THE EVENING MAIL. SATURDAY, MARCH 3, 1877.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 270, 5 March 1877, Page 2

THE EVENING MAIL.

SATURDAY, MARCH 3, 1877.

■Woctfct ar* thins*. and m rfrop «f ink filling upon* thonifht ma; pro<itte« that which makes tsotuaso* tKinte."

1 A meeting of the Committee of the North i Otagw AgnettUttral and Pastoral Association I was held in Mr. Church's office on Saturday affemoon. An offer was received from Mrssts. Ilarrojn and Neill, of Boncdin, to ; srapply medal-* at the fallowing rates:— j S leer medaK to 2r>?-, 2in. in diameter, ; 23s* v eaeh; Irmm mediate, same size, Ss. i rat; ft; ami g">td medals. at £5 s*. per on nee. •On fc r 'e motion of Mr. seconded hy Mr. Morrison. it resolved ■ tw ask Mrssrs. OEtvcr and Ulph to write : fiomc for the cite?.—lt was resolved to have : the- fence of ttie Association's* groan.l re paired. the wt t» he home by the Cale- ! donbtt Society.— I The following offers were read for the renting of the Show fironnd f »r ' gr»*i»£ purposes t—S. Kvans. £4 per ae.-e pec ana im; VV l'a n Grant. £l2; Wm. Cttass. £2t>. It *aj resolved to call for tenders for leasing the grottm!. Mr. Gemj melt moved—" 'that, in calling for tenders. no cattle or horses he allowed to ran on the j ground." Mr. M'l ennan seconded the • motion. As an amendment. Mr. Borne mnrai-"That sheep and dairy cattle he : allowed to roil on the ground, and that ! alternative tenders he called for the same.' : The amendment was seconded hy Mr. Stevenson. and carried, and it wasroaolved—"That a meeting he- salted for nest Saturday, to consider the tenders." Mr. fJenimell moved : "That the Perhys for Ayrshire and short' hum twits hj« for two years, instead of three years." As the motion did not tind a seconder, it lapsed.

There ttai a eft nge of programme at the Masonic Hat! on Saturday evening, when, for the first time since the appearance ot EJaker and Farron. no entertainment was presented to> the public. The town presented tjttite a gala appearance East night in etmsetjßenee of the number of new lamps tit, ami throtigh gas being used instead ft keniM«ne. The new lamps are a great improvement on the old ones, thepoats tattig of trot* instead of wood, and they give 6hw town a more settle*!, steady look. The new tamps ttt the cross* streets will b-.- found a great eonvencenee to the numbers »»f resident# Co whose? hottses they lead, and everyone wilt experience the benefit of them in a greater or lesser degree.

Hie greets,, a Httt« lower down than the r» : tway bsitge. I»sm iHetnme qaitc a (a<liinti< all It; lathing place for the jtivcntlej of the town.. At all fniHtrs «f t!te »la}% a large as* setubtage- may t>« seen diving and swimming tike *tttuk-<. They have e«nstructt'ti a s|)«c;'es of wharf with ranpo. ami from tliiy tlWy dive into the water. I hi.+ is all very well! for fch«ve who can swim, but we certainty think it a rather daogerottd practice tV>r Eniys who- cannot do so. It also scents t>» «.4 atlvisaMe for the authorities to restrict the bathing propensities of ottr juvenile* to atv early funtr in the morning, when there arc no passers by. We hear that it t* ths? intention of Mr. Ji. R Taytor. the stater. »mi bi# ta!en(cd wife, I iUy. "Qncvtt »t the Sbtca," t«» vUit tfib town. This will give the flciruil imp!* tiT» to the forming «*« our skating rink. The "Firoaru papers inform its that the Taylors opon in that town to-morrow evening. At C'Urisfcchwrehi. Mry. Taylor was; presented with a gwEi E misdal and clap, by several gentlemen.

A musts important annmtfiermt'nt i> made in owr fcelpgraphitr i'tvlnnm*. It h that gwl alluvial gof»I ha.-» twen found at the Upjicr Shotowr. ft' it trim* ostt t>> be anything fike a gwnt find. we may soon expect to see a rush take jilactr to the Lake County, ami this wilt efcar th«r principal centres of population in the I'rovinee of their .-nrpfus popwtatba. giving those at present idle a chance of making an honest living, circulating money, and mating everything bri«»k in all part* of the Province. We only hope something may come of it. as this is the heat season in the year for mining.

Aft shewing the interest taken in the cricket match at Dttnediit, on Saturday, tJic Sltr mentions that 14,fM»2 words mre sent from Dunedin f>y telegraph on that day. TKia of course. does not include ordinary telegram?. The Art Union of Mr. Campbell's pictures did not take jltee on Saturday night, it feeing determined to postpone it nntil Saturday next. We had the pleasorc of inspecting the views, and can conscientiously speak aa to their excellence. They are sketches of Nelson and Auckland aceneiy, and tronld lie a very welcome addition to the wails of any room.

All entries for the Show of the North Otago Horticultural Society must be made before Thursday next.

The Davenporte are not the only ones who can do the rope trick. "We witnessed it done on Saturday night, by a local amateur, in almost as quick time as the Brothers did it. He was tied to a chair in exactly the same manner as the Davenports, with an ordinary i clothes-line, the line tying his wrists being ao tight that the marks were visible for hours afterward*. On the tying operation being performed to the satisfaction of about a dozen persona who were present, the gas was turned out. The moonlight, however, shone so brilliantly in at the window that he could he plainly seen, although his movements could not he watched closely. No one approached him during the time. In three j minutes he threw his coat at one of those i present, and in three and a half he was free, and the gas was re-lighted. Everyone was much as remarks had been freely passed round as to the impossibility of his accomplishing the feat. The Da tr el Is will arrive by the "Waitaki to-morrow. Mr. C'leverdon requests lis to correct a statement in our morning contemporary to the effect that the company appear in K«t'.n:rine and Petruchio it should have been "Romeo and Juliet" and " Katherine and Petruchio." It is the double bi'l wherein the special attraction on the opening night is made, as we are sure it

will be a long time before the public will again have an opportunity of seeing two such plays in one night. Scats may be reserved as per plan at the hall, and season tickets nny be procured from Mr. C'leverdon from ten o'clock to-morrow. A cloak-room—ano-ther novelty in Oamaru—will also be provided.

The usual quarterly sitting of the Licensing Court will be held in the Court House at noon to-morn>w. We believe there is very little to be transacted.

There are no less than three meetings to he held this evening, and we are afraid some of them will come oil" very poorly so far as attendance is concerned. A meeting of those interested in the formation of j>ub!ic baths is to be held in the Imperial at S, to receive the committee's report and consider other matters of interest; the usual monthly meeting of the North Otago Benevolent Society will be held at 7 ; and the Horticultural Society Committee meet at the Albion House.

Mr. Ilobcrt Borric, who was drowned ♦hiring the recent floods at the Taieri, left a will duly executed, by which he gave to the Minion? of the Presbyterian Church the insurance upon his lir'c, amounting to £SOO.

Mr. George Petty, of Melbourne, is, it is stated, about to erect a theatre "on the .American plan." He had purchased for a bl«ck of land in I'ourke-street, adjoining the Opera House.

The following items are from the Ji'oifan-yi Tribtr.tr ."—The opening of the Wainiate branch railway will take place on St. Patrick's Day —The skating rink was opened on Thursday night, and drew a good number of people to try their balancing powers. —2\o further particulars are to hand of the poor demented man who wai seen last M eek 011 the inland in the Waitaki river. The men who first discovered t!>e apparently demented creature cm co tainlv lay no cl.iirn to be considered individuals of a superior character, not having given timely notice of the strange appearance of the man on his waterbound prison. The whole affair appears to be a perfect mystery, and it is to be hoped that it will be sifted to the bottom.

A Nelson contemporary says that several of the licenses for runs in the Amuri being about to expire shortly, the Waste Lands Board have determined upon despatching Mr. Greenfield, the Commissioner of Crown Lands, and Mr. Wasfcney to that district to see the country and report on it, prior to granting fresh leases.

A diabolical atrocity has been perpetrated in thincdin. It seems that a poor widow woman named Blake kept a store at the Otago Heads, and in order to eke out ail existence for herself and her children she did a little business in the slv-grog selling line. The police got to lieer of this, and the poor woman was summoned and (ined. It will be seen by our telegrams that she has been taken to gaol, leaving a houseful of children, and while she herself was on the eve of her confinement. Comment is neeilles3.

The Selwyn (Canterbury) County Council at a recent meeting voted £1 per day as travelling expenses to be paid to members residing more than ten miles from Christchurch.

On Saturday a fatal case of sunstroke occurred to a miner named John Ryan, residing at Moke Creek,

The example set by Mr. Studholme, of Waimate, might be followed by a large number of squatters "with advantage to themselves and to the country at large. According to the Wditangi Tribune, Mr. Studholme purposes cutting up his paddocks on the Waimate FJat into farms, before next winter, and we should think that there will be a lively contest for the holdings. A piece of land known as Bradshaw's Bush is also, it is said, to be placed in the market.

The residents of Thames arid Tyne streets were treated to a little operatic street-sing-ing this morning by a poor demented creature who weut up and down the streets, alternately abusing the police (who have got tired of arresting him, it being so frequently necessary), and singing unintelligible songs in a stentorian voice. We should think the Lunatic Asi'lum would be a suitable place for him to try his vocal powers in.

Two or three families left Cromwell to settle in Martin's Bay a few weeks ago. The Aryus gives the sequel as follows : —" Since that time the parties who went to ' spy out the land ' have returned, and their report is one not at all favorable -to the present prospects of the settlement. Access by sea is rendered Almost impossible owiag to the dangerous bar, and as a consequence provisions are unobtainable. solely on this account some of the pioneers had to beat a hasty retreat homewards, although under more favorable circumstances they would have been inclined to give the place a fair trial, as in many respects it gives promise of valuable resources to be utilised."

Some work for the lawyers of Wanganui is likely to accrue through the appearance of a "claimant." It appears that more than eight year 3 ago the late Mr. H. B. Roberts jumped an absentee section in Victoria Avenue, next to the Bank of New South Wales, the then manager of this Bank, Mr. Ki-kpatrick, having tried to do the same tiling, but was worsted by the astute old lawyer. The section was built upon, and the buildings have since changed hands more than once. The heir-at-law to the section has turned up, and shows beyond doubt that he is the real Simon Pure. He is in the Colony, and at the present time is taking stei>s to establish his identity. We gather from au article in the San Francisco Chronicle that the Californian farmers have been unsuccessful in growing merino wool, and that the industry was now on the decline. That journal says :—" It mattered little that the carcases of the wethers were small, or that the mutton was of inferior quality, so long as their backs were covered bv a thick coat of wool and grea-e, the more grease the better, as it lodged a greater quantity of sand, Avhich commanded the same price in the market as wool. Now the re-action has set in, and the sheep will not bring cost price \vhen sold to the butchers."