LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1720, 20 December 1887, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

It came out m a Sydney suburban Court that some fashionable local dressmakers are m the habit of lending their fair customers reasonable sums of cash at 7 car oept, per month, and charging the same as "dress materials "m the husband's bills. Not long ago a certain well-known Sydney dressmaker happened to become aware that a prominent lawyer had paid, a pretty long millinery bill on behalf of a lady who was not his wife, Thus having the husband m her power, she turned the information to excellent trade acoount by so manipulating his wife that tho latter, a most esjsayagant woman, ran up with her a bill for 451,300, whioh the lawyer darod not refuse to pay. And now that an open row has come, tbe donjestio nffairg o f that husband and wife are to be ventilated m the Divorce Court, thanks chiefly to tbe benign agenoy of the dressmaker. Mrs J. W. Maokay is going to have one of the most beautiful mantles m the world, It will bo unique and a monument of [the destruction of life. It is to bo made of the breasts of birds of 'paradise. 3?he brpaet Js about four inches broad and six long at the greatest length, and nearly heart shape ; the upper portion is about an inoh and a half deep, and is like tho finest plush, m color a 4oep seal brown ; the pqlqr shades off below to a pinky terra cotja. About ffve hundred birds will be necessary to furnish enough for tbe clgak-, and two skilful marksmen are now m New Ouinea engaged m this wholesale slaughter. An Italian correspondent writing from Rome to the " Frankfurter Zeitung " states £hp,t at Castro Giovanni, m the province of CaHanioetta, m Sjcily, a lakp has become red m color, and quantities of dead fish have come to the surface. The inhabitants attribute thia to the influence of lightning that struck tbe lake. In the early part of the year a similar phenomenon was reported of the Lake of Lugano, wbioh was attributed to an earthquake that ooourred somo days previously. Castro Giovanni is on tbe site of the nnoient J3nna, associated m classioal times with the special cult of Ceres and the legendary Bceno o£ the Bapo of Prosevpine,

As a sign that there is still confidence m ur disfriot, we may intimate that tho Wateron Flour Mills, which have been idle for the mst three months, have been leased by Mt ?rotheroo, so long and favorably known as he lessee of the Wakanui Mills. Mr ?rotheroe intends starting operations imnediately. We are requested to inform the publio that I ;he box plan for the opening performance of *■ ,ho Lynch Family of Bellringers is now open *j it Mr W. Zander's, where seats may be <; secured m advance. \ A fire ooourred on the Ashburton traffic I bridge this morning which might have • proved very serious had it not been subdued „ so expeditiously as was fortunately the case. Constable Casey and a man named Kelton were crossing the bridge when they discovered that a portion of the decking was burning, A bucketand rope were prooured and theConstable and Eelton with assistance soon quenchod the inoipient fire. Someone gave the alarm on the firo bell and both brigades turned ou* I with great promptitude, but fortunately , when they arrived at the bridge there was no i need for their services. It it presumed that the fire originated through some person dropping a lighted match whioh ignited tbe dry litter on the bridge, and then oommuni. oated to the woodwork. No damage to speak of was done. A complaint has been made to us of the inefficient state of the ringing gear of the fire bell. If our informant >"s correct, probably tb.9 Borough Oounoil will take the bint. Train arrangements for Boxing Day are published elsewhere. A cheap excursion to Ghristohuron is arranged, full (particulars of whioh was advertised. About twenty-five designs have been reoeived for the New Zealand Bifia Champion Belt, but no decision will be arrived at till a fall Counoil meeting at Oamaru. The meeting there will commence on Monday, 27th Feb.; instead of tho 29th as stated m the ofnoial programme. Aocording to the complaint of an Auckland village settler tho Government are going the right way to work m starving the settlers off the land. He alleges that money due to the settlers for road making and improvements has not been paid for the last three months, and meantime they are. suffering severer privations. Hop beer is likely to cause tbe Government of New Zealand some trouble. Sugar is used m its manufacture, is fermented, and of oourse alcohol is developed. It therefore comes to be m some cases stronger than colonial beer. As a temperance drink, it is a delusion. The consequence oi itß publio sale would be that the beer duty would soon be seriously affeoted. That doetfnot grieve anyone muoh, for it seems that the only way to make the Government of New Zealand economical is to deprive them of revenue. But the Government are frightened at the hop beer manufacture, and are determined to prosaoute where they oan. Mr fond the Government Analyst, has a number of samples of hop beer m hand now for analysis. { — «« Auckland News," . A milk waggon, bearing the suggestive i inscription " Oold Spring Dairy " on its side, has been seen moving about Dunedin streets at an early hour. The " Star " sayo tho other milk dealers are thinking strongly of calling on the owner to urge him to either give up the business or change the name 0t the brand. • At a recent performance of " Oamille," m which Mißs Grace Hawthorne sustained the part of the horome, she was interrupted m the midst of her pathetio death soono by some gipsy fellow m the gallery crying out "shut up." The dying woman, suddenly recovering her health and strength, rose from her couch and coming down to tbe footlights with plenty of vigor m her voice and walk, exclaimed, " I shall not die until that man haß been turned out." He was oxpelled with the utmost promptitude and with very little ceremony, and " Camillp " thereupon returned to her death-bed, and went through the final agony as if nothing had happened to interrupt the protraoted spasms. Tbe African King Ja Ja has boon arrested for disregarding his trade obligations with the British Gonsul and others. On one oooaßion the King beheaded 150 of bis subjeota who bad disobeyed his orders. A Frenohman is at present m London making inquiries aB to the feasibility of construoting a bridge over tbe Channel between France and England. It is calculated that the bridge would oost 44 millions sterling. Sulphurous aoid is a most effective antiseplio and anti-ferment, and may be produced, by burning sulphur upon, live coals upon a shovel or a bed oi coals carried into a stable with perfoot safety. It will also be found an excellent method for freeing dairy-rooms and, cellars from the spprca of mildew, which have, a very injurious ef|eot upon the milk, and upon butter or oheese tnado from milk that has boon exposed to then). In faot from constant prevalence of these spores it might be useful to make a praotioe of fumigating dairies ooonsionally, especially after a bad, damp spell of weather during the season; Jay Hong, a Wellington Chinaman, died suddenly on Saturday frora a ene'eaing fit while smoking opium. The "Auokland Star" objects to Major Atkinson galloping his measures through tho House, and suggests obstruction. Thus the " New Zealand Mail " :— The wife of an enterprising tradesman at Falmerston North presented him with three saps at an I ea,rly hour one morning this week — all doing well, exoept the father. The verdiot of £13,000 to the exeoutors of the late Mr E. 8. Parkes, of the Bank of Australasia, who waa killed m the Windsor aooidont, may be looked upon aa a viotory tor the Victorian Railway CoramioßionGrs. The claim qf £40,00,6' was regarded by everybody as an absurd one, and even his Honor Judge Williams went the length of pronouncing it " wild and extravagant." The Commissioners offered to oompromise for £15,000 before the cqbq went into Court. Hollow ay's Ointment an^ Pjlls.— A {requont oauso of gout and rheumatism is the inflammatory state of the blood, attended with bad digestion and general debility. A few does of the Pills taken m time are an effeqtivq preventive against gput and rheumatism. Anyone who has an arta'ok of cither should qse Holloway's Ointment »lso, the powerful action of whioh, oombined with the operation of tho Pills, must infallibly oi^eot a cure. Those Pills oqt directly on the blood, whiQh they purify and improve. Having once subdued the severity of these disoases, persoveranoo with the Ointment, after fomenting the affeoted joints with warm bring, will speedily relax all stiffness and prevent any permanent contraction.