The Oamaru Mail. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE NEW ZEALAND AGRICULTURIST. FRIDAY, JANUARY 23, 1880.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1176, 23 January 1880, Page 2

The Oamaru Mail. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE NEW ZEALAND AGRICULTURIST. FRIDAY, JANUARY 23, 1880.

Hurrah I The Minister for Public Works 13 coming ; and that too "With the intention of listening to the many grievances that the public have to bring under the notice of the Government. At the meeting of the Municipal Council last evening his Worship the Mayor, who was unavoidably absent, wrote stating that he had seen the Hon. Mr. Oliver on the occasion of his passing through Oamarn on his way to JJunedin. The Minister had informed him that he would shortly visit Oamarn, and would advise as to date. There is a vast difference between the visit that is promised and the visits that have already taken place. Previously the Hon. the Minister for Public Works only deigned to visit Oamarn because it was impossible to travel between Dunedin and Christchurch without pausing here for a few moments. Now he is coming to talk tons, to listen to our wants, and to make a note of them, and make a few promises. This is something to rejoice about, and we hasten to publish the glad tidings. The Council apparently thought that some practical result should be sought from the presence in Oamarn of a Minister of the Crown, and at once appointed a powerful Committee to frame a detailed list of the many wrongs requiring redressing, and bring the several mattera under Mr. Oliver s notice. Both the Minister and the Comirittee have no mean tasks imposed upon them —the latter in preparing a list of our many requirements and the former in listening to the many little matters of public interest that have hitherto escaped his attention. We pity the Committee, but we have little commiseration with the Minister, who has allowed wrongs to so largely accumulate that he will have a good load to bear away wtth him. "One of the Committes letter is unavoidably held over. The question of re-cngaging the Engineer was brought up at the meeting of the Municipal Council last evening. Councillor Humphrey, who occupied the chair, explained that tha present engagement oi the Engineer would terminate on the Ist Feb' rnary, and that it was necessary to come to some decision upon the matter. After some little discussion, the following resolution, proposed bv Councillor Headland, seconded by Councillor Otterson, was earned : "That Mr. M'Leod be re-engaged as Engineer to the Corporation at 3 salary of USOO per annum, without private practice; three months' notice to be given either side to terminate the engagement. A.t a meeting of the Irish Famine Eeliet Fund Committee held yesterday afternoon at the County Council Chambers, Mr. J. O'Meairher in the chair, the following bjisiness was transacted : —Collectors appointed : Severn Ward—Messrs. Hislop, .Roberts, Rule, and Smith. High Ward Messrs. Humphrey/ Mirams, O'Meagher, Otterson, and llonayne. Jetty Ward—. Messrs. Forrester, Jones, Sumpter, and Shrimski. Thames Ward—Messrs. Greenfield, Grant, A. J. S. Headland, Kerr, J. Moss, and Martian). It was resolved that a collecting table should be placed near the Colonial on next Saturday and the Saturday followin" the same to bo tended in turn by memhere of Committee; that lists should be forwarded to the banks, railway department, schoolmasters, and hotels throughout the district; that Tuesday next should be set apart as a special day for collecting; and thafc snb3cription-list3 should be returnable on Satnrday, the 7th proximo. The names of the following gentlemen were added to the Committee {—Messrs. 2*eil Fleming, Burbury, Hassell, inn., A, Kerr, Roberts, Humphrey, Knle, Jlarkhajo, » ncl Ifr- Gar * It may not be generally known that at the time information wa3 being compiled by Mr. W. J. Steward to accompany the debentures tor the Oamarn waterworks loan, the late Mayor conceived the idea of sending Home a series of photographs, probably in order to convince the English money lenders that some progress had beefi made with the construction of the waterworks. The effibefc of these works of art upon ths Stock Exchange was promised to be very striking,, They would provide conclusive proof of the , bona fides of the Corporation's grounds for ' borrowing money. Messrs, iemer and (todlt were engaged to take these photographs, which were duly sent Home; but for some j reason they did not produce the effect lipped ; for. The members of tha Stock Exchange, while admiring the beauty of the scenery, the excellence of the photographs, and the brilliancy of the idea which prompted transmission Home, coolly remarked, " c .Io not want photographs, where are your securities t" Severe as the cut undoubtedly was, it was not the only unfortunate circumstance connected with the photographic business. At the meeting of the Council last evening. Councillor Otterson mentioned that the photographers had not yet been paid, and was grpeted with a volley of inquiries as to upon whose authority they i t re ordered, &c. No one seemed to be able to answer the queries, ac/l, a determination well in keeping with t;je importance of the subject, several Councillors declared that they would have the matter inquired into. The adjourned meeting of the Committee the Mechanics'» Institute and AtlieiKvufn vrw held last evening, when there were pre-„..ut—Me-ars. Forrester (in the chair), jvattie, Fiiliul, Moiiison, Davis, and Willi.uiuon f Hon. .Secretary;. It was menlirme.i that hi Jily JiatL/actory arrangements had b'-en jnark- ior the investment of the proceeds of the bazaar. No report with reference to the bazaar could be brought up, aa the balance of the stovk had not yet beea

disposed of, but ail art union of the remainder of the goods "was being arranged, and so soon as this was concluded the report would be submitted. The President, Vice-Presi-dent, .and Messrs. Peat tie and Filleul, with the Treasurer and Secretary, were appointed to draw up the anneal report for submission to the meeting of the subscribers to be held on Thursday. 6th February. It was decided to request Messrs. Montagu and Church to audit the accounts. Mr. John Bulleid presented a cheque for Ll2 as a donation to the institute, being the amount of his account for matting and other furnishings for the rooms. The donor was unanimously elected a life member of the institute. The meeting shortly afterwards rose. The Registrar-General for the Colouy having requested the Town Clerk of Oamaru I to supply him with information upon which he could amend the estimate of the population of the borough in his monthly vital statistics, Mr. Roxby has prepared some figures that may not be uninteresting to our readers. These give the total number of buildings in the town, and a detailed list of their class as follows:—lnhabited houses, 953 ; churches, 5 ; schools, 5 ; breweries, 3 ; shops, 110 ; stores, 2S ; other buildings, such as halls, stables, &c., 62; making a total of 1196. It is announced that the High School will lie re-opened on Monday next, at 10 o'clock. The event will be signalised by the initiation of the new scheme of instruction proposed to the Committee by the Rector. Pending the ajjpoiiitment of a Matron, the duties will be undertaken by Miss Spratt, of Dunediu, whose services are available for a short time during the completion of the school of which she has been appointed Matron. A meeting of the Committee of the Oainaru Jockey Club was held last evening in the Empire Hotel. Present—Messrs. T. Y. Duncan (in the chair), Greenfield, Pater-1 son, Hardy, Moss, and Soutban (Hon. Secretary). The Programme Committee appointed at last meeting submitted a programme, which, after a few alterations had been made, was adopted, the money to be given away amounting to between L4OO and LSOO. It was resolved on the motion of Mr. Hardy, seconded by Mr. Paterson, that the races be held on the 17th and 18th of March, and in reply to a telegram from Mr. Jas. Duncan, of the Palmerston Club, asking that the date might be altered so as not to clash with the Palmerston races, the Secretary was instructed to reply that as the 17th and ISth March had been fixed some time since at a general meeting of the Club the Committee could not see their way to alter the dates. After a few matters had been dealt with in | connection with the forthcoming races, the meeting adjourned after the usual vote of thanks had been accorded to the chair. At the Resident Magistrate's Court to-day, before T. W. Parker, Esq., R.M., Hector M'Beath was fined 20s, -with the alternative of going to gaol for three days, for having been drunk and disorderly in Thames-street last night. William Wilson wag also charged! with having been drunk and disorderly, and was ordered to undergo twenty-four hours' imprisonment. James Shearer and Jane Crawford were charged with having, at Oamaru, on the 21st instant, stolen three LI notes and a gold ring of the value of L2 sterling, the property of William Wilson. The prisoners were remanded until to*' morrow morning, in order to afford the I prosecutor an opportunity of serving the j twenty-four hours' imprisonment inflicted upon him for drunkenness and to recover from the effects of his spree. A cricket match will be played on the old Cricket Ground to-morrow afternoon by the members of the Excelsior Club, between the first eleven and the next eighteen, play to begin at 2.15 p.m. sharp. The following are the players : —Eleven—Cooke, Diitton, Fenwick, Finch, A. Hartley, Hewat, Marshall, D. Moore, Snow, 1 erawhiti, Thompson. Emergencies—Little, Hardy, and Ham. Eighteen—Bannerman, W. Cook, Church, Davis, Ferens, Gifford, J. Hartley, Ham, A. O. Hardy, A. E. Hardy, Henderson, Hicks, Little, J. Man, Man, C. Moore, J. M'Leod, A. M'Leod, M'Gregor, Robinson, Robertson, Roxby, Spence, Tuckey, and Williams. The following " District Notes" have been kindly forwarded to us from Windsor, under the signature of " Diogenes" :—Barring occar sional showers we have beautiful weather, nothing to hinder regular work, which is apparently so plentiful in this district. Such sunshine, making the growth around quite perceptible to the most ordinary observer. This ought to induce crops of a fine character, and cause a good yield. Many of the hands employed on tlje railway works have made their arrangements for harvesting, and are now ready •with their "drums" to meet the requirements anticipated. Occasionally one notices a small piece of exceptionally heavy crop much laid, but on the whole there is nothing to complain of, as by far the greater proportion is well up and rapidly developing, without any of the serious appearances to which cereals are heir, and which croakers have predicted would eventuate. Tiie grain shows a fine, healthy, strong stalk, with good full ear throughout; in fact, such as would delight the eyes of an Old Country farmer in his most prosperous seasons,