LOCAL AND GENERAL.
«, — . " Not a Teetotaller's " letter is declined, Mr Pearson, M.H.R.. for Ashley, haa suf fcred a rolapse, and is seriously ill again. The "North Otago Times" has broken out badly [m the poetipal way over the local rink. White mice and white sparrows are the latest ;freaka of nature m the Tai-Tapu district. The action of the Licensing Committee of Petone m refusing to grant lioenses to the lessees of two looal houses will bs challenged m the Supreme Court. A witness m an Oamarn Court was asked how many children he had, and he oould not tell till he bad counted them up on his fingers when he found there wero nine. The Asbburfcop Rifles will give a sooia 1 gathering m the Oddfellows' flal\ tq-morrow evering. As a great deal of interest is being taken m the affair its success may be oonfidetotly anticipated. The London offioe of the National Mortgage and Agenoy Coy reports on the oheese shipped per s.s. lonic on account of the Woodland Dairy Faotory as follows :— " Package good. Condition good. Quality very good. Values £§3 per owt ; all sold at 565." On Monday a young man, a sprinter m the Northern district, woo detained by the Christchurch police for identification ao resembling the convict Roberts. It being found he did not answer the description he was allowed to go at large. At the inquest on the body of William Haste Wilson, who died suddenly at Christghurch a weelj ago, it was proved that he had poisoned himself with arsenic, but where he obtained it oould not be ascertained.. 4 verdiot of suicide whilst jn a Btato of temporary insanity was returned. Tho balanoo sheet of the Union Insurance Company shows that after placing £4000 to credit of the depreciation of securities aoaount, there remains an available balance of £22,883 18s Bel, The directors recommend that £10,000 should be devoted to payment of reinsurance, and £7883 18s 8d be carried forward to next year. The "Post" says:— TbatMr Samuel's Divoroe Act Amendment Bill should have bo exoited the virulent opposition of the member for Dunedin South, Mr H. S. Fish, is m itself a strong argument m favor of the presumption that jthe Bill is a useful and desirable one. Mr Fish usually opposes desirable sooial reforms. The " Rangitikei Advooate " says : — We understand that there is a notion abroad m Bangitikei that it would bo quite " fashionable V for the ladies and gentlemen m Rangitf kei to catch the roller-skating mania now so widely pravalent m New Zealand. The "disease "has Bjßßieged the district north and south, and the county town m ilangitfkei is suggested by the very knowing ones as the next place m which the " plague " will become visible. We' should not be at all surprised to learn that tho skating fiend, with a /sonpidepabl^ number of his adherents of both genders, haoYlaJken jibe brill-ball of the
A beggar m Wellington, who was m the habit of visiting the houses of residents of Thorndon on begging expeditions, ohoosing a time when men were moat likely to be absent fom home, and frightening women by his threatening aotions, waa sentenced to six months' hard labor recently, Tho " Age " jsays that during the las twelve months Melbourne haa been m a state of "astounding prosperity, exceeding the wildest dreams of the most visionary individual." It also says " the boom m land, after lasting live years, spins along as on the day when it was first started." Gold, silver, copper, and other minerals, are apparently being found everywhere throughout the North Island just now, and there ia more prospecting going on than there ever has been before. New Plymouth people are sanguine that the recent find of gold m the Pahi range is a valuable one. A copy of the newly started periodical 11 The Mildura Cultivator "is to hand. We mentioned recently m an artiole on Chaffey Bros*. Irrigation Scheme that the district where they were looated was flourishing, and the paper is a twelve page one quite m keeping with the aooounts published of the success of the settlement. The j" Cultivator " contains a rich variety of news and information on all farming and industrial topics. The 4< Oamaru Mail" says: — "Regarding Mr Bruoe's proposal to specially tax all bachelors between the ages of 21 and 50, the ' Napier Telegraph ' says : — ' Mr Bruce must either take the Premier to be a fool, or he desires to pose as one himself." In our opinion it proves neither, but that the writer must be one of the brotherhood of baohelors •who is nearer 50 than 21." The " Mail " 13 just about right. We are m receipt of a oopy of a small philanthropic periodical published m Sydney entitled " The Resoue." Its design is to wisely dispense the contributions of the charitable whether m money or m kind. It contains notifications that workers may be obtained, and appeals for olothing and assist* ance m behalf of those who, having been inmates of Darlinghurst Gaol, are onoe more set at liberty. It is almost; unnecessary to remind our readers of the fanoy dress oarnival to ba held at the Crystal Palace Skating Rink this evening. Great preparations. have been made for its succeEß. A large number of intending visitors have secured seats m advance, so that they may obtain a good view of the prooession. The fanoy dress procession will enter the hall about half-past eight when the grand maroh will be gone through, led by two wellknown Bkaters. If only those who are aujait m the graceful pastime take part m the march, the sight should be a pretty and effective one. The mjwa of a 10 per cent rise m the price of wool ia very good for everybody m New Zealand, whoever he or she may be. Of course a 20 or 50 per cent, would be better still, but we must be thankful for small mercies. Nothing would do so muoh to improve the oondition of affairs m this Colony, to dispel depression, to stimulate trade and to render employment more abundant, aa a substantial increase m the value of our chief export. And if only this were supplemented by rises m grain, meat and tallow a new era of prosperity would at onoe dawn for New Zealand. The banks m Dunedin were subjected to some hard knocksjthe other day at the hands of a defendant m an action for the reoovery of interest due the Bank of New Zealand. The oase went against the defendant .and he applied for a rehearing, which was refused. The defendant then declaimed against" those clevtr bankers who play upon us people m the country," and remarked that " it required a William Tell to deliver the country from their thialdom ; and he subsequently expressed the hope that when he died his remains would be taken away and buried m the sea, as he did not wish his bones to enrich the soil of a country that had treated him so badly. At about a quarter-past two this morning a cottage situated near the corner of the East Belt and Wakanui Road, and belonging to Mr Baylis, was destroyed by fire. An alarm was given on the bell and the Brigade turned out promptly, but by tho time they arrived at the scene the fire had gained a complete hold of the building. For a short time an adjoining house, occupied by Mr Findlay, seemed m some danger, but fortunately the fire was prevented from spreading. Thci'o ie no olue as to how the fire occurred. . The house was empty, the last tenants having ' vacated it on Monday, and new tenants were to have entered into possession torday. There was an insurance of £150 m the Equitable Office. Licensing benches do many strange things, but truly (says the " Greymouth Star") among the strangest was the s* range proceeding at the opening of the Brunnerton Lioensing Bench yesterday {June 15). We do not object to prayer m its plaoe, but for the chairman of a licensing bench to open proceedings with a " little prayer " is a trifle strange. Yet such was the case, for the chairman invoked a blessing upon bis fellow commissioners, upon the olerk, the police, the widow whose oase was to be heard, aye, even upon the two members of the legal profession — the Devil's Brigade — who were m attendance. Of course the audience, over 100, were convulsed with laughter, but this did not daunt the chairman, who went on with hiß "little prayer." The proceedings, it is scarcely necesßary to Bay, were ridiculous m the extreme, and evidently no one thought this more co than the four commissioners who sat ' under their ohairman. On the subject of Intercolonial Freetrade the "Age 1 ' says : — " The oolonieß may possibly agree with eaoh other to put one or two i commodities on the free list, though the numerous unsuccessful attempts at reciprocity m the past, when it was muoh more feasible than it is to-day, by no means enoourage the hope. But ho must be a very sanguine or a very pb.ort-sighted man. who looks for anything beyond' tb,is. It js all very well to grow eloquent over the spectacle of a IJnited Australia, knit together by common interests., and risking superior to the estranging influences of political and geographical boundaries. But the interests of the oolonies just [now are to keep them divergent rather than to unite them for fiscal purposes ; and not all the conferences m tho world can persuade them otherwise. Queensland and South Australia, for example, having deoided that it is to their interest to foster their local industries by excluding foreign goods, who is going to oonvince them that it will be to their benefit to make an exoeption, say m favour of Victorian manufactures ? " The installation of W.M. and investiture of officers of St. John's Lodge, No. 1858, E.G., Ashburton, took place on Monday evening (the festival of St John), at the Somerset Masonio Hall, Ashburton. There was a large attendance of the members of the Lodge, and visiting brethren from Lodges Nob. 760, 1811, 1857, and 1877, E.G., and 418 and 627, S-O. Bro H. M. Jones was installed W.M. for the ensuing year by the retiring W.M., Bro C. Hawson, assisted by Bros E. G. Crisp and O. C. Fooks, P. M.'s, the incidental music being rendered by a strong ahojr directed by Bro Gates, organißt of the Lodge. The following were then invested as officers for the year : — 1.P.M., O. Hawson ; S.W., A, Qrr ; J.W..W. H. Kneen; Treasurer, 0. C. Fooks, P.M. ; Seoretary, 0. Jepbson ; S.D., T. M. Jones ; J.P., F. Bonnington ; 1.G., G. Bisset ; Organist, H. Gates; P.C., John Curtis; Tyler, R. Culleo. A tuppor followed, after whiph the usual toasts were honoured, and a harmonjous hour en? joyed. Bro Hawson received the hearty congratulations of the brethren for the excellent position, financial and otherwise, m which the Lodge stands after his year of office.
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Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1878, 27 June 1888, Page 2
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1,839LOCAL AND GENERAL. Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1878, 27 June 1888, Page 2
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