The Oamaru Mail MONDAY, AUGUST 2, 1880.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1319, 2 August 1880, Page 2

The Oamaru Mail MONDAY, AUGUST 2, 1880.

We liave received a long letter on "Railway Management," signed "Briton,'' but as our correspondent adopts a course to which, we strongly object—that of parading the names of officials, with their salaries—we must decline to publish his letter. Our correspondent is still less careful in regard to his "facts," or, more properly speaking, assertions. For instance, lie speaks of their being three traffic managers for 2 0 miles of railway, while no such state of things exists, and mentions the names of Messrs. Blair and Blackett amongst those receiving high salaries for railway management, while the fact is that neither of those gentlemen have any connection with the management of railways. Then again he compares the cost of management at Oamaru unfavorably witli that of Timarn, wilfully or ignoranlly omitting to take into account the fact that Oamaru is the head qiuu'ters of the TimaruOamaru section, and that consequently several of the officers located here occupy positions altogether of the ordinary staff of an important railway station. Amongst these is -.r. Hannay. the traffic manager. Captain Lloyd, traffic inspector, and others, whose duty it is to supervise ihe whole of the stations in their particulardepartments, from Temuka to Pahuerstori. Again, he overstates by LIOO the salary of the traffic manager, and other salaries by lesser, but still important, amounts. As showing further the absurdity and falsity of " Briton's" remarks, we may mention that Mr. Hannay has control over ISO roiiea of railway, and that our correspondent, when he speaks of three traffic managers' for 200 miles of railway, must either be too ignorant or too careless of facts to assume the position of a critic upon railway management. "We are not prepared to defend the present system of railway management, apd are aware that many improvements.might be effected; but our correspondent is so utterly unreliable in the statements he makes that the insertion of his letter, while doing injustice to a number of officers of the department, would not tend in any way to a proper consideration of the subject. "We there/ore decline to insert the communication.

Aa has already been mentioned in our columns, some forty telegraph officials have received notice that their services will be dispensed with. In the majority of these cases those selected for dismissal are the ringleaders of the operators' strike at the commencement of the year. We have, however, heard of one dismissal which bears the appearance of extreme hardship. It is the case of an operator who has been many years in the service, and who, through long hours of night-work, has become nearsighted. He has been a faithful servant, and now that he has become almost incapable of following any other calling, he has been cast out into the world as of no further use to the department. This is certainly a case into which some inquiry should ue made.

The vital statistics for Oamaru, for the month of July, were—Births, 47; marriages, S: deaths, 7.

There were again large attendances at the lectures of Mr. Batt, the Mormon elder, yesterday afternoon and evening. It is said that he has already made several converts in Oamaru.

We glean from a circular received by the San Francisco mail that the coming American harvest is confidently expected to furnish a surplus of wheat for export of between SOO,OOO and 900,000 tons as compared -with G03,035 tons exported during the season just closed. The directors of the Oamaru Stone Company are evidently determined to make a good show at . the Melbourne Exhibition, with the view of bringing under notice the excellence of the stone of this district, more especially its adaptability for. the carving of ornamental articles. Among the local exhibits being forwarded to Melbourne is the beautiful stone vase carved by Mr. Godfrey from a design by our local architect, Mr. Forrester, to the order of the Oamaru Stone Company. This has already been forwarded to its destination, and we have ascertained that in addition to the vase the Stone Company will exhibit the same carving which was exhibited at t}ie Sydney Exhibition, viz., "Duck and pukafei, with ferns and creepers, mouse, bee," &c., it having been transferred by the New Zealand Commissioners from Sydney to Melbourne. They will also have numerous specimens of lathe work and saw work in stone, a large obeliskshaped block, blocks of undressed stone, &c.

A football match was played at on Saturday, between the boys of the Timaru and Oamaru Higb Schools, resulting in a victory for the former by three goals and 12 tries to nothing. It is only fair to note that the Timaru boys were much heavier than their opponents. At the Resident Magistrate's Court today, T. W. Parker, Esq., 8..M., on the bench, two men for being drunk and disorderly were fined each 15s, with the option of three days' hard labor; one man for a similar offence 15s, with the option of six days' hard bbor; and one man LI or three days' hard labor. Wm. Lee, on remand, for obtainining money and board and lodging on fake pretences, was further remanded till to-morrow.

That the Saturday evening promenade concerts of the Rifles' Band are growing in popularity was evidenced by the large in--1 crease in the attendance at the \ olunteer Hall on Saturday evening. The following programme was presented: Polka, '•Figaro;" schottisehe, "Kneller Hall;'" Caledonians, " Abbotsford ;" waltz,"Mountain Daisy ; " lancers, " Whimsical; " polka-mazurka, " The Lover and the Bird ;" quadrille, May's "Promenade ;" schottisehe, " Bank Holiday ;" Alberts, " Gatherings ;" galop, "Flick and Flock;" "God save the Queen." A very large portion of those present availed themselves of the opportunity for dancing.

There is one aspect of the ladies' gallery of the House of Bepresentatives (says the Chronicle) which fs amusing to witness—the industrious appearance of its occupants. Some are industriously stitching mysterious looking garments or dainty little hats; othera are tatting, knitting, or crocheting. With the exception of one young lady who .reads assiduously, and another who, poises

a lead pencil in the air and gazes pensively at a sheet of paper before her, in the hopes of something "notable " turning up, all the fingers in the gallery are active. In fact, judging from the piles of work in front of some of the ladies, it is obvious that but for the unpleasant noise, a sewing machine would not be out of place. The scene far more resembles what we should imagine a " Sewing Bee" or a " Dorcas Circle" to be (could the profane eye of man penetrate it) than the gallery of a House of Parliament. According to the Tuapeka paper, a party of enthusiastic gentlemen'in that district celebrated the close -of the coursing season by a raid, on Clarke's Flat, in which they succeeded in bagging twenty-three hares—the means employed being twelve guns and fifteen dogs. The "Wellington Post of the 2Sth ult. says -. —About 12.30 this morning, as our " Commons" were discussing the all important question of financial pruning, a loud report from the sunlight aloft caused considerable consternation among members. The heat of the gas had apparently cracked one of the large sheets of plate-glass, and those who %vere sitting below feared they might be guillotined by the glas j faliing on their heads. Almost simultaneously with the report, every member rose to his feet, glanced hurriedly upwards, and started for the door. For the time being retrenchment was a matter of utter indifference to them — but only for a time. No immediate danger being apparent, the committee shortly resumed, and all went well for the rest of the sitting. It may be mentioned that on two occasions large sheets of glass have fallen from aloft upon the benches beneath, and therefore there was some ground for fear this morning..

An Irish surgeon who had restored the sight of a poor woman observed in her case what he deemed a phenomenon in optics, on which he called together his professional brethren. He stated to them that the sight of his patient was so completely restored that she could soe to thread the smallest needle or to perform any other operatiop which required particular accuracy of vision. But when he presented her with a book she was not capable of distinguishing one letter from another. This very singular case excited the ingenuity of all the gentlemen present, and various solutions were offered. Doubt crowded on doubt, and the problem grew darker from every explanation, when at length, bv a question put to the servant who attended, it was discovered that the woman had never learned to read.

The London Daily Telegraph speaks thus of emigration to New Zealand:—"lt is to be hoped that there is some exaggeration in the painful stories which have been current recently with reference to the prospects of emigrants to New Zealand. According to letters, extracts from which are going the round of the provincial press, certain pecsons who have proceeded to the Colony find themselves in a sorry plight. They say they are willing to work, but there is 110 work to be had, and that they have to wander about, hungry and homeless, in all the misery of compulsory vagrancy. In spite of the small demand for labor, it is further said, fresh batches of emigrants are constantly pouring in, and of course the disappointed men blame the emigration agents for misleading them. We must say we think it strange that ablebodied men in a ne>v Colony cannot find work if they are willing to take it; and it i' 3 worth noting that statements have been made to the effect that the disappointed emigrant is usually a person who considers that because he has gone to the Antipodes he has a right to double wages. Unless he gets double wages he has a wonderful knack of finding that there is no work, for him, and that the emigration agents at Home have deceived him. At the same time it would be well if the Governments, Colonial and Imperial, paid more attention to the regulation of emigration, and at convenient times published official statements as to the actual condition of the labor market in distant Colonies to which emigrants are inv ted." That the Maoris are capable of performing noble acts is proved by the following paragraph from the Waikato Times: —A few uights ago—a bitter cold night it was— Amopui, a nstiye, was returning to Cambridge, and when some distance from the township saw the prostrate form 01 a man —a European—on the road. It appears that the poor fellow, with one leg only, had travelled overland all the way from Napier, had . crossed creeks, surmounted hills, and threaded his way through tiie bush. But nature gave way at last, and he fell where Amopui found him, utterly woi'n out, helpless and exhausted. But for this timely assistance, Charles Parmeters (for this was the European's name) would in all probability never have seen the light of another day. The Maori lifted him up, and carried him bodily into Cambride —&nd those who know the heavy, sandy road on the other side of the bridge can judge what the labor must have been. Amopui took him to his tent, and attended to him the night through; but the noble fellow's good deeds did not end here. In the morning he got a subscription list and by dint of perseverance collected nearly L 9, which he handed over to the police authorities to be expended in sending the poor cripple on to Auckland. Amopui is well-known in Cambridge as being a straightforward and honest native, and will now more than ever be universally respected. If there be no other recognition in this sphere of this good action, the story should find a corner in every paper and magazine it} the world. Little d"'Alberfc. the wonderful pupil of Mr. Arthur Sullivan, who holds the Queen's scholarship in the Kensington Training School, was taken to Court the other day. j When before Her Majesty, this little fellow played, without fear and without reproach, the whole programme which the Queen had selected. When he came to play Liszt's " Rhapsodie Kongroise" the Queen rose from her seat perfectly astonished, and stood behind his chair expressing her satisfaction and her pleasure in the most gracious manner. This little d'Albert, the son of the famous composer of dance music, is not only so remarkable a pianist, but at his age he has written a canon for sixteen voices.