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Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1319, 11 December 1880, Page 2

A telegram informs us that the Govern? menfc have received " official reports that there is considerable demand for labor, at fair wages, in the South Island, especially in the country," and that " a conclusion has therefore been arrived at that Government assistance is no longer needed in the South Island, and that as it is undesirable to interfere with the labor market any more than can be avoided, works which have hitherto been carried on as a means of charitable relief for the unemployed, being no longer necessary, are to be discontinued at an early date. Notice has been given accordingly to the officers in charge of those works." If the Government had been correctly informed, its »esolve to discontinue the works which have supplied a large nnmber of our surplus laborers with a mean? of subsistence, would be wise. But we have the best of reasons for questioning the assertions contained in the official reports that labor is in considerable demand at fair wages. During the wool season which is just closing pur streets have given evidence of preponderant labor, Groups of men might have been seen even during the height of the shearing period waiting for something auspicious to turn up, having, as some of them informed us, fruitlessly tramped through the country districts ip search of work, We may expect that the number of' these men will shortly be considerably augmented by recruits returning from the stations whore they have been fortunate enough to obtain work. There is, of course, the grain season to look forward to as a means of reducing the number of these unemployed, and it will doubtless do something in this direction; but it will only pro- j yide employment for a tithe of their number, unless wg are greatly mistaken in our calculations. It may be otherwise in other centres of population in the Colony, but we have every reason to doubt it. It would have been better had the Government gradually discontinued these works, if they must be'discontinued at all. The few men that would then be periodically jihrown out of work might stand some chance of falling on their feet. There is one thing that still requires explanation at the hands of the Government. While they are scrupulously exercising a retrenchment policy in this island, on the west coast of the North Island they are ex? pending the sum of LGOO per diem to main' tain an army of navvies to perform work that will not afford anything like a commensurate return.

Mails for the Australian Colonies close on the arrival of the San Francisco mail steamer which 13 expected to reach Auckland on Monday next, telegrams will be accepted at the Oamarn Office accordingly. About six months ago, Major Sunjpter promised a volume and Captain Lindsay a medal to the two Cadets who proved themselves the most efficient in drill" at the olqae of the year. On Tuesday last. Captain Lindsay, Lieut. Forbes, and Sergeant-Major M'"herson of No. 3 Battalion, commenced the examination, which was concluded yesterday morning. The Cadets were put through a most searching examination, and considerable difficulty was experienced in arriving at q, decision as to 'whom were entitled to the awards. Sergeant Thomas M'Naught and Cadet Ed. Baker were at Jagt chosen, and the first-mentioned, having been given the option of making choice of the two prizes, selected the medal, which is in the form of a handsome Maltese cross in silver, manufactured by the wellrknpwn jeweller of Dunedin, Mr. Hislop. The holder is to sirrfilarly distinguish himself next year, wheij the medal will become his property, Of course, thp volume falls into the hands of Cadet Baker, The awards seemed to give the greatest amount of satisfaction to the comrades of the victors, who unanimously selected M 'Naught as entitled to the first place, and they cheered the two boys and carried them shoulder high, in order to show their approval of the judges' decision®, The prizes will be formally presented nest Friday afternoon by Major Sumpter, on the peca= sion of tho breaking up of the school for tlte holidays. "Touchstone," in the Saturday Adver* tiser, says:—"The Attorney-General, after a brief visit, has left for Auckland, The Daily Times special telegram says—'His absence from Wellington is likely to be of somewhat lengthened duration.' The fact is the Hon. Attorney-General's business is too lucrative to be neglected. I suggest that our retrenching Government might save this gentleman's salary." We cordially agree with the writer. The Hon. Mr. Whitaker is too absorbed by his private business to de-

'votethat attention to the duties of his public office for which he is paid. He does so little

in fact in his capacity ds Attorney-General that he has demonstrated the inutility and utter uselessness of the office. The absurdity of paying a high salary merely that a gentleman of Mr, Whitaker's stamp' may suffer himself to be called Attorney-General must now be admitted even by the Premier; who, in spite of Mr. Whitaker's rejection by the electors of Eden by an overwhelming majority, called him to the Council and invested him with official dignity that he might receive a handsome salary, by way of solatium for his signal, defeat, and give a tone to the Hall administration.

There was a fair attendance at the Horticultural Society's Show last evening, when the Rifles Band again enlivened the proceedings with some good music. Captain Edwin telegraphs : —Bad weather is approaching from any direction between west and south-east. The glass will rise again within twelve Lours. The cricket match played to-day between the North School and second eleven of the High School resulted in an easy victory for the former by nine wickets, the scores being : North School—lst innings, 63 (Baker 16, aucl Borthwick 14); 2nd innings, one wicket for 12 (Borthwick 10), High School—lst innings, 45 (Glass 15, Ronayne 10) ; 2nd innings, 26 (Ronayne 13). For the winners Borthwick and Meldrum divided bowling honors, and for the losers Ronayne did \yell. We have been requested to intimate that seats may now be secured at Mr. R. L. Rule's for the two entertainments to be given by Professor and Madame Haselmayer in the Volunteer Hall, on Wednesday and Thursday next, At the Resident Magistrate's Court to-day, before T. W. Parker, Esq., R.M., five " drunks " were mulcted in penalties ranging from 5s to 10s, the usual alternatives being afforded them. Henry James Riccards was charged with having assaulted a lad named Henry Cunningham" oa the racecourse yesterday, The evidence was to the effect that about 3 o'clock yesterday, on the racecourse, the accused first struck the boy with his hand, and afterwards struck him in the eye with a stone or piece of coal, cutting it and making it bleed. Mr. Hislop, who appeared for accused after the evidence ha,d heen taken, pointed out that the arrest of accused was illegal, no information having been laid in the case. . The Magistrate upheld this view, and dismissed the case. We ho,ve beep faygved with » copy of the " South'enj Province? Alpianac, "Djftry, and Year Book' for 1881," which is published for the 2Sth. time. This handy publication maintains its excellent character. There is within its covers a funjj qf Infqrmfttifin of every-day utility to the farmer, the merchant, and the tradesman. To commence with, there is an admirably executed and comprehensive : map -of the' city of Christchurch,. which.is followed by the San Francisco mail tables for 1881, agricultural statistic? fpj.: ISSOj criqkgtiflg information, societies, trading companies, boards, clubs, County Councils, coagtal itinerary, lands sold and unsold, Customs tariff, desk diary, diary and memorandum of reference, District Court fees, eclipses, elections, English House of Peers, garden calendar, General Government directory, housewife's table, Magistrate's dquct fees; Masonic, national debt, parliamentary, orders of knighthood, postal, racing calendar, railway, guide and statistics, sheep returns, stamp duties,' stock breeders' guide, telegraph guide, volunteers, etc. This year's'hoolr 'almanacs are niore than usually pregnant with useful information. A few days ago we had the pleasure of reviewing that issued from the Timaru Herald office, which, is a wonder as regards price and utility, and is but little, if at all, inferior to any similar work published in the Colony.

The Auckland Weekly News of last Saturday contains, amongst other illustrations, a portrait of Miss Mary B, Dobie, from a fine photograph by Messrs. Heijius ssn<| Hfinna; also, a sketch of an incident in a journey to the Hot Lakes, by the same lady. The latter is one of the series of sketches from Miss Dobie's pencil published in the Graphic, and others of them will appear in subsequent issues oit the ISTeVs. The Bay of Plenty Times says : —A new novelty in local industries is being started at i sland Bay by Messrs. Smith and Moore, in the shape of a poultry farm, devoted exclusively to the rearing of poultry, the production of eggs, the hatching of chickens by both natural and artificial means, and their rearing for the market, all on a large scale. The. New Zealand Herald says:—"The ■\york of surveying the Paribaka block being attended with considerable risk, the Government asked for volunteers to execute the survey, Mr. Annabel}, Mr. Thompson, and Mr. Sicely volunteered. Mr, Sicely lias already seen considerably danger in the service of the Survey Department, and on several occasions has had narrow escapes of being ' potted' by Maori ambuscades." It will interest the wheat growers in New Zealand to leam that the crop of wheat upon the famous farm of the Messrs. Dalrymple, at Dakotah, U.S., will this year amount to more than half-a-million bushels. This will, it is said, make 13,500

waggon loads of 40 bushels each, and will require 2, ICO freight cars, each carrying 250 bushels, to convey it to the Eastern market. Placed in line, these waggon loads would extend a length of 120 miles, and the train of freight cars would occupy 12 miles of road. The farm upon which this Brobdignagian croo is grown covers no less than 27,0Q0 acres. The Waikato Mail says "Owing to tliQ» Tb Aroha rush there is a great scarcity of labor throughout the district, and there is room for a large number of the 'unemployed,' provided they know anything whatever ! about pastoral or farming matters. People of all classes—shopmen, men-servants, in and out of doors—have gone to the new field, so a moderate number of these classes could also readily find employment in the district if they came at once. In a short time, perhaps, some of the deserters will return, but in any case labor is at a premium here instead of a discqunt, as we judge fron} ac? counts rpceivs4 foflW Qthep places'." Private information reccive4 by the Taranaki Herald states that the natives -'look upon the Opunake murder as a dastardly act. They talk over it more than if it was a man that wag the victim. They say it is the work of a bad or vile slave. The natives are strongly impressed that Tuhi must have been drinking previous to committing the act." It will be seen that these remarks entirely confirm the views we expressed regarding the occurrence at the outset. By the ordinary male Maori a young European lady is treated with the greatest amount of respect of which he is capable, He js naturally gallapt, and woulfl not wilfully injure a hair pf the head of a young lady. That Tuhi's worst passions were excited by villainous liquor, there is not. go far a? we can see, the least reason to doubt,

We are informed (says the Timaru Herald) that Mr, P. H. Russell's celebrated Lincoln ram Champion was shorn yesterday at Otipua, and yielded 31Jbs of clean skirted wool, exactly 3(iS days' growth. We are bound to say that tbis has seldom, if ever, been surpassed by any Lincoln sheep on either side of the lino. The honors gained by this ram are worthy of recording. In 187S he was only exhibited at the Timaru Show, where he gained first prize as a hogget. In 187'.' he took first prize in his class, and also the champion medal at Timaru. At Christchurch he was only highly commended, but at Oamaru he was placed first, and also given the gold medal for the best ram at the show. Tpis year Ije w? r s exhibited at Timaru, Oairtaru, and punedip, and, with the exception of Oamaru, carried off the highest honors and the champion medals at each place. At Oamaru he was placed second to a ram of Messrs. Sutton's breeding, which yyas only deemed worthy of a fourth place at Christphurch, and which his qwner, Mr, Holmes, failed to send to Dunedin Show to try conclusions again with him. Champion, if jjo unforeseen accident happens to him, will give the southern hreederg gome trouble to beat him next year,

There are more land sensations in the country than Patetere, and our readers will remember that a good deal has been said about Murimotu, a block of land south of Taupo. It consists of about 21)0,000 acres of valuable land, which is at present leased to certain European speculators, who desire to acquire the freehold. The contestants are the famous Major Kemp (who has shown himself lately to be very irascible and illtempered, and whom it is difficult to keep in order), and" on the other side Topi a, a big

chief, and an equally determined mail. Chief Judge Fenton ancl Jpdge O'Brien have gone up lately to have very lively times. A correspondent telegraphed yesterday as follows : —"A great assemblage atTaupo re ,the Murimotu case. -'Kemp is coming .with twice . two-hundred xneti. Topia wiil be here, it is said, with twice as many. Then the lawyers will be legion: Mr. Stout is' coming all the way from Dunedin to champion the cause of the illused Kemp,. so that the case will be characterised by a good deal of Freethought, to say nothing of free speech. Mr. Sheehan is on his way from Wellington, and possibly we shall have Mr. P. A. Whitaker—that is to say, if his Patetere engagements will permit him. But that is not the whole of the legion of the ' devil's own,' for we are. also to have Mr. Duucan; Dr. Buller, Mr." W. S. Moorhouse (the Moorhouse family are interested in the block), and Mr. Cornford, solicitor, from Napier. It will be acknowledged . that that is a good bar for Taupo, and a fresh illustration of the old proverb tha,t 'Where the carcass is, there are the eagles gathered together.' It is not injpyobable a scrimmage may take place, for Kemp an( l Topia are terrible fellows when their blood is up. The sitting of the Court is likely to be a prolonged one, and it is understood that the Chief Judge brings up his violoncello, Mr. Stout a complete set of Herbert Spencer'fc works, while the others will amuse themselves according tfi th£?r individual tastes." —Hew Zealand e A visitor to Salt Lake City, writing in an American 'journal, says As I wfcS taking a stroll one evening I overheard two saints 'earnestly chatting at a street corner.' 'To think -of -'going baok to one la.dy !' was the indignant exclamation of one of the polygamic pair. They appeared to regard with horror the idea of tying a man dqwn to one wife. A man'was pointed o,ut tome on the street as the owner o| one wife and. three brevet wives-, I{o. 4 was 3 blo.omin.g gii'i of 16. The owner Qf these four a man fully 55 yeara of age, a native of the of New York and enucated and intelligent. In Salt Lake' City and in most portions of Utah women are spoken of as 'ladies.' A man's wife is his 'lady' and his wives are his 'ladies.' Many of the dry goocls clerks in Salt Lake City have* three 'wives apiece. 'How the deueS do these fellows support so many wives ? In California a man who supports one does amazingly well.' This I said to an old resident. ' Well,' he 'in the multitude fif saseg tho. women who support the men. Old Brigham used to preach to, the women th,at they must make themselves useful as well as ornamental, j They sew, take in gashing, ani\ rally. If they like it,' "\yhat business is it to people a thousand miles away ?' "

Mr. Proator, the astronomer, has abandoned the idea of again lecturing, as he promised, in the southern portions of the Colony, and writes to the New Zealand Times as follows ■" Wlieu I was last in Wd'^Sta 11 X stated that X should probably return and deliver two or three lectures here. In like manner at Christchuroh and Dunedin I mentioned the purpose I then entertained of returning and giving such of my lectures as I had not deli- r vered during my stay in those cities. In gaoh esse kindness with which I had been reo'elved caused me to desire to revisit scenes where I had had such pleasant greetings ; and in each case the wish to return was father to the thought that, probably should return, Indeed, I planned my future course so as "to include fresh visits to Tasmania, Victoria, and New South Wales, where I had already been most kindly welcomed, and a visit to Queenslandj M'here I have not lectured, ana now never shall, Fqr I find that two feelings—home sickness and a sense (which has always been strong with me) of the irksomeness of lecturing—grow so much upon me that I am at last compelled to assign an early date for the close of my lecture work. I have decided to let the course of lectures I am to give at Auckland (ending December 24th) conclude not only TRy (Colonial lectures, but my lecturing career. This will have lasted 11 years, during which time I shall have given 1123 lectuaes in all, 501 out of Great Brita : R, and of these 116 in Australia, In saying that f have received as kindly a greeting in Australia as in America, I should have thought three months ago I was saying all that could be said, for I can hardly express my sense of the kindness and genial warmth of my reception in the United States and Canada. But New gealand has certainly gone a little ahead (she could not possibly have gone far ahead) even of America, Australian, and Tasmania, in this respect. I shall always retain the warniest recollection of the kindness of my welcome in this Cglony." On reference to our advertising columns vpill he seen the Abridged Prospectus of the Caswell Sound Marble, Portland Cement, and Mining Company (Limited), the share list of which olose on the 15th inst."— [Advt,]