The Evening Mail. TUESDAY, JULY 18, 1878.

Oamaru Mail, Volume III, Issue 729, 18 July 1878, Page 2

The Evening Mail. TUESDAY, JULY 18, 1878.

The excitement consequent upon the Mayoral election is increasing hourly. Wellorganised Committee* are out on the warpath. and, if alt one hoars be true, numerous are the eomjitests of both sides from the ranks of the enemy. But the contest is likely to grow hotter yet. as political feeling has arisen which wilt probably not be satisfied without the display of the nsual political expedients. It is evident, from what lias come to Our knowledge to-day, that no :atone will be left unturned by both sides to attain their object. We shall have much pleasure is watching the fun. |

The following message was forwarded to the Hon. Mr. Macandrew this morning, with a view to obtain a conference with him upon the railway tariff and other important public matters : —Oatnaru, July 17. Honorable Jamt:3 Macandrew, Minister of Public Works, Dunedin. The undersigned respectfully solicit yon to kindly visit (Jamarti on your return, even if by Hinemoa.—T. Hislop, M.H.K. ; S. K. Shrimski, M.11.R. ; iW. .J. Steward, Mayor; George Sumpter, : Chairman Harbor Board. The following is ; the reply received this afternoon : —Dmedin. i July 17. T. W. Hislop, Esq., Oamaru. I | regret that it i.-; utterly impossible to visit Oamaru. as we nm-t be in Wellington on Fritbiv. vi,-' v '.itest. The Hinenma must start ":i Situ:d:iy morning from Wellington Northwards. —J- Macandrew. In oar advertising columns will be found a list of the polling booths in connection with the Mayoral election. It is gratifying to learn that Mr. < 'raig, of the Punchbowl farm, is not to be allowed to leave the district without receiving a substantial mark of the esteem in which he is held, and in appreciation of his labors to improve the stock of the district. A public meeting will be held at 7 o'clock to-morrow evening, at the Royal Hotel, for the purpose of arranging for a complimentary dinner to Mr. Craig.

The fortnightly meeting of the Oawaru Harbor Board will be held at the usual hour to-morrow morning. The usual fortnightly meeting of the Municipal Conncil will be held this evening at the usual time. A mishap occurred last evening which resulted in the transposition of the outer figures of the weight* for the Waitaki County Cnp, which we reprint below in an amended foiin, in order to correct any false impression which last night's erroneous figures may have created. We greatly regret the occurrence, but as the private telegram containing the information arrived jnst as we were going to press, there was no time to make a transcript of the same : and as the telegram was returned in accordance with the request of the gentleman who kindly placed it at our disposal, immediately the matter contained therein had been put into type, we were unable to correctly re-adjust the figures which had become scattered during one of the prncsses of preparing the paper for the "press.'' E vers ley, list 7ibs; I van hoe, 12.-t 3!hs ; Agent, l"2st: Theodcre, 11st 7lbs ; Shillelagh, 11 st "Jibs ; Stockman, lOst Slbs : Tommy, lOst 71bs : Baron, lOst 7lbs ; Jack, lOst. According to medical evidence, an infant died in Canterbury the other day from being fed on cornflour instead of milk. There was a very fair attendance last evening in Wesley Church, to listen to the Rev. R. Hazelton's lecture on " Ireland and the Irish." The chair was occupied by the Rev. H. Dewsbury. pastor ot de- Church, who, after a prayer had been offered up. britty introduced the lecturer. The Rev. Mr. Hazelton dwelt at some length upmi the subject, dealing more particularly with it from a religious point of view. In eloquent language he gave a graphic account of the Irish nation from the earliest times down to the present day. The history of Ireland, political, religious, and .>r,eial, was rdven in a pleasing manner, intersper-c-1 with numerous anecdotes, many ot which were possessed of that racy nature peculiar to the Emerald Isle. These were related as only an Irishman could give them, and provoked considerable laughter. The lecture was thoroughly appreciated by the audience. Mr. Hazelton's tine voice, pleasing manner, and excellent delivery rendering the lecture still more entertaining than it might otherwise have been. After the lecturer had concluded, a collection was made in aid of the New Educational Institute of I>uhhn. A vote of thanks having been accorded to the lecturer, on the motion of the Rev. Mr. Todd, the Benediction was pronounced, and the audience dispersed. An action possessed of considerable interest to residents in the country, was heard at the Resident Magistrate's Court to-day. It was an action brought by Mr. Peter Aitehison, farmer, i f Awamoko, against the Waitaki County Council, t > recover the sum of 1,13 damage.*, for 10.-ses he had sustained through the Waikoura creek overflowing on to his property, through the neglect of the County Council, in not having cleaned out the hell of the creek. Mr. lli.-lop appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr. (Oleau'her for the Council. The plaint in the case s-t out the particulars as follows , tiff sued the defendants as. and beinsr. the public body charged under the Public Works f \et with tfie construction and re:>air of ;> certain public drain, known as the Waikmira creek, being a water-channel along whi :h water flows (not being a r.nvtL-.-.b'e river) ; for that the defendants negle- le.f t-. construct and repair the .-aiue, v.i.er.l.y li.e niaintifl: suffered damage, owing t i the overflow of water on fo certain land, the- prop- riy of the plaintiff, being section ~t r block I\.. and sections- li'2 and 'jo. block 1.. .-\w..m-flco Survey District : whereby he lost in part tieuse of" the said land, and his fences ihere -n were damaged. Such neglect of tilt; Couueil. dating from the time when the said Act came into operation to the present; wherefore the plaintiff claims 1.15." The plaintiff nave evidence to having several times cA'ied the attention of the Council to the state of the river, but no action had been taken to alter matter*, fn consequence of this, his j property had twice Ueeri fjooded, and he I j suffered" considerable loss. He did not th:nk I there need be any great trouble expended in ! keeping the creek confined within its channel. The road near the creek had been lowered a font, and this had had the effect of allowing a foot of water to flow over it on his property. Several witne-se"-< were examined as to the amount of damage :h>!i« by the floods. The defence was that the 'Jouijcii was not | liable for the damage done to plaintiff's proI pertv, the plaintiff having altered the course of the creejf, and tilled up some of the courses into which th" water flowed in t.m :s. jof flood. .Mr. O'Meaglui" pointed, out that ! | to lower the bed of th.- creek, as the Council was asked to do by the plaintiff would cost thousands of pounds, and that to carry out ! the work would involve the Council in a multiplicity of negotiations with the occu- ' piers of land, and heap upon them an imi mense amount of responsibility. It would eo«t L7OOO or i.SIX 10 to have drainage plans

of tlie County prepared as prescribed by the i I'ubtie Works Act. Thomas Oliver, engineer, gave evidence to tlie effect that the embankments which hail been placed upon the banks of the creek in the reserve would have the effect of reducing the overliow on j to Mr. Aitchison's property. The y.ise v;a a j proceeding when w.* went to pre*-. His j Worship will probably reserve iiis decision, j Mr. M'Leliand, lately schoolmaster, at j the Blue Spur and Tnapeka Mouth schools, has been the subject of exceeding liberality at the hands of the Otago Edijeation Board, ■ who has bestowed upon him a retiring allowance. If the principle of voting school j teachers retiring allowances wcr« a correct one, we have no doubt that Mr. M'Leliand has proved himself worthy of consideration ; bat it is no more just than are the pensions that are allowed civil servants, and which have resulted in prodigality. We would impress upon the Education Board that, if it hfg any money to throw away, the children of some of Iha country districts supposed to be under their juriadjgtion are suffering from scholastic starvation.

The first meeting of the Chess Club, for practice, took place last evening at the Mechanics' Institute, when there was a very fair attendance of players. We may mention that all subscribers to the Institute are eligible to become members of the Chess Club on payment of a subscription of half-a-crown for the half-year. The fee has been fixed at so low a figure in order to induce as large a number of persons as possible to become members. As the Club has not to pay anything for the use of the room or for lighting, it is enabled to carry on its work for a very trilling expenditure. It is hoped that the Club will shortly be in a position to announce a tournament amongst its members, if not to engage iu matches by telegraph with other towns, and players who have not yet been enrolled as members would do well "to give in their names as early as possible. At St. Luke's Church on Sunday last the Rev. S. Grime preached at both services. This gentleman lias been appointed to assist the Rev. A. Gilford in his very wide cure, and will, on Sunday next, commence his duties at Hampden and Otepopo. We understand that the Rev. Mr.-Grime was educated at St. Augustine's College, Canterbury, and has already spent two years on Missionary work as a layman in India, having been recently ordained Deacon, by the Bishop of Auckland, on his way hither. Mails for the Australian Colonies, per Tararua, will close at 7 p.m. on Saturday, the 20th inst. At the Resident Magistrate's Court today, before T. A. Clowes and G. Sumpter, Esqs., J. P.'s, Issac Lockwood was charged with having been drunk and disorderly in Thames street yesterday afternoon, and was lined IDs.

The Palmerston people very properly have objected to the granting of 3000 acres of ran 1)1), as an endowment for the Port Chalmers Corporation, as likely to retard progress ; hut the Government has notified, that, "as the Legislature imposed the duty of making the selection for the Port Chalmers Corporation upon the Land Board, the Government have no alternative hut to grant the land selected (3l)00 acres out of run SO), so long as the rights and interests of others are not injuriously affected thereby." At the election of a person to fill the seat in the Auckland Education Boanl vacated by Mr. H. H. Lusk, thirty-nine Committees declined to vote.

Mr. Douglas, of Balelutha, has purchased, for the sum of L7OOU, the Opoite estate, in the Napier district, which consists of i-5920 acres freehold, with 1100 sheep and 6'o head of cattle.

Judge Johnston, the other day at Christchurch was annoyed by the babblings of an inebriate. In the absence of a crier, His Honor observed that he did not know what courts of justice were coming to, and that in his live-aml-thirty years' experience of courts of justice ho had never seen such tilings as occurred in that Court during the day. It was quite new to him, and he could hardly think that he was in a civilised country.

The following comical evidence of the increasing civilisation of the Maoris, is taken from a Northern contemporary : —" Shortland, Pollen street, July Xo. 3, Volunteer Hail, The Natives going to have a dance at six o'clock in the evening. They got the Naval hand to play here to-night. The entrance one shilling. Xo smokin aloud and drunken. Tiamaria E , Chairman Native Committee."' On looking inside, our reporter noticed the "chairman" and several waihines washing and clearing the room, as a preparatory step to the evening's festivities. The ladies are all opposed to the telephone, They don't care to have a young !el low whispering in their ears with his mouth twenty miles away. The friends of the late Mr. Robert Craig, who it will he remembered, met his deatii by violence at Smithtield, Queensland, some months ago, will bo glad to hear that, though his policy of assurance with the Australian Mutual Provident Society for [-500 had lapsed some weeks before his death, the directors of the society have most liberally made a gift of L40I) to his widow, f>r investment under trustees, for the sole benefit of herself and children. When it is considered that Mr. Cnug. at the time of his dath, i ad been a member of the society for less lien three y< ai-;. this generous act (remarks a Queensland j mrna!) speaks well for the l'beral management of the Australian Mutual Provident .Society. Exchange. T!;e Temtika Leader, which admidst wails <-f r- grut, i'rojn the gaze of the suhsc-iiiers a week or so ago—it appears that in Temuka people sometimes pay subscriptions in advance—has been resuscitated under ' new proprietary. Just before its p-ri- ■" hibernation, it uttered thesesignifiiran* ,'ds ;—" Ju tlio meantime we can on:;. \ n: ; this state of tilings cannot cont:i; :ai>y days longer, and the sooner we ki- • -v:.ether it i» peace or war, the sooner .-i: .■ ./<• be put out of suspense. If it is . we shall be glad, it' war, we shall !:• > . what steps to take to put ours 1 e.s a state of p••.•paredness." ]mmcdia ly after having expressed these pro-phet"-.i words, the grinders ceased to do the!- work, and the whole journalistic :abr j crumbled to decay. Some of his t'riei. is are endeavoring to find the editor, to a sure him that it is to be war, and th-it i.c had better call his family together preparatory to the struggle.