LOCAL AND GENERAL

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1857, 2 June 1888, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Shop-betting has become immensely popular of late months m Sydney. The following are the vital atatiatiea for Aahburton for the month of May :— Births, 25 ; deaths, 8 ; marriages, 2. Five pound a-head is the tax the Hon. Mr 3osohen, the English Chancellor, seeks to put on racehorses. Yariely m nomenclature is never exhausted. Seldom Fed is the name of a trotter figuring at Dunedin meetings. The Auckland Benevolent Sooiety are absolutely unab-e to meet the demands that are made upon it, and the four worst months of winter are only oommenoed, Mrs Smith, aged 72, residing m Greta street, Oamaru, died suddenly the other evening. Whila m the aot of tethering a cow by driving a peg into the ground, she fell down dead. A report is m circulation that the Empress Augusta, mother ot ihe Emperor of Germany, is about to join the Oatholio Ohuroh. It is positively stated that the Empress, after her reception into the Church, will leave Germany and take up her residence m Florence. Captain Pearse, well known m mining cirolea on the Molyneux, while at Alexandra lately, wanted three men to do some ordinary laboring work. He advertised for several days, but only succeeded m getting two men, and these would not set to work under 10a a day. Mr John Moison writes to us with respeot to some statement made by Mr Toomey m his evidence m the oase "Moison v Toomey" heard m the Court last Thursday. As the alleged statement did not appear m our columns we oannot m its present form publish bis letter. A running high-jump match at Ohristchurch between W. Ryan, Dunedin, and W, Daltou, Ashburton, for £20 a side has been drawn. Both men tied at 5 feet 1 inch on Thursday, and on Friday when the match was to be finally jumped off the parties withdrew their stakes. By meanß of approved applianoes the Germans are now able to extract 11*31 per cent, of beet sugar and 065 per cent, of molasses, or a total of 11 '961b per 1001 b of beets. The cost of this sugar ia only two centa per lb. The sugar is produced m enormous quantities, saffieient for the home supply and a large export trade. The Canterbury Land Board met on Thursday. Section 35764, 50 acres, ia Shepherd's Bush Survey District, was granted on deferred' payment to William Gallagher. Seotion 72, Reserve 350, Hinds, was granted on perpetual lease to John M'Fadgen. Seotion 33, Reserve 349, Orari, was sold for oash to Joseph Wharton; The South Rakaia Skating Rink Club was opened m the Town Hall last evening. A large number of members were present besides a considerable number of onlookers, the' latter seeming to enjoy the fun quite as muoh as those skating. The floor was m very good order, and the club should he a great success and a source of pleasure to those m and around the tqwnhship. Just as we go to press, a oable from Hobart informs us that the Financial Statement delivered m the Tasmanian Chamber proposes to put a half-penny tax on personal estate. Ad valorem duty is to be raised to 12& per oent, and a million loan is to be floated at 3£ per oent. The Victorian Government has been asked to vote £3000 towards the International Regatta. It will be interesting to watoh the result of the Australian irrigation scheme, as the amount of water spent by evaporation m a hot country is something enormous. Me Greenshields tells us that some years ago he had charge of a quartz; battery at Tapi Creek, and that m hot summer weather the power of the water-wheel was from five to ten per oent. less during the day than during the night, (and this simply from evaporation, Now, m Australia the absorption of water from beneath, and the evaporation from above, must be something enormous. — " Naw 3ea« land Herald " " Acoountant," m a southern paper, writes : — " Nearly everybody ories out that important local industries should be foqfcored. I found outquite accidentally that writing ink made m Wellington and known as Meek's ink was kept by several shopkeepers, but that very few people asked for it. 1 have ainoe used nothing else and as it appears to be of good quality so far as appearance js oonaerhed, seems to flow from the pen easily, doc 3 not thioken or oprrode the pen, I would like to draw attention to it although I have no interest m the ink or the makers." Why not encourage looal industry ? An extensive trade m smuggled tobaooo has been discovered at Greenook. Ie had long been known to the authorities that such a trade was being carried on, and a clue was at length fonnd by which it was revealod that the vessels carrying the contraband artiole disposed of it at a certain point m the Firth a little above I aver kip. The coastguard were placed on the alert, and on the arrival a few weeks ago of the b.s, Qvington from Ham. burg, suspicions were confirmed, and extensive seizures made. Vigorous steps will be taken to bring the offenders to.juatioe, and to put an end to this evil praotiqe m which they have long been engaged. At St, Mark's Ohuroh, South Rakaia, after ohoir practioe on Friday evening the Rev H. Collins presented Miss Cox with a purae of money on behalf of the donora — members of the congregation and friends of the church. He said that although the amount was small, a great many different persons had contributed, and m doing so the promoters wished to show a sense of the regular and never failing attention with which she had performed the duties of her position. Mr Broadbent, m ■ responding on behalf of Miss Cox, said she | assured him she had not worked m the expectation of reward, but because she felt , it to to be her duty ; she, however, thanked ; the givers warmly for their kind expressions. High jinks were held on board the Zea« landia, on the lasts passage to San Francisco, imong the passengers were the Austrian i Jountess Wamband and Baroness Hunter, ' who are on a tour of the world, travelling ! noognito ; the German Count Paul de Weerth, . ilso travelling inoognito, and O. M. G: Van ' ler Heyden, a nobleman from the Nether- ( ands. On Easter Monday the steamer" ' irossed the equator, when Father Neptune loarded the vessel, and m the fun that ensued Jount ; de' W. e erth had his head badly cut. . n the evening a full-dress ball was held. 1 during the passage a paper was published on * oard called " Zealandia Chips," of which ] I. R. Haxton was editor, and to whioh the Jishop of Nelson, who, with Jiia family, was r i passenger, contributed. l 11 Rodoh on Rats." — Clears out rats, mieo c aohes, flies, aats, bedbugs, beetlos, iriseoets, j kunka, jaok-rabbits, sparrows, gophers. All r hemisjs ftpd. druggists, 1 j