LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1534, 16 April 1887, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Mr John Grigg has been elected Chairman of the Ashburton (suburban) Licensing Committee. * Apropos was scratched yesterday afternoon for all engagements at the Autumn Meeting of tho Ashburton Racing Club. Shareholders of the Australian Mutual Provident Sooiety ,'will doubtless be glad to see that Mr B. Short, until recently chief agent of the sooiety, is now a candidate for a seat on the Board of Direotors. Mr Short promises, that if elected, he will represent the members and vote against pensions ; and points to the fact that he has canvassed for twenty-six years m all the colonies, and introduced over 10,000 new members to the sooiety as evidence of the valuable service he would be able to render as a director. The " Otago Daily Times" of yesterday says that Mr John McLean, of Redcastle, Oamaru, has subscribed £1000 to the Imperial Institute fund. Is this the same donation previously attributed m our telegram to the Hon G. McLean ? If not, [it would seem that two McLeans have set a noble example, which j may perhaps be followed by others of the same name. * ! It is reported that a Saxon soldier has'been tried by court-martial and shot at Metz, for having sold his repeating rifle to a French spy. The danoors at a recent masquerade ball m Manistee, Mioh., expelled one man because he appeared m the garb of a priest. Another man who went as Satan took a prominent part m the entertainment. The ' Neokar Zeitung ' announces that after the next Franco-German war the following partition of territory will be made ; — Belgium will reoeive Artois, Pioardy, Normandy, and Brittany ; Germany will annex so muoh of France as lies east of a boundary line running down from Mezieres to Lyons ; while Italy is to receive Savoy and the whole of the departments on the left bank of the Bhone. Jones, a Manchester nouveau riclie, and his son, intent on foreign travel, were buying a guide to Austria at a bookseller's. To assure himself of its acouraoy, Jones junior tried to find Moscow. Jones senior assisted him m this hopeless task. At the end of five minutes Jones junior, m despair, was about to throw the book aside as worthless, when his father was suddenly inspired. "No wonder you can't find it," he exclaimed — " You forget that Moscow was burned l'» g| The services of St Stephen's Churoh tomorrow will bo of a Harvest Thanksgiving character. According to Sir Edward dv Cane tho oonviot population of Great Britain m 1813 was about 50,000 persons out of a total of 15,000,000 inhabitants. At present out of a population, exolusive of Ireland, of nearly 30,000,000 souls there are but 9000 convicts and 2000 ticket-oUeave men and women, In other words, there is only one convict to every three thousand of English and Scotoh people, whereas there was formerly one convict to every three hundred of tha population. The election for Te Aro has resulted m the return of Mr F. H. Frasor, the voting being as follows:— Fraser, 506; Travers, 346; Nancarrow, 9. A Belgian paper has'publsihed the amount of tho sums collected by the Roman Catholics for missionary purposes since 1862, when the Propaganda Fide was established. The sum total amounts to £8,830,000, from which tho Vatican ornated 260 apostolic prefeotures,with nine bishoprics. At present India has 26 bishops and archbishops, and 1,200 priests ; China and Japan, 50 apostolio vicars, and 1,400 missionaries ; Africa two arohbishops, 12 bishops, 17 vicars, and 16 apostolio prefectures ; British Amerioa has 30 bishops and and 2,000 priests; Australia, 23 bishops 900 priests. The direotors of the Southern Cross Petro leum Company report that at the date of the latest advioes from their works the depth of the born was 1763 feet, with indications as before. Holloway'b Pills. — Important for the delicate.—lt is difficult to determine which is the more trying to the human constitution, the damp, cold days of autumn and winter, or the keen, dry, easterly winds of spring. Throughout the seasons good health may be maintained by occasional doses of Holloway's Pill, which purify the blood and aot as wholesome stimulants to the skin, stomaob, liver, bowels, and kidneys. This celebrated medicine needs but a fair trial to convince the ailing and desponding that it will restore and cheer them without danger, pain, or inconvenience. No family should be without a supply of Holloway's Pills and Ointment as by a timely recourse to them the first erring funotion may be reclaimed, suffering may be spared, and paved

The privileges m conneotion with the Autumn Meeting of the Ashburton Eaoing Club were sold to-day by Messrs H. Matson and Co. when the following prices were realised :— No. 1 Publican's Booth, J. W. Moßae, £10 10a; No. 2 Publican's Booth, Mr g Butler, £16 ; No. 1 Confectioner's Booth, J. Ranger, £3 ; No. 2 do., J. Ranger, £2 10s : Right of Sports, W. O. Page, £1 ; Right of Yards, W. Munro, 15s. Captain was scratched to-day for the District Hurdles ; The Boy for the Foal Stakes ; and Derwenter for the Autumn Handioap. A writer, signing himself " Hard Times," has forwbrded to the "Dunedin Star" a shilling's worth of stampß, with a request hat they should be handed over to the Seoretary of the Benevolent Institution. They represented the reward paid to a lady who picked up an uncrossed cheque for £12, and returned it to its owner. The " Rangitikei Advocate " Bays that this season has been so exceedingly unfavorable to grass m the Hawke'a Bay distriot that owners of sheep flooks have been compelled, owing to the dearth of feed, to literally sacrifice their flooks. Many thousands of sheep have found their way from that distriot to this park of the ooast, and have been offered for Bale m the different yards. One particularly large flook of 20,000 was a few days ago being taken from the Hawke's Bay distriot along this;distriot. " Lounger," Jn the " Wanganui Herald,', writes :— Wanganui is made the butt of Bmall wits who effeot to believe fthat lunacy is the prevailing epidemio here. Taranaki is usually derided as a plaoe where pumpkins are used as ourrenoy, and enter into every bill-of-fare. A friend who was there lately did his best to get some pumpkin pie or even kumeJtwne fritters, but the waiter only stared at him, and put him down as " Another what's-its-name from Wanganui ?" The introduction of elementary botany into the Byllabus of the ordinary distriot schools was suggested m a paper read by Mr G. M. Thomson before a meeting of teachers at Dunedin a few days ago. He proposed that it Bhould take place of the history. Kbatinq's Cough Lozenges cure coughs, Asthma, BronoLutia. medioal testimony Btates that no other medioine is so effectual m the cure of theße dangerous maladies. One Lozenge alone give ease, one or two at bedtime ensures rest. For relieving dimculty of breathing they are invaluable. They contain no opium nor any violent drug. Sold by all Chemists, m Tins, Is l£d, and 2s 9d eaoh