LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXII, Issue 8259, 27 December 1911, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The holidays passed off quietly m Ashburtori, and locally there were no signs of disorder. However, a party of Bacchanalians, who at Temuka boarded the slow: train from Timaru last evening, caused some excitement for a 1 time. An argument arose and was quickly followed by a fight, during which several windows were smashed. Our Rakaia correspondent-writes:-— "Owing to the rain which, fell on Christmas Day soaking the Domain track, the sports* were postponed. Boxing Day was a fine one, but a bit soft underfoot. A good deal qf disappointment was felt, and a number of people came m from a distances to attend the sports. Over two inches of rain foil, and' was the heaviest fall at this period for some years." . A man named Douglas Wilkeson was arrested m Ashburton \ this afternoon by Constablo Martin for failing to pay a fine imposed, at Christchurch. -He was sent back to Christchurch by this afternoon's express. A hairdresser m A shburton, while practising his art yesterday, was a little surprised when, an officer of the law entered his premises and told him that he Avas liable to prosecution. The hairdresser had his saloon full of customers and these had to be turned out, and before long he was m possession of a piece Of blue paper. The hairdresser, apparently, was , within his; rights m keeping open, and this factjthe officer? who was the cause of him losing a number of customers for the day discovered later. An attempt was made to withdraw the summons, but the man of the tonsorial art thought he would prefer to go to Court, ; where he expects to receive some consideration for the loss incurred through the ignorance of "The Law." Christmas services were held on Sunday m St. Andrew's, Tinwald; - St. James's, > Waterton ;and m the private chapel on the Longbeach Estate. There were' large congregations and many communicants. The' vicar-(the Rev. B. G. Fox) officiated at all services. On Christmas Day there was an early celebration of the Holy Communion m St. Andrew's, Tinwald, but other-services had to be abandoned on account of the rain. St. Andrew's Church was tastefully decorated with flowers and greentry, and at St. James's, Waterton, the altar was made bright with flowers. Advict& from Auckland show that very rough weather has been experienced for same time past on the coast' of the North Island. A Whitianga telegram reports the arrival of the Korora from Gisborne, 26 days out, after a very rough passage. -The steamer Energy, from Thames, for Wellington, and the wind-bound ketch Coronation, from Thames to Auckland, have arrived after ' very rough trips. Captain Millar, of the latter, had his ribs broken, and the mate had his fingers badly crushed. 'Yesterday a number of people journeyed'by drags, to Longbeach, where they spent the day picnicking. Longbeach is' one-"of the most favoured spots for pleasure-seekers, and Mr John Grigg has always shown la generous spirit m- throwing his . grounds open whenever ilie has been approached by those who wish to avail themselves of the conditions so favourable tq enjoyment to be found on his estate. One party intended going to the Ashton beach, 4 but "found that it was under Avater,* and they had to return to Longbeach. It. is not exceptional for picnickers to have some experience that has tended to keep the exuberance of their spirits m check, and a crowd, after having a very pleasant day, had a trying experience on the homeward journey. Three: horses were iii the conveyance, and one of these could not be forced or whipped into making a start for a. considerable time. In his own good time he ■ started, but the driver had occasion to pull up when a portion of the distance had been covered to satisfy the whim of one of the passengers. The horse that .had.-previousy given trouble stopped without much difficulty, '..but refused- to start again. Many passing along stopped to enjoy the spectacle, and some offered their assistance. At last a man, who had.a better knowledge of horses than the driver, came to the assistance of those m distress, and the trouble soon ended. They reached their homes m Ashburton shortly before midnight. A case of a Genuine bargain m second-hand Motor Cycles rarely comos along to those m need, but at the present time there are two such bargains to be obtained at R. D. Johnston 1 b Motor Garage. The first is a "Triumph," m perfect running order, just fitted with now Whittle belt, and two new tyes—m fact just as good as new. The second is a " Bradbury," which was taken as part payment for a new " Triumph." The above 'Brad-, bury " has been used m the Ashburton County, and is well known to motorists. There" have just been new tyres, new belt, and lamps and horn fitted, ano as £35 is all that is asked for it, thin j machine should find a purchaser. 8 2Ji j

At the Police Court this morning, before Mr W. H. Bundle, J.P., a firsfc offender was fined 5s for drunkenness. . Statistics that have just been published reveal that the cost of living m Great Britain has increased 25 per cent, since 1898. The price of bacon, and ham has doubled, and butter has increased to the extent of Is, while lard is more than double what it was 13 years ago. Flour and tea, however, are' a little cheaper than formerly. A volume by Sir John Findlay, entitled "The Imperial Conference, 1911, from Within," is being published by Constable and Co., Ltd., Txmdon. itwill deal largely with the men who took part m the Conference and- the actual proceedings. A strenuous "argument" provided some sensation yesterday afternoon afc the Waimato 1 Caledonian sports. Fromj playful chaffing the "discussion"' grew! into-a gem-ral free fight. The ringleaders wore finally separated and. protesting violently, were carried off the ground by their respective friends. The contractors for the new theatre m Tancred Street have commenced rebuilding the wall which collapsed during a storm a short time ago. The Mayor (Mr H. Davis) states that as yet the report of Mr Dobson, whose opinion as an expert is being obtained with regard to the kind of walls to be erected, has not been received, and that what- ' ever the contractors do until that report is dealt with by the. Council will be at their own risk. A Greymouth telegram states that the Christmas Eve business proved a record. Being a general holiday at the mines and sawmills, large numbers of people came to town. . Yesterdaysaw the sports begin m earnest. There is lovely weather and plenty of amusements. The number of passengers by railway and coaches rmich surpassed previous years, giving indications of the general prosperity. The- postal, work was very heavy during the whole of last week. Scotland Yard is just now conducting a vigorous campaign againsfc palmjists, clairvoyants, and others who are. ! always prepared to reveal the future I for a consideration. This action is ! being taken as the result of a robbery of which the wife of a..Cabinet Minister "- j was lately made the victim while on a, visit 1 to one of the fortune-telling fraternity. It is reported that the lady , lost quite a large sum. Desperate 1 efforts were made to keep the ease - out of the newspapers, but the incident leaked out during a police court prosecution. The homage paid to Mr' Massey by > means of Scriptural quotations sent ; along the wires has (says the Dunedin "Star") led to some searching for texts wherowith to chastise him, and it may be supposed that the well- - meaning but not quite clear reference to Eahab and the equally dubious - comparison of the member for Franklin to the " man travelling into a far " country,"^ will, if interpreted as ■■ compliments, be somewhat balanced by the message sent him recently, also at the rate of twelve words for sixpence, recommending him to read the'l2th verso of the 10th chapter of the first epistle to the Corinthians: "Let him that thinketh he standeth take heod lest he fall." . ■ ■ r •' • " "The recent wharf pillaging cases went to show very clearly," said Mr Kettle, S.M., at Auckland ,on Thursday, "that practically anyone can gt> down to the wharf and cart away a case • or two, and especially if he isknown. I believe I could do it myself." "Yes," said, someone at the solicitors' '" table, amidst laughter, " and your Worship is probably* well known to a, good many of the- men down there." Mr Kettle added that m his opinion, wharf robberies were directly the result of lax business methods, and there were always men knocking about who were smart enough to take advantage of any laxity that occurred to have a " cut m ■on their own .account." The volume of business transacted m the property market m Auckland during the past few months has been phenomenal (says a Press Association message) ; m fact, the spurt dates back at least two yoars, during which period 2000 buildings have been erected. Some of the leading land agents when approached expressed their firm opinion. that the land market was quite sound, and that nothing m the nature of a. , passing boom was occurring. They 'attribute the, extensive building operations largely to- the increase in v population. Enqiiiries concerning land values .• !• showed that they had been well mainItained during the past twelve months. Questioned m Auckland as ;to the Yellow peril m the Northern Territory, of Australia, Professor Gilruth said he thought it was a real peril. Within thirty hours' sail there were fifty millions of Javanese m the Dutch Indies, who were, beyond doubt, casting -longing eyes at the rich unpeopled spaces of the Northern Territory. At the end of the Ist century the population of the Dutch Indies was about five millions;' m a hundred years it had increased ten times. An outlet had to be found. What more enticing than this territory, six times the size of New Zealand, practically unpeopled, certainly unprotected? The danger, Professor , Gilruth considered to be real, and the only hope was to people this rich territory. White men, he says could easily adapt themselves to tho climate arid work there. An interesting fact has been disclosed! m connection with the break-up of the: Gore school, where the children of one family have put up what is certainly a' unique attendance record. Annie Ross consistently obtained first-class attendance certificates for six years, Jack . Ross maintained a similar record, for . ei^ht yc-ars, Molly Ross received her first-class certificates for nine years, and David Iloss has a 10 years' firstclass record to his credit. It would be difficult to equal this record anywhere m the Dominion (says the ' Mataura Ensign ") or, for the matter of that, m any other country, so that m the meantime the Iloss family ..may claim, a world's school attendance record. A Canterbury claim for individual attendance is made on behalf of Ernest Roliinson, of Kaiapoi. aged sixteen, who has a record of full marks for attendance for eleven yoars. Since he was five years of age he has walked to and from school tln-eo miles daily. L.M.C. Motor Cycles.—Another ship- . ment of the famous L.M.C. 3£ h.p. Motor Cycles is arriving this week at G. H. Carson's Cycle and Motor Depot m Tancred Street. These powerful motors have several patented specialities which place them m a class by ; themselves. The price of the L.M.C. is very reasonable. 6x298.

This afternoon . Constable Turner arrested a local resident for drunkenjaess. ,' ■ ';.•"■■■. f There is to be still further close settlement m South Canterbury. Mr J. I \itken's farm of 810 acres at Winchester, has just been purchased' under, the Land Settlement Finance Act. By an oversight—or. otherwise—an area of 19,190 acres of national endowment was disposed of as part of the Tripp Settlement. A "Gazette" notice sets apart as National endowment, m lieu thereof, an area of about 17,000 acres m the Tekapo survey district. The Charleston .'•"Herald," after a checkered career of over forty years, has at length ceased publication. The late Mr Thomas Dwan, of Wellington, conducted the "Herald" for some years prior to coming to Wellington. Latterly the paper has been produced % Mrs Kittson and her daughters. Employers of domestic servants will be under the necessity, before March 1 next, of insuring themselves against possible claims by their servants tor compensation for accidents which may arise out of and m the course of the employment. The amendment passed last session to the Workers' Compensation .Act brings within the scope of •the statute "domestic service m which the employment or engagement is for a period of -not less than seven days.'' The hew law comes into operation,, as already stated; on March I. 1912, and m- view of the fact; that the defence that the occupation. is" not carried" on -for the purposes b'f the employer s trade or business will no longer be available, the wisdom of effecting an insurance against possible claims for compensation will be apparent to every householder. The matron of the County Hospital desires to most heartily thank all those -who so generously contributed towards „ the Christmas fund for the benefit of the patients, whose condition necessitated their remaining m the institution on Christmas Day. Cheques were received from Mr W. Nosworthy, M.P., and Mrs. Nosworthy, and Mr R. Kennedy; mixed sweets from Mrs H. L. Barker; fruit, Miss Eobinson; cream, Mr A. Topping; preserves, Mrs Robertson; books and periodicals, Mrs J. E. Trevor. The wards and rooms were made cheerful and bright with flowers, etc:, contributed by Mr Readhead, curator of the Domain, and his floral tribute was much admired and highly appreciated. Whilst Christmas fare took precedence, each'patient m hospital was the recipient of a suitable present, .provided from the cheques so thoughtfully given. On Christmas afternoon Mr H. A. Gates and the choir of St. Stephen's visited the hospital, and gave an acceptable programme of carols and Christmas hymns, to the delight of all, Miss Claridge (church organist),' acting as accompanist. At the close of the day all agreed that despite the weather the day was most pleasantly spent. Some surprising remarks were made l>y Bishop Julius at the Anglican Cathedral ,m Christchurch on .Christ-. . jnas Day: There were many m the .Church, he said*, not among' the priests, who had very grave doubts about the JDivinity of Christ. He believed their difficulties had arisen through a false setting of Divine truth—m the first place, from a false amount of what was - called Jesus worship; they had stopped "short of the Father m an almost idolatrous worship of the man Jesus. Certain hymns showed this error; a sort of sentimental trash was all he could call them. They were not called upon to address sentimental hymns to the man Jesus, but to call through Him to the Father. Bishop' Julius went, on to say that, the Divinity of Christ was an e^ sehtial part of Christian belief, and added:—"lf Lcould only get rid of the infirmities of body, the infirmities ot tonoqie, dullness of brain and mind, amfwits; if I-could only tell you what I mean down m the heart of me, 1 would make you jump." In conclusion,. Bishop "Julius warned his hearers to be careful ere they threw any belief away. New Cycles for the Holidays.—G. H. Carson has just opened a shipment ot Fleet and B.S.A. cycles. These are the very finest models that British workmanship can produce. Cash pricesRoad racers from £14; lady's Royal Lightweight £18. Terms may be arranged. "Address—Tancrcd Street,next Arcade. ox.;JS