JOTTINGS FROM ASHBURTON.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXIII, Issue 7561, 28 May 1885, Page 5

JOTTINGS FROM ASHBURTON.

[from our own cobresfondent.J May 27,

The close of the holiday time has brought moat of the pleasure seekers back to Ashburton and business. The latter is, in these times, none of the briskest, and a holiday of half a week's duration does not cut very deeply into the financial results of any of our establishments. We all.remember iWhen it was very different—when the closing of a shop for half a day meant a goodly sacrifice of profit; but theh,:on the other hand, the profits made were such that the firm could afford the holiday. Shall we ever have a repetition of those times? Some God-fearing men say that prosperity and adversity are regulated to us by Providence, like the ebb and flow of the tide. If that is so, then the tide of prosperity takes a long time to start on flood, and does- not remain long at high water. A friend said to me some days ago, when we were talking about the dull times, that we were only going through a repetition of Joseph's seven years of Egyptian plenty and poverty. We got the seven years of plenty, and the seven years of poverty are now upon us. Perhaps so. If it is so, then all I have to say about it is that whoever dreamt our prophetic dream must have done it' on fearfully poor grass land, for the years his,seven lean cattle represented, supposing they are upon us now, are just about -as lean as any man could well wish them to be who had a scurvy grudge against them. There is one thing, however, I must say for the population generally. They have learned a good solid lesson from the hard times. Personal expenditure has been reduced everywhere. You never hear of any such instances of extravagance as many of us can call to mind in the days gone by ; and though the Temperance Societies are not so strong in numbers as some of the one-idea men would wish to see them, there is not a tenth of the drunkenness or wasteful expenditure on liquor that used to be, and only a very few men come through the hands of the police for " looking upon the wine when it is red." I mean, of course, the Anglo-Saxon's substitute for the red ■wine—beer and spirits. Speaking of the police, a much-needed addition is to be made to the local lock-up. Officially it is called a gaol, but I claim,the right, if I like, to call it or not call it a gaol. The place is not a credit to any Government, and if a cell in the Ashburton lock-up is to be my lot, then my earnest prayer is that I may be granted grace sufficient to enable me to keep out of the clutches of those whose disagreeable duty it is to run in such of our fellowcolonists as forget their respect for. the law. The addition to the lock-up is to take the shape of three new cells. Why nobody ever thought of this much-wanted addition before, I can't tell; but it does seem strange that when, five of six years ago, the lock-up presented an appearance every night like a 9heep-laden truck bound for the frozen meat headquarters, nobody every thought of giving the drunks more room. 2sow, however, that we are all on our best manners ; when the sun goes over •the yard-arm, and we never think of' a nip; when we can get through a whole list of toasts at a public dinner on two fingers of, sherry and a cigarette ; when we beast j of our. temperance, and speak of those who are not total abstainers with a regretful shake of the head, meant also for j sympathy.; and generally

Compound for sins we are inclined to. By damning those we hare no mind to —when we are all on the right tack for respectability, Government gives us three new cells. So long, T take it, as we made great demands upon the gaol accommodation, Government did not consider us respectable; but now that we are all living cleanly, as Jack Falstaff meant,to do, after forswearing sack, we are considered worthy to have plenty of cell accommodation, with a chance to appear decent when called up before His Yv'orship in the morning. The entertainment season is, coining on a*gaih, and we are to have plenty of opportunities now for spending a shilling for two hours in a hall. The entertainment seems to be, with the tea meeting, a legitimate means for church people to take to raise the wind—and a good way too, if the House can be filled : every time. There.-are several, good Christian men here who are grand handa at organising a show, and usually get up a first-class programme. T. was told that on ono ' occasion some of thera thought of adding a. trapeze performance to the list of items.

They knew where to find the men, and the men, like Barkiss, were willing. - But one thing greatly exercised the good men's minds—the costumes the performers should wear. They thought the fleshings costume ; displayed more of" the shapely limbs of theathletes than was in accordance with the propriety of a church entertainment, and suggested a modification. The young men would have pleased them up to the hilt if they had attempted their aerial flight in sombre smalls and claw hammer, but a trapeze show in evening dress would look just about as funny as a Volunteer company doing the bayonet exercise in frocks and bell-toppers. I hear that a requisition to Mr .Grigg asking him to resign is to be sent round the Wakanui district for signature. The promoters of the requisition, I understand, will obtain signatures on the understand-, ing that Mr Grigg withdraws in favour of either Mr E. G. Wright or Mr Alfred Saunders. Should the requisition be signed extensively and Mr Grigg be prevailed upon to resign in favour of either of these gentlemen, there i 3 no reason in the world why either of them should hare a walk-over, and. [ feel quite certain that no such thing will happen, but that ju3t so aoon as Mr Grigg's seat is vacant will there be candidates for the honour who neither love Mr "Wright nor Mr Saunders. Councillor Bird has started a new idea at the Borough Council. We have about £ISOO of a municipal overdraft, and this considerably hampers much needed work in the Borough. Mr Bird proposes to raise a loan of .£6OOO, at say 6J per cent, to clear off this overdraft, arid allow such work as channelling, &c, to proceed. The work is certainly needed, and it would be as well to have it done. , The loan idea seems to be meeting with pretty general favour, and a special meeting of the Council has been fixed to discuss the matter. The Presbyterians along the hills have just had their new parson, the Rev Mr M'Neill, inducted. The hills people are very practical.' At the little social gathering that followed the induction subscriptions towards the buying of a hor6e and buggy f QI the clergyman were asked for. They came in in promises of from £1 and under up to £5, and one well known and genial, if blunt, Scotchman was prompt ia his offer of " Twa povnd and a bag o' aite." T fl e "aits" are just as valuable to a parson's horse as they are to any other man's moke.