The Oamaru Mail TUESDAY, MAY 25, 1880.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1289, 25 May 1880, Page 2

The Oamaru Mail TUESDAY, MAY 25, 1880.

A meeting of Mr. Jones' Committee will be held to-morrow evening, at the Imperial Hotel.

■ The nsnal meeting of the Waiareka Road Board will be held in the offices, Tynestreet, to-morrow morning, at 11 o'clock.

(We learn that the police obtained from 14 to IS samples of milk this morning for the purpose of forwarding them to Dnnedin for analysis.

(Sir George Grey will deliver an address at Dunedin to-night on the subject of the political ontlook, in which he will comment on the Property Tax. He will not speak at Qamaru, bat will do so at Timarn when on lim way North.

Messrs Fleming & Hedley's sale of Messrs Jack, Steel, & Henry's stock-in-trade, land, etc., advertised to take place on Jnne 3rd, is postponed until Tuesday, June Sth.

This morning we were shown a monster £ah of the frostfish species. It was picked tip on the Hampden Beach yesterday morning, and a portion of it wa3 brought to Oaznara as a trophy yesterday. It is conjectured that it originally measured 25ft in length ; but a considerable portion of its tail had been bitten ofF, and it wa3 IS inches in depth, and about 4 inches in thickness, its weight was ISO lbs. Yet it is a veritable frostfish, not only in appearance, bnt in flavor, with the exception that the skin is slightly rougher and not so silky. We hear "that not even the oldest settler has previously seen anything like it. It certainly is a novelty, and it is a pity that it could not Shxve been preserved in a mnseain. The following additional entries were rreceived by the Secretary this morning for the Handicap Steeplechase, viz., Mr. Dillon's Mickey Free and Blue Bell. These •entries were not received until this morning •owing to the Post office being closed on .Sunday and Monday. The Volunteer Review held yesterday on the Racecourse in honor of Her Majesty's birthday was a decided success. The weather was all that could be desired, and there ■could not have been less than 1500 people •present, inc udinc: a very large number of the fair sex. The stuff was composed as follows Major s mii[>'.cr, Major Thompson (Armed Constabulary), Acting-Majors Mor- . ton and Marcott, Adjt. Diehl, Drs. De Lautoor and Bowie, Captain Piper (acting as . aide-de-camp to Major Sumpter), and DrillInstrnctor M'Pherson, the total number on parade being 359. The various manceuvres were well executed, the marching past especially calling for particular mention, and too much praise cannot be accorded to Drill-la-**trnetor M'Pherson for the energy he displayed during the whole proceedings. On returning to town, a dinner was held in the Volunteer Hall, Mr. Alex. Gordon catering to the evident satisfaction of those present.

The concert given in the Volunteer Hall last evening in , aid of the funds of No. 1 Company' 3 Band, was attended by a large audience, amongst those present being a large number of Volunteers, whose bright uniforms assisted very considerably in giving a bright appearance to the otherwise , dismal hall. Owing to the late hour at ; which the Volunteer dinner was concluded, it wa3 somewhat after the appointed time before the Band appeared on the stage to open the proceedings wit ; the National Anthem. This was followed by a selection from "Lucretia Borgia," fairly rendered by the band. There was a want of firmness and steadiness, more particularly during the first movement that gave evidence of nervousness on the part of the performers. " Queen of the nicht," one of Thomas' pleasing ballads, was sung by Mr. A. Fraser with taste; and Mra. Kinnear gave " The hay is i' the mow 1 in her particularly pleasing style, narrowly escaping an encore. A set of waltzes, including many of the best known Scottish airs, was well played by the band. Mr. J. Booth followed with a good rendering of "The schooner on the sands," and Mrs. Brunton, although somewhat nervous at first, sang "In the gloaming" very pleasingly. For his admirable rendering of " The death of Nelson" Mr. W. Fraser was honored with a rapturous encore, but declined to acknowledge the compliment. The second part of the programme was opened by the band with a fantasia entitled "Bound the world," introducing characteristic melodies of the different countries. Some portions of this were very well rendered, but others were somewhat shaky and wanting in firmness and expression, the most noticeable instance of this being a prayer set for three cornets and a saxhorn. Considering the length of the fantasia and the sudden changes in time, the band acquitted themselves very creditably. Mr. Walls was deservedly recalled for his beautiful rendering of " Killarney." and responded with "Still I love thee." Mrs, Bruntdn, Mrs. Kinnear, Messrs. J. Booth, TV, Fraser, and A Fraser were each applauded for their songs, and Mr. G, Jones contributed a violin solo, De Beriot's fifth air, in his usual style. The programme was brought to a close with with a short selection from "II Trovatore, very creditably played by the band, and the National Anthem, The hall having been cleared a ball was held, at which about 2o couples tripped it lightly until morning to some good music provided by Messrs, Earle (violin), Pheloung (cornet), Cossar (piccolo), and Smith (piano).