OCCASIONAL NOTES FROM THE METROPOLIS.—No. IX.

Cromwell Argus, Volume I, Issue 45, 21 September 1870, Page 6

OCCASIONAL NOTES FROM THE METROPOLIS.—No. IX.

—o— ( Unavoidably held over from our last.) Our Port Chalmers neighbors are working themselves into a great state of excitement, and going to work in the most extravagant and lavish manner in the collecting and voting of funds, for the purpose of giving his Honor the Superintendent a fitting reception on his return from the North. The Port Chalmers Town Council, in the most reckless manner, lately voted £5 (!) to aid in the getting-up of some brilliant demonstration by the people, in order to show his Honor that the signal services he has rendered the province in the performance of his legislative duties are not unappreciated or unrecognised. The booming of cannon is to reverberate among the wooded hills of our seaport, bunting is to float in the breeze ad libitum, luncheons for the purpose of enabling enthusiastic citizens to make and applaud laudatory and flattering speeches, and to guzzle and drink to their hearts' content at the rate of 10s 6d per head, are to be held, and jollity, dissipation, and " bunkum" generally are to prevail and reign paramount on the festive occasion. Yerily, great is Mac. of the Otagaas ! Dunedin citizens have not as yet caught the infection from their marine neighbors ; but probably if our City Council were to take the initiative, and recklessly vote a large sum from thu public funds, in imitation of their Port Chalmers confrfaes, the general public would take up the matter. Dunsdin is not usually behind in these absurdities— vide the late cradle presentation to his Worship the Mayor. Because his VV. the M. happens to receive an addition to hi 3 family about a month after his election to the office, nothing will do for a few insane individuals but an appeal to the (generally empty) pockets of the ratepayers for the purpose of buying a silver cradle for the infantile wonder. For some reason or other, b?st known to the promoters of the absurdity, a silk-covered wicker-work oradle is suostituted, and a silver tea-service is purchased with the remaining cash as a " testimonial" to hi 3 "Worship. The usual quantity of " bunkum" is jerked out on the occasion of the presentation, by the highly honored individual to whose lot ha 3 fallun the " pleasant duty of presenting this small token of the esteem, <fee., <kc, in which the recipient is held by his fellow-citizens ;'' the happy recipient of his fellow-citizens' favors, with heart-felt emotions, expresses his deep sense of the great kindness be has ever received at their hands, which will be remembered with feelings of gratefulness as long as he continues an inhabitant of this mundane sphere, <kc, &c. ; the enthusiastic subscribers *nd spectators sive three cheers for the speaker, and another for the before-mentioned infantile wonder ; and a general dispersion than takes place, each individual no doubt eminently satisfied with the part he has played iu the farce. Yea, truly we are a gnllable people, the emotional part of whose nature 13 easily aroused. The majesty of the law ha 3 been upheld in our Supreme Court. Beware, ye people, how ye allow your feelings to get the better of your discretion when within the sacred precincts of. our justice halls ! At the conclusion of thfl trial of M'Lennan for the Clyde gold robbary, the audience ■:■ udibly expressed th«ir satisfaction at the acquittal of the prisoner by stamping of feet and faint cheering. This was not to be tolerated ; and the polica being unable to single out any special individual guilty of the contempt of Court which their actions were supposed to imply, a small boy wa3 " collared" by tha sheriff, having been detected by that lynx-eyed officer in the act of giving a suppressed cheer. The trembling culprit w>ts charged with the heinous misdemeanour before-meutioned, and the Judge, with ssvere aspeot, sentenced the audacious youth to twenty-four hours' imprisonment, Ho was conducted to a cell in the gaol, but was released abortlv afterwards by direction of the Judge—the commutation of lm sentence being no doubt duly appreciated by the prisoner. The scene was eminently amusing, and provocative of much mirth—outside the Courthouse. Great satisfaction is expressed in Dunedin at the turn which Affairs took in fc'ii* conviction, of approver Ronnie. Th" pu-t whifh he took in endeavoring to R{» :ur« the conviction of his forruer shipmate sm I companion was not one calculated to mm the sympathies of the public in his f-ivor. and when he himself was tvikon out of th*: witness-box and placed in the dock, nniWMtl s-it.Uf.ietion, only equalled by tliit Mt nt th" result of the trial, was ex p-we 1. T hope hj•. may enjoy his six ye in of !aV>r ou tb« p'IMJM works of the pnvi.ii.-y> vvbiiVo t!v: r.'sid»nta in the atone mtmi .1 it; Gjol-sl.r«mt devote their attention i.(\

Mr J. G. S. Grant has published the last number of the Delphic Oracle, the onlyperiodical in the Southern Hemisphere which contains matter worth reading; at least, so says the eccentric author. Certaiuly the writings in the Oracle are peculiar and unique. Miugled with a considerable amount of the greatest " bosh" that ever spoiled good paper, there are many original thoughts and good articles, which are well worth perusal. The author intends to get the numbers bound together. A volume of about 400 pages will be the result; and if any of your Cromwell readers, Mr Editor, wish to learn Mr Grant's opinion of Otago's leading men, together with his peculiar and jaundiced views of things in general, they will have an opportunity of doing so. Although there are many foul blots which mar the page 3 of the Oracle, yet in some of his papers the author shews that he has a mind capable of producing sound sense and original thoughts on many subjects. Arcanum.