Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Monday 19 May 1845, page 2


ABSTRACT OF SALES BY AUCTION

THIS DAY.

Mr. S. Lyons.-At his Mart, at 11 o'clock,

Cocoanut Oil, Fat, Toitoiseshell, Books and Book Debts ; at Towns's Wharf, at 12 o'clock, Overtime Goods,

Mr. Stubbs.-At his Mart, at 12 o'clock, Four

Houses in Hunter-street, a Two-roomed Cottage in Sydney-place, a House at Straw-

berry Hill.

Mr. E. Salamon.-At his Rooms, at 11 o'clock,

Writing Desks, Dressing Cases, &c. ; at 12 o'clock, Macaroni, Jelly Moulds, Carpenter's

Tools, &c.

Mr. R. Fawcett.--At his Rooms, at half-past

10 o'clock, Haberdashery, Slops, Carpeting, Lamp Cotton.

Messrs. Moore; and Co.-At their Rooms,

George-street, at 7 o'clock, P.M., Books, Book-case, and Stationery.

Mr. W. G. Moore.-At his Mart, Pitt-street,

this morning, Household Furniture.

Mr. Blackman.-At his Rooms, at 11 o'clock,

Brushware, Spanish Anatto, Promissory

Note, &c.

Mr. Mort.-At his Rooms, at 11 o'clock,

Sacks, Woolpacks, Ink, Pens, Stationery, White Lead, Ironmongery, &c. ; at 12 o'clqck, Wines, Porter, Ale, Spirits, and Saddles.

Court of Claims.-The Commissioners will investigate the following claims to lands and town allotments, for deeds of grant, this and following days, at eleven o'clock:-1235. Mrs. Cecily Cromarty, of Port Stephens, widow ; solicitor, B. C. Rodd. 1236. Thomas William Eber Bunker Laycock, of Putty, on the Bulga ; solicitor, F. Beddek. 1237. Henry Usher, of Newcastle ; solicitor, P. Long. 1238. Thomas Buxton and Henry Usher, both of Newcastle, by James Solomon, trustee of the insolvent estate of James Cox ; solicitor, J. Yeoman.

Revenue and Expenditure.-The total amount of the revenue of the colony, for the year ending 31st December, 1844, was £386,617, to which must be added £7,600 balance in the Treasury, at the commencement of tho year. The total expenditure for the year was £345,583, leaving the balance in hand on the 1st January last, £48,633.

Baptist Chapel at Melhourne.-The Rev. Mr. Ham wishes us to state, that when speak-ing at the Wesleyan meeting last week, he said that £450 had been conbributed by the people at Melbourne, towards the erection of the Baptist Chapel there, and not £560 as men-tioned in the report.

Ordination.-The Bishop held an ordina-tion yesterday at St. Andrew's Church, when Mr. Horton, catechist of Dural, was admitted to deacon's orders. The prayers were read by the Rev. R. li. Sconce, the sermon was preached by the Bishop, who took for his text the 12th chapter of the Gospel according to St. Luke, 42nd verse: " And the lord said, who is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household to give them their portion of meat in due season ?" Tho Rev. R. Allwood presented the candidate.

Phrenology.-Mr. Hamilton will deliver

his fifth lecture on Phrenology, this evening,

at the School of Arts.

The Medical Board.-His Excellency the Governor has been pleased to appoint the un-dermentioned gentlemen to be additional mem-bers of the Medical Board for the Sydney or Middle District of the colony, and for whose examination and approval persons desirous of being declared legally qualified medical prac-titioners, shall submit their diplomas, or their certificates, viz. : James Mitchell, Esq., Patrick Hill, Esq., William Richardson, Esq. His Ex-cellency has also directed it to be notified, that Dr. Wallace, on his recent departure for Eng-land, resigned his scat in that Board.

Eclipse of the Moon.-On Wednesday night an eclipse of the moon will commence at 23'6 minutes past eleven, which will be visible in Sydney. The following is the time of the different phases reduced from the Nau-tical Almanac to mean civil, or common time, on the meridian of Parramatta. First con-tact with Penumbra at 23-6 minutes past XI. All tho other phases take place on Thursday morning, namely :-First contaot at 38-8 mi-nutes to I. First total immersion in the sha-dow at 35 4 minutes past I. Middle of the eclipse at 68 minutes past I. Last immersion in the shadow at 20"6 minutes past II. Last contact with the shadow at 34-8 minutes past III, Last contact with Penumbra at 32-4 minutes paBt IV, Duration of the phenomena, 5 hours 8*8 minutes. The magnitude of the eclipso (moon's diain.-l) I »095, on the southern limb. The first contact with the shadow occurs at 121° from the northernmost point of the moon's limb towards the east ; the last contact at 108" towaids the west.

Overtime Goods at Townb's Wuahf, and Cocoa-nut Oil and Fat, at the Mart.-The sale of the overtime goods in Towns' Bonded Stores, formerly (Jones's) will be held, this day, by Mr. Samuel Lyons, at twelve o'clock, at the Wharf, Miller's Point. For further par-ticulars see advertisement in our columns. At eleven o'clock, Mr. Lyons will sell at his mart, cocoa-nut oil, fat, and toitoiseshell, ex Colum-

bine,-.Communicated.

We are requested to draw public attention to the important sales which take place this day, at the Commercial Sale Rooms of Mr, R. Fawcett. As the whole must be cleared off without reserve, the sale may be expected to continue throughout the day. A lunch will be provided -Communicated.

The Australian Horses.-We are very glad to hear that the Australian Horses, sold yester-day by Mersrs. Tulloh and Co., realised very good prices. Some went as high as 1600 or I 1600 rupees, whilst the lowest price was 475. The average was 944 rupees. Another sale is to take place on Saturday next, when some splendid lots will be put up. It is gratifying to learn that these experiments have turned out so well ; the Australian colonies will profit by the exportation, and we shall be greatly the gainers.-Bengal Hurkaru, December 17.

Judicial Purity.-In a Tate "affair of ho-nour" at Port Nicholson,-in whioh Mí. D.

Wakefield, a practioner in the Supreme Court,' and Mr. S. Revans,were the parties, the former published a letter, giving an account of the" cause of quarrel, which contains the following most extraordinary statement :-" A trial was had at the late sittings of the Supreme Court, Smith». Betts and another, involving a question as to the validity of a deed, by which Mr. Revans conveyed the whole of his property to Captain Smith, to the exclusion, amongst others, of Messrs. Betts and Co , of Sydney, to whom Mr. Revans is indebted. I was counsel for the defendant, and a verdict was returned for the plaintiff, on which n new trial was applied for,- and a rule nisi obtained. On the day on which this happened, that ia Tuesday i the 18th March, about four o'clock in the

afternoon, I met Mr. Revans on the beach, . close to the Scottish Church, in company with

James Smith, and I said to him, "We have got a rule nisi in that cause, meaning Smith ». Betts." Mr. Revans replied, " Oh a rule nisi is nothing." Upon which I said " It is a first step." Mr. Revans immediately said, *' Well. I will bet five to one, I win it, I know Chap-man (meaning the Judge), I can trust him, or he will take care of it. I know Chapman ; we kept two sisters together for three years," then stating other circumstances not necessary to be mentioned." Such a bond of union between client and judge was probably never before alleged as a ground for " trusting" the Court.

Charles Dickens.-We have been assured, on authority which we have no reason for doubting, that this celebrated writer contem-plates a speedy arrival amongst us; not to make a mere passing visit for the sake of taking notes-but as a settler, the notes he has already taken sufficing to introduce him as a capitalist.-Southern Queen.

Newcastle Gaol.-Mr. William Tristram, many years gaoler at Liverpool, has been ap-pointed to the situation of Gaoler at Newcastle, vacant by the death of Mr. John Field. Mr. Tristram has been upwards of twenty-three yeais in the department of the Sheriff.

Burglary and attempted Arson.-Between

nine and ten o'clock on Friday night last, an entrance was effected into the stores of Mr. George Thorne, Jamison-street, when all the drawers and cash-boxes were broken into, and every place in the premises ransacked. It appears the parties had also attempted to set the premises on fire, as a quantity of half-burnt paper was found to have been thrust in amongst the goods in several places. It is probable that some one had been concealed inside the pre-mises before they were locked up, as the lock appears to have been forced from the inside. There does not appear to have been anything carried off, the depredators being disappointed in finding money.

Robbing the George-street Market.Between Friday night and Saturday morning, one of the shutters on the north side of shed A, in the George-street Market, was forced open, and six dozen of very neat cabbage-tree hats

carried off.

Police Court Business.-Saturday.-This J

Court was opened at 9 a.m., before the Mayor, j

who admonished and discharged tlireo drunk.

ards, and fined two others 11s, each. Of niño i cases on the summons list, seven were post-poned till Tuesday ; the eighth was that of a publican for a broach of the Licensing Act, who pleaded guilty, and paid a fine of'40s., with 5s. costs ; the ninth case was ordered to stand over. There were five persons named on the general list-two by warrant for assault, nnd three on a single remanded charge for stealing

two £50 notes : these oases were ordered to i

stand over, and the Court adjourned at twenty- j five minutes past nine till ten o'clock. The Court was again re-opened at a quarter past ten

before the Mayor and Mr. Campbell, when the j

business on the list was disposed of as fol-lows : John Griffiths, Joseph Marks, and Mar-garet M'Auliffe, who had been four days in custody for stealing two £50 notes, were then placed at the bar, and on the motion of Mr. Dillon discharged, as the proof was defective. The Court adjourned at eleven o'clock a.m. till nine o'clock to-day.

Australian Field Sports.-Although Aus-tralia is singularly deficient in large quadrupeds, and does not possess any of those animals which afford the exciting pleasure of the chase in other countries; yet I think the Australian sport of kangaroo-hunting possesses, at any rate, equal attraction to coursing the hare in England. For instead of being a weak, help-less animal, like the hare, the kangaroo, although quite as timid and inoffensive, is capable of contending vigorously with his pur-suers, when driven to desperation, and from the tremendous bounds he makes over all obstacles in his way, he gives, if hunted in a thickly wooded mountainous country, plenty of work both to horses and dogs. The varieties of kangaroos in New Holland are extremely nu-merous, those most frequently met with on the north-eastern part of the territory, are, the large forest-kangaroo (Macropus major) the wallibi, Halmaturus Ualabatus,) the pademella, or brush-kangaroo, (Halmaturus thetis,) the silver wallabi, (Halmaturus elegans,) the black wallaroo, and the kangaroo-rat. The redbacked kangaroo, (Macropus laniger,) is occa-sionally seen on the open elevated table-land. The largest kangaroo I ever saw was killed close to my tents at Munga creek at the M'Leay River ; it weighed very nearly 250 pounds, and disabled one of the dogs which had attacked him. It is scarcely necessary to mention that the kangaroo only uses his fore-feet for grazing or digging. He advances by a succession of leaps, in making which, his tail, which he carries at right angles to his body, is of great service ; some of them have been known in these leaps to spring over obstacles eight feet high. [Lieutenant Breton once saw an instance of a kangaroo clearing fifteen yards at one spring in descending a slope !] The best dogs for hunt-ing this animal, are those that are a cross be-tween the greyhound and some larger and coarser dogs ; the lurcher and the large Scotch deer-hound are very well suited for this kind of sport. As soon as a kangaroo is started, he bounds away for some minutes at as fast a rate

as the fleetest dogs, but the latter soon gain upon him, especially if he ascends the steep slope of a range, which is peculiarly disadvan-tageous to his manner of progression. How-ever, if the country is very brushy and rocky, he frequently escapes from his facility of clearing all impediments in his way, by his amazing leaps. Whilst the chase lasts the horses must keep up a very fast pace ; and in the densely wooded coast country, there is ample scope for proving the mettle of one's horses, in leaping across water-courses and rocky brooks, clearing fallen trees and thorny bushes, and galloping down steep ranges. A well trained dog, in coming alongside of a kangaroo, springs on that animal whilst in the air, seizing it near the root of the tail ; the weight of the dog brings him to the ground, when the former instantly lets go the tail and fastens on the throat. In effecting this manoeuvre, an awkward dog is frequently torn, or ripped open, by the kangaroo's hind legs, which are armed with hooked claws of great size. It is no uncommon occurrence for him to stop and stand at bay against a tree ; when the dog ventures to attack the kangaroo whilst in this position, he generally suffers for his temerity ; and it is necessary, on such occa-sions, for the sportsman to dismount, and approaching from behind, cleave his skull with a couteau de chasse, or tomahawk. He some-times rushes into a pond of water when pressed hard, and has been known to drown dogs which swam to attack him. The small brush kangaroo, or pademella, is easily killed by the blacks who hunt them in the brushes, in the way I have before described ; the whites, how-ever, find it rather difficult to shoot them, on account of their being so much concealed by the fern, matted creepers, and briars. On starting one in the brush, it generally rushes into the thickest part of it, and again halts at a short distance, if not pursued. If the sports-man does not get a shot on starting it, he should wait until the cessation of the sound of the jumps of the retreating animal indicates that it has again stopped. He must then ad-vance cautiously towards the spot, making a low continuous whistle, like the note of the Wonga-wonga pigeon ; as long as this sound continues the animal never stirs, and it can be easily approached and despatched. Great di-versity of opinion prevails respecting the flesh of the kangaroo, some persons considering it nearly as good as venison ; the colonists of South Australia seem to be of that opinion, since kangaroo flesh sold, a few years ago, at Adelaide market, at the rate of nine-pence a pound. The reason of this high price was, however, probably the great demand for it by the newly arrived emigrants, who were all

curious to taste tho flesh of this outlandish quadruped. . In New South Wales, kangaroo meat is little esteemed, with the exception of the tail, which is made into a soup superior to ox-tail. During-the period I was engaged in the

survey of the country to the northward of the M'Leay River, my dogs killed some almost daily ; I generally kept the tail and a few steaks for my own table, leaving the rest of the carcass for the blacks, or the wild dogs. As far as my own taste goes, I certainly think that a kan-garoo steak is palatable enough if dressed in the same manner as veal cutlets or venison collops ; whilst the small pademella.if cooked in the samc manner as hare, is undoubtedly excellent. The tails of some of the largest varieties, which I have run down with my dogs, weighed from eleven to fourteen pounds each, consisting of masses of sinew, which yield a large quantity of gelatine when boiled. The dingo, or native dog of New South Wales, is the only beast of prey in that country, and is keenly hunted by the settlers, as it frequently worries sheep, and sometimes seizes new dropped calves, which I have myself known those dogs to do at the M'Leay River. The animals of the colony are so well known that it is scarcely necessary to describe the dingo ; it is rather more than two feet high, and about two feet and a half in length ; its head nearly resembles that of the fox, with a muzzle furnished with whiskers, and short erect ears ; its colour is of a light red-dish brown, its tail rather brushy, resembling that of the fox. Many of these dogs have been brought to England, but no kindness seems able to conquer their savage nature, and make them assume the habits of the domestic dog. A few years ago a friend of mine brought home with him from the colony of Van Diemen's Land, one of these wild dogs ; he kept it fastened up at his residence at Clapham, but it one day broke his chain and escaped, and although it was secured again before many hours had elapsed, yet it had in the mean time worried a pet flock of sheep, belonging to a gentleman who resided in the vicinity, and killed several of them. _A good many years ago, a female of this species was sent as a present to Mr. Nepean from Captain Philip. From its fierceness and agility, it had greatly the advantage of animals much superior to it in size ; for a very large fox-dog being put to it, in a moment it seized him by the loins and would have put a period to his existence, had not some one been at hand. With the utmost facility it could leap on the back of an ass, and was once very near worrying one to death, having fastened on it so firmly that the creature was not able to disengage itself without assistance ; it has likewise been known to run down both deer and sheep. This dog would not eat dressed meat ; I am not, however, aware, whether the numerous specimens of this animal now in the Zoological Gardens, and Menageries, are equally particular in this respect, The tenacity of life in the Australian dingo is most wonderful. The saying, that a cat has nine lives would be much more applicable to this animal, for I have known instances in which dingos have been badly wounded by ball or buck-shot, worried and torn by dogs, and to all appearance killed ; and yet the moment their bodies were aban-

doned they would become resuscitated and

limp off into the brushes. The dingo affords good sport if hunted like the fox. In the more prosperous times of the colony two or three well organised hunts existed in different parts of New South Wales

such as the Sydney hunt and the Bathurst hunt, where the riders appeared in regular costume. A very fine, much admired kangaroo

dog of ours, a beautiful brindled animal pos-sessing all the good qualities of the greyhound with superior power, was remarkably success-ful in pulling down the dingo : on one occasion he killed not less than three on one day besides several kangaroos, on the sea coast near Mount Taolkungaia to the northward of Port Mar quarie. The emu is also hunted with dogs this bird is most frequently met with in the in-terior country beyond the eastern and western waters. Dogs that are accustomed to hunt the emu, invariably seize the bird by the neck and despatch it in a moment ; but young dogs, and docs unaccustomed to this sport are often seriously injured, if they attempt to seize the emu by the flank or leg, as it can give a most powerful kick, sufficiently strong to break the leg of a horse. The flesh of the emu resembles a beef-steak, being very juicy and succulent. There are no birds in Australia to be shot with, dogs, with the exception of quails, and some of the aquatic birds in the reedy swamps and lagoons, such as ducks, moor-fowl, and snipes The varieties of quail in New South Wales, are, the Coturnix Australis, which is rather larger than the English quail, and more re-sembles the partridge in the colour of its plum-age ; the Coturnix pectoralis, which is almost identically the same as the English speciesand the Turnix velox, which is rather smaller. In the district of Port Macquarie, and at the M'Leay River, quails were particularly abun-dant. I remember that on one occasion, Mr. T-, of Port Macquarie, shot no less than thirty brace in a few hours, on the cultivated alluvial plain at our squatting station at the M'Leay River.-Hodgkinson's Australia.