Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), Tuesday 17 March 1857, page 5


MURRAY RIVER DISTRICT.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

March 12,

DUFFING.-A charge of''Duffing" according the colonial phraseology, but in common Eng-lish ,"Cattle Stealing," came-on for hearing at the Deniliquin Police Office, before the P.M on Monday. John Norton, in the employ of Messrs. Hervey and Cockburn of the Wenber-can Stations, was charged by Mr R. G. Mead, late Lieutenant of the Victorian Mounted Police Force, with stealing a year-ling filly under the following circumstances. Mr. Mead is the owner of a cream coloured mare, half Arab, and she for some time ame-llad been Btraying over the Wenbercaii runa, »nil a few days previous to the approhonsoa ol Korton, Mr. Mead had gone to "Pap' one of the Wcnbercanoutstations where he heard that the maie and two of her progeny were at. the time. Oncallimiat Pap li« saw Norton who stated to Mr. Mead, on being asked by him, that the maro etc. were tunning with ti wild inob in a distant part of the runs, that ii would be a very difficult matter to run them in, it might be t»vo months ere they were to be bad; but that as soonashe.Norton, lould get them be would send .them to their owner Mr. Mead (who lived about 180 milos ? ittant). Norton's confused manner and 11illiant promises excited Mr. Mead's smpi i i one and upon making further enquiries ai i eine ol the adjoining stations he discovered that the mare autl the two foals had been in i he paddock at Pap on or about the day lu called to seek for them ; n little moro dili-gence audit came oui, that Nortan had duff j'l the yearling filly about the same time. Upoa iluso sworn facts by Mr. Meud a warrant was issued-against Norton, and he appearel us stated above having been íeroanded from the previous Friday.

Mr. Atkins, in chai get of Mr. P. Stuckey * lun swore to the fact that he assisted Norfco.i lo brand the filly about ten or twolvo days before. The mare au 111; . two foals weie pro-duced, and during the examination of all the witnesses, the animals stood at the door of th j police office. Atkins Bworo the filly (yearling] ¡is now shewn him, was the same as ho as i-isted Norton to brand; that the initials,IN were put on by Norton by means of a searing iron. The witness was oxarniucd at great length, with the view of tracing out other partios suppled to be connected v iib Norton. An effort by the P.M. to ferrel out the natural history of duffing, byAtkia'i evidence, failed.

Thomas AVall, stockman in Mr, Stuckey .. employ, corroborated Atkins' evidence, auc Wall was submitted to the same ca cgorica juocess as to duffing in nil its phases, but the witness proved too cool for the police-magis hate. Neither of those witnesses would bwear that the duffed filly was the offspring o the mare, although the polico'inagistrate as sured them that " they were as much like a: two peas in a pod,"

L. C'ookburn, Esq, J,P., examined: Not-ion was in his employ, and has the Bole care of the paddock at Pap Station. Had fra quently seen the mare now in custody, witt lier t»vo foals, on his station.. Would swear, te the best of his belief, that the yearling filly branded I N was the progeny of the mare [On being asked by the police magistrate ii he (Mr. Cockburn) would take Norton back into his employ, in the «event of an acquit lui, Mr Cockburn stated that although Nor ti n was a very good stockman ; stil ti ¡it ho would have nothing more,to do witt Lim, that he gave him £115 a year, a housf ic r himself and wife to live in, and rations foi two; that, he allowed him the privilege o íunning in struy horses for the owners on application, and to got what he could for se

doing.

Mr. Taverner. Superintendent to Messrs Ctildwell and Boss, sworn: Knew the man ¡,nd the foals. Had been them at Pai jecently. Would not swear positively tha the yearling foal branded IN vvus the produci

ni the male-.

Tin; evidence being now closoi. Nortoi v. us c.illed on to make any titntemont in wished, the usual caution beingfirat given ti him. Ile stated that a few weeks ago a mai travelling with cattle culled at. Pap with : ltuocked.up mare, and following ber wa the foal wlitoh he was now charged witl bianding; that the foal, being unabl to travel, ho purchased her of th man, on the condition thnt if the selle did not return within a given period, h (Norton) was to brand the foal as Iii;. ££ tcc\ ', i receipt, and had no witnesses. Noi toil « n tuen commicted to Goulburn Goal Mr. Mead (who swore to the factB abov stated, on a previous hearing of the case] Mr. Cockburn, Atkins, and Wall were boun over ¡is witnesses for the pioeccutiou. Nor ton was ultimately admitted .to bail.

This charge created great exciteinen through the district. The case lasted man hours, and the court vvus very crowded. On Paddy Hatigarty, woll known on the Edwan and the Murray, was proved to hu nu assis tant in tho afluir, and he branded severa colts (it Pap- tit the time vfhen Norton wa branding the lilly. These animals ure ia pounded at Deniliquin, and, it they ar honestly come by, Haggarly, »vho is in Me! bourne, may get them on his return, Haf garty branded the horses, which he cluims a Lis, with a stirrup iron and a horseshoe.

OtEAKiNa THE MuniiAY.-About twenty mei mc engaged in clearing that portion of thi Middle Murray in tho immediate neighboui hood of Maidens and Echuca. The river have risen a little of late.

TRAVELLING STOCK. - A tolerable number of fat cattle are still coming and going down, and many purchases have recently been made at Deniliquin. Several buyers are resident here; Mr. Gleeson, for Messrs Vaughan and Wild; Messrs. Ricketson, in connection with Messrs. Kaye and Butchart; Mr. Dunn, also in connection with the latter named firm; and Mr. Edwards as general agent. We have also continued visits from Bendigo buyers, where a keen competition is going on between parties belonging to Mr. Maiden on the one side and Mr. Keagharing on the other. We have continued complaints of persons dealing in and travelling with stock, that some of the persons supplying the Bendigo market with beef and mutton are exercising a mo-nopoly of that market, or endeavouring to do so, and attempts are being made by Mr. Keaghering and others to break down the formidable barrier. The public will reap the benefit of this competition. Many of the dealers state that the Bendigo dealers will not buy of them, excepting at a ruinous price to the seller, and that if this sacrifice were made, the wholesale and retail price of beef and mutton on the Bendigo would not be affected. The battle has been continuing for some time, and some of the large buyers are determined at any cost to maintain them-selves on the Bendigo, and open the market to all comers, so that the best man may win. The old dealers are equally determined that their opponents shall not jump their claim. The revolutionary party's tactics are good, and promise well. They propose to throw in thirty or forty head of cattle, or proportionate number of sheep, weekly, at skirmishers - to slaughter them in their own slaughtering yards, and sell at a penny or two pence per lb. under the opposing parties, so as to make the latter reduce the price of beef and mutton to something like the price of cattle, as they, the young hands, offer to the old. Thus the battle rages. The old hands' cry is "No surrender;" Keaghering party's motto, "Faugh a ballagh." If the warfare continues for the winter, no doubt there will be great slaughtering, and the list of killed, wounded, and missing, will be fearful, greater than in any of the previous battles fought on pugnacious Bendigo. Our sales here for the last week of cattle amount to about 800 head, all bought by or for Mr. Patrick Deane, of the Bendigo. One mob, chiefly bullocks, reached £8 per head (about 400 in number); the other the price was £7 5s for bullocks, and £6 5s. for cows.

SnEEP.-Immense numbers of sheep,

quantities of 2:.000 downwards, nretravellii between theLiohlan and the Miurumbridc " You could walk on thoir heads for forty" fifty miles," said a Lachlan settler to me < his arrival here yesterday. I counted abo 60,000 from quantities furnished by hil Maiden owns a large number of them,

HOUSES.-Mr Duckett reached the Edwa with forty horsep, good in bone, but low fltsh. Mr. Deane, of the Bendigo, parchas thom at £20 per head. Mr. Stephenson, the Lachlan, arrived yesterday with about head. They aro for the Bendigo market, tu of a fair overage in bone and condition.

A LAitGE~NuaûET.-A nugget weight eight hundred and one ounces was broug into Castlemaine on Friday. It was founef M'lntyre'B diggings, Mount Moliagul, abo twelve miles from Dunolly, in some c workings, at about tvvo feet holow tho surfa The fortunate possessors intend Inking it Melbourne to-day (Monday) /or sale. It estimated to contain not moro than foi ounces of quartz.-Mount Alexander Mail.

ÜAST BowiKE.-Dr. Greeves addressed t loyvded meeting at the Athenamin, Brui wirk, last evening, .and was well receivt After the usual routine of questioning, one iheelectpis (¡Iii. Do Carle), in a brief apee fauggested n departure from the usual urimea ¡eg vote of " a fit and proper person," &c. ai in lieu thereof wound up tho business with vote of thanks to the chairman, and t ntteting terminated,-» Communicated.