LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume xxix, Issue 7241, 29 July 1907, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Domain weather' station registered 6 degrees of frost this morning, and 3 points of rain. The usual weekly stock market will be held at the Ashburton yards to-mor-row.

A very successful dance was held in the Wakanui Main School on Friday last, when about 30 couples took part. A sailor's hornpipe was danced by Mr Thos. Cochrane, and music was supplied by Mr W. Anderson (violin) and Mr D. Anderson (piano). Masterton intends following -aSancdin's example by establishing a Competitions Society. T|ie* Christchurch City Council estimates its expenditure for the year at over £60,000. The sum of £20,000 is available, and £40,000 will be obtained by the general rate. The diseases that caused the most deaths in the four cities of the colony last month were pneumonia (which accounted for 23), cancer (18), and consumption (15), It came out in evidence in a case at the Magistrate's Court at Napier on Monday last that 18 persons were living in a four-roomed house in that town. At Kilmore, Victoria, recently, a potato digger dug and bagged in one daj 4_ tons, or 46 bags of potatoes. - "Cow-spanking," said a farmer to a Wairarapa Daily Times reporter, "will soon be a thing of the past. The milking machine has come to stay, and some ' of the appliances now on the market for inducing 'Daisy' to yield her milky product are undoubtedly superior to the average milker." Mr Carruthers states that the New South Wales Government is in favour of the proposal to pay civil servants fortnightly, and it is being considered. ■ At Famham, Kent, Mr Guy Tassell has been appointed clerk to the Commissioners of Levels, an appointment which has been filled successively by his father, his grandfather, his greatgrandfather, and his great-great-grandfather.

Feed* seems as scarce in the KillinchyLeeston district, as in the more southern parts of; Canterbury; in fact, land valued at £40 an acre, on which store sheep have been grazing, is perfectly bare of feed. Here and there stacks of green pine branches are the only apparent means of su.t^nance. No fewer than 1045 students are now receiving instruction at the Wellington Technical School, being 203 more than were in attendance at the same period last year. The total entries of thesi students for all classes numbers 1302, as against 954 in July, 1906. The class entries per student is now 1.72 as against 1.65 last year, and the average fee 11.865. (12.9s in July last year). The hours worked total 92,012, or an average of 9.41 hours per student weekly, says the Post. A green tinge can already be seen in some of the paddocks on the Upper Wairarapa. Plains, the young grain just coming through the ground. The bulk of the land in that vicinity is still lying in the furrows, and is likely to do so until tho weather is more settled and gives the land a chance to dry, so as to enable it to be worked and sown. The well-known Dartmoor estate of 50 acres at Now Plymouth, adjoini. g tlie pjl wells, which are now being bored and which promise to be a great success, l}.as (says tli£ Wanganui Herald) been bought by a strong Wanganui syndicate, which will put the greater part of the land on the market as suburban building sections, reserving two.promising boring sites. The fact that outside capital is freely coming forward for investment shows that there is a strong feeling of confidence in the effect which the oil'industry will have on the futureof New Plymouth. A Wrong Idea.—Many people erroneously believe that over-milking is the greatest danger with milking machines. The facts are that the injury was done to the cow by, all previous machines while the- milk was being drawn, and until Gillies hit on the "principle of inletting air alongside the teat all through the milking, it was thought impossible to overcome this drawback. With the "L.K.G." there is no possible chance of injury to the cow during milking or at any time, even if the cups are left on indefinitely.—MacEwan and , Co., Ltd,, solo agents, Diwedia,

Captain Edwin telegraphs as follows: Easterly moderate to strong winds; glass fall. The steamer Redhill, bound from Coronel, Chili, to Wellington, put into, Napier on Sunday, having run short of coal. The annual examination of the pupils attending the Ashburton Borough School commenced this morning, Inspector Mulgan being the examiner; while Inspector Ritchie is examining the Hampstead School. With this issue is included a circular giving particulars of Messrs W. Strange and Co.'s end-of-winter sale at the Ashburton Agency, which commences to-morrow, July 30. According to the Herald, the Timaru Marine Band' is now practising inditstriously, under Mr Mayo as conductor, for the Ashburton contest in October, and their playing is improving under his tuition. The tost selection is expected this week, and the band will get •to work upon it without delay.

New Zealand opening dates for the coming season's wool sales are as follows : —Wellington, November 15; Christchurch, November 21; Auckland, November 27; Timaru, November 2/ ; Napier, December 3; Invercargill, December 17; Dunedin, December 19. The anniversary services of the Baring Square Sunday School are announced to be held on Sunday, October Id,; when the Rev. Mr Hudson, of Sydenham, will occupy the pulpit.

Mr A. Joyce, manager of the Ash-1 burton Boring Rights Syndicate, will, be in Ashburton on Saturday next,.and will be pleased to give any person calling at Messrs Friedlander Bros.' office all information respecting the proposals of the syndicate, which nas-now soured concessions amounting to 29,000 acres, and expects a considerable increase during the next month. Syrian tobacco has less nicotine than any"other. Virginian has most, the percentage in the latter rising to 7 per cent.

More than 5000 bicycles were purchased in a fortnight in Johannesburg because of a breakdown in the electric tramway system.

If the barometer falls as much as one-tenth in an hour, or two-tenths m four hours, it is a sure sign that a storm is coming.

Plain-clothes Co:: .table McLennan, who has been relic* Mg at Sheffield for the past few weeV.j,. returned to Ashburton on Saturday. The local police force is still, howo.er, one man short of its scheduled strength.

The winter social in connection with the Ashburton Baptist Sunday School was held in the Tabernacle on Thursday evening. The Rev. W. Lambert presided, and, considering the inclemency of the weather, there was a good attendance. A programme of music was given.by the Sunday School, children, under the direction of the choirmaster and teachers, and was much enjoyed. . A large number of native birds, including pigeons, kakas and tuis, are taking up their quarters in the Recreation Grounds., New Plymouth.

The prospects of finding payable copper reefs at Whakapirau and in the adjacent riding are said to be almost at the stage of certainty.

The practice of paying children for shooting birds was discussed at a meeting of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals at Wellington on Tuesday. Members were of opinion that the custom was detrimental to the children's moral well-being. ' ' •'"•'-

At a meeting in Oamaru of delegates from the South Island Coursing Clubs, it was unanimously decided to form a South Island Association. A meeting was fixed for August 22, at Timaru, to elect officers and confirm by-laws.

A new departure in the way of church services was initiated last evening at the Tinwald Presbyterian Church, where the service was conducted by the St. Andrew's (Ashburton) Young Men's Bible Class. The class leader (Mr C. Wilson) preached the sermon, basing his remarks on 1 Kings, xviii, 21— "How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow him; but if Baal, then' follow him." One of tho members read the Scripture lessons, while the class organist (Mr L. J. Watt) became for the time being the church organist and choirmaster, and the other six members present formed an effective choir. The class intend to take the evening service at Tinwald once every four weeks.

At the. conclusion of the ordinary service at Baring Square Church last night, a major/.ty of the congregation remained for another half-hour, which was spent in singing some familiar sacred melodies. This "song service" was led by the choir,"conducted by Mr E. Undriil, and solos were renderod by Miss Alcorn and Mr Clem. -Andrews. The Rev. H. Bellhouse, in a brief address, spoke of tho Church as a spiritual home, and it was hoped that by an occasional gathering like the one at which they were present the homelike sentiment* would bo fostered. It was also reasonable to expect that the individual sense of responsibility concerning spiritual life would be intensified by such a function as they were that evening inaugurating. -

From what we were shown on a vessel at Dunedin (says the Star) it is to be inferred that the steamship owners are expecting not only a maintenance but an increase of the third-class immigration to New Zealand. The Rippingham Grange, when last at Home, was extensively altered, and has now thirdclass accommodation on an extensive and rather fine scale. Such an alteration in what is primarily a cargo ship is siguificifnt. ■ ■'■ '

Reference was made at the annual meeting of tha Tinwald Racing Club to the death of Mr Donald McLean, who was president of the club for many years. Mr James Small, last year's president, moved a resolution that the club should place on record its appreciation of Mr McLean's services; and that a letter of condolence should be sent to Mrs McLean. Several other speakers also bore testimony to Mr McLean's services to tho club, and the. motion was carried unanimously.

On Friday evening a presentation was made by the Ashburton Baptist Church and Sunday School to Miss Drain, in view of her approaching marriage and departure from Ashburton. The present took the form of a lady's handbag, of handsome design; and several of those present spoke highly of Miss Drain's work in the Sunday School, and of the loss that the church would experience through her departure from Ashburton. ;

A. narrow escape from a serious railway accident was witnessed in Ashburton on Friday afternoon. A young girl was wheeling a perambulator containing a baby, aand leading another child by the hand, over the railway crossing at Tancred street, just as the 4 o'clock train for Timaru was coming down the track. The whistle was duly blown, but the girl evidently became frightened and confused, and stopped right on the main line of rails. The enginedriver's promptitude in applying the brakes and drawing the train up a few feet from the party prevented what would have been a serious accident, for the girl-in-charge, when questioned, could give.no explanation of her action.'