LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1746, 21 January 1888, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

No, 7 of Mr Walter Leslie's clever series oi Parliamentary portraits is to hand. The number before us contains clever Bketob.es oi Mr Hutchison, member for Waitotara, and Oaptain Russell, member for Hawko's Bay, hit off very cleverly by Mr Leslie's faoile pencil, aooompanied by the usual crisp and bright desoriptive letter .press from the pen ol 1 Mr Bridges. ( In the published report of the pupil teaohers examination, whiah haa just ap- ' poared, we notice the names of the following within this district who have passed success- , lally, viz. :— First year—Rees Williams, Tinwald; Matthew Kerr; Hampstead. Beoond year — Elizabeth Rutherford, Springbam; Alax. Jamieson, Hampstead ; Lucy Chapman, Ashburton ; Ethelbert Laraman, Rakaia B«uth ; Ethel Alcorn, Hampstead. Third year —Ben jamin Lowe, Aahburton; Annie Meyenburg, Ashburton ; Rosina Bruoe, Rakaia South. Fourth year— Emma M. Bean, Th« last-mentioned name waa omitted (by oversight, no doubt) m the list given m yesterday'a " Lyttelton Times. " The first of the series of matches m the lawn tennis tournament oame off yesterday afternoon m the Domain. The Court has just been undergoing alterations, very muoh for tho better by the way, and it was a little after the arranged time, 4 o'olook, that play began. The game was one of the doubles, Messrs A. Fooks and Oliver v Messrs Jameson and Moore. There was quite a number of spectators present, and they took a keen interest m the games, the applause for good strokes or rallies being very impartially bestowed. Mr A. Fooks won the toss and took the service, but lost the first two games, However, his sida pulled up and won the' first set by 6to 8. They also won the seoond and third by 6— B and 6-4. The third set was deoidedly the hardest, Moore and Jameson contesting the sot game by game until 4 all was oalled by the soorer, but the two last games were won pretty easily. Fooks and Of ver played a very steady and even game, A. Fooks being particularly aotivo at the back of the Court, while Oliver now and again did loma really good plaoing at the net. Of the losers Jameson appeared to be decidedly the better man, his plaoing at times being very superior. Play will begin to-day at 1.30 p.m., when Messrs E. Simpson and F. Field meet Messrs C. C. Fooks and Oaygill, The ship Hermione and s.s. Balmoral Oastle from New Zealand to London arrived on the 19th inst. . In aonneotion with the oentennial commemoration of the Constitution of the United States, it was noted that little more than one hundred years ago there were not 30,000 Oatholios m the oountry, only 25 Priests and not ti single Bishop. Now there are m the United States twelve Arohbishops, 61 Bishops, 7G58 Prießts, and at least 8,000,000 Oatholics. A pamphlet has been issued by the Bureau of Statistics, Washington, from whioh it appears that the total drink bill ia Amerioa is oomputed at £140,000,000 per annum, more than one-half of whioh is set down as profit to the retailer. The drinking population is plaoed at 15,000,000. In round numbers the consumption of distilled spirits of all sorts has increased from 43,000,000 gallons m 1870 to 72,000,000 gallons m 1886 ; of wines, from 4,800,000 gallons to 22,000,000 gallons ; and Of malt liquors, from 13,000,000 gallons to 642,000,000. A South London paper boasts of the existence of a rag and bone dealer m the distriot m whioh it circulates who is the happy father of forty-two children. These have been presented to him by three successive wizes m litters of twins and triplets mostly, and the itom derives additional m. terest from the oiroumstanoe that the fond parent of this infantile tribe is a hunchbaok. The paper suggests that the fathor should at once become the recipient of royal bounty, or evsn of a pension, before the Jubilee year has run it course, and it offers to receive subscriptiona fox him from its readers. HoLfcowAY'a Pins.— Weakening weather. — The sultry summer days strain the nerves of the feeble and decrepit, and disease may eventuate unless some resorative. such aa these purifying Pills, be found to correok the .disordering tendency, Holloway'B medicine gives pptancy to the nervoqs system, which ja the source oj! all vital motementa, and presides ver fivejry aotion wbioh maintains the growth ' '< and well-being of the body.. No one can over j estimate the necessity of keeping the ncrvea well strung, or the eaaa with whioh these Pilla ' accomplish that end. They are the most ! unfailing antidotes to indigestion, irregular ' circulation, palpitation, eick beadaohe, and co»tive»a«, and have therefore tttaigeg the I trgoetiil isd fcigbei) r«put|tfon. (

The death is announced of •• Unole Billy," the only slavo m America who absolutely refused to accept his liberty. The grain yield this season m the Oirc>aru district is calculated to give an average of fifteen bushels per acre more than last year. Horribly ugly rumors are about m Sydney anent the mutilation of the dead, and very I unfeeling breaohes of aith on the part of certain dootors, for the purpose of the education of students. There ia a pretty story of the King of Italy m Misa Alexander's " Ohriat's Folk m the Appcninea " (edited by Mr Buskin) : — " A oontadino had come down to Lucca from somewhere m the mountains with a petition, whioh he wished to present to the king ; but when he saw him with his »egnito, ha did not know who he was. (Probably tho poor man's only idea of a king waa gathered from some piotures of the adoration of the wise men.) So hs looked at all of them and rather thought the king was not there, but perhaps one of those gentlemen would convey the paper to him. And being taken with the king's plea* Bant face, he went to him m preferanoe to any of the others, and put the paper into his harids, saying, < I will leave it with you, Sir ; I rather think I have given it into good bands.' At whioh the king smiled, and said, ' Yes, you have. 1 " We have oooasionally o go from home to hear news, as the following paragraph from the '-Irish Times'" London special will indicate :— " We are at present entertaining a bearded lady from Australia, Miss Mildmay is literally a traveller from New Zealand, where she holds valuable property. She is taking London on a European tour, which she has attempted under exceptional ciroumstanoes. For Miss Mildmay is the proprietress of a flowing beard whioh would do honor to a Frenoh sapper. This adornment is auburn tinged with grey, for the lady has oeased for some years to be young. She has been to the sights of London, and divided the attention of a crowded audience with Miss Mary Anderson, whose performance she attended. This remarkably strong-minded woman is good-looking and accomplished. It is hardly, therefore, an astonishment to hear that— being wealthy besides— Bhe might have had a choioe of husbands m her native land." Our readers will remember that some weeks ago a sensational story went the rounds of the press referring to the find on the seabeaoh near Freemantle of an albatross having round its neck a oollar of tin m which were punohed words m French to the effect that shipwecked sailors were awaiting resoue on the (Jrozet Islands. This oollar of tin has since been exhibited m Melbourne, and does not, we think, bear on it the improsß of truth, or genuineness. Captain Brown, of the Ulloob, barque, jaat arrived at Sydney from Hamburg, reports that he passed unusually close to thoso islands on his way out, being only six mileß away ; he was thus enabled to make, through his glass, a moßt minute examination of Possession and East Islands, but without discovering anybody or anything to betoken the presence of human beings.