LATEST INTERCOLONIAL NEWS.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1131, 13 March 1872, Page 2

LATEST INTERCOLONIAL NEWS.

' A constable was savagely assaulted by a carter named William Carr in. Melbourne. The latter was drunk while in charge of a horse and cart; and fell down, and stopped the. cart with his body by falling across the wheels, whereupon ' Constable J. Kenny went to his assistance, and took him and hu vehicle to his house. Kenny went in and was writing a receipt for the horse and cart, in order, .that Carr's wife might sign it tn show that he had given the property to her, when Carr, who had gone into the yard, returned with a tomahawk, with which he gave the constable a violent blow on the head. Fortunately the strong cap of the policeman resisted the blow, though -it was dented in. .Had the blow fallen on the bare head it would have fractured the . skull, and probably killed the policeman. At the City Court the offender, a, queerlooking man, with lank, black, greasy hair reaching to his shoulders, pleaded guilty, and. said he had not for two years before taken a drop of grog. He was fined L 5, with 10s costs, or two months' hard labor in gaol. The trial of Captain Collard for the losa of the Sussex was continued on Saturday, 24th. ultimo, at the Criminal Court. It is intended to call a few witnesses for the defence ; but their examination will not, it is expected, last very long. Mr Ireland, Q.C., in his address to the jury on Saturday, attributed the whole', blame of the loss of the vessel to the Pilot Board. The Admiralty regulations provided, he said, that pilots when at sea should flash their light once every 15. minutes. _ It was^admitted they had flashed oftener than that on the night the Sussex was coming in, and the consequence . was that, their light so closely resembled that of the Schanck that it was mistaken for it. Had they flashed once every 15 minutes it would never have been taken for the Schanck light, which only flashed every it wo minutes, and so the accident would have been avoided. The members of the Pilot Board were quite aware that' the Admiralty regulation was iiifrihged, and it; was their duty to enforce its observance j if they did not do so they w&fe responsible. Captain Collard was sentenced to one month's imprisonment. " A case of being lost tor four days in the. bush is thus narrated by the Burmngmyj

Argus :— " It appears that Mr Chauffourier, while looking for his hone on the Combaning ran, got astray, and abandoning the pursuit, sought to recover the track he had lost. Without matches or blankets he wandered about for three days, sleeping on leaves, and subsisting on water. It occurred to him to travel due east, and facing the rising sun on the fourth day, allowing it to get gradually to his shoulder and back, he reached Mount Conghlin, and, following the falls, entered Cootatnundra with his clothes torn to ribbons, and boots without soles, having been nearly an hour walking from the bridge; a distance of half a mile. Mr Barnes immediately administered a small quantity of brandy, the sufferer went to bed, and some thin gruel soon put him but of danger. We might add, for the benefit of those unfortunate enough ever to get lost, that the prevalent mistake is to follow the sun — thus turning constantly to the left. By keeping the sun on the back, and allowing it gradually to gain on either shoulder, and subsequently the face, it is evident that a person will go tolerably straight, d vice vena, or by following a watercourse, a river, or larger creek, is certain to be gained." From the Bendigo Advertiser we take the following account of the trial of James Middling, mining manager of the G. 6. Tribute, No. 6, who was charged at the Circuit Court with the manslaughter of Edward Worrell, a miner in the claim :— " A large number of witnesses were examined for the prosecution, and all of them wore unanimous in saying that the rope was rotten and utterly unsafe to be

used in any mine ; one witness said he would not stand under it if an empty bucket was only attached to it, so imSressed was he with its dangerous couition. The evidence of the miners working in the claim, however, was explicit that the deceased had been warned by the prisoner that the rope was not safe, and that be should not stand in the shaft to fill the buckets.: and, of course this formed the basis of the defence. The learned Judge, in summing up, put the case to the jury in the clearest manner ; if anything, favorable to the prisoner. He placed three propositions before them, -which they would have to consider in coining to their verdict— ls.t. Was the rope safe i 2nd. Was the deceased warned 1 3rd. If warned, was the warning available ; or was it possible for the deceased to have attended to it without neglecting his work ? If they answered the last question in the negative, then the prisoner was guilty ; otherwise they must find him innocent. The jury, after along absence, returned into Court with a verdict of not guilty, answering the questions as follows: — Ist. The lope was unsafe. •2nd. The deceased was warned. 3rd. The warning was available, and should have been obeyed. On the reception of this verdict the Crown Prosecutor pointed out that the last answer was inconsistent with the testimony of the witness Hackett, who swore that it was absolutely necessary for the deceased to stand in the shaft when filling the bucket, but his Honor discharged the prisoner without comment."