The Oamaru Mail. THURSDAY, MAY 11, 1911.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXIX, Issue 10764, 11 May 1911, Page 3

The Oamaru Mail. THURSDAY, MAY 11, 1911.

The meeting of the newly-constituted Harbor Board is Where Peace Reigns an interesting inSupreme, cident. . It marks a departure from the old idea of autocratic management by a presumed superior class. The Board's affairs are now controlled—or should be—by ordinary men, who are the chosen of the great majority of the ratepayers, for there are now only two appointees, and they represent the Government, but nominally only. If the Board does not now act with a loyal regard to the harbor necessities of the district, all hope may be abandoned. Its first act was to unanimously elect Mr Robert Milligan to the chairmanship. Such a selection was a foregone conclusion. In view of Mr Milligan's methods and his lucky financial achievement, no other was possible. Besides, one good turn deserves another: Mr Milligan chose the Board, and the least the Board could do was to choose him. Under all the circumstances, what wonder that amiability pervaded the Board's chamber, which only the other day was the scene of sultry contentions. If Mr Milligan plays his cards well; —though one can hardly imagine Mr Milligan playing cards at all or doing anything else naughty—there will be no more wicked opposition to his views, though he 4s not dealing with a set of men whom he can call to heel.- What must have struck even the members themselves was the sublime good feeling which exists between Mr Milligan and his chosen baud. The Board; was a mutual admiration, society. Mr Livingstone was good enough to propose Mr Milligan as Chairman, and to make his calling and election sure by expressing his pleasure at hearing that the dredging scheme was not so bad after all, as was reported. This is comforting. But, from whom did Mr Livingstone hear this—Was it Mr Blair Mason, or Mr Paterson, who told him? Mr Livingstone would do well to beware of those sucking amateur engineers whom Mr Milligan deprecated. He should also decline to accept the judgment of those who are on their trial. The adjournment of the Board to inspect the mud in the Slough of Despond was an interesting denouement. They had seen the same mud weeks agoj but one cannot have too much of a, good thing, and, as they viewed the landscape o'er, they whistled softly to the music of the dredge and the suction pipe, and the gurgling of the pellucid waters. They had just had a most enjoyable time in the Board-room, where the wicked had ceased from troubling and where brotherly love was the dominant note. Brother Milligan, in return for the nice things which were said of himself, welcomed everybody, else; but Mr Hayes and Mr Dovey were .embraced with especially affectionate regard, not for anything they had already done, but in anticipation of favors to come. Mr Norman Hayes TMr Milligan had been informed] would make an excellent member of the Board." Then there was a little ancient history, and the profound eulogium was topped by the expression of an opinion that "if Mr Hayes could contribute towards making Oamaru a successful port he would do very good work." Of course Mr Hayes will do that, if he is given a chance; but have we not our Mr Milligan—what more do we want? Then Mr Dovey's turn came, and we were assured that he would "do his be|t for the district as a member of the Board. It is worth something to know, under the circumstances, that he is not likely_to do his worst. So much for the Harbor Board. ' All that is to be -done now is to dredge the harbor; but as the Chair-, man knows that "the Board will pull together harmoniously," and-that "there will be no party"—except that which bears Mr Milligan's hall-mark—-the dredging may already be considered to be done.

The nomination papers for the Agricultural and Pastoral Association have been circulated and are being returned to the secretary unsigned. Of course nominations forwarded in this way cannot be accepted, and the secretary requests us to ask members to see that their names are appended to any nominations they may make. At a social gathering participated in last evening by the members of the local congregation of the Church ot ' Christ, opportunity was taken to Vjj>resent Mr and Mrs W. Kilgour .with, afarewell gift on the occasion, of their removal from .Oamaru. Mr Mathieson, on behalf of the Church members, asked Mr and Mrs Kilgour's acceptance ot a teapot, hot-water jug, and two ser-. viette rings, all of silver, and on doing: so referred to Mr Kilgour's quiet and faithful service extending over a number of years in all departments of the church. 1 Mr and Mrs Kilgour are leavOamaru for Mosgiel. The date of the visit of the Commandant of the New Zealand Military Forces to Oamaru has now been fixed for Thursday, May 25th. Major-Gene-ral Godlev will inspect the High School Cadets during the afternoon, and m the evening, at 8 o'clock, will inspect the 'infantry territorials and the band. At | 8.30, at the Drill Hall, lie will confer with the Mayor and leading citizens concerning the new military system. There was a good attendance of members at the second lecture of the 1 course on First Aid to the Injured. Dr Orbell's remarks were confined to the structure of the body and the circulation of the blood, the lecturer giving ■ a very interesting and instructive dek scription of the subject. The lectures 1 will be continued next week. The Oamaru Regatta Committee met last evening at Mr S. J. Davys' rooms to wind up affairs in connection with the recent regatta. The balance-sheet showed that the receipts were in excess of the expenditure, leaving a balance to be carried forward. Votes of thanks were accorded several gentlemen,, whose - assistance had • helped greatly in the successful carrying out of the regatta. Speaking of the programme for this evening's entertainment at the Opera.

House, the Otago Daily Times says:— "The bi-weekly change of programme, as presented hy the Fullers at the Princess Theatre last evening, provided ant other most enjoyable series of pictures. Two especially fine pictures which go to show the training entailed on the modern soldier in order to get him thoroughly qualified for the pursuit of ■his vocation were those entitled 'Military Gymnasts' and 'German Dragoons.' The picture, however, which perhaps appealed most to all sections of last night's audience was one portraying the life and work of the carrot .caterpillar. Two of England's greatest litterateurs in Shakespeare and. Charles Dickens lend the charm of their pen. to the evening's entertainment. As usual, the dramatic stories are most artistically interpreted, and serve to carry an absorbed audience along to the happy denouement or tragic finale. The excellent selection of humorous pictures served the great purpose c-f raising hearty laughter." The titles of several pic-tures-appear in another.column. The Pathe Orchestra, which now includes Messrs Fox and Dale, will supply the necessary music. -

| Mails for Chatham Islands will close at Oamaru on Friday, 12th May, at 2 p.m. (connecting with the Hinemoa at Lyttelton). ■'.> In the Lone Hand for May still fur- _ , ther warnings are given regarding the possibilities of Japanese aggression in the South Pacific, and the writer of the article, "The Sham of Our Dc- • fence," is of the opinion that "if Australia cannot, or will not, make defence preparations in some degree. adequate for the danger that threatens her from Japan, she may as well make none at all, and trust to the gods of chance or luck to postpone, for a few decades longer, the deluge." Other articles deal with the servant girl question, aerial defence, and Sir Francis Drake and Australia. Fiction and verse are in the usual quantity, but there is nothing outstanding, and the number is somewhat below the average, despite some interesting illustrations. At Burnside weekly live stock and produce market the following sales were made: By Donald Reid and Co. (Ltd.) 4 heifers at £6 17s 6d to £5 25., 6d, 1 bull at £5 15s, on account.of Mr A. Aitcheson (Hampden); 15 suckers at lis to 8s 6d, on account of Mr E. Mickelson, Waihao Downs. By Wright, Ste--phenson, and Co. (Ltd.), 63 ewes to lis 9d, on account of Mr D. Borrio (Papakaio).

Constable Macartney, who Las occupied the position of gaoler at Oamnru for about two years, has received notice of his transfer to Mornington, Dunedin.

Mr Poole s M.P. (representative .of Auckland West), who is announced to speak on the drink question at the Opera House on nest Tuesday evening, is a fluent and earnest advocate of the greatest and most pressing reform. Having had American, as well, as colonial experience, he is able to authoritatively deal with drink, its results, and the effectiveness of the measures which have been adopted for its suppression. If Mr Poole should apply himself to the task of dissecting some of the bogeys and phantoms .that Professor Salmond has resurrected to display his 1 art, or for old acquaintance sake, he will arouse considerable interest, for he has the analytical faculty, as well as the voice of a Stentor and the manner of a Hercules. It is expected that Mr Milner (Rector of the Waitaki Boys' High School) will speak on tlyi. same evening, and he also can compel attention both by his matter and methods. Such a prospect shonld fill the Opera. House, to which all are invited-, whether friends or foes of the cause. Foes will be especially welcomed, for, according to that Supreme Authority which Professor Salmond is so fond of quoting, it is they who, above all, need the physician. lb is believed by the officers of the Labor Department that practically the whole of the applications from barmaids for registration have now come in. Throughout last month the flow of applications was steady; but during this past week .very few indeed have been received. The declarations made by the applicants are now being verified by the Department's officers throughout the Dominion, and on completion of this work the certificates will be issued. As the register will be absolutely closed after the end of the month, applicants who have not yet sent in their papers have only about three weeks left in which to dp so.

"There is no doubt that trade throughout the whole of the Dominion is exceedingly sound at the moment, remarked a well-known financier yesterday to a Wellington reporter. "And there is plenty of money available for all legitimate enterprises, whether it be in respect to farming lands or otherwise. On the other hand, so far as Wellington is concerned, considerable caution is exercised by importers as thu outcome of the experience which they have gained since 1908. It is generally known that in this city and the adjacent districts we have reached normal conditions, and it is expected that if anv improvement takes place it will be in"an upward\direction. Comparing, Auckland and Wellington to-day, undoubtedly the greater prosperity of Auckland is due to a large extent to the conditions that obtained in this citv two or three years ago:. Then, it will be remembered, large sums or money were being spent by the .municipality and other public bodies in the prosecution of public works. When this came to an end it was necessary for us to get back to normal tunes, which we have already reached. Auckland is now flourishing owing to the money that is being freely spent by the Harbor Board in carrying out its comprehensive scheme, by the Drainage , Board, the municipality, and by the general Government, assisted, no doubt, by the development of lands m the Waikato. district. A- rough estimate has been made, .and it is calcuhat ed-that something in the vicinity of £1,000,000 per annum is being spent by the bodies I have mentioned. Aucklanders do not admit that their prosperity is due to these causes, but point to the expansion of dairying, in the Waikato particularly. This, though, is a mere drop, in the bucket as compared with theadvantage, obtained through the lavish expenditure of public bodies and this emphasises the necessity of ing by the experiences of Wellington, which so largery benefited under somewhat similar conditions. A good rubbing of the chest and back with ROCKE'S Eucalyptus Oil and a relieve a cold. Ask for Australia's best —"ROCKE'S." * A permanent health— strength to alwayswill and do, results from the continued use of Stearns' Wine of Col Liver Extract—makes you healthy and keeps you there. • For Influenza take Woods' Great Peppermint Cure. Never fails.— la 6d, 2s 6d.

Grand Success of WADDELLAND CO.'S Great Alteration Sale. Everybody delighted with the astonishing bargains offering. You cannot afford, & miss this opportunity. £SOO wanted for contractors. £IOOO worth of good goods; 20s worth for every 10s ought to fetch it. ,-.''.

For Children's Hacking Cough at night, Peppermint Cure. Never fails.— Is 6d, 2s 6d.

WADDELL AND CO.'S Genuine Cheap Sale—Fresh lot of Tempting Bargains laid out every morning.

Queen Alexandra's shamrock was pre- / sented to the Irish Guards at Chelsea. Barracks on last St. Patrick's Day by the commanding officer (Colonel G. C. Nugent, M.V.Oi). The distribution took place at the Church parade, which with the Irish Guards is customary on this day.