LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1675, 29 September 1887, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The official declaration of the poll for th Ashburton eleotorate takes place to-morrow At the 11. M. Court this morning a number of informations against youtb.3 for alleged tssault on election night were dismissed, there being no evidence to the (satisfaction of the Court to. connect them with the case. The Magistrate, however, stated that had BufiU • oase been proved he would bay« dealt severely with the offenders, .because, if the occasion were eleotion time, it was no reason why a number of youths should lay siege to the town and do what they pleased as long as it suited them. It had been shown that the complainant, m the present case, had bgGs maltreated, and if euoh a charge were provf against anyone, the Court would impose & penalty that would show its determination to protect the public. There is time m spring on ground entirely naked to bow oats or some other rapidlygrowing vegetable to be turned under as a green manure? Oats ara probably best for this purpose, and m moat cases a good Heeding will cost but little money. At the height of eight or ten inches, whioh they will eptedily reach m fair soil, they furnish an amount of plant food avsnly distributed over the surface that cannot be got m any other way so cheaply. And the fertility thus obtained is immediately available. If phosphate or other concentrated manure is drilled m with tho oati it will benefit the succeeding crop even more than if saved and applied to that direotly. KEiTiNo's Cough Lozenges cure Coughs, Asthma, Bronchitis. Medical testimony states that no other medicine is so effectual m the cure of these dangerous maladies. One Lozenge alone gives case, one or two at bedtime ensure* rest. For relieving difficult breathing they are invaluable. They contain no opium nor any violent dru Bold by Chemists yj Tine, Is lid and 2s &d e»cb

A. most successful Fancy Dreßs Ball waß held m the Oddfellows' Hall on Tuesday night, under the auspices of the Somerset Assembly Committee, about 50 couples being present* The hall was beautifully deoorated for the occasion, flags and flowers beiDg used m great projtysion. A novelty was introduced by having the stage lighted up by Chinese lanterns. The catering was well carried out by the Committee, and left nothing to be desired. Mr J. Bowman, of Chriatchurch, presided at the piano, and gave great satisfaction for the excellent music he discoursed. Songs and dances were given during the evening. The following are the principal fancy costumes :— Gentlemen : Fire Brigade Captain, Footman, Count de Yeauliveaux, Sir Charles Surface, Roman Prince, Prince Charles 11., Captain of the Pinafore, Clown, Royal Middy\ and a number of Highlanders, Soldiers, Sailors, Jockeys, Negroes, etc. Ladies : Night, Nanoy Lee, Spanish Dancer, Lady Jockey, Maid of Honor, Ked Cross Nurse, Russian Peasant, Spanish Peasant, Dutch Peasant, Italian Lady, Grace Darling, Patience, Milk Maid, Lady of the Turf, Swiss Peasant, Spanish Maid, Yatohing Costuma, Waiting Maid, etc. Owing to the great BUCOf so of tht ball it is contemplated to bold another at an early date

Rumor baa it that the sudden right-about-face as to Russia, executed by the "Daily Telegraph," is due to a timely hint conveyed to the proprietor (from Marlborough House ♦hat Bach a change of taok would bring Mr Levy Lawson into line with the views of the Heir Apparent. In this connection psople are retiring tha story of a possible marriage between the eldait daughter of tbo Prinos and the so» at the Grand Duke Miohael of Russia, who vißited England this summer. At Llanberis Quarrj, Carnarvonshire, a useless rook, weighing 100,000 tone, was shattered by means of a charge equal to 19 tons of gunpowder. A leaf of the Jgiani water-lily (Victoria Regia) has been known to meaeure 24 feet 91 inches m circumference, its weight being nearly 141 b. One of the flowers was 4 feet 2 inches m eirouinference, with petals d inches m length, and weighing 3&lb. Rome has witnessed the laying of the foundation of the tweoty.seoond Protestant house of worship within its limits. A French paper points out that the passion for gambling is so great m England thnt even m wedding notices it is necesary to state that there are " no cards," m order to put a check upon the national tendency to gamble upon all oocasions. In a recent address to the Royal Institute of London, Sir Henry Roscoe illustrated the amount of coloring m coal by tables showing that lib of the mineral yields magenta sufficient to color 500 yards of flannel, aurine for 120 yards of flannel, 21 inches wide, verruiU line scarlet for 2560 yards of flannel, or alizarin for 225 yards.of Turkey red cloth. The Pope is said to hava deolared m a recent interview that the equilibrium of Europe would remain upset until France regained her proper place m the family of natioas. A peouliar acoident with a carbine is thuß reported by the " Hawke'e Bay Herald": —

•'Mr John Sidney, a visitor to the district from Dunedin, had a very narrow escape from a shattered leg recently. In company with come other gentlemen he want pig shooting on Anderson's run at Kereru. Seeing a pig at about 100 yards distance, Mr Sidney laid on his baok to take aoourate aim, as he was using a very short carbine. When he fired the bullet s'.ruck his left leg just below the kneo, passing {through a leather gaiter and other apparel beneath it, and glanced on the Shin bone, ploughed a furrow all down it to wit hie an inch or two of the ankle, when the ball again glanced off, passed through the clothing and lower end of the gaiter, and penetrating the boot, took & small slice oil the Bide of the foot within it. It seenis a miracle that tho leg was not Shattered, but Mr Sidney will carry an eight inch soar as a memento, m addition to [his being minus a piece of his foot." The Viotorian Minister of Publio Works (Mr Nimmo) has got into serious disgrace among his constituents of South Melbourne. The two lowest tenders for Ihe supply of a large quantity of plate-iron water pipes were Messrs Johnßon and Co.'c and Mr M. Ferguaon'o. Johnson and Co.'s was the lower of the two by sixpenco per cent., but Mr Nimmo accepted Ferguson's, having received reports from the engineers that Ferguson oould do the work quioker through having better machinery. There was also the consideration that Ferguson bad imported speoial tnichinoiy at a high cost for making such pipes, and tba contraot was given to him as a reward for bias enterprise. Besides, the Government had an inspeotor m Ferguson's yard over another job, and bo the salary of a second official would be saved. • But Mr Ferguson has his foundry m North Melbourne, and Messrs. Johnson and Co. theirs m South Melbourne. Mr Nimmo'a constituents were ap m arms because the work has not been kept m their district, and it is prophesied that be will lose his seat at the next election. The royal family of Portugal is quite capable of earning a living by handicraft m oase of necessity, Queen Maria Fia being a ■killed potter, King Don Luis a soulptor of acknowledge merit, and the Crown Prinoe Don Carlos an amateur locksmith. Owing to the continued spread of cholera iv Meßßina (Italy), fifty thousand of the inhabitants have fled from the city. Over a thousand human beings are said to have been washed away by the floods atChouohou Fou, up the Wenchow River, China. The experiment of planting the Ninety-mile Desert, m th« aouth.tast of Boutb Australia, with oertals, vegetables, fruits, and wattles, has b«en such a great saocesa that tho Government have ohanged the name of the territory to Mimosa Land. The Perth (W.A.,) correspondent of the Melbourne " Age," telegraphed on September 19th that an albatross droped dead on Sunday, on the beach at Freeinantle. On being inspected tha bird was found to bate a tin band round ita nook, with th» following message m French punctured upon it:Thirteen ship-wrecked have taken refuge on Grouet Islands Uh August, 1887." The band was rusted, and tho authenticity of the r«eord is undoubted, It is believed here that the albatross was one uf several birds sent away with messages as a hope by tho survivors of a shipwreck. Many wrtoks have taken place oil the islands, on§ of the moat notable being that of tha Stratbmore io 1875. Robust and blooming health m Hop Bitters, (American Co,'s) and no family can afford to be without them. Head Holloway'b Pills J and Ointment,— The attention of all sufferers is drawn to these well-known remedies, for the possess conspicuous advantagen as a safe and reliable aid m all those emergencies to which travellers, emigrants and sailors are so especially liable. They have been largely patronised by wayfarers by land and sea, and m fact, by all olaeses of the community, to their very great advantage. The Pills are beyond all doubt ' one of the most effective remedies ever dia. 1 covered for cases of obstinate constipation, 1 1 confirmed indigestion and oolio, complaints < which are engendered by exposure and iv i regular feeding. The Ointmett will be found J of the greatest lerviee iv caße of piles, 1 abscesses, eeysipehv, and aU kinds of (local i ulotrfttio«s. i