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Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 989, 20 June 1879, Page 2

The exDreas train was detained for over an hour to-day. in consequence of the breakage of one of the eccentric rods of one of the engines when the train wa3 about a mile north of Dumnore station.

A report was circulated in town this afternoon that a boat or some wreckage was being washed ashore, while some even went so ■ far as to say thej coaltl see two men in the boat. The object in question wa3 apparently some staging connected with the harbor works, which had been washed away by the heavy sea rolling over the Breakwater.

[ A coronal inquiry was licltl at the Nor- ! theru .Hotel to-day on the body of John i who jwsis fotttul drowned otT the ! Breakwater yesterday, before <t-jorge Sutnpter Ksq.. Acting-Coroner, ami a jury of 12. of whom Mr. K. A. Halting was chosen foreman. Inspector Thompson conducted the mrjrtest. and the first witness called was Alexander M'Lean. station manager at < Waikakahi, who deposed that he recognised the hody as that of John M'Gregor. and had hvst seen him at the Oratid National Steeplechase Meeting held in Oamarn on the 24th May last. Deceased then told witness that that he was going home to Scotland. Jeremiah Markhani. of the Queen's Hotel, recognised the hodv by the clothes. He last saw htm alive on the'iTTth or 'JSth inst., when he said he was going to the steamer. H. B. Laxon deposed to finding the body floating near the Breakwater. Sergeant Jfeatty had searched the body and found cheqncs, deposit receipts, and money, and also an unopened tfask of whiskey. Inspector Tliomp son gave evidence as to the identifying of the deposit receipts found on the body by i the agent of the Bank of New South "Wales

at Clyde. The jury, without retiring, returned a verdict of " Found drowned in the Oamarn Harbor, but there was no evidence to show how he got there." We tremble lest we have only escaped the paw 3 of the lion to be disposed of by jackals. Not long since we were very nigh imprisonment for writing the truth—or as much of the truth as we dared to divulge—in the public interest; now we are threatened with the same punishment for an alleged offence which also arose out of a conviction that it was our duty to write the truth. Night and day we fancy we can hear the manacles clanking, a heavy door swinging on its hinges, and the unmusical, grinding noise produced by a turnkey. 1 hese are gaol accompaniments ; but we are on the right side of the wall. Those who are inside are not newspaper men. They have the paraphernalia for thimble-rigging, and other humbug. It was very kind of the Sun to cheer us by the following:—" Thorn and his brother Illusionists have entered an action for damages against the Oamaru Mail, for an article published by that paper, in which thi v were called 1 tricksters," and :l good deal more. The Mail is higlily pleased, and intends, I hear, making things lively for Thorn ; disillusioning him, in fact." It has, we believe, been found necessary to postpone for a short time the entertainment to be given for the purpose of providing funds to liquidate certain liabilities in connection 'with the Volunteer Hall. The performance will be given on Friday evening, 4th July, instead of this night week. The programme will include vocal and instrumental music by members of the Philharmonic Society, and the farce of *' A Dead Shot," by dramatic amateurs. We understand that another effort is about to be made to form a Dramatic Club. Already a large number of amateurs have signified their desire to join such a club, and a meeting will shortly be held to take the necessary preliminary steps towards the formation of one.

A number of our citizens were to-day dodging the policemen, dreading lest they would be called upon to serve on to-day's jurv. The appearance of a blue uniform almost a quarter of a mile distant was, 111 some instances, a signal for a stampede. But none resorted to the extreme measure once adopted by a resident of Port Chalmers, lie had dodged a policeman until cornered, as the pursuer thought, by the waters of the lwrlior. Not so, however. The affrighted pursued one waded into the water up to his shoulders and invited the policeman to " come on."

A meeting of the Oamaru Christys was held last evening, at the Royal Hotel, when the following members were present:— Mitchell (in the cliair), Earle, Halland, M 'Corkindalo, Pheloung, G. Smith, and Walls (Hon. Secretary). Messrs. Lord, G. Ncwey, Triphook, Finley, and Fraser were elected members, and it was decided to commence operations at once. Mr. Mitchell was re-elected stage manager, but the appointment of a conductor, and secretary and treasurer was held over until the next meeting. Messrs. Halland, Earle, M'Corkindalc, and G. Booth were appointed a Committee, and it was decided that the Committee should endeavor to obtain the services of a pianist. It was arranged that the first practice should be held on Monday evening, at Mr. Earlc's rooms, and every member is requested to attend. Ihe company promises to be a very strong one, and will probably number some twenty member.".

The lecture delivered in the Volunteer Hall Inst evening by the Itev. C. J. Byng, under the auspices of the \oung Men s Christian Association, wad unquestionably one of the best that has ever been given in Oamarti. Though the subject—"Mental Phenomena, as illustrated by instinct and reason"—appeared 011 the face of it to be a very dry one, it was handled in such a manner as to fully engage the attention of the .itirlicnco, which was a very good one, all thing 3 being considered. It would be impossible within our limited space to give anything like a satisfactory resume of the lecture, and, indeed, the discourse was of that interesting kind that doe 3 not admit of curtailment without considerable injustice being done to the lecturer. For this reason wc refrain from attempting to give an outline of the lecture. Snfiice it to say, therefore. that Mr. Byng gave a clear and easily understandable exposition of the subject ; that from first to last he kept up the interest of his hearera by never himself losing sight of the subject or burying it in a mass of abstruse arguments and mystifying language. At times he was eloquent, and his peroration could not easily have been excelled. The lectnre was full of interesting comparisons and anecdotes, each having some effect in supporting the arguments of the lecturer. At the conclusion of the address a hearty vote of thanks was accorded to the rev. gentleman. The President of the Association (Mr. Milligan), who presided, then announced that the next lectnre of the season would be given by the Kcv. Mr. Tinsley, of Port Chalmers, whose subject would be " Scotland and her Sons.'' The Rev. Mr. Dewsbury having pronounced the benediction, the audience dispersed.