Australian Items.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 15, Issue 764, 24 February 1870, Page 3

Australian Items.

A.KOTBBB Meat Preserving Company has been launched upon the Melbourne Market. Tiie capital ia Used at £IO,OOO in 20.00 shares of £5 each, with liability. The Collingwood Gas Company, Melbourne, has declared a dividend of 10 per cent., and a bonus of Is per share, for the half-year ending 31st December, ,1569. ; L second woollen cloth manufactory has been established at the Barwon, Geeiong, by the Albion Company. Wool-washing ' has been begun there, and in a few days all the machinery would be at work. On the boarding round the Melbourne Town Hall there is'posted a monster bill .or poster of the popular concerts being given in Weston's Opera house, by the Lascelles- Bailey Company. It contains no less than 120 large sheets of paper! The South Australian Assembly have taken up the matter of commercial confederation, and have adopted a resolution in favor of a " commercial federation with an interchange of commodities" between the Australian colonies, including Tas- ■ mania and Mew Zealand. For tlie last quitter of 18G9 the revenue of South Australia was £153,534, and the : expenditure £161,944, showing a deficiency ' of £8,410. The papers speak of the likelihood of a large exodus to Victoria, unless liberal land laws be passed, so as to retain the discontented population. At a meeting of the Church Missionary M Society held in Melbourne on the 2nd inst., the Bishop of Sydney expressed his surprise that the whole Church of England in the Colony of Victoria contributed no more , than £4 last year to the general schemes , of the Church Missionary Society, aad £1 , to the mission to the Jews. A barman at Wagga Wa«ga endeavored to do a sharp thing and faded. A man had "chalked up" 16s 6d, and after the lapse of some time, came to the houso again. He called for two drinks, and gave £1 in payment. The barman impounded the 16s 6d, from the change ; but an action was brought against him, and he was not only compelled to return the 16s 6d but to pay 10s besides in costs. A Melbourne journal learns by private letter from Sydney that a very liberal offer, guaranteed by good backers, has been sent to Mr Phelp?, by Mr William Hos kins, of the Opera House, Sydney, to play a twelve months' engagement in Aus laiia and New Zealand. From the present state of the legitimate drama at home, it is likely to be accepted. Mr Creswick announces, through the London theatrical journals, his intention to visit these colo nies. The Governor of Victoria directs, by J proclamation in the Government Gazette,: that all vessels belonging to or perman-j entlv in the service of to. Government ofi Victoria shall wear the blue ensign, having, m the fly thereof the distinctive badge of the colony, viz,, five white stars represent ing the constellation of the Southern Cross. Subject to the approval of her Majesty, the red ensign, with the same fly. may be worn by merchant vessels registered in the colony. The sugar producing interest; of Queensland seems to be largely increasing. ihe returns made by the Government Inspector for the first three-quartern of the last year, lead to the conclusion that bli) tons of 1863 will be found to have been at least trebled in 1869; and the 35,599 gallons oi rum will have increased to between fifty and sixty thousand gallons. In 1869, seventeen sugar mill* and two distilleries were added to those of the previous year, and not a week elapses but others are contemplated, or in construction. Asa field for labor (says the Melbourne Argus), Australia should be able to present herself to England and fcoEurope asauniiec homogeneous State. For the Briton who quits his native shore there should be but one new Britain in the Southern Ocean ; for the immigrant there should be but one uniform mode of reaching these shores j for the intending settler there should be but one law ; for the merchant there should be but one Customs law; for all of us there should be but one nationality. Toe future destiny of Australia lies in the one word— Federation. A Melbourne paper says:—"lt may be interesting for our agricultural readers to know that the description of wheat known as mummy wheat enjoys a perfect, inunu nity from that plague of moist seasims, the ru»t. This has been proved by Mr Anketell, of Pentridge, who, this year, has half an acre planted with mummy wheat. The crop is a splendid one, the straw being! fully 5 feet high, with very heavy head. liven when the crop has been laid by the wind and rain, there is not the slightest.' sign of rust j while four acres of wheat immediately joining has been seriously injured by this disease." | Wo learn from the Melbourne papers! that it is the intention of the Government j of Tasmania to urge u,jou the Governments' of the other Australian Colonies the-pro-! priety of holding a conference ou the best means of establishing free traJe in the interchange of Colonial products, the conference to bo held hi Apil or May, in the place that may be fixed upon, as most convenient. Mv Capman, the Colonial Treasurer of la,-mania, takes a very warm interest in the movement, and is anxious that a beginning should be made as quickly as possible by two or three of the Colonies, even though the others should hold aloof. Mr Randall, of South Australia, has just returned from Tasmania, and is about to proceed to New Zealand where he intends to ascertain the views of the leading colonists on the same subject.