Local and General.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XVIII, Issue 4364, 6 December 1897, Page 2

Local and General.

When a fine ruby is found in Burmah, a procession of elephants, grandees, and soldiers escort it to tbe King'u palace. The matron of the Hospital acknowledges with thanks the receipt of a number of illustrated papers from Mr C. J. Harper, for tha use of the patients. The Brass Band gave an open-air concert on Saturday evening in Baring Square to an j appreciative audience. The programme previously advertised was gone through satisfactorily. A female town-crier fulfils her duties in the Scottish town of Dunning, Perthshire. She is a hale, hearty old dame of seventy, locally known as the " bell wife," and is very proud of having proclaimed the Queen's birthday for fifty-three years running.

An exchange asks : —When town travellers ask for printing orders, do business men sufficiently consider what it means ? If the work is done locally at least 75 per cent goes back indirectly to them. If sent away, they do not even get 5 per cent of it back. Burglar alarms can now be attached to bicycles. The device consists of a bell surrounding a clock mechanism which is fastened to the name. A lever projects in line with the spokes in the back wheel, to i sound the alarm when the wheel is moved.

1 There is a church in the City of Cork which is known for miles around on account of the peculiarity of its steeple. The steeple is built of two different colored stones, two sides being built in white, and the other two in red stone. A society is being formed in Paris the members of which are bound under a penalty j of a fine never to shake hands with anyone unless with a gloved hand, as the practice is supposed to be contrary to health. One of the most beautiful orchids was recently exhibited in London. It was a white flower, shaped like a sea-gull with outspread wings, and a gold and vermilion heart. It came from Veuueuela, and cost £1000. Near Woodstock, Oxon, a man who had just put some tools into a chest at the approach of a storm w*b struck by lightning and killed as he stood under an oak tree, which was photographed perfectly on his body by the electric fluid.

All the flags for British ships of war, except the Royal standards, are made in the Government dockyards ; and the enormous number required may be judged from the fact that in the colour-loft at Chatham alouo about 18,000 flags are made in a year.

An untamed swallow, which had its nest on a farm near Chetwynd, in Shropshire, was caught and taken in a cage to London, where it was released. It returned to its nrst in eighty minutes, having accomplished a distance of 145 miles at the rate of nearly two miles »• minute.

Id has been computed that if the sea wm c emptied of its waters and all the rivers of the earth were to pour their present floods into the vacant space, allowing nothing for fiVAporation, 40,000 ye.irs would be required to bring the water of the ocean up to its present level.

Paper gaspipes are now made. Manilla paper is cut in strips, equalling in width the length of the pipe to be made. These are passed through a vessel filled with melted asphalt, and then wrappel firmly and uniformly round an iron core until the required thicknsss is attained. These pipes are claimed to be perfectly gaslight, and ate said to be much cheaper than iron pipes.

The latest official estimate of the population of the United States is 77,000,068. This is made by the Government Actuary, a Treasury officer whose duty it is at fixed intervals to report on the per capita ciiculation of money in the United States. He estimates that the present holdings of money are nearly twenty-three dollars for every man, woman, and child in the United States.

It is popularly supposed that the interest in bull-fighting in Spain is lagging, but the facts of the case indicate that, if anything, popular interest is more intense than ever. The remuneration received by thematadores ranks with that obtained by some of the leading operatic singers in England Last year the least reubwned matadores received from £60 to £80 for each fight ia which they took part, while the more famous were paid from £100 to £170.

A remarkable development in the Dreyfus case, outside of the announcement that the German Emperor had expressed his belief in the man's innocence, is the statement recently made by one of the vice-presidents of the French Senate, that Captain Drefus's brother has charged Count Esterhagy, commandant of artillery, with being the author of the document on the strength of which Dreyfus was convicted by the court-martini.

The big railway strike which will take place in England on the 16th inst has b, een organised by the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, who have issued a ?' national programme," in which the eighthour day for signalmen, locomotive men, shunters, examiners, greasers, and platelayers form a leading part. Ten hours are to be the maximum for any grade. Time and jb to be the rate for overwork, with extra pay for Sunday work.

The defence in the Brunner cases has been amended by the insertion of a plea that the explosion was caused by a sudden incursion of firedamp, which escaped into the mine owing to tr*e falling in of a part of the roof, and that this falling in' was inevitable, and could not have been prevented, by the exercise of any care or • diligence on the part of the defendant. James Bishop, manager of the mine, gave evidenoe in support of this contention, and against tfte conclusion arrived at by the Royal Commission'" that the catastrophe was caused by a blown-out

A rather awkward thing for a would-be borough councillor happened lnsfc week at Timaru, Nominations for the seat on the Timaru Borough Council rendered vacant by the resignation of Mr David Owera, fell due, The Returning Officer received two nominations—of Mr Andrew .sberratt and Dr R. Stuart Reid. Ihe Returning Officer declared Mr Andrew Sherratt duly elected, Dr Reid being ineligible, his nomination paper having the following memo, attached to it : ««Dr Reid having failed to pay rates qualifying bim to be entered on the burgess roll until aftes tha roll was completed, is not entitled to be ruminated for..election, not being a burgess." f: '• ■'•

Christmas is now nigh at hand, the time for sending greetings and practical ' expressions of good fellowship and kindly remembrance from friend tp friend. la these days, whop nearly eyery one cycles more or less, wbafc present more appropriate, or more likely to'"be appreciated, than a first-class "bike," or some of the numerous 1 accessories thereto ? In this connection the Austral Cycl? A ? ency have »JP»«^ unlimited selection of cycling no».. ■.« »na accessories, and a magnificent stook of both ladies' and 'jehtrf"' bicycles of the highest grades, and with all the latest improvSmerits, as may be seen by a visit to any of their depots, or by writing for a catalogue which will be posted free.

The New Woman, the new fashion, the latest orawe, have some particular virtue to commend'them* 5 so it is wish the new cough mixture, Woods' Great Peppermlnff Cure*instantaneous relief for man, woman, or child is the feature of this unfailing remedy. All Grocers and Chemists keep it, the prioe ii r«ites»bie, U 6<J *»<* Si 6rt, Pi, I©

* Mr David Thomas advertises t hat his next j wool Bale takes pl»oa in ChristCourch on j Thursday, December 16, entries for which! close on Monday, December 13. Instructions j as to consigning, etc, are given in an advertisement. Mr P. L. Payne, whose term of office as stationmaster at Ashburton has expired, I leaves by express this evening for the north jen route to Napier, of which station he is i I about to become master. Mr Parson?, Istely of Hastings, succeeds Mr Puyne. A party ef excurionists left Ashburton by I Trevursa's drag on Saturday night for Peel Forest, and returned last evening, quite delighted with the beautiful scenery and invigorating atmosphere of this favourite holiday resort. The correspondent of the "Southern Standard " has the best authority for stating that the Hon. W. P. Reeves, Agent-Genera', will be on the platform at the next general election, but for which constituency has not transpired

A peculiar form of bicycle accident happened a few days ago to Mr W. Morsehead, a well-known official in the We lingfon j Post Office. He was cleaning his machine, , and caught his hand in the spokes of the j wheel as it was whirling round, with the result that the forefinger of bis left hand was broken. His Excellency the Governor has been pleased to offer a free pardon to any person, not being the principal offender, who shall give such information as will lead to the | conviction of the offender or offenders in | connection with the horse killing cases at i Christchurch. A reward of £100 is offered to any person, not being the. principal offender, who first gives such information as will lead to the said conviction.

Step dancers at the Caledonian Society's Sports on Boxing Day will this year have one competitor less to contend with, Mr E. Sullivan, the well-known and clever Irish and Highland dancer having decided to retire on his laurels for at least one year. Mr Sullivan, daring the sixteen years he has been competing in dancing and athletics, has won nearly £300 in prizes, besides some half dozen cups, and as many medals as he can find breast room for. He has scored as a runner, a hurdle racer, and in other sections of the arena, and certainly has earned a rest.

Says the Hastings " Standard ":—We are informed on what we consider good authority that two days before he died, Sergeant Slattery, who had an unblemished record of thirty-five years' service, received a letter from headquarters that unless he was fit for duty to-day he would be superseded, and that the intimation accelerated his death. If this is correct we cannot find words to express our opinion of the writer of such a letter to a dying man, and we hope the matter will be sifted to the bottom.

The death was announced in October at Bury St. Edmunds, of Colonel J. R. Collins, C.B , who saw active service in the Maori war of 1863 65, when he took part in some of the principal engagements in Taranaki and the Waikato. Subsequently he served in the Afghan war and the Soudan expedition. He joined the 70th Foot, now forming the 2nd Battalion of the Eist Surrey Regiment, and in 1881 became Colonel Commander of that corps. In 1390 he was promoted to the command of the 12th Regimental District, which post he retained until 1395, when he retired on half pay, and the following year was made a C.B.

A correspondent thus addresses the Timaru "Herald ':—Sir,—Does it not strike you that this town is wrongly named, seeing that the Qoddess of Shingie is so specially favoring it with the only pieoe of no fori<ty it possesses. Shingle ! One harbour is buried with shingle, our sreetsand footpaths are planted iv shingle by our city (grand) fathers. There is more shingle in Timaru than in any other place of its size in. the world. On your way to woik you simply have to crawl through—shingle ; you ward off your neighbour's dog with —ahicgle, the small boys are settling an argument with— shingle. You open your morning " Herald," the leader is on—shingle; they might also have admitted being short a—shingle, Shingle is a source of annoyance to all excepting bootmakers, " I.'s an ill wind," etc. There is more boot-leather worn out in Timaru in half an hour than in all Scotland in ten years ; cause—shingle. It is allowed that there are numbers of people in 'I imaru with extra big feet who are clumsy to a degree, and walk fifty times heavier than ordinary going people, but the shingle must be held accountable for this great com sumption of cowhide and consequent prosperity of Timaru's bootmakers. Yes sir, since shingle has come to stay the Booner we make friends with it the better, aud just form one mom deputation to at>k that Timaru's name be changed to Shiogletown.

When Mrs G. P. Donnelly was in Wellington the other day ("ays the Hawke's Bay Herald) she received from Mr Seddon a most interesting souvenir of the Queen's Jubilee celebrations. Mrs Donnelly sent to ber M» j sty through Kurupu Tareha, one of the Native contingent and a near relative of her own, some valuable Maori curios, and, in acknowledgment, Mr Chamberlain sent through Mr Seddon an album of beautiful photographic views of the procession through the Btreets of London. It is handsomely bound in morocco, and on the tit'e page bears the inscription, " Diamond Jubilee, 1897. Presented to Mrs Airidi Donnelly by the Bight Hon Joseph Chamberlain, Secretary of State for the C donits, and Mrs Chamberlain." The first picture is one of the tyieen with her autograph, then follow photos of Mr and Mrs Chamberlain aud of Mr and Mrs Sedd >h, all with autographs. The rest of the album is filled with views of the procession taken at different points. They are magnificent specimens of the photographic art and well worthy of preservation, apart from the unique circumstances under which Mrs Dunnelly receives the volume, As the daughter of one who fought nobly for the Queen in New Zealand's day of trouble, and who was specially honoured by her Majesty, Mrs Dounelly will attach additional yalue to the gift, and treasure it as among her most precious possessions.

JPST in Timb son Christmas.—ln order to keep " up-to-date" with our steadily increasing business we have decided to effect considerable' alterations to our premises, aud to make room for the builders we have resolved to greatly, reduce our stock before Christmas. We have therefore culled a large quantity of our Tweeds and Worsteds, etc, to clear at the following reductions:—Men's suits to measure, usual price 90s. now 70s; Men's trousers, usual price 25b, now 15s 6d ; eto. We have also pleasure in notifying that we have just been appointed agents for the famous .''British Lion" and J«Waverley"? Bicycles-(both gents' and ladies'), which we are now selling With »fl the'«' up-to-date'" improvements at the lowest cash' prices, or on the moaf liberal terms to suit the convenience of' our customers. (Every machine guaranteed).— Craighead and Bebryman, the leading Tailors and Outfitters,