The Evening Mail. SATURDAY, SEPT. 16, 1876. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 127, 16 September 1876, Page 2

The Evening Mail. SATURDAY, SEPT. 16, 1876. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

lu ("iyoqUMCC "I t«»•? ii!cl«nicnt stnl« oi th« weather la.-t evening. the «*tial monthly •>? th« (BBSWRI companies WR.H p^st|*>nc«t till tß.rt.hcf order*. \V« t'rotn an that Mr. (J. VV. Oilier leetnrea at the Maaonic Hali, to-morvw a»'ism»w>n f Sunday). at three oe&efc. t»n that have a peculiar interest tW ait elapses-, namely. ".Stage v. Pttlfk." i*ivi the "Street* r>t London." .Jttdginsf trwn the opinion* given l»v the Northern a. deal sottnd information will W dwbtmed. The dfwrn are thrown of«n. no charge being made. We anticipate a large aadienee. A aaggwstieti ha* been made to it*, and we think it a very go**! one-, that a short platform. either fixed or moveable, »hould be erected at the terainns of the Breakwateriwte. At present, passengers going down to the steamer have a jomp of three feet, in order tr> alight from the carriages. The expels of thf* little platform would not he tnt&h. and the convenience would be greatly ajipmiatcii by the travelling public, and by ladies' especially. Perhaps the " powers that " will accept this hint. A correspondent writing from Georgetown says:—"The children of this place travel

three miles to the Awamako SchooL jonrney causes numerous compulsory "holidaya to the children of Georgetown. It ,is correctly* calculated that an average daily ? attendance of thirty pupils could be easily secured for a Government school here. From the new farms on Gillies and Street's late property, not less than twenty families could be aCcured, and another score of children wonld attend from the immediate neighbourhood of Georgetown. In going to the Awamoko School, a dangerous creek must be crossed in winter. No such obstacle exists here. I believe that the residents are justified in getting up a numerously-signed petition praying for a grant in aid for a building, and a teacher's salary. No fault is found with the Awamoko teacher. In fact it is probable that he will, if practicable, be engaged for the Georgetown School, which will, I venture to say, if once properly floated, prove to be the main school of the Awamoko District." It appears there are other places besides Oamaru in New Zealand where the price of gas is considered too high :—"An exchange tells ns that the gas consumers at the Thames have threatened to strike for kerosene if the price of gas is not reduced at once to 12s. Cd. per 1,003 ft. "Called him a Boy !" It is a well-known fact that in Ould Ireland the idea prevails that all men arc boys if unmarried, though they may have passed the age of three score and ten, and with the imported sons and daughters of the soil is also imported the same belief. This was forcibly illustrated yesterday in the Resident Magistrate s Court, during the hearing of a case in which a rare ould faymale specimen appeared as a witness. On being questioned as to a certain distance, she replied (pointing to a wellknown pressman, believing him unmarried), " Jusbt as far, yer Worship, as from here to that boy there" (roars of laughter). We confess that the gentleman in question has a youthful appearance, but being married, and above the age of twenty-one, can scarcely be called a boy in Now Zealand. All but the gentleman pointed at seemed to enjoy tlie joke. Oamaru is io lie afiordfld an opportunity of seeing the Champion Billiard-player of the World. A gentleman very kiudly showed us a telegram this morning from Mr. J. T. Cole, Roberts's agent, stating that he should leave Dunedin for Oamaru by this morning s coach. ~\V e have not heard \ et v. ha l. arrangements have been made for witnessing the game, nor where the great pla3*er will exhibit his skill. The Vaudeville Company gave their first entertainment at the Masonic Hall, last evening. Notwithstanding the wretched state of the weather, the attendance was very fair. The gallery was comfortably filled, and downstairs there was a fair audience. The programme throughout was really a good one, and was carried out with as much spirit as if the house had been crowded. Mr. Charles in his Irish sketches, is n host in hiniaftlf, and last night he kept the audience in good humor all through. An amusing little incident occurred in one of his impersonations. He assumed the character of the New Zealand policeman, and was giving a graphic description of that functionary's duties, when one of the "gods" objected. There was a slight pause, and then a real lir-nb of the law appeared in the gallery and was about tp remove the offender, when Mr. "Vernor called ont, "Lave him alone; I was jist coining there myself." This had the desired effect, and tiie rest «>f the performance was carried through without the slightest interruption, i Perhaps Venter's best sketch is "My Little German Baud," the broken English and ■ well-pronounced German causing roars of laughter. Miss Lilly Bryant is a pretty little dancer, and secured a good share of the applause. The Brothers Gardner, as negro delineators, contributed in no small degree to the success of the entertainment. Mr. G. Collier's representations of celebrated aetors were really excellent. The troupe appear again ibis evening, with ait entire change of programme. . '• Headers will draw llieij* own .-conclusions a,,!ii the following, which recently appeared t in a Melbourne paper :—One morning a miirii Ik.t of unfortunate young women were brought | lieforc the City Bench on a charge of addressI ing gentlemen in the streets without having [ first g«>ne through the formality of an introduction. They were each sentenced to a month's imprisonment, with hard labor. As one was leaving the dock she turned and I laced the magistrate, sh<»ok her head sadly, and thus was heard to mutter, in an undertone—" Well, this is gratitude Piako is the name to be given to one o; the t ships at present building for the New Zealand Shipping Company. A contemporary [ expresses a hope that she will not be [ swamped. ■ * : | It is said that Hustler, who discovercd'the rich Sandhurst reef bearing his' name, from [ which millions of pounds worth of gold his been taken, died penniless in the Bendigo Hospital. Lovers of Centralism might learn a lesson j from a few days' sojourn in Wellington, aaya an exchange. Evidences of General Government waste are strewed around on every side. New* Government offices of wood _.are rising on reclaimed land, at a cost; with^ftiraature,

of £JOO,doO, and ■will.be rottenin a very-few -,ye&s/ Sir Julius Yogel's Ministerial resideh.ce has cost the Colony something like £20,000, and involves a large annual outlay, while the Premier has spent in various expeditions at least £15,000 of New Zealand money abroad. All other members of the Ministry are comfortably housed at the expense of a grateful country. Settlement in Steward's Island is quietly but steadily progressing. From a resident there we learn that the population, particularly of juveniles, has increased so far as to •warrant the erection at Half Moon Bay of a schoolhouse, which is attended by about twenty children. The placfr is also used by Mr. Peterson, the teacher, for conducting Divine worship in on Sabbath, when it is customary for a pretty considerable congregation to attend. > Gold has been found in various parts of the island—in one or two places in sufficient quantity to pay small wages ; but the difficulty of getting supplies to them prevent their being worked. A party has just started on a prospecting tour round the island. The sawmills are in full swing, employing a large number of men, and becoming an important industry, ©ne alone, Messrs. M'Callum's, will give work to about thirty men. The supply of timber is sufficient to keep a large number of mills going for years to come. The population as a rule arc all thriving and contented, but one drawback is very much felt—the difficulty experienced in acquiring a legal title to any land. Were that process simplified in any way the island would soon be maintaining a numerous and prosperous community.

The editor of the iFairarapa, News being dissatisfied with the manner in which the local barber hacked in a sort of " cut and come again " way at the natural covering of his editorial cranium, wrote the following : "If there be one thing more urgently wanted in Masterton than another, it is an active and efficient hairdi-esser. The gentleman who is at present ' practising' that ornamental function has -such a thorougli-going idea of Viia duties that when a man's head passes through liis hands there is little more left than if he had undergone a similar operation at the hands of a host of scalping savages. At the present moment there are at least a round dozen of citizens wandering about the streets of Masterton living monuments of this worthy's professional zeal. Indeed, the thing is so complete in itself that, if one did not know better, these unfortunates would be set down as recent arrivals from a penal settlement, or else branded with the no less effective suspicion of having escaped from- a lunatic asylum." The 1 1 professor,"however, proved quite equal to the occasion. He at once published a " card," under the heading of "Apology," a3 follows : —"Apology.The hairdresser who so unwittingly offended the editor of the IVairo/rapa JSTews by taking off a little more of the accumulated wintercovering of his head than he desired, begs to offer a most humble apology for the rapacity of the scissors employed ou the occasion. To prove his willingness to render redress, he is prepared to complete the picture so vividly drawn by the editor by removing the odd hirsute protusions in his face, which he still carries with him during his wanderings through the town.