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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XV, Issue 213, 30 October 1880, Page 4

Mr. 0. 0. Bowen, in his address to his constituents, at Kaiapoi on Wednesday last thus made preference to local finance : — " They no doubt had heard something about the Government scheme, substituting for the local subsidies & scheme for local finance. He had not liked the scheme, which wag proposed, though it was an ingenious one, but he did not think it would have added to our resources. It was a political system, 'and perpetuated sti) that terrible system of double accounts which was now going on. The only division which he could see between tbo general and local finance was that the Government should manage all general funds raised by means of stamps and things of that sort, and that he land revenue should be devoted to public works, and that they should hand over to the local bodies the power of direct tnxntion. It was idle to say to local bodies 'Ton may tax*' while the General Government was also levying direct taxation. Ho believed the proper thiug would be to have no double accounts ; that the General Government should give up the power of direct taxation to the local bodies, and let the local bodies raise what they thought necessary themselves. The people would check, it better when this was the case. He believed this would be the wisest scheme for the assistance of local finance, because there would, they might be sure, be no more subsidies. He thought there was no doubt about that" The conclusion of Dr Tanner's fast has called forth, various reminiaceceae, istorical and other, of previous lonu fasts, though it appears to be generally ■ conceded that nothing like Dr Tanner's fast has ever been" recorded. The Swiss Military; Times, commenting on the latter, recalls a similar cruel attempt ' that was made with a oumbar of horses j in Paris four years ago , with this difference, via , that thß fast was forced upon the poor quadrupeds without their consent, and that the French experiment was undertaken with a view (6 ascertaining how long horsss could be raadevlO: go witboul. fodder in the event of the scarcity which accompanies a siege. The fol.owing resu 1(8 were vhuß nrrived at:— lt was proved beyond doubt that a horse can bold oat for twenty- five days without any solid°food, provided^ it will be supplied with plenty ;of drinking water of [gooii quality ; that $ horse can barely- hold out for five days without water j and ;(hat ifa^boree be.w.e.U fed for ten Sdays, butjqsufllciently^ provided with water throughout that period, it' will not oatIjve the eleventh; \^'ayi .One horse, from which water bad been entirely withheld for three days, drank on the : fourth- day sixty litres (about twelve gallons) of water witbin three minutes A horse which bad received no solid nourishment for eleven days, but which had had plenty of water, was able, on the 12th day of its; fast, to draw a load of 279 kilos. A case haß also been cited of o dog that was forgotten in c house by the family when they went off for five weeks to the sea side, and left for that time without an atom of food or a drop of water. On the return of the family the poor dog was found in the house, to the amazement of its owners, who had supposed it to have been lost ; it was .alive, but literally a living skeleton, and totally blind, but it managed to crawl into view oo' bearing the familiar voices. It waa .carefully and judtcipusly coredlfor, ivhd recovered not only its lost flesh but its eyesight, An English sporting paper has the following :-7-HolliDgwood, near' ManchWter,' was 1 the scene of a rather novel rat-killinar match the other .day between Mr Benson*a foxl-terrier dog Turk and a Mr Lewis's monkey, for £5. The 7 conditions of the match were that each one had to kill twelve ratj*, and the one that-finished tbemHhe quickest to be declared the winner. You may guess what excitement j'.tbUi would cause in the " doggy " circle. It wee agreed that Turk was to finish his twelve rats first, which he did, and in good time too, many beta being made on the dog; after he had finished them. After a few minutes had; elapsed, it nqw^Game to the monkey's turn, and' a pretty commotion, it caused. Time being called, the monkey was immediately pat to his twelve rats, Mr Lewis, his owner, at the same time, putting bis hand in his coat pocket and handing _'thp monkey ..a. peculiar hammer. This was a surprise to the onlookers; but the monkey was npt_lopg in getting to work, with his hammer, and once at worfe.he was notlong in completing the task set before him. Too may talk about a dog being quick at rat-killing biff he iß ; 'really -not; in it with monkey and his hkmmer, ■•' Had 'the > imobkej* been left in the riog mucb [JtoD'ger you r could not have told tis Victims bad ever been rats at all— be was for leaving them in all shapes. Suffice IMP say, the monkey wop, with ..ease,; baying time to spare at the finish, j persona present. .(including Mr I Benson, tbeowher of the dog) thought |-tfie^mdnkey would worry the rats in the | namely aa a dog does;: but the conj, .ditions said to kill, and the monkey killed with a vengeance, and won the £5, 'b ; esi.des { a lot of bets for his,' owner.