Camperdown Chronicle (Vic. : 1875 - 1954), Tuesday 1 January 1901, page 2


Camperdown Chronicle, PUBLISHED Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. SUBSCRIBERS RECEIVE A SUPPLEMENT WITH EACH ISSUE. TUESDAY, JANUARY 1, 1901.

GENERAL NEWS.

The following items appear on the fourth page:— Mortlake Sports: Alleged Child; Murder; Old Age Pensions ; Mortlake Sale; The Butter Market ; Our Representatives in Parliament; Maribyrnong Races. The most important district event in the way, of amusement for holiday-makers to-day will be the annual race meeting at Terang. Trains will convey passengers to the course, and in the evening, at 6 o'clock, a special train will leave Terang for Camperdown only. All post offices will be closed to the public at 10 a. m to-day. The first de-livery only by letter-carrier will be ef-fected. All country mails will be re-ceived and despatched as usual. No money order business will be transacted. Telegraph offices will be open from 8.30 till 10 a.m , and from 6 to 7 p.m. Sunday was the most disagreeable day that has been experienced so far this summer. The sweltering heat, accompanied by a hot north wind, was particularly oppressive. The mercury rose to 102 degrees in the shade. Between 4 and 5 o'clock a welcome change took place. The wind veered to the south-west and blew with hurricane force, carrying before it clouds of dust. A few flashes of lightning and peals of thunder followed, and light rain fell, the atmosphere being con-siderably, cooler. Four points were recorded at the Shire Hall. The London Bioscope appears to-morrow evening at the Mechanics' Hall for one night only, and comes with the best criticisms from the Victorian and Tasmanian Press as being absolutely the best moving picture entertainment ever seen in Australia. The Bioscope is the improved Cinematographe, its special feature being to exhibit moving pictures steady and clear and without that objectionable flicker so trying to the eyes in all previous entertainments. The war pictures shown by the Bioscope are said by the Melbourne Press to be startling in their reality, in fact it is stated that a young lady watching one scene of actual fighting fainted because she recognised her brother under fire. Besides all the latest war films the com-pany produce two complete pantomimes every evening, either said to be well worth the whole price of admission. Included in their repertoire are numerous comic films. Mr. E.H. Steven-son from 'London acts as lecturer and entertainer, and in a chatty conversa-tional manner announces the various scenes, while Sir. E. W. Oyston, the well-known bandmaster from Melbourne Government House, officiates as musical director, which in itself promises a musical treat. For the week ending Saturday last there were 69,409 gallons of milk re-ceived at the Glenormiston Factory. The suggestion was made some years ago that sheep trucks might be adapted so that they might on occasion be used for general stock carrying purposes, instead of lying idle for a portion of the year. Now that the demand for sheep trucks has increased, the suggestion has been revived. Mr. Fitzpatrick, how-ever, says the difficulties of conversion have been found to be so great that the idea has been practically abandoned. The ventilation requirements of sheep differ widely from those of cattle, to mention but one detail of importance, The experiment was tried about the year 1887, when three sample trucks were fitted for dual purposes. The most successful was that invented by Messrs. Brasier and Valentine, whose sheep truck is now largely in use on the railways. On the whole, however, the experiment demonstrated the im-possibility of combining the essentials of sheep and cattle travelling accom-modation. Miss J. Robertson has been appointed head teacher at the Ecklin South State School. A CASE of snakebite occurred at Laang on the evening of Boxing Day. Miss Elizabeth Nicholson, who resides with her father, had been to a school picnic and returned home in time to help milk the cows. A skirt, which she intended to wear when milking, had been left hanging on a fence, and it blew down. She picked it up from the ground sub-sequently when a snake fastened on her finger and bit her. The wound was cut with a knife and allowed to bleed freely and ligatures, tied around the hand. Miss Nicholson was then taken to a doctor at Terang, and the usual remedies for snakebite were adopted. For some time she was in a comatose state, but on Thursday, she was pronounced to be out of danger. A NOVEL proposal for the extermin-ation of the rabbit put has been made to the Western Australian Minister of Lands by a resident, of Aldershot, Eng- land, who contends that it is not only possible, but practicable, to destroy rabbits by means of electricity. In dealing with plain and table lands, the correspondent suggests that wire netting of suitable widths, lengths and gauges should be laid over the land, not touch-ing the ground, but supported a few inches above it by means of wooden pegs. Dynamos to generate the electricity should be placed at one corner of a section of the netting. Around the flat, nets on three sides should be placed, and a raised fence of wire netting erected, on to which a current of electricity could be switched powerful enough to kill a rabbit at the merest touch. Thus rabbits, on leaving their burrows and coming into contact with the electrified wire, would be in-stantly killed. Other suggestions were made for dealing with bush and wooded lands, with rough, hilly country, and with the banks of streams and rivers. The communication, however, is not favorably regarded by the officers of the department,

A few days ago Senior-constable Smith was informed that the boy Harold Fuller, who on two or three previous occasions had escaped from the Re-formatory, had once more made a dash for liberty—this time from the Salva-tion Army's Home for Boys at Bays-water, to which institution he had been handed over. The runaway, as was his custom, had made his way back to Cam-perdown, and was captured by Constable M'Cann and transferred to a Salvation Army officer, who came from the metro-polis to secure him. The advisabilityof introducing the stone crusher into the Shire of Grenville was brought up for discussion while tenders for road works between Cape Clear and Pitfield were being con-sidered. For Contract No. 32/00 there were three tenders, one which, that of J. Pryor, was for machine-broken metal, the price being fully £200 less than the next lowest tender. President Kennedy said he was altogether opposed to machine-broken metal. In Hampden Shire it had been proved that hand-broken metal was superior to the machine broken, the money was further distributed, and when the machine breakers got to know the prices of the contractors for hand-broken metal they tendered close up to that price, and got the contract. He believed there was a resolution on the books, against the stone-crusher. Cr. Douglas thought the resolution should be rescinded, and Cr. Andrews thought that, as it would ef-fect a big saving in this instance, and the riding was hard-up for funds, they should get as much work done as pos-sible for their money. Cr. Gribble pointed out that it would not be fair to accept the lowest tender. The other contractors understood that the stone should be hand-broken. Cr. Douglas, in reply to President Kennedy's argument that the price of machine-broken metal was eventually raised to nearly the level of hand-broken metal, said that they need not always accept a stone-crusher's tender. Cr. Wallis thought, if they accepted this tender, that if would only be fair to accept any other machine-crushed metal tenders at a future date. Personally he was opposed to the stone-crusher. Cr. Wilson was also opposed to machine-broken metal, but in this instance there was a matter of £200 at issue. Hand-breakers as a rule did not get a living wage ; they were breaking for 1s 8d and 1s 4d a yard in the North riding. Machine-breakers paid a fair wage while the job lasted. President Kennedy remarked, that there was nothing to prevent the council fixing a minimum wage in the Hampden shire. Cr. Blakely was strongly opposed to the stone-crusher. In the contract under notice the hand-broken metal might be cheaper in the end after all. Cr. Clarke recognised that it would be better to have hand-broken metal as against machine-broken if it could be supplied at anywhere near the same price. They might pay too dear for hand-broken metal. The machine-breakers belonged to other districts. President Kennedy—The whole of the machine breakers would come from another shire. The Engineer mentioned that his specifications were for hand-broken metal. President Kennedy suggested that fresh tenders should be called, and after further discussion Cr. Gribble moved and Cr. Blakely seconded " That fresh tenders be called by next meeting for Contract No. 32/00, for hand-broken metal." Cr. Clarke moved as an amendment, and Cr. Douglas seconded ''That alternative tenders be called at next meeting for hand-broken and machine-broken metal. " The motion was carried by six votes to three, only, the mover, seconder, and Cr. Andrews voting for the amendment. AN exciting vehicular accident occurred at Carngham on Saturday afternoon, which resulted somewhat seriously to the persons most im-mediately concerned, viz.. Miss Maggie O'Shaughnessy and Mr. P. H. Dillon, of the Postal department, Melbourne. They had just taken their seats in a buggy in the yard of the Carngham hotel preparatory to driving to Snake Valley, when something startled the horse, which bolted and ran against a tree, the impact hurling both the seat and its occupants backward to the ground. The animal then broke the traces and galloped away. Miss O'Shaughnessy sustained some painful bruises, besides a severe shock to the system, while Mr. Dillon was very badly cut about the leg, and lost a con-siderable quantity of blood. Dr. Donaldson, of Linton, was sent for, and put a number of stitches in the gash. Under his care both patients are making satisfactory progress towards recovery. APPLICATION has been made, under section 76 of the Land Act 1890, by S. Harris, for 9 acres, parish of Keilam-bate. DETAILS are advertised of the stock to be offered at the special sale to be conducted at Camperdown on 11th instant by Messrs. Thornton Palmer & Co. Some 12,500 sheep and 300 head cattle are already listed, and as these include first-class lines, the sale, which is the first special sale to be held under the auspices of the new firm, should be a highly important one. TENDERS are being invited for the removal of the Terang South State school to Weerite. MR. Herbert Smith, Waterloo South, had the misfortune on Christmas Day to have his eight-roomed-weatherboard cottage burnt to the ground. It seems that Mrs. Smith had left a fire burning in the kitchen fireplace and was in the yard milking a cow when the alarm was raised. Mr. Smith had been out shoot-ing at Trawalla, and on nearing home saw his house in flames. The building had just been lined with pine boards, and was uninsured. The loss is estimated at £200. A little of the furniture was saved. Mrs. Smith had a narrow escape. In trying to get a cat out of a bedroom she got jambed behind it, and was rescued with a difficulty just in time, as her eyebrows were singed and her face blackened slightly by the flames. IN the Two-mile Bicycle Race at Beaufort, on Boxing Day, G. Hooper ran third. J. Parish gained second prize in the Three-mile Bicycle Race. AN extensive bush fire occurred at Ardara on Christmas Day, destroying a large tract of grass country, including 700 acres belonging to Mr. E. H. Aus-tin. Altogether 20,000 acres were burnt. On Boxing Day the fire sprang up again, and though a host of men were working with desperate energy the flames overpowered them, and got away on the one side as far as the Beaufort ranges and to Stoneleigh. Mr. Brebner, of the Willow Banks lost heavily, as also did Mr. T. Lewis, and in one paddock in that neighbourhood a large number of sheep were caught and burned, and many landowners in the track of the fire have practically lost the efforts of the year. The fire covered a stretch of over 20 miles of country in a straight line. Mr. Berryman in trying to plough through his crop, had the fire come so quickly that the manes and pails of his horses were singed. It is re-ported that 500 sheep were burnt on the Stoneleigh estate, and 1000 at Gorinn. On Thursday an urgent call for help came to Beaufort, Challicum hoestead and Duanger being surrounded by fire. Despite the long distance from the town about 20 or 30 men responded.

TODAY is not only the beginning of a new year ; it is also the commence-ment of a new century, and will be signalised as the birth of the Australian Commonwealth. These facts were probably responsible for the more thanordinary enthusiasm displayed in the time-honoured custom of ringing in the new year. A programme, of music, was rendered by the Brass Band, under Band-master Harrison, last evening, and the chimes of the town clock at midnight were accompanied by vigorous clanging of church bells, the firing of guns, and a display of fire-works. FALKIRK, says the "Sportsman," is the St. Albans bred Umiltan colt pur-chased by Mr. M'Arthur not long ago. The youngster is now at Flemington, having come down from Camperdown to fulfil his engagement in the Criterion Stakes. He has not been really tested yet, and not much can be expected of him for a while, but Falkirk shows sufficient promise already to indicate that he is likely to turn out good pro-perty. A. Quinn, who has charge of Falkirk, recently received the appoint-ment of private trainer to Mr. J. N. M'Arthur, and he has now settled down in that position. Quinn has a good deal of material to work upon, and such an experienced and steady young fellow should do well. Amongst the young ones Quinn will be relying his hand on is the brother to Bobadil, purchased by Mr. M'Arthur at the St. Albans brea-up. The colt, it is said, is moulded on rather stouter lines than his famous relative, and if he can only go as fast he will do very well. Mr. M'Arthur is not sparing anything in his endeavorsto get gallopers of the right class, andthere is there is no owner in Australia who more richly deserves success. THE Colac polo-club was unable to get a second team together to fulfil their engagement to play the Camperdown second team on Saturday, and the match, consequently fell through. THE success of the benefit concert tendered to Mr. R. O. Nimmo is already assured. The large number of tickets sold indicates the popularity of the movement to afford Mr. Nimmo some practical evidence of sympathy in his misfortune, and a well-filled hall may be anticipated on the evening of the 10th inst. An interesting programme, comprising vocal and instrumental music and phonograph selections, is in course of preparation, and will be published shortly. THE members of the Lismore Polo Club have been practising diligently since the opening of the season, and will shortly engage in matches against the Camperdown and other district clubs. The Lismore ground is this season in capital order, and visiting teams will have no reason to complain of the condition of the convincing arena. THREE applications have been re-ceived by the Clerk of Courts at Cam-perdown by would-be participants in the Old Age Pension scheme, which has become law. The ages of the applicants range from 70 to 80 years. MRS. R. Fryers, who, it will be remembered, took a quantity of laudanum on the occasion of the recent domestic squabble with her husband, will appear at the Camperdown Court of Petty Sessions on Thursday on a charge of attempting to take her life. MR. R. W. Barlow, who a few weeks ago presented a flag to the Camperdown State school, was successful in collecting sufficient to cover the cost of procuring a pole. Everything is in readiness to hoist the flag, and the ceremony will take place this morning, at 9 o'clock, in the presence of the members of the Board of Advice. A MEETING was held at Scott's Creek on Thursday night to make arrange-ments to celebrate the inauguration of the Commonwealth. It was decided to hold a district picnic on Friday, January 25th, and to wind up the occa-sion with a dance at night. AT a public meeting, held on the 20th inst., at the Mechanics' Hall, Penshurst, to elect four gentlemen as trustees of the racecourse, in lieu of Mr. John Earls (deceased), Mr. J. N. M'Arthur (left the district),- and Messrs. J. A. Hutton and C. Dufton (resigned), the following, were selected:—Messrs. C. M'Arthur, T. Tobin, R. Aitken, and D. O'Brien. A vote of thanks was passed to the retiring trustees. THE effects of the late Phillip Moysey will be sold at the Camperdown police station to-morrow at 2 p.m. THE inauguration, of the Common- wealth is to be marked in South Australia by the exercise of clemency to persons confined in the gaols of that colony. Portion of the sentences being served by prisoners will be remitted by the Governor on the advice of his Ministers. A similar pro-posal was made in Victoria some time ago, but it has been decided by the Government that this exercise of clemency shall be deferred until to opening of the Federal Parliament in May next by the Duke of York. It is probable that the remissions will be on the scale adopted by South Australia, namely:-—Sentences of first convicted prisoners to be commuted by one-sixth; twice convicted prisoners one-twelfth ; and prisoners convicted three or more times, one-eighteenth. In South Aus-tralia prisoners serving life sentences will be allowed to bring their cases before the Executive for special con-sideration. MR. F. Benussi has received an ac-knowledgement from Mr. G. F. Sydenham, the secretary of the Colac Hospital, of the 3 cheque for £12 3s 1d forwarded as the result of the recent Sunday performance by the Camperdown and Terang brass bands. Mr. Sydenham adds:-"Needless to say the cheque is most acceptable, and the committee are most grateful to the members of the two hands for their splendid donation, especially as the movement was of your own originating." Tickets for admission to the hospital have been received by Mr. Benussi. Attention is directed to Messrs. G. Morrison & Co.'s announcement on the second page. Messrs. Ould & Oakley have a new advertisement in this issue. Service in connection with the Free Presbyterian Church will be conducted by the Rev. J. Sinclair in the Temperence Hall on Monday evening next. Colonel J. M. Templeton, C.M.G., pre-sided at the 31st annual meeting of the Natural Mutual Life Association, which was held at the Melbourne Head office, on Friday afternoon, 21st December. There was a fair attendance of members. The Chairman read the annual report, which showed that for the year ending 30th Spetember last, 5863proposals for Life Assurance had been received, amounting to £1,518,243; of these, 1273 had been declined or not completed, amounting to £364,635. The policies issued numbered 4590, covering assurance for £1,153,808. In addition 746 Endowment Policies were issued for£134,848 15s 6d, and 11 Annuity Policies had been taken out for £1,983 12s 6d per annum. The total new policies issued covered £1,288,456 15s 6d, yielding in premiums £51,334 6s 5d, whilst the consideration for annuities was £9080 12 1d. Regarding claims, 456 policies had involved claims amounting to £330,377 12s 3d for deaths and 355 Endowment Assurances, amounting to £82,862 11s 2d had been claimed for ; 88 Endowments had matured, amounting to £16,961 12s.Five annuitants had died during the year, relieving the Association of the payment of £363 6s 2d per annum.

The premium income on the year's new revenue from a similar source as any previous year since the foundation of the Association. The receipts for the year were £524,120 16s 10d, being an actual increase on any previous year of £24,367 17s 11d ; nearly £100,000 had matured on endowments, thus giving a vivid illus-tration of the benefits derived from the combination of Life Assurance with En-downment, payable in the ... of a certain age. The expenses had been reduced by £3,279 13s 7d. The ratio of expenses to premiums received has been reduced by nearly two per cent.-a highly satisfactory result. The interest account showed an increase of nearly £8000. John Collins, who a short time ago won £370 in a sweep and thereupon started to drink heavily, hanged himself in his camp at the Lake View (S. A.) areas on Saturday afternoon. Benjamin Scribbin, aged 50, was struck by lightning in the Treasury Gardens, Melbourne, on Sunday, and was temporarily paralysed. A very formidable weapon, known as a knuckle duster, was picked up in Palmer-street, Fitzroy, by a local constable early on Friday morning. It is a neat steel casting, with loops for the four fingers, and a palm bar to strengthen the grip. Each loop, or ring, has a spike, projecting, fully half an inch. The weapon would inflict terrible injury upon the head of a victim. For wrongfully using the title of "Dr," Charles Saunders was fined £50 at Sydney on Friday. The body of Henry Tissot, 67 years of age, was found in a dam at Dunolly last week. Cr. R. Milne, President of the Warr- nambool Shire Council, died suddenly from heart disease at Allansford on Sun-day. A lad named John Ellis was out shoot- ing at Mount Duneed, a few miles from Geelong, on Saturday, when his gun went off, the charge entering his head. One of his eyes and portion of his skull had to be removed, and he is now in a critical state. A sore throat may be quickly cured by applying a flannel bandage damped with Chamberlain's Pain Balm. A lame back, a pain in the side, or chest, should be treated in a similar manner. For sale by G. Morrison & Co.