LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1731, 4 January 1888, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A Bitting of the District Court, for civil business, is appointed for the 13th inst. at the Courthouse, Ashburton. The following are the Hospital returns for month of December, 18«7 :— ln Hospital on Ist, 8 ; admitted, 8 ; discharged, 8 ; remain* ing on 31st, 8. The Matron of Ashburton Hospital wishes to acknowledge with thanks the receipt of ingrodionto for Christmas pudding from Mr H. Zander ; fruit from Mr Henry, Mrs Lea, Miss Bean and Mr G. Smith; flowers from Miss Saunders and pupils; books from Miss Pattman ; papers, from Postmaster, and Mr E. J. Paul ; and old linen from Mrs S. W. Aloorn and Mm Bean for use of the inmateß, At the B.M. Court this morning, before Mr B. Aloorn, J.P., Daniel Fitzgerald was fined 5a and oosts for drunkenness. — Robt. Cameron was fined 103 and costs, or 48 hours, for a similar offence, and a first offender was dis. charged with a oaution. A diamond snake, measuring Ofc din, was recently captured m the Sydney market. It was secreted amongst some bananas m a loft. Railway offioes will be oreoted m Melbourne at the junction of Spencer and Flinder streets at a cost of £100,000. It is said that as an almost direct result of the Wild West Bhow m London there has been a very large increase of the middle and lower olass emigration to America.

Tho General Property-Tax of one penny m ] the £ is, by Order-in-Council, mado payable on the 31st of Jan. The Property-Tax pay- j able by insurance companies is made payabl on the 6th of March. The Salvation Army has commence operations m Homo, and its organ announces that Oapt Laura has quite won the hearts of the Romans with her tambourine, although she is yet hardly able to speak a word of Italian. ! Tt is expected that the yield of gold from the Queensland goldfields for the present year (says the "Brisbane Courier") will exoeed that of laat year by IOO.OOOozb, of whioh about half will be to the credit of Croydon, and the greater part of tho remain* ing increase to Mount Morgan and Charters Towers. In 1886 the output of gold was 340,0000zb. This year it will probably reaoh 440,0000z5.

At Guayaquil, Ecuador, it has been found necessary to impose heavy fines m order to abolish the oustom indulged m by both men and women of sending chaffing and immoral messages by telephone. The " Wairarapa Star " says :— The mor- ] tality among the young sheep on the East Coast continues. On some of the stations ths losses from scouring and lung worm are unprecedented. It is stated that on one! station the number that have died chiefly within the last two months it about 7000. Lord Derby m a letter on Disestablishment, writes that the maintenance of the Ghuroh Establishment m England on its preiant footing must depend on the will of the House of Commons, for the Lords are not likely to take on themselves the responsibility of per. manently resisting the decision of the constituencies deliberately expressed At a general eleotion. ' Amongst the jokes of last session, the fol* lowing is not by any means the worst, Mr ' Taylor waß delivering an extremely lively and festive address on the Eduoation question at 1.30 a.m. Hon. members wearied to death with what Lord Salisbury calls the " dreary drip of dilatory discussion," surrendered themselves altogether to the luxury of laughing with or at tho member for Sydenham, who was describing schools that he had seen. " Sir," said Mr Taylor, " I have a school m my eye." (Immense laughter). " No," cried Dr Fi chett quickly, •« Only a pupil, Mr Taylor."

In view of the present raonaoing attitude of Russia, the following O3timate of the strength of the army laßt year will bo of interest :— Active army, 824,762; reserve, J.,500,000; first band qf th.c Qpoltsohenie, 2,100,000. There are, besides, 30,655 officers -giving a grand total of four and a half million men. The Cossacks at the came date numbered 2220 officers and 51,194 men. 11 This Army," says the " Moscow Gaaette 1 " •'is bub the vanguard of the innumerable Asiatio aontingonts. Furthermore, the reserve might be doubled by reducing the period of service with the colors from five to two years. This fact, well known to the other Powers, will enable Russia to resist any imaginable coalition.