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Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1144, 15 December 1879, Page 2

Th« House of Parliament sat on Statantsv l.i.s*!. imtuwit. it aRa««»l its business to cft<Tnfv>:lv on the earty hours Mr. of>jec t-it. an«l so <Ji f other* : hat tin- Hotr. Mr. flat! fstt that he had a tonscivnoe void at offerux. He exf>t&ine»t that. h;wt the Opposition not been 8» ofastr««tive. there wnutil tiava Iktsn n» iwuessity to commit snulv a breach. «r eommots ♦kcencv. \Ve. wonilsr that such aa argument emar«kt>ti fnitii stsch a man. He wortttt teach n* that i£ there is any excuse for tomnuttins; a sin. no sin i» committed. Mr. Half haa virtually saiil that the Opposition have b«en jfttitty of what b considered !Saht)»tl» dssecratiotj. It is fortunater for ttW Opposition that Mr. Halt is sot to b« their judge. IS he wen? to Iw. lie would make them answerable for the sins of th<a wortd. ami we would not like to say w&nrv tii«y wo«M a© to.

They say that " troubles never come alone, hut, notwithstanding we shall incur the frown of hypochondriacs, we would say neither <!•> successes. The goldficlds, many of them said to be worked out, arc yielding their precious metal, in response to the additional industry which has been produced by Lad times; wool has gone up; grain is maintaining its price, crops are looking better than they have ever done since the settlement of the Colony; trade is reviving in Great Britain, and will open the markets to oar produce still more effectually than is the case now, and last, but not least, the loan has been floated. Gloomy forebodings have not been verified. The Colony has lifted its head, and shaken ofT its horrible nightmare. More than twice the amount needed, or. we should rather say, asked for, ha* b»:en sTibscritKul, and it ii thought by

some that it i-t only a pity that ire were not in a position to say that we wont ! accept the lor. We shall, however, l>c able to get

on very well with the I .">.000.000 ; better than we would with L 12.000,009. Foreign

capital is now flowing in freely, causing a riai? in the value of property more reasonable than that which has ruled during the past year. The Dnntroon and Hakateramea Railway, -{I mites in length, and to coat L 123,000 will taken over by the Government. This is good news for "this district, and we think that we are indebted to the representatives for the district in both Houses for the promise of such a fmon. Although the Minister for Public Works stated that companies from whom rai'wavs were taken over by the Government wottldrecetve no profit on the amounts they had expended, we hojic that those whose enterprise was nipped in the bud by unprcccdentedly bad times will not be compelled to suffer any great loss. The Waimate branch railway (length. 17 miles: cost. L1»0.000> and the Shag Point line (length, 1| mile; coat, LS000) will also lie taken over by the Government, as well as the Ashburton Forks (length, 22 miles; cost, L 79,000), Waimate Plains (length, 35 miles; cost, 1.109.000}. Canterbury Racecourse (length, | of ft mile ; coat. L 2000), Dunedin, Peninsula. and Ocean Beach (length, .'{.i miles: *'Owt. IJS.OOO). ami the Kaitangata (length. -|t ; coat, M 9.000). In taking over these lines the Government hart acted in a manner that will meet with general approval.

The Secretary of the Oamaru Harbor Hoard has received from the Victorian Humane Society a number of placards, giving plain instructions how to act in ca3cs of drowning. snnstroke, choking, bleeding, fainting, and apoplexy. These will, wo understand, be |*>3tcd in the Hoard's offices, and will, nt least, be useful in case of drowning or other accidents which may occur on or near th-r Breakwater. A meeting of the Fire Brigade will be held this evening, at half-past 7 o'clock. The usual weekly meeting of the directors of the Oamarn Caledonian Society has been postponed till Wednesday, the 17tli inst. The Christ's College (Christchnrch) eleven cricketers left for thincdin to-day, and will try conclusions with the Dunedin players. During their stay here thev were the guests of the lfon. Mr. Miller and Mr. Borton. It is scarcely neccwaiy to remind our readers that the Dramatic Club's performance in aid of the Mechanics' Institute will be given in the Volnnter Hall this evening. The programme i 3 a very good one, and, leaving out of consideration the excellent object for which it is to bo given, should be sufficient to attract a large audience. "We hope to ace the hall well filled. At the Resident Magistrate's Court this morning Hector Beaton was charged with having ocen drunk and disorderly, and was Sued 20s. with the option of going to prison for four days. The caae of the Inspector of Nuisances against Mr. Henry C'onnell for infringing one of the Corporation bye-laws by offering for sale in an unlicensed yard, viz., the Agricultural and Pastoral Association's Show-ground, on the second day of the late Show, was again called on. Mr. C'reaeh again appeared for the defence. After the evidence of Mr. Torn*, Mr. Ifedley, and the defendant, had been heard, bis Worship dismissed the case. The Committee of the North Otago Coursing (Int. arc already taking steps to ensure the success of the next coursing season, and hove already announced a Derby Stake*. Fttli particulars may be found in our advertising columns. Jnaddt'tion to the stakes to be given bv the Clnb, a bracelet worth five guineas will be presented to the winner bv Mr. J. D. Kett, of the Royal Hotel. Entries must be made with the Secretary (Mr. W. 11. Tlonay ,fV > ***» r * r l***tho l*eli January nest. All entr ess must be the hona jule property of members, and must be puppies whelped on or after the Ist July la3t. We wish to draw the attention of intending competitors at the Caledonian games to the alteration made by the Society in the time for receiving entries for the various events, viz., that all entries for handicaps, with description of colore to be worn, will positively close on Monday, December 20th, and at! other entries, with colors and tartans to be worn, will close on Tuesday, 30th December. Tins is being done to enable the Society to supply a great want felt by visitors, viz.. that of a "correct" card of the fames, giving the number of entries, names, colors, and. in running and walking, the handicap received by each competitors. Professor Wallenburg is still kept busy with patients. We on Saturday received a visit from two persons upon whom he had operated. Their names arc Mr. Nicholas Power and Mr. James M'Urath, both of Wairnate. The first-mentioned had been deaf in one car for 14 years. On Wednesday last he visited the doctor, and obtained some relief. On Thursday he was perfectly cured. a gras* seed and an accumulation of skin which had gathered around it having been extracted. "He told us that he could hear better with the car that had been ! operated upon than he conld with the other. | The last-menti ned visited tlio doctor at the i same time. He was slightly deaf in the left ! and totally deaf in the right ear. A growth | having been extracted from the right ear, he

entirely recovered his hearing, lie told us tFt.it he conltl hear his own voice—a thing that he hail not done for 10 years. The . caae of Mr. Alf.\nti> ! <.r Aitchison is worth ; chronicling. He had been totally de.f in i one car for -I years, nnd slightly affected in the other. He is now perfectly restored, and was so gratified that he to-day introdtteed a act tiering friend to the doctor. Mr. Aitchbon tells us that he conhl only hear his wat'-ii ticking I»v means of the diseased car by preaaing 'it "tightly to it. Now, he can hear it at a distance of a foot, although his ear is stopped with wadding. That the management of the Ogdcn-Towle Opera BootFe Company made « mistake in placing "I'inaforc on the stage on Saturday evening instead of "The Sorcerer," as previously announced, there is no room for doubt. The former piece had so recently been performed in Oamarn that few cared to pat themselves to any inconvenience to attend the Volunteer Hall, and the conseiqnence was that there was only a sxall I audience. Had " The -Sorcerer " been produced, it would certainly have attracted a ! much larger audience, for as yet it is new to Oarnaro. It is quite possible that there might have been strong reasons for not attempting "The Sorcerer" on so limited a stage, or the management may have relied upon the popularity of " l'inafore" being sufficiently gTcat to bring "grist to the mill,'* and we will therefore acquit them of blame for doing what they might have deemed necessary or bejt calculated to pay J

'their heavy expenses. In some respects j " I'inaCory " was better played than by tlie i nrrfertunate Rtceardi Trouin*. but in others |it fell a long way short of the previous rc- ! present .tiorw given in Oamartt. In the first : place the delietotta morsel was not placed a pen the fcoarvU with that completeness and exaotitnde ot' costume which characterised the ttieeardi Company's performance of it, and taken as a whole the cast was not such a strong one, though in a few instances there were improvements in the representation of the parts. -Miss Beatrice was specially good oa Little Buttercup, and pave her small share of the mu.i:c very well. She wa> to

the manner horn. Miss" Thonte was only a passable .Josephine, though a very ? tro^ l jS e\t:n*»r eo«M be made i:i her behalf. Sir h rocter'a host of female relations were not well represented either numerically \of otherwise. i»ir Joseph was creditably impersonated by Mr. Alexander, who also song the incidental music very well, bat there «ras almost an absence of the c:»e, grace, and consummate refinement that characterised Mr. lUeeardi's impersonation of the First Lord of the Admiralty. Mr. Alexander ii, however, to be complimented on the large measure of success achieved by him. Mr. Florence, as Ralph Kackstraw,

rendered his aliarc of the music—no mean share by the way—with great care and precision, and was loudly applauded. Mr. Marshall also sang well, but his Boatswain was not the kind of boatswain we have been accustomed to see either on the stage or on board any of her Majesty's ships of war. The performance of the part of Captain Corcoran by a lady was an innovation that could only be justified on the gro'iud that there was no male in the company capable of rendering the music ; but in justice to Mrs. Florence it must be said that she played the part remarkably well, though the assumption of the part by a lady gave to the performance a great deal more of the character of a burlesque pure and simple than was either necessary or in keeping with the intention of the gifted composer and the talented author. Mrs. Florence sang her music very well, and obtained a large share of the applause. Mr. Warren was only soso as I)ick Deadeye, and the crew of •' H.M.S. Pinafore was a very mean-lookinu body of British tars. A number of sou_,n were introduced by the principal characters, some appropriate and somo decidedly the reverse, amongst the latter being "The Slave Chase," sung by Mr. Marshall, which was not in keeping with the character, suitable to the occasion, nor one that a British sailor would be likely to sing in the presence of the Lord of the Admiralty or in the hearing of his captain. Nearly all the songs were loudly applauded, the most noticeable being "Nancy Lee," spiritedly sung by Miss Beatrice, and "The Death of Melon," admirably rendered by Mr. Florence. The company is one specially well adapted for burlesque, and we should certainly like to see them in that class of entertainment. The company will appear at Waiinate this evening in "H.M.S. i'inafore." It has been suggested by a correspondent in the Otago Daily Times that the man who signalled the engine-driver to stop on the occasion of the late train accident at Purakanui, and who, without doubt, prevented the occurrence of a terrible accident, and the engine-driver and fireman, should be rewarded for the courage they displayed in remaining at their posts after the engine tilMct. We cordially concur in this corre•qiondcnt's suggestion, and this is a matter that wo feel sure will not escape the favorable notice of Mr. Conyers, who is not slow in recognising and rewarding real merit. We were talking (says a writer in the Court Journal) the other day to a friend of ours who resided for some time at Natal. He tells us that the Zulu men are goodnatured, cheerful beings, and that the Zulu girls are excessively pretty, most deoorous in their behaviour, hut addicted to fiirt and joke. If you wish to marry them you have ta pay the father about L4O. Should yon desert your wife her relations assegai you, but if she misbehaves herself the relations, as part of the bargain, kill her. The girls go about in bands ; when they see a young Zulu warrior they surround him, and make him tell them which of them lie thinks the most beautiful.

Mr. Luudon said in the Honse lately, if he liad a dozen of sons, he would sooner see them planting potatoes than in the GovernBuildings down below. The Civil Service was a waste of the best energy and abilities of the young men of New Zealand, who, entering that service, became unfit for any useful employment, got into extravagant habits, ran into debt, committed suicide, or in some other way made fools of themselves.

A pciodieal called the "New South Wales Stamp Collectors' Magazine" is published in Sydney. It gives useful hints as to the methods of detecting forgeries. The pastime which but a few years ago was considered a freak is now dignified by the title of philately, and stamp fancies have increased so, even in the Colony of New South Wales, that they can afford to have a paper of their own.

The Lyttelton Times saysA great quantity of rain has fallen in this distnict during the last few days, and most of the rivers were in heavy flood yesterday. The Opihi was bank full, and had carried away the approach to the bridge on the Temtika, and washed away a large portion of the road on the Timant side. The protective works, consisting of wooden frames containing large stones, have been carried bodily away and landed below the bridge. The river is absolutely impassable for vehicles or horsemen, and as pedestrians are not allowed to i ross the railway bridge there was no means of communication between the two sides of the river except by train. The footbridge, lately erected over the T'cmuka was, at latest advices, in midstream, and not likely to resist lite violeium of Hie water much longer.