The Akaroa Mail. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume 4, Issue 333, 26 September 1879, Page 2

The Akaroa Mail. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26.

The usual meeting of the Mutual Improvement Association was held in the schoolroom, Akaroa, on Tuesday evening. The attendance was extremely limited. Some conversation took place as to what means could be adopted to revive the evidently flagging interest evinced by members in the proceedings of the Association. The President thought that the session should be brought to a close. The young men, for whose benefit the Association had been started, held aloof in the most persistent manner. Ultimately it was resolved to call a special meeting for Tuesday, October 7, to take into consideration the question of discontinuing the meetings of the Association or otherwise. On Tuesday next the Rev. Mr. Douglas will read a paper on " Reading and the choice of books." We hope that the members at large will show their appreciation of the work being done by a few among them by attending in force, and thes preventing, a very useful institution from premature dissolution.

The usual monthly meeting , of the Barry's Bay School Committee was held in the schoolroom on Saturday, the 20th September. Present—Measrsrs D. Le Cornte, jun. (chairman), P. Bavid, It. S. Stewart, H. Niblctt, and T. Paget. The minutes of! the last meeting were read and confirmed. The Chairman reported that the school would be examined by Sir L. Edge, inspector of schools, on Wednesday, the Ist of October, at 1 p.ni ; also that he iiad arranged with Mr R. Noonan for havinga room in the master's house re-papered, and also for having the gymnasium painted. Applications, of which there were a great number, for the mastership of the Barry's Bay School, were then considered. The committee, after due consideration, resolved to appoint Mr GAdams to the vacancy, subject to the approval of the Board of Education. The Chairman reported that he had received a contribution of £3 3s from Mr Montgomery in aid of the fund for the purchase of prizes for the children attending the school. The Chairman was requested to acknowledge Mr Montgomery's letter with thanks. The meeting then adjourned.

On Monday, the 15th instant, the fourth anniversary of tlip- Loyal Hand of Friendship Lodge, M.U..1.0.0.F., Okain's Bay, was celebrated by a procession which left the lodge about 2 p.m. In the evening the Brothers met at the Lodge room and partook of a supper, after which the usual toasts were given and responded to, and the balance-sheet for the half-year ending June, was read, shewing the lodge to be in a highly satisfactory condition. Some really good songs being contributed by some of the brothers helped to pass an enjoyable evening, which was brought to a close by singing of the National Anthem. A ball in connection with the above was given on the ICtli, but unfortunately the room proved too small for the pleasure of the evening, but all did their best to enjoy themselves, notwithstanding this drawback. - It is thought that steps will be taken to provide a larger hall before the next anniversary comes round. .

The annual meeting of subscribers of the Little Eiver Public Library was held in the reading-room on Saturday last. The attendance was limited. Mr Westropp was voted to the chair. The Chairman called upon the Secretary, Mr John Reynolds, to read the report. The report shewed that an increase of subscribers had taken place during the year, and that, in a short time it would be requisite to enlarge the building. The house has been painted and other works done and a new chimney built. A balance of £C 9s lid was in the Bank to the credit of the Committee. The report and statement of accounts was considered satisfactory, and adopted by the meeting. A vote of thanks to the outgoing Committee was carried unanimously. The following persons were then elected a committee for the ensuing year : —Messrs John George and James Reynolds, Brodrick, Holt, and William and Norman Joblin. A vote of thanks to the Chairman terminated the meeting. Mr James Reynolds was elected Chairman of the new Committee, and Mr Thomas Holt, secretary.

The Ashburton Mail says :—" A tall, broad shouldered man with an enormous swag on his back and a rather ferocious set of features approached the overseer of a road gang in this district the other morning, and inquired the rate of wages* for abled. bodied laborers—" Six and cix a day," said the overseer. ' Then,' said the swag-man, glaring fiercely at the other, ' Tim Kinty says that any man who'll work for six and six a day, he'll knock him down. 'And who's Tim Kinty ?'inquired the foreman of works, ' I'm Tim Kinty, replied the able bodied giant in notes of the utmost severity and turned on his heel. So much for the dignity of labor even in those hard times!"

A singular decision was lately given in the Dunedin Police Court. A well-known horse-dealer there was charged by the police for having exposed " for show or for sale, in a public place, three entire horses." The defence of this extraordinary charge was that the horses were simply led about for exercise. The Police in replication, pointed out that this kind of exercising was one dangerous to the safety of Her Majesty's lieges and the Eesident Magistrate, Mr I. N. Watt, taking that singular view of the case, actually fined the unfortunate owner of the horses £5 and costa. Considering that the ridiculous prosecution was conducted under the provisions of one of the old statutes which is in force throughout the colony, it is well to say a word on the subject. If this Magisterial ruling holds good, it would be impossible for any person owning entire horses to make them move from place to place! And what about the parade of entire horses which takes place in the most public manner every year, at the present season. — Eangiora Standard.

We are very nearly full of the. Telegraph Department (remarks the Southland News.) On Thursday wo received a message to the effect that Mr H. Feldwick might well have " the feeling attributed to the spout of the old woman." It is commonly believed that there was considerable desolation on the receipt of this news, but it is not true that the messenger suffered any personal violence. We only asked him to get the message repeated. It came back unaltered, with the exception that "spout" was made "spirit". Even then we suffered him to depart in peace. Knowing that the message was merely a clipping from the Timaru Herald (and so, we may observe, probably sent in for transmission in fair print), we struck out this libel on our old friend, and awaited the arrival of the journal in question. The passage then stood thus: — " The feeling- attributed to the spirit of the old Roman." Blunders like this occur not daily but hourly, and our readers may expect our telegraphic columns to be muddled and confused for some time to come.

In answer to a communication from the unemployed of Dunedin, the Minister for Public Works has forwarded a commnnication expressing his deepest sympathy with them, and his hope that the present severe monetary crisis may soon come to an end. The lion, gentleman goes oe to say—"Directions have been given by which a large number of men may be employed upon the railway works situated nearest to Dunedin, and I am in hopes that authority may be obtained from Parliament now about to assemble, under which those who are willing to become their own landlords may be enabled to do so upon terms within the reach of all, and I would venture to hope that thousands of families who are now altogether dependent upon the fluctuations of the labor market may, figuratively speaking, be enabled to si under their own vine and under their own fig tree ; at all events, that they may have homes to fall back upon, and ground of their own to culivate in times of depres. sion. Many hundreds of families who have attained affluence and comfort began life in the early days of the Colony under circumstances far less favorable than those which are now proposed to be brought within the reach of every laboring uianj and if the same frugality and industry which as an almost universal rule distinguished the early settlers in Otago (I speak of them from my own personal knowledge) are exhibited now, the result will exceed the most sanguine aspirations of the founders of that part of the Colony." Every old settler will corroborate Mr Macandrew's statement that many of that class commenced life under less favorable circumstances than exist now. He also hits the right nail on the head when he hopes that facilities will be given lo laboring men to become their own landlords, though one cannot help wondering how it is that this idea should need an " unemployed " agitation to bring it into notice. Finally the classes dependent on their labor should pondar the reasons given for the success of the early settlers—in two words—industry and frugality. In the first quality we believe they are not deficient, but we fear the present distress is in a large measure owing to an absence of the latter among them.

Among other matters affecting local requirements, Mr Montgomery was made the recipient of two memorials concerning public works on the Peninsula. One was from a'number of residents in Akaroa and its vicinity, asking for a new telegraph and post office at Akarc;i, and the other f/otn persons residing , on the opposite sidy of the harbor in reference to the advisableness of having soundings taken on that

side before any decision should be arrived at as to the position of the terminus of the proposed Akaroa railway With his accustomed promptitude, Mr Montgomery communicated with each department, and replies have., been received fr#ui each. With regard to the former- request the:; Commissioner of Telegraphs promises that "the matter shall receive full -consideration." In reply to the latter memorial the Undpr Secretary for Public Works states that " before any site is definitely fixed 'it will be the duty of the Engineer-in-charge to thoroughly examine tha locality both as regards conveniece on land and facility for shipping," and further that a copy of the correspondence has been forwarded to him (the Engineer). Government departments are noted for caution in their correspondence, but there is one word in this reply which is indicative of an extreme development of that faculty. The Under Secretary speaks of " the ' suggested' railway to Akaroa." Surely a line which has been inserted in a Railways Construction Bill, for part of which a contract has been let) and regarding the route of which alternative surveys have been ordered might be considered as lifted out of the category of " suggested " lines.