INTERCOLONIAL INTELLIGENCE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume III, Issue 63, 16 March 1868, Page 3

INTERCOLONIAL INTELLIGENCE.

The Victorian Parliament was to be opened on the 13th iust. For the last week the weather in Melbourne has been excessively hot, and the Ist inst. was the hottest day of the present summer. The highest readings of the thermometers at the Melbourne Observatory were — In the sun, 146 deg.; in the shade, 104 deg. 6 min. There has been a great fire in Collingwood, adjoining Melbourne, by which seven houses were destroyed. The trial of Harry Jones and Barnett Thompson, for the Casino robbery, has resulted in their beiug discharged. Mr C. B. Fisher intends to dispose of the whole of his racing stock by lottery, 2000 members at £10 each, making £20,000. The raffle will not be confined to Victoria alone, but tickets will be distributed in all the other colonies. The scheme appears to be warmly taken up, not only in Victoria, but in the neighboring colonies. Already a large number of shares have been applied for. The trial trip of the screw steamship John Penn, called after the engineer of that name, and built expressly for the cattle and passenger trade of the West Coast of New Zealand, was made on the sth, and proved highly satisfactory. The run, a distance of 24| miles, occupied, without driving, two hours and seven minutes. An eight pound nugget has been found in the sludge, at the Old Lead, Dunolly, by four Chinamen. The dirt in which it was discovered was thrown away, years ago, as valueless. The gold, it is said, will yield a dividend of £95 per man. Another telegram states that a nugget weighing over 60 ounces has been found at the Gladstone Company's claim, Gooseberry Flat. A telegram from Kilmore, in tho Melbourne Herald of the sth says : — Very extensive bush fires are now raging about six miles from here, on and about the Mount William range. Four large fires are distinctly visible, one of them being especially graud, extending in a complete belt of fire from the top to the bottom of the Mollison range. The loss to the farmers will be immense. It is feared that some dreadful tragedy has been recently perpetrated in the very heart of Melbourne, and which is about being brought to light, a fulUgrown human hand wrapped in a piece of brown paper, having been found wrapped in a piece of brown paper, in a yard at the corner of Stephen-street and Little Lonsdale-street. The news from Queensland is to the 6th March. At that date there were thirteen thousand men on • the Maryborough diggings. The rush was greatly overdone, and there was shortly expected to be much distress on the field. The Brisbane Courier of the 21st ult. says : — There, is nothing at present at the diggings to justify the rush which is talked of. A good deal of ground has been prospected, but nothing further has been discovered. H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh, accompanied by his Excellency Earl Belmore, and several members of the Go-

vernnient, landed at Newcastle on the 4th instant, in the presence of some thousands of spectators, by whom they were enthusiastically welcomed. As previously arrauged, the National Anthem was sung, and a procession and levee took place. The distinguished party left Newcastle for Morpeth and Singleton, at 3 p.m., by special train. The Government of Queensland is being administered by Col. O'Connell, the President of the Legislative Council, until the arrival of Major Blackall, the uew Governor. A pugilistic encounter which took place between two magistrates in the Macleay district is now under investigation by the Government of New South Wales.