LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1818, 18 April 1888, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Tbe first day's meeting of the ABhburton Autumn Meeting takes place to morrow, A half holiday has been declared, and if the weather proves propitious a successful meeting may be anticipated. King pippins weighing rospeotfully 24 and 25 ounces have been grown near Wellington. The buildings erected iv Chicago during 1887 cost £4,000,000. Recent returns give the population of the Rueaian Empire as 101,787,235. European Russia has 81,725,185. In Jefferson county, Nsw York, they have been baptising converts m a pond with the mercury at 15 degrees be!ow zero. ! Sinoo prohibition has been enforced m j Kansas church worship has, it is said, increased from 10 to 40 per cent. Since the adoption of Protection m Canada the capital employed m manufactures there has increased by £8,000,000. The punoh-bowl has beon nearly banished from Washington sooieiy. Tea and coffee take the place of the intoxicating draught. The bearded woman, who recently died m a Chicago museum, left a wife and seven children, The Otago Acclimatisation Society has liberated upwards of 496,000 trout, aalmon, and peroh during the last 15 months. The united ages of 11 persons reported m one day's obituary of the " London Times " amounted to 957 years. The King of Siam has given £48,000 to the Baptist Mission at Bankok, forsohool and hospital purposes. A peculiar fish is found m the Japan Sea, which ib so poisonou3 that it often serves, as a means of suicide. It produces sensations similar to those produced by morphia. " Can anything settle the servant-girl question ? " asks a weary housekeeper. To whioh we respeotfully reply, " Yes, the keroBene can." During the last six racing seasons the Hon. James White has received upwards of £64,000 for first places. His entire stakes winnings during the same period amount to £83,392. The Wyndham Dairy Factory Company (Southland) have been notified that s^d ppre r i lb was the price obtained m London for 25 tons of the company's cheese reoently exported. The largest savings bank m the world is the Glasgow Savings Bank. The last report shows funds m hand of £4,080,000 and £4,622,000 are due to despositors, who number 137,204 A " West Australian Immigrant," writing m the " Mark Lane Express " on wireworm, says he well remembers a good practical farmer saying to him years ago, " Grow a orop of white mustard and that will kill every worm m the field." The new Emperor of Germany is writing much every day, and it is surmised from the immense quantity of documenta and works he has consulted bearing upon the campaigns of Koniggratz and Sedan that he is writing a history of the Austrian and Franco-German wars. The adjourned inqusst was hold on Tuesday on the body of Edward Currio, who died m the padded cell at AdJington Gaol on Friday. The medical evidence showed that death resulted from failure of the heart's aoiion, brought on by excessive drinking. A verdict to that effect) was returned. Tho Ohristchuroh Cyolistg' Alliance has received a legal opinion from Mr Wynn Williams_ that_ the Auckland City Council's by laws imposing a fee on bioyoles is ultra vires, as the Municipal Corporations Act gives no power to license private vehicles, but only (o regulate how they shall be used m street. The Midland Railway Company have now four powerful locomotives at Richardson (says tho " Greymouth Star "). Trial was made of the last one the other day with most satisfactory results. The company expect word from London m about six weeks, instructing them to proceed with the construction of the lino at once. Tho " Napier Daily Telegraph " replying to tho remarks of the " North Olago Times " anenfc the enormities of landsharking m the North Island, makes the extraordinary assertion that:— "lf there have been ohioanery, deceit, and rasoality it has been on the part of the innocent Maori, and the European settler has been the victim. A gentleman m the Taieri has reoeived a letter from a firm m England m whioh they inform him of some New South Wales butter fetching 120a. This is a handsome price, and if the Taieri farmers were to establish a butter factory, thereby securing uniformity of quality, they could rely upon a securing a never-censing market for butter at top prices. At the local option poll for the Arrcwtown licenainp! district, ono patriotic citizen only exerciEod his great privilege, and he deoided l.y one vote m each case to nil that the • .number of publicans' and bottle licenEes may be increased during the next three yeurs, but that there shall bo no increase m tho number of wine or accommodation licenses. A Fronoh priest, who had usually a very small audienoe, was ono day prcaohuig nt the ohuroh m his village, when, tho doorß being open, a gander and several geese came stalking up tho isle. The preacher, availing himself of tho circumstance, observed " that he cou'd no longer find fault with his distriot for non-attendance, because, though they did not come themselves, they sant themselves their representatives, A Dunedin oxohange is responsible for tho following : — When tho s.s. Tainui came into Port a local medico went on board to meet a young lady, who was coming out to be married to him, and mot her lenning on the arm of her husband, • A cable from Hobart had been sent to him to warn him she was married, but such fickleness seemed to him impossible, and lie concluded the cable had been altered m irnnsniiHsion. i With regard to the butter export trade from ty'iapw.nui, Sir Fjlmer informs the "Chronicle" that r 'o. £Uiau lot gt &cwt sent Homo by hi™ for some of tho produQor« n^ar Okoia, as an experiment, realised lOO'a'po'r c\y£. SoiifG of tho but^r was packed m Pond'a patent, boxes j the remainder m kegs of tawa and totaia', and all brought the samo fignre. Mr Jj'ilruor has now severul consignments on the way j Home from which ho expects even better returns. Mr J. Driscoll Foley opens m his ventriloquial, musical, and imperaonativo entertainmont at the Oddfollowc' Hall this evening. His chnracter representations are said to bo exceedingly good, and no doubt with fine weather ho will bo acoorded a good house. Mr Foley gave an entertainment at the Town Hall, R'.ikaia, last evening, of which our correspondent writes as follows t — Thero was a moderate attendance. The entortaictuept, consisting of oharaoter representations, songs, ventriloquism, lightning changes, and dances, was a most enjoyable ono, and Mr Foley fully deservod the repeated applaug he received. The audienoe was kept for a couple of hourß m roarß of laughter, and there was nothing approaching vulgarity m the entertainment. Steps aro boing taken to induoe Mr Foley to appear here again shortly when he may expect a bumper house. Your townspeople who are fond of innocent amusement should not lose the opportunity of seeing him, and I am euro those who go will appreciate his efforts. Statutory Declaration.— l, Franz Raabe, Ironbark, Sandhurst,- in tho colony of Victoria, Australia, do solemnly and sincerely doolaro that on the 25th June, 1877, my eon Alfred, six years of ago, was accidentally hurt with an axe on his knee, lat once took all pains to secure medical assistance. However, m spite qi ftll efforts, on tho 27th August, 1877, the opinion waa giyon by Dr Maogillivray that an amputation of the injured limb had becoruo imperative, m order to save life. At this juncturo I called on Mussra Saucier and Sons, procuring bouiu of their Extraot of the Euc-.alyplua Glubijlug, and by tho application of the Biiiuo I had the yatiai'aoUou of seeing my son within a fortnight out of all danger, arid }0.-day ho is recovered. 1 may just udd that it was when tho crisis had beon rcaohod that the Extract referred to wbb fjrst applied, And I mako this solemn declaration, etc— Franz Raabe. Declared at Sandhurst, m tho oolony of Victoria, Australia, this seventeenth day oJ October, ono thousand eight hundred and 6'flvont'r' Revon 3. beforo me »l Moritz Colin, £p,-(Advfyr *■ 7