Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 1898. Local and General.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XX, Issue 4480, 28 April 1898, Page 2

Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 1898. Local and General.

Sand Drifts at Rakaia.— The members of the County Council, who visited Rakaia yesterday, inspected the Acton eand drifts, and will probably recommend some aotion m the matter.

On our first page to-day will be found a raport of the meetings of the Upper Ashburton Road Board and Chriatchurch Hospital Board ; and on the fourth page will be found a report of the Addiogton and Ashburton stock markets.

Asiiburton County Hunt Club. —Owing to the long continued drought, the ground has become excessively bard and baked — m fact too hard for hunting. It has therefore been deoided that the hounds will not meet till the conditions have improved by a suffioienb fall of rain.

Christohuboh Morgue. — At the meeting of the Hospital Board yesterday afternoon ib was decided to refer the matter of a pubue morguo to the house committee, and to get the opinion of the mpdical staff as to whether the hospital morgue should be used as a public morgue. The question has excited a great deal of discussion m Christchuroh lately, and an attempt to get a morgue built m the city haß failed.

An Awkward Moment.— Yesterday aft c noon as Mr Gilbert was setting out from the Post Office, where he bad been transacting some postal Lv tineas, Mr 0. Lawrence was gliding along to the same busy oenfcro. Both began man unoertain manner to avoid a collision, bub owing lo the epesd with which they were travelling, and the Bhorfc distance intervening, oonfusion beoame worse confounded, and they collided, with the reeult thab the front wheel of Mr Lawrence's machine was considerably damaged* The riders escaped uaburt,

The Weather. — Captain Edwin reports a low barometer m the south on May 2 or 3, and probably northerly galeß m most parts south of Napier and New Plymouth. The northerly winds indicated on the 21st arc now approaching.

The Nobthbrn Roller Mills. —We (Press) learn from a reliable source that the Hon. John McKenzie, Minister of Land*, strongly disapproves of the Northern Roller Mills importing wheat from Australia, as he realises that it is prejudicial to the interests of the farmers.

Cable Piracy.— Five cablegrams re tho war, that first appeared m our Tueaday'B issue, having boon received by us on that

(lay, were pirated by the Ashbwton Standard, and printed m that paper's issue next day, m contravention of the Copyright Act, and without any acknowledgment whatever.

The Tomato —The local tomato crop this season has not been altogether satisfactory towards the last, the fruit not being as well flavored as usual. However a bottle of

tomato sauce has been Bent to this office by Mr H. A. Flower which oertainly compares very well with any samples we have seen.

Fonf,ral — The funeral of the late Mr « John Gough took place this morning, and i was largely attended by friends of the i deceased. The body was taken to the < Catholic Church first, where mass for the i dead was said, and afterwards to the Ashburton cemetery, where the last offices for the dead were conducted. An Extemporised Court, — The oeremony of admitting Mr G. T. Weston aa a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court) took place m the saloon of the Mahinapua at New Plymouth breakwater, advantage beiug thus taken of the presence of Mr Justice Conolly, who was passing through from Auckland on his way to the Appeal Court at Wellington, That Fetched Him.— ln some cases the Hastings police have to wait the arrival of Magistrates for some time, A few mornings Bince Constable Smith was surprised to see the. Justice he requested to sit on a drunk turn up ten minutes before the appointed time. It turned out that the great unpaid had interpreted the constable's message of the night previous as an invitation to " come down and dispose of a drink at 10 o'clock to-morrow morning." Domestic Duties, —At Alberfeld, m Germany, the wives of the manufacturers have established an interesting institution. Eaoh of them takes a factory-girl for a year, and teaches her the work of a servant. These girls know how to join on, to card to comb, but oould not light a fire or thread a needle. Having learned how to be servants, they have learned how to manage a house. Before a young girl thinks of 1 marriage she must pass through this course of instruction, this voluntary service, for a yew.

An Extraordinary Growjjh.— The Waipawa correspondent of the Hawke's Bay Herald reports that a five-year-old colt belonging to Mr M. C. Symons lately had a lump growing just under the girih. As this extraordinary growth began to assume large proportions Mr Sabin the well-known veterinary, was called m, and operated on it. The lump was found to contain a large mass of bone, as large as a sheep's head and weighing 2£lb, attached to the musoles slightly but not to any bone. The case is said to be unique, nothing of the kind having occurred before.

The War Excitement.— Until the two contending parties actually come to b'.owß there is nob likely to be any really exciting news from the other world. But that fact does not seem' to count muoh if we may judge from the crowd which daily besieges our office for news of the war. Of course the staff cannot make news, and must wait for developments just as the other parts of the world h>we to wait, but W9 can assure those of our readers who seem to be anxious about matters connected with the Spanish- Americau war, that a3 soon as any cables reach us, worth putting out m "extra" form, that will be done. Land for Settlement. — Tho Government have under consideration the purchase of Mr Allan MoLean's property (Waikakahi) m South Canterbury. It comprises 48,000 acres of freehold, 40,000 acres of which has been ploughed and la ; d down m suitable grasses. Ir is stated that excepting about 4000 acres the whole of the estate may be classed as agricultural land. While being intersected by the main line of railway from Christchurch to Timaru, and thus easi'y accessible to good market?, it should prove a unique estate for close settlement. The oountry lies on the coast between the Waituki and Waihou rivers, and consists of rolling downs encircled by plains. An Awkward Situation.— A Melbourne oonstable named O'Callaghan had a memorable experience recently. Whilst making some entries m a book m the watchhouse a man came m and stood at the table near his elbow. When he looked up the constable was startled to find a revolver pointed- straight at him, and the fellow mutterng, •' You wanb to lock me up • it will take more thau you." O'Callaghan, who is an exceptionally strong man, temporised with the Mow for a moment, then suddenly leaning forward seizsd the revolver and made the man prisoner. He proved to be a hairdresser and tobacconist named Frederick Miller. The revolver was loaded with ball m five chambers, and as it is a self cocker the wonder is it did not go off, as the man was shaking like a leaf. The Land Tax Valuations. — Since the indignation meeting held at Leeaton on the excessive high land tax valuations for the Elleßmere district, the supervising valuators have been hard at work considering valuations, inspecting properties, and have made some considerable reductions on the first assessments. Four influential landowners received a visit from a speoial valuator, and have had their properties reduced by from £3 to £5 an acre. In numerous other oases the claims of the settlers are being entertained, and promises of even greater reductions have been made. The Land Tax Department, it is stated, are willing to meet objectors wherever dissatisfaction is exproseed. A number of dissatisfied farmers who missed sending m their objections are now wondering where they will come m. Irrigation. —All tho members of the County Council, with the exception of Mr Harper, visited Rakaia yesterday, m order to examine the prospects of the proposed Lavington scheme of irrigation, After a oareful consideration of the difficulties to be dealt with, the general opinion seemed to be that the cost of this scheme would be very heavy, and it is understood that the Council will not be inolined to adopt it. A deputation of the residents m the township and the village settlement afterwards waited upon the members of the Council, and asked to be included m some scheme for irrigation. The Chairman (Mr E. G. Wright) promised that the wishes of the deputation should not be overlooked, and promised that whatever scheme should ultimately be oarried oub, the interests of the residents of the township and village settlement should receive every consideration.

The Barqujs Lajra, — The discharging of the cargo from the slime-covered barque Laira at the Victoria wharf provided a spectacle to the public The task of breaking oub the oargo was a tedious one, as the bales had swollen and become difficult to handle. Says the Dunedin Star:— The wool is pretty "high" as a oonsequenoe of immersion m sewage, but it was not until the rabbibskins came to be handled that the men realised the real assault on their noseß. These paokages broke to pieces with the handling. An inspection of the interior of the hull Bhows that the cut runs to below the ballast!. The lower patch is sfb long and 3fb 6in wide, the upper patoh 19fb-6in long and 10ft wide. The steamer's stem out through both the 'tween deck and the upper stringers, knocked the midship beams out of shape, slightly started the mainmast, and bent the plates like pieoes of tin. The Laira was taken into Port Chalmers dock on Tuesday.

R Y ALE< —^is gentleman, who is annouao d to addreaa a public meeting at the Orange Hall to-night, is said to be a ready, convincing speaker, and his admirers claim that he possesses the logical ability of Mr T. E. Taylor, minus the asperity and bitter cone commonly adopted by the versatile juaior member for Chrißtchuroh city. We tiave been asked to state that, at the oloae of his address, Mr Vale will be pleased to ausvver questions on tbo subject of prohibition.

"Colour Prejudice."— A very strong '•colour" prejudice was manifested by a woman who was the heroine of a liitla incident near Newtown on Saturday (sayß the New Zealand limes). Loud orieß were heard proceeding from the garden of a ChinamaD, which faced the road, and the usual crowd collected. A fight was going on between a sturdy-looking lad and a very angry Chinaman. The latter apparently recognised m the boy one of a small band who had allegedly Btolen some vegetables the Dight previously, and he endeavoured to hold on until he could get a policeman. John gesticulated loudly, and charged the boy with all manner of thing?, while the lad screamed and fought energetically. A woman who happened to be passing put down her bundles and went to the assistance of the youngster. There was a tough struggle between the three, and eventually she got the lad free and told him to clear. "Are you his mother?" asked one of the crowd afterwards. "Mo, I don't know him," she replied, "but I couldn't stand seeing him beaten by a Chow ; he is a white boy, though he be a thief."

An Exciting Voyage.— The lask trip ot the French liner La Champagne was full ?* excitement. Her sorew shaft snapped i Q mid-ocean, and for five days she drift 6l * helplessly on the Newfoundland banksThere were 300 passengers on I oard. Almost a panic ooourred. It was as much as the officera could do to quell the excitement* which wbb heightened by the fact that the ship was helpless and the Newfoundland reefa were not far away. The lifeboat was manned^ and the crew set out to Bearoh for passing steamers. It was bitterly cold, and the sufferings they endured while rowing through biting gales were awfitf, They also got a little oub of their course, and for five days and nights were wandering about the ooean. At last they sighted the Rotterdam. Signals of distress were quickly responded to, but they were all frozen fast to the boat, which was heavily coated with ice, and were m a precarious condition when taken aboard their resouer. Aid was promptly despatched to the La Champagne, and she was soon towed to port.

Highbank. — The largest public meeting that has yet been held at Highbank took place on Monday last. It was oalled to consider the present unsatisfactory postal arrangements for the settlement. Mi Joseph Leggett was voted to the chair, and after explaining the objeot of the meeting, and the matter had been discussed by all present, the following resolutions were unanimously carried : — That the present postal arrangements for Highbank are very unßatisfaotory, being only twice a week, and that the mail coming through Methven caused another day's delay ; that a petition be signed by the settlers and forwarded to the PostmasterGeneral, praying for a daily mail service for Highbank ; and that the mail come direct from Rakaia, per the Barr Hill mail Bemce, which is daily, and that Barr Hill being nearer than Methven would be more serviceable. These resolutions were unanimously carried, and a petition was signed by those present which will have about 150 signatuies t when sent forward.