Untitled

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 990, 21 June 1879, Page 2

It witt be seen on reference to ottr telc- : grams that twt» wrecKS have occurred at the mouth of the Wangiwuti River. and that this port ia not singular in being visited by boisterous weather and heavy seas. .As a role, we are now as free from shipping accidents as any port in Jtcw Zt'alanii, and when the contemplated addition is made to the Breakwater there will be no harbor in the Colony whiuh will give the masters of vessels less trouble than oars. Bat the time is fast arriving when the Harbor Board will na\ e to invest in a ateam tng for the use of vessels visiting the h»rlx>r. One of these useful things would not only inspire the freoaenters of this port with additional confidence, but it wonld greatly facilitate the loading and unloading of vessels, and prevent disappointment of shippers and owners during the gTain and wool seasons, when the resource* of the port are subjected to extraordinary pressure. t\ e have lately read a description of a osefnl steam tog called " Howden's patent. It has fore and aft screws, one of which i* always in the water, so that the obstruction offered to the vessel when plyingin a heavy sea is redcced to a minimum. The dimensions of one suitable for the purposes of this

harbor should be about 40 xlB feet. A tug j of this size would be of 25 horse-power, and, of so light a draught that she could, when: not required, be drawn up on skids. It is > said that such a vessel could go out m any ; weather with ease. Howden s patent is constructed of steel, and one such as we have briefly described could be imported in pieces at a cost of L2OOO. The fact that such toga are used on the Clyde would appear to be a guarantee that they are what j they are repre*«nt®d to be. •'The best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft agee," quo Robert Burns, and not less so in a newspaper office than elsewhere, and this must be our excuse for the fact that a number of copies of our yesterday's issue, intended for country subscribers, never reached their destination, having by an accident in the despatching-room been put into plain instead of directed wrappers. We apologise to those of our readers who have been thus disappointed, and will endeavor to prevent the recurrence of a like circumstance* We reerot to learn by telegraph that no trace of Mr. Shalders, telegraphist of Cable Bay and son of Mr. Thos. Shalders, has yet been obtained. _ Nominators of dogs in the Waterloo are reminded that the names, colore, and pedigrees of dogs, mußt be lodged with the Hon. Secretary before 8 p.m. on Monday, the 23rd inst. The s.s. Waitaki will sail for Duncdin tomorrow morning, at 8 o'clock. The annual meeting of the North Otago Horticultural Society will be held on Wednesday evening, at half-past seven o'clock, at Mr. Earle's rooms, and a meeting of the committee will take place half-an-hour earlier. The winter vacation of the Oamaru public schools commenced yesterday afternoon, and will last for a fortnight. The time for making arrangements for the next Show of the North Otago Agricultural and Pastoral Association is fast approaching. We notice that a meeting of the Committee has been called for Thursday next, for the consideration of the programme, ' At the Resident Magistrate's Court to-day, b-fore S. E. Shrimski, Esq., J.P., Robert Moore was charged with stealing a boiler, of the value of 10s, the property of Mr. George Sumpter. The charge was withdrawn. He was also charged with stealing, on or about the 15th inst., a jug, of the value of 7s 6d, the property of Hugo Lippert. For this offence he received a sentence of one month's imprisonment, with hard labor. Previous to leaving for the midwinter holidays, the pupils attending the North School assembled for the purpose of presenting their late master, Mr. D, Fleming, with a token ef their esteem for him. The head master, Mr. J. Lindsay, made the presentation, which took the form of a handsome writing-desk, suitably inscribed. Mr. Fleming having responded, three cheers were given for the past and present masters, and the children dispersed. Mr. Fleming hag, wo learn, been appointed master of the Naseby School. We have always had a great notion of the honesty of the Otepopo folks. But there is at least one black sheep amongst them. Today, a subscriber to the Mail called at our otlice anil complained that his papers have been purloined from the Otepopo railway station. If the delinquents would kindly semi their names, we sliall be happy to take ! into consideration the expediency of supplying them with papers tree of cost, in order thnt those who pay for tiic privilege of getting . a;> •i» may riijny it.