LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXII, Issue 6486, 3 February 1905, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

River Report—The Telegraph Department advises as follows :—The Waitaki, Rakaia, and the Rangitata rivers are all fishable. The Insurance Bates Rejections.— | Interviewed regarding the action of the 1 .-"ivate insurance .companies m reducing rates to flompeto with the State Department Mr Bradley, manager of the latter, stated the Government will no doubt con. sider the position. It is st'U apparently doubtful how far the reduction extends, and whether tHera are not actual increases m some rißka. The government will no doubt take whatever action is necessary. Mr Brindley considers it mußt be perfectly obvious the Government has attained its object ia getting the rates reduced for the people. Saturday's Suppie^ent;—To-morrow's supplement will be found to tfowtain a more than usually well selected assortment of reading matter. Besides ■" Poultry Note-," " Women's World/ and " Church News and Notes," the stories include ■" The ; Red Hat," by William I>e Queux; "My | Classmate Sheffield," by itichapd Washburn Child ; and " The Bystander," by Van Tassel Sutphen. The topical articles treat of " The Largeafc Ship m the World/ "Mrs May brick's Imprisonment," " Simplon Tunnel Mistakes," " High-l^acftd Gamblers," etc. One of the most interesting article?,in the supplement deals with '•' The Man Who Built Noah'a Ark." Altogether, the standard of the publication ia more than maintained. BrcTCLE Road Races. —A bicysla tape for youths was. run yesterday afternoon os-er a course from the North West Belt to Digby's Bridge and back. There were about twenty startere,, and the raoe resulted as follows:— <E. Marsden, 1 rain., 1; f. Kume, 2 mm., 2; A. Sutton, I mm,, 3, A. Anderson, from the scratch mark, was awarded tha prize for the fastest time, 18 j mm. The prizes were—lss Ist, 5s 2nd, 5s : fastest time. Messrs X Watson and J. ■ Henderson and N, Meddiuts ware the promoters, the first named acting as smarter and handicapper.—Much interest was taken ijj. the bicycle road race from Trevortcn to the ; Wakanui blacksmith shop and back, which took place last evening. There were fourteen starters, and the race resulted as follows.—J. McKay, 1; B. Grice,-2, 0. Stills, —3. Time—3o mm. McKay won by several chains; about one chain separating second and third. Messrs Skilling Bros, and Cochrane were the promoters of .the race, aad Mr J. Porter acting as handicapper and starter. Fully two hundred and fifty people witnessed the start and- finish of the race. The prizes wer©-—lst 255, 2nd 15s, 3rd 7a 6d.

Weather Fokbiuot. — Captain Edwin j wires:— Moderate to strong southerly) winds; glass little movement; Angling.—Messrs Carney Bros., fishing last evening at the mouth of tbe Ashburtoa river, caught; 21 trout, the heavi93t of which weighed 61bs. Crops at Methven.—Favourable weather has been experien- ol during last week, and crops m the Methvon district are now coming on, but are vory late, very lLtt.lo being cut yet. Harvu«ting will not be general lor another three weeks. . Methven Picnic. —The annual picnic of All Saints 3 Sunday Scho il, Methven, was held at Mr Chapmun's bush, on Wednesday last, when there was a large attendance. The weather was all that could be desired, and. visitors thoroughly eajoyed themselves. Sheep Movements. —Last night thirty trucks containing about 3000 store lambs atrived at the Ashbuf ton Saleyards Siding consigned to the National Mortgage and Agency Company from Kaituna on the Little River line. After being dipped the lambs will be sent to Lauriston. Scenery Preservation. —The Government " Gazette" of January 80 contains notice of the intention of the Minister of Public Works to take 60 acres 35 perches of land at Peel Forest for Bcenery preservation purposes. This is part of the favourite camping grounds near Mount Peel. Old Age Pensions Cogtrt —Mr C. A. Wray presided at a sitting of the Old A»e Pensions Court today, and granted one renewal for a yearly pension ot £15. Caution to Traction Engine Owners —The South Rakaia Eoad Board caution owners of traction engines to exercise great care as the grass along the road Bides is so dry at present. Magistrates' Court—There was an exceptionally short sitting at the Magistrates' Court this morning, Mi C. A. Wray, S.M., presiding. Judgment was given for the plaintiffs m the following cases: —James Gibson v Edward Fountain, claim £4 10s; Timothy Connelly (Mr Crisp) v John Alexander, olaim £3 3s. The case Elizabeth Madden v bamuel Nicholls, claim .£8 6s was adjourned for a week. , Eewards fob Detection of Sheep ! Stealing.— In connestion with the notice j of reward recently advertised by the Sheep owners' Union for evidence connecting persons with sheep-stealing it is underetood that the Sheepowners' Union has paid rewards to Mr Knight, of Methven, and Constables Shepherd and. Eade for their work which secured the conviction of a man named Gill for sheep stealing m the Methven district. The rewards to the Constables were paid with the permission of the Police authorities. Land Board .— Afc a meeting of the Canterbury Land Board yesterday, the Crown Lands Ranger reported m respect to croppings on holdings m the Marawiti and Hekeao settlements, and it was decided that m cases where the cultivation conditions of the leases had not bees satisfactorily fulfilled, the lessees' attention should be drawn to these breaches of the regulations, and that they should be cautioned. What Shall We Do With Our Boys ? —One of the most important series found m " Life," Dr". Fitchett's Australasian magazine, begins m the January issue. It is entitled •• Careers for young Australians," and starts with an article by Mr Thomas Shaw, a well-known stock-raiser, on " How to Become a Stock-breeder." The questions of what career a young man should choose, how he shall enter upon it, what tbe training for it will cost, and what are the probable rewards, ore of the most urgent and practical importance, and will interest every householder m Australia. " Life's articles will cover all the principal professions and industries m Australasia, and will answer these questions. The venture should prove of enormous help to young men everywhere. The articles will be written by experts, and will be brief, direct, and practical. Detention of Goods at Lyttelton.— Regarding a paragraph which we published about a week ago stating that an Ashburton importer was still waiting for consignments from Auckland and Wellington., which had arrived m Lyttelton on January 25th, it seems that one of the vessels which were conveying the goods was the Tarawera, and the weather experienced on January 25th, when she was due at Lyttelton, was so inclement that she passed on to Dunedin, and did not discharge her goods until she returned' from that port. We understand, however, that other Ashburton firms received consignments of sugar on the day on which, the firm ■we referred to were disappointed m their expectation of receiving theirs. Moreover, the same firm had a consignment of canned pines on the Eotomahana, which arrived at Lyttelton the same day as the Tarawera, and this consignment was also several days behind time m being delivered m Ashburton. We have not heard any explana^ tion of this case of delay, Social at Lynbhurst.—A very pleasant and well attended farewell social was held ia Mr Murray's shed, Lyndhurst, on Wednesday last, when the friends and neighbours of Mr and Mr 3A, J. Dent assembled to say farewell to them on their leaving the district, Mr Dent having sold his farm to proceed to Australia on his doctor's advice. Mr and Mrs Murray soon made the visitors at home m their usual hospitable style, and things went with a swing. Songs were given during the evening by Mr Buchan, Mr Knight, and others, music being supplied by Miss Terris, Air Cook, Mr Syraes, and several others, itr Murray, m a well chosen speech, presented Mr Dent with a handsome rug and combined Gladstone bag and dressing case, suitably inscribed, and then called on Mr Knight, who m a few well chosen remarks presented Mrs Dent with a gold brooch on behalf of her old friends and neighbours. The whole company then sang " For he's a jolly good Fellow," and cheers were called for for Mr And Mrs Dent and were heartily given. Mr Dent suitably responded, thanking the company for their handsome gifts and trusting he would come back restored to health and able to settle again m the district. Dancing was kept up till an early hour. Before proceedings terminated a'hearty vote of thanks was accorded to Mr and Mr 3 Murray. Where to get the Best Value. —The first thing to consider when you require a new bicycle is not where you can get the cheapest bicycle because cheapness always means shoddiness. A Beeston Humber at £22 or a Rudge*Whitworth at 18 guineas is the best value m the world, Twenty five of these machines to choose from at John* ston's Cycle Depot, Burnett Street, Ashburton.