by the half sheep j'good bread, at 5d per 4-lb. loaf ; and the best' fresh butter at from lOd to la per pound. FJji advices report the Rev Mr Baker, Wesleyan missionary at Novora, and a native catechist and his students, have been murdered by a tribe of cannibals. Prompt measures were taken by the king to punish the murderers. Mrs Baker and family have arrived at Sydney. „ The engagement of Mr Walter Montgomery at the Royal haa proved eminently successful. The powers of that brilliant actor .(are of so versatile a character, that lie appears to give his audience a, new pleasure in every fresh character in which he appears, and his programme is a most extensive one. He has been re-engaged for a short time, and continues to " draw" large houses. For the last two or three days, the weather has been unusually tempestuous for tne season. Torrents of rain have fallen, and the Yarra has in many places overflowed its banks, flooding the loavlying flats, and seriously injuring the crops of the suburban market gardera.