The Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16, 1876. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 100, 16 August 1876, Page 2

The Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16, 1876. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Front ottr social tt'legrams it will be seen that CotmdiW Fish, at the sitting of the DuitetUt* «'ity ('tnuitil yotenlay. ilcemcl it prodent tt> aak leave to withdraw the motiuii' of whtuh he hatt given notice, with regard to t'utttve Mayoral election*. In oitr i.ssue of Friday we pointed out many cogent reasons to he urged against the election of Chief Magistrate* heittg taken out of the hands of the ratepayer*. We are tumble to say what motive {tower has induced Councillor Fish to m> rgtttckly alter hw opinion : but the reason given by the gentleman himself is " that as the question affected the privileges of the citizens, it should fcirst be remitted to them," an opinion with which we heartily coincide. As the matter will tints come before the electors, we have little doubt as to its ultimate fate. We believe the City of the Plains is the only ph-we of any note in the Colony «n which the choice of the Chairman of the Cottncil does not rest with the citizens,

and although the sty .stem in force there irf one *»6 rotation, we think th;it aEtiiiuigh no exconltt he taken on the grounds of nnt'atniess, it w one not eah'tilatcl t«» spcure the ffu>s*t t'Eigihte vtr|>re«ient;itive. The Aw:int*>k»» Vmr- tietu.t>'i Oar»»:inj mu\ Miwrewhumia v.a.-s opt'tunl tor traiiir to.lay. t'h.vortkiat ttnte-t.tidV. j>ul»li-»li<>l under th.r uuthoritv' ot' Mr. Oityera. the »M-nenil Manager ni Ot»y*> Kattways*. ai«^\u- 3 in our fourth I'itgtrKverttt'jt Hihen>t.jon made tWir final .-.p* iwaratwe at the Ma.ionie Hal! I:«»t evening. the ptfrt'oniiant'e heing in aid of the P'leir.inv; Fiuntty iMh-t Fund. The iifrtountfvt t» t"l»: »;->-. artd th«- >n:u "I tS :;.s. ha.i Us-n handi-d tftfiVtirt-r of the ah»»ve fund t-y Mr. Kwivtt. !»urine' tft«- .-tay of the trotirn- in Hatmini. they have vcrtaiuty not tn-.-t whit that amount of whictt ttw jnerit* ot Etif ♦uitertatttmctit duscrv«.-.t : hut. a.-f \vp hjwUtstandi it is visit f>a(itam at no distant date, va; hoj>e he will then meet with greater suecess. The company will appear at Hampden tht-s even-

A man named Patrick M'Cnaker had a narrow escape from drowning yesterday afternoon. It appears that he was walking over t!te Railway Bridge across the lagoon, Etv a state of intoxication, and, losing hi.-* footing, fell into the water. He wad soon a"ain on iVrtve finm'i, none the worse for his temporary ducking. We were always under the impression that tin? hotft paying railway line in the Colony was the one from lUmudin to Port Chalmers. The Minister of I'uldie Works, however, int'onns us that the Hntt Hallway is th<- most remunerative one. There arc other*, it appears*, whom this information will astonish, for our Wellington contemporary, the Aw* *ays : "This statement wasnodotd»t a surprise to those who ran down this railway an a

" political " tine, and predicted that it* eon.itnttttKiv would entail a heavy charge on the miatu ot othrr provinces. It is also wc iu;iy venture to stay, a surprise to those practical tw.n who know how very little is dime on the tinv to encourage irafrieor create Fittsiiu's;-'/' Our contemporary then yoes "" to ;wtvwiiittf th«!-rnimtng »f Sunday ami also late train-* r«r» the Ifutt line. In .-tipport ••:' hi* argument he says : "The experiment has Wets ti.-iy«'t with most market! success in PimetUu. especially on the Port Chalmers tine. The management of the lwavs ts often landed, ami deservedly so. One of the secrets of its success is that Mr. Convers tries to eoHstttlt ptddie convenience ■vu<-li to «IfVi-tnp traffic. H the management elsewhere acted on the same principle, like .UUfartory results would follow-."

Oh.' of the n«o=>t extraordinary addresses over is.iued to a constituency is that of Mr. :?*vttßlet»ii IC'x'hfort. formerly District .fudue of papier, to the electors of Auckland City West. The address is a very '*«»£«"»e. somethins: over two columns of the..Auckland A,..',-. Thf following is one of the many ehauuies in the constitution Mr. l>o hf-.j-t ni.uEit endeavour to effect were he elected : '• Kreetion of a high Court for this Island, to eonswt ot two judge* to come annually from the superior Courts in Dublin, to remain for

one year, and until the arrival of their successors. This Court to adjudicate in all causes whatever arising between the Maoris and Europeans, and to be a Supreme Court of Appeal for both islands. I desire Irish instead of English judges in this case, because Irish judges, while equally learned with English ones, have an acquaintance with the Brehon laws, the ancient laws of Ireland, which English judges cannot be exvpected to have."

According to the Tnapfhn Time*, tin ore has been discovered near Tapanui. A specimen :;ent to Duncdin for assay is expected to yield a large per centage of pure metal to the ton. We h.ivi; not heard the precise locality in which the tin was found, but the discoverers imagine they have made their "eternal pile'' by the find. In yesterday's issue we intimated that it was very probable the English mails, via San Francisco, would be delivered here on Thursday evening, but owing to the slow rate ot" progress the Zcalamlia is making down the coa«t, the letters cannot be expected till Friday. Mr. E. M. Smith, of Titantie steel fame, has ai rived in Wellington, to try and induce the directors of the company to allow him to try his process at the Hemii Works. Prior toltav'ng New Plymouth, he made certain experiments on a small scale, which are said to have been mo.it successful. A number of shareholders in the company and others were pre.-eut. The liml-jrl, on the subject, says : "Our own opinion, after witnessing the experiments, is that, with the splendid plant and appliances owned by the Titanic Company, and now standing at the Henui, there can be no doubt as to success if only a competent man is put in charge. Considering that such good results were obtained from experiments made last evening, with such miserable appliances, the wonder is, how by any possibility except as explained by Mr. Smith at the lecture (want of a competent director), the late experiment at the Henui furnace could have been other than a splendid snivel. Shareholders ought to arouse themselves and compel the directory to cause a trial to be made by men who de.iire and are couiitient of success.

Thy Wellington A?<ji'* 'considers that Mr. St< at is developing into a simple obstructionist. The other day the Speaker suggested that, after the custom oi" former scs-

mi-iiis. a few formal motions for agreeing to technical aim-iidlncilts made by the Legislative tVtuieil in eel-tain Bills. ?>hoiiM be laken lii-i'oi'o the-Separation debate was commenced. m> as to clear the order paper a little and expedite public business. The whole House, Mr. Scout excepted, was willing and anxious t<» do this, but he would not agree, and as the order of business on the paper could not be departed iVoiii except with the unanimous .-..n.-.-iit of the H.r.i.-e. Mr. Stout was master of the situation, and achieved a 'triumph uhi.-ii no .-i-ii-ii'hj man will envy him. The w.>e> >•'■ a widower •'"'e thus related by a i-..m-.-i>oi»uciit of tlk-»"/•-.-■/'•/'•/.• A-firr/i-mr :

—" A neighbour of mine had the misfortune to !o>c hi? v. irV a lev,-months ag.«, after a very painful and lingering disease : he obtained a housekeeper from Ballarat to look after his children, but soon discovered that if he kept her he would soon have the job of burying the children, for she was starving them in Ins absence. lie got rid of her, and discovered afterwards that in getting rid of her lie got rid of not a little of his household property. lie got another, and in three weeks time the last one increased the number of mouths to be fed in that establishment."

The "Intelligent Vagrant" is responsible for the following : —"A Parliamentary Witticism ;•<• Separation.—On the day after that on which the A*'/' - Zi'dmid '/V/hcs had accused Mosr.-. Stout and Sheehan of stirring up public opinion by means of telegrams, and they hail denied having done so, a member met Mr. Macandrcw going to the Telegraph oliiee with a -sheaf of messages in his hand. •Hallo,' said the member, 'it is youthen, and not Stout and Sheehan who arc working the little telegraphic oracle ':' Mr. Macaudrew looked dignified as he stoj'ped and said, *I assure yon, sir, I have not sent a telegram of a political tendency for a week past, and the messages that I hold in my hand arc merely concerning guano.' The member answered seoflingly, ' Well, you know, that woid is synonymous with Separation.' " I Uei'crriug to its comment* on the Awanioko ' line on the previous day, our contemporary the Cn-i.-iliitit says:—"A sentence appears in a local in our yesterday's ifsue, with reference to the Awanioko liailway, which is liable to misapprehension. It is there stated that twelve months ago the line was, completed by the contractor, but subsequently found unsuitable for traffic, and tjle whole work had to be overhauled under the superintendence of Government officers. In regard to this we should probably have .stated that the work was originally carried | out strictly and completely in accordance with specifications, and a certificate to that effect obtained by the contractor-.. >Snbse- ! quently it was resohv I to make considerable ! alti-rations in respect of the whole of the :leep<-rs, and the contractor (.Mr. I'roudfoot) after negotiation offered to make the altera-' tions in some two or three months, and for ! ;i"2,Soi>. The offer was refused, and the ! work was carried out by the Government

engineers and clay labor, as stated by us. The time consumed has been eight or teu months, and the cost some seven or eight thousand pounds, which we consider satisfactory in the circumstances, much more so than the work of the Brunner Bridge. It is stated (says the Wellington Argus) in | Masonic circles that a movement is on foot amongst Masons in New Zealand, holding under the Grand Lodge of Scotland, to declare their independence and form a Grand Lodge of New Zealand, after-the example of their Canadian brethren. Steps are, we learn, being taken to test the opinion of the various Scottish Lodges in New Zealand on the subject, and the proposal ajipears generally popular. A conference of Lodge delegates will probably be held here at an early date to formally consider the matter. It is occasionally amusing (says the Sydney J-Jriio) to listen at the Police Courts to those cases in which persons are charged with breaches of the city bye-laws, by driving or riding round corners "at a pace faster than a walk." Bill Jones, a costermonger, is called. The Magistrate inquires, "What's the charge?" Inspector: "Bound corners, your Worship." Bench: "Guilty, or not guilty?" Offender : "Guilty." Bench: ' ; Fined 55." Thomas Smith, cabman, makes

his appearance on the tioor of the Cotirt. Bench: " What's the charge?"' Inspector: " Another case of rouml corners, your Worship." " Guilty, or not guilty ?" "Guilty." " .Second offence ; lined 10s." John Robertson is then presented.- '•' What's this case ?" "Another round corner, your Worship." "Guilty, or not guilty:" "Well, your Worship, it was not exactly a walk, nor was it exactly an amble. It was a kind of a walk l" "But was it a walk?'' "Well, it was a kind of an amble ; but no very amble neither !" Bench : "Oh, well, that's a pace faster than a walk. lined 10s." It is a well-known fact that a good walking horse will outstrip an indifferent one at a jog-trot, and it is not an uncommon thing when a four-horse omnibus turns a corner to see two of the animals walking, and two of them at a jog-trot. Is it to be assumed that the joggers are going at a pace faster than a walk ; and would the driver be lined for two horses,.and not lined for the other two ?

We hardly know whether the following, which is addressed to the editor of the WelUii'jtoii A riji'--; can be taken as a compliment or otherwise : —" .Sir, —Could you inform me when Mr. Murray will address the House re Separation ''. By so doing, you will oblige— A I'li-.asii;! - . SiCKXKI:."