Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 1909. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXIX, Issue 7816, 8 June 1909, Page 2

Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 1909. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Mr Bates telegraphed to-day as folllows: Southerly moderate to strong winds: rain is probable; the glass will fall; there will probably be frost tonight. The volume of water m the Ashburton river has now receded to a normal level, and judging by reports to hand comparatively little damage has been done by the recent fiord. Another sharp frost was recorded for last night, when eight de oior-30ior-3 ancl ahalf were registered at the Domain weather station. The lakes m the Domain were partially covered with a thin coating of ice, and now that the ground is m a damp condition there is every reason to expect successive frosts for some time to come.. This will have the effect of diminishing the supply of feed for stock, which up till the present time has proved ample to> provide for all requirements. There was a high reading of the barometer this morning, 30.11 inches, which indicates a continuance of fine weather. There was great consternation m the local wheat market a few weeks back when the sale of a line was reported at 4s 6d. Prices then dropped, but they appear to be advancing steadily again. A Timaru merchant reports haying had offered to him a big line of wheat at 4s 5d delivered m July, but it was withdrawn on Saturday last, the owner anticipating that prices will go still higher, says Tuesday's Timaru Herald. The Addington-Rolleston railway duplication was opened for traffic on Monday with the ordinary ' passenger and goods service. The distance of the line From Addington is 13 miles, from Christchurch to Rolleston 14$ miles, and from Heathcote to Rolleston 19 miles. The signal-boxes were finished only at a late hour on Sunday night, but the permanent.way was practically finished a week or two ago. A little minor work has yet' to be completed, btlt this will.not interfere with traffic. A Lowcliffe correspondent writes as follows : "Quite a gloom was cast over the Lowcliffe and Coldstream districts on' Wedesday, when the death of the late Mr B. Fountaine became known. 1' The deceased gentleman, who had resided m the district for a number of years, was much respected by all who knew him, and lus loss will bo keenly felt, especially m connection with the School Committee, for which he had been chairman for about eight years, and during that time he always took a keen interest m anything for the welfare of the children. He leaves a widow and four children to mourn their loss, and they have the heartfelt sympathy of many friends m their sad bereavement.-^-The Band of Hope to have been held on, Friday night has been postponed indefinitely, owing to the death of Mr Fountaine. A Waterton resident, who was m town yesterday, states that the district m which he resided, and those passed through on the'way to Ashbuiv ton, are looking remarkably well, viewed from an agricultural and pastoral standpoint. The dry weather during the month of May and the latter' end of April enabled farmers 't<> make splendid progress with farm work, and as a result of this there is an unusually large acreage of' land already m wheat crop. Much of this is already well above the ground, and the strike of plants is thick. From what our informant has gathered and gained by observation, he does not think that the small birds are so destructive, m the Longbeach districts as they were m former years, and ho attributed this to the fact that other classes of feed, owing to the comparative mildness of the season, are fairly plentiful. "Right through the- districts under notice," concluded our informant,' ['there is evidence of an ample stock feed supply, and I have not seen the country looking better for many years past;" . ! In replying to a deputation of Masterton lawyers, who called upon him concerning th<3 proposed abolition of the District Courts, the Hon. Dr. Findlay said the District Court was an anachronism. Its procedure was •clumsy and out of date, and that it had been made to work as well as it had done was due to the tactful efforts of the Judges concerned. The Government had, not yet conferred special jurisdiction upon Stipendiary Magistrates, but he thought the time had amoved when, m proper cases, this should be done, so that n speedy trial • of the smaller actions now ■ taken to the District Courts or Supreme Court could be secured to litigants ; because since the days of Magua Charta it had been recognised that delay m the hearing of a cause was m itself an injustice. . The New Zealand Times states that, something savourjng of a oombino is apparently scented by the Government m connection with the annual tendering for supplies to the various State Departments. These were considered on Tuesday, and only m connection with one centre were any contracts accepted, thoso for Wellington, Christchuroh, Dunedin and Inyijrp'argUl t>eing doclii|ed, Tho Preinior explained that t|io reason for this was that m all thoso cases the lowest prices wore uniformly much higher than those quoted m tho fonder which was ' aceoptocl. Thoso contracts arp of groat importance, as t?io Hnpp|ie.s cover a poi'iot] of"throe yours, nnd although the Public \Vorks Department controls thorn, many other Stnto Dopartmontq such as Mental Hospitals nnd Dofonco, tuko lulvnnliigiN of tho olnhori^B eonivnt'lt si'liiidulas |o oiulttp their material i through' thin medium. Tho average vnluo of Koods piirclinsod under these contracts m tho pnst hns, boon. dfJIQQ,OOO «• yen i', ■ A mooting of tho Solwyn Licensing Committee \vill ho hold nt Dnrfiolcl on | Thursday next, when it is understood that an application from W. Fergus for un liocomiiiodation license for tho house known as the Mount Somors Hotel will be do alt with. The house, for which the license m dosivod, was formerly m the Aahlmvton Upending district, but with Uio last alteration m tho boundaries, Mount Somovs h«ciuno pnrt af Ilio Selwyn district. The Mount Somors Hoiel was nt one linuu a licensor! house, hut whs closed when no-licenso took offeol. m (hjs cttntrtot-1 about nix years n>;o, . Mr Goo, MecldiiiH, ii'OUUloviKW, is holding a cheap m\h of tools, Inmym, Kiina and general ironmongery. A Watch that gives its owner entire satisfaction—L. S. McClurg's famous Nickc-I Lever, full jewelled, keyless, dust-proof case. The ideal watch for rough wear. Guaranteed /for two years, 30s, 6 00

A Press Association telegram states that as a result xof eight hotel* being closed m Dunedin, a local firm' interested m the trade estimates its loss at over £3000. ■ ' : It is stated that the Government intends to offer a bonus on the. first 500,000 gallons of kerosene produced and refined m New Zealand. Every person m the dominion uses on an average three pairs of boots _per year. Of these nearly one pair and ahalf are imported, and the remainder manufactured m the country. Germany spent far more on i.erial navigation last year than any '"ll". country, the total being. £393.ni. Ot this, £265,000 was raised ty voluntary subscription. France.- -jpant ..r47,..w, Austria £5500, ,si::tl Pritai.i C 2 0. "I hope I won't shock you when I tell you," said Mr MeNab at his Feildirig meeting, "that while m Sydney on a holiday just before; Chriitmas I went to see Johnston and Burns tra'ning. I learnt a valuable les'v>h there. After I had seen tK>so men hi t-lieir punching balls, I vns co'ivum'.! that there was always peace and qaio-;np:>» m the locality where they lived. In the 'great railway services of the world an endeavour is made to r arsliai the trains, that is to say, tlie lilac »vi second-class are kept togctlu-.i- . _ In an interview with the Hon. J. A. Millar m Wellington last week, the need for marshalling the trains m In ew Zealand was referred to by Mr Gwr^e London. He complained that tne Jxrj>\, and second-class cars were jumbled together and that -.lassen.V-'rs were «r.?ntly inconvenienced. Frequently cars m one section .of the train were, excessively crowded, while others were -Imost empty. The Minister replied that the cars could be marshalled;.in some instances, but not m all. Many of the cars at present m use were combination cars, first and second compartments. On'the North Island Mam Trunk line an attempt was being made to keep all the first-class cars together and all the second-class cars _ together. The new cars now being built at the workshops were all either first or second-class vehicles. This would enable the Department, to a certain extent, to get over the difficulty. It will be remembered that when, on March 9th, Mr H. Davis and D. Wood interviewed Mr Millar on various matters, on behalf of the Ash burton Borough Council, Mr Wood asked that the express and mail trains should be so arranged that the dining cars should be m the centre of the train, and all the firstclass cars on one side and all the se-cond-class cars on the other side of it. This would greatly convenience the public, who, if such a rule were m force, would be able to locate .passengers much more quickly than at present. The Minister then replied that this was being done now, as far as was possible or expedient. • .: Motor Car Owners.—Try ;, R. D. Johnston for repairs,- tyres, etc. Motorine Cylinder Oil, 4s, 6d gallon. Dunlop and Michelin Tyres 10 per cent lower than, any qther trader m Ashburton ; all sizes m stock, fitted free r>f charge, while you wait.. Agent for "Talbot" Cars and " Triumph" Motor Cycles. Inspection Invited; 6