The Evening Mail. SATURDAY, JULY 22, 1876.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 79, 22 July 1876, Page 2

The Evening Mail. SATURDAY, JULY 22, 1876.

LOCAL AND GENERAL. A harmony meeting. Hurler the auspices of Rescue L«dge. 1.0.0. T., t»ok place last evening in the Oddfellows' Hall, Mr. J. H. MiUigan being in the chair. A number of songs, readings, and recitations were given in a manner which elicited loud applause, and altogether a very enjoyable evening was spent. At the close of the entertainment, a vote of thatifest was passed to the performers, and the Chairman intimated that it was the intention of the members of the Lodge to give a aeries of concerts in aid of charitable institutions. Tt is notified in our advertising columus that the Municipal Council of Oarnaru invite torn-tore for £7,300 worth of seven per cent. debentures, of £IOO each, redeemable in the year 1836. Tenders will be received on or before the first day of October next. The Oamani Dramatic Club gave their second performance at the Masonic Hall, last evening, before a thin house. "Still Waters Run Heap" formed the opening piece, which, we think, was played with even greater success than on its first production. The laughable farce of " The Area Belle" constituted the afterpiece, in which Mr. K. Lurastden as Pitcher, and Mr. M. C. fliekey as Tosser, ably sustained the parts allotted them. The performers throughout were greeted with frequent and hearty applause. During the evening, Mr. Lutnsden contributed a couple of songs, the gist of which bore upon the recent Mayoral election. Although the memory of the singer mere than onen failed him, the comical manner in which the songs were rendered provoked roars of laughter. We hope the nest public appearance of the Club will be attended with greater financial success. tt is announced elsewhere that Mr. Charles Russell will give a musical entertainment at the Masonic Hall on Monday next, the 24th inst. The programme will be found in our advertising columns.

The Auckland "Herald" is responsible for the following:—"Mr. William Castle, settler, Waihekc, telegraphed to Sir George ffrey stating that he claimed the 80,000 acres of Piako lands, lately sold to Mr. Thomas Rto.j«!l. for a company. Mr. Cattle claims the butts »u Whalf of his wife, who is a member. n»t only of one of the principal Waikato tribal, but also of the Ngatipaoa tribo. Mr. faith; i-i one of our earliest settlers, ami. in company with the present Native Minister, waded through the whole of the Swamp over twenty years ago. The alleged claimant intends taking other steps t*> secure his claim to the land on hehalf of his wife and family : so that another phase of the Piako Swamp question, not contemplated, has now for the first time, appeared on the surface. The row is a very pretty one as it is. but it admits of being greatly improved by other parties coming in." In alluding to Mr. Russell s musical entertainment at Waimate, the other evening, the " Tribtme" says " the audience were pleased when he afforded the information that the people of Waimate could boast the possession of tw»> ttner pianofortes than are to be found either in Ttmara, Oamaru, or Dunedin." A little clerical scandal is thus referred to by the Loafer in the Street, in the *' Canterbury Press " : —" There was another presentation made the other day. I wish expressly to state that there was nothing singular about this, heeattse in all the province of Canterbury, there scarcely breathes a man with a soul s<> dead, who can with truth, even to himself, have said, '1 never bad a 1 presentation.' This case, however, refers to a reverend gentleman who received a purse of sovereigns from a crowd of devoted parishioners. He was indebted tritlingly to a few of the subscribers, and naturally they we-e a bit free with their donations. They may have expected to get their little accounts squared. So they did. They were by cheque, and when they presented them the funds were wanting. It would appear that the recipient had never paid in the purse of sovs. to his account. He is now on the heaving billow, bound to foreign climes, and still clings to his purse as a sweet sonvenier of New Zealand."

The " Watkato Times " gives an account of a carbine shooting match, which took place at Te Awamntn between the Good Templars of the Te Awarattta Cavalry Corps and the moderate drinkers of the same corps. There were eight men on each side. The moderate drinkers made a total score of 366, and the Good Templara 353, the Templars thus winning by 17 points.

There-was a clean charge sheet at the Resident Magistrate's Conrt this morning. One or two of the larger station proprietors in the Wairarapa are (saya the " Standard ") importing ferrets from Tasmania. It is an-

ticipated that if they will thrive and breed on the runs they will exterminate the rabbits. The question, however, arises as to how the ferret 3 are to be exterminated when they have demolished all the rabbits, and with a healthy appetite for animal food attack, possibly, the young lainb3.

In an article on advertising, a contemporary relates the following story : —About six years ago, a well-dres3ed person called upon the proprietors of one of the large sewingmachine manufactories, and for a very moderate consideration offered to bring before the notice of a large number of residents the qualities and superior advantages of their make. The offer was accepted, and the enterprising projector hired a number of boys and attired them in plain uniform somewhat resembling that now worn by the conductors on railroad lines. These youths had books similar to those used by the telegraph messengers, and their duty was to deliver at various residences what purported to be telegraphic despatches. On the receipt of these ominouslooking missives, of course, there was a great commotion in the house. The boy, who seemed to have been born in a hurry, and had not reached a point of leisure, would insist on having his book immediately signed. The anxious recipient, after opening the formidable looking envelope, would discover only a circular about sewing-machines, and in the first outburst of indignation at being badly sold, would crush it up and throw it aside ; but, after a little calm consideration, generally picked it up to show it to her husband, and have a laugh over the shrewd ruse played upon her. The circular was read and re-read, and when the time came to sell the machine the names of the makers sounded like those of old friends.

The Dancdin correspondent of the " Lyttelton Times" telegraphs that journal: — "Mr. Joseph Mackay, of the "Bruce Herald," has proved too many for the National Bank and the bailiffs. The National Bank has a lien of some description over the

! " Brace Herald " as security for money ad- | vanced to Mr. Mackay for speculations, | which, tip to the present at least, have not I proved reproductive. The bank, to secure itself, adopted the course of sending bailiffs to take possession. Had not one of Mr. Mackay's employes got scent of this some days before, the issue of the paper would have been stopped, and a property worth £5,000 irretrievably ruined. By the time the bailiffs took possession almost everything had mysteriously disappeared, and the paper came out as usual, but from Dunedin instead of Tokomairiro. So far the Bank is under the happy idea that its bailiffs have hold of everything." Wellington never lost a gun.—lt is a singular fact in the great Duke's history that he never lost a gun to the enemy. " Eeturuing with him one day from the hunting field," says Lord Ellesmere, " 1 asked him if lie could form any calculation of the number of gnus lie had taken in the course of his career. 'No,' he replied, 'not with any accuracy—somewhat about 3,000 I should guess. At Oporto, after the passage of the Donro, I took the entire siege-train of the enemy; at Vittoria and 'Waterloo I took every gun the enemy had in the field ; and what, however, is more extraordinary, I don't think I ever lost a gun in the field. After the battle of Salamanca, he went on to explain, three of my guns, attached to some Portuguese cavalry, were captured in a trifling affair near Madrid, but they were recovered the next day. In the Pyrenees Lord Hill found himself obliged to throw eight or nine guns over a precipice, but these were all recovered.' "

The death is reported from Zurich of a man who may fairly claim to have set the most remarkable example of self-inflicted penance to be found on record. His name was Amesiein. Thirty years ago he fell in love, and like most lovers, got jealous. One day, while under the sway of the green-eyed monster, he said something disparaging about his sweetheart. The offended beauty resolved to punish him, and Amestein, to regain her favours, was forced to swear that he would not speak another word for the next twelvemonth. But before the year of silence expired the young lady suddenly died, and Amestein not being relieved from his oath by the lips of his sweetheart, vowed to remain dumb until he rejoined her in the next world, and he kept his word. For thirty years he was never heard to speak, and he died mute to all around him.

Inspector Percy, a gentleman well known throughout this Province, and who for some time has filled a similar position on the diamond fields at the Cape of Good Hope, has recently escaped from an awkward fix. It appears that he has been " had tip " before a Court of Inquiry on a charge of misappropriating some diamonds, but his friends will be gratified to learn that he was honorably acquitted, it having been proved that it was a conspiracy to get him ousted from the service.

The depth of the Auckland harbour has decreased (says the " Cross ") at least two feet within the last twelve months. This rate of shoaling is a serious matter.

That there is considerable riskin'attaching a name to a prospectus, or even entering into negotiations for the purchase of shares before a limited liability speculation has been properly incorporated, was demonstrated yesterday (says the "Guardian") by a case which cropped up at the Resident Magistrate's Court. Mr. Gibbs, the defendant, was summoned for an amount of £S 10s., due for advertising the prospectus of a general furnishing company in a local journal. From the evidence it appeared that more than twelve months ago the plaintiff was waited on by one of a firm of brokers, and induced to take twenty-five shares in the new concern. His name in due time appeared on the prospectus as one of the provisional directors, and this, it was alleged, without the plaintiffs direct sanction, for he took steps to have it withdrawn. Unluckily for the scheme, it did not prosper; the shares were not floated, and it died an early death, leaving the promoters to pay the cost of the attempt to bring furnishing scrip into circulation. On behalf of Mr. Gibbs, it is argued that not being an actual projector or initiator, he is not pecuniarily responsible for the debts incurred, and the decision, which in the meantime is reserved, will doubtless be looked forward to with considerable interest.

A correspondent of an Auckland paper gives the following description of a coat worn by the Marquis of Normanby on opening Parliament: parelled in, I suppose, the uniform of the ancient Assyrian Cohorts, when they came down like the wolf on the fold, for he was "gleaming in purple and gold"; his large chest was one dense mass of heavy gold lace, unrelieved by the slightest bit of colour. You could see from the sleeves of this wonderful coat that the ground colour was a dark blue. It struck me if that coat were under some of our stampers at the Thames that a tolerable rich yield would be obtained."