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Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1319, 6 October 1880, Page 2

Wa have the best of reasons for knowing that the information published by ub yesterday with reference to the appointment of Mr. Maxwell as General Manager and Mr. Ifannay as Assistant General Manager of New Zealand railways, ia founded on fact. The appointments v/ill probably apr pear in the next Gazette. It is likely thftfc tiw office of manager at Ojwiwm will be abolished, and that the present; Oainaru section of railways will be divided

between Christchureh and Dunedin, as was the case before Mr. Hannay's appointment as manager here. We hear that Mr. Maxwell, whose name has just been brought prominently before the public as the appointee to the position of General Manager of the Railways, has been connected with the Public Works Department of the Colony for several years. He was for some time District Engineer in Canterbury, and subsequently filled the position of assistant to the Engin/ier-in-Chief. Since' the appointment of Messrs. Conyers and Lawson, he has acted as Assistant Engineer in charge of the North Island. It is understood that he gained his experience of the method of working railways in the Colony. At a'recent meeting of the New Plymouth School Committee, a Dr. o'Carroll moved a resolution to the effect that the town of New Plymouth should be canvassed for subscriptions to provide prizes to be distributed to the scholars of the public schools. In urging the matter, lie stated that in Christchureh and Oamaru sums of LSOO and L3OO respectively had been collected for the same purpose. This is another instance of the old adage that we should go from home to hear news, at least so far as Oamaru is concerned. The doctor has surely been drawing the long bow. If he has not—if this amount has, by some surreptitious means, been collected—where is it? Can it be possible that the Oamaru School Committee have collected this money and are keeping it in a stocking for a rainy day ? How acceptable it would be now that the retrenchment policy has deprived j:hem of tlje usual allowance. But we do not believe a word of it. Dr. O'Carroll's statement is too good to be true. The regular meeting of the Fire Brigade for practice will take place this evening. At the last meeting of the Vincent County Council t)ie tr,;asi|rer showed that the liabilities were L12.G72, and the assets L 1,703. A pretty general impression seemed to prevail that retrenchment was desirable. But the Chairman (Mr. Pyke) refused to sign the minutes of the previous meeting, wirlcji was held during his absence, and at whicli a Mr. jb'plclough took action which Mr. I'yke described as "the aspassin's thrust, dealt in the back. . . . He would not be true to himself if he did not move that the objcctioufvble paragraph he excised from the minutes ; as it stood it was an ambiguous sentence which migh mean anything, and could aud probably would hereinafter be magnified, and distorted and misrepresented with the diabolical ingenuity of perverse malignity, engendered by a corrupt heart and depraved intellect." The Council, however, passed the minutes. An attempt on t]ie part of Mr. Colclough, Mr. Pyke's Icle noir, to prevent the sum of L 250 f rom beingvoted forthe Chairman's salary without travelling expenses, elicited such an appeal from i.! r. Pyke that Mr. Colclough was dented. But what a farce it is that an expensive staff of officers should be maintained to carry out functions that could be performed by Road Boards. Judge Westpn, remarking recently on the 10 per cent, reduction, said t "The country will yet realise the folly of degrading and pauperising the judicial Bench," and he prophesies that " By-and-bye our Courts will be presided over by men possessing neither honor, experience, nor ability, and so it will come to pass that crime will go unpunished, the innocent will and property will be no longer safe to its possessors," The Judge is one of the victims of retrenchment, having been dismissed. Some illiberal-minded or jealous individual sent the following letter to Mr. W. G. C4race on the eve of the match with the Gloucester team, in which the Australians scored such a grand victory. But the recipient showed a proper estimate of tjie act by handing the communication to the Australians i—''Dear Sir, —I must ask your pardon for giving such an astute cricketer as yourself any advice, but as I am very anxious to see the Gloucestershire men win the match, I thought I would give you a tip or two. Well, then, to begin with, the Australians can't play slow underhand a bit. If you have a man who can bowl underhand fairly well, put him on early. Look out for Blackham (wicket-keeper) ; he does not scruple to ask anything, and gets jnany out through frightened or nervous umpires, I hni'P giyeij you tjiis information because I dislike the Australian cricketers greatly. They are money-grubbers, and there is not a gentleman amongst them. 11 am an Australian born, and know all the j team and their play.—(Signed) Ome Who K>-ow»."

Mr. Thomas Daves, pne pf the oldest residents in Wahnate (says the Press), died tjie day before yesterday at the adyanced age of 70 years. He capie here'about 24 years ago, snd took, up his quarters in tjie Waimate* bush. About four years ago he married a young woman, a new arrival, and soon after getting married his young wife found out " Old Tom" had some money and property. She had him arrested for attempting to poison her, and he was tried at the Supreme Court, Timaru, and honorably acquitted. His wife afterwards cleared out. A few minutes pi'ior to his death he expressed a desire to make his will, leaving all to Mr. M. Sherwin, of the Royal Hotel; but it was too late, he died before the will could be finished, so his money, it is said, will go to tl)e Colonial Treasurer's office. , When in Japan, Mr. TifFen pf Napier, on behalf of the New Zealand Governiripnt, purchased 50 hardy orange trees, 100 persi•mons, 200 assorted kiaki, CO pear-shaped plums, 1000 very large kind of chestnut, and 2UO bamboos. He also obtained a number of fruit trees with which to experiment in bis own garden. All the trees will be shipped in December next, which is the proper season in Japan. The change on this side is nofc quite understood. Sir Hercules Robinson leaves New Zealand when he is in receipt of L 7500 per anuum to go to tfto Cspe for LIQQQ per year less. Sir Arthur Gordqn, on the other hand, receives a good promotion. In Fiji ho has been receiving LSOOO, and he is now transferred to New Zealand, which is looked upon as the best of the Colonial Governorships, in addition to which he will continue to hold and be paid for the High Commissionership of the West Pacific. The Radicals think Sir Henry Bulwer ought to have been offered Sir Bartle Frere's post, but they pvidpntly forget that Sir Hpnry was LieuteiiantGovcrnor of Natal, and therefore had little or no opportunity of making himself acquainted with the affairs of Cape Colony. It is rather remarkable that both Sir George St rah an and Sir Arthur Gordon should have surved together witli Mr. Gladstone when he was appointed Lord High Commissioner of the lonian Isles, in 1858 ; and by the present appointment it would seem that the Premier is now desirous of doing both a good turn in consideration of their valued services to him &£ that period. It was felt when tho present Administration came into power that Mr. Gladstone would ninka a good opening for flic Arthur .Ggrdon.Jjijt Jjjs fgjpjfds harjUy expected that ho would bb projhofpd

to New Zealand. Sir A- tliuv is a lucky man, but he cannpt be ranked amongst our,.most, successful -Colonial Governors!. He' has far from given every; satisfaction in Fiji. Tfie natives there will ''miss him, but the'white, settler -will rather hail his departure -with joy. In New Zealand he will have a wider scope for the administrative powers he possesses, and it is to be hoped he will use them to a good and wise end, to the benefit of the Colony, and the advancement of the real progress and welfare of the British Empire. "—European Mail.'