LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 30, 26 May 1876, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

P>y a most extraordinary coincidence the arguments used in our contemporary's leading article this morning on the late railway accident, are precisely similar to those in our leader this evening. We may state, however, that our leader was in t3 r pe, and held over from yesterday, therefore plagiarism was impossible.

A telegram from Melbourne informs us that the Wellington and Dunedin firemen performed creditably at Ballarat. This part of the message is very satisfactory, but now comes a statement which it is to be hoped doc 3 not apply to the New Zealand contingency—"The banquet in the evening was very disorderly." This kind of conduct is scarcely calculated to impress Victorians with a favourable opinion of New Zealand

firemen. Our readers will remember the inconvenience occasioned to public business some months since by the breakage of the Cook's Strait cable. The Government, profiting by experience, have determined to avoid, if possible, a similar occurrence, and therefore a contract lias been accepted for a second cable, to be laid by the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company." Oamani is not the only place where sly grog-selling is carried on to a large extent. Dnnedin is now able to boast of a few offenders against the licensing law, for we notice that at the last meeting of the City Council the Finance Committee recommended that the sum of £IOO be placed at the disposal of the Commissioner of Police, to be expended in detecting cases of sly grog-selling within the city.

A special practice of the choir of St. Luke's Church will be held this evening at 7.30, when Mr. A. J. Towsey, of Dunedin, will preside at the organ. A full attendance of members is requested.

.'There was no sitting of the Resident Magistrate's Court, this morning." "■•

A meeting of/the Oamarji Dramatic Club was held at the Royal Hotel last evening, when it was resolved to assist at the proposed entertainment on behalf of the Cemetery Funds. " The piece selected is " Slasher and Crasher," which will be put in rehearsal at once.

We are glad to be able to state on inquiry at the Hospital at noon to-day that the man Kennedy is progressing favourably, and great hopes are held out of his ultimate recovery. Mr. John On- is also slowly improving. We notice that the atmospheric engine for the Gas Works has arrived. It is a one-horse-power engine, manufactured by Otto, Langen, and Crossly, of Manchester. The engine, at present, is to be used for pumping water into the tank of the gas-holder, to counteract the leakage now made. After this it will permanently be used to work the exhauster.

The following amusing announcement appears in last night's Dunedin " Star '"':— " Notice. —If Mrs. Jack wishes to come home, she has my sanction to,do so. John Jack." Now this is very kind of John Jack to allow his wife to come home, and if Mrs. J. doesn't accept the offer she ought to be ashamed of herself.

An Auckland special to the "Times" says : —" It is rumoured that an ex-military officer contemplates commencing an action against a member of the Cabinet for defamation of character. Damages are laid at £IO,OOO. The alleged grounds of action are that the Minister, in conversation with the Marchioness of Normanby, spoke of him as a drunken fellow who was doing no good for himself. The Marchioness, knowing the military man's friends, wrote to a lady living in their neighbourhood, who told it to the ex-captain's sister, and so it came to his ears.

Trespassing upon the Railway. Often have we (" Daily Times ") warned the public of the danger to life and limb, by the above practice, and have pointed out that the wilful violation of the law has been too long submitted to by the railway authorities. Yesterday afternoon, the climax, we should think, was reached, when a large black pig was seen walking with a measured step, in front of the Dunedin Station platform, and in front of a body of officials, whose dignity was scarcely able to conceal the indignation that was depicted upon their countenances. The pig walked on with majestic strides, and loud calls were made for Constable Connell, who resolutely withdrew himself from the society of a young lady, and started in pursuit of the culprit. He came up with him in the open space between the station and new shed, and boldly challenged the pig to combat; but only a moment sufficed to show the result, for Constable Connell was seen in full retreat over fallen timber and behind iron tanks, with the pig in full marching order, tail erect, in pursuit. Connell is still alive, and the j)ig at large. We (" Waitangi Tribune ") have often had to report accidents to persons riding in buggies or other vehicles within the last few months, but know of none to compare with that which happened to Mr. Martin, a short time since. It appears that the plucky driver was steering his team of two highmettled horses on his way to Waimate, and on going down a slight incline between his own place and Mr. Ogilvie's, the swingle-tree touched one of the horses, and the animals bolted. Mr. M. was, however, equal to the occasion, and when near Ogilvie's turned his team up the road lately formed by Collins, to avoid coming into a collision with a dray on the bridge. i\ll went well for a time, but on the trap coming to a water-course, the driver was pitched out, and the animals tore away with the broken buggy at their heels. The " bits of blood " took some wire fence 3 in capital style, but after galloping about two miles were brought up all standing by a precipice with fully a 200feet fall. Of course, the buggy, a new one, was smashed to pieces, and, strange to say, the horses when found had changed places. The pair of " snorers " ought to have figured at the late hunt."

The " West Coast Times " of Wednesday, May 17, has the following in relation to the recent floods :—" The two coaches which, were lost in the Taipo, were the coach driven from Hokitika by Mr. Maher, and the spare coach which Messrs. Cassidy and Clarke invariably keep at the Taipo. By the rapid and unprecedented rise of the Taipo, the spare coach was swept away. Mr. Maher, on arriving at the river, swam the horses and crossed with the passengers by the wire bridge, leaving the Hokitika coach, with its contents, including the mails, on the usual spot. Before he could get back to the coach, however, the river had made a clean breach where it was standing, and at the present moment there is a bed scoured out over twenty feet deep where the coach stood, but singularly enough the water has now completely left the new bed, and runs chiefly through the bridge on the Christchurch side. Mr. Cassidy, during all his experience, states that he never remembers to have seen such a rapidly rising and extensive flood. Some damage to the road has been caused at the Otira, but nothing of very great consequence. A very singular circumstance hap-

pened to Mr. Andrew Jackson who, in bringing over a mob of sheep from Christchurch to Hokitika, managed to get to this side of the Taipo without crossing that river. The sheep were left on the Christchurch side of the Taipo, when the flood came down/ and passing further to the Christchurch side, left the mob on the Hokitika side of the river, thus saving Mr. Jackson a considerable amount of trouble. The Taipo river is not always so accommodating as this, as the accidents to the coaches prove."

Mr. C. P. Powles has forwarded us (" Evening Post") a return of the amount of land ia cultivation, and of the agricultural produce thereof in the Province of Wellington, recently compiled by him as Superintendent Collector under the Census Act. We have not sijace to give the figures in detail, but the following are the general results : Number of holdings, I,SOO. Extent of land broken up but not under crop, 0,567;} acres. In wheat sown for grain only, 1,422£ acres ; estimated gross produce (in bushels), 27,346 A. In oats, for green feed or liav, SO2 acres ; for grain, 5,666.f acres ; estimated gross produce of grain (in bushels), 1.6(5,231. In barley, sown for grain only, 172 acres : estimated gross produce (in bushels), 4,331-?.-. In sown «rasses, in hay, 5,241t> acress ; estimated gross produce (in tons), 8,227 : in permanent articial grass, including land in hay, 422,445g acres. In potatoes, 1,037} acres ; estimated gross produce (nitons), 6,033.]:. The quantities of last year's crops remaining on hand at date of return being made up were as follows : _Wheat, 520 bushels; oats, 2,440 bushels ; barley, 220 bushels. The following figures show the total number of acres under crop, including sown grasses, in the various electoral districts of the Province :—Wanganui, 52,812 ; Eangitikei, 70,(539 ; Manawatu, 32,807 : Wairarapa, 20(5,733 ; Hutt; 23,350 ; Wellington Country District-, 44,536 ; City of Wellington, 1, : making, the total number of acres under crop within the Province, 432, The increase in the estimated crop of wheat, oats, and bailey for 1876 as compared with 1875 are as follows : —Wheat, 5,144;} bushels ; oats, 54,390 bushels ; barley, 75i bushels. The estimate of the potato crop for 187(5 shows a decrease of 219 i tons as compared with the yield for 1575.

Says the "Southland Times":—"That important organ of intelligent public oirinion, the "Diuiedin Evening News," of the 16th instant, only came to baud yesterday afternoon. We note that our contemporary, after referring to our remarks as to the superiority of the Bluff to Port Chalmers as a natural harbour, waxes angry, styles our remarks 'childish,' and * presumes ' that the writer had taken too much 'weak tea.' We can assure our contemporary that we did not make the Bluff Harbour a good one, and Port Chalmers a dangerous one : the natural features of the respective ports were there long before we came to New Zealand ; and if any body was wicked enough to place 27ft. of "water, with good shelter from the land, at the Bluff, aud "only 22f fc. at Port Chalmers, with a mud bank or two at a little distance, it is only fair to juii down the dastardly action to the Maoris. At least that is the way in which the matter commends itself to little children like us after .pur usual evening surfeit of weak tea. How the matter appears to old women after a surfeit of something a great deal stronger we cannot say."