The Oamaru Mail WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE NEW ZEALAND AGRICULTURIST. MONDAY DECEMBER 22, 1879.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1150, 22 December 1879, Page 2

The Oamaru Mail WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE NEW ZEALAND AGRICULTURIST. MONDAY DECEMBER 22, 1879.

Ttie pt«bi->oite of the ratepayer*, in accordance with Che Oamaro Waterworks Act, passed (taring ths session just closed, will iw taken next Wttlneaday. It is to he hoped that the ratepayers will not show any apathy in this matter. The greater the number of signatures the more easily will the toan he floated. There was a good attendance at the rooms of Messrs. For*! and Co. on Friday last, when Eakhante was offered for sale, bnt there waa not a single bid. We hear that it ta Itfcely that the property will sell privately, as was the case with Seadown. A tetter was received to-day by the Secretary of the Benevolent Society, from the Chairman of the Waste Lands Board, stating that it had been reported that some of the cottages that were supposed to be used as homes for the destitute were hoti3cs of til fame, and asking whether it would not he desirable, in order to abate the nuisance for the Board to sell the sections on which the cottages are placed. In the first place lit far news to us that the cottages referred to are being used for axtch a disreputable purpose, and in the second place, we fait to see by what authority the "Waste Lands Board has interfered, with the design of suppressing the supposed evil. The sections were ceded to the Benevolent Society, as an tender the North Otago Benevolent Society's Act, and the Society holds the Crown grant for the same. By what process of reasoning does the Board make good its jurisdiction over the property • A very brilliant meteor was observed on Saturday evening travelling from east to west. It was distinctly risible for about four seconds, when it broke, dividing into three etjual parts and disappeared, the effect being realty grand. A scratch match wa3 played by members of the Oamaro Cricket Club on Saturday afternoon, the sidc3 being chosen by Messrs. Rice and G. Fen wick. The latter's side were victorious. * Messrs. G. Sumpter, Rice, G. Borton, and Balmerwere the only players who got into double figures. The members of the Excelsior Cricket Club contented themselves with a scratch match on Saturday afternoon. The sides were chosen by Messrs. Moore and Bannerman. the former ■winning by 44 runs. The highest scorers on the victorious side were | Marshall 2 and 39 not out, and Moon 14 and lt>. Cooke played well for the losing side. Mr. James Gibson, n shepherd employed at Station Peak, called upon tis this morning, and requested us to bear testimony to the fact that he has been enred of almost total deafness by Professor Wallenbnrg. He had been more or less deaf for 30 years, bnt for the last 20 years his hearing had been getting I gradually worse. Ten days ago Mr. Gibson placed himself under tho treatment of the Professor, and has so far recovered that he experiences no difficulty in hearing ordinary conversation. At the same time Professor Watlenburg introduced to ti3 Mr. William M'Kenzic, another patient, and a son of the late Mr. M'Kenzic, of Kakantii. He had been so deaf for 13 years that lie had been nnable to hear ordinary sounds. On Saturday last he became a patient of the Professor's, and obtained immediate relief. His hearing is now as perfect as could be desired. Mr. Brownlce's singing class gave an open night on Friday evening last, as a termination to their quarter's work. The piece given, was " The start in life," a temperance story, interspersed with appropriate songs. The recitations were nicely given by the Rev. Mr. Barley. The music opens with a vigorous chorus "Courage, Brother," and closes with the chorale "Let all men praise the Lord." Among the prettiest of the pieces is "Our good old friends,™ "There is beauty all around," " Never forget the dear ones," " Have courage to say no," " Lead | us not into temptation," and " Truth shall he victorious." The work as a whole is an improvement npon services of song. We understand that the class will resume work towards the middle of January, and will continue to be under the auspices of the Oamartt Yoong Men's Christian Association. Professor Wallenburgh has been compelled to further delay his departnre from Oamaro in order to meet the demands of his patients. Hie date of his departure will be duly announced. A cotrcspondent, writing from Maheno, aaj-a I am thinking that if one of the country members crossed, or rather tried to crotu, the Kakanui stream just now, something would be dooe to hurry on the repairs to the bridge. During the last flood the Island stream has made a new channel, and

where the track once was there is now a sadden fall of three feet, which is near the junction of the two itrcani3. Anyone having crossed a month ago at this spot would probably try again, and run the risk of losing his life. I know of s«*verrl narrow escapes from drowning from lli:3 cause. I think that the contractor should us-: a little more energy, and put forth a little extra effort to complete the repairs. There is no reason why he should not do so. Mails for Sydney, per Ringarooma, cloße at Auckland at 2 p.m. to-morrow. On Saturday last the annual prizes were presented to the deserving scholars of tl: •• Maheno School by the Chairman and Secreretary. There was an entire absence of the festivities which are usually, observed on such occasions, out of respect to the tv.'o inucb-esteemed pupil teachers who lately met their death by drowning. The Committee have decided not to fill up the vacancies until after the Christmas holidays. The shearer who met with an accident at Mr. Gibson's station is in a very critical state, as he i 3 suffering from delirium. The accident occurred whilst he was shearing, a sheep having rnn against the butt of the shears, and driven them into his lung 3. His name is Daniel Jones. He has been brought into Oamani, and is now under the care of Dre. dc Lautour and Young. The eighth concert of the Oamarn Philharmonic Society will be given to-morrow evening at the Volunteer Hall, wlieu the licst portions of Handel's Messiah will be performed by a good chorus and a number of soloists. The performance will not be long enough to be tedious, as, by omitting a few of the heavier choruses, it should be over by about 10 o'clock. We notice by a recent English paper that in the course of a letter to a friend respecting certain statements made by Captain Barry, of New Zealand, with regard to the Claimant, Mr. Guilford Onslow remarks " Captain Barry has seen the Claimant, and he instantly recognised him as an old friend in Australia, known to him as Thomas C'a3tro, the companion of one Arthur Orton, who was also well known to Captain Barry Captain Barry's evidence not only goe3 to prove tlie prisoner and Arthur Orton to be two distinct individuals, but proves Thomas Castro was known by that name so far back as 1557. . . . . In short, Captain Barry's evidence tracts the whole Tichborne trial, and if there is a spark of justice in the present Government, the Claimant ought to l>e immediately released." Tlie London correspondent of the Melbourne Argus writes :—" The Governor of South Wales I*3 represented to have stated that, before leaving London, the Prince of Wales had signified his desire and intention to visit the Sydney Exhibition ere it closed. About his Royal Highness' desire we may feel satisfied, but he has assuredly no intention of visiting Australia before the commencement of 1 SSI, and his going out then, so as to be present at your Exhibition is still undecided. Indeed, the matter cannot be settled definitely one way or the other for months to come, and depends on a variety of circumstances, over which no control can at present be exercised. The Prince has expressed his extreme desire on several occasions to visit Australia, and if it can be arranged for the beginning of the year after next it will be done. Meantime, the Sydney Exhibition is not likely to be honored by his presence." It is a curious coincidence (says a London journal) that by the deaths of two ofiicers —one in the Cabul, and the other in the Zulu campaign—the Catholics have gained two peerages. These were Lord Ossulion and the Hon. E. Wyatt Edgell. Both were elder sons and Protestants, and the second sons arc, as it happens, in both cases " verts." Tlie death of Alexander Hess, the French painter, is announced. He was working at a picture to be entitled " The Last Judgment," destined for next year's Salon, when death overtook him. He succeeded, in ISG7, to Ingre's seat in the Institute. Some idea may be formed of the extent of railway traffic in the United Kingdom from the following figures for tlie week (extracted from the Economist) ending October 3rd : "Tlie receipts upon mileage of 15,C39A amounted to LI, 194,770, being equal to L 76 Ss per mile. For the corresponding week of last year the receipts were L 1,255,306; the number of miles open 15,5155, or LSI 2s per mile. A comparison of the two weeks shows a decrease in the aggregate receipts of LG3.536, and an increase in the number of milc3 open of 123. In a cricket match recently played between East Melbourne and Tasmania the astonishing total of 742 was put together by the former in one innings. The scores were as follow: —Musgrove, 5 ; Gaggin, 100; D. Campbell, 34 ; Horari, not out, 250; Boyle, 70; Alice, G4; Hastings, 17; Elliot, 49; Walshe, 42; Trapp, IS; Logan, 2; extras, 31. One of the very best railway stories that we have ever heard comes from the primitive district of Taranaki. It is related by the "Taranaki Herald " :—"A rather amusing incident happened recently on the New Plymouth - Inglewood line. The railway guard, perceiving a lady waiting at one of the signal stations, as if wishing to be taken up, accordingly gave the signal for stopping the train. Much, however, to his surprise, he found that the lady was not an intending passenger, but merely wished to know if he could oblige her -with change for a pound note ! We wonder if the guard gave her the change ? " The supposed murder at Lithgow by a little boy mentioned lately in our Australian cable messages, turns out to have been a less serious offence. The following account appears in the Sydney News:— "A shocking accident is reported from Green Flats a place about four miles from Lithgow. It appears that a farmer named Primer and his wife, resid ng at Green Flats, left their home for Lithgow recently, leaving behind two boys, one aged eight, and the other aged four, and a girl aged six years of age. On the parents' retnrn the younger boy was missing, and the elder one said that he had been lost in the bush. Eventually, however, it was found that the elder boy had taken down a gun from a wall, slung about eight feet from the floor, loaded it, and aimed at a magpie, which he intended to shoot. Tlie cap, however, missed fire, and as ho lowered the gun ,to rc-cap, it went off suddenly and shot the younger boy in the side. The boy then undressed his brother to ascertain if he had been struck, and, finding lie was mortally wounded, the boy' got frightened, and dragged the body away and planted it behind a log, where he covered .it with branches, at the same time threatening his sister that if she told' to the parents what had happened he would shoot her. An inquest was held, and the jury returned a ver-. i diet of killed accidentally."

The Pall Mall Gazette, of September 24, referring to the opening of the Sydney Exhibition, says :—" Though it does not attract so much attention as it 'would at a less stirring time, it is a matter of great importance to the Australian Colonics, aiul bids fair to prove a great success. America and foreign countries generally have learned of late years what a fine market Australia will afford them for their goods if only they can make head against the English competition, which at present, of course, has every advantage. New South Wales in particular has made great advances of late years, and from being most backward in proportion to her population, she has become the most active of .-!! the Australian' Colonies. Free trade an.' vn'blic works together have had a inarvcllo;:.. eifect in pushing forward the prosperity e: the people ; and it can scarcely be doubted that the holding of this exhibition' will etin! further.attract emigrants and capital to her vast and fertile territory.