The Evening Mail. SATURDAY, JUNE 29, 1878.

Oamaru Mail, Volume III, Issue 713, 29 June 1878, Page 2

The Evening Mail. SATURDAY, JUNE 29, 1878.

We learn by a private telegram chat the Lady Don, which 1-ffc here S'.rne short time line™ with a cargo of produce, has been wrecked at Waikato Heads. Fuil particulars are not to band. "We are sure many man" <>f our readers will regret to learn that Mr. Longford has determined upon transforming tbe Masonic Hall into bedrooms almost immediately. His reasons for adopting this <re the very great necessity irfhicli he feefirfor providing greater accommodation in the hotel, and that.the receipts from the hall are not suiEcirfthr encouraging to induce him to maintaiii it for the few flntertaininents which take place in town. When the Maaonic Hall is tiansformcd into sleeping apartments, the only room which will be available for enter tainwjfjti wi'i be the Vnlunt-' r Hall, but even that would require to y;ider«o aitlerab.e &lterat:.>it» In order .to •vu'if'" it M:i"aHle for *he purpose, and to maU- ; is ct»»f"rtable for audiences. A small supply of coal arrived t-vday by the brigantine Endeavour, from Wellington. It is for Mr. -lohn "rr, and will be landed at the commencement of the week. At an influential meeting held at Duntroon last Thursday evening, it wa3 determined that the an~3al Ploughing Match Bhould bn heln as csnal. A committer was formeil to carry out i>reliminary arrangements. This ye«'■'.» u.:h, judging from the interest tak. r. in it by the farmers of Maerewhunua. pron:vt;» 'o eclipse all others. A large amount of money was subscribed in the room. Full particulars of rules, regulations, &c. 7 will be given as soon as possible, so as to allow all intending competitors to be prepared. • Our Livingstone correspondent writes : A meeting of the Maerewhenua Miners Association was held in the school on Saturday, 22nd instant. The usual business was held over forlhe >pnrpose of considering the question ofrhe Oamaru Endowment, viz., 1771J acres, Gold Mining Reserve Block 11., Maerewh»nna. The Chairman stated that his attention had been drawn to the Waste Lands Board's recommendation re said block when he immedi ately forwarded a telegram to Wellington submitting that the grant was detrimental to miners' interests, and received the following reply from the Under-Secretary : "Oamaru Endowment.—Order in Council gazetted, and unless di-approved by both Housed next session will become law." Mr. .Sutherland, M.C-C. presented a letter and tracing of land in question received by h>m from the municipal engineer, Oav- v rr. setting forth extent and position of • 'id expressing the hope thit tii.- >i- t r would meet with the favoura' le .'Oration of his constituents. Mr. Cooper thought it impolitic to appropriate this reserve since it was decidedly auriferous, and by no means agricultural, and had been on a former occasion denied to private interests. Mr. Fraser was sorry to oppose the people of Oatnsru in this matter, as he sympathi-td with them in their enterprise, and would be glad to see them get not 2(HJO but 5000 acrps as an endowment in aid of waterworks and hospital, but charity should begin at home, and he considered this gold-tield very heavily-handicapped. Miners now had to pay LtO per head for the right of outlet, anil this may become 1-20 in view of the circumstance-}. Seeing there ia plenty or Crown land available for an eodowmen* up the Waitaki, the Corporation had m.i-ls ji very bad choice—for though hj«; wouid not go so far as to affirm there was not a bit of food land in the Reserve, it is very muc'. roken, and at best only grazing land. If the Oamaru people h-ve a good ebject for it, there is also an object for it here, viz., to recoup, the outlay made in tht district, in the bringing in of water races. In his opinion toe Association should impress upon the 'Government the disadvantage miners labour under when the outlets are held by private individuals, and he had no doubt, if properly represented, justice would be obtained. Some discassion Ihen ensued, and tbe chairmau said it was for the meeting to say whether they thongbt the grant an encroachment upon their, interests, and if so, to decide on some of action in reference thereto. The following resolution was I then carried That thisTwetinfi stron/ly ' expresses its disapproval of tQe said porti' U of Reserve being granted to 'the Co ","nation of Oanmrn, as a municipal endow .at;, t, >e- ing that Messrs. T. L. dhepherd ind M'Kerrow reported to the ProvincL-il Council, that it was highly The meeting then adjourned till July 3rd.—The frost here on Friday night was the mostsevere ever known in a single night, and was followed by a continuous storm of wind and sleet during the next two days, t:>biirorreter standing as low as 2.5.50, and altogether tho winter bids fair to be one of the st ven-.i uo record here.

i.n impudent attempt at shoplifting occurred yesterday in Thames-street. .A foreigner, after prowling about the front of one of the shops for some little time, wa» noticed to pick up a pair of moleskin trousers and quietly walk off with them. One of the shopmen at once gave chase and brought the fellow back. Having been introduced to the proprietor, the would-be-thief was compelled to give up the moleskins, amidst protestations on his .part that he intended to pay for the trousers, and threats by the shop-keeper of getting the law in motion. The fellow was eventually sent about his business, Unaccompanied by member of the polide force, iuto whose hands he had very nearly fallen. We are requested to remind members of the Oamam Christys that the usual practice will take place at -the Masonic Hall on Monday evening, at eight o'clock. The monthly meeting of the Committee of the North Otago Horticultural Society will be held at Mr. Earle's dining-rooms on Monday evening, at eight o'clock. There was a poor attendance at tlie inspection parade of the head gu:>-ii-rs Companies of the Volunteers last e« After going through about an hour's dn'.i under Major Steward, the presentation of the ladies' prize, the Champion Belt, which was won by Volunteer E. Harding at the late competition of the Rifle Association, took place. Major Steward, on behalf of the ladies of Oamarn, made the presentation, complimenting the winner upon the excellence of his shooting, and remarking that, as there were six clasps on the belt, he hoped other shots would gain the right to have their names engraved thereon. Three cheers having been given for the. ladies, and three for Volunteer Harding,* the parade was dismissed. Mails for Sydney, per Australia, due on : Tuesday next, close as Auckland immedi-1 ately after her arrival. | A "that the Maoris 1 are alive to the wuauagea of acduiutisa-

tion may be judged from the fact that one' of the Mokau natives named Epiha, who hris been 'in Australia, intends, at the eorpi'ug .Waitara meeting, to ask the Premier po obtain a supply of Murray cod-fish to/stock the Mokau and other rivers which have deep muddy waters." A farmer who recently from New Zealand, named John Booth (says the Melbourne Argils of the 20th insfc/j, was walking up Little Lonsdale-street west about 9 o'clock ye-terday motaing, when/ two yonng men ace ated him, ahd begged' a 6d of him for drinks. In a moment he pulled «ut a j-arse containing,l4 sovereigns, for the ;m Mi).-e of cmplyiiij'with the request. . The ■>u o. was in stun ily/feuatched from his hand bv • tie. of the suppliants, while the other r> ; bed him of his watch and chain. - He c :';d f as-istsfnce, "but the thieves dec i.-;rjd ( anyone. came. Booth rep rt"-l the .affair at the Detective Office, and gave- x description of the offenders. The case w,a» --entrusted to Detectives Ward and HaVe*. and ia the afternoon these officers fon'nd two men in Bourke-street rvho answered the description given of the offenders, and arretted them. One gave his name as Arthur L-.ke, and described himself as a. laborer, and the other sailor nanted Joseph Duffv, alias "Liverpool." Tii-; stolen wafcui was found in Duffy'S.possession, and both prisoners were idenMfied-by Booth as tli- persons who had robbed him.'