INTERCOLONIAL. .

Southland Times, Issue 1812, 28 October 1873, Page 3

INTERCOLONIAL. .

Melbourne, Oct. 20. The strike amoDg the working tailors of Melbourne has now come to a terminsu tion in faVor of the employes. The terms of the "log," submitted by the workmen .to the masters, and accepted by them, provide that first, second, and third class - work shall be paid for at the rates of Is, lid, andlOd per hour respectively, and special charges are laid down to be given for extras! ; <.. ■■ >, : > . ■■ \ Several, leading lawyers and a few pro* mineht Tay men at Ballarat, hate formed the nucleus of an association, to be organisedlis soon as Parliament rises, for '; the purpose of effecting a radical reform in land legislation, taxation, administra< feon of criminal law, the Copstitution, and other matters./ Mr Geo. Higinbotham and one or two men of some position in -Melbourne are said to have signified their vr adhesion to the cause. ■'^ "<■ Pleura-pneumonia has appeared among the herd of milch cows at the Xarra Bend-Asylum. ■. ■ \

The expressed determination ot the Assembly to purchase the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company's line, if it can be procured on anything like reasonable terms, is likely to cause another change in the railway policy of the Government. That policy was framed upon the basis of borrowing only enough money for the Gipps Land line, and appropriating the whole of the revenue to be derived from the special appropriation under the Land Act to the carrying out of other extensions. If, however, the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Company's line is purchased, a much larger loan will be necessary. The cases in which pastoral tenants have appealed against the decision of the Stawell Special Land Board, recommending the forfeiture of their runa for dummyism, are to be heard on the 29th inst. The following are the .names of the runs and of the licensees : — Brighton North, Charles Carter, Samuel Carter, William J. Carter, and John Carter; Warranooke, Charles Ayrey, and Henry Nicol ; Carr's Plains, Alexander Dennis ; 1 Wallaloo Creek, Andrew Anderson ; Marnoo, Martin Shannahan. An illicit still in full work was discovered by Mr Moody, inspector of distilleries, and Detective Lomax, in the yard of a cottage adjoining the West Melbourne Hotel, corner, of Miller and Stanley streets, West Melbourne. It was found that there was communication between the yard of the cottage and the yard of the hotel by , means of a drain Spirits to the amount; of 150 gallons were found in casks. Michael Keane, landlord of the hotel, and Malachi Taylor, charged with knowingly supplying the means and materials for working the still, bave been brought up at the police court and remanded, bail being allowed each prisoner in two sureties of £150 each. The trial of Mrs Elizabeth Shannon, for the murder of her infant child, has been postponed till the November sittings of the Criminal Court. Stdnet. A Mrs Frank, a resident at Araluen, was killed by the kick of a horse. Reports from the Palmer River rush are unfavorable. The population of the colony has increased by 10,000 during the past halfyear. The past quarter's revenue shows £43,857 increase, principally in the Lands and Customs departments. A Bill providing for the election of the Mayor by the citizens, introduced into the Legislative Assembly, was passed by a majority of 38 to 8. The French transport Fenelon, with the wives of 500 Communists, touched here en route for New Caledonia. She has sailed for Noumea. The iron trade delegates have demanded an advance of wages and eight hours' labor. They express their willingness to meet the employers in order to effect as amicable arrangement. The Treasurer delivered his budget speech in the Assembly on the 16th. Last year left a balance of £543,969 as surplus, of which £419,647 has been applied towards the liquidation of the public debt, leaving a balance of £124,322 to the credit of the current year, which gives an actual and estimated revenue of £3,249,135. It is expected that there will be a surplus of £655,280 The Government have now to their credit a bank balance of £1,688,542. The present public debt amounts to £10,495,285. The Treasurer intends paying off the deficiency loan from this year's surplus, and expending another portion on public works, while a portion will be retained to compensate for the abolition of ad valorem duties, which wiil cease on the Ist of January. He has taken off the list of fixed dutieß 32 articles yielding a small revenue, and expects that the new tariff will yield £87,000 next year more than this. In the new tariff there is an increase of 6d per lb on all kinds of tobacco, and the following is the list proposed : — All kinds of spirits 10s a gallon ; methylated spirits, 2s per gallon ; sparkling wines, 6s a gallon: other kinds, 4a; sarsaparilla, not containing more than 25 per cent. o£ alcohol, 4s a gallon; bulk beer, ale, and porter, 6d a gallon ; bottled, 9d; cigars, 5s per lb ; snuff, 2s ; sheepwash tobacco, 3d; opium, 10s; coffee, chicory, cocoa, cholocate, and tea, 3d per lb ; raw sugar, 5s per ewt ; refined do, 6s 8d ; molasses and treacle, 3s 4d ; malt, 6d per bushel ; bops, 3d per lb ; comfits and confectionery, l£d per lb ; cordage, ropes, paints, nails, galvanised iron, 4(te ; vinegar, 6d per gallon ; turpentine, Is ; varnish, 2s; candles, sago, ginger, jams, jellies, all kinds of nuts (except cocoanuts), pre ' serves, biscuits, blue, dates, mustard, starch, salt, dried and preserved fish, preserved meats, blasting powder, Id per lb ; sporting powder, 3d ; shot, 5s per cwt ; woolpacks, 3d each ; bags and sacks I (ore bags excepted), Is a dozen ;. gunnies, 6d ; cheese, dried fruits, pepper, spices, j bacon, bams,2d per lb ; cement, 2s a barrel ; bottled fruits — quarts 2s dozen, pints, Is ; rice, 60s ton ; bar, rod, bundle and hoops iron, 10s per ton ; iron ware, iron castings, rough salt, saltpetre, soda crystals, 20s ; dressed timber, 2s 100 f t; rough and undressed, Is; oilmen's stores — sauces, I pickles, quarts Is dozen, pints 6d ; paper — writing and fancy, Id lb; brown and wrapping, and paper bags, 40d cwt ; all ' kinds of oil, except sperm, black, and | cocoanut, 6d a gallon. Adelaide. It is proposed to issue a pamphlet in order to encourage German immigration. Fears are entertained that the locusts will be troublesome this season. A private : telegram reports the wheat yields in California and Oregon 20 per cent: more than was. anticipated. Snakes are unusually plentiful this season. ' | Four thousand bushels of wheat have been sold at 6s 4d. ' The House refused to go into com- , mittee for the consideration of Mr [Ward's motion to amend the land -laws.

Hobaet Town. The Tasmanian Steam Navigation Company's new steamer Tasman bas arrived from Glasgow under canvas and dismasted. LA.TJNCESTON. A woman named Elliott poisoned her two children by administering a decotion of hemlock in mistake for tansy. One died in a quarter of an hour afterwards ; the other fell down in the street and was taken to the hospital, but is now recovering. The verdict at the inquest was accidentally poisoned. Brisbane. Sub-Tnspector Thompson has sent the following to the Commissioner of Police, dated Cardwell, Oct. 11:—"4 :— " The exploration expedition to the Johnstone, er Grlady's river, has been successful beyond the most sanguine expectations. The river branches four miles from its mouth, one branch leading from a southerly direction, and the other running from the north. The latter is the main stream of the river. The southern branch is navigable for vessels drawing 4ft. of water for six miles above the junction, and 10 miles further for boats. The northern branch is navigable for vessels drawing 12(t. of water for 17 miles from the mouth of the river, and for boats for a distance of four miles further. The land is all dense scrub, and contains 100,000 acres of the richest sugar land in Queensland. From the hill on the southern branch the telescope failed to reach the outer limits of this immense tract of land. The exploration is not yet completed. We have to make for the Endeavor River, but will complete it on oar way back. The water is fresh in both branches of the river at a distance of six miles from the sea. It is a tidal river, but the flood marks do not exceed the height of 15ft. on any part of the banks."