Daily Circulation, 1474. The Oamaru Mail TUESDAY, MARCH 31, 1885.

Mr Shrimski has received the following reply to a telegram which he forwarded to the Speaker of the House of Representatives in reference to his resignation"Your resignation by telegram is sufficient. I very much regret your retiring. Bopc-ill-health is not the cause, and that will again re-enter polities. Shall always recollect your consistent politics as a member and your friendly feelings t wards me both on the floor of the House and in the Chair."

The question of a successor to Mr Shrimski —which is just now a .topic of public discussion—has not yet been met by any definite elucidation ; but we are able to state that Mr T. W..Hislop will probably be a eandi'ate for the position just vacated by Mr Shrimski. Should Mr Hislop endeavor re-enter the Bouse of Representatives in the interests of this district, he should do so unopposed. ' His ability and experience could not fail to earn for him the almost unanimous approval of the .electors. His Worship the Mayor has received a telegram from Sir Julius Vogel, stating that he will arrive in Oamaru at 1 p.m. on Thursday next, and that he will remain here for an hour.

The Anglo-New Zealander says : " A lithographic illustration of the house which is being erected at Riseholme, near Christchurch, New Zealand, for Sir John Hall, the late Preniier of that colouy, is, given in the lasS number of the Building New?. The house will be situated in well-wooded and pleasantly placed grounds. It is designed by Mr R. A. Briggs, of Chelsea. By reason of t' o frequent occurrence of earthquakes, the house is built entirely of wood, with the exception of chimneys, &c., the roof being covered with slatrs. These, together with the grates, glas*, furniture, and are being sent from England." We 1 suppose that the admirers of Sic Hall will view the above as evidence that he is a' good colonist. We think, however, th t the colony would be better without such men. They accumulate wealth a,t the expense of the colony, and add insult to i-jury by expending it in the Old Country in things that could be secured here j ast as cheaply and as good, if not better. An adjourned meeting of the Otepopo Road Board was held on the 30th Ma-ch. Present—Messrs Morton (Chairjnah), Ross, M'Donald, Anderson, and He-derson. The minutes of the last ine-ting were confirmed, j A letter was received from Mr Maude, on behalf of Mr George ,Fenwick's trustee, re the deviation at Breakneck. One of " the members agre.d to. wait on Mr Maude and furnish him with the desired information. Mr Norman's letter pointed out the dangerous state of the road at William-street Maheno, and asked the Board to have it attended to. The matter was referred to the members, for the Bub-division. The Engineer wrote that he had surveyed Break neck Road, in accordance with instructions, and found that Mr Frame had fenced right across the road-line. It was resolved that, Mr Frame receive notice to remove his fence according to the surveyor's pegs. Mr M'Donald moved, and Mr Anderson seconded, " That, in the Clerk's absence, Mr. 1 h mas Henderson be" appointed to attend at the schoolhouse, Otepopo, on Tuesdays and Fridays, from 4 to 5 p.m., to receive rates and give receipts for same. Accounts were passed for payment amounting to E2l 7s lOd. The Board then rose. The mail brought by the direct steamer Ruapehu arrived in Oamaru by train last night, and was almost equal in size to the mail received by the San Fraucisco route. The Ruapehu arrived a day under contract time. At the meeting of the Waitaki Mutual Improvement Society on Thursday a paper Will be read on the subject " Why, with all cur science, are our political institutions so stationary." Two stacks of wheat belonging to Mr H. Schluter at Boundary Greek were destroyed by fire on Sunday night. The stacks were not icsured and Mr fcchluter's loss is over LIOO.

•There was a very large turn out of the whole of the headquarters' companies of North Otago Volunteers last evening, and a number of the Otepopo corps were also present, the jotal_number cp parade being 217. The

battalion were exercised iu a number of movements in Thames street.

The usual weekly meeting of the B'ue Ribbon Gospel Temperance Union was held in St. James' Ha'l last evening, Mr James Milligan in the chair. A fter f- cripture reading and prayer, Mr Leishman gave a postical reading entitled "My Wife," depicting the misery brought on a family when the wife and mother gave way to intemperance, ending in suicide, after the death of a dearly loved ch Id. Mr Mrligan s «id he hai bten asktd by a prominent citizen if the Airny would last out another year; but ho thought there waa no fear of tre Army not lasting while onr daughters were growing up, an i, with their mothers, were coming to help in the go d work. Miss Jessie Le ; shman then gave a recilation, "The Market Basket," very nicely. Mrs Inglis sang a snlo, "Over the 1 ine," very svveet'y, the chorus being taken up by the c' oir. the then gave a m at earnest addrts% urging all to give up the drink, and trust in "Christ, ourßo:k," as the su'e and only foundation. Mr Cairns then read " The testimony of a living witness," showing how prescriptions, resolutions, and the pledge were all of no avail U' til couve: sion had taken p'ace. He spoke strongly against the Sunday traffic in liquor, and c mn.ended the action of the Harbor Board in prohibiting the sale of liquor at the forthcoming regatta. Mr It glis sang a rolo, "> ot half has ever been lo'-d," with chorus by the audience, and then gave his "experience as a commercial traveller round the country. He said he had been tald by a hotelkeepev up country that thoy would rather have wo-kiog men than tourists, as the litter only paid for bed and board, while the working man would "inock down" his cheque of several pounds. Ei.ht new members joined the army and donned the blue, six of ;he;e being sailors. A. i'our-roomed house in Mersey-street, owned and occupied by Mr James Wilson, blacksmith, was completely de troy-, d by fire last night,, together with the greater por:i n of its contents. At about; half-past six o'clock lait evening the house was discovered to be on fire unier the floor, a little way from the kitchen chimney, ani some boards were taken up and the fire extinguished ; but a short time afterwards, while the furniture, which had been removed, was being taken back again, the tire broke out in a fresh place, and, when discovered, had apparently a strong hold on the building. Fanned by the 3trong wind b'owing, the flames quickly enveloped the building," The Fire Brigade was quickly on the spot, and, aided by a number of volunteers who worked well, succeeded, by the aid cf buckets, in extinguishing the fire in three hours and saving the adjoining buildings from taking fire. The Bigade run out 700 feet of hos; and connected with the main in Arun-street, but the pressure of water was so email that it wai found to be use'ess. It is supposed that the fire was caused by sparks from an ash heap being blown under the house, which, it may be mentioned, wss on fire some three weeks ago. The house was insured in the New Zealand office for L 175, ar.d the furniture, wl ich was nearly all destroyed either by fire removal, was injured in the same office for LSO. Mr Wilson estimates his loss at LGO ove' the amounts named.

This eveniog Miss Genevieve Ward and a specially selected company will give the. first and only performance in Oamaru of the great drama " fc'orget-me:nr>t." We have already wril ten favourably of the " Sfcr>r," the company, and of the drama, and we can do no more that say that a greater treat has never been given to the people of Oamaru than is offered to-night. I u ing the march through Queen-street on the cccrsion of the reception of the Rifle and Ca'bine Champions yesterday, a number of people stepped on the verandah of Messrs T. and Morrin and Co.'s shop. Although the skylight is protected by iron bars and a wire netting, so that it is impossible for any person to fall through from the top, the weieht of a thoughtless persoo was sufficient to send the broken pieces of a sheet of glass crashing to the footpath. One pieca struck a little girl about 13 years of age, named Florence Mettam, on the head, inflic'ing what appeared to be a dangerous wound on her forehead, arid she bled very profusely. Mr Napier Pollard, -of Parnell, at once picked up the little girl, and bore her through the crush in his arm 3 to Mr King's chemist's shop, but finding that there was no doctor there he took her to Mr Aickin's, where fortunately he found 1.1 r Cobbett' The latter, on examining the c-hikl. found a flesh wound about an icch and a-half in length down the centre of the fore he'd. He stitched up the wound and sto ped the bleeding, and the child was then taken to her home.—Auckland Herald,

The Wellington Press writes :—A more or /ess romantic career has just had an .equal'y romantic en ling. Many years ago a ma:i named Brown commonly known as ' Okawe/ or 'Hookey' Brown, was sentenced to undergo a term of inprisonment on a charge of murder. Whilst in gaol he made a favorable impression upon the heart of a Maori g rl, and the pair were married in the prison. Since his release Brown and his wife .have been knocking about round the colony, and finally brought up near the Butt. Here the man died a few days and his widow was Very desirous of burying his remains herself in the sand on the shore. The police were c~mmunie?.ted with, and Constable Mackey went out to their place, but wns denied admittance to the whare. On looking through the window he perceived the old maori wife in bed with the corpse, and tenderly embracing the body of her dead husband.. " Finally, the constable succeeded in making good his entranc-, but it was only by the exercise of considerable force, most carefully applied, that he was able to get the body away from the arms of the devoted widow, succeeded at last, and removed the remains to the Lower !! utt, when they were interred. Mrs Brown is inconsolable, and p-obably will not long survive the loss of her beloved husband.