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Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1293, 20 July 1886, Page 2

The Premier stated in the House of Representatives last night that if members assisted in the passage of bo« ; - , ''i the House might prorogue in about - .

It is currently ru;u the Post) that the direetora of the Qovorame :t Insurance Association have re-arranged the salaries I of the chief officers of tha Association at the following rates : —General manager, £1000; actuary, £800; accountant, £750; superin. tendent of agents, £650. Mr Richard who is the engineer for the contractors, Messrs MoEeone and Robinson, for the first section of the Midland Railway, is expected to leave London prob. ably by the Ruapehu at the end of the month with the remainder {of the contractor’s staff. The portion of the line under contract to the firm will be constructed under Mr Gard’ner’a supervision.

The usual fortnightly meeting of the Star of Ashburton Lodge, U.A.0.D., was held in the Arcade Chambers last evening. There was a good attendance. The ordinary business was transacted and four candidates were proposed for membership. The Committee which bad been appointed for the purpose of making arrangements in connection with the celebration of the anniversary of the Lodge presented their report, which was adopted unanimously. It recommended that the celebration should take the form of a torch, light procession through the town, to be followed by a dramatic performance, the whole to conclude with a ball. The oalobra tion takes place on August 25th. Wo understand that special arrangements in connection with the dramatic performance have been made to ensure its success, the services of two professional actressees haying been obtained*

Reply post cards were introduced to-day. j

The time (or receiving tenders lor destroying rabbits on the Rangitata Island has been extended to Thursday next. The boundaries of the district are advertised in this issue.

Sir George Grey again' brought up the District Purchase scandal in the House of Representatives last evening, bat members were undeniably weary of the sub. jeot, and it was allowed to drop. The Premier announced that he tailed to sea that Mr Slee had oommitted any offence against Parliament.

The Southland Protection League held a public meeting last night, at which about 200 were present. The President Mr H. daggers, delivered an address, and, after discussion, the following motion was carried, with one dissentient—“ That in order to retain population in New Zealand it is absolutely necessary that Government should arrange the tariff so at to encourage local manufactures.

The Defence Department has now received from Home the electric light apparatus, to be used in connection with the defence works at Wellington. It is intended to erect the apparatus at Fort Ballanoe, where it will command the entrance to the Heads, and the whole of the harbor way up to beyond Ward’s Island, thus enabling the batteries to have a full view of any vessel entering the Heads or trying to make her way into the harbor. A similar apparatus has been obtained for Auckland.

The N.Z. Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, Limited, has received the following cable message from London,' dated 17th inst.:—Wool Sales—Close of third series, 1886. The sales closed firmly. Since the close of the last series of sales greasy merino has advanced 2d per lb, scoured ditto 4d, clothing washed 2Jd to 3d, combing washed 2d to 2Jd, fine greasy crossbred Id to IJd, fine washed crossbred Id to IJd, fine scoured crosabred;id to IJd, coarse greasy crossbred £d to Id, coarse washed crossbred Jd to Id, scoured crossbred Id, and greasy crossbred lambs Jd to Id. For merino lambs the market is firmer. The total quantity sold during the series just concluded is 350,000 bales. Six thousand bales have been taken for America, 194,000 for the Continent, and 7000 bales have been held over for further disposal. The outlook for next sales is favorable. The tallow market is firmer, and there is a good demandj,for "fine quality.

The police at Auckland made a raid on Monday on a fruit shop kept by an old man named Charles McDonald, and arrested the proprietor and six young girls. They found twenty hoodlums there, and captured packs of cards and a quantity of drink. Bail was retused, lest some of the witnesses, who are only ten years old, should be tampered with.

Captain Webb, the acting American Consul, has given orders that all of the erew of the Petrel unwilling.to go to sea are to get a month’s pay and their discharge in Auckland. All, except Joachim, a Portugese, accepted the offer. The costa of the prosecution are to be defrayed by the American Government.

At the R.M. Court this morning, a young woman charged with vagrancy, was remanded lor eight days.

The usualjmeeting of.the Debating Society will be hold to-morrow, night. Should the subject put down for debate be disposed of early in the evening, subjects for extempore speaking will bejseleoted from the President’s portfolio.

There was a fairly good attendance at Robson's Transparent Diorama last evening. The various scenes were again.well received, and as alterations bad been effected in the light the exhibition was much more successful th'.n on Saturday night. The Diorama will be shown at South Bakaia on Wednesday evening.

A criminal information for libel haa been laid at the instance of Sir J. Vogel against Mr A. J. Hoskins, of Wellington, proprietor, printer and publisher of a weekly paper named the Adirrtiser, for an alleged libel contained in that paper’s issue of Saturday last. The alleged libel is said to have been comprised in a cartoon published in the Advertiser. The hearing has been fixed for the 28th inst.

Our [Methven correspondent writes : —“ I observe in your issue of Saturday last a local stating that you received an amusing episode from me, connected with a recent serenading in this township from which you gathered certain ideas that I never intended to convey.’’ We regret that we should have failed to grasp our correspondent’s intention. In future his valued contributions shall not, as he expresses it, be “ mutilated by a barbarous subeditor."