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Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1254, 24 April 1880, Page 2

The construction of the Windsor-Living-stone railway will be resumed on Wednesday next. To the members of this district js, in no small measure, due the resumption of this work, which the Minister for Public Works seemed to have forgotten in the turmoil of Ministerial life in the north, From what we can glean it is probable that the vihole of the men who have been waiting for employment on thi3 line will not be engaged upon it, as there would pot be sufficient work to take them through the winter. But it is satisfactory to know that those who will not be required here will be offered employment on the Otago central railway. While on this subject, we take another opportunity of impressing upon those working men whose intention it is to endeavor to make this Colony a permanent home for themselves and families that they should at once register their votes, in order that they may secure the privilege of having a say in the return of men to carry on the government of the country. Captain R. A, Edwin reports to-day as follows:—lndications of strong winds any direction between N.E. and N. and W., and the glas3 will further fall. We are pleased to learn that, the police authorities have seen the necessity for an increase in the number of policemen in Oamaru by granting Inspector Thompson an extra constable. Although we are pleased to learn that this course has been adopted, we are by no meanß satisfied that the department has been quite liberal enough. Possibly, however, a further increase will be granted at an early date. In connection with the resumption of the Windsor-Livingstone railway, it is due to Mr. Blair, Mr. Ussher, and the Inspector and Manager of the works, to draw attention to the promptitude with which they are carrying out their instructions. Mr. D. Sutherland sold to-day his property (lately occupied by Mr. Evans), on the Main North Road, to Mr. Neil Fleming, for the sum of L4OOO cash.

We are informed that the Rev. Archdeacon Clark, from the North Island, will officiate at St. Luke's Church to-morrow.

A meeting of No. 1 Company's Band was held last evening at the Royal Hotel, and was fully attended. The rules and regulations were finally read and passed, and a number of matters in connection with the management of the band were arranged. It was decided to send for a further supply of instruments, and three new members having been elected, the meeting terminated.

:t The teachers' music certificate class wa: f. opened at the High School last evening, unde] n the auspices of the Waitaki branch of thi 0 Educational Institute of Otago, and it pro it mises to become a great success. There wai n. a goodly number of the principal teachers 1- as well as pupil teachers of the various grades, e present. The teacher gave his pupils an houi e of hard work in the primary tune, time, ■S memory, and ear exercises. The first lessor will be repeated next Friday evening, a* r several teachers expected were not present, >" "We would urge upon all those who belong tc the Guild of Education to enroll themselves s as members of the class. e The Carandini Operatic and and Ballad '' Concert Company gave their second and * final concert at the Volunteer Hall last 1 evening to a fair audience. The programme submitted was an entirely new one, and, like ' that of the previous evening, met with the j hearty approval of the audience, who were liberal in their applause. It is unnecessary J to particularise every item in an excellent programme. Suffice it to say that every J member of the company secured the favor , of the audience, and none more so than Tas- , mania's Nightingale, Madame Carandini. , The Chairman of the "Waitaki City Council > will give his annual official dinner on the f 13th May next, to whieh the members and » officials of the Council, Chairmen of Road ; Boards, and M.H.R's. of the district will be ! invited. Mr. Fleming, at last night's Awamoko ; concert, said that it was an exceedingly cold night. He had never felt it so cold since he crossed the Rocky Mountains. He had been 1 on the topmost peaks of the Alpine ranges and very near the North Pole, but had never suffered svjch intensified frigidity. He alwaj'3 gauged the intelligence of an audience by their reception of good things, and the coldness which that evening had attacked everybody present was attributable j to the audience's lack of appreciation of I some really excellent mnsic. He felt per- j snaded that if they allowed one other j opportunity to slip of securing an encore, the consequences would be terribly disastrous; in fact, he hardly car.ed to contemplate them. Mr. Fleming, after this exordium, sang " Tam Glen" as he oply can sing such songs, and, of course reaped a "rapturous," It is announced in our advertising columns that the Rev. J". C. Wilson, Episcopalian minister, will hold Divine service at Ngapara to-morrow, in the schoolhonse. j The news that an English officer, sent on an errand of mercy by Sir Henry Layard to relieve distressed Turks jn Roumelia, has been captured and held to ransom by j Greek bandits, is sufficiently startling. The officer in question is Colonel Syngc, I and unfortunately, his wife being with him, both were seized near Salonica by some Greek ; brigands and carried off. A heavy ransom, it is officially stated—Lls,ooo —has been demanded for their release, and both are threatened with death ■ in the event of any attempt being made to obtain their release. gunboats have been sent to Salonica, i but it is feared that naval is in this case !

more dangerous than useful. These brigands are quite capable of shooting captives, and in the present ittase force is. not of great avail..

, allowance must be-made forthese sea-side fire'-eaterSj.for i£ ; a, report: •which has gained currency is to be credited: they have had a bad s . example! set them by luminaries of a higher grade,. It is declared that a hot-blooded young spark who represents an Irish constituency in the House of Commons, has challenged one of his confreres to fight a duel. The offended youth is only 89 years of age, the gentleman (Mr. Egerton) he is anxious to "ventilate" being rather under- 40. I have since heard that the matter has been "arranged.". Under the heading "No Sinecure" a Southern paper has the following':—A person applied recently for information respecting thp duties of the secretary of the Timaru Harbor Board. The following brief account pf the duties required was summarised from his information :—" To attend all the meetings of the Board, keep minutes of business, accounts, Board's books, conduct correspondence, and act as treasurer. To perform the duties of clerk at the landing service, to keep correct tally, and take measurements pf all goods landed or shipped. To keep the qf the landing service; to collect the accounts and disburse the payments; to collect all shipping dues and port charges; to keep tally and take measurements of all goods landed qe shipped at wharf, and tq <!Qll§cs J all accounts and dues Qu gqods, keeping books showing all the transactions, and generally to devote his whole time to the service of the Bpard," !

A gentleman, who hails unmistakably from the Emerald Isle (says Tuesday's New Zealand Times), went to the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday and asked one of the clerks for a slate and pencil, as he said he •wanted to summon somebody. He was informed that such a proceeding must be dona according to fixed rule, and his summons must be upon a proper form, and not written upon a slate as he wished it done. The clerk obligingly offered to show Pat how to do the work properly, but this did not suit our friend—it must be done his way, or no other. He left the office, but shortly afterwards returned with a slate he had been to the trouble of purchasing, one side of which was filled with the following jnsgription :—" I, Pat Flaherty, makes an Application to the Cpurt of Magistrates to summon for Labor done on the Railway Line pf work, near C'artertop, in the Province of Wellington, N.Z., For the amount of L 6 19s, six pound nineteenth shilling." In the corner of the slate was a shilling postagestamp, no doubt affixed for the purpose of making the "proceedings" more formal. It is needless to say that the summons has npt yet been issued.

Mr. H. J. Stonor, one of the Po]ipty Court Judges of England, at a recent sitting of the Southwark County Court, made the following remarks upon the subject of the abolishment of imprisonment for deht—a subject which has, and doubtless will shortly again, occupy the attention of the Parliament of this Colony :—The abolition of "imprisonment under judgment summons " in the present state of the laboring classes would—l. Utterly deprive them of credit, and drive them to the workhouse in protracted winters and other times of pressure. 2, Kuiif the small retail provision traders throughout the country, ex necessitate the " truck system," 4, Cause a loss of L 225,000 in fees, of which four-fifths would fall on the officers of the courts —not, of course, the judges, who are not paid by fess—and the remaining one-fifth, L 45,000, on the Chancellor of the Exchequer.