The Evening Mail. SATURDAY, SEPT. 15, 1877.

Oamaru Mail, Volume II, Issue 432, 15 September 1877, Page 2

The Evening Mail. SATURDAY, SEPT. 15, 1877.

The conclusion of our report of Thursday evening's sitting of the House of Representatives did not reach U3 yesterday until our ] aper had g< ne to press. On making inquiries into the matter at the Telegraph Office, "we have-learned that the cause of the delay was the fact that a portion of the wires were down between Timaru and Christchur/n, and were not put in order until nearly 5 o'clock.

Ihe lars ikin element in Oamaru seems to be on the increase lather than otherwise. Not content with inflect ng a'l manner of injuries upon property, these blackguards make our streets almost impassable for respectable people, and more especially for ladies, owing to the extremely foul language to which the contemptible curs give utterance. Times out of number instances of insulting remaiks have been made to respectable females l»y beings to whom a good dose of the lash would be a fitting punishment. Last evening one of these pests went further than any of his miserable fedowblackguards have yet had the audacity to go. The fe'low, whose name is Thomas Desmond, after following Mrs. Cagney for some distance, put his arm round her neck. In her efforts to fiee herself Mrs. Cagney fell heavi'y to the ground, severely hurting herse.f. On her calling out, the fellow made off. but was afterwards arrested, and brought up at the Resident Magistrate's Court this morning. .After hearing the eviilence, his Worship inflicted the heaviest lenalty he had the power to inflict, and ordered the biute to pay a fine of 1.20 or go to gaol for six months with hard labour. The fiue has not been paid.

The Ven. Archdeacon Edwards has come to Oamau t > relieve the Rev. A. Gifford of his ministerial duties for a couple of Sundays. The Rev. Mr. Gifford will celebrate Divine service at Otepopo and Hampden on Sunday next, having resumed his visits to those places on the third Sunday in eauh month.

The members of the "Waitaki Amattur Athletic Club are requested to. attend a meeting to be held at eight o'clock this evening, at the Royal. Hotel. The business is to consider the rules and other matters of importance.

The Wellington correspondent of the New Zealand Herald, writing upon the C amaru Mail libel case, says:—"lt appears to us, taking a common-sense view of this indeiinite question of privilege, that the dignity of the House is no moie assailed by members being spoken or written against in theirprivate capacity for the improper purchase of land, than for falsehood, drunkenness, or loving, not wisely, but too well; all of which charges our uuannointed eyes and ; ears are compelled to see and to hear on more occasions than is either pleasant or profitable."

. A-cbrrespohdent sends us ttie following : VI am happy to inform you that the Volunteer force at Otepopp is going ahead, and let those sneer who may,:it that this company s of cit'zen sold.'era are determined to make, themselves worthy of the name of their count.'y's defenders. At a meeting held it was proposed l>y the officers, and carried unanimously by Ihe men, that the company commence a regular course of instruction for the year, and that every attention be paid to military duties, so as to make. itself effici- nt, and iu every way worthy of the name of a first cla-s corps ; to on Thursday night last the company met for the first of the course of instruction under the StaffInstructor, R. H. Maepherson. There were pre-ent—Captain 1 'iehl (in command), Lieut. Pirie. Sub-Lieut. M'Kay, one Sergeant, and 25 men. Ihe men having bten told off, the Ommander handed th< m over to the Instructor, who at once took up the drill, and kept the men hard at w rk fur two honrs. The ram apparently enjoyed the exercise, and, l>y their great attention, showed their determination to carry <ut the Sergeantmajiu's orders to the letter. I understand the company are havii'g their range extended to 800 yards, and have petitioned the Commanding Officer of the district, Major Steward, for extra targets, and we have no doubt but tl e Major will do all in his power t> facilitate the advancement of the corps. At the present time there are, in the way of prizes for the company, a very handsome clock fgiven by Capt. Diehl) in dark marble, a splendid seven - chamber breach - loading pistol, mounted in solver, with 500 rounds of ammunition, and several other minor prizes.

The London Spectator of the 7th July has a highly favourable review of Mr. I'r. cken'e "Flowers of a Free Land." The reviewer says : —'' This is a volume of short poems on a variety of themes—seme of g> neral, others of local interest, Seveial of ;ioempossess considerable intrinsic nieit and they are all calculated to please English readers, because they are instinct with the fresh and vigorous viia'ity of Colonial life in its best and healthiest aspects, aiicl full of love and loyalty to England. Mr. Bracken's poems g've us a | leas:<nt insight into the ' ways' of the dwellers in 'the Fr< e Land ,' as he proudly ells our Australasian Colonies, and they depict with bright and picturesque touches the beauties of nature there, and the associations which they awaken. The contrast of the seasons with ours, the homeline s of lie, the vasti.ess of the country, the simpler inter, sts and the rougher history, the comradeship of the Colonies, are brought home to us by these poems, of which the least ambitious please us the most. ' April Here and April There 'is a very pretty poem, with the true lyrical ring about it; and 'Sleeping Alone' is a solemn and ouehiug picture of burial in the bush, ' where but few have trod ' —of profound solitude amid the animation of nature ''l he (Id log Hut,' ' Old Bendigo ' —a capital digger's yarn—and 'Bush Children,' in which the writer watches and r< cords the >ports of a troop of blooming urchins, for whom

By-and-b e there's work to do— Th"y have yet to build a nation — are full of character and spirit. Mr. Braiken has evidently a grf>at facility for writing verses to fit occasions—a talent as infrequent and valuable as that of elevtr after-dinner speaking. His ' National Hymn for New Zealand,' and his addresses at sundry 'entertainments,' benefits, and 'dedications, ' are rema-i ka 1 ]y good examples of a difficult branch i.f the j oetic art."

The Lyildton Times strongly c-ndemns the leniency of the Resident Magistrate in the case of in decent assaidt upon his daughter by the. man Needhatn. After referring to the circum-tances of the case, it says:—"Mr. Mellish somewhat euphemistically called it ' an aggravated assault,' but it was rea ly an attempt to commit the worst crime of which mankind in capable ; a crime of an inexpressibly hideous and revolting character; a crime repellent to the most sacred feelings of human nature, and an outrage even on its' most primitive instincts. Moreover, the evidence established clearly that the attempt to commit this crime ■would have been successful but for the intervention of a third party. Six months' imprisonment and the exaction of a paltry security froni the savage who made that attempt is a mockery of justice. Here, then, we have the discretionary power exercised in defiance of the rules laid down for the guidance of a magistrate. The case was made but prima facie, but the penalty in the powei of the magistrate to inflict was inadequate to the crime. The prisoner was entitled to no remission of punishment, arid his ultimate conviction on the grave charge ou which he was brought up was not a matter for the magistrate's I consideration. That the case was not sent '

for- ;'trial appears a most extraordinary and unaccountable error of judgment, has caused a most lamentable failure of justice. It is unfortunate that on the same day a miserable outcast woman should have been, for drunkenness and a trifling indecency, sent to gaol for twelve months, a period twice as long as the term of impiis nmtnt inflicted on Keedham for a foul aud brutal crime. If the public gains the impression that suitors who go into the Resident Magistrate's Court with mon y enough to retain high legal talent get a different measure of justice from those who do not, the result will be deplorable but not surprisins. Mr. Melli.-h will have to ascribe it to his mistakenly 'etiient method of dealing with one of the gravest outrages that has ever come under his notice."

The township of Kumara still continues to make prognss. At a recnt meeting there, the presiding, the following resolution was passed, "That iu the opinion of this meeting it is desirable that a morning and tvriiing mail s-ervice should be established betwem Hoki;ika and Kumara, and that on the opening of the new post office at Kumara a letter delivery should be established. "

Among the passengers by the Roto'tta from i-'ydney to Auckland, wo not'ce the name of Herbert Robeits. He is a brother of John Roberts, jun., the g-eat billiard playiT, who recently visited New Zealand, and is almost as r- nowned for his skill on the " board of green cloth " as the champion himself. Herbert Roberts claims to be the champion " hand-stroke " player ; and that lie hns some reason for a suming the title is p oved by his having lately made such breaks as 1596, at Geelong. His largest bieak was at DuffieUl, in Yo'kd.ire, where he made 1777. He has just-fini.-hed a successful tour of Queetisl.ai I, Victoria, and New South Wales.