THE EVENING MAIL. TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 1877.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 313, 25 April 1877, Page 2

THE EVENING MAIL.

TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 1877.

"Wont* are Cfitr\;-3. a rut a strop of inU tallivz upon -i thiwirhf n«j pruiliwe that which makes* ttiotfeixntts think."

In our last issue we stated that the Oamant correspondent of the Dtt.ibt Tenia had waxed wrath with ns for having dared to contradict a statement which he telegraphed to the 77w ; -.-'. ISinee then he has become worse, and has reached that stage of excitement vvhii;h is fittingly designated "mad witii rage." That he mint entirety have 10-it control (if hU temper is pretty fully shown by the language hi which he has couched the tetter which we pubti-di elsewhere. We are really savvy that we should have heen the cause of driving the poor fellow to stteh extreme:.-!, the mure especially a-i in his present state of desperation he may dosomething very dreadful. We had no idea that he bm such an excitable man, or wc might not have gone to the trouble of denying his statements with regard to the probability of there being a vaeaney shortly in the representation of Waitaki. That there was no truth in the statement we have previously stated, atul we again assert it. and d*> st» on the authority of the member referred to. With regard to the writer's remarks in reference t<> ourselves, we can allow them to pass for what they are worth: but wc must say that had our correspondent couched his tetter in language more polite his* cause would have benefited thereby. As it is his conduct hears upon it the impress of rage. He shows most conclusively that he is only attempting to get out of the affair by adopting that tine of conduct known a* "no case, abuse the other .side." I'ttt our correspondent does not adhere to the truth, and is guilty of wild and unpardonable mis-state-ments. When he says: that we accused him of going forth into the highways* and byeways picking np his information, he is guilty of' misrepresentation. W« *'*ht nothing of the kind. What we said was that it would have been better if he had ascertained the truth of reports so picked up'before making use of them. In the instance in question, the adoption of such a coeirse would undoubtedly have suggested itself to the mind of any practical and sensible man : bat. then, perhaps, the correspondent of the 'Tim?* k neither a practical nor a sensible man, and there may be some excuse for him acting as he did. Orar friend talks about the member of the House alluded to having announced his intention of resigning in the presence of ** about a dozen of the most reliable witnesses/" " in answer to a deputation of ratepayer*-** If so, why did not the Time.* correspondent make use of the information, then t There was a reason, and a very good one, too, for his not doing ao; for if our in- . formation be correct, the deputation re- ■ ferred to partook more of the nature of » practical joke than anything else, and

the Times' correspondent was the principal actor in the perpetration of that joke. So much for his bombastic reference to the statement having been made before a deputation of ratepayers. The whole of our correspondent's letter is devoted to an attempt to wriggle out of an unpleasant fix ; but lie has failed to do so. As we have said before, we shall pass by the uncalled-for statements made by him in reference to the manner in which our journal is conducted. The public are the best judges upon that subject, and to their decision only we are willing to leave the matter. We congratulate our contemporary the Daily Times upon the possession of so reliable, so well-informed, so temperate, and so agreeable a correspon. dent.

It is believed that the body of the unfortunate lad who was drowned a few days ago while paddling in the surf has been found. This morning two lads named Joseph and Richard Kearney, while looking for frostfish on the beach, discovered the body of a boy, and reported the matter to the police. It was perfectly naked, and was greatly disfigured, the head and neck being entirely gone. So far, identification has been impossible, but it is hoped that the father of the lad, who is out of town, will be able to identity it. The official inquiry into the matter will probably be held to-morrow.

Some of the spiritualists of Oamaru have been investigating the mysteries appertaining to the Davonport Brothers performances. A correspondent, in whom we have every confidence, sends us the following account of ths seance : —" At a private seance, held in Oamaru a few evenings since, some most extraordinary spiritualistic phenomena took place. A tambourine was floated through the air, and violently rattled ; a violin was played upon whilst suspended in mid-air, books were conveyed from one place to another, spirit writing was shown, and several other most startling performances took place/'

There was no sitting of the .Resident Magistrate's Court this morning.

Mails for Australia, per lararua, close at Ilokitika at nine a.in on Friday.

The regular fortnightly meeting of tho Municipal Council will be held to-morrow evening, at 7-15 p.m.

A degree meeting of the 1.0.0. F. will be hel.l this evening in the Lodge-room, at half-past seven o'clock.

The attmiil soiree in connection with St. Pa'ii'.s Church takes place to-morrow evening, at the Volunteer Hall, when addresses will le delivered by the Jlevs. Cowie, Gillies, St' vcit. Armitsgo, and Lindsay.

A short, hut sharp, shock of earthquake was frit in town last evening, ahoufca quarter p:t.it eight o'clock, hut it was not of suilicicnt force to <!o any damage.

The adjourned hearing of the charge of l\h,A prei'cired by Mr. G. M. Reed against Mr. Gumming, of the Wailatr/i Tribiin>:, eonics on for hearing at Waimate to-morrow morning. Tiie London Tim'--;, speaking of the manner in which the British Government has acted in regarJ tu tlic proposal of Russia, saV 3 :—" When we see how our Government does nothing, promises nothing, anil exhibits only distrust and condemnation of Russia, by restricting itself to the faintest phraseology in which agreement can he expressed, we cannot wonder that negotiations are interrupted. The fact is, the two countries have gradually assumed such a position of antagonism that they arc regarded on the Continent as two rivals. In the great controversy, which may possibly be developed into a great conflict, the eye of Europe now turns once more to the members of the triple alliance. If there is war, there must he genera! war, and any power that interferes inu»t be prepared to wage great war." We clip the following from the Guardian : -—"A wholesale attempt to defraud the railway- officers on the part of several ' under ! and over* gentlemen returning from the Bal- : chttha races on Saturday terminated most ignominiously. Mr. Davidson, the guard of the afternoon train, was collecting the tickets at Caversham, when he found that two of the passengers from Balclutha had ingeniously provided themselves with tickets from the Mosgiel Station, the result being that instead of paying the full fare of Bs. 9d., they were travelling 52 mile 3 for Is. 9d. Finding that their little swindle was detected, the innocent young men contrived, on their way to the central station, to provide themselves with return tickets from Balclutha taken out by the other passengere, but this did not save them from being handed into custody. Yesterday they figured before Mr. Watt, It.M., at the Police Court. The first to be dealt with—Julius M'Quade—told an exceedingly plausible story about having mislaid his return ticket, taking out a fresh on*

at Mosgiel, and then, having been affronted by the guard before the other passengers, making a careful search of his pockets, and finding the ticket he had missed. The second, Alfred Jackson, with an air of honest frankness, readily acknowledged that he had tried to defraud the railway authorities, and was fined 40s. Francis Wilson, who had endeavoured to assist Jackson out of his difficulty by lending him his ticket from Balclutha just as he reached Dunedin, was fined in a similar amount. The defendants will probably think twice before they again attempt to practice their ingenious swindles on guards of the Mr. Davidson stamp.