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Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1319, 30 October 1880, Page 2

We direct the attention of Government employes to the fact that tlje deductions do not appear on their vouchers in the form of reduced salaries. The amounts appear as heretofore, and the deductions are afterwards made. In this we see a vay of hope that the announcement of the Government that the reductions may only exist for the current financial year may have been made in good faith, and'thatwhen the thick of the troublous times are over employes may expect their payments to.be placed upon the old footing. This arrangement is not followed in respect of the wages of the laboring men and other : eir.plqyijs, In these cases the reductions are made' absolute, the reduced amounts being boldly set down on the vouchers. Thus a very marked distinction is drawn between the gentlemen of the Civil Service and the common working men. Captain Edwin telegraphs to-day that ape indications of strong winds from between northeast and "west. The glass will further fall. A very successful soiree in connection with the Wesleyan Sunday school took place in the church last evening. Thanks principally to the lady teachers in the school, who had been very energetic in the matter, the tables were well loaded with edibles of a light nature, and the spread received ample justice from about 140 scholars aud over 100 adults. After the cravings of appetite had been assuaged, the church was prepared for the usual meeting, and a pleasant time was spent by all present. The pastor of the church (t&e Rev. J. Crump) occupied the chair, and explained tljat the scholars attending the Bchool numbered liG, s-nd t}iat the average attendance was 135. He . also mentioned that both totals were gradually increasing. The balance-sheet was. read by-the Treasurer, and displayed a very satisfactory state of things. Then followed addresses by the Revs. J. Foster and C. E. Barley, and Mr. Cunninghame, the Superintendent of the school, interspersed with sacred solos, duets, and choruses, and recitations and hymns by the school children, Many of the recitations were given with taste and promise of elocutionary talents of no mean order. Mrs. Oliver rendered "Love not the world" with considerable taste, and the duet "Give the Lord honor due" was capitally rendered . by .Messrs. G. and W. Booth, while Miss Crump, who also acted as accompanist throughout the evening, was loudly and deservedly applauded for her singing of "Light of the world " Apiongst the concerted music were DftHTjityg flf tjie valley,".which was well rendered oy the Rev, Mr. Crump?s tqjjig

! sol-fa class, and "The Lord - >s mvshepherd," ! spiritedly- sung by. .Mrs. Oliver, Miss E. Crump, Master CrawshaW, W». Booth, and G.' Booth. As we have already said, the meeting was a very pleasant one, and at its conclusion all present left perfectly satisfied with their evening's entertainment. At the'Resident'Magistrate Court to-day, before T. W. Parker, Esq., R.M., Julia Church, alias Bank, for having been drunk and disorderly yesterday at Duntroon, was ordered to go to gaol for three days. Nominations for- the Oamaru Jockey Club Handicap, ; Publicans' Handicap, Hurdle Handicap, and' Flying Stakes, to be run on the 9th and 10th December, must be lodged with the Secretary (Mr. J. Hardy) before 8 o'clock on Monday-evening. '' ■ The Directors of the Caledonian Society will hold the first of its regular fortnightly meetings, to prepare for the annual gathering, at the Criterion Hotel on Monday evening, at eight o'clock. The object of the Council in watering the streets from the hydrants is, we believe, to lay the dust. We commend the Council for having devised such an excellent and inexpensive means of accomplishing so good a purpose. But if it is possible to avoid drenching pedestrians during the operation, so much the better. To-<la,y Tyne-street was being swilled vigorously by a Corporation servant, who worked as though he was paid by the gallon. We do not complaan that he applied too much water to the street. The more the better, provided the operator leaves a dry path to our office. There are some people, however, who object to an involuntary shower-bath in the middle of the day and in the open street. They perform their necessary ablutions in the morning, and assure us that they cleanse their bodies and clothe? separately. A gentleman informed us to-day that hQ had been drenched by the hose, fyid we. needed, no other . confii'TOatiqn t&an lys personal ap-. pearanpe. ' fji appeals, to,o, that several passengers from Otepopo, some of them ladies, were treated to a, similar Qold rooeption. If our councillors are not anxious to drive trade away from our street and divert it into the street of our contemporary they will oaution the industrious operator to be more careful in future. When the direction of the stream is being changed from up to down the street, the water should, if possible, be shut off. The nozzle should not be held perpendicularly so as to produce a drenching §hower tp the. discomfort of passers;by, wfyq cannot, hy the exercise of the greatest possible dexterity, avert audi an undesirable occurrence,

Considerable surprise has been expressed at the fact that although Timaru has several old established breweries, and ale and porter figured in the prize list, no awards have apparently been made at the recent Agricultural and Pastoral Show. The facts, so far as we' have been able to ascertain are as follows :—The Phcenix Brewery Company, Messrs. Cubbjtt and Go, bottling agents, and Messrs, Annett and Edmiston, forwarded samples of ale and porter in bulk and bottle and paid- the entrance fees, amounting to 255, in the usual way. On the afternoon of the Show, on inquiring what had become of the awards, they had the mortification to be curtly informed, that the judges of beer had had their palates so disorganised by the butter and cheese they had tasted, that they were quite unable to proceed with the brewers' samples. The exhibitors are naturally indignant at tl>o wqv they have been treated, and it, is suggested that as the Agricultural Association have plainly broken their contract by taking the entrance money and awarding no prizes, the 25s should be handed over to the Timaru hospital,—South Canterbury Times. A new description of large-grain gunpowder, manufactured at the Government factory, Waltham Abbey, is at present undergoing an exhaustive trial at \Yoqlwich, varied charges bging fired from the 38 ton and other experimental guns, and the usual tests applied to ascertain the velocities both inside and beyond the gun, and the pressures set up within the bore' by the successive explosions. The "grains" of the powder are prismatic in shape, and • ■ combustion ia slightly accelerated by a perforation through each of the prisms. The powder appears to answer favorably in the large charges required for heavy ordnance. The old idea'that plants in bedrooms ai-e unhealthy has always been a vexed question amongst medical men, but arguments recently urged tend to show that if plants have any effect at all it is beneficiq.l richer than hurtful. The olq idea was based on the fact that plants gave off carbonic acid at night, but latterly the belief has gained that thtre is nothing very deleterious in such carbonic acid as they give off, while if their flowers are capable of yielding odors they may be in reality very beneficial, by producing peroxide of hydrogen, the great sanitary agent of nature. A correspondent from Wellington (says the Christchurch Echo) states that the Government are still in great doubt as to whether they will ]je able tq enforce the provisions of the Property and Assessment Act. They have already got several reminders that as soon as the date of the payment is fixed, there will be au organised opposition, led on by the newspapers, which is certain to plaoe his Excellency's advisers upon the horns of a dilemma. For his own part, our authority always considered that the real intention of fhe Hall Government with respect to this tax wa< never bottomed, and he should not! eel at all surprised that, when the collection time comes round, the public opinion will be so levelled against its imposition that it will be quietly dropped.