LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2239, 28 September 1889, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The world's ooinuge for 18,88 was £58,500,529, against £56,729.000 m 1887. In Lahore, India, most of the leading Christian pastors are converted Mahommedans, a thing formerly not thought of. The H-T l Of Zetland, the new Vioeroy of Ireland, enjoys a£ income (salary iooluded) of about £55,000 por year. As a result ot the loss oi the Sultan n - a ezpeoted that a new Burvey of the Mediterranean will shortly be made. A Russian mineralogist, K. D. Chrust. Bflhoff, claims to have discovered a new metal, whioh he proposes to name " Uugßium." It resembles thorium. A paok of wolves m Sherburne County, Minnesota, ohased a oouple of lawyers five miles, and tho New Orleans Republican thinks it Bhpwed a lack of professional courtesy. A number of large salmon, or more probably sea trout, aro reported as having lately beon Been m Wellington harbor, and some were oaugbtin Evans Bay m tbe nets. Tbe " Akaroa Mail " mentions that Mr McGregor, M.H.R., Government whip, is off to Oamaru, " on matters oonneoted with tho Hislop eleotion." Mr R. Ooad, the celebrated temperanoe leoturer will arrive m Ohristohuioh from Hokitika on Thursday next, and will oommenoe a mission m the Tuam street Hall on Friday evening under tho auspices of tho New Zer.lsnd Allianoo. ,'

Farjeon has just published a new novel intituled "A young Girl'a Life.", Tbe " Bootsman " says :— " This story will please everyone who reads it, and ia as good as anything the author hai done,"

A few months ago the King of Eboe died and the traders from New Calabar, West Afrioa, found that about 40 persons had been slain to appease the gods, and that they had been subjected to the most shooking oruelty.

Probate has been granted m the estate of the late Hon. W. Robinson, The estate was sworn under £350,000, and is left to be divided betweed the daughters for life, nnd after their deoease to their children m striot settlement.

The Bey W. E. Gillam, Inoumbent of St John's, Rangiora, will oonduot the evening service m St Stephen's Church to-morrow evening. Mr J. H, Twentyoian will preaoh m tbe morning. Inoluding the Pasteur Institute of Paris, 20 laboratories for the prevention of hydrophobia are now reported. There are six m Russia, five m Italy, one eaoh m Vienna, Constantinople, Bucharest, Bio Janeiro, Buenos Ayres, Havenna, Chioago and Malta. A lad, whose name is not stated, met with a shooking death at Bingera, New South . Wales, a few days ago. He was riding a raoehorse, whioh bolted off the oourse and dashed the rider against a tree, smashing hiß skull, orushing ia his chest, and otherwise mutilating him. Acoording to Mr Phineas S. Abraham, there oan be but little .doubt tbat leprosy is really increasing m parts of India, m South Afrioa, and m some of the West Indian oolonies. The census of 1881 gave 131,618 lepers for British India, but the number is thought to have been muoh too low.

A remarkable speoimen of amber from an unknown locality m Southern Mexioo measures 4 by 3 by 2 inohes, is perfeotly transparent, and is said to be even more beautiful than the opalescent or green amber of Sioily. The natives who bring this amber to the coast report that m tbe interior it is so plentiful as to be ÜBed for making fires.

At the olose of Jane there were 23 cremations m Italy, 10 m Amerioa, 1 m Germany, 1 m England, 1 m Franoe, 1 m Switzerland, 1 m Denmark, and lin Sweden— a total of 39. In Italy 2 oorpses were burned m 1876, 15 m 1877, 16 m 1878, and 226 m 1888. Sinoe 1876, 1177 oorpses bave been burned m Italy, and 1269 m the other oountries. The whole number burned m June was 50.

In Cyprus the eggs of looußts are gathered, and the developed inseots are caught m Byßtems of soreens. The quantity of eggs oolleoted waa 37£ tons m 1879, 236 tons m 1880, and 1330 tons m 1881. More than 6000 soreens were used m 1882, and 195.000,000,000 inseots were destroyed; while m 1886 there were more than 11,000 soreens and 13,000 traps — the former representing an aggregate length of about 315 miles.

A correspondent sends a oontemporar ay Btory anent a oountry branoh of the Salvation Army. The other day a married female * • soldier " was praying at one of the meetings, and, m the oourse of her devotional exeroises, she declared tbat she was full of glory, that ehe only needed another feather to enable her to fly to heaven. Just at this iunoture her husband, who was kneeling beside her, exolaimed: "Oh Lord, give her another another feather and let her go."

An important industry has arisen m Franoe m oonneotion with the marketing of milk. It has been ascertained that milk oan be kept perfeotly fresh m a frozen oondition for more than a month. The milk is frozen m oans by means of the ordinary ioe-making machine and afterwards dispatohed by road, rail, or steamer,] to its destination. Tbe customer who purobaseß has simply to thaw it for a minute or two over the fire when it is required for use at the breakfast or tea table.

Mr G. G.A. Murray, an Australian student, who has had a brilliant oareer at Oxford, has just obtained a splendid position m English scholarship. He bas beon appointed at .he age of five and twenty years, out of a number of other illustrious candidates, to fill the ohair of Greek at the Glasgow University, wbioh has hitherto been oooupied by so ripe a soholar as Professor Jebb, Mr Murray's father was for many years President of the Upper House of New South Wales,

A general meeting of the Ashburton Cyoling Club was held last night. A good muster of members were present. Nine new members have lately been eleoted. A paper ohase wbb arranged for Wednesday fortnight, This makeß a fine bit of sport and tbe Committee hope for a good "paok of hounds." A five mile raoe is to pc run on Wednesday week, The handioaps are open and entries oloße on the 3aturday before, Some of our unpretending riders should, with a good Bart, themselves m this raoe. His Worship ifc.9 Mayor and Mr Harrison will be asked to aot as judges.

The Venerable Oburohill Julius, M.A., Oxford, Arohdeaoon of Ballarat, has been almost unanimously ohosen by the Synod as suooessor to Bishop Harper m tbe Bee of Ohristohuroh. The voting waß as. follows :— Clergy ayes, 45 ; noes. 2 ; Laity ayes, 3"7 ; noes, 1. The President (Very Rev Dean Jaoobs) was authorised to oommunioate the result to the Bishop-eleot by cable, and, m the event of the nomination being aooepted, to take the neoessary Bteps to give effeot thereto. An aooount of the oareer of the new Bishop, for wbioh we are indebted to tbe " Lyttelton Times," is reprinted m another oolumn.i

Over 100 members and friends attended the dosing meeting for the season of the Presbyterian Musical and Literary Sooiety held m the Ohuroh on Thursday evening. The Rev Al M. Beattie oooupied the ohair, and the first portion of tbe evening was devoted to the portfolio, after whioh refreshments were liberally dispensed, these being provided on the oooasioh by the lady members of the Sooiety, who had arranged with Mr W. O. Davis to aot bb providore, and this He did m a very satisfactory manner. The oonoluding portion of the evening was given to music, the programme being made up of pianoforte duet, Mrs and Miss Grubb j song, Mr Jamieson ; sobg, Mrs Peter Williamß ; violin solo with piano aooompaniment, Mr Fleming and Miss Kidd ; song, Miss Gates ; song, Mr E. Craighead ; song, Miss Eidd ; song, Mr J. O. Lane. The benediction by tbe Obairman dosed one of tbe best all round meetings held by the Society, whioh then broke up for the season.

The Minister of Lands have reoeived from the Agricultural Department at Home a copy of an article by Major Oraigie on " Tbe Growth and Development of the Trade m Frozen Mutton," whioh lately appeared m the journal of the Royal Agricultural Sooiety. The artiole oontains some highly interesting statistics. It shews that m the imports of frozen meat to Great Britain m 1888, New Zealand heads the list with a total of 499,00j00wt ; the Argentine Republio oomes next with 3L>3,Qooowt ; Holland furnished 8800owt ; Australia, 4400 ; and the United States, lOOOowt ; and otber countries, 4000owt. In 1882 two-thirds of the imports of this description oame direot from Holland ; last year the Dutohman furnished loss than one-tenth — only 8.8 per oent, New Zealand commenced sending frozen meat m 1882. and m that year she supplied 3 per oent, of tb c total ; now her .quota is 50 per oent of the whole supply, and that of the Argentine Republio, our most formidable rival — whioh, by the way, was not m the market m 1882— is 36 por oent.

A quarterly summoned meeting < t the Loyal Ashburton Lodge of Oddfell-ws was ■ held m the Lodge room on Friday evening. There was a large attendanoe of members and visiting brothers. The routine business being disposed of, a report from the Hall Committee was read and disoussed. It was decided on their recommendation to have a eubstantial fence ereoted around the seotion, also to have the Hall thoroughly renovated both externally and internally, and to obtain plans and specifications for enlarging the building. Prov. G.M., O, Tuoker, and Dep. Prov. G.M., J. Oorbett, vißited the Lodge offioially, and expressed themselves pleased with the manner the business was oonduoted. Three candidates were proposed for initiation. Receipts, £75 16s 6d ; expenditure, £13 lis 4d.

Referring to the new railway rates whioh oome into force on Monday the Wellington , correspondent of the "Lyttelton Times" advises that the new rates for oarriage of lime are : — Under twelve miles, Is 9d per ton ; for twenty-five miles, 3a 3d ; for thirty-eix 'miles 4s 4d ; forty-eight miles, 5s Id ; sixty mileß, 6s 3j ; one hundred and over, 7s lid. Speaking roughly, the reduotion on the present . rate is about 20 per oent. Tbe Commissioners hope by this means to distribute over the whole oountry the abundanoe of lime whioh exists m plaoes. They have been urged to tbe step by farmers and limeburners alike, and enoouraged by many promises from the former to take large quantities regularly, and by expressions of readiness on the part of the latter to allow a reduotion to buyers of large quantities Of 2a per ton. Some of the promises from farmerß go as high as one thousand tons. Tbe idea, he believes, is that the railway revenue will be increased immediately by the carrying of large quantities of lime, aad later by the inoreased produo'ion of grain, and Btook.