LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1872, 20 June 1888, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

<2> Politicians who are on the fence keep themselves well posted. Henry James, the novelist, looks like the Prince of Wales and ia proud of it, Buffalo Bill will write a book on the Indian as he found him m the West. Mrs Mary A. Judkinß, a native of Maine, died at Portland reoently aged 117 years 7 months. Kaiser Wilhelm exchanged photographs with every pretly woman whose acquaintance he made. There will be oho Mass next Sunday at Ashburton at^eleven o'clook a.m. and one likewise at Methven at the aame hour. The annual training oouraa introduced into five of the public sohools m New York four months ago is proving a pronounoed suoceas. It is said that P. T. Barnum's wife writes everything which appears over his name, and that whatever pay he reoeives i« turned over to her. It having transpired that the appointment of Town Olerk and Engineer was informally mado at the # Borough Council on Monday night, a epeoial meeting has been called for Friday evening to reotify the matter. Mr Burt, M.P., m a aircular to the Northumberland Miner Bays :— Payment of members is the only true principle, and if the system breaks down m Northumberland, it will probably be shaken, if not destroyed elsewhere. The word "blizzard" ao often heard of late, cornea from the Western States of America. It is a corruption of the phrase "blazing hard," as applied to a severe gale. It has already been received into the English language— that is, it oan be found m the latest editions of Nuttal'a dictionary. Says the " Wairarapa Star " :— Mr HandyBide states that during the past three months over three hundred swaggers had to be ferried over the Aohanga gratuitously. This will give a faint idea of the number of tramps on the East Coast, and yet it ia said that the poor gravitate to the city. The boot is on the other leg with a vengeance. Dr Boerlago shot a female (mother) ape m Java that fell mortally wounded from a tree clasping the young one m her arms, and she died weeping. A giraffe, wounded by a rifle shot, was also found to have teats trickling from the lashes of his dark, humid eyes. Gordon Camming, the African traveller, speaks of large tears trickling from the eyes of ft dying elephant. Oolonel King-Harman, M.P., whose death was announced the other day, was a well* known figure m the House of Commons m more than a politioal sense, for he stood six feet high m bis sooks. After a long electioneering experience m Ireland he oroßsed the Channel,, and m 1386 was elected for Kent. InJApril of the followingyear he was appointed Under- Seoretary for Ireland. Mr John Mann, jun., a Glasgow chartered accountant/read a paper the other day before the Economio Science seotion of the Glasgow Philosophical Society, m which he referred to the untold lobbbs through joint stook companies. After giving statistics, Mr Mann aflirmad that at the very lowest estimate the whole volume of insolvency represented an indirect tax upon the nations industry to the extent of at least £30i000,000 per annum. This excerpt from an English paper of March 31st last allows how great ia their conductors' knowledge of oolonial affairs : — " The riohest man m Now Zealand is John Jones, who commenced life as an oarsman on a ferry. He is a native, is now resident at Dunedin, and Amassed hia millions by Bteamboat building. This is one more proof of tho facilities Ifor industrious men to rise from poverty at the antipodes. • At the Rink last evening a oandlo raco formed an item on the programme, but was devoid of muoh interest m so far (hat the half dozen competitors did not adhere to conditions under which the race was supposed to be run. Who the winner waa would therefore be difficult to say. Preparations for the carnival next week are being mado and practising the grand march and polonaise id being vigorously proceeded with.. If the condensed breath collected on the cool window p&nos of > room whoro a number of persona have been assembled be burned, a smell as of einged hair will ebow the presonoo of organic matters and if the condensed breath be allowed to remain on the windows a few days it will bo found on examination by a miorosoope that it is alive with aniinaloules. The inhalation of air containing such putrescent matter causes untold oomplaints whioh might be avoided by a circulation of fresh air, The "Auokland Herald" says :-— Possibly for the first time m the history of the Police Court, the old blue bag, which ia so familiar m the Courts m Westminster Hall and at Home, was Been under the counsplp' table at the morning session of the Police Court yesterday. It bore tho lotters "W. W.," and was, we believe, the property of Sir William Wasteneys, who had two oases before tho Resident Magistrate. Old customs seem to cling to the jinglish lawyer, lot him go where be may. ' • Carefully oompilod statistics show that the loßßes by tee m tho United Stateß during last year were nearly £24,000,000, an increase of over IB per cout. as compared with the previous year. In the older parts of the country there is no alarming inoroaso m the number or destruotivenesa of iireo, but m the South and West fires keep progreßS with growth jp other respeots, 3'he principal caused of contiagratiop are inoendaries and defective flunk. Thdf the dsfeotive flue is jiuph on important agent of d'estriiotiopijpeakß pll for carefulness m bujldinp. ft ia a standing joke thaf. m WanganuJ there is to be found sopV relative pr deepen" dant of anyone who [has sprupg intp fame* No sooner does come great, personage appear on view, or some leading light shuffle off this mortal floil, than the faot that he has ootmeotionß m Wanganui is trumpeted forth by tho local press. The " Napier Telegraph " knowing tho weakness of the Wanganui people has too following aaroaflra :— " We have been patiently waiting to' hear from Wanganui ao to tho relative of the new IWI of Sfca^old living there. We regard the Bilonoe as ominous, and the reputation of tho town is suffering m consequence of there being no reßponao,'.' According to Mullh&U, vpo Ua3 tabulated the potato culture of Europe and oj the States, Ireland shows produce at the of ls2olb per inhabitant per annum ; Germjmy'oomea next; with a o&pftation allowance of lOGOlb ; Holland and tfelgiuq? follow with SsQlb j Franco stands next with s^olb ; Scotland's allowance is 3901 b j England's, 120 ib : while m Italy and ftpain tho gift of the New World is so little appreciated mat tho flguro is as low as 561 b. Thp total value of tho i potato crop of. the United Kingdom io put down at£16,200,000 ; that of Europe amount? to £100,600,000 { while the aggregate of crops of Europe, the United States, and Canada reaches the handsome sum of £180,600,000. If mv ocular Christianity is to be regarded as the most popular type of piety anywhore, it certainly amply provos its superiority m 'oounlfS dißtriptß, where our clergymen have sometimes' to 'travel ip tho course of their ministrations distances 'pf whjoh evon the prospect would make thejr English contemporaries of the cloth exhausted boyon*} nica r sure. As an iostanoo of what a country parson aometiiriea has to do (tho " Wairarapa Star V pays), we may mention that' yesterday the Itev Mr Thompeon, of tho Presbyterian Church at Martinborougb, i# tho morning travelled to Burnside, Jjower.Valley"(lß ; mileß), held service there ; m the afternoon returned tp Martinborougb, where ho held another service j m jLho "evening' went to Cartertoh (J8 miles), where ho held $ ihifd neifvioo, and } after tho whole lot drove' pack to j&roytij^n ', (Q miles), making a total distance ,(inolu^lihg j return journeys) of ajxty mjles to prpaoh throe sermons, and all this on a wot $ay, 4 nd $& Borne people nay the clergy have nothing to do, and are well paid to do it.

In oonßcquenoe of Bnveie indisposition Mr 1 0. W. Turner, of Rakaia, hna been compelled :to give up business, and contemplates a trip | to the Old Country. At the ordinary meeting of the Loyal Ashburton Lodge of Oddfellows held on Friday evening it was decided to celebrate the fourteenth anniversary of the Lodge by a soiree and sooial at an early date. A Committee was formed to oarry out all arrangements, and from the interest taken by those present the affair promises to be a great BUQOGSa. In " Longman's Magazine " Mr Walter Besant has oreated a sensation by the publication of an artiole'on titled " Tho Endowment of the Daughter," and the "London Daily Telegraph " prints shoals of letters from all sorts and conditions of mon and women criticising Mr Besant's suggestion, whioh is simply that money should be saved to endow the daughtors of the house by " lowering the standard of living." Mr Besant says that most women bate work, ih« majoiity of them are helplessly incompetent, and that mostly they are fit. orly for tbom employments which require the single quality of general intelli. gence. Yet he thinks it a shame that a woman should ever have to stand m the labour market lor hire, Mke a milkmaid at a fair. The story which has been going the rounds for some time that Mr Joseph Chamberlain, England's Commissioner, was m love with a Washington girl is now known to be incorreot. The diplomat's attaches have pooh-poohed tne rumour, and they were apparently Tery muoh m earnest when they laughed at its improbability. Now, however, it appears that it is not a Washington girl, only a visitor. The damsel who haß stolen the English commissioner's heart is a Spanish lady, who has been a guest of the Spanish Minister ever sinae last Ootobar, and the gossips Bay her triumph is a complete one. Who ever dared imagine that Joseph would lower his single eyeglaßS at tho request of anyone? Yet he has, and m deferenoe to the opinion and desire of the beautiful daughter of " sunny Spain " he now woara a pair of ordinary two-dollar eye-glasses, and eeee out of both optics instead of strainiDg one eye. — Amerioan paper.