The Oamaru Mail TUESDAY, AUGUST 3, 1880.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1319, 3 August 1880, Page 2

The Oamaru Mail TUESDAY, AUGUST 3, 1880.

That there is some amount of unparaded distress in the the town we are convinced from personal observation, and that a re? spectable-looking female has been canvassing in some portions of the town for subscriptions in aid of a .distressed family, making use of the name of a well-k»own resident, we also know. But whether the subscriptions thus obtained were applied to their legitimate object no one, save the respectablelooking female before-mentioned, can say. The matter was brought up at the meeting of the Committee of the Benevolent Society last evening, and it was deemed advisable to ware the benevolently inclined portion of the public against giving money to such persons if unauthorised to make collections. In the case that came under our knowledge a few days since the apparently respectable female collector neither gave her own address nor that of the "distressed family" that she professed to be relieving, and it is quite possible that it was another such case of imposition as that which we exposed some months ago. It would be much safer and wiser if those who are disposed to assist the destitute would hruul their donations to the Benevolent Society, so that relief might be subjected to careful supervision and fraud and imposition avoided. There is still a large amount of grain moving on the railways. During the month of July 56,009 bsga were carried on the Oamarn-Timaru section. It may be mentioned that last year the grain traffic was over in June, none being carried in July; bnt this year the season was very late, and, as the farmers have been and are holding out for better prices, there still remains a large quantitv of both wheat and oats to be brought to town. With an improvement in prices, of which we have indications, the railways would have a busy time for some weeks.

A special meeting of the Oamaru Schools Committee was held yesterday afternoon, at the Secretary's office. There were present— Messrs. N. Fleming (Chairman), Forrester, Smith, Mitchell, Mollison, Stevenson, and the Secretary. Aletterintimating thattheEducation Board had asked the Municipal Council to have the street opposite the site of the new South School cat to its full width was referred to the Building Committee with instructions to confer with the Council Off the subject. Three applications were received for the position of second assistant teacher in the District High School. The choice of the Committee fell upon Mr. Arthur Gifford, of Oamaru. This was all the business, and the meeting terminated. A meeting of the Directors of the Caledonian Society was held last night. The President (Mr. D. Sutherland) occupied the chair. The business was purely of a routine nature, having reference to the concert to be given on the 20th inst, in aid of the Hospital and Benevolent Institution.

The usual monthly meeting of the Kakanui Road Board will be held in the offices tomorrow, at 2 p.m.

A change has been made in the administration of tbe Arms Act in Oamaru. Inspector Thompson will in future perform the duties of Licensing Officer, hitherto devolving upon the Collector of Customs. This change has been made in accordance with ft new arrangement throughout the Colony. An accident happened yesterday afternoon. While engaged filling the tender of a railway engine, a man named J". Farnie slipped, and falling upon his back, injured it severely. He was promptly attended by Dr de Lautour.

The monthly meetings of the North Otago Permanent and First Oamaru . Permanent Building Societies will be held this evening. Many -will learn with regret of the death of Mr. Stevens, at one time master of the ihip Auckland, and afterwards chief officer of the stcr.mer Waitakf, and more recently chief eiiiccr ef the Wakatipu. Some little time since Mr. Stevens met with an accident of a severe nature through some cargo falling unon him while it was being discharged at Svilney, and has succumbed to the injuries he then received. The deceased gentleman was well known in Oamaru, where he was alike respected for his excellent qualities as a seaman and his genial nature and.eonrtesy. Old residents will remember that on two occasion he narrowly escaped drowning in Oamaru Bay—once by the upsetting of a boat and again on the . wreck of the Star of Tasmania.

At the Resident Magistrate's Court today, T. W. Parker, Esq., R.MSy-on tlift. Bench, the following cases were disposed of : Two men, for being drunk, and disorderly, were fined each 10s, with the option of 48 hours' hard labor; and for a similar' one man was fined 155," with the alternative of 48 hours' hard labor, and one man ss, or undergo 24 hours' hard labor. William Lee, on remand, was further remanded to Monday, 9th inst., for' evidence oil behalf of accused.

• ; J?he usual" monthly meeting of the Committee >■ of the North Otago Benevolent Society was held last evening, at the Secretary's office. There were present —Mr. J. H. Milligan (President, in the chair), the Rev. A. B. Todd, and Messrs. Mollison, J. Falconer, J. Mirams, M'Farlaue, R. Ste\ enson, C. S. Allen, Headland, and the Secretary. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed, and the outwa'd correspondence road and approved. The payment of the guarantee premium of the collector was approved. It was resolved to acknowledge through the Press the gift of the local Dorcas Society.. The report of the Visiting Committee was read and adopted. The barrack-master reported that there were six children in the institution; that three persons had bs.cn admitted during the month and still remained in the institution ; that fourteen domestic servants had been admitted to the Home, of whom twelve had obtained cjtjxations ; and that the Society's cottages were in a fair state of repair. He also acknowledged a gift of clothing from Mrs. Thompson. It was resolved that the Servants' Home should be closed at the end of September, aiid that the salary of the master be 3175 from thp lgt August. Accounts to the amount of L9l 4s 6d were passed for payment, subject to the approval of the Visiting Committee, and the meeting terminated.

A correspondent writes from Shag Point as follows I The fire 'which broke out in the new workings of this mine is about extinguished. A job fire is never or rarely overcome, and it was thought by many of the miners that it would be impossible to overpower this outbreak, owing to the coal beijjg .of. go rich a quality. Great credit is due to Mr. Williams for the persevering, energetic, and skilful manner ip which he has so far accomplished the suppression of the fire and for his unremitting care for the safety of the men under his charge. The fire which existed in the old workings before Mr. Williams assumed control of the mine still continues, but everything is being done to keep it under. It has been a great obstacle to the keeping of good air in the new workings, and had it not existed, there would have been far less difficulty in securing good ventilation. Neither trouble nor expense is spared in the efforts to ensure the comfort apd safety of the men. The usual harmony and good feeling that was experienced before the late dispute took place again exists between the employers and employes.

According to the South Canterbury Times, a private letter to hand by the San Francisco mail states :—" e\v JJealand was never ,in such bad odour at Home as it is at present. The English papers are filled with the complaints of grumblers, u"ho describe illColony as overwhelmed with debt and overrun with people," The pertinacity of the Lancet in urging its demand for seats for shopwomen deserves success (says the Pall Mall Gazette). V* lien it was not known, or at least not realised, that constant standing was a fertile cause of disease in women, the neglect of shopkeepers to provide seats behind the counter was excusable ; but now that attention has been called to the matter there is no excuse left. It is ridiculous to pretend that an immense amount of the "waiting'' in shops cannot be done sitting. After all. the public have the matter in their own hands. If the ladies who enjoy a morning's ''shopping" would make a point of asking t;;c jins who serve them to sit- dv.vi; v. h:l- tir: «*o: or choosing and examining goes tradespeople would soon begin to provide seats. Perhaps it would be asking too much to expect a customer to hand a shopwoman a chair over the counter; but, if a seat was not to be found, any lady with a common sense of humanity coul4 at least leave the shop. A wonderful and remarkable statement is made of an English ship having discovered an island so rich in gold and other precious metals that the persons who first visited it chipped blocks of almost, pure gold from the bare rocks. This island is said to lie in lat. ldeg. N. and long. 137deg. W., and is consequently about 55deg. from the coast of New Granada, South America. According to published accounts, the British man-of-war Mermaid, which left England in January, under sealed orders, has taken possession of the island, and a number of gentlenjen adventurers have arrived there to try their fortunes. The small bays around the island are impregnaned with acid, and on the first visit of the British, it being found necessary to lighten the vessel ip order to repress the bar, several tons of carbonate of soda were thrown overboard. The result was maryeU lous. The water began boiling over, and appeared like a great sea of soda water. Further particulars of the character of this jglfwi will be looked for with considerable interest.

An analysis of the new British Parliament shows that a large majority of the members are persons wh# either earn their livelihood, or have done so and have now retired. There is a popular notion that the house is crowded with gentlemen who were horn to wealth, and who have nothing to do. But out of the 65S members, only 136 are classed as belonging to the gentry, while 36 are either sons of peers, or are Irish or Scotch peers in their own right. This makes only 172 members who cannot be classed as having any definite occupation. Of all the professions the law is that which sends up the most members, not fewer thtm IQS beipg barristers, either in practice or retired. To tips number have tq be added 13 solicitors. If, however, we take the military and naval professions, as one, then the warlike class even outnumbers the gentlemen of the long robe, because, putting together all officers by land and by sea, and the Volunteer force, there are no fewer than 130 who wear the Queen's uniform ; so that the fighting men and the lawyer.-; between them account for no less the 2LS members. The Press has IS representatives, engineers have 16, bankers 16, brewers and distillers 11, steamship owners 10, and colliery proprietors 9. There are four representatives working men; there i 3 one Presbyterian clergyman, half-a-dozen tenant farmers, as many professors of political economy, and as many Chairmen of Railway Companies. There are only three medical men, and the same number of architects. The different occupations of the country, therefore, are anything but proportionately represented. Whether barristers and soldiers make the best legislators may be a matter of opinion, but at any rate they seem to have the best chance with the constituencies.