AUSTRALIAN.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 7082, 2 March 1893, Page 3

AUSTRALIAN.

(Per Electric Telegraph—Copyright. ) iPer Press Association.) (Received 0.15 p.m., March 2nd.) DROUGHT IN QUEENSLAND. Brisbane, March 2. The drought inland is having a disastrous effect, and there is no sign of rain. Up to the present 15,000 sheep have perished. REVENUE RETURNS. The revenue returns for February show a decrease of £57,000 as compared with February last year. HESSIAN PLY.

Sydney, March 2. In the Legislative Assembly the Hon. T. M. Slattery, in reply to a question regarding the ravages of the Hessian fly 'in New Zealand crops said the Government had no power to prohibit the importation of New Zealand produce. A ROBBER SENTENCED. George W. Russell,with several aliases , has been convicted of being concerned in an extensive jewellery robbery from the premises of T. Weisner, and sentenced to eight years imprisonment. STOCK BREEDING. A lengthy report on stock breeding in New Zealand has been presented to Parliament, and a similar system of crossbreeding is recommended here. THE BOT-FLY. Melbourne, March 2. A deputation from the Royal Agricultural Society waited on the Minister of Agriculture, calling his attention to the danger likely to arise from allowing the importation of stock from Now Zealand, where the bot-fly ia prevalent. The Minister replied that ha was consulting other Governments on the matter. 3s IN THE £. At a meeting of shareholders in the Real Estate Bank, the liquidators announced that they were advised by counsel that there were no grounds for a criminal prosecution of the directors. It was stated that the creditors were not likely to receive more than three shillings in the pound.