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Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 288, 26 March 1877, Page 2

The result of the inquest held upon the body of a man found on an island in the Waitaki River is of a more than unsatisfactory nature, and we feel compelled to express our very decided opinion that much has been left undone that should have been done. We had hoped that the inquiry would have tended to clear away some amount of that doubt now existing in the minds of many as to whether the investigation made in regard to the appearance of a man alive on one of the islands in the river had been of a thoroughly practical and searching nature. But nothing of the kind was done. The only evidence adduced was, with the exception of that given by the witness Tit.mcs, confined solely to a recital of the manner in which the body was found, and the clothes it had on. It is true that an attempt at identification was made, but i even that was not of such a nature as to warrant the jury in coining to a decided opinion as to the identity of the unfortunate man. Had the clue afforded by the evidence of Titmus been followed up, it i 3 just possible—nay,"indeed, it is exceedingly probable—that the mystery existing as to the name of the poor fellow would have been fully ascertained. Facts which have come to light since the inquest show that much evidence of a very material nature might have been obtained. Had that evtrienqp been brought forward, we think little doubt would have existed as to t?r£ identity of the bod} r . We think it ccfttld have been pretty clearly shown tirfit the body is that of Arthur Domii nick, who had been employed harvesting an the farm of Messrs. Lewis and Don" at Maerewhcnua. Kot only has Mr. Don", we are informed, very accurately described the clothing worn by Dqmixick at the time of his quitting the farm, but he was also prepared to give evidence of a nature which would have tended to have shed light upon tbj£ mysterious appearance of the man ofrthe island. Bad the gentleman named been called as a witness at the inquest, his evidence would, without doubt, have been of great value. It is | just possible that the police were ignorant of the fact that Mr. Don" was in a position to give that evidence ; but, had sufficient energy been displayed in the task of gathering evidence, that ignorance could scarcely have existed. Then, again, the marks on the body afforded very good grounds to work upon, and, had the police made proper inquiries, they might have fully ascertained—as has been done since —that those marks were identical with those on the body of the man Dominick. These marks tho police above all others should have been conversant with, for they had previously been fully described in the Police Gazette, Dominick having on several occasions been an inmate of Colonial gaols. That the police did not take advantage of the information thu3 placed at their command shows a laxity of duty very reprehensible. Altogether the proceedings in regard to the man on the island mystery are of a very unsatisfactory nature, and we trust that a searching in quiry will be made into the matter. At present we do not feel called upon to blame anyone in particular; but that blame is attributable to someone there can be little doubt.

sermons reputation as an elopreacher. At each service was crowded, and the collections made amounted to about £lO. The Tie v. Mr. Fitchett also addressed the Sunday School children during the afternoon. The annual soirie in connection with the Church will take place at the Volunteer Hall tomorrow evening, and will be followed by a public meeting, at which addresses will be delivered by the Eevs. Fitchett, Todd, Armitage, and other clergymen and laymen.

The Government servants of the late Province of Wellington have been giving vent to their feelings in respect to Messrs. Fitzherbert and Bunny; the late Superintendent and Provincial Secretary. They have presented each of those gentlemen with an inkstand and an address as marks of the esteem in which they are held by their former subordinates in the provincial service. The little affair seems to have been a very pleasant one. Some good things were done, and some droll ones said. In the first place,-Dr. Johnston, the Corner of Wellington, was called upon to perform this final ceremony in connection with the deceased Province. This in itself was very suggestive. Seeing that the Province owes not its death to natural causes, but to the hands of the destroyer, the fact th .t the Coroner s services were required is only natural. Whether or not a verdict of wilful murder was recorded against anyone the report dot® not say, though it is possible in one of the cases suicide or temporaiy insanity may have been returned as the opinion of the assembled jury. The Coroner was in a gracious mood, and said some very good things in reference to the high opinion entertained by himself and his brethren of Messrs. Fitzlierbert and Bunny. But he must either have shocked the nerves or upcet the gravity of the assemblage when he said, " For my part, my duty has been a pleasant one." Fancy a Coroner taking delight in the performance of the grim duties of his office. Oh, inhuman Coroner ! Oh, ye unfeeling man ! But surely he could not have meant what he said in sober earnest. It must have been only a little joke of the funny Coroner's. The Volunteer Hall was opened by Professor Taylor and Lillie with an exhibition of skating, &c., on Saturday evening, and was well patronised, the body of the hall and the cha ; rs being as full as was convenient for the purposes of ventilation. Some considerable time was passed in watching the graceful movements of some of our amateurs on the rollers, during which period a few of them made acquaintance once or twice with the floor, but nothing daunted by repeated falls, stood up and commenced their fantastic movements again and again. Professor Taylor and Lillie commenced tlieir entertainment by going through a variety of graceful movements with such ease and regularity as to draw forth applause from the audience. They then sang a song, and also danced a varsoviana on the skates together in very good time, but we think if there had been a little music during that part of the performance it would have been received much better than it was. However, that is a defect that can easily be remedied. The Indian club exercise completed the programme, and the easy manner in which Professor Taylor went through the performance showed that he has had a considerable lot of practice with them. He then addressed the audience, and thanked them for their patronage, and hoped they would excuse any little defect that may have taken place, as the hall floor was very uneven, and consequently it was impossible to peform as well as could be done on a good floor for skating purposes. The hall will be open j during the day for practice, and those who are desirous to learn to skate will find this a splendid opportunity for doing so. Professor Taylor and Lillie will repeat their clever performance this evening, and we have no doubt will be well patronised. The effect produced by the gas, which was laid on during last week, was very great, the eight jets showing a far more brilliant light than the twenty kerosene lamps which had pre* viously done duty in the ball.

would financial was a not last. Star says :—lt has been of our contemporaries that PUffanks of the NeVT Zealand knights are about to be reinforced. The deaths of two, and the appointment of a third as AgencyGeneral have lately much reduced the number of colonists thus honored. It is now alleged that Mr. Fitzherbert and Judge Prendergast are about to receive the accolade —though, of course, in the modern and indirect manner. Ib is highly probable that rumor has in this case falsified her character by being true. It appears to have become now a matter almost of course that they who have attained to the dignity of a Chief Justice or Speaker in any of these Colonies should be admitted into one of the orders of knighthood. The Wellington journals seem very polite towards each other. This is the way in which the Argus speaks of the " Colonial Journal," the N. Z. Times "Our morning contemporary seems disposed to run a muck with lawyers and correspondents. Two columns of leading matter this morning are devoted to the abuse of two lawyers and a newspaper correspondent, towards whom the vagrant editor of the wretched rag which Wellington has to be content with as a morning journal, entertains feelings of personal animosity. Its lies about Mr. Travers, and its abuse of him wi]l not, under the circumstances, do much harm. Curses are like chickens, and still come home to roost. The Wellington public now pretty well understand that no falsehood is too great, 110 misrepresentati jn too gross, in the eyes of the Times, to prevent its being eagerly seized on to gratify its malice."