LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1853, 29 May 1888, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Australian butter brings big prioes m England, and is m increasing demand. Pheasants aro selling at 3s per brace m Wollington, A " backward " raco was beld lately at the Wellington Rink. i Tho " Wellington Press "is still " fulminating " against tho new loan. Cigars have been manufactured m Tau. ranga from looally grown tobacco. Miss Laura Heath, of Wellington, passed hor Pharmacy examination laßt April. This is tho first female candidate who has passed m this colony. Captain Allman's life-saving raft has been taken by the Tprawera to Melbourne, where it will bo handed over tg tbo syndicate who havo taken tho patent up. Dr Fitchott has mado the delioate oompari, - son that wo are no more able to contend with tho Chinese than woro the Egyptians with tho plaguo of lioo. A country paper says that a worse trouble than the yolJo>yed-pkinned Chinaman is the yollow-flowored furze. The .onoo beautiful Waimate North ia now a forest of furjae. Mr J. Higgg, traffio manager for the Great Northern Railway, New South Wales, is touring tbo colony and taking notes concerning the New Zoaland Railways. Bl" Rooan on Ratb."— Clears oitf rat9,|mipe, oaohos, flios, ants, bedbugs, beetles, insect, skunks, jaok-rabbits, sparrows, gophers. At

At the R.M. Court this morning, before Mr R. Aliorn, JP., Jnbn Jaok, for drunkenneßß, was fined 10s without costs. The sooial gathering m St Stephen's Sohoolroom thia evening will be held m spite of the wetnebs of the weather. A Creche is to be established m the Ponsonby and Freeman's Bay Distriot if sufficient interest is displayed m the subject. At the moeting of the Timaru Borough Council on Monday, it waß resolved that the Works Committee Bhould report on the cost of lighting the streets with eleotrioity. There is a good authority for stating that a .telegram relating to the possibility of a European war has been reoeived by Hia Excellency the Governor. More than that is \ not known. j| Mr Lillywhite intimates that on his return [ from Australia he will play a combined North Island football matoh at Auckland, and v combined South Island matoh at Dunedin. The Government are said to have declined to aooede to the application of the Union Company to bring on Chinese passengers to New Zealand from Australian portß. "Puff," speaking of the Chinese diffioulty, the unemployed, the Property-Tax, and other ills, says ; — •• The colony wants dipping under water for twenty-four houra, and re-oolonising on sound principles. At the settling over of the D.J.O. Winter Meeting, H. Hammond reoeived £202 7s, Hon. G. McLean £158 12s, J. Stephenson £99 135. Other Bums brought the total up to £978 155. j ■The people m the gold districts of Burma are Baid to bury the nuggets they unearth under the impression that a orop of gold will result. It is a wonder theße primitive souls have not tried the cultivation of rupees. On aaoount of the stormy weather, the leoture m St, Stephen's Schoolroom, whioh was to -have been delivered by the Rev Gordon Macpherson, was postponed. Mr Maopherson hopes to give it on Thursday m next week m the same plaoe. The new oars that are being made to run by stored eleotrioity on the Fourth avenue line, New York, will hold several more persons than the present ones, and will be heated and lighted, as well as run by eleotrioity. We have been requested by Messrs Friedlander Bros, to call attention to Mr Thomas Walsh's sale of land and stook whioh takes plaoe to-morrow at Saaview, Wakanui. A ooaoh will leave the Railway Station after the arrival of the Express from Christohuroh. At a special meeting of tht Timaru Steam, ship Company on Monday night it was agreed to wind up the concern m consequence of the steamer m the employ of the Company having been sold. The Company did well while m the coal carrying business. | At the R.M. Court yesterday afternoon, before Mr A. Harrison, J.P., a little boy named Neil, aged about seven, was charged with the larceny of certain goods from Mr Dunoan's store. The lad was remanded till Thursday next. The Parliamentary correspondent of a contemporary says : — It is understood that the Railway Department ia having a leather medal, suitably inscribed, manufactured for the member for Sydenham, to take the place of the golden one at whioh his eoonomioal soul revolted. An American trade journal to hand by the mail says : — If a oontented labor market ia a sign of prosperity some of the Australian ooloniea ought to be happy. On the Government Relief Works m one section laborers are diQioult to get at sight shillings a day, owing to the demand for harvest hands and the golden opportunities at the mines. Sixty ciroulars have been sent out to practical dairy farmers m the various districts within a radius of forty miles of Ohristohurch, inviting them to attend a meeting m the Grain Agenoy Buildings, at 2 p.m. on Saturday next, for the purpose of drawing up the prospectus of a Co-operative Dairy Company, and for arranging meetings m the country distriots to ascertain the amount of support likely to be accorded to the Company. Tho people of Ashburton seem to appreciate the dolight of a " freo show," and consequently last evening when Mr Eden George threw open his pioture gallery free of charge there was a crowded attendance deßpite the very unfavorable weather. The musio was excellent, and during the two hours or so the ahow was open those present were agreeably pleased with everything on exhibition. Mr George's show oases of pedestal portraits were, however, not on view, having been forwarded to tbe Melbourne Exhibition. Miss Mary J. Chippendale, neo Snowdon, whose death is announced m our cable news, was a highly accomplished actress, and a favorite with London theatre goers m her day. A few years ago she came to this oolony and played with Mr Wybert Reeve m " Impulse," " Diplomacy," and other plays. Her " old woman " assumptions were always her masterpieces, and hormostimportant personations were Miss Candour and Mrs Malaprop m the plays of the " Sohool for Scandal " and *' The Rivals " respectively. Rinkomania is fast and faster taking possession of the Ashburtonites, and every session findß the Oddfellowß* Hall floor space fully ocoupied with the admirers of this graceful form of amusement and exercise. The Palace Company are about to introduoe a number of novelties to keep up the interest, but it would seem that jußt at present there is sufijoient interest taken by the majority to become au fait m the art of roller skating. The afternoon session is largely taken advantage of by lady skaters anxiouß to acquire the graceful art, and not a few gentlemen also put m an appearance at the rink for the same laudable purpose. Mr A, Ayers recently dug up a root of Derwent potatoes m his garden, at Opawa, with no fewer than ninety-one tubers on the eingle root. Unfortunately, they were not weighed, but the total weight must have been considerable, as a largo proportion of the potatoes were of goodly sijse. They wore grown m rich sandy loam. A resident of Addingion has been equally Buooessful m potato-growing. Ho showed Mr Murphy, Seoretary of tho A. and P. Association, two blue Derwent potatoes, one whioh scaled 2Jlb, while the other reaohcd tbe unusual weight ( of 3 Jib. The weathor experienced just now is simply exeorable, and the streets are a perfeot puddle, while by-paths are m a deplorable condition, and pedestrian looomotion is rendered uncomfortable and dangerous. To add to the misery of the publio who are obliged to bo out of doors m suoh weather the streets m the early part of last night were m worse than Egyptian darkness, the City Fathers, apparently m their zeal for eoonozpy, not making provision for having the street lamps lighted. When the moon beams struggled through the dark rain olouds travelling was more easy, but just at the busiest time of the evening arrangements might be made for Btreet lighting op suoh an eyening as we had experience of yesterday. On Monday evening at Wellington, the Hon. Sir H. Atkinson was installed as District! Grand Master of the Wellington (North Island) Grand Lodge of New Zealand (E.G.) Upwards of 500 Freemasons were present from all parts of tho colony. Bro. 0. J. Toxward, the retiring Distriot Graud Master, performed tho installation ceremony, assisted by Bro. H. Thomson, Distriot Grand Master, jGantprbury (E.G.), and the members of the- '' Distriot (Grand Ijodge. The ceremony took plaoe i# the old Provincial Counoil Chamber, ; and was concluded at about J) p.m. A ■ Masonic banquet was afterward? ijeld m the ' Masonio Half, Boulcott street. The whole of ! the proceedings were of tbe most impressive I character. " i Our cable news informa ua that the Em- , peror of Brazil is rallying from the attaok of I paralysis whioh he experienced while on a visit to tho King of Servia. In the event of ! his death Brazil w/11 lose a good and wise ; ruler. Ho ia a travellod and jojiltured gentloman. Ho writos and speaks fluent iy'J?u^lish. i French, German, Spanish, and Italian. He I is strongly attached to literature, and liberally I patronises industrial enterprises by enoourag- i ing publio works and perfecting the navigation J of rivers. He has sucoeedod m aubatituting I free labour' for slaves, by enoouraging Euro- i pean colonisation.' In 1871 the Emperor ( made the tour of Europe, visiting Rome, ( Brussels, and other capitals, and m 1876 he 1 visited.the United States. The moat impor- ] jtant event was the issuing of an Imperial . decrpe m JB7I for tho gradual but total i abolition of pfoyery m Jfrftjjtfl, ,