LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1877, 26 June 1888, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

— — ♦ I The Flemington Dairy t Faotory Company * will have a large number of exhibits at the Melbourne Exhibition. The Rev R. Erwin, North Belt, Christ, ohuroh, haa declined a hearty call to the pastorate of St. Johns' congregation, Ballarat, The decease of a centenarian is recorded viz., that of Mrs Lelly, aged 100 years. The husband lof the deceased lady, who died on June 2nd, was alao of ripe age, being ninetyeight at the time of his death. A Mrs Tindale waß elected to the Sohool committee for a distriot m the Grey oounty. The other members of tbie.committee appealed to the Board against her eleotion and the latter ruled against the lady. It is understood that the Canterbury Protectionists who are now supporting the Government are very desirous .to bring about a partial reconstruction of the Ministry, and wish Mr Lanoe to be inoluded m the Cabinet. Deteotive Kirby, of Timaru, is said to be entitled to the reward of £50 for Roberts' capture after hfß firat escape, as it was on his information that the Ohristohuroh polioe acted. <*At the R.M. Court thia morning befoie Mr A. Harrison, J.P., Frank Gribben, for drunkenness, was fined 10a and costs, or three days' imprisonment. A first offender was convioted and discharged. The Timaru people cannot ohanpe the name of their main street just now, beoause the expense would be too great. The main thoroughfare is variously oallei •« Main Road," "Great North Road," and "Great South Boad." The absence of Irish newspapers from the Parliamentary Library was mentioned m the House lately by Mr Seddon, who asked the Speaker, as Chairman of the Library Oommittee, whether he would look into the matter, and if possible remedy the defect. There is a report afloat that on the motion for the third reading of the Customs Duties Bill an amendment will be moved by a member of the Freetrade party to the effeot that the Estimates should first be taken back by the Government, and reduced by £1 70,000, or £180,000. On Sunday last at the private chapel, Westerfield, the Rev R. Garbett preaohed a funeral service, alluding to the deaths of the late Emperor of Germany and Judge Johnstone. At the end of the service the hymn, " Days and moments quickly flying," was very nioely aung by the choir. During the month of May the total deaths m New Zealand were 150, a deorease of 47 on the number for April ; and the total births were 467, against 462 m April ; 53 of the deaths were of children under 5, and 44 of these were under one year. Looal diseases were the principal causes of deaths, A statement was made m town last evening that the ghost had made its appearanoe m the borough again, and several young people had been frightened out of a year's growth by it. If any heartless wretch is playing the ghost game again it is hoped he will meet with a rioh reward. Lexonshire, m Victoria, is stricken with a plague of foxes. One man lost 46 fowls and 22 turkeys m one night. Their " acclimatised " blessings are— Rabbits, ferrets, stoats, weasels, foxes, sparrows, and microbes. Rats, mioe, and the codlin moth, like the Chinamen, came- unasked. __ Among the aspirants to the proud distinction of the " champion mean man," two have come under notice whose olaims are pretty fairly balanced. One waa the man at the Mahurangi Agricultural Show who asked to be adff'Ued at half-price because he had only onfif^£^^S§ other svao a man who haa a*Wae£ ion the back of-hia nock which he waa utilising as a shirt o oiler button. My readers can decide which is entitled to the belt. We are m receipt of a pamphlet entitled " The Wealth and Annual Produce, of New Zealand," written by Professor Mainwaring Brown M.A., professor of Politioal Eoonomy m the University of Otago. The pamphlet is a reprint of a paper read before the Otago Institute and published m the " Otago Daily Times." The paper caused a good deal of discussion and is a really valuable one showing, as it does, dearly the wealth and agricultural prospects of the colony. The announcement that the " Standard " Readers of Blackwooda' Educational Series, the " Southern Gross " Readers (Whitcombe and Tombs, Limited, Christchurch), Wilkins's "Australasia," and the "New Zealand Public School " Copy Books (Whitoombe and Tombs, Limited), may be used m any publio school iiß if they had been described and inoluded m the list of works set forth m the Order m Council dated the sth day of July, 1887 appears ia the " Gazette." It is understood that the Agent-General has informed the Government that there is no prospect of obtaining a suitable man as Chief Commissioner of Railways at a smaller oalary than £3500 per annum, and that even at that rate of pay Sir Edward Watkin and Mr Fiudlay would not be prepared to take the responsibility of making an appointment, as an engagement on euoh terms must be largely a matter of speculation, so far as its likelihood of sucoess is concerned. Mr Lawry, member for Franklin North m the House, recently appeared as a defender of the^ weakness of boya for being boya and acting as such. Touching incidentally on|the I question of larrikinism, he thought there was much less of it than was generally believed* Hetbought, he said, that people who complained of larrikioism forgot what they were themselves m their youth. He doubted whether he and other members were nqt as great larrikins when they were boyq as many who were now blamed as such. On the reoommendation of a special Com mittee appointed to consider oertain matters with regard to the Canterbury Sahool of Agrioullure, the Board of Governors have deojded not to pay for any labor done by the students after the end of the year. At .present they are paid 6d per hour. This is to be reduoed during the ensuing term to 2d per hour, and then cease at the end of the year. Notice will be cent to the Agent-General m England of tha alteration, so that it may be notified there. Commenting on the sucoess of the New Zealand Loan, the " Sydney Morniog Herald" Bays : — " New Zealand has never yet been unable to meet her engagements. She has entered on an era of retrenchment. She has promised not to go on the money market again for the next three years. Under such a polioy as this, with a territory so fertile, and possessing olimatia conditions favorable to a measure of production perhaps larger than any other colony, we shall be greatly surprised if New Zealand is not soqn jn a much more prosperqua condition than she has occupied for years past."