The Evening Mail. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1877.

Oamaru Mail, Volume II, Issue 422, 4 September 1877, Page 2

The Evening Mail. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1877.

Only one application for a license for a new hotel came before the Licensing Court. to-day. This was made by Mrs. Grace Suavt for a hotel situated in Thames-street north. The consideration of the matter was adjourned f..r a fortnight, the building not having yet been completed. Mr. James Familton and Mr. Hugo Lippert again applied for bottle licenses for their stores, and met with similar re plies to those to which they have been treated for some considerable time past. "The Bench declines to increase the number of bottle licenses in the town.' ; A similar application from Mr. James Bee met with the same fate.

His Worship the Resident Magistrate has consented to admit John Chalker, -who was yesterday sentenced to eight months' impri-s-nment for having an illicit still in his possession, to bail, pending the result of the appeal against the Magistrate's decision. So far the necessary sureties have not boon forthcoming, and in all probability Chalker will be sent to the Dunedin Gaol to-morrow, with John Madden, the vagrant.

It was deeided at a special meeting of the Municipal Council held yesterday afternoon not to open the tenders for the new gasometer until the next ordinary meeting of the Council, in order to allow time for the receipt of tenders advised as coming from Melbourne by mail. The Council also resolved that the amount of Mr. Calcutt's award for land taken from the New Zealand and Australian Land Company for the water-work , together with the costs of the arbitration, should be handed to the Corporation Solicitors to be paid into the bank to ihe joint account.

The regular monthly meeting of the Xorth Ota-go Horticultural Society was held last evening at the Albion House, when there were present—Messrs. Counell (President), Steward (Vice-President), Paterson, Heywood, Simpson, Ireland, Spratt, Stemsoti, Kidd, and Leigh (Hon. Sec.) The minutes of the last meeting having been read and confirmed, the Sub-Commit bee brongii" up r=. revised prize schedule for the Spring (Show, which was adopted with some modifications, and ordered to be printed. On the motion of Mr. Paterson, seconded by Mr. Spratt, it was resolved, "That three prizes be given for best-kept cottage gardens, of the respective amounts of L 3 35., L2 25.,. and LI Is. That the word cottage garden be deemed to mean a garden exclusively cultivated by the owner; that the area be any area under half an ;we, and that the garden be situated within four miles of the post-office. Notice of intention to compete to be sent to the Secretary one month prior to date of Show. New members of the Society to pay 2s Od entrance fee." It was resolved that the Spring Show should be held on Saturday, Sth December. A vote of thanks having been accorded to the, Chairman, the meetingterminated.

Mails for Australia per Eingarooma will close at the Bluff at 11 a.m. to-morrow.

; The regular monthly meeting of the North Otago Permanent Building Society, for the receipt of cash, &c, will be held this evening, at Mr. Sumpter's office. The monthly meeting of the First Oamaru Permanent Building and Investment Society, for the receipt of cash and issue of new shares, will be held at Mr. Hardy's office this evening.

Intending tenderers for several contracts for works required by the Kakanui Road Board are reminded that the time for receiving tenders expires at noon to-morrow. It must by this time have become perfectly apparent that lectures of auy kind are not vary acceptable to the oeopleof Oamaru. We have within the last few months been favoured with lectures upon all manner of subjects, all of which have proved failures in a financial sense, despite the fact that the leecturers were gentlemen of high literary attainments, and well qualified to do full justice to the subjects of their discourses. The lecture given by Dr. Ellis last evening in aid of the Mechanics' Institute was no exception to the rule. The doctor delivered his lecture on "'The Life and Times of Michael Angelo" to a beggarly array of empty benches. To some extent this fact may be attributed to the short notice given of the lecture, but we shrewdly suspect that the principal reason for the meagre attendance is the undisguised antipathy of the people of Oamaru to lectures, which, as a very general rule, are exceedingly dry and uuinteres ing. The majority of the patrons of amusements prefer something calculated to excite their risible faculties rather than matters of instruction. Notwithstanding the smallness of the number present, Dr. Ellis entered upon his subject with a very gi eat amount of enthusiasm, and succeeded in holding the attention of his audience throughout. The lecture was a good one, and dealt minutely with the many striking events in the life of the great painter, architect, and sculptor. The language in which Dr. Ellis clothed Lis discourse was in some parts really grand, but the effect of this was marred to some extent by the lecturer not giving that expression to the language which it deserved. At the conclusion of the lecture, which was somewhat too lengthy, a hearty vote of thanks was accorded to the lecturer on the motion of Mr. Filieul, Vice-President of the Mechanics' Institute. Dr. Garland occupied the chair.