THE EVENING MAIL. FRIDAY, MAY 4, 1877.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 322, 4 May 1877, Page 2

THE EVENING MAIL.

FRIDAY, MAY 4, 1877.

" Words are things, and a drop of ink falling- upon a thought may produce that which makes thousand think."

The members of the Police Force stationed in Oamaru have been sworn in under the Armed Constabulary Act, by T. W. Parker, Esq., K.M. Only one of the constables refused to be enrolled under the new regulations, and the reason assigned for his refusal is that he is desirous of leaving the Force. Sub-Inspector Smith, who has been appointed to take charge of the Police Force in the Oamaru district, will arrive here in the course of a day or two, and Sergeant O'-Neill, who has been temporarily in charge, will proceed to Naseby to take charge of the Force in that district.

The opening match of the season will be played by the Oamaru Football Club tomorrow, on the Cricket Ground, play to commence at half-past 2. Sides will be chosen on the ground.

The omission of a word in our paragraph yesterday, in reference to the election of Mr. Gisborne for the Totara district, made a considerable difference to it 3 meaning. We are made to say that Mr. Gisborne was a success as an administrator; what we intended to say was quite the reverse, the omission of the little word not making all the difference. By a telegram in the Lyttelton Times we learn that both-the Wellington evening papers are congratulatory on Mr. Gisbome's return. The Argus says, " th e Government would have preferred seeing either of his opponents elected, although both were more avowed opponents. Mr. Gisborne, however, cannot be bought, and as administration is the weak point of the present Government, he, from his official experience, will be able fully to expose their Idches in this respect."

Dr. Wallis, the newly-elected member of the House of Representatives, for Auckland City West-, has announced himself as a sup porter of Sir George Grey. He is a supporter of local self-government, an opponent oe Centralism, and is strongly in favour of Insular Separation.

The land sales at Christchurch for April amounted to £BB,OOO.

Mr. Young, the Canadian Commissioner who recently visited this colcny en route to the Sydney exhibition, has written to an Auckland gentleman a letter, from which the Her all makes'the following extract: —"I am very much impressed with the grandeur of all these colonies, but New Zealand stands out in broad contrast to the whole, and is not exceeded by any in beauty and in future prospects. I have come to the conclusion that none of the colonies can ever arrive at the greatness they are capable of achieving until all unite and combine in one General Government; in other words, Federation."

A terrible accident happened on Wednes" day to a farmer named Turner, living on the Hare wood Road, three miles from Christchurch. He was moving a bull from one paddock to the other, when the animal, which was supposed to be perfectly quiet, rushed upon him. The horn of the bull entered his throat, and came out at the eye, completely gouging it. Wrenching itself loose, the bull gored him in the breast, tearing his chest open. It then trampled on him till the poor fellow's legs were broken. The bull was driven off as soon as possible, and a doctor procured, but it is hardly necessary to say there are not the slightest hopes of Turner's recovery.

The Wellington correspondent of the Guardian writes :—" The new Catholic Schools in Boulcott-street were opened last week, and are certainly a credit to the subscribers. The rooms are large and lofty, and the belltower gives a finished appearance to the building, which, standing as it does upon an eminence, is well seen from all parts of the city, and is an ornament to it. As in, unfortunately, nearly all cases of this kind the schools are heavily in debt, an art union is to be held in its aid, which ought to be a fmanc'al success, as the list of prizes includes 40 acres of laud from Dr. l'edwootl, the Bishop ; jewels, presented by Lady Clifford ; and a thoroughbred bay mare, by Dr. Grace, be.-ides 500 other prizes. Variaty is charming, and it is certainly to be found in this list."

The Poverty Bay Herald states that a few days ago on; of the young ladies in a family living in street noticed a large rat catiug a couple of cigar stumps, which had been thrown into a spittoon in the hall 01 the hou;c. She was afraid to disturb him, and let him eat until he had finished them. Shortly afterwards she mentioned the circumstance to her younger brother, and ho went to the spittoon, and finding the ratinside, shook him out. The animal attempted to run, but was so drunk from the tobacco that he couldn't navigate. He would stagger a few steps and then fa 1 down. In his drunken condition there was no difficulty in putting an end to him.

The meetings of th& Westland County Council app jar to be very lively occasionally. In the West Coast Times of last week we read of a Mr. Seddon figuring as the chief actor in a series of scenes, that journal giving the following description of the climax to his discreditable eccentricities :—"Finally, when the report of the committee on toll gates was being discussed, Mr. Seddon charged Mr. M'Whiter with stating a falsehood, whereupon the aggrieved party, in addition to giving Mr. Seddon the lie direct, threatened to break his head with an inkstand, and but for the chairman, would have put his threat into execution."

A clerk in the Russian Ordnance Office at Alexandropol has just been condemned to penal servitude for life for selling a plan of the fortress there to the Turks for the sum of 600 roubles. The Russian military force arrested the clerk in question on Turkish territory before he had time to part with the plan.

We clip the following from the Wellington Argns: "There is nothing more common than to hear it asserted that the extravagance of New Zealand in borrowing is absolutely unparalleled, and the most direful results are prophesied. It may be that none of the colonies of the present day have borrowed as largely in proportion to their revenues as New Zealand has done, but still this Colony is not without a precedent, and a very encouraging one, too, in its borrowing policy. Between 1791 and 1815 the young Republic of the United States borrowed one hundred and seven million dollars, to a considerable extent like us for war purposes, and at the end of this time the internal revenue of the States was only eight million dollars. Thus, America in twenty - four years borrowed nearly eight times the amount of its annual revenue at the end of the period. Our revenue for the current. year was estimated by the Colonial Treasurer last year at something over three millions, and our total debt is under twenty millions. New Zealand's debt is thus proportionately less than America's

was sixty-two years ago, and although the American debt was commented on by Sydney Smith and others, at the time, much in the same way that ours is now spcken of, its weight did not crush or ruin the country' Neither is ours likely to do so."