LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 205, 16 December 1876, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Horticultural Show was opened this afternoon, the labors of the judges not being completed until past two o'clock. We are of course unable to more than refer to the various exhibits, but elsewhere we publish the prize-list, from which it will be seen that the prize takers were few in number, the same persons gaining the awards for the exhibits in the class in which they competed. We were unable to publish the list complete, but with the exception of a smsll number of special prizes which supplemented those given by the Society, we have done so. The only business transacted at the Police Court this morning was the discharging cf Alfred Moir, arrested for stealing a dogThe case is one entailing some hardship uponthe lad, who was arrested on warrant near C'hristchurch, brought back to town in custody, and kept in durance vile for the last three days, upon what all along appeared nothing more nor less than a very trumpery charge. We do not altogether blame the police, who had to act upon the sworn information in the first instance; but at the hearing two days ago it was quite apparent there was no case, and the course pursued now of abandoning it should have been then taken. A supplement to lh« Government Gazette contains the rules under the Debtors and Creditors Act, 1876. It states that in pursuance of the power vested in him, his Exc . lency 'he Governor with the advice and con sent of the Executive Council, and with the concurrence of James Preudergast and Alexander James Johnston, two of the Judges of the Supreme Court, doth frame and prescribe the rules for the purposes of the Act and declare that the same sha'l come into operation on the date on which the same shall be published in the New Zealand Gazttle. The following will constitute the team to play against Tiniaru on the 26th inst:—J 1 . Booth, F. Fenwick, F. Rombersley, J. C. Marshall, J. Millingfcon, G. Millington; J Xieolls, J. llice, I). Snodgrass, A. Y. Smith, W. Maude. Emergency—J. S. M'Donald : umpire—G. S. Lintott; scorer—E. Mainwaring. The Journal de Bordeaux states that a young girl, now living in the Eue Voltaire of that town, who was bom without arms, uses her mouth in the most extraordinary manner. She can write with the greatest facility, can thread the finest needle, embroider, knit, do crochet work, mark linen, &c., with marvellous regularity, and can even with her mouth tie a sailor's knot. If the lady is so astonishingly smart with her mouth, she must be a perfect terror with her tongue. The Grey River Argus of a recent date sa y S ; " .Humors were current yesterday morning in Kumara that a new lead had been struck in the shallow ground running east and west, and crossing the old lead, which runs north and south. Before the day was over the news was verified, and Sullivan and party bottomed on good payable prospects. Several other claims also bottomed about same time. The great difficulty'is in reaching the ground for want of a track, although it is close to the town, and one could be constructed at a trifling expense." The Daily Times says The Commissioner of Police yesterday received a telegram stating that Joseph Cockburn, who had been employed as a seaman on board the ill-fated steamer Otago, was arrested at the Bluff by Sergeant Tuohey on a charge of having stolen on board the steamer Alhambra a portmanteau, a writing case, and other articles, of the value of £2O, the property of Mr. James T). Mouat, a passenger by the Alhambra. When searched, Cockburn was found to have in his possession five towels and one sheet, marked as belonging to the steamers Otago and Omeo j an elastic-side, patent-leather boot, a gold pencil-case, and other valuable jewellery, including 12 pairs of ear-rings and 39 shirt-studs. As Cockburn was on board the Otago when she was wrecked at Chasland's mistake, he may have been placed in charge of the passengers' luggage there, and it is therefore not at all improbable that some | of the passengers will have the pleasure of I identifying at least a few of the above-men-tioned articles."

A version of "Aurora Floyd," dramatised by Sir Julius Vogel, has lately been placed on the Wellington stage. The Argus, in referring to the production, thus discourses : " This certainly has never before been presented on any stage, and we can only suppose that the management have induced the Agent-General to produce this work specially for them. Sir Julius is not altogether a novice as a dramatist. In 1863, he dramatised Miss Braddon's then recently published novel of 'Lady Audley's Secret,' for Messrs. Holt and Wolfe, the lessees of the Princess Theatre, Dunedin, and it enjoyed a successful run, and was afterwards played with great success elsewhere."

. Mr. Justice Williams gave utterance to a bit of refined sarcasm in the Supreme Court on Monday (says the Southland Times). In defining a common assault as being a personal attack which to be constituted a common assault need not be accompanied with actual personal violence, his Honor remarked that although the words " did beat" were used in indictments for such offences, they were mere ornaments which the law had used for many ages, and added that they had no particular meaning. Most people are disposed to regard such meaningless phrases as being neither useful nor ornamental, and it is surprising that such absurdities are still allowed to disfigure our statutes.