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Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 980, 10 June 1879, Page 2

The adjourned meeting of - the Oommitteeof the North Otago Benevolent Society was held last evening, when there was a fallattendance of memliers. The only-business of importance brought forward was the consideration of the sub-Committee's report on relief, which has already been published. The first of the two main suggestions contained in the report was that the Society's stores should be purchased wholesale, and deposited in the Home, to be dispensed by the barrack-master only on the order of the secretary,' acting under instructions from the Visiting Committee. Considerable discussion took place upon this, those who favored the suggestion arguing that not only would the goods be obtained at a cheaper rate, and that by keeping only those things which come under the denomination of necessaries, a greater check would, be kept upon those receiving relief, tho dispensing of relief in ■ the,) 'direction aimed at by the Society. On the other side it was urged that the system of compelling those receiving relief to congregate at the Home would frustrate one of the objects of the Society—that of dispensing relief in as quiet and unostentatious a manner as possible. At present, persons receiving relief were unknown to each other, and their indigent positions were not paraded before the public; but under the system proposed, this state of affairs- could not .be hoped for, and the self-respect of those receiving relief , would be endangered.! The other principal suggestion was that the north wing of the Home should lie set' for. the accommodation of. indigent :and infirm' patients. Against this it was urged-: that receiving pauper? into the institution wotdd be a dnngerotis proceeding, as it would tend to create a pauper class. It was eventually decided that it was inexpedient to adopt the suggestions in the report. At St. Joseph's Church, Dunedin, on Sunday, Bishop Moran mentioned that a tender for the first portion of the work in connection with the new cathedral had been accepted, the amount being L 3970. The total amount of subscriptions received up to the present time was L2,GSI, of which LIS74 10s had been expended. The balance, LSOi» Ms (id, had been added, and the amount now in hand was LIOOO. The amount of the sum first promised "was L 3.500, and the second L' 2,700, making a total of L 0,200. The sum of L 2,651 14s'6d had been paid, and the balance could be paid at the congregation's convenience. As soon as the funds were exhausted, it was intended to stop work.

The Waimate Steeplechases will take place to-morrow. Single fare tickets will he issued by the Railway Department from all stations between Timaru ami Oamavu, available for return on clay of issue only. Should the weather be fine, we have 110 doubt a very enjoyable flay will lie spent, and, judging from the entries for the various events, there should be some closely contested races. The course is everything that could-be desired for steepleehasing, having Weil kindly placed at the disposal of the Clnb'byjMr. M. Studliolme. The usual weekly meeting' of the St. Panl's Association was held last evening, but thero was. only a small attendance, and Mr. Allan occupied the ,chanv . Sir, Molb'son read a paper on "Labor," by Mr. James Miller, and was listened to with great attcuilip< ■: - ■ tion. Some discussioa;afterwards took place, and the meeting clSjitxL'' The.programme for next week's meeting will consist of readings and recitations. ' 1

We understand that the agent for the South British Company has paid -the claims of Messrs. Moirand Son and Messrs. Tudhope and Hendry. The other day the great Maori chief, Rewi, wotdd have inspected the Auckland Volunteers but for the " inclemency of the weather," which he feared would destroy his complexion. He was very devout during the service at St. Paul's Episcopalian Church, for he belongs to the Church of England. The logical utterances of the preacher were to him a feast of reason, which at times melted him to tears, and, although being physically hungry, his mind ' began to wander back, as the service proceeded to its close, to the tit bits he had seotfed at the close of many a melee, and which were kindly provided by his enemies • yet he sat the service out, and smiled and looked grave to the end, as occasion required. Greyinouth rejoices in the excellence of her coal. The local paper endeavors to show that Mr. Genever, of Dunedin gas fame, is the only man that opposes the use of tirey mouth coal for gas-making purposes, and states that their coal is in favor elsewhere throughout the Colony, and in parts of Australia. The fact that Greymoutli coal is superior to all other coal as a gasr producer portends great prosperity for Greymouth when her coal measures are fully opened np, and a trade established. We only now require good coal for ocean going steamers, which will without doubt be discovered before long, and the utilisation of the iron o-e and sand that are so plentiful throughout the Colony, added to our wool, grain, and. other industries, and our substantial prosperity will be assured. The following advertisement,. appears in the Timaru Herald, and is a remarkably true indication of the hardness of the times : —"All accounts due to this office which have been outstanding any ,'ength of time, if not settled ht once will be sued fcfr without further notice. Tiinaru Herald office, Oth May, 1579-" We have no doubt.as tp the meaning of the above; but will "tlie debtors understand it? What does ".'any length of time" mean, and where will debtors draw the line between that and n,b length of time. We wish the Herald success, bnt'our bitter experience is that some debtors •ire the dullest of people. The longer the enn of their indebtedness the greater-the leniency extended to them —the better entitled they seem to think themselves to the money earned and demanded, until, at la3t, their imagination being to'o.strong for. their honesty, thoy repudiate liability. But, although we shonld like to . get a fffw hundreds of the thousands due • tp as iji

small amounts all over the country, we are ashamed to ask subscribers and advertisers to oblige ns, and certainly we would not be so extremely cruel as to insert such a notification as that contained in the Timaru Herald. Of course there are some bad—very bad—debtors, but there are some very conscientious ones, who only require a hint to ensure their liquidating their debts by postoffice orders, stamps, or /cheques. The settlers-of this-'district are mainly o^ the. latter description we are sure , * . j,Colonel W. K. Stuart tells the following story of a Scotch subaltern : at Gibraltar. The latter was , one day on guard.:; with another officer, who a precipice of four hundred feet, arid was'killed. Non-military readers should understand that in the guards' reports there is a small addendum—"N.B. : Nothing extraordinary: since- guard - mountings ifTHe "meaning of this is that, in case 'anything .particular _ .should., occur, manding the guard is bound to mention it. Our friend, however, said nothing ab<iiit the accident. that. had occurred to liis.-.JbSPJ&eE. officer; and some hours after the BngadeMajor came; to his quarters on behaif r bf the officer commanding, with the report iffhis hand, to demand an explanation. The Brigade-Major, addressing him, said, "You say, sir, in your report, 'N.B. : Nothing extraordinary since guard mounting,' when your brother officer, on duty with you has fallen down a precipice of four hundred feet, and been killed." "We el, sir," replied B—, "I dinna think there's onytljing in it extraordinary ava'; if he'd faun doon a precipice four hundred feet and 11a been killed, I should hae thought it vary extraordinary indeed, and would hae put it doon in my report."