The Oamaru Mail WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE NEW ZEALAND AGRICULTURIST. FRIDAY, MAY 23 1879.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 965, 23 May 1879, Page 2

The Oamaru Mail WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE NEW ZEALAND AGRICULTURIST. FRIDAY, MAY 23 1879.

The reputation of the honest working man suffers when blatant humbugs such as those that lately harangued street crowds in Christchurch open their mouths. Will anyone tell us that Juhn Lee and Charles Clements are not more worthy of the designation of agitators and firebrands than " fellow-workmen," a3 Lee termed those whom he addressed. So far as we can see, they are rather men of whom John Sl'Laren would be jealous ; John M'Laren, who was the laziest, mischiefmaking fellow that the Colony has ever seen. What is there in the present state of the labor market that need create surprise ? The harvest is just over, and men drawn from other source* are amusing themselves by hanging about the large cities for a season, prior to returning to the avocations they follow in the intervals between harvest and harvest. These, with a too literal adroixtnre of the "ne'er do weet " element, doubtless formed the principal portion of the Chxistcliurch audiences, whose hearts burned within them as they listened to the native eloquence of the two worthy disciples of the lamented Mr. John M'Laren, general

merchant, hawker, politician, and " working man's advocate." But whilst we must, in justice to the genuine working man, in dissecting these gatherings state our conviction that they consisted principally of those who are agitators and " birds of passage," we must, for the same reason, acknowledge the probability that not a few of them w«re bona fide seekers of employment. That there should be a number of artisans and lalwrers out of work at such a' time as this is not surprising, and we shall be glad if things in this respect do not become worse before they are better. Public works are languishing, building operations are arrested because of the want of money by the Government and the people, and agriculturists are necessitated to retrench for the sake of their very landed possessions. Want of care now would produce almost universal insolvency, and men are obliged to look at every shilling if they would keep themselves out of Court. The speakers at the late Christchurch meetings gave expression to the old stock arguments. They said that they had been brought to the Colony under false representations of the Government agents. The only fault we have to find with Home immigration agent 3 is that they have sent out too many of those who have never done any good for either themselves or society at Home, and evidently intend not to turn over a new leaf here. The genuine working man is not so unreasonable as to denounce anybody and everybody because he happens to be out of work for a few days, or even weeks, during the year. He can afford such a cessation from labor if he has been ordinarily provident. This Colony is par excellence the place for an industrious man, as thousands can testify who have wrought themselves into positions of comfort, and even competency, since they came here. The working men of the Colpny may congratulate themselves on being the most fortunate section of our population during the present depressed state of the Colonial money market. There may be a temporary lull in their industries, which is only to be expected; but they will not be called upon to suffer the hardships of those who were but a few months aco in positions of competency, but who are now ruined or on the verge of ruin through the unfortunate combination of circumstances fron) which the Colony is now suffering. It was asserted that an attempt was being made to reduce the wages"of working men. We heard nothing about this until now, and do not believe a word of it. Working men's wages, so far as we know, are about the same now that they were several months ago, and are likely to remain so if working men would rather remain idle than take what employers of labor can afford to give them under" existing girpupistances. Working men may insist upon their w? r gps being kept up"— for this no one can blame them—but they cannot compel people to give them employment when they have not the money to pay for it.

In tit.- sixteenth line of our yesterday''s leader, a typographical error occurred, and was not discovered until it was too late to irorrect it. The sentence in question should rea ,i ; —"\Vo have no Cwlomfionv, a miserable and utterly unsuitable and inelegant railway station, a wretched, patched-up Post Ofh.u and Telegraph Otiice, and aCourthonse that might have beep erected for anything bnt the purposes for which it ia U3ed.' At the meeting of the Municipal Council !n,it evening, the Mayor drew the attention of the Council to the proposal of the Railway department with reference to the alteration of the railway crossing at Thames-street. He said that from plans he had seen of the proposed line from the new passenger station to connect wi h main south line, it appeared that the junction wonhl be in the centre of Thames-street. The proposed line would cross the Isgopi) and come over a portion of the bridge, necessitating the removal of some part of the east wall ot the structure.. Hut this was not all. Over a portion of the street there would be & double line of rails, with the points in the centre of the street. This would not only be inconvenient, but would be positively dangerous, and might lead to a portion of the street being fenced off. He therefore thought that the Council should look into the matter, and suggested that it should be referred to the Works Committee. It was then resolved, "That the Works Committee, with the Engineer, lie directed to enquire as to the proposed plans re railway crossing at Thames.street and Humber-street, with power to act." "Times are getting no better fast,when a tenant who. we should think, had never previously had even the faintest idea of writing poetry, is reduced to the necessity of doing so now, in order to contribute something in return for the kindness of his landlord In allowing him the use of his premises for a month free of cost. The following linss were found, a day or two ago, in the keyhole of o house, in lien of a month's rent: —"The charm in my friend that I'm pleased to sec is the loving Uust wJjich ho places in me." If all defaulting tenants would act so considerately, and treat their landlords to a little select poetry, it would .soothe many a sorrow whilst the necessity for adopting this new way of paying a debt might develop many a genius. If thii tenant had departed without leaving behind him some souvenir by which his landlord could call him to memory, who knows but that the lives of both might have been embittered. A little cheap poetry will act as a solatium to one who, had it not been left for him, might have thought that lie had been forgotten. Grant's tunnel, 4(5 chains in length, the largest in the race, was pierced this morning. At 8.30 a.m. the men cleared away, and at 11 a.m. Mr. M'Leod walked through. It ia satisfactory to know that this work, one of the most difficult connected with the waterworks, has been carried through successfully. At the Resident Magistrate's Court to. day, before T. W. Parker, Esq., K,M., Robert Taylor, for being drunk and disorderly on the railway platform yesterday, was fined 20a.

We recently noticed some excellent paint? ings of racehorses from the ''rush Qf Mr. G. Fotler, and on view* at tha JJwpire Hotel, and we now observe that the same gentle* man, who is at present in Oamaru, has added to the number of his pictures of animals. These are on view at the Royal Hotel, and consist of admirable likenesses of Mr. Ronayne's slut Camilla, Mr. Kett's sluts ! Qncen Death and Morning Star, besides an j admirable painting of the celebrated ! thoroughbred horse Traducer, the sire of most of the best racehorses in New Zealand, i We learn by a telegram that the commission of the following Volunteer officers in Oamaru have been gazetted: Captain Lewis Morton and Sub-Lieutenant F. D. Holdsworth, Artillcry.j Lieutenant A. Headland and Sub-Lieutenant T, Morris, No. 1 Company. A telegram informs us that three acres one rood forty-four perches of section 36, block VIII., Otepopo, have been taken for a road. The meeting of the Oamaru Christy Minstrels, called for last evening, did not eventnate, owing to the smallness of the ataltendanc'e. We need scarcely remind our readers that the Starlight Minstrels, a company of Dungflin amateurs, that have been designated by metropolitan papers the best amateur company of the kind in the Colony, will give the first of two entertainments at the Volunteer Hall this evening. Curiosity to see what the best talent of Dnnedin is like and how our Amateur Minstrels compare with those of the southern city shouki be sufficient to attract a large audience.