LOOKING BACK.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 56, Issue 81, 17 January 1936, Page 4

LOOKING BACK.

FIFTY YEARS SYNE (From the "Guardian," Jan. 17, 1886.) Borough Valuation.—The valuers, Messrs C. E. Fooks and Son, have completed the valuation of the Ashburton Borough. The total valuation is £21,951 10s, or £3569 less than the valuation for 1885. Caledonian Society.—A meeting of the directors of the Ashburton Caledonian Society was held hi the "Lyttelton Times" office, Arcade, on Saturday evening. There were present: Messrs J. McLean Dunn (in the chair), W. Craighead, S. S. Johnston, W. St. G. Douglas, C. Reid and J. C. Duncan. The secretary (Mr Duncan) submitted a statement of accounts in connection with the sports on Boxing Day, which was* considered satisfactory and received. ? White Sparrows.—A gentleman residing in Ashburton made a curious discovery the other day in the shape of a uestful of young sparrows almost fully Hedged, all of which were either partially or wholly white. Occasional instances of albinos have often been noted, but we never before met an instance of an entire brodd exhibiting this variation of colour, TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO. (From the "Guardian," Jan. 17, 1911.) Unsatisfactory Railway Arrangements. The arrangements under which some of the smaller railway lines in Canterbury are run is causing some dissatisfaction among farmers in the country districts. One resident of the Mount Somers district told a "Guardian" reporter yesterday that he, with others, thought that the Railway Department was not treating the farmers properly in the matter of accommodation on the Mount Somers train. In the fii-st place, the timetable is insufficient—there should be a morning and an evening train both ways on the line. Secondly, the carriages used were scarcely fit to travel in.

Pupil Teachers.—The following is a list of the Ashburton candidates who have qualified for free places and as pupil teachers, etc.:—James Burdett Allen, Elizabeth Stuart, Kathleen Fitzgerald, Elsie Hampton, Christopher Harold, Deris McClurg, Eileen Makeig, Leonard Rcuntree, Charles Saunders, Margaret White, Annie Wilkinson.

French Premier Shot At.—A discharged clerk fired two revolver shots at M. Briand (the Premier), from a gallery in the Chamber of Deputies. Both missed.