Untitled

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 308, 19 April 1877, Page 2

The Hon. Donald Held, Minister of Lands, arrived from Dunedin by the Samson this morning. He will proceed overland to Ch'jstchurcb, and thence to Wellington. A meeting of the sub-committee of the Chimaru Steeplechase Club was held this afternoon. There were pi-esent: Messrs. Grant (in the chair), Eonayne, Eichmond, M'Kay, Shaldero, Paid-son, and Greenfield (secretary). It wai decided that the amount of money in the Waitaki County Cup should be reduced from LGO to LSO, and in the Steeplechase Club Handicap from LSO to L7O. A number of rules for the management of the iace3 were drawn up. The annual meeting of the subscribers, to the Mechanics' Institute will be held this evening at 8 o'clock. The annual general meeting of shareholders in The Evexixg Mail Company will be held at the Mechanics' Institute on Wednesday, the 2nd prox. Only one case was brought under the notice of Mr. Parker, Resident Magistrate, this morning. George Ward-Draper was charged by the Inspector of Nuisances with having, on the 16th inst., pl'ed for hire as an expressman without being licensed so to do. Defendant admitted the offence, and said that it was owing to neglect that he had not taken out a fresh license. The Inspector said that the defendant had since taken out a license, but had been previously warned about the matter. His Worship imposed a fine of 10s.

We have receivad a little pamphlet entitled " A paper on some curious and orig'ra' discoveries concerning the re-settlement o: tha ssed of Abraham in Syria and Arabia," by Major J. 8. Philips. The pamp'ilet is very well printed by Messr-. Coulls and Culling, of Dunedin ; but we cannot say anything in regard to tha paper itself, as we have not had time to pcr.ise it.

The following are the chief priz-.'akers in Tonks' £IOOO sweep on the Christchurch Autumn Handicap, run on Wedii- sday : First, Messrs. Simson and Adam, Gr?>ymouth, £SOO ; second. Miss Roberts, Shamrock Hotel, Du-iedin, £2OO ; third, Winstanley, Blenheim, £lo'. The remaining £2OO is to be divided between the holders of starting and non-starting horses.

Recently in Ballarat a cow deliberately smashed the window of a fruit-shop with her horns, and before she was discovered ate up all the fruit in the window.

The Wellington Artillery, firing with earbines, have defeated a team of Greymouth Volunteers firing with long Enfields. The

scores were—Greymouth 552, Wellington 609.

During the trout-f)sh ; ng season just closed a resident at Palmerr;ton (whom the local Times says is quite an amateur angler) siicceeded in caching fifty-three trout, ranging from about to UlAh.

It is stated that a number of gentleman ave endeavoring to procure the Humane Society's medal for Mr. Ferris, who saved a fanrly of three pei_ons f:-om drowning at Wellington on Monday night.

A boy has been seriously i.ijured on the Hutt Railway, near Wellington. He attempted to cross the line, apparently for a lark, just in front of the engine, but was struck by the engine., and his leg broken and internal injuries inflict;':!.

We (Guardian) are informed that the a-rival of the Governor is to be availed of by the " unemployed " of Dunedin, who purpose representing to him their condition. A deputation of these, headed by Mr. John M ; Lciren, is to meet his Excellency on his arrival, a-raugements for this end being in progress.

The Dunediii Star says there is not the slightest foundation for the statement in the Daily Times that Mr. E. ff. Ward has resigned the Eegistrarship of the Supreme Court. Having been seriously ill, that gen tieman applied for aud at once obtained leave of absence till May 3.

A telegram to the Daily Times says : —All three candidates for Totaia seem to be opponents of the Government. Mr. Grimwood has openly avowed himself to be so, and the only difference between him and Mr. Griffin is said to be on the education question, one being a secularist and the other a deuominat:onalist. Mr. Gisborne is talking of going down to meet the electors, but is not thought to have much chance. If returned, he would be against the present Ministry. All three oppose Separation.

Mr. Delamain has been endeavoring to find an excuse for the running of Fishhook in the race which brought about his disqualification. At the meeting of the Canterbury Jockey Club, held for the purpose of considering the decision of the stewards of the North Otago Turf Club, Mr. Delamain is reported by the Press to have said : —" The horse Fishhook had won a hard race for the Publicans' Purse, and had got stiff. He said to Dan O'Brien that if he was him he should not run him. His belief was that the horse was stiff, and could not get on his legs to start. The stewards did not take five minutes to decide the disqualification, and no evidence was taken. His idea was that capital had been made of it."

The Dunedin Star is evidently displeased with the amount of money voted by the City Council for an address to the Governor. It says :—" Our City Council have opened their hearts and voted £25 to defray the expense of a public reception of his Excellency the Governor. We quite endorse the statements of many of the speakers that there is no necessity for extravagant outlay on such an occasion. In all probability, his Excellency will be better pleased than otherwise to dispense with those id'e ceremonies that savour more of lip and mob loyalty than of sincere regard for the freedom we enjoy under the sovereignity of Her Majesty. But while extravagance and servility are to te deprecated, meanness is equally to be condemned, and we conclude that if £25 is sufficient to defray necessary expenses connected with his Excellency's visit, the reception to be given to him might have been equally complimentary without one penny, of outlay. Had the City Council studiously endeavored to brand Dunedin with meanspiritedness, a more effectual method could not have been adopted."

A report has lately been going the rounds of the Press that Mils Helen Faucit is dead. This is a mistake. It is a much younger act ess who has raid the last djbt cf n.ture: Amy Fawcitt.

The Aucklauder- no doubt would be glad to have mo - e frequent visits from ships of war. The Star says that no less than twelve thousand pounds s-ievling was spent in Auckland by the crew and officers of the German war ship liertha. during their recent stay.

The Tucpelca Times s~ys : —lt iti'l be remembered that about twelve months ago a c ise of shooting caused considerable excitement in Tapanui. The narrow escape the woman h:ul of being tilled was shown this week by Dr. DougLs cutting out a shot from above her eye. Tha gun-shot was consMe. 1 - ably flattened, and the soft t.bsues under the roof of the eye had grown to it and to be cut off.

The Cnvistchurch Star has the following : " It appears from a telegvom that, after due enquiry, the Commit >e of the North Otago Tu"f Clrb have resolved to confirm the disqmV'iict tion of Fishhook, and have further rendered their decision complete and logical by d'cqnairynrg his rider at the recent races. The effect of re-discusxmg the question has been to place the judgment beyond cavil ou the ground of pa tiab'ty, or insufficient evideuce, and we do not think that any sportsman will regret th.it an opportunity was afforded to Mr. O'iCrien to do what he could to exonerate himself. It may be anticipated th.it the Club's disqua'ificatioa of the rider will, like its d'S(rualifieai.ion of the horse, be accepted by the other Turf Club".' : This is how a coutempo ary sums up tLe new M.H.R. for Wellington, Mr. Travers: —"He has l'ved almost all over the Colony i:i his t ; me, and ha-3 been almost everything. A a lawyer, a brewer, a judge, a p.'.-r. i; s,t, a polit ; cian, he is at all times p ej.i eel. lie Lo:d John Russell, 'to take co:mn;nd of the Channel Fleet, or perform an ope l ?.Ton for the stone.' He is a fluent, foc : ble, and most entertaining speaker, and, possessed of a voice like Boanerges, the son o' thuuder, never fails to gain a hea-iirj, Mr. Travers is not troubled with any nervous or erce~3 of modeciy, but, on the contrary, :• ljoys all the advantages to be derived f>'om a rich endowment o* ces triplex, and cai'es no more foi'his polit'cal opponents than for the wind wh.i.-fcling over the roof."

It seems that a method has been found of rendering the trigger of an apparently Sib. pull Martini-Henry rifle as light -•_ a hair, and advantage has beeu taken t the discovery, which was until lately a secret, in line matches. A correspondent of the Melbourne Argus, writing from Ballarat, speaks of the matter as follows :—I have been today put in possession of a secret in connection with the use of the Martini-Henry line, a knowledge of which, I am told, the authorities desire'to suppress, but with what object I cannot divine. What has led up to my getting this informat'oii was the discharge of Sergeant Dubberi'u's rifle some time ago after he had laid it down in apparent safety 0:1 the ground. These rifles are supposed to have a tv.-gger pull of from 61 b, to Sib., but it was shown to me to-day that by a clever art in cocking the gun, the trigger pull becomes as light as that of those known as hair triggers, aud in this state it affords great fac ;, it : e3 to the marksmen overj tho;e who are not in the secret. In setting: the rifle on cock, the operator manages to; b-ing the tumble:* round in such a way that the edge of it just on the triggerJever, and though the rifle I was asked to try was an 81b. pull, the force required to disconnect it was the very touch of the little

fiuger. I don't wish to iusinuate that Sergeant Dubberlin's rifle was in this stato, with his knowledge, at the time he was about io shoot and laid the weapon down; but it is certain that any of these rifles can be put in that state by those in the seci-et, and thei e is no remedy for it but to fire it off. When set as hair triggers the gun is extremely dangerous in any one's hands, a3 the slightest sliake or concussion might caw.e an explosion.

The Hobart Town Mercury relates the fol- i lowing :—"Some months ago the ketch Pris- ' cilia sank in the river at the mouth of the Huon. Her place wr.s well known. Strenu- ■; ous efforts were made to raise, a craft too insignificant, perhaps, for a man of war's care. But all in vain. The owner tried the other Colonies, and offered handsome remuneration to a diver, without whoae a ; d it was found other exertion was useless. But no divers could be got. He hears of the approaching arrival of H.M. S. Wolverine. He knows she has divers on board. He sees his ketch again '-; floating on the bosom of the Derwent; and ; to bring about the—what sheuld be—not * very improbable result, he obtains the advo- *

caey of several influential including, if we are not misinformed, the representative of Royalty. The captain of

- his pro- „ , ,:,;:,, *,!,<• sunken craft, the owner i. ,r,.ii(l ••; •■■ t'f exneuse ; to the divers |)(ll» £' uu m 'o ' I a ;i uMs-ts.iiutM adequate compensation is firmitocd. Arrangement are all lul cum* li-tvd : t'' <- t..<:''to for raisin-; the vessel rul .,ly it oo'y n-(uiires to he fixed heW n ilivur ; whtu what was considered i to fi-rtu 'if consulting the Commodore rM gouti through he refused assistance tlm jtroiiml that the vessel hea witty fathoms «hu'l • ftml - tiU t tlie RUJ '' tun ilcpth at which divers can work is i J |'ath"<us. t ,v couver, aiiou I etwecn the uW iicfof ih.i f'v scitl;*, tap tin-* t.rhlges. of (,(„, Wnlvuiiut". ami the diver on hoard that vos. il, it wan statu! tliat tho t rUcilU h t-> fmliiiin.s clcc-i, ami tho diver s«id tie worked »•> ittJiomi* deep, ami hat no LesitaUoa in ,„,;,,, ucili rucatlv to the I'i'iseida. tut t'liicuioiloro ttosUiiio must have acted t>u tltanry ratliur tha i practical taformatioii. iuiiUimsicnueutiy tha ketch I'riscilta reaiaioa at tlte bottom, of the river."