The Evening Mail. THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 1878.

Oamaru Mail, Volume II, Issue 540, 24 January 1878, Page 2

The Evening Mail. THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 1878.

Is Mr. Oswald Curtis, the senior member for Nelson in the House of Representatives. in unity with his constituents in opposing the present Ministry ? No, decidedly no. Some little time since the honorable gentleman addressed a meeting of his constituent-;, and attempted to justify his conduct iu opposing a Government iu whieh the country has every confidence ; but with all his wriggling and twisting and distortion of facts he failed to make any impivssion. Kven the people of "Slt-cpy Hollow" were not to be gulled by his special pleading on behalf of the Atkinson party, the re-u!t being that the meeting dispersed without Mr. Curtis obtaining even a vote of thanks. : How different the result has been with regard to Mr. Sharpe, the junior member for Nelson. That gentleman addressed his constituents last evening, and announced himself as a supporter of Sir George Grey's Ministry. He admitted that at lirst he opposed the new Ministry on the score of Sir George Grey being a Separationist and Mr. Macandrew a staunch supporter of the land fund compact of IS-jo" ; but said that when the Premier proclaimed himself in favour of the unity of the Colony and the colonisation of the land fund, he cast iu his lot with the present Ministry, and should continue to support them so long as he j approved of their measures. To what extent his constituents approved of the honorable gentleman's conduct may easily be imagined from the fact that a vote of confidence in Mr. Sliarpe was unaniuiou.-ly passed. Thus it will be perceived that the ' Nelson people are decidedly in favor of Sir George (Jrey's Ministry, and not in accord with their senior representative, Mr. Curtis. Will that gentleman have the common decency to resign his seat, and give the electors an opportunity of sending a man to Parliament whose views are in accord with their own ? As an honorable man he should at once adopt such a course. To continue to sit in Parliament knowing, as he cannot fail to know, that he has not the confidence and support of those whom he is supposed to represent, would be to adopt a line of action unpleasant alike to both parties. This is only one of the many instances in which the ojiponeuts of the present Miuistry are merely the representatives of their own J paltry feelings, or the petty puppets of the j late Ministry, and not the representatives of the people. The meeting called last night at the Masonic Hall for the purpose of forming a Choral Society was well attended, there being a goodly number of ladies present. Mr. O'Meagher having been voted to the chair, commented upon the benefits to be derived from the establishment of a musical society, by which the works of the great masters and other concerted music could be produced. He eaid that it would be pleasant once more to engage in the performI anee of the grand music of Handel, Haydn, Mozart, and other great composers. He had taken a prominent part in the establishment of the first musical society in the Provincial District of Otsgo, in )S6l, and was connected with a society subserviently started in Oamaru. But musical societies -were seldom successful, from want of proper management, and the institutions to which he had referred languished and died. He hoped that the present society would be an «xception to the general rule. Mr,

O'Meagher concluded by pointing out the ' modus operandi that should be observed in '' the establishment of the proposed society. ( The following officers were appointed: — ; President, Mr. J. O'Meagher; Vice-Presi- : dent, Mr. J. Booth ; Secretary, Mr. J. Hardy; Accompanist, Mr. J. G. Finch; Conductor, Mr. George Jones. It was a reed that the appointment of a Committee should take place a: the next rehearsal of the Society, to take place on Wednesday evening next. After business had been disposed of, several choruses from the " Messiah " were rehearsed in a most creditable manner. A memo, from the Telegraph Department informs us that communication between Batavia and Singapore is interrupted. The erection of a bridge over the Upper Waitaki bids fair before long to become an accomplished fact. The whole of the parties concerned in providing the funds have now consented to contribute their shares. The Waimate County Council, the last to consider the matter, yesterday voted its quota of the cost (1.5000), after considerable discussion. The Waitaki County Council and the Government have each agreed to contribute a like amount, and the work will probably be commenced at an early date. The only business brought before T. W. Parker, Esq., E.M., at the Resident Magistrate's Court this morning was the hearing of a charge of druukenness and disorderly conduct against Frederick Booth, who was fined 205., with the option of four days' imprisonment. The crops on the Taieri, particularly at the West (says the Bruce Herald), are looking splendid, especially where the land was flooded last year; had the rain come earlier in the season, some of the crops would not have been strong enough to stand it. Between Milton and Dunedin the wheat crops have to an extent been damaged by the weather, the tips of the heads being whitened by the chafing caused by the late high winds. On the Henley Estate the crops look line, and some of the oats about Waihola are very good. The crops at Rope Hill, East Taieri, are excellent. The entire horse Glengarry, the property of Mr. A. J. M'Pherson (says the Taapchi Times), killed a hack in Mr. Brazil's stable, Benger Burn, on Tuesday, by biting into his jugular vein. Mr. M'Pherson had ridden the hack, and led the entire down to Brazil's, and put them both in different stalls at each end of the stables. During his absence Glengarry got loose, and went into the stall next the gelding, and inflicted the injury above described. He had fastened his teeth in the neck of the poor animal just at the back of his head, and worried at him until the leading artery was reached, when, of course, the poor brute suceumbed. The Wellington Po-i says the programme' and policy of the Government are now assuming a more definite shape and solidity. The Assembly will not be summoned until July, in order that the accounts for the whole financial year may be made up before Parliament meets. Several important measures will then be brought forward. One of these will deal with the redistribution of representation on the basis of the new census. Another will re-adju.-t the incidence of taxation, though its details have not yet been deeided up.in. A third will attempt to settle the vexed qn- stion of dealing with native lands. These three nica-nres will be essentially Government Bills, and by ihcm rhe I\linistry will stand or fa'l. If 1 eaten on any one of them, the Miui-try will ask his Excellency to grant a dissolution, but if possible, the Representation Bill will be passed before an appeal to the country is made. If the Government, on the orher hand, find themselves possessed of awo king majority they will carry on with the present Hutise for the session.