Please wait. Contacting image service... loading

Article text

Domestic Intelligence.
Supply of Water.—-Many complaints have
been made to us, by the most respectable of our
water-carriers, of the deficiency of the water
supplied, or, rather, which ought to be sup-
plied, to the town. Although there has been
abundance from the heavens, the pumps at the
lower end of the town have been, very fre-
quently, dry, so that a large portion of the in-
habitants have been seriously inconvenienced
by the deficiency complained of. Now, it is not
for us to find "causes" for such "effects:" it
is quite enough for us to point out existing evils,
and call, as we do now, upon the proper autho-
rities to remedy these evils. We must state,
however, that Captain Cheyne has, at present,
nothing whatever to do with the supply of water
to the town ; so that he is not to be blamed in
this matter. We do hope, however, that proper
measures will be taken to prevent, for the future,
a recurrence of these disappointments.
DREADFUL ATTEMPT AT MUTINY AND
MURDER AT NORFOLK ISLAND—The follow-
ing the public may rely on as from the most
authentic source :—"On the 1st July, an at-
tempt at mutiny was made at this ill-fated
island by a large body of prisoners. The
prisoners had been for years in the habit of
having tin pots and kettles, which the Civil
Commandant having maturely considered of,
gave orders for them to be taken away after
the men were locked up for the night. The
free police, attended by some of the civil officers,
searched their mess-room, and took away a
great quantity of pots, kettles, and frying-pans,,
and placed them in the store. The next morn-
ing, upon the men being let out from the
sleeping places, and seeing their pots were
gone, the notorious Kavanagh and Jackey
Jackey, so well known in Van Diemen's Land,
headed a body of their fellow-prisoners—the
worst and most desperate of the colonial pri-
soners,—rushed the store, and took their pots
and kettles; then proceeded to the sub-con-
stables' barracks, severely beat several of them,
and broke their cooking utensils and the win-
dows ; then armed themselves with the tools
prepared for their work, went to the sub-
overseers' room, and left several of them se-
verely wounded ; then returned to the mess-
room, killed the gatekeeper, a prisoner of the
crown, named Morris, rushed the cook-house,
and brutally murdered Mr. Stephen Smith, the
free overseer of the cook-house, and for many
years police runner of this island. The deed
of blood was not yet fully accomplished ; they
left their mess-room with the full intention of
slaying all before them, entered another hut,
where three poor prisoner constables were
sleeping, clove the heads of two of them in
halves with axes as they lay in the bed—the
third, a Van Diemen's Land prisoner, named.
Michael Ryan, hearing their cries, made his
escape outside, and was afterwards met by
Jackey Jackey, who, armed with an immense
bludgeon, attacked him ; Ryan fought, or rather
parried his blows manfully, but must have fallen
a victim, had not one of the wretched men, who
had taken part in the previous murders, either
from a feeling of compunction, or from a pre-
vious acquaintance, stepped out and saved him
from the murderer's clutches. Jackey Jackey
rushed to lead them on to the Magistrate's and
Commandant's houses, but the military had by
this time completely hemmed them in. Fifty
of the ringleaders were immediately picked out
and placed upon the chain, and twenty-five of
them are now committed for trial for wilful
murder. The unfortunate man, Stephen Smith,
has left a wife and three small children to de-
plore his loss. A subscription has been opened
on the island, and about £100 has been col-
lected ; but it is to be hoped that something
may be effected in Hobart Town for the un-
fortunate family, by the Lieutenant-Governor.
—Norfolk Island, July 15, 1846."
TUB POLICE.-Although we have for some
time past omitted the insertion of any formal
or detailed police report, we have, nesertheless,
duly watched the proceedings, and it affords us
much satisfaction to find how trivial, generally
speaking, are the cases daily brought forward
for adjudication. Of these the majority con-
sists of complaints against pass-holders in pri-
vate servies, or against probationers ¡n the
employ of the Government. Robberies with
violence, or indçed of any serious character,
aro extremely rare, as may be collected from
our columns, in which the principal ones havo
been duly chronicled. The constables, too,
seem now more anxious to preserve the public
peace, than to hunt up fines and peualties ; and
it is probably to their exertions, thus bene-
ficially directed for the public good, that we
owe the present almost unexampled safety of
our property. True it is, several pilfering!
have been committed by sneaks and coilers,
who have succeeded in their lawless doings
chiefly through the carelessness of those whom
they havq victimised. One thing is certain,
namely, that the police of the city never worked
better than it does at the present moment,'
which may, we think, be taken as a corrobora
tion of the statement made by Mr. Price on
the presentation of the Address to tha't gentle-
man, to the effect that the merit which had
heen so flatteringly ascribed to him, ought also
to be shared by the active and intelligent officers
who had carried his orders and instructions
into effect.
TOLLS_The following is the schedule of
tolls fixed by the Council for the main line oÇ
road. To be paid at each gate; vehicles to
be exempt from payment one return journey
through the same gate in the 24 hours :
For every horse mare golding colt or filly
not exceeding.0 4
For every ass cow bull ox heifer steer or
calf not exceeding - - - - 0 2
For all sheep and goats by the seoro per
head.0 4 >
Sheep less than a score per head - -0 0$
Swine by the score not exceeding - -04.
Swino less than a score per head - - 0 OJ
For overy cart wain dray or carriage of any
dtscription upon two w heels drawn by
one horso or other beast not exceeding 0 ' 8
If drawn by tw o horses - - - - 1 0
If drawn by more horses the carriage to be
charged separately and tho horses by the
head separately - - - - - 1 fj
For every cart wain dray or carriage of any
description upon.two wheels not drawn
by any other horse or any other cattle but
in any other way or being attached to
some other carriage draw n by any horse
or other cattle - - - - - 0 fl
For every cart wain waggon dray or other
carriage of any description upon four or
moro whcols drawn by one or moro horse* ,
. not exceeding four , - - - - 1 0
If drawn by more, than four horses each
bor>o to bo. charged separately and the >
carriage to be charged separately - - 1 10
For each cart wain waggon dray or other
carriage upon four or more wheels not
drawn by any horse or other cattle but hi
any other «ay or being attached to some
other carriage drawn by any horso or .
othor cattlo.-110!
ERRATA_In the hurry of composition, an
error or two crept into our last number ; one,
however, sufficiently obvious hardly to require
notice : we allude to the Latin quotation, pre-
fixed to the letter of our correspondent SIMPLEX,
where the word Index is printed for Judex :
the other occurs in tho leading article, where a
superfluous, line has been inserted after th«
quotation " Touch me not, I am holier than
thou art." The following words should there-
fore be erased-" and the narrower their own
escape art." ,
NEW MAOIETIIATE_Mr. John Abbott has
been appointed Assistant Police Magistrate for
the district of Clarence Plains, and not Captain
Cheyne, as mentioned in our last. We havo
every reason to believe that Mr. Abbott will
perform his' duties m a manner highly satis-
factory to the inhabitants
SVDNET_The brig Louisa is coming into
the harbour from Sydney. She left on the
sarao day with tho brig Governor Phillip, and
has the mails on board_Two other schooners'
are coming up the river.
HOBART TOWN MARKETS_The price of
wheat continues to rise, whether by private
operations or hy fair public demand, does not
appear : 7s. 9d. per bushel has been refused
io-day, and one parcel fetched 7s. I Öd. per
bushel. Malt burley, 5s. 6d. per bushel ; Cape
barley, 5s. per bushel. t Oats, 5s. per bush»).
Hay, loose, £S 5s. per ton ; pressed, £6 5s, per
ton. 5 '
LAUNCKSTOH MARKETS-The wheat market
continues firm, and purchases are made freely
at from 6s. 3d. to 'fis. 6d. for good sample*.^
Launceston Advtrtiur, Aub. B4, ' ;
I , i .<
$