MELBOURNE ITEMS.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVI, Issue 2925, 14 April 1891, Page 4

MELBOURNE ITEMS.

Tubki: was a piinful .scene in the Criminal Court on Saturday morning, when the old man, Edward Ross, who shot the matronly lady who did not reciprocate hisafFecttion, was placed at the dock to receive sentence. He had nothing to say about his blighted affections, but blamed it all to beer, and, in tremulous accents, pleaded for mercy, as an old man of 07, who had lived an honest life and brought up a family. His Honour said he had had much ditliculty in dealing with the case, and he thought justice would be met by a sentence of six months, with fifteen days' solitary. When an old ofFender named Henry Morton, otherwise Julius licmschall, came before -Mr.-Justice Hood for sentence the same day, he made a pitiful appeal for leniency. on the ground of having au aged mother, whilst ho 1i;k1 just received news of the deatli of his father. His Honour said he regarded the prisoner, who had admitted twelve out of twenty previous convictions, us a most dangerous criminal, ,is he had devoted his education and ability to a course of crime. He imposed a sentence of seven years' hard labour. The visits of " gentlemen from tho country" to the city during tho last week have allordud two or three amusing incidents. Kirst 1 will mention the elderly party who went to the Jiijou Theatre with his dog. •uid purchased a couplu of stall tickets. They -mm and dog -wero quietly taking their seats when the manager of the theatre objected to the qUiidi'iipcd'H presence there. The don's master rose in anger, and claimed that as he had paid for two scats he, had a perfect right to place "Jim" in one of the.iM. " Jim," he

urged, was always at his side, anil he wa3 nothing to be parted from him now. Of course, man and dog were ejected from the theatre, but not without the aid of a policeman, aud the next morning "Jim's" master was find two pounds in the police court for creating a disturbance. Undoubtedly the manager of the theatre was right in objecting to " Jim,' , but one cannot help feeling a touch of sympathy for the unsophisticated country-man. Not so for the fool who came to town with £, o )00 in his pockets, and lost nearly the whole sum to a couple of spielers, who induced him to play "a game with nine pieces of paper." It swnis almost incredible that in these enlightened days .any man can be so densely ignorant of the snares of city life as to allow a couple of fellows, whom he had never aeen before, to entice him into a public-house in a by-way to play a game of chance, .-o called. The eccentric individual who went into the Union Bank and demanded payment ot' a sum of money which he stated was lying to his credit, must not be forgotten. He iiiadi! matters lively in the bank ' for a quarter uf a hour, by knock ing tlit: messenger over, making fiMUtir attempt* tu si:i/i: (lie ledger keeper by the hair, aiid tlircatcniiig to pound tiio into miuct , meat it.' he didn't '• pay up." The poor fellow was arrested, ;i.m| next morning, like tli:. , dog m in, iinwl a couple of pounds for his conduct. Talking about countrymen. I" must not forget to mention tin; death of •loseph k'rancis Sweeney, 011 oldtime coacli driver, well know it throughout the colony as one of (,'obl> and Co.'s reliable whips in tin; carl", days. The old fellow committed swiddo the other day. He. had boon p"iiiiil<>.s-; for wnnks before he throw himself into l.ho.sru and ended his worldly (■.roubles. It \sill Interest many in this country--and in ihe u'.il'i , wviO.'Jl-i, u, for til'. U!.'. T .t;r

of that, ii.-i the inline is well known all over Australia—to learn that " Cabbage Tree Ned,'' the prince of couch drivers in the fifties, is now a member of JJoctor Carver's Wild West Show Company, at present exhibiting in .Sydney. Ned drives the coach which the Indians attack on tho imaginary prairie.