TIMARU.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XVI, Issue 18, 24 August 1888, Page 15

T I M A R U .

CFrom an occasional Correspondent.) BAIN, rain. Nothing but rain seems to be the order of the day here It mast be that the political haze oTer the mucb-vexed question of Freetrade v. Protection, which so many of our political " stars " have been trying to penetrate has influenced the clerk of the weather— a gentleman who can see as far through a brick wall as most people— and be has, in order to be consistent, favoured us with a haze in the weather from which all self-interested colonists would fain seek Protection. As I write (20th imt.) the weather is such as might be described as " neither one thing nor the other." A Scotch mist reigns supreme, and its inseparable companions— mud and slushprevail everywhere. During last week we just had a glimpse of what a nne day was like, but only just sufficient to enable us to keenly recognise how far the other way the weather can go. *v Tbe ™Tf nfc ,° £ tbe paßt week in stopping circles was the arrival of the B.c. Eldershe, 4000 tons. The people of Timaru have not as yet become familiar with ships of this class calling at the harbour, and during her stay here from the 16th to 17th a large number of the townspeople visited her. Tbe South Canterbury Refrigerating Co. shipped some 800) carcases, retaining some 1500 more at their works The captain and agents were very pleased at tbe vessel's quick despatch from Timaru, and expressed their sincere approval with the arrangements of the port. Frozen mutton, according to the last returns, commands s|d in the Home market, and at this figurs a fair margin of profit should be left to sheepgrowers, as also an incentive to continue and develop the industry. The latest return from the sheep depaitment shows a decrease in the sheepgrowing for the previous year, but points out that owing to a larger proportional increase in the number of ewes the deficiency will ba fully recouped during the present year. v & timaru is suffering in a mild form from the gas agitation. la most cases of suffering the patient comes of second best, but in this inBtance it is likely to be "the reverse of the medal." Chrstchurch agitated against ihe exhorbitant rate 3 charged to the gas consumers and objected to the monopoly held by a few individuals reaping large dividends from the gasworks, The existing laws which the lateness of the session prevented altering, stopped the Corporation of that city from establishing gas wo.ks of their own. Lyttelton also discovered that the gas charges were too high, and now Timaru brings up the rear with the same cause of complaint. Here, however, the dispute lays between the Council and the gas company, over the street lighting. Our energetic mayor (Sir. Moss Jonae) hag sent an ultimatum to the pascompany offering £5 per lamp per annum. It this is not accepted, I thiuk that it is not far from probable that tne c cotnc light will be tried, as many of the Councillors are in favour of it. A correspondent in tbe Lyttelton Times points out that, after a trial of the electric light at the Thames embankment s?™? /ears ago, it was found neccessary to return to gas. So that there will be a certain amount of speculation if the electric light is decided upon. The Rev. Father Foley preached on Sunday evening an eloquent sermon, his subject being " The a- sumption of the Blessed Virgin " The choir rendered some very choice music— two "gems" being particularly noticeable. One was Rossi's " Tantum Ergo," sung by Misses Conway and McKenna, the other was " He wiped a Tear " by Miss Lindsay, which was tastefully rendered by Miss Conway. Singular coincidences occur occasionally. A most peculiar one came voder my notice last week, when reading a letter by a correEpondent in a weekly paper. It struck me I had real some of the same items before. Turning to another weekly and reading a letter from the correspondent for the same locality, written a week previously 1 found a general likeness as far as topics were concerned (which was not strange) and one paragraph agreed verbatim with the one I was perusing. It is very peculiar how these coincidences occur, very peculiar. ' ' On Sunday after 11 o'clock Masa, a meeting of the parishioners was neld to form a school committee to assist the Rev. Father Foley to maintain tbe schools. The following gentlemen were elected, and were to meet on the following Tuesday :— Mr. T. O'Driscoll, J. McDonald, T. Brosnahan, A. Wilson, M. F. Dennehy, W. Rodeers T. Hartley, H. Maher, D. OShea, J. O'Dowd, J. Deianey, M. Fitzgerald.