The Evening Mail. MONDAY, JULY 23, 1877

Oamaru Mail, Volume II, Issue 389, 23 July 1877, Page 2

The Evening Mail. MONDAY, JULY 23, 1877

At the Resiileut Magistrate's Court this morning, "Win. Clark Earl, alius Win. Clark, •was charged with having, on the 13th Dec., 1575, obtained by false pretences the sum of L 5 from Win. Jamieson. The prisoner was remanded for a week. This was the only criminal ease. Some little excitement was caused on Saturday night, shortly before 12 o'clock, by the ai pear.-mce of a bright glare in the direction of the Breakwater. A number of people at once concluded that it was caused i by some vessel being on tire, and a rush was j made for the Breakwater; but on reaching [ the spot it was found that the glare arose j from a fire on the beach made for the pur- j pose of lighting a number of men engaged in j carrying on the new works at the port, and i who were taking advantage of the tide being favourable for the prosecution of the work, j

We ■would remind our readers that the outward San Francisco mail closes in Oamaru to-morrow morning, at 6 o'clock. At the usual weekly drill of the Grammar School Cadets over 60 were on parade. The boys seemed thoroughly to enjoy the proceedings, and went through the various movements in a most creditable manner. The Sergeant-Major's instruction has certainly not been thrown away upon them.

" De mortuis nil nisi bonum" is an axiom with which we entirely concur. But whilst we would not willingly utter one word in disparagement of the departed, yet we think it quite in accordance with the respect in which we may hold their memories, that we should not be compelled to believe and act as they did. There is really no reason why we should pursue a policy with no other object than that it was initiated by a man of whom no other trace is now left but his respected memory, and for this reason we heartily endorse the action of Mr. De Lautour, who contends that there was neither rhyme nor reason in introducing the late Sir Donald M'Lean's name into the speech delivered on the occasion of the opening of the present session of Parliament. There is a strong party in the House at this moment, who are sufficiently unscrupulous to resort to any unfair means in order to bolster up the Native Office as at present constituted. Personally, they are treated with the greatest amouut of suspicion by those who know them, and do not enjoy the respect of anybody. These are the men who would trade upon the respect that attaches to the memory of Sir Donald MvLean, the late Native Minister. Were it consonant with reason to view the present calamitous Native policy as suitable to the requirements of the country, there is not a man in the House who is fit to administer it.

The larrikins of Oamaru may go just a little too far in their practical joking, and be productive of consequences that may cause them sorrow for the remainder of their lives. Last night, a string was placed across the gateway at St. Luke's Church, evidently for the purjwse of having some fun, but as the string was strong and firmly attached to the posts, the first person who assayed to step on to the pathway was thrown very nearly into the church. We do not, of course, know who perpetrated, this stupid '•' joke, 7 ' but we presume that he or they will see thi3 paragraph, and we weultl just ask them to imagine how serious the result might had a lady instead of a gentleman encountered the string, more especially if she happened to be carrying an infant. "We presume that they were watching round the corner to "see the fun ;" but if the contingency we have just referred to had arisen, we imagine that their mirth would have been turned into regret. But it is bad enough, in all conscience, for any person, lady or gentleman, to be precipitated on to a hard pavement, and might in either case result in serious injury.

We arc honoured with a visit from Mr. J< im M'Larcn, the chief representative of the Democratic interests in Dunedin, and we might, we think, say in New Zealand. This gentleman has come to Oamaru with the intention of enlightening us upon the subject—"New Zealand, Past and Present; or the resources of New Zealand, and how to develop them." Have our readers seen Mr. M'Laren? It is probable that some of them have not. He is a gentleman of moderate stature, whose deportment is easy and graceful ; although, as he is given to much thought, even when taking his walks abroad, like the star-gazer in the fable, he wots not where he is directing his footsteps. His countenance is usually radiant with an intelligent smile, except when engaged in the redress of the wrongs of the workingman, when just indignation on account of the injuries suffered by those whom he has taken upon himself to protect, can be seen to ooze out of every pore. His complexion is a little swarthy, but this is on account of the amount of exposure to which he has been subjected. Physical science he has made one of his chief studies, and when here last he predicted that an earthquake would occur within twelve months from that date, and it did. As he is giving the lecture which he lias announced for the benefit of the Hospital, we must, we suppose, suffer him to visit us without complaining, but we hope that he will not produce any more earthquakes. We would advise everybody to go to hear him, but, as he has already made for himself a reputation as a lecturer on subjects of a scientific and political character, this will be rendered unnecessary. We may, however, state that he has retired from the ranks of the Dunedin merchants, and now intends to follow in the footsteps of such men as Charles Bright and the Pev. Charles Clarke. He is now on a lecturing tour through the colony. The limes publishes an account of an " electric candle" invented by a Russian exoriieer, M. Paul Jablohkoff, now in Paris. This gentleman uses a "candle" of some compound which is his secret, but into which "kaolin," the clay from which hard china is made, largely enters, and with one battery can produce some fifty lights. They are so powerful that it is necessary to soften the light by using opaline burners, and six of them save, in the Marengo Hall, Paris, a light equal to that from 100 argand gas-

burners. It is believed that the light can be used for theatres and all other large buildings, and further improvements are expected, but as yet nothing is said either of its cost or of the amount of trouble involved. The main fact as yet is that M. Jablohoff has succeeded in dividing the electric light so that one battery would light 50 electric candles placed, say, along the Strand. Our readers will doubtless recognise the individual referred to in the following paragraph, which we clip from the Wellington Post: —"A certain young gentleman (?), who not long ago was obliged to go down on his knees and aplogise to a barmaid for impertinence, determined to avenge himself upon the other sex generally, and to make a beginning circulated some very gross stories to the effect that a certain person, whom he named, was living on the proceeds of his wife's misconduct. This coming to the ears of the wife, she sought out our young friend with a formidable horsewhip, and managed to catch him in a well-known cigar shop, where she at once proceeded to administer a sound flogging, utterly disregarding his his shrieks and prayers for mercy. At length the proprietor of the shop, not relishing such a scene in his establishment, induced the irate dame to retire, on which she summoned her foe to ' come outside if he was a man, for she had not half done with him yet.' The brave youth, however, directly he could get loose, fled into a private room behind the shop, and remained perdu until assured that his terrible female enemy had taken her departure." The following particulars of the Otaio Ploughing Match, which came off on Friday, on the property of Mr. John Martin, of Wool-Shed Gully, have been supplied by a : —There was a very fair attendance both of competitors and the general public, and some of the events were keenly contested. Mr. S. Hoskins had a refreshment booth on the ground. About seventeen ploughs turned out 'ln the single furrows, class A, Mr. John Ross gained first prize, L 7, and Mr. John Barclay, of Temuka, 2nd prize, Lo. In class B, double furrows, Mr. Thomas Deck took Ist prize, L 8; Mr. Andrew Chalmers 2nd prize, L 6 ; Mr. Eobert Chalmers 3rd prize, L 4; Mr. George Simpter 4th prize, L2. Class C, swing furrows, open to youths under 18 years of age, Andrew Martin took Ist prize, L 4; Allen, 2nd prize, L 3. Class B, best break, Mr. Thomas Deck took first prize, 1 set of 3-horse swingletrees. Class A, best break, single furrows, ]\Jr. John Barclay took Ist prize, block and chain, presented by Messrs. Parsons and Henderson. The finish in both breaks was of a first-class nature, being sweet and neatly performed. For the best 3-horse team on the ground the prize, L2, was awarded to Messrs. Fleming and RedIcy, who were also successful in obtaining the prize, Ll, for the best-groomed horses in the field. For the best harness made in the district, Mr. Andrew received Ist prize. At the conclusion of the match Mr. John Martin entertained his numerous friends in first-class style to a most substantial supper, thus bringing to a close the Otaio ploughing match for 1877. Tribune. I

The Wellington Argus says :— "No hook more true to life—that is, servant-girl life — was ever written than a book called ' The Greatest Plagues of Life.' The peculiarities of servant-girlism in many phases are accurately delineated, and show what employers of this kind of labour have at times to put up with. But a great many more peculiarities might be pointed out with regard to Colonial servant-girlism than are referred to in the ' Greatest Plagues of Life.' At times we have had occasion to mention freaks both strauge and ludicrous. The jredominant features of Wellington ' plagues ' are independence, ' slummockiness,' impudence, and laziness. It may not be uninteresting to give an instance where the first and third of these characteristics were combined. A day or two ago a lady advertised for a general servant. The day after the advertisement appeared, and while the lady was walking down the street, a female, attired in the pink of fashion, accosted her, and said : 'Mrs. , I presume ?' ' Yes,' replied the lady. Putting her hand out to the lady, the stranger said : ' Glad to see you ; you are advertising for a servant, do you think I'll suit.' On being asked her qualifications by the astonished lady, the fancy-dressed slavey gave the desired information, and then said haughtily : ' But I wish you to distinctly understand, Mrs. , that wherever I am, I am my oum mistress. I go out every afternoon when I like, and come in when I feel inclined ; I never do any work on Sundays after ten o'clock in the morning, and I dine with the master and mistress. Washing I could not think of doing, and scrubbing or cooking I do not care about.' After delivering herself of this neat little speech, and stating that she never took less than 255. per week, my lady servant requested to be informed during the day if she would suit, as she was anxious to have the place. The The lady, under the circumstances, could not keep the applicant in suspense, and told her she would do nicely, that a carriage would be sent for her in the afternoon, and that her (the lady's) best suite of apartments should be placed at her disposal. Then, wishing her friend 'Good day,' the lady

hailed a cab. The applicant is still waiting for the carriage to stop at her lodgings. "Wellington is full of servant girls of the class alluded to. Indeed, it is often difficult to distinguish by appearances between mistress and maid."