Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 1890 LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2322, 7 January 1890, Page 2

Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 1890 LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Numbers of spurious half sovereigns a: being put in oiroulation in Sydney.

Sir Henry Parkes imagines that federation of the oolonies will be brought about within 18 months,

The pockets of the British Infantry coat are to be sewed up till the men aro on aotive duty.

Mr Loselat de Bonohone is appointed Consul in charge of Wellington, in place of Count Jouffray d'Abbans, transferred to Zarioh,

The western part of Persia is inhabited by a kind of camel which is the pigmy of its speoies. They are snow white and are less than thirty inches high.

New York has 900 firemen. Berlin has 1000, London 700, St Petersburg 1200, Hamburg, 850, Paris 50 regular and 1450 reserves, and Liverpool 250,

The country having the largest proportion of cultivated land is Denmark, Russia having the smallest. The United Kingdom has 29 per cent of land tilled against 71 untilled.

A resident of Whatawhata (Auckland), named Iwertson, has drawn the first prize in an Art Union held at Homo; the prize is a tiara of'diamonda valued at £2000.

A gum digger, Biohard Bodwell, waa found dead in bed at Northern Wairoa. The cause of death was epaema ,of the heart, the result of drink.

An enthusiastic soldier writing to the "War Cry" an acoounfc of Borne recent Salvation meetings, says notwithstanding the toils of the day we could feel " glory trickling down the small of our backs."

The wife of the Seoretary of the Chinese Embassy in London was recently fined £5 just because she was in the habit of tearing out handfuls of her servants' hair whenever they displeased her.

The lease of the extensive Eaingaroa Plainß has been acquired from the Government by Jonathan Brown, a Tauranga settler, and he haß just placed a mob of 4000 sheep upon the property.

A man named Frank Bartholomew, a prisoner undergoing sentence in Mount Eden gaol, fell into a gun pit while working at Fort Oautley, and died of conouasion of the brain;

About twenty mina birds brought from San Franoieco by the Zealandia were Bent to Fiji on board the Omapere for the Colonial Sugar Company's plantations. The birds are intended to destroy tbe beetles and other ineeot pests.

Lord Oarrington, in the oourse of a recent speeoh, said he appreciated the efforts of the Good Templars to promote the oause of temperance, and reoognised Jntemperanoo aB one of the greatest sources of orime and poverty.

The annual tea meeting of the Tinwald Presbyterian Ohnroh takes plaoe this evening in the Templar Hall. After tea, addresses will be given by the Rev J. W. Oree, from Leeston, and local ministers. Musioal selections will ba given by a choir, and altogether a pleasant and successful gathering is looked forward to.

It haß been decided by the Domain Board that the hours during which the swimming bath may be used shall be before 9 o'clock in the morning and after 6 o'clook at night. It has also been decided to close the traok leading through the Domain in the direotion of AUenton.

At last night's meeting of the Borough Oounoil tbe Works Oommfictee recommended that a hender"of £177 be aooepted for tbe ereotion of a tower for the reception of the jubilee olook. ."Feelings of eoonomy, however, induced the Counoil to refer the matter baok to the Committee, wilb a view to ascertaining whether a Ices expensive plan might not be adopted.

Several of the West Had London clubs, according to " Land ana Water," have been visited during the past week with a strange and dire disaster —no less a calamity, indeed, than a plague ot |fleas. How this oame about is still an unsolved problem, but at one time it was bo aoute as to be quite intolerable. It has, however, now deoreaaed, and every precaution is being taken to prevent its recurrence,

On Wednesday afternoon next a cricket match will be played in the Domain between teams representing the North and South sides of the river Ashburton. As two matches have already been played, with the result of one victory to each team an interesting game may be ezpeoted. The team to represent the North side will be chosen from the following, viz. ■.—G. W. Andrews, L. F. Andrewes, E. Buobanan, Buohanan jr, W. B. Denshire, H, Flower, A. Fooks, H. Fowler, O. Grubb, W. Kidd, J. C Lane, W. Simpson, W. Or. Beee, O. Strange, G. S. Soott, 0. A. T. Mackay. Play will commence at 2 p.m.

Writing about tbe pig aB a very fastidious animal, tbe "Fall Mall Gazette" thus re? marks :—We must all make our apologies to the pig, who has been grossly maligned in regard to bis food. Instead of being ready to eat anything, he turns out to be tbe most fastidious of onimals. Experiments have been made in France and Sweden which Bhow this to be the case, and in the latter country the record tells us that out o! 575 plantp tbe goat eats 449 and refuses 126; the sheep out of §28 plants eatß 317 and refuses 141; out of 494 plants tbg cow eats 276 and refuses 217; out of 474 plants tbe horse eats 262 and refuses 212; and the pig out of 343 plantß eats 72 and refuses 171."

The public generally will heartily Bay " Hear 1 hear! to the following from the " North Qtago Times":—That the Railway Department wants reorganising there is the oleareg L t proof, the OommisßJoners themselves being tbe principal transgressors against public feeling in regard to the eouduot of the railways. Their alterations in the running of trains have been the osjise of much grumbling and disoontent, and their train arrangements in connection with the Exhibition have been farcical, We were prepared to allow tbe Commissioners every latitnde in carrying out reforms, but their bo-palled reforms have only annoyed tbe publio without doing the Department any good.

This year we have received muob leso than our usual number of complaints of mischievious larrikarjism on New Year's eve. The reason has probably turned up in the following little episode related by a well-known oitizen whose vigorous aotion, ocouring as it did somewhat early in the evening, doubtless omened the evil in the bud. It appears that anticipating the usual visit lie concealed binself close ( his garden gato, armed wi.h a walking stick of Brobdignagiem proportions and of exceeding weight and toughness. Lying "'perdu he thus had the satisfaction of being on the spot when a gang of some ten hobbledehoys arrived and proceeded to attempt to lift the garden gate from its hingea. Down into the midßt of them desoendedjthe flageilitor and two or three of them reoeived smart punishment, while the rest scattered dismayed in every direction as fast as their heels oould carry them, "^ell done worthy oitizen; if half a dozen more would follow bo excellent an example next New Yec-.r wanton misohief would cease to be attempted.

The County Oounoil hai been the viotim of a rather amusing bungle on the part of some of the Government departments. The Counties Act provides for the election of Chairmen of Councils on a specified date, but this j ear that date happening to olasb with the day fixed for the opening of the Dunedin Exhibition, the Government, in order to permit of members of Oounoils attending, intimated that they would, by proclamation in the " Gazette," alter the time of eleotion. This waß done, but the name of the Ashburton County Oounoil was omitted from the bodies so gazetted, and nothing could be done at the time. The Government were communioated with, and to meet the case an Order in CouooH was promisedo That Order duly appeared in the " Gazette," but while it was dated December 16, it fixed the mreting for Deoejube? 111 This made matters worse and a further appeal to the Government elicited the reply that '? the Governor having already exeicised &i 0 power under Secio--322 of the Act oould not do so again." The difficulty was overcome by the Chairman resigning his offioe, to Whiph be wsj immtfiitejy resr.poirjtfld, j 4: