The Evening Mail. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE NEW ZEALAND AGRICULTURIST. THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 1879.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 853, 9 January 1879, Page 2

The Evening Mail. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE NEW ZEALAND AGRICULTURIST. THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 1879.

Ati-ASS are we compelled to raise »ur voice on the question of railway engine sparks ; and, as the Commissioner of Railways will shortly return from the West Coast t>>a spot within hearing, we have hopes that he. realising the magnitude of the evil. will hare prompt measures adopted to put a stop tt> it. JJCot a day passes but we hear of some ravage having- been perpetrated by these showers of tire, or of some conflagration that was only prevented by the exceeding and irksome vigilance which owners of property are now necessitated to exercise. It is fast becoming a part of their daily labor to watch these daylight consumers of crops off their farms, and to attempt to render nugatory their i>-n>:hont for mischief. This view of the evil is bud, but there is another, and, to us, a new one. Two or three days ago a train ; running between here and Dunedtn was made up as follows .-—The engine came first, then a horse-box, then a truck j containing pigs, and another truck con- ! taining sheep, and a first-class carriage ' containing his Honor Judge Ward and » number of other persons, amongst whom were not a few ladies. The engine vomited tumps of coal that rattled against the windows with a sound resembling that of hail. These missiles damage, more or less, everything combustible with which they con:*? into contact, and were not long in setting tire to the threes of the unfortunate sheep and the coats of the tr ji tally unfortunate pigs, and the smoke oi their burning curled up in volumes. Certain unsavory- odours, combined with thn--s others from which pent-up animals art- peculiar, were amongst the privileges which it is sometimes the lot of first-class passengers to enjoy ; I»u.t it is scarcely likely that they thought f>* themselves when the animals were in such an extremity. Such things as these ought not to be allowed to occur in a cirilised country beyond a time sufficient to put a stop to them. But these engines are still at large, showing every desire to work devastation. They waste fuel, for the itintps ejected are not [ half t-nnsumed ; they damage passengers' > clothes and threaten to inflict personal injury ; they ignite the freight they are drawing: and last, but not least, they promise to bum every 2£te of crop as soon as it is in a proper condition to take the fire kindly. All this is permitted to r.cour because railway officials are either too busy or too careless to nttcm! to its rectification. Where is Mr. Coxyhbs the Practical f He is the man that will both devise measures to arrest the evil and Live them carried out. Sorely he must have been made aware of the existence of the evil before this by those who are responsible to him for the proper conduct of the Department, and, we might add, of the railway engines. It is urged by some that spark catchers would stop the draught and d«ae»ae the speed. Wecon-

tend tliat if apark-catchers would effectually keep these lumps of coal under control, they should be adopted even at the expense of speed. It would, indeed, be a nice thing for these engines to be allowed to fire the crops—the sole property of struggling settlers —to their loss, unless they could incontestably prove that that losa had been occasioned by the railway engine.