LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2303, 16 December 1889, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Emperor William o! Germany is the first reigning monaroh who baa visited Constantinople sinoo 1457. Qld soldiers and volunteers who intend to claim land nnder the Act of last session are reminded that the time for applications closes on December 31st. The calculated population of Sootland in 1868 was 3,257,350, but it rose to 4.007,070 in 1888 ; or, in other words, it increased by about one quarter in the twenty years. Amonst the items of English news by the djreot mail is onestating that| Mr Tollemaohe, an absentee Hew Zoaland property holder, is in ill-health, and the paragraph states that this gentleman drawa an inoome from New Zealand of £75,000 per annum, Sunday labour in Franoe is by no means bo general as a few years ago, Visitors to Paris .gannot fail to notioo how many more shops are shot on Sunday after the early morning, and now the first stop has been taken toward the Sunday rest on tho railway, " Steward," he said feebly, in the small hours of tho stormy night, trying to turn over inhiß berth, "Steward, what's that?" f* The sailor on deok, sirj" " Yes, but what did he' Bay jußt nowl" "'All well," sir," " My, what a liar I " And then he turned over and moaned. The riohest woman in the world is a re«ident of South Amerioa. This is Dona Isadora Ctonsino, of Chile. She is the biggest real estate owner in Santiago and Valparaiso. South American fortunes are hard to estimate, but many people have put , Aers above 200,000,000d18. Money multiplies ] fast iu her bands, for her eye is everywhere. \ From tho States joomee a gruesome story ni aee ne B toea w &o' enaoted the parts of Wnadraoh, Meabaob, and Abednego in an Jron lurnaoa a t Birmingham, Alabamaj Old loDios Jackson, who announced himself as a seoond PanieJ, had persuaded them thßt they would take no harm. Ohuroh Bella eaye h»t ; of Qpuree, tbey perißhed, '

' During the laat (our years there have been 3833 bankruptcies in New Zealand. It is annoanood that there is a defioit of £130 on the intorprovfnoial band contest held in November last at Ohristobnrob. 1 The total number of sheep in Asbburton county on 31st May last was 721,507, as against 736,105 on the 31st May, 1888. The Japanese hnvo invented a method of tnauufaoturing very strong and nearly transparent paper from aeuweed. A letter haß been reoeived by the Hod, Mr Mitobelson from Sir H. A. Atkinson, who Bays he is as yet no better for bis trip to Tasmania. i Weeping Widow : " And suob a good man* sir." Busy Undertaker: "No doubt —no doubt; but a little wide —a Ifttle wide for the averaqe man," The ingenuity of manufacturers has gone | so far that not only is almost everything now made out of paper, but paper ia now made out of almoßt everything, Mr Arthurs haß been returned for the Eußt Coast by a majority of 54, so far as the returns are to hand. There is one small return to gome in but it oannot affoot the result. The attendanoe at the Exhibition up to the 14th inst is given aB follows, viz —Faid — Admissions—Adults, 45,246; children, 7192; season ticket holders, 24,018 ; attendants and exhibitors, 5601—Total 82,057. While the New Zealand tanners are devoting their attention to the wattle fot tanning purposes, the Taamanian tanners are sending to this Colony for seeds of the kowhai, in order to test its cultivation in Tasmania for purposes of tanning. The Rev Mr Spurgeon haß consented to take up evangolistio work in New Zealand in oonneoiion with the Baptist Ohuroh, commenoing his labours about the middle of next year. Mr Spurgeon reoently resigned hiß paßtoral charge in AuoklaDd. Queen Louise of Denmark reoently oelebratod her seventy-second birthday at Friedonßborg, surrounded by her eix ohildren and most of her grandchildren. She is the mother of the Grown Prinoe of Denmark, the present Ozarina of Rußßia, the reigning King of'Greeoo, and the future Queen of England. Florence Nightingale will oelebrate her 70th birthday next year, as she was born at Florenoe in May, 1820. Her Christian name , was ohoßen in memory to the sunny Southern oity, and perhapß the bright surroundings of her birth may have been prophetio of the brightneee she was destined to oarry into many lives. The following advertisement from the " Morning Post" will take a good deal of beating : —" Will any rich Person take a Gentleman and board him ? Of good family; aged 17; good muaioian; thoroughly oonversant with all office work; no objection to tarn Jew ; lost his money through dishonest trustee; excellent writer." A peculiar and painful aooident has befallen a young man named William Ferguson, well-known aB a forward player in the Bendigo (Yiotoria) football team. Ferguson was lying on a couch reading a newspaper when a magpie jumped on him and pecked him in the eye, A punctured wound wsb oaußed to the eye, and it is feared that his eight may be lost, The barque Beltana from Port Augusta to London with a oargo of wool ran into Port Lyttelton under flag of distress at 8 o'clook on Sunday morning. Her hatohes were battened down, the oargo being on fire. An attempt was made during yesterday to extinguish the firo with the ohemioal engine, and it was determined in the event of failure to souttle the ship. The immigration and emigration returns for the colony for November show the arrivals as 1636 persons, wbilo the departures have been 823, leaving a balanoo in favor of tbe colony of 813 persons. The prinoipal arrivals were : —From New South Wales, 624 ; Viotoria, 562; United Kingdom, 218. The departures were : —To Now South Wales, 387; Victoria, 250. No Chinese are reoorded as having arrived, while two departed. Robert MoOonnell, solioitor, was oharged at the Polioo Court, Ohristoburob, on Saturday, with laroeDy aB a bailee of farming implements, the properly of tho Deputy Offioial Assignee at Ashburton. The oaso arises from a dispute over a bankrupt esta'o. The amount involved is said to be £384. Ho was remanded to ABhburton. Aoou9od was allowed bail in £400, and two sureties of £400 eaoh. Through the kindly intervention of a gentleman who has been throughout a etaunoh friend of the half-holiday movement, and the good eense shown by the employees in disclaiming any oonneotion with what ha? been termed the '* bojoott resolution " passed at the reoent publio mooting, misunderstandings have been cleared up, and we are glad to learn that two of the prinoipal objectors to the half-holiday will oloso their places of business on Wednesday on and after January 8. The 120 yards hurdle raoe at the Exibition Sports waa won by Batgor (of Wellington). The raoe was run in beats. In the first heat Batger went off with the load, taking his fenoee beautifully, and never being oaught. W. J. Moir (Canterbury) finished seoond, and Prain (Duncdin) third. In the eeoond heat Shaw walked over. In the final the placed men and Moir were tho only starterß. A groat deal of interest was centred in the event. Moir got a very bad start, and was never in the raoe, The other two got off together and kept in that petition until about six hurdles ware got over. In the final jump Batger took the hurdle first, and v»on by five yards. It was a fine raoe between Batger and Shaw, and a good deal of money ohanged hands, Shaw being hoavily baoked by the Ohriatohuroh people; Time —l6 1-5 sea. { In a village within 20 miles of Aberdeen was a genoral dealer, oalled, as usual, "Rabbie a' thing." A oertain old woman known as a hard bargain-maker, and Rab had often many a deal in wbioh eaoh at times got the better of the other. One day she went to tho shop and said, " Rab, what's the prioo o' tbe oniney teapots, wi' tbe lowso lids ?" " Ana like that ? " says Rab, showing one on the oounter, " And what's the prioe o' that ane?" sayß the old woman. "A shillin l," says Rab. " A shillin' 1" ories the old girl, "and wad ye soil ane wantipg the lid?" "Surely I wad. I'll sell you onything." "An, what's the prioo o' ano wanting the lid?" "Ob," says Rab, "that would bo elevenpence." '• What," Bays Bhe, " ye'll only tak' a penny off for the lid ? " " Woman, the lid's no worth mair than a penny." '.' Well thank yo, it was just the ltd I wantit," Baying which tho old woman popped down a penny, and v/chi. c2 wiih the lid, leaving Rab with tho pot without the lid. The " Wellington Post " reports that at a meeting of the Philosophical Sooiety a most interesting and instructive paper was read by Mr E. Tregear on the Moriori natives of the Chatham Islands, A large % amount of valuablo information was given with referonoo to \\\ny ■'. interesting people, and Mr Trogear's coi.uiu nnß wore that they, like the Maori of tho mail.land of New Zealand, came from the mystio Huwaiki, and are a true branoh of tho Polynesians. Their dialed was shown to be slightly distinot from that of the Maori, and in one ease at least shows a similarity to the language of tho Friendly Islands. Mr Tregear pointed out also, as another oonnooting link, that among a oolleotion of Moriori ourioa waß a bono dagger very similar to those in use among the Hawaiians. Among the legends ! of the Moriori was a belief in the existence at a remote date of the " poua," an enormous I bird, which Mr Tregear took to be the same as the legendary " pouakai," the man-eating bird of the South Seas. At present the total number pf true Moriori on tbe islands is twenty seven, but there arc many fine halfbrads. The Maoris and Europeans there i number close on 500 people,'