LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1972, 17 October 1888, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Mr Charles Braddell has been appointed Property-tax assessor for Ashburton.

The next sitting of the Court of Appeal is appointed for November sth at Wellington.

Major Douglas and Captain Sparrow are gazetted as trustees for the Asbburton Drillehed.

We are m receipt from the Royal Humane Sooiety of Australasia of a oopyof the annual report for 1888.

The Spanish Government will impose a heavy poll-tax on Cbinamen going to the Philippine Islands.

The President of the Frenoh Agricultural Sooiety jestimatea the damages to the orops m France by bad weather at 500,000,000 franos.

A " Gazette " notice intimates that Sco 2737 Spaxton Survey District has been vested m the Mount Somers Road Board as a reserve for a gravel pit.

We learn from the " Timaru Herald" that several cases of fever of a serious type have occurred m Wajmate lately, and there are at the present time throe patients m the hospital, all of them m a very oritioal condition.

The " War Cry " states that the Union Steam Ship Company very kindly gave a free passage to Commandant H. H. Booth from Auckland to Lyttelton and .back, and the Government had generously granted him a free passage over the New Zealand lines.

It {a atated on good authority that at a recent inspection of a crack cavalry regiment, Gen. Sir Evelyn Wood found some of the junior officers so hopelessly ignorant of elementary military matters that he publioly rebuked them on parade and ordered them rporuits' drill.

The " Illustrated Australian News " is steadily improving, the number for the current month being an excellent one. It oontajnp a capital engraving of the West llntrqnce. Gambray Harbor, Auckland Island 5 and has also a well- executed view of the Centennial Exhibition Building by night.

It is rrmoured m Melbourne that Sir Robert Stout has joined a firm of lawyers there, and will settle down m that oityi The Melbourne correspondent of the " Daily Times " referring to this says that Sir Eobert has been pressed to remain m Victoria but baa deolinedfto do so. '

The •• Wanganui Ohroniole " says that a brisk demand is springing up for unimproved country land. The whole of the 10,000 aore block at Momohaki, for whioh applications will be reoeived by the Government on the 16th ipßtant, is likely to be takep up. Iqdeed a number of the seotions, it hears, will be applied for half a dozen times over.

It is reported that rioh gold has been etruok m the Olonga Gold Mine, near Dolgelly, Wales, 120 feet immediately beneath a spot where some yeara ago gold to the value of £75,000 was obtained. Some epeoimens from the Morgan Mine, which were orushed reoeptly, contained, it is ptsted, the extraor. dioary quantity pf jqpO oynoeg to the too,

We have to acknowledge the receipt from the Government Printer of a oopy of the Statutes for 1688.

The Most. Rev the Primate will visit Ashburton next week for the purpose of oonse< crating St. Stephen's Churoh and the Ohuroh of England portion of the cemetery.

At the E.M. Court this morning, before Mr T. Bullock, J.P., a first offender for drunkenness, while m charge of a horse, was fined £1 and costs.

Mr Coker, of Beetly, Norfolk, has just sold twenty-one Norfolk trotting stallions to a breeder m Illinois; and they bave been despatched to America. The prioe for the lot was nearly £60,000.

The direotors of the Waianiwa Cheese Paotory have received advices that their shipments by the s.s. Dorio and the Tongariro have realised very satisfactory prices, that by the former 54s per owt for 53 oases, and 56s per owt for 41 cases.

The " Akaroa Mail" saya that at 2-20 a.m. on Friday an earthquake was generally fait at Little River being sufficiently violent to awaken people, and to start the dogs barking, and roosters and pheasants orowing. There were two distinot Bhooks, one following the other within a few seoonds.

At a meeting of the Direotora of the Ashburton Caledonian Sooiety held on Saturday evening it waa deoided that the annual sports should be held as usual on Boxing-day on the grounds of the Sooiety, and also that a sooial for the members and their families should be given at an early date, for the purpose of bringing matters of interest to the Sooiety to the front.

A Frenoh dandy went to a photographer to get his pioture taken. When the job was done he refused to pay on the ground that the pioture did not look like him, and he lett the establishment. Next morning he passed by the plaoe and saw his pioture hanging m the show oaoe, and under jt the startling words m big letters—" The biggest fool m the whole town." He rushed into the store and abused the photographer. But my dear sir, said the latter, sinoe the pioture doesn't resemble you, what m the world are you complaining about ?

The romances of modem matrimony are both pleasing and painful. An illustration of the latter is supplied by the frail, thinlyclad figure of a woman who may be seen sweeping a oroasing m aristooratio London. The finely-moulded face, blue eyes, and white hair are suggestive^ departed beauty of a rare and exquisite type. Regularly Bhe sweeps the of easing, and accept ■ with gentle thankful ness the ooppers of the residents as they pass along the streets. Yet twenty years ago she was heiress to an immense fortune, was presented to the Queen, was married at St. James', Picoadilly, andjhad an Italian honeymoon.

A well educated woman named Alice Anderson, of Dundee, lately gave way to a remarkable freak. She joined a party of gypsies m the North of Sootland, and travelled with them to the South of England, and growing tired of her nomadic life she left them at Dover, and was about to return by train to Dundee, when her peouliar costume m a first olass oarriage caused the polioe to BUBpeot she was of unsound mind, and they detained her, and had her examined by a dootor, and brought before a magistrate. She explained she had been on " a walking tour." and the doctor's certificate being satisfactory, she was allowed to go.

At a Primrose League gathering the other day at Wynyard Park, the seat of Lord Londonderry the present Vioeroy of Ireland, a doggrel ditty about Gladstone was sung of whioh the following stanza is a mild sample. When the Grand Old Man goes to his doom He will ride m a fiery ohariot, And sit m state On a red-hot plate 'Twixt Satan and Judas Iscariot.

This although we are told that " the chief guest and speaker on the occasion was Mr Goeohen, Mr Gladstone's old friend and colleague."

The following (from the " Rangitikei Advocate) ib apropos to our reoent remarks anent Government land sales : — " We have been pestered with inquiries about a piece of land situated only ten miles from Marton, known as Te Rewarewa, whioh has been opened by the Government for sale, but have been unable to give any information. The Government have not advertised the land m this paper and they have not sent us any plans of it. This policy is simple idiooy. To Bave a pound or two m advertising the Government are losing hundreds of pounds. They are, moreover, allowing the land to be grabbed by a few knowing ones, who happen to be possessed of the requisite information.

The Orange Hall was well filled with a representative audience last evening when Professor Hugo delivered his first leoture upon physiognomy. The Leoturer spoke about the characteristics of the prinoipal kinds of faoes, and indicated how temperament and tastes are discernible m the expressions of the features. The lecture was amusing as well as full of new ideas, and the vast collection of illustrations adds to the inorease of the interest. At the close several well-known gentlemen went up to the platform, and the Leoturer pointed out their various peculiarities m a very amusing manner, and, to judge by the applause of the audience, very correctly. The next leoture will be on Friday next, when the subieot will be " Noses and Chins." Mr Hugo announces also that he wjll be m daily attendance m the Hall from ten till one and from three till six to supply charts.

The concert and ball held at Elgin last evening proved a very great Buooess. An excellent programme was provided, and the room was orowded with a large and appreciative audience. Mr J. Ooohrane presided, He expressed pleasure at seeing so many present, and particularly so as the objeot of the. aonoert was to augment the sohool prize fund. A capital programme was then gone through, musioal items being contributed by the following: — Mr and Mrs H. Gates, Mr and Mrs Claridge, Misses Gates (two), Mr Simpson, Mr Brooking, Mr Ward, and Mr Jamieson. Mr Bramley gave a couple of humorous readings, whioh were muoh appre • oiated. Enoores were frequent and the prinoipal musioal numbers had to be repeated. At the olose, a hearty vote of thanks was on the motion of Mr Bramley, aoaorded Mr Gates and his party for the exoellent entertainment (hey had provided. A ball was held after the concert.

The Tinwald Band of Hope and Gospel Temperance Sooiety met last evening m the Preabyterian Ohuroh, The Rev A. Blake oooupied the chair, and referring to the recent fire m Dunedin, where life had been lost, and where there had been drink going on, remarked that those who were engaged m the temperance -movement were seeking to Bave not only property but precious lives. He also referred to the late BJshop Hanniqgton,'of pastern Equatorial) Africa, who had thrown his energies into that movement m England, and found it the hardest work he bad ever engaged m. The building was well filled, and a most interesting and varied programme was gone through m a very pleasing and creditable manner. The songs and recitations by the junior members were well eeleoted and rendered, while the adultg oqntributed several items thai' were much appre. ciated, Among tbeoe was a remarkable piece " The Three Bidders," given by a young lady visitor, describing m verse an inoident that ooourred m the life of the Rev Rowland Hill. Altogether the meeting was a successful one.