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Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1209, 2 March 1880, Page 2

It would appear that the North Otago Beucvolent Society's Home is a more expen: sive institution than can be maintained at its present rate by the Society. Last year the expenses amounted to almost L2OO over the receipts, and at last night's meeting of the Committee there was some discussion upon the matter, during which several members expressed surprise at the large cost of maintaining the Home, which should, in some .measure, be self-supporting, seeing that servant girk out of employment are required to pay for their maintenance, and that parents of chiJ4rpn are also required to contribute to the fnn.4*, U l«w pointed out that the Barrack-masters salary of accounted in a very large measnr.e for ph# deficiency, bat ifc wan ntiW thought that jfch,e expenses were very high, wui the President, Messrs. Headland, Oiteraon, Falconer, and Minims were appointed a Speeifli Committee to inquire into the whole working &£ fhe Home. A temporary telegraph station has been opened at the Rifle Camp, JJridgewater, in ,thp Provincial District of Nelson. The Philharmonic Society's practice will JjLke xdgse Jp.-morrow evening. It is particularly requested that the instrumentalists, as w*ll as .Vie floras 3f14 spboists, will be ia ; agqiajitan~c# punctually subject for rchfiwjgaj js Marita,na.

It is now certain that at least 120 Volunteers from North Otago will attend the review to be held at Christchnrch during Easter, including portions of all the companies forming the battalion. The usual monthly meeting of the Kakanui Road Board will be held in ttie offices, Tynestreet, to-morrow, at 2 p.m. At the E.M. Court to-day, H. Collingwood, alias James Hartley, charged with obtaining the sum of L 5 under false pretences from Samuel Newey, hotelkeeper, was remanded until Thursday. William Hanson, charged with being drunk and disorderly, was fined 40s or 10 days' imprisonment. Julia "Vaughan was again brought charged with lunacy, and as it was found that she had sufficiently recovered to be at large she - was discharged. The uniforms for No. 1 Company Oamaru Rifles have been issued, and we were afforded an opportunity of seeing a large a number of the members of the corps in their new. regimentals last evening. The dress is unques ; . tionably the most completely and handsome that we have seen in the colony. There can be no doubt that No. 1 Company will, in point of dress at any rate,, head the list at? the Easter review. The Citizen Cadets have also received their new uniforms,"which Consist of black busbies and blue serge jackets and trousers, it being intended to turn the company into artillery cadet corps. The uniforms for the Hampden and Otepopo Rifles and No. 1 Company's Band are expected to arrive shortly, and when these are recei.-ed and new uniforms provided for the Artillery Band there will not a battalion in the colony than that of North Otago. From what transpired ab the meeting of the Committee of the Benevolent Society' last evening it appeared some irregular orders had been given for relief, and the Committee determined at once to put a stop to such proceedings. In one case an order for flannel, &c, had been given by the Secretary by order of a member of the Committee without reference to the Visiting Committee for the time being, whose duty it is to inquire into cases of relief, and in another a man had been' admitted to the Home on the order of the Sergeant of Police and a private citizen. In the first case, Mr. Toohey, who supplied the articles, was referred to the Committeeman giving the order for payment qf the account, amounting to L2; and in the second matter it was decided to give instructions to the Barrackmaster that no person was to be admitted to the Home without the order of amembei' of the Committee.

A match will be fired to-morrow morning between the Oamaru Citizen Cadets and the Dunedj.n Naval Cadets. The following is the Oamaru team :=—Sub-Ljeut, Spence, Sergts. Aitken and Swinard, Cadets Thomson, Orr, Johnson, Cormack, Murray, Cairns, and Hook. Emergencies, Kite and Grenfell. Firing'to commence at 5.30 a.m. The meetings of the Committee of the North Ofcago Benevolent Society are not of so serious "a nature'as might be surmised, judging from the.faot that the members have to deal with many cases of distress. Last night's meeting was enlivened by some jokes, good, bad, and indifferent. During the progress of the business it. was mentioned that it was necessary for the Society to have a seal, and it was stated that a plain seal, with simply the name of the Society, might he obtained for about L2. Mn Headland, howevep. thought that something appropriate should be obtained, say a Seal with •'Charity represented in the centre with a nuniber of children flying about," This suggestion rather tickled the members, present, hut the laughter it elicited was as nothing compared with that which followed Mr. Greenfield's suggestion that "a mangle, a kitchen clock, aud a pair of bellows rampant" would form an elegant and appropriate design. It was not decided to obtain a seal just at present, some one suggesting that every member ghould attend next meeting with a .design for the seal, Prpro what fell from members at the meeting we should say that the designs will form a very interesting study when brought forward,

There was a very good attendance at the weekly parade of £To, 1 Company Oamaru Rifles last evening. During the drill a competition for promotion took place, resulting in the election of Volunteers Henderson and Munro as coporals and of Volunteers King and Lee as lance-corporals. Captain Sumpter impressed upon the men the necessity, in view of the review, for daylight parades. The following items of Australian news were telegraglicd. to us last -evening from Auckland j-r-The populatipn of Victoria at the end of December was number of roughs at Collingwood attacked the police and endeavored to rescue a prisoner. —At Carlton Mr. Morris endeavored to address a meeting, but the supporters of Mr. Gardiner, the rival candidate, swept the hall.— Adelaide will be lighted with gas in $• week's time.—Heavy floods have occurred in she Richmond River District. Professor Cavill gaye a swimming exhibition at Adelaide to three thousand pergqiis, A new opera called "The Pirates," is from the pen of Arthur Sullivan, the libretto being written by Mr. YV. S. Gilbert. Apparently there is nothing in the work, as the New York Dramatic News critic speaks of jtin the following by no means measured te*ffts : —"There is just enough in "The Pirates of Penzance" to save it from failure. That is to say, its general effect is one of brightness and pleasantness, 'ifly. biullfvan has never done anything so poorly as the music of this work, and Mr. Gilbert was evidently tired when he conceived the plot of the silly work. Yet it is well put upon the stage, and well rehearsed, and this has a great deal to do with the temporary success it has obtained at the Fifth Avenue. But to compare with it that bright gem called »' Pinafore" 13 no compliment to either Mr. Sllll} van or Mr. Gilbert, and a decided insult "to the: jpteiligenae fit the pnbbjc," Speaking of the siriging tbje ;same prjtip §ay«:— "The two successes in the cast are the General Stanley, by Mr. Ryley, who is 'a very pbjyer aotor, arid the Sergeant of Police, of Mf, Clifton, whipty is dope with a seriousness that is doubly amusing, The Pirafo Chief of John BVocgolini j§ simply vilp, both in voice and aetion." ff The Pirates" will probably be a success of curiosity- for a short time, but it will never obtain the reputation and success of "Pinafore," The Mataura Ensign states that a representative of one of the London dailies is now in the Gore district with a view of inspecting and reporting on the New Zealand Land Company's properties. Advices from Cape.Town to 16th January (furnished by a gentleman in town) give the following particulars in New Zealand produce :—Wheat at that date was worth 2os per 2061b5, less 8d per lOOlbs duty and 40s per .ton freight, equal to about 6s per bushel, return } oats 8s to 9s per lOOlbs, less freight and duty; butter, very much liked, worth Is .3d to Is G& ner lb, shipments strongly recommended.; pour, 14s to its per 2001bs. From these figures it appears that New Zealand produce can to a pertain extent, coma good . sa^e #* *) ,e C'ape ports . and ,the traije is pertavdy worth looking affer.— Tiroaru'Teiegrap]}. The Star says:—*•' It. is RQp generally known that Arthur Sketchley was educated for the church, took his degree, was ordained, and wfts for five-years a .curate in the Weald of Kent, JJe.tnon hepame a Catfjplic, and beinga good classical scholar, and master of several modern languages, he became tutor to the lata Duke of Norfolk's family, and educated the present Duke. He has made money by his books and readings. Of ' Mrs. Brown at the Play,' 250,000 copies have been sold."

' Writing of sparrows, a " Prebbleton Farmer "' expresses himself as follows, in a letter to the Lyttelton Times : being.l 7 years in the Colony, I have proved myself a great gainer by large numbers; of these .so-called pests. Before their importation I sustained loss to a large extent by caterpillars and other insects, but since the I importation of sparrows my loss in grain has hot' been so much by 75 per cent. We hayo recipes for the destruction of birds, fyut not £9l' cafcerniliars and pther equally destructive injects. A£ t|}6 (Jnjif' d6es not affect Mr. J.B.Ai's /jyes, perhaps ho \f|U favor us with a recipe for thp destruction; iqf (he above insects, in which case his inforrpa r iipn willbe jnyaluabletothe farmer and others. In 18¥5, J had a- paddock of barley, starfounded by watep, apd I lost 20 bushels per acre through the caterpillars: These came from the headlands of English'grasses, w\\\i>)} proves Mr. J. B. A.'s statements to be cpn« trary to facte. In reference to Californian quail, I have large numbers. Their favorite reports are 'grass paddocks, but i have never noticed theni'damaging -crops." '

Another proof of the inattention paid in. the schools of the Colony to the study of history is afforded by the address of the Chancellor on opening the annual session of the New Zealand University. The examinations for degrees last year were in part conducted by examiners outside the Colony. The result therefore cannot be known until the end of March at the earliest; but the examiners in jurisprudence, constitutional history, experimental physics, modern languages, natural science, history, and political; economy l were all New Zealand men,' anil they report that in the two latter subjects the answers of the candidates were "far. from satisfactory," those ux history ibeing J sobad'as:to to tE$ 'opinion, that the candidatesVhad' read subject hastily fronvsome meagre manual*" It is time the secondary schools bestirred themselves in this matter. An intelligent knowledge of history is an essential element of a liberal education, and in these days of popular government every intelligent citizen .should know something of political economy.'' The University graduates may be fairly expected to be expert enough J ip the «oienpe' to leaven the public opinjon of the masses,, and so present the manifold blunders ;which have bid fair to ruin Victoria, notwithstanding Tier magnificent' resources.— Star \-'■ •■'■'