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Oamaru Mail, Volume III, Issue 783, 15 October 1878, Page 2

It is expected that Parliament will be prorogued in about ten days. In reply to an Australian correspondent, who desires to be acquainted with the improvements that have been effected of late years in the management of public matters in Oamaru, we beg to state that our mails are not conveyed to and from the railway station by a post-office vehicle drawn by thoroughbreds. That may do very well in some communities, but it would not answer heve, because we have discovered a better system. Instead of the usual vehicle which has now become so common in other places we have a hand-cart, and in the place of a thoroughbred a man. It may be as well to explain that he does not draw the cart, as a hoi-se would do under ordinary circumstances, but that he gets in front and pushes it. Some people who are awfully clever might air their wit by saying that that is "putting the cart before the horse"; but then how can a man be a horse ? Besides, we object to the unmistakeable evidences of our superiority over other places being ■ ridiculed. Why, under favorable conditions, I that is when the horse—beg pardon, the man —is in good form, he can transport the ; mails from the Railway Station by ihe. evening train from Dunedin so that they are placed in the private boxes before dinner on the following day. |

Passengers -wishing to travel south' of Bal- j clutha must pay the cost of conveyauce by boat across the Ciutha river. j Jane Hamilton, the servant that caused' so much trouble a little ago, has just died in ! the Hospital. | On Saturday last three trucks of the Oamaru goods train got off the line near Merton. There is something wrong somewhere, or such mishaps would not happen so fre- j quently. j Friday next being St. Luke's Day and the : anniversary of the dedication of !St. Luke's Church, special services will be held at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. The Communion will be adm nistered at the morning service, and in the evening the Rev. Sydney Grime will preach the anniversary sermon. Mr. Coker is commencing the erection of a new hotel in Manchester-street, Christchurch. The House of Representatives has just decided that bank managers shall be exempt from serving on juries by a majority of one ; also that special jurors shall be liable to

serve in common juries. Mr. Carruthers, late Engineer-in-Chief, has just been presented with a purse of sovereigns in Wellington. We are sure that he would have valued a medal representing on one side some of the railway bridges as they were when completed during his reign, and on the other side as they are now. It would form a souvenir that would remind him of the long-suffering and kindly disposition of New Zealanders, A meeting of the Hospital Committee will be held at Mr. Church's office this evening,

at eight o'clock. One hundred and twenty-eight pounds were subscribed by the Miltonites at a meeting held last night to consider what steps should be adopted to help the Balclutha unfortunates. This is a practical way of showing sympathy. Mr. J. A. Mackenzie, who has in hand the projected New Zealand Railway Waggon Company, has just visited all the principal tovns between Dunedin and Christchurch, and has received every encouragement. The applications for shares, as might have been expected, are becoming so numerous that the establishment of the company may be viewed as a certainty. The initiatory steps of the Oamaru Woollen Factory are still progressing apace. To-day 600 shares have been disposed of by Mr. Sumpter. Such a result for Oamaru is evidence that the enterprise is viewed with

great favor. | We have every reason to believe i\u:d it would sadly interfere with the financial condition of the Oamaru Cricket Club were it t recoup the amount advanced by uioir President to pay the expenses incurred re matcn, Australians v. Oamaru. A»ain, it augurs unfavorably for a man's love of the noble game when he is not prepared to pay L 25 or LSO in order to promote its advancement. There are lots of gentlemen in the Club that would not have objected to [ defray the whole of the expenses of the ! match had they been called upon at the ! time ; but they now object solely upon i principle. It should not be forgotten that , the match was lost. J We would remind our readers that the i meeting of those willing to assist in raising > a subscription in aid of the fund for the re--3 lief of the distress occasioned by the floods I down south, called by his Worship the r Mayor, will be held at the Mechanics' Insti- } tute to-morrow afternoon, at three o'clock. , Through railway communication with s Christchurch will be restored to-morrow, as - the damage to the Rangitata bridge will by , that time be sufficiently repaired to admit of f the passage over it of the train with perfect 1 safety. " We are informed that Madame Tasca, one . of the most accomplished pianistes of the ~. day, will shortly visit Oamaru in company a with other artistes of ability. The colonial e papers are loud in her praise, and the Argus ~ writes of her as though no one had ever visited the colonies that could approach her e as an interpreter of high-class and popular t music. We are impatient to hear her. The company has taken the Volunteer Fall for e Tuesday, the 22nd mst., only, so that we n have no guarantee that they will perform here on more than one evening.

It gives its great pleasure to state that there is every prospect that the forthcoming show of the"N.O.A. and P. Association will be more than usually successful, as there are indications that competitors for the prizes in various classes will come forward from Canterbury and other places outsjde the district, It is desirable that no delay should be made in making entries. The numerous queries of numerous inquireiv: have elicited the information that the door of the lobby of the Post-office, in which are situated the private boxes, was not 1- :'t open intentionally on last Sunday. The :ock was out of order, and there was no ch'Vice but to leave it open. People will breathe more freely when they read this explanation of an occurrence so unusual and risky to the safety of the Post-office officials, who might have been kidnapped through the private boxes. W.e are glad to be able to inform the public that tlie lock is again mended, and that it is the intention of the Post-office authorities to resist by every means in their power any attempt to have the lobby door left open on Sundays. Whilst this precaution is taken, the peacefulness of our Post-office officials will be secured, and their lii'es will be safe from the blood-thirsty larrikins that abound in this district.

The public meeting held last evening in Wesley Church to further the objects of the Homo Mission and Church Extension Association was very fairly attended. The Rev. Mr. Dewsbury occupied the chair. Excellent addresses on the subject of church extension and the duties of professing Christians were delivered by the Revs. Messrs. Crump, Fitchett, and Fee. We regret that pressure on our space precludes the possibility of our giving a lengthy report. The Rev. Mr. Crump, in the course of his remarks, said it was estimated that this year something like L 2400 would*i)e required, about LBOO of which would have to be devoted to sustaining the Maori mission, and he strongly pressed the claims of the Association upon the attention of his hearers, urging them to the exercise of practical charity. During his remarks, the Rev. Mr. Fitchett said that all the Association reckoned on from Oamaru was the sum of L2O, and surely they would raise that small sum, and reminded his hearers of the necessity for giving some portion of their substance to further the work of the church. The Rev. Mr. Fee deplored the fact that many promising young men with the fear of the Lord in their hearts, and actuated with a love for the work of the church, were driven into other channels simply from the want of encouragement. He sa'id that if they wanted educated young men to enter the ranks of the ministry, they must not Isaye them in danger of becoming bank r upts. A collection in aid of the fund was then Jiken, and shortly afterwards the meeting closed iil the usual manner. An inquest was to have at the Courthouse this morning, be.°re -L. V.. Parker, Esq., District Coroner, on tne boay of a female child supposed to have died through neglect. As the inquiry is postponed" until Monday next to allow of the attendance of the mother, \ye refrain from giving any further particulars in regard to the matter.

.'A meeting V the Match Committee, to close accounts, will be held at M'Kenzie's hotel on Thursday evening, at 8 o'clock. • ') The sale of Messrs. -Lees and. Mpore Teaheraki township' exteMon tod / farms ! will take place on Thursday, 17th inst. We : are informed that the crops (which will be ■ sold with the land on easy tenns) are looking well. Fanners will find it advantageous to purchase at the present time, being within three months of harvest. They will therefore have an almost immediate return for their outlay. - - . A largely-attended meeting was held m the Otepopo Schoolroom last evening "to consider the new railway time-table. Mr. A. Anderson occupied the chair. After discussing the matter, the following resolution was carried :—"That it is the opinion of this meeting that the departure of the morning train to the north should be delayed an hour and a half, or therebv, and that in the event of this not being practicable, the express train stop here as formerly." A i petition to the railway manager embodyingthe above resolution was then drawn up and numerously signed. It was decided that Messrs. Ryley, Anderson, and Todd should wait upon Mr. Grant and present the petition. A special meeting of the Committee of the North Otago Turf Club was held at the Empire Hotel last evening, when there were present —Messrs O'Meagher (president, in the chair), Lumsden, Steward, Sherwin, "Longford, Greenfield, Shalders, and Grant (hon. sec). The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. Mr. Greenfield complained that no report had

been received from the sub-committee appointed to wait on the Trust regarding the ofTer of Messrs. Paterson and Shalders to surrender their lease on certain terms. Messrs. Steward and O'Meagher, as members of the Trust,"explained that the Trust could not see their way to entertain the proposals of the Club, and the matter dropped. The resignations of Messrs. Lumsden and Longford of their offices as treasurer and committee-man respectively were tendered, but those gentlemen consented to withdraw them, and act for a further term. The Hon. Secretary reported that the whole of the stewards, with the exception of Mr. M'Auly. had consented to act. Messrs. Grant, Greenfield, Lumsden, Lintott, Sherwin, and Taylor, were appointed to canvass and collect subscriptions for the race fund, and Messrs. O'Meagher, Sherwin, Grant, and Greenfield were chosen as a Ground

Committee. The question of providing hotter accommodation for the Press and Stewards having been discussed, it was decided to leave the matter to the Ground Committee to arrange. The meeting terminated with the usual compliment to the Chairman. The practice of the Philharmonic Society will take place on Friday evening, in the Waitaki Hall, at 8 o'clock. Members are requested to attend. We are requested to draw the attention of all intending exhibitors at the coming Show of the North Otago Agricultural and Pastoral Association to the fact that entries in the several classes positively close on the 7th November, at 5 p.m., and that salt butter intended for competition must be lodged with the Secretary on or before the 21th hist. Programmes of prizes and all information can be obtained from the Secretary, Mr. Church,