AUSTRALIAN ITEMS. FROM THE VARIOUS PAPERS

Colonist, Volume III, Issue 218, 22 November 1859, Page 3

AUSTRALIAN ITEMS. FROM THE VARIOUS PAPERS

Three men who were in custody of the police at Tasmania, tn route to the gaol on a charge of cattle stealing, by some moans got possession of the constables'arms, when a desperate light took place between them. One of the police received two bayonet wounds and was fired upou, the..bullet passing through both liis arms. The two other constables were also severely wounded, and the prisoners then escaped. The Bendigo Mercury of the 14th instant states that diptheria is still making sad inroads on the youthfull populati >n. A medical gentleman of that town attended no less than nine new cases in o-ie day, in the early part of the week.

A man named David Cleary has been committed at Hohart Town to take his trial for the murder of his wife. B>th parties had been drinking, and in a quarrel Cleary inflicted such serious injuries as led to the death of the nnfortunafe woman.

The Hobart Town Mercury states that an infant, about two years of age, daughter of Charles Underwood, the snake antiilote man, picked up at South Arm one of the largest specimens of the whip snke about two feet in length. The child trod upou the reptile, and taking hold of it cirried it to her father, with >ut the animal attempting to bite her.

The gross receipts on account of the late Caledonian fetes at Melbourne amounted to £1450.

In Sydney, Mr. Abraham Polaok, the wellknown auctioneer, as been committed for trial at the instance $i Mr. W. P. Moflur,. solicitor, for having induced that gentleman, uriler false pretences, to cash a bill for him to the amount of about £ 140.

The first public meeting in connection .'with' a society recently farmed uuder the name of the "Sydney Female Temperance .S >ciety," took place on Friday week at the City Mission Chapel, Sussex-street. Amongst the speakers two or three female adherents addressed |he meeting, a Mrs. Rosehy thus expressing herself: —"She had often thought, when hearing of the insolvency of wine merchants, that it was the Lord's curse on the traffic." .

The Illawarra Express. —The first number of this long-expected journal made its appearance on Saturday last. On its literary merits it it not our province to pass judgement. Of its typography, getting-up, and general appearance, we must speak in terms of unqualified praise, It is to be a bi-weekly (so says the Editor), " and in the fullest acceptation of the term, a liberal paper. It will cordially, advocate every political measure which the conductors may regard as likely to conduce to the public welfare. It.will not be the tool of any faction or clique; nor will it become the advocate of any of those forms of sectarianism which exist in the colony. It will treat all religious bodies alike; and show favor to none. It is desigued to be a political, literary, and scientific newspaper; and not an ecclesiastical journal. The great aim of its conductors will be to make it a perfect reflex of the spirit and body of the time."

The Municipal Council of Illawarra have resolved on borrowing .£4OOO, for the improvement of the streets, and the Government have sanctioned the same.

Moruya.— Notwithstanding the protracted drought the different crops look remarkably healthy and thriving. I have noticed in particular some breadths of maize and potatoes ; —the former on the Mullenderee, and the latter on the Kiora estate—which appear equally forward and promising with any suph as are seen at this season of the year. The present depressed state of the markets has not discouraged our farmers from again putting considerable areas of land under, culture of these staple productions of the district. A few genial showers on Thursday last relieved, in some measure, the parched condition of the soil, and we live in hope that the many, indications of a change which from to time exhibit themselves but to disappoint us will soon result in the of the weary and thirsty earth.—The land sale on the 24th and 25th instant was fully and respectably attended. Several allotments, varying in extent from thirty acres to half-an-acre, were disposed of, chiefly to landowners and settlers of the district. Most of these, gave rise to much spirited competition, and realised high prices. One small allotment of ha!t-an-acre, lying within the township reserve, fetch&d; a% much as thirty-five pounds, a fair index to the confidence with which is. r,esas;ded by the settlers the future, of Moruya township. -—lllawarra Mer- \ mry.

As a specimen of " bush justice" we quote the following from the Bathurst Free $?ss, leaving the reader to draw, his, ow,n §oßjClusion3 —" As the Police fyfagistrata of; Oar,coar, Os. C. Beardmore, Tfisfr, was returning from Canow.ii>dra to Carcoar, accompanied by constable Gunn, he overtook a carrier, named Cummings, whom the P. M. charged with being drunk, and using obscene language on the. previous day. He acknowledged his guilt, so far as the charge of drunkenness was concerned, expressed his sorrow for the offence, and promised reformation. The P. M., however, found him guilty upon the spot, and fined him MB, taking his order on one of the Carcoar storekeepers in payment of the amount. The storekeeper, on the presentation of this order, refused to honor it, on the ground that the fine was illegal."

Frederick Clark, a carpenter, in the employ of Mi.W. W^t^qjf Mdtango, h^S be^n apprehended on sdspicton of being the murderer of the two shingle splitters, Angel and Macnamaning. ;" '-"■■'■;■■■■■: ";■ "' "■■.."'. :i

The Government has granted 200 acres of land, being a portion of the old Missionary Reserve, for a common at Wellington, New South Wales.

A counter : petition bearing 424 signatures has been forwarded to the Government, against the: erection of Parrainatta into 3 mtitiicipality. <uVI " '■" "

%.'^n innkeeper, of fanning, was 'lately stb^d'by busiiraugers whilst on his way from Qld'Mefagle"' tb Moodie's Inn. After giving them thes'contents of b^s pockets, they topk hipft into t^e bwih, stripped hir« naked! tp,re his Jplot>hes into ahreds, and then ripped out th.c lining qf his hat in which they found £2* Mr, Smith has given a description ' 1

At the Circuit Court at Grafton, out of a population numbering about 3000, with a fy^ting population of gold dig^, to a similar extent, there y^as one criminal case^ for nearing, '^ose' cases that 1 cain,e under the notice of the court its civil jurisdiction. This ,!aLpVo^lfVous:'and healthy §tate of

j An amateur performance was lately giveni at ; HolJart Town, for the benefit of the widow till i children iof the late G. t>. Brown, who was a jmefoberof the, Oddfellows',society, wheo the :liain.lsonie sum of £136 10s. was realised. A! Mrs. Lindon, of Sugarloaf Flat, near Goulburir, lately killed three black. snakes in about as many minutes; they were all at least five feet long. The steamer Eagle brought to Sydney a few days ago an alligator measuring nearly 20 feet. Alligator hunting promises to be a favourite as well as lucrative pursuit at the Fitzroy, the one above alluded to having been purchased far £60, and it was expeoted several others which had been Been would be shortly captured. Tlie whole bench of magistrates at Mudgee, about ten in number, have forwarded their resignations to the Givernor-General, in consequence of the dissatisfaction they feel at some recent appointments to the bench.

The gross weight of the prize ox exhibited at the lute Agricultural Show, at Lauuceston,' was 2,471 lbs.

On the Rock Lead, on Friday evening, a boy, aged six years, came to his death through au act of inc-iutiousness on the part of his parents, both of whom were absent at the tent at the time the affair happened. It appears that a bottle half filled with whisky s'.oud on the table, the boy, taking advantage of the abs'-nce of his parents, took a tumbler, and then drank it off. . On the return of the parents he was found in a most deplorable condition, being in a state of mid intoxication. He lingered until the following morning, and then died— 'Back Creek Advertiser.

Suicidi^Onr- late Port Philip papers bring

us the .'painful iiitnlli^nce that Mr. J. W. Roiclie—so well known in former years in Sydney, as thvi landlord of the Rainbow Tavern, corner of Pitt and King-streets, and celebrated as, perhaps, not only tlie b«st billiard player in this city, but unequalled in the Australian colonies in this scUntifio game—had committed. stiioide at Melboiunt', by hanging himself. The unfortunate 'individual, after his departure from Sydney, resided in.London for some years, and then came out to Port Philip, purposing after a little to return to Sydney. The effects of excessive indulgence, however, were, that in a state of delirium tremins he committed suicide. Loss of Cattle.—During some months a considerable number of cattle have died in New England, apparently through the effects of disease rather than Scarcity of food, as cattle in good condition have frequently been ca.ried off first. The legs are paralysed, and the animals' not being able"to get up or walk, die from starvation Working bullocks and Milchcows are the principal victims.-^raK&zte Express. Remarkable Preservation. —A most remarkable instance of preservation of life occurred a few days ago at the Huntly diggings. It appears that in that portion near to the Sir Henry Barkly Hotel, an Epsom miner, of the name of Webb, accidently fell down a shaft of 72 feet in depth, and escaped unhurt. There was a large heap of pipe-clay at the bottom of the shaft, which no doubt made it a little soft for him.— Bendigo Mercury. Colonial Produce. —Tasmania pays annually for meat imported the enormous sum of £120,000; she pays also for butter the sum of 4J20.000 ; malt is also largely imported. In addition to these articles, which we ought to be in a condition to export, we import also large quantities of ale and porter, both in wood and bottle; spirits are an article of large coasump-

tion. Without going beyond our province, or in any way to tend in our remarks upon the fiscal policy of the Government, we wish to urge, not upon the Goverai»ent, but upon the people, the absolute necessity of producing a large portion of tke articles we have mentioned above. Ireland, a little larger than Tasmania, with forty times the population, exports about ojiq and a-half million pounds worth of butter

alone per year, while we import this article to

the enormous value as stated above. We will treat upon this one article of import first. It may be taken as an index of the others. We wish to impress upon our country friends, the value to themselves of a good dairy, and without they will perceive this, it is, we know full well, useless to impress upon them any other argument. Those who will not look to their own interests^ care little for any benefit to their country. Nothing will pay so well in Tasmania las a good dairy farm ; the average price of good butter is highly remunerative, whi\© there is ample demand, as is proved by tW imports to so large an extent. Viotqafia also imports butter to the value of. ©Jos%on three-quarters of a million annu.aljy,. Here then is a field of industry^ a, t^a^ket of unlimited extent, and which , market is at the entire command of Tasuaanian

farmers, if they only exert themselves; 300

acres laid down as a dairy farm will pay better than 500 acres under cultivation for grain crop. The large sum yielded by a dairy farm from butter, cheese, calves, pigs, and many other

adjuncts to a large dairy are only known to those who have tried. We again urge this subject in its practical operation upon our country friends, assuring them they will never regret a fair trial.— Bell's Life in Tasmania.

The Braidwood Diggings. —The Observer of Saturday reports that, since the rain a material improvement is observable on the various dig-

gings. On. the Church and School .Lands,

average wages are obtained, and there h little doubt but that the ground wi)L be profitably worked during the present s^mrae,i". At Bell's ? Paddoc^ ar/pMorejng's Flat, those employed are doing tolerably well. At Bell's Creek mining matters assume a healthy appearance; the population has considerably increased; several shares in claims have changed hands at

satisfactory rates, and on the whole, symptoms of a return to the former luxuriance of these diggings are perceptible. Holders; of c^ims at the Araluen, who emoT, a. constant, supply of water, continue to. do great things, and, such as liavj a temgorar^ supply jjist now, ai;e also, doing 1 Weil. ' Crawford's claim, for some :months past, has been turning opt lib, weight oif gold per diem, or, in other words, the ex- * penses of the weet; have been met by the proceeds of one day, Wvllwgmg Improvements,—- St. Michael's Church is fast approaching a finished state, and will be consented early next month, when the Bi^op of Sydney will perform the ceremony.— The new gaol is all but ready for tenanting. The only work remaining to be done iq complete the fencing to cover the large wall at the rear, and other little makers. The building, if we except the bars' "in the windows, has almost an elegant appearance from" t)ie front, and its situation is <?ne of the best in the town. There are bk cells at present; but should an extension, unfortunately, be required, such can be effected with futility, and without fl^uipbing the proportions* go fat as appearances are ooncerned, of

\ The Railway Commissioners in Sydney have made a slight addition to their previous importation of chairs (21,464),.t0 the extent of 3,146, ;making'a total of-24,610. What-on eartu do th-y intend doing, with them ? Surely the Commissioners must ho speculating in furniture. T«o pet sheep, a wether and a ewe, the property of W. Lee, senior, I^q, at tho Town station, on the Lachlun, have just yielded fleeces | weighing respectively, 10|lb. and 9-|lb. .'—the result of a twelvemonth's growth onty. A meetiug of the subscribers of the Wentworth Testimonial wa3 held at the Exchange on Tuesday, when it was resolved, after some opposition, to hand over the portrait of Mr. Wentworjh to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, for the purpose of having it suspended in the Chamber. Destructive Fire at Launceston. —The Cornwall Chronicle gives the subjoined particulars:— On the night of 31st October, the three shops, Nos. 26, 27, and 28, Wellington-street, celebrated under the reign of William Patterson as the cheapest house in the world, and known as Grafton House, were totally destroyed by fire between half-past twelve and half-past two o'clock on Monday morning. At the sale of the insolvent estate of Mr. Patterson, the premises were purchased by Alderman Hart, and two of the shops were occupied by his brother, Mr. Anthony Hart, who had a stock of groceries, valued at about £3000. on the premises, the whole of which , has been destroyed. The other shop was occupied by Mr. Williams, draper, formerly ,at Hob&rt Town, who hud but Jittle stock; in it, as he was only engaged in purchasing and laying in goods. ■ By the Copenhagen, arrived at Melbourne, our neighbors have received a further accession to their imported stock in the shape of nine bulls, three heifers, and seventy-five sheep of the Merino, Cots wold, and South Hams breed. , A pair of [white] swans also arrived by the same vessel. New diggings have been discovered at Pretty Gully, seventy-four miles from Grafton, between Tooloom ann Tenterfield. The gold is coarse, nuggetty, and free from dirt. About 400 diggers are on the ground.

The French man-of-war Provenc,ala, froni New Caledonia, reports that peace had been restored at that island. Execution of Thomas Davis. —This unhappy criminal suffered the extreme penalty of the law on Thursday morning. As he emerged from his cell, attended and sustained in prayer by the very Rev. Dean Grant, he showed no symptom of fear or tremor. At the foot of the gallows he knelt for a few moments in prayer with his spiritual adviser, and then ascended the ladder and took his place under the fatal beam with the utmost apparent coolness. At a given signal the bolt was withdrawn, and the wretched culprit was launched into eternity. For a few minutes only a slight convulsive action of the body was perceptible, and then all was over. The day before the execution, he took the sacrament; after which we are informed that he declared to the Rev. Mr. Keating that he was innocent of the murder of

Roger Flood—that he had "neither hand, act, nor part in it," and knew; nothing about it—and that the witnesses had all sworn falsly against him. This declaration he wished to be made public, stating, at the same time, that he had no desire to prolong his days, for his life was a burden to him. He was suffering, it will be remembered, from cancer in the mouth. That the wretched man should have persisted in making such an assertion on the eve of confronting his Creator is truly extraordinary, for, although the evidence which was produced against him at his trial was circumstantial, the chain was so complete that it was impossible to feel a doubt of his guilt. The learned judge himself remarked, when passing sentence upon the prisoner, that he felt as certain that he had. committed the deed as if he had been present and seen him strike the blows.— Bcdhurst Times.

The inhabitants of West Maitland were lately alarmed by the cry of " fire," which was occasioned by the premises of Mr. G. Trayhurn being enveloped in flames. The property was situated in High-street, next to that large building recently erected by H. H. Hall and Co. The fire, was caused through the negligence of a person in charge of the premises, who had lighted a fire for the purpose of smoking some bacon, and then foolishly enough went to bed. He was awoke shortly after by the watchman, who called out to him that the house was on fire.. The fire-engine arrived on the spot shortly after the accident, but owing to its being out of order the pumps could not be made to work. The building, in spite of every exertion made to arrest the progress of the flames, was ultimately burned to the ground. We hesitate not to affirm, that had it. not been for. the perseverance of Mr, Hall and his men, not only would, the building adjoining (the s}d,e of which was very much scorched) have met with a. similar fate, but many others in their vicinity would have either been moire or less, injured. Had the wind been strong at the time of the accident, and, blowing in a southerly direction, the damage to property would have been most ruinous.-— Northern Times.

Reported Murder near Binda. —We hear from Mr. Edward Charles Power, mail eontractor, that information was given to the police stationed at Bincta, about six o'clock oh Thursday evening, by the daughters of a settle^ yarned Thomas' Monks, residing on Phil^ River, about nipq miles, from Binda, that; he had been killed by their mother striking him on the head with, a hammer, and'she had afterwards., banned the body, The police started immediately to make enquiries, haji been, missing some gey* but it, was, thought tha^ he had r f ambledi.nafitofadelinu i a^tr ; emes»ashe had, fen preyiously Iw^'a'ta d^ %nis ; wa>abouttbir,^ Sftwwplk ,vV^ "8

Cabbage Blight— A correspondent writes to the Editor of t,he Agricultural ami Horticultural Gazette:—" Elphinston, September 24th, 1859, Sir, —I tried last.year in a very imperfect manner, for I. only thought of the plan late in the se .son, a method of preserving the cabbage and other plants from the '.blight,* and from what I saw of it then, and again this year, 1 am disposed to think the plan simple, cheap, and effective. Make a frame, say as wide as as your bed, \ 10 or ] 2 feet, by 3 or 10 leet long, by two feet high, of soft wood battens, as light as possible, and cover it with thin calico, through which you are to place on the ground an old iron pot, bucket, or such like; take up one cabbage to make room for this, and put it in some live coal or charcoal with a little sulphur, damaged tobacco, resin, or coal tar, and close the opening in the calico. It is better to put the iron pot in an old wooden- box, to prevent the heat killing any of the plants near. I find the plan most effective. The cost is about 20s. for each frame; for the smoking materials a mere trifle. Two frames, at the cost of two persons' time for about 15 minutes a day, will I think keep an acre of cabbages perfectly free from " blight." I also intend trying: the frame with a little spirits or turpentine put m a cup inside, and left to evaporate. The deadly effect on insect life of an atmosphere saturated with turpentine is weil known. There are many modifications of this plan which might ;easily suggest themselves to an intelligent person." ' ' .-:'■ Sixteen Pigeons at a Shot. — On Tuesday last, as Mr. Charles Turner of Bathurst, accompanied by Mr. Fosbery and another gentleman, were out shooting on the Vale, when in a gully, near Butler's Falls, he espied an enormous black snake, and, instantly taking aim at it, shot it on the head. The reptile was immediately captured, and measured nine feet six inches in leugth. Mr. Turner observed that the creature appeared much distended, and on opening it found no less than sixteen half-fledged pigeons, the spoil of some adjacent columbarium, and only recently swallowed.— Free

Press. The Botany of the District.— Wq were shown on Wednesday a new species of air plant, which we believe has, until its recent discovery, been unknown to science. It was found in the woods adjacent to Wollongong, by Mr. Richards. This gentleman assures us that the flora of this region is particularly rich in ferns, there being not less than 312 distinct species to be found between Bulli and Kiama. The number of species of orchidaceous plants is small, being about sixteen. We heard Mr. Moore in the very excellent and extremely practical lecture which he delivered on Monday last at the Botanical Gardens, Sydney, say, while referring to a beautiful orchid, that the Botany of Illawarra was nigh being exhausted. Why, only a few days ago Mr. Richards found two very rare plants, both of which were highly poisonous to cattle, growing in rank luxuriance within a short distance of tne town.— lllawarsa Express.

Miraculous Preservation.—On Thursday last, Dr. Wilkinson was proceeding to.Peel, accompanied by his son, on horseback, when in crossing the fording place of the Macquarie, at the foot of George-street, the horse on which ijie child was mounted took fright and commenced plunging in the stream. Alarmed for the safety of the child, the doctor called out to him to hold firm on the horse. In a moment the poor boy lost his seat, and disappeared in the river. In a state of agony and dispair, Dr. Wilkinson spurred his horse to the opposite side of the river, with the intention of taking off his coat and riding boots, so as to be ready to make a spring to rescue the child as soon as he rose to the surface. He got to the shore simultaneously with his son's horse, and at the same moment,, to his surprise and delight, heard the boy faintly cry " Help me, Papa, I am hurt." The little fellow was still clinging to th©

bridle, and had been dragged along the bottom of the river. When one arm was tired, he said he laid hold of it with the other, and thus in all probability saved himself from being drowned.— Bathurst Times. Our Diggings. —The Adelong correspondent of the Goulburn Chronicle says:—The Victoria is shining forth its precious metal more promising in appearance than ever, and bids well to surprise many with its produce this summer. Hillhouse and party, near the crown of of the reef, are getting up some very fine mundic quartz, which is expected to yield ten ounces to the ton; some of the same description, though not so auriferous in appearance, crushed a month since, yielded eight and a-half ounces to the ton. The Wheel of Industry Machine has just completed crushing a sample of surface mundic quartz belonging to Douglas, and party, and yielded 4 ounces to the ton; also from the Victoria reef. 7. , MuUenderee.— Several of the neighboring cattle have been cut off this season by a di-sease-hitherto unknown to our graziers. The beast attacked by it is first noticed by a lazy and drowsy gait; by a loss of the use loss of the bind parts ; and last (in every sense, of the word, for it never recovers), by

convulsive fits. Several neighbors of mine have suffered from the ravages of this disorder, and I regret to say, an excellent cow belonging to a friend is is now on the point of dying from it. It is very quick, and leaves very little time for applying any re-medy.,—lttawart-a Mercury. _ A person named Edeson, landlord of the Sir George Gipps Hotel at Windsor (Victoria), has been arrested on a charge of stealing £43, the property of a man named Gregory Waller, \vfo> was stopping at the. hotel. Waller had, previous to missing the, notes, takei\ the numbers of them in a y I pocke^ tek, and some notes having |corresppnding numbers vr^«t EaesQU% | possession*

Cricket — The Inter-Colonial Matck-^—A meeting was held yesterday at Mort's Booms at which many of our distinguished players ! were present, to take steps with regard to the grand annual cricket match between this colony and Victoria.. Mr. Gorman was called to the chair. The accounts for the last year were audited, and upon the table was laid a letter received by Mr. Driver from the Secretary of the Victorian players, requesting the New South Wales cricketers to name the day upon which the fifth annual match should be played. A committee was appointed to carry out the necessary arrangements, Mr. Driver and Mr. Tunks being elected secretaries, with instructions to write in acknowledgement of Mr. Thompson's letter, and to intimate that the day for the match would be named at as early a date as possible. A vote of thanks to the chairman concluded the business.— JSydneyllTerald, Nov. 3. Melancholy Case. —Yesterday morning, about 9 o'clock, a storekeeper died suddenly at Kangaroo Flat, it is believed of inflammation of the lungs. A very melancholy incident is connected with this unfortunate event. It would appear that the deceased, who was of a religious disposition, had about a fortnight ago, employed his young wife (not 18 years of age) to read him a chapter of the Bible. While doing so, she suddenly fell down in a hysterical fit, and when recovered from the immediate effects of it, was found to be insane. Even when her husband died so suddenly, she Was unaware of her bereavement.— Amhersh and Bach Creek Advertiser, Oct. 28. Dr. Lang and the Scots Church. —ln the case of Purves and others v. the AttorneyGeneral, Dr. Lang, and others, judgment has been given for the plaintiffs, and Judge Milford decrees that Dr. Lang and Mr. Ramsay be removed from being trustees of the Scots Church, Jamison-street, Sydney and other buildings standing on the land contained in the grant from the Crown, and that it be referred to the master to appoint five new Trustees, in the places of the original five trustees. He declared Dr. Lang to be no longer the minister of the church, and ordered an injunction to issue to restrain him from using the church, and from exercising the powers or duties of a minister of it. And he ordered him to deliver up possession thereof to the said new . trustees, when and so soon as they shall be appointed. Further, as the suit however has been rendered necessary by the acts of the two trustees, Dr. Lang and Mr. Ramsay, they must pay the costs of it. We believe an appeal has been made against this decission. A destructive fire occurred at Mount Pleasant, near Bathurst, N.S.W., lately, by which property to the amount of £1700 was destroyed, belonging conjointly to the lessee of the estate and the owner. An unfortunate woman, named Ellen Gibson (says the Launceston Examiner) was found with her throat cut near Glen Dhu, under circumstances which leave no doubt of a foul murder having been committed. The woman was discharged from Court the day previous for drunkenness. Her husband hdfl-been arrested on suspicion. The Ipswich Herald contradicts on the authority of a correspondent the report of the supposed murders on the Dawson, and adds:—" Our informant positively informs us that to his certain knowledge, Messrs. Walker, Gilmore, and Wilson were not murdered by the aborigines on the Dawson River." A petition has been forwarded to the Legislative Assembly in favour of the construction of a railway from Morpeth to East Maitland, N.S.W. It is said that there are no engineering difficulties in the way, that the distance is about two miles and a half, and that the estimated cost does not exceed £18,000. The Water Reservoir on Surry Hills, N.S.W., is nearly completed, and is said to be a good and substantial structure. A Chinaman named Nim Song, who was in the habit of trading to Broken Bay, was drowned by the upsetting of his boat in the harbor. A meeting has been held at Araluen for the purpose of petitioning the Government for a sum of money to defray the expenses of cutting a race from the Shoalhaven river to the valley of the Araluen, with a view to affording a permanent supply of water to the diggers. A violent storm occurred at Moreton Bay on Thursday week doing much damage. It is said that hailstones were picked up during the storm as large as a man's fist. At a meeting of the shareholders of the Canobalas copper mine, held at Guyong on the 15th instant, a most satisfactory report of the profits of the mine was read to the meeting by the manager, when it was resolved to make a further call of £3 per share. Thomas Cartwright, of Wagga Wagga, has been committed to take his trial at the next Goulburn Assizes for the wilful murder of Catherine Cartwright, his wife. A man named Peter Pickering was also committed as an accessary. The inhabitants of North Shore are taking steps for establishing a School of Arts in that locality. Dr. John Goodwin of Scone, who was lately committed to take his trial for a libel on James Smith, Esq., police magistrate of that place, died lately, on his way home. Dr. Goodwin was 58 years of age, and had resided in Scone for 21 years. The Bathurst paper complains of the severe hot winds that have prevailed lately, and expresses fears that in the absence of an immediate supply of rain, the crops this year will be a complete failure. Grata, N. S. W., is progressing rapidly. Houses are springing up in all directions. The sound of the axe, the saw, and the hammer is heard from morn to night, proclaiming the incessant war of civilisation against the wilderness.

■ Another large' Alligator from the Fitzroy .River has been brought to Sydney by the steamer Eagle, which arrived from Rockhampton yesterday. It is very much larger than those on view at Mr. Palmer's, in Hunter-street, being nearly 20 feet in length, and 3 feet 1 inch in girth. It was shot in the Fitzroy River, and escaped at, the time, but was found floating on the surface some days after. Mr. Gregg, the person in whose possession it now is, purchased it, it is said, for the sum of £60, and expects to dispose of it for a much larger amount. A seaman on board the Eagle states that just as the steamer was leaving Rockhampton, another very large alligator was seen on the beach, and there were a number of persons on another part of the Fitzroy River' endeavoring to catch another which was seen prowling about there, much larger even than the one brought by the Eagle.-—Empire, Nov. 2. A very curious fish was captured on Saturday, by Mr. Finnigad. It is a species of the tribe Cephalopoda, and by no means uncommon on these coasts. Its form is peculiar, having eight arms, or feelers, furnished with an innumerable quantity of suckers; in the centre of these is the mouth, which is provided with a pair of powerful horny jaws, similar to the beak of a parrot. By means of the arms and suckers it seizes its prey, and so firm is the grasp, that even the shell of the Crawfish is no protection against their attack; so firmly do the suckers adhere, that, it is easier to tear off the limb than loose their' hold. In the South Sea Islands, where they grow very large, they are feared by the natives more than sharks.— Portland Chronicle. Natural Curiosity. —We were yesterday favored by Mr. Hart with a sight of two of | those interesting little animals known as 1 flying mice, which are found in the | neighborhood of the Wollombi~at times |in great numbers, though during some j years they do not make their appearance at all. They resemble the common mouse in color and size, but in several respects I exhibit a closer affinity to. the squirrel tribe. Their long prehensile toes fit them for clinging to twigs of shrubs, and for climbing, whilst an extension of the skin on each side, connected with the fore and hind legs, and capable of being stretched by them into quasi-wings, must evidently enable them to take flying leaps to considerable distances. The tail has a featherlike appearance, being flat, with a fringe of hair on each side, of nearly equal breadth from the root to the tip.!— Maitland Mercury. Extraordinary Meece. —During the past week several loads of fleece, the first, cuttings of the season, have been brought down from the stations; and it is considered, from the very favourable state of the weather during the last four or five months, that the product of the present season will be unusually fine and abundant. In corroboration of this, the following remarkable instance has been brought under our notice. Two pet sheep, a wether and a ewe, the property of W. Lee, senior, Esq., at the Towyl station, on the Lachlan, have just yielded fleeces weighing respectively lo£ lbs. and 9£ lbs,! —the result of a twelvemonth's growth only.— Bathurst Times, October 29. Attempt at Suicide. —Early yesterday morning an attempt was made to, strangle himself by George Archer, one of the prisoners in the' lock-up who was apprehended on a charge of larceny. It appears the man was drunk, and the lock-up keeper hearing a gurgling noise in the cell, went in, and found the man black in the face, with his handkerchief tied quite tightly round his throat; and, he asserts, he would have been dead in a few minutes. After unloosing the handkerchief he went out, and again hearing the noise he went in, and found him making a second attempt to destroy himself, and likewise a third attempt, so he was obliged to handcuff him and fasten him down. This is the second attempt at suicide in the lock-up within the last two weeks, which has been prevented being carried into effect by the lock-up keeper, the other case being that of a Chinaman, who also endeavoured to strangle himself.— Qoulhurn. Herald, 2nd instant. The trustees of the Sydney Museum have resolved to throw open this institution to the public every day in the week, except Sundays, instead of three times a week, as hitherto. : It seems that the charge of rape attempted to be brought against John Thomas Smith has merged into a civil action, the damages being laid at £10,000. The whole affair is said to be a dodge to get a j haul from John Thomas. The amount realised by the bazaar held at the Lyceum last week is said to be about £700. :\A's all the goods were not disposed* of, it is intended to hold another bazaar in'a few months with the same object, viz.,' the -raising of funds to build a Catholic Church on the Waterloo Estate. . The O'Shanassy Ministry at Victoria has been defeated on the address in reply to the Governor's opening speech, there being] 7 for and 56 against it. An immediate resignation of the Ministers was the consequence. , An old servant, drinking to the health of his young mistress, who was that made a bride, said, " I wish you many happy returns of the day." ; Old Sir James Herring was remonstrated with for not rising earlier." I can makie my mind up for it," said;'he, ?'but I cannot make up my body." ■ ■'■■■ Two Irishmen were recently looking at the people stretching a rope across the street? from .one housetop to another, for the purr pose of suspending a banner. " Shure and what will theybe.afther doing at the topsof them houses there?":said Pati -"Faith an^it's,a submarine telegraph they're afther puttinVup, I supposed jreplied Mick.;

Polotics in the Colonies. —Colonial politics generally afford but dull and unpleasant reading. In tbe first place, they present a caricature of the worst and meanest features of politics at home, absurd without being amusing. The sense of disproportion between the fierceness of the contest and the object in dispute deprives us of interest in the vicissitudes or even in the result of struggles waged on so insignificant an arena; the exaggerated importance which the colonist assigns to the affairs of his own remote corner of the earth, with two or three hundred thousand inhabitants, savors of selfsufficiency as well as ignorance; while we are apt to forget that the issues of these contests may in some few cases have a much higher significance, as involving in a few generations hence the well-being of a vast and populous, empire. And, again, except in the case of Canada, the political warfare of our colonies — especially since the introduction of responsible government —is marked by a vulgarity of tone, a violence of party spirit, excited by comparative trifles and restrained by no sense of decorum or habits of social courtesy, and an instability of all combinations and arrangements; which is exceedingly disappointing and displeasing to those whose notions of political propriety are derived from the example of a Legislature reflecting the tone and sentiments of the most refined portion of an educated and highly-civilised community. 'Even our colonies will bear a favorable 'comparison with the United States in respect of the order, dignity, and sobriety with which their public affairs are conducted. Their Legislatures, though perhaps inferior in point of manners and intelligence to a London vestry, are disgraced by no such scenes as those which have exposed the Congress at Washington to the contempt of the civilised world. But the bitterness of party conflict, and the recklessness with which personal imputations are bandied, not only in the heat of debate, but in journals and political writings, in a new and rapidly-growing * colony* disgust the reader who is accustomed to the temper of the English Press and the proprieties of the Imperial Parliament; We regret to find in this,; one of;the first published colonial histories, a reproduction of the vices of abuse and misrepresentation which distinguish colonial journals and colonial assemblies. These are naturally the vices of uneducated politicians. We see them clearly enough in the language of the popular demagogues and democratic organs of this country. But here educated and thinking men pay no regard to the oratory which is well understood to be intended and adapted only for the ears of the ignorant, and historians would be ashamed to imitate it.-—Mono-mist.