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MOTES AND NOTICES.

The night whtchnian at Bernard Birnhaum
and Sons* clothing factory, South Yarra,
captured an intrtidet after midnight on
Nov. 16. While the watchman, after caging

ha* man, woo telephoning to the police, the
captive lied, and tire watchman, by using bit
revolver, brought htm down fa the street.
TTic prisoner gave the name of Led wig
Cugjer, journeyman baker in the service of
Its. Haysem. Be had aougbt adventure
while wmtingforhia batch t® rise. Charles
Gordon, (he watdmmcr, is a Homaae Society
aredftfifst. At (he P rah ran Count, en
Thursday, Kagkr was let off with a warning, ■
and Gordon complimented on his alertness,
Kugter was given a good character by hia
employer.

An accident attributed to failure in the

luMvlling of the interlocking apparatus oo i
carved at Daoea rail way-station, Horsham■
district, on Saturday, where a mixed train ran
off the mam line into a aiding, colliding with
standing tracks. One of the acta of economy

perpetrated by the late commissioners was j
dispensing with the services of the head of j
the interlocking department.

The Government contemplates amalgamat
ing the Public Works, Railways, and Water
Supply departments, and the Attorney
General's and Solicitor-General's deport

ments.

Shopkeepers in Elisabeth-street hare pro* j
tested ogsmst the economising plans of the j

railway commissioners at Flinders-street

station, where a prospective saving ot £600 a j
year is to be effected by closing some of the
gateways, and thus diverting traffic to Swan
stou-street. The commissioners intend to give
the pfon a trial.

The Rev. W. Groundwater Fraser, of St.
Paal'a Presbyterian Church, Young, is at
loggerheads with some of his congregation,
who have ceased to subscribe. One of the
causes of offence is his allowing cards at a
social party given at the manse. The Presby
tery 1 raving inquired into the grievances of
the disaffected, see no grounds for interfering,
and enjoin the cultivation of a spirit of love
and unity, to which the disaffected reply by
saying they will appeal to the General As
sembly. Mr. Fraser some time ago held a
charge at Eaeendon.

The Australasian Medical Gazette (Sydney)
for November is crowded with articles and
reports on questions of medical interest.
There are, however, some weak comments on
the Richmond poisoning case. "Victoria
has distinguished herself once more, this
time by the successful hanging of two women
in one year." If two women are convicted
of murder in one year should only one
be hanged, or is it sufficient to convict
one and a duty to let the other off?
The writer bases his conclusions in Mrs.
Need fell case not on the evidence but on
some private communication made to hrtn by
a doctor vrho attended her. Considering
what a mnfl another doctor who was tailed
in made of the diagnosis in Louis's ease, it is
evidently desirable that we should first hare
cross-examination before believing any volun
teered statement. Though no defence of
insanity was set up at the trial, the Gmette
is of opinion that Mrs. NeedieV proceedings
were the muniaeal nets of an insane person,
which, with other reasons, " makes us very
doubtful as to tlie justice of capital punish
ment in this case," &c. It is fortunate for
the public that it goes to one set of men for
ita law, another for its verdicts, and to a third
for its medicine, and not to any one for all
three.

A dictionary no larger in length, and
breadth than, a postage stamp comes to us
from Messrs. Watson, Ferguson, and Co., of
Brisbane and London, ink manufacturers.
It has the thickffess of three half-crowns.
So diminutive a work is easily carried. It
Itardly require* » pocket; it would (it into
the lining of one's cuff. No one can allege
its weight aa excuse for leaving it at home
when setting out upon a journey. It can he
carried by the most heavily-laden swagmaa.
There are 386 paces, which we have ascer
tained by looking at the. figures through a
magm4yinftgiaack. Tim words are printed in
capitals ana tike meaning in " lower case"
type. To enjoy reading this book it is neces
sary to have fine sight or strong sneetades.
The delicacy of the type must stand in the
way *f the dmtiooauy becoming a favourite
work of reference. What it gains in port
ability it lose* in the difficulty of making out
ita contents. It ia an interesting specimen
of typography, bet we do not envy the com
pesKhre tfa* job they had of setting the 13,060
line* it contains, in the lid ot the case con
touring it is. a magnifying-glass, which tuakvs
the print quit* legible.

The Inteixoloinal Quarterly: Journal

Medicine and Surgery for November (Mef- I
bourne: BtiltweHand Co.) contains "Notes]
from Central Australia," by Dr. E. C. Stirling,
one of the members of the Horn exploring

little aiL

party. He describes some of the

ments that prevail in the far bush. Dr.
Stirling scouts the idea that the skin disease
known as Barooe rot is caused by scratches
from Mulga scrub. He thinks it may be due
to the cracking effect which the extreme cold
of night and toe extreme heat of day have on
tire skin, the d^neasof the air, the abundance
of peat-carrying insects, and monotonous diet.
Dr. Stirling enumerates some of th*commou
diseases he raw among the blacks, and men
tions some rare cases ot curvature and flat
tening of the shin bone. A girl of 15 had a
sort of boomerang curve in the leg. between
the knee and the middle of the shin, where
in ordinary people the outline ia straigbt.
The curving nas no resemblance to rickets.
At Charlotte Waters the residents describe
natives who exhibit the peculiarity as

boomerang-legged." The blacks seem to

sofferfrom venom dismeeSf sncb as bhghlj

eczema, km. which could be easily cur

they haa a housewife's knowledge of medi
cine. Consumption kills off many. Mr.
Hswkes, lH.ft.CS., of Rockhampton, de
eribesr a ease of recovery from snakebite by
the strychnine cure, where the patient
seemed to be really suffering from an over
dose of alcohol—three-quarters of a tumbler
of Reimessy's brandy given neat to a girl of
seven within 10 minutes of her reporting
herself aa having been bitten. The remain
ing articles are of strictly professional in
terest. At the end of the magaaine are given
numerous miscellaneous notes under the
affected title of "periscope," which, we
presume, is meant to stand for "a look
rounJJ Throughout the work the use of
plain English Ha avoided wherever possible,
and language substituted which is of bastard

origin.

A meeting of business men to condemn the
taxation aohem« was held hi Melbourne on
Monday, Ma J. MWhae, of the Stock Ex

Mr. Manay Soritk eati

..., .

chUdma wh»wvra a*t*raitfc<ia*ct«ri

to ftee teaching. Btr. Walter Ma (Men csf
cutoted that if there had been the same
cutting downm the public service that there
had been f« the Tram wflyCompany's service a
saving of £944,477 would have been effected.
There ate 84,735 persons fn the pnbfle eer
vrce, coating la wages and salaries £58,811,99®.
Every private citizen was having: hto income
eat, the prices of everythin* were Mrnjt,
rents were down 10s. in the fcl, bo it was only
fair dwrt the public service pay sboufi be
redeced i# every grade. Dr. Barrett said drat
to England, where there were an army and
navy to keep up and heavy charges on (he
national debt, taxation amounted to £l lib. a
head, as against £818s. in Victoria. A rem-1
lotion was earned protesting against the im
position of new taxation until there had been
mil retrenchment.

From all parts oi the cowatry cause strong i
protests against the tax «n unimproved hred I
values.

At the Moorafcool viaduct on Sunday a
quantity of decayed steepen was taken out.
The _ viaduct was reported to he in need of
repair in Sfarch last, hut the work was
staved off because it would add several
thousand pounds to the expenditure for 1893
94. There is a double line of rails across the
MoorabooL Valley, which is a quarter of a
mile wide, and a saving is going to be effected j
by laying down a new single line. The;
viaduct has not had any important repairs I
done to it for 15 years.

Nine years are a long time to wait for the
bringing off of a charge, but one dealt with
in Sydney last week has been just that time
hanging over the head of a defendant. A
respectably attired labouring man appeared
m the Central Police Court on November 16
to answer a charge brought against him in
188&. The offence was using bad language.
Mr. S. Stewart, for the defence, painted out
thats nine years ago his client went to
Queensland. Very soon afterwards a sum
mons was left ait his house calling upon him
to appear before the Court Subsequently a
warrant was issued against the man for dis
obeying the summons, although in point of
fact he had no knowledge of the existence of
the summons. Recently he returned to New
South Wales, and on hearing about the
warrant voluntarily communicated with the
police. Mr. Addison, S.M., said it was a
pity the police could not find something else
to do instead of bringing people there for
an offence said to have been committed uine
years ago. Senior-sergeant Chambers re
marked that the warrant had been issued,
and that it was the duty of the police to
execnte it at the first opportunity. Mr.
Stewart said it was a pity the Statute of
Limitations did not apply. Mr. Addison
rejoined that it ought to apply, but that as
the man had pleaded guilty he would be
fined 2a. Gd, and have to pay the coBts,

7s. 4d

The Rev. G. M'lnnee, moderator of the
New South Wales General Assembly, hi a
discourse reported last week in Sydney, an

nounced that the next world would be one of!
surprises. " The Lord has surprises in store.

Raman, Orthotics would be surprised to Bee j
there Protestants who hail got no extreme!
unction from a priest, and Protestants to see

there Roman Catholics who on earth had [
believed absuTd doctrines and practised j

ridiculous ceremonies, ami both would be sur
prised to Bee many ' not of this fold,' whom
they had thought beyond the pole of hope,

but whom the Good Shepherd had gathered '
iu. Orthodox and heretics would enjoy a I
mutual surprise. The cardinal and the

bishop would be agreeably surprised to meet j
(me another, and their gratification and sur-1
prise would not be diminrahed at seeing the
moderator close by." Mr. M'innes, in his
dacourse, was commenting on the recent
controversy between Cardinal Moran and
Bishop Gamier of Goulburn, a3 to whether
Peter was or was net first Pope of Rome, or
ever a pope or primate at all.

A wool-shearing record is given by the j

Charlevil/e Time*:—" On the 31st October,
at Burenda, 47 men, including five learners,
shore in hours 7,149 sheep, averaging a
fraction better than 152 per man. 5,650
sheep were full-mouthed flock ewes, with 73
per cent, of Iambs weaned from them off the
shears. The balance, 1,493, were six-tooth
flock ewes, with 60 per cent, of lambs
weaned. From the above ewes 125 bales of

word, were pressed (110 bales turned out in ,
the day by four men u ilh two presses). Weight
of wool (exclusive of packs), 44Scwt 2gr.
161 b.T or a little over 71b. per sheep. Tallies
of men over 150 .-—215, 208. 205, 204, 201, 191.
189, 189, 183,182, 176,175, 172, 172, 170, 166.
163,162, 160,158,157, 167, 15*'*

The Minister of Railways is indisposed to
accept the proposal of the commissioners to
close any of the unpayable lines—at nny
rate for the present—as this is the best time
of the year for traffic. Mr. Williams lias re

ceived a return showing that the receipts on :
the Briagolong line for the twelve months
ending October last amounted to £1,363.
According to a table furnished to the late
Minister of Railways the capita! cost of this
line is £52,767, and the working expenses
amount to £1,355. The point which has
to be considered in connection with the rail
way at the present juncture is whether
£6,060 shall be spent in the re-erection of a
bridge across the Avon River.

An octogenarian pioneer of Castlemaine
in the person of Miss Jessie Stewart died
last week. She was a very old and respected
colonist, having arrived in Victoria in 1868.
For several years she conducted a ladies'
school at Heidelberg, the daughters of
Madame Carandini being amongst her pupils.
In 1857 Miss Stewart went to CSsttensineaad
opened a ladies' school, which she kept foe
many years. She was the daughter of a dis
tinguished officer in tire Indian service.

The South Australian Treasurer moved
the second reading of the Loans to Fro
dueecs BUI on November 20. He Slid
that the peoduGtug interest had been sorely
hit bp the heavy toil in prices, and should be
assisted by state advances. Theatate should
■ lord on no securities which wet* no! suffi
cient. It might net be able to charge less
1 thou the low rates of interest ewrreat to
day, hut it could certainly give numbers
1 easier terns of repayment. The Savings
Bank should have its powers extended, and
farther moneys placed at its disposal. They
gave the bank power to issue Treasury notes,
which should be a legal tender and convertible
into gold on demand, mid which shotrid have
a Government guarantee. They allowed the
issue of mortgage bonds not exceeding in ali
£3,000,000 oa rise total lent to producers, the
bonds to be interminable Save at the option of
the bonk, after seven years' currency, on duly
advertised drawings, the bonds to carry not
more than 4 pec eenk interest during cur
rency. The advances wen to be made oa
simitar terms tofhosn proposed recently in
the Victorian b31, and to be repaid to half
yesxfr stuns with interest at 5 per cent, the
tertn not to be more than 42 years. The
Government would ha future guarantee
tha deposits ha the Saving? Bank,

iri baMMfiuma would exercise

the hi tonttosgtool ttto

bank, two-fifths of whost-moneys ftb
reverted in mortgage, two-Mfrbs in Govern
ment bomfe or stock, and the remstninsona
fffth to be refafoed fa c«A as a reserve.

Joha Tone*, shoemaker, who cut bis wilt's
tkreat at St. &bte, o« «t
MHMima be bad been deceived boa
mattying a roan of loose character.
Tbey lived on good tera» for atvml
mouths, and then she get imprisons*
fee being diMk. On bee release wt
intimatedtba* she was going to earn money
on bee own account, and ti» as inoonred
Toner that on finding be* at the house of m
acquaintance of ben be fin* etruak her and
then used his knife. He asserted at the trial
that they had had no quarrels till she took to
going oat at night, Mr. Justice William
sentenced Toner to 11 years' ttaprisea

nsit

A return an to pensions w*» presented to
the Legislative Gremeil on November 21 on th*
motion of He. Melville. It wws for the moat
part a repetition of ft retain laid before tfte
Legislative Assembly las* sessfos. There aw
1,295 peteops receiving pensions under £100,
<520 receiving under £200,100 under £200, 70
under £400.13 under £500,9 under £000,7 under
£700, 2 under £800, and 2 of £1,009. There
are a total number of 2,215 persons receiving
a sum of £255,487. The return states that a
commission of 1J per cent, is charged by the
Agent-General on tire amounts paid in Eng
land, except in the cases of Mr. Childers
and Lady Darling. The total amount sent
from the colony is £15,584.

A car was discovery of ham an remains Iras
been made by Hia Sergeant, the matron of
the Den il renin Hospital. She and another
lady were fishing in the police paddock, and
they saw a boot projecting from a sand
bank. On pulling it o«rt of the sand they
were horrified at finding that it contained a
human foot, with both the bones of the leg
from the knee downwards. The matter was
reported to tfte police, and an investigation is
proceeding. No other portion of the body
was Found. Three years ago a man supposed
to be named Joseph Harries threw himself off
the Deniffquin bridge into the Edwards
River, which was then in high flood. He left
on the bridge ftrs coat, containing money and
an envelope on which words were written
intimating that his body would be found in
the rivet.- Although the river was dragged
and a vigorous search was made at the time
the body was never recovered, and it is now
supposed that the leg discovered was a por
tion of it. The man had relatives who are
land-holders at Mnthoura, and these have
been communicated with, but unless they
can identify the boot the mystery is likely to
remain unsolved.

The Full Court lias granted a grand jury to
decide whether or not a presentment should
lie filed against Joseph Symes, freethonght
lecturer, committed for trial for libelRng
Edwin Ripper, of 499 Lonsdale-street.. It
appears that the Attorney-General, following
a practice initiated by Mr. Higinbotham
mnny years ago, had refused to file an indict
ment, on the ground that it is not the duty of
Ihe Crown to prosecute where the aggrieved
person is a private individual.

The Rev. Alexander Stewart, of Esseiidon,
who took Miss Sutherland's part at committee
meetings, has been admonished liy tfteGeiieral
Assembly. On this occasion Professor
Macdonald, of the theological-hall, who was
one of the prosecutors in the Sutherland
inquiry, moved the condemnatory resolu
tion directing Mr. Stewart " to be more
courteous to his brethren and more careful
of the hououE and peace of the church." Pro
fessor Harper, the Rev. Dr. Robinson, and
the llev. A Marshall (Scots Church) withdrew
their names from alt committees on which
Mr. Stewart acta, Mr. Marshall declaring,
"This gentleman has treated me dishonour
ably, and I don't wish to expose myself to
the same treatment again." Mr. Stewart's
principal offence was writing a letter to The
Aryw, giving a report of the proceedings of

the committee that first "sat" upon Miss
Sutherland. His seal in rescue work was
formally acknowledged by the assembly. Dr.
Robinson afterwards withdrew his " with
drawal," and will sit on the same committee#
as Mr. Stewart, as brethren in the Lord

should.

The three Queensland Railway Commis
sioners have been foe some time in disagree
ment. A joint committee of tire two Houses
recommends that Mr. Johnston, the odd man
out, should retire on full salary till the term
for which he was appointed runs out. It is
suggested that there slwald be only one com

missioner.

Henry Wilts, rabbiter, of Momington, has
been committed for trial for making a
murderous attack on his wife (who refused to
live with.him.) and her sister.

An eattli tremor, lasting half a minute, was
felt in Northern Tasmania on November

22.

In Queensland, the Assembly, at the
suggestion of the Opposition, inserted a
clause in the Land Bill, reserving all
minerals fo the Crown. The Premier de
clined to go on with the bill unless the clause
was struck out. Subsequently, on the re
committal of the bill, tfte clause was nega
tived, after an all-uighfc sitting, by 27 to

20.

Mr. Sohey, M.L.A, New South Wales,
justifies the want of heroism supposed to have
been shown by the crew of the wairarapa on
the ground that they hod wives and families
of thesr own to think of, that 25s. (with:
board) is poor pay, and that sailors have long
hours. His remarks were received with
cheers by the Sydney Seamen's Union on No
vember 22.

Ocmdooroo, 18 miles west of AVintern,
Queensland, appears from the account given
by the special correspondent of the Charier
to be ft model raw. It is owned by the
Messrs. Rasssay. Mr. Robert Ramsay, the
resident partner, believes in making bis em
ployes comfortable, and Oondoorao was one
of the few stations in Queensland where the
permanent hands stood loyal to their em
ployer in thtcall out " of 1-891. _ The hut
tor the regular employes stands m ft well
laid-otrt garden surrounded for wire netting.
Inside there is a large dicing or " common *
room, and the sleeping apartments are on
either side of a wide psreoge running the
full length of the building. The partitions
are of cafico, but the men have privacy, and
hold the keys of their rooms. The root Is
raised above the waffs, so that a current of
air assy always pass through. This building
is private. Twelve mouths' service on the
station—unless the man is well known to
Mr. Ramsay—must be put In as a sort ox
qualifying membership before s hand is ad
mitted to thefcat There is, however, a hoi
for casual workers and for travellers. Yet
Ooadootoa m net spared fo tire strike tiise.
It was there that the rioting took pirn*
whew the man PwRsy no narrowlyescaped
being kffitd* and en attempt.*** made Is
barer tire. mmMbtd. it
would appear, think: ao i ^

tmi

well-being of bis hands than of the
man who has no care whatever for them.
Much use is made of the telephone, the
'Various out-stations and the wool-sheds
being connected with the homestead. The
telephone wires are, as a rule, run along the
wire fences, with bearing poles raised up on
the fence posts. There is one stretch of 20
miles. Mr. Ramsay has an excellent plan for
locating bush fires. There has been estab
lished a system of observatories or lookout
Btations, one, say, at the homestead, another
at an out-station, and others at boundary
riders' huts. When a fire is noticed, its
direction is taken on a numbered dial-plate.
The number is conveyed by telephone to the
head station and there checked on a map
bearing lines corresponding with the dial
numbers. On various parts of Oondooroo
there are marked and numbered trees and
cairns, so that men out on the run wishing
to note any incident or stock may give the
exact position. Western station tires in
nearly every case are caused by lightning.
During a thunderstorm, when there is little
or no rain, as many as three fires have been
so caused in one day.
As was announced in the Budget, a further
reduction of the train mileage, forms part of
the policy of the. present Government. From
the beginning of the financial year up to the
present time, the train services have been
altered so as to save the running of
207,500 miles in the course of the current 12
months, and other changes have been
decided upon which will mean a reduction
of an additional 235,000 miles. It is anti
cipated that altogether this year's runningof
trains will be cut down by at least 500,009
miles. It is not intended to interfere with
the services to the suburbs near Melbourne,
the commissioners recognising that to do so
would be simply to play into the hands of
the Tramway Company.
The example for good set by the Field
Naturalists'Ciub in exploring the little-known
islands in Bass's Straits has encouraged
Mr. H. P. C. Ashworth (secretary of the club)
and Mr. Dudley Le Souef (assistant director
Zoological-gardens) to visit the locality
privately. These gentlemen have left by the
fore-and-aft schooner Martha. At Circular
Head they tranship into a smaller crait, and
proceed to examine and take photographs of
the islands off the north-west comer of
Tasmania, more particularly Albatrqss Rock,
an island about a mile in extent, and only
visited once in a decade. When Bass and
Fiindera discovered the rock on the 9th
December, 1798, they found thereon young
and a lew addled eggs of albatrosses, hence
the appropriate name of the island. We
hope shortly to learn whether the rock is still
resorted to as a breeding borne for these
wandering sea birds.
A sulphur spring, which is thought to be
equal in medicinal and curative qualities to
those of a similar kind in New Zealand, has
been discovered on the farm of Mr. Oates,
about two miles from Frankston. All the
Bprings in this locality are highly mineralised,
and, although the existence of this spring
has been known of for some time, it has not
hitherto been thought of much value. It is
asserted that the water is highly impregnated
with sulphur, and the sediment which settles
at the bottom of the well burns, and has the
same smell as sulphur. A sample of the
water has been forwarded to the Government
analyst for report. So sanguine are those
who have the matter in hand that the find
is a good one that a deposit has been paid
to the owner of the land for the sale of two
and a half acres at the rate of £300 per acre.
Should the analysis be favourable a company
will be floated, and sulphur baths established
in the town.
Mr. John G. Dunn, the discoverer of the
Wealth of Nations mine, has been inter
viewed in Adelaide. He has been exploring
in Western Australia for four years, and the
syndicute of which be is a member has
spent £G,000 m prospecting. The Wealth of
Nations has beeu sold to London speculators
for £146,000. On being questioned concern
ing mining generally at Coolgardie, Mr.
Dunn said to the Register:—"Some of the
mines are very rich, but unfortunately some
of the properties that have been put on the
London market will prove disappointing to
investors. Bayley's Reward is as rich as
ever it was—a well-defined lode. They are
down about 300ft. As long as we have
the Wealth of Nations, Bayley's Reward, and
the Londonderry they will make up in their
phenomenal richness for the scores of in
ferior properties at Coolgardie. There is a
wonderful extent of auriferous country in the
colony. I predict one vast gold-field from
Coolgardie right through to the Murchison,
in length about 300 miles and in width about
170 miles. I have been across that country
and got gold." " What is the population of
Coolgardie?" "Ishould say there are fully
10,000 people about the Coolgardie district.
People are going up there in hundreds. Every
team and coach you meet is loaded. The
majority of the practical miners are em
ployed. It is no use for people without
capital to go there. Food is plentiful, but
the water difficulty is serious." Mr. Dunn
thinks that the mines will get all the water
they require in time by sinking.
$