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South Canterbury Times, Issue 2427, 27 December 1880, Page 3

As the total result of the Christinas festival, two inebriates wore locked up on Saturday, and subsequently bailed out. Considering the nature of the festival, Timaru has been wonderfully sober. Another pleasing feature of the holidays is that in this district, so far as we can learn, they have been unaccompanied with the slightest accident. At Wanganui f jur young men had a bad Christinas. They were sailing up the river when their boat was capsized by the wind and two of the occupants, named Gainic and Hilkinson, were drowned. The others were saved —one swimming ashore, and the other being picked up by a boat. A good story comes from a State school not a hundred miles from Te Aro. A teacher, enthusiastic m the cause of temperance, offered a prize of £1 to any boy in Ins class who could answer the question “ What is worse than strong drink ?” The youngsters wore fairly puzzled ; but one diminutive urchin determined to make a shot for the filthy lucre, and answered, « \Vrah drink,” The horrified master still retains the stakes. A very serious error occurred in one of the cablegrams received from Renter on Monday, It was stated in reference to the Greek frontier question that Greece had “ declined ” to negotiate with Turkey, whereas it should have read that she had « decided ” to negotiate with the Porte. “ What is the distance of the sun from ‘die earth?” was the question that was lately put to a candidate for the Civil Service. 'The reply was that he couldn’t tell the exact distance, but he didu t think it was near enough to interfere with his duties of post-office clerk. Sir William Fox is quick at retort, and usually silences atiy hostile questioner, hut lie met his match the other day atAwahuri. He was lecturing there about his American experiences, and, amongst other things, talked of America’s vast grazing farms, whore full-grown bullocks could be raised for the market at three dollars each. At the close of the lectuie one of the audience questioned the strict accuracy of this latter statement. Sir William persisted that it was strictly accurate. “ Then,” retorted his questioner, how is it that if hides are worth, almost anywhere in the world, from 15s to 20s, that stock-breeders can be so foolish as to sell their stock at less than the . value of the hide ?” This was a poser. The ‘ New Zealand,Times ’ adds that Sir William looked thoughtful, and retired to cogitate .over the problem

The laughing face of Mr Thomas Lowther Shepherd, exM.H R , will shortly lake its departure from the Civil Service. Mr Shepherd has lately been smiling at Naseby in the interior of Otago, but it is stated that he is numbered with the Government reductions. The ranks of the unemployed will shortly have at least one cheerful member.