LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1908, 2 August 1888, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A block of land m Collins street, Melbourne} the other day realised £1900 per foot. Mr Withy aotually voted against his own oelebrated resolutions.

The starting point of the railway from Albany to Euola has been ohanged to Perth.

A large shark attaoked a fisherman's boat m Port Melbourne, and knocked a hole it it.

It is intended shortly to give a grand concert m the Oddfellows 1 Hall m aid of the funds of the Ashburton Convent School.

We have received " Centaur's Index " for 1888, a work specially useful, m faot invaluable to sporting men.

The Melbourne butchers have deoided to raise tbe prioe of meat owing to the sudden ri6o m tha price of live stock.

Sir Henry Parkas says that any person selling butterine as butter m New South Wales is liable to a fine of £20.

The visitors to a Southern rink, were photograped by magnesium light a few evenings sgo.

The federation of the whole of the maritime societies throughout Australia, is looked upon as practically accomplished.

The divorce suit instituted by Mrs Bose against her husband, Dr Rose, M.P., of Melbourne, has been settled out of Oourt.

A Melbourne paper has purchased a pro. perty m Adelaide street, Brisbane, with a 66 feet frontage, for £25,000.

A football match on skates is announced to take place at the rink this evening.

The total indebtedness of the Australasian Governments is about £167,000,000.

The adjourned meeting of the Ashburton Presbyterian Church Musical and Literary Sooiety will be held this evening.

During the recent Melbourne war soare manoeuvres a few loaded torpedoes were lost, and have not yet been recovered.

The oost of printing 1500 copies of "Lunaoy m Many Lands," by G. A. Tuoker, at the Government Printing Office, Sydney, was £1707 10s.

The Government architect of Tasmania was severely caned m Hobart reoently by a Mrs Webb, at whose house he had been a family visitor. No explanation is given.

The boarded-out children m connection with the Sydney State Children's Belief Board cost per head £14 2s 61 during the year and the inmates of the cottage home 3 £22 10s.

An auotion sale of South Australian pastora leases took plaoe at Adelaide recently, when 13,162 square miles, equal to 8,410,880 acres, were disposed of at an average of £1 12s 4d per mile.

The mining exchanges at Charters Towers, Queensland, ara open every night and shares are bought and sold by auction, whioh provides a very reliable market, and gives oonfidenoe to those oenoerned.

Mr McKay, of the Geologioal Department at the Colonial Museum, has made a discovery of finely oolored marble, eight miles from Wellington, which, if the quantity of Btone proves large, will be of great value.

In Adelaide it is feared that the action of the Sydney Maratime Unions with regard to Chinese seamen will extend to the colored labor employed by the P. and O. and other companies.

Settlers m the Lower Wairarapa have been holding a meeting to take steps for united action to put down the wild dog nuisance. The bush is said to be fjill of rabbiters' dogs gone wild.

The tradesmen of Ashburton have very generously subscribed a handsome andmassive silver cup, whioh will be presented to the owner ot the dog winning the Laghmor Cap on Tuesday next.

The methods of rabbit extermination, together with the correspondence relating to them, which were submitted -to the Babbit Commission at Sydney, filled two large waggons.

The New South Wales Government intend to oonsider the question of extending the penny postage system to the whole colony. They will also take steps to establish an Agricultural College, with which experimental farms will be affiliated.

The news m «our oablea to-day that an English iron working firm are establishing branches m America, is rather a knock down argument to Freetrade. With Protection m America the firm will be sble to land their manufactures oheaper m England than they could be made looally.

Sales of city property at good figures are still taking plaoe m Sydney. A piece of laDd with about 15 feet frontage to Queen-street, on which two briok shops are ereoted, haß been sold for £13,000. It is stated that several other heavy sales are pending. One land agent during the month of June last effected sales to the amount of £262,000.

Mcc Chang, of Waikaka, miner, and. a resident in* the colony for 22 years, has gone bankrupt for £22. The debtor was examined, " but," adds the report pathetically, " a lengthy set of interrogates failed to elicit any satisfaction." It is feared that if this man •' gets through " there will be a rush of Chinese through the Court.

An Auckland export of a somewhat unusual oharaoter was made by the s,&. Wairarapa for Sydney, for transhipment to India, m the shape of 400 boxeß (20 tonB) of potatoes, whioh were shipped by Messrs M. D. Nathan and 00. to an order from Calcutta. It is to be hoped that this consignment will be the forerunner of many similar ventures, and that a new market for our looal products will thus be opened.

Herr Gerhard Bohlfs, the Alrioan traveller and ox-Consul-Genoral for Germany at Zanzibar, writes to the •' Cologne Gazette " that he does not believe that a disaster has happened to Mr H. M. Stanley, as m that case suoh bad news, which travels very quickly m Africa, would have already come to hand. Herr Rohlfs is of opinion that Mr Stanley on learning Emm Paßha's resolution to hold his owu, preferred to let him have his way, and struck away himself to found a state of his own m the independent [portion of the so. called Bahr-el-Ghazel.

There was a large attendance at the Ingleside last night, which was by far the most successful of those that have been held this winter. Songa were contributed by Messrs G. Kidd, Piokford, Brooking, Gates, and Ward, and a violin duet by Mr and Miss Simmonds. A highland fling was danced by Mr D. McLean, and a number of national dances were given ty the Inghmor Highlanders. For these items bag-pipe muaio was supplied by Messrs A. and T. Mackay, and for the other dances Messrs Kaeen, Gates and Ward look9d after the music.

The new banking offioes of the looal branoh of the Bank of New South Wales will bo officially opened this evening. The manager, Mr B. W. Jenkins, has asked his olients and the business people of the town to be present, when the customary formalities will be observed. The bank has secured premises specially ereoted for them m Mr Bullock's Arcade blook, Burnett street, opposite the " Mail " and " Guardian " office, and all the business bis now been transferred from the temporal^ premises to the new offioes. The site is a convenient one to business people, and the style observed m fitting up is m consonance with everything of the kind whioh bo truly characterises the wealthy institution of which the local branoh is a part.

At the annual meeting of the New Zealand Refrigerating Company held m Dunedin yesterday, Mr John Roberts, Chairman, said about 30 per cent of the cost of the works had now ibeen written off. As the profits depended entirely on the amount of work which the Company got, it had been impossible to say till the end of the year what the result would be, but it was possible they oould Bee their way at the end of the next year to make a reduction of one-sixteenth of a penny, and shippers at Burnside and Oamaru would be placed on an equal footing. He mentioned that the tendency seemed to be towards a reduction m the number.of shippers. The retiring Directors, Messrg Brydone and Roberts, were re-eleoted, and a vote of thanks was passed to the owners of the Elderslie and Fifeshire for having reduced freight while under contract to oarry at l£d per Ib.

A meeting of the Committee of the Ashburton Racing Club was held on Tuesday evening. The Ground Comraittp reported that no tender had been rooeived for grassing of course, that tenders had been called for removal of inner fence, grubbing up of gorse, trimming of fences, etc, and laid plans before Ihe meeting Bhowing what improvements were considered neoessary to saddling paddock, etc. It wa. deoided to let the course for one year from Ist October next; to aooept P. Toomey's tender for work at fences, etc; and to call for tenders for improvements to sadd 'ing paddook and present bqildings and erection of new stalls. Thursday and Friday, Nov. 22nd and 23rd, were fixed for the holding of the Club's Annual Spring Meeting. After a sub-Committee - were appointed to draw up a programme for submittal to the general Committee, the meeting adjourned.