The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1887. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1694, 24 October 1887, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1887. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

♦ The United States Government hai commenced proceedings to disincorporate the Mormon Churon at Utah and to apply property to the purposes of education m that State. In theTasmanian Oounoil the bill imposing a property tax, a commercial travellers' tax, a house and salary tax, and trade licenses was lost by IS votes to 4. The Chiof Secretary stated that he would bring up the proposals again. Almost daily some fresh case of poisoning with "" rough on rats " comes under the notice of the authorities m Sydney. Two supposed attcmptß at suicide by means of this poison were discovered last week one of whioh resulted fatally. J. Reilly, aged 22, foreman m a stove foundry, Albany, New York, disappeared on a Saturday morning. On the Monday following his body was found m an oven for baking oakes. It it presumed he went m thero and» lying down, fell asleep. A lire wbb Btartod on Saturday, and the door of the oven was then locked, his preaenoe not being notioed. He was baked for fully forty hours. The Master of the Hawks scandal, says a London paper, is not to be allowed to rest. Mr Banbury and Mr Bradlaugh have their oye on this remarkable sineoure, and the Secretary crfithe Treasury will have to answer a series .of questions of a very (searching oharaeter. The allegation is that of the sum of £9(55 paid out of the Consolidated Fund for the total expenses of an office now abolished bo far as work goes, the Master's salary waß £391, and the remaining £754 was intended to defray the wageß of keepers and the food 0! birds. But ther« are no keepers and no hawks at the present day, and the Master absorbs the whole £965. If this be the oase it is high time that the Treasury looked into the matter and put it right.

The men employed m constructing the Hawkesbury river railway bridge at Peat's Ferry have struebfortho eight-hours principle It is stated that they had been working ten hours for 7s 6d and 8s during the past 13 or 14 months, The*oontraotors are an American firm. A rehearsal of •' The Trial of John Barley corn " will be held at the Oddfellows' Hall on Tuesday, October 25tb. It is strange that publio attention has not' so far as Home correspondent aware, been called to the fact that m the Jubilee statue of the Queen at Windsor tho wedding-ring is plaoed on the right instead of the left hand. Mr Andrew Carnegie, the wealthy ironmaster, has given the town of Pittsburgh, PeiiDsylvannia, a sum sufficient to build ft handsome building and to stock it with books as a Free Library. The encouragement given by the Government to officers of the Indian Army to study the Russian language is producing a good effect, four ofticera having lately qualified as interpreters after a rather severe examiua tion. On Saturday night a six-roomed house at Eichmond was burned down and two cottages seriously damaged. Tho house belonged to Mr Richard John Sunderland, a baker, who is insured m the New Zealand Office for £500 on the whole. Ha oooupiod the house destroyed. Very little of hiß furniture was saved. The cottages were oooupied by Mr John Lloyd and Mr William Trenbath, whose furniture was saved. The fire is supposed to have been caused by a candle left on a table near a window setting fire to the curtains. Mr Sunderland was out when the fire broke outi but his family was at home. A visitor from the far Orient, who was taken to see a cricket match m England, took the keenest interest m what was transpiring. He was delighted with the performances of the " staggers " among the batsmen, but evinced little or no interest m the more finished scientific play of the best of our orioketers. The umpires were warmly admired, and were regarded as men of commanding influence m the pastime. The nabob assumed the umpires to be chieftains, and the players little better than serfs, and his disappointment was keep when he learned that the umpires were merely hirelings, and that the men of influence wre those who were being slowly frizzled m the rays of the sun. It would take a long time for an Indian prince to arrive at a correot estimate of the freedom w« enjoy. In Hindostan the upper classes would, if possible make the underlings go through the process of perspiration for them Tney assume the position of spectators at the game of life from start to olose, and their idea ol things m general receives a rude shock when they set foot m a land where each person imagines that he has obligations to fulfil to society. An extraordinary scene was 'witnessed at the Methodist Free Church, Northwitoh, on August 21. The minister, the Eev. J. Kirßop, is on his holidays, and his place was taken at short notice by a local preaoher of the Wesleyan connection. This gentleman is a pronounced Conservative, and took an active part m opposing the return of Mr Brunner at the recent eleotion. Selecting " Sunday observance " for his subjeot, he inveighed with considerable acrimony against the employment of workpeople on Sundays at Mr Brunner's ohemioal works, saying tbx alleged nece sity for Sunday work was a mere pretenoe. , During his sermon tho congrega tion, of which tho majority are strong Liberals, kept up a conversation. This dis concerted the preaoher, and when some o the elders left the chapel by way of pro testing againßt tho expressions of th< minister, the servioe was concluded ir confusion. At a New York theatre the other evening m the midst of a play, a gentleman wai annoyed by a couple of farmers m the row before him, who were earnestly discussing the merits of a prize porker— a fine sow recently purchased. It was vary annoying and, reach, ing over, he touched one of them on the anr and whispered, " Excuse, me, my friend, bul how much is that sow worth ? " " About IS dollars, I suppose." " Exactly," said th« gentleman, taking out bis pocket-book and tendering him a greenback; "here is' 2C dollars ; now, as the bow is mine, just let hei alone, if you please." The neighboring audience sniokered, and although the crestfallen countryman made a hasty attempt tc turn the tide of Baroasm by pooketing the note and handing over 8 dollars change, the hit was crushing m its effeot, and all eyes were turned admiringly on the philanthropist millionaire, who leaned back and vastly enjoyed his popularity. But what the delegation from the rural distriots said when they tried to buy beer with the twenty after the performance, and found it a counterfeit, is not stated. Every farm should have a few aores of field peas, if only for fattening the " baconors " off Peas are noted for producing good baoon, and are economical feeding for pigs, as the animah will do their own threshing. The produce o' an aore or two of peas stacked near the piggery will, together with the waste of the dairy and tho kitchen, make good bacon af little cost. If a piece of ground be foul with weeds, it should be worked well and peas sown thickly broadoaßt, and very little will be seen of tho weeds afterwards, provided the land is good enough to support a strong crop of peas. About forty years ago nearly every Presbyterian Kirk m Scotland had the precentor's box placed just below the pulpit, and it was owing to their proximity to the ministers that precentors had so many familiar talks with their reverend superiors. Iv a kirk constructed on that principal John Elder was precontor for many a year, and as the miniator was not a very brilliant preaoher, John slept during the greater part of the 6ermon, generally waking up just as the minister were concluding bis discourse. On one occasion, however, John overslept his time, and the congregation were waiting for him to start the psalm, when he awoke, and, looking over at the olook m front of the gallery, exclaimed, " Eh, half-past ane, an' the auld fule no dune yet. " " The auld fule'a dune, John ; gang on wit he 90th Psalm," said the minister bending over the pulpit