LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1567, 25 May 1887, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Our readers are reminded that Dr Lynn appears m the Oddfellows' Hall this evening. The poll for a member to fill the vacancy on the Borough Council, caused by the resignation cf Councillor Bird, was {held to-day. The result will be declared this evening. The Rev Father Ohastagnon will celebrate Mass at Rakaia at 10.30 a.m. on Sunday* Vespers at Asbburton at the usual hour. At the Military Sports at Ohristchurch yesterday Serjeant-Major Soott, of the 0.V.C., won the Tilting at Rings contest. Private Johns, of the Ashburton Rifles, obtained first prize m the Mile Race m review order, and also second place m a Hurdle Race. The team sent down by the Ashburton Rifles to compete m the Bayonet Competition was beaten by a team from the Scottish Rifles, after a very close contest. An interesting (return has just been presented to Parliament showing the area of land surrendered m Otago and Southland since it first became infested with rabbits. The total area given up m Otago on aooount of the pest has been 1,310,554 aores, and the loss of revenue m consequence has been £32,803. Several of the runs had been relet, but at considerably reduoed rentals. No runs have been actually given up m Southland on aooount of the rabbits, owing to the low rentals; but on re-letting them m 1883, owing to the low figures reoeived, a loss estimated at £15,000 had ooourred.

At the B;M. Court this morning, before .Mr T. Scaly, J.P., and Mr R. Aloorn, J.P., a man named Walter Hamilton was fined 5s and costs for drunkenness, and ordered to be imprisoned for seven days for having resisted a constable m the eaeution of bis duty.

The concert advertised to take plaoe tomorrow week m connection with the St Stephen's Ohuroh Sooiety shows a laudable ambition to supply the public of Ashburton with high class musio. Mozart's "Twelfth Mass," whioh was given before a very large audience m February, 1886, will be repeated, and the suqeess aohieved by the Sooiety on

that oooasion makes us less dubious, than otherwise we should have been, as to their capaoity for rendering the equally beautiful and more difficult " Dettingen Te Deum," by G. F. Handel. The Sooiety will receive the valuable assistance of the Orohestral Sooiety, and the chorus of over forty voices will be strengthened by members, of other choirs; Altogether we look forward with pleasure to the 2nd of June, and hope that Mr Horace Gates, who conducts the conoert, will be rewarded not only by a full house but by a genuine musioal success.

It is proposed m Alabama to enaot a law to make gambling an offence punishable by six months' imprisonment on a first conviotion and by six years' imprisonment on a second conviction for the same offence. A correspondent informs us (" Pall Mall

Gazette ") that there is] living near Derby a lady, now m her 101 st year, who distinctly

remembers the shook she reoeived on hearing of the execution of Louis XVI. As the news of that event reached England early m 1723 the probability is that Mrs Stevens is the only person m the world'whose historical recollection goes back so far.

The "Southland Times" says:— "Com. plaints of the depredations of ferrets have become pretty common of late, and on Satur. day we had information of a quite a number of instances of their evil deeds — and their useleßßness. One farmer at One Tree Point says they are breeding at a great rate m that district, and playing havoo with poultry all round. After Buffering silently for some time he made war upon' them, and within a fortnight killed nine ' boomers ' on his premisesHa also knew of a neighbor killing 13 m one hole; where they were living apparently on the most amicable terms with the rabbits. Down the Bluff way, too, they were becoming thiok and threatening. One resident lost over a dozen ducks at one fell swoop through their blood •thirßtiness. Generally the Bmaller settlers seem to regard them as an infinitely worse peat than the one they were procured to deßtroy." . According to a return laid on the table of i the House there were 972 rural deferred pay. ment settlers m arrears on Maroh 31st last? to the extent of £18,924, and 230 village settlers to the extent of £1315, making a total of 1202 deferred payment Bottlers owing £20,240. The number of holders of perpetual leaßes who were m arrears on Maroh 81st was 177, and the total amount £2859. A farmer's daughter m the West of England re«evr«d a hairy poodle dog Itota. & Mead m town. The unsophisticated damsel wrote back thanking her friend for the present, and saying that she found it very handy, when tied to a Btiok, to clean windows with. A curious ooatretempts took place during the Queen's reoeption at Birmingham. Mr Chamberlain, anxious to welcome his neighboring potentate to his good town, Birmingham, stretched forth his hand to shake that of Her Majesty. The Sovereign, however, notjaoasibly being aware that ahe was m tbe presence of a brother monaroh and within his domain, did not respond to his condescending cordiality, and managed to get out of the difficulty by arranging a convenient button on one of her gloves. M. Emilo de Harven, the Belgian Commissioner to this colony, has now published his official report. He was wonderfully struck with the progress the colony had made and its material wealth. Our extraordinary faoility for getting into debt seems to have quite fasoinatod him. After alluding to the large number of banks doing business here with their [subsorbed capital of £6,000,000, he goes on to say, with evident admiration, that there are m addition many loan banks and companies which make advances on all sorts of personal as well as real property, and h eaya they do this •• without'apparsnUy incurring serious losses." It is this facility for getting credit that does the business, for he says :— " The facilities which exist for obtaining credit have materially helped] forward the development of the colony." j The big [nugget which a reoent telegram told us had been discovered m one of th c branches of the Shotover Biver, m Otago, was found, it appears, by a man named Cummings. It is valued at £292, and is the biggest ever found m Otago, and probably m New Zealand. The nugget for the last few dayß has been on exhibition at the Bank of New Zealand, Queenstown. Says the Wellington " Post " of May 17:— Some rather startling etatistios relating to the relations of debtor and creditor were given by the President of the Chamber of Commerce last evening. Mr Duthie said tha* during the past three years the liabilities of bankrupts as filed m the oolony amounted to no lees than £1,920,000, while the dividends paid, inoluding preferential o'aims, were only £28,000. Even this did not exhaust the subjsct, for it was known that a large amount was lost by private compromises. These facts, he thought, indicated a very unsound state of trade, whioh demanded the attention of the Chamber at an early date. Why be siok and ailing when Hop Bitters v ill surely cure you? None genuine but made by American Co. Bead and know Lazy and dull feelings always preoede sickness, whioh nothing but Hop Bitters will banish. Get the genuine American. Bead