San Francisco Mail.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XIV, Issue 2908, 25 February 1893, Page 3

San Francisco Mail.

(Pee Mariposa at Auckland,)

GENERAL SUMMARY.

Mr Woodall, Financial Seqretary of the British War Office, received a delegation | of Queensland meat importers on January . 27, on the subject of supplying meat to the army. After hearing the deputation, he replied that although Australian chilled meat was inferior to the chilled American article, yet Government was willing to give importers of meat from Australia an opportunity to show what they could do. Government would therefore appeal to Parliamtnt in the coming session for funds to establish storage chambers at Qibrahar for the supply of 'Australian meaffto the field garrison at that post, and if the experiment proved successful the use Qf Australian meat in the army would be extended. Thfrty deaths from starvation occurred ii} Great Britain, including Ltmdon, d,uring the year 189|. The St Petersburg correspondent of the London "Times," on January 9, says professor Martins, the great Russian authority on international laws, has been appointed a member of the special commision in connection with the British sealeries in Behring Sea. This leaves no doubt that Russia will deal with the question from an international point of view, and confirms the belief that it is her intention to follow America's lead and claim that Behring Sea ia closed with exclusive rights to the west of an imaginary line drawn by America, There is every indication that Russia and America are ; working hand in hand against England, The British barque Norwich \fas abandoned while on a'voyage from Philadelphia to Dunkirk. Part of the craw who were taken off by a passing vessel arrived at Havre. They had a terrible experience. On December 20 the barque encountered a fierce hurricane. The weather was bitterly cold, and everything' covered with ioe. Captain Hillon was fatally injured by. a'falling 1 spar.' The day after his death a tremendous sea boarded the barque, carrying' overboard the first officer &nd two of jjhY crew. Short? handed, and with the barque making water, the second officer decided to stand for the Aaores. The situation bfcame worse, and it was finally decided to abandon th<* barque, when a vessel, hove in sight and took the crew off. "The Times " of January SO, says the Treasury has received a warrant for th« arrest of Jabez Spencer Balfour, now in Mexico. The-anthoritiesiwill as-k Mexico feo send'hinvover the* frontier, in'terriftry covered by the extradition 'treaty,'and au English detective will be at the spc^, when he'"crosses the" border and arrest 1 him. Balfour is regarded as the heacl *a'ncj front of the Liberator Building fraud, 1

' The Ashburton Brass Band played opposite the Somerset Hotel this afternoon, taking a collection for the Queensland Relief Funds. A meeting of the Committee of the Horticultural Society will be held in the Arcade Chambers to-night at eight o'clock, to pass accounts in connection with the recent show and arrange for the payment of prizes. A boot with a human foot inside was discoyered on Friday by three ladies on the beach at Sumner. The boot had the ir< n heelplate detached, and had the appearance of having been in the water for some time. From enquiries made it appears that the foot was dicovered opposite to where four men named Paul Pearson, John Cockle, Thomas Nuttle, and Joseph Cockle were drowned through a boating accident on September 11 last, and the boot has beeD indenfcitied by his relatives as belonging to John Cockle. The single members of Aahburton Polo Club proved too strong for the married team in their match last Wednesday the scores being four to two. At a general meeting of the Club on Friday evening, Mr Buckley in the chair, it was decided to accept Christchurch Club's invitation to send up a team if a day suitable for local club can be arranged. Mr Denshire moved that polo sports be held on Wednesday, March 22, and this was unanimously carried. We have no doubt that this will be well attended as the programme drawn up at the meeting includes an umbrella race, bending competition, costume race, and several other features quite new to the district. Writes " Anglo-Australian" in the " European Mail " :—Several complete roller flour mill plants are going out! to , Australia and New Zealand this year. This is doubly significant, Siiy the Mark Lane magnates, considering the fact that Australasia has already some hundreds of modern scientific new-process plants, and that on January 2 Antipodean wheat was settling at 27s per quarter, against a top price of 463 on January 2, 1892! It is worthy of note, too, for AustLalasiac, merchant millers, that some fine Japanese roller-mill flour has been on offer at Mark Lane, the produce of Japanese native-grown wheat. Experts assure me that the flour was really a beautiful sample, although the price at whioh it went off was such as to involve a loss of tome shillings per sack to Ihe bold Japanese miller who made this purely expel mental shipment. "Ah I** remarked one of the oldest habitues of the Corn Exchange, as he compared this sample with some American "patentsj" ".Japan is the second New Zealand of the Pacific." It may be so, but the Britain of the South has a good start of the Japs, and need not fear much in that quarter. Still, there is no harm in heeding such f Jtcts as those cited above.