GENERAL NEWS. - The Inquirer and Commercial News (Perth, WA : 1855 - 1901) - 27 Mar 1896 (original) (raw)

Fri 27 Mar 1896 - The Inquirer and Commercial News (Perth, WA : 1855 - 1901)
Page 1 - GENERAL NEWS.

The Rev. W. T. Kench.— The

Rev. W. T. Kench, the well-known

Congregational minister, has so far

recovered from hie attack of typhoid

fever that it was announced Thurs

day morning to his congregation

that he would conduct service next

Death op a Roeboubne Iden

tity. — Mr. James Taylor, a well

known identity of the Nbr'-west,

who had been associated with the

pearling fleets in early days, died at

the Roebourne Hospital on March

20. He had been ailing for some

time from, carbuncles on the

Likes. — Mr. E. W. Snook, chief

inspector of telegraphs, reported to

the Minister on Saturday morning

that for the previous 24 hours they

had not gained on the work at

Eucla, and that the cable work was

up to time. With the exception of

a ' ctobb ' on the Murchison line,

all the lines were working well.

Last night . Mr. Snook stated that

all the lines were clear.

Death at Fremantle.—Another

death from typhoid fever took place

at the Government hospital, Fre-

mantle, on Saturday. The deceased,

Francis B. Chapman, arrived in

the colonies about five months ago,

and contracted the fever at Wool-

gangie. He came from Annandale,

Sydney. He was a widower, with

one son. The funeral took place

yesterday, many friends following

his remains to their last resting-

place in the Church of England

portion of the Fremantle cemetery.

The funeral arrangements were

conducted by Messrs. Locke and

Carriages. — Several complaints

hare been made of late about the

insults to which ladies are often

subjected when travelling alone in

the train from Perth to Southern

Cross. It is said that those who

hare to travel in the night train

have often to put up with gross

insults from half-intoxicated indi

viduals. For various reasons it is

very harsl to catch these offenders,

but a few days ago three of them

were complained against, and were

given in charge by the guard of the

train. . They were brought next

morning before the Southern Cross

bench, and each fined .£10. It is to be

hoped that this exemplary sentence

will have the desired effect of sup

pressing such ruffianism.

train, left Albany on Sunday for

Perth with 150 passengers. Among

them was the Jewish Eabbi, the

Rev. Moses Saunders, who arrived

in the E.M.S. Cuzco from Mle

bourne, and was met by Mr.

J. L. Horowitz, of Perth. Mr.

Saunders has been connected for

over nineteen years ?with the

Melbourne Hebrew congregation.

He comes to Perth with the view of

organising a Jewish congregation,

and he will be in time to conduct

the important religious ceremonies

at Passover time, which will begin

- on the evening of the 28th inst.

Dr. Dale was also on the train,

bound for Southern Cross, to assist

in Dr. Black's practice. Mr.

Prockter, of Melbourne, architect,

was a passenger for Perth, where

he intends to practise his profes

The Influx op Capital. — Our

Albany representative telegraphed

on Sunday : Among the passengers

who will leave here in the train

to-morrow morning for Perth is

Mr. A. E. Morgans, the representa

tive of two of the largest financial

houses in London. One house has

a world-wide reputation, having

floated most of the foreign

been operating largely in Central

America and South Africa, but

recent events in the Transvaal have

induced it to go further afield,

and test the Western Australian

mines as investments. Mr. Mor

gans will make an extended tour of

the fields, and he has come out

purely in the interests of investors

and not of speculators. Mr.

Morgans assures me that if he can

see any really sound investments on

our goldfields his clients are pre

pared to expend an almost unlimited

capital in their development. I am

not at liberty to mention the

houses which Mr. Morgans repre

sents, but I am in a position to

state that they hold a very high

status in the financial world.'

The Visit to the Vineyards. —

His Excellency the Governor, Sir

Gerard Smith, lias accepted the

invitation of the Bureau of Agri

culture to visit the vineyards in the

Swan district on Friday next.

All the members of the Ministry,

?with the exception of Mr. Burt

(the Attorney-General), will be in

cluded in the party, as well as many

private members of each branch of

the Legislature. The party will

leave Perth for Guildford in the

understand that the price paid for

the plot of land near the railway,

purchased by the Government

recently from Mr. Hoyt, for the pur

poses of a telephone workshop, was

Off to Australia. — The follow

ing is extracted from the London

Sketch :— ' Well, Mrs. Hurst, I

hear your son John has gone to

Australia.' ' Tes, indeed, sir. As

the Scriptures do say, ' Train up a

child, and away 'e do go.' '

The Intelligent Fobeignee.

— Mr. E. Huntly Hooper writes to

the London Morning Post from

Mentone: — 'The following is a

translation of a telegram which

appeared in the Petit Nicois (it

is a good example of the intelligent

interest taken by the French

journalist in foreign affairs) : —

'Pretoria — A band of 800 armed

men, with six machine guns, has

entered the Transvaal to threaten

M. Johannes Burg, the President

Australian Wines in Britain.

—Mr. G. F. Morris, of the Fairfield

Vineyard, Victoria, in a recent

interview on his return from

Europe, complains of the Australian

name being ruined by the large

quantities of inferior wines sent

forward, but, having large stocks of

good wines in his cellars, he has

determined to establish one of his

sons as a wine merchant in Eng

land, there being, in his opinion,

sufficient openings for many such

private firms in Great Britain who

should deal exclusively in Austra

The Expobt of Meat. — Mr. M.

C. Thomson, a well-known Queens

land pastoralist, who latterly re

sided in London, where he had a

position as a director of the board

of the Colonial Consignment and

Distributing Company, was recently

in New Zealand, and is travelling

in the interests of the new com

pany. Mr Thomson should soon

visit Australia, and doubtless will

give much information regarding

the export of meat. According to

his expressions in New Zealand, jthe

new company intends to establish

several provincial depots in Eng

land, and, if possible, will have

these depots supplied from the

The British Navt. — The fol

lowing extract from the speech de

livered last month by Mr. Gosehen,

the First Lord of the Admiralty, is

as remarkable for its frankness as

it is for its sturdy patriotism : —

' They might blunder at the Ad

miralty, but they hoped they should

not : they might commit mistakes,

and not supply sufficient ships, but

he hoped they should not ; but if

there was one body of men who

would certainly do their duty it

was the admirals, the captains, the

commanders, the lieutenants, and

the blue-jackets of Her Majesty's

Spirit. — An ex-M.P. has been

telling the editor of the London

City Press that when he was in the

House he received and answered

4,000 letters in one year, paid a

monthly visit to his constituency

some hundreds of miles from town,

was called upon to put his hand in

his pocket for all sorts of objects

in which he took not the slightest

interest, and, save on Saturdays and

Sundays, never saw his wife and

family during the session. He has

now resigned. Many Australian

politicians could sympathise with

this ill-treated member, but still

Brassey, speaking to a Geelong

audience, said that in the front

rank of literature which he would

recommend the people to study

were the reports of the proceedings

of the previous Federation Con

ferences in Sydney and Melbourne.

He would be very glad if these

reports were published at the joint

expense of the several colonies, and

copies placed in the hands of every

Australasian. He had risen from

the study of those most important

and interesting State papers with

a profound admiration of the

political ability of Australasian

A Comparison. — A correspon

dent writes : — I feel sure that Sir

John Forrest -will appreciate this

extract from the Hamburger Nach

richten, which seems particularly

appropriate to the present position

of affairs in this colony : — ' The

choice of efficient coadjutors for the

conduct of public business is always

an arduous task in Germany and

Prussia, because there is scarcely a

sufficient number of competent

statesmen available to provide, at

any moment, for such changes as

may appear desirable in the higher

offices of the State.' If this is the

case in Germany, with her 40 odd

millions, what must be the position

of affairs here, where the popula

tion is 100,000 all told ?

Espebance Rom- Boabd. — The

Esperance Road Board (says our

local correspondent) has declared

the Pink Lake Road the chief road

to the Norseman, despite the peti

tion of 70 teamsters and ratepayers,

and tenders have been invited for

metalling a portion of the road.

Progress in Tubkey. — How-

ever backward the Turks may be in

most things, they are advanced in

one important respect. The metric

system was introduced throughout

the Ottoman Empire on the 1st of

The Princess Beatrice. — It is

said that the Queen contemplates

conferring a dukedom upon Prin-:

cess Beatrice, with remainder to her

sons. It is considered probable,

if this intention is carried out, that

the Princess will be created Duchess

Engineer op Water Supply. —

We understand that Max Hector,

engineer of the Rodney Water

Trust, Victoria, has been offered

and has accepted the position of

engineer of the water supply branch

of. the Public Works Department

under Mr. C. Y. O'Connor, the

engineer-in-chief. The salary

attached to the position will be

Like the Leper op Old. — In

Western Australia Sydney men are

reckoned very ' cunning ' (says

the Westralian correspondent of a

Sydney paper). As a rule they are

the best singers, piano-players,

step-dancers, and general musicians,

and ' tale ' tellers. The real Wes

tralian native, as soon as he hears

a man is from Sydney, shuns him

just as the ancient people used to

shun the leper of old. Sydney men

are in everything that there's

money in, or that there's a chance

of anything being made in the

American paper we learn that

Judge Colquitt, of the Supreme

Court, Georgia, on one day last

session commenced his day's work

by sentencing a murderer to death.

He then preached a powerful

sermon, after which he married

two couples, and reviewed a troop

of militia. He next conducted a

local prayer meeting, and went

home to dinner with the appetite

of a man who felt that his dinner

had been earned. We are told that

Judge Colquitt is ' a rising man.'

Appointments. — - The following

appointments in the public service

are announced : — H. Slater, medical

officer at Karridale, quarantine

officer at Hamelin and Flinders

Bay, and public vaccinator for

Karridale urban, suburban, and

rural districts ; W. D. Cummins,

General Sessions at Hall's Creek,

and Kimberley goldfields ; H.

V. Falkiner clerk to the magis

trates, clerk of the court, and

clerk of General Sessions at Hall's

Creek ; G-. Marsden, as a protector

of aborigines ; R. B. Campbell,

assistant loco, superintendent in

the Railway Department from

July 1 last ; C. G. B. Leigh, return

ing-offieer at Dundas Roads Boards

election on 3rd prox.; T. H.

Cooper, of the Department of

Lands, and J. R. G. Eliot, resi

dent's office, Geraldton, as agents

for receiving applications under

the Homesteads Act, 1893 ; C. F.

Brown, as officer to settle the

electoral lists of the West Arthur

Roads Board district, to revise the

same, and act as returning-officer

at the election on the 14th April ;

Frederick Smith as officer to settle

the electoral lists on the Tableland

Roads Board district, to revise the

same and act as returning officer at

the election on the 15th April ; J.

Kingston to be a bailiff of the

The New Engineer of Wateb

Supply. — Mr. Max Hector, who

has just secured the position of

engineer of water supply and

pioneer roads on the goldfields, has

seen a large amount of service, and

holds some excellent credentials.

He is an A.M.I.C.E., a qualified

engineer of water supply of Vic

toria, a qualified municipal engi

neer of Victoria, an authorised

land surveyor (intercolonial),

and a licensed land surveyor of

Victoria. Mr. Hector was educated

in France, and is 39 years of age.

He was for two years in the mili

tary service (Royal Engineers) in

Prussia. For some years he was

connected with the construction of

railways in California, and in

Nevada, U.S-A., under the Cen

tral Pacific Company, and also

with railway construction in

Mexico ; and with works of irriga

tion in California. Mr. Hector has

occupied tho positions of State

engineer for water supply and

irrigation and drainage in the

Grand Duchy of Luxemburg,

engineer at Mildura under Chaffey

Bros., and executive assistant

engineer to the Victorian Water

Supply Department; and since

1892 he has been the engineer to

the Rodney Irrigation and Water

Supply Trust in Victoria.

Wateb Supplies. — Information

has been received at the Public

Works Department to the effect

that good fresh water has been

struck in the well now being sunk

by the department between Law

ler's and Mount Sir Samuel, and

also in the well at Mount Sir

Samuel itself. The well just sunk

at the Pinyallingfind supplies 1,000

gallons of water daily at a depth of

100ft. The water rises 16ft. in the

Snakes. — An immense number

of snakes have made their appear

ance since the recent rains (says our

Nanninecorrespondent). Mr.Rigby,

the manager of the Anglo- Westra-

lian mine, narrowly escaped from

being bitten recently by a venomous

tiger snake. He was lying down

reading, when he noticed a snake's

head near his barefoot. Numerous

other camps have been disturbed

Industrial School fob the

Blind. — In another column is

published the preliminary an

nouncement of a series of concerts

to be given in different centres of

Western Australia by the musicians

connected with the Industrial

School for the Blind, South Aus

tralia. The concerts will be con

ducted by Herr Hans Bertram,

R.A.B., and were arranged for

during the recent visit of Mr. A.

W. Hendry, the manager of the

school. Although both conductor

and performers are afflicted with

loss of sight, such disability does

not detract from their perform

ances, and concert-goers may there

fore anticipate a musical treat.

fective drains have evidently more

to answer for than most people

suppose. Professor Corfield, a

high authority, in a lecture recently

delivered in London, mentioned the

following ailments which might be

traced directly or indirectly to this

cause : — General malaise, sore

throats, diphtheria, blood poisoning,

puerperal fever, pneumonia, diar

rhoea, and enteric (typhoid) fever.

We recommend this to the attention

of our civic authorities.

The New Intercolonial Tele

graph Line. — We understand that

Mr. U.K. Cohn having paid the

whole of the .£1,000 deposit required

by the Minister of Posts and Tele

graphs as a security for the due

perf ormanee of the contract for the

conveyance of the telegraph

material for the Dundas-Eucla

portion of the new intercolonial

line, the Ministerial approval has

been definitely given for Sir. Cohn

to carry on the work. The work of

conveying the material along the

proposed route will be begun at

Width of Tibes. — A notice is

published in the Government Gazette

setting forth the terms of the

Width of Tires Act which will

come into force on June 30. The

act provides that 'no person en

gaged in building, constructing,

selling, or Tna.lring vehicles, shal^

build, construct or make, sell or

hire, or offer for sale or hire,

any vehicle unless the width

of the tires shall be in the following

proportions to the diameters of the

axle arms : — When the diameter of

the axle arm is 2 inches the width

of the tire shall be 3 inches ; when

2,^ inches the width of the tire shall

be 3§ inches ; when 2i inches the

width of the tire shall be 4 inches ;

when 2f inches the width of the

tire shall be 44 inches ; and when 3

inches the width of the tire shall be

Chief Clerk. — Mr. Joseph Hill

man, of Milligan-street, lately chief

clerk in Mr. Venn's department,

writes, under date lath March, an

extraordinary letter in reference to

the recent dismissal of Mr. Venn

from the Government. We repro

duce the letter for what it is worth:

— 'I was rather amused at that

portion of Mr. Venn's letter in this

morning's Herald, where he says

that he has been dismissed without

a hearing as to both sides of the

question. What about the manner

in which the services of his late

chief clerk, your humble servant,

were dispensed with, after 28 and

a half years of faithful service (not

five years, as in his case) ? Did he

give me a chance or let my side of

the case be heard ? No ; and per

haps he has forgotten that up to

the present time I have received

no official communication abolish

ing my office or accepting my

resignation, but merely a private

letter, at the end of which he

' wishes me well.' Had I not

hastily resigned, and had my case

been heard on its merits, I should

have been in office now. In my

opinion, Sir John has acted within

his rights constitutionally, and Mr

Venn, can only blame himself f or

not having resigned, instead of

letting it go to the world that he

has been peremptorily dismissed.

What is sauce for the goose is good

Anotheb Hospital at Gebald

ton. — A new private hospital

under trained nurses has been

opened at Geraldton. The doctors

report several eases of enteric fever

in the town. Councillor Stone has

just recovered from an attack.

The Buffalo Lodge. — Strong

efforts are being made to lvsusci

tate the branch of the Antediluvian

Order of Buffaloes which flourished

hi Perth some years ago, and which

then had on its members' list Mr.

R. S. Haynes, Councillor John

Hurst, and other well-known

citizens. A meeting will be held

to-morrow night at Jacoby's Hotel

for the purpose of mal-ing final ar

rangements for the opening of the

Progress at Motjnt Magnet. —

Our Mount Magnet correspondent,

writing on March 14, says: —

Buildine is going on rapidly at

both Mount Magnet and the 8-Mile.

A requisition has been forwarded

to the Premier, asking that the

telegraph and the railway be ex

tended from this place to Lawler's,

which is undoubtedly the most

direct route. The labor market is

Kbugebsdobp to be Sold. —

The London Citizen says: — Jules

Verne, in one of his sensational

novels, describes with vivid effect

the sale of an island in aCalifornian

auction-room. At the auction mart

in London whole villages are often

included in the sale of an estate;

but it remains for Tokenhouse

Yard to eclipse Jules Verne by

witnessing the sale of a battlefield.

The interesting field of Krugers

dorp, on which the recent exciting

combat in the Transvaal took place,

will be offered for sale in London,

the area of the land to be sold com

prising several thousand acres.

Lecture on Atjstbalia. — The

Dundee Courier of February 11

says : — The Rev. Alexander Osborne

lectured last night in Chapelshade

Free Church on ' A Visit to Aus

tralia.' The Rev. Alexander Adam

son presided over a good attendance.

Mr. Osborne gave a graphic descrip

tion of the features of the principal

cities in Australia, ?with a, raey

account of country customs, habits,

and climatic peculiarities. Lately,

he remarked, the Government had

recognised that the aborigines had

rights, and they were allowed to

travel free over the State railways.

Dealing with the religious aspect of

matters in Australia, he said that

while the spiritual tone was barelv

as high as in Scotland they would

make a great mistake if they

thought that the church tone was

the same. If a man came to church

it meant that he was interested in

Counsel fok Both Sides. —

By a recent steamer (says the New

Zealand Southland Times) two

gentlemen received each a letter

from the same correspondent in

Perth, Western Australia. For

one, the writer, who had quite

recently reached that city from

Invercargill, gave a glowing account

of the prosperity of the town, and

urged his friend to come onand fetch

another friend (named) along with

him ; the other picture drawn

was a gloomy one, and the recipient

was advised not to think of moving

to Westralia, and to use his influ

ence to prevent others from going.

The receivers of the letters have

compared notes, and are in a quan

dary as to which report is the true

one. Is this a case of acting as

counsel for both sides, or is it just

our quondam townsman's latest

AUSTEALIAN NATIVES* ASSOCIA

TION. — The fortnightly meeting of

the Australian Natives' Association

was held last night at the South

Australian Cafe, Hay-street. The

attendance was fair, and the meet

ing was presided over bv the

president, Mr. Walter James,

M.L A. The business on the pro

gramme was a Trial by Jury, but,

owing to the inclemency of the

weather, only one gentleman con

nected with the trial was present.

The evening was therefore spent in

discussing the best means of pro

moting the welfare of the associa

tion. Considerable interest was

taken in the discussion, owing to

the presence of Mr. Charles

M'DowelL a prominent member of

the Melbourne branch of the Aus

tralian Natives' Association. Mr.

M'Dowell said that so great was

the interest shown by the

Victorian societies in the cause

in Western Australia that a

sum of money had been set aside

from the funds of the Victorian

Association, for the purpose of

enabling him to travel through

Western Australia, and assist in

the strengthening of branches

already formed, and in the estab

lishment of new ones. Several

gentlemen reported that efforts

were being made to establish

branches at Bunbury, Midland

Junction, and Subiaco. The secre

tary stated that he intended to

visit Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie

this week for the purpose of estab

ishing branches of the assoeia

Nobtham Town Clebk. — The

Northam Council has appointed

Mr. Coleman town clerk at a salarv

GOVERNMEST-HOUSE ' AtHoMES.'

— We are requested to state that

the ' at homes ' at Government

house will take place on alternate :

Fridays between the hours of 4.30 i

and 6.30 p.m., the next being on

Volunteer Resebve Fobce. —

The conditions of the scheme for

the establishment of a Volunteer

Reserve Force, promulgated by the

commandant, are to be printed,

and copies will be supplied to the

different volunteer corps for dis

tribution among those desirous of

Our Northam correspondent tele

graphs : — ' There are only six cases

of typhoid fever under treatment

at the hospital. Mr. Hummerston,

proprietor of the Transcontinental

Hotel, and Mr. W. Lake, barman of

the same place, are the latest

admitted. Outside the hospital

there is not much sickness.

gage. — The woman named Chris

tina Fowler, who appropriated the

luggage of two lady passengers j

who booked in the Cintra from1

Sydney to Fremantle (W.A.), but

who missed their passages, was

sentenced to a fortnight's im-1

prisonment without the option of

a fine. The accused was convicted

some time ago of a similar offence.

News fbom the Norseman. —

A correspondent at Norseman

writes under date March 9 : — A

gigantic sports meeting, including

bicycle and foot races, is to be held

here at Easter time. Arrange

ments are in the hands of a com

mittee, which is actively framing

a monster programme. The newly

formed brass band will liven the

proceedings when they come off.

The new local paper, the Miner, is

proving itself a success, and

deservedly so. Its tone is mode

rate, and without any effort to un

duly puff the fields, it is doing

genuine good by its free and just

Stock: Importation. — Mr.

Emanuel and Mr. Kidman, stock im

porters, had an interview yesterday

with Mr. A. R. Richardson, the

Commissioner for Crown Lands, in

reference to the regulations to be

enforced in connection with the

importation of sheep. It was re

presented to the Minister that the

present regulations which provide

for the dipping of sheep either

here or in the Eastern colonies

were too stringent. Some 1,500

sheep were on board the steamer

Colac, and as it was believed that

they were not dipped at the port of

shipment, the deputation wished

to know whether it was absolutely

necessary for the regulations to be

enforced in that respect. It was

represented to the Minister that

there could be no danger from the

admission of the sheep as long as

they were subjected to a careful

examination. The deputation fur

ther complained of the largeness

of the fees demanded for the in

spection of the sheep. They

amounted to a very big sum when

many head of sheep were imported.

Mr. Richardson stated that he had

been considering the question, and

had been making an abatement in

the fees when large numbers of

sheep were brought in. With re

ference to the question of the

dipping, he would have to see the

stock inspector before he could

reply definitely to the application.

Ax Interesting Case. — A case

of considerable interest was heard

before Mr. Justice Hensman in

chambers yesterday. Mr. Ewing,

for Messrs. Haynes and Purkiss, of

Coolgardie, moved to make absolute

a rule nisi tor a prohibition re

straining Mr. Warden Finnerty

from further proceeding in a judg

ment given by him at Coolgardie

against one Morris in favor of one

Matthews. Mr. George Parker,

for Messrs. Hare and Vyner,

appeared to show cause. It seemed

that the summons had been served

by posting at the warden's office, i

which service, it was contended,

was bad, the defendant having a

registered agent on the goldfield. j

After considerable argument on the j

question, and whether the court

had proceeded without jurisdiction,

and the verdict was against natural

justice, the judge, in deciding, said j

that, though he was of opinion that i

the foundation of the jurisdiction !

was bad, he would only decide that j

the warden, in giving a verdict ?

against the defendant in the cir- j

cunistances before the court, had

acted contrary to the principles of

natural justice, and that the rule i

nisi for prohibition must be made j

absolute, with costs against Mat- !

thews. This is, we believe, thej

first instance in which, in this !

colony, a magistrate's decision has .

been upset upon the ground that it j

is contrary to natural justice — aj

principle, however, which has fori

some time been recognised in New j

Bishop G-ibney. — Bishop Gib

ney, who has been on a visit to

Kalgoorlie for the purpose of

opening a Roman Catholic church

there, returned to the city unex

pectedly, on Friday | last. * It was

thought that he would stay at

Coolgardie for the purpose of

taking part in the proceedings . in

connection with the opening of the

Official Impabtiality. — The

Paris Figaro is good enough to

guarantee the 'perfect authen

ticity' of the following incident

illustrative of the stern impartiality

of the German telegraph authori

ties. A telegram was lately de

spatched by Lord Lonsdale with

the address ' His Majesty the

Emperor of Germany, Potsdam.'

It was returned to his lordship

marked ' Address insufficient.'

Mask Twain in India. — Mark

Twain, according to papers received

by the last mail, is making a kind

of royal progress through India.

He entertains the people, European

and the educated native, and the

people entertain him. The Bombay

Yacht Club gave him a grand

dinner, and the Gaekwar of Baroda,

besides making him some handsome

presents, gave the famous humorist

an opportunity of seeing what

riding on an elephant is like — ah

experience of which the world will

probably hear more by-and-by.

But Mr. Clemens's reception in

Calcutta promises to put his

Bombay season into the shade. All

the journalists of the capital join

in a chorus of welcome, among

them bis countrywoman, Miss Sara

Jeannette Duncan, authoress of

' A Social Departure,' who, in the

Indian Daily News, under the

heading, 'Welcome, Mark Twain!'

'apostrophises the author of the

' Innocents Abroad ' in glowing

The Ethics of Dbess. — At the

Bathurst (N.S.W.) District

Court recently, Mr. William

Bonnor (brother of the famous

cricketer) went into the witness

box without a coat on, which pro

ceeding drew from his Honor the

question, ' Do you possess a coat ?'

! Complainant : ' Yes.' His Honor :

' Then why do you come into court

without one ? You must show

more respect to the court. Do you

\ go to church without a coat ?'

! Complainant : ' I would, if possible,

lyour Honor. I seldom wear a

coat.' ' Well, you are not going

to come into court to give evidence

without a coat.' Witness : ' 1

mean no disrespect, your Hcnor,

and thought I was showing none.'

His Honor : ' Well, you will know

what to do in future.' One

can imagine the shock his Honor

would get if he went, say, to India,

and beheld a native witness clothed

in a smile, a clear conscience, and a

Supeeme Court. — The court re

sumed its sittings yesterday, when

the hearing of the case of Davis v.

Smith was continued. After further

argument, the court reserved its

decision. In the case of Nicholas

v. Smith, in which the plaintiff ap

pealed against the decision of the

magistrate at the Murchison gold

fields, convicting him for having

been in the unlawful occupation of

waste Crown lands at Cue, the

court decided that the magistrate's

decision was wrong, and that

the case should be reheard.

The ease of George Trottv. Stephen

Gibbs was an appeal against a

decision in the Police Court, but as

further information was required

by the court, it was decided to

send the papers back to the magis

trate for amendment, and to hear

the case on the 30th inst. The

ease of James Byfield v. F. Hutton,

was an appeal against the

decision of the Resident Magistrate

at Northam, non-suiting the plain

tiff, who sought to recover the sum

of .£17 12s. 4-1. for goods sold and

delivered. The case stands part

heard. The court adjourned to

10.30 a.m. on the 30th inst.

Working of the Telegbaphs.

— Mr. Snook, the Chief Inspector,

sent the following report yesterday

to the Minister as to the working

of the lines: — Eucla line worked

fairly well yesterday. We were

able to decrease arrears. Eucla

has 700 messages for us, and we

have about the same for Eucla.

Coolgardie worked quadruplex

well; business all cleared 11.30

p.m. North line worked much

better yesterday, but there was an

intermittent fault about La Grange

Bay and Broome from 11 a.m. to

3.45 p.m., when it was removed by

the lineman, and the line

worked fairly well. Outward,

cables were up to time. Inward,

about 20 to come. Enlarged local

business; about 50 messages in

arrears. Cue line crossed with the

North at 7.30 last night, between

Guildford and Newcastle. Busi

ness slightly delayed. All lines

working well this morning except

Cue, which is working moderately.

Since yesterday morning the Cut

line has been working very much

Advice by a City Man. — The

London Sketch says : — As we sat

quietly in our den the other day,

we were rudely disturbed by the

intrusion of a well-known City

gentleman, whose first observation

was, ' Have you got a shirt r' We

explained that we still had a ragged

one. ' Well, pawn it, and put the

money into Hannan's Brown TTill ;

that is what all the crowd connected

with it are doing,' was the reply ;

and further inquiry in other direc

tions confirms the truth of the hist

Fbemantle Hospital. — The

following is the report of the

Government Hospital. Fremantle,

for the week ended Saturday,

March 21 : — Admitted, 4 ; dis

charged, 5 ; died, 3 ; remaining under

treatment, 26. The three deaths

arose from typhoid fever, the

victims being Francis Chapman 32,

Frederick Young 22, and Roland

Oborn 24. Five of the patients at

present in the hospital are suffering

from typhoid, four having come

from the Fremantle distrie(fc and

one from the goldfields. Miss

Borough, the matron of the institu

tion, has resigned, and will leave at

the end of the month to take over

the Mandurah-road private hos

Short-weight Bread. — At the

Collingwood (Melbourne) Police

Court recently, Inspector Banko,

officer of the local council, prose

cuted Sydney J. Oakes, baker, of

Alphington, for having had short

weight bread in his possession for

sale. One hundred and forty-six

21b. loaves were found to be 127}oz.

short. A fine of 6d. for each ounce

deficient, or a total of £3 3s. 6d.,

with 25s. costs, was inflicted. John

Fredk. Lauer, baker, corner of

Keele and Gold streets, Colling

wood, who had been similarly

prosecuted before, was fined Is.

per ounce, or £2 9s., with 23s. 6d.

costs. One can hardly take up a

Melbourne paper without reading

of bakers having been fined for

having sold light-weight bread. It

is a pity that the local inspectors

are not as energetic, as complaints

are very numerous concerning the

Colonies. — A Melbourne exchange

says tnat at the Jntzroy Court

three young men, Tasuian and

Arthur Ritchie and Lemuel Side

bottom, were charged under the

Influx of Criminals Act with being

illegally at large in the colony.

Sub-inspector Young said that the

present charge had been postponed

from the 24th ult., in order that

some law points might be settled.

The accused had served a sentence

in Tasmania for a felony, and had

entered Victoria before the

expiration of three years from

the completion of their sentences.

He (Mr. Young) and the Crown

Solicitor had gone carefully through

the authorities, and Mr. Guinness

was of opinion that ' penal servi

tude,' the wording of the Act, was

synonymous with ' imprisonment.'

Therefore, if the Crown proved

that the accused had served a term

of imprisonment for felony in a

neighboring colony, and entered

Victoria before the expiration of

three years, they were illegally at

large. After some consultation,

the Bench decided to sentence each

of the prisoners to one month's

imprisonment. The accused gave

notice of appeal. The passing of a

similar measure in this colony

would enable the local jwliee

authorities to deal promptly with

the well-known criminals from the

other colonies who are known to be

Fremantle Jetty Approach. —

The state of what is practically the

gate into the colony has for a long

time been an eyesore not only to

resiaents or * remantle, Out also to

passengers arriving and departing

in the steamers. The street imme

diately abutting on the jetty is for

about three or four chains of its

length the property of the Railway

Department, and for some time it

has been in a disgraceful state.

Apart from the fact that a

large assortment of bulky iron

ware is stacked promiscuously

about on all sides, leaving but a

narrow passage in the centre for

vehicular and pedestrian traffic,

there is grave cause for complaint

with regard to the manner in which

the roadway is cut up. Carts are

repeatedly seen with the wheels

buried in the large sandholes, the

horses being unable to proceed

until the loads are lightened, while

pedestrians have to wade ankle-deep

through the sand. The Fremantle

Municipal Council has written to

the Public Works Department with

the view of having this state of

things remedied. It has suggested

that the roadway be paved with

jarrah blocks. In the event of this

being done, the council will con

tinue the blocking from the jetty

approach into Cliff -street as far as

the Post-office. This, however, is

to be done as an experiment, when,

if the paving be found suitable, it

will be used in other parts of the

vey. — The work in connection with

the Kalgoorlie line is proceeding

satisfactorily, and it is expected

that it vrill be completed by the

end of May. The Government

survey of the line to Menzies is

The Cottesloe Accident. —

On inquiryl at the hospital Satur

day, we learned that the young man

Arthur Brangrove, who was injured

at Cottesloe on Tuesday last, owing

to the van which he was driving

being run down by a train from

Fremantle, was ma.lrmg very satis

factory progress towards recovery.

It is thought that he will be able

to leave the hospital in a few days.

Tenders Invited. — Tenders

have been invited for the following'

works : — Post-office at Bulong,

police-quarters at Bulong, Post

office at Beaconsfield, lockup at

Bulong, railway station approach

road at Ludlow, Perjth observatory

residence, Owen's Anchorage oil

store and tramway contract, police

quarters at Mount Magnet, hos

pital furniture for Southern Cross,

post-office at KurnalpL Tenders

are also invited by the Government

Stores Department until noon on

May 15 for the supply of general

goods, &c., for the 12 months end

ment-house. — A few days ago we

published an account of the manner

in which His Excellency the Gover

nor (Sir Gerard Smith) was being

treated in connection with the

furnishing of Government-house,

and especially in reference to the

private offices of His Excellency,

his aide-de-camp, and his private

secretary. We hear that, after this

news appeared in our columns, the

Premier and the assistant engineer

in-chief visited the vice-regal resi

dence to see for themselves what

was required to be done in order to

make His Excellency and Lady

Smith comfortable in their Western

Australian home. Steps are now

being taken to repair and replenish

the office furniture, and to meet

His Excellency's wishes in other

An Intebesting Specimen. —

Mr. J. Melrose, of Hallett, who has

just returned from Western Aus

tralia, has shown us a very interest

ing specimen in the shape of the

body of a dead snake, which he

picked up on the Reefer's Eureka

North claim at Hannan's (says the

Adelaide Register). When ex

tended, the snake, which is known

in this colony as belonging to the

porcupine species, would measure

about 6in. in length, but

the interesting thing about it

is that the little reptile is

coiled up as naturally as if

asleep. Apparently, the action of

the sun and the air has petrified the

reptile, as the body is perfectly

hard, and resembles a metal imita

tion of a snake. That there is nr

deception, however, is evident, for

the markings are still to be seen oa

the body, and when examined under

a miscroscope the mouth is seen to

be open. The snake was found on

the surface of the sand, and, it is

thought, was just able to crawl out

of its hole when it died. Mr. Mel

rose has shown the specimen to a

number of people, who agree that

the state of preservation is won

Accident at Jarrahdale. — A

few days ago a painful accident

happened to a child about four

years of age, the daughter of Mr.

George Postans, a farmer residing

near Jarrahdale. It appears

that Mr. Postans was engaged cut

ting chaff, and the little girl was

assisting her brothers and sisters

to drive the horses attached to the

gear connected with the chaff

cutter. Unknown to the other

children, the child referred to

fell into the cogwheels of the

horse-gear, and got her right

arm entangled therein. Unfortu

nately, the wheels had made several

revolutions before the accident was

discovered, and nothing was seen of

the mishap until the child's arm.

had been mangled to such an

extent that it had to be amputated.

Much sympathy has been expressed

for the little sufferer, as well as for

its parents, who are greatly

respected in the district.

A Neglected Native. — Some

days ago a correspondent at Fre

mantle wrote drawing attention to

the condition of an old and blind

aboriginal woman, who is lying ex

posed in some bushes on the Rifle

Range. The authorities informed

us that, as she was in the receipt of

rations, it was advisable to leave her

with the other natives. For a

week past, however, they have de

serted her, leaving the helpless old

creature to receive food and water

from compassionate white people.

A man named William Day has

drawn the attention of the police

to the wretched condition of the

woman, and she will now be re

moved to some institution.