THE EVENING MAIL. FRIDAY, MARCH 23, 1877.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 286, 23 March 1877, Page 2

THE EVENING MAIL.

FRIDAY, MARCH 23, 1877.

I Wortif* Chirur*, art*l » tlfwp fok falling fpon a thought ftutjt iHr'fduuw CfutC which makes thoOaWiwfo

To-day, being the twenty-ninth anniver- | sary of the settlement of Otago, has lieen observed as a holiday throughout the town, the banks and mostly all the business places being closed. In the Telegraph Office Sunday hoars were observed, and this fact accounts for our having received no information about to-day's running at the Dunedin races. Only one case earcm before the notice of Mr. Parker at the Resident Magistrate's Court t r iN morning, vi?.. a civil action brought by Paters on and Wecdon against John Johnston for the recovery of £26 10s. Judgment was gtven l>y default for tl:e amount claimed and costs. The Municipality of Osmartt calls for tenders for rarting for six months at per clay, particulars in connection with which can be obtained at the Engineer's Office. Messrs. Fleming and Hedly will hold a sale of paints, nils, fee . at the stores, Tynestreet, to-morrow, commencing at 12 o'clock. Creditors in ths estate of Edwin Firth arc reminded that a meeting will be held tomorrow. at noon, in the for the purpose of passing a resolution "that the debtor be forthwith discharged." It is proposed to increase the Municipal rate of fkmedtn from Is. 3d. to Is. Gd. It will be seen by announcement in another portion of our present issue that Oamaru is to receive a visit from the champion ska'is\ Professor Taylor, and Lilltc, the Queen of Skates. They will appear at the Volunteer Halt for six nights, commencing to-morrow. They a! o announce that the r'nk will be open all day for practice, and that lessons wilt be given in skating gratis. | Can nothing be done to rid Dstncdin of the [ presence of J. 0. S\ Grant ? He is insnffer- ! able, and a positive nuisance. He is for i ever proclaiming aloud the very high posi- | fcions he his held in Otago. It would show {an amount of decency more becoming |so enlightened, so clever, and so disinf teres ted a man as J. G. >S. Grant is, if he | said less about what he has been, and dcI voted more attention to the work of raising ! himself to a more Sitting position than that ! of a peripatetic vendor of his own fonl literature. We see he has been writing again to one of the Dunedin papers. Why do our contemporaries continue to print the effusions of his notoriety? Yesterday's Owxrdkm has the following specimen of Grant's modesty With reference to the letter of 4 An Identity,' denying tliat Mr. J. G. S. ft rant had ever any connection with the High School of Otago, Mr. Grant writes us. saying. ' I am not surprised at this; for every right human or divine, claimed by me, baa been dented in Otago. However, it is beneath my personal dignity to hold an argument with a person who is ashamed of his tiame. I will not quarrel with a shadow.*" We arc pleased to learn that there is someone or something beneath J. G. S. \\ e had not thought there was; bat we live and !e;»rn. We wish J. G. 55. would do likewise, at any rate as for as regards the learning of a little decency.

A man, who innst have been possessed of the very essence of meanness (says tne Guar dian) was taken into custody at the race, course yesterday for pocketing a tumbler.' The following paragraph from the Guardian speaks volumes :—" The Kelson Mail is gushiog over the arrival in ' Sleepy Hollow ' of* the Lydia Howarde Troupe. We tru.-t Mr. Shepperson will pay his Nelson creditors with something more substantial than ' whitewash.'"

The Guardian says that no less than 34 or 33 trains ran on Thursday to the racecourse, and returned, making some GS or 70 passenger trains in transit. And it speaks volumes f.»r the conduct of the railway traffic and the efficiency of the officers, when we see that all thii wa3 conducted without confusion or inconvenience. The Daily Timet says :—" The ex-pupils of the High School held a meeting last night at 8 o'clock, for the purpose of forming a corps of Volunteers to he called the ' ExHigh School Artillery.' It is to be hoped the members will not forget past experience, and that the company, if it be gazetted, will not have an end like the 'Eichardson Fusiliers.*" The Pnnedin Evening Star say 3 : —"lt is noteworthy that, while Wellington and Dunedin show a larg-, and Christehurch a moderats, increase in population this year, so far, as compared with the corresdonding period of IS7<», Auckland, Nelson, Hokitika, and the Thames show a marked decrease." We (Wellington Post) understand that a great deal of dissatisfaction exists among the police of the Colony regarding the result of the conference of police officers, which has just been concluded. It is stated, also, that as soon as the report of the proceedings is published, a conference of constables is to be held for th«? purpose of considering whether the " common " policemen are willing to abide by the decision of the officersOil r Wellington (Press a) correspondent, it will be seen, refe-s to the prevalence of some feeling in Wellington regarding the presence of two Justices of the Peace at a public dinner at which the toast of " His Holiness the Pope" preceded that of "Her Majesty the Queen." The New Zealand Tim>g of Monday makes reference to the samp matter, and states that Dr. Grace occiij iel the chair, and Mr. P. A. Buckley the vijc«clnir. A rumor is prevalent to the effect that 71 well-known and long-established medical practit : oncr in Christehurch lias been served with a notice of action for damages consequent upon alleged negligence on his part, whereby a lady patient of his lost her life. The damages amount to 110 less a sum than T.2,nno. ConsideiaMe fensation has been produced by the a innu'icement of this suit, which, if brought before a jury, cannot fail to disclose matters of a peculiar interest. We clip the following from the Guardian of yesterday :—Fisticuffs appear to be getting un;>.'eisantly popular with the fair as well as with the other sex, Yesterday a man named William Cummins narrowly escaped a prosecution before the Bench for flogging the hearthstone with his wife's head. Mary Ann Palmer, who insisted that she was a dressmaker of good repute, was accused of boxing the ears of a midnight patrollcr. Cummins was fined 405.. or two days; and Miss Palmer, who is charged with vagrancy, was remand;:!.

Oh. fi c , for shame ! 3*oll naughty, naughty M.H.R. It's wicked, very wicked for you to cheat, especially to cheat your friends the Government. The Lylle.llon Times lias the following paragraph, but, for the sake of. decency, we hope it is not true : —" We hear that one of our legislators has taken to commercial pursuit?, and ' travels' for some firm. Of course, there is 110 reason why any of the SO kin« 3 who sit in the House of Representatives should not take to an honest profession. Some ef them want such a thing badly enough, especially if it be lucrative; I but it is hard that the country should pay for the expenses incidental to any profession, however honest or poorly remunerated. The legislator in question 'travels,' so we hear, with much flourishing of the free pass which be helped to vote himself. Now, this is hardly fair to his brother bagmen, who may, with justice, protest against this unfair advantage he enjoys in the general competition." The C'hriitchurch Star is facetious. It says:—" As illustrating the great scientific knowledge possessed by some persons in Cl'ristchurch, the following is worthy of narration:—'A.: Good morning. To-day is the eqttinos.—A. : Indeed ! Will it be on the Cricket Ground V The incident was subsequently retailed to a third person, who, after listening attentively and_ enjoying the joke, inquired naively : ' And is the equinox really to-day ? Will it be total or partial ?''

A Mra. Patrick, of Moa Flat, lost a bag containing about £4O in notes, at the Princess Theatre, Dunedin, on Wednesday night. An Auckland paper gives the following as incidents of recent improvements in the prospects of the Thames gold-fields :—The Union Beach Gold-miniDg Company has turned out the magnificent, yield of 22500z. lOdwts. of retorted gold as the produce of the monthly crushing. This, valued at £3 per ounce, will give nearly £7OOO, a very handsome sum for a dividend to the fortunate shareholders. We understand that 12s. 6d. per, share will be declared, which will leave a considerable sum to be placed to the reserve fund. Moanatairi shares have been in great request to-day consequent on the recent discovery in the mine. If the sanguine expectations freely expressed concern ing the new discovery prove true, a new era for the Thames gold-field has set in.