The Evening Mail. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 191, 30 November 1876, Page 2

The Evening Mail.

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

•* Woti.l* arc thins*, and a drop of Ink fottim: upon a thought may pmdu«e that which nra&e* thousands thinK.'*

0«r attention has Iwen failed to what is a moat dangerous and reprehensible practice. It appears that daring the past few nights certain parties have been amusing themselves <m the Flagstaff Hill in practising with rifles, the shots being fired seaward. Last night an officerou board the barque Stag was pacing the deck a little after eight o'clock when hj« was startled by the whiz of a bullet to moat disagreeable proximity to his car. The same occurred at intervals of about five minutes, when seeing neither honor nor glory to be won in being made the target for some invisible foe, he wisely beat a retreat to cover. We have little donbt the practice is indulged in without thought; but when crafts are lying out in the bay, it cannot be followed without danger. We call attention to the fact in the hope that it may prove a warning; but should it not, it would be well to see what persuasion the law would have in the matter.

We have received a special telegram from oar Dunedin correspondent this morning intimating that the spread of scarlet fever in the city is beginning to cause serious alarm. Instead of it exhibiting signs of an abatement, it is increasing, and eleven cases in the town alone were reported yesterday.

Telegraphic messages to catch the Wakatipo, which leaves Hokitika at seven o'clock to-morrow ervening, will be received at the office, Oamant, up to five p.m.

The town wore a peculiarly deserted appearance to-day, all the places of business being rigidly closed. The Police Court for the third time this week was in the position of the Manchester workmen, and " had no work to do."

The proprietors of the Southern Mercury announce the publication of a new Colonial story, from the pen of Mr. Richmond Thatcher, private Secretary to Mr. J. K. Emmett. Mr. Thatcher, however, is a very old Pressman, and his varied experiences throughout Australasia makes him eminently fitted for the task he has undertaken. The following are a few of the positions he has held in the Fourth Estate :—Late associate editor of the Evening Neics, Sydney; editor and proprietor of the Upper Hunter Courier, Musclebrook, New South Wale 3; editor of the Western Independent, Bathurst; editor of the Fiji Times; sub-editor of the Freemanlle Herald, Western Australia; editor of the Guardian, Burketown, Gulf of Carpentaria (Manuscript); editor of the Roebourne Herald, Nicol Bay, TienTsin; North-We3t Australia (Manuscript).

We have been requested to draw special attention to the extensive sale which takes place to-morrow, at the Wliite Hart Hotel, when an excellent opportunity will be afforded persons intending to furnish either an Hotel or a private residence.

It is proposed to raise £I,OOO for the Hokitika Hospital building fond by means of a monster "sweep," with the old Hospital grounds and buildings as a first prize, a second prize of £2OO or £IOO, a third of £IOO or £3O, and several other prizes of £2O and £lO, &c. The Hospital property to be so disposed of is valued afc £7oo—a very low valuation certainly. For this lottery or artunion, it is'proposedto issue I,ooo£l tickets, and there is little doubt that these could be readily disposed of in the district. From a comparative statement compiled by the Sydney Morning Herald, it appears that New Zealand stands highest of the Australian Colonies in the number of married persons. Her proportion is 17.7 per 1,000, Victoria being the lowest with 12.2 per 1,000. As might be expected, the birth-rate bears the same relative proportions. In the deathrate per 1,000, New Zealand is the lowest of the sister colonies. The figures given areNew Zealand, 13.0; average of the other colonies, 15.3. In this respect Western Australia is the highest, standing at 187— New South Wales with 15.2 being the lowest on the continent. Tasmania's married rate is 13.6, and death-rate 16.2. We notice from the Dunedin papers that Mr. J. K. Emmett made his dibU in that city on Monday night, and there as elsewhere he has taker, the town by storm in his inimitable acting in " Fritz." Since he first appeared on the London stage, now four years since, Mr. Emmett appears to have met with almost unprecedented success. The following from the London Times anent his first appearance is a high eulogium coming from such a source :—" Unless we are much mistaken, Saturday last will be set down as a memorable date in the annals of the Adelphi, for it made the London public i acquainted with one of the most original and ! genial actors that ever were seen. So hearty was the delight afforded by the actor, that the spectators, absorbed in the contemplation of an individual performance, often forgot that they were looking at a play at all. Mr. Emmett is almost constantly on the stage, and he is a cheery object to look upon. . • • We have secn » m 'i ue a(i naimnm, comic songs ending in dances, but the singing and dancing of this original artist have nothing in common with any variety of * breakdown.' In the drawingroom he appears in a variety of characters > male and female, each provided with a national air, and these are represented in a manner nothing similar to which has been seen. Far from aiming at the grotesque, he is rigidly natnral; far from indulging popular vulgarities, he is always elegant and graceful; far from approaching the acrobat, he is scarcely bke a professional dancer, his light and easy movements seeming artlessly to aid his voice in expressing cheerful thoughts. . . . There is in his performance nn undercurrent of deep pathos, far exceeding that which is to be found in many scenes laboriously contrived for the purpose of drawing forth a pailful of tears. Mr. Emmett shows that he is really an actor who nses the dance as the means to an end. We are reminded of the expression of the immortal Victoria, that he owed his reputation, not to his feet, but to his head. The triumph of the evening rests solely with Mr. Emmett.