AUSTRALIAN ITEMS.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 13, Issue 652, 1 February 1869, Page 3

AUSTRALIAN ITEMS.

THE DROUGHT. The Deought ox the Lachxah. —The diasastrous effects of the prolonged drought (says the Beporter of the 9th January) are beginning to be realised with something like their awful reality. On everv hand flocks of sheep are to be seen travelling for feed, 6ome of which are so reduced in numbers and condition as to have become almost valueless ; the poor creatures are dropping at the roadside unable to travel further. The putrid carcases of cattb and horses are beginning to strew the plains in every direction, polluting the air and spreuding pestilence around. Should rain be withheld much longer the destruction will be something fearful to contemplate. N T o rain, and but little water in the river, which Ims not only ceased running, but is reduced to a chain of unconnected waterholes Bush fires are raging around, lighting up the horizon ; one, which has broken out on Clement's run is very extsnsive and has been burning for a week, having surmounted the high.land of Eu gowra. The flames may now be seen towering above the tops of the tallest gums ; the fire has evidently got firm hold of the heavy timber, and will probably take some time to burn out. The reflection of another conflagration was seen in the direction of Cowra, but we h ive not learned any particulars.

The "Weather at G-iceneell. The Mining Record of the 9th. January observes : —No rain, the dams are all dry but Wellington' i», and almost every blade of grass burnt up for miles round the town ; such is our condition at the present tune. Each day the thermometer stands in our office at 100 degrees to 102 degrees, and the dust in the town at times is almost unbearable. Our distant readers will admit that, if we are to be envied for our large cakes of gold produced from some of our rich reefs, there is in such a summer as the present a dark side to the picture. We have made inquiries of two credible and 'well informed witnesses, and they tell us that such a season as the present is almost unprecedented. One of these persons has been a resident in these parts over twenty years, and he says that, with the exception of two summers fifteen years ago, he never saw any sea'son nearly so bad. The other was shepherding here for about eleven years, up to a year or two ago, and ha* never seen any filing to equal the contimi ous heat and drought we are now enduring It is as well these statements should be understood, as it is stated by many persons, who only speak by rumor, that wo m.'iy expect this kind of summers frequently. There w:is heavy rain at various places within ten miles of Grenfell, on Thursday, but we did not get a drop.

Scarcity or Watjge at Batiiurst.— The prolonged drought (says the Times of the 9th January) u beginning to bo felt severely, even in the town, many of the wells having become dry, and the inhabitants compelled to purchase water fur domestic purposes. During the last few days water carts have bi j en plying about the upper parts of the town, and have done a very good trade. It is to be hoped that their services will not be required much longer. The Macquarie Eivor is now (in in several places, and it is staled that it has not been in such a condition for the last twenty-five yeurs.— The Wellington correspondent of the .Free Press laments in the following strain : — No wheat, no grass, no vegetables, the prospect of very little fruit, and no money, is at present our melancholy position, owing to the interne heat a';d drought of four successive seasons. It is pitiable to see the miserable state of the poor sheep, travelling through, (lock after flock, many of them so thin that their carcases appear scarcely able to hold the feeble spark of life left in them. It is to be hoped that a few good showers may fall before the close of the eumrner, or the -oots of the grass and herbage will be entirely destroyed. The roads are cut up into dust canals, and every passing team or flock of sheep raises a dust th<t may b:> seen for miles, covering our houses, ourselves, and our effects with a portion of the road ground finer than flour. In moderately moist seasons the crops of wheat grown in this di-tiict have been enormously large, and no part of the colony would be more fertile were moisture supplied by artificial means in the absence of rain. The Drought on the Darling.—The Wagga Wagga Advertiser's correspondent presents the following unpleasant picture : —i\ T o news of rain having fallen over the Darling country inspires us with fresh apprehensions as to the deplorable condition of the district. Many sheep have been turned adrift, and are wandering shepherdless and in a wretched state, across the arid plains. The rising dust becomes incorporated with the fleece and destroys the fibre of the wool. To such an extent does this obtain that we have seen a dirty, dusty fleece removed from a sheep's back which, when weighed, drew the scale at 25 lbs. No amount of washing could altogether remedy this. Should no rain fall within the next three months, it is not hard to predict the fate which awaits the capital so lavishly invested heretofore in a country which can only yield a successful return under certain conditions, that is to say when the seasons are more favorable, and prices are something considerably higher than have been ruling lately, whether it be for fleece or carcase.

Ooopee's Cheek. — A letter from the correspondent of the South Australian Register, dated 21st Dec, says :—-At last I have the pleasure of reporting that we have heen favored with a little rain. On Wednesday last it begun, and lasted an ! hour and a half. It was not sufficient to do

the country any good, but still it was a great relief to see rain once more after ten months. The rain seems to have been stronger to the east and south. After this the weather has set in very hot, and the claypans in our neighborhood are perfectly dry again. This weather seems to have had its bad influence not only upon the health of white men, but upon the blacks too, there being at present many of them very ill with dysentery. The black? are in great fear that deaths will fjllow. Nothing has been heard about the flood, and the water of our lake (now the only one in tins part of Cooper's Creek that still keeps water) is going back rapidly. It is impossible to say how long it will stand, but certainly not very long should this weather continue.

The Troubles oe Carriers.—The Walgett correspondent of the Maitland Mercury gives a fearful picture of the state of the country in that district, and specially refers to the sufferings of carriers. He writes : With carriers who venture into this terra incognita, the losses are heavy. The draught animals are usually so reduced that no back loading is attempted, and in two instances we have heard of the whole of the poor brutes dying, the drays being left, and the unfortunate drivers making their way home on foot. Within sight of our sanctum there is a loaded dray standing; this has been in statu quo for some time ; the carrier drove this far, but as nothing but the starvation of his team stared him in the face, he unyoked the animals, left the drays, and fled from the place as if it was plague-smitten. In his flight he met other carriers loaded for the Sahara; pauic-slruck, they did likewise, and the position of thoso parties who have been for months anxiously anticipating their loading is better imagined than described.

An Incident ob the Drought.—The Molong correspondent of the Western Examiner relates that, from the severe drought, a new crime has sprung up in this neighborhood, A gentleman who possesses a paddock within a mile ol the town h'id a suspicion that some person was in the habit of stealing water therefrom; but (catch q weasel asleep!) the gentleman hid himself several nights among the rocks, and at l<st. succeeded in catching a young ruffian., about ten jears of age, purloining over two gallons of the precious liquid. Instead of making an example of the whole family connected with the boy, the gentleman generously told tliem that if they brought him two pounds by 9 o'clock next day, he would not prosecute the matter further.

MISCELLANEOUS EXTRACTS.

Preserved Beee —Yesterday, at 11 o'clock, a number of tho captains of ships in harbor, with others interested, met, at Messrs Barron and Austin's store, to open seven half-pound tins of raw beef-steak, preserved by Mr Manning's process. There were two tins opened. The contents of one tin had been preserved for eleven weeks, and one tin for seven months, h was grilled at Tilfold's, .Royal Admiral Hotel, and eaten at -Barron and Austin's stores, and pronounced and certified to as equal to any butcher's meat. There was also shown one tin, the contents having been kept exposed to sun, night air, &e., for twelve months. It is thought that this preserved beef may prove equal to any class of preserved meats, and ultimately do away, to a great extent, with salt beef for ship's use. —Sydney Morning Herald, 12th January.

Animal Poisoning.—The danger of in any way meddling with sheep dying in the bu>h (says the' Wajrga Wagga Express) we have iii common with many of our contemporaries, times out of number pointed out, and the fatal consequences that have so frequently overtaken shepherds and others who have either reck'es.sly or ignorantly braved the dangers of skinning dead sheep, have so strongly enforced the necessity for caution that we were beginning to hope that wo should never have another of these eases to report. This hope, howaver, we regret to state, has not been fulfilled, for though no deaths have lately occurred from this cause, most pcoplo in the district having refrained from handling all sheep that thoy may havo had reason io believe have died of the Cumberland disease, experience has shown that the deadly virus from a diseased animal may bo communicated to the human system even in cases where no direct contact with his ca-case has taken place, and a man is now lying in our hospital so dangerously ill from the effects of animal poison indirectly communicated to nim, that, even as we write, his life may be said to be trembling in the balance. It appears the sufferer in the ease wo refer to is a man named Alexander Robertson. On Wednesday last he was preparing to destroy by fire a dead sheep lying upon the rosd, about 20 miles from town, when a fly from tho carcase alighted upon a little sore usjon his arm. lie took but little notice of the occurrence at the moment, but soon afterwards his arm gave him givat pain, and began around the spot to assume an angry and inflamed appearance. The sad experience of those around him was sufficient to convince them that in the threatening swelling there lurked the malignant virus of animal poison, and without loss of time they placed him in a cart and sent him into the hospital. Dr Robinson immediately pronounced their surmises to be correct, and employed the remedies he has adopted with such success iu the cases we have before reported in our columns, but tho sufferer notwithstanding still lies in a very precarious state. There is no doubt but that the poison was in this case communiceted from the body of the dead sheep to the blood of the patient by the

chance settling of a fly upon his arm. The incident has revealed to us a new and unexpected source of danger, and it is to be hoped will operate as a warning to all persons engaged in pa toral pursuits not only not to touch, much less to skin, dead sheep, but also to keep as far as possible away from the vicinity of their carcases.

The South Australian Harvest.— From an Adelaide journal of 31st Dec, we take the following:—We are in the midst of a splendid harvest. We have passed through a season of fear and trembling lest the terrible plague of red rust should visit and scourge us again. But happily the crops have escaped anything [ike serious damage, and we shall have an average of about 12 bushels to the acre over from 500,000 to 600,000 acres sown with wheat. This will allow us to export from 1,000,000 to 1,250,000 bushels of wheat, after supplying our own wants and reserving sufficient for soed corn for next year. Our prospects are, therefore, decidedly brightening, and we can confidently anticipate that 18-9 will be a more prosperous year than 1868 lias been. Sunday Work. —A telegram in the Sydney Herald says:—"All Sunday traffic on the Northern railway (Adelaide) is to be discontinued after Sunday, 17th Jan "

The Supposes Case of Small-pox in Melbourne. —On this important matter, we find the following in the Melbourne Herald, 7th Jan.: —"Although the report circulated yesterday of a case of small»pox having been admitted into the Melbourne Hospital proved incorrect, there are reasons for believing that the authorities are not uuite satisfied as to the nature of the disease which has attacked the patients who have been received into the Immigration Hospital. During the last few days, the residents in the neighborhood have

taken alarm at the frequency of the cases admitted into the hos. ital and they are inclined to the belief, notwithstanding the difference of opinion which prevails amongst

medical men as to the nature of the disease, that there is just ground for fear lest

it should bo of a contagious character. Whatever the nature of the disease may be, the local board of hedth has wisely taken upon itself the enforcement of measures to abate the malady. Dr Girdlestone, the Health Officer of the city, was instructed to adopt such sanitary measures is in his opinion the exigencies of the cases demanded, and during yesterday the sewers were Hushed with a solution of carbolic acid, and every house in Shamrockalley has undergone fumigation. Dr M'Graurin, of the immigration Hospital, was yesterday vaccinating all persons in the locality, so that it will be soen that every possible precaution has been taken. A deputation consisting of his Worship the Mayor, Dr Girdlestone, Or M'Pherson, and the Town Clerk waited upon the Chief Secretary yesterday, to lay before that gentleman an application to close the Immigration Hospital for the reception of small-pox patients. Mr M'Culloch sent for the Chief Medical Office, and it was decided at the interview that no more cases houlu be admitted into the hospital, but be taken to tho Xioyal Park. The residents in Shamrock alley intimated their intention of leaving the lane, but Cr Fen wick visited tiie place at a kite hour last evening, and with other gentlemen, to some extent allayed their tears. All the cases under treatment presumedly affiicted with this apparently contagious disease are patients who have been residents wiihiu the immediate precincts of the Immigration Hospital. There is so much conflict of opinion as to tho nature of the sickness with which more particularly the residents in the vicinity of the hospital have been attacked, that it is probable the Government will authorise a commission of inquiry into the circumstances which up to the present time have obtained publicity."

St Marx's Pro-Cathedral. —A meeting was held last evening, in St Frances, Campbell-street, for the purpose of raising funds for the erection of another temporary cathedral. The Rev., Mr Shendan presided, Archbishop Polding being un* avoidably absent. Tho meeting was addressed by Mr John Buriow, Mr M. Farreli, Mr Jj. Bergin, and other gentlemen. The handsome sum of £203 9s was contributed.—Sydney Morning Herald, 12th January.

High Prioe eor Flour.—The Maitland Mercury's VValgett correspondent states that flour is very scarce on the Barwin just at present, and more so on tlie Warrego j on this fist-named creek it is £7O ton. At Bourke, we hear it has reached £SO At Brewarrius it is very scarce. At the Yowindah stores it is £45 ; whiio at this township it is at present unprocurable. This is one of the concomitants of drought.

Violent Hail-storm and Desteuction oi? Property at Dubbo. —On the afternoon of Wednesday, 6th Jan., (says the Dispatch), about half past 2, the weather (which during the clay had been very close) suddenly changed, and a heavy wind commenced to blow. It continued for about ten minutes, when it was succeeded by a shower of hailstones, which fell fast and lurious lor some time. Most of the stones were «s large as marbles; and the novelty was such—for a hailstorm is a rarity in these parts —that some amused themselves picking them up and consuming them, thus enjoying what is very unfrequent hero in summer, a feed of ice. JHo sooner had the hailstorm subsided than heavy rain set in. The water came down in torrents ; and one could hardly see across the street the rain clouds blew so thickly. For twenty minutes the water poured with surprising volume. At about three o'clock the storm subsided ; but so violent and I heavily had the rain fallen during the short time it lasted, that the streets were covered

with water. The flats at the back of thetown towards the racecourse were also under water. Some damage was done during the storm. The Catholic church in Maquarie-street was blown right down. The building, which- *was a wooden strue-. ture, had been erected about sixteen years. The altar furniture and vestment case that were in it were fortunately uninjured. The hailstorm has, wo fear, played havoc with the fruit crop.

I A Prolific Chop of "Wheat.—We (Tamworth Examiner) are informed of an unusually large yield of wheat, which was obtained from a plot of ground within a mile or two of town. The owner (Mr W. Lye, senior) states that he put fire acres under wheat on his farm at Neminga Flat, four of which were sown with the goldendrop variety, and one acre with red Californian seed. The seed was very much siiri veiled, so much so that, of every three bushels put in to soak, one-third floated on the water. The latter was given to the fowls, and the remainder sown. He used one pound of bluestone to every bushel, and not the slightest sign of smut is visible in the grain. This is much more than the usual quantity, but he thinks it much better to uso a strong solution. The five acres were reaped lately, and the yield was forty-eight bushels to the acre j the best return we have heard of this season. The wheat is a splendid sample, and equal toanything brought into town. The most surprising feature in this case is the lateperiod at which the crop was sown j the golden-drop was put in on the Ist July, and the red California!) on the Ist August* It came up so that many persons advised him to sow maize amongst it, but it eventually stooled out, and the result is as given above.

Death of a Chinaman from Burning!-.. —lnformation reached town on Sunday (sajs the Braidwood Dispatch) of the discovery of the remains of a Chinamen at Jembaicumbene, who had been burnt to death on that day. Senior-sergeat Duffy, accompanied by some other members of the police force, at once proceeded out there, and a magisterial inquiry was held before Mr J. 11. Griffin, J.P., at Jembaicumbene, on Monday—the coroner, Dr Pattison, being unable, through illness, to attend and hold the usual inquest before-a jury in such cases. From the evidence it appeared that the Chinaman, whose name was Fung Pot, was subject to fits, and while cooking was seized with one, and, falling into the fire, was so severely burnt, that he died a few days after. Extensive Bush Fires.—The Bombala Times reports that Panbula, Eden, and the Bega district have of late been the scene of fearful conflagrations. At Panbula five houses besides fencing and grass, including Mr Bennett's new cottage, have been burnt to the ground. Between Eden and Panbula, raging fires have swept everything before them. Tne road from Rocky Kali to Panbula is strewn with timber, and most of the bridges burnt down. Atliocky Hall and for miles around, there is scarcely a blade of grass left. Messrs. E. O. and A. Moriarty had a very narrow escape from perishing in the flames. They left Eden in a buggy, en route for Monavo, via Panbula, and it appears that fires wera raging all around them ; but being anxious to reach their destination, they persistently endeavored to beat through the flames. At last it became so very dangerous that the gentleman thonght it prudent not to proceed any further with the buggy. After stopping the horse, Mr A. Moriarty proceeded along the road to reconnoitre, in order to ascertain if they could with safety travel any further. He found it impossible, so he turned back, and, with considerable difficulty reached the buggy. Both gentlemen returned to Eden after sustaining a severe scorching.