LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXII, Issue 8246, 11 December 1911, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Several large picnic parties in Ashburton arc making arrangements to spend their Christmas holidays «t Mount. Peel, which is likely to be visited by a largo number oi holiday makers this season. The niimbeV of persons who arrive* in New Zeal and during last October is, 3,169. while there were 2,366 departures. The figures for October, 1910,. were—Arrivals 3,441, departure 2,124.. At the Christoluirch Magistrate's, Court on Saturday, John Sullivan ' was remanded to appear at Dunedin,. on Tuesday, on a charge of committing,; theft of goods valued' at £70. This man was rt'ceutly charged and convicted for theft ('f money at Ashburton. Inspector ..Rrowett, of the LafeonT Department!' was in Ash burton tfoir-hig: the end of last week, and, in company with. Constable Mjirtin, the" local In 1-. sDector oi" Factories,' he inspected a number of promises. In several cases •it was found that the law was not being complied with, and it is provable r/nat" proceedings will be taken in some instances, It is stated that shearers are very • scarce in many parts of Canterbury, and that owners of sheds arc! experiencing a great deal of difficulty, irr getting their "stands" filled. Shearers complain that the wool on ■ sheep that wore? badly wintered is much matted, and as the yolk has not risen shearing is most difficult. ' What _is r« ■ quired Is two weeks' warm weather. Some few months ,ago, the present. • proprietor of the Mount Somers Hotel (Mr Hull) made application in the ordinary way to the Selwyn Licensing" Committee for the restoration of the license of his hotel, which was included in the Ashburton electorate at the time No-license was carried,, but since the alteration of electoral 'boundaries fs now in Selwvn. After hearing this>' application, the committee decided that a very fine law point was involved, and Mr 13ull was advised to take his case 1 to the Supreme Court, but, owing to the uncertainty of tin:-' licensing polls that have just been held, he decided to allow the matter to stand in abeyance It is now understood thatiMr Bull will. roneiv his application with a view toe the reinstatement of the hotel liceii&e, at no far distant date. TheSSatn t Fraheiaeo mail steamer Maitai, which arrived at Wellington on Friday, obtained one of her passengers at Rarotonga in a strange fashionNative boys work the ship's,cargo at that port, "and soon after the" steamer's, departure for Wellington on© of these* boys was discovered curled up, souncF asleep, in one of the steerage alleywaysI The native had, he explained', been resting -from the fatigue of his labourwhen "he foil aslep. He evinced nodesire to make the sea voyage, but as-, the steamer was too far away from land at the time of his discovery, he was brought, to Wellington, He will be givgn a passage 1 to Ilarotonga on the-' Tahiti"when she sails from Wellington. A Gore telegram says that, a somewhat exciting incident was. witnessed at Gore railway station, • on 1 Friday, when a shunting c'ngine- was seen racing at a tremendous speed to the' iva.ter. tank,,one of the attached trucks licinff-W. on fire. The train of trucks contained ' ■ cases of petrol, one of which was evidently leaking, and a spark from, the . engine set the truck on fire. At-the water tank water was applied to th'e^. truck, with the tft'ect of v" only spread'— ■ ing the flames, which .were- ultimately, s i extinguished by shovels of gravel and r sand. Practically no damage was-done,- ■ but if the other trucks had' caught? theiv would have be'en a strong possi-- ; bility of a dangerous explosion;. A . social gathering in connection- ' with the- Navy League: was .held'in the* ; Wakanui Schoolroom • on ■ Friday • evening. There ivas a good attend-/-ancc, and Mr- (1. W. Leadley presided..,' -, Vigorous addresses in respect: of • the-.'-Navy w<re delivered by the chairman V and Mr M. G. C. Pasco, the- lattef's. -:" address being illustrated'by the aid of ;-' magic lantern slides, which were manipulated by Mr F. Tv. Cooper. During the evening au- orchestra consisting' of" Mr Reese (piano), Miss Claridge ' •:■ (violin), and MrH. Friedlander (flute); contributed a number qF items" in very' good style, while nautical songs- wererendered byAhssrs E. W. Cardale^nd / H. J. Da lion. Altogether the meeting "i was a thoroughly enjoyable one, and' votes of thanks to the'promoters ai'd 1 to those who-had contributed to the- ' programrge were carried by acclama- *. • don, o!h the proposition of*Mr-S.. W. Taylor, seconded by Mr Frampton. A Ekeord Shipment.—A large nnra- ,' • her of I (lord'Motor Cars arc arriving on the s;-w Kumara from Montreal, to the order of Xlv (;. H. Carson. Certain delay wausod by the Shipping Cbm~pav.y I/as necessitated a double monthly &hi|) = iiwic to arrive by this boat., Eiglifff^;; of those oars are arriving to the orcleij^' of Mr Carson. These eight are all solii^to arrive. There are, also seven cars - arriving in January—four of which are 'sold to arrive, making a total of . ■ fifteen (lo) to be landed " within the next six weeks, which constitutes «• record for Ashburton. Mr Carsoir-witt" bo pleased to demonstrate with theFord I'to, aaiy. instending'purchasers. 6i 29iv

The Borough School Cadets returned to Ashburton from Christchurch, on , Saturday evening, by the last train, after spending a most enjoyable time m the City. The balance-sheet of the' last Timaru i A. and P. show disclosed a credit balI imcd of £251 10s 6d, as against £275 8s * i)d last year. From entries £397 8s was derived, as against £409 13s last year, and the gate, money totalled £420 2s, as against £419 last ytar. One half of the reservoir at Clifton, -Simmer, burst on Friday, and" about 50.000 gallons of water were lost. , The force of water hurled pieces of concrete weighing five tons down the hill for 100 and 200 yards. , The bursting of the reservoir is attributed to faulty workmanship, and, according to the Mayor of" Sumner, it- will be necessary to have the whole of the reservoir rebuilt. A number of complaints have been made about the ballot papers, used ..for the election last Thursday, which, it has hoen said, were not."such as to. ensure the secrecy that has .'always been • claimed for the ballot-box. The complaint is that the voter's number on the ballot paper is not turned down and sealed, and this makes it possible for anyone who assists in counting the votes to discover what candidate .any particular, elector has voted for. One elector intends to challenge the legality of the ballot paper on Thursday next. A Press Association telegram from Greymouth states that the head men on the maintenance departments, workshops, and wharves, and others not engaged in running trains on polling day, received a circular telling the men to cease work at noon on polling day. They made preparations ' accordingly. At "11.40 a.m. a verbal message was sent to the foreman of the wharf-re-pairing gang,-saying that work was to continue till 1 p.m. . The men declined, as they had worked from 6 a.m. to suit the tide next morning. Thirteen, including three permanent hands, were suspended, and are still idle, the defence Act may havfc many admirable features, but it is certain that the encouragement of shooting is not one of them. Under the old system members of volunteer companies were granted capitation, and a. portion of „ this money was rightly expended in promoting shooting competitions, and by offering small money prizes a jnost praiseworthy interest was taken in this very important branch of defence- The new scheme makes no provision for the practical encouragement of rifle shooting, and the free railway passes that were formerly issued 1 to members of shooting teams when they were obliged to travel to compete, have also been cancelled. "Mr Benjamin O'Neill, of Rakaia, against whom, an order for separation and maintenance was made at the Ashburton. S.M. 'Court on Friday last; has called upon Xis to complain that the strictures passed upon him in the matter are iUideserved. He has written a full statement of the case from his point of view, which he intends placing .before the Society for the Protection Jof Women and .""Children, in : Christ-' clrareh. He did not produce evidence tliafc be could have given in his favour at the Police Court ~ through a desire; not to., injure his wife; but, as regards; one particular statement, he says he is | prepared.to hand £50 to the hospital if it can bo proved that he ever had arevolver in his hands. As an old: colonist of 46 years, who has reared lime sons and twelve daughters, and is well-known in many parts of New Zealand, he is prepared to place the whole facts of his life before the public, with every confidence that his character will bear the closest scrutiny. ' The December issue of the "New Zealand Baptist" contains several excellent views of the Ashburton Domain, including well produced pictures of the pavilion, tennis courts and the lakelets. In a brief article dealing ■with- the town and suburbs, the paper says, inter alia: ''Ashburton was constituted a ; borough in 1878, with wards undivided. It has a population of 2,678, and a Rateable value (annual) of £32,300. The area is 680 acres. The municipality has control of the Ashburton Domain •of seventy-two acres It is within the town limits, and is one of the finest recreation reserves in the Dominion, .being..laid out in beautiful gardens, tennis courts, croquet and bowling greens, and sports' grounds, with cycling track and handsome pavilions. The water that flushes the street channels is first conducted through the Domain, where it forms a number of charming lakelets. This water is also made,use of for providing swimming baths. In summer, picnic parties from all parts of Canterbury hold their picnics at this delightful spot." From his seat on the Bench, at Timaru, on Saturday morning, Mr V. G. Day, S.M., complimented the town . on its 'most orderly behaviour throughout the election, remarking that he should think it was a record for orderliness • and - good conduct among the towns,of New Zealand. Sub-Inspector Phair thanked his Worship for his congratulatory reference, adding that the town had been most orderly, and there had been no complaint of any kind. A revival of .the whaling industry in • New Zealand waters is about to take place. Mr Wug, the Norwegian Consular Agent in Invercargill, states that two steamers, each of 6,000 tons register, have left Norway for the Bluff, and these are accompanied by two whalers equipped with the latest appliances for whale-killing. The initial operations, it was announced some time ago, would be conducted' off Stewart Island and the Chathams group. A case of a Genuine bargain in second-hand Motor Cycles rarely comes along to those in need, but at the present, time there are two such bargains to be obtained at 11. D. Johnston's IMotor Garage. The . first is a /'Triumph," in perfect running order, just fitted with new Whittle belt, and two new tyes—in.fact just as good as new. ' The iecond is a " Bradbr.ryy' which was taken as part payment for a new "Triumph." The above "Bradbury " has been used in the Ashburton County, and'is..well known to motorists. There have just been now tyres-, nev belt, and lamps and horn fitted, an» /■'as £35 is a^ that is asked for it, ttw.- '■ machine should find a purchaser. 8 2U~ S . ■ ■ , Only those who have suffered ca.'i realise tho excruciating pain, the long weary days, and the longer and more weary nights, endured by those afflicted by Rheumatism, Gout, Sciatica, Lumbago. Rheumo seldom fails 'to • cure these diseases, for it expels the cause excess uric acid m the blood. 2s 6d and 4s 6d at all chemists and stores. 10x39-

t,XB^S o gi:S t «h? fol!° win S forecast winds, .squall tO + -trons westerly chano-eabl? v *"*<*; weather ™£ to hand Hl'nmm »?*■ l»vmg c-lio for thof ,Ya^only one criminal caso ten. their attention, viz ste-ilin^ «d about,.. They were sentenced to be •detained in. prison for reformative V mposes lor a term not exceeding three y^ars In the case against DaWdLe^ for stealing irom the person in an : +W le &™m from- Christchurch states that m the. dispute between the Agricultural , and Pastoral Labourers' Union and the Canterbury. Sheep^owners' Union, the Arbitration Court holds that a dispute exists. The Union's demands cover general farm work, and the : Court holds that if these demands are persisted m, application must be made' to join all parties interested. If the demands-are. confined, to musterers shepherds, and packmen, the case can proceed. At the/annual meeting of the Union Steamship .Company, to-day, a dividend was declared of 9Jd per share for the six months ended September, making, with the-'interim dividend /paid in May, a .total dividend of Is 7d per share for the 12 months covered' by th<e balance-sheet. A bonus of 2ld pelshare was declared to be j>aid out of the Insurance Fund. i By an outbreak of fire shortly beforetwo o'clock this morning, at Blenheim, four business places in High Street were destroyed, viz., those of Messrs Sbwm'an (grocer), Smith (butcher), and the offices of Messrs Dalgety and Coy., and J. J. White (commission agent). The fire started in Sowmah's'shop in a private room used by an assistant, who was away at the time. A high wind was blowing, and at first nonplussed the brigade, and' at one time it was thought the- whole block, would go. The wind fortunately dropped. The brigade removed the- roof or' . White's - Office, which was only partially gutted. Sowißlsili had a heavy stock for the Christ--I mas season, and is a heavy loser, being ; uninsured. Dalgety and Coy lost a number of books and records, which were either burnt or damaged. Among the papers lost is a set of records over a period of 30 years, which were saved from a previous fire by the manager. Insurances : —Sownian's and Smith's shops (owned.by Rabone), £450 in the Phoenix; White's office and Dalgety's office (owned by White), £400 in the. Phoanix; White's furniture, £50 in .the Phcenix; Dalgety's stock, £100 in the Alliance; Smith's, £60 in the Guardian. |