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Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1319, 4 November 1880, Page 2

Mr, George Sumpter has just received intimation that a lot of. oats shipped by him has realised 3s 6d per bushel in the English market, Froni this must, of course, be deducted the charges, of which Mr. Sumpter has not yet received a note. The contractors for the construction of the north mole, Messrs. Gill and Forrest, have commenced operations, and have now a number of men hard at work making the preliminary preparations for entering vigorously upon the work- It ig intended tp have operations in full swing in a few days, as soon as the preparatory steps and arrangements are completed.

The adjourned special meeting of tlie Borough Council was held this afternoon for the piU'pOKO of niakifjg a special rate of Is to provide for interest on the LSD,OO 1 loan. There were present—His Worship the Mayor, Councillors Blair, de Lautour, Hardy, Hassell, Headland, Otterson, Procter, Smith, and Sutton. After a little discussion it was resolved '' 1 hat "for the purpose pf providing for the annual charges on the LoO.OOO loan for \yaterworks purposes, the Council notify their intention of making a special rate of Is in the £ (upon the value of the ratable property ae appeaing in the valuation roll for the time being in force) for the year ending the 31st day of March, ISSI, the said rate to be payable half-yearly, by two equal instalments on the 20fch day of November, 18S0, and the 20th day of May, 18S1 ; also that a special meeting of the Council be held on Thursday, IStli instant, at 10 a.m. fpr the pjirpos# of making the said special rate." The' Council then adjourned. The entries for the North Otago Agricultural and Pastoral Society's Show have rolled in to-day, and the affair, notwithstanding that up to yesterday afternoon appearances were gloomy, is likely to be one of which tho district may feel proud,

The brig Hedwig, ChrisJjieQ Kieff, cpn ; signed to Mr, George Sumpter, and chartered by him to proceed to tlis TJnited Kingdom with a cargo of oats and barley, arrived this morning from Wellington. We are sure that the advent of this vessel so quickly in the wake of the Lurline, with a similar object in view, wiil be hajled with Satisfaction by the people of this district. Captain Edwin telegraphs :—Bad weather is approaching from any direction between north and west and south-wesfc. There will be a further fall of the glass, but it will rise after 12 hours.

At the Resident Magistrate's Court, this morning, Gayan JpPhee, fur permitting one cow to wander, was fined 35.; E. Grave, for a similar offence, was also fined 35.; and R. Clennan, for having a horse at large, was fined 3s.

We have had the pleasure of perusing the programme adopted hy the Snorts Committee for the Friendly Societies' Fete, and can say that it gives promise of an excellent day's amusement. The items are numerous and varied, the prizes liberal, and entrance fees moderate. Amongst the principal prizes will be the Friendly Societies' Cup, open to all comers, and valued at eight guineas; besides this wijl bo given a number of other valuable trophies.

A procession of Orangemen Is to take place at Timaru to-morrow, and the authorities apparently anticipate a little diversion from the original programme. Four constables, under the charge of Sergeant Beatfcy, were despatched to Timaru to-day, and a second body, consisting of a sergeant and 15 cpnstables, from Dunedin, passed through Oamaru to-day by the express' train, en route for the same place. A correspondent from Maheno writes as follows :—ln an ambiguous paragraph, your morning contemporary says that all the candidates for examination at the Maheno Public School had passed, save one. I thought that we ha(l r heapd the last qf this tabooed school, and think tliat by this time the complaint with which the pupils were i,linted should have been eradicated. The wonderful success in England of the Australian Eleven, and tho subsequent career of Layeock, of Sydnoy, to whose powers Blackman, of England, and Hosmer, of Boston, have had to bow, tempts us to hope that to Triekett, also of New South Wales, the Champion of the Northern Hemisphere, Hanlon, will have to lower his flag. Surely to all of us this would be a source of satisfaction ; it would give further proof, if such be necessary, that-Knglish pluck and English' scaraina do not de r generate in her Australian Colonies. About 50 persona assembled on the bench near the old landing service this afternoon, attracted thither by a shark variously estimated at from 15 to 20 feet long. The vora -ious mouster had scented a delicious morsel in the shape of the carcass of a horse which was floating amongst the breakers, and in its attempt to reach it, it was entrapped into water too shallow to admit of' easy escape. Firearms and stones were aimed at it, but, apparently, thev did not in the least effect their inr tended purpose, as the monster eventually freed itself from its porilpug situation. Our informant assures us that none of the onlookers, so far as he is aware, felt inclined for a bathe in the locality whilst the stranger was disporting himself, and we may add that we think that those who are in the habit of taking a dip in the open "briny" will not feel tempted to repeat the experiment for some time to come, if ever. The monthly meeting of the Committee of the Horticultural Society >ya§ IjeJd lagt evening, when there were present—Messrs. Lemon (in the chair), Ansted, Dawson, Fox, Jones, Maloney, and Heywood (hon. secretary). A meeting of the Committee was, on tlie proposition pf Mr. Ansted, seconded by Mr. Dawson, fixed to be held on December 2, a week prior to the show. On the motion of Mr, Jones, seconded by Mr. Fox, it was decided to agk the officer in charge of the police to allow two constables tq attend <vt the. ha-1 during the show time, The Committee were appointed to act as stewards and to assist at the doors. Messrs. Lemon and Jones were appointed to arrange for the supply of music, and reply at next meeting. The staging of plants was placed in the hands of Mr. Fox. The following gentlemen were chosen judges : M essrs. Stemson, Lewis, Harney, Knowles, M'Pherson, Leith, Bicknell, Rowling, and M'Laren. Several other mattery having b9 e ß arranged, the meeting terminated witty a vote of thanks to the chairman.

| The Union Cricket Club will be represented by the following players in the match against the Excelsior Club on Saturday afternoon :—Grey, Hartley, Hewat, J. Hook, W. Hook, Hendry, Maddern, Risdale, Steel, Sinclair, and Slater. Emergencies—Maw, Harris, and Kite. The pienjbers pf the Fife Brigade held their monthly meeting last evening. Mr, Duncan Sutherland wrote forwarding a, cheque for L 3 as a donation to the Brigade's funds, which was received with thanks, A vote of thanks was passed to those ladieß and gentlemen who had assisted at the late j concert, and to the honorary Secretary to I the Concert Committee for the energetic manner in which he had worked to render the concert a success. It was decided to leave the question of procuring a fire-bell in the hands of -the officers of the Brigade. Recently the Oamaru High School Cricket Club asked the Normal School Cricket Club to play their annual match with them. A reply was received from the Secretary of the Dunedin Training College Cricket Club to the effect that the first eleven of that Club had agreed'to play the Oamaru Cricket Club

at Oamaru on Saturday, the 27tli current. This eleven, which is composed chiefly of the teachers and students of the school, is too strong for the High School Club. A subsequent offer, however, was made to send an eleven of the practising School Club, which is' incorporated with the Training College Cricket Club, Dn Friday, the 26th inst. -i his challenge was. accepted, and the match will be -played on the afternoou.of that day. . A coroner's inquiry was.held at Waimotu last evening, before G-. Suinpter, Esq., actingCoroner, touching the death of Mrs. Grace Ann Rickard, who was found hung the previous day. ">he evidence disclosed the facts that for the past four years the deceased had not enjoyed good health ; that she was .subject to fits; that she lived on good terms with her husband, and was attached to.her family; that she had. never given any cause for suspicion that she contemplated committing suicide,, and that no reason could be assigned for the rash act. The jupy returned a" verdict to the effect that the deceased had hanged herself during a fit of temporary insanity. An interpleader case, Strachan v. John White, came on the Resident Magistrate's Court to-day. It was one resulting out of the seizure of a mare and foal belonging to John White by Straohftn, Smith, the present claimant, after the seizure of the mare and foal, claimed the same under a bill of sale for money borrowed by White, and now interpleaded. The bill of sale was produced, and found to be incomplete, as it had never been registered. Smith was thereupon non-suited by Mr. Parker, who remarked that his only remedy was an action for fraud or fpr breach of contract jf }\e thought be oould recover the amount. Mr. O'Meagher, who appeared for Strachan, in applying for costs, said that the claimant had put himself to t- ouble and expense through relying on a document drawn up by an incompetent person and not registered, thereby rendering it null and yoid, Hfld be gone to & solicitor and ascertained the valiie of the document, he might, for a trifling expense, have learned the real value of the document. Had the bill been properly drawn, Smith would have had a claim over the. mare which could not have been upset, and the execution creditor could not have made the seizure, lie, therefore, urgpd as Smith had placed himself in a false position, he was entitled to pay the costs of the interpleader.. His Worship deferred.his decision with reference to costs.