The Evening Mail. THURSDAY, MAY 18, 1876.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 23, 18 May 1876, Page 2

The Evening Mail. THURSDAY, MAY 18, 1876.

LOCAL AXD OEXERAL. A tettsr signed "One who It.--* an interest ire Patiiaru." will appear in to-morrow's issue. A youns» man. named Charles •b'linin.-js, wEn» was employed at a wiunowing-inaehine ttt Collts's store, met with a severe accident yesterday afternoon. It appears he was attending on the machine- when the forefinger »>C the right hand caught in <>ik: of the cogs, awl beforu he tvitiJtl extricate it, it was frightfully shattered. The services of Dr. Wait were brought into requisition, ami that gentteman deeming amputation necessary, the operation ww speedily performed. Jennings iw* new to the work in which he was engaged, having arrived in town but Inst week. The Wellington people seem to be a little '•gone" now on the weight of pumpkins. The other nay the " Post" stated that it had seen a pumpkin weighing SSlb. The next day a gentleman fr»m Wanganni called at the office of the " Post " and said SSlb. was a mere trifle of a pumpkin. He says he has a pumpkin compared with which the other is a mere infant. His pumpkin weighs 1031b., and he is naturally indignant when such a fuss is made? over an eighty-pounder. Another individual writes stating that he lias a pumpkin which weighs l~Dlb. We shall be glad to hear from a correspondent who can beat thw last weight. A correspondent writes us to know, " What would !>e the effect of an earthquake wave, the direction being from K. to W., on a partially ttlted-up section, with a dead goat tying on it three days gone, the land near the wectton rising very steep from the creek ':" We eoftfos we must give this problem best. Our man who answers these sort of questions is out of town at present, but if our correspondent is very anxious to gain information on the point, we cannot do better in the meantime than recommend him to ask Mr. •f. R. Clement. The leases of municipal sections 2, block LXXVII,-and U>. W..ck LXXXV, were sold by public auction to-day by Messrs. Connell and Clowes. Mr. John Connolly became the purchaser of the former at the upset price of £'2 Sa. per annum : and Mr. Kol>ert Portens that of the latter at an annual rental of £4 lsl The ** Bruce Herald " states that the Waitepeka Railway Deviation Committee are determined to hold out to the bitter end with reference to their ideas of the proper line of railway from Bakltftha southward. last meeting, which was held a few days ago, a motion was passed to the effect: " ThaV

all the Otago members be mdividually-wriften to, requesting their support, and that a richly engrossed petition be universally signed throughout the whole of the district, after which the petition to be entrusted to the care of James Macandrew, Esq., for private presentation by that gentleman to Sir Julius Vogel at Wellington." We ("Evening Post") understand that a great number of sheep in the neighbourhood of Tawa Flat, have been attacked with some new disease, of which one feature is a kind of cataract of film in the eye, causing total blindness to the unfortunate sheep. In other cases the animals are seized with a sort of stupor. The discovery of this unpleasant malady among their stock has created some consternation on the part of sheep-owners in that district.

The " Daily Times" remarks : -" Familiarity breeds contempt'* is a truism which received a verification yesterday, when an old settler made himself extremely familiar with one of the presiding Justices at the Police Court, before whom he appeared in answer to a summons. Addressing the Justice by name, he intimated in a conversational tone his long residence in the country, and remarked how similar little offences to that he was charged with had previously been overlooked. He was greeted with a tine and costs ; whereupon his countenance fell, and he exclaimed, " Oh, man '. auld lang sync's forsaken ye." There is (remarks the Wellington "Argus") in one of the old comedies, a character who derives celebrity merely from the fact that his efforts in orthography are never overburdened with superfluous letters. For all practical puqioscs his spelling was sufficiently clear, hut, although strictly phonetic, it had an odd appearance on paper. The incident is brought to recollection by an epistle received by the clerk of the Resident Magistrate's Court from a bustling business-man, who wished to ascertain the date for taking out wholesale licenses. " Wholesale " was spelt " holesale," but the error created no surprise when the business-man explained that "wrote it in the dark,'" With all its faults, this principle of elision is preferable to the spelling bee of a "frolicsome oyster," who finished two bottles of champagne and a plate of sponge cakes, and wishing to let his friends know that he was drunk, spelt it " drwuuekque." An eccentric individual named Flint, who is said to hail from Queenstown, distinguished himself at "N'aseby last week. On Tuesday (says the "Star") he walked down to the Police Camp, and stated that he wished to lay a charge, but declined specifying against whom, or giving the nature of it. The officer refused the charge, and the gentleman went off irate. Seeing a horseman on the road he asked him if he would mind looking at him punch the officer iu charge. The equestrian having consented, this funny individual walked up to a policeman, and let him have one on the nose ; whereupon he was popped into gaol. Next morning he was bEbught before the Mayor, who considered his night's incarceration enough punishment, and therefore discharged him with a caution. An amusing case of somnambulism occurring at Napier caused some little stir amongst the audience at the Musical Society's concert. The " Telegraph "' says that the eldest son of Mr. S. Horner, a child about seven years old, was discovered iu his night-dress walking into the hall, towards the close of the first part of the programme. Before being put to bed he had expressed his wish to go and hear the music, and he must have gone to sleep and dreamt that he was being taken to the concert. It was not till he had I again been placed in bed that he woke. A parsimonious old lady called one day upon a well-known Glasgow fishmonger, saying, "Well, Maister Dreghorn, how are ye selling your half salmon the noo ?" David replied, "When we catch half salmon, mem, we'll let ye kin." We learn from the "Star's " report of the last Harbour Board meeting iu Dunedin that " Mr. D. Ross wrote submitting a scheme for a direct ocean canal from Tomahawk Bay, which Mr. Peyman, builder of the Oamaru Breakwater and Docks, was willing to carry out, at his own risk and expence, in consideration of the Board agreeing to the same, ami giving up to him the land proposed to be reclaimed at the upper end of the harbour. in a late number of the " Marlborough Press" is the "following : —"People on the j look-out for work are requested to notice an I advertisement in another column, where ten--1 ders are requested by Captain Dalton for constructing a tramway. Glowing accounts from other quarters has had the effect of taking a number of men from this district, but many of them are gradually returning, f as they have found that 'it is distance lends enchantment to the view,' and in leaving this district they did not make a move for the better."

The " Evening Post " understands that the Goveniment Printing Office already is completely blocked with Government bills, in preparation for the ensuing session. Of these the Local Government Bill is, as might be anticipated, by far the mo3t formidable item —its size, indeed, is represented to be something altogether poitentous. So much for the prospects of a short session. The Southland Co-operative Society has declared a dividend of live per cent, on the shares. The weekly transactions of the So,ciety liave averaged £IOO.