The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1888. LOCAL AND GENERAL

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1974, 19 October 1888, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1888. LOCAL AND GENERAL

The rainiest district m Europe is Coimbra, a town of Portugal, and its environs, where the annual downpour amounts to about 230in

At the R.M. Court this morning, before the Mayor, Daniel Fitzgerald was fined 10s and costs for having been druDk. On a oharge of resisting the arresting constable a oonviotion was entered up.

At a meeting of the creditors of Mr A. O Henderson, solicitor, Inveroargill, last weeki the debtor said it was a well known fact that half of those m the profession m Inveroargill were starving.

The mother of tbe present German EmpreßS ia confined m a mad-house. She wanted to become the wife of Louis Napoleon, when he wbb President, and would have done bo but for the opposition of Quten Victoria.

A steam-tug left the Mersey a few days ago for Greenook for the purpose of towing the Great Eastern round to Liverpool, where it is intended to beaoh her on the Bhore at Tranmere, and to break her up. At an inquest held at Murton Colliery, Durham] lately, it transpired that while the dead body of a ohild lay m a room awaiting the inquest, two oats got into the apartment, and had eaten the child's face.

At Auokland, Mr Justice Gillies deolined to grant an order of discharge to J. W. Cotton, racehorse trainer, saying be did not think the Aot was meant to relieve persons who got into difficulties through gambling.

Ouida has refused to meet Mr Cunning* haroe-Graham on the ground that he is a dangerouß member of sooiety. Judging from her writings, there are few fathers who would like their daughters to meet the famous novelitt, and on precisely the samn grounds.

The oldest rose bush m the world is trained againßt the old church at Helderaheim, m Germany and it is claimed that authentio record states that yn. 1079 Bishop Hepilo caused a trellis to be prected to support the roßa. The main branch is'Jarger th]an a man's body.

Soot, to Englishman : "Toot awa,' my man — toot awa' ; dinna ye boast sac much aboot yer am countrie ! Dinna ye ken that it wbb only oa'd Breetin 'fore Scotland cam' I' ye, and then ye beoam' Great Breetin ? Ay, an' ye'ya remained great ever since. Ye'd be a puir lot left to yersel.' "

Daring the sitting of the comtaisaion on sweating m London, a member of a firm of wholesale olothiers acknowledged that his firm had lost the bulk of their trade with Australia because their artiolea were of euoh inferior manufacture that they could not compete with colonial wade goods.

The repairs to the Sunnyside Lunatic' Asylum, which was partly destroyed by fire on ( Wednesday, will be undertaken immediately, j

A very Bucaessful meeting under the auspioes of the Ashburton Association of Art, Science, Industry, and Literature was held last evening. A full report will appear m to-morrow's issue, .

At the Rink last evening the ohallenge raoe between R. Elston and T. Esgleton waa won by the former by half a lap. Nominations for the oup olose on Tuesday next. An exhibition will, aocording to advertisement, be given on Saturday evening by Professor Wilkie.

A well-known dressmaker haß, the " Evening Herald " reports, reoeived a considerable benefit from the rise m the prioe of land m Melbourne. She was the fortunate ownor of a small piece of land there for whioh she was offered and refused £800 some two years ago. During a late holiday m Melbourne oity sha was offered £6000 for the earns seotion and acoepted it.

The harvest m Russia is so abundant that m one district— the Rostoff— the land owners have made a free gift of portions of their orops to the poorer peasantry, simply that the grain might not be lost owing to tho absence of field labor. Overworked peasants m whole families have been cutting these free-gift orops by. moonlight, or the flickering illumina* tion of bonfires.

The immigrants who entered the United States during the year wbioh ended on June 30 last numbered 539,818. Germany sent 107,624 ; England and Wales, 83,132 ; Ireland, 73, 238 ; Sweden and Norway, 72,915 ; Italy, 51,075; Russia, 33,407; Austria, 25,884; Scotland, 24,306; Hungary, 19,927; Denmark, 8981 ; Switzerland, 7737 { Franoe, 6427 ; the Netherlands, 5845 ; and Poland, 5836.

A resident m Obristohurob, wishing to try his fortune m Viotoria, wrote to a medical gentleman formerly of Ohrißtohuroh (says the •• Lyttelton Timeß "), but no* practising m Melbourne, asking his advice. In reply, the gentleman m question advised him to stay where he is, adding that the attention of capitalists m Victoria is being attraoted to New Zealand, and that ere long money from that colony will find its way over here lor investment.

By an improved method of distributing oil on the waters, whioh has been patented m Germany, a rocket to whioh is attached a cylinder filled with oil oan be fired with accuracy from the ship, and when it explodes the oil is scattered over where it is wanted. The rooket has been fired to a distance of 1500 feet, and by the explosion of five rookets at a distanoe of from 1200 to 1500 feet from the ship a space of 1500 to 2000 square feet of water was covered with oil, and the waves were at onoe smoothed.

Poaching appears to be going on extensively m the Waitaki. A correspondent of the " Oamaru Mail " says : — The illuminations visible from this district on Sunday night along the Otago side of the Waitaki river would have gladdened the heart of a painter, there being no less than elevdn will-o-the wisps to be seen between Otekaike and within three miles of Kurow. Any person wishing to visit the Waikati by torchlight alone, and acquire the art of catching fish with tbe iron fork oan be Booommodated if he will visit Eurow aoy calm evening.

William Kenny, is a typical Irishman. Wishing apparently to commit suioide, he has nearly committed manslaughter instead. He threw himself from the top gallery m a Dublin musio-hal), and alighted on the head of a cornet player m tbe orchestra, who is now lying m a preoarious condition. The inoident reminds us of the story of the blood* thirsty Paddy, who, when someone caused a disturbance m the gallery, and there were shouts of •' .Turn him out I " " Throw him over I " roared out Paddy: " Ay, and don't waste him, bhoys ; kill a gddler wid him ] "

A means of putting an end to the caterpillar plague was discovered long ago. In a newspaper for 1812 appears the following paragraph :— A gardener at Glasgow practices! a mode of destroying caterpillars whioh he discovered by aooident, A pieoe of woollen rag had been blown by tbe wind into a ouriftnt bush, and when taken out wag found covered by the leaf-devouring inseots. He immediately placed pieoes of woollen oloth m every bush m the garden, and found next day thatjthe caterpillars had universally taken to them for shelter. In this way he destroys many thousands every morning,

The following ia another remarkable instance of the rapid inorease m the value of city property whioh has taken place of late years m Melbourne: — According to the " Argus " tbe National Mutual Life Assooiation m 1881 paid for their business site £49,000, and recently the Direotors received a cash offer of over £155,000, or a profit on this one transaction of more than £100 000. As, however, the site is one of the finest m the oity, the Direotors have deolined to sell, as they consider it a valuable asset to their polioy holders, and worth quite as much to them as to anyone else.

The weekly meeting of the Star of the East Lodge, No. 62, 1.0. G.T., was held on Wednesday evening, m the Templar Hall, over which Bro A. Paterßon, W.C.T., pre. sided. Five < propositions were made for membership, and one candidate was initiated. An animated and severe discussion took plaoe as to the despicable byproorisy of one or two members who had been professing Good Templary while seoretly drinking intoxioants, resulting m a member, who had been found guilty, being expelled the Order, and a Committee being formed to guard against any suoh imposition being practised on the Lodge. A movement is on foot to form a Good Templar pionio on the Prinos of Wales' birthday, 9th November.

Sir Kobert Stout has been interviewed by the " Argus " reporter with reference to the oause of the civil war m Samoa. Sir Robert expresses the opinion that the whole trouble has been oauaed by the interference of the German Government, which is anxious to obtain the Navigator Group. He believes tbat unless the British Government insists upon Samoa being deolared neutral territory, and Borne arrangement completed whioh shall be similar to that oome to with France m regard to the New Hebrides, it will be found that Germany will treat this war between Maliotoa and Tamasese as an excuse for permanently annexing the islands, juat as Franoe has done with co many Eastern , Paoifio groups.

Apropos of the smoke oure for wounds " A Tradesman " writes to the " Wellington Evening Post " as follows : — Recently, while at work, I ran a keen steel marline spike into the fleßhy part of the heel of my left hand. The Btab was fully half an inoh deep, and the pain intense. Following the instructions gleaned [from your columns I at once cut a piece of tweed from the inner part of my coat, and setting a matoh to some tarry oakum at hand, I threw it on the woollen rags, and held my hand, then quivering with pain and swollen, over the smoke. The result was magical, the pain eased at onse, and excepting the stiffness left m the knuokle joints, I ftnisbed tb.e afternoon's work withput other inconvenience. Judging from my experipnoe m similar wounds, I am oertain that I have thus been saved a week on the sick list.