The Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, NOV. 15, 1876. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 178, 15 November 1876, Page 2

The Evening Mail.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 15, 1876. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

» "Word* are things, and a drop of ink falling upon a thought may produce thai which make* thousands tbiak."

An emergency meeting of the Municipal Council was held this morning for the purpose of considering the interference with the bed of the creek at the Thamcs-stret Bridge by Maaare. Lees and Moore. His Worship the Mayor was in the chair, and there were present—Councillors Headland, Mainland,

Scott, and Grave, the Corporation's Engineer and Solicitor being also in attendance. The matter was discussed at some length, and finally it was resolved that—- " Formal notice be sent to Messrs. Lee 3 and Moore by the Corporation Solicitor, that the Council cannot allow any interference whatever, with the flow of the creek below the Thames-street Bridge, and the bridge over the rijdit-of-way in Block XCV., the Corporation Engineer having reported that any interference with the present levels of taid bridge would entail expen e on the Council. Further, that, in the event of Messrs. Lees and Moore, or other parties, still proceeding with the work, the Corporation Solicitor, under instructions from the Engineer, at once apply for a writ of injunction from the Supreme Court to restrain them." x\fter some further business with regard to the N»w Assessment Act, the Council adjourned. The Xcw Zealand GavMi, of the 10th hist., publishes in c.<i:'iiso the treaty lately entered into between the British Government and the King of the Belgians for the extradition of criminals. From the document it appears there are no lew than twenty-three crimes, the perpetration of which makes the criminal amenable to its provision?, some of them of so trivial a nature as would lead one to suppose would scarcely warrant a pursuit. Amongst those arc :—Threats by letter with intent to extort, embezzlement or larceny, malicious injury to property, forging and uttering, kc. From thf. same source we learn that his Excellency the Governor has been pleased to appoint Alexander lc Grand Campbell, Esq., to be the Deputy of the Registrar of Births, Deaths, and Marriages for the District of Oaniaru. This evening Ilegmy'sCombinationTroupe open ior a .s~-as:>n of six nights, and in addition to tiie tahnlcdartiits which constituted the company on its former visit, it has been further supplemented by Mdlle. Zelinda. who performs a most dexterous feat of rope manipulation. Speaking of the Arabian Bjx Mystery, the Sydney L'reninj Pod says : " Xear the close of the performance the Wonderful Box Mystery was produced, and certainly haffled detection, although every opportunity consistent with fairness was afforded to all present. The mystery consists in this—An ornamented and perforated box about three feet long and two feet wide is brought upon Vne stage and locked, then lashed by ropes to its cover and sealed ; it is then wrapped in a strong covering of calico, which is afterwards roped to the box, and the whole placed under a canopy. The performer, Mdlle. Zelinda, then comes forward and moves under the canopy, the folds of which arc thrown down. In a few minutes after, the box is removed from the canopy, and upon its being opened, Mdlle. Zelinda, securely tied up in a bag, is found in the box, without the ropes, &c, having apparently been removed." The jury in the inquest on the body of the boy Milligan, after a hearing of almost five hours, came to the conclusion that the de-c-ascd was drowned in the Lagoon of the Oamani Creek, by being pushed into the water by Patrick Slime 3, a boy aged seven years. During the course of the inquiry the foreman very properly protested against the waste of time expended in taking the evidence of boys who did not know the nature of an oath, and, as in the case of the boy Slime?, would say what they had been directed. Time was also lost in reading over the depositions to them when there was not the most remote necessity for the procedure, as it was very far from probable had a mistake been made the children would have had seme to correct it. Wc have to acknowledge the receipt of the catalogue f»r the Agricultural Show, kindly forwarded by the publishers, Messrs. Steward and Co. It is arranged in an admirable form, a spare column for awards being placed opposite each exhibit, and will be found a powerful aid to visitors, i*s a specimen of typography it is mo3t creditable, and reflects the greatest praise upon the printers. The catalogues can be obtained at the North Otago Times office, for one shilling. The City Council of Uunedin seems determined to rival the Legislative Assembly of Victoria in the disorderly conduct of its proceedings. Scarcely a sitting is allowed to pass without there being an interchange of compliments, to the imminent risk of a free fight. Our Special Correspondent telegraphs that the meeting held last evening surpassed it 3 predecessors for rowdiness, and at one time it appeared as if the matter would be settled ri el «mu>. The rupture was caused by the Mayor voting on the question of building the new Chambers in the Octagon, his right to do so being challenged by Councillors Fish, Walter, and Isaac in "parliamentary " but not municipal language. The Mayor adjourned the meeting for a time, and all the belligerents took a short stroll, which judicious course had a soothing influence upon their ruffled feelings, for, upon the Council re-assembling, one tried to outvie I the other in the humility of his apoloJ gies. f Mr. Donald Reid seem 3 to be between two ! stools, and he had better be careful lest he should come to the ground. The Post says : ; "Relative to the contemplated reconstruction of the Ministry, it ia now stated that

Mr. Donald Keid is hesitating -whether to become Minister for Public Works, as he has certain yearnings in the direction of the Crown Lands Commissionership at Otago. Dr. Pollen will endeavour to hold office for some time longer, possibly until close before the beginning of next Session, as he is anxious to complete the period of services as a Minister which would entitle him to his pension." The Wahatip Mail says:—" Wellington must be a very paradise for butchers if it is true as stated that there are in that town two butchers, each of whom is making the handsome sum of £IO,OUO a year." Mr. B. Isaac, Councillor for High Ward, Dunedin, has denied that, as stated by the Daily Times, he ever used his coat-sleeve as a handkerchief. The supply of, and demand for, domestic servants at Auckland appears to be very unequally balanced—quite the reverse, in fact, to the state of affairs at this end of the Colony, where good domestic helps continue ta command extreme rates of remuneration. It would be well if some of the superfluous labour mentioned (says the Otago Daily Times) found its way up here. A contemporary says :—" So plentiful are female domestic servants at the present time that it defies the registry offices to find employment for them, and many young women who are out of situations are in destitute circumstances in consequence. Within the last few days several servant girls accepted engagements at less than half the usual wages, owing to their having no means of subsistence. It is most desirable that immediate step 3 should be tiken to establish a Servants' Home, for the maintenance of such domestic servants as may be out of employment from time to time, as well as for the training for domestic work of those who need it." Some little excitement was occasioned in Dunedin last evening (says the Guardian) j by a report th it Mr. Albert Fairfax DeudI ney had committed suicide by poisoning himself with strychnine in the Auld Scotland Hotel, Stuart-street. The only particulars relating to the lamentable affair we were able to procure were from Mr. Fidler, the proprietor of the Auld Scotland Hotel, and we cannot do better perhaps than state exactly what was told us. We learned from Mr. Fidler that yesterday afternoon a person came into the Auld Scotland Hotel, and called for drink, but he was not served. He then sat down in the bar, apparently quite sober. He was left standing there. At 5.30 a boarder came in and saw the deceased in the bar, and thinking that he was the worse for drink, asked him to go and lie down in his (the boarder's) bedroom. At a quarter to seven o'clock the boarder went to see how deceased was getting on, and found that he was dead. Dr. Murphy was at once sent for, and he came to the conclusion that deceased (Mr. Deudney) had poisoned himself with strychnine. Mr. Deudney was a married man, in the prime of life, and was well-known in Dunedin. He was lately in the employ of Messrs. Bing, Harris, and Co., and previously with Messrs. Sargood and Co., of this city. From what the News can ascertain, hearing has now become pretty general among the stations on the East Coast. Ica station, Whareama, the property of Mr. J. C. Andrew, M.H.R., is all but completed ; upwards of 13,000 having been shorn. Brancepeth commenced two weeks ago, and is just now. in full swing, turning out 20 and 25 bales per day. They will shear in all upwards of 30,000. The stations bordering the coast are known to be in operation ; in fact, well advanced, although detailed particulars of their progress have not reached us. The class of sheep is chiefly merinos, with a fair proportion of cross-breds. Hands are tolerably plentiful, the rate paid per 100 being 20s. It is estimated between ten and twelve thousand l>ale3 will be sent away by sea from Castlepoint, in addition to smaller quantities shipped at the different boat harbors convenient to the stations on the coast. The remainder of the clip will be sent forward by dray. "Come easy, go easy" is a proverb often exemplified, and never more frequently than in the case of suddenly-acquired wealth. An instance of this, we (Southland News) are informed has occurred in town. An elderly resident has recently became the possessor of £IB,OOO by the death of a brother. The legatee, who is apparently one of the "jolly-good-fellow" type of character, when advised by some well-meaning acquaintances to return to the home of his forefathers, in this case " Caledonia stern and wild" expressed a determination to subject his riches to what is known as the "knocking down" process. It is almost needless to add that he is receiving ample assistance in doing so. It is stated that the first prize of £I,OOO in the big sweep at Auckland falls to Captain Bowden of the schooner Marmion, and the second prize goes to Dunedin, a halfinterest in it being held by a well-known publican in that city.