Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser (Grafton, NSW : 1859 - 1889), Tuesday 5 April 1864, page 2


ANOTHER FLOOD ON THE CLARENCE

UIVER, AND LOSS OF LIVES.

.Aw, rain, nothing hut rain, rendering the noble ..id useful Clarence into a most formidable sheet of

ijvater-overflowing its boundaries, and converting jánmense areas of land into large lagoons, destroy'j.o crops, and sweeping all before it. Such has ûcen tho Clarence river of late, and on Thursday, 'the waters again carno into our town, and the con.linucd outpouring of the waters from above, almost .without intercession ever Bince, has not tended to decrease the same, consequently all the gulleys and low lands are inundated, many parts being nltoge'ther inaccessible. On Thursday, the river nt Grafton had risen nearly twenty feet above its ordi-nary level, and the inhabitants were kept in constant

(ear that the waters would surround them and enter

their dwellings and stores; fortunately, however, the residents in Prince-Btreet and on tho high lauds were saved such a catastrophe, as about midnight on Thursday, tho waters commenced to recede very slowly ; although every vigilance was displayed by Mr Sub-Inspector Keegan, who whenever the waters threaten to inundate the town is most active,

and the mon at Iiis command kept well posted during tho night to raise the alarm in case of danger to any of the residents, and in all» cases where as-

sistance is required, he Hs Vencrtuly found to be foremost in rendering thi^aia» thçkily, all danger now seems passed. \

. All along tho river banks,\>articularly about Ulmarra, the slips of earth washed down ore im-mense, acres of ground, which were laid out as tasty gardens, adorning the front of several of tho gr?. j» of-.o&r 'settlors, and in other parts where pitty. E few weeks back were most luxuriant.', crops ipfosgjiiflSssAfllltTO^ -^¡os'. the .force' of tlife'current ; andthe samo r'cmäks» will apply td* many settlers on Carr's Creek. , ,t '

' The crop of maize too, which this season was un-usually large-on many farms the average being fully eighty bushels to the acre, whilst not a few expected not less than one hundred bushels to the acre-the greater part of which is destroyed, the damage in this respect being occasioned more par-ticularly by the severo gale which visited the dis-trict on a late occasionnas mentioned in our last issue-beating'down the\corrt and tho continued

rain, has caused it to groW^nèWot on the cob,. and prevented even the young^çrop Trom regaining its original erect position, so essential to ensure a per-fect yield. We feel sure from, personal observation that nearly one half tho crop has been destroyed, whilst some have lost their all. According to the estimate of the farmers themselves, not a third of the maize will be savett, we hope, however; in this respect, for their own Bake aa well as tho prosperity

of the district, that ourestin\|to will be found to

bo hearer, the truth, andiftus our settlers will bo enabled to weather tho.storm of a continued suc-cession of floods with which we have this season been visited.

7 At Tabulam, the two boats used for conveying people over the.riveiiat that part, owned by Messrs. 'Chattoal and Synge, lave been swept away, toge, therwith several heaoW 6Vttle and horses owned by the sonner gehüemerathajcirttle being in a pad-dock ayjJUngväelrWy tÄb.TBewitt, the butcher ; we are ViMled p^stye, hoPeveS that the whole of

the cattlomnd "TToTseV carried down succeeded in

making thc banks, anuWill be recovered.

I Of course, during tlWs very trying season, we have been without telegraphic communication, occasionea not by flood only, but as we mentioned in a former issue, owing to the kind of timber used in tho construction of the line, the greater part' of which requires to be replaced. At the present time the interruption iswpccasioncd by a portion of the line destroyed by \ho waters ¿it Tabulam, which will take some timoVi repfflr, » that we are not likely to have a circuit forsqhwVays yet. This is tho more anngjiiiî^.as «rt tMo^ke the present, 'when the mtKE camipt travel, it wo%ldbe invaluable as à medium** correspondence..

. After what we have staffed, it is almost unneces-sary to add, that traflic witnVhc interior is a matter of utter impossibility.

His Honor Judge Francis, Mr. Brennan, Crown Prosecutor, and Mr. Perrott, the Clerk of the Court, arrived about two p.ñi. on Sunday, having crossed tho river at 'ihbulam on a raft formed of cedar logs.

Great praise lMuc'Sto themàforVthè indomitable Bpirit of per8evarance3whicn riJusVhavo been re-

quired to inducement to push through on stich'a: .journey, which was not om^vorpfret,- brit attended with some risk to personal safety; and which nothing but a high sense bf duty could have prompted these gentlemen to undertake. By their arrival we learn that the weather around New Eng-land had been similar to what we have experienced,

and that the road», aro in a fearful state.' The

weather isnow fine,Vit howlong it is likely to remain, we cannot eveVventuto a conjecture; suf-fice it to say, we'atte muVh ia-nkd of fine weather, liavinghad.upVardVof' tVea moVhsroiii.

INQUEST.-An inquest was held yesterday

morning, at the Clifden Hotel, Clifden, before Mr. A. Lardner, coroner, and a jury of six, touching the death of George Maslen, or Messling, who had met his death by drowning on Friday last. John Bran-don deposed :-he resided at Clifden ; he knew the

deceased he saw him pass his house between three

and four o'clock on Friday afternoon; he was on horseback going in the direction of Grafton; he spoke to him as he passed ; deceased appeared quite well at that time; the following morning he saw deceased's horse on the side of the hill facing his residence with saddle and bridle on, and a bag of flour on the saddle ; there was a flood at the time ; on observing the horse, he concluded that deceased had been drowned in at

tempting to cross the Double Swamp; he and others then searched for the body, which they recovered on Sunday morning, lying in the Double Swamp, near to where deceased would have been likely to try to cross, deceased being in the habit of cross-ing at that place ; the late floods had washed away the soil in the place where it was formerly fordable, forming a sort of creek some four feet, deeper than usual ; the body of deceased was lying just below the falls ; there was a lump of grass and earth lying across deceased's legs ; a tin of butter which deceased was carrying was lying close to the body ; there could not have been, less than six or seven feet of water at the spot on Friday last, where the body was found; from his knowledge of the place, and the appearance presented he was of opinion that deceased's horse got bogged near the edge of the, fall, and in struggling the bank had given way, and the horse and rider fallen over into the creek ; and the turf upon deceased's legs prevented his getting up; deceased was quite sober when he passed his place ; there was no marks of injuries on the body when found. Henry Tapper corroborated the testimony of the previous witness, and stated that the water which deceased had to

cross was fifty feet wide ; and he was aware that

deceased could not swim. John Ryan, a constable, of the Grafton police force, gave it as his opinion that deceased had fallen down the bank in the

swamp and had been stunned or jammed down with the falling soil. The finding of the jury was, "That the said George Maslen, or Messling, had, on the lstof April, 1864 met his death by drown-ing whilst attempting to cross the Double Swamp on horsoback in the time of flood.

ANOTHER JJEATH BI JJaO"W"NIHBi-We

received intelligence yesterday afternoon/ that a young man named Henry C8rtwright,'had lost his lifo, whilst. endeavouring to cross : a .creek whioh' was flooded, on his way home on Sunday evoning last.. Not arriving homo that evening search' was instituted carly yesterday, which resulted, in the recovery of Cartwright's body, floating in: a creek at the rear of-mr. Amps' residence,;at,- Swan Creek. Tho\coroner pnweedcdV) tlio 'spbt yesterday,; to hpldW inquest on the bpw, hut had not returned up to the tirairof our gbi^to press. : V . '.'.'

INSOBVENOX-SUWENBEB^SIAIIOH 20xir. Jurger Daniel LarsonX late, of Riverston, near Gfafton, contractor, nowYcqrifirieeinH.'Mí-Gáol, at Darlinghurst. Liabilities, £106 Os. Od. Assets, £60. Deflcit, £106 Os. Od. Mr. Mackenzie, official assignee.. \ \ T > . r ;

SALE OF BACEJIOIWE PHOT.-Bell's Life

says;-" We havo to\pnötndict a report from the CÍarenco' and Mchmonti^ Etaminw, that- Mr. Ivory has purchased Mr.-.Grtáory\horso,Pilot, -for 350 guiñóos, on that gentleman's own* authority," .Tho I price at which Pilot wa? Bold, by. Messrs. Burt was

200 guineas, but owing_ to ' a typographical error, tho figuro " SK" waB misprinted for " 2,!' but not 360 guineas, asMtatcd by our contemporary. .The error, we mighfWate, was eorreoted in a subsequent issue.-ED. ExASUNEn, i

; JG-BAFTON- GAMAÉTIIO following items for the Grafton gaol hB\bcel| voted by tho Assembly : Gaoler and matron,VWO ¡. two . warders at Os. 8d. Kar day, £Í38 j proviççnB>. and medical comforts,

io!, light, water &o., JlrOO. " '- ' ''

A CURIOUS ANECDOTE OF THE RICHMOND RIVER BLACKS.-Some time ugo this story was re-lated to mo by a black-boy as we were driving cattle. He says "that a long time ago two black gins were walking near the sea-shore, talking of different subjects-perhaps whether the feathers of the parrots or swan's down were the most fashion-able headdress for their balls or 'corrobborees,' or contrasting the blue and red oil paint, introduced by the Clarence blacks, with the pipe-clay and ochre they formerly daubed themselves with, when they suddenly saw a strange blackfellow lying motionless on the sand. As he did not appear to be dead, they tried to wake him. Failing after several attempts, they became alarmed, and ran to their camps and told the men of their tribe what they had seen. The men were puzzled what to think of it, but fearing some trickery from a hostile tribe, they armed themselves and went to see the sleeping stranger. They also, had a difficulty in rousing him. At last, while they were debating whether it would not be better to knock him on the head with a tomahawk and bury him. The stranger gave a yawn and woke, much to their astonishment. They then enquired where he had come from-how he came there, &c., but could not understand his language. He was then adopted by the tribe, and the two gins who found him were given to him for wives. My black boy says the supposition is that the boy was bathing in the sea, when a shark swallowed him ; but as he had his charm on or myall dilly-bag, he disagreed with the shark, which vomited him on the shore near the Richmond, where he still lives with his two preservers."-Com-

municated.

WILD FOWL-Wo understand that im-mense numbera 'ot* wil'LfliieeBo have visited the , lower parts of. ülíhj"s b, y¡W!',l,v. Southgate and

Ulmarra, duïihg"thé"luieCLiiL..- as. tho cot.

fields are in many places more or less inundated, they have in conjunction with ducks and red-bills attacked the standing jnaize,^ doing considerable damage. We would recommend our farmers to uso a little powder and shot nmongstv them, especially being corn fed, they must be delicious game at this season. Should the< supply be Waxer than the

demand in tho localities named, vie lavo not the slightest doubt but that there are irony in Grafton who would relish with peculiar guslft a slice from a well-fed goose, in these days of everlasting rain, mud, and stamp licking.

POET MACQUAIIIE.-Our Correspondent writes :-" Not a solitary case for hearing at the ensuing District Court has yet been entered at-tho Registrar's Office." ' .

*»* WE are requested to direct attention to the important Saks of Furniture, Electro-plated Ware, General MeljfcAdise, Working Bullocks, Plough Boat, &o., »V%held at .tho " Grafton Auction Rooms," onïfcmay next,'7th instant, commencing at eleven o'clmmslarp.-ADV.

THE POWE%S\ .OF THE 'PBEBS.-There never was a "timT in tho history of man-kind when the newspaper - editor and newspaper writers had mteo occasion to "magnify their office. ' Tho life of moosrn intellect is becoming more, and more determineoVtoAe weekly and daily-papers. A newspaper like\thV7tntes, habitually read by the ruling, educated, uni monetary 'classes, and in-directly supplying we daily intellectual; food, of a hundred times the number of its own readers, ope-rates with gradual but irresistoblo force.in pro-

ducing and modifying the feelings and opinions of

a nation. The oratbr, when out of office, makes

three or four considerable speeches rn. ! tne year. Tho editor makes or snaps three addresses^er diem. The "lineupon line aid pWcept upon precept," the constant dropping ofvthe Yountain, wears itself a channel in the firmest bind. Good political judges

and those not newspapermen, have predicted that,

if the force and influence of the "fourth estato of the rcahn." shall ever he brought to bear unani . mously on, any one point, it will have àfair chance of victory against the" other three. That its influ-ence has, on Vie whole,'been productive of incalcul-ably more gebd: than evil is undeniable. Public men agree, anVptblic opinion ratifies the verdict, that the press SasVterçised its irresponsible autho-rity with fairne* amintegrity, ? and that it stands "dearin its gVbt\)fiice." Do. Tocqueville soys that "anewspap^is the only instrument that' can

drop the same thought into a thousand minds at the same moment." A newspaper writer who has a 'due sense of the dignity;of' his functions cannot remember without a glow of pride arid thankfumoBB: the opportunities he enjoys of diffusing knowledge and sowing seeds of thought " where they, may .hardly fail of an, infinite harvest." The editor of a leading journal in this, country hasnobler and more abundant opportunities of doing good than an ordi-nary M.P.- Nor is there a man of intellect and character in tho land who need feel ashamed of this profession. " He who sees with what rapidity and ease instruction and thought are assimilated by men when they come thus, as it were, On'the wings of the wind, may bo "content, as an unhonoured .servant to theVrand purposes of Destiny, to work . in such a way V the Pantheon which the ages shall 'complete,'on winch his name may not bo inscribed, « which' wUl breathe {he life of his soul." A

'." AUSTRALIAN WrtoEsVA report has just been pre.sentedby Mr. Keefe toVhe Commissioners of Her Majesty's Customs,\Vwhich the Australian wines

aro mentioned, and irv tobe regretted that more complete opportunities were not afforded to that gentleman for testing more fully the merits' of the wines exhibited by tho several colonies. He states that ho was only able to obtain eighteen samples of the Australian vintages, although ho had received numerous promises that samples would be supplied to him. Of the eighteen samples which wei e tested under thdJianction of the Commissioners of Customs, tho reportwtates that none were of a very high diameter, but that those from Sydney possessed somo sound , and excellent qualities that promise well under Xjrrtproved culture and moro careful manipulations* but thc important fact is established that all the samples have a liigh natural degree of spirit. The wines from Victoria are Btated to be in-ferior to those of Sydney ; the body is described as weak, and V the flavour poor and uninviting." And it would have Men little short of. a'miraole if the

samples tested ]W possessed any inviting qualities, seeing that for thjee months they were exhibited in a hot glass building ât Melbourne, afterwards made a voyage of four monns to this, country, and finally shown m an upriglk position for six months in. the International Exhibition. In the face of these draw-backs, however, " ¿h¡e " ' wines were . sound : and alcoholic, and this must bo considered as no small proof of their intrinsio qualities. The report-states' that " tho names by which several of the wines oro dUtirigujshed may, perhaps, indicate the1: kind" of grapè uçéd in their manufacture;'but if so, tho attoratio^of climate, season; or some other , circum-stance must havo completely changed their charac-ter, as not'a -wstige of resemblance remains, Tho; Frontignacfher\is a red, sour wilie, inétead of being white and luscious ; the perfume, however, which attached to' tho distillate gave "indication of its origin in the Muscat grape.- 'The ^-Hermitage and Burgundies are bf a sickly'palo red colour and thin body. Indeed, all tho now wines'have a great famüy likeness to each other, and, ns well as thc white wines; are destitute ? of any' great indivi-duality." Wo also, learn that the Tokay was not like its illustrious namesake,, and that so httlo pains havo been taken in the preparation and selection of many bf "the samples, that somo of tho white wines of Victoria were still in n state of fermentation. The,testings of. theiamples of New South Wales wine gave the foUoivihg' results :-The Australian hock gave 18-9 per eeht\f alcohol; tho Irrawang, 24-6; Porphyry (red' wjne); 26-9 ¡ Camden Park,

26'9 ¡,.Kaludah "(wliiflaY, 23-3. -; Tho Victorian wines were:-Matarb;'20'2 {^Frontignac, 22'0; Hermitage, 20-8 ¡ Burgundy,' 23'0 ; rod Victoria, 28-6 ; whito Victoria, 25 0 ; Tokay,- 27'0 ; white Pineau, 24'G ; /Sauteme,, ,,24:0 ; .Chasselas^ 24'6. »Tho great 'deficiency iiv connection': with/1 all thèse Australian wines'was, that sufficient attention had , not; been paid ? to - their - manufacture - and. subsequent manipulation.-ThotGroccr.

Z Di8TOÊMn»& QâMritn|Nr^j-Tjro .BOYS DROWNED AT ABIIMELD.-UÍL v«ryMistre^ing' casualty occurred at Ashfield;' on \Friyay\ afternoon, by. which two boys, each nine years oa age^-one hamed Arthur Alfred Joyce', andth<^theVEd ward John.Tall, were

drowned in tho Iron tîove preek, a); a- place distant oboiit half a, milo frofti tho railway terminus. Tho first named was the sob of a widower, . who keeps à publio-hoùso at'Pnddmgtqn, and ho was adopted by, Mr.' James Partridge/vlhfeVvery young ;. the second waa the son of Mr. Joan Tall, locksmith, Ulüriio estate. The deceaseds otb both said to havo beon intelligent careful boys. Tho opinion of the boys' parents was that the deceased woro wrestling oh tho brink of the creek, when they slipped into the deep

water and.wero drowned.

ii, A camp hut was receiitiyJiurnt down near Goul-i burn. It isxeaSed. that arow" named David Wright"

met his deatltin tho ctmlligfiMon. "The man is mis- ' sing and charred b^ncsMiave b\en found. r)