THE EVENING MAIL, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1877. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 253, 13 February 1877, Page 2

THE EVENING MAIL,

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1877. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Word* ar» thinifs. and a drop' of inlc falline upon :* (bought may product* that which make* thousands think."'

II & thing ia to. be done, t>y all means let it btt done well; and if yoa wish to W c«'t get»» near Ze«> as possible. We ourselves were treated to a pretty cool collation today* the providers o£ which deserve to have their name* rescued from oblivion. The representative ©E »It?g:d ficrra called upon pttr this rxvoeninif ami courteously asked to be «t>tig«<l with a Htm of TffK M.ut for exanimation* which request was graciously complied with. After » couple of hoars feeing a p«nt t>y the stranger in diving int.) and turning over and twisting its pages, the file was returned with a smile- that was ••cftiM-lifeeundbtand,'" as the information was volunteered that the search had been made at th« instants oi a distinguished client to aoe if it wtr» possible to gt«:in .anything that «ouM tie tortured into. tiT>cß, so that a '* slap could he ha<t at us." From a» unconscious scratching o£ the head, and an ttneasj stroking of the beard. we are inclined to 111 ink it ttid not "come off," and that the yum must be "a> waiting one. " Meanwhile we will watch with tender interest our "coot friend."' and view with distrust any future uourteott* request* made to us for "a stick to break our own trucks."

It is notified t'iy thw Telegraph Department that aiail« for Australia, per Jlrawata. will close aft th« Bluff at II ».nv. en Thars* 13th inst. We «e gTatl to seo that the stviotares yasMti ttpoit our Mechanic' Institute by the Special Reporter of the /Vc.w will in Eatarenot hold good* a* the library and readingroom are now opsin all day to subscribers Nut viaitwa from the other Provinces Thb i» * rtqh is the right direction, ami we coagratulat# the Committee upon their judicious naolve.

We hav« fceera renaestud to notify that a muring of tIW Bathinjj Committee wilt he ft+M At the Imperial Hotel this evening at S e/klock, at which evary member b requested to be ptmnt.

A Breton paper of a late date has the following, which we find has also been transferred into the columns of the Daily Times without comment or explanation :—" A California correspondent writes that Mrs. Cora L. V. Richmond's guides, deeming it inexpedient for her to spend the winter upon the Pacific coast, Mr. J. M. Peebles, now on hist way round the world, rid India, Ceylon, Sooth Africa, aw! .South America, will fill a portion of her time of engagement. 'Hie San Francisco Society desires his lecture labors till spring; but he declines to remain longer than some time in January, when he sails for Australia. Thomas Waffcer, the English boy-orator, will, it is expected, commence an engagement in San Francisco in January." If we mistake not, Mrs. Cora V. Richmond is the same lady who about twenty years since was considered tha cleverest Spiritualistic medium in the United states. She was then known as Mrs. Cora I>. V. Hatch, and was the wife i pf » doctor of that name, but shortly after I the time w« speak of proceedings were inI stitoted against him by Mrs. Hatch on the ; ground e? cruelty, and no doubt a divorce I obtained. She was a most eloquent leci tarer, and when tinder the mesmeric inHuI eace delivered the most astonishing scientific discourses impromptu, the subject being i efiotten on the moment by the audience. It I did not matter what was the nature of the lecture—whether astronomy, astrology, gco- | legy, rr any other science—she was equally at home, and th»s was the more astonishing, as at that time she was not more than eighteen years of age. The J. M. Peebles mentioned above is n*> doubt the Spiritualistic lecturer who visited Australia about three years since, and used to hold forth in the Theatre lioyal. Melbourne.

In connection with the steps recently taken by the Oaraant Schools Committee i» giving instructions to have the school grounds in the town planted with trees, the following extract from the circular sent to all head teachers bv the Secretary of the Victorian Education Department will be read with interest " I have the honor to inform you that it is the desire of the hon. the Minister of I'nbltc Instruction that the gr on rids attached to State Schools should be planted with trees and shrubs. The Minister wilt be prepared to obtain a few ornamental foreign shrubs and trees from the State nursery at Maeedon, for the supply of so hoots at a convenient distance from stations on that line of railway ; but as the supply from this source will necessarily be limited, the plantations should consist, lor the most part, of quick-growing native trees, svteh as bltte-grims, acacias, &e , and these the Minister thinks teachers will have no dttFrcttlty in obtaining in the localities of their schools. I have also to add that, when actually necessary, a small allowance for the purchase and planting of trees of this kind may be made, but applications for such allowance should be sent to this office before May 15. and should be accompanied bv plans of the school reserves, showing the position of the buildings and the proposed plantation. It is further suggested that the elder boys might be induced to take an interest £n the work, and lvndor assistance in parrying it out." A correspondent of the W i*tlii<gt»n hi'j /**>.*' writes "In your issue of yi-stcr-day vott state that a certain hotelkceper had invented a 'new* pastime f»>r his customers in the shape of a maggot tight. I merely trouble you in order to draw your attention to th" fa';t that tine pastime is not a new one. History tells n-i that maggot fighting and racing was one of the favorite amusements of George IV. Oh one occasion he and Colonel Braeyll, of IJlverton. Lancashire, had a maggot r»vt\ the Colonel staking a large portion of his property against a sum of money put down by His Majesty. It was a steeplechase, and the maggot-t were started off hot plates, but Colonel Bradyll made his ptate too hot, and his maggot died. Con-e----6|:Uently he tost his property, and the result was that his son, who, I believe, is now living, had to take* an appointment in the Admiralty."

We hwar M}-* tine Duiwdin T*:n*A from Auckland that * eitrtotta minor has been current there tor sonic time, and is now* very generally believed to be the fact, namely, that a Special Commissioner from the Imperial Government has Iweeo for the last t»vo month* in communication in Wellington with the Governor, with a view to obtaining ioEermatioo a* to the condition of the Colony. The Commissioner reform! to «3 said to he an oftieor of the Diplomatic Service, detached expressly from the mission in Japan. The following. may Ims taken as a rough estimate of the population of the Knmara at the present time, as it is taken from the official report furnished by the Sub-Inspoc-tor in the charge of the district. The re*

turn of women and children may be regarded as almost accurate: —Miners engaged in actual mining, 2,750; business, trades, &c., all engaged therewith, 800; bushmen, woodcutters, and laborers, 250; women, married and single, 286; children under 14 years, •19S; total, 4,554.

A most extraordinary circumstance in connection with a sudden death from disease of the heart is mentioned by the Parkes correspondent of the Sydney Morning Herald.. He writes:—"The deceased had been in tlie employ of Mr. Robert Simpson, grazier, at Duladerry C'rcek, and left there through illness, intending to go to Parkes' Hospital. Deceased remained some four or five days in flunbury ; and while drinking with a friend, ho was talking intelligently concerning poets and great writers, and remarked, 'ln ten minutes I could tell more than they ever wrote, and more than all the great men of England adding, ' I have seen the Angel Gabriel and the Saviour.' He then took off his hat, and, stepping back, fell into the arms of a bystander, exclaiming, "Let me fall and rest.' The deceased spoko no more, and was de,id in about live minutes."