LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1871, 19 June 1888, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

— „ # Mr F. H. Bowen ia gazetted Postmaster at Lismore, as from April Ist, A Wellington paper sayß that Mr Buxton recently made a joke m the House whioh was so grossly personal m ita application and so indecent irr its allusion that it oannot be published m a respectable newspaper ; but it amused and delighted the House amazingly. On Tuesday, February 28th, the greatest enthusiasm prevailed at Amsterdam, where the International Two Miles Skating Championship was brought off before a large attendance of peoplt. England was represented by James Smart and George See. The result Was that the Englishmen finished first and second, and notably demonstrated their superiority over the Dutch skaters. Smart was first and See second. The news was awaited with great interest m English Skating circles, and when the telegram was received at headquarters the news was hailed with great delight. Fish Smart did not compete. At the quarterly summoned meeting of the Helpmate Division of the Sons and Daughters of Temperance hold at Mr Gamble's rooms last evening, it was decided m future to hold the meetings at the Templar Hall. As one means of exciting interest, and generally to advance the principles of the Order, it was resolved that the next meeting of the Division be open to the public, when it is expected that the Chief Ollicer of the Grand Division will be m attendance to instal the newly-elected officers, and to give an addroßS on matters of in'eieat to the temperance portion of the oommunity. Farther intimation on this proposal will duly appear m these columns. Jonathan Roberts, the Ripa Island esaapee, is still at large, but the circumstantial yarns of encounters with him have not diminished m the slightest. One, with a greater appearance of reliability than most, is told m regard to Roberta showing up at Greenpark early on the morning after his escape, and wearing a dark coat, moleskin trousers, and a b!j}e and white handkerchief round bis head, He went to the house of a farmer and first asked for come bread, and afterwards for a oup of tea. He got the bread but would not wait for the tea to be made, and having obtained the gift of a hat, with a hole m the orown, took leave of the hospitable oookatoo. It is said that Roberta when working at Killincby after his former esoape became a subscriber to a library m that district, and a day or two after clearing out from Bipa again made his appearance and took out some books. Our readers may believe this story or not as they please. Since his second esoape Roberts has certainly enjoyed a greater share of oelebrity or notoriety than anyone else m New Zealand. Messrs Fooks and Son have received the appointment of Clerk and Engineer to the JjcTrough Counoil. Last evening the Counoil spent about' three hours jn committee considering the appointment,, and also the Council's position m regard to Mr J3raddoll, the late officer, who had refused to accept as susicipnt the one month's notice giyeq him by the Council. Legal opinions were re? coived and although the result of tho Council's deliberations was not allowed to transpire, it may be assumed m consequence of the new appointment being made that some satisfactory settlement will bo arrived at, A rumor was m circulation m town torday to the effect that tho proceedings last night were invalid. It is stated openly that the appointment, whioh lay between two applioants, was made by ballot, and it is further stated that the Aot provides that every question coming before the Council shall bo settled by open voting. To say the least, it is somewhat singular that the Counoil should, last night, have gone into Committee bo that its proceedings should not be reported, while to-day the business then transacted wag common talk.

Hanlan, the sculler, 19 a very bad Bailor. A serious outbreak of diphtheria is reporred at Marong, Victoria. The expenses of the English football team are about £400 per week. A live frost-fish was found lately on the bank of the Waimakariri. Port of 1834 from the Drapers' Company's oellar recently brought 330 shillings a dozen, A Miss Hamilton, m Ohristchuroh, has been fined 203 and costs for letting a house to a prostitute. The sitting of the Diooesan Synod has been postponed until August 28ib, m conse- ! quence of the death of the Primate's wife. t Sir Saul Samuel, of New New South Wales, is at present at Auokland. He will remain m the colony a month. A patent for driving vehicles by oleotricity is eata to have been sold m London for ££0,000. The apes on the Rock of Gibraltar have increased m such numbers that they are to be partially suppressed. • The receipts at Patti's farewell performance m Madrid were £2500. She is preparing her autobiography. . A rouge ct Wane fancy ball is to be given on the liiviera. All men are to be dressed m red and all womea m white, A shipment for London was made lately of 20,900 bars, or 1050 tons, of Broken Hill silver-lead, worth' £so a ton. They had a bon-bon party at the Wellington Columbia Bink lately, ,afc whioh nearly all Wellington was present. It is reported m Melbourne that Captain Moore, who figured prominently m the Laura Swain Tragedy, has shot himself m England. Two young men at Woodend were mulcted to the tune of £16 17a for molesting bicyclists on the road. Mr J. Cunningham, manager ?of the Bank of New Zealand at Geraldine," was thrown from his horse on Sunday and reoeived severe bruises. The new Wesleyan Ohuroh at Waimate, I replaoing the one destroyed by fire two years 1 ago, was opened on Sunday by the Eev W. J. Williams, President of Conference. The are understood to have positive official information than an Australian fever has set m amongst the Gbinese at Hongkong and other parts northward. Some Wellington land agents have, according to the " Press," just had inquiries from a Southern capitalist who is prepared to invest £30,000 m Wellington oity property. A Mttle boy, Bon of Mrs Hamilton, of Dufcbo, fell down a well, a distance of 60 feet into about 3 feet of water, and eeoaped with only a slight bruise on the head. A man named Joseph Anderson while jumping off a waggon on the West Coast Road fell and the waggon went over his leg fracturing it seriously. The oldest British peer is Visoount Bversley, who is ninety-three years old, and the youngest is the Duke t of Albany, ninety years his junior. The French oapital contains a email army of about 15,000 cabmen, who, strange to relate, are mostly welUeduoated men who have seen better days. A new boat has been built for Hanlan. Her dimensions are as follows :• — Length, 31 feet 6 inches-, breadth 10$ inob.es; present weight, 171 b; full weight, gear and fittiDgs, 271 b. " The beach (says a Napier paper) exhibited another of its lightniug changes this morning. Yesterday the shore was covered with shingle, bat to-day thie:tas given (place to-fine'sand." A philanthropist m London has established a Speotacle Mission, where poor printers, tailors, shoemakers, and seamstresses can have their eyas tried and obtain speotaoles for little or nothing. The Dutob, it appears, are still taking Holland. Probably 1,000,000 acres of land have been reolaimed from the sea during the last two centuries, and the good work is going on at the rate of eight acres a day. A youpglady at-Orange, New South Waleß, on hearing that her father, Mr Bobert Frost, a wealthy squatter, had been killed by a fall from bis horse, received suoh a shook that ehe beoamo ill, and died m a few hours. The name of Mr Hugo Friedlander appears on the list of persons interested m the passing of the Native Lands Bill now before Parliament. The Bill affects millions of acres m the North Island. A man at Marton invented an improved look fifteen years ago, but failed to take out a patent till the other day< when he found that the same idea had been patented just two years before, and was] now estimated to be worth £10,000. The grain traffio between the Bluff and Melbourne is now so great that the Unnn Steamship Company finds that it will be neeeßgary to keep a steamer specially em* ployed on that route for some time to come, m order to overtake it. In a leader dealing severely with the HonMr Fiaher for bis antagonism to the Welling* ton Board of Eduoation, the ' 'Presß " concludes : — " Wo need say no more. We have Bhown how gro&sly untruthful the Minister of Eduoation is m his statements." There is said to be a lack of tonnage to carry Home colonial wheat. One of the largest grain hquses m the world writes from London as follows : — " Jf any demand sprjngs up for wheat from the colonies, we really don't see where the ships are to come frqm." i The Duke of Sparta, who is shortly to marry ' a daughter of the Prince of Wales, has been I provided with an estate m Morea worth £3000 a year. He is tall, fresh oomplexioned, blueeyed, and well mannered. The young man j has never been free from the supervision of a ' governor. The Banga sisters were arrested m Chicago during a " spiritualistio " seance. While the " tpirits " were displaying themselves the officers seized one, of the mediums. A search revealed a satchel with white muslin shrouds and the like, three Bets of whiskers of different hues, five wigs, moustaches, and a great variety of make-up material, suoh as is used by actors. They also found that m the jjab.inet.wag a curtain that ran up through the centre of it, making two oooopartnients, and also a side entrance whioh admitted tne. " spirit " operator behind the curtain. Rveryone 13 familiar vs-ith the expression " To get into a sorape," but its origin is not ho well known, and ordinary Bouroes of information are silent on the subjeot. Th f phrase is said to have its origin m Cambridgeshire, where the deep holes torn up by degr with their feet m the rutting season were called " Borapes." To tumble into one of these often resulted m a broken leg, and ultimately any Cambridge man who found himself m an unpleasant position was said " to have got into a sorape." In a somewhat extraordinary oase heard at the Sydney Quarter Sessions — a charge against a young woman of keeping a disorderly house— the counsel for the defence handed up to the Judge a list of witnesses whom he desired to oall for the defence, remarking that it included the names of several members of Parliament. His Honor, after perusing it 1 , slily remarked^*" They'll hay'a to adjourn the" House." However; the witnesses were not called, and the jury returned a verdiot of not guilty. Mr E , V. Dixon made a curious discovery m the Gorge at the timo he was ereoting one of the Iron bridges for the jCjorge Railway (says the Advocate' I }. |n " digging out the foundation for one of them he pan?e across a Maori relic of very anoiont make, judging^ from its appearance and the depth at whioh it was found, and possibly centuries have passed since it was deposited there. It lay fully twelve feet down m a oompaot mass * .of day and boulders over an overhanging rook. Mr Dixon, who is an efficient Maori scholar, and well versed m Maori lore, pronounced it to be manufactured of a human thighbone, It is about eight inches long, atifl has' thyee well deUued barbs filed out along its inner side. Tnese barbs make tbo relic either a weapon of war or the 'bunt, or were intended as a record of time.' In the latter case it was, m Mr Bison's opinion, belonging to a race inhabiting the country before the arrival of the Maoris. ■ 11 Bough on Eats." — Pleads out rats, miec oaohea,'iließ,aßts, bed-bugs,' beetlog, inse6dt-. skunks, jaok-rabbits, sparrows, gdphers. All ohemistß ana druggists, ' s r