Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser (NSW : 1843 - 1893), Tuesday 4 April 1876, page 7


LOCAL NEWS.

ERRATUM - In the paragraph in our last is«ue, headed " Testimonial to Mra. Hart," a quotation from Tennyson was given. A syllable waa left out in the seoond line, making the verae halt. " Good counsel" should have been, " goodly oounsel." Tennyson' may bo sometimes obsouro, but he never limps with his

metrical feet.

THE CONDEMNED CHINAMAN.-The case of the Chinaman who was sentenced to death for the murder of a fellow prisoner in the Parramatta gaol, was under the considération of tho Execu-tive Counoil, at itB last meeting, and it has been

determined to let the law take its oourae.

A question raised as to the prisoner's Banity was' referred to the Medioal Board, who, howevor, havo seen no reason to doubt the min's sanity Sinoo the se ateneo was passed the unhappy pri-soner has been at-ended by a Christian mission-ary Ah Len The exeoutiotfhaB boen fixed for Tuesday, Hie 18 th of April.-S. M Herald.

.THE WATER SUPPLY -On Thursday aftornoon tho Hon John Robertson; aooompaniod by the Hon John Lackey, the Hon. W B Dalley, tho Hon Saul Samuel, Mr. Whitton (Engineer in Chief), and Mr. Moriarty (Engincor-in-Chief for Harbours and Rivera), visited Liverpool by apeoial train to iuspoat the pumping machinery erected by Mr Samuol above,., tho Goorgo's River dam, in order that some information might be obtained as to ita capabilities, should it be fobnd necessary to mako use of it in obtaining a supply of water for Sydney*in the event of any possible emergency. Tbo machinery was found to be of a most extensive oharaoter, and was considered quite equal to

the work of supplying the city with water until moreiperfect arrangements oould bo made. The Colonial Seorotary and Minister for Works, however, carne to no conclusion on tho matter, but all the gentlemen present wore of opinion that the pumping apparatus could be made available at any time in supplying from Goorge's River any looal difficulty chat might arise in Sydney until more perfect machinery could be sot up at the Ne pean or somo other souroo. The

water abovo the dam was found to be of

excellent quality, and with the maohincry at hand thero is no probability of a dearth of water, oven in tho event of the Botany dams becoming exhausted. From the statement mado by the Eogineer-in-Chiof it appears that a large quantity of water oan bo brought down to the oifcy by railway daily, without seriously interfering with the ordinary traffic, and the only difficulty anticipated is that tho water would not bo taken away quiokly enough to prevont inconvenience at the Redfern terminus. The Sewage and Health Board has urged upon the Government the desirableness of bringing water from Liverpool by rail for the supply of tho suburbs along tbo line.-Herald, March 30.

A CHEAP FILTEB-Now that water is getting low and consequently impure in wells, poor people may be glad to kuow how to con-struct an inexpensive and tolerably efficient filter. There can be no question that Dahlkc's silioated oarbon filter, manufactured in Victoria, and Dauohell's animal charcoal patent, con-structed by the London Water Purifying Com-pany, aro the best kinds that have cvor been in-vented ; but these are placed by their price beyond the reach of hnudreds of poor people

who are suffering from the effects of impure water. We theroforo, rcoommend the following filter, desoribed by Dr. Proctor in his little work on the " Hygiene of Air and Water," which oan be made from a oommon flowor-pot The hole is Btoppod, but not too tightly, with a piece of sponge, and then filled nearly to the top with the following substanoes :-At tho bottom a layer of charcoal, thon one of olean sand, and finally covered with fine gravel. Water poured in at the top filters through these, and passes out at the plugged hole, Animal is superior to vegetable charcoal, and to increase its effectiveness it should be olosoly pressed -Ü, M. Ilerald.

CLOSING OP PUBLIC-HOUSES ON SUNDAY -A deputation, introduced by Mr. Davies, M.L.A., waited this foro noon upon the hon Colonial Scoretary to ask him to aid in the passing through Parliament of tho Bill for the Closing of Pablio-howes on Sunday. Mr

Robertson dcolincd to promiso to support the bill, but would bo willing to aid in the passing of suoh an alteration as would enable such publicans as oboose to do so, to olose altogether on Suuday, on whioh day thoy were now by law required to be open between tho hours of 1 and 3 pm. He thought it would be wrong to deprive the working men of his pot of beer on the Sabbath Day if he chose to have it. With reference to the spending of earnings in publiohouses on Sundays by working mon, ho thought this might in a large degree bo avoidod by em-ployers paying their mon on another day than Saturday-on Monday for instance. It was against the law if mon spent the whole of the Sabbath Day drinking in public-house ; and if the law had been infringed in this regard, OB had been stated, stops should bo taken to seoure its observanoo. Tho deputation thanked the Minister for his oourtesy and withdrew.-Echo of Friday.

A CURIOSITY FKOM THE POST OFFICE.

There is now in the Queanbeyan post office, awaiting an applicant, a letter bearing the Braid-wood and Boro post-marks, and showing every external evidence of having been sent in sober earnestness rather than by way ofpraotioal joke, bearing the following address^in a vory fair bandwriting :-" For my Brother, Post ornoo, Queenboyan." Of pourae,.saya.the local paper, as no member of tho Queanbeyan postal staff is aware of having a fraternal'relative at Braidwood, the ouriouB and mysterious letter remains unopened, all that the potmastor and -his assUtant can do being to ask every person of the masculine gen-der j who oemes - to transact business at the Queanbeyan Post- Omeo, " Are you . ' My

Brother ?'i"

NEW TELEGRAPH OFFICES.-The Gatttte of Maroh 31 intimates that new telegraph offices have been established at Jerry's Plains, and at I Molong.

NEW SOOTH14 WAI. es EXHIBITS -»-We (tf V. Herald) leam from a private lotter from San Franoisoo, that the Mikado arrived at that port on Sunday, the 13th of Feb. The exhibits were landed on the following day and ploood on board tho Pacific Mail Company's steamship, whioh left for Panama on the following morning In the the absenoo from Sin Franoisoo of the President of, the Central Paoifio Railroad, the freight agont had no discretion to forward the goods cxoopting at the rates for ordinary merchandise, namely £12 a ton. At this rate the cost of oarriage would have beon from £300 to £800,. according as the .railroad company ohooio to charge, by weight- or moasuremont ; and the time taken in the then'snowed bp con-dition of the mountain road would have'bcen

longer than, that, consumed in tho journey by way of Panama. It is owing to the exceptional facilities possessed by tho Paoifio Mail Co at San Franoisoo, and te the great interest tas on m the matter by Captain A. P. Bacon, their general manager, that the goods were forwarded withjsuoh quiok dispatch, and a month's delay averted. They were to be forwarded aorpsa the Isthmus of 'Panama as fast freight", and unusual

precautions were taken to ensure oareful,hand-, ling, and safe oarriage aoroasthe Isthmus. They were i to be carried at the nominal rate of £2

| por ten to cover oharges inourred by the com-pany at Panama, and the total oost of freight and insuranoe (for 10,000 dollars), did not inuoh exoeed £100. Mr Baoon refused to make any charge for agenoy. The exhibits from i South Australia and New Zealand were taken, on under similar conditions. Arrange-1 ments havo boen mude to have the 6eoond ship-ment of New South Wales' exhibits sent by

railroad, and thero is some reason to expeot I that thoy will bo carried free.

THE GREAT SOUTHERN AND THE GREAT

WESTERN RAILWAY--People in the northern district who have to travol on these railways, are often puzzled to know the cost of tho journey^ tho hours of departure from . Sydnoy, und the hours of arrival We take the oppor-tunity of the publication of a now timo-table in the Gazette, consequent on the opening of tho extension of the Great Western Railway from Kelso to Bathurst, to give some information on these points. The distance from Sydney to Goulburn by rail is 134 miles, and to Gunning 165 miles. A train, loaves Sydnoy at ten o'clock in the morning, reaches Goulburn at twenty-five minutes to five in the afternoon, and Gunning at a quarter past six. This is a passenger^ train. A mail' and passenger train leaves Sydney at twentyfive minutes past five in the evening, rcaohing Goulburn at eight minutes to twelve at night, and Gunning at half-past one o'olock in the morning. For the return journey to Sydney, a mail and passenger train leaves Gunning at a quarter to twelve at night Goulburn at a quarter past one, rcaohing Sydnoy at ten minutes past seven in tho morning. A pas-senger train also leaves Gunning at ten minutos past ten in the forenoon, Goulburn at ten minutes to twolve, and arrives in Sydnoy at ten minutes to six in the afternoon. The fareB between Sydnoy and Goulburn are : First-class 38s. 8d; aeoond-olasB, 28s 5d. ; betweou Sydnoy and Gun ning : first-oloss, 48s 4d. ; seoond-olass, 36s. 2d

Return tickets aro issuod at a fare and a half

for the double journey, availablo (as to these distances) for ten days. The distance from Sydney to Wallerawang by rail is 105 miles, and to Bathurst 145 miles. A passonger train loaves (will loavo aftor April 4) Sydney at nine o'olock in the morning, roaches Wallerawang at twenty-five minutes to fonr in the afternoon, and Bathurst at thirty-throe minuteB to six A mail and passenger train leaves Sydney at a quarter-past five in the evening, reaehoB Wallerawang at half-past oloven o'olook at night, and Bathurst at thirty-throo minutes to two in the morning. The return journey to Sydney is thus provided for:-a mail and passenger train leaves Bathurst at cloven minutes to twelve at night, and reaches Sydney at twonty minutos past seven io the morning. A passengor train leaves Bathurst at fourteen minutes past ten in the forenoon, and roaohes Sydney at six o'olook in tho evening

We havo mentioned Wallerawang, because that is the station whence tho Mudgee mail starts. The fareB botwoon Sydney and Wallerawang aro : first class, 30s., second olass, 22s. 5d ; be-tween Sydney and Bathurst : first olass, 42s. 7d, second class 32s 5d. The ruleB for return tiokots aro the the same as those already men-

tioned.

PAHISH ROÍD-The Gazette of Maroh 81 statoB that it has boen doomed expedient to open and make the following parish road Well-grounded objections must be sent to tho Clerk of the Exeoutivo Counoil, in writing, within one month from March 31 : Road from A. S. Wightman's (now Francos Abbott's) 650 acres, to the Great Northern Road, at Warlands Range, passing through lands belonging tu the Crown, a reserved road, P. W. Wright's 0 p., and the Great Northern Railway.

VISITING JUSTICE, TENTERFIELD .GAOL -Tho Gazette says, in its ¡BSUO of Maroh 31, that James Brisbano Graham, Esq, Polioe Magiatrate, Tenterfield, has beon appointed visiting justice at the gaol at Tenterfield.

ADDITIONAL TBOSTEES, SAVINGS' BANK, EAST MAITLAND.-It is notified in the Gazette of March 31 that Glentworth Addison, E¡>q, P M., Falkner Hr-po Bartlett, Esq , and Georgo Thomas Cbambors, Ebq , havo been appointod additional district trustees of the East Maitland branch of the Savings' Bank of New South

Wales.

PBOGRESSOF SOUTH AUSTRALIA -Mr. Josiah Boothby, tbo well-known Government statist of South Australia, has prepared a statiatioal sketch of that colony for distribution at the Centennial Eshibiton in Philadelphia. Within the compass of 66 pages are oomprised all the material facts which illustrate the progress made by South Australia since its foundation 40 years ago; and its present position is thus sumtnod up by Mr, Boothby :-" Fifty thousand men sup-port thrice their number of women and ohildron, ocoupy 200,000 square milos of pastoral country, and, possess 6,000,000 sheop; own 6,000,000 acres of land, and grow 12,000,000 buabels of

wheat; oonduot an external oommcroo o'

£9,000,000 sterling, and raise £1,000,000 of

revenue." This'is what the American's will call I " a good reoord."-Argus.

MINERAL RESOURCES OF , WINGEN.-The Murrurundi Times has boon informed by Mr Alderman Muston, of North Shore Sydney, that he haB¿ in company with other gentlemen; taken up ljeuses at Wingen with the view of developing some of itSjtreasurei. /f Itappears that a mineral possessing exoellen't mediomal proper tips' baa beeç discovered jn,t payable quantités at Mount

Widgen, and should' arrangements bo snoeesa

fully completed, as we>earnestly hope they willji this, unfrequented but interesting locality will become the eeono of enterprising find profitable activity. " -

YAoiir RACE -TUB- MISTRAL AND MACHO <-Tho exoitomont consequent on the mooting on Saturday last of these celebrated cracks has, apparently, lost none of its intorest, if wo may judge from the number of porsons both ashore and afloat who oBSomblod on the oocaaion of thoir again oompoting to day, and the result will undoubtedly provo whotbor the Mistral has any chanoo against her formidable rival on her own day. Tho matoh is a private one; tho oourso is from Farm Cove round a boat off Botany Head and back to Port Macquarie. Thoy started at noon ; wind in barbour, W. half N. and moderate ; tide, last quarter, flood Both yaehts carried balloon topsails and went away from their moorings on the port taok Magio took the lead, if anything, and was to windward; shortly bofore. reaohing Bradloy's Head the wind shifted to W. half S. and both boats'jibed ; thoy roundod at 0.13¿p.m., Magio in advance, when she again jibed, followed by Mistral at 0 15 p.m., the lattor having kept longer on the starboard taok. Tho yaohts cleared South Reef at 0.35, Magio leading, wind S.W., fresh, sea smooth. Off Lang's Point Mistral shifted jib, bending a Storm sail. Both carried their baloon topsails until off tho. Gap, when' a change was made to jib-headors. Off the Colours Mistral down topsail and housed topmast, Magic still under whole sail and to windward. Off Bondi Mistral again shifted jibs, getting working jib, and apparently from South Hoad, the Magic was leading about halfa mile at two p m., both crafts being on tho starboard taok when thoy were lost' sight of, wind drawing more to the westward.-Echo, April 1.

ATTEMPTED SUICIDE AT MURRURUNDI.Considerable excitement of a very painful description was caused in this town on Wednesday, says says the Murrurundi Times of the 1st, by the intelligence that a man in the employ of Mr Ferrif had been found in bed with his throat cut nearly from ear to ear. From enquiries made shortly after the discovery, we learned that the unfortunate man, whoso name is Charles Orton, bad been managing the cordial factory of Mr. Ferrif for some months past, during which period he had given unqualified satisfaction to his employer, and earned the good opinions of those about him. On the occasion of the recent atrocious attempt to burn Mr.Ferrifs hotel, Orton exerted himself to extinguish the flames with a zeal which nothing but the deepest interest in his employer's welfare could excite. His labours were

fully appreciated by Mr. Ferrif, who showed him every consideration that gratitude could suggest. But,by some untoward circum-stance, or misconception altogether, the man conceived the strange idea that Mr Ferrif sus-pected him of complicity in the act of burning his premises, and in spite of the most earnest protestations to the contrary, persisted in holding this opinion, and in brooding over the wretched creation of his fancy. Repeatedly he mentioned the matter to Mr. Ferrif, until it

seemed to the latter that the man's mind was in-jured by the groundless suspicions he harboured, and change of air and scene was recommended. This was rejected in such a manner that con-firmed Mr. Ferrif's belief in his weak state of mind, but it was hoped that an improvement would take place. On Wednesday morning Orton was at his usual place until eight o'clock, but appears to have left his work about that hour. At all events, he was not seen again until a couple of hours afterwards, when the barmaid over-heard him in his room, saying, " Good- bye all, its all over," and fearing that something wrong had happened, she informed Mr Ferrif of the circumstance, and he at once proceeded to Orton's room and asked admissio. This not being granted, he tried to open the door (a French light) but found it firmly barri-caded. Putting his foot through one of the panes, he removed a strong wooden bar which fastened the door, and succeeded in entering the room. He found Orton lying on the bed, but so covered that only a part of his face could be seen, and this presenting merely a somewhat pale appearance, he concluded that the man was suffering from a temporary indisposition.

Orton made no reply to the inquiries then made respecting his health, and Mr. Ferrif withdrew, thinking that nothing serious had happoned. Such a conclusion, however, did not satisfy others in the house, and at his wife's request, Mr. Ferrif returned to Orton's room, and inquired again respecting his health. Still receiv-

ing no response, he went to the bed and lifted the clothes which covered Orton's face, when to his horror be found the man lying in a pool of blood, with his neck displaying two gaping wounds, altogether about five inches in length To send for medical aid was the work of a moment, and Dr. Knowles was speedily at hand, when such measures were adopted as the nature of the case required, and after the

wounds were cleaned and stitched the man was removed to the Hospital, where he now lies. It ¡s probable that his recovery will be effected before long as the wounds were deepst in the least dangerous parts of the neck, the jugular vein and even the windpipe being uninjured. With the attention now being paid to the sufferer, it may be hoped that he will speedily be restored to vigour and to a better state of health than he has appeared to enjoy for some weeks past.-From the same journal we lern that a public meeting was held for the purpose of taking stops towards discovering the authors of the suspected incendiarism for which object subscription lists have been opened.

THE CROZBTS -The following account of the Crozct Islands, on whioh tho Strathmoro was wrecked, by Captain Sir James Ross, will be interesting at tho present timo:-The four islands are called Penguin (or Inaccessible) Island, Pig Island, Possession Island, and East Island They are all of voloanio origin, and present generally the peculiar and obaraotor istias of Buoh formation, being composed ohicfly of lofty, blaok precipitous rooka. Possession Island, the largest, is believed to bo about 20 by 10 miles, with three bays on its east side in whioh ships may anohor. All of them afford protection, except in tho case of an east wind. Amerioan Bay is a favourite station with sealers, parties of whom frequently reside thero for monthstegethor, subsisting on a apeoiea of small rook-fish, albatross eggs, young albatross, wild dooks, goat flesh, and the tongue and flippera of the sea elephant, all of. whioh aro to be had in greap abundance and With little trouble. Pos-session Island has some patohes of good soil, in Whioh the sealers, whom Sir James Boss' found there, bad no doubt potatoes and vegetables wouljd thrive well, the température never' being yeryi low. In 1834, Captain DistaWe left lome pigs on Pig Ialand, iwhioh baye so increased that J aocordiugi to the sealers, it is diffioult to lind] for them. Great numbers are every year killed and aalted down by the sealers for' sup-plies on their voyages to and from the Cape of Good Hope.

C¿AL IN'AMERICA,-Jno tptal 'production of ooals in Pennsylvania and adjacent regions for the Atlantic seaboard for 1875 (mining and ship-ment having oloBod for the season) has boen 29,971,690 tons, an inoroaso of 360,851 tons over last year. Of this 19,268,977 tons wore anthracite, and 3,702,713 tons bituminous.

New POST OFFICES.-The following now post offioos havo boon ostablishod : Bukkulla, between Invoroll and Ashford ; Binnaway, between Mundooran aiid Coonabarabran ; Teesdale, near Teapot Swamp. - Gazette, ilarch 81. ^

Two ANKODOTXS OP JOHN BRIQUT.-When ArtemuB Ward was here he gave a children's party, to which one of John Bright'e, Bans was invited, and from which ho roturned aglow with delight. " Oh, papa," exclaimed the little Bright, when asked by tbe great Bright whether ho bad enjoyed himself, " in-deed I did, and Mr. Browne gave me such a nie» name for you, pnpa 1" *' What wus that f ".inquired the father. " Why, ha asked me how that gay and festivo cuas, the governor, was 1* replied the child. Perhaps you think the great Bright was highly in-dignant at this taking Of his name in vain. ! Ile laughed. He didn't laugh, however, on another occasion, during our civil war whon tho Prinoe of Wales, while smoking a cigar with him on the ter-race Of the House of Commons, said to bira, " Don't you think, Mr. Bright, that this war has rendered the Americans heartily tired of a republican form of go-vernment, and that they'll adopt a monarchy ?" " On the contrary," answered Mr. Bright, " the very struggle tho Americans havo gone through will ren-der their institutions dearer to thom than ovur. The Americans are eminently fitted for a republican form of government. They will not nbandun it, and the English will not abandon monarchy until they havo a king whom they detest." Comment is unnecessary. '-'Kate Field's London Letter to the Louisville CourierlJouttial. \ . ,

THE MAEHIAGK OF TUB PHINCESS BWATMOK.The following ia a specimen of the fun respecting tho Koyal Family of England with which tho Americans like to be amused. It is not very good fun; it1 is very moan and undignified fun; und it suggests something more than a suspicion that what aeenia to be satire is low envy : London, February ii.On Thursday laBt Quoon Victoria entered the boudoir of hor unmarried daughter, the Princess Boatrico, and said: "Boatrico, my dearest, you want to gut married, don't you ?" " 0, don't I. just," exolaimed tho girl enthusiastically, "and it'a lean yoar, too. Hooray ! But say, ma, who's the him r" " Prince LOUÍB of Buttenburg," repliod her Majesty. " That'll bo awfully jolly," au ' »ho Princess ; "Louis isBucb n sweet name," and sut, ' Agan scrawling on the blottinu-pnd, " Beatrice Buttenburg," and wondoring how she would look in white. Yesterday morning, when her august mother again entered Her Royal Highness' apartments, she found her daughter in tears, toare of indignation rather than of grief. "Why, drat tho child, ,what aila herP" said Her Majoety. "0, ma," cried tho Princess, "look at tliis," and she pointod'to tho following itom in the Times ¡-Calcutta, Fobruary 4.-Prince Louis of Battenburg, while pig-sticking, fell and broke his collar-bone. The and event has cast a gloom over the community. " Well," said the Queen, " What of thatF" "What of thutP" echood the daughter-, "what of thatP With all due deference to you, ma'am, I will have no Prince Louis in mine. I thought wo had come down low enough when poor Louise married into n grocer's family ; but a butcher, a man that makes his living try sticking horrid pig» not much, Alexandrina Victoria," and knocking off her mother's crown, with tho remark that that was the sort of a hair-pin sho was, Her Koyal Highness betook herself to her bod-room and gavo way to tears.-Telegram to New York World.

NEW PHASIC OP SKRVANTGALISM-Tho now phaso. of servantgalism consists in a rascally attempt to ex-tort money. A lady residing in tho city, who evi-dently did not know that to advertise now for a Rirl sixteen or oigbteen years of ago brings about a house a cluster of girls of worthless character, all acting in concert, advertised for one last week, and experi-enced tho full force of tho difficulty. Fully flftoen applied, although tho first or socond was accep-ted, moro, however, through tho persistent wuy in which she begged for employment than through her appearance. It could be seen outside that a perfect system of telegraphing was at work among them. Tho one omployed returned to her work in the course of an hour or so after being engaged, and she was sot about some light ordinary duty. Ilor mistress left the kitchen where the girl was employed, but on returning in the course of hnlf-nn-hour found to her surprise that she lind quietly deenmpod. Here was a difficulty to be solved-what could havo boon the causo of her sudden departure P An explanation carno, however, in a short time. Within two hours of loaving, the girl find a woman, apparently her mothor, returned to the house, and gaming admittnnco walked boldly into the front room. The woman at once opened fire in such a wav ns to indicate practico in tho work. Sbo wanted a full week's wages for her girl ; she would like to know why she was discharged instanter after boing engaged, And the mothor and daughter thon commencod in the most violont and loud way to check explanation from the mistress of the houao, who sought to explain that tho girl left of her own accord. In violent and obsceno language the money was demanded ovor and ovor ngain, the woman getting near tho door and holding it open as if to make her demand tho more poworful by draw-ing the attention of passers by to the scone. But til o man of the he use hnppenod to be in, ho having re-turned just after tho girl had run away, and the mo-ment he was called into tho room, tho girl dashed out and tho motherfollowed noarlyas quickly, meanwhilo threatening all kinds of proceedings. A more de-termined attempt nt extortion could scarcely hare been conceived.-Evening News,