LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 252, 12 February 1877, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

From an exchange we leans that .dr. Kerr, the manager of the National Bank at Nelson, is to he transferred to Oamaru. In speaking of the change the that wince the arrival of Mr. Kerr in Kelson he had always tafcen an active interest in prorooting puuUe charities and amusements, and he would he much misled from the winmnnity. It may tw remembered that .<<une few weeks ago the publicans of Mdf»»tifne entered into® eotemn covenant to ke?f» their 4,H,r» hermetically sealed during th? Sabbath. iif* refreshment Imp tug sold itpoti that day upon any pretence whatever. By that v»»nw it v,. as expected the [ir»hii>it»>ti against Sunday trailing would he made s» obno-xi»tts as to necessitate its repeal. We team, however, that the results have Wen »adly miscalculated. and that Boniface is in despair. and with the apathy and resignation displayed by those who lia*« | )W n rudely robbed of their beer, instead of there being riots on account of the ticprivation, the Monday's charge-sheet exhibits a wonderful amount of cleanliness as compared with former times. We understand that some of the body are seriously meditating the flinging t- the winds the restrictive covenant, and returning to the old order of thing* with all its dangers and penalties. That veracious chronicler Mr. Anthony Trottope credited the Colonic* with a capacity for '' Wowing in excess of other portions of the globe. The qualification, however, was attributed rather to persons than places. Nevertheless, had the eminent novelist been resident in Timber lown during the past week, he wottbl have experienced another species of blowing, and one that may possibly be even more obnoxious than that already referred to. The W ellingt„n P6*t states that recently so great -was the power of the gentle zephyr in that city that a gentleman promenading the wharf was blown right off his legs into the water, and were it not that a Native bravely jumped in to the rescue, he would have been a victim to the national failing. '

We understand our neighbors at Waimate are determined to administer a silent rebuke to both Oamaru and Timaru for the parsimonious spirit exhibited by both places on the late opening of the line. It is stated that the branch line from Waimate to the main line will be opened in about a fortnight, and the event is to be celebrated by a grand banquet. We trust, however, there 13 more truth in the report than in that which gained currency with regard to the Oamaru demonstration, and the hope of enjoying the " -solids'' may have a solid foundation. A correspondent has written to us to complain of the manner in which the letters are delivered by tiie Post Ofiice. It is asserted that the mail which arrives from Dunedin at half-part five in the evening are not delivered l»y the postman until long past the mid-day following, the cause being that thev are allowed to lie in the ofiice until the arrival of the Timaru mail. This he urges is a serious inconvenience to persons who have not boxes, as it is very often half-past two in the day before a letter which may have arrivi-d the night before reaches the person to whom it is addressed. Ihe evil is this : that whereas if the contents be pressing or urgent, and the letter-carrier commences delivery say at half-past eight in the morning, an answer might l>c despatched iorthwith by the Waitaki, while under the present arrangements a day is lost. \\ e certainly think that Oamaru is sullieiently far advanced to expect two deliveries each da\, and we commend the matter to the attention of the local authorities. We would remind our readers that Dr. L'arr opens at the Masonic Hall this evenin iz. when ite will introduce into his entertainment casts of the heads ol the Nelson murderers. together with about one hundred ami {ifty pictures of great men and women. We are given to understand that the Doctor? lecture te-t evening was attended by a large, .f not appreciative, audiene;. A foot rare came oft* this forenoon between T. Letevre and Donaldson of the distance heing 100 yards. It proved, however, to he a very hollow affair, for although Donaldson obtained the lead at the start, he was soon collared by Letevre, who tjtttekiv pn-^t - d iiis opponent and won b\ nti..at yards. Another eite; biied delusion of the age and stage vanished. The >yd Snt,learns that I.ttltt— tin: charming L uof the gdlen hair and .-ir.tp.-ly limbs, whose wondrous acrobatic. fe:;ts have i.eeii the marvel and admiration of sensation-mongers in the Old World —Lulu, who used to jump, as never woman jumped before —is a man ! Oil, fatal truth ! Lit'u a man ! Can it be possible » We know that Zoyara was a " female circusfeller." as pour Artenms Ward termed that dual-gendered performer ; but Zoyara made little or no attempt at concealment, and continned to pander to the worst tastes of a lascivious mob long after the revolting deception had been disclosed. 13ut that Lulu of whom report spake as a lair ami gentle girl—that she should turn out to be an even greater fraud. i» t-io horrifying. Lulu, it appears. mi-.-ed her tip one night, I ell. and injjmvd herself* b«r himself; so .-uicivly a , t<» rive ri-e to grave .b>ui»ts whether she ♦or he) would ever 1 v.-over. It was then that the discovery was made that the charming Lulu was .1 male, who had unsexed himself to sati-fy the diseasrd appetite of the public.

Another si-a r.i.nwter was olwcrwl one flay la<t week (says tip- between Little Akaloa Head- by Captain Hell of thn ketch Southern Oi;<en. In instance little more titan the monster'.' bead was seen, slowly, but mysteriously - moving about, as sea monsters arc frequently wont to do. The redoubtable captain with his man put otr in the dingy, and after reconnoitring for .some time they slowly approached and succeeded I>V means of ropes, &c., in capturing the beast, which instead of lashing the waves into lury witli its enormous tail, and capsizing the boat, siitiercd itself to be quietly towed to the ship. hen the hauling aboard commenced, instead of the interminable tail used in sea monsters causing ativ trouble, it was discovered that the animal was what other sea monsters might have turned out to be if examined as closely a good-sized hog. It is probable that the animal was making an excursion from one head to the other, and when captured was somewhat exhausted, or it may have escaped from some passing steamer.

The Picton hangman came over to \\ ellington in the Hinemoa on Thursday (says the A r.jiit) to escape the reviling* of the local populace. The arrival of the distinguished visitor had somehow or other leaked out. and as he passed along the wharf he was the observed of all observers. He was, however, little disconcerted, and made

himself quite at home in a well-known public hou3e. Afterwards, it seems, this notability experienced several pricks of conscience, and mollified his feelings in beer. He became restless, wandered to and fro up and down, and finally was discovered in Cuba-street, helplessly drunk, between one and two o'clock in the morning. In the lock-up he made no secret of the result of the meeting between himself and Woodgate, and produced a bundle of notes which, he said, was the reward of his handicraft. A curious instance of a cheque being presented many years after being drawn came to our knowledge incidently the other day (says the Jlawjitikei Advocate,). The circumstances were these : Some twelve and a half years ago Mr. James Bull drew a cheque for £32 odd, which he paid away in business to a certain party, whose name we need not mention. A few days afterwards this party's wife left him in a huff and went to Melbourne, taking with her some of her husband's v,'earing apparel. About two years since she returned to her husband, bringing with her the portion of his clothes she had taken with her, and a few months ago in a waistcoat pocket was found doubled up the cheque in question. Those who know Mr. Bull will not be surprised to learn that the cheque, though barred by the Statute of Limitation, was duly honored. Madame Sibly, a professional phrenologist and mesmerist lias, according to a New South Wales paper, added a new line to her role—that of a shepherdess or sheep-dealer. The journal in question, after describing the .sensation she created among the villagers of Hay, by reading bumps and sending bumpkins to sleep, states that "she left next morning in charge of her flock of l,Soosheej>, appai cntly quite at home in her new vorai ion." Madame Sibly (says the local Anjus) is well known in Kockhampton as possessing a versatility of talent and a fertility of resource not a little remarkable. Her threefold combination of work is a novelty, and she is fully entitled to the self-chosen epithet <A "the Wonderful Woman."