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Oamaru Mail, Volume II, Issue 410, 21 August 1877, Page 2

As is usual with first mestings for the initiation of a new idea, the paucity of attendance at the Gun Club meeting called for last evening at the Northern Hotel was lamentably s«iiall. It is, however, the desire of a large number of gentlemen that a club of this kind should be established, and we have no doubt of the ultimate success of the undertaking. A number of gentlemen signified their intention of joining, and the meeting was adjourned for the purpose of giving those who were absent last night, ard who desired to take part in the formation of the club, an opportunity of doing so. A meeting of the Oamaru Schools Committee was held last evening at the Secretary's office, when the following members were present : —Messrs. Gibbs (in the chair), N. Fleming, Evans, Barclay, Liddle, Falconer, and Hardy (Secretary). Mr. Rice, Master of the South School, was also in attendance. A letter from Mr. Petrie was read, pointing out that more light was required for the infant room at the Grammar School. The letter was referred to the Building Committee, with power to act. Seven applications for the appointment of mistress to the South School were opened. After consideration, the Committee selected

app||itmefi|||to be subject jjj&j jthe of ||j|j Rie|| head-master khe SoutTr ; Schoofr and of the Education Board. It was decided to ask the Education Board to sanction the appointment of a pupil teacher for the South School. Some accounts having been passed for payment, the meeting terminated.

The Oamaru Hospital Committee will meet to-night at six o'clock.

The Oamaru portion of the Suez mail arrived in town to-day, by the Waitaki, and was delivered during the afternoon.

The annual meeting of the North Otago Rifle Association will be held on Thursday evening, at 8 o'clock, in the Volunteer Hall.

We are pleased to learn that practice is about to be recommenced by the Oamaru Philharmonic Society. The hon. Secretary notifies by advertisement in another column that practice will be resumed on Wednesday evening, at Begg's Music Saloon, at 8 o'clock, and that new music is procurable at Messrs. Ronayne and Cottrell's.

At the weekly meeting of the St. Paul's Young Men's Association, held last night, there was a large attendance, the Rev. A. B. Todd (President) in the chair. After the usual business of the meeting had been disposed of, the President called upon Mr. Atkinson to read his promised paper on "Alcohol, its Place and Power," to which Mr. Atkinson responded. The essayist treated his subject very fairly, and quoted copiously from some of the most able writers on temperance in support of his ideas. At the conclusion of the paper a discussion ensued, during which remarks were made reflecting discredit on the present fashion of drinking in our country, and all expressed a hope that it would ere long be done away with. A letter was read from the " Young Men's Magazine," signed Templar, in which the writer urged upon the members the cause of temperance, and hoped the Association would use its influence in aid of the good cause.

A correspondent writes as follows : —" A witness in a Police Court case at Dunedin stated that the value of horse flesh had increased 50 per cent, in the past six months. The reason of this was not very clear to me at first, but I think I have found it out. There are several quarries round about Oamaru, and several houses, built of the stone from them, are in course of construction, involving the carriage of a large amount of the material. Now, a number of these quarries are adjacent to the railway, and it would naturally be supposed that the stone would be brought into Oamaru by its means. Not so, however; teams of four, six, and eight horses are e uployed for this purpose, the contractors finding it cheaper to use them than to pay the freight charged by the railway authoiities. Stevenson had a vague notion that goods could be carried cheaper by the iron horse than by the original animal, but then that far-seeing gentleman had never been to New Zealand."

The Chicago Minstrels gave their second aud last performance in Oamaru last evening, and proceeded to-day to Waimate, where they appear to-night. There is more than ordinary merit in the performances of these minstrels, and their entertainments are therefore honestly worth the price charged for admission. It is not difficult to constitute a minstrel troupe—half a dozen men with the capacity for blundering through as many songs, having choruses, in which no attention i 3 usually paid to harmony—nearly everybody singing treble—and plenty of burnt cork, are all that is necessary; with the exception of some one to "twist his heels around." But these remarks do not apply to the minstrels that have just visited here. Some of their vocalists are capable of occupying first positions in companies whose bills of fare are far more exacting and trying to the performer, because their music is of a higher class. We wish the Chicago Minstrels the success they deserve.

The Naval and Military Gazette remarks : —" The proceedings of Spain in the Bornean Archipeligo will have to be closely watched. Like England and Holland, she has used her fleet to extirpate piracy in that quarter ; but, unlike those Powers, she has been signally unsuccessful. Four years ago, therefore, a decree was promulgated by which it was ordered that every vessel found upon the sea sailing from the islands of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi should be captured; that if those on board could not prove themselves clearly to belong to some other island, the vessel should be destroyed, and the crew transported to a Spanish colony and put *3 hard labour for life ! If any arms should be discovered on board —and no one sails these seas unarmed—the crew were to be treated as pirates, and hanged ! At the same time a blockade was declared, which has been in

the strictest sense of the a istfjj& blockade. As this inhumattVaeCTde ha&il&d the /ejffect of paralysing our trade in this quarter, it is to be hoped that the admiral commanding on the station will receive instructions to look into the matter, and especially to see how far the regulations concerning a valid blockade are carried out. As for the ' hard labour ' part of the question, it cannot be supposed that England, which is repressing slavery on the African coast, will allow Spain to re-establish it in Borneo."

When the Impounding Bill was being disdiscussed, Mr. Stout said he admired the Bill because it provided that the cattle impounded should be fed at a certain hour. He presumed this was to secure that uniformity so often talked of; and no doubt the fact of the whole of the cattle in the Colony feeding at one time would be a remarkable phase of our national life and spirit.

We have been favoured with a copy of the Illustrated Neio Zealand Herald, a periodical that has improved in its appearance to such an extent that it will now in many respects compare favourably with English productions of a similar kind. To those who take a delight in missionary work the illustration of the Native Chapel, Vao Mission, New Caledonia, will no doubt prove interesting, whilst those who have a taste for grand marine scenery and an artistic picture will be pleased with the engraving of Castle Rock, Philip Island, Victoria. The illustration that will probably attract the greatest attention just now is that of the rowing match between Trickett and Rush, who have just rowed for the championship of the world. In addition to giving well-executed portraits of the plucky Colonial and his antagonist a good idea is afforded of the events of the exciting race. The town of Nelson is an exceedingly pretty woodcut of what is usually designated "Sleepy Hollow," but which is at all events entitled to be considered one of the most delightful spots in New Zealand. The next illustration gives one an idea of the terrible awe-inspiring nature of an assembled Parliament. There are several other meritorious engravings which we have not space to notice.