The Ashburton Guardian. Manga Est Veritas et Prevalebit WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1883.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 1088, 31 October 1883, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Manga Est Veritas et Prevalebit WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1883.

Four inebriates were summarily dealt with at the Police Court this morning. Mails for the United Kingdom etc., via San Francisco, will close at Ashburton on Saturday next at ten o’clock. In consequence of the recent death of Mr George Wood, the entertainment which it was proposed to give at the Old Men’s Homo this evening is postponed. The Ellesmere Agricultural and Pas toral Association held their annual show yesterday at Leeston. There was a good attendance and fine weather, and it proved a general success.

We would remind owners that entries for the forthcoming Spring meeting of the Ashburton Racing Club must be made with the Secretary, Mr S. Saunders, before 9 p.m. to-morrow. At Mosgiel early yesterday morning, Cornelius Peterson committed suicide by cutting his throat with a penknife. The wound would not have been fatal could medical assistance have been more promptly procured. Ho died from the great loss of blood. He was about 29 years of age and unmarried. Friday the 9th prox. being the anniversary of H.R. H. the Princj of Wales’ natal day, will be observed as a close holiday by the Postal Department, and mails usually despatched on Friday will be made up the previous night. The local telegraph office will open from seven till eight o’clock in tne evening. The report of the liquidators in Messrs Guthrie and Larnach’s New Zealand Timber end Woodware Factory Company was presented yesterday, and the shareholders adjourned for a week to consider it. The shareholders are to receive a dividend of 5s per share. The assets have realised very badly. Assets shown in the ledger accounts as worth L 162,630, realised only L 28,250, showing a deficiency of L 134,380. The book debts stood at L 50,688, but were over-estimated by L 12,688. Besides the ascertained deficiency of L 124.389, there is a probable depreciation of unsold assets of L 37,998. A four-roomed cottage at Maryhill, Mornington, Dunedin, belonging to Jeremiah Gatehouse, was burned down yesterday morning. It seems that about nine o’clock the place was discovered on fire by one Andrew Millar, who was working close by. Millar states that seeing smoke issuing through the door, he ran co the place, and found a quantity of paper and straw on fire underneath a sofa, and that he apparently succeeded in effectually extinguishing it. Mrs Gatehouse was at homo at the time, but her husband was away at his work. About an hour afterwards the house was discovered in flames and was burned to the ground. The place was insured in the South British officii for Ll5O, and the furniture for LSO. The circumstances of the fire being of a suspicious nature, the police are enquiiing into them. A meeting of the Ashburton High School Board of Directors was held at the County Council offices yesterday .afternoon, there being present Messrs W. C. Walker (chairman), C. P. Cox, E. Wright and S. Saunders. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. It was resolved in reference to the Board’s property that the Secretary be instructed to see that the terms of the lease be complied with as to payment. In reference to a letter received from Mr S. Burr, calling attention to the fact that there was some inaccuracy in the measurement of his property, and it decided that the rate collected should ba in future upon 320 acres and 36 perches, instead of 322 acreSi as heretofore. Mr Vincent wrote asking for information as to the constitution of the Board, and he was refeired to the Government gazette containing the accounts. It was resolved to ask Mr Sealy to clean the trees round the High School building. On the motion of Mr Cox seconded by Mr Saunders it was resolved that the Secretary be paid L 25 as salary, and a sum not exceeding LlO 10s for inspection and report of all (eserves. The meeting then adjourned.

The Mount Somers Presbyterian soiree was held in the local schoolroom on ths 26th. It was a decided success. The room was very nicely decorated with flowers and evergreens by Mr James Price who deserves the high' st praise. The tables were provided by Mrs Lambie, Mrs Bell, Mrs Hood, Mrs McLymont and Mr Williams, and assistance was also rendered by Mrs Patton, Miss McLymont, the Misses Armstrong and others. The tables were also very richly set off with flowers, and whilst the tea was proceeding Miss Lambie played some lively airs on the piano which were highly appreciated, as also the music rendered by Mr Price, The concert was also very successful, although the Ooinini.tee were afraid it would be a failure on account of the nonappearance of several gentlemen whom they had expected. The Hev A. McLennan presided, and after singing and prayer he gave a very interesting opening address. The programme which had been prepared was an excellent one, and among the items specially singled out for approval was the playing of Miss Lambie on the piano, the singing of Messrs A. MoNeal, Morrison, Pauling, J. Price, Williams, Dellow, the Rev. Chairmen and Miss McLennan, while the recitations of Messrs Joseph Price and Williams were loudly applauded. A very hearty vote of thanks was passed to the ladies for the very excellent tea they had provided, and also to the Chairman, which ho briefly acknowledged. The room was then cleared when dancing commenced and was kept up till daylight. Mr James Price, the Mount Somers favorite, supplied the music iu his usual grand style, he being occasionally assisted by Mr Joseph Price. Great praise is due to everybody who took part in the entertainment; McWilliams deserves especial mention as he provided a cloak room for the ladies, as also a room for refreshments during the evening. Mr Hood, with his usual kindness, also lent his piano.

A tender has been accepted for the Christchurch Exhibition Building-.

The rights h r publicuis’ booths, etc., at the t.'.J. C. Spring meeting were sola yesterday for L 223. The man found drowned in the Heathcote river yesterday has been identified as Broughton .1. Ollivier, formerly a ship’s steward.

Adolph Duval was yesterday charged at Lyttelton with the larceny of a cish-box containg Lll3, from the Kritish Hotel, and was remanded tiil to-day. Notwithstanding the losses occasioned by big floods, a large number of English and Ameiioan trout have been reared this season at Opawa, and have grown so rapidly that their removal if delayed much longer will be attended with considerable risk.

The Selwyn County Council have resolved to apply to the Government for L 250 for taking water through deferred payment land in Hororata Dis riot. The Council also are again writing to the Government, pointing out that the Otira Gorge toll-gate has not been remov.d, and the tolls still are collected. Our Mount Somers correspondent writes: —On Monday last we had a very violent gale of wind from the N.W., doing considerable damage, it blew the roof off Mr Mowbray’s house, which I hear is a t ;tal wreck ; it also took the roof off Mr Harvey’s stable, and also stripped the roof from several out buildings. It blew a chimney down on the site of the late Mount Somers store, damaging several other chimneys end several paling fences. It is the most severe gale we have experienced for a long time.

We much regret to learn that Mr Quill’s Grand Duke has gone lame, and will not take part in the Welcome Stakes at Christchurch next week. It appears that before Laving Ashburton the colt met with an accident to his knee while at exercise, which has brought about the present unfortunate result. It Is reported that the Hon W. Robinson has purchased Tasman from Mr D. O’Brien at a figure which must be highly satisfactory to the seller.

An annular eclipse of the sun occurs to-day, but it is not visible in New Zealand. The central phase occurs about 11 a.m., and therefore on a raeridiam not far removed from our own, but the positions of the sun and moon are such at the time as to cause the shadow of the latter to fall north of the Equator, and in a quarter « f the Pacific in which there is little land, so that the eclipse will be seen by very few of all the millions in the world.

A congregational meeting was held last evening, in the Primitive Methodist Church, to make arrangement for the forthcoming Anniversary. The Rev. J. Nixon presided, and announced that the Rev Joseph Sharp, of Timaiu, had consented to preach on Sunday, November 11th. It was resolved that the usual tea tako place on November 14th, the chow day, m the Oddfellows’ Hall. A committee was formed to get up a programme. After other business of a routine nature had been disposed of, the meeting closed with the Benediction.

Ernest Owen, an apprentice on board the Waikato, at Lyttelton, was picked up from the lower hold of that vessel yesterday evening with his skull fractured and one eye terribly damaged. He had been walking between decks late in the afternoon, and was not missed when the hatches were put up for the night. The officer in charge becoming anxious at his non-appearanco, ordered the hatches to bo taken off. It is thought that whilst walking about with his hands in his pockets he must have tripped over the combing of the hatch, and fell a distance of over 14ft. He was conscious when Drought on deck, and the doctor has hopes of his life. His father is Mr G. W. Owen of Auckland.

Truth says : —What do the total abstainers make of the following case, which I see reported in one of the papers ? An old gentleman has just died in Franco at the ripe age of seventy, leaving behind him a log-book of all that he has drunk for the last fifty years. His habits in this respect were very ;egular, his daily allowance being four litres of wine (seven pints), a couple of glasses of ab-'inthe before each of his three meals, and twelve petits verres of cognac, rum, or some other spirit, “to drive away despondency.” The total for the half century thus comes to; Wine, 127,827 pints; absinthe, 109,566 glasses ; spirits, 219,132 glasses. The old gentleman boasted that he had never had a ■ ay’s illness in his life, and he certainly seems to have proved this point that a hard drinker is not necoaarily a short liv, r, although vary possibly j-'ir Wilfred Lawson would say that had this wine, absinthe, and spirit bibber confined himself to water he would have lived another twenty years. In spite of the unpropitious weather which prevailed last evening, there was a somewhat better attendance at the Town Hall than on the previous night, although the h mse was by no means full. The performance coram meed with the oldfashioned farce “ A Kiss in the Dark,” in which Miss Nelson and Messrs Hesford and Alexander managed t> keep the audience amused. “ Baby,” the principal piece of the evening, is a thoroughly amusing comedy, or, to speak more correctly, farce in three acts. The plot is decidedly French in tone, and the dialogue and situations are at times unquestionably suggestive. People, however, who do not go to the theatre to learn morals, but only to be amused will find plenty to laugh at in “ Baby,” as was shown by the merriment caused by last night’s performance. The chief female character, that of “Betsy,” a port but cunning handmaid who has managed to get the upper hand of the so < of the house, was played with considerable spirit by Miss Amy Johns. The part is one which in many respects suits her style, and her acting was satisfactory thoroughout. As Mrs McManus, the wife of an Irish captain, whose attention to his marital vows is none too strong, Miss Louise Crawford was successful. Miss Nelson’s Mrs St. Paul, the coddli g mother of Baby, was acted carefully and intelligently. Mias Lizzie Lawrence did well whatlittleshe had to do as Madame Poleiva, and the minor parts were well filled. Mr Rede made a decided hit as Willie St. Paul, which was certainly the host played character in the piece, the different points being well brought ou . Th > Dawkins, of Mr Wilkinson, was not so good as the deaf boatman of the same actor on the previous night. Funny this gentleman always is, but fhe made the tutor altogether too vulgar in vice and manner, and it was impossible to realise that even the infatuated mother would be deceived ai to the true character of such a man Mr Hesford as Mr St Paul was fairly good, but the business of the papers was a little overdone, and its repetition a tribe wearisome to the audience. Mr Teeco played the Irish captain, and no doubt his acting will be belter when he is more acquainted with the dialogue. The Charley Atkins of Mr Simmonds was a careful rendering of a small part. Taken as a whole, the perform uca of Betsy was perhaps scarcely so good as that of the “ Guv’nor,” but the actors cannot entirely bo held responsible for this. In a bustling play of this kind stage room is a necessity, but in the Town Hall there is such small space to move about that it is no wonder the effects intended by the author are not realised by the actors. On account of the bad weather daring the past two days, Mr Wilmott has determined to remain in Ashburton for another night, and this evening the Company will appear in the emotional play “ Lost in London ” and a farce.

During the month of October thee were registered in Ashburton 25 births, 8 marriages, and 14 deaths. The foil wing is the return of patients at the Hospital for the month of October ;—Number in Hospital on the Ist, 11 ; admitted during the month, 6 ; discharged during the month, 4 Number in Hospital on the 31st, 13, Deaths, nil. Number treated during the month, 17.