The Australian Colonies.

Colonist, Issue 37, 26 February 1858, Page 4

The Australian Colonies.

We have been informed that a war of extermination has been organized against the blacks in the Dawson district, Moreton Bay, in consequence of the miserable deaths of the Frazer family. On one day, seventy blacks, we are informed, were butchered. Whatever may be said of the provocation, the thing itself is most deplorable were it only for its depraving effects upon the whites themselves, Many a man who has gone out on one of the expeditions for blackshooting most unwillingly has come back with his horror of blood and blood-guiltiness clean gone, and his conscience at the best but half satisfied. Our informant states, not long ago a black has seen his wife violated by a white settler before his eyes, being deterred by a loaded revolver from aiding the struggling poor woman, and although she cried to him, he tremblingly submitted to the outrage. That in the course of the same day, the settler and his man were cross-cutting a fallen log, and the black was placed standing on the log with a wedge and an axe in hand to keep the saw cut open ; and that while the white men were stooping over the saw, the black raised the axe on one side and the wedge on the other, and killed both men in an instant. The black still lives, and has eluded the pursuers ever since. Men, women, and children, in scores, it is said, have been shot, until the air far and wide through the scrub has been tainted with their putrefying bodies.— Freeman's Journal.

A numerously attended public meeting I has been held at the Mechanics' Institution, j Melbourne, for the purpose of securing the co-operation of the public in carrying out the design of the Philosophical Institute, for fitting out an expedition in Victoria for the exploration of the interior. Captain Clarke, R.E., M.L.A., President of the Institute, occupied the chair. Upon this meeting the Herald has the following remarks :—" The Exploration Meeting at the Mechanics' Institution last night was numerously attended. The object, as stated in the placard convening it, was to secure the co-operation of the public, in carrying out the design of the institute, for fitting out an expedition in Victoria, for the exploration of the interior. As yet, however, it is only proposed to send a preliminary expedition from the Darling to the junction of the Victoria (of ■Mitchell]) and Thompson) rivers, and there to establish a depot, on which future expeditions into the interior can fall back. For this purpose it was resolved to ask the Government to place upon the estimates the sum of j€2500, to defray the expense of the expedition, which it is intended shall consist of a leader and four men. The country to be explored lies, in the territory of New South Wales, but it is supposed that by opening it up, great commercial benefits will accrue to: this colony. The sum asked for is not a large one, and it is to be hoped, therefore, that our Government will lend its aid to an enterprise similar to those already launched in the sister colonies, tinder the leadership, in New South Wales of Mr. Gregory, and in South Australia of Mr; Babbage. Too many men have already perished in fruitless attempts to penetrate to the centre of. this island-continent; and the Philosophieali. Institute are only exhibiting a praiseworthy prudence, before sending out another large expedition for the same object, in establishing, as far as practicable, a depot, which shall serve both as an advanced startingpost, and as a safe place to fall back upon in case of need."

In speaking of the harvest in Victoria the Argus says:—"We are now in the midst of a harvest that promises to be one of the most abundant yet gathered in this, the most fertile of the Australian colonies. The term abundant we mean to apply to the average yield per acre, not to the total produce—this will be largely in excess of the amount produced last year, in consequence 6f the much greater breadth of land under cultivation; but we have not this alone to count on, large as the addition will prove to be, but also the greater proportionate yield of most, if not all, descriptions of crop.. We have had a season unusually favourable for luxuriant vegetation, although probably tending more to the development of straw than of grain; There was much rain in the latter part of the spring, and this caused the crops on rich ground to grow too rank; A few very hot days at ; the beginning of summer had rather an injurious effect on the wheat, checking the free circulation of the sap before the heads were well filled; and the caterpillars have been busy in some districts;. Still the in-

jury is but partial, and from the general superiority of the crops through the country, more than an average yield may be fairly calculated upon. To give an idea of what the wheat crops are this season, we may mention that the judges chosen to award a gold medal offered to the grower of the best field of that grain, by Major-General Macarthur, during their tour of inspection in the Melbourne district, entered many fields in which the plants were tall enough to allow of the ears meeting over the tops of their hats, as they themselves stood upright, and this with the heads large in proportion to the bulk of the straw. Still the judges had no difficulty in making their award, one field being decidedly superior to all the others entered for the prize. This was grown without manure, on a piece of red volcanic soil, long since proved to be the best both for agricultural and horticultural purposes. It is quite common this year to hear of crops standing from 6 to 7 feet in height. Away from town, where straw is of no value, many fields, of oats have been cut so as to leave a stubble as high as a man's waist, the straw with the grain being still of the usual length.'' - .

A gentleman in London, well acquainted with Sydney affairs, writes to us (Sydney .Empire) on the 16th of November, in re..ference to the project submitted t0.,., the, : .colony some months back for establishing; steam communication between this port and Panama. We think Mr. Wetton, who has returned to the colony by the Simla, s .will have some difficulty in satisfying his former friends that he has dealt with us fairly. . Our correspondent says: —-"On reading the report of the meeting of the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, I was surprised, after what had passed in Sydney in connexion with Mr. Wetton's visit, to find that the directors had suspended for the present any arrangements for. running steamers between Panama and Sydney. I had an interview yesterday with the Secretary to the company, and from what he said I presume you must have heard before this of the matter. It will be—or perhaps-. has been—a great disappointment to the mercantile public of Sydney to find the opening up of the Panama route is indefinitely postponed, especially after the anxious interest they took in it some months ago in response to the offers of Mr. Wetton, who is certainly responsible for their belief that their assent to his terms would bring the line into operation without further delay. It now appears that all Mr. Wetton was authorised to do was to invite offers from the Colonial Governments for subsidies for the service, which offers would have to be submitted to the directors, to be approved or rejected. The Secretary told me distinctly that the directors never entertained the proposal to start the line upon an annual subsidy of £50,000, as twice that amount would be required to make the service profitable. He further said, that, under any conditions, the service could not for the present be undertaken, for the reason that the companywas a subsidized company; and the Government having determined the Suez route for the Australian postal service, the = company could not start what would be a rival line. The directors did, however, an-j ticipate action in this matter at some future time, but certainly not until the existing line (which as j^ou are aware, they are now working) was thoroughly and successfully established. I suppose, however, these facts have been communicated by Mr: Wetton. himself, and that his mistake has been severely commented upon."

Some weeks ago a man named Charles Collier was met on the Murray near the Ovens by a constable, who fancied that in him he beheld a deserter from H. M. S. Iris. He was accordingly arrested on suspicion, handcuffed, and marched to Woodonga police station, and thence to Melbourne. For three weeks he r was escorted a distance of three hundred miles through the country, and, with the exception of about half a dozen meals, he was fed all that time : . upon bread and water. The constable never once compared the prisoner with the description of the supposed runaway, and on arriving in town the prisoner was brought before the Resident Magistrate, when it was ascertained that the description in no particular tallied with Collier's appearance, and he was discharged. The man has petitioned the Governor for some compensation for the loss of time, incarceration, and ill treatment he has suffered, but it is to be feared with little prospect of success. These speculative arrests are now becoming frequent in the colony. r?.

A writer in the Border Post says:— " Some time past I have been preparing mys.elf for Artesian well sinking, by mar chinery; but what I have finished is not sufficiently powerful to go down 4000 feet, as the bore hole for that depth ought to be about 7^-inches,/and to do the work on a cheap scale, two and four horses ought to be used—when I think the scale of prices would be as near as possible as follows:—- I '

Ist hundred feet... .£45 6th hundred feet .'..; £80 2nd ditto ditt0...... 52 7th ditto ditto ...... 87 3rd ditto ditto. 59 Bth ditto ditto ...„. 94 4th ditto ditto 66 9th ditto ditto 101 sth ditto ditto 73 10th ditto ditto 108 This includes tubinganda bore of 7-Jinches." Some enterprising squatters are about to sink Artesian wells on their runs, thereby greatly increasing the market Value of their property. These wells are also important as a means of making runs valuable which have hitherto been almost worthless for the want of water.

A boy named Edward Charles Puckeridge, aged nine years, was destroyed lately, near, Sydney, under very melancholy circumstances. He had been passing a few days in company with his uncle's family at Botany, and on the. evening in question went with his younger cousin, a lad of fifteen, into a loft where an elder relative named William Puckeridge had left a loaded gun. While the elder boy, James Puckeridge, was playing with or examining the \veapon, it exploded, arid the other received the whole charge (about half an ounce of No. 7 shot) into nis Jibdd-

men. He lingered until three o!clock the following morning, when death terminated his sufferings. The Coroner's jury returned a verdict or accidental death, but strongly censured the carelessness of William Puckefidge in leaving the gun. within reach of the boys. Xn a former number of the Melbourne Fads and Figures, in reply to a question as to the discovery of the bones of.the Dingo, in a fossil state, Professor M'Ooy gave a decided opinion, from the examination of some fossil remains discovered by Mr. Selwyn at Mount Macedon, that the animal was undoftbtedly an ancient inhabitant of this country, and was certainly not introduced by man. As the question is of great interest, the following fact may be useful:—Some time ago, H. Cadogan Campbell, Esq., C.E., .presented me with the skull of a native dog, which was dug out of a bank of sand, underneath a stratum of volcanic ash. Other skeletons of the Dingo had been found, I believe in cutting through the sand, but the remains of the Dingo, of whiclv I possess the skull,-were seen and examined by Mr. Campbell, and dug out under his own eye. This completely establishes the truth of Professor M'Coy's conclusion, and is, I think, a very interesting and important discovery. Mr. Selwyn is well acquainted with the Bleistocene sands, and the mode of occurrence of the strata of volcanic ash in the Warrnambool district, and he is also of opinion that the discovery of Mr. Campbell's is conclusive and satisfactory.-—8.8.5., in Fads and Figures

;.; John Watson Esq., of Illaroo, Tasmania, has been killed. Mr. Watson was driving home in his carriage from town on the evening of January 14, accompanied by some of the ladies of his family. Just after passing Killafaddy the horses shied at a piece of wood! which lay in the road, and the carriage getting off the roadway was overturned. Mr. Watson was so severefy injured that he was taken to his residence in a state of insensibility, and died almost immediately. • Sir Henry Young and his family have taken up their'residence in the new Government House at.Hobart Town. \'

Some year or two since, the v notable Barnum succeeded in a novel endeavour to get up a baby show in America. Should a similar undertaking .be originated.'; by some Australian speculator, a correspondent of the Yass Courier suggests the probability that the prize 'would be carried off by an infant of a settler on Thorsby's Creek, New South Wales, who, although only eight months £lcl» measures 8^ inches round the arm, 10 inches under the knee, and weighs 32 pounds. Of course the little fellow is the delight of his parents, and is in reality one of the finest babies to be met with in the district.

On Sunday, the 10th January, no fewer than six cases of death by sun-stroke, or through exposure to a temperature of 114 degrees in the sun, took place in New South Wales. The parties were Mary Reynolds, of Branxton; Daniel Murphy, of Morpeth; John Baxter, of Gosforth; John Conner, of Jerry's Plains; William Miller, of Vacyi, on the Paterson; and a blacksmith belonging to Bolwarra.

An inquest was held lately in Sydney on the body of George Spain, a seaman, aged 28 years, and a native of Canterbury, England. From the evidence it appeared that deceased was employed discharging a cargo of cedar; about twenty logs had been landed, and they were about landing a very large one, containing 1000 feet of stuff, on the timber carriage, when a link in the chain belonging to the dogs gave way, and the log rolled over on to the deceased before he could get out of the way, and came across his stomach; it was immediately removed, and Spain conveyed to the infirmary. A verdict of accidental death was returned. The wife of deceased died nine months ago, and a Mrs. Price made application to the Coroner to be allowed to keep the deceased's child, and adopt it as her own, and in consequence of her comfortable and healthy appearance the application was granted.

An Association has been formed in Ade-: laide for the purpose of manufacturing wine and distilling spirit from homergrown grapes. The report of the proceedings of the meeting at which the Association was finally organised, evidences a strong disposition to give practical direction to the prevalent convictions respecting the wine-pro-ducing capabilities of that colony. In fact, the Association, should it receive sufficient support to bring it into effective operation, will at once open a way for an indefinite extension of the Australian wine trade, both by means of its own organisation, and by the mode of action which it will demonstrate to be not only possible but also profitable. ' - , l; 4;; , :

Mr. Charles Neill, a squatter on the Urrannah Creek, New South Wales, was found dead a few days ago in the creek, about seven miles from his own station, on Chapman's.run. Deceased was returning home in a gig driven by, a man in his employ, and reached Chapman's station late in the evening. For some purpose or other, Mr. Neill and. his servant went to a wheatstack on the run, where a few spots of blood and traces of a struggle were afterwards observed. The body was found in the creek and exhibited marks of blows behind the ear and on the breast. Deceased's purse and bank passbook were found in the pockets of his clothes. The servant was found stting in the gig nearly twenty-four hours, after he had arrived ■with his employer; at the station; and on being questioned* said he was waiting for Mr. Neill. : ; Foul play was suspected','and ithe; man , was ■ given in, charge, but. was subsequently^ 'discharged by the Wa'gga iWagga Bench, there being no direct evidence ao-ainst him.

---*" A ■ man named John Miller jumped" overboard from a coasting vessel, whilst the latter was 'anchored in Pitt Water, New jSouth Wales, and was drowned. \ Miller, ;whowas labouring under tempprary insanity, had previously attempted to cut his throat.

. The colonial, steamer, the City of Sydney, made her ran to Suez within: a few hours of the contracted time. The Australasian Company- arc-to get £8000 for the job. On the 4th January, Win; Walker, mate of the schooner Mary, registered in Sydney, reported that when at anchor in Pitt Water his cook and steward named John Miller, shipped on the 30th December, in Sydney, came to him late in the evening and said I am going to cut my throat. The captain replied,'nonsense,' and called the mate, on whose appearance Miller went below, making much noise, and calling out murder. The captain and mate confined him in the sail room, were he made so much noise that the captain let him out on his saying that he was now all right* and would, if let loose, put on his clothes and light his fire. Miller behaved like a sane man, and went about his work until past 2 a.m., when the vessel was under weigh, at which time he jumped overboard by the forerigging. All hands were at the anchor at the time he did this. The captain ran to where he heard the splash and saw Miller in the water; the vessel was immediately put about, the anchor let go, and a boat sent in search, but all to no purpose, for in about half an hour the boat returned without having seen anything of the suicide. The night on which this melancholy affair happened was intensely dark, -■■•■: •.•■••' ' : J--:-r -t:-