AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1162, 19 April 1872, Page 2

AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

Great consternation prevaUedinßufiier-^ glen on Good .Jbdday ; morning, when it 1 became known' that a most determined * suicide had been committed - by -ra wellc - known ' resident- of. thei r towny renamed Thomas Gick, a chemist, formerly in the L employ .pfMrWittj ( M.L.A., but who had » been carrying .on business on his own "- -account -for- some-years- past ih-Ruther- [ glen. Phased ,. had^beep^in alowdes* ' .ponding si-ate^ of *mina forborne days past j ; in, consequence, ,of the, illness of Mr A. ' Fa'rrie, with : . ! jiflioni he had raided for '' some years, 1 and to whom he seemed'niuch -■»■ •. attached. 1)( It is, Tgeperaliy supposed that, thinking that Fame would not recover, 1 ttie determination of hoVsurviving nlm.^ ' The following- advertisement appears in ; the Geelong. Advertiser;.'-— "A. respectable man, about fifty, wants a wife, about )• forty, 5 that might have L2O or iL3O, or. five ;' ; or 'six cowajah oldi'ihtdd op a widow without .much encumbrance:,- {I have • thirty acresof theltestland in wie cDlpny, "" all new ground, with a creek 'frontage, ; capable of feeding fifteen, 'cows all the ' yearround/ Please enclose your name, religion, and address this office as early as possible for ; :K;iO.T..'f Widows and spinsters: of a certain age should never despair.' i;i ; ; :-. ■ i i-^., ..{:,'>. -.■>'•. •':■>;.-. Suicide was attempted in a rather eccentric manner on Tuesday niorning by a ■bricklayer'; in CtufKbn,' nafiied William "Ash worth. He is a man about 56 years " ,pld, ; )iying at:227,Lygon street, and nAv- . ing been a lan^time^sident about f 3!tfel- '. bourne, had^ assisted; to build many of the largest buildings inand around the city — amongst others the Pentridge Stockade. . has .amassed Bu£scient.. to constitute him an independent man, and went to England latefy to see after some property left him, so that he does"not; appear to , have-- been- driven to theattemptatselfdestruction by pecuniary difficulties. It is said, however,'that^isputes with workmen had caused some annoyance^. He had been for some time pa^tsun^ringfrisn the effects of a sunstroke, and the stateof his mind had caused him to be watched, and weapons to be kept but of his way, as it was thought he might commit some rash act. On Tuesday morning, while at breakfast with his wife and two adopted children, he unexpectedly took up a table knife and attempted to cut his throat, but his action was stopped before "he had in< -fficrted^dangerotnrwound: •—--—--. Three prisoners underwent' the punish.inent of flogging in the Melbourne Gaol , - last week. iT Fredierick Green, "alias Iton. O'Toole, had his second and last iristal- - ment of twenty-five lashes for indecent v exposure ; and John,, Smithy also a^econd infliction of a : similar, number of la»hes, for indecently assaulting a little girl. He is to suffer a third whipping during the course of his imprisonment. David Sin

clair,, for a like offence, sentenced to thred years' imprisonment, and three whippings of twenty-five lashes each, underwent his first flagellation. Bamford administered the "cat" with considerable effect, and the recipients writhed and groaned and howled under it, and otherwise manifested their dislike to such a mode of punishment, which they so well deserved.

A case of flogging in the Beechworth Gaol, the first recorded inUhd district, took place on Monday last The sufferer was a Chinaman named Ah King, who was convicted at the Bright Police Court on a charge of inde>»ut»x^dscire. While being fastened to the triangle (a new institution in Beechworth, and fashioned in the gaol itself) he was perfectly calm. Th46r»C lash, delivered by a fellow prisoner, of color, brought out a long moan, but the fourth seemed to stupify Ah King (who was a fine form^of a man, physically), anxPtfuring the succeeding sixteen lashes he uttered no audible sound. His pulse was very low on the conclusion of the punishment, But he was not in any way seriously injured. There was very little blood, but the back was strongly marked. , „, . v, ; ; \ ■. - The case in which the trainer, George Ledger, charges six well-known betting men with conspiracy^ came under the notice of the magistrates in the City Police Court last week. Mr Gillott, for the defence, urged that the Court could; not be seized ofthe^case before" the' service of the summonses had been proved. This proof had not been given, and Mr Gillott did.not see how the Court- had power to ; Order a remand. ' Mr Ledger, the prosecutor, was called outside the court, but did not appear. Inspector Eabat said all the parties concerned were supposed to be in Sydney, but it was a matter of public notoriety that money had been paid "to' settle' the case. The Bench thought there had been sufficient information given to the Court to warrant a farther remand of seven days, and the adjournment for that period' was ordered;