The Ashburton Guardian. Magna Est Veritas et Prevalebit. FRIDAY, JANUARY 20, 1882.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume III, Issue 539, 20 January 1882, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna Est Veritas et Prevalebit. FRIDAY, JANUARY 20, 1882.

TOWN EDITION. [lssued at 4.30 p. m. j

Police Court. —There was a cleaiji sheet at the Police Court to-day. j A: Rapid Increase, —The valuation of rateable property in tie town of Invercargill for this year is L( 0,557. IU 1872 th* total valuation was L 10,559. | ' Alleged Criminal Assault!. —At th*) Christchurch Police Court yesterday, J. Brown was charged with ‘criminally assaulting a little girl under ten years of age. The prisoners counsel having proved a satisfactoiy alibi, the Bench dismissed the case, remarking that, although the child had evidently been assaulted b ’ some scoundrel, it was eviden; that th i accused was not the man, and (hat it wa i a case of mistaken identify on th) child’s part. The accused was then die • charged. Painful Accident,—A man named John Perham, who resides ii Burnett street, but who lately entered into a contract with Messrs Friedlander Bros, fo ? carting atone, met with a nasty accidenjt this morning. He was standi )g by one of the horses employed in the work, when the animal suddenly launcher out, and Perham received a severe ki:k in the chest. The poor man was broi ght in by ■ the morning train from the sc me of hill work, and at once conveyed to the Hospital.

Old Chums. —The Early Colonists Association of Wellington have decided to celebrate the approaching Anniversary of Wellington by a special gathering of old colonists. United Methodists. At the district meeting at Wellington of the United Methodist Free Churches, the Rev. E. Boaden was appointed representative to the Annual Assembly. It was also decided that the next district meeting be held it Napier in Napier in January, 1883.

Ashburton Racing Club. —We are authorised by Mr J. 0. Bell, Secretary to the Club, that a meeting of the same will be held at Shearman’s Hotel at 3 o’clock tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon, to consider the application of the Grand National Club for the use of the race-course on the 24th of May, and to arrange a programme for the Ashburton Club’s autumn meeting.

Election Petitions. —Mr Justice Johnston and Mr Justice Williams have been appointed to hear the following elections and petitions : —W. P. Oowlishaw v. W. H. Pilliett (Stanmore) ; Joseph Ivess v. J. C. Wason (Wakanui) ; H. Hirst v. F. Daniel (Wallace). The Chief Justice and Mr Justice Gillies will try the petition of John Ballance and others v. W. H. Watt (Wanganui).

j Prevention is Better Than Cure.— jTwo complaints have reached the police of offensive pig-styes near the town. At ‘this season of the year, and when sickness !is about moreover, people cannot be too cautious in keeping their premises sweet ; and clean. Any offensive drain, or other nuisance, should be dealt with promptly. .Choloride of lime is a cheap and most i efficient disinfectant, which can procured iat any grocer’s. We do not want a visitation here of typhoid or other fever. Let ‘it not be forgotten that prevention is at I all times better than cure.

How to “Euchre” the Sparrows.— It has been found by orchardists in Tasmania that sparrows may be effectively prevented from damaging cherry trees by the following simple contrivance : —Take a reel of strong machine cotton, tie the loose end to the outside of one of the lower branches, and throw the reel over and over the tree in all directions until the whole reel has been unwound. Sparrows will not come near it. A cat in a wire cage placed near the fruit trees most infested by birds of any description will keep them away. The cage requires to he shifted about occasionally. Extra cats may be used where the area is large.

The New Roman Catholic Church. — Bishop Redwood will lay the foundation stone of the new Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Name of Jssus on Monday next at 11 a.m. The silver trowel with which His Lordship will officiate has been manufactured by Mr James Quinn, of East street, jeweller, and bears the following inscription ; “ presented to the Right Reverend, Francis Redwood, on the occasion of his laying the foundation stone of the Church of the Holy Name of Jesus, by the Rev. Edmund P. Coffey, on behalf of the congregation—Ashburton, January 23, 1882.” We understand that new Church will accommodate GOO persons. Married Life in Boston. —The romance of a young Bostonian who married a New sfork lady is told by a correspondent. They went abroad for a wedding trip of six months, and after his return one of his acquaintances said to the bridegroom, “ well my dear boy, I suppose you are delighted with your pretty wife 1 You think her a radiant goddess no doubt ? Men always do have extravagant notions of their wives, the first year of marriage.” The Bostonian smiled rather drearily as he replied, “ Well, the fact is, my wife has too many, clothes for every possible occasion, and they are of such resplendent patterns that my time has been mainly taken up in admiring them. I have not got really acquainted with my wife yet ; but I dare say that in the course of a year or so I shall get used to her.

Financial. —The Press special, wiring from Wellington last night, says : —The ordinary revenue for the quarter ended 31st ultimo amounted to L 1,101,349, including Customs L 366,235, railways L 205,812, stamps L 36,399, postal L 34,398, telegraph L 19,345, beer duty L 17,024, judicial L 16.679, depasturing licenses L 36,927 ; and the expenditure was L782,385—viz., L 352,622 for permanent appropriations, L 429,544 for annual appropriations, L 215 for services not provided for. The land fund shows the receipts to have been L 177,838, and the expenditure L 119,118. Of the Public Works fund for the quarter, the expenditure was L 331,289, including L 49,500 for redemption of debentures. Local bodies account. —Receipts L 28,322, including license fees, L 1,786. Goldfields revenue L 5.475, gold duty L 9,395. The expenditure was L 17,113, leaving a balance in hand of L 11,209.

“ Visible Means of Support.' I —That was a cool kind of fellow who was brought up at the Waimate Police Court the other day, charged with having “no lawful visible means of support.” He indignantly denied the truth of the assertion, and when asked to prove its incorrectness exhibited his hands to the Bench in proof that he was right. ‘ ‘ There are my means of support,” said the vagrant, who had been previously convicted no less than sixteen times. “ Yes,” said the Bench, “but you don’t use them.” “That makes no difference,” replied the vagrant ; “ there they are, but I won’t work for any (adjective) man in the country. ” “ Very good,” remarked the Bench. “If you won’t work for any man, you will have to work for Her Majesty—you are sent up for three mouths.”

A Pugnacious Goat. —At the Birmingham County Court, recently, Mr William Higgs, fibre merchant, brought an action against Mr W. H. Dunkley, perambulator manufacturer, to recover L2 Is, for damages inflicted by defendant’s goat. Plaintiff was walking along Bull street, when defendant’s goat, which was drawing a new-fashioned perambidator, attacked him from behind, and tore his trousers. It was contended that the damage was too trifling to be complained of, and the judge said he did not think, from a legal point of view, that he was entitled to anything. Plaintiff happened to have a lung patriarchal beard--and the goat must have thought that he was infringing on his prerogative. (Laughter), He could not agree that the goat was naturally a ferocious animal, and he nonsuited the plantiff.

Strychnine as a Poultry Fattenbr.— A correspondent favors the Clutha Leader with the following account of an experiment with poisoned grain, said to have been made not very far from Balclutha : He caught a lean, lanky, brute of a hen that had never yielded a single egg or was ever likely to. He shut her up for a week in a coop and fed her only with poisoned oats. At the end of the week he found her as plump as a partridge, as fat as a roll of butter, and as heavy as a Warepa rooster. This was not all. In a nest in the corner of the coop was found a dozen eggs, a token of gratitude for good living. The committee met, and the

result of the experiment was reported. After long deliberation they resolved to Send hen, eggs, groats, and strychnine to Dr Black, the two former for dissection and the latter for analysis. I have not seen the doctor’s report, but I hear lie found the hen and eggs remarkably good eating. In the meantime the sparrows •and the linnets and the rabbits and other little pets have had their supplies stopped. They go mourning all day, and thejiong of the dark has ceased.

Found Dead. —At the inquest on Magner, the man who was found lying amongst the Port hills with his throat cut, the jury returned a verdict of “ Found Dead.”

The Weather. —The night before last rain commenced to fall, and has continued with some intermissions to come down ever since. This is the heaviest rain we have had for some months past. Had it fallen six weeks or two months ago, it would have been eagerly welcomed by the farmers, for the crops were in a bad way for want of moisture. Now, its effect on the crops may do more harm than good. "Palmistry.— Mr Gladstone has permitted an outline of his hand to be made for the book about to be published on palmistry by Mr Claud Warren ; so also has the President of the Royal Academy. Mr J. L. Toole, the well-known actor, and Mr Holyoake, the secularist, are likewise among the persons who have contributed their limbs to this essay on “ The Physiognomy of the hand. ”