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Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1319, 13 December 1880, Page 2

The Hon. Mr, Oliver arrived in Oamaru to-day. As, under tlie circumstances, his stay will probably be short, those who have been waiting this favorable opportunity for interviewing him would do well" to be on the alert. Amongst the numerous matters upon which he will be deputationised are the railway station, the courthouse, the post and telegraph offices, the Ngapara and Peebles cattle yards, and, possibly, the railway tariff. Writing of the railway station reminds us that the plans do not include a verandah, Might we suggest that such an adjunct wpuld repder a patched-up concern more tolerable. The other public buildings, which have been universally condemned as unfit for Oamaru, must, we suppose, remain as fnonuments of the tergiversation of our rulers tiil the Hall Ministry is no more. There would be no harm, though, in Mr. Oliver making a promise to keep these buildings " fcteadily jn view," as steadily in view as he has kept the Ngapfvrq, and Peebles cattle yards. The rain which fell yesterday was more than welcome alike to the farmers and gardeners. The hot dry weather of the past few days has completely dried up the greater portion of tfie land, and the crops and gardens were sadly in of moisture. Yesterday's showers will do a large amount of good," but farmers generally would have been pleased to see the rainfall continue for a few hours longer, as the ground would then have received a soaking that would have lasted for some time. Still, the rain of yesterday will no doubt give new heart to those of our farmers who were beginning to prognosticate small yields. With favorable weather up to harvest time, the yields should be fully up to the average. The Oamaru Fire Brigade has advanced another step. A large fire alarm bell has been obtained, and hung in a substantial belfry erected for the purpose by Mr. Newton, at the rear of the Municipal Council Chambers and adjoing the engine station. The bell weighs 3 cwt., and was made by Messrs. A. and T. Burt, of Dunedin. It was rung several times during the afternoon, and at first caused many people to rush iDto the streets, under the impression that a Are had broken out. The Brigade intends, we believe, adopting a code of alarm signals, with a view of"enabling members and the public generally to distinguish the locality in which a fire occurs. This code will no doubt shortly be published. Persons receiving payment in sovereigns should exercise some amount of care, as counterfeit coins are somewhat plentiful in the country. We are told that spurious sovereigns may be purchased in Dunedin, and there are plenty of scoundrels in the country who would readily make use of them if afforded an opportunity of doing so. At the Resident Magistrate's Court to-day, George Gleeson, who is tolerably well known as a pedestrian, was charged with having uttered one of these counterfeit sovereigns at the racecourse on Thursday, with intent to defraud jlr. James Reid. The coin in question in some respects is a very fair immitation of a sovereign, but its real nature may be easily discovered. It is considerably lighter than the legitimate sovereign, and does not bear the proper impressions. On one side there is a very good imitation of the U3ual representation of the bust of Her Majesty, and on the reverse side is a fair representation of St. George and the dragon. On the other hand, the reading is not correct, and a very cursory glance at it is quite sufficient to convince anyone of its true character.

A special drill of the High School Carets was held this afternoon for the purpose of selecting the recipients of Major Sumpter's prize and Captain Peattie's annual medal for the cadets who show the best knowledge of drill. Captain Fitzgerald, of the Dunedin Training College, who happened to be passing through the town, looked in to see his old school, and kindly assisted in the judging. Staff-instructor Sergeant-major Macpherson put the boj's through their drill, and Captaips Fitzgerald and Peattie, assisted by ex-Lieutenant Hewat, made the choice. By separate and independent judgment, the medal was awarded to Cadet Hedlay, whp took second place in the same competition last year. Major Sumpter's prize was adjudged to Corporal Ronayne. Captain Fitzgerald complimented the corps on the steadiness and precision in drill manifested by them, and expressed his pleasure at seeing so many in military uniform whom he had seen formerly in petticoats. A match was commenced on Saturday afternoon between the Oamaru and Union Cricket Clubs, and so far is very much in favor of the former. The scores in the first innings were: Oamaru, 91 ; Union, 57. For the former, Finch, Will, and Hardy, made scores, and for the latter, Sinclair and Harris did good service. The bowling and fielding on both sides was very fair. The match will be resumed on Saturday. Onr Waimatc correspondent writes : —The weather during the week has been very close and sultry. Waimate looked just like itself on Thursday, the Resident Magistrate's Court being kept sitting till 5 o'clock. Two convictions for sly grog-selling were obtained against one individual, and a fine of L2O or two months' imprisonment inflicted in each case. He has elected to take it out in Government quarters. Several bogus larceny cases were brought before the Court, and evidence crammed into the witness-box till the Magistrate refused to hear any more of it, and addressing the prosecuting attorney said. "There, is a great deal too much readiness here to rush into informations for larceny. It is a serious matter to lay charges of this nature when they cannot be supported, and people ought to be very careful indeed, or some of these days they will be made to pay for their carelessness." TJie battle of the Clubs still goes on, Codlin being the man at the one and Short at the other, and rumor hath it that the Sergeant of Police is going to try the legality of their selling by a summons. A very sad accident happened at Mr. Coosetrey's farm, about twelve miles from here, on Friday. His eon Walter, aged 20, was bringing home a load of wood, when the" horses started and he was thrown down and killed by the wheela of the waggon passing over him. Our leading mercantile firm has got a room fitted up with all the necessary appliances for curing butter on a large scale, and the price it is selling at now being good the the speculation is believed to be a very fair one. On Snmjay afternoon we bad a good heavy sbow/er, whifih failed with delight by ail and sundry,

The usual monthly meeting bf theWaitaki Road Board will be held in the office, Tynestreet, to-morrow, at 11.30 aim; The firing for the dictrict prizes will be commenced to-morrow morning by. No. 1 Company, and on Wednesday the Artillery will compete. The firing on both days will take place at 5.30 a.m. and 3 p.m.

We learn that on the 20th ultimo there were 113 men engaged on the Taranaki harbor works, besides the usual number of officials. It is evident that if the Taranaki harbor works are to prove a failure, at least the Board are making public money fly. Competent judges say that the money is being literally thrown into the sea. . It is stated that Mr. Sherwood will, during the next elections which will take place after next session, oppose the Hon. Major Atkinson for Taranaki, and that Messrs. Ballance and Rees a r e to run for Wanganui. In that case the Hon. Major Atkinson and the Hon. Mr. John Bryce will probably run for their favm«?. We direct the attention of those interested to a notification in another column to the effect that any Volunteer who fires at the Oamaru rifle range unless the danger flag is hoisted and an efficient marker in attendance will be dismissed from the service. Whilst the exercise of such stringency is the duty of the Major-Commanding the District, it behoves those who are in the habit, in pursuance of their calling as cow tenders, of frequenting this vicinity, to see that the coast is clear.