LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 17, 11 May 1876, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The conversazione held ln.it evening at the Volunteer Hall, in connection with St. Luke s Church, urn lie pronounced an unqualified sttojesw. The attendance ra good, considering the short intimation thatjjad been given to the public of mi intefi§H|6TO hold a conversazione during the Jpralwps stay amongst "*• It is impossible! to notice in the : cramped space at otir disposal all the articles —sctentilie. ornamental, anil usetul—which i were exhibited last evening. Suffice it to s»v that tittle persons present were treated ! to- n variety of curiosities in every shape ami t'onn. The Ilev. the Incumbent contributed a number of articles gathered in North : America during the time he resided there ( which intended some pretty little gems in oil and water colours. Of course Mr. John ; f ((s nu>n's model schooner attracted a fair share 1 of attention, for as a model the little vessel ts Mem Js*n>tli and Forrester's - grji'phoscopc}. and Mr. Sumpters I* ijkwi curio* i sittea. ald» had their admirers. __ Mr. Clowes contributed some pictures, and Mr. Cr.mcross very kindly placed a piapo at the disposal of the Committee," oil whlcli. Mj.jFinqJ- played several excellent selection, aiuf- also accompanied! the performers in the vocal part of the entertainment. The Kev. Mr. (»ifionl introduced the proceedings in a few well-chosen remarks, and the Bishop then delivered a suitable address. <T{as ' audience were j favoured with a tr<&lr.„tii* the duet by tljc i Missy* J. Honour a&J-* B. Hardy, aiyV-Mr. Booths Will-o'-the-Wisp was received, as it always is. with great jjpplatise. After Mr. Thornton's " Kcntin some vocal selections by* J&j Hkrdy ami Honour, and Messrs. Booth and .Smith, the proceedings terminated with the singing of Che National Anthem. The general verdict ot the attdienee was that a most enjoyable and prctital'Ee evening ha«l been srpent.* "" I'resKKrw on ourspaee " is the usual thing ; when there is no leader in a paper. •Its all ntblits'h- the- real pressure is 011 the.braii), either frwn too many cigars, an extra nip ot ; i". l!. the night previous, or else nothing to write about. That's the real pressure on ojir ! space. It is not our intention to apologise to the public every time T»k Maii. apj»cars v.ithotit a hading article, for the simple reason that we don't intend to pen leaders unless there it something really worth writing on. In an evening paper sonic good extract ! hows, in onr opinion, is worth columns of dry leading matter. Should all things work satisfactorily, Oamartt people will have the satisfaction of i burning gas in their dwellings on Saturday ' nest. Mr. Courtis is now busily engaged completing all arrangements preparatory to lighting up. Th«s tank of the gas-holder is rapidly being tilled by a small steam-pump, ! which ha.-i been working night and day for some time. When the tank is filled, there will lie nothing else to do then hut to turn on and blaze away. An inquest was held yesterday afternoon before Mr. (korge Stttnpter, Deputy-Coroner, at the Shamrock Hotel, on the l»ody of James Kdward Smith, found dead the previous day in a shop in Torridge-street. After a short enquiry the Jury brought in the following verdict, "That the deceased (James Edward Smith) was found dead in his shop on the 9th of May, IS7*», and came to his death through the effects of a combination of internal disease* —viz., disease of the heart, liver, and kidney®: which deatli was probably accelerated by intemperance." We take the following items from the " Bruce Herald " of Tuesday last.—-It is rumoured that Mr. J. L. Gillies, the representative of Milton in the Provincial Council, intends to publicly address his constituents at an early date.—The Miltdn Potter}' Company took possesion of the works last week, : and a fair start will be made in a few days.— The Kaitangata Railway will be opened for ! passenger few days, when it is intended to ran two trains etch way daily.— !■ There was some fighting at Manttka Creole on Sunday night . One man had'his finger nearly bitten effjand his head cut. He was brought Milton for medical treatment— jftTthe immense rush of grain from

the crossing of grain-laden drays on the punt has been stopped. The method*adopted is to unload on the island and merely ferry the grain across, reloading other teams again on the mainland for the station.—James Black, a man well known in this ' district as the owner of a threshing machine, died suddenly on Saturday night, on the main road, between Milton and the Royal Oak Hotel. An inquest was held on the body yesterday, when it was ascertained that death arose from natural causes. The deceased man leaves a wife and one child. By an Act of the last session (No. 522, s. (!) a very important and beneficial alteration has been made as regards bankers' cheques (says the " Melbourne Argus The banks have hitherto objected to cheques payable to "order," as it threw on them the responsibility of seeing to the genuineness of the signature of the payee. The result was that persons had to make their cheques payable to "bearer," and thus take the risk, in case of transmission by post, of their falling into wrong hands. By the late Act, when a cheque.is payable to "order"on demand — that is, .where the word " order" is substituted for "bearer"'in the common form of cheque now in use—the banker is not responsible if the "order" is a forgery ; so that while the banker incurs no fresh or greater responsibility than at present, the drawer has the increased security afforded by the necessity of the payee's signature, which may possibly be well known to the banker, as well as the fear of the punishment for forgery in case that offence should be committed. A new crime lias developed itself in connection with one of the most valuable agencies of modern civilisation. Certain inexplicable interruptions having occurred in the cable communication of the new company which has recently laid down a line across the Atlantic from England to the United .States, the causes of these accidents -w ere investigated by scientific men, when it was ascertained that the fractures were the result of violence, and that in one instance at least, the cable had been deliberately chopped in two. The legitimate surmise is, that the scandalops ofitragemust have becnp perby were suborned to commit thejojleii&j by the agents of a rival eompany-r'a conjecture which suggests some very with respect to {lie tonsffaf commercial morality in the Mqi 1 Crmnfery. They dosmarb filings (says the " Wellington Post") in the Public Department now and then. The '—Tfcingaiiui Chronicle " tells us that two were lately shipped froui Welmfitog", the one being intended for WHn£wu?vanS*the other for Kaitj i iffir* unaccountable blunHng*®n the officials to whom »«# ejfa&y of shipment, a part * yjSMpded for Wanganui was the corresponding jwirt for the northern line, Of course, an excliSnge uecKssary, so the schooner »C\Mleen BatfTiTuiving taken aboard the missing portion"of *the Kaipara engine, will take her departure by the first fair wind for that port, and will cany back the "wanted" piece of the AVanganui engine. The official responsible for this admirable instance of jMgnv to do it" must be a rising man. His jK-hieveiiicnt is a master-stroke of genius. Wc recommend him for promotion. The Dunedin " Star" says : —" We are requested to state that on her last trip to NewEasby carried more passengers than'shc ever had before. She had eightyone in all, and twenty-five extra ' births' liad to be put up." We should say that any ship having twenty-live "births" on the trip is entitled to a special notice. We never reremember any steamer carrying such a number of prolific passengers. YY hat a time the stewardess must have had of it! His Honor the Superintendent in speaking the other evening at the opening of the Princess Theatre in Dunedin, remarked : "(tentlemen, —Did I know as much about the theatrical drama as I am supposed to' know about the political one, this would be a very good opportunity to utter a few of one's sentiments. As it is, this privilege must fall to someone more adapted to that sort of thing than I am. However, I may say that in my opinion a well-regulated theatre is essentially necessary, and in fact a necessary adjunct of civilisation." Concerning rapidity of communication with England, a gentleman informs the "Lyttelton Times" that he placed a telegram in the Christchurch Telegraph-office at 3.10 p.m., and it was received in Hull, Yorkshire, at at 7.7 next day, and found on the office table of the addressee v/lien he went to his place of business at 10 a.m. The good people of Greymouthare jubilant over the opening of the Brumier Railway—the first in the Province of Westland. The local journals have full accounts of the ceremony, which seems to have passed off most successfully, though one writer finds fauluwitK-.aorane that would-not be persuaded to worlTtFrmwclv. and relates the following characteristic bit oFsnoPßlgmie^—Wosavs that one gentleman—l call Jbiin gentleman for convenience—who had been following all day in the wake of the "Upper Ten," doing small sen-ices for them, but who, on being asked by a gentleman—who is not reckoned to be within tie. charmed circfle—. if he would .make way for Ahe ladies that -were on hi&aim/replied, ''/-Oh, tins seat is engaged." TBresently : A-' of - the ''upper. camealoSg^sintttliiScadwho h^lre^^the