Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), Monday 11 July 1859, page 4


MONDAY, JULY 11, 1859.

Without sharing in the apprehen-sions expressed by a correspondent, or believing that England will inevitably be implicated in the European war now raging, we cannot refuse toackuowledg3 the possibility of that event, and the imperativo obligation whioh lies upon us to prepare for such an emergency. To neglect such preparations, or even to postpone them, would bo worse than an act of folly -it would be a crime. By slumbering in blind security until an enemy comes thundering at our gate 3, we should be rendering ourselves ac-cessory to all the carnage, rapine, and destruction, which a hostile squadron, invited by our defenceless condition, might and would inflict upon ua. Eng-land will abstain from war, so long as ab-stinence can be observed with honor ; bat wo cannot tell at what hour, or by what unexpected combination of circum-stances, she may be compelled to re-nounce her neutrality, and take part in the bloody strife of nations. When-ever she does so, great as is her power, and enormous as aro the preparations she is making, she will havo enough to do to protect her own shores from hos-tile incursions, to defend her fortified posts in the Mediterranean, and to ward off blows which may be aimed at the very heart of her Empire. We cannot expeot much assistance from her, nor does it seem to be supposed that we re-quire it, since we find Mr. DISRAELI taking so flattering but fallacious a view of our power as to speak of these colonies " already throw " ing their colossal shadow over " Europe." The mother country, strong in her self-reliance and in that indomitable energy of character whioh lins sustained her against a world ia anns, looks^to her children in the colo-nies she has planted in every quarter of tho globe to emulate the qualities of lit ctr parent 5 and unless they are re-creants to the .race, and unworthy of the name they bear, that appeal will not b3 made in vain, and the duty of self defence will be recognised as supremo and paramount at a juncture like the present.

Wo presume that the Home Govern-ment have been made acquainted by His Excellency the GOVERNOR, with the suspicious movements of the war vessels of a foreign Power in these seas, and that the Administration, pro-fiting by the knowledge of Sir WILLIAM ARMSTRONG'S invention, have applied a portion of the ¿625,000 voted by the Legislature for defensive purposes to the purchase, in England, of a sufficient quantity of his breech-loading guns to ¡ put the Hoads in an efficient state of

defence. We also assume that, in view of the complete revolution which the discovery of such tremendous agencies of destruction has effected in modern warfare, the Defence Commission has reconsidered its report, and is prepared to take action accordingly. If not, no time should be lost in remedying such an oversight. We should immediately procure as many 32 and 68 pounders as may be required, an adequate supply of projectiles, some field-pieces, and a few gunners scientifically trained to their use, together with an ample supply of Minié rifles and ammunitioa. Nor should our efforts bo limited to the

repulsion of attack only. An attempt

may be mado to establish a blookadj and in that event we should require ti havo at our command a naval force'h order to break up any such blooka'cb Thib we must look to the moti>"r ooiuitry to supply, and may take upon I omvelves to maintain ; and we observe j with satisfaction that some of our I- fellow-citizens are bestirring themselves

in the matter, and that a publio meet-ing is to be held to-morrow for the purpose of memorialising the Home Government to despatch a naval aron,

irent to these shores

Wo understand that in May last crdnance of the heaviest calibro \yaí being shipped for the Canadian forts and that the manufacture of implements' of destruction is being prosecuted on a f cale of such magnitude in the mother country, that, to quote tho vivid lau. gunge of The Times, " under adetniatj ' provocation, and with an enemy worthy

" of its prowess, England will be a vol- * ' cano of destruction to all itj " foes, far and near. The deatli " shower will be hurled from its " crest, thedcath-streamwillrollfromit<¡ I " sides, and tho one will fall heavier,

" the other wider, as long as theié " remains an enemy in the field" When the last mail left England thora v« ero upwards of 7,000 cannon in store at Woolwich, all of the best modern make and the heaviest calibro, besides 1,500 heavy cannon at each of tin great dockyards; lhere were nearly ] 00,000,000 rounds of Minio ammuni-tion in store, and the bullet-machines v, ore turning out the conical balls ai ,th j inte of 2,000,000 rounds per week, while an immense amount of ordnance is being manufactured for the British Government by private firms. Englani is thus girding on her armor ; and it would be sheer insanity on our part not to copy her example.

We should imagine that, with the appliances whioh Sir WILLIAM ARM., ETRONO'S invention is capable of placin» at our disposal, the Ileads might bo ren-dered impregnable, and absolutely sealed against the entrance of a hostile squadron. Describing his own gun, ia a speech which he delivered at a bat quet given in his honor at Newcastle on-Tyne, Sir WILLIAM said :

" At a distance of 600 yards, an ob " ject no larger than the muzzle of an " enemy's gun may be struck at almost " every shot. At 3,000 yards a target " of nine feet square, which at that dis " tance looks like a mere speck, has, on " a calm day, been struck five time3 in " ten shots. A ship would afford a " target large enough to he hit at mun " longer distances, and shells may ba " thrown into a town or fortress at a " range of more than five miles." Anl wo find in an English paper the folioar ing particulars with reference to the projectiles mado use of in connection with this description of ordnance :

" An ordinary long 32-pouiider weighs 57owt, and requires 101b. of powder to throw a ball to lU utmost effective lange-3,000 yards. St W. Armstrong's 32-pounder only weighs üfiewt, and a charge of 51b. of powder throws its shot 5J miles, or nearly 10,000 yards. In a 32-pOtmder of this latter kind there are no less than 44 ndi grooves, having one pitch in 10 feet, or makio* one completo tu ist round tho inside, in a gun of that length. The gun on which the Government experimented for months at Shoeburyness before adopting it was actually fired 3,500 times, and yet is now as serviceable as the day it left the foundry. So perfect is the weapon as to accu-racy, that it is said that at 4,000 yards a target 13 feot square could be hit 90 times out of 100 by good artilleryman.

" With Armstrong's gun thore is literally n» secret worth preserving at all, save that great one which can noithor bo sold nor divulged-our manufacturing superiority. If an Armstrong's gun was presented to each ni sena! in Europa, theil engineers might, and would, undoubtedly, try to mnko thom, but their efforts would only result in long delay, immense expeiuhtiuc, and in their sending ovci to have them mode hors aftei nil. It is a popular, but, nevertheless, i very great error to suppose that .the weapons which are made hoio, if seen, can at once bs mode to any oxtent in the arsenals of Franco, Russin, Austria, or Prussia. As a proof of this wo have only to look at tho Minié rifle, which, lougaj its paramount advantages havo bcon known is, ne-vertheless, used entirely by no army m the worH bul our oxen. Our readers may bo surprised, 1 ut it is still strictly true, that the armies of Franco, Itussia, Prussia, and Austria, with the oxecption of about fivo pei cent, of their enbra numboiB, who aro armed as sharpshooters, koro no better weapon than tho discarded Brown Bess. Nine-tenths of the Bmall proportion of rifles ti be found in the Austrian, Russian, and Prus-sian annies aio mode at Liego, vvhoro they cm be manufactured at the rato of about 500 a wo;k. Tho French mnko their own, but very slowly, and a heavier or moro aw kvvard vv capon to wa than their Chasseurs possess it would bo hard t> dovise as a fnearm, though in range and acji racy it is nearly equal to tho Mini6."

Armed and defended by these for-midable implements of destruction, thei'it is every reason to believe that wo should possess an immense advantage over oat assailants, sinoo it is evident that, with all their boasting, foreign Powers have not, and, as it seems, could not, take advantage of the discoveries of me-chanical and chemical science, to any-thing like the extent whioh pnoifio England has done. Thus we are re-

minded that

" Tlio Emperor of tho French made a groat mystery of his rifled field-pieces, yot, great aa arc his means of securing secrecy, our Govern-ment havo information of overy gun he ha» mado. Wo boliovo wo aro right in Btating that not 100 havo yet been constructed, and these aro only very light guns, rifled in four grooves, and n ade to Uro cylindrical shot, cased with lead to fit tho rifling. This is certainly an improvement on the ordinary fiold-pioce, but as inferior to Aimstrong's gun as a pocket-pistol Is to tua

linfield riflo."

With the knowledge of those faots in our possession, with a cloud of uüoer tainty hanging over the futuro relation» of England with France and Bussia, and aware as we are of our liability to invasion, either by a naval force fivm the Amoor, or by that which is sta-tioned with such a dubious intent at

the neighboring island of Now Cale-donia, the Government and people of this colony must not hesitate for a mo-ment in concerting measures of solf defenee. Idle vaporing and holiday soldiering must give place to earnest and systematic preparation. If t.io storm of war should suddenly burst upon us, let it not find us unorganised and panic-strioken. If it blow over, it will not diminish our batisfaction to reflet that we were ready to face it. We have eveiy incentive to resist aggression that can animate 'bravo men and loyal sub

ioots ' we havo our national honor to I maintain; the integrity of a great empire to assist in upholding; free i-stitutions to protect ; all that makes \-{c valuable to defend; and, if at-tacked, ours will ho a sacred duty to hilfil, and to repel our assailants will ho just as imperative upon us as to arrest the burglar who is breaking into our house, or to smite down the mur-derer whose hand is on our throat.

Mr. PLANCHE, or the Brothers BROUGH, never wrote an extravaganza that will hear comparison, in breadth of humorous effect, grotesque incident, and cumulative drollery, with the fifth

«et of the SICKLES' tragedy, as played i out on the 25th of April in New York. The closing scene was sublime in its bathos, from the moment when, in a court of justice, and at the termination of a trial in which a homicide had been airni#ied upon a charge of murder, the cuiuscl for the prisoner, defying judicial control and publio decency, oried out;, " Kow, go it !" to the hour when a senti-mental hawker of fruit, with a keen eyo to business (his name is duly adver-tised in connection with the inoident),

laid a box of oranges, as a votive | offering, at the feet of the fortunato I

' 'PICKLES.

Wonderful are the coolness and sang-

froid of American reporters, for in

tho midst of a tumult of excitement, by which every person in court was agi-tated except the learned Judge, they note down with minute and patient accuracy a physiognomical chart of the prisoner's countenance, and take deep soundings of his mental emotions at the crisis of his fate. Although the " veins " of his temples" were " swollen," " his *' eye was calm and steady,'' and the expression of his countenance indioated such and such feelings. Then we are told how he was kissed by one of his devoted friends; how he exchanged con-gratulations with the jury ; how some-body connected with some newspaper, jumping on the driver's-box, drove up a hack to the Court-house; how all the hackmen on the stand (also having an c; c to business) followed his example ; hew Mr. SICKLES was called upon for a speech (why not for a comic song?) when he emerged from the Gity Hall ; how, as he was faint, he declined ; how the hero-worshipping crowd would havo taken the horses from the carriage, but were prevented; and how they sere-naded the counsel of Mr. SICKLES, and would have offered him the same com-pliment, but, having been politely re-quested to move on, regaled the jurors

with music instead.

Not satisfied with having fulfilled what they conceived to be thoir duty, nine orten of the jurors repaired to "Mr. " BRADY'S parlor at the National," for the purposo of " expressing their " real sentiments," which were not sufficiently set forth, we presume, in the verdict of " Not Guilty," recorded in the face of the strongest and clearest evidence to the contrary, and received in court with a " loud, wild, thrilling, "tumultuous hurrah;" and very touching were the confidential revelations, made in all " the freedom of unrestrained " conversation" to Mr. BRADY. The

panel was not composed of men who were willing to hide their lights under a bushel. " I want you, Sir," said one, " to tell the people of New York that " the citizens of "Washington are nob ". behind those of any other part of tin " country in devotion to the family " altar." Another juror had solaced himself, like the Emperor NEBO and GEORGE IV., by playing on the violin. Nevertheless, he had been anobjectof sus-picion to the other jurors, " but," said -Wr. BRADY-mindful, perhaps, of the fact recorded by KOBERT BURNS, that

"Tho Deil carno fiddlin' thro' tho toun,"

tnd assuming, therefore, the existence of an indefinable sympathy between violinists and those who commit man-slaughter-" if we had known that he " played the fiddle, we might have made " our minds easy, for no fiddler was ever t( known to find a conviction of mur " der ;" a novel statement, which pri-soners' attorneys and writers on jurisprudence would do well to mako a note of. Another juryman, addicted to mimicry and waggery, announced that, if he had been wronged, like SICKLES, he would havo brought a howitzer in-stead of a revolver to bear on the de-ceased. The foreman was thankful to have lived to render such a verdict, and meekly hoped that " his latest posterity " would honor his memory " accord

ingly; while another gentleman took upon himself to anticipate a ratification of their decision by the Supremo Being ! Nothing less than " DAVID " dancing before the Ark of the Taber " naclo " will suffice as a suitable simile for tho reporter in describing the saltatory vivacity by which Mr. STANTON expressed " the emotions " of his big heart." A Mr. PHILLIPS "" wept, like a child." A Mr. GRAHAM was " passive and undemonstrative." Mr. MEAQHER, of the sword, " clapped " reople on the back, and asked if it " was not glorious ;" and, as to the gaoler, poor soul! ho blubbered Uko STERNE'S fat, foolish scullion wench, when CorporalTRiM pathetically dropped his hat upon the kitchen floor; while the district attorney, cautious functionary, u thought it would bo so," and " his

" associate avoided the scene."

Altogether, the acquittal of Mr. SICKLES was a memorable event-a sorb of aj el! cosis of Judge LYNCH. Homage was done to the " wild justice of ro " venge " as to a great and sacred prin-ciple by the people of New York, and " every man his own executioner " will henceforth be the watchword of thoa 3 "who aro inclined to infiiot summary punishment upon men from whom thoy have "received groat wrongs. ,Tho commission of an act of homicide, where the culprit has sustained peculiar provocation, is not only sanctioned by the verdict of a jury, but it elovatei the bloodshedder into tho hero of the lour. Vehement advocates cry, " Go it !" to a noisy public in a court of justice, and execute something resem-bling the celebrated " nigger break " down," in order to testify their in-tense satisfaction at the result of tho irial. Soft-hearted gaolers weep pita culy, und sympathising fruitsollors

tender oranges, without stint and with- . out charge, to tho manumitted culprit.

Ho is moro popular than PICCOLOMWI, ¡ and attracts more notice than did ths , woolly horse. Broadway mercers will no doubt, take advantage of the exo'Ue

m»nt to design a SICKLES mantle or n. i SICKLES robe ; and if theinoidents of fch's tragical occurrence and the subsequent trial were dramatised, the play would probably enjoy as lengthened a ran upon the New York stage as " Oov

"American üousin" has done. Indeed, I we are not sure, if a Presidential elec-tion had boen immediately at baud that Mr. SICKLES, assuming him to have attained the necessary age, would not have been installed in the White Hou> ; as First Magistrate of the Unit i 1 States, on the strength of his having shot Mr. KEY, under the peculiar cir-

cumstances, and of his having been ! acquitted of the offeuoe.

An addition to our collection of Euro-pean livo stock lins boen mado by the arrival in tim Omeo of about two-and-a-half dozen of earp. Several other descriptions of fiBh vvoro placed on board, which, wo aro informed by Cap-tain M'Mcckau, died in consoquenco of tho sovo rity of tho weather, notwithstanding ovory possi-

ble caro was bestowed on them. Wo regret to j

add that a numbor of birds of song, which were shipped in tho Ornoo, died during tlio voyage

from tho same causo. <

Tho Trinity Terni sittings of the Supremo ( Court having closed, his Honor Mr. Justic . [ Molesworth will to-day resumo tlio hearing of tlio nisi prii/S cases, before Bpecial juries of four,

which were held J over in conscquenco of tho ii - . torvontion of sittings of tho Court in Banco. ¡

Tho fouudation-stono of tho Town Hall at St. , Kilda will bo laid to-morrow afternoon, at3 o'clock, , by tho Chairman of the Municipality, Mr. Alex- * andor Fraser, M.L.O. A handsome silver trowel, / withasuitable inscription, will bo presented to Mr. , Fraser on tlio occasion by his brother councillors, I as a mark of the ostoom which thoy entertain for

him. '

Wo notice that tho Philosophical Instituto have j

commenced tho erection of tho edifico which is

intended to bo used as a nail, and for other , purposes in connection with this association. ' Tho sito granted by the Government for tha building is a triangular pieeo of ground in La

Trobe-stroot east, and adjoining Carlton Gar- , dens. Tho plan of tho structure ivas prcparod .

and exhibited several months since, and is of » ¡

l.ighly ornamental character.

In reforonoo to tho writ recently issued for tho ,

olo-tion of a successor to tho lato Mr. John H.

i ¡iltorson in tho representation of tho North- ' W.stern Province, the Mount Alexander Mail

Bays that no offort has b. on mndo to induco Mr. ' Mitchell to como forward, and that thoro aro no

rumors of other candidates intending to près mt ¡ themselves ; but adds that it is alleged that M .. Mitchell intends to wait for ono of tho longer vacancies which nve oxpected to occur on the an-

ticipated resignations of Mr. Keogh and Mr. ' Urquhart. ,

A somewhat tumultuous meeting was hold at ' the Oastlemaino Mechanics' Hall on Thursday !

evening, to tako into consideration tho mos j

eligible site for tho railway terminus in that town-

ship. Local interests and prejudices dovelopoi ? themselves in a variety of resolutions and amend

ments which were proposed. Tho proceedings, ¡ howovor, terminated in tho adoption of an amend- , li.i nt submitted by ono of tho ratepayers, to tin ' effect that it was inexpedient that any stop3

should bo taken in tho matter until the intention I of tho Government had been mado known i i I

reforenco to it. I

Tho City Council havo deemed it necessary to ' tako some stops to abato the nuisance arising | horn the smoko omitted from locomotivo and i and steamboat engines. Considering only the \ limited number of eithor in the vicinity of Mai- I bourno, intorferonco on tho part of tho Council

might seem premature, but there is a signili- I

caree attached to tho matter which doai

not appear at first sight. In conscquenca ¡ of disputes which are understood to havo alison I between tlio Gas and Coko Company and ' tl.o Directors of the St. Kilda and Mol- ' lomne and Goolong Railways, tho latter

] rve abandoned tho use of coko, and resorted to i in 1 and wood. Tho comfort and convenience of

I! c passengers may not havo entered into calcu- ' lr Ton in making this chango, but those who aro (1 iged to avail themselves of tho facilities i ' orded by the lines in question must submit cither to the carriage-windows boing1 closed during a considerable portion of the journey, or dso inhale an atmosphère of Bulphur and smoke, and arrive at the ond of thoir journey with soiled apparel, mid faces begrimed with sooty flakes.

Tho usual weekly meeting of the City Council will bo hold to-day. The business will bo oon f.i ed chiefly to tho consideration of routine re-ports from the various Committees ; that of 1 ublic Works brings up a schedule of works to be e.-.ccuted under tho provisions of tho Govemmont grant. The samo Committee anuounco that thoy have ordered the erection of four stand-pipes

Swanston-street, for thopurposoof testing theprao tieability of watering the streets by hoso attached to them, with a viow to their general adoption. Thoy also recommend that Spencer-stroot should bo korbod and channolled, at a cost of £1,600. An order of tho day suggests tho propriety of instructing tho Legislativo Committee to frame a by-law to abato tho nuisance occasioned by smoke from the funnels of locomotivo and steam-boat engines. A letter from tho Commissioner

of Crown Lands and Survev pnolnüínrr it »t-ni-,.1.

of a proposed roadway tlirough Richmond Park to Swan-street, will bo brought beforo tho Council, and, as a deputation has already waited on the official head of tho department to protest against this innovation, the subject will, probably, give

i ¡se to considerable discussion.

The long-talked-of football match between the Melbourne and South Yarra Clubs was com-menced on Saturday afternoon, upon the Mel-bourne Cricket Ground, which was allowed to be used for the occasion. As far as roping off the arena and posting flags went, all that could be

desired was effected by Mr. Bryant, who has for a long time had the catering for the M.C.C. ; but as it was distinctly understood that the pavilion — or, at any rate, the verandah of the pavilion — was to be set apart for ladies,

the inadequate provision made for their comfort, and the indiscriminate manner in which all sorts of people, not members of the club, were allowed to crowd into the enclosure and occupy the best positions for viewing the match, reflect grave discredit upon the person who distinctly stipulated to keep a man for the express purpose of excluding those who did not possess the right of entre. The heavy shower which fell during the afternoon affords some excuse for the rush which took place into the pavilion, but when it was over the process of elimination might have been easily, and would have been advantageously, proceeded with. This being the second occurrence of a similar character within a very short period, points the Committee of the M.C.C. towards the necessity of either taking the management of affairs of the kind into their own hands, or of making such an arrangement as will preclude the possibility of prescribed formulae being transgressed by any third party for the future. But to return to the match. Within a few minutes of the specified time, all prelimi-naries having been arranged, the blues and whites took up their positions opposite each other. The captains were — for South Yarra, Mr. Hammill ; and for Melboume, Mr. Hammersley ; and the rules of the Melbourne Football Club, as lately revised, were agreed to be played by. Melbourne losing the toss, had the kick off against the wind, and in the direction of Princes

Bridge, the match-ground being marked off about east and west. Spectators mustered in great force, which was the more remarkable

as a powerful visitation of Jupiter Pluvius ap-peared imminent long before the commencement of the contest. The fact, too, that several of the stakes defining the bounds gave way under pres-

sure from without showed that considerable in-terest had been excited. For about a quarter of

an hour it was difficult to say which was the better side, but as the forlorn hope of the blues, who fought manfully until pulmonary diffi-culties supervened, gradually slackened in

their efforts, the superiority of the Melbourne club became manifest, for, in spite of tremen-

dous "spurts" — and many gallant ones were made — a strong head-wind blowing into the bar-gain, the ball was kept up near the South Yarra goal almost uninterruptedly, until Mr. Wray who had, as is his wont, been in

close proximity to the enemy's quarters ab initio, managed to make up for a pre-vious mistake by kicking the leathern sphere as cleanly between the posts as even "Old Brooke" could have desired. This first reverse seemed to put the South Yarra men on their mettle, for they now had to contend both against superior play and the wind, which for a long time baffled their opponents. Gallantly they strug-gled, and during many a tough bout for supre-macy, neither side could fairly claim themselves to be the best men.

" Backward still and forward Wavered that deep array,"

the severely-punished ball running now east and now west, with occasional leeway, as the fall of the ground or malpropulsion caused the diversion, until a sharp shower of rain caused all to run hurriedly to cover. Needful refreshment, con-gratulation, and condolence, restored the com-batants to full vigor ; and the fight raged anew with undiminished zeal on either side, and with no definite result, until coming night compelled an armistice. A renewal of hostilities is contemplated on Satur-day, the 23rd. We have purposely omitted indi-vidual mention of the players, as, with hardly an

exception, all acquitted themselves most credit-ably. We cannot, however, conclude this notice without giving our highest commendation of the pluck and vigor displayed by the South Yarra gentlemen, who, though a man short, and mani-festly inferior to their opponents in strength and skill, fought an up-hill match in a manner which has not only won the admiration of their

opponents, but enlisted the sympathies of all

lookers-on. It is worthy of notice that the game was conducted throughout with the most perfect good feeling on both sides, and that in each case of acknowledged infringement of the Melbourne rules, a "free kick" was conceded without a

murmur.

A robbery was committed on Saturday, in Little Bourke-street, on the premises of Mr. Charles Cupit, a baker. A man named William Cassells was detected in the act of carrying away a bag of flour. He was arrested, and lodged in the Swan-ston-street lock-up.

A man named George Doran, a butcher, resid-ing in Collingwood, poisoned himself at his own house, on Saturday evening, by taking arsenic. Dr. Andrew Livingston and Mr. Robert Cowie

were immediately sent for, and employed the

usual means to save the life of the unfortunate man. He was removed to the Melbourne Hos-

pital the same night, and died shortly after his admission. An inquest will be held on the body to-day, at 12 o'clock.

Three porsons were admitted on Saturday into the Melbourne Hospital, suffering from the effects of injuries which they had accidentally

sustained. Their names are — Alexandre Som-nier, a French cook, who had been kicked by a horse in Collingwood ; John Jackson, a sailor, who, whilst engaged in blasting stone in one of Mr. Bruce's quarries at Jackson's Creek, severely lacerated his arm ; and Charles Kempton, a butcher, who, in getting out of a waggon, which he was driving, near the Diggers' Rest, became

entangled in the wheel, and fell. Two of the wheels of the waggon went over his leg, crushing it in a fearful manner. All of the sufferers, we find, are favorably progressing.

In the City Court on Saturday, the case of a burglary committed on the previous day on the premises of Mr. Leon Naij, who keeps an iron store in Littlo Bourke-street, was partly heard. The place was broken into, and a quantity of

metal stolen. Mr. Naij subsequently discovered

a portion of the property concealed in a closet in Osborne's boardinghouse, in the same locality The remaining portion was found in the posses-

sion of two men named Combs and Lidgatt, who

were apprehended on the charge of breaking into Mr. Naij's promises. The prisoners gave lame account of the manner in which they had become possessed of the property, and were remanded for further examination to this day.

A burglary, which, from the nature of the circumtances attending it, is almost without a parallel in its character, was committed early on Saturday morning, at No. 19 Elizabeth-street. The facts aro as follow : — The constable on duty in that part of the street inspected the premises

in question, both in front and in the rear, at half-past 2 o'clock, at which time everything was

apparently correct. At a quarter-past 4 he dis-covered that the back part of the promises had been forcibly broken into. He entered, and found a massive iron safe, which had been forced open, lying in the middle of the passage. The contents were scattered about in every direction, the ledgers and cash-books being torn, and bear-ing marks of having been thrown about and trampled on. Cases were broken open, drawers unlocked and ransacked; in fact, everything

was in disorder, and bore the marks of violence.

The attention of the constable was then

directed to a heap of papers partially consumed, which, on examination, were

found to be documents relating to various and extensive monetary transactions. He also discovered that the burglars had turned on the

taps of nearly all the hogsheads of liquors and spirits, and allowed the contents to run to waste, flooding the whole of the promises. The damage done will, it is said, exceed 400l. The only pro-perty actually taken away appears to be three sovereigns and a one-pound note ; a cheque by Mr. George Duncan of Pentridgo, for 4l. 16s. 6d., payable to the Bank of Australia ; one I. O. U. for 5l. 18s. 10d., 1s. 9d., and 4s. 4d., a cheque for 1l., and a four-bladed knife. Three cash-boxes had been broken open, and were found in different parts of the store. No one resided on the pre-mises, which were secured by the storeman at [?]

o'clock on Friday evening. The polico are ac-tively engaged in investigating the matter, and, from circumstances which have come to light, have discovered a clue which will probably be the means of bringing the thieves to justice.

GAOL RETURNS.— The following is the num-ber of prisoners at present confined in the Central Gaol, together with the circumstances of their detention :—Awaiting trial, 24 ; remanded by the magistrates, 3 ; from out-stations, 4 ; under sen-tence of death, 3; road-gang, li; sentenced to hard lnbor, 94 ; to imprisonniont, D2 ; debtors, 5 : total, 241.

MUSEUMS.-Tlio number of visitors to tlia

Museums of Natural History, Geology, Miuiusr, &c., at the University, during the week ondiiig July 9, was 571. Amongst the additions to the Zoological collections during the week may be particularised extremely fine specimens of the large Trogons, called calura resplendens, the most magnificent species of that family. They are placed in one of the South American cases.

WESTERN AUSTKALIA.-WO (South A ustralizn lUgistcr) havo Perth papers to tho lßtli June, l'hoy contain no uovvs of importance. At a inciting of the York Agricultural Socioty, hold at Perth on tho 14th May, resolutions wera passed, .condemning tho Commissariat Depart-ment for the practico of obtaining supplie3 of Hour from Adelaide, and praying the Govornor of tho colony to prevent such a course for tho future. Several arrests had taken placo ainoiij tho official persons connected with tho Convict

. Establishment.