The Oamaru Mail WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE NEW ZEALAND AGRICULTURIST. MONDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1879.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1129, 1 December 1879, Page 2

The Oamaru Mail WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE NEW ZEALAND AGRICULTURIST. MONDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1879.

licwßPtA'ijjHtS the Northern line optaned through tu Drmedin, we pointed oat that the Blueskia section wxi beset witlMjaagera * moat aerioos kind. A fating exfottd the public, too, that such waa arifncturvuety the ease. Ju» one coaSti .grepfu-sy with a certainty «>f feeing correct, the d..'.y when an accident wnuUj 'eccttr, and what woulti bo its mature Bat it was generally felt that it waa only reasonable to anticipate a Siaoster, far te> rational beings it aewned inevitable. It wu tempting Prewidanc© to perch the route between Glue* ikiamnd Dunedin at snch an altitude, and ia «ueh a difficult position. Apart from iasiUliji, the cracking of a wheel, or the thematic!! nd erne other caaoaltics to wlidttiestTrailwaysareiiMiteor tawKablc, tbw aaeeoeamatanceai connected with the Btaeaksa section that afford food for grave

apprehensions of danger. The route is devious—it is piled op hero and cut oat there. At one time it winds round a sheer precipice. overlooked by overhanging and tL'ciii itiiii! rucks, upon whose face® it is quite possible the weather may have a disintegrating effect. "Vlfhat then ? We shudder to- think of it. An immunity from danger up to Saturday last had quenched public fear, and travellers had Income brave. "Whilst their lives had been taapended, as it were, by* thread, they had remained fcarled3. Jsut ifiisj have heeri awakened from their dream of security. They have begun to r-'-iii'i: their worst fears. Tiny kti"« that at any moment the Carth up on the verge of a precipice may giie way; that the truck on a difficult and dangemrta pinch may he Mocked by a slip, or it may he obstructed by a fallen rock just where it woold produce the certain and shocking death of a train full of people. We do not mean to say that anybody connected with the railway is blainable for the accident of Saturday. The Government that sanctioned the construction of sttcb a crazy piece of line are not, however, clean-handed. But we cannot obtain any satisfaction out of them now. Oar duty is to deduce lessons from our past experience, and never again, if we can help it, permit such a gross misappropriation of public funds as that which their policy entailed in this and other instances. To the railway department we can say nothing! "We know that they are on the alert; that the line that is beset with so many dangers is subjected to the strictest supervision. This is well; but, after all, we know that no human power can calculate on averting fearful disasters on the present Blneskin section of our main line of railway. "In the midst of life wc are in death" is i peculiarly applicable to those who travel r on stich iinet.

"We hare been favored by the Police Department with a telegram containing the fi>ltawtni; information : —*" Otcjioiio.—Mrs. Tire threw" herself in front of a dray, and was titled. «* J. f;„" we received the letter which you pttjhed under the door of our office, under the cover of darkness, and wc are not surprised Ishat yoa wtre ashamed to append your name to it. The service last night in the New Tcesstrcet Hail was folly attended- One address was ileltvetcd on PhiL ii., S. The choir-led tha singing as usual. The Germ Barlesquc and Comedy Company appeared at the Volunteer Hull for the fourth and tost time on Saturday evening. There was only a moderate attendance, btit the I performance west remarkably well, being in every respect ecjttal to its predecessors. Both ; th<t c©nw»li«tt» "Kaehrefiaml the burlesque of "La SmnambnLi'" met. with groat favor ftßin the audience. Tii?. com|«mT will : appear j>S Patmeraton to-night and to-mar- ! morrow, and at Wackonaiti on Wednesday I . Tfi<- Osrnaru Artillery wis! meet tor ilriEi ■ evening. The vital statistics tor Oatnartt for November are a 4 fottow Rirtbs. -i- ; deaths, •">; • marriages, >{. . ... i A supplement accompanies this issue ot : tfirt Mail, giving a t'all report ©f the Dimediii Show, taken t'wa the Otagw Daily Times, i 'a deference to the wishes of a few of the | townspeople. -who have expressed an opinion tn - management of the affair ' that the noisiness of the-"attack and defence tlri'U proposed to V held t»> night at the drill 'sired wottM profiaMy prr>v»> injurious to * se tferat citizens who ?.re in ill-health, it ha.* i decided to hold it ontside- the tov.a on ; Friday, the l-th trist.. that being the usual : inspection parade night. The companies ■writt fait in near thi™ Mechanics' Institute at 17.30 o'clock, and will march in column of i to ate. headed by the bands, to theneighbor- ! hoed of the new cricket ground. ! There are eleven "Money to Lend " advts. in the Auckland Herald. If the Auckland I rooney-leadera were to advertise here they ismlA find no difficulty in getting rid of thtir surplus capital. The remains of the late Mr. .James? Fulton, the Secretary to the Oamani Volnntccr Fire i Brigade, were conveyed to their hat resting pt»c«r yesterday afternoon. The funeral ; cortege was a moat imposing one. and it is i seldom that the streets arc thronged by sttch a crowd as they were yesterday afternoon. The procession was formed as follows: i Mrmhers of the Masonic Lodges Oamarn Kii v.-;r:r.;r,~ and Waitaki; a l>and r t" about ! thirty, eompwied of member* of the Artillery ami N'o. i * 'ortvpanv bands : the hearse, with autmbcra of ths Fire Brigade acting as pall- ' bearers : and iEvn a large numlwr of private 1 frirrul* of Uvc deceased. As the cortege i moved along the various streets leading to ! tiiit ccmtttsry, the band played alternate y i the " I>ead March in Sawl," and a hymn tone. At the cemetery there coithl not have tn-eti less than TOO people present. The Rev. A. R. Todd performed the burial service in a must impressive manner, and as the grave of the first fireman in Oamara was being filled ttt?, the assemblage dispersed. Mr. Gcmmill. of Maheno, brought with him from Duntdtn. on Saturday last, a very tine looking Avrshire bull, which he purposed atone of the sales usual during show times. His name is .Stirk. His granddam was bred at Caatlebum. Kilwinning, and was half sister to the cow that earned off three first prizes at Ayr show about ten years ago—no small achievement. His dam was bred in the same place, and she also has been fortunate in the show ring where some of the finest cattle in the world arc to be found. She was half sister to Rcossic, which was sold to the Duke of Bucclcugh for LI2O. ilis grandsire was bred by Mr. John Stewart, of Strathaven, a bull that •timed numerous honors in the prize ring. If is sire was by a bull bred by Mr. Howie, of Bumhouse, an animal that has left ntjm«!rons and meritorious progeny. His sire's darn is a cow that i 3 covered with high honors ettned at Ayr and Glasgow. The ball Stirk cannot fail to distinguish lumsclf as! a breeder of pure stock. Mr. Gcmmill s enterprise is worthy of commendation and reward, and we trn3t that his new investment will prove valuable to the district, in which case it B>n»t prove remunerative to It has lons been a common prediction that a great railway accident is to take place at tt«e Pnrakanui Cliffs, on the line between Porakantti and Blneskin. The prediction amt . very near being fulfilled oil Saturday niitht. through a slip from the hank on the inland side striking ft pasjitig train in such a way that it was a miracle the engine, carriages, passengers, and everything concerned were not precipitated into the sea. When the special train which left Dtmedm tar Pahneraton at 5.15 p.m. had arrived close to Goat Island, one of the linemen gave the engine-driver warningthat a slip lind blocked the line. The train could not be be Btopped in time, however, and it ran into the stuff, which consisted of earth stones and' scrub. A further slip alio took place. Undine on top of the engine, knocking it off tW rails, and considerably damaging it. The drivcrand stoker were thrown from theengine, bat wecc not hurt beyond a few bruises. Had the warning not been given, and tiie train conjMittently stowed, nothing could have saved the engkie frvnn basing driven over the bank, whitflt U J* yanla of the ra:l£, and shelves at ti-.i- spot very nrarlv ihcmcndieutirty into the-ees. Tfte Chris tchureh express wm delayetl at i>lueskin for a time, and then proceeded to the «c«inc, whore a transhipment ot paiscßgen w cfTcctcd, tiie express taking thoa« from Pnncdin on their destination. and another engine luiving been sent for, the express passengers were brought into town in the carriages belonging to the train which met with the inithap, arriving at about 11 p.m. It may be mentioned that previously the express bad to plough its way through a slip this aide of Palmejston. To® recent heavy rains no donbt were the cause of these slips. Mr. Armstrong and a party of men went frtan Dnncdin to clear the block, and traffic will be resumed to-day as usual.—Daily Times.