THE EVENING MAIL. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 1877.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 284, 21 March 1877, Page 2

THE EVENING MAIL.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 1877.

Wnrtlf» ar* tliinra. and » drop of ink fallinsr upon a m;iy prodtrew that which makes thousand* tb'nfe."

A meeting of the Macaw! re%v Testimonial Committee to h«dd last evening at the Mcchawtes* Institute, his Worship the Mayor being in the chair. There were also present t— Mesa re. Hb'op (M.ll.tt), Hirmsk 1 (SI.H. K.). lh >nwo[i, lindgers. and Forrester (Secretary). The Secretary report.'*! that the following amounts had been received Thames Ward. £3(l lbs. G'l » Jetty Ward. £[-J ; Severn Ward, £'S 1-T'- No returns had received from High Wanl The Secretary also. stated that he had sent a number »>t' circulars t»> the country. l>ut no returns ha;l yet been receive*!. The meeting then adjourned until April 10th, in order that a further canvass might be ma*le r and to allow time for the receipt of the country return?. It is seldom that a witness appears in the Resident Magist-ate's Court whose perverscnesa w ?o great, or whose stupidity is so impenetrate. as that displayed by a man named Charles Johnston. who was calle.l npon to give evidence in a ca.se of larceny before the Couit to-day. When first called upon he gave hi 3 evidence in a decent manner: bttt after the adjournment, when he came to be cro*s-examiued, Mr. Balmer had the greatest difficulty in getting anything like a satisfactory answer from him. Thj learned counsel was endeavouring to show that Johnston, on whose evidence the prosecution mainly depended, was not at the time of the larceny in a tit state to know what was going on. On being interrogated as to the number of drinks he had taken during tEve day in quest i he made r-II manner of evasive and impudent answers, and when a->ked if he wai sober at the time, blurted out. *' I am not sober now it it comes to that." To which statement Mr. f'almer replied that he thought he was not, and that that fact might be the only excuse tor his conduct. After some wore futile attempts to get answer* from the witness, Mr. Batmer drew the attention of the Bench to the Justices of the iVaec Act. The Bench told wicnes* if he did not answer the questions properly he would be locked up for contempt. Mr. Clowes at the same time remarking that witness had given his evidence well enough during the morning, and that the present difficulty w;w the result of the adjournment. When asked by the Bench if he had had any drinks during the adjournment. witness said, '-Yes,a good many, "ant! he afterwards said he had taken five drink?, alost people present were not unwilling to •uuvpt this statement as something approaching tW truth, though they would no d >ul>t have applied a multiplier to the number stated. The case was eventually dismissed, owing to the unsatisfactory nature of Johnston's evidence.

Tfic uatrmrd division oE the Grammar Svhool scholar* were drilled to day as usual by the and although the numbers were lea* to-day-only «3 being on parade—yet the movements were gone through in good style. The hoys seemed to take great pride in the manly exercise, anil when they opened writ I .r extension motions, the sight tvw very pretty. The meeting of the Loyal Alfred Lodge, 2v». G. 1.0. U.F., will he held this sverurtg. The perpfifjrator of the flowing conundrum. which app«?vfs in the Titnjw&ft Thins, deserves more than a smile —j'cs, very much more ; how mtteh more we leave it to tlie nearest J.P. b> d .eide : Why should the Lawrence and Waitahuna pco|»le be the ha|>j>ieat eomrnanfy in Otago? fiec&Qje tliey see Jerusalem (A. J. Smyth) every day, and bave a visit from Job (Wain) every in on lb."

The steamer Waitaki was crowded to-day with passengers going to visit the race?. There must have been fully 150 on board, amongst whom we noticed several wellknown Oamarnites who have gone to see the the 'Tent Dunedin C'up run for. A cricket match will be played on Friday between the town and country members of the local club. The following are the names of the players :—Town : Messrs. Iv Uooth, F. Fenwick, G. Fenwick, F. D. Holdsworth, H. "De Lautour, W. Maude, J. Marshall, J. Rice, A. Y. Smith, G. Sumpter, C. E. Tempest. Country : Messrs. J. G. Nicolls, J. Borton, J. Milling toil, L. Fenwick, N. Wade, R. Wade, W. Young, Herbert Honour, H. Honour, A. Chancellor, G. Mill iny ton. There is (says the Sydney Morning Herald) at last a fair prospect that the merits of the rival oarsmen—Trickett and Rush —will be tested at an early date. Rush has formally challenged the champion to support his claim to that title by rowing him on the Paramatta River, in ten weeks' time, and, doubtless, if Trickett can obtain a suitable boat, he will accommodate him. The Jfa>r?:e\i Bay Herald says the Xar Zmhtml Times is not far wrong in its prognostic* as to the native litigation likely soon to be set on foot in this district. Seventeen writs agitnsfc various settler 3, it is reported, are prepared and arc just about to be isi-ticd.

The WaHanrji Tribune has the following Several ladies were compelled to remain on the platfi rm while waiting on the platform for the train at the W'aimate Junction, on Monday last, in consequence of the intolerable stench from the ladies' waiting-room. This rr-ally too had ; hut we do not imagine that Mr. Lauvon is aware of the disgu.-ting fact, and feel every confidence that he will can.se improvements to be effected at that Nation without delay. While on the subject: of stations, we may again impress on the authorities the advisability of their causing a refreshment saloon to be erected at the Waimate Junction, whi hj, if properly con ducted, would be a great boon to travellers. Our old friend Lieut-Colonel M'Donnell (says the Wellington Po-t) is about to settle in Wanganui, ami carry on private business there as a Native Interpreter and Land Purchase Agmt. W'j wish him every success, anl feel sure he will achieve it. His thorough acqn:iintanc3 with the native language, and his intimate knowledge of the character of the tribes on the est Coast, comb'ne to spcciilly qualify him to be an efficient negotiator with them. In these piping ti:nes of psace ' men of the sword sometimes find it difficult to procure suitable cnployment. Yet there was a time when tiie name of Lieu 1 .-Colonel M'Donnell was a power in the land, and when on his courage and foresight depended the fate of a large part of the North Island. A critic on the San Francisco Evening Post comes down upon Noll the Californian Dianiond_'pretty heavily. Ho says :—" W hen a ' protean ' art iste like Nell inflicts on the suffering and much-enduring public a string of such crude absurdities as li The Little Detective," "No Name," and "Fidelia,' that .she may have an opportunity of giving her extremely indifferent 'song and dance business * at the Californian Theatre, toleration cease* to be a virtue, and plain speaking becomes a duty. Nell is not even a protean artiste, for if protean means anything it means the power of changing one's individuality, and that is a thing with her impossible. Ncli's greatest admirers will not call her an actress, and are forced to acknowledge that her talents at best arc simply in variety business. That being the case, let her give it to us pure and simple with its ' lightning changes * an I ' song and dance,' and not under the thin disguise of that dramatic monstrosity—the protean play. If she has in her real talent she will find alike fame and money in lier legitimate sphere." 7iie following extraordinary scene took place in a County Council not a thousand miles from Geraldinc (says the Standard: — One of tiie Councillors, addressing a brother Councillor, said, "You contemptible wouldbe informer, you thought to lead the sergeant oil to me and to n;y house." The Councillor to whom this was addressed replied, "It is an infernal lie. I never did anything of the sort. I don't go near your house, and don't want to know whether you sell liquor on Sunday or not." The fi;stt named Councillor, who, it may be stated, js | a publican, then rushed over to his brother [ Councillor, and atriking an attitude that is I sometimes described as "shaping,"' he shouted at the top of his voice, '* It is not a lie. You did do it. You gave the sergeant | tiiS names of the persons wlio went in and came out at :r.y house on Sunday, and I have a mind tc» M this point the other Councillors aud some ra,tep{ty£is interfared, and the " scene " ended.

The Palmerston Times says that business for the long-robed gentry has increased wonderfully in Palmerston of late, as evidenced by the fact that we have now three resident barristers. The Wellington Argus of the 7th instant says that those who saw Mr. J. J. Utting's drama of " Check and Counter Check" will no doubt have formed a very fair opinion of the author's mental capabilities, and probably not a very favorable one. We have just had an opportunity of estimating his good sense and good taste. In the interests of truth we were obliged to notice the drama when played here, in uncomplimentary terms, and yesterday a member of our staff received a post card, signed J. J. Utting, containing some most offensive remarks. It happens that the gentleman to whom the card was addressed as the "critic" never had the misfortune to witness Mr. Utting's drama, and never wrote a word regarding it, so that the frilly author's intended impertinence falls pointless. Mr. Utting evidently wants a lesson in decency as well as sense, and probably these remarks may have a beneficial effect on him. Of Mr. Curnin, who has recently published a little pamphlet entitled "The Laws of New Zealand," the Auckland Star says that he is one of the most eccentric characters in the Colony. Many years ago he was Clerk of the Assemb'y, and according to custom was seated at the table in front of the Speaker's chair. During an important debate, in which all the great guns of the House strove to excel each other ill tlieir eloquence, a speaker from some bucolic district ventured on a quotation from a Latin author, but unluckily he misquoted. W li.it was the dismay of hoti. members when Mr. Curnin suddenly rose to his feet, and pointing with a gesture oE contempt to the speaker, exclaimed in a stage whisper, " False quantities, false quantities, go to school, sir, go to school. The ho:i. member collapsed into his seat, consternation sat on the faces of some, and a few laughed outright. There was a " stranger in the House" this time, and no mistake. The misquotation and false quantities had jarred on the finely-tuned classic ear of tli3 scholarly clerk, and he could not restrain his annoyance. We have heard that the upshot of the affair was that the Speaker, who was himself a scholar, took a lenient view of the case, and that Mr. Curnin was appointed to another deoartment ill which his unquestionable talents were employe I with equal advantage to the public service.