LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XIII, Issue 2584, 6 February 1892, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The broad gauge will cease to exists on the Railways of England m a few weeks. The adjourned annual general meeting of the Ashburton County Hunt Club will be held this evening at the Commercial Hotel. During last year the wool exported from Melbourne was valued at £5,778,775, being an increase of nearly £1,500,000 on the previous year. The wheat export was valued at £805,423. The amount of rain which fell m Ashburton m January was 375 inches. Rain of above the amount of "01 inch fell on eleven days, I*7B being recorded on the sth, '23 on the 6th, #57 on the 9th, "52 on the 22nd, and #25 on the 31st. Mrs Beattie, wife of Mr Beattie of the firm of Black, Beattie, and Co., Christchurch, was drowned yesterday morning while trying to cross the Hapuka river, Kaikoura, m a van. Deceased with the van and horses was washed out to sea. Mr Edward Jones, an old Ashburton settler, who has been resident m the United States for a number of years, is now on a visit to Ashburton, where his wife and family reside on the well-known farm near Mr Hunt's on the Wakanui road. A Christchurch lamplighter, when claaning a lamp on the Riccarton road, was ! surprised to find that bees had swarmed into the hollow of the lamp-post, filling it up. It can readily be believed that the lamp was cleaned m the quickest time on record. •It is said that the crop of apples m Great Britain averages 85,000 tons; these being valued at £10 per ton. About 13,000,000 gallons of cider are made yearly. The proauction of cider m ilrance, however, averages 220,000,000 gallons. " Are there any more jurymen who have prejudice against you ?" whispered the young lawyer. " No, boss, dejury am all right, but I want you to challenge de judge; I has been 'victeel twice befoie under him, and may be he is 'ginning to hab prejudice against me. It is reported (says the "Southland News ") that a well-known business firm m Invereareill is bringing an action to recover £10,000 2amaa;es from a banking institution. The case will not, however, come on for hearing at the approaching Supreme Court Sessions. *

■■ Yesterday was the anniversary of the memorable devastating fioo.l of 1868. There has been very severe drought m part of North Otago. A visitor says :— "Hardly a blade of green grass is to be seen m and around Oamaru, whereas twenty miles South of Oamaru the country is comparatively green. The New Zealand " Herald " makes the ridiculous statement that the Ministry is j endeavouring to force on Lord Knutsford I the appointment of Sir Robert Hamilton, 1 now Governor of Tasmania, as Governor of New Zealand, because he is an old schoolfellow of Sir Robert Stout, and shares that gentleman's advanced liberal views. The committee appointed at Christchurch to arrange a luncheon to the Governor aud Lady Onslow have adopted the suggestion that there should be a popular farewell m Cathedral Square on the day of the luncheon, and that an album of New Zealand views be presented to Lady Onslow. A visitor to the sheep sale at Horsley Downs yesterday informs us that the north--crn rivers are m high flood. The Ashley is 'said to be higher, than it has been since IS6B, and the Pahau was over the railway line and prevented the train getting through to Culverden. A gallant rescue from drowning occurred at Christchurch on Thursday evening. A girl eleven years old fell into the Avon near Kilmore street, and Thomas Coulter, City Council carter, though unable to swim, plunged into ten feet of water, seized the girl and struggled to land with her. She was almost gone when he seized her. The "Manawatu Standard" says—lfc would be interesting to trace the reasons for some of the leading colonials becoming Tories. The Hon John Bryce's father was a carpenter; another New Zealand Tory's mother was a washerwoman. A leading Wellington Tory's mother kept him m idleness some twenty-four years ago by dressmaking. Sir John Bray's (of South Australia) lather was a small shcemaker, and countless other similar instances could be given. Mr G. J. Binns, formerly Government In apector of Mines m New Zealand, has been elected first President of the South Derbyshire branch of the National Association of Colliery Managers of England. Mr Binns is the manager of the famous " Netherseal" Colliery, and is (says a Home paper) an exceedingly shrewd and clever business man. who has travelled a good deal, and gained his knowledge m the school of experience. The famous dog Help died m London, England, of old ase on December 12. He belonged to the Society of Railway Servants, and used to travel up and down through the country collecting funds for the railway charities. He was singularly successful m this, as m his life he got together not less than £2300 for them. The following ambiguous notice was | posted up, early m the present century, for the information and guidance of the dwellers on certain property m the county of Kent: " Notice is hereby given that the ! Marquis of Camclen (on account of the backwardness of the harvest) will not shoot himself, nir any of his tenants, till the 14th of September." In England there is an enormous amount of business controlled by companies. In April, 1891 according to a Parliamentary paper, the paid up capital of registered companies was £891,504-, 102, which is considerably m excess of the whole national debt. Th"3 return, be it. noted, does not include the paid up capital of railways m the United Kingdom, which will be about as much again. A Canterbury (England) correspondent, writing on December 19 to a home paper, says:—" The supply of old ewe sheep by army and navy contractors is now prohibited. These animals are, therefore, selling cheaply, and London dealers are making extensive purchases of them on the Kentish markets admittedly with the view of decipitating and freezing the carcases, thus giving them the appearance of imported meat," The Wellington "Post" reports: —On Tuesday, whilst engaged m a special survey of the harbour, Torpedo man Gauntlet, on landing from the Government cutter, of which he formed one of the crew, found, at Arthur's Foint, on the rock?, a sea-boot which contained a portion of a man's foot. The remains consist of bones, the flash having, of course, disappeared. The leather of the boot is m good preservation, but has evidently been under the water for a lengthy period. Just above the heel the leather has been torn or eaten away, probably by fish. It is surmised that the boot and its ghastly contents belonged to a seaman who has some time or other been drowned m the harbour.