The Oamaru Times, AND WAITAKI REPORTER. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1864.

North Otago Times, Volume II, Issue 39, 17 November 1864, Page 2

The Oamaru Times, AND WAITAKI REPORTER. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1864.

The important fact that the just claims of this district to obtain from Government the (supplies necessary for public works, have at length obtained favorable consideration, deserves more than a passing mention. These claims the public have several times earnestly petitioned for, and for our part we advocated them in our columns to the best of our ability —iterating and reiterating; the facts and arguments, accumulating others bearing on the matter as they arose, and showing that the sums asked for were not only necessary for the progress and improvement of the district, but also affected the general prosperity of the Province. Now, the votes of considerable sums—almost all that were required—have been obtained, and the thanks of the public are cordially duo to the Provincial Council and Executive therefor. The grant to the Town Board for improvements in the town it«elf, is only postponed for a time, as the discussion shows, and a very important item —Severn street —is included in the vote for the Northern Interior roads. The following is the report of the short discussion, which occurred on the lib. inst. in the Council : —

Oamauu Town Board, £4000. The Secretary for Public Works strongly sup£>orted the vote. IV r Hughes thought more attention shotdd be paid to tho opening up of tho country districts, and less to this and other favored parts. Mr Xteynolde was opposed to this vote at the present moment. The item was declared negatived, when a division was called for. There voted—Ayes, 6 j Noes, 11. Tho item waa negatived. In this diacussion our district representative " strongly supported the vote." It thus appears that when the Council once took up the subject of our claims, they determined to act not by halves, but thoroughly, and to grant not partial but substantial justice. W hat may be the effect of the expenditure of these sums on the progress and prosperity of the district is at present somewhat a matter of speculation; bttt it may fairly be conjectured that the benefits will be very considerable, and will soon be realised.

While on. this sul)joct we may notice a kindred one —the agitation at present prevailing in the Timaru district iniavoi' of separation from Canterbury. The following obser-

vations, which we take to be ironical, are from the " Lyttelton Times" of tlie Ist inst., and will amuse'our readers:— ' '■

The Oamaru district will probably follow the example of Titnaru j but it would be a great mistake to start into life two provinces where there is not too much room for one. Wβ would in such a case strongly recommend the Legislature to combine the two into one Province, and to choose between Timaru and Oamaru which town shall be the capital.. This is a course which, should separation be by that time actually complete, the Assembly will very naturally take. But if there be only a desire for separation expressed, the Assembly may moro probably repeal the present Act, and determine, pro re nata, the conditions under which a new provinco may bo formed between Canterbury and Ofcngo. Separation, Oamaru certainly never dreamt of; and having so recently obtained votes of supply for nearly all the public money necessary for its present requirements, that district is about the last by which such a word would be mentioned. Let Timaru, if it will, follow the example of Southland —or rather, we should say, pause before doing so. As for Wanganui, it has already repented and drawn back. We arc strongly of opinion, for our part, that while combination is strength, separation is weakness.

Our stock exhibition for 1864 is over, and has been a decided success, pre-eminently in sheep. It is the unanimous opinion of the judges, and other gentlemen of long colonial experience among; sheep, that they have never seen so many pens of first-class merinos, taken whether for symmetry or profit, to equal those collected hero on the 10th inst. The As>o> ciation, as well as the colony at large, are much indebted to the labors of the late Mr Rich to render the New Zealand merino the first in the world; and the energetic perseverance of his son, Mr F. G. Bich, to complete and improve the efforts so well begun, and they have given us a class of sheep unsurpassed. These well-directed improvements and the healthy spirit of competition evinced by the pastoral interest of the southern portion of this island particularly, will ultimately cause our wool to take the highest place in the world's market. It will not be considered invidious to name those who are closely following in Mr Rich is's footsteps with every credit to themselves and profit to the colony. Messrs Jultus, in takiug the second prizes, are endorsing the vigorous efforts they promised to make last year; let us hope they will be able to carry off some of the firsts of 1865. The promised competition between these gentlemen and Mr Gardiner (of Messrs. BoitTON & M'Master) w'll cause a more general rivalry, and not allow Mr Ricsi to rest on his lain els. Mr Tesctimaiceu showed some ewes, excellent for length of staple, but light and uneven. Mr Fii/lful's penb, though generally good, were not so woli selected as the character of his flocks would lead us to expect. Mr Hassell's petis contained a very profitable class of sheep, well selected.

In Leicestevs we had some excellent pens, Mr Rich in these also taking the first prize, closely followed by Messrs Hunteb and Holmes. Indeed, all our long-woolied sheep were much superior to those exhibited at last exhibition. * In the Extra Stock, the pens of Rambouillefc exhibited by Messrs Julius, Campbell, and PIkPBUKN deserved careful inspection, and received yeneial commendation. The pen of the new French merino, "Mauchainp," exhibited by Mc&srs Stujdholmu, Bios, were unfortunately shorn ; but judging from the fleece attached to the pen, they are a novel and valuable breed, combining great length and lustre of staple with an extremely fine, silky fibre, but, as in all very long fine-woolled sheep, rather open.

"We cannot piide ourselves on our own breed of cattle. The stimulus given by the show last year was completely lost when the dreaded "pleuro" was declared to be amongst us, and it has almost stopped any attempts at improving our short horns. The few really fine cattle exhibited by Messrs. Milleb, Mes&rs, Holmes & Campbell, and Messrs. Fen wick, were chiefly importations from the sister province of Canterbury. It is to be hoped that the cessation of importation, and continued cleanness of tho district, will encourage our breeders to pay greater attention to this most valuable branch of our interests.