LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2325, 10 January 1890, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Erapp uses 3000 tone of coal and ooke daily. It will require 40,000 oensua takers to gather the statistics for the United States census in 1390. Mr Thomas G. Shearman estimates that' there are 31,000 persons in the United States who own three-fifths of the total wealth of the country.

As the result of mining by electricity, it has been proved that ten men oan accomplish with the eleotrioal drill what it requires 100 men to do by older methods,'

The Earl of Euaton, whose name is before the public just now, used to be a boundary rider on the estate pf Sir Thomas Elder in South Australia, and wag afterwards asßogiate to Chief Justice Way.

A very common error is to suppose that birds sleep with the head beneath the wing. No bird ever Bleeps so; tho head is turned round and laid upon the baok, where it is Often oonoealed by feathers.

The memory of Frederick Konig, the inventor of the quiok printing press—an invention which was first put to use in England—is to be commemorated by a monomeno at Eisleben, his native place.

We have muoh pleasure in acknowledging a oopy of a vote of thanks passed by the annual general meeting oi the subscribers to the Meohanioß Institute, Timarn, for the free supply of the •• Guardian " during the past year.

We have to acknowledge the receipt of Part VI of the Statistics of New Zealand,' 1888, from the Government Printer. This can, however, uoaroely be regarded as great promptitude seeing that they are now more than a twelvemonth old.

The AtohducheßS Stephanie of Austria is an accomplished artist, and is now busy drawing illustrations for the completion of her late husband'a work, •' Austria«Hungtry in Word and Picture." She has just finished three charming views in Lower Austria,

Among the best customers for Swiss watohes ib the United States, although the industry is largely developed in Amerioa. Germany takes about 17,000,000 franc*' worth of Swiss watohes annually, Great Britain 13,000,000 franc*, and France 6,500,000 francs.

Ohristia Is the name of the new material for surgical bandages' It is simply a strong light paper chemically treated in the bath— to trie touch it feels like india-rubber, and is perfectly waterproof, ft ha 3 incorporated in ics composition valuable antiseptic and medical qualifies.

The French Government has oonvened at the Exhibition a congress to consider the subjeot of Sunday observance in its relation to the health and welfare of the people. The Co-operation has been invited'of a number of gentlemen acquainted with the subjeot from various oouatriea.

Judge (to darkey witness): Do yon know the nature of an oath ? " Witness : " Sah ? " —Judge : " Do yon undeicstand what you are Ito swear to ? " Witness: " Yes, Sah. I'm to swar to tell de tiut." —Judge: "And what ' will happen if you do not tell it ? " Witness: I ««j 'epcots our Bide 'ill win de oase, Sah."

Fouf 'ore in southern Bussia is all powerful A man """Jlfodto a judge in Odessa for a writ to oompVl his i*oghter to leave the house, beoaase when she salute'u !"* P"6!?, 1! ehe did not bo* to them. He said he wou.u withdraw his application it ehe would ask pardon and make the regular obeisance. The girl agreed. She asked pardon; but when she bowed the father oried, "Lower. Down ! wi'b your head ! down below the girdle I" , She replied, " I won't bend as low as that, not if I have to leave the house." The judge therefore ordered her to leave, but aha gave >t> finally »q4 faowid faw be»4 to tfa« girdle, I

One death from sunstroke was recorded in Now Zealand during the month of November.

The Anniversary Day popular sports held at Christohuroh resulted in a profit of £288.

A Roman aqueduct has been lately cleaned and put in order at Sabelies, Spain, and now Eupplies the town with water.

Queen Victoria's pet dog h a Yorkshire terrier tbat weighs two and three quarter pounds and oost 75d015. .

Mr Sinolair, of New South Wales, the olaimant to the Caithness peerage, was oashier to a London firm for thirty years before goiDg to Australia.

In the recent autumn manoeuvres in Germany the fortifying of an entrenched position with barbed wire fencing was found to be very efficacious.

A plague of monkeys afflicts Tanjore, in Southern India. The creatures do so muoh mißohief that an offioial monkey catcher receives a rupee for eaoh monkey captured.

Mr Gladstone, in a letter to a Beckenham correspondent, says:—" The principle of local option ia one which I\iew with muoh favour, and I wiah to see it reasonably and promptly tried.

The Empress of Germany is said to wear on her shoulder at Court fetes a magnifioent agraffe in diamonds which belonged to Napoleon I, and which was attached to his hat at Waterloo.

The sheep slaughtered last year at Belfast Freezing Works numbered 227,995. This number is less than in the previous year, but would have been 50 per cent greater bad il not been for the fire at the works.

A boy named Maoey, aged seven, fell into the water off^the steamer wharf on Thursday at Lyttelton. A Bailor of the Opal named Harry Wall jumped in and rescued him, keeping him afloat till both were hauled ashore by a line.

A man named George Alexander, wanted by the polioe for some time on a charge of robbery with violenoe, was arre&ted by Detective Neill at Christohuroh on Thursday evening. He and another man are aooused of robbing a man named William Qrenera of a cheque for £14.

During a representation in the theatre a* Perpignan, France, recently an eleotrio wire feeding the light in the auditorium broke and left the audience in darkness. The eleotrio discharges from the end ot the wire injured quite a number, and a panio ensued, during whioh the interior of the house was badly wr<2oked.

An Auckland gentleman has reoeived a curiously addressed letter. It cornea from Germany, the land of accuraoy and deep learning, and eminates from the firm of " Paul Buss, Berlin W., Friedrich Strasso, 109." It reads as follows:—•• Mr , Auokland; New Sseland, Nodh America." A Ghsrißiehuroh gentreman reoeived by tbe laat mail a communication from New York, addressed "Ohrietohuroh, Auckland, Australia.'

A Boston watchmaker recently had a rar« task. It was the putting in order of two watohes, each of whioh had cost £500. The case of eaoh of these watohes is pure gold, and its works number full; 400 pieces. Oa the larger dial there are four smaller dials, one showing by a diagram ol the eky the ohanges of the moon, a seoond dial eaoh month, a third dial the day of the month, and a fourth dial the day of the week.

A gentleman now in Tallabasse who has travelled all over, the world says he saw one little trick the Japanese had he was anxious to understacd. He saw a gardener who had a plot of ground some twenty yards square whioh was laid out after the plans of a farm of hundreds of acree, There were trees of all kinds, but by some secret process they were dwarfed to a height of a few inches and kept at that for any lerjgth of time. People bought the trees as novel ies, but they immediately commenced to grow. The gardener refused to divulge his secret, saying if he did so he would be beheaded. Stratagem also failed to discover it, and the Japanese are yet the only people who oan make trees mature in miniature.

The " Cosmopolitan Magazine *' of New York enumerates some of the richest heitessea in the United States. Among these are Miss Mary Garrett, who is worth about £2 500,000; Miss Jenny Flood, £4,000,000; Miss Daisy Stevens and Miss Annie CuuiDg, eaoh worth £2,000,000; Mrs Fair, £800,000; Mrs Hetty Green, £4,000,000; Mrs Astor, £1,600,000; Mrs Andrew Coffin, £1,000,000; and Mrs Marshall Roberta and Mrs Moses Taylor, eaoh worth £4,000,000, These ladies are widows. It is unnecessary to add that there are soorsß of impoverished prinoes, duVee, marquises, and barons on tbe Continent of Europe, who are quite ready to barter tbe oldest of titles for each maguifiaent dowries.

A shocking fatal aooident happened at tho Bendigo raoes lately when the steepleohaso waa being run. Wild Dog and Salford were leading, Salford being ridden by a jockey named Arthur Franois Newlaods. Salford, when rising to the jump, struok tbe top rail heavily with both fore feet. He turned & complete somersault and the jockey wan crushed beneath him. A constable who wan close at hand at onoe went up and found him to be dead. Singular to say the bridlo was wound twice round Newland's left leg, Fortunately the horße, which was unhurt, only moved a few yards and waß quietly grazing. It was found that Newlanda' chest was completely crushed and the baok of hill skull broken in, so death must have been instantaneous.

The annual treat and distribution of prizes of the Aahburton Presbyterian Church Sunday Sohool was postponed from New Year's Day in oonsequenoe of the wet weather, which coming on at noon paused the dispersal of the children and teachers from the Manse grounds, where they had assembled, Sowever, arrangements were made afresh, and on Wednesday afternoon they again mustered, and with a number of parents and friendu eDjoyed the afternoon at the Manse. Ten and refreshments for all were bountifully provided, and games usual to such gatherings were indulged in till dusk set in, all appearing to have enjoyed themselves very muoh, and the eoholars in particular agreeably pleased at tbe wind up of tba treat with such pleasant weather and surroundings,

The "Wellington Evening Post' 1 having offered the sum of 30 guineas in prizes fox poems in commemoration of the jubilee of New Zealand no lesß than ninety poems wera sent in. These were referred to Mr J. E. Fitzgerald in accordance with whose award the first prige, 15 guineas, goes to Mr H. L. James, Parliamentary Library, Wellington; the Beeond, 10 guineas, to Mr Charles lumbers, Telegraph Department, Dunedin, and tha third. 5 guineas, to Mr Edward Tregear, Park Street, Wellington. Of these three poems Mr Filzgerald writes that he had great dipculty in making a ohoioe, their merit was so equal. Mr Fitzgerald has also marked eight other poems, bearing the respective" mottoes, " Hceo studia obteotant," "Kowhai/ "Ora et labore," "8.A." (blank verse), "Bavmsworth," "Quisque," Old Pioneer," unsl ('7ranz Jaoobus," a« being worthy of publication, and "indicating a very fair amount of poetio power power and feeling latent amongst us." Two, at anyrate, of th« ninety poems were from thosa sent in over the nanyities de glume of ''Kowhai" and "Quisque" having been written by Major Sieward. The names of tbe pthej writers will doubtless shortly transpire.