VICTORIAN ITEMS.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1396, 21 January 1873, Page 2

VICTORIAN ITEMS.

No opposition has been offered W the return of Mr Robert Murray; SAftHlor the vacancy in the representation of 'tHd St. Kilda electorate caused by the retirement of Mr Fellows. :.;:;: A man named Lewis Simon, said to have possessed some' property, was found dead in his watercloaet in Victoria- street^ Prahran. It is supposed that the deceased had been dead about two ,^ayßy arid that intemperance w^ the indirect cause 1 of death. He waa 38 years old. f r A party of two have purchased what is left of the wreck of the Sussex, with all the appliances belonging to the* previous . company, and intend to engage a lighter ; to convey what further material can be obtainjed . from the wreck, and _ also to try whether anything can be done with respect to the wre*ck 'of the Victoria Tower. - A Rockhampto^ telegrSrh; to the Bris- . bane Courier states : — " William Millerj. aged 21, whd, for four mpdths past hia been officiatingas Congregational minister^" : has confessed himself guilty to a charge ; of obtaining money under false "pretences. He is now in the lock-up, and several *V charges "of swindling have been made r against him. He is a young man of good education, engaging address, and a; ftttjerit preacher. The detection of his series t ot impostures has caused a great seiisjttion here." The agreement which existed amongst the Melbourne banks for the regulation of a uniform rate of interest and discount was terminated on Saturday, the 4thitist., and has not yet been renewed, owing to the circumstance that Jdrie of the bank managers, whose head'office is ill Sydney, is not yet in a position to give in his adhesion. It is not, however, anticipated ithat the reply will be unfavorable, and in the meantime, though there is no regular agreement signed, there is an understand? ing that late rates will be adhered to, From the Jjaumestan Exami^ier, we learn 'that Charles Watson ahd ! Charles Field were prosecuted at the Launceston Police Court on Monday, for acting as seconds iri the fatal pugilistic affray at Westbury. Field was a brother of the young man who was killed, and Watson was the son of the Ifey. Mr Watson. The defendants were riot charged with any ; specific offence. A good deal of evidence was taken, and the defendants were comnutted for trial, to answer s.qp.h charge as the Attorney-General might bring against : . them. Bail was allowed. ° : . ' From the Ist to the 26th of last month (November)} 7595 tons of quartz were : crushed T on the Auckland ■. gold' ■; fields, which yielded 991 40z of gold. The following, were the yields from some of the principal claims during that period;:^ Brighi3inile" crushed 580 tons of " stone, - which yielded 6646^ of gold : CaledQnia.n, 015. tofis, ftjQoa ; Cure>.23o tons, 176102 j. Golden Grown (tribute), 120 tons, 520ozl " i Tookey (tribute), 118 tbns, 4070z ; Tokatea (Coromandel), 740 tons, ' 7600z. The • two crushing 3 from the Care claim? yielded remarkably well. One, of 'llo tous, gave 9580z ; and the other/ of 120 '.'- --tons, 803bz of melted gold. , . Suicides are still frequent ln tne Yarra. The body of a man, unknown, was observed by Constable Kelly, at Prince's bridge, to be floating down the Yarra. With the assistance of George B^ruce, a. boatman, he took out the corpse, and ret moved it to the Morgue, where it awaits. identiOcation and an inquest. The body, is described as that of a man about 45; years of age, sft 7in high, with fair hair, whiskers, and moustache, dressed in a dark coat and vest, dark- grey tweed r trousers, toucher boots, no socks, .white : :. cotton shirt, white under flannel, and > elastic braces. In the pockets were found four keys, a chamois leather bag, a knife, a clay pipe, and a handkerchief. Tltfto . T»nere no i iriri*ks of violence qn thVb^P^ which appeared to haye bee^ about sevgn days in the water. The body has been : identified as that of John Arnold Francis, aged 55 years,, an ornamental gardener; Deceased has left a widow and two children. -^-Another body was found float* ing in the Yarra at about half-past 12 o'clock, next day, near Prince's bridge, the corpse this time : being tha^ of a, woman. It was takpn to, the Mprgufy where it awaits identification ; and an ■ inquest. It is described as that of a woman about 35 years old, sft 3in high, of stout build, swarthy complexion, dark^ with brown eyes, and was dressed in »- dark muslin dress with yellow stripes, red petticoat with black stripes, black satin jacket, white stockings, black cash* mere b,oots, tyown gtr^F h^t;. trimmed^ with blue, and there was a black? ribbon-' round the peck; There was a black leather purse in the pocket, containing 56 7£d. The body bore no external marks of violence, and appeared to have been about a week in the water. -^Again.the.' following day, a young womari named Fanny Herbert; who was suffering fi^ui the effects of drink, attempted to comtait suicide by jumping into the yarraybiit was rescued and taken to the lock-up. Ai the City Police Court, next day, she was I discharged, on promising to take the pledge." •:.'-■ The question of the sentences to be passed on the prisoners Mount and Morris for manslaughter on board the brig Carl " was discussed in the. Criminal Court on the 7th inst. The prisoners were indicted v~ under the Imperial Act. \% and 13 Viet.V •; • cap, 96, which provides that for offences committed on the hjgh seas, the aairig . punishment shall be inflicted as was im* posed for a similar offence under any law..---"now"-—that is in 1849— in force in England. The punishment for mag? .* slaughter was then regulated by 'the Act

9 Oeo. IV. cap. 84, which awarded tram portation for life, or for a term of seve years, or imprisonment for four yean Transportation was subsequently abc lished, and by the 20 and 21 Viet. Nc 3, the Courts were directed to substitui the same 'period of penal "servitude fo transportation. It was thus a questio: whether the Court could sentence to trans P?*&!Jffl^ WFMl.Bejcfitnd^-.pr merel to lmphsbntoent. The difficulty in th way of the penal 'servitude is that th< punishment must be undergone at som< place appointed by the Secretary of State the local Executive ha viqg nothing to d( with it ; and" what ajit^ority has a SecreJtoy of State's warrant here ? How car it authorise the removal of a prisonei from one colony to another, or to England? and secondly,, under what authority can. the local Ejecuftye .detain the prisoners until the warrant arrives ? It was urged for the Crown — first, thai these were difficulties that the Court ought not to trouble itself with ; its duty was. t$ pass sentence of . penal servitude, leaving it to the Exe^tive. to carry it out as ■fieat it ppuld ; second, that they were ntrdintfuities at, all^ for when the law authorised ; a sentence of penal servitude it impli«»d the possession of all tHe powers necessary to carry it into effect. The Chief Justige reserved his decision, and the prisongrs, will >not now be sentenced tilt Monday, iSth inst. , „. ..,', Sentence was passed at the Criminal Se^Sfenf^onttie WK ' &&£, on A^he Oppenh'eimer and Adolphe Hamburger, found igirilty 071 -Saturday of conspiracy tQ.cd^ftau^.creditors of the firm of A. Oppenheimer and Co., of which the first-named defendant was senior partner, The; v C(jne£ Justice,'- there were mifigafiiig circumstances in the case, whicH; tßou^B tfiey did not amount to making ' what the defehdantßj._adid_ no offence at Jaw, were material. t,9. be considered in reducing the case for incarceration, and .thought, that a fine would meet the jusiipe of the case. He" therefore fined each defendant LIOO. Ttie^ne-was^aid in as short a time as it was possible to go to the bank for the money and, bring it to the sheriff. Several persons in court, friends of the defendants, offered their cheques for the amount immediately after sentence was pass63;but of cburse cheques could not peLWS¥\Y.ed.. . In fact, .except by those interested in the prosecution, a very general feeling of satisfaction was. enterta^ne'a at .the Chief Justice adopting the view" he did, and of those who heard the trial not a few are of opinion that the defendants—especially the Paris Oppenheimer—have been very harshly treated throughout the whole transaction.