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Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1242, 10 April 1880, Page 2

It will be remembered that early in the present week Mr. Hislop, M.H.R., in response to a request from the unemployed of tlie Windsor-Livingstone line, wired to the Government asking them whether they intended to recommence the construction of that line, and, if so, whefl. No reply has vet been received to this communication. The Government may intend to shortly resume the work, or they may not. It is possible that they may not yet have resolved upon the coarse they intend to adopt. But it is plainly their duty to communicate what they know, whateverniaybeitsnaturc. Nearly a hundred men, who are anxiously awaiting j'their ultimatum, are nearly starved out. If the Government could signify their intention of immediately resuming the work, so much the better ; if they should deem it necessary to abandon the work and waste what has already been done, so much the worse for the district and the colony; but the men who are now starving would then know tha£ to remain in the district in the hope of securing employment on the line would be hopeless, and would seek to earn their bread 2nd butter elsewhere. No lengthy argument is necessary to show the Government what iff thejr duty in relation to this matter; It •will suffice to add that not a few of the' men

have wives and families to support and that the Government is responsible for their being in the district in such a starvation eonditioji.v ; The works were stopped, so the Gjbvernnjent said, so that harvesting might not be interfered with, but a large number ;of the,men have done neither harvesting nor anything else since their stoppage. . Captain Edwin telegraphs to-day as follows 11.52 a.m. Watch barometer. Bad weather approaching from any direction betweeS iffand TV. and S.W." The glass will rise within twelve hours. -

Last" evening a young man named" Robert' Small, who was in tin? employ .of Mr. Redpath, of Waitaki Norih/was received , into the hospital, a horse having kicked him and fractured his right, and badly bruised his left, leg. Dr. Garland is attending him, and the sufferer is doing as well as could be expected.

We yesterday drew the, attention of the Contractors for the laying of the Waterworks pipes to the necessity for consolidating the earth as they return it to the, channels in which pipes are deposited. Since yesterday we have been waited upon by several persons who are in the habit of travelling on horseback and- in vehicles through the town in the prosecution of their callings. Some complain that they have-suffered through actual accidents (some of which are serious) andnarrow escapes. The Contractors will realise the necessity of . taking such steps as will relieve ■ them of the responsibility with W&ch occurences saddle them.

A succession of , earthquakes to-day visited Oamaru and other portions of the Colony. The first was short but much the sharpest, and occurred at 9.43 a.m., another gf longer duration but less severe at 10.45, and several other milder ones throughout the day. The two first and principal ones were accompanied by a very perceptible rubbling noise. They all appeared to travel from South to North. In some quarters a little fear was exhibited, the impression being, that there was qom e danger of the shocks damaging stone buildings ap4 pausing, the precipitation of portions of the material of which they are constructed. But so far as we cap learn, no damage of any. kind wascaused by them, The Chairman of the Local Industries Commission, Mr. Edward TVakefield, has sent a printed circular to the TV aitaki County Council, requesting that body to supply any information that they are able to supply regarding the promotion of existing, or the establishment of new, industries in the Provincial district of Canterbury. The letter was passed over in silence, per? haps because County Councillors did not feel that tljey were called upon to interferein the. affairs of , Canterbury. What does Mr. Wakefield mean? Is it possible that his modern geographical education has been so negle'cted that he does not know'that the County of Waitaki is in Otago ? Or is he one of those men who view Canterbury as being the beginning, the middle, and end of the Colony pf New Zealand? Mr. Wakefield and his coadjutors should return home, if they have the welfare of the Colony at heart. They-will, it is plain, not be able toeffect the useful purpose for which they were appointed as a Commission, more especially if Mr. Wakefield's inferiors are not; meu of information on commonplace apVjooto, or less tied. %?• tho apron-strings of their particular districts. So far as we can seie, there is an ominous absence of enthusiasm regarding the operations of this Commission. even on the part of those who would benefit by wfs.e legislation on the subject they have in hand. Let the Cpmmission return home and give their own districts the benefit of their wisdom and energies, as is their wont when in Parliament.

Under the inoffensive designation of " Manugrapha dangerous explosive is daily used in some of our important commercial establishments. This infernal machine, which was to have occasioned nothing short of universal disaster ampugst printers, is fearfully and wonderfully made.. Possessing a seductiveness that charms the beholder, it is nevertheless such a cunningly devised aggregation of villainous compounds that its proper sphere would be the magazine or the tented field. The reader incredulously smiles. But let him beware of the fate of the ajitideluvians [who perished because of unbelief. We confidently assert that if Manugraphs are not discarded because of the illegibility and inferiority of thGir work, they will, when people become wise, be manipulated by means of a string, the operator taking up his position in a casemate, or behind a fortification, so as not to unnecessarily jeopardise human life. But let us tell how and where this important discovery was made. A few days ago a manugraph was being manipulated in an office in connection with one of the largest businesses of this town... Everything y?ent >vell until the disguised torpedo began to swell, It swelled, and swelled, and swelled, utitil it assumed the proportions arid appearance of I an irritated toad-fish. Had an'angei appeared in such unlikely, company, or, had the machine evolved a regiment of soldiers/ the amazement of the onlookers could not have been more profound. But the end had not yet r e.ome. With a report equal to a salvo of artillery it "busted," the fragments, like Chinese Jritps, pourtraying a multiplicity of Unknown monsterg jji great variety,. which grinned and menaced the assembled and horrified violators of the rules that control alchemical sc : ence until unconsciousness delivered them from the throes/of $n apparently inevitable hades. v ; Hie harvest thanksgiving services will be held in St. Luke'g Church. on Sunday next (to-morrow). The anthem for the eveningis, "0 ! Lord, how manifold are thy works." Special Psalms "for morning,' LXV/ and CIV,; for evening, LXV., CXLV., and CXLVH, Suitable decorations are in progress, and great efforts are being made by some of ; the ladies to beautify the Church with grain, frait, aud flowers. The monthly meeting of the Hampden Borough Council was held on the stji ingt., when there were present—The'Mayor, and Councillors Douglas,, Weir, Dorreeij, Peach, Watkins, Murcott, and Familton. The minutes of the last meeting having been read and confirmed,'a letter was read from the Colonial Secretary's office, intimating that Mr. Henry Livingstone had been appointed Commissioner to apportion accounts betweeu the Hampden Ro&iJ Board and the Borough." Intimation was received that "Mr. T. W. Parker had been appointed Judge of! .the. Assessment Court for the Borough of Hamp<len. .It was resolved/ '.'. That the Clerk be instructed to write to. Mr. Burnett, Resident Engineer, Oamaru, asking for permission to remove gravel from Shrewsbury- j

street at railway station. The Mayor having reported t^e'result of his mission to Wellington, a vote of thapks was accorded to his !Worship for his services in to Wellington pn behalf , of ihe •Borough. ' -'TJje tender pi Mr, John M'G'ormack for gravelling, at LI per ciain] was accepted. Accounts to the amount 0/ L2 $3,6 d were

passed for payment. It was decided to announce that Mr. M'Pherson, had^ been book. j * jpfcjjuljHs.on the'fejpksvofj the' qUarfgfctfif this^ear^af SchoSf—Girls/^225; ~b;oys, 237 j' North School —Girls, 216; boys, 235 ; total, 451. South School—Girls, 156; boys, 173 ; Aot^^29;.,-Tie.^erag&aattendaaices^ete- = High'SchooJ> 368 j3BP juSoqtlr Sdhooli'264. It <(wilHtitereforV* tEat '.thertotal tion at crease 0f.170 averthe-numker-- on -the-books-at the end of lart year. ; The Civil Service Commissioners will hold a levee in Oamara at one o'clock on Monday next. There will, we understand, be no phblic demonstration on their arrival at the railway station. The members will, without afiy of the pageantry usually attending the rrjoverpents of other tilings Jtoyal, quietly and unobtrusively take their seats in some commonplace apartment. They will wear no distinctive uniform, and will not be At* tended by any retinue or other adventitious evidences of high official position. It is particularly requested that the public will not crowd upon the platform. The hour at which they may be expected to arrive we, somehow or other, did not ascertain; but those who wish to catch a glimpse of thepa on their arrival, tfyejr stepping on to the platform, and their adjournment to the chamber which is to be the scene of deliberations as important as any recorded in the history of our nation, should take up a position at or near the stfitipq until they make their appearance, as they may arrive at any hour. Only civil servants will be privileged to attend the levee. At the Resident Magistrate's Court to-day Cornelius Scully, charged with having been drunk and disorderly at the railway station yesterday afternoon, was fined 40s, with the option of going to gaol for three days with hard labor. Thomas Evans, charged with having heen drunk and disorderly yesterday afternoon in Thamesrstreet, >vas fined 15s with the alternative of 4S hours' imprison? mpnt. Neil Smith, charged with having been drunk and disorderly at the railway station, Ngapara, had been admitted to bail, arid his bail was Ordered to be estreated. The same person was charged with having resisted Constable Walker in the execution of his duty at Ngapara, and was ordered to pay a fine of 30s or go to gaol for six day's, with hard labor.

At the banquet given to Sergeant Okey, the rifle champion, on Iris return tp Tarain responding to the toast of his health, the champion gave the fallowing sen., sible advice :—-"Perhaps it would not be out of place if I were to say a few words as to what would tend to make a man a good shot. In the first place, he must be steady. There is no use of him taking what is now in these decanters before us.—(Hear,, hear)., I am one who can'say that Thafe never drani; a glagg of liquor in my; life, and consider that it is qwing in a great measure to that fact that lam the winner of the belt." There'-'is another thing that'te&ds-to -make-a man nervous, and that is smoking. If a man tries to win the belt he must .not take'anything that will m'ake him nervous. ' He must be temperate in eating and everything else."

The Home correspondent.of the, Melbourne Argus writes : —'• Th f e last development of servantgalism is much more.extraordinary, and it must be .added, much,more .tinpleasant, than anything that has preceded it. One girl has pushed her master's child into the river ; (mother.has< hisls}!it; ;tp;rpast' before the kitchen fire; a third put phosphorus into the family soup ; and a fourtli has set fire* to the house in which she' lived—all within a week. In the second and worst instance the young lady had no excuse 'for her extraordinary conduct, "eicept ' that she wished to leave her place ; a plea which reminds one of Charles Lamb's account pf the discovei-y of roast pork among the Chinese; but in the pther three cases the explanation was that they ' could not., get on with their mistresses.' Even these, though I dare say they were 'aggravated;'.seemsa little strong measures ; but the fact is there is no class by whom the:SchooL Board, is! so,much wanted as that of our servant .<•;