INTERCOLONIAL NEWS.

West Coast Times, Issue 207, 18 May 1866, Page 2

INTERCOLONIAL NEWS.

Melbourne, May 12. Arrived, Sunday morning, in Hobson's Bay, the new Panama steamship Kaikoura, from Plymouth, March 9. She remained four days at St. Vincent and three at the Cape ; lost two blades of her propeller; had favorable weather throughout ; brings sixty passengers, Adelaide, May 12. The Governor of Trinidad, the Hon. J. H. Manners Sutton, has buen appointed Governor of Victoria. Captain Black, tho Peninsular and Oriental Company's agent, comes to the negotiate with tho Australian Govern* ments for the establishment of a fortnightly mail. The time of departure of the mails has been altered. They are to leave Sydney on the 24th, and Melbourne on the 28th.

Our tolographio doßpatob.es last \reok contained two items of intelligence to the effect first, that an information had been laid in Dunodin against Mr Barton, tho well-known barrister, for perjury, and secondly, thatafter a two days' hearing in the Beiident Magistrate's Court, tho caso had been dismissed. We have Dunedin papora to the 10th instant, whioh contain a full report of the investigation, extending over nearly fourteen column! of tho ♦ Daily Timeß.' Tho charge wa» brought by a Captain Russell, a former client both of Mr. Barton's and # of tho firm of Howarth, Barton, and Howarth, who assorted tho falsity of an affidavit sworn to by Mr Barton in a suit for costs, brought in the Supreme Court, to the offeot that Captain Russell had ongagod to pay him a feo of £50 for services ronderod in attending tho sittings of the Waste Land Board, and protecting bis into* rosts as a runholdor. Tho principal ovidonco given in support of tho information, in addition to that of tho prosecutor himielf, wob offered by Mr Smithers, formerly a clerk in Mr. Barton's office, and now Captain Eussoll's soiioitor. Mr Smifcheri, in oross-oxamina-tion admitted that he had been tried an convicted in England of forgory as a solicitor, and had served a sentenoe; but ho declared that tho whole of the circumstances of hit case had been investigated by the judges of the Supreme Court before ho was admitted to the bar of Now Zealand. The defence was that the alleged fee had boon promised, and the ovidonco was that chiefly of olerkt in tho office of Howarth and Barton, who deposed to conversations held, and to other matters corroborative The Benoh dismisied the in formation as unsustainod by evidence, and Mr. Barton was discharged. In the course of tho investigation somo very sharp words occurred between Mr' James Smith, the counsel for the dofendemt, and Mr. W. L. R«e», who conduoted the prosooution, arising out of tho strictures mado by the former learned gontleina* upon Mr. Smithers, whioh, however, were declared by jtho Bonoh not to bo out of order.