The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. MONDAY, MARCH 7, 1887. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1500, 7 March 1887, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. MONDAY, MARCH 7, 1887. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A splendid crop of hops has been grown at Bangiora.

The Southern Gross Petroleum Company's bore m now down 1682 feet.

In the Waikato distriot fruit is a drug on the market, and a correspondent writes that orohardists must look to cider making and drying as a meanß of getting rid of their stocks another season, It haa been rumoured m Tauranga lately that a Melbourne Snydioate has m contemplation the purchase of a certain interest m White Island, and the right to work the sulphur deposit there. " La Republique Francaise " is responsible for the somewhat questionable statement that the house of Rothschild haa acquired a preponderating interest m "The Times" newspaper. A jealous youth named Lancaster fired Us , rifle point blank at a fellow volunteer named King, m East Melbourne, the other night killing him almost instantly. The King of Cambodia, according io the correspondent of a Paris journal has SQO wives, chosen from the handsomest women m the whole country. The entire population and territory belong to the King. The Spanish Government is taking stepß for the purpose of strengthening and increasing the defences of that country. Writing from Alexandra, on the 25th ult., a correspondent of the "Auckland Bell" says: — Tawhiao's day is done. He will shortly leave here, I learn, for Lower Waikato, to be on land owned by his own tribe. Ho will shake the dust of Maniapoto off his feet. He is disappointed and disgusted with them and the failure of his plans for kingly authority. It is announced that Sir Juliuf.. Yogel is ' preparing a new Bill to deal with the question of doing something to promote trade between New Zealand and tbe Islands. An Auckland exohange says that a Pottsonby girl has been saved from a watery grave on four different ocoasions. It seems to be great fun to her, but it is hard on the Sunday suits of the heroes who jump m after her. Some carrier pigeons were recently liberated m Maßterton and reached Wellington, 60 miles distant, m 1 hour 16 minutes. Manuel Barrient and wife, of Matamoras, Mexico, celebrated the 80th anniversary of their marriage a few days ago. The husband is 102 and the wife 96. Admiral Tryon has deolined to take the Nelson to Littelton, on account of the insufficiency of water there, but goes m her to Akaroa. He then visits Ghristohurcb, and will pay a hurried visit to. The argument before their Honors the Judges, sitting as a Special Court of Appeal on the point raised m the recent trial at Dunedin of Thomas Hall, for the murder of Oaptain Cain will take place to-morrow . Theex-Empresß Eugenic is living m a villa at Posilippo, outside Naples, m close retire, ment. She is feeble and muoh aged. While at Borne Bhe visited the Boyal Palace to see the sword carried by Napoleon Bonaparte at Marengo. "Polonius" m a Wanganui paper writes that with commendable Scottish thriftiness the Caledonian Volunteers m Queensland have been furnished with kilts by contract, all of one size, so that the short men have to hold them up like petticoats when they cross a muddy street, while the long men— well, I understand the long men are afraid to come out of doors m windy weather. Mr |Froude is about to Jmake another extended tour m foreign parts. This time he will leave " Oceana " behind him, and study the wreck of the Empire of Spain. He will Bail shortly for Cuba, and after visiting the Pearl of the Antilles, he will probably visit other a e_t Indian islands for the purpose, of studying slavery as it exists.

! Tbe " Lyttelton Times ' reports that as I the steamship Tainui was leavicg the wharf st Lyttelton on Saturday morning for London one of her crew, who bad been indulging too freely m alcoholic liquors, jumped oil the vharf, apparently with the intention of cooling his brain. After geverals attempts to get he man out of the water with a rope, B. Fitzgerald, master of the eohooner Alert, .cry pluckily jumped| overboard and. succeeded m getting the man out of the water rot only just m time, as he was greatly exhausted. Great praise is due to Fitzgerald lor his plucky action, as the man would undoubtedly have been drowned if he had remained m the water much longer. There died a few week, ago m Boono, m the Government of Volbymnia, a peasant woman named Kutnyak, at the age of 110 years. She followed Napoleon's army to Moscow as an ambulance woman m 1812-13, and was attaohed m a similar aapacity to the Polish Army from 1813 to 1822.

There is great excitement at Dunolly through the discovery of a large nugget. It consisted of a large pieoe of quartz richly impregnated with gold, weighing m the gross 4190z5. After crushing the yield of the precious, metal was 3600zs 12dwts, the total value being somewhat over £1000. It. is not generally known (says tbe " Waipawa Mail ") that Mr Robert Dobson, who went home to try and reduoe tbe oost of sending frozen meat to London, has succeeded. Mr Dobson has made arrangements with a 'firm of shipowners io carry frozen meat at a rate of £d per pound lower that what was ■formerly charged The immediate effect is that all the shipping companies are going to reduce their oharges for freight. Those who were the promoters of Mr Dobson's trip Home have earned for themselves the gratitude of all New Zealand farmers. Mr Dobson himself is to be congratulated on the oomplete sucoesa of hia trip.