LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1724, 24 December 1887, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

In consequence of Obi-tßtgia,3 Day falling on Sunday this year, Monday will bo &a a holiday at tho Ashburton Publishing Company's OOQcea, and the " Guardian " will not bo issued. Tho " Mail " g/il) be published as Usual on Tuesday. The J3flnJi of New South Walos wjill ope» a Branch m Aehbui-ton about the first week m January m premises belonging to Mr JJullock (nearly opposite the " Mail " ofiice), pending the erection of new b#nk baildiogs on tfto vacant section adjoining the Arcade. The Master of the Home desires to aeknowjledge, with thanks, the receipt of a qtmntity of cake from the Chairman of the Hampatead Committee, strawberries from Mr Smith, and from Mr Hepburn, for the use of tha in&iateg. We know that thera is n^thi^ oo cajth equal to American Co.'s pop, Bittgjrs, as a wily wedioiDe, Look /or

Our readers are reminded of the Caledonian Sports to be held on Monday, on the Society's grounds. A large audienoe assembled m the Oddfellows' Hall last evening, on the oooasion ol the first and only appearanoe of the Majeronis here. The piece selected was " The Foundry Master," a drama wnich gave the powerful ompany plenty of scope for the display of their talent. In a former issue we gave a description of the plot of tho piece, which is | founded on Ohnet's novel, " Leß Maitre des Forges." The representation last evening was a most suooeasful one, all of the performers taking their parts m a manner that left nothing to be desired. Signora Majeroni as Olaire, gave a most finished representation of the character, her acting being powerful and realigtio, while Signor Majeroni, to whom fell the part of Phillips Derblay, sustained the role m a talented manner. The other performers went through their parts with care and precision, the play passing off m a style that unfortunately we do not often witness. It is to be regretted that Ashburtonians have not another opportunity of witnessing this talented Company. At a meeting of the Charitable Aid Board, the following tenders for supplies to the Ashburton Home were aocepted : — Meat, James Tasker; milk John Hepburn fuel, Restell and Co. bread, W. Bryant; drugs, A. Kamnitzer ; groceries and medical comforts, H. Zander and Co: ; boots, Ohianall and Stewart ; olothing and bedding, Andrew Orr ; interments Thomas Gates. At the annual meeting of the Borough Council Mr H. Friedlander was reported to have said that the County Counoil had only evied th? ordinary rates during the last three years, whereas it should have been two rates. At the R.M. Court this morning before Messrs Aloorn and Thomas J.P.'b two lade named J. H. Shears and Samuel Northey, former inmates of the Burnham Industrial School, were charged with having stolen £4 15s m cash from the pockets of Samuel McSaveney, a man employed on the Springfield Station, Methven. The accused pleaded guilty, and were each ordered to be imprisoned for two monthß. The Benoh made a farther order that the goods which the culprits had pnrchased with the stolen money should be handed oVer to McSaveney. A firßt offender, for drunkenness, was fined 5s with the usual alternative. As Christmas Day and New Year's Day will fall on Sundays, the following holiday arrangements have been made by the Post and Telegraph Department : — Monday, 2Gth mat., will be observed as a close holiiay, but the Telegraph Office will be open from nine a.m. till tea a.m. and from seven p.m. till eight p.m. On Tuesday, 27th inst., the Post Office will be open m all branches from nine a.m. till ten a.m., and for Telegraph business again from Beven p.m. till eight p.m., and the letter carriers will make one delivery of letters commencing at eight a.m. Monday, 2nd January, will be a close holiday, but the Telegraph Office will be open from nine a.m. till ten a.m. and from seven p.m. tilL eight p.m. Mails will be despatched and received by the early morning trains eaoh day, and country mails will run as usual but will be closed at G. 30 a.m. The •« Wanganui Herald " giveß the following •• proof of ignorance " :— During the Court sittings we heard a good story of a certain Judge's associate, of course not either of those who come to Wanganui. During a gambling case His Honor wanted to know what " yankee grab " was, and one of the counsel -jrafereed liini^ to JJia-asaQeiate for an explanation, but that gentleman professed entire ignorance of tho game. However, the lawyer was provided with a dioe-box, and the neoessary "bones," and he forthwith proceeded to enlighten the Judge. He threw out, and up came a six, five, and three. He was picking up the five and three, when he was rather astonished to hear the associate who was interested m the gams, remark •' leave the five." The Judge smiled, and the associate, finding he had put his foot m it, hastily withdrew, and was seen m Court no more that dity, Particulars were recently published of a fearful tragedy m a Sussex village, where the vicar, the Rev William Farley, w*s murdered apparently i a moat deliberate fashion by bia curate, the Roy Arthur Cooper, who cut his throat before the eyes of Mrs Farley, The oase, remarks the " Otago Daily Times," possesses considerable interest to many m New Zealand, as learn from an Home paper that the vicar's wife, before Bbc beoame Mrs Parley, was the widow" of the late Lieutenant. Colonel Moule, who was first Commissioner , of the combined Armed Constabulary and Police of New Zealand, and was well known ; throughout the coloDy. The Rev Mr Farley was a man of about 73 years of age at the j time of his death, and had been married three times, Hia marriage with Mrs Louisa Moule took place m September, 1881, tho lady being the junior by many years. The crime created a great sensation, and the accused (the Rev Arthur Cooper) has been committed for trial for wilful murder. The Governor of Tasmania, Sir R. Hamil. ton, hooked m the Huon river a magnificent specimen of the salmonidro, the particular kjndpqt being stated. It was a noble fish, 3.5 J- inches m length, 2G inches m girth, and 1-2 inohes m depth, tho weight being 2Qlbs. It is said to be the largest acclimatised fish caught m Tasmanian waters . It was presented to the museum. The peasants of a village m the district of Insar, Russia, recently resolved to murder their landlord's steward, which deoision they carried out. Thirty of them were tried for tho crime, when fourteen were sentenced to be hanged, while the elders of the village and tho Mayor wore sentenced, some of them to three and a half years' and others to three years' hard labor, for neglect of duty. Fourteen of the peasants indioted were acquitted. The Queen has |issued an order, says 11 Truth," that the Jubilee medal, of which about a thousand have been given away, is to »cnk above all war medals, and it is always ,to be worn on those full-dress occasions when ! ordinary rneduls are tjf riptcr. j For many years ship-building on tho Clyde has not been bo slack as at present. In the four ship-building yards m Whiteinoh, a suburb of Glasgow, thoro is not a Blngle ship on stocks. This has'not oocuried for twenty, seven years. On the 17th iust. two hundred men were discharged from tho shipbuilding j yard of Mosßrs Caird and Co., Grennock, The Manchester Ship Canal, the consruc fjop o* which has just been begun, ia one of those great engineering feats so characteristic of the present age. fhe objectpi the scheme is practically to make Manchester a The actual Jengtji of the canal. is 21 milea. Jn making it jb will be necessary to remove fivfi railway bridges), wiib the consequent diversion of the lin,es, and a canal vindupt, Tho cost of tb.e work is 'estimated at £5,009,009, and thp parliamentary expense^ alone were about £2.90,Q0 L Q. The firm o Rothschild have agreed tp raise the money. As showiDg the Interest taken m Manchester m tho sohemo, it may be mentioned, that ft p^pqv wsa started to speoialJy advocate the ioußtructico cMhc canal,