TASMANIA.

Lyttelton Times, Volume VI, Issue 413, 18 October 1856, Page 5

TASMANIA.

' \NTew Potatoes.—lt' is now about three weeks since potatoes of this year's growth, have been used at Table Cape and its vicinity, show- . ing the mildness of that climate even in the past, which has been an unusually severe winter. A sample forwarded to us are of excellent quality —boil floury, and appear to possess the firmness in quality and nourishment of mature growth. The soil of the farm of Mr. George Wilkinson, of Table Cape, is adapted for the growth of this esculent, and we should suppose, placed within his means a source of wealth, by making "marketable in this town his early produce. Although potatoes of the past season's yield are good, the new growth, if at all approaching to maturity, is generally preferred, and would be purchased by consumers, even at a largo ad.ditional cost. The productions of bounteous • nature, jn all their variety, find-in Tasmania a congenial soil and suitable and agreeable climate; industry arid perseverance on the part of her sons are alono necessary to place them in the posession of every natural and acquirable blessing.—Con/wall Chronicle, Sept. 9. ; The following is an abstract of a return lately furnished to the Government by the immigration agent: —Total immigration to Tasmania at the public expense during the half-year ended 30th June, at 302 souls, or 256 statute adults. The total expense of introduction was £5593 10s., .deducting from which £'367 (deposits received on 44 ordinary family bounty tickets and 49' single tickets), the total cost remains at £5226 10s. In the same document wo find it stated that the number of bounty tickets issued from the commencement

of the system, 24th January, 1854, to 30th of June (but of which only one, in a special case, whs issued dim'ng the past half year) were : on deposit 891 family, and 1329 single tickets ; 124 family, and two hundred single tickets were issued for the United Kingdom, and 100, family, and 200 single tickets for Germany.

Mr. Nicholas Ford, a resident at Port Cygnet, and much respected, was supposed to'have destroyed himself on account of pecuniary difficulties, attributable to the conduct of a party with i whom he entered into business relations. Muedee. —A singular and very interesting inquiry has been in progress at intervals for some time by J.; Whitefoord, Esq., in his^ capacity of coroner, aided by a very intelligent jury, assembled from the neighboui'hood of Pontville, touching the death of Edward Adams, who has been missing from the Old Beach since July, 1854, much to the concern of many respectable neighbours to whom he has he has been long known, and who took an interest in his welfare. By these individuals every inquh-y and search was made after Adams, stimulated by a reward of fifty pounds offered by the Government, without any trace being obtained of him until the beginning of last month, when some constables in quest of runaways found some charred human bones contiguous to a hut on the Cove hill, occupied at the time of Adams' disappearance by one Michaer Maloney, at which hut and in which company poor Adams had been seen on the evening of the day he had last left his house and friends to return no more. Other bones in the same calcined state were found by the inhabitants, who lent their efforts to the search, until they amounted to portions (though minute) of the whole human frame. To these were added the buttons of the unfortunate man's dress, his burnt pocket knife, and in fact some remains of every thing about him at the time of his disappearance, except his money, which he always carried with him. His tools, used by him in his work of splitting and fencing, had been long before found hard by Maloney's hut, concealed, in a hollow .tree, including the axe, in the same state in which Adams had. set off with it to his work after being assisted by one of the witnesses to grind it on the morning of his disappearance. His kettle and pocket handkerchief containing his tea and sugar, were likewise discovered in another spot, adjacent to Maloney's hut. Itwas remembered by all the neighbours that at the period of Adams being missed Maloney had for many nights kept up large fires as for the purpose of burning the grass or turf off a small plot of ground around' his hut; arid more than one of the witnesses disposed, on the inquest, to the offensive smell and dense smoke arising from one of these fires, which were tended by Maloney himself, although at the time of their occuiTence few liked to approach the hut, which was perched on the steep hill side, or to question Maloney, who kept up a fear, previously inspired in those of the Vicinity, by firing off guns and pistols at night at that particular period. Some months afterwards he quitted the neighbourhood and district, unknown to any person, only to be recalled to it a few weeks back to abide the event of the inquiry. A great mass of evidence having been gone into, to the foregoing effect, the jmy on Tuesday last closed the inquest by returning a verdict of wilful murder against Maloney, against whom the coroner accordingly made out a warrant of commitment to take his trial before the Supreme Court in Hobart Town.— Cotcrier. There is no news from the Fingal diggings.