The Evening Mail. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1877.

Oamaru Mail, Volume II, Issue 460, 19 October 1877, Page 2

The Evening Mail. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1877.

The Government arrangements for advertising are fearfully and wonderfully made, either with the view of saving a few pounds advertising c arges by w;.io'i they stand'"a chance of losing thousands, or with-the ul-jVct «>f throwing certain work into c rtain ci.annt-ls. Those advertisements emanating from the Railway Dt-partiiit nt are the most noticeable instances of the parsnumiousness or favomi:ism of somebody. We have been reminded of the necessity of commenting upon this snbjt.cc by tiie fact tiiat tenders have been calLd for the construction of railway rolling stock by advertisement, signed "John Caiiruthers, Engi-uetr-in-C it-f," and inserted in the Otayo Daily limes, and, we presuni *, a few otlier journals circulating in the populous centres of the Colony. Of course, we are quite aware that t e < tago Daily Times ima a considerable circulation in this district ; but there are other papers the circulations of wine t entitle thein to some consideration at the hands of the Government, or Mr. Carrtjxhbrs, to whom, in air probability, in the fulness of their hearts, the Government have delegated full despotic powers in matters connected with his department. It is only natural that to their local papers the people should look for infoimation, which is, as a rule, imparted ; but, in the matter of Government advertisements, those wist-acres who have them at their disposal, seem to have determined that, notwithstanding that money might be savtd to the country, people who are not fortunate enough to he able to live in one of the principal centres of population must suffer the disadvantage also of being shut out from the benefits that might accrue from the acquisition of Government contracts. It would be a flagrant shame, ev.-n if tnis wtra all we have to complain of ; but it is not. '1 he advertisement is inserted a few times occasionally m a Dunedin paper—we believe not more than three or four—and it is not until it has had two or three out of the three or four, that it happens to catch the eye of some one of our local manufacturing firms. The plans and specifications can only be seen at Ciiristchurch or Dunedin, which would necessitate a journey to one of those places in order to get an idea of the work required. But it is too late to do this, for the fact that the work is required by the G%'"ernuient lias only just been con- ' veyed o one of our local firms, ai.d the teiidti must be in the office at Wellington , I y 24tii of this month. This is really } too bad, and one of those things wJiic'i we ; hope will be notified by the new Government. If Mr. O'APauJTHERS knows- as Lttle about his profession as he does of tiie correct manner of advertising Government contracts, his knowledge is limited indeed. We are not making a fuss about nothing. It is ihe custom of some of our ; iron workers to participate in Government I

work when th«y get a chance of doing so, and it might have been thtir desire to do the same on this occasion had th y not been deprived of the privilege by tiie bungling of t'.osi who are injudiciously charged'with duties tliey are unable or unwilling to prop rly-perform. • We trust that the Government wi.l delay t;;e date of ice iviug tenders, say for a fortnight beyond t;te 2ifc.", and th.it plans and specifications will he on view in any town where there is any probability of the w'ork required being tendered for. This will give everybody fairplay.

I Tim afternoon, anl subsequent to the ! composition of •ur article, m reply to a te'eg'-am, insinu-ti n* have be n given fc at plans and specifications < f th ■ railway r«tiling stock r*qu'red by the Government are to be o|»u for in pecti-n at Oamaru. 'I his is verv g'-od so far as it goes ; but s emg that it wa3 not done t<» e-mm iice with, our loci firms will be • 1-ced at a disadvantage in consequence of the limited time that will elapse between the arrival of the plans he> e and the date fixed for the receipt of tenders in VVt-llington. In fact, it would be utterlyimpossible for them to compete un'ess the Novernment should extend the time fixed for receiving tenders. It cannot be said that true Christianity is not spreading its benig > influences throughout the wo Id. The cha itahlenes-* that is being evinced in all quarters of tiie Briti-h dominions towards- the millions of human beings in India that, from want of fed. have be-OMie reduc: d to animate skeletons, would alone afford a striking proof of this fact. We are pleased that Oamaru wi 1 not allow it to be said that she is inconsiderate and illiberal. The amount collected at la-t night's m eting is evidence of this. 'I he paucity of atten lance is no sign of disinterestedness. To ere mig t have been a thou sand p ople present, with any amount of gas and a very g r eat affinity for the need fnl. which wo-dd have done but little to sati-fy the anpetit-s of the famine-stricken The Councillors, through wtwm the meeting was ca lml by the Mayo , were not present. Although this is to be regretted, there can be little doubt that the feelings of humanity th.t prompted the idea wi 1 actuate them to c >me forward with their share of the pe. u iiry a distance f'>r th« acquirement of which the ineet.ng was c.d'ed. A new system of street channelling is through th* instrumentality of Councillor Procter, undergoing a trial oppos te the Municipal < 'oiuic 1 offices in Thames-street. It is a modification of the idea that has been curbed out success:ully in Christchur hj, the only diffe f-nce being that, in the case of the present experiment," the « ater-course is being forme 1 at an acute angle, whilst in < hrist-cliur<-h it is semi-circular, the pathway and roa>* slightly dipping toward* it; the trough is also timlervd to the n< depth on either side, iu o-der to protect the cone, ete from damage So tar, the prese it experiment appears to be a failure, and a vey po >r iinita ion ' f the Ciirisrchnrch system. We were imi.iress"d with the idea that i was the hit ntion to fol ow the Christehurch p'an to the letter, as it had b.-en proved to be etfe - tua ! , and' can only conclude fr->m what, we have S( en that the person under whose superintendence the ex ■■ riment is bring c:vried out is not sufficiently acquainted _ w_it:i the idea approved of to enable him to imitate it. Whv not send him, or some Councillor, to Christchur. h ? « e can answer for the I value of the idea adopted there It i.as ben well tested, and has not suffered in the ordenl. We are so accustomed to the e-ijoyment of Pandi iacal we.ithe- in Oa na-u that we become ouir-e fistulous and that which would hj". almost insufferable to us. pampered and favoured as we are by the <;lerk othe weat-ier, wo Id be taU en but little notice .f .n many other pi ices. T >-day the strong wind tint has b- eu blowing his created no little unpleasantness, for the s -il, which has become ground t> du*t fion want of moisture, has been carried hither and thither in d use clouds, causing di-comfort to those who w re necessitated to traverse the streets and inconvenience to shopkeepers, to whom it must' have proved very troublesome. N w is the ri-ne that watercarts should be cointant'y employe.! in our business thoroughfares. We hive been informed tbat a person wh'"> has a number of carts is prepared to water the streets twice a day during the summer mouths if the business ptople of the town will each pay him the sum of sixpence per week i his seenjs to be a reasonable offer, and will no doubt j end in something being done to somewhat j mit gate the various uni'Lasantnesses that a-ise through allowing dust to have exact y its own way. We know of a number of persons, who are not in business, but who would be gla I to give m tra iha-i sixpence a week to any person who would effectually water o ir streets. A meeting of the members of the North Otag.i Cours ng Club was held this morning, at the C iiiutv Council Chambers. Tnere was a wry large attendance. Mr. N. Fleming occupied the chair. The minutes of the meeting having been re id and confi-med, uowa d.« of oO new members were enrolle I The mes, as d awn up by the Sub-Committee, we erend and adopted with some slight alterations, and ordered to be priuted in pamphlet lorm, each member to be sup led with a copy. The following office-bearers were elected :—President, the Hon. Mathew Holmes; Vice-Presidents, Me-srs. Alex. M'Masters and Ne 1 Fleming ; Committee, Messrs. Hay, Wheatley, iVtenlove B ydone, Steward, Ronayne, Allen, Lintott, Hedley. and Duncan. Some other matters having been discussed, the meeting temiaated.

A meeting of. the Council of the Waitalu County Acclimatisation Society w-a held at the County Council Chambers to day, when there were present—Messrs. Raid (in the chair). Alien, Hay, Steward, Whe.itley, Ronayne, Imtilop. I»r. Smith, and the hon. Secretary ( Ur. Comieli). The minutes of fthe List ui etmg were r< a I an I confirmed. A letter was ivad fro 11 his Worship the Mayor intimating that the Mani<--ipal Council had ajjrea.l to lease a part of Hese ve T to the Socie r y, and requesting the Society to appoint a .Nuo-Commictee to meet a Committee of the Council to avauge matters. Messrs. Allen, Ilonayne, and trie Secretary were appoiut-d a >uij-<Juiiiuiifctee for the purpose. It was di.ci.lei to apply to the County Council lor permission to use the Council Chambers for the purpose of meet*

ing. The Secretary was instructed to have the rules of the Society registered, and it was resolved to apply to the Government for permission to is tie licenses lor hsliiug, shooting, a' d < oureiug. It Was r so.ved to lecommeud the Government to Oj.en the Oamaru Civek, and the- Waimka ua, Otepopo, atl Waiare-a nveis tor tithing It was stated tiafc w.is a vey large number of ir ait in those streams. Air. Whea ley proposed to add tour country members 10 the (Joutic.i. vz , Mess a. 1). Sutherland, Murcott, Dune in, an I M'Leuitiu. Tiie mouon was seconded, by Mr. i u ilop, aud carried, it was deeded that u .uture the m ttmgs or the Counc.l should be held on tne '-isc Friday in ea h month, at 12 o clock, t'lie mestiug then terminal-d with a voi.e of thanks to toe Chairman. At the Residents Magistrate's C>urt this moiling, a young man ii-ttmd Wiliiam f\.ce was charged, h. fore T. VV. Parker, i.sq , K..M , witu having, on the lo'th insc, sio en a pocket-book containing sundry papers and two Ll-note-s, the prepoity of one James liieig. Wh-'U the case was called on ihe p.o ecutnr failed t> appear, aud, although an adjou nment was mane, ttie police were unable to tind him. Under the circumstances Sub-Inspector !>mith applied f r a remand unt.l Moiid y, in order to o.mpel the prosecutor to appear It appeared that after the arrest of the prisoner, who acknowledged to hav ng spent the nouey, and gave up the pocket-oooK when arrest- d, to ne effort was nia.ie to comprise the matter It w;.s believed ih t, contrary to the expressed wish of the police, the prosecu or had agreed to a coiuprom se. This sub-inspector •smith protesued against, saying that it was not rigut to m tke use i.f the ponce in such a man ier as had been attemptea to be doiie. ilis Worship granted the remaud, an i a imitted the accused to bad—hun-e.t' in aud two sureties ot LIU .ach. We rem nd-membe s of r,he Hospital Committee that the m mthly meeting will be held in Mr. chinch's omce, Hi e ght o'clock. The Waitaki I odge of Fre masons, with their usual liberality, have given six guineas to the Famiue Relief Fund If this were the only result of such associations, it would i>e quae enough to speak vo umes iu the r favour.

A meeting of intere steil in the perfecting or arrangements f->r the establish ment of a branch of the Young Men's Chris tiau Association in Oamaru will be held this evening, at 8 o'clock, at Tees-street Ha i. iiUiitieas —To e ect a Board «»f Management, consider draft of constitution, a id Uie transaction of other imp nt-anc matters. Mr. L». Wright, .>eoretiry of the Lmnodiu fcociety will address the meeting. He only remembered that ha was d link ! Such w.ts the blis-fui acknowledgment oi Muha-1 Sheehan when called u ( ioii to give evidence in ihe case of sly-gog selling heard utile .Resident Magist ..te's Court .venter day against E. >bert Keenan. He did not know anyth ng about pla ing at "Yankee grab" for druks at Keeu.in s, or drinking a.j '•extend d" g!a*s of leer in au unlicensed hou-e Such triv alities were noth ng t< him as comj.ared witii the knowledge th .t ne was drunk and uiseiioii Jo t > e\eryth:iH; transpiring in this worl 1 ot mu and sorrow, "i was d. unk at 9 o clock in the morning and r.inai.i tl drunk a 1 day. I don't k-io* what I did, where I went, or whom I met.' Whit a d liglufui sia ** of inseusibiii y : •Ihe slings and arrows of outrigeou fortune" caused him.u<> pain, f >r. unlike Hani let, he was drunk, rie could not remen b r that there were snc'i thing* in the world as crimes against law and decency. Wha wee ucii t iriing affairs to him compared with the knowledge th >t hi ha I ha I tour larg ■■ gl »sses ot beer and was thoroug ilv drunk ? What, he •' take up arms ngtms a tea of troubles and by opposing, end them," or even take up arms agains . oae ol the greatest pests of the to >n —i sly -grogshop, and put a sto> to the outrageous p-ac-tice of sly-grog se ling ? No, not whinthere was sufficient be.r to be obtained to drown all knowledge of sucli coram -n matters, and enter that elysiau sta e ol drunkenness wherein all thiols as u )thing, and 'ill memory a blank. We to-day inspected an American reaping and binding midline, which now lies at Messrs. IJeid ami Gray's establishment. Thames-street, wh re it his boen erected It is in through wording order, and so deftly does it apparently perform its severai duties that the beholder becomes almost bewildered as he gazes upon its various movements. Ihe machine was imported by Mr. M'l ennan for the Honourable Kobert Campbell, who iutends to use it on the vV'ninstone Estate. It is tho oughlv American in construction, not an ounce of waste ir m being perceptible anywheie ; in fact, it is with feelings of su prise that o e that it is exp cted to re ip and oind upwards of fourteen acres per diem. It possesses a number of good qualities, and will, we should imagine, perform it j several functions most efficiently on level country. We recomment those interested to call and inspect this Yankee notion. *• The civd servants are indignant at the prospects of reductions in salaries," says the Wellington correspondent of a ont -mpor u y. We a'-e exceedingly sorry tor thsin, and our eyes are bedimmed with the misty veil of tears that endeavour to flo.v from them awe think of the great, the overwhelming injustice like y to be inflicted upon some of our nuraer us army of " the civil servants." They are in ignant at the ve y idea of suc ! > men as Sir George Giey thin ing of reducing their salaries because the finances of the country demand retrenchment. Reduce their salaries, forsooth ! Perish the thought, and perish too the propounded of such an absurd idea ! Have not a great proportion of them been cradled in the lap of luxury, and brought up to do nothing and be well paid for it? Have they not been p tch forked into the civil service because they were fit for nothi-ig else ? Have not a large number of them buen given comfortable little sinecures of bill ts with large salaries because in days gone by either tuey-or some of their tri>nds were oevout worshippers of former Ministries ? And are they to be deprived of the privileges so purchased because Sir George Grey ant his Ministry are bent upon bringing the expenditure of the Colony wi bin something like reasonable limits ? No ! Let Sir George < i rey an-1 his colleagues reduce their own salares if they like ; let • them strip the Sunday coats off the working men's backs, and place on their shoul'itrs in . lieu thereof a few pounds of additional taxes; |

bttt '.l*t them the gentlemen of the civil service of their silver headed canes a-d their kid gloves! Tht'se are the only thing* wmch give an air of .ie-:pei;tabiHty< to our system of g.tver..ne;t To ufcempt to w.didi p/mads, "h llings. and pen-e agan-t the respectability of tile civ.l se r vicrf is a ou - notion ; it is by far »oo mercantile, to» pl:b-ian. to l«e entertained. Whit ! jit common honesty towards our creditors attaint tin re»[»eetability of the <ivil service? The thine is nutragecms'y irregul ir, and posit vely J>"o, no, . v ir Georg?, y<«u must keep uo appearances; thit is the proper cm-se to be pur ued m such an exated sphere as that 'o wh ch the civil service belongs, 'lo <lo a ight else would be to proclaim ourpovertv, a-d poverty, von know, is a sin—in the eyes of the. civ.l service. No wonder, th-n that the civil ><ervaiits are indignant. The very idea of ivduongth- sa'a i*;sof ouch a n >lde i»r ny of self d my nj, intelligent, a d h>rd-workiiig men as the civil servants is sufhVmi; to make a monument weep What would be the result we e our civil servants to re-dgu en masse ? What wou'd become of the Colony were suc r i a calamity to overtake us ? Ruin, utter and irretrievable ruin, must be the result were we to 10-e th < services of the disinterested men who consent, for paltr.' considerations, to perform our clerical work.