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Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1319, 25 November 1880, Page 2

At the meeting of the Committee of the North Otago Agricultural and Pastoral Association to-dav, a long letter from the judges of dairy produce at the late Show was read, drawing attention to the bad quality of the exhibits, and making certain suggestions. A discussion of a conversational nature followed, during which several members expressed strong dissent from the conclusions arrived at by the writers, and many declared the letter to be a yiece of gratuitous insolence. Mr. Gemmell explained that the continued hot weather had had the effect of lowering the quality of the butter. It might have been possible for the judges to have written a letter that would have been of value to dairymen, but this contained nothing of any interest. Mr. Mortoji moved that the letter shonld not be received. Mr. Donaldson seconded the motion. Mr. Ronayne proposed as an amendment that the letter be received and handed to the Press. Mr. Connell seconded the amendment, and said that judges had acted very wisely in drawing attention to the matter. They had simply performed their duty, and "they should receive the thanks of the Association. Mr. Gemmell moved a? a further amendment that the judges be thanked for their letter, and that the letter be withheld from the Press. After a little further discussion, the motion was carried, and tjie Gqmiriittee declined to receive the lefctor.

We learn that Mr. Archibald Campbell Weir has been elected Mayor for the Borough of Hampden for the year commencing December, ISSO. A Warden's Court will sit at Livingstone on December 1, at noon. A match will be played on Saturday afternoon between the second elevens of the Excelsior and Union Cricket Clubs. The following teams have been chosen :—Excelsior : Messrs. Bannerman, Blakely, Clayton, Davis, Forbes, Ham, R, Hew&t, Legge, Maw, M'Donald, and M f Leod. Emergencies—Ross and Todd, Union : Messrs. J. Aimers, R. Aimers, \V. Grenfell, J. Hook, Harris, Kite, T. Maw, Ogilvie, Robertson. H. Thompson, and W, Thompson. Emergencies—Hart, Steele, and Jones. Yesterday was a stirring day for .Municipalities, the a;,nual elections of Mayors being held all over tlio Colony. The result is that we have received a host of telegrams announcing the state of the polls in all manner of places. As these would take up a large amount of our space without being of interest to our readers, we have consigned them to the waste paper basket. We note that Mr. A. 11, Ross defeated Mr. 11. S. Fisii for the Mayoralty of Dujiedin by a majority of 184 ; that Mr. James Gapes has been elected Mayor of Christchurch ; and that Mr. Allwright, the vacilliating politician, has succeeded in the contest for the Lyttelton Mayoralty. At a meeting of the Otago Land Board, held yesterday, deferred payment licenses were granted to the following James M'Cone, Kurpw; G. T. Thorpe, Robert Simpson, James Adamson, Williani Stringer, foiin Hutton, _ John Mulvana, David M'Master, all of Maerewhenua, The Otago Agricultural and Pastoral Association's Show will be held at Forbury Park on Friday and Saturday, the 3rd and 4th December next.

Some time ago, an elderly farmer, of penurious and eccentric habits, determined to change his condition, and at the suggestion of a mischievous friend applied to a choleric old gentleman in the' township blessed with a young and beautiful daughter. He called on Mr, M., and briefly explained his errand. • "I believe you have a daughter." "I have," "Just so. Well, I have got land, and sheep, and a good house—will you let her be my wife ?" Mr. M. started—stared—wearing the expression of one who had incontinently swallowed a hot potato at 212deg. Fahrenheit. Mastering his feelings, he said : —" Oh," yes, I'll give her to you ; but you know, Mr. , I am particular about keeping my word. The fact is I have promised her to another man. If he won't take hor, you shall have her." "All right," said • the delighted suitor, "but who is the. man?". "It is, perhaps, right that you should know," said the satirical fellow, "it might make you more comfortable to get her afterwards. He is a Chinaman at the camp down yonder, and, if he won't take her, you can!"— "^Eglc." America, by the aid of refrigerator cars and ships, appears likely to do a large trade in butter with Great Britain. The American Dairyman of 2nd September says The largest transaction ever made in Chicago was the sale, a few days ago, of- thirteen cars of lowa butter to one firm (Messrs. George E. GoQch and Co.), who are large dealers and exporters. There were nearly 4000 tubs, and made the snug sum of oyej- 40,000 dols. It was sent to London—refrigerator—all the way at about lfc per lb." The English journals contain reports of trials of dairy machinery, especially of churns, at Crewe. TJiore was a " working dairy" in the show yard of the Society, and the milk was served out from a common stock, ag nearly simultaneously as could be, to the several competing churns. This was done on two days, the result being in favor of Messrs. Thomas and Taylor's eccentric churn fitted with pegs instead of fiat beaters; the same machine was awarded the first prize at the last "Royal" show. "Dairy Husbandry" has been made the subject of a series of lectures by Professor Sheldon, and " The Beef Trade in America," by Mr. John Clay, jun. In the latter the shorthorn interest and its influence on the American beef trade are lucidly presented.

The Railway [Victorian] Report for 1879 is a very important dpcument, ]because it sfcpips thftj; pur country lines are not paying

as they ought to do. After deducting working expenses, they leave profits of over half a million of money, but as the- interest we haye tCMpay upon the capital sniik in-thpir,. -constrUction amount?" .to nearly threequariersPof a million, there is 'a^considerable margin left which' has to be made up out of the pockets of the 'taxpayers. ; • In 1878 -we had to pay Ll|ljooo Jh ; tliis way, and ,in 18f9 the' sum : : had increased ,= : to L 116,000, or L 25,000 more: This increase arose! partially from extra interest on the new loan, and partially from a decline in receipts. In the northern and north-eastern systems .of railway there was a falling off in the*| freight .of merchandise of. L46,000,and though the eastern and western systems showed, a .great. increase,, .they left a. gross decline of L 28,000 on the year's business. The passenger traffic 1 returned 1 liSOfHK less, though the • number of travellers' greatly' increased, while the sums paid for the carriage of live stock were LIB,OOO larger than in the preceding twelve months. There is a falling off in the receipts of the Hobson's Bay Railway of L 940 4; and the average earnings of all the lines per mile are lower, than heretofore, At thp same time it may be considered a great achievement for a Colony so young as this is that it has constructed 1000 miles of railway within its borders, over which it. carried in one year more than 4,000,000 persons, its trains running a distance equal to a journey 13G times round the globe.—Melbourne Leader. Everything is not of golden hue on " the other side," judging l'rom the following letter from an old Wegt Coast resident to the Grey River Argus ;—" Bermagui, New South Wales, October 24, ISSO. Sir, — There has been no change in this place other thau that the 2000 of a population mentioned by me in my previous letter has, in the short space of two weeks, dwindled down to about 400, No fresh finds been found, nor is there likely to be, either in the immediate neighborhood of the prospecting claim or the adjoining ranges. I every day come across old and familiar faces, the owners of which are as hard up as myself, and who make no hesitation in telling yo\i that it is, their intention to seek employment of the cockatoo farmers, where, should they be successful, they will, after working 12 hours a day, be recompensed in' the munificent sum of 15s or 16s per week and tucker. Any 0? my New Zealand friends w-ho think that, with them, ' timeg are hWd w?iges lg^ t * let them come to this Colony, and I'll guarantee that they will find move real poverty here in a week than they can find on the West Coast of New Zealand in twelve months. I have had a nice little walk of 283 miles to reach this place, and, liking the exercise so well, I intend starting off again to-morrow morning on another pf 80p miles. This feat accomplished,' I expeot to find myself in the mining township of Temora, when you and your readers "may expect to hear what is doing, and what is likely to be done, on that far-away goldfield.—lam, &c., S. B, Hafford.

The report of the Victorian Education I)epartmeps the year 1879 is, on t]ie -iyhole, satisfactory; for it proves that in every respect the State schools have maintained their standard of previous years and something more, There were in 1579 1533 State schools, having upon their rolls the names of 183,924 children. This was an increase of 77 schools and 3385" children over the returns of 1878. The average attendance for day and night schools combined was 119,259, or an improvement of 2.27 per cent, on that of the preceding twelve months, and an advance of 74,3 oe upon the attendance prior to the passing of the present Act. The average percentage obtained at result examinations has risen from 72.12 in 1879, to 77.42 in 1879, a most gratifying increase j while there were 479 more teachers and 114 more buildings. At the same time the expense of educating each child has risen is 3d, so that the annual cost to the Treasury per scholar is L3-15s 2Ad, The extent to which the State sohQols"are xised by the people may be learned from the fact that, of the children of ■school age, 77 per cent, attend them, as against 14' per cent, attending private schools. If we deduct from the total of the latter, which, is not authenticated as to actual attendance, tlie large numbers of the youth of both sexes who are taught in public grammar schools, ladies' colleges, and private seminaries, it "\vill be sgen tljat assertion that the Roman Catholics abstain entirely from using the State schools is without foundation. Another important fact, which proves how hollow are all the protestations of Bishop Moorhouse and his following as to their burning auxiety to impart religious instruction, is that during the year there were only eight applications for the use of the schoolrooms by those desirous of supplementing the secular course by religious teaching. It is impossible to believe that the opponents of the Act are in earnest or mean what they say when they are faced by figures like these.— Leader.