The Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1876. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 142, 4 October 1876, Page 2

The Evening Mail.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1876. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Worit;» are thin;*, and a imp »f ink fslHn? «{>*>ri a thought may produce tha.s. wlikh mate* think.'"

We witnessed a lu.licrott.; scene yesterday aboard the cars on the Maercwhentia line. Swn after the train left the Town Bait, a highly respectable looking old gentleman, wlm was sitting tn a eorrisr of the first-class saloon carriage, suddenly iwcams greatly excited, and rushed out on to the platform of the ear. He tittered a wild cry, atut then, with one hound, da died into the carriage ami sat (i»mi. Bat not for long, a* he soon made another plunge- for the door, and commenced yetting out. ".Stop ttu train." The driver, of eourse. did not hear him, and the guard could not sec him. hut with the desperation which despair can only give, he shrieked, hang on the side of the platform, kicked out his leg:*, and tore his hair. The train, however, swept on in its wild career. Then the aged party roared out. '* Fir-?, fire," and. as a final etfort to attract attention, he removed Fib eoafc and vest, and tearing oil" his shirt he held it by the tails, and commenced %vaving the starched garment about in the mait ex. 6ro.ontinM.ry fashion. By this time the old gentleman was about baked, ao ha bent ovjr the grtard-rait of the carriage, and with his hand hanging df*wn, his shirt carele s!y dwttering in tha hree»?, he waited till the train stopped at the next station. Thm he roused himself from his lethargic state, and mads- for the guard. He declared that one of the tracks was on tire, and lie had been endeavonving to attract the attention of the driver. The guard proceeded to the track mentioned, and then found that all the f ass about the smoke and Sire was caused by the steam issuing from a large bos of new bread, which t>. Hooth and Co. were forwarding to Shaw'a store at Papakaio. The old gentleman looked at the smoking leaves, heaved a sigh, and then got into his shirt. vest, and coat as rmtck as ever he could. He requested us not to mention the matter to arty one, and we promised we would not. Jwat after our carrier pigeon left Dnntroon yesterday, news cams'tn that Mr. W. Mackay. of Uetdstone, had met with a .'severe accident whilst ottt shooting, the gtm he was its tog having burst. We were pleased to find, however, that the particulars of the accident had been greatly exaggerated. It appears that Mr. Macfcny was out with a friend, when the gun he vra? shooting with burst at the breach. The concussion knocked Mr. Maekay over, and portions of the gun went Hying in several directions. With the exception of a good fright and a bruised thumb, Mr. Macday escaped scathlesa.

"Little ISell," the "Quean of Protean Stars " is to make her first appearance in Oantant at the Masonic Halt this evening. .So nutdt has been said and written about this versatile actress, that it would only be superfluous on ottr parts to add anything as to her varied talents. We shall reserve our judgment till we have witnessed her performance. If half that is said of her histrionift abilities be correct, the Oaniaru people must have a great treat in store for them this evening. Mr. Oiddcns, we believe, is also an actor of no mean order, but nou-f jvm>«s. The population of Kuniara up to the present date, as reported by the police to tr.; Warden of the district is set down to be a.s follows :—Women and children, 300 ; tradesmen and business people, 300 : miners, 2,000 —in all 2,000. This is, of course, only an anproxiniation of the number on the field, it being impossible under existing circumstances to make a very reliable estimate. The population is increasing at an average of about fifty daily, so says the same official report. „-"""'"" From the Wangamu Humid of the 20th, «»> take the following :—" The collapse of one of the massive booms, forming the upper section of the girder of the railway bridge on the side nearer the town took place shortly

before two o'clock yest&rday fhernoon, and was caused through one of the rings attached to the top scaffolding—of which there are five, and into whicli were hooked tackles to regulate the purchase—giving way. The inferior quality of the iron of' whicli the ring was made is doubtless the whole cause of the catastrophe, for if of superior metal it could have borne considerably more strain. This ring breaking, a sudden strain was thrown npon the others ; but they stood the shock, the ultimate collapse being attributable to tiie lengthening out of the tongues of the blocks, when the boom fell with a terrific crash. Three men werenntheboomat the time, and a number of others were walking quite close to it, all of whom escaped without the slightest injury. About a month's delay has thu3 been caused, and the girder will have to be taken away and re-constructed." The South A u.->t rattan Ilejhl-.r of the 14th inst. mentions that, on the previous day, the Minister of Agriculture and Education (Hon. K. Ward) stated in the Assembly that Government had received a telegram of importance from the Colonial Secretary of New South Wales, with reference to the duplicate cable route, dated 12th September, as follows :—" -Mr. Crackncll, our Superintendent of Telegraphs, advises by telegram from London as follows :— * Before deciding duplicate cable, see my letter of 23rd August rid San Francisco. Am satisfied that cheapest and only duplication necessary at present is from Singapore to Kanjoewangi, whicli will require only small subsidy. Darwin cable not likely to give much trouble for some time, and will in future be immediately repaired. When Western Australian line finished, could carry cable from Banjoewangij to North-west Cape. Submarine cable to Ceylon o- Mauritius considered impracticable, and nothing doing for cable Mauritius to Aden. Duplicate lines are being shipped i«v Suez and Bombay, also for ttangoou ami J'cnang. (The advantage of that, the lion, gentleman said, would be that a connection would be afforded with the land line from Calcutta, and this would virtually give a duplicate line from Penang to Madras, between which places the present and late inten tii'tions occurred.) Normanton proposal too expensive in comparison to Queensland propo.tion of subsidy. Above is only practicable arrangement without involving unnecessary expense to Colonies.: co.-t per annum will be supplied in few days. So soon as the letter of the 23rd August arrives will send you a copy.'"' The .Sotttfilrni-F. Xnrs considers that floods are not unmixed evils. On two days this wee!;, the farmer.; in the VYaianiwa district turned the unusual rise of the waters to good account, by materially thiucing the ranks oi their foe, the rabbit. These "critters'' were driven to a la.-ge extent from their strongholds by the cruel waters, and consequently fell easy prey to the biped.; to the number of nix or seven hundred. It was curious to set how '"bunny'' to<k refuge from the flood:by climbing into the scrub, where they were Sound perched like sq rrels, seven to nine tuet from the ground, and consequently in must favorab's positions for capture and destruction. As a very largo proportion o! the victims were does in an interesting condition, the number actually killed is really far below that of which the district has been rid, and it is quite likely that more still would perish i:i the burrows.