The Evening Mail. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1876. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 145, 7 October 1876, Page 2

The Evening Mail.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1876. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

*• Worrls are things, and a drop of ink falling upon a thoti»ht may produce that which makes thousands think."

Mr. P. Williams, of Maheno, called upon ns to-day and stated that a fine trout had been found in the Island Stream, which measured two feet in length and six inches in depth. The fish had been out of the water some time, and was in too decomposed a state to be brought into town, otherwise Mr. Williams would have favored U3 with a peep at this piscatorial wonder. It is only about twelve months ago that two trout of equal dimensions were seen in the same localitv.

Ket'trrhig t.-> the rjitcstion of water-supply f»r the Kmnara goMh'eM, our Hokitika contemiorarv reucr!;;! : have already <-on:;tnietcd a water-race at an enormous co. t, which, without further outlay, will u-v« r pay a tithe of the interest on tlu capital expended. In round numbers, over one Inquired thuu. r.r.d pounds havebesn sp-?nt on the W.-,i;uca Water-race, and the product h fifteen brails of '.v.-.ter, which may bring i:» a revenue <>f £-!"> per week. Within five to : even miles of tins race there is now a population of about three thousand, whose yreat cry will be, in the course of a few months" for a supply of water. There is reported U'\>j no iiiniciiltic:: in the way. There would !,c u•-» bridge.-? of any - tts-;nc3 tut-r-v.-?.. r.o tunnels to be driven, but an r,r.l;:ia-y bvel country which only r«'[:t ; re.t t-> 1-j troue'icd and iktmcd. The cxtetu-ou '-f the v;:v; ha-s been roughly set ilo'.vtt a.> like!;.' to exceed I'S.OiiO to I j;o.'H"i!». 'lit-:-- i't,-'.nß'.'iii.i of the rcsirvoir - i" ' -' -'kli a costly mr.t'cr a; was :. ; ; r.;:tii:i:'a;e 1. .""hscj tin cnlcd itions it.v.'e Wen e~;v:'ul y worked out, '.vc- .-.re given to (tt»de:>tan.l tU;C tii2 e:,tl;rt::tc i;; :-ct il nvn .::•: a- t exceeding l""»(J.('t;i). I'utliug the whole . h.;vf >ii-, at i'i I.')••'', w-jui.i not the (Jovcin!:;y.:l hj warranted in undertaking tin work-*?" Unf- rUui:.t-!y, howevc.-, there is not the least probability that -he Government wi,l incdi'dc any more with water ; besides, where is the money to come from ? Owing to the scarcity of coal the Hokitika Gas Company are unable to supply a sufficient quantity of g.w to their customers. The mystery of the Davenport rope-tying trick has apparently been solved by Mr. Whitticonib, a gentleman in the employment of Messrs. King and Parsons, of Flinderslane. Melbourne. The A-jn say.*: —"This gentleman gave a wwy. at the Prince's Bridge Hot'.-l, and very cleverly succeeded in going through almost the same performance as the Davenports. Mr. Whitticonib having tied himself to a chair with his hands fastened behind, the fastenings were closely inspected by several gentlemen present, and pronounced to be secure. The lights were then turned out, and the performer in le;s than two minutes had himself free. He aldo in about the same space of time succeeded in freeing himself, putting on his coat, and resuming his position tied to the chair. The trick with the floating tambourine he also performed with apparent case whilst firmly secured. Mr. Whitticonib asserts that the secret is a very simple one, aud Hashed upon him whilst on the flatform during the last performance of the Davenport Brothers. That same night, after thinking it over for a (vw hours, he v/arr able to frighten hi-s wife by knocking several things about the room whilst tied to a chair. So far we (fh'nnf'"n) have avoided making [ any refercne? to the rush of miners from this t'rovinc- to {he Kr.m.v.a diggings. We have | ?.£a:r» and acpiti experienced the of so doipj, and our word-! on t!ii.-; occasion, depvecatir-g the pell-mell clearance, would have bt-en a* too ;<wr-rd'n- cleaving of the wind. There is nothing but bitter experience will bring miners to their senses when tbey scent gold afar. .Such a report as the following will lm*c more effect upon the dul'ed sensibilities of the mining population titan columns of newspaper appeals. The following telegram was received yesterday by Mr. John M'Outre, of the Commercial Hotel, Port Chalmers, from one Andrew Connell:— "Five days here. Do not come. Starvation anon. Nothing doing." Wc may add that Mr. Connell left here by the Wellington on Sunday week last, and being an old and experienced Victorian miner, and one very nnttk.'lv to be frightened at a little hardship, lib i«e*.*agn may be, to some extent, relied on. and o«>*c:ally as he left with a party of hardy fellows, detcs mined en making the beat of it. Of the effects of the Kumara nt.-li xt\>on the neighboring townships and | goldfields, the Inar.guhua Times says : "We3tpo:t and Charleston are said to be almost deserted, while the fame may be said of the Grey Valley and all the diggings south of the Grey. There appears to be every prospect of the rnih being overdone to an extraordinary extent. I'eefton presents a very deserted appearance also, and for hours together, in the daytime, the only persons to be seen' in the streets are dejected-looking publican-, newspaper proprietors, and others of (financially) low degrees. Miners'wages

at Ross are said to have advanced to £4 a week, work at that rate plentiful." It is understood (says the Post) that the House will be asked to sanction the payment of a bonus of £SO to each of the Hansard reporter.-, for the present Session, in addition to their ordinary salary. This proposal will be made in consequence of the extra length of the Session, and the enormously enhanced work thus thrown upon the Hansard staff. Regarding Mr. Wakefield's apology, the Wellington correspondent of the Press says:—"He made the apology at a convenient season for himself, when the House was thin and the galleries empty, and the Press reporters nodding. The member for Geraldine never has been remotely a favorite in the House, but was always listened to with respectful silence. He was a man by himself making friends on no side; but it appeared to be more eccentricity than independence. Had he restricted himself to speaking, he would have been suffered, but writing what he did not dare to say was too much for the sensibilities of the members. Hence ths climax which has covered him with contumely, and, as Mr. Joyce said, sent him to Coventry."