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Oamaru Mail, Volume II, Issue 374, 5 July 1877, Page 2

It is rumoured that* Mr. John Lawson, head of the Hallway Department for the Central division, is about to retire from the office he now occupies. It will be gratifying to our readers to knowthat it is intended to make arrangements for running a train to the Breakwater on Sunday for the convenience of the passengers per p.s. Samson. Sub-Inspector Smith, who was eng-gvl as a witness at the Supreme Court in Dunedin, having returned to Oamaru b}' the Samson | this morning, Sergeant Bulleu, who had temporary charge of the Police Force here, left for Palmerston this morning. Our worthy and respected citizen, Mr. J. K. Brown, is about to leave ns. He has disposed of his drapery business to Mr. Gavites, of Christ-church, and will take his departure from Oamaru in about a month's time. It would seem that Oamaru has not yet been freed from the presence of a number of thieves, notwithstanding many recent exportation South. "Within the past fewdays several of our shop-keepers have been quietly deprived of the keys of the locks of their premises. It can scarcely be possible to believe that these have been taken out of j pure mischief or for their intrinsic value. We are bound, to some extent at least, to ; suppose that something more serious is intended, the obtaining of the keys being only

the preliminary step to the entry upon the premises by the thieves during some%iavourable opportunity, and the appropriation of any valuables that might be easily carried off. It would be -well for shopkeepers to be on the qui vive for these 'key-appropi iating gentry. Not only would the business premises appear to be regarded as fitting scenes for the depredations of the light-fingered gentry who call Oamaru their home, but several private residences have lately received their kind attentions. Only a few evenings ago; one of the domestic servants of a wejl-known townsman disturbed a suspicious-looking individual who had, uninvitedly, paid a visit to one of the outhouses, in which a quantity of property of various kinds were stored. The girl was too frightened to do more than merely raise an alarm, which put the would-be thief to flight. The master of the house was absent from town at the time, and no doubt the fellow looked upon it as a favorable opportunity for acquiring to himself many little needfuls appertaining unto his more fortunate neighbour. Many other little affairs of a somewhat similar nature have come to our notice, all of which point to the fact of there being in Oamaru a large number of individuals who evidently prefer theft to honest labour. It is becoming pretty plainly visible that an increase is required in the number of policemen stationed in Oamaru. The force at present at the disposal of Sub-Inspe .tor Smith is far from suilicient to enable the whole of the town to be looked after as it should be. We throw out the hint in tiie hope that the authorities may sec their way to act in the matter.

The Imperial Hotel, for some time conducted by Mr. Roderick Mackenzie, has been undergoing alterations and improvements for the past monih or so, and has been rendered not only convenient in every re-pect, but the interior has been renovated and decorated in such a manner that it is scarcely recognisable. The Messrs. Newey are the new proprieto-s, and as they appear to understand their business, and are long and favourably known in connection with hotel enterprise in this town, it is only reasonable to assume that they will be favoured with a fair share of the patronage of the public.

We arc pleased to notice that Mr. Longford, with a pi aiseworthy desire to render the Masonic Hall both attractive and comfortable, is having the whole of the interior of the room redecorated. The work is being

carried on by Mr. C. J. Harris, in his best style, and so far as the work of renovation

has gone, the hall..is greatly improved. The ceiling has nearly been completed. This is beiu.fr pannelled and decorated in a highly artistic manner. The two large squares in the centre are papered with a pale green, surrounded with a dark green and gold border, the corners being neatly marked with variegated colors, the outside of the squares being colored with a pale pink and white, which set off to advantage the other decorations. The sunlights in the centre of these large squares have been painted afresh, in colors calculated to harmonise with other portions of the decorations. The sides of the ceiling are being done in white with a green and gold border, while in the centre of are blight decorative stars, done in showy though not gaudy colours. The whole of the ceiling presents a pleasing appearance, and reflects great credit on the taste of Mr. Plarris, who has been entrusted with the designing and carrying out of the work. The walls of the hall are to be coloured in green, and pannelled between the windows with a suitable colour. The whole of the proscenium is to be entirely redecorated in a more elegant manner than at present. When com,-leted, we have no hesitation in saying the hall will present a bright and pleasing appearance, and will compare favourably with any hall of a similar kind in the Colony. Another very decided improvement is also to be effected, which singers and performers will greatly appreciate. We understand that it is contemplated to do away with the heavy curtains which have hitherto done duty at the windows, and which to a great extent have interfered with the acoustic properties of the hall. In lieu thereof small green curtains, in keeping

•■• i ■■. the decorations of the room, are to be substituted. We believe that the work of renovating the Masonic Hall will be completed in time for the Calcined Corkonians' entertainment in aid of the Hospital, which takes place on Tuesday evening next.

It is well known that Byron handed over I his autobiography in manuscript to Tom Moore, with the sole proviso that Moore was not to publish it till after its author's death. Immediately after Byron's death, Moore sold the manuscript to John Murray for L2OOO, but subsequently his own better feeling, and the strong pressure put upon him by Lord Byron's friends, induced him to refund the money to Murray and obtain possession of the manuscript, which was burned in the presence of Washington Irving, who had himself carefully perused the ckroniijue scaiidaleuse. In h.'s latter years Washington Irving was fond of retailing to his intimate friends his reminiscences of the autobiography. One of tho e friends recently deceased, has left behind

j him copious notes of these conversations, which his son, with execrably bad taste, is about to publish under the "The Suppressed Memoirs of Lord Byronl". One thought that the howl of execratipn which/greeted Mrs.Beecher Stowe's abominable attack upon Byron's memory would have warned 1 all prurient literary scavengftrs for., the future to beware of befouling the name of-a poet whose works, -with all his faults, the world will not willingly let die.— Sporting Gazette. We hear that the grand piano, once belonging to Beethoven, is for sale. The instrument was made especially for him by the piano manufacturer Graf, in Vienna, at a time when the composer was already beginning to be deaf, and in order to increase the tone it was strung with four strings instead of the usual three. After the death of the composer, Graf took the instrument back again, and sold it to a lady in Vienna. There appears to be no doubt as to its genuineness ; and as an interesting relic it would be worth purchasing for some public institution. Further particulars can be obtained from Messrs. Augener, the music publishers, of Newgate street.

They are inducing in another clerical row in Napier. Not long since there was a very pretty little dispute at that lively town between the parishioners of St. John's Episcopalian Church and the incumbent, with reference to the cura ( e, the Rev. Mr. Robinson. In that dispute the incumbent, after a severe newspaper and pulpit war, succeeded in driving the curate from his fortified position behind the churchwardens and a majority of the parishioners, and carried his victory to the extent of sending Mr. .Robinson out of the country altogether. In order to fill up the va ancy, the Rev. Primate requested the Rev. Mr D'Arcy Irvine, who, if we remember rightly, is the headmaster of the Napier Grammar School, to undertake the duties temporarily. But ihe parishioners are not easily sat sfied ; I hey want a being who is something more than human to watch over the welfare of their souls. Mr. Irvine does not appear to come up to their standard of perfection as an exponent of the Christian faith. It seems that the rev. gentleman has recently conspicuously •in public, and his views are declared to differ from those of the parishioners. In consequence, the church is deserted, the majority of the congregation apparently refusing to listen to the preachings '■f Mr. Irvine, and wishing to get rid of him. This they do not seem inclined to do in a quiet manner, but prefer washing their dirty linen in public once more, a newspaper row being the result. Dr. Spencer, one of the churchwardens, in a letter to the Telegraph, says:—"The churchwardens have written to the Primate, urging the necessity for the peace of the parish and the good of the church of making Mr. Irvine's tenure of St. John's pulpit as brief as possible." This drew an angry rejoinder from Mr. Irvine, who says :—" If care be not taken, Dr. Spencer will prevent any educated and independent gentleman and clergyman from undertaking duty at St. John's." In the meantime, we are told, both parties are leaving the church, and taking sittings in the Eev. Mr. Berry's Wesleyau Church. To the uninitiated, all this squabbling seems calculated to bring the Church into contempt, and render all concerned ridiculous.