AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5166, 12 October 1877, Page 2

AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

VICTORIA. There have been heavy floods in Gipps Land. Mr. D. J. Howes, late secretary of the Belfast Shire Council, has been brought up and remanded on a charge of embezzling £137. A man named James O’Toole fell down a quartz shaft at Heathcote, on the Ist inat., a depth of fifty feet, and died the following day. At Hamilton, a man named Robinson, who was suffering from heart disease, had medicine procured for him to take internally, and was also supplied with a liniment for external application. By mistake he swallowed a portion of the latter, and death ensued shortly afterwards. An inquest was held, and a verdict of accidentally poisoned was returned. A public meeting convened by the Mayor was held in the Town-hall, Melbourne, on the Ist instant, to devise means for the relief of the sufferers by the famine in India. His Excellency the Governor was present, and though the attendance was not very large, the people were influential. A committee was appointed, with the Mayor as treasurer. It was announced that Mr. W. J. Clarke had made the munificent donation of £2OOO, and over £BOO was collected in the room in a few minutes. The following were among the donations : The Mayor, 100 guineas; the Hon. W. Campbell, £IOO ; Mr. Francis Ormond, £IOO ; Messrs. James Service and Co., £IOO ; Mr. W. M. Bell, 100 guineas ; his Excellency the Governor, £SO ; Mr. Robert Harper, £SO ; Sir John O’Shannassy, 20 guineas ; the Hon. N. Fitzgerald, 20 guiueas ; and Mr, IV. Siddeley, 20 guineas. At the twentieth half-yearly meeting of the shareholders of the Melbourne Meat-preserv-ing Company, the report stated that the directors “ view with grave apprehension the proposal of the Government to levy a tax on live stock crossing the border into Victoria. Should this proposal be carried into law, the directors believe it must inevitably lead to a large number of sheep being diverted from the local markets, and so bring about a rise in prices, which would render the company’s operations unremunerative. If these anticipations are realised it will only remain for the directors to call a general meeting of shareholders to take into consideration the advi-a-bility of closing the works.”

NEW SOUTH WALES. Sydney, October 1,

A meeting was held at the Town Hall this afternoon, when it was resolved to call a public meeting in reference to the Indian famine. The meeting is fixed for Monday next. The Governor is to be requested to take the chair. The Chimborazo made the run from Heads to Heads in forty-six hours. The Bight Hours’ demonstration was held to-day. The various trades assembled this morning to the number of several thousands at Hyde-park, and after a procession through the principal thoroughfares, embarked in five steamers for Olontarf, where they spent the day. A woman named Anderson, wife of a miner at Wallsead, attempted suicide by inflicting a fearful wound with a razor. Elizabeth Perry has been committed for trial at Newcastle for infanticide. The schooner Mary Peverley returned today from Howe Island witli wreckage from the barque Stalson. On the passage down she sighted a disabled barque, name unknown, with foretopmast and jibboom gone ; and on the return voyage experienced a very heavy thunderstorm on the 26th ultimo, and in the space of one hour sighted eleven waterspouts. She was obliged to shorten canvas to allow them to pass, one being within a mile. Two vessels arrived to-day from Queensland with sugar. Cornsacks are being bought up, and are firm at 10s. 3d. Arrived; Chimborazo, s.s., City of Adelaide, s.a., You Yangs, s.s., from Melbourne; Rotorua, s.s., from Auckland. Sailed: Avoca, s.s., for Melbourne. SOUTH AUSTRALIA. Adelaide, October 1. Six tenders have been received for the construction of the Port Augusta Railway. The lowest is that of D, M. Barry and Co., of

Victoria, £578,820. The others are—Cain, Miller, and Chapman, of Victoria, £657,299 14s. 7d.; Perry, Reeve, and Currie, of England, £661,397; Wishart, Ery, Bailey, and Davis, of South Australia, £666,517 14s. 6d.; Blunt and Co., Sydney, £669,001 11s. 6d ; Overend and Robb, of Victoria, £673,114 Bs. 2d. The successful tenderers will be declared on Wednesday. Eive designs for new Government offices, to •cost £50,000, have been received. Extensive sales of Crownlands are announced to take place at Brisbane on the 13th and 20th of November. The land, which comprises 400,000 acres, in portions varying in area from 640 acres to 5300 acres, is situated in the vicinity of Roma, on the Fitzroy Downs, and the Balonne River, Queensland. It is described as well-watered cooutry, eminently suited for agricultural purposes. Two application for letters patent have been heard and granted by the Attorney-General of Victoria. The first was by Mr. Thomas Thomson, of Bluff Harbor, New Zealand, harbormaster, for an improved clothes-washing machine. The second application was that of Messrs. Munro and Wallace, for certain improvements in sawing machinery, which have been devised principally for the purpose of cutting heavy logs into short lengths for firewood.