LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1958, 1 October 1888, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

At the annual horse parade at Chrißtohuroh on Saturday thirty-eight paraded, mostly of very good quality.

The " Wanganui Herald " thinks there is a bright future for the New Zealand flax induatry.

The Hebrews now exceed m numbers any of the minor peoples of Europe, being somewhere about 6,300,000.

£216,000 had been spent up to the 30th June laßt m the produotion of the Pioturesque Atlas of Australia.

Mount Morgan Mine, Quoonglnnd, ia re. ported to be turning out upwards o: £2,000,000 of gold per annum.

Three tons of butterine are made m Sydney every week, principally for exportation to Batavia, Mauritius, and the Cape.

During the late land fever m Melbourne a brother of Mr Joseph Kitohen, of Wellington, oleared a sum of no less than £50,000. ,

The herring industry at Pioton is said to be m a state of almost complete stagnation, although the Sound is positively teeming with the fish.

Humble bees are spreading rapidly at Motiti Island, m the Bay of Plenty, and are produoing a marked effeot m the seeding of the red olover. They will Boon be all over New Zealand.

The President of Amerioa, who has been accustomed to use a glass of wine at dinner, or occasionally at other times, is said to have yielded to a request of Mrs Cleveland to totally abandon the use of liquors.

Under the auggeßtive heading "Coming events east their shadows their before," an exohange notes the faot that during Sir F. Dillon Bell's absenoe on the Continent Sir Julius Yogel is officiating at Viotoria Chambers as hie locuvi tcnejis.-

Prince Bismarck m spite of his increasing years, haß lost little of his old Bkill as a shot. Recently while praotising with the rifje, he hit, every time he fired, a black spot on a target indicating a vital point m a Btag, at a distance of 120 yards.

Dr Redwood, the Archbishop of Wellington! is m Ireland, says the London oorresponden of the " Auckland Herald," accompanied by hiß seoretary, the Rev Father Patterson. The two are the guests of the, Marist Fathers m Dublin. Dr Redwood went to Dundalk to Bee John Dillon, who is incarcerated m the gaol at that place, but bis request to be allowed a personal interview with the notable prisoner was politely refused by the Governor of the gaol, and un application to the Board met with no better success.

A case of some interest to newspapei people was heard m Wellington by Mr Kobin* bod, R.M., on Tuesday. Messrs Wakefield and Roydhouse, proprietors of the "Evening Press," claimed the sum of £2 15s from Mr H. Gibb being the amount agreed to be paid for one quarter's advertising. Qn the bill being presented for the seoond quarter the defendant deolined to pay, on the ground that he had not intended to continue the advertisement for the second quarter m the same form, and that he had told the collector bo when paying the first aocount. This the collector denied, and his Worship gave judgment for plaintiff for amount claimed and costs, remarking that the defendant had only himsolf to thank if he had to pay more than ho had intended to oontraot for. Ho had given the order until countermanded, and it would have beea a very simple matter to have stopped the advertisement by countermanding it m the ÜBual way m writing. Mr Tripp, instructed by Mr Bunny, appeared for the plaintiffs, and Mr Skerrett defended.

Mr F. G. Thomas, surgeon-dentist, visits Aahburton on Thursday next.

The following are the vital statistics for Ashburton for the month of September frjg Births, 20 ; Deaths, 4 ; Marriages, 3.

According to a London despatch of the 19th August the Japanese Government have deoided to spend £10,000,000 m five years m purchasing men-of-war.

The Master of the Ashburton Home desires to acknowledge, with thanks, the receipt of illustrated papers from Mr Pa.rcb.ase and the Ashburton Club, and a paroel of olothing from a friend, for the use of the inmates.

The following letters from plaoes beyond the colony were reoeived at the Ashburton Post Office during the month of August, and are now lying unolaimed :— James Stevenson, Richard Iteell, Joseph Mills, and Eugene Heale.

Miss Chandler, a pretty and plucky girl, snatched from almost under the wheels of a looomotive, the other day, at Punxatawney, a three-year-old child that had wandered on the railroad traok, and then promptly fainted, while the lesa heroic spectators were cheering her.

At the R.M. Court this morning Mary Ann Kane was sentenced to 14 day's imprisonment for using obscene language to. wards a neighbour. The police were also instructed to lay an information for perjury against her, m respeot of a certain statement she made m her evidenoe.

The fishing season opened to-day, and this morning a good number of the looal anglers made their way to the river. They obtained fair sport, though we have heard of no heavy baskets being made. The snow is coming off the hills rapidly and the river is rather too full and the water too thiok at present to be suitable for anglers. I The opening orioket matoh took plaoe m the Domain on Saturday last. Sides were picked up by Messrs G. Andrews and Denshire. Mesßra G. Andrews, T. Sawle, Stewart, and Denshire made the best scores, and Messrs Jameson, G. Andrews, Merewether, and Williams proved most efficient with the ball. A matoh will be arranged m future for every Wednesday and Saturday. In the course of a special sermon on hehalf of the New Zealand Baptist Missionary Sooiety, at Wellington, the Rev H. H. Driver announced that an unknown Viotorian gentleman had recently given £2000 for the erection of mission houses on the stations oooupied by the various Australian sooieties. Of this munifioent sum (says the " Post ") £500 falls to the New Zealand Sooiety, and will be spent ia the ereotion of a house at Narayangune or Dacca. Early on the morning of July 26 the premises of the Magnum Mineral Waterworks, at Loughbozourfh Junotion, were entered by burglars, one of whom fell into a ten-foot tank, more than half full ot water. When discovered shortly after six o'olook that morning, the man was half dead, he having tho greatest diffioulty m keeping bis head above water. When resoued he beoame insensible, and after being seen by a doctor, was conveyed to St. Thomas' Hospital. ! Mrs Ernestine Sohaffner, of New York, I spends the greater part of her time and money m behalf of prisoners whom she believes to be wrongfully accused. She visits the Polioe Courts, and when she sees a man or woman who seems to her the viotim of ciroumst intial evidenoe she furnishes bail, and at her own I expense seoures the services of a lawyer. So far Mrs Sohaffner's judgment has proved oorreot. She haa always won the oases of her proteges, and has never lost a dollar by going bail for them. Entries for to-morrow's horse parade olosed with the Secretary of the A. and P. Assooiation on Saturday evening. The total number of entries xeoeived was ten — inoluding six draughts, two thoroughbreds, and two under the head carriage and roadsters. The publio will be admitted free. We have been requested to correot an error that appearß on the oard m reßpeot to Maoileat bean's pedigree. The sire of his dam is erroneously given as Kingfisher, whereas it should be Fisherman. A young Jew fell into the river at Craoow. and was m great danger of drowning. " Let him sink, he is only a Jew," was the exolamation heard on all sides. At last oame the glad exolamation, '• It's all up with him ; he's sinking." Just then a young fellow burat from the orowd whioh had sought to restrain him, and brought the drowning man to shore— there to be reoeived with an exolamation of execration. Suddenly the jeers ceaflea. The drowning man was a Christian; his resouer was a Jew !

Propetty-tax assessors (writes the Rangitikei " Chronicle ") could contribute a good deal to the piquant literature of the country if the oath did not bar their utterance, We heard of one case, however, the other day, whioh illustrates the inability of the jaded offioial to give satis raotion to the taxed. He was interviewing a man of broad aores, and he had got the valuation down .to a satisfactory figure, and was entering it m his book, when he was startled by Broad-acres sayiDg "By sir, I'll appeal whatever you may put down." A meeting of the Committee of the Ashburton Raoing Club was held on Saturday evening. The distance for the Ashburton Cup was reduced to one mile and a half, and the date for closing nominations extended to Saturday, November 3rd, The Seoretary was instructed to communicate with the handioapper with a view to the handicaps for the second day's races being published at 7 o'olock on the evening of the first day's raoing. It was deoided to call tenders for leasing the course for }2 months for grazing purpoßes. There is now a very luxuriant growth of olover on the course and reserve. A new kind of cattle.stop has heen Introduced m Amerioa, entirely superseding, it is claimed, tho old style of grating-covered pitfall. There is no break m the road-line, but instead, between and outside tho rails, to a distance required to meet the fonoeß, are laid long flat|blades of iron. These are of different heights, and being placed on edge, at, say a couple of feet apart, are absolutely impassable by cattle under all ordinary oiroumstances. Even if they happen to be driven before a train, and leap to the blades, there is muoh less danger to the train than is the case if the beast happens to get entangled m the present pitfall stop. Had the invention oomo out sooner, Beveral thousands of pounds and the lives of hundreds of cattle might have been saved m this colony.

The following extraot from the Paris letter of the " Sydney Morning Herald " is of interpjjt m "connection with our cablegrams re* 1 garding the diary of Emperor Frederick: " Meantime, matters seem to have oome to a better shape between the new Kaiser and his admirable mother, with whom he dined on returning to Berlin. The Empress Tiotoria has bad her husband's diary brought back from England to oonvinoe the Ohanoellor and the Emperor that this diary, consisting of seven volumes, was written for . her and given to her by its writer, es is proved by its opening pages. She has detaohed the portions treating of state affairs, whioh she has had deposited m, the arohives of Berlin, and hsr exclusive right to the rest of the diary has been legally reoognised by the powers that be."

A meeting of the members of the Ashburton Caledonian Society was held at Mr J. 0. Duncan's office on Saturday evening. Thsre wera about a dozen gentlemen present, and Mr Patterson was voted to the chair. Litters were received from the President (Mr W. H. ' Kneen) and the Seoretary (Mr J. 0. Dunoan) 1 tendering their resignations. A lengthy discussion ensued m regard to re-modelling the Sooiety, the opinion being generally expressed that the present system of a large directorate was unwieldly and prevented the Sooiety attaining that degree of suoaees whioh would be the case were it managed by a Bm.aU and energetio directorate. The meeting was] adjourned for a week, the directors present undertaking to call their fellow offloers together to difleusa the desirableness of resigning with a view to reconstructing the Sooiety. The President's and Secretary's resignations wers hejd oyer m tha rneantjme.