LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1557, 13 May 1887, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

, +- A quantity of cwjfcter is crowded out of this issue. Our Hinds correspandent ,say&:— Wbilj? an idmirer of tho |schome for settling -i.v,© people on tho land, I am utterly upable to conceive how it is posßiblfl for the seventeen ?r eighteen y/ho have taken up the Village Settlement sections here to make a living unless the Government assist them m some way or other. Many, no doubt, would have !ound employment on the Education reserve f it had all been taken up. There is no doubt that th© Railway Department richly deserves much of tho abuse that s levelled at it, but sometimes it comes m !or vituperation to which, perhaps, it £s not mtitled. Not long ago one Northern paper lotually accused tho llailway Department of owering the birth rate m that part of tho :olonyl " Bouaii on Rats."— Clears out rats, mice •oachos, Hies, ants, bod bugs, beetles, insoots ikunks, jack rabbits, sparrows, goph , At j ihemists and druggiste, '

Mr J. O. Duncan has an announcement m nother column notifying that he will sell a irge variety of forest trees at his auction aart to-morrow. Smith (with effusion) : " Hallo, Brown, is hat you ? I heard that you were drowned ? " Jrown (with sadness) : " No, it was my irother." Smith (thoughtlessly) : « What a >ity I " A lady was once lamenting the ill-luok vhioh attended her affairs, when a friend wishing to console" her, bade her " look upon ;he bright side." " Oh," she sighed, " there seems to be no bright side." " Then polish up the dark one," waa the reply. This was sound advice. The Hinds Dtstrict School ohildren held their annual treat recently m tho pioturesque grounds of Mr E. G, Wright, at Windermere, which wore kindly lent for the purpose, Mr Wright supplying fruit and doing everything m his power to make the day enjoyable. Sports of various kinds were indulged m and toys m abundance distributed. Our Hinds correspondent writes: — Recent rains have made the ground fit for the plough. I am given to understand that ploughing is general, and winter wheat is being largely sown . Many acres lying idle last season are being brought into cultivation. Masterton It.M, Court, Shooting a Dog Case. — R.M. : " Did you shoot the dog m selfdefence ? " Defendant : " No, your Honor, I shot him m the back ; the dog got through the fence afterwards." The Minister of Lands has telegraphed to Mr J. E. March approving of his BUggeslion to find work lor the unemployed m olearing land of stones at Mayfield settlement. This work is only for those who will take up sections under the Village Settlement Regulations.