The Ashburton Guardian. Manga Est Veritas et Prevalebit WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 1885. A Reverie.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1435, 21 January 1885, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Manga Est Veritas et Prevalebit WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 1885. A Reverie.

In all Darwin’s elaborate, able, and conscientious research into the theory of natural selection, he discovered nothing more unmistakeable and remarkable than the result of natural selection as manifested in the colonists of New Zealand. The distance they voluntarily ventured from their native homes, and the known and unknown difficulties and dangers they encountered, “selected” a race distinguished for their courage, enterprise, energy and daring; but equally remarkable for their want of prudence or salutary caution. Under such conditions it was natural that New Zealanders should excel in daring and should fail in caution; and such has proved to be our national character. We have succeeded in everything that required dash and energy and enterprise ; we haye failed in everything that demanded prudence and caution. Roads, telegraphs, railways, machines, inventions, we procure at any cost; but we have utterly neglected the unexampled opportunity we had to keep clear of diseases and animal and vegetable pests of every description. We have wilfully and wantonly introduced the rabbits, the sparrow, the hares, the sheep scab, the American blight, sorrel, and scores of other mischievous colonists, and we cheerfully add every year about fifteen pounds sterling per head on each bread winner to the national debt, regardless of the proverb that “ out of debt is out of danger.” Not one New Zealand farmer in ten has plodded on as other farmers do, living within his small means or growing rich by the slow but steady inctease of his stock. Thoughtless boirowing is the rule, not the exception, and too soon do we realise Solomon’s prediction that the borrower is servant to the lender. The natural characteristics of the old races have been singularly belied in our rulers. The most prudent Premier we have ever had was an Irishman; the most humdrum and indolent and narrowly selfish was an English poet ; the most reckless spendthrift on public works was a Scotchman; and the most insatiable borrower belongs to a race that are unknown as borrowers, though lending to all the world. What is the net result of all this ? Has our courage, our industry, our enterprise, compensated for our want of common caution or. prudence.? Can we even say that after neaily half a century of plucky British labor New Zealand is now a better field for immigration than it was in 1840 ? Is the prospect for a poor hard working settler as bright or as safe now as it was then ? Would the value of all the accumulated industry of the colony exterminate either the rabbits or the larks alone ? Would the value of our telegraphs and roads and railways pay off our national debt, or realise the value of the gold we have exported or the land we have sold ? Will our children rise up and bless us for the policy we have pursued ? Will they not rather wish that we had been contented with less rapid progress; that we had learnt to live within our means; to construct roads and bridges with our rich gold fields and ample land fund ; to keep away scab, blight, disease and weeds, and to elect farmers and not sportsmen to decide upon what animals should be introduced to a country once so happily free from all animal pests.

The New Traffic Bridge

There is now little doubt that the construction of the Ashburton traffic bridge will be undertaken during the current year. The energy and determination of our local bodies, largely supplemented by the parliamentary labors and diplomacy of the present and preceding members for Ashburton, have removed the long insurmountable obstacle to the work—the insufficiency of funds. There cannot bs two opinions as to the expediency of the enterprise. The direct saving to the Railway Department—the bridge-keepers’ salaries and the cost of re-planking—will be a very considerable item, whilst the more important advantages, the convenience and safety of travellers will be inestimaable. Although the plans and estimates were laid before the Conference yesterday, we are not yet at liberty to deal in extenso with them, but we may state that the bridge suggested by Mr Baxter is a very substantial and well designed structure. The proposed length of the bridge is 1800 lineal feet, in 90 spans of 20 feet each ; the width from handrail to handrail 21 ft 6in, leaving a clear roadway of 20ft. The piers will be supported by three ironbark piles, each 25ft in length. It is proposed to erect the bridge in a line with the Great Sauth road, and the northern ehd will land on the spot now occupied by the cottages which for some time served as public offices. The following is the complete text of the resolution adopted by the Conference yesterday, viz.: “ That the County Council and Borough Council contribute towards the balance required to complete the cost of the traffic bridge in the proportion of L2 by the County a_nd Li by the Borough, provided that the plan adopted shall include a footbridge railed off from the roadway, but in no case shall the Borough’s contribution be more than Lr,500.” Mr Baxter anticipates that about twelve months will elapse between the commencement and the completion of the work.

The annual Oonfere”C9 of the New Zealand Wesleyan Methodist Church commenced at Dunedin to-day ; the Stationing ommittee meeting this afternoon, and the election of President with other officials taking place in the evening. The Rev 0. H. Standage left for the Conference by express this morning, and several other representatives passed through Ashburton by the same train. The attendance at the St Stephen’s! Schoolroom last evening was so meagre that Professor Lio Medo determined not to deliver his promised lecture. This evening the professor announces that he will deliver Dr Dodd’s celebrated discourse [ on raesme-ism, and the reputation of the great physiologist should in itself be sufficient to attract a large audience. Professor Lio Medo is possessed of considerable elocutionary talent and being a practical mesmerist, his entertainment promises to bo of a thoroughly enjoyable and instructive character. A: special meeting of the Ashburton Fire Brigade will be held at the engine station at 7 o’clock this evening to consider the “crisis.” The Kev. Mr West, of Southbridge, mot in conference with representatives from the Presbyterian congregations O; Rakaia, Chortaey, and Lauriston, it Rakaia, on Monday. Owing to the exi gancies of farm work at the present busj season, no representative from Lauristor was present, but Messrs ' odd ant McDowell of Ohertsey, and Mesan Harvey, Tucker, and Wilkinson repro seated ably their respective congregations Information of a very favourable naturi from the various congregations was fur nished, and ways and means for the sup port of the clergyman and the furtherancof his work having been discussed, the meeting adjourned, after cordially welcoming the Rev. R. Stuart to his new field of labour. Mr Stuart will preach in Rakaia for the first time on Sunday first at 11 a.m., and at Chertsey at 6 p.m. Owing to there being only three persons present at the Horticultural Society’s meeting last evening, nothing was done towards forming a Committee for the proposed show In all probability the Society will now cease to exist, as the apparent apathy of those most interested, and who have reaped the greatest benefit from previous shows will discourage others who had undertaken the work of resuscitation.

We regret to learn that “ ruatj” has made its appearance in several crops of wheat in the VVakanni district. The intelligence conveyed by our publication of yesterday, that the extension of the Mount Somers branch railway was likely to be undertaken at an early date, created wide spread satisfaction at Mount Somers. The inhabitants of the Alpine village had almost despaired of securing the connection during the present decade, and the revulsion of evpectation wis folowed by laudatory comments upon the district’s representative in Parliament. We are pleased to notice that Mr Hevana’s numerous friends will have an opportunity to, in some measure, show their regard and esteem for that gentleman’s before his departure for Waimate. To-morrow evening a banquet will be given to Mr Revans at the Commercial Hotel, and we hope to see a representative gathering to do honor where honor is largely due. His Worship the Mayor has ’eceived the following telegram from the Minister of Public Works, in reply to a request that he would visit Ashburton and inspect the proposed Moore street crossing and other works :—“ To the Mayor, Ashburton. —Your let f er of yesterday received. My arrangements have been much' interfered with and I cmnot for a day or two make any appointment, but will do so befpre leaving for the North again. Perhaps you will intimate the subject you wish to sea me upon. (Signed.) Edward Hxohaedson.” Mr Bullock, J.P., presided at the Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday, and fined David Alexander, for drunkenness, 10s and costs 7s. Julia Bourk, to-day, for a similar offence, was fined 20 •, with the alternative of 48 hours’ imprisonment, Mr J. Ivesa, JP,, being the presiding magistrate. A special meeting of the School Committee will be held at the Borough school this evening, at half past seven, to consider the Inspector’s report. We understand that the local agents for different makers are arranging for a public exhibition of reapers and binders in work to take place next week. The Fanner’s Tribune tells this chapter of real life : —“ Your daughter graduates this month, Mr Thistlepod V ‘ Yes, she’ll bo home about the 20th, I reckon ’ ‘And your ton graduates also {’ ‘Oh, yes, he’ll come home about the same time.’ ‘ And what are they going to do V ‘ Well,’ said the old man thoughtfully, * I don’t just, exactly know what they want to drive at, but Marthy she writes that she wants to continue her art studiei on the Continent, so 1 think i’ll just send her to the dairy and let her do a little plain modelling in butter ; and Sam, he says he is got to go abroad and polish up a little, and as good luck will have it, he’ll be home just in time to spread himself on the grindstone and put on an edge on the cradle blades against the wheat harvest.”

Professor Leone Levi, in a recent leo* ture at King’s College, Londoij, said : “ Commerce had not been so profitable of late years, but what had been lost in one direction had been gained in another. The amount assessed to income tax was greater than ever. It was a remarkable fact that in the midst of all complaints about the reduction of profits the amounts held on deposit by the joint-stock Banks of the United Kingdom in 1883 are estimated at L 475,000,0.0, as against L 421,000,000 in 1874 ; while the amount of the Savings Banks had likewise increased from LG5,000,000 in 1874, to L-8,000,000 in ‘BB4. With regard to our (English) economical prospects for the future, it might be safely asserted, with respect to production, that the conditions were in every way encouraging.” Purify the blood, cleanse the stomach, and sweeten the breath with Hop Bitters. Read [Advt.] ‘‘Rough on Rats,”— Clears out rats, mice, roaches, flies, •Mils, bed-bugs, beetles, insects, skunks, jack rabbits, gophers. Druggists, The N.Z. I*i vr Co., General Agents. 2 'that husband of mine is three times the man he-was before he began using "Wells Health Renewer.” Druggists. The N.Z Drug Co., General Agents. 2 Tic-Doloureux, Toothache, or any other neuralgic pain speediiy yields to Baxter’s AntiNeuralgic Pills. Another unfortunate.—Again we must draw' the attention of our readers to the fact that a ,£2,424 stock of Clothing and General Drapery, in the estate of Dennis O’Connell, trading in Lyttelton and Cristchurch, now bankrupt, was purchased by H. E. May & Co., of the Hall, High street, for £954, or only a little over one-third of its value. 11. E. M. and Co. are now selling it at half the marked price, which surely ought to seenre a speedy clearance.

Holloways Pilis.—NervousjDebility.No part of the human machine requires more watching than the nervous system—upon it hangs health and life itself. These pills are the best regulators and strengthened of the nerves, and the safest general purifiers. Nausea, headache, giddiness, numbness, and mental apathy yield to them. They dispatch in a summary majmef those distressing dyspeptic symptoms, stomachic pains, fulness at the pit of the stomach, abdominal distension, and overcome both capricious appetites and confined bowels —the commonly accompanying signs of defective or deranged nervous power. Holloway’s Pills are particularly recommended to persons of studious and sedentary habits, who gradually sink into a nervous and debilitated state, unless some such restorative be oc.ca sipnalty takes.—[A4vt.]

“ Index,” in the Auckland Hevald, tells the following story :—The earns paper in which it was stated that the Bishop of Lincoln had resigned, contained the announcement that Lord Blanket, Bishop 1 of Meath, had been appointed Primate of Ireland in place of Dr Trench. The mention of these two men together calls to mind the story which the former often used with great glee to tell about the latter, as follows :—At a large dinner party given at the Castle by the Lord Lieutenant, it was noticed about the middle of dinner that Dr Trench, who had previously been talking a good deal, suddenly became silent, and turned very pale. Then, throwing himself back in his chair, he began, “in the accents of a moat pathetical concern to exclaim, more than once, “ My enemy —my old enemy—has got me at last.” Everybody present understood at once what he meant. It was well known that the Bishop had long been haunted by the conviction that he was to die of creeping paralysis, and that his death would be after the manner of the death of Socrates. All leaving their seats the guests crowded round him and inquired of him more particularly what his symptoms were. He explained to them, as well as he could, that what he had long fsared bed come at last. The disease had seized his ex- ’ tremities, and was slowly creeping upwards His legs were without feeling. | He had pinched them as hard as he could, but could feel nothing. “Oh dear, is that all !” exclaimed a young and very beautiful woman who had been taken into ‘ d inner by the Bishop, and had been sitting on his right hand, “ Is that all 1" Why, it’s my leg you’ve been pinching all ’ the time !”

At a meeting of those interested in the adoption of the Lien Law system which was held at the Albion Hotel, Invercargill, on Saturday afternoon. Mr Lee Smith explained the objects of the system at length, and after some conversational discussion it was moved by Mr Hodgkinaon, seconded by Mr Gillies— That it is desirable that a lien law be passed in New Zealand, that this meeting support the Dunedin deputation by delegates or memorial, and aid in the expenses. The motion was carried unanimously. | The Lien Law which has been in force for many years in the United States was instituted for the protection of workmen, supplies of material, subcontractors, and contractors. The principle of this law is that the land of the person benefited is responsible for the coat of the improvement as a matter of common justice and honesty. The fact of material being placed upon the ground for the proposed building gives the owner of such material a lien upon the section provided he has been ordered by the owner of the land or agent to supply said material. The lien is preferred to all other liens which may be attached subsequent to commencement of work, and to all unrecorded claims of whatever to date. The materials that are furnished are not subject to attachment, execution, etc., for any other debt except due for purchase money thereof, so long as in good faith these materials are going to be applied to the construction of the building. Unsatisfied claims against the land must be filed within days after completion of building thereon. The lien does not impair right to personal action. “ Buchu-Paiba.”— Quick, complete cure, all annoying kidney, bladder, and urinary diseases. Druggists. The N.Z. Drug Co,. General Agents. 2 The local industries of Ashburton are growing apace. A visit to the principal workshops in this town will convince any of our readers that there is still a splendid future before usif we only patronise those of our enterprising townsmen who are determined to do a legitimate business with snAll profits. In Burnett street the workshops of Messrs Meech and Co present a busy appearance, and having improved machinery are able to turn out an excellent display of household furnishings equal to any in Canterbury. We anticipate a great demand and, a satisfactory profit for the manufacturers in return. In hast street Messrs M. and Co. have also opened a show room, where is to be seen some very line furniture suitable to all classes, and we believe at prices that mus: command a ready sale. Our advice is inspect Meech and Co.’s stock for house furnishings.