Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), Tuesday 29 July 1884, page 5


THE Government steamer Vigilant arrived safely at Kimberley on Saturday last, all well, " after a rough trip down the Gulf. As has

already been stated, the little vessel will be engaged in surveying work.

Ir is understood that the Rev. Henry ' Coombs, who for the past five years has held

the pastorate of the Wharf-street Baptist Church, has received a call from the church at Geelong, and has tendered his resignation. A meeting oí church members to consider the matter is to be held to-morrow evening.

THE committee recently appointed to super-vise the work of the blind teacher, Mr. Tighe, have decided to fix his remuneration at.£120 per annum — a very mederate sum indeed for the services he is rendering. It is supposed that another £80 or £100 a year will be required for procuring the necessary materials used in teaching, and the committee appeal with confi-dence to the public to enable them to support Mr. Tighe in his self-denying labours. Con-tributions sent to any member of the committee (the Right Rev. Bishop Hale, Rev. James Stewart, or Mr. Alexander Costello) will be thankfully received and acknowledged.

IT is understood that the sheep directors of the district concerned have given orders for the immediato destruction of the sheep at Degilbo that have recently been dying in large numbers from catarrh, Catarrh, as is well known, is of a highly contagious nature, and to allow such sheep to travel would be to spread the destructive disease among healthy flocks.

Work was resumed at the Brisbane Gram-mar School yesterday, after the winter vaca-tion. The lady principal of the girls school is still suffering from the attack of typhoid fever, which interrupted her labours before the school broke up ; but she has now so far recovered as to permit of her removal from the school buildings to another residence.

THE Hugo Minstrels conclude their long and very successful season to-night with a benefit to Mr. Charles Hugo.

THE usual monthly meeting of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was held yesterday afternoon in the offices of the society, Town Hall, Queen-street. Present: Messrs. S. W. Brooks (in the chair), A. D. Cowan, G. Lang, W. K. Salton, Rev. W. Poole, the inspector, and Mr. J. Irving, the veterinary surgeon to the society. The minutes of last meeting were read and con-firmed. The following is a summary of the inspector's report for the past month: Cautions ; For sore shoulders, 7 ; lameness in horses, 13; low condition in horses, '2; girth gall in horses, 7 ; cruelly ill-treating cows, 2; overdriving horses, 1 ; sore backs in horses, 1 ; making a total of 33 cautions. Richard Frazer, of the Rocky Waterholes, was summoned on the 8th instant for working a horse suffering from a sore shoulder, and was fined £5, with £1 1s. veterinary surgeon's expenses ; on the 22nd instant, Allen Coville, of Paddington, was fined £3, with profesional costs and costs of court, for beating a dog to death. Inspector Marlow reported that in accordance with in-structions received at last meeting he visited the Normanby railway station several times during the month to inspect the trains arriving from the country with sheep. He stated he found no overcrowding, and the large number of sheep found dead in the trucks was due to the bad weather experienced recently and the animals being in a weak con-dition owing to the late drought. The meeting considered the inspector's report on this matter entirely satisfactory, and to pre-vent abuses in the country districts it was decided that Messrs. Poole, Brooks, and Marlow wait on the Commissioner for Police to ask him to issue instructions to the police on the different stations on the Roma and Warwick lines to keep a special watch on the trucks loaded with sheep. On the motion of Mr. Poole, the by-laws as read at the previous meeting were adopted. It was resolved to hold the first annual meeting of the society on Monday, 8th September, and Messrs. Brooks and Saltón were appointed to make the neces-sary arrangements. The meeting then adjourned,

Some idea of the great depression in the value of land in England may be gathered from the report recently published in a Liver-pool paper that the Earl of Sefton had pur-chased 11,000 acres of land, chiefly moorland, in Wyreside, North-west Lancashire, for £110,000. The moorland is one of the best grouse ranges in England, and is within one hour's journey by railway of Croxteth Hall. Croxteth Hall is about three and a-half miles from the town hall in Liverpool

THE report of another robbery which has reached us further confirms the belief that we have a number of very undesirable characters among us at present. The case occurred be-tween 12 and 2 o'clock yesterday afternoon at a house near the Normanby railway station. The housewife, who was the only occupant of the house at the time, was astonished to find, on going into her bedroom, that the small hand-bag that contained her purse had been taken from one of a chest of drawers and turned up-side down, On examination, she found that two sovereigns had been taken from the purse. On mentioning the matter to her next-door neighbour, she was told that a short time previously a rather suspicious-looking man had called there, had entered the house without knocking at the door, which was closed, took a seat, and asked if a sewing machine was re-quired. On receiving a reply in the negative, he said, "Oh, do take one," and then left. It appears likely that had he found his way clear he would have taken any valuables he could lay hands on in the second house, as he doubtless did in the first. The lesson is obvious.

THE barque Vanguard, which recently came into collision with the Farningham, barque, off Tasmania, was yesterday seized by the ? Marshal of the Vice-Admiralty Court, at the

instance of the owners of the latter vessel, as a preliminary step in a suit to recover damages for the loss of the Farningham.

IT was reported to the police early yesterday I morning that a man named William Livingstone had committed suicide by hanging himself. It seems that Livingstone, who carried on business as a plumber and glazier for a long time in Stanley-street, where he was well known, was recently adjudicated insolvent, and the fact seems to have been preying on his mind. For many nights past he has been seen pacing the streets, and the members of his household say that he complained of not being able to sleep. Twice before he has attempted to commit suicide, but has been prevented by his wife. On Sunday night, however, he succeeded in his object. Deceased was in the habit of sleeping alone in a room at the back of

the house adjoining the workshop. Early yes-terday morning his daughter went into the work-shop to get some wood, and noticed a candle burning on the table. Immediately afterwards she saw the corpse of Livingstone in the dim light, suspended from a beam extending from side to side of the workshop. She immediately gave information to Constable Bodman, who was on duty at the time, and he, together with Constable Fraser, who happened to be passing, cut down the body and carried it into the bed-room. The rope, which is a very slight one, not much thicker than an ordinary clothes-line, was still round the dead man's neck, leaving a discoloured mark encircling his throat. When discovered the feet of the corpse were actually touching the ground though the legs were bent. As there was no drop, death must have been caused by strangu-lation. A stool close by had evidently been used for the purpose of standing on while tying the rope to the beam. Deceased was about 60 years of age.

THE new Pile Lighthouse at the mouth of the Brisbane River, near the new cutting, was completed in May last, and now only requires to be connected by cable with the mainland, which will be effected in about a fortnight. The structure, which stands in 16ft. at low water, and has a total height of 98ft., was designed by Captain Heath, R.N., and has been erected by the Harbourmaster. It is of hexagonal form, being a series of six equilateral triangles with their apex in the centre. This shape was used as insuring the greatest stability. It is supported on seven 5½in. solid wrought iron piles, one being in the centre, the whole being strengthened with 2in. wrought iron braces ; the lower girders are made of double railway iron rivetted together. The upper girders on which the superstructure stands are 10in. rolled beams. The 5½in. shafting used for piles was got from England, as the requisite lengths (25ft.) could not be ob-tained in the colonies. The 25ft. piles are screwed 23ft. into the mud, the screws them-selves being 4ft. in diameter. Above the 25ft. lengths are 20ft., and again above those 19ft. lengths of iron shafting, the latter carrying the bottom framing of the superstructure, which stands at a height of 41ft. from the ground and 25ft. above low water. The two upper lengths are braced with diagonal braces in every direction, and the three lengths of piles are connected by cast - iron couplings. At two opposite corners of the house is an ex-tension, in which the side lights are placed. A veranda 4ft. in width runs all round the building, supported on 9-in. timber joists. The house contains six rooms of equal dimen-sions, and is occupied by three persons.

The two extensions are fitted with what

is known as the 6th order dioptric apparatus. The coloured lights for tidal signals are given by coloured glass cylinders dropped down over the lamp or burner. These are worked from inside the tower, where a tide gauge shows the rise and fall of the tide. The colour of the light exhibited is shown to the keeper inside the tower by a coloured plate or indicator. By day the height of the tide is shown by geometrical signals made from small iron staffs, which overhang the corners of the roof. Inside the tower also is a self-registering tide gauge, the barrel on which the register is fixed revolving once in twenty-four hours; a pencil automatically indicates the wave movements of each tide. Above the main build-ing is a storeroom, and over this a lantern carrying a 4th order dioptric occulting apparatus about 44ft. above high-water mark. The apparatus is supplied with coloured shades pointing out the channels and dangers to be avoided in the Bay. A portion of the light which would otherwise be thrown on the shore, and is not required, is refracted by vertical prisms to intensify the light thrown out to sea. The occulting apparatus only works at flood-tide, eclipsing the light for two seconds in every eleven seconds. By this means mariners know whether the tide is ebbing or flowing. The total expense of this useful structure so far has been a little over £4000, and this sum will be increased by the cost of the submarine cable between the lighthouse and Lytton.

Miss KATE DOUGLAS, who is well known in Brisbane, announces that she is prepared to give lessons in elocution and dramatic art.

NOTHING calculated to lead to the discovery of the person who stole the St. George mail bag from the coach near Yeulbah on Saturday night last has yet been found, says the Roma Star of the 26th instant.

A telegram forwarded from Peel Island on Saturday was received at the Colonial Secre-tary's office yesterday morning, stating that no fresh cases have occurred, and the general health of those quarantined continues very satisfactory.

THE barque Crescent, from New York, having disposed of a portion of her general cargo, was berthed alongside the new railway wharves, near the Garden ferry, yesterday morning, when operations were at once com-menced in landing the six Baldwin locomotives which she brought out for the Government.

The Marine Board yesterday morning resumed the inquiry into the circumstances attending the collision between the barques Farningham and Vanguard off Tasmania, on the 11th July. Daniel Lowton, the seaman who was at the wheel of the Farningham at the time of the collision ; Neil Christiansen, the look-out man on that vessel, who first sighted the Vanguard ; and Edwin Campbell, first mate of the Vanguard, were examined, after which the inquiry was adjourned till this morning.

AT the Supreme Court in Chambers, yes-terday morning, before his Honour Mr. Justice Harding, in the matter of Budge v. Boston, Mr. Byrne, for the défendant, applied to change the venue from Brisbane to Mary-borough. Mr. Prior, for the plaintiff, not con-senting, no order was made on the summons, except that plaintiff do in any event pay the expenses of the trial so far as the same may be increased by being held in Bris-bane over what they would have been in Maryborough, inclusive of counsels', solicitors', and the agents' fees. In the matter of Henderson v. Doyle, Mr. Byram, of Messrs. Hart, Mein, and Flower, applied on behalf of the plaintiff for a garnishee order attaching debts due from the National Fire and Marine Insu-rance Company of New Zealand to answer judgment of the 10th June last for £120 6s. 6d., the balance of which, £71 7s. 10d., remains due, and to show cause on Wednesday, 30th instant, why the whole amount should not be paid to plaintiff. Order accordingly.

THE A.S.N. Company's steamer City of Mel-bourne was floated into the Graving Dock on Sunday morning. The engineer in charge of the dock availed himself of the low tide yesterday morning, and got the pumps to work as early as possible, so that the dock was dry shortly after 10 o'clock. A survey of the hull was immediately made and, as was anticipated, the damage sustained on the reef proved to be comparatively trifling, a fact due to the perfect manner in which the vessel has been put together. She is now twenty-two years old, and it is indeed mar-vellous to note the complete state of preservation of her plates and the manner in which they have held together under the severe trial. The damage is mostly under the after-hold, about 60ft. from the stern, and con-sists of indentations only, varying from two and a-quarter inches to an inch and a-half in depth. These indentations extend over a space of 10ft. on the port side of the vessel and 12ft. on the starboard side, the garboard streak in both instances showing the most signs of damage. There are also a few indentations about 60ft. or 70ft. from the bows, on both sides of the keel. She has been leaking; only slightly, and the sole cause of the leak has been traced to two butts rendered defective and a few leaky rivets. Altogether the damage is not of such a nature as to interfere in any way with the safety of the ship. Boilermakers have already started to put in a few rivets, which is all that will be necessary to be done to enable the vessel to leave to-morrow, as advertised, for Burke-town, via ports. It was stated by several pro-fessional gentlemen who examined the hull of the City of Melbourne yesterday that the iron used in her plates is infinitely superior in quality to what is generally employed in the construction of modern vessels. The chief feature is its extreme ductility, by reason of which it can stand an immense strain without

breaking. The plates used for the garboard

streaks are three-quarters of an inch in thick-ness, the streaks next to them are five-eighths of an inch thick, and the others become gradually thinner as the water line is ap-proached. After performing her second voyage to Burketown and back the City of Melbourne will proceed to Sydney, where the damaged plates will either be repaired or replaced by

new ones.

WE (D. D. Gazette) regret to learn that rust has made its appearance in the Clifton Back Plains district. The extremely mild weather that has prevailed lately is extremely favour-able to the development of the rust spores ; but it is to be hoped that the cold frosty nights we are now having may have a tendency to prevent the disease from spreading.

THE Greenmount correspondent of the Allora Guardian says :-" The new Land Bill is being freely discussed here, and has some opponents, but the bulk of the people are jubilant over it. The principal faults found in it are the clauses compelling the holder of a license to fence within two years, and prohibit-ing the impounding of a late lessee's stock until fenced in ; but these defects may be remedied in committee ; at least it is to be hoped so."

Writing from Westbrook Homestead Area on Friday last, the correspondent of the D. D. Gazette says that a severe hailstorm passed over that district on Wednesday after-noon, preceded by a clap of thunder. A considerable amount of damage was done to the growing crops, and some of the wheat paddocks look as if there had been a flock of sheep camped on them, being battered to the ground, while half of the stalks are cut off and ruined. Much damage has also been done to vegetable gardens ; the hail only fell in patches, rain coming down in torrents in other parts of the district.