Australian Items.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 15, Issue 756, 27 January 1870, Page 3

Australian Items.

It has been officially notified jby the Post Office authorities in Melbourne that on and after the Ist January, 1870, the charges for forwarding mes sages by telegraph from one station to another, within the Colony of Victoria, will be one shilling for every message not exceeding ten words, and Id for every additional word above that number. Press messages will be delivered ;at one half of these rates. On intercolonial messages there will Joe no alteration in the existing charges. This is an excellent example to the neighboring colonies, and one which it is to be speedily followed here. There is little doubt that every reduction in price will increase the business to such an extent that the revenue will scarcely suffer.. A Melbourne paper says that the appeal to the made to the public on behalf the family of the Kev. Mr Hill, murdered while discharging the duties of his ofijce, has been nobly responded to. By the exertions chiefly of ministers of the Wesleyan body, the sura of £2,819 9s lOd has been realised by the contributions made all over the Colony. This sum, together with the ,£2,500 yoted by the Parliament, will be handed over to trustees, and invested in colopjal securities. The interest will be devoted to the education of the children, amongst whom, when tjiey come of age, the principle will be equitably divided. "We learn," says the Maryborough Chronicle (Queensland), " that a discovery has been made within 150

r miles of Maryborough* of a splendu 1 bed of pearl oysters, the nacre of whicl s' is said -to be of excellent quality :1 When we read of t,uch cases as the 2 late massacre at Prince of Wales Is 3 land of those engaged in this trade, il ris satisfactory to learn that equal 1} j good results can be obtained by the i fisheries in our own waters 45 i Mr F. Cotton, jun., of Bentmore. [ Tasmania, communicates to the Hor bart Town Mercury the following acf count of a disastrous sheep-dipping, r which it may be advantageous to make ; widely known ;—“ I dipped a flock of sheep on the 21st inst. at an inter- , val of ten days from their first dipping, 1 which took place about a week after: , shearing. The solution for the first f dipping was a mixture of 2|lbs of arsenic, combined with soda, to the ! 100 gallons of water, to which had been added 201bs of sulphur ; the loss was three sheep. The solution used on the 21st was similar to tbs other, only that it had half a pound less arsenic to the 100 gallons. The loss in the second dipping is fearful; eight sheep were found dead by 6 o'clock in the eveeing, Next morning 36 more were found dead within three-quarters of a mile of the dip, 20 of which were strong wethers, and what may prove be the total loss has yet to be ascertained. In each dipping the sheep were passed through at the rate of 180 per hour, including stoppages.; The temperaure of the solution did not exceed 70°, The sheep were healthy, and all but free from scab. 55 Here is another illustration of the | precocity of young Australians, “On Sunday morning, 55 says the Talbot Leader, “ information was given to the police that two children, belonging to 1 a miner named Scott, residing at Kangaroo-flat, had left their home. i Their ages are 10 and 12 years. They had been scolded by their parents and it is supposed left home in conse- ( quenee. The last heard of them was i that they were about the town on 1 Saturday night inquiring for situa- 1 tions. 55 It is not stated whether they applied for the managership of a rain ! ing company, or for the superintendence of a flour-mill; but, no doubt, they were “ equal to either fate. 55 —Argus. ; Eccentricity in writing testimonials ' was perhaps never so umnistakeably evinced (remarks the Ballarat Courier j as at the meeting of the hospital com- i raittee last night, when the applications for the appointment of dispen- 1 ser were being read. In one case it was solemnly declared that the appli- , cant was a worshipper in the church of the writer's grandfather, while in a second it was made a prominent feature of the candidate’s qualification for the office that he was “ descended from honorable stock. 55 In a third instance the candidate alleged that one of the reasons for the general depres sion of business in the place where he then resided was the fact of his chil dren being left motherless. Is not this sufficient to raise the risible faculties of even a hospital committee? The Kyneton Observer says ;~Now that the hot weather is upon us, several housekeepers have been induced to try the preservative powers of the bi-sulphate of lime, and the result, as reported to us, has been very satisfactory. By its use joints of meat have been kept perfectly sweet for a month, and even milk has been preserved for eight or ten days by covering the vessel containing it with a cloth dipped in the preparation. As the bi-sulphate is procurable at Is 7d per bottle, and the process of applying it is simply to brush over the , meat with the preservative, the experiment is within the reach of everybody. ■ Joints treated after this fashion can be huug as long as required, and thereby tfie meat becomes tender and palatable. The, practice of eating fresh-killed meat in hot weather is very unwholesome, and can be avoided by the use of the bf-sulphate.