LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2272, 5 November 1889, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

It is understood that the dispute between Mr Oaoar Meyer (Commissioner for Nej? South Wales) and the Exeoutive of the Dunedin Exhibition will be settled amioably. A large Atlantio liner during one crossing is said to require as part of its provisions 20,0001b of meat, 20001b of freßh fish, 10,000 eggs, 1000 head of poultry, 350 tins of sardines and 6 tons of potatoes. Fifty years ago there were probably not more than from 90,000 to 100,000 aores of fruit land in Great Britain. In 1872, the date of the first reliable reoord, it had inoreased to nearly 170,000 aores, and Mr Whiteheaji, a well-known authority, eßtimateß the present aoreage at about 214,000 aores. The value of the New Zealand exports for twelve months ended September 30th, is just upon nine (9) millions sterling, the largest yet on reoord for any twelve months. The imports aie recommenoing to exhibit a marked inorease, showing we are beginning to reoeive payment for our exports. A three-horse team and dray belonging to Mr Thorn us Thornton got away from the driver's oontrol on Monday afternoon in East Street, and the leading horses ran into the footpath in front of the Somerset Hotel bringing the dray into oontaot with the lamp, post at the oorner, breaking it off at the ground, but fortunately no other damage was done. In notioing yesterday the funeral of the late Mr Joseph Buohnnan, we omitted to stale that the Druids, of whioh Order the deceased was a member, attended to the number of sixty five, and the rites of the Order were psrformed at the grave by the A.D., at the oonolusion of the religious oeremony. At a sale in London the other day an early work of Mile Rosa Bonheur, painted in 1874, and formerly belonging to the famous engineer Brunei, was bought in at 2500 guineas, the last bid going from Messrs Agnew at 2400 guineas. The picture measutoa 70 inches by 50 inohes, and is a landscape with a group of six red Breton oxen. The Canterbury Woollen Milla here have just turned out a piece of tartan plaid, specially designed and made up for Mr Donald MoLean, the design of course being the MoLean olan tartan. Mr MoDonald, tailor, has the stuff in hand, and he is making up a full suit of kilts, plaid, ooat and vest for Mr MoLean, for wear at the Oaledonian sports shortly to be held in Ashburton. The North German Lloyd Oompany's new steamer, Kaiser Wilbelm 11, has left Southampton on a trial voyage to New York previous to being plaoed on the Imperial Mail line to Australia. This vessel is by 1000 tons larger than any other in the company's fleet and is expeoted to deliver her mails in Australia within twenty six days after their leaving London; At Auckland Lord Onslow is reported to have Baid :— Personally, I have tried looal option in a suburb of Guildford, and proved it a great Buooess. The land belongs to me,

ana every year l put it to the votq of the inhabitants whether they will have one or • more publio houses in their midst, subject, of course, to the approval of the Lioensing Benoh. They always deoide against Jha public house, and I reapeot thoir deoiaion, and will not permit of one being opened." Some time ago an offer was made to Government, by a Victorian firm, for the right of advertising on the baok of postage stamps. Similar offers were made in other oolonies. There was an inclination at first to aooept the proposal, but after considering objections to the scheme, and oommunioating with the Australian Governments, it was deoided to refuse the offer. It haa been deemed that the objeotiona, of which there have been many, are not compensated for by a merely monetary benefit. ■ • . The sensation of Berlin is just now a young Cossack giantess, who is being exhibited. The girl, who is eleven years old, in nearly nine feet high ; she weigha twenty stone, and ia Btill growing very rapidly. She ia very pretty, with large dark eyes, and a pleasant face, and in the National oostume of the Don Gossaoks, whioh oonsists of a red skirt, blue jaoket, long apron embroidered in gold, and neoklaoe of many oolors, she oaptivates everybody's heart. But ainoa she is still chiefly interested ip her dolls and toys she cannot be said to return ♦ha sentiments of her admirers. The Au<£ lftn d correspondent of the "Otsgo Daily Times " saya it l q now quite apparent that the exodus of population i*"?!** this port ia praotioally at an end, and that aa a matter of faot the tide has turned. It is a very significant faot that the steamer Mararoa, whioh arrived from Sydney this week, brought between 85 and 90 paaaengera, while the Te Anan left for Sydney with only 50 last night, of whom 24 were Bteerage, A New Zealander, writing from Sydney to a friend in Auckland, states that if people are leaving New Zealand, it is at the same time an unquestionable faot that they are also leaving Sydney in large numbers, every steamer being crowded. Particulars of a wonderful fleece of woo 1 come from Messrs A, and W. Watson's Gerogeay station. New South Wales. One sheep oarrying a fleeoe of exceptional weight was brought into the shed. The animal, a merino wether, aooording to the " Pastoral Times," had missed two previous mußterings, and consequently when met with on the run was oarrying three yaara' wool. It was found impracticable to drive the sheep to the woolehed without first relieving it of a portion of the belly wool, wbioh encumbered ita legs, and on being shorn the fleece was found to weigh 321b, and the staplo to bo 22in in length. The wool wbb quite sound, but somewhat depreciated in value owing to the disooloration. | The aeoond annual gathering of the 8t« Andrew's Caledonian Society will be held on the 21at inst. on the grounds dose to the St. Andrew's Railway Station. The programme issued is a lengthy and varied one, comprising Sen™"- 1 ,? 1 J or . whioh priisea amounting to £150 wilt be given* Besides liberal prizes given by the Sooiety for bagpipe music and Highland dancing, there are very valuable spooials offered and handsome prizes are to be given for bicycle and foot raoes. The running track haß been put in first-olass order, and is now as near perfection as it ia possible to make it. Special Brrangements have been made for the. running of trains to the north and Bouth, after the sports are over The Sooiety's Grand Caledonian ball will be' held the same evening. Programmes oan ha had on application to the Secretary. News has been received of an extraordinary phenomenon whioh ooourred at Villafranoa. in Piedmont. The peasants were engaged in the fields m taking in the harvest, when Budaonly a dull rolling sound was heard, ana the eky beoamo bb blaok as ink. There was no thunder or lightning, but a few hailstones of enormous size fell, some penetrating into the ground and others rebounding to a distance of several yards. This preliminary shower ooaaed for some minutes, during whioh the peasants crept under the oarta and havrioka w their neighborhood. Some, howeverfwSre unable to find any shelter, and when the storm Zui^u!™ 7 -, T™ in a Pitiablo condition with the blood flowing from their numerous wounds. A boy of 15 and a oirl of rtUnA

Th'j n.s-i-il W-.'dneaday afternoon orickrt tnaiuh \\i I ho p!;iyed on tha Domii-t Grouud to-morrow commencing at two o'olook. A full muster of members is requested Sides will be ohosen on the ground. Mr Gladstone's library at Hawarden is one of tho finsnt private libraries m Enpland. It has more than 20,000 volumes. Mr Gladatono lenda his books out to nny one m the neighborhood who wanta to read'thorn. ■ \ The output of coal from the Westport and Greymouth mines during the month of October last was as under :—Weßtport Goal Company (Westport), 14 696 9-20 tons; Grey Valloy Coal Company (Grcytnoutb), 10,090 3-20 tons. The ''North Otago Times" aays that during tho past month Ihe Union Company's Bteainers have taken away from Oamaru over 40,000 Baoka of manufactured and other produce. The Cairntoul is expeoted to take away between 8000 and 10,000 saoks. Tbe " Taieri Advocate " ia informed that there has been for the past month or so extraordinary mortality amongst the oowa m that district, death m a great many instances having ensued soon after calving. The ailment is, by some people, termed milk fever, but others are of opinion that the complaint is not milk fever. ' Dr Brown-Sequard is an American. His father, Captain Edward Brown of the American Navy, was a Philadelphian, and I married a Frenoh woman on the island of Mauritius named Sequard, He and hiß descendants took the name Brown Sequard. The distinguisued scientist, whose Elixir of Youth is making a sensation, was their eldest ohild; He was at one time a Profeasor at Harvard. A few nighta ago, says the looal paper, Mr Franks, of Temuka, oaught a trout which was 26J inches long and 14 inohea round. It had some hooka stuok m its gills, attached to which were about 2 feet of copper wire, and two feet of steel wire, and about G yards of line. These he has no doubt been dragging round with him since last season. The fish was m very good oondition, and worked hard I to break Mr Frank's line aB ha had the line I whioh he Had m his gills. In Franoe, when a patient is under oholroform, on the slightest symptom appearing of failure of the heart, they turn him nearly upside down—that ia, with hia head downward and biß heels m the air. This, they aay, always reotorea him; and auoh is their faith m tho effioaoy of tbia method that the operating tables m the Paris hospitala are made so that m an instant they oan be elevated with one end m the air, so aa to bring the patient into the position resembling that of standing on hia head. QWhat is believed to be an important diaoovery of diamonds was made at Wy Yung, near Bairnadale, Viotoria, recently, by Mr O'Mara, a farmer. O'Mara was prospecting for gold, when a small vein of sand was struck at a depth of 12ft. The vein was only 2in thiok, and full of small hard pebbles and vegetable fibres. The atones found are pronounced by an experienced jeweller to be diamonds. The Btonea are moderately brilliant and will out glaßß* The strata m the vioinity are hard and Bandy, with no large , gravel or loose stones of any kind. The " Otago Daily Timea " own correspondent m Melbourne writea : —•« Whilat one of the officials of tho Poatal Department was olearing a letter pillar m one of the prinoipai atreota of the city one morning recently, he dißoovered a roll of papera whioh were neither stamped nor addressed to anyone. On exsunning them be found that they were three bank deposit reoeipta representing altogether about £1200, and all m the name of one individual. It ia believed that the reoeiptß were the prooeeda of a robbery, and that the robber, finding that they could not be cashed and were not negotiable documents, adopted this method of having them restored to the owner." j The Presbyterian Synod whioh commenced its meetings on Monday, 28th ult, has on the roll of membera present 68 Ministers, and 54. eldere, a total of 122. The Bey Mr Beattie of thiß town iB present together with Mr Jaok, of Wellington, as depaties from the Northern Ohuroh. Mr Beattie advocated a union of the two ohurchea whioh would unite ' 25 per oent of the population of the colony. He knew of nothing to prevent it, the endowments m the South could remain as

were, and he urqed the duty of union on the highest ground. The Moderator of SyDod (Rov Q. Hali), expreaaed the pleasure with whioh they had listened to the deputies, eapeoially to Mr Baattie, whose visit he believed -had helped forward the union. (The two churohes are divided at preaent by the Waitaki river. More than twenty years ago a difference Bprang up with reference to innovations in publio worship, and as that ' difference has been gradually disappearing the prospeot[of union has increased.) The " Temuka Leader " says that Mr Thomas Leonard, of Kerry Town, had an unpeasant experience with an athletio boar one day last week. The boar, with other pigs, was in one of his paddooks, and Mr Leonard deemed it neoessary to remove them to another plaoe. The pigs of oourse submitted to be driven, but the boar, whioh ia a huge one refund to move. He would not lead or drive, and when Mr Leonard used some striking arguments to persuade him to go, he ! resented the indignity thua offered and made Rtraight for hia driver. He rushed Mr Leonard and threw him to the ground, but I disdained to strike him when down. Mr Leonard, however, had no sooner got up than the boar attaoked him again, and brought him to the ground once more. The infuriated animal evidently beoame blind with rage after having knooked down Mr Leonard three or four times, {or after the last fall he did not Bee Mr Leonard, but made for his hat, whioh had fallen on the ground. Mr Leonard took advantage of this and left the boar victor on the battle field, Mr Leonard sustained some pasty injuries in the enoounter. His leg was ripped considerably by the boar's tusks, his arm was hurt, and he was muoh bruised all over. The boar remains master of the situa. tion still, and no man seems inoljned to enter the tfsta with him.