LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1957, 29 September 1888, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The new English magazine rifle has been pronounoed a failure.

More than a million men are employed by the various railways m the United States.

A United States man-of-war waa sold m the Brooklyn navy yard reoently for ten dollars.

London 'buaea are to have the eleotrio light, and the storage battery will be under the driver's seat.

Argonia, Kan., under its woman Mayor, has only had two oases on its police docket m the past year.

Twenty inches is said to be the narrowest guage of railway doing regular business m the United States.

M. Chevreul, tho centenarian chemist, sayß that the modern dyer oontrola 15,000 different shades of color.

An aged woman of Leeds, England, was lately sentenced to nine months m gaol and fined £2 for stealing a fourpenny cobbler's last.

The Coromandel newspaper notifies the " importing " of a rooater from Auckland by an enterprising oitizen. Trade is certainly reviving.

The reckless deßtruotion of forests 'm Prussia baa lately inoreased to such an extent that the Government has issued a law protecting timber throughout the empira.

Mme. Patti'a caßtle m Wales is advertised for sale. The reason given is the fact that Bhe is being robbed right and left by her neighbors.

The rainy season m India failed to arrive m time this season, and there has been a drought and much suffering, while the crops are believed to be seriously damaged.

Mr John Luxton, one of the earliest settlers, died at Rangiora on Thursday, aged 79. He arrived here m 1851, and began farming at Bangiora 30 years ago.

A Stradivariua violin of 1716, made for the Marohese Pamparati, has paased from the handa of an Italian player, Bertuzzi, into the possession of a London gentleman for £800.

The new German Prinoo oan boast the distinction of being the first male ohild born to a Prussian King since 1809, when Queen Louiee gave birth to the late Emperor William'a youngeat brother, Prinoe Albrecht.

How many people know that " Maritana " was written m Sydney? Yet suoh is the fact, and at Napier recently seleotiona from the opera were given at a " colonial " coffee supper at a Methodist Church.

The wedding present to be given to the Duchess of Aosta by the oity of Turin j'h an immense carved and gilded chest, decorated m the mediaval fa&hion, and filled with the riohe&t velvets, silks, and brocades which oan be purchased m Italy.

The Directors of the Geraldine ' Dairy Faotory have succeeded m selling the whole of the cheese at the faotory at a satisfactory price. By account-sales just received from London they learn that the last shipment realised from 53s to 56s per cwt.

Christohurch papers report that a smart but short shock of earthquake was experienced last night at 11-40 o'olook. The direction ap» peared to be from east to west, and waa a tremulous movemant. Several gas weighta wero agitated, and the shook was pretly generally felt.

A Brisbane telegram aaya that a disgraceful aoene is reported from Nerang, where a man for a £1 wager drank ten full nobblera of whisky as fast as the publican oould measure them, and immediately afterwards auoked a pint of beer through a straw. Strange to Bay the man Buffered no ill offeots.

Among the novel featureß of the Universal Exposition m Paris next year will be large ethnological collections from the African provinoea of Franoe, inoluding a native village with its surroundings reproduced as naturally as possible, and genuine natives inhabiting the huta and engaging m their bumble arts and avooationa.

Advices from Morooco report the continuance of the slave trade m that empire, m the markets of the Sahara, and m the interior of North Afrioa. SUvea of both sexea are brought to Morocoo by the traders, and boya and girls between the ages of nine and fifteen fetoh high prioea. Canes of ahooking oruelty to tbe slaves are also reported.

It ia singular that the name of God should be epejled m four letters m every known language. It ia, m L;atin, Deua ; m Greek, Zeua ; Hebrew, Adon 5 Syriao, Adad ; Arabian, Alia; Persian, Syra; Tartarian, Tgau ; Egyptian, Aumn or Zeut ; East Indian, Eagl or Zoul; Japanese, Zain ; Turkish, Addi; Scandinavian, Odin; Wallaohian, Sene ; Margian, Eese ; Swediah, Oodd ; Irish, Dioh ; German, Gott ; Frenoh, Dieu ; Spanish, Dios ; and Peruvian, Llan.

A most remarkable case was heard ia the Dublin Law Oourta recently. A man named Dooley claimed to be entitled to an interest for life m certain property belonging to hia dead wife, on the grouud that she had issue born alive. Her relatives disputed this, alleging that tbe woman gave birth to two stillborn ohildren. The husband, on the other hand, called the dootor to prove that after the delivery of the last ohild it gave one gasp of respiration and died a minute after* wards. The jury accordingly found for the husband.

Hero ia another good story (from a Welling, ton paper) anent the slow place of New Zealand railway travelling :— The speed of the Hutt train has often been put to shame, but perhaps never so conspicuously as wag the case on Saturday night, when we are informed a dpg, whose owner was on board, raoed the train from Petone to Wellington. The dog was exceptionally small and abortlegged, whioh will be better understood when it js stated th.at whor> tho dog stood up her ohest would be aoaroelv fpur inohea from the ground.

1 Our readers will be pleased to notice that JMr R W. Hart, of Winohmore Apiary, waa the winner of the first piize for honey at the Melbourne Exhibition.

Tne Rev O. H. Laws, of Chriatohuroh, will conduot the serviaea m oonneotion with the anniversary of the Wealeyan Sunday Sohool to-morrow morning, afternoon, and evening.

We remind advertisers who may wish to mike their waroa known beyond the bounds of the colony that files of the " Guardian " and " Mail are Bent regularly to the Melbourne Exhibition, and kept on file there for the inspection of visitors.

As intimated m an announcement over the leader we have, by courtesy of the Government, a few copies of a pamphlet on Dairying (containing Mr M'Callum's report ard other papers), whioh will be given away on application to persona engaged m that industry.

The Frenoh census reported 180 peraons who were one hundred yeara old or ovbr, but M. Levasaeur, who has been investigating the matter, reporta to the Aoademy of Scienoe that sixty-seven of these were only " believed " to be so by their relatives, and there were only sixteen whose ages oould be proven to be over one hundred yeara by authentio dooumenta. He estimateß that there are not over fifty oentenariana m the country,

The •' Waipawa Mail " reportß that there has been a big native meeting at Waimarama, oaljed for the purpose of deciding which religion the Maoris of those parts most favour. There were advocates of the Church of England, the Roman Catholio, Mormon, and tbe Hau Hau religions present, and, after due consideration, but few gave m their adherence to the seoond, a goodly number to the third, but an overwhelming majority to the fourth. The " Mail " goeß on to Bay it appears that Te Kooti has emissaries traveDing from settlement to settlement urging upon all men who have faith m him to " band together." *

It ia propoaed to establish an " Asylum for the Ugly "m Massachusetts. The institution ia intended to be a refuge for thoße of both sexes whose personal appearance is so forbidding that they have no reaaonable prospeot of ever inapiring the kind of affeotion that leads to matrimony. A mere abaence of good lookawill not be considered sufficient qualification for admission to the asylum ; only the 11 hopelessly hideous " will be deemed eligible for election. Candidates must not be under thirty nor over sixty years of age, nor will the doora of the asylum be open to the absolutely deformed.

'• Broadbrim " the New York correspondent says:— One of the very strange featurea of the Contract Service Law passed by Congresa a few years ago, is that Holy Trinity Ohuroh is fined a thousand dollars for importing the Rev Walpole Warren, under oontraot to preaoh the gospel of Christ; and day after day whole cargoeß of dirty, ignorant Italianß are dumped upon our Bhores, hundreda of whom beoome paupera a week after they have landed. The demagogue who passed a law like this m the vain endeavour to corral the labour vote ought to have been sent to a lunetio aavlum.

Aooording to the " Otago Daily Times " Borne remarkably creditable speoimens of the work now turned out from the Milton Pottery Works are on view at the premises formerly occupied by Messrs Leslie, Lane, and Dobie, Princes Btreet. In variety of oolour and design, and m exoellence of finish, these articles^ will be a surprise to those aooustomed to the idea that these worka turn out only a premature olasß of manufaotures. There are vases, water oaraffes, plant pots, jars, bowls, tea pots, and a host of other necessary and ornamental articles m different kinds of ware, and various shapes and sizes, and the industry will probably gain a good deal m public estimation by this exhibition.

The •• North Otago Timeß " saya :— «' After the Kurow races last Thursday a ' soion ' of the British aristooraoy crept into a Back and lay down behind a hedge, m the vioinity of Kurow, to spend the night. Several individuals known aa spielers, with that native talent for enquiring into the circumstances of peraons which makes the class anything but desirable companions, • ran through ' the gentleman m the sack, and found nothing more portable than a strong Bmell of whisky and the end of a concertina. They appropriated neither, but" were rather disgusted to Bud that the individual they had overhauled waa none other than the 'Right Honorable,' who is disporting himself m Oamaru at the present time." Wonder who the Eight Honorable was?

A Hawke's Bay exchange reoorda how a sherifi'a officer m a town up north has lately been the victim of a little mistake, whioh every one but himself will pronounoe a good joke. He waa presiding at a sale of household furniture that had been seized for debt, and, acting on h : a instructions, the auctioneer knocked down to tbe highest bidder everything that oame m hiß way. At the close of the proceedings our bailiff, delighted with the result, wea about to retire, when he found that his hat and overooat had disappeared. It waa then ascertained that tbe auctioneer's man had "put them up " with the rest of the moveable property, and the two artiolea m question had been knocked down at the ridioulous prioe of ss.

It is said there will be the wool of 70,000 or 80,000 sheep less shipped at Oamaru this season than last. The above (the M N. O. Times " sayß) ia the number of aheep reported to have been lost through the snow storms m the Upper Waitaki. This ia merely an eatimate of the probable loss. The aotual losa will not be known til* shearing. The fine weather that has been experienced m the interior lately has however, put new life into large numbera of aheop that wera on the brink of death through Btarvation. The Bheep have picked up wonderfully, ho muoh ao that it is now thought the apring grasa and tho lambing will have little bad effect.

A oase of "inciting to drink," against flic lioonßee of the City Hotel, Chriatohuroh, whioh has eioited conaiderable intereat, waa heard on Thuraday by Mr John Ollivier, the Eeaident Magistrate. John Robert Pawsey, a farmer at Balcairn, Bpent a week m tho hoqse, during which time he waß almost continually drunk, He gave the manager cheques for various Bums amounting to ovor £150. For the defenoe it waa oontended that Pawsey was not incited to drink, and that some of the ohequea whioh he gave were inpayment for money lent, othera to take up a bill overdue by aome one etee, and othera by way of loan to the manager. The Benoh dismissed the case.

There waß a great stir m the horse market to-day, both * Messrs JFriedlander Bros and Mr T. Bullock having sales of a apeoial nature. About noon the entires whioh were to be submitted to auction by Alessra {Vied, lander Broa were paraded through the prinoipal streets and attraoted muoh attention, the animals being a very fine lot. Mr Bullook submitted the thoroughbred sire Athlete to the hammer, but he failed to find a purchaser, the animal being passed m at 30 guineas. There was\keen competition for the draught mares and geldingß, of whioh a nice lot were offered. A draught filly, two years, offered on aooount oi Mr Moßride, fell to the bid of Mr D. MoKendry for £38, and a cumher of other draughts were disposed of at prioea ranging from £15 to £21. Messrs Frißaiander Bros had a very big entry, comprising several thoroughbred and draught entires and pedigree Clydesdale mares. The aire Quality Jook was knooked down to Mr D. Brick for 95 guineaa. None of the other entires were sold, the owners' reserves got being reaohed. Mr Qawn'a mares elioited keen competition, one falling to the nod of ' Mr John Small for 81 guineaa, and another to Mr MoCroatie for 40 goineaa. A number of others were disposed of at figures ranging from vwenfcy to thirty guineas. Owing to the late hour of the afternoon to whioh the sales were protraoted it is impossible to give a detailed report m this issue.