The Oamaru Times, AND WAITAKI REPORTER. THURSDAY, AUGUST 3, 1865.

North Otago Times, 3 August 1865, Page 2

The Oamaru Times, AND WAITAKI REPORTER. THURSDAY, AUGUST 3, 1865.

It cannot be denied that the Town Board of Oamnru is an institution the very reverse of popular. Not foi any evil it may have done, be it remembered, but on account of the good it has not done. It is unpopular, raorever, not because its members have been neglectful of the interests of the place, but because their efforts in this direction have been paralysed. Like everything and everybody without powers and means, it has been as a body without life — a mere inanimate thing. It has never assumed its proper status amongst tis — has never accomplished the ends for which it was established. Nor, under existing circumstances, is it likely to do so. Seeing this, then, it is time that some remedy should be applied that the abnormal state of things which at present exist may be altered and improved. And we need not have far to go to find this, for the recently passed 41 Otago Municipal Corporations Ordinance, 1865," will exactly furnish at once the remedy and the cure. It is true that the Ordinance of itself does not confer much else on the town of Oamaru than an. altered constitution from that of the present Board ; but Ave have been informed on the best authority that there is a Bill now before the General Assembly in Wellington which, if passed (and there is little doubt but it will be), will strengthen it so far as is considered necessaiy. The above-quoted Act is a very important one, and, as we will show, it may be made applicable to this town and district, as well as to others throughout the Province. The following are some of hs leading featureb : — Firstly, as regards the City of Dunedin — That city is divided into four wards, each electing two Councillors annually. The Mayor and two Auditors are also to be elected annually from amongst the citizens. These Councillors, Mayor, and Auditors shall constitute a Council for the good government of the Corporal ion, and the management of its affairs generally, in accordance with the provisions of the Ordinance. At the expiration of the first year, the Mayor and one Councillor in each ward, along with the Auditors, shall retire by rotation — those so going out being those who have been longest in office without re-election. In cases where the period of office is tqual, vote by ballot will determine the order of retirement. Defaulting ratepayers shall not be allowed to vote at elections, and seven days' notice of the nomination days for such elections must be previously given — the days of nomination themselves being three days prior to the day of election.. Other provisions are made with regard to " extraordinary" vacancies in any office, i e., during the currency of any year when the regular time of reth'enient shall not have expired ; and should any Mayor, Councillor, or Auditor become insolvent, or effect a composition with his creditors, he shall vacate his office. Absence from meetings for — in case of Mayor, one month : Councillor, three months ; and Auditor, six months — will also have the same effect. The Council is also empowered to elect a Town Clerk, City Surveyor, Assessors, Inspectors, Clerks, &c, and also to discharge the same or any of them as it may seem to them desirable. The remuneration to the Mayor, Auditors, Town Cl^rk, &c, shall also be in the hands of the Council, to be fixed at what amounts may to them be deemed necessary or reasonable. The public roads, streets, lighting and watering of streets, and town affairs generally, will be under the management of the Council, who are also empowered to license Bazaars, or Repositories for the ?ale of carriages, horses, cattle, &c, and to fix and retain such fees as they may by bye- law ordain. They are also

authorised to borrow at interest, on the security of the rates, to the extent of not more than £100,000. So much for Dunediu. Secondly, with respect to the formation of other Corporations within the Province, we find that it is provided by Clause cxiv. of the Ordinance that ** Such of the provisions of this Ordinance as shall by the Superintendent of Otago, by and with the advice and consent of the Executive Council, be deemed applicable to. and within the limits of the Towns of Port Chalmers or Oamaru, shall apply and be extended thereto as the Superintendent shall by proclamation declare." This clause, it will be seen, has been framed expressly for the places mentioned ; the next (Clause xvi.) is more general, but also important. It reads thus : — " The Superintendent of the Province of Otago, with the advice of his Executive Council, on petition of a majority (not being less than two-thirds) of the ratepayers for the incorporation of any town, district, or place within the said Province, may by proclamation extend the provisions of this Ordinance to any such town, district, or place, by such name or incorporation as he shall deem fit, with such notifications as to the names and, number of the members of such proposed Corporation and the proposed office-bearers thereof, and any other municipal matters and regulations as shall seem to the Superintendent in Council suitable for the area and population, town, or place, and in accordance with such petition may declare the number of wards into which any such incorporated district, town, or place may be divided, and define the boundaries thereof respectively, and define which of the provisions of this Ordinance shall be applicable to and within the limits of such town, district, or place." The following clause states that so soon as such proclamation is made the various provisions which shall have been declared applicable as the case may be shall come into force, and the inhabitants of such incorporated town shall be a Corporation. It is also enacted that "for the purposes of first elections under this Ordinance of Mayor, Councillors, and Auditors for any town or place to which the provisions of this Ordinance or any of them shall be extended as herein provided, the Superintendent of Otago for the time being shall appoint some fit and proper person to prepare the Citizens' Roll for such towns and places, the expense of which shall be borne and paid by the Council of the town or place elected hereunder, for which any such Citizens' Roll shall be prepared j Having thus sketched the provisions of the Ordinance, we think it unnecessary to urge the people of Oamaru to take immediate steps to secure the advantages thus brought within their reach. The importance of the subject, we trust, will be self-evident.

We beg to make brief reference to the reports of the proceedings at the meetings held by Messrs Dick and M'Glasha^, the two candidates for the Superintendence and to remind our readers that the polling:' takes place tomorrow (Friday), at the School-house here. We think we can have little to say as regards the intention of the electois— their resolution to refrain from voting being now widely and generally known. They believe that, by their silpuoe, the Petition which was recenily got up for presentation to the two Houses of Legislature in Wellington will be strengthened ; and they waive their rights and privileges on this occasion to demonstrate more strongly their sincerity and determination to veto the continuance of that shameful neglect under which this important and extensive district has so long struggled. It is, of course, not open to question that this voluntary abnegation of their rights is wrong in principle ; but the Oamaru Electors are impressed with the opinion- which the candidates themselves were signally unable to change — that it is a step which they have deemed absolutely necessary to resort to. Undoubtedly such a protest of their grievances should produce salutary results, under any ordinary circumstances, and the only question left is*. " Could they have gained more by giving their votes either to the one candidate or the other ?" This is what has to be deliberately and seriously considered. If voting for Mr Dick will benefit the district more than by being silent, so that he be returned as the new Superintendent of Otago, our advice is apparent; if for Mr M'Glashan, our advice is piecisely the same, supposing it be necessary for the interests of the place that he should be successful. The powers and fitness of the person chosen to fill that hijrh office, accordJng to Mr Dick, are secondary considerations, the Superintendent possessing no more real power for good or evil than any member of the Provincial Council. We now leave the matter entirely in the hands of the Electors.

The election of three members of the Town Board of Oamaru, in the place of Messrs John Shennan, Boberfc Allan, and John Haigije, took place in fiont of the Court Houso. on Tuesday la&fc, at noon. Only five persons, including the Returning Officer, were present. Mr Joseph Waddell was proposed by Mr Gi enfell, and seconded by Mr Glass ; Mr J. Bee by Mr Glass, and seconded by Mr Shrimski ; and Mr G. R. Taylor by Mr Thomson, seconded by Mr Grenfell. There being no other persons nominated, Messrs Waddell, Bee, and Taylor were declared by the Returning Officer duly elected. We feel much pleasure in noticing the initiation in this district of a practice which obtains to a great extent among famiers in the home country. It is ( ustomary there, when a new tenant takes possession of his land, for the surrounding farmers to give him a day's ploughing, as a token of the good-will and neighborly relations which they should desiie to spring up betwixt them. This is a most amiable practice, and f ends much to make matters run smoothly between neighbors at the same time giving the new-comers a most sen sonable "lift" with the till.ige of tbpir lands. Messrs Orr and Giay, who have lately purchased land on the Awa Moa, near the White Rocks, were in this manner tre-.ited bv the neighboiing setters on Saturday last. Ploughs, to the number of 15 or 16, turned out. and did thpir woik in fine ufcyle, the favorable weather thp "whistlers at the plough" enjoyed tending to render their friendly act the more pleasant to themselves and to all who were interested in the day's proceedings. We believe this is the first instance of the kind which has occurred in this district. Messrs Dick and M'Glashan, on leaving Oamaru, proceeded southwards, and took an opportunity of addressing the electors at Hampden and Hawkesbury. The polling for the election of Councillors fov the City of Dunedin took place on Tuesday, when the following gentlemen were returned :— South Ward : Messrs Chalmer and Griffin ; High Ward : Messrs Barr and Carrick ; Boll Ward : Messrs D. Ross and T. Birch ; Leith Ward : Messrs Driver and Turner. Messrs Andrew Fleming and W. O. Ball were at same time elected Auditors. The Indian Empire, recently arrived at Lyttelton, brings a lot of Engl'sh birds in excellent condition. TLey consist of partridges, pheasants, larks, goldfinches, greenfinches! to.

A Committee Meeting of the Noithern Pastoral and e Agricultural Association took place in Baker's Northern Hotel on the afternoon of Satui day last. The following gentlemen were present, viz. : — H. Campbell, Esq. (in f the chair), -F. D. Rich, Esq., J. JIassell, Esq , R. Hunter, Esq., E. A Julius, Esq., Edmund Gibson, Esq , E. = S. Lees, Esq., W. L. Lees, Esq., W. Black, Esq., and John 1 j Locke, Esq., the Secretary to the Association. A letter was read from J. H. Harris, Esq., thanking the Association for again electing him as President of the Society, but declining to accept office. A letter was also, read from Studholme, Esq., accepting the Vice-Presi-dentship for the curi ent ye.vr. * It was then proposed by Mr E. A. Julius, and seconded by Mr Rich, that F. Dillon Bell, Esq., be elected President in the room of Mr Harris. The motion was earned unanimously. The Programme of prizes for the forthcoming Show was next brought under the consideration of the meeting, and, with one or two alterations, was passed as prepared by^the Sub-Committee appointed for that purpose. The chief alteration on last year's Programme is the granting of eight instead of two prizes for long-woolled sheep, and the putting of Dairy Cows on the same footing as Shorthorns with regard to prize money. It was then moved by Mr Hassell, and seconded by Mr Kich, and carried, that Messrs H. Campbell, E. S. Lees, R. Hunter, John Allan, and the mover, bo appointed a SubCommittee to make the necessary airangements for the forthcoming Ploughing Match. It was next moved by Mr B. A. Julius, and seconded by Mr E. Gibbon, th.it Messrs A. M' Master, E. S. Lees, W. L. Lees, J. Gardiner, J. Hassell, E. W. Roxhy, H. Campbell, R. Hunter, F. D. Rich, E. A. Julius (with power to add to their number), be appointed a Yaid Committee, to make all anangements for the foithcoming Show, to appoint Judges, &c. This was carried unanimously. The meeting then terminated. A meeting of the Ploughing Match Committee took place immediately after the above, at which all were present. Mr Hassell occupied the chair. The Rulf-s to be observed at the Match were considered and passed, and it was decided that tliete should be an entrance fee of LI per plough. Friday, j the 18th instant, was fixed for the Match, all ploughs to be entered on or before the 14th. It was resolved to advertise for parties having land suitable for the Match to make application to the Committee, and it was agreed that Messrs Morton, Ciay, andQuairie be asked to officiate as judges. The rules will be advertised in our next issue. A meeting of the Committee of tho Mechanics' Institute took place yesterday evening, at the Institute, when the following members were present :— Mesbrs Armson, Gibbs. Ingram, Sbipton, and W. Black (Hon. Secretary). The minutes of previous meeting were read and confirmed. The Treasurer not being present with a statement of the financial position of the Institution, the matter "f income and expenditure was again postponed. Mr Gibbs having given his consent, it was resolved that the partition between the two rooms of the Institution be removed, with a view to holding the Readings, kc, within the premises. This the Committee felt themselves hound to do, as the use of the Couit-house for the future had been refused. It was the general opinion of the meeting th.it, with the proposed alteiation, the Institution would not only be a more comfortable place for such Readings or Lectures being given, but also more appropriate. Mr Smeall w.is elected an additional member of Committee. A meeting to discuss the financial position of the Institute will be held on an early date. The following are the polling-places for the Northern Districts of the Province, for the election of Superintendent -.—The School House, at Oamaru ; Mr H. J. Miller's Station, at Lindis ; Messrs Hepburn and M'Master"s Station, at Manuherikia ; Mr M. Gleeson's Station, at Hampden; the School Houses, at Goodwood and Hawkesbury. To-morrow (the 4th August) is the day appointed for the poll, and the state of the poll will be declared at the Court House, Dunedin, on Fiiday, the 11th inst., at noon. The next Reading in connection with the Mechanics' Institute will he delivered on the evening of Friday, the 11th inst., in the Rooms of the Institute, by W. Black, Esq. Subject— Extracts from the "Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit," by Dickens. The Bruce election has resulted in favor of Mr Macandrew by a majority of 173 votes — the respective numbers being, for Mr Macandrew, 207 ; Mr J. Cargill, 34. We learn that Mr Davidson, of the Papanui Flax Mill, has met with tho "cold shoulder" in Port Ch.ilmeis, after having shown the process for the manufacture of the " phormium tenax" into an article of commerce, to varous persons who proposed getting up a Company there. Flax is now said to be a tabooed subject in Port Chalmers for the present. A Government sale of sections in the township of Oamaru took place at the Court House on Saturday last. 19 sections were sold ot from L12 10s., the unset price, to LID 10s., realising in all L25.S 10s. A uuinber of sections in the township of Herbert were put up, but none were disposed of. "We obserye that all subscription lists on behalf of the (Jity of Dunedin Wreck Relief Fund are requested to be .sent into Dunedin on or befoie the 10th inst. The following are the amounts collected by the gentlemen forming the Oamaru Committee up to this date, viz : — Mr Black (town), L40 18s. 6d., (country), L58 6s. 8d. ; Mr Ashcroft, L6 Cs. ; Mr Locke, L3 Us. 6d. ; Rev A. Gifford (English Church), from church collection, &c, L9 11s. lOd ; Rev Chas. Connor (Presbyterian Church), church collection, Ac, Lll 6s. 8d. 'Jheso sums make up the very respectable total of L130 Is. collected in this district ; and we understand that something more will be added to that amount ere the money is finally forwarded. "We beg to call the attention of our readers and the public generally to the following notice, as published in the Government " Advertising Sheet" of last week : — "The Commissioner of Ro.ids has received instructions from the Genei al Road Board to submit plans for proclaiming the Northern Seaboaid of the Province into Road Districts; and being desiious of consulting the inhabitants of the same before fixing the boundaries of the proposed Districts, the Commissioner begs to intimate his intention to be at the places below on the days named, and his desire to meet all settlers who have suggestions to offer :— Blueskin— at the Waitati Hotel, Friday, August 11th, noon. Wdikouaiti— Bail's Hotel, Monday, August 14th, noon. Pleasant River — Mr Young's, Tuesday, August 15th, noon. Palrnerston— The Hotel, Thuisday, August 15th, noon. Hampden— Mr Piosser's, Friday, August 18th, noon. Otepopo — School-house, Monday, August, 21st, noon. ()amaiu—Baker's Hotel, "Wednesday, August 23rd, noon. The usual monthly meeting of the Oamaru Land and Building Investment Society wa3 held on Tuesday evng., 1st. inst. After the collection of subscriptions, Mr France, aa chairman, offered for public sale one cash share of L60 with the option of takijg four more at the highest price bid. After a keen competition, the first share was bought for L18 2s 6d, and the purchaser elected to take the whole five. Tho "Lyttelton Times" of the 31st July states:— " Captain Hepburn, of the s s. Win. Mislfin, was apprehended by Sergt. Sugrue, of Lyttleton, en the morning of the 29th, on a wan ant from Hokitika, for the abduction of a young woman named Mary Ann Buggy, stated, on the information of her mother, to be under 14 years of aste. Bail wa<? accepted, self in L150, and two sureties of L75 each, for Captain Hepburn's appearance before Mr Sale, at Hokitika, on or before the 28th August next. Since the above took place, our reporter has ascertained, fi om some of the passengers by the Wm. Miskin, that this charge arainst Captain Hepburn is entirely without foundation, that the Captain was ignorant that the girl was on board the vessel till arriving at Nelson, and then .she was delivered to her father at that port. D'ning the passage to Nelson from Hokitika. she was under the care of Mrs Shaw, a passenger, and that the charge against the Captain has been got up by some person or persons for the purpose of annoyance." "We observe that a new building is at once to be commenced fur the Dunedin Branch of the Bank of New South "Wales. It will be situate in the now only vacant pap, which was caused by the fire which originated in the Exchange Hotel, in Princes-street, and it is said that it will be one of the handsomest buildings in the city. The edifice will be finished with Oamaru stone ; the columns and dressings being of Port Chalmers blue stone, polished. The contract price is L5937 ; and Messrs Mason and Clayton are +he architects. As the first signs of a gratifying change in our relations with our sister Colonies on the Australian Continent, we may mention that the steamship Omeo. which left for Melbourne a few clays since, took a caigo of 200 tons of potatoes, and a large quantity of grain, the produce of this Province. The schooner Alma is about to sail for Sydney, also with a cargo of Otago potatoes. We have received copies of the Electoral Roll for the Town of Oamaru, and the Oamaru Country District, for the year ending 30th September, 1865. The first contains the names of 133 persons entitled to vote at the forthcoming Election of Superintendent, and the other ! contains 104 names. These Rolls may now be seen at our office. Later intelligence fi om the North reports that fighting has taken place on the East Coast, and the Hau-Haus have been triumphant. Apprehensions are entertained respecting the safety of Mr M'Lean, the Superintendent of Hawke's Bay. Three entire cart horses were recently sold at auction in Auckland for L780. Major, bred in Tasmania, brought L370 ; Iron Duke, brerl in New South Wales, brought L255; and the third, Block Prince, an imported Clydesdale, •old for L155.