The Oamaru Mail WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE NEW ZEALAND AGRICULTURIST. WEDNESDAY, MAY 21 1879.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 963, 21 May 1879, Page 2

The Oamaru Mail WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE NEW ZEALAND AGRICULTURIST. WEDNESDAY, MAY 21 1879.

The railway work in connection with the grain season in this district is nearly over. Whilst the weekly demand for trucks in the thick of the season reached 500 per week, last week it reached only half that number, and this week it is almost down to zero. The climate of this colony is very accommodating, for it may almost be said that the same rolling that did duty in the north of this island during the late grain season has been gradually transferred south, and is now on its way to Invercargill, in order to perform the work for that district which it has just performed here. The operations of the railway department in connection with the harvest which is just passing away, have been carried on so smoothly that we had almost forgotten that the season was nearly over. This has been a pleasant change from former years. The transportation of grain to this port from upcountry for the two seasons prior to this, was marked by so much turmoil and dissatisfaction that it became obvious that some antidote should be administered, and Mr. Conyers discovered an efficacious one when he decided to appoint an inspector of waggons for each railway district. We commented favorably upon this system at the time it wa3 instituted, and experience has proved that we were warranted in doing so. That trucks were scarce could not be disputed, but it has now been demonstrated beyond cavil that the troubles arose not from scarcity only, but from want of effective administration. Cntter the otd regime there was too much referring to head »[uarters. and consequent local irresponsibility. The real parties to be blamed were the head officials, I tf anv parties were to be blamed at alt; but these officials eontd be expected to be able to glean anything approaching the exact requirements of each district from memoranda or tetegrams. Under the amended state of matters each railway district waggon inspector is responsible for the proper conduct of the traffic within his district, and if any imperfections should occur, he is expected t» be able to give a good account of himself. We have referred to this subject with the idea of showing that by investing local officials with additional power increased efficiency is obtained ; and by systematic decentralisation increased efficiency would be obtained in everything else connected with the railway, as well as in the conduct of the grain traffic. Messrs. Cargitls, Otbfis, and Co., is the firm with which the Council has arranged to float the LtO.OflO loan. Although the proceeds will not be to hand for four or five months, the Council has bit upon a plan by which it is to be hoped that the Waterworks operations will be continued. The charter parties of the Letterfonre and the Hudson, which were to load with produce at this port, have Ijeen cancelled. Two other Teasels will be sent here in their stead, by Messrs. P. Cunningham and Co., during next week.

The tenders of Mr. Donald M'Kenzie, of Dnnedin. has been accepted for the formation of Wtngatni section of the Otago Central Railway, better known 03 the Strath-Taieri tine. The amount of the contract 13 L 45.539, the next lowest on the list being Messrs. Proudfnot and M'Kay, L 49.650. It would seem from the following letter that the opening of the Telegraph Office between the hours of 5 and 7 is not a permanent arrangement, and is liable to be discontinued if it does not prove remunerative. Those who are ttesirons of seeing the arrangement continued, and for whose especial convenience the concession was granted, should take as much care as possible that the Government docs not lose by it: Head Office, Wellington, May 10, 1579. To G. Sumpter, Esq., Oamaru.—Sir, —l have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of year letter of the 3rd instant, requesting that the Oanuutt office may be kept open I

between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., and am instructed by the Hon. the Telegraph Commissioner to inform yon that the Oamaru office will, from Monday next, be kept cpen during the hours above mentioned. This extension is, however, only a temporary one, and if it ia found that the work between 'those hours is not remunerative, the original hours will be resorted to. —I have, Jtc., H. T. >lAorxsrrr, Assistant Secretary." A meeting of the members of the Oamaru Cliristys will be held at the Royal Hotel, to-morrow evening. Entries for the Canterbury Coursing Club's Birthday Meeting close this evening. Mr. Wrips, engineer of the borough of Timaru, died yesterday, of inflammation of the bowels. Mr. Anstead's Windsor Honse School will re-open on the 27th instant. "We direct the attention of Volunteers to an order by the Major commanding, giving particulars as to the proceedings for the Queens Birthday. It will be observed that the U3ual salute and J'ni ilejoit will be fired at eight o'clock in the morning, this arrangement having doubtless been made in order to enable Volunteers to attend the .Steeplechase meeting, to take place on the same day. A congregational meeting was held in St. Paul's Church on Tuesday evening to consider the question of continuing the Fast Day in connection with the observance of the Lord's Supper. After devotional exercises, Mr. Todd explained the object of the meeting, and read the resolution of Synod of IS7S, which declares that it is the function of sessions to make all arrangements in connection with the observance of the Lord's Supper, and recommends that in any action they may take they have due regard to the voice of the congregation, as well as to the circumstances of the district in which it is situated. After several members had expressed their opinion on the subject, the following resolution was almost unanimously adopted:—"That in view of the altered circumstances of the town and neighborhood, this congregation resolve to agree to the proposal to discontinue the Fast Day in connection with the observance of the Lord's .Supper, and to substitute a preparatory evening service instead." Ivanhoe has been scratched for the Grand National Steeplechase Cup. At a meeting of creditors in the estate of Mr. \V. Aitken, held at the C'ourt-house today, the creditors agreed to accept Ss. in the pound. A division of the Sons and Daughters £, Temperance was instituted last evening in the Tees-street Hall, and it was decided that the name of the division should be the Phrvnix. The instituting 'ofiicers were Bro. Stirling, D.G.W.P.; Bro. Cameron, G.W.A. ; and Bro. Fry, G.C. Fourteen gentlemen having been duly initiated, the following office-bearers for the first term were elected and duly installed : —Bro. Hamilton, W.P. ; Bro. Kilpatrick, W.A.; Bro. Kennedy, R.S.; Bro. Oliver, F.S. ; Bro. Mayhew, Treasurer ; Bro. Bradbury, Chaplain ; Bro. C'ouper, A.R.S. ; Bro. Smith, Conductor : Bro. Saunders, A.C. ; Bro. Flaherty, F.S. ; Bro. Taylor, O.S. A committee was appointed to arrange the night and place for the next meeting, and a vote of thanks having been accorded to the Grand Division officers for their attendance and services, tiie division closed.

From some unaccountable cause we have received no account of the South Canterbury Coursing Club's meeting held in Peel Forest yesterday from the Press Association, and, what makes it more strange, is that not a word regarding the day's sport appears in the Tiniaru Herald. From a private source, however, we learn that Mr. Konavne's slut Kathleen ran three undecided courses, but in the next course was put out by Tetnuka. The Bank of New South Wales will closs their agency at Balclutha on the 2Gth inst. The National Bank, it is stated, takes over the business.

The Timaru Herald says :—" A consideralilo number of people assembled yesterday forenoon to witness the trial of the Harbor Works crane, which was announced to take place at 11 a.m. The crane lifted and tra- ! veiled with 40 tons easily, but on CO : tons being put on the chains, one of the ■ cirdera broke where it was attached to the hinder part of the crane. Work on the I'ireakwatcr will, in consequence, be stopped ' for about a fortnight, by which time Mr. Anderson expects to have the crane iu full ' working order again." A person who witnessed the trial states that the disappoint- : merit caused by the mishap was intense. The fjan Francisco mail brings information of an encouraging nature to growers of wheat in this part of the world. The winter in : Hrtginttd and America has been unusually severe, the consequence being that the autumn sown wheat in both countries has been more or less injured. In its issue of March IT the Mark Line Express says "On well-drained soils the winter sown wheat does not appear to have suffered to any great extent from the rigorous weather of the past two months, but on low-lying lands, where the surface water has lieen turned to ice iu the furrows and natural depressions, it will probably be discovered that material damage has resulted." A week later the same journal reports : " There is very little change to call for remark in the state of the autumn-sown cereals, which have made slight progress by reason of the ungenial character of the, weather."

The Auckland Herald says:—"We learn that pheasants are more plentiful this year than they were last season, and some very good sport has been obtained. It is to be regretted, however, that sportsmen grow more selfish year by year, and what becomes of their well-filled bags is a mystery, as they now appear to forget some time-honored and exemplary customs. It never was the fashion to send pheasants tc newspaper people, because they do not appreciate luxuries, but it used to be the custom by "good old sports" to remember some of our public institutions, and occasionally to think of the good old colonist to whom we are all indepted for the yearly sport afforded us. We may hint, in the faintest possible manner, that Mr. Henderson has done more for sportsmen in NewZealand than any other colonist, and the fact should not be forgotten. He ought to receive yearly some kind of ' thank offering' for the days and weeks of enjoyment he has afforded the public." Yes, and what about the poor editor whose mouth watered as he wrote the above paragraph ?