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Westport Times, Volume II, Issue 188, 7 March 1868, Page 2

Meeting of Educational Boabd. —Yesterday afternoon the gentlemen composing tho Westport Educational Board, held a meeting at the Courthouse. Mr Tyler was elected chairman, and Mr Reid, secretary. A letter from Mr Erazer was read disagreeing with the proposed mode of levying taxes to support a school, but the board could not entertain it. A letter from the Central Board was also read, directing that plans should be prepared and forwarded to them, of a schoolhouse and master's cottage. After some discussion it was resolved to get plans drawn out and ready for next meeting, so as to forward the business as soon as possible. No other business of importance occupied the meeting.

Tow]v Improvements.—The work, in connection with building the new jetties, is being rapidly proceeded with, and will, it is to be hoped stand longer than the last attempt at wharf building.—The prisoners are busy at work filling up and metalling the street in front of tho Court-house, so that persons with corns may still have a stony path to traverse before appealing to law; apropos, the stony streets of tho Duller are most abominably unpleasant, and remind one of the " Kidney " pavements about Birmingham in the old country. The Custom House will soon be commenced, and will add another to the list of imposing edifices around the Court House.

Assemiua" Booms. —The third night of meeting at these rooms on Thursday night was a dead failure. The band were kept until 10 o'clock when, as no ladies and gentlemen appeared to " trip it on the light fantastic toe," they were sent off about their business. One more night next week will complete the month, and there seems no likelihood of any better success then, and consequently this attempt at establishing an assembly for weekly quadrille parties will fall through. This is to be regretted, as the number of names enrolled as subscribers was about seventy, price of ticket one guinea, and this number showed the desire existing among several members of this community to form a respectable weekly reunion. The want of ladies is tho great drawback, and until our population increases, there seems no likelihood, of suitable persons being found to make any attempt of the kind, cither profitaho or feasiblle. Tho bal masque at the same rooms held last week was, on the other hand, a complete success, both as regards quantity and quality, and the proprietor announces another ball at an early date. Bars AND Baemaids.—A correspondent of the London Daily Telegraph writes as follows, and the same thing might bo said of the West Coast, whore frequenters of public-house bars believe that barmaids have got neither sense or shame, but take delight in their ribald conversation and foolish jests. The writer says : —" I am a barmaid in a respectable provincial hotel. ' The bar' is frequented by many inhabitants of the town, and some of the commercial men who stay in the

house, nearly all of whom seem to think tho barmaid is a toy placed at their disposal by the landlord to induco them to stay and spend their money in tho house. Tho disgraceful jests and remarks that are made in our hearing render life in a bar a kind of moral pollution, to which none of our customers would allow their own female relatives to bo subjected -were they aware of its painfulness. I ask you, Sir, to address yourself again to these ' bar profligates,' and remind them that their own sisters or daughters may be compelled by misfortune to seek such employment, and for their sakes, if not for ours, let the conversation and manners of a bar bo those of a private sitting-room." The MiNSTBEiiS.-This evening Messrs Eastwood, Dcel, Coghlau, and Lockycr will make their last appearance at tho Australasian Hotel, Addison's Flat, when the company will sing some of their most admired songs, and Mr Peel will dance his celebrated American prize jig, and Mr D. Coghlau a clog hornpipe. Mr Eastwood will continue his amusing burlesque lecture on the history of England.