Local and General.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXI, Issue 4751, 16 March 1899, Page 2

Local and General.

Huny up, First Race 1230 pm

Tke S4tf Fbancisco Mail*—The San Francisco mail| (per s.s. Moana) has arrived at Auckland,—-Presa Association telegram. A new serial is commenced in thia issue, and will be found on the #rst page. The fourth page contains a reporb of the sports meeting at Rangitata. The Whafgarei Murder.—Robert Houston was committed for trial at Whangarei on a charge ef murdering Robert Fuller. Accused reserved hip defence.—Press Association telegram. RailwayJßookstalls.—- The accepted tenders for railway bookstalls on the south line are -.—Chriatchuroh, Simpson and Williams, JB7o' Ashburton, S. Marsden, £20 103 ; Timaru. P- w' Hutton and Co., £42; Danadio, G. W. Geddei, £106 12s ; lover- ! cargil!, 0. Rodgera, £7. i The NAjmOAi. Boajjdal —Iq connection ' with the recent niarjn'e pases, it is stated (reports a Wellington telegram) t^at the Marine Department has called upon each of j its officers to make sworn declaration as to the information he is aware of aa to the issue of ft master's certificate to Captain Jones. Subsidies to Public Libraries.—A Wellington telegram states that 285 libraries have made the lorjgpal return necessary to participation in the vote of £2jpiQs for subsidies to public libraries. The vote afford* i subsidy of £3 3a 3i in the £ on the nominal income, and the subsidies range from £X 67s

Racecourse Trespass.—At the ChristMagistrates Court on Tuesday, Eix bookmkers were lined £2 and costs for being illegally on Plumpton Park racecourse on March 4. Pbbsonal.— The fr'enda of Mr H. Butteriok, will hear with regret that he is miking little if any headway towards recovoiy. Mr G Pearce, is, however, rapidly recov. ring from the attack of typhoid which kid him low. The Cemeteries Act.—At the Christchurch Magistrate's Court on Tuesday a w«man was fined £1 for having interred a stillborn child at a place other than the cemetery. She pleaded ignom.ce of the law. Cycling.—We {New Zealand Wheelman) have ..uthority for saving that steps will I s'hortlj betaken to disqualify persona cogged |on the stiff of cycling newspapers from holding any offioe m the Le&gua of New Zealand Wheelman. Fbeight on Grain.—According to an Auckland telegram Che Waikato farmers, owing to the unremunerative prioea offering tor grain, are memorialising the Minister for Railways to reduce the freights and terminal charges twenty-five per cant. Infected Fruit.—The other day twenty eight caßea of mixed fruit, from Sydney to Hobart by the Mararoa, were found by the entomologist to be infested by the Queensland fly, codlin moth, mussel scale, red scale, white orange scale, and other pests. The whole lot waß condemned, and ordered to be destroyed. •c Tote " Betting —George Fuller waß charged at the Chrisfcohurch Court on Tuesday with illegal betting at the Hororata racecourse and convicted. Mr Beetham said he saw no reason to deal differently with this case than those previously before the Court and fined accused £10, and ordered him to be imprisoned for fourteen daya with hard labor. Ashburtqn County Council. —Mr 0. J. Harper has handed m the following notice of motion for the next meeting of the County Council, to be held on April 7 : -" That the sum of £21 be granted as a bonus to the Ashburton Borough Fire Brigade for fire prevention purposes m the Ashburton, Hampstead, and Tinwald districts, provided the plant is available." Thh New Zealand Loan.—ln the prospectus of the New Zealand loan, issued m London, it was stated that £500,000 of the proceeds was to be applied to the construction of railways, roads, and bridges, and addifcioDal rolling stock to meet the requirements of the largely increasing traffic; while the other £500,000 was for advances to bona fide settlers on the security of landed property. Grain. —Owing to the low prices ruling a large quantity of grain is going into store m Ashburton, whilst a fair share is going forward to the Harbor Board Stores at Lyttelton. Many farmers are of opinion that the present prices cannot hold for long, and that it will pay to store. Two shillings or less per bushel for prime wheat are not tempting, and hardly pleasant for growers to think about. A Question of Handwriting.—Evidently bad handwriting is not confined to newspaper men. During a discussion on Tuesday night at the Wesleyan Conference on the question of the supply of a typewriter to the Uonnexional Secretary, one of the members spoke feelingly. '• It will be a great blessing," said he fervently, "to those who have to read Dr. Morley's letters if Conference supplies him with a typewriter," and there was hearty laughter amongst the members, Old Age Pensions.—Of the 172 applicants who have applied for an old-age pension m the Ashburton district only one is a native of the Australian colonies, the others were born as follows: —In England, 90 ; Scotland, 30; Ireland, 43; Wales, 1; Channel Islands, 3; West Indies, 1 j France s 1: Germany, 1. Of these, no leas than twentytwo have reached the age ot four score years, the " daddy " of the lot being born m 1808, and therefore is m hia ninety-first year, Offensive Publications, —At the Christchurch Court on Tuesday O. J. Wall was charged with having sold and distributed indecent matter contained m a medic»l advertisement m the Town and Country Journal and m the Referee. A letter from the proprietor of the former paper was read m Court stating that a special edition was being sent to New Zealand on account of the restrictive laws regarding objectionable advertisements. A nominal fine of 203 and coats was inflicted m eaoh case. St. Patrick's Day.—To-morrow will be pretty generally observed as a holiday In Ashburton. AH the business places will close for the whole day. The Banks also have a holiday. At this office the Guardian will be published as nsual, but will go to press at eleven o'clock, so that advertisements ahould be handed m before half-past 10. i The sports on the Domain are expected to draw a large crowd of spectators, for independent of the attractions of the Domain itself, the entries for the cycle and other races are numerous and interesting. An Illicit Stjll.—At Christchurch on Tuesday Charles Fryer was charged with being m possession of an illicit etiil on March 13. He pleaded guilty. He said that he was a financial agent worth £300 or £400. He had met a man who said that he had a patent washing machine, and accused agreed to find the money to place it on the market. He bad taken the so-called washing machine m a cart intending to carry it to a house at Ricearton where it was to be set up. The Collector of Customs found the still m the cart. The Magistrate said that the case was not one for a minimum fine, and inflicted a penalty of £100. The Railway Bars.—Rumour gives a curious reason for the delay m announcing the names of the successful tenderers for the Railway Refreshment Rooms throughout the colony t It is stated on good authority that a certain well known Christchurch brewer has put m a tender for the whole of the railway bars, and m consequence, the matter, instead of being settled off hand m the usual way, is being made a Cabinet question, doubtless with the object of considering whether more votes could be secured by dealing with the one influential brewer or with individual tenderers. The shade of Sir Eobprt Walpole must fte forced to admit that the science of political 'porruption has made gigantic strides since the days of the Georges. Literary Society—The usual weekly meeting of the Ashburton Catholic Literary Society was held last evening. There was a large attendance of members and friends, including a good number of ladies, and the President (Mr F. Cooper) occupied fcheohair. After a large amount of business had been dealt wit! 1 * the programme for the evening, which took the form of a leotuw on « Electricity," by Mr A. J. Muller, was proceeded with. Mr Miiller, who treated his hearers to *n instructive and interesting lecture for & couple of hours, spoke chiefly on the various systems of cf,bl« and overland telegraphy. He also enlightened hisijearers on the electric oar and electric light systems. At the conclusion of his address questions were asked of Mr Miiller and answered to satisfaction. On the motion of Mr Soal, seconded by Mr L. Hanrahau, a hearty vote of thanks was accorded to Mr Miiller for his able lecture, Messrs Moison and McSherry were selected fco make all arrangements for next Wednesday eyening'a programme, which will take the form of a debate. The blood is the medium by which all nutriment is supplied to the body. No organ, for its magnitude, possesses a greater abundance of blood vessels than the horse's foot. Nor is greater care manifested anywhere to ensure an uninterrupted supply of blood. Marvellous wisdom is displayed m this beautiful structure ; but.! how barbarous is the treatment it receives. A catalogue of evils could quickly be written, tiie result of such treatment, but which no ekill can effectually remove. The free, natural, elastic step can only be preserved by tho observance of natural laws. Our advice is constantly being sought m so-called obscure causes of lameness. Instead of it being as is generally supposed «• the shoulder," the trouble Is m the foot. Pressure, irritating and inflaming, prevents frefc cin^lation, andj pus or mattec is discovered m the olift.' W. T. Kingstok may be oonsnlfced at all hours, either at his Forge, Wills street, or at his private residence, Grey street.