The Oamaru Mail. THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 1878.

Oamaru Mail, Volume III, Issue 705, 20 June 1878, Page 2

The Oamaru Mail. THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 1878.

The Australian cricketers have suffered a signal defeat at the hands of the gentlemen players of England. According to a special cablegram received by us late la-st evening, the Colonials appear to have been beaten in one innings. We must admit that the message as it reached ns was excessively confusing and mystifying ; but after spending some considerable time ia endeavoring to make sense of the telegram, we were unable to put it into any more pleasant form than that in which we publish it elsewhere. Wc regret to learn- that Mr. P. Mason's dog Mechanic met with some very nasty injuries at the couwing match on Monday. While running against Mr. Paterson's Spring, t'jß hare took off amongst a large quantity <-i U'istles, and, the dogs following, Mechanic had his eye 3 somewhat severely cut about. The medal presented by Messrs. Fleming and Hcdley for the best girl in the Gamani Grammar School for the year 1577 was on view at Mr. M'Corkindale's shop yesterday. The medal was furnished by Mr. M'Corkin dale, and was presented to the winner (liiss Liddle) yesterday by the donors. The ini;d.-: : is of solid highly-polished silver, surrounded by a raised border cf frosted silver, adorned with laurel leaves. It has a scroll and ring attached. On one side it bears the inscription—"Oaraaru Grammar Sch.iol— Annie Liddle, Dux, Session, 1577 f and on the other, " Presented by Messrs. Fleming and Kedley."

There was a very good muster at the Philharmonic Society's practice last evening. The greater portion of Mozart's Twelfth Mass and several glees were gone through in a highly satisfactory manner. At the Danedin Police Court on Tnesday Jauv:s Harris was charged with having, at Oamaru on the 6th inst., embezzled the sum of 4?. belonging to Mr. Robert Smart. The crtbe was adjourned until to-day, pending the receipt of the warrant from this town. We are rennesscd to state that there will be no rehearsM of the Oamaru Chrystys to morrow evening, but members are desired to meet punctually at 7 o'clock on Monday evening in the Masonic Hall. At the Resident Magistrate's Conrt this morning, G. Sumptcr, Esq., J.P., was on the bench. Thomas Northmore wa3 charged with having been drank and disorderly yesterday morning in Thames-street, and was discharged with a .caution. Henry Sutherland was charged with having, on Tuesday night last, stolen a pocket-kook containing L 9 in money, fonr bank deposit receipts for LISO, LI 10, L 25, and LIS, sundry papers, and an American coin, belonging to a man named Erwin. The case was adjourned until to-morrow. An assault case was adjourned for a week. It is announced T>y advertisement in another column that the concert to be given in the Ngapara Schoolhouse in aid of.the school funds has been postponed until the I2th July, owing to the unfavorable weather and the bad state of the roads. \V"e trust the promoters will be favored with better weather on their next attempt to bring off a concert which promises to be highly successful.

To-morrow evening a meeting will be held at the Volunteer Hall at 8 o'clock, in connection with the early closing movement. Several gentlemen have promised to address the ir.-.-.ting, and the chair will be occupied by his Worship the Mayor. Mr. Rogan has been reinstated aa a judge of the Native Lands Court, owing to the necessity of his signature to various important documents in connection with his ofSce. This is one oE the faults of the Native department which has always been a menace to the Government. Many of those who have praised the administration of native affairs most have always been aware of Lhe difficulties that would some day arise when the countries position necessitated retrenchment. Judge Rogan is. of course, too good a man to resort to measures in order to be equal with the Government calcutited to create native disturbances ; hut there are a host of others in the same departm-.-iit wiio woiildsufferno conscientious squalms in d-ting so when they g?t their .walking iu-kefc, aud that day must scon come now.

! It is announced in anotiter column that the I weekly parade i>f No. 1 Company will be : di«continupd until further notice, aud that : there will i>e an inspection parade on Friday, | the 2Sth iust. ! The Toluntc-r Artillery Company, under i rommar.d of Captain Morton, will assemble ;tt the t-sual place for shell and ease practice, I on Saturday afternoou next, at 3 o'clock. An impudent robbery was perpetrated on Tuesday night at the Northern Hotel. Two men named Irwine and Sutherland had been drinking together during the evening, and beds having been secured'the two men were shown to their room. Shortly afterwards Sutherland appeared at the bar, and asked for a drink for Irwine. Ho then returned to the bedroom, but shortly afterwards disappeared, and on Irwine waking up he missed his pocket-book, containing L 9 and bank deposit receipts for LIS.3, besides a number of papers. Information was given to the police, the result being thai Sutherland was arrested at the North Otago Hotel, and the pocket-book, with all the papens and a portion of the monoy found upon him. The following alteration in railway rates are now in force :—All material required for the construction and maintenance of streets and roads to be carried at Is. per ton per mile,••with, a minimum charge of ss. per truck of live tons load. Miss'Fidler is likely to be as popular in j the North as she has been in Otago. The Napier Telegraph says :—"Probably there are a good many ladies in Napier who would be none the worse for & few lessons from Miss J'idler." \

Mr. Robin suggested at a meeting of the Education Board that all the School Committees should take joint action in appointing a member of the Board in the stead of Mr. De Lautonr. It is very good of Mr. Eobin to be so thoughtful, but it docs not much matter whether the new member be elected by the Board itself or by the School Committees. Nothing crra'd possibly bo more unsatisfactory than the manner in which the Board's business has been transacted iu the past. iidu-.-ation under their management, from whatever c;'.iise, is on tiie wane, and it will take something more than the choice of a member to eifeet an alteration. Schools are overcrowded with children, many of whom are wasting the best portions of their life-time,''ami ■ will continue to do so until the whole system is revised. A Title lias been issued to the PiakoLand Company under the Land Transfer Act. "We suppose that the name of the Pi&ko Swa»:p, which has been as a war cry for the last two or three sessions of Parliament, will be as sweet as any other name. The District Judgeship and Resident Magistracy of the Napier District has been offered to Judge Fenton of the Native Lands Court, Auckland. J:i accordance with the desire of a number 0: floriculturists, a stti-'g binder, in ' conucc-H-.i? v.i"h JVi'Oormick's reaper will arrive in (ho Colony in time for next sens- n. It appears, however, that it is impracticable to ! bind sheaves of j:r:'-in with string, as they swell when in the stook and burst their bonds. "Writing on the advantages of using doublefurrow ploughs, the Kangateiki Advocate says. "One of the best of these implements in said to be that manufactured by Rc-id and Gray, of Oatnaru and Dune-din. This part >f the Colony must be made by the plough.' Its occupiers cannot afford to lounge about on leggy, long-tailed, weedy hacks luokin:: nft'ir a few scabby sheep and humpbacked bullocks."

The Christ' hnrnh City Council, the othnr evening, du:i-<: a dt.-:cussi'"ii on advcrti:-::-ji. ■innni»n>!w!y admitted Hint, sines t'.iuy !■:■-* idwcr.is'd freely in each papeiythe nnir.'-er of render' :--c-.t in had greatly increased, and *.h--t a groat saving had I>es:u effected in eon:"fj;iynce of the additional competition. Klihn' Burritt, in a letter to the New York Tribune, takes the ground that the British Oovcrnmi-ut are undertaking :it this jr.neture to demon-ir.ito that tile British j**:nt/irn i.s a sdidaviij., and not an mass of interests eciittured over all divisions i-f the globe. If I'Jngkind is successful, Mr. Burrltt bciieves she can again establish her position as si military power. The population of India is 200,000,01'.'). "With the control of the Suez Canal and a ileefc in the Mediterranean, it would be possible for her to confront any Knropean power with iron-. 300.0110 to JOO.OOO Asiatic troops. Mr Burritt suggests that those would prove of valuable assistance should it ever be attempt-.-..: to annex Bek'ium to Franco, or should lSri;'isli interests be threatened by the absorption of Holland by Germany.