The Ashburton Guardian. Magna Est Veritas et Prevalebit. FRIDAY, MAY 11, 1883.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 940, 11 May 1883, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna Est Veritas et Prevalebit. FRIDAY, MAY 11, 1883.

I Mr T. T. Noble, second officer of the Hawea, writes to the Nelson Mail, contradicting the telegraphed report about the steamer going ashore at Waitara. Mr F. N. Robinson, of Christchurch, is the winner of the Champion Cup at the South Canterbury Amateur Athletic Club sports this year. Having won it three years in succession, Mr Robinson takes the Cup as his own property. A public meeting held at Wanganui yesterday determined to form a company of 1,600 shares of L2 each to establish a dairy factory, chiefly for cheese-making. A provisional directory was formed, a site was selected, and extensive promises of support in the district received. Operations are expected to be commenced in September. A Home paper gives particulars of a ■hocking accident which recently occurred in Hungary, on a short line of railway which runs up a hill between the coal mines and iron works of Salgo Tarjaneto, and which is constructed on the model of the well-known railway up theßigbi. As a train of twelve loaded coal waggons was going up the line, some of the teeth of the engine-wheels broke. As the wheels would no longer bite, the whole train began to slip back, and was soon rushing with terrible velocity down to the valley. Most of the men saved their lives by leaping from the carriages; but six women and a girl were too terrified to make the attempt. On arriving in the val’.ey the crash was tremendous. The train was dashed to pieces and all the female passengers lost their lives. Six workmen who were in the train received severe injuries in their attempted escape. The Otago Harbor Board yesterday agreed to accept the resignation of Captain Thomson, Harbormaster, and to place on record its recognition of his valuable and lengthy services, to ask him to remain in the service three months after his successor was appointed to instal him in his duties, and to present him on leaving with a bonus of L3OO. The Board refused to take cognisance of resolutions recently arrived at by the Committee of the Chamber of Commerce, recommending a total change in the constitution of the Board, but forwarded a reply that they would be happy to consider any suggestion on the subject made by the Chamber as a whole. The Committee’s recommendation was that the Harbor Board should consist of appointed skilled men paid for their services. Dissatisfaction has been expressed at the working of the famous big dredge, known as No. 222, and the Board intend having a report made as to the work she has done and can do.

The Salvation Army (writes a London correspondent) seems to have reached the zenith of its success. Yielding to popular opinion, “ General ” Booth has lately discountenanced the processions of his army through the streets and thoroughfares of . our towns and cities. He has lately published an appeal for funds to assist him in carrying on his work. He has an income of over L 60,000 a year, which income has been devoted to the purchase of leasehold and some little freehold property, chiefly chapels, music halls, and places of worship. The whole of these investments have been made in “ General ” Booth's name, and a large proportion, of the income of the Salvationists has gone towards the expense of uniforms, bands of music, drums, trombones, and all the paraphernalia of this method of revivalism. Mr Booth has rather startled his friends by telling them that he .is in debt to . the extent of L 20,000, for which ha has to pay interest in some cases to the amount of per cent.

The Champion Copper Lode (Nelaonk Company’a shares, 7a fid paid up, have changed hands at L2. Subscriptions are being raised in Wellington for Mrs Murphy, whose husband was lost from the Huia on Wednesday. It is understood that the Government has received advices from the Pacific Mail Company announcing that the Company has accepted the proposals of the New South Wales Government with regard to the San Francisco mail service.

Messrs Barber’s boiling-down works at Wellington, which were burnt on Wednesday night, were damaged to the extent of LI, OOO, tWo thirds of which is borne by the South British one third by the National. The whole property was insured for L 1 ,600.

A dangerous fire occurred yesterday afternoon in Shortland, Thames, at Charles Butterworth’s boarding-house, connected wi f h the Warwick Arms Hotel in Pollen stieet. The Shortland Fire Brigade were moat promptly on the spot, and succeeded in overcoming it before spreading to the adjacent premises. The upper floor was complotelt destroyed. The premises were the property of Brown, Campbell and Co., and the building was insured for L 250 in the Norwich Union. Much property was saved by the exertions of Captain Dalton and neighbors. One of the firemen, Mr Ooutts, had his leg seriously cut with an axe. At a meeting of the Orchestral Society held this week it was found that the Oddfellows had unwittingly fixed the date of their concert in celebration of the opening of the now hall for the 16th May, the date for which the Orchestral Society’s concert had been fixed. The Oddfellows wrote regretting the circumstance, and making a handsome offer for arrangement, in consideration of which the Society decided to put off the orchestral concert till Juno 16, and to contribute two oveitures to the Oddfellows’ programme on the 16th May. At the meeting of the creditors in the estate of Stavely, Austin and Co., held at Dunedin on Tuesday afternoon, the following was the resolution adopted : “ That the estate be carried on in liquidation ; Messrs Ferrier and Denniston be the liquidators ; that when the estate has realised 16s in the £ net without interest, any balance to be left to the debtors, it being understood that should the firm within two months be enabled to offer a composition of 15s guaranteed this arrangement shall take the place of the arrangement above-mentioned.” It is understood that the greater part of the liability to the Bank of New Zealand is secured.

The Paris Figaro describes a new style of cannon recently made at Lille that is destined to work a complete revolution in the manufacture of artillery, if all is true that is claimed for it. It is made of steel about half an inch thick, or even less, and when pronounced perfect by the examiners, is placed upon an enormous turning Uthe, above which are several bobbins wound with fine silk thread. The ends of the silk threads are fastened to the cannon, which, as it turns npidly on the lathe, soon covers itself with a thick and even covering of silk thread. When the diameter is thus increased to the required size, a coating of indiarubber is applied to protect the silk from the Weather, and the cannon is ready for use. It is claimed that a silk thread has as touch tenacity and resistance as a steel thread of equal diameter, and much more elasticity, consequently its use in the manufacture of artillery possesses many evident advantages, such as the great decrease in weight, and the increased facilities of handling aud firing the field-piece, due to the fact that silk is a non-conduc-tor of heat.

Messrs Rose and Whitmore, the contractors for the stage fittings in the new Oddfellows’ Hall, have been very busy lately, and everything will be in readiness for the opening night, which is fixed for the 16th inst. The stage is a most spacious one, and quite capable of accommodating any ordinary theatrical company visiting the colony. The decoration of the proscenium, which is the work of Mr T. Nicholson, is tasteful and effective, and the scenery provided by the same artist would do credit to any of the large theatres in New Zealand. Up to the present, two scenes, with the necessary wings, have been painted—a landscape and an interior —both of which are admirable specimens of artistic skill. The acoustic properties of the hall appear to be all that could be desired, and .the Oddfellows are to be congratulated on their enterprise in erecting a building that is a credit to Ashburton. The want of such a place has long been felt, and as late experience has shown that good theatrical and operatic companies are well patronised when they visit us, we may confidently expect that with a hall like the one now erected we shall be provided with more entertainments in the future than we have been in the past. ; .:

The enormous development of portrait taking by photography, which is one of the moat marked of the minor characteristics of our day, gives some interest to a discussion new going on in America as to who was the first person to photograph the human face. The honor is claimed both by the friends of the late Professor Draper and the late Professor Morse, and the son of the latter gives some curious details as to the taking of the first photographic portrait:—“ln my intercourse with Daguerre I specially conversed with him in regard to the practicability of taking portraits of living persons. He expressed himself somewhat sceptical as to its practicability, only in consequence of the time necessary for the person to remain immovable. No sooner, however, had I mastered the process of Daguerre than I commenced to experiment with a view to accomplish this desired result. I have now the results of there experiments, taken in September or the beginning of October, 1839. They are fall-length portraits of my daughter, single and also in a group with some of her young friends. They were taken out of doors, on the roof of a building, in the full sunlight, and with the eyes closed. The time was from 10 to 20 minutes.” Writes the New Zealand Times Diamonds, or not diamonds ?—that is the question. An answer in the affirmative would delight the hearts—and line the pockets—of many anxious prospectors in Auckland, in Otago, in Canterbury, and lastly in Marlborough. Specimens of small glittering crystals are being tested here and there, but with doubtful or disappointing results. Certain members of the police force at Picton made an excursion and a discovery the other day, and great was their joy at finding a thirtysecond cousin to the famous Koh-i-noor diamond —nay, several distant relations, but small, very small. Still, a diamond is a diamond, if only a little spec. These diamonds looked like crystal pilules, and they were appropriately put in a pill-box and forwarded to Wellington for examination. We saw them yesterday in the hapds of an expert, who first applied the chemical test, which, being unfavorable, he next “tried the old-fashioned test of crushing the crystal specs under a hammer. The first pilule was crushed to dust —was it diamond dust ? That expert crusher shook his head, not wishing to hurry the verdict—for on the tail of that verdict a fortune might hang. : ;A second pilule was put under , the hammer and slowly crushed to powder—quartz powder, and nothing more ! “These Picton diamonds are frauds,”'said the expert, wiping his magnifiers. “I can’t swallow those pilules for diamonds—they’re nice specs of orystalised quartz, and that’s allf verdict accordingly.

i Thjj Rev. Mr Oree, Presbyterian minisHas entered an action against Society for libel.

The Onehunga Ironworks Company applied to (he Auckland Waste Lands Board for an extension of their lease of iron , sand on the Manukau beach, from 21 to; GO. years, as the works will cost froni LBO,OOO to LIOO,OOO. The Board agreed to recommend the right of renewal or extension, the lease to be granted on such/, terms as may be arranged between thffl i Government and the promoters of the industry. The special services at the Primitive Methodist Conference have thus far been well attended. Last evening Mr Jones and Captain Pollard, of the Salvation Army, addressed the meeting. The latter gave an account of the campaign in Dunedin, and said that the difficulty was not how to reach the mass.s, but bow to keep them out, the building being so cram rued. He had taken the Gaiety Theatre in Christchurch as a base of operations for, Canterbury, and hoped to visit Ashburton soon. The service to-night will be conducted by the Rev. A. M. Beattie. David Stranaghan, who was arrested in Christchurch early yesterday morning on a charge of having set fife his premises in Victoria street, with intent to defraud the Standard, Mercantile, Union, and Colonial Insurance Companies, was brought up at the B.M. Court yesterday morning. Ho had sent in a proof of loss of stock to the value of L 1,497 19s Bd, but a witness who had been in his employ stated that the total value of the stock destroyed was only about L7OO. While this witness was giving his evidence the accused fell down in a fainting fit. The ca-e was finally remanded to Tuesday next. :

Mr W. J. Sykes, dental surgeon, wifi ,be < in Ashburton bn Monday next, and may be con-, suited at, Mr J, M- Cambridge’s, chemist,. East' street,'between the hours of n a.m. and;, S; p.m. bn that day.—[Advt.] To-morrow will positively be the Ifist, drapery and clothing auction sale by Mr S. D. Nathan, as, if anything remains, it will be sent away on Monday., Do not lose this last chance. Remember, C. R. Church’s, Havelock street. Some more of Moore’s 6x for luncheon. —Advt.

During cold weather nothing looks more cheerful than a pleasant room well furnished with household requisites of a kind both useful and ornamental. To get such you must use your own discretion, so as to please the eye and not hurt the pocket. Just beyond the Arcade the establishment of Meech is to be , seen, which now embraces the whole of 45, 46, 47, 48, and 50, Burnett street East. You , can pi’ r chase almost any description of furniture here at Christchurch and Dunedin prices, and the stock is large and varied. Remember the address—J. Meech, Burnett street, Ashburton. —[Advt.] Holloway’s Ointment and Pills combign both sanitive and sanative powers in a high degree—by the former term is understood their ability to preserve health, by the latter their capability to restore health. With these retne- ; dies at hand no invalid need be at fault to guide himself or herself safely through the many trials to which everyone is subjected during our long and ofttimes inclement winters, Coughs, colds, ulcerated throats, diptheria, whooping cough, 1 can be successfully treated by well rubbing this Ointment upon the chest, and by taking the Pills. During damp foggy weatherasthmaticalsufterers will experience the utmost possible relief from the inunction of the ointment on all tenderchested persons will save endless misery by adopting this treatment. -r-[ Advt.]