EXTRACTS FROM AUSTRALIAN PAPERS.

Thames Guardian and Mining Record, Volume I, Issue 84, 16 January 1872, Page 3

EXTRACTS FROM AUSTRALIAN PAPERS.

DETERMINED SUICIDE. At Richmond, Bth December, a man named William 11. Lock, a wholesale confectioner,•carrying on business in the Commercial-road, Prahan, called with his cart at the shop of a Mrs Gilbertson, in Bridge-road, and after taking an order, supplied the articles out of his cart, and received payment. He then called for a bottle of ginger-beer and after drinking some of it went out into the road and stood behind his cart for two or three minutes. Returning to the shop, he stood at the counter for a few minutes, during which time he said nothing. At length he said to .Airs Gilbertson, “ I shall be dead in a few minutes ; I have taken poison—strychnine.” Airs Gilbertson, thinking he was joking, questioned him, upon which he produced a paper labelled “ Poison,” and said he had purchased threepennyworth of strychnine at a chemist’s shop in Simpson’s-road. The neighbours were summoned, and Lock was taken to a chemist’s shop in a cab, and an emetic administered. Here a paper containing strychnine was taken from him, and he was conveyed to the surgery of Dr Stewart, who applied the' stomach pump, without success, for the man expired about half an hour after. The body was removed to the Vine Hotel to await the iuquest, and was there identified by the deceased’s friends. Lock was married, and had three children. Before lie was taken to the chemist’s shop he was asked why he had poisoned himself, and he replied that business and family affairs had distressed him. An inquest was held on deceased next day, when it appeared that lie had been suffering intermittently from temporary aberration of intellect. A verdict was returned to the effect that deceased committed suicide during a fit of temporary insanity. EXECUTION OF KELLY. Kelly, convicted of the murder of Edward Edwards, a warder at Parramatta Gaol, was executed this morning at Darlinghurst Gaol, when a most horrible scene took place. The culprit obstinately and resolutely refused all religious consolation from the clergyman wdio attended him in his last moments. He resisted the warders on the scaffold, howled and blasphemed terribly, and swore that he would not die. Force had to be used in order to place the rope round bis neck, and then a frightful struggle took place. Eventually lie was overcome. The body remained suspended more than half an hour before life was extinct. Several of the spectators were sickened by the revolting spectacle. RAID ON CHINESE. The .-I rrow Observer says that within the past month, Constable Hunt, and Air John Alloo have by a systematic raid on (he Chinese enforced them to take out 250 miners’ rights. Some characteristic stories arc told of bow John tries to avoid the distasteful tax—in one instance jumping into a tail race half full of water, and running as if for bare life ; in others crawling under bunks and stretchers, from which they will only be dislodged by gentle persuasion from the end of a whip or stick. THE SUTTOSED BURNING OF A LARGE SIIII 1 OFF WESTERN AUSTRALIA. From Swan River we learn that a large figurehead and part of a stem of a large vessel have been found on Rottcnncst Island. Apparently the vessel to which they belonged lias been burnt, the inward part of tlic wreck being much charred. The figurehead is half the length of a man, in old buccaneer costume, the head is wanting. We append a description of it received from the port pilot, at, the last moment, as the mail was leaving. He says “ The figure consists of the bust of a man front the waist to the shoulders, the head, neck, and back part of the figure being evidently destroyed by fire. The figure is clothed in a blue coat open in front with yellow buttons, and buttonholes tip to the breast. There is no waistcoat, but a loose shirt and large handkerchief knotted round the neck with the ends ilowing loosely over the breast. It lias also a broad belt with. a large square buckle round the waist, and wliat appears to be the hilt of a cutlass at its side. From the waist downwards is all scroll and carved work of capital workmanship, and another scroll runs down towards the stem on each side, with the following words cut in in the j orl side, “ A sharp look out —” and on the starboard, “ Keep a sharp 100k —.” The scroll lias evidently been continued down the stem, and that part of it containing the remainder of the motto lias gone. The words are gilded in blue ground, ff’lie figure is cut out of soft wood, and is very much chafed, I should say by rubbing and grinding over the reefs ; evidently it lias not long been in the water,from there being no worm boles, barnacles, or seaweed about it, and the charred wood at the back appears quite fresh. There are five large bolls of about two-inch iron, the longest being about five feet long, which have connected the figure with the stem; the bolts are perfectly straight, and it appears that the wood lias been burnt away from them and the figure thus became detached. The part of the figure found is about six feet long and measures about three feet in diameter, and in my opinion lias belonged to a vessel of at least 1,400 tons register. (Signed) G. A. Forsyth, Port Pilot. Frcemantle, W. A., Bth December, 1871.” THE DISPUTE BETWEEN VISCOUNT CANTERBURY AND MR COPI’IN. One of the charges brought against bis Excellency the Governor, by Air Coppin, is the not very relevant one that bis Excellency lias been in the habit of attending the Victorina Race Club meetings at Elemington, and partaking of luncheon without payment. As his Excellency lias always been the invited guest of the club stewards on these occasions, who would certainly have been considerably astonished had payment been offered them in return for tiieir hospitality, the charge is as ludicrous as it was intended to be malicious ; but having broken down so miserably in bis attempt to fasten a personal liability on the* Governor, Air Coppin appears to be perfectly reckless as to the nature or the probability of any inuendo, however coarse, he can manage to level at his Excellency. Knowing bow helpless, in a community like this, a person in the position of Ihe Governor must inevitably be for all purposes of defence, Air Coppin evidently thinks that if lie throws plenty of mud at bis Excellency some of it is certain to stick. So far, however, lie has been singularly unfortunate in bis attempts to bespatter Lord Canterbury. AVe understand that the committee of the Y.R.C. held a fully-attended meeting on Saturday, to consider Air Coppin’s latest mud-throwing exploit. Much indignation was expressed at Air Coppin’s cool impudence in presuming to make so mi warrantable a use of the name of the club in his c-ffoits to injure his Excellency, and an invitation of unusual warmth was ordered to be sent to the Governor, requesting the honour of his presence at the meeting' to-day, together with an expression of regret at the unauthorised use

which had been made of his Excellency’s name in connection with the Flemington gatherings.—Alelboume Argus, Dec.JL—ACCIDENT BY LIGHTNING. The Ballarat Times of December 16 thus describes the curious accident of a whole team of bullocks struck dead by lightning “ A serious accident, and almost ruinous in its consequences to a carrier named Archer, occurred at Palmer’s Oakcy, on Friday, the Bth inst. It seems that Archer was driving a team of eight bullocks along the road when a Hash of lightning struck the pole of the dray, on which lie was seated, ran up the ironwork on to the chains, and killed every animal in the team. Archer was half stunned himself, and the whole affair happened so unexpectedly that when he saw the bullocks drop lie was at a loss to account for the cause, but it proved on examination that tho' lightning, after catching the chains had passed along the yokes and, round the bows, from which it glanced on to the neck and shoulders of the bullocks, killing them instantly. Each bullock fell on to the road yoked to its companion, and in a short time the bodies and limbs of the dead animals assumed a peculiarly swollen and distended appcareancc. It may be mentioned that the same flash of lightning which killed the bullocks afterwards struck a large tree on the side of the road and shivered it to atoms."