The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-06-10
AT GRACE N, E, CHURCH.
LECTURE ON AUSTRALIA BY
 RET. MR. MoRRO.

Interesting and Wonderful Facts About
 the People and the Plant and Animal
 Life in This Wonderful Country.
 Last evening in Grace M. E. church a thank offering meeting was held by the Women's Foreign Missionary socie- ty. The presiding officer was c. E. Stoddard. Miss Rawson sang beauti- ful alto solo. Rev. A. J. Smith offered prayer. Miss Martha Sringer rendered a fine soprano solo, after which MT. Stoddard introduced Rev. William Morro, who has been assistant pastor at Grace church for the last eight months. MT. Moro leaves to-day for Haverhill, Mass. He kindly agreed to deliver a lecture before he left on 'Aus- tralia,' where he spent several years. MT. Moro started in by telling how he was married at 10 a. m. and at p. m. was on an 11,000 mile wedding journey. He told of the misery of sea sickness and of the approach to Sydney harbor with it's long stone wall; of the immen- sity and natural features of the coun- try; of its use as a penal settlement; of the discovery of gold in. 1851, and of the great wealth developed. He said the blacks number about 150000, but are rapidly diminishing. Disputes have been induIged in as to whether the Aus tralians were the lowest type of hu- manity. They have no homes, wear no clothing have no agriculture, but are wonderful fishermen and hunters.
 Their skill in tracking is wonderful. In reference to this he told how a cow was lead through brush, over stony winding, tortuous courses, back to the stable of it's owner, then the black cow tracker was released, and he followed over all the devious paths, back also to the stable So slSillful are they in this line that they are used to track crimi- nals. They are skillful fire makers.
 Their weapons are the boomerang, which they throw at an angle of S3 de- grees, and which returns in a circle to the tthrower The wut-wut and wome- ra are their other weapons.
 Tn this wonderful country there are 10000 plants found nowhere else. The Eucalyptus gum trees are evergreen. They shed their bark, their leaves hang down, and shed water. On level ground they are mere bushes, but on the mountains they grow to 300 or 400 feet in height.
 Of the flowers those that bloom in the spring are fragrant. The water tree. whose seeds have to be baked or boiled before planting, to loosen the hard shell. Ferns thirty, forty, and sixty feet abound, viz, tanferns, water tan and giant lily which grow to thirty feet in height.
 Of animal life Australia was at one time barren He told of the advent of la dog like our mongrel, which is a great sheep destroyer, having been known to kill 150 sheep in night. Most of the animals are the opossum, kangaroo bear, cat and rat, and wee
 mice, which can be put in a pill box, and yet have room to run about.
 Of the birds the wild magpie, sweet lest and most musical singer ever heard, abounds. Parrots are as plenti- |ful as sparrows are here. Parrot shoot ing a pastame and parrot pie Is a usual dish Cockatoo. the noisiest bird; the Tyre, with beautiful plummage; the bell-bird, whose voice is like the stroke ,of a bell; the whip bird, whose voice is like the crack of whip; the laughing iackass, whose loud laughter is a vacant. mocking gaffaw. The introduce tion of the rabbit, and of it's rapid in crease became nuisance, but now they are canned and sent by carloads abroad
 It is a great land for flies. The speak CT telling how an old lady swung her Ievery morsel around her head in a cir lcle before it reached her mouth, to clear lit of flies.
 The weather is divine along the coast; desolation and waste as tn ewind blows | from the desert.
 The speaker then gave 8 few of the native phrases. Said he: "All Austral- lians are not black; the native whites are from English and Scottish ances- ltry. A better class of people never lived. After they have proved you and found you trustworthy they are friends Indeed; warm, cordial, free hearted Their food is plain, wholesome beef and 1 mutton; their vegetables they cook in salted water. They are great for out door sports. Forty thousand at a lcricket match and 20,O0 at baseball games are often seen, while horse rac- ling is the national sport. The Mel bourne cup day is greater than any other day.
 | After the address the audience re- lpaired to the Sunday school room where the ladies served cream and cake. One of the pleasant features oi lthe early evening was a missionary | song by twelve young girls. Among
 those present were. Presiding Elder w
 A. Richard, Rev. MT. Weston of City
 Point, Rev. ]. F. Johnston of the Sey.
 mour Congregational church, and the lpastor, Rev. A. J. Smith.
 1 Grace church people are very sorry Ito part with MT. Morro and many re.
 grets were expressed and best wishes
 given to him as he takes his onward
 way.
 | ASPIRING NATIVE ALASKANS. | saw a noble young fellow the other