LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 247, 6 February 1877, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The heavy rain experienced for the past few days has bad the effect of causing the ncwly-madc pathways to "cave in." Yesterday there was a large circular hole some ix feet in circumference in the centre of the footpath between the Telegraph Oinee and the Mechanic/ Institute, and this morning .-vs i.nr reporter was walking down "Wans-bcck-atreefc he suddenly found the ground give way under him, and his leg disappear beneath the surface as far as the knee. From our Special Telegrams from Dunc t.n it will be seen that the metropolis is not without its share of the damp weather, and lit. tls have been experienced which have no parallel since tho.*c of ISIiS. Traffic had to be . u upended on the IVrfc Chalmers line on account of the numerous land slips, and a ca t train ran off the C'iutha line through tiie sinking ol the rails at Abbotsford. A meeting was to have been held last evening by the Bathing Committee, at which plans or schemes for the proposed baths were to have been submitted, but no doubt on account of the boisterous weather a sufiie cut nu nber ilid not put in an appearance to for:.i a quorum. to were no cases on the charge-list this morning, and consequently no criminal btt.:ine-:. Tiie Chicago Minstrels brought a most sueee.--fill season to an end last night, when a e.ipital programme was produced. The ureateat proof of the merits of the Troupe ar.-l the estimation in which the}' were held by the public was given in the crowded aeeorded them. Although the rain was falling in torrents, and the night one vhivh it n quired much temptation to face, the hail was well filled in every part, and the applause as hearty as ever. During the evening Mr. Cary, the manager of the Tc-'ttpe, returned thanks to tiie public for the liberal patronage bestowed upon the Minstrels, and in a feeling manner expressed hi-? appreciation "* kindness with which the c •mpany had been received. He said that until last Thursday the Minstrels as a body had never rehearsed together, and the i_rt-at sui-ef -s which had attended their first es-ay yave them hope and augured well for the future. They had determined tos pare neither pains nor expense to win public suppoit. and by the last mail a letter had been de.-patehed to the premier Ethiopian delineator in America, Charley Sutton, offerj itvg him hi-.'ii terms to pay Xew Zealand a ! vi-it. Ihiring the* evening Mr. Cary sang in f -iph-ndtd .style I>anny Mann's song from j P.vrst.'dirt's •' f.ily of Killarney" "The Moon had liaised her I.amp Above," in I Vv hi'-h he was ably assisted by Mr. Towle. f There i~- a perfect host of meetings adver_ [ tisvd f.u- to-night—that of a special genera] meeting of the First I'.-rmancnt Building S'H-ici'y. which assembles for tiie purpose of conddering a proposal of incorporating the S.-eie:y under the Huilding Societies Act, IS7(J; the Turf Club, which meets at the Kmpire Hotel at seven, to alter Rule 9 ; and the usual general meeting of the North Otago Permanent Building Society. | Through the courtesy of Mr. 11. Aitkcn ' we have been shown a telegram received from l)uiiedin which states that the \\ aitaki did not leave I'ort Chalmers until 11.30. In consequence of the Port line being ' blocked up by land slips, the passengers were unable to get down to the Port, and the steamer had to return to Punedin to take them on board. She may be looked for about half-past four o'clock. Te Waka Kawhatini, a chief of some note at one time in Hawke's Bay, and the owner of considerable blocks of land, is now (says the '/'■ , i'h) begging his bread from the settkrs of Clive. The old Maori, having parted with all his possessions, and squandered may be the proceeds of their sale, is too infirm to work at the potato patches of his hapu. He is consequently neglected by his people, who probably have helped to drink the mm, cat the sugar and Hour, smoke the tobacco, and wear out the clothes bought by the old man's money. Such is life. The orange has been sucked, and poor Waka is the peel that has been "thrown away. "We (Taranaki Herald) were shown the other day a poult about three months old

which has scarcely a feather on it, nor are j there signs of any likely to grow beyond a small tuft on its head and a few short ones coming from the end of its wings. There is a slight down on parts of it 3 body, but the qlrin is plainly visible, and the fowl looks as if it had been plucked for cooking. The bird is strong and apparently healthy. It mixes with the other chickens, and is as lively as any of them. have seen a hairless horse, but this is the first time we have seen a featherless fowl. The (lite of Chinese Society are uneasy about the loss of their pigtails. Chinamen strut about proud of the length and color of their pigtails; but should they enter a gaze upon a procession (says the Nelson Mail) they suddenly find themselves bereft of the appendage so carefully nourished. No man possessing a tail dares now to take a siesta or indulge in opium, lest he should awake a ruined and degraded man. It was for a time supposed that the barbarous English cut off the pigtails for exportation to England, where they were to appear coil upon coil upon ladies' heads. But it has been proved that there exists a secret society, known as the Pigtail Cutters, who, having lost their own tails by sentence of law, conspire to cut off every pigtail they can. Now, as a Chinaman expects to be lifted up to Paradise by his pigtail, the deprivation of that ornament deprives him of Heaven. The Imperial Government directs that every person convicted of clipping a pigtail shall be deemed a traitor, and be strangled—a severe penalty for a rape o f the lock. One of the Davenport Brothers (Mr. William) was this morning (says the Southland Times) tied by Mr. A. C. Henderson, the Registrar of Marriages, with a knot that he will find more diiiicult to untie than any he has yet been secured with in the course of his voyage through life. Yet in nautical English it was not a knot at all, for he was " spliced" to Miss Eva Nora Davies, the charming pianiste whose skill adds so much to the general effect of the Davenport Company's entertainment. Mr. Henderson, as a gentleman present at the ceremony remarked, has thus proved himself more efficient than either of the committeemen who have attempted to secure either of the brothers, although, to be sure, even he could not have succeeded without the potent assistance of the strong arm of the law. The following latest information respecting the new rush at Kumara has been obligingly supplied to the local Time-s by Mr. Sub-Inspector O'Doanell :—"Edward, Nidd, and party informed the constable that they are on payable gold, at 12ft. sinking, and the dirt will average from one to two grains to the dish, and that there are about ten or twelve claims bottomed on gold during the last ten days. Flatt and party> Blanchard and party, gave the constable the information, and state that double t-lia£ number of holes are going down, while the number of claims pegged out are fully fifty or more. The lead runs parallel with Tuistreet, and is pegged out in a line with Fourth-street, and the parties mentioned tliink it will come out about the Police Camp when crossing the Greenstone-road. The depth of the wash is about five feet, and a great quantity of heavy boulders in it.