The Oamaru Mail. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1880.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1319, 1 December 1880, Page 2

The Oamaru Mail. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1880.

The total amount paid nnder the beer tax in Oamaru during the month ended yesterday was L 67 13s 9d. This fact proves that nearly 5500 gallons must have beep turned out of our local breweries during the period above mentioned, the whole of which, in addition to the consignments from Donedin and elsewhere, was consumed by this community. Does anybody require further proof of the extreme dryness of the weather? It is evident that grain crops are not the only crops that require irrigation. * There is another fact, though, in connection with this matter, that is deserving of note. While people consume such large quantities of beer, they are not likely to die of whisky poisoning. If people must have drink"—and the bulk of them act as though this is inevitable—colonial beer is as harm a beverage as they can indulge in. It is expected that the Hakateramea railway will, within a week from now, be completed as far as C. Hille's, a spot only a mile and a-half front the terminus, and that the remainder of the wool crop from 'the Waitaki "district will be brought to Oamaru by its means. It is understood that thje engine will run to the bridge within a fortnight, and that the whole of the works, including sheds, &c, t wiH fre completed iji January uejfc

Captain Edwin telegraphs Bad weather approaching from any direction between north-west and west and south ; glass likely to fall a tenth, but will rise within. 10 hours;heavy gale from the southward. - ~

"We are glad to learn that Mr. Haggitfc has, with his accustomed liberality, consented to perform gratuitously tiK; legal work necessary for the trau.-'ior of tile cemetery site which has been presented* c 6' the'people of Duntroon by iite lion. Robert Campbell. The rains that have!». toly vUi Ijd Oam am an d the country immediately surrounding it hare, we learn, not i>een so plentiful in the country in the Upper Wait&ki district lying between the Maerewheiiun strsam and Omsraraa. Jt appears that the climate of this belt is frequently dry when the country to the eastward and westward has been visited by copious showers, which come from the east and west coasts respectively. .The weather has been,, and is now, so dry at Otekaike that irrigation has been resorted to, over no less an area than 200 acres, for' grass? growing purposes. By the aid of irrigation one acre here is made to produce what would be produced by four aqrps without it, and to carry four times the stock. Along the route of the Duntroon railway the crops are still exhibiting symptoms of weakness from the effects of drought, and the day is not far distant, .we hope, when the farmers of that locality will be able to'get a supply of water from the race for the purposes of irrigation at such a cost that they and the Corporation of Oamaru will be alike benefited. .We are glad to learn that tlje props op the Tables are looking well, notwithstanding the prolonged dryness of the season. We had the pleasure to-day of tasting the -cheese exhibited at the late show by Mrs. I Grahame, and to which the judges refused to give a first prize. We do not pretend to be such experts in the matter of cheese as the judges, -but we make bold to say that the cheese in. question is . a good one. Of. course we have tasted better, and the exhibitor herself says'that "better has come out of the dairy from which it hailed but that does not mean that the exhibit ig so inferior as to be unworthy of the usual recognition. It cuts well, it looks well, the color is rich, and the only defect that we can discern is its newness. We have no hesitation in saying that, if this exhibit were a year older, no judge would dare to pass it by. We are sure it will be prptty generally regretted that the. taste of the judges was not in accord with the quality. It would have been more satisfactory to the exhibitor, and the judges' rrrentige would have lost nothing, had thpy placed a red ticket on the exhibit, the subject o*f the dispute. M T e sympathise with Mrs. Grahame, and alfchougli Mr. Grahame, feels pleased with the expressed sympathy of the Committee, the av/arcl remains unsatisfactory still. What we would counsel is, give Mrs. Graham her prize- a first prize. We believe that the judges exceeded their functions. The instructions to the judges were to place the best exhibits in their order of merit, and bevond this they should not have gone. Had there been a regulation directing the judges to withhold a first prize if an exhibit were not of sufficient merit, then the case might, 'and would have been different. But in the regulations no such instruction exists. Again we say to the Association, your duty is to give Mrs, Grahame her first prize.

The concert to be given this evening by the Philharmonic Society will be one of ft very novel 'character, the programme containing many items of an interesting nature not u-smuly" found in concert programmes. The prices of admission are moderate, and there should be a good attendance. The usual monthly meeting of the Mechanics' Institute Committee will be held this evening at half-past seven o'clock. The monthly meeting of the Waiareka Road Board was held at the office, Tynestreet, yesterday afternoon. The following gentlemen were present:—Messrs. John Reid .(chairman). Elder, Gilchrist, Isdale, Jackson,' and Todd. A letter from the Engineer of Constructed Railways was read, offering to make the crossing at Waiareka Junction available for public use, on condition that the Board paid the cost, which was put down at L7l. —A draft reply thereto, pointing out that the road was a public one acquired by the Provincial Government in Exchange for one of the surveyed roads, was laid on the table, and approved of. A certificate of title for ■wideumg the roadline in blocks XIV. and XV., Oamaru district, was received from Messrs. Newton and Mirams. They also asked the Board's consent to a memorial being prepared for issue by Crown grant in favor of Mr. Lees for a close road in sections 1 and 4, block XIV., Oamaru district.—The Board decided tp wait until all the new roads were vested in the Queen before recommending the issue of any more Crown grants in this estate. The County Clerk sent a copy of a resolution passed at the last meeting of the Council, offering to lease to the Board two rooms in the Council Chambers at L3O per annum.— Resolved that the offer be accepted, subject to the consent of the other Boards being obtained. The following tenders were accepted : —Mr. W. J. Williams, L 57 4s, formation of a rofld-line at Raki's Table siding; and Mr. Thomas Wright, 3j5G, works at Coal Pit-road. The Board decided to draw the attention of the Inspector to the state of the foot-bridges at Millar's Crossing and I near Cruickshanks', and the bridge at Clifton Falls. Accounts to the amount of LlO3 lis 6d were passed for payment. Mails for Australian Colonies, per Rotomahana, close at Bluff on Friday, 3rd inst., at 11.30 a.m. Telegrams will be accepted at the Oamaru office accordingly. The Geraldine correspondent of the Timaru Herald says The Farmers' Co-operative Association is, I am glad to learn, making rapid strides. Mr. Buckle, the canvasser for the Association, visited Geraldine the other day, apd the shares were readily being taken up.

The Agricultural Gazette (London) of Sepr tember 20 says :—After discussing as to what questions of agricultural reform are most urgent at the present time, the Committee of the Farmers' Alliance, at a meeting held on Tuesday afternoon, passed the following resolution:—"That,, in the opinion of the Committee, the subjects which most directly affect the interests of the tenant-fanners and call for the immediate- attention of the Government are those set forth in the programme of the Farmers' Alliance as follow : ' To stimulate the improved cultivation of the land, especially by obtaining security for the capital of tenants invested in the improvement of their holdings ; to obtain the abolition of class privileges involved in the law of distress; to secure to ratepayers their ligitimate share in County government; to obtain a fair appportionment of local burdens between landlord and tenant,' " It was then agreed that a conference of members of the Alliance to discuss these questions should be held at the Westminster Palace Hotel, on Monday, October 18. London must be in a bad way. A Society paper writes of its goings-on in the following way:—"ln such a state of things (it says) would it not be well were those who are in the highest places to make some effort to look the condition of things boldly in the face, and make some effort to restore the tone of society to a healthy and vigorous state? The Royal Family has still much influence left; might it not try its hand at this most desirable work with good effect ? The hangers-on at the Court and the friends 1 of the Heir-Apparent might also do much to bring about a healthier condition of affairs ; and generally an attempt might be made to place matters on a more satisfactory basis. Let it be once understood that looseness of life will be a bar to favor in high places; that notoriously ill-behaved persons will not be tolerated in'good society f that bad conr dnct shall not be called eccentricity, pr profligacy excused on the ground that it is fashionable, and a great step will have been taken. There is but little time to lose. The season will be upon us in a month's time at least. What sort of a season it shall be. depends mainly upon the leaders of society." The establishment of a refrigerating chamber on board the steamship Orient obviated the necessity of carrying live stock to supply the wants of the passengers on the yoyage between England and Australia, and for the first time that vessel started on the trip to England with a full supply of killed meat. The order was given to Mr. Alderman Playfair; and the resources pf his establishment were such that, notwithstandr ing the fact that he had only three available days in which to procure the necessary supplies, not an hour's delay occurred, and everything was placed on board the Orient the evening before her dieparture. The sup?

plies included no less than 30,0001b. of meat (comprising beef, mutton, lamb, veal, sausages, &c.), 700 head of poultry, plucket i and trusfied,.. and'4solb. of fish? were specially select'ect by Mr; Seymour, the auctioneer of the ' Fish Market; the-cattle were White's ; ;the sheep were Warriih"fed, and averaged 601b.and the poultry were procured by Mr. H. Ireland, of the Central Market. The Orient-left with, it is calculated, sufficient suijplifes to meet nit requirements for a fortnight after ber r„rvm«i in Loudon.

The Sydney Mai!, a journal that, from its political proclivities, would, if it could do so honestly, overlook the faults of Sir-". Julius Vogel, and denounce'. Sir George Grey, Contains, the folio wing- trenchant criticism, of the two men who have played so important a part -in : the 'political " affairs of the Colony:—"A review" of his (Sir Julius Vogel's) career does not inspire admiration. History will rank him with adventurers, not with* patriots, His imposing attempt to. precipitate New Zealand into a nation by a daring borrow-and-spend public works and immigration policy was prompted by personal ambition rather than by attachment to the Colony. . No sooner had Sir George Grey organised a formidable Opposition than the originator of the new departure resigned the office of Premier for that of Agent-General, and ran away to London. He was either afraid or indisposed to fight—it does not matter which—and thus demonstrated his .moral poverty. A more cowardly desertion of its kind. it would be difficult to imagine. If the New Zealand people had had any ' suspicion, of the utter selfishness • of the man who aspired tq lead thern along untrodden paths, if they Could have foreseen that in the year 1880, while they were struggling in a wilderness of debt and difficulty, he would be honor-grubbing and money-grubbing in London political and financial circles, they would have been progf agaipst his plausible eloquence. He dissembled before them. They thought he had . adopted' New Zealand, and they adopted him; whereas he was only using them and their country as ropes by which he might swing himself into fame and wealth. Prom Sir George Grey's politics we are often compelled to dissent, but the man's devotion to New Zealand is supreme and unquestionable.: History •mil rank him with patriots, not with adventurers.'He-may-be grievously wrong in some pf his.views ; but in the eyes of posterity, the love he bears to the Colony in which he has spent the strength of his life will cover a multitude of mistakes. Sir Julius Vogel may yet become a money king in London and a power iii the House of Commons;-but in dependencies pf the Empire no successes be may achieve will blind men to his despicable qualities. They will regard him as a miniature Beaconsfield : brilliant, restless, ambitious, insincere, selfish. His career on the other side of the globe may be curiously watched, but he will ever be regarded with merited contempt.