LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 34, 31 May 1876, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A special meeting of the Committee of the Oainaru Hospital was held last evening in Mr. Church's olHce. There were present— Messrs. J. W. .Steward, Shrimski, Headland, Bee, Hislop, Galbraith, Lemon, Bowland, anil Church. The management of the Hospital was the chief topic of conversation. The resignation of the warder and matron was received and accepted. It was also decided to advertise in the local papers and the " Daily Times," inviting applications for the vacancies. The salary to be £IUO per annum. Mr. Galbraith 2>romised to see that a good water supply was obtained for the Hospital. There was a parade last evening of the Head-quarters Companies for the inspection of arms and presentation of Government prizes. Major Steward inspected the companies, put them through some battalion movements, and presented the prizes, a list of which we take from our morning contemporary : —First Set—Vol. E. Frame, OteI>opo, £5; Vol. W. Selby, No. 1 Company, £3; Vol. T. Morris. No. 1 Company, £2; Lieut. A. Y. Smith, 2so. 1 Company, £2; Vol. It. Familton, Hampden, £1 ; Vol. E. E. Harding, No. 1 Company, £1 ; Vol. A. Headland, No. Company, £1; Corp. Angus Ross, Otepopo, £l. SecoxdJJSet —Staff-Sergt.-

Major M'Pherson, £3 ; Vol. W. Lennie, No. 1 Company, £2 ; VoL R. Hes, No. I Company, £1 10s. ; Lieut. J. H. Rice, No. 1 Company, £1 10s. ; Vol. A. M'Kay, Hampden, £l. Cadet Prizes —Corp. B. Dawson, 0.C.C., £3 ; Corp. D. Gardner, 0.C.C., £2; Sergt. W. Rule, 0.C.C., £1; Cadet P. Proctor, 0.C.C., £1; Sergt. W. Gray, 0.C.C., 15s. ; Cadet W. Waddell, 0.C.C., 15s. ; Corp. C. Gifford, 0. G. S. C., 10s.; Sergt. W. Armitage, O. G. S. C., 10s. ; Cadet W. Underwood, 0.G.5.C., 10s. ; Cadet W. lies, 0.C.C., 10s. ; Cadet A. King, 0.C.C., 10s. Mr. Thomas Procter's cup was then presented to Corporal Laing by Lieut. Greenfield, who made some suitable remarks in handing it to the winner.

The case of Davis v. L. Grant, a claim for £45 damages, for detention of a mare and foal, was concluded yesterday, by the plaintiff accepting a nonsuit. Mr. Parker, in "iving judgment, said: "As the case is so near one of robbery, I shall not grant costs for defendant." The business transacted at the Resident Magistrate's Court this morning was of the briefest character. James Russell, for drunkenness, was fined 10s., or twenty-four hours' imprisonment. Mr. George Sumpter was the presiding justice. The unfortunate man Page, we regret to hear, is sinking fast, and but faint hopes are held out of his ultimate recovery. Thomas Kennedy is progressing as well as can be expected. "With regard to Page, we have been requested by Mr. Hesketh to state that he arrived in the Colony in 1875, and not, as erroneously printed yesterday, in IS7I. Under the heading "Answers to Correspondents," the "Coromandel Mail" says : —"Disraeli, as Premier of Great Britain, having a pojralation of thirty-five millions, receives a salary of £5,000 a-year. Sir Julius Vogel last year received £6,000, paid by a Colony the inhabitants of which number only a little more than a quarter of a million. Sir Julius replies that the £6,000 he drew for himself is under 2d. per head upon the population of New Zealand, and if he isn't worth this much to the Colony he's not worth anything." In addressing his constituents at Cromwell on Saturday last, Mr. Pyke said he considered that he should not be true to the electors if he did not tell them that Provincialism was doomed. He himself had made calculation of the votes of the House on the subject, and the conclusion lie came to was, that out of the eighty-four European members there would be a positive majority of twelve in favor of Abolition ; a jwobable one of fifteen; and a possible balance of twenty in favor of it. Doubtful votes he had given on the side of Provincialism. It might, therefore, he thought, be accepted that Provincialism was hopelessly lost. It was not the part of wise men to kick against the pricks, nor endeavour to secure the shadow of a probable benefit when a certain good was within their grasp. Writing on the wreck of the Strathmore, the Home correspondent of the " Daily Times" says: "I may also revert to the fact, mentioned in my last letter) that before the Sierra Morena with the first instalment of the survivors reached Galle, a clairvoyant declared that the Strathmore had been wrecked on a desolate island, but that some of those on board had been saved. At a recent meeting of the Pscychological Society, the President, Mr. Sergeant Cox, stated that enquiry had been made by the Society of Mr. Bruce, the owner of the Strathmore, to whom the alleged spirit-revelation was made by a friend of the medium —asking if the facts, as published, were correct. Mr. Brace had replied in the affirmative, saying that there could lie no doubt in the matter, as the communication was made to him by letter through the post some weeks before anything was heard of the rescue of any of the survivors of the wreck. The case is certainly one of the curiosities of psychology." Our news (" New Zealand Herald") from the King country includes a curious anecdote. It appears that the King's son, a short time back, received a present from Sir Donald M'Lean, in the form of a valuable present of military clothes —scarlet jacket and waistcoat, and military cap, all well covered with gold lace. So overjoyed was this youth that he began to imbibe (which, it is said, is not a rare thing with him), and by-and-bye amused his friends by a series of antics, and before he had finished his fine new garments were filthy and disfigured. He then pulled them off and threw them down in disgust, exclaiming, " What a fool I am to wear the cast-off clothes of the officers who have been fighting and plundering us of our lands."

The Sankey and Moody business seems to be getting pretty well played out at Home. A correspondent writes : —" Have you heard how Sankey walked up to a grenadier, and, taking him affectionately by the belt, said, ' Young man, I likewise am a soldier—a soldier of heaven.' ' Old 'un,' returned the grenadier, ' you're a long way from your barracks, anyhow.' Well, there was a very rough young man, whom Sankey saw staring around at the close of the meeting, and kindly asked, ' Young man, ai-e you looking for salvation ?' ' No,' was the reply, ' I'm looking for Sal Jackson.' ' Let us sing a hymn,' said Sankey." It is notified that the sitting of the Quarterly Licensing Court for the Hampden district stands adjourned to Wednesday, the 14th day of June next, at noon.