LATE AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

Westport Times, Volume V, Issue 825, 15 June 1871, Page 2

LATE AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

(From the " Argus," May 23.) The " Bendigo Advertiser," in anticipation of Mr M'Lachlan's early retirement from the bench, publishes a biography of the stern old administrator of the law. The captain of the schooner Lavinia, from the South Seas, reports seeing a white woman and a white child about eighteen months' old among the natives on the beach at New Britain. He was unable to rescue them. He also reports having found the wreckage of a vessel of about 500 tons on the Duke of York Island. The Unity Company, Garden Gully, Bendigo, recently had occasion to-ad-vertise for mining machinery. "In response to their advertisement," says the " Bendigo Independent," " they had, we are informed, some 30 answers from Ballarat, and 10 from Daylesford. This surely betokens a want of prosperity in mining matters in these districts. A foolish-looking long-haired young man, who said he had been a midshipman in the navy, was brought up as a vagrant, under the name of George Hamilton, at the City Court yesterday. He was in the habit of sleeping on doorsteps and loafing about, and as an excuse said that before coming to the colony he had never been used to laborious manual labor, but was willing to do what he could. He had been thirteen years in the colony, about Melbourne, had never been on the goldfields, and looked as if he would never try to work. He was remanded for seven days, in order that inquiries might be made about him. The difficulties of journalism in country districts are illustrated by tw following from the " Wangaratta Despatch ; — " We understand that a well- i known squatter in this district met with a rather nasty accident this week by being thrown from his buggy ■•» breaking his collar-bone. We withhold the name at present, as the injured gentleman threatens, we are

j ig]i to ' the head of any reporter who mentions the affair." In [he meantime we propose to get him bound over to keep the peace to the local representatives of the press, collectively nuil individually." A. happily hard-skulled Irishman, named O'Keeffe, appeared, with his head band?ged up, at the City Court yesterday, and charged a countryman named Patrick Garvey with violent assault. There appeared to have been a previous quarrel, and Garvey struck the other on the head with a tomahawk, when the sound of the crack attracted the attention of a comical looking little woman, who interfered, and separated

i the parties. The woman, who was a I ne j(rhbour of Garvey's did not know that he was quarrelsome, as " beyaut a bit of dispute Detune him and his wife," s he had never heard anything. The Bench remanded Garvey for a week, and directed the police to keep an eye in the meanwhile upon O'Keefle, as he appeared to have brought the assault upon himself in some measure. Yesterday morning a woman named Margaret M'lntyre, whose husband was a short time ago sent to gaol for a month, was found dead in her bed in Cato-street, Prahran, where she resided. She had been in the Hospital, but had left some time ago, since which time she had remained in an ailing condition. An inquest will probably be held on the body. Mary Condon, aged thirty-one years, living in Lothian-street, Hotham, was admitted to the hospital yesterday with a broken jaw, and it was stated that her husband, while tipsy, had given her a broom-handling which caused the injury described.

Complaint is made at Deniliquin tbat anew broom is wanted to sweep the court-house, and before it can be got it is necessary to send a formal requisition to the proper department at Sydney and wait the official reply. An orderly way of doing things must be maintained. Writing of the accident to Mullaly, the trainer of Cyclone, which we have before mentioned, the " Colerane Albion" says:— "Itis an unfortunate circumstance that the suggestion made at the settling meeting of the Great Western at Colerane, that a subscription should be got up to buy Cyclone and shoot him, that he should kill no more men, was not carried out. In the meantime a rider is Wanted for Cyclone for the Casterton Steeplechase. Condidates for the honor are requested to apply to the owner."

An inquest was held the other day at Casterton upon a child, who, it seemed likely, had been poisoned by eating gum. The jury thought that the question as to whether e;um was or was not a poison was so important that, at their request, the coroner stated that he would send down the stomach and its contents to the Government analyst, in order tbat the nature of the poison which had caused the child's death should be distinctly ascertained. The inquest was accordingly adjourned. The " Mansfield Independent," in speaking of the circumstances under which Mr J. M'Dougall, .T.P., mining speculator, of "Wood's Point, recently came by his death, says : —" On Friday last we believe he was leaving Wood's Point, intending to go to Melbourne to get married. When on his horse the animal shied, through Mr M'DougaH's hat coming off. He raised his hand to catch it, which made the auimal shy worse. He was thrown, and in a few hours died of the injuries received. He was to have been married to a sister of Mrs P. Perkins, to whom it is said he stated that he had dreamt his neck was broken going to town in the coach, but he added that he was going to undertake the journey on horseback."