AUSTRALIAN NEWS

Waikato Times, Volume XXX, Issue 2449, 22 March 1888, Page 2

AUSTRALIAN NEWS

[Ry Kuxtmo Telegraph—Copyright] Melbourne, March 19. A letter has been received from Noumea stating that a missacre of the residents is feared upon the withdrawal of the troops from the New Hebrides. The natives arc jubilant at being relicred of the presence of the troops, and it is asserted that the English residents have petitioned the Admiral to allow the troops to remain, stating that they fear the natives will murder them. The city contributions to the Imperial Institute amounts to £5397. Sydney, March 20. Accompanying the intimation of the refusal of Her Majesty to give the Royal assent to the Divorce Extension Bill was a letter from the Colonial Office, pointing out that the Queen's advisers disclaim any intention of interfering with colonial legislation, but that they could not ignore the exceptional importance of the Bill. The letter further urges that any alteration of the law should be confined to the oases of persons domiciled in the country, in order to obviate suggestions of immorality or illegitimacy. The assent to the Bill should not he again asked till it was absolutely certain that the people at large agreed with the principles of the measure, and the Bill should be left to a succeeding Parliament to pass after the community had been afforded an opportunity of expressing a definite opinion on the question. The self-accused murderer, Carroll, has been formally charged with the murder of Miss Clouston, or, as tho affair is more widely known, the Eltham murder. One circumstance which gives an air of probability to Carroll's story is that at the time of the murder it was reported that a soldier had been seen running away from the spot where the murdered girl was subsequently discovered. This man could not afterwards be found. It will be remembered that Carroll was a soldier, and had deserted. It appears, however, that he had not deserted when the murder was committed, aud his own story bears out the theory that he was the soldier seen at the time. Three men, named Fenton, Knight, and Hemin, and a boy named Noble, went out sailing at Botany Bay on Saturday afternoon. The boat has since been found capsized, and it is feared the occupants above named have all been drowned. Another boat, with three occupants, was upset in the bay on the same day, but the occupants were rescued, with some difficulty, as it was blowing very hard. The Premier, Sir Henry Parkes, is said to be strongly opposed to the proposal emanating from Melbourne, that certain Imperial military officers should be invited to inspect the Australian forts and general defence organisations. The Land Nationalisation Society of South Australia will join the New South Wales Society in inviting Mr Henry George, author of " Progress and Poverty," to lecture in the colonies. Sydney', March 21. Sailed : Schooner Louie, from Newcastle, for New Plymouth.