LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1741, 16 January 1888, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The names of Mrs McLaohlan, Jan., and Miss Meharry were omitted from the list of names supplied to us of the ladies who furnished tables at the Presbyterian Churoh tea meeting at Tinwald last week.

An Ashburton correspondent, who takes an interest m ichthyology, sends us the follow* ing : — " It may interest some of your readers to know that a fine specimen of the elephant fish {cattonorhymhtu antartica) was captured on Friday last by some men fishing at the mouth of the Ashburton river. Unfortp. nately, however, it was no Booner oaught thin it was out up into bait. This fish withdraws from deep water, daring the summer, to deposit its eggs m the sand below high-water mark, when their hatohing is assisted by the sun's warmth. Some time ago the Royal Society of England voted the sam of £70 to Professor Parker, of the Otago University, to enable him to obtain materials for working out the embryology of this fish. It is there* fore to be regretted that this specimen was not obtained for him, or even preserved for our looal museum to which it would have been an interesting addition."

It is somewhat surprising that so many of our contemporaries should have fallen into the error of supposing that " The Crown and Native Lands Bating Act Repeal Bill " was passed last session. For example the " New Zealand Herald" informs its readers that the measure m question takes eflaot from the Ist April next. What really has Happened is this : — The Bill referred to waa dropped m the House of Representatives, but as it is intended to pass it next year the Government have issued a | warning to local bodies that they are not to reckon upon receiving any further rates upon Grown and Native Lands, For ourselves wo have no doubt that the Bill will pass next session, but " there's many a slip," etc., and meantime it is not true that it becomes law on April Ist. By.the-bye, the date is very appropriate to the ciroumßtanoes,

Wa regret to observe that at the annual meeting of the Oamaru Woollen Company, held on Thursday evening, the Direotora' report stated that the operations of the Faotory ! had resulted m a loss, whioh was the more disappointing as the turnover exceeded that of the previous year by £1000. Notwithstanding the unfavorable isaue the Direotora confidently hoped for better results m the future. The Chairman said, owing to the keen competition m tweeds it had been deemed necessary to experiment m manufacture of other articles, but m Borne direotions the experiment had not proved profitable* The increase m the number of factories had caused a keen struggle, and the colony (the Chairman went on to Bay) had goqe too far m the establishment of woollen factories, and had gone ahead of the population. Until there is an increased population the supply was m oxcese of the demand. By reduoing expenses the Directors hoped to overtake the loss and prevent the calamity of having to olose the doors.