LATEST INTERCOLONIAL NEWS.

Grey River Argus, Volume XI, Issue 895, 9 June 1871, Page 2

LATEST INTERCOLONIAL NEWS.

We make the following extracts from files brought by the s.s. Claud Hamilton, from Melbourne : — The German residents in Melbourne have celebrated the conclusion of the great Franco-Prussian war, by holding a Deutsches Friedenfeßt or Peace Festival at Weber's Assembly-rooms. , - ~. Mr Burgen, a passenger by the James Patterson, died the morning after living, and was buried at sea. Great satisfaction is expressed at the Sydney Mornmg Herald supporting the calling of the P. and O. steamers at Glenelg. Mr Goddard, the discoverer of the Barossa Gold Field, reports having found gold in Humbug Scrub, and send in a claim for a reward. The G. C. Fichte has arrived at Adelaide, from Mauritius after a 62 days' passage. A woman 23 years of age, named Louisa Anorsling, Was found drowned in Myer's Creek, near Sebastian, and half a mile from her residence. A girl named Ellen Mullane died at the Geelong Hospital a day or two ago from the effects of burns received some ; days previously from her clothes taking tire. A young man named Christopher Humphries, of Kirkstall, was killed a few days ago by falling from his horse, while under the influence of drink. Mr M'Lachlan, P.M., who has for nearly 20 years dearl out the law on the Sandhurst Bench, took his seat there on the 29th May for the last time, he having npw retired from the active duties of the magistracy. Telegraphic communication was opened between = Gaffney'3 Creek and Wood's Point. The New South Wales; Government carried the vote for two companies of infantry and one company of artillery, after much opposition. . : The Hawkesbury is again rising. There were great floods at Cooraa, and the mails have been detained for the past five days. One hundred and thirty-two families are receiving relief at Araluen. Mr Ferrier, storekeeper, Chiltern/was found dead on the road, and is aupposed to have been killed by a fall from his horse. Fiji advices report the Alladin, whaler, all well, with 45 tuns of sperm. At; the Protestant political banquet at Sydney, there were four hundred persons present. : Two thousand five hundred ounces of gold were received at Mudgee from the new diggings at Gulgong. A deputation of the Tasmanian Main Line Railway Association had an audience with the Ministry. The Premier intimated that if engineers were not despatched by the English company at the specified time it would be regarded aa an abandonment uf the enterprise, and the Ministry would propose to Parliament to construct the railway as a national work, at a cost not to exceed L 650,000. A rumor is current that a crim. con. action has been commenced against a prominent politician at Sydney. The rain caused the postponement of the Goulburn Races. The inmates of the Newcastle Reformatory were recently removed to Cockatoo Island. The opposition raised by the Congregational Union of South Australia to the position of precedency accorded to the bishops of the Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches at the Governor's levees still continues to form matter of discussion. Tho deep shafts on the Trunkey Reefs are proving the best that have yet been sunk. Inspector Norton arrested William Cox at Dubbo, on a charge of murder committed near Hartley two years ago. • = The South Australian Chamber of Manufactures have decided >to distribute 150 bushels of flax seed amongst the farmers in the Gumeracha district. Ram Jee, a colored man, has been committed for trial at Adelaide on a charge of wounding a person named Chisman. Bail refused. Chisman is not expected' to survive. /' j Mr Thomas Jones, manager of the Tribute Monitor Company, at Dunolly, was killed by a blast exploding. ,It hang fire, and he went te examine it, when it exploded and shattered his arm, and otherwise injured him so severely that he only lived one hour. . The new Stamp Act of New South Wales is in operation. It imposes a tax of a shilling each on the bank notes of other colonies. -.. ■ i The City Bank of Sydney has obtained a verdict for L 12,000 against Mr RusseL, of the foundry, for advances to the Paper Company. A point was reserved for argument as to whether the bank act of incorporation permitted the directors to make such advances. . Messrs Reilly and Cohen's ironmongery store at Sydney was burglariously entered and the safe was robbed. , , ■ (< A fatal accident occurred," says the Banner of Belfast, "on the Rosebrookroad, to a man named Christopher Humphries, a resident of Koroit, aged 30 years. The deceased? who was intoxicated when he left Belfast, was riding quickly towards home with a man named Finnigan, and when about two miles from town his horse suddenly swerved, throwing him on his head with considerable force. Before medical aid could be procured, life was extinct." Mr Parkenham, builder, and his cousin, have been drowned crossing the Nattai River at Burragorang. Their bodies have not yet been found. The ship Columbus has arrived, after a tedious passage of 121 days, occasioned by calms and head winds. ' The race-horse Flying Scud has been sold at Adelaide for Melbourne fi«r 100 guineas. : ; ' The Hit or Miss Company, Nine Mile Springs, Tasmania, have crushed 61 tons of atoue, which, yielded lOSoz. Messrs Lenehan Brothers, grocers,? of Sydney, have assigned their estate ; debts.' L3OOO ; assets, LIBOO. Honolulu sugars were sold by auction iv Sydney, and realised L2B 5s to L 33 10s ; Mauritius rations, L 27 10s to L 29. sa ; fine counters and straw crystals. LS6-----103t0L38. /; Withrespect to the fate of the carrier Southerland, whose body was found in Bingley's Creek, some new facts* has come to the knowledge of the Geelong Adveiiiser that to some extent account for his conduct It is stated that two days previous to his departure from Geelong on his last trip he fell from a dray, and was 90 seriously injured aboutj the head, that ,

he had to be conveyed home by two men who witnessed the accident. Sutherland was well known in Chilwell as a sober industrious man, and his circumstances precluded the idea of his., committing a deliberate act of suicided is now thought that in consequence of the concussion to the brain, resulting from the fall, he became deranged, and in this state met with his end; •• ' , - . Our telegrams recently mentioned the fearful accident at the Volunteer Review at Melbourne on the Queen's birthday, by which Corporal Alexander was blown into the air. At the Coroner's inquest the evidence, on some points slightly contia- : „.• dictory and en others not very clear, brought out the following facts :— There were twenty mines to explode, six in a i_. row on the left, thirteen in a double row on the right, and one mine in the centre by itself. The mines were to be exploded by means of an electric battery, and there were eight. wires, besides a ninth to the centre mine. The eight wires were connected to as many mines by Sapper Draper, and the free ends weie turned round a piece of stick, in regular order, for subsequent connexion with the >battery. Alexander was to do the work of \ connecting the wires to the mines, and Draper to connect the free ends with the battery, one at a time, and so expiode the mines. The first eight mines were exploded all right. Alexander then came from behind a fence to the left, which was his cover, to transfer the wires to a second series of mines. In a short time he returned to his cover and made the signal for firing. Draper thereupon fastened the first wire to the battery, and pressed down the connecting key ; an explosion followed. The second wire was connected, but no result was produced. Draper was sent out to see what was the matter, and found Alexander drawing in the slack of one of the wires leading to the left mines. He made a remark to Alexander about needing to be smarter, and told him that the wires for the mine 3 on the right would be connected for him. This was a departure from the first arrangement. Alexander again made the signal for firing ; but No. 1 wire discharged a mine further to the right than did wire No. 2, the reverse of what was intended. As soon as the explosion of the right mine (No. 5) had taken place, Alexander ran out from his cover to I the left mine (No. 3), and it exploded j just as he got to it. The supposition is that Alexander was misled by the explosion of the wrong mine first, and believed that something was wrong with the wire to No. 3, which was known to be de fective ; and the further supposition is that the wrong mine was exploded first through Alexander's unintentionally crossing the wires. His coming out from cover at all was contrary to instructions, but in the hurry of the moment he may have forgotten the necessity of caution, and according to the evidence he was given to taking serious matters coolly. It was ] suggested by one witness that Alexander came out of cover to escape from falling earth sent up by the explosion of No. 5 mine. The jury returned a verdict that the deceased met with his death while discharging his duty as a Volunteer. The funeral was oue of the largest ever seen in Melbourne. "The residents of the Bellarine district," says the Geelmig Advertiser, "have long enjoyed immunity from rabbits, but it would appear that they will not be no fortunate much longer, as rabbits are gradually encroaching upon their territory. They abound in the scrub at Point 'Henry, and Mr Dowse, of the Wallington, ' states they have made their appearance in thousands near his vineyard. They have only got another mile or so, to travel, and then they will get into Newcomb's paddock, out of which it will be a difficult matter to clear them again. We learn that Mr Bullivan is also sadly troubled with them at Point Wilson, on the other side of the bay, where, we are informed as many as 11,000 have been killed in a fortnight by a couple of men engaged for that purpose." (For continuation of Aeios see 4th Page.)