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Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1162, 7 January 1880, Page 2

Lately the Municipal Council of Oamaru wrote to the Minister of Justice asking him to permit long-sentence prisoners to be lodged in tho Oamaru Gaol. They represented, as one of the arguments why their request should he granted, that they had, encouraged by the promises of a former Government thaf such prisoners should be retained in Oamaru, engaged a warder at a salary of 8s per day, and that that functionary's position was almost a sinecure under the present system of retaining only short-term prisoners. After the lapse of some months, and when the Council had abandoned all hope of receiving a reply to their communication, a letter was received from Mr. Fountain, acting for the Minister of Justice, and probably without his knowledge., stating in effect that the Government had no idea of altering the present system. The Council thought the letter a little pert, but were especially annoyed at the information it coutained. While they were pondering over thoir grievance, the riots occurred, tho Oamaru gaoler was removed to Timarti to do special duty, and the warder, engaged at 8s per diem by the Council, was installed as gaoler in his stead. .Tho Council s permis»i"U van not asked, but that is of no c(ii!sCf|Uonce. The Council had no employment /or their sen-ant, and he was, without any vexatious ado, taken off their hands. We should advise tho Council to allow the Government to keep him, and to abstain from tilling his shoes until their gaol has been placed on the samo footing as that of InvercarKill, Timaru, aud other similar places, when such.an officer as « warder to overlook prisoners at work may really fee required

The resignation,of Major W. J. Steward as officer commanding the third battalion of Otago Volunteers has been accepted. Mails for the Australian colonies and Tasmania, per Rotomahann, will close at 11.30 : a.m. on Friday, 9th inst., at the Bluff. - Mr. Samuel Gibbs has been gazetted as a trustee of the Oamaru Municipal Sinking Fund, in the place of W. J. Steward, resigned. ' v It has been decided, we are hold the annual pic-nic in connection with St. Luke's Church Sunday Parsonage on Wednesday next. -£gj • g|j|j At the Resident • -'dayi* before His \V orship the Maydi*, James Kelly, against whom forty-one previous convictions were recorded, was again brought ■ 'up on a charge of having been drunk and disorderly in Thames-street yesterday afterand was' alternative . of six days'-imprisonment with lato r. Edward Anderson was charged with having deserted-irom the*" ship'Hermione,- now lying at Port Chalmers, and was remanded until to-morrow. John Kent, charged with having deserted his wife at_Waimate, was also remanded until tomorrow. - We observe that it- idannounced in another column that--the annual general meeting of the North Otago Coursing Club is to be held in the Waitaki County Council Chambers on the 13th inst., when the usual business of electing a Committee and receiving a report of the Club's proceedings and the balance-sheet for the past year will be gone through. The announcement intimates that other business of an important natnre in addition to thi3 is to come before the meeting, and requests a full attendance. We; trust that members will respond to the call, and that their deliberations will tend to maintain the character of its meetings, the excellence of the sport it provides, and its reputation as the most efficiently-managed Coursing Club in the Colony. ' The adjourned monthly meeting of the Waiareka Road Board was held to-day, when there were present—Messrs. John Reid (Chairman), Barr, Jackson, Little, Isdale, Cruickshank, T. Reid, Gilchrist, Elder, and Oliver (Engineer). The minutes of the last meeting having been read and confirmed, the inward correspondence was dealt with as follows :—ln reference to a letter from, the Waimate . County. Clerk asking for- a large'amount-' of information, it was decided to decline to comply with the request, unless' some good reason could be given, as. it would entail a considerable amount- of- work.' The Engineers reported, with reference to the proposed deviation at the mouth"of Fuchsia Creek, that they had not yet been able to see Mr. Teschemaker to arrange the matter. They also reported that the grades on the proposed road leaving to the railway' station on the Windsor-Livingstone line were good, and gave estimates' of the work to be done and its probable cost. A lengthy report from the members for the sub-division dealing with the matter was also read and adopted. It was resolved that the Engineers should lay off the road, but that ; its formation 'should stand over for a time. The Clerk laid lipon the table, aschedule of. the closed'roads in the district.. The report of the Inspector of Works was read, detailing ; the amount of • :Work done during, the month. He also drew attention to the state of the •boundary road- between 'the" County and the Waiareka Road District,: stating that the County-Council had never spent a shilling upon the road. It was decided to bring the matter under the notice of the County Council. It was resolved that a meeting of ratepayers in the sub-division should be held at the Teaneraki schoolhouse, at noon on Saturday, 17th instant, to consider the proposal to close the road-line in sections '4O and 59-00, block 8, Awamoko district. Several accounts were passed for payment, and some other minor matters having been dealt with, the Board rose. On Thursday afternoon Mr. Leckey, of Parnell, saw three waterspouts m fifteen minutes, and gives the Auckland Star the benefit of his observations. The waterspouts travelled north and south in corkscrew attitude, whirling through the air with conr siderable velocity, and apparently taking their, course from the Waitem'ata towards the Manakau, doing the tour over the isthmus in a very short. After " cavorting " about some time the waterspouts bore off in.a more easterly direction, and it is said they discharged themselves in Mr. Roberston's eatato, Mangare.. A political wag- thinks there is something of the " struck comic " in three waterspouts travelling at once through the air on the day the rise of duty on spirits takes place. .The Waikato Times referring to the arrival of Messrs. Grant and Foster, the representatives of the Lincolnshire Farmers' Association, in the Waikato district says : " These gentlemen could scai-cely have arrived at a more favorable season for satisfying themselves of the capabilities and advantages of New Zealand as a field for emigration than the present. The harvest is already beginning to ripen, and in this district, at any rate, and probably elsewhere, the pasture lands are yet green as with the first verdure of spring, while nothing would surpass the high condition of all kinds of cattle. Messrs. Grant and Foster, who represent an association of some 600 tenant farmers at home, and a very large amount of capital, will visit all parts of the Colony, and it is well that every facility shall be afforded them of seeing what is worth seeing in this district in connection with our agricultural and piistoralf resources and. capabilities.. The Cambridge Farmers' Club have very properly taken the matter :in hand, and, as representatives, of . the settlers and farmers of this district, will doubtless do all that should he done in the matter. Respecting the wearing of the Orange colors, Mr. J. J. Crofts, in his lecture in aid of the suffering Irish peasantry, last evening, spoke asfollows, saysyesterday'sDailvTimes: —" I wish to say a few words for the purpose of stamping out a feeling which has lately arisen,.unfortunately; in this-Cplony. I am going to tell you what some of you probably never heard in your lives. You know I am not an Orangeman.—(Cheers and laughter.) But I wear the Orange colors sometimes. I have a great respect for the Orange colors, and I'll tell you why. Ido not suppose there is an Orangeman in the country who knows the history of the Orange colors, or he would drag them down, and I think few Catholics know it. When William 111. went over to fight "Shamus"—the Irish fools fought for Shamus—William took with him the colors of the Pope—orange and purple—and thought to Beduce the Irish by hoisting the Pope's colors. It is said that the Pope blessed them, or gave him permission to use them. So . now if you see them, go-up to the Orangemen and thank them.—(Loud applause.) Moreover, I recommend every one of you to invest a shilling in an orange necktie. William of Orange Was a soldier and a brave man; he detested bigotry in every shape, and it was not till 106 years.after the Battle of the Boyne that the. organisation of Orangemen carte into existence—fools as they are, ignorantly wearing the Pope's colors. Now, bear that in mind, and whenever you see them don't run like a bull at a red rag, but thank them for what they are doing, and walk'in the same colors. This is the way to put them down." The Williamson Company had played the evergreen operetta Pinafore in Sydney for 34 nights, when the Christinas holidays necessitated its removal from the boards for a time. At his trial Captain'Moonlitc took exception to one of the jurymen being a foreigner and unacquaintcd.with the English language. The judge (Mr. Justice .Windeycr) could not at first be induced to attach any importance to the objection, bnt the point was ultimately reserved, and it was ouco thought that it would necessitate a new trial. The Wellington Post says "On (lit that a gentleman in Wellington will bring his matrimonial troubles before the Divorce Court nt the next sitting. The co-respon-dent in the case is said to be a well-known professional man. Rumor has it that some highly sensational disclosures will be made equalling the spiciest portions of Byron's ' Don Juan.'" The Live Stock Journal says Mr. .James Park, Dcehmont, Cambuslang, has sold his three-year-old colt Wait-on-Mo to Mr. Hugh Al/In tyre, Merino Downs, Tapanui, Otago, N*cw Zealand, at a long price. • The horse Royal Prince (732), iiow in tho>stud.of Mr. ROIIBO, New South. Wales. is sire pf tho.coty, and his darh Wtts oiit of alialf-sister tp-Lpndon Maggie," tl)0 ; well-kno<vn. Mem;toil , tnafo. .Waic-on-Mo wife jilft'ced on'tlio short lcct at 1 ast spring stallion show.

The Veterinary Journal states that an asylum for aged domesticated animals has just been opened by an inhabitant of Gonesse. There are already a cow 36 years of age, a pig aged 25, and an 18-year-old goat. The senior member of this family is, however, a mule. He is 40 years of age. Next comes a sparrow, whose summers number 31; 2S years of life have been granted to a goldfinchj whilst a guinea-fowl and a goose have of l^and|^ His HjipdrMr. passed iSjtttence Thomas alßMpi Reid, w|||j|a3 hected wifh the conviction of the'prisoner are well known. He was, at the time he committed the offences of. which he was convicted, iii e manager and the'chairman of the.„dir<jc 4 ,0j , &,»pf the j^KstacaJljrjhfd; cbinplete" cofTtrol of fife' affairs." At 'raised by the prisonerVcounselUnd"reserved ijorrther Court were s dltifalaVely decided against the' accused. -His Honor-sentenced-the-prisoner :to"ae venyears' penal servitude ..and .one, year's prisonment, with 5 hard ■ labor -iri" ! addition to the' sentence of penal - servitude,- makingun all eight years' imprisonment. The Daily Times says that in passing sentence his Honor characterised the conduct of the prisoner as a course of systematic plunder, and said that in such cases the criminal must be made aware that he was playing for high stakes, and. that if, on the one hand, the proceeds of his 'prime were large, on the other the results of failure were crushing. His Honor also remarked that it was impossible to exonerate froda blame the other directors and shareholders of the Company for entrusting the prisoner with unlimited powers. The prisoner' was perfectly cool, and did not betray any signs of emotion during the passing of sentence, but he is a much older-looking man than he was when brought to trial, the confinement and suspense having evidently told severely upon him. The following paragraph, about the gentleman whose name has been prominent of late in Our English telegrams, is from the European Mail: —Mr. Parnell has addressed a sort of epistle-general to the " tribes which are scattered abroad," that is to say, to the Irish dispersion in various parts of the world, in England and in Scotland, in Canada and the United States, in Australia and New Zealand. Every Irishman who has money in his pocket must understand himself to "be | addressed; for Mr. Parnell's encyclical is neither more or less than a begging letter on a gigantic scale. He appeals to the Irish race all over the world to subscribe money to enable the Irish farmers to buy their holdings at a fair valuation from the Irish landlords. Mr. Parnell is, we are ready to belijeve, sincerely patriotic ; but he shows Very little respect for his countrymen at i Home in exhibiting them as poor relations sponging on their kinsmen who may have thriven better in the world. There is tomething shameless in this wholesale mendicancy. What the Irish need more than anything else is to be taught to rely upon themselves. The whole drift of Mr. Parnell's teaching is to encourage them to depend on others. The economic objections to his proposal may be considered when anybody shows the slightest disposition to respond to it. It is difficult to suggest any rational: explanation of Mr. Parnell's scheme. It may be that Mr. Parnell, the Irish agitator, has frightened Mr. Parnell, the Irish landlord. Be is perhaps anxious to sell his estates before they are simply and inexpensively conveyed to their present occupiers by a process of mere transfer. If he can get -the Irish abroad to give the purchase-money to the Irish at Home, the bargain might- not : be a bad;one for the Irish landlords. We do not say that this: is the explanation of Mr, Parnell's con-, duct, but it is what scientific men call a working hypothesis. It accounts for the facts so far as they are known.