LATER AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1440, 13 March 1873, Page 2

LATER AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

ARRIVAL OF THE RANGITOTO.

GREAT FIRE IN MELBOURNE.

MURDER AT EMERALD HILL.

By the arrival of the Rangitoto last evening, we have Melbourne files to the 6th inst. .The most important incident recorded is the occurrence of a great fire in Flinders lane, Melbourne. On the night of the 3rd a fire broke out on the extensive premises of Messrs Connell, Watson, and Hogarth, general merchants. The building was crammed with valuable stock. Great damage was done ; and the top floor apparently burnt clean out. A large quantity of spirits in the case, and half a ship's cargo of tea, were stored there. The first floor, which was chiefly occupied by oilmen's stores, was considerably damaged, and most of the inflammable goods on the ground floor must have gone likewise. Apparently, no damage was done by the fire to the bonded spirits in the cellars below. The value of the stock was about L 75,000, most of which was covered by insurance. It was a most damaging fire to the insurance companies. They may lose even more over it than they lost at the great Sandhurst fire, which up to the present time was the one which caused them the heaviest losses. Fortunately, the building was of solid blnestorie, and the fire was confined within the four walls. Messrs Banks Brothers, Bell, and Co.'s soft-goods warehouse, on the west side, had a very fortunate escape. A right-of-way, 10ft wide, proved its salvation. The premises of Mr J. G. E\ans, whose stock consisted of fancy goods, adjoined the building where the fire occurred, but there were no windows on that side, and the flames were prevented from spreading over the walls. The roof of Mr Evans's stores was considerably below the level of Messrs Connell, Watson, and Hogarth's lofty walls, another fortunate circumstance, os half the block would probably have been burned down. There was an abundant supply of water. Luckily three months ago an additional main was laid down in the street. The Argus, in further particulars on the sth, states that the total insurance was L 69,103. Messrs Connell, Watson, and Hogarth at once commenced business. They have engaged temporary offices at the corner of Elizabeth and Little Collins streets. The firm have large quantities of goods at the railway sheds and in other bonds, and there are also shipments on the way. . A consider* able amount ot damage was done to the stock of Messra Batiks Brothers, Bell and Co., principally through the hurried removal of the goods anl from water. The damage is estimated at from L2OOO to L3OOO, but it will of course be amply covered by insurance. This store caught fire several times, and but for the energy of the fire brigades and the employes of the firm, the tire might have extended to this building, and the conflagration rendered fur more serious than it was. The stock in Messrs Banks Brothers' store is valued at about L 170,000. In the import markets, the fire, though destroying a very large quantity of merchandise, is not likely to affect any specialty, except candles, on which a slight advance is already required. There was great excitement at Emeraldhill, on the 4th, when it became known that a man had been murdered in Hotham street. At about a quarter to seven, Mrs Curtain, the wife of constable Curtain, was standing at her door, when she observed a man on the opposite side of the way stab another man, who immediately fell down. She at once called to' her husband, who directed the removal of the man to the police station, about IQQ yards distant, and he was carried there, and just as he was laid upon the verandah he gasped two or three times and expired. Meanwhile Curtain proceeded to arrest the murderer, who had retired into his own house, and had got behind the door, which he had left open, and as Curtain was entering the man started forward and made a lunge at him with the weapon previously employed. Fortunately the blow did not take effect, and Curtain at once closed with the murderer and disarmed him. His name is Edward !Carolan, a native of L)ublin, §5 years of age. The knife with which he committed the deed is a butcher's knife, 13in long in the blade. The murdered man is *known as Peter Stephens, about 40 years of age, and it is said he was a cook or washer-up at one of the large restaurants in Bourke street. Some dispute about their wives is supposed to have led to the crime.