LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1867, 14 June 1888, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The settlers m the Duntroon-llakateramea railway district are up m arajß over the prospeot of being taxed under the District Railway Puicbasing Aotß Amendment Bill. A boy at Napier waß explaining the aofion of a loaded revolver to a companion the other day when it went off, and tho bullot passed through his thigh. Mr Waterhouse is reported to havo stated that each year wo are adding to our loan j acooont sottiG £#00,000 on account of railways opon for traftio-^that is m order to earn 11 real income of £30,000, we borrow £500,000. The ship Trevelyan, vow nearly duo at Port Chalmers from Glasgow, has on board 43,000 gallons oi spirits At a low estimate, tho duty on this wjll amount m round numbers to £30,000. The number of bales of wool shipped at th,e i Australian and New Zealand ports for the' period ending 30th May ebows an increase of ' £83,219 over a corresponding period last year, This increase is equal to some 25,0Q0,0001b5, representing an increase of over £100,000. 'XUft " Southland Times " has the following : — The Hon Jtt. Oliver and Mrs Oliver came by special train fr.orn Punedin to Bluff to join the Te Anau en, routfi for Sydney, where he will repremont New Zealand on the Chinese Conference and where ho will arriyp three days late so much for retrenchment, A very large number attended the funeral of the Mr T. Soal, storekeeper, of Waterton, on Tuesday laat, thereby showing the reßpoot m which the deceased was held. Tho service was conducted according to the ritoa of the Church of England, of which body the .deceased had been a most useful member. Tiio." Tiraaru Herald " says :— Our millers .should keep ttvenr pye upon Manilla and Tahiti as possible la&fkets for their produoe. Between July 1887 and May 188 822,000 barrels of flour vrera shipped 'froxn fcian I'ranpjgco to those placed, wbloh &re several thousand rajles nearer to New Zealand than to California. Wo are m reoeipj of the »#ew Zealand Musical Monthly" for June. Tfye frupploment contains a shaking ijkeneßß of Captain W. E. Haywood, lately conduotor of the Invercargill Garrison Band. The " Monthly " is full of information on musioal mattera, and should bo particularly acceptable to bandsmen, Tho other day wo mentioned that two boyß at *n Oamaru sohool ran their heads together with such force that tho eye of one boy was aeriously inured. Two boy 3at Hamilton came into collision wjhilo playing, and the result was that ono received siyh an injury as to cause concussion of the brain. The samo lad had his leg broken only a short before while playing, : Tho " Duhedin Herald saya !— For really fllow work the Government Printing Office m Wellington oertainly carries off the palm. Ifc apparently takes all but a fortnight to convey to Dune#i» the reports of the parliamentary debates m \/el}jn<jton. We doubt whether equal filow.-ooaoh would be allowed to exist anywhere elselnHer Majesty's dominions. ■ An old man named Stephens met with a horrible death near Parramatta, New South j Wales recently. Having lost his way, he j made a fire at the foot of a tree and went to sleep. The fla^ee ascended the tree, and just as the man noticed hits danger a burning branch fell and pinned him to the ground, the flames playing about his. faoe and neck. Ho lay m agony all night, and died m tho mowing ffhjjgt fcejug goHveycd to ibQ hospital, I

A creamery and condensed milk factory would pay well m the Taieri. Not a better aite for one m the whole of Now Zealand says the local paper. On April 18th tho Dublin coroner held an inquest on Miss Maria Monks, who committed suicide under sad oircumstanoes. On Monday night she visited a suburb to inquire after her sweetheart, who had failed to visit her. On being informed that the young man had been taken ill and died she became frantio with grief. Her body was discovered m the Grand Canal, into which she had thrown herself. A fire occurred at Ashton yesterday. A tent belonging to Messrs Olark and Cairns, who have taken over the farm latbly occupied by Mr Magee, was burnt down, and all their belongings, including money, clothing, and other effects were destroyed. The total loss | is £55. Messrs Clark and Cairng were m the fields when they observed the fire, but could not get to the spot m time to save anything. From the circumstances under which tho fire took place, there is strong suspicion that it is the work of an incendiary. At a meeting of the Wellington Branch of New Zealand Alliance, held reoently, Mr D. Goldie, M.H.R., said that eighteen years ago every colonist was paying at the rate of more than £10 per head m tha purchase of intoxicants, and now they were paying a little over £3 per head ; so that m eighteen more years, if they went on moving as hitherto, they could confidently expect to see the traffic stopped altogether. The question is — Has drunkenness decreased m proportion ? Currency has bean given says the "Lancet," to an idle report that the Queen has of late been suffering from sleeplessness, which a resort to simple and obvious expedients has been found incapable of alleviating. Our oontemporary is glad to be able authoritatively to state that the rumour is entirely - without foundation, and that her Majesty is now, and has been during the whole of her visit to Florence, m the enjoyment of her wonted health. John Marshall, a carpenter, was charged at the Woodville Polioe Court, on June 4tb, before Mr Hall, J.F., and the Mayor, with ill-treating a boy, who had a severe contusion, on the eye, alleged to have been done with a strap and a fall against the stairg. On examination of the boy's body he was found to be m a bruised and emaoiated condition. The police alleged that m the opinion of the doctor the emaciation was caused by starva--tion. The Bench inflicted a fine of £10 andcosts, or two months' imprisonment with, hard labor. From Albany a most extraordinary plague of mice is reported from various parts of the country districts, These vermin have invaded dwellings m numbers altogether unprece-. dented, and are causing serious inconvenience. Every method has been tried for their destruction, and with such Bucce&a that it is not uncommon to catch a wheelbarrow load 7 m a single night. So numerous are the miae that over one hundred have been caught m one haul simply by tatting a flour-bag with a handful of flour, propping tho mouth of the bag open with a aticb, and then suddenly closing it. At the annual meeting of the Pareora Licensing Committee, on Saturday last, Mr T. Teschemaker, who was elected chairman,, remarked on the expensive and cumbersome machinery for working the Act, giving aa atf instance the fact of tho tbreo districts of Pareora, Makikihi, and Deep Creek, having each only one licensed house, and. requiring a Committee of five members each with an annual election. He considered that a good deal of saving could be effeoted, and he thought that one body would be sufficient.. The other members present concurred m this, opinion. The " Otago Daily Times," on.the Bubjeqt of Defence of the Colony, says :— lt is to bfc hoped that the Babjeot of defence will be exhaustively debated before the session olosesv Its importance is daily increasing,-. That war. must break out before loog is. patent, an<j there is too much reason to fear that Britain will be involved m it. The very attention which has been called of late to the import* ance and the resources of these ooloniea must have the effeot of increasing the danger of attempts being made upon our portß, and we believe that those who have studied th'e conditions are sensible of the danger that we iaour, A curious case of total loss of speech is reported by tho Wellington correspondent of the " Ihmedin .S.'R*." A man nam.t;d Edward. Iggulden, living at Kaiwarra, Wellington^ was inßtruoted by his employers to go to Pahautanui with a quantity of goods. Hi went to Peramata by train and was walking, along the road towards Pabautanui when b,e met a man who mado a remark to him. Iggulden endeavoured to make some reply, but to his horror he discovered that he had lost the power of speech, and he has remained dumb ever since. His sense of, hearing is as good as ever, bat he cannot speak a word, and is obliged to make himself understood by writing. An interviewer from the "Post" waited on several small shop-keepers m Wellington to ascertain their opinions as to the Shop Hours Bill and generally these were averse to themeasure. Among others interviewed was Mr W. Hong Kew, a Chinese retailer of CubaBtreet. Mr Kew gave his opinion unreservedly, and said that he believed that not one of his" countrymen would raise a voioe against the restrictions contained m the Sill, provided it treated all alike, and showed no favouritism to European retailers. The principal bosiuesa the Chinese shop-keepers did at nightwasin the sale of fruit, but if they were restricted from Belling this they would submit to it quietly. -. The question of the non-certifying of deaths m cases where no qualified practitioner had been m attendance was discussed at the meeting of the Medical Association held at Auckland, and it was resolved — " That this association is of opinion that m all- oases of death occurring without the attendance of a qualified medical praotitionor, it shall bo in^ oumbent by law on the friends of ]the deoe&sed, or on the oocupier of the house, to report such 6&3G8 fiQ the coroner, to be dealt with m such manner as he may deem expedient." It was also decided to pdvise the Government to have chloroform gazetted as a poison, and to asjs the government to open a station for the supply of vacojne direct from the calf. Tho next meeting will be held m Ghristohurch m the acoond week m Maroh m 1889. In the Oamaru district recently tho Jnspeo* tor of Schools visited a certain locality and found the school closed. Ha reported the matter, and tho teacher was oonßured. It now appears that a friend of the toacher'a had died, and he was at the funeral. The teacher, aay« tfje •'•' Mail," saw the Committee and got leave to alosa the ephool. But, acoordiog to the rule of the Board, at I.qqj^ a week's notico has to be given of the intention to close, hence this rap on the knuckles. To us it seems clear enpugjh that no teacher can attend any funeral for the future. 0n seoond thoughts, however, we believe he would bo able to attend his own, or perhaps that of any friend who may have oommitted murder. In the latter case the Judge fixes the day and the ftour, and so makes it convenient for a teacher to ,cot£ply with the rules and regulations of thSi Wtocrati.u cqa< always wrong* beaded body, the Education Board pf Otago. We trust that its own funeral will take-place shortly,, and tbflt, " doubly dying, it will go down to tho vile dust from whence it Bprung, unwept, ifnhonored, and upsung; " We would have m,uoh pleasure /a £ping to its funeral. "Bough on Catarrh" cor teats ofjfansiye odors at once. Complete euro of worst chrohia oases; also unequalled as gargle for diphtheria, gore throat, foul breath, . $■ \

I Tbe fortnightly meeting of the Tinwald Gospel Tetaperanee Sooiety .was held on Tuesday evening m the Presbyterian Church. There was a good attendance. The Key A. Blake oooupied the chair, and gave an account of the " Life and Labors of Father Matthew." A good programme was gone through, consisting of songs, solos, duets, readings, reoitationa, and a dialogue by two little girls, all of which were well rendered. An opportunity was gives of joining the membership, which was availed of. The next meeting will be held on the 26th instant. Mr Assheton Smith, whose marriage was recently reported, is celebrating Her Majesty's Jubilee m a remarkable manner. He has caused to be planted on the slopes of Moel Khiwen Mountain, North Wales, a plantation composed of 030,000 trees. Nearly 200 men have been constantly employed sinoe the Jubilee m planting the trees, whioh, when completed, will be so arranged as to represent ths words and figures " Jubilee, 1887." Eaoh letter measures 200 yards long and 25 feet wide. The first tree of the letter i( J" waß planted on Her Majesty's Jubilee Day. The " Taieri Advocate " says :— It will take a powerful. Aot to eradicate the Californian thistle. Mr Walter Blackie, of Glasgow Farm, haa a patoh growing on hia f arjn, and though ho has tried several experiments cannot get quit of the thistle. He fenced off the patch and dug a trench all round it but the roots of the thistle passed through below the level of the trenoh and came up on the other side. On the fenced off piece he has put a number of pigs who appear to be doing fair work m rooting up the thistle ; but they can't get to the bottom of the roots Certain apparent incongruities m the rules followed :in civil cases at the Ohristchuroh B.M. Court having been brought under the notice of the Bench, Mr Beotham, the other day, announced that Jin future a debtor confessing judgment would have to pay the confession fee, a sum of from 2s to 83 according to the amount of the debt. This charge has hitherto been exacted from the ereditorehip, who of course lost tho amount if a judgment had no fruit. His Worship also said that m future a solicitor's fee would be allowed on these confession cases, providing the case would carry a fee, if it had been heard and decided m favor of the plaintiff. Tho " Napier Telegraph " says :—Particulars oonoerning the shooting acoident m whioh a young native lo3t his life at Te Aute yesterday are to hand. It appears that two natives were out Bhootingthe previous day, and left a muzzle-loading gun m their whare ; the gun was loaded, but no cap was on the nipple. A Maori boy named Mira Hode brought the gun from the whare with the intention of patting a cap on it. At the same time another native lad, Tooti Pera, came from the whare and Btepped upon tbe verandah of tbe bouse. , Mira Hone placed the |cap on the gun, and evidently tampering with it, the weapon exploded, shooting Tooti Pera m the back of the head, Death was inßtanteous.