The Evening Mail. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE NEW ZEALAND AGRICULTURIST. MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 1879.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 868, 27 January 1879, Page 2

The Evening Mail. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE NEW ZEALAND AGRICULTURIST. MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 1879.

The Oamaeu portion of the Taranaki's immigrants arrived by the \\ aitakt yesterday afti'l'uooa, and were met at the breakwater by >tf. Kesfeeth. Itacraefe-maater. Judging by their cotidnct on landing, some of the new arrival's are not of the best class. Many of them were apparently mad with drink, and fish-ting and general scrimmages was freely iudutged in. both <>u the Breakwater and at the BarvaufcSv Mr. ffesketh an»t Sergeant Beatty. who was called in. each receiving some hard knocks in their efforts to establish order and get the refractory "new chums" pacified. tbae of the immigrants befumxt si? outrageously that he had to- he provided with »tctartur» in the lock-up. and commenced his colonial career by appearing f>efore the Resident JEagistrate this morning. Many of the new amvats appeared tf> be ot a destrabh' ctass. their conduct on landing forming a wonderful contrast to that ot' the others. The immigrants received are classified as follow* :—.Seven families*, two single girts, and thirty-sis single men. We understand that (taring Mr. t onyers" enforced absence from office, att correspondence in connection with the Commissioner of Kailwys' Pepartment wilt be eonditcteil by Mr. W. M. Bfannay, Secretary to the Commissioner.

The an anal meeting of srcbiwriWr* to the Osvtwww ffcwpitaf. for the of electing H'trl a *f for thf ye:M'. will; be hi-'li-l at the Mechanic Institute at sfvsno-Vtocfs te-moro>w evening. This evening the householders in the v-uriorts districts wiU W upon to elect .School Committee* tec the wtwol year. The meetings will W held at half-past sever, o'clecfc. in the different schoolrooms. that for piunaro being tisett to take place in the High Sehool. We have- no wseasion to give advice to householders-en the matter. Tlw different Committees have worked welt during the past year, and if niatters scholastic fi»v» not fxsett so satisfactory in sndi? instances as they might have been. th*s Wt has faift more with ttve ftlucation Hoard, which possesses the s»prem« power, than with thaw entrusted simply with a small amount of control owt tool affairs. There is one matter which we would point out to those who purpose- attending the meetings. Though they will he called upon to elect seven committeemen, it if not necessary that they should vote for that nnmbcr of candidate.*. On the contrary, a householder -.nay. if he so desires, give the irkfc of his V'i fits for one candidate-, hut in swell eases', according to art opinion given t>y the Hon. the- Attorney-teener:*!. it is necessary that the "oter should write- opposite the name of the candidate; the- number of votes which it is intended he should receive.

With a view- to spreading tin- cause ot temperance, a public meeting WttE he held at ffgapara to-morrow evening, at half-jiast seven t>'cto<-k- The meeting will take place in the school-room-, and addresses, interspersed with ternperatwe songs. will be delivered by the Rev. Mr. Kyley and other advocates of tIW canatr. Admission is free, and all are invited to attend.

ft is scarcely necessary to remind the i ptthlic that this evening the Kcv. J. W. : fnglis will deliver a tectnre on "The songs i and masic of Scotland," in the \ olunteer | Halt. Tlw rev. lecturer. as we have already : said, has obtained golden opinions wherever : he has lectured, an.l when we mention the fact that he has front e-nrtly been brought into comparison with the Ke<. Charles I'larfc. and that, too, in very favorable light, we have said enough to show that he possesses talents of a high order as a public lecturer. The subject he lias j&oacu for his 4iwourse is one that should command ths sympathy of every true Scotchman, and should also prove interesting to those who claim other portions of Great Britain as their homes. Besides, tits rev. gentleman has something to say of colonial jpterest, the peroration of bis lecture being devoted to " th* Colonies and their future."

Tie fortnightly meeting of the Commercial Boihiing Society will be held this evening, at the tu«al hour.

[ Wc have received »ver*l letter# with | reference to the state of the Oatnaru baths. | One correspondent writes that the water is in irech a filthy state that yesterday no less than ten gentlemen who had proposed indulging in baths were forced to give up the j idea, so far as the enclosure waa concerned, jsusd content themselves with swimming in ; the »urf. As some of those present : wer« holders of ar.nual tickets, their disgust at the state of afijirs presented may be easily imagined. Oar correspondent states that the water is quite brown and dirty. This, he says, is owing to the fact that water » not pntnpcd in regularly every day, and that the baths are not cleaned often enough. Several complaints have also been made to njt with rcfe ence to the admission of known prostitutes to the baths while ladie3 are bathing. These things arc scarcely creditable to those concerned, and wc commend the matter to the attention of the manager. The outward San Francisco mail will close at the Oamartj Post Office at 11.15 a.m. on Friday next.

The organisation of a Fire Police wonld be a step in the right direction, and assist greatly any volunteer fire company in their efforts to save property, besides preventing larrikins from the wholesale destruction they generally manage to jierjietrate. We arc informed that the mob at the lire on Saturday night were not contented with mak ingarigh t-of-way of the grounds attached to St. Luke's Church, throtigh which they swarmed to the scene of the conflagration, but they also heedlessly trampled under foot the shrubs and flowers wbteh came in their way. Seme of them attempted to pull down a fence in order to gain admittance to a hack yard, not by any warts on a direct line to the fire. Worst of atf, a madman armed with an nv, sought to break in the top of a water-tank, much to the disgust of its proprietor, who had no small difficulty in stopping him. The S o'clock Evangelistic meeting last night was addressed l>y Mr. M'Fec, of Dunevlin, anil reference was made more than once to Mr. Henry Varley, and to his present mission. The attendance was good, notwithstanding the intense heat.

Intending tenderer* for the erection of a post office and telegraph station at Dnntroon shoald bear in mind that tenders should be lodged in the Public Works Office, Dunedin, by noon of Wednesday next. The following players have been selected to practice for the representation of Otago in the cricket match with Canterbury J. Austin. W. J. Craws haw, G. H. Clark, E. J. I 'oltinoon. A. Cargill, A\. G. Dixon, \\. Doitglaa. F. Fulton, A. Glen, O. H. Haskell, W. Glasgow, G. Faramor, H. MacXeil, H. Rose. •!. I*. Spring, E. S. Vernon. The whole ot' these arc members of Ditnedin clubs, and it appears that the Selection Coinmittcu do not deem it necessary to look beyond the boundaries of the city for players. The match wilt b«; played on the JOth of ebmary.

Southland does not appear to be a very good field for new arrivals. The Western Monarch immigrants arc not going off. Up to yesterday faays the Southland Times) only eleven males anil five females had been en.'.TZed, while there remain in the barracks ;tf>ottt thirty or forty single men, five or six .•uisgti* wt-tnen, and the whole of the forty-two tamtliesj included in the shipment. The rates » far have ruled from L-1S to L 52 a year for fann laborers, aboct 25s per week for ploughmen. and L2O to DO per year for genera! servants.

The Pitncdin Star says :—-Steps arc now hetng taken for the formation of a United Kingdom Alliance lor New Zealand. The project was first seriously discussed at a conference held at Wellidgton a short time since, when the Hon. W. Fox. Dr. Ilosehy. Mr. .f. W. .lago. Mr. .1. A. I). Adams, and other leaders of the teni|)crancc movement were present. Mr. Jago agreed to act as Secretary, and aa an outcome of the conference a circular letter has been addressed to gentlemen in the various towns throughout N'ew Zealand, soliciting their co-0[»e ration, and so soon 33 replica have been received step* are to be taken for floating the Alliance.

.V-t will be observed by a telegram which appears in this issuer, Messrs. J. and T. Meek intend to extend their business considerably. and with this object ill view hav»completed arrangements for taking over and re-ojieninsj a Hour mill in Wellington, which hat been closed for sonic time. The intention. it is stated, of the new proprietor* i.to grind all the wheat obtainable from tin-Rangitikei-Manawatu district, where it is said about 1000 tons are grown every season in psccof what can be worked off in tin ordinary channels.

A fonrteen year old was a witness in a resent divorce suit. Mid a portion of her evidence was as follows : —" Father got mad beijaitse mother starched his stockings. Mother picked up the stockings and hit father on the head with them, and it sounded as though they were sticks of wood. Father then stuffed a hot wheat cake down mother*.throat, then mother set the dog on father, and twisted the dog's tail to make him bite harder."

An amusing instance of the absurdity of the employment of the pronoun "we" by lawyers when speaking of their clients occurred, says the Post, at the Kcsident Magistrate's Court, during the hearing of an action for breach of agreement. Mr. Mansford having inquired what the defence to the ease was, Mr. OHivier naively r«plie<l : "Wcdeny that there was any agreement, and if there was any writing actually signed by us, wc say that «re icere In a stale of hitoxirulion at the time, and we are not bound by it."

A contemporary relates the following story:—A facetious railway guard on the Otago trunk line lately cried out as the train was about to enter a tunnel, "This is one mile Jong, anil the train will be four minutes passing through it." The train dashed tlmurgh into daylight again in four seconds, and the scene within the carriage was a study for a |>ainter. Two young ladies were closely pressed by two pair of masculine arms, four pairs of lips were glued together, and three liijtior ila-ika, held by bucolic matrons, flashed in the air.

An amusing incident occurred a few evenings ago, in which a "Heathen Chinee" was a promising actor. As he was passing a grocers window in Willis-street his eye caught a large colored picture of a woman washing a negro boy in a tub. The pro- | prietGr of the shop, seeing he was greatly | taken with «t, asked him if he would like it© go through the kmuc process of being washed white aud uiade an Englishman. '•John," with a Warning countenance, assented at once. Sq he was invited to enter and ordered to unrobe. He set to work with apparent joy, and prepared for the ordeal. TTie proprietor thenl>aiicJ)ijn knee} dpwn and cover his head with a towel, and then sonje fjcrar and water was applied with vigour, and well rubbed in; a second person next appeared with a Jargg knife and saw, and told " John " to Iks rerf (juiet, 49 Jip was about to |

start from his neck and take the yellow hide off him. "John " did not like the sound £o the knife sharpening, so he jumped up, and the sight of the operator's formidable appeari ahce so terrified him that he broke into a howl of broken English, and did not wait for the end of the washing process. He was last seen with his coat and waistcoat under his arm Taking for the Wairarapa.—Wellington Port.

Mr. Saakey has arrived in England o.nce more. His former visit? have been so profitable that he is about to commence another singing tour through the provinces. Earnestness always commands a certain amount of respect, but starring mission tours and ballad prayers savor to some minds rather of speculative irreverence than religious enthusiasm. —Exchange.

Some lucky miners at Dunolly have "struck it heavy." For twelve years the Queen's Birthday Company have kept on exploring for the rich reef which the instinct of the true miner told them was somewhere there or thereabouts. Their fortunes ran so low th'at at one time the manager could not get credit for a few loads of firewood. Last year L 78.000 was paid in dividends.

From a late American exchange we learn the following whereabouts of several public characters who are well known in the Colonies : Signor and Signora Majerona were playing in New York; Mr. J. K. Emmet (Fritz) played to crowded houses at Titusville, Pennsylvania; Signor Susini, lima de Murska, and Levy (the cornet player) were giving popular concerts to good houses at the Brooklyn Theatre, New York : Mrs. Scott-Siddons was playing in New York; Johnny Gourlay (of the G n 'irlay Family) was with the Salisbury Troubadours in St. Louis in December.

It was proved, at the Bow-street Police Court, recently, that at a public-house near Lincoln's Inn Fields an Italian, named Cortcsi, agreed to have himself put up to auction, and that, aftersome lively bidding on the part of several of the foreign workmen employed at the new Law Courts, he and the clothes he wore and a watch and chain were knocked down to an Austrian for L 4 ss. The money was paid over, and a general drink and a dispute followed. In the affray a Oerman stonemason was cut on the head, and for the assault an Italian stonemason was yesterday committed for trial. What had become of the man who sold himself, or of the purchase money, did not appear.