LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1903, 27 July 1888, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Roman Catholic Synod will shortly be held in Auokland. The cost of our opened railways is now set down at at £13,352,978. ' The Inveroargill ministers have started an I anti-totalisator orusade. A lady evangelist, Misa Malcolm, is at present making a great sensation at Wellington. The Vatican has ordered the Cathedra papers to answer Parnell's speeoh. There ia a olergyman in England named Straight whose ourate is named Crooked. Spurious florins were in circulation on the racecourse at Christohurch at the Grand National Meeting. They were poor imitations. There is now a oorner in arsenic. Cranks will soon have to commit suicide on the 00-operaiive plan. The peouniary allowanoe made to the Lord Mayor of London during his year of offioe iB £10,000. The Shah of Persia has requested the ladies of his harem to learn the piano, and promises prizeß for profioienoy. What is tmeant by an inoh of rainfall is that 14,500,000 gallons of water have fallen | upon a square mile of ground. "Suooumbed to the existing depression," is v the honeyed phrase used by an exohange for going bankrupt. The weather still continues very wet and cold. The river was very high at midday to-day, and appeared to be rising, A larger quantity of grain was moved by rail in the South Island in May last than in the same month in any previous year. The recent planet found by Palisa, of Vienna, is the 63rd, if not the 64th, discovery in the great gap between Mars and Jupiter made by the illustrious astronomer. Owing to the inclemency of the weather the oonoert and ball whioh were to have been held at Wakanui to-night have been postponed till further notice. • The meeting in connection with the Bowling Olub did not oome off last evening, the very severe wet weather doubtless being the oause of its lapsing. An infant, about a year and a half old, was found ion a verandah at St. Albans, Ohristohuroh, early on Thursday morning. It was warmly wrapped up. The following was the will of the late Mr Matthew Arnold :— " July 21st, 1862. I leave everything of which I die possessed to my wife, FranoeßLuoy Arnold.— Matthew Arnold. The value of the English export trade in ready-made clothing, amounts to about £4,000,000 annually. A fprivate letter from Sydney says that there are (a considerable number of unemployed there. It i3 stated that there are forty compositors out of work. Buffalo Bill and Co. are understood to have oleared £48,000 at the Wild West in London, but to have lost £12,000 at Manchester— net gain some £36,000. From 70,000 to 80,000 varieties of the beetle .fornily are known, but thep differ in structural arrangements and in size— some being no larger than a pin's head., The Pope eaoh year washes the feet of thirteen poor priests on Holy Thursday; thirteen, not twelve, beoause the number of apostleß was rißen to this number by St Paul.

Chioago has now produced the dreaded female prize-fighter. Annie Burneok by name. She deolares herself able and willing to meet any other living woman in a twenty-four feet ring. Canterbury shows a falling off of about 20,000 sheep as compared with the returns of last year. The deficiency is said to be likely to be made up by the large proportion of ewes in lamb this season. The " Otago Daily Times " hopes the Dunedin people will remember the severe lesson of ten yeara ago, and "refuse to be. oarried away into a silly speculation suoh as is now going on in Melbourne." Professor A. J. Litner plaoed the total number of insect Bpeoies in the world at 320,000. Of those found in North Amerioa 7000 or 8000 species are fruit pests and at least 210 attack the apple. The Belfast Refrigerating Works are run. ning up to their full oapaoity ju3t now, and there is a good demand for spaoe in the steamers ready to load for Homo. The good news of a rise in frozen meat at Home his given an impetus to the trade. The very inolement weather last evening oaused the attendanoe at the Presbyterian Musioal and Literary Sooiety to be so small, that it was deoided to adjourn the meeting for reading and discussion of the •• Journal " to next Thursday evening. The Government expenditure fn France ) averages 76 , 44fr per head of the population, the United Kinpdom ooming next with 6_-80fr per head. Then oomeß Germany with 51'05fr • Spain with 50"7fr ; Austria-Hungary with 48'51fr; Italy with 48*24fr j and Russia with 30-Olfr.

The " Auckland Herald " thinks that not mere retrenchment bat " Simplification of Government" should henceforth be the watohword and rallying point of tbe people. And the belief is expressed that the oolony is prepared for a great concerted movement in favor of Oonstitutional Reform.

The Aorangi, whioh left Lyttelton on Thursday, took six boxes of gold, four coin, and two bullion. The latter weighed 23780zs 13 dwts 12grs, and (was valued at £9515, the export duty on this being £237 17s 6d. The coin was valued at £20,000, making a total value of £29,515.

On Wednesday a man named John Fergus" son was committed for trial at Temuka for violently assaulting and robbing u wool and skin dealer named John Tozer. Fergusson is said to have robbed Tozer of £11 in notes. The two {men were Baid to be drunk, and Fergusson knowing Tozer had money set upon him and robbed him,

A man named William Walsh, a swagger* died suddenly at the Southbridge Hotel the other day, and it came out at the inquest that he had been refused admission to the Chrißtchuroh Hospital. He was suffering from acute bronchitis, and was totally destitute. The jury recommended that the Hopital Board should inquire into the oironmstances.

The following will represent the Ashburton Woollen Faotory in the football matoh agsinßt Ashburton to-morrow on the ground in the Domain :— Messrs J. A. Oliver (captain) J. Graham, W, Steele, A. Dalgleish, G. Edmonds, G. Pearoe, R. Scott, G. Barber, E. Christian, J. Jameson, E. Ede, A. Pattereon, A. Taylor, H. Hepworth, H. Fisher. Emergency— Mo Aualin. Should the weather clear up in the forenoon a good match should eventuate.

Aooording to the offloial " St. Petersburg Russian Messenger" the Japanese Governmoot seems to be extremely pleased at the political syßtem under whioh Rusßia is governed and at the results attained, and has therefore decided to introduoe it into Japan. The Japanese authorities have been ordered to exeroise the most rigorous control over all persons who are suspected of disaffection towards the Government, and to exile thera when neoessary. The liberty of publio meeting and of the press haß been suppressed.

It appears the people of Ashburton are waking to the neoesaity of fostering and encouraging the industries and productions of the oolony. They will, therefore, hold a meeting on Tuesday in the Orange Hall, at 8 p.m., and all who are interested in looal industries are invited to attend. J^fr Bellhouse, Hon. Seo. of the Industrial Prdteotion fceague, will be present on the oooasion, and will read a short paper and Wfll then supply the meeting with the necessary information for tbe formation of a branoh of the League in Ashburton.