LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XIV, Issue 2877, 20 January 1893, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The ''Gazette" notifies that $4e**teoant A. J. Mutter, of the Ashburton Rifles has resigned his commission as from January ■ 7. In Palmereton North the police are insisting that publicans shall give their barmaids the benefit of the statutory half-holiday in each week. Rudyard Kipling, in " The Times " described New Zealand as "the loveliest land in the world." He places British Columbia nextIt i« certain, saya die "Manawatu Standard," that another Minister will be appointed in the Upper House before next session from amongst the recently-appointed members. The wool in the West Street store* JS being rapidly got into position for the sale on Monday. The broken weather haa retarded the arrival of some of the clips, but upwards of 1200 bales will be catalogued. A full attendance of buyers is expected, and no doubt the sale will be as successful as the former one. TO MAKE Nicest Scones, Niceat Pastry, Nicest Cake* Use Abw»broqk'9 S$H-JMsir« Flour.

.Factory owners are reminded by advertiset ment that factories and workshops coming under the Act must be registered on or before January 31 with Sergeant Moller, at . the Police Station. i Ihe Committee of the Charitable Aid Bo ml were in Ashburton to-aay ou H)U\ Men's Home business, und accepted the tender of Mr J. H. Maynard for the building of an addition to the Home. ' The removal of the restriction on sheep has brightened things up at O.imaru. The steamers Herald and Ohm took 1051 rams from celebrated North Ocagq flocks, consigned to sheep owners in the North Island. i Owners of cottage gardens who intend to compete for the Horticultural- Society's prizes for the best kept gardens are reminded that entries must be made with the Hon. Sec, Mr R. Lechner, not later than eight p.m. on Saturday, 2lst instant. The "San Francisco Examiner," a Demo- , cratic paper, regrets the possible fut«re loss of the direct steam service between the States and Australasia. It is honest enough, however, to admit, "If the line is 1 lost it will be due, to the shabby dealings of the United States Government in the matter." The following regulation under the Edu--1 cation Act, 1877, is gazetted : —The Zealandia Geography, parts 2 and.3 (Horbburgh Dunedm), may be used in auy public school as if it had been described and included in the list of works set forth in the Order inCouncil prescribing the class books for the public schools, dated May 26, i 892. The Mildura irrigation colony is nominally a prohibition settlement, but a private letter, published in the " Argus," describes the situation, very tersely as follows :—" We have now about thirty fuli-blown hotels here. On Christmas Eve you could have gone down' Langtree avenue and bought ;i whiskey in every place. Four hundred cases of whiskey came up a week ago for one publican." The Amalgamated Shearers Union of Australasia received from all sources during 1892 the sum of £18,261 3s sd, out of which £12,221 12s 8d was absorbed for the expenses of management. The sum of £4263 5s lid was distributed in donations and votes to other unions, whilst £6107 5s lid was expended in other directions, the total expenditure amounting to £22,592 is 6d. In connection with the Columbus celebrations at Chicago, accommodation was provided for 796 newspaper correspondents and reporters. In the front and around them were seats for 15,000 distinguished guests, including 150J newspaper editors, and covering the largest portion of the nave,beyond were 110,000 seats provided for the other invited guests. Miss Helen Smith, 8.A., Superintendent of the women's side of the South London Polytechnic, has been telling an interviewer of the " Young Woman " that she is prepared next spring to form and captain an eleven of factory and working girls. Miss Smith has experience in this direction, as a Cricket Club composed of this class of girls was highly successful at Birmingham. She thinks cricket preferable to lawn tennis. The novelty of an open air free show ( will, weather permitting, be given thia evening in the yard of the Somerset Hotel by the well-known ventriloquist, Mr J. C. Bcyant. The southern papers spsak very highly of Mr Bryan t!s ability, and there seems no doubt the entertainment is as amusing as it is novel. An advertisement appears in another column giving some particulars. The insurance periodicals were rather heavily struck by one victim in the Thirsk railway accident. Thia was a Mr J. J. Anderson, upon whose person were found no fewer than £2750 worth of insurance journals. They comprise'*Tit Bits"for £100; "Answers' for £1000; " Great Thoughts " for JK1000; " Christian Herald," £500; "Ally Sioper," £15^ Another of the eight killed had the current "Tit Bits," which insures for £100, on him. It was in Wellington during the session and there being a "gathering of the clans' the subject of kilts came up for discussion, "I never wore the kilt but "onoe," quoth the Mackenzie of Mount Ida, commonly yctept Scolsie. ".My mother made me one and sent me. to school in it, but all the boys laughed at it and I never put it on again." "Man," rejoined the burly Mackenzie of Ciutha, "It wasu t the kilt they laughed at, it was your legs." " No, it wasu'f, for I had as good legs as yours till I commenced to use my brains,' retorted Mount ldv. The " Oamaru Mail" says:— The rain of the past few Jays haa been pretty general throughout the district, and, of course, a stop was put to harvest operations, which I had been commenced in some places. As to the effect cf the rain upon the crops, the reports that have reached us are of a conflicting nature. The reasonable assumption is that the rain will have a mixture of good and evil results, and that the two sides of the account will be found tc balance pretty equally. The late crops will receive a substantial amount of benefit, and the rain came very opportunely for both turnips and grass, which will be helped to a material extent. On the other hand, a good many of the heavy crops have been beaten down, in some places, we are informed, very badly so, but whether the injuiy done will be more i serious than tbe rendering of harvest operations more difficult and expensive will depend upon the weather experienced during the next few days. If it should continue damp and dull, rust may make its appearance ; but if nice light winds and a clear atmosphere be experienced then the damage accruing to the crops may not be serious, except in a few isolated cases. At a special service held on Thursday evening in St Stephen's Church the formal institution of the new incumbent, Rev T. A. HamiltoD| was celebrated by Archdeacon Lingard. There was a good congregation. The Archdeacon read his authority and the letters of institution, and in the usual way handed over to Dr Trevor, churchwarden, the keys of the house of God and the parsonage and the letters of institution, who presented them to the incumbent. Rev T. A. Hamilton accepted the charge intrusted to him, and made the necessary declaration of faithfulneFs. After the ceremony, >whichwas very impressively performed, the Archdeacon preached from Paul's h'rit epistle to the Corinthians, chapter iv.— " Let a man so account of us, as of ministers |of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of Gel." In an admirably thought out sermon, eloquently delivered, the Archdeacon detailed the duties of both pastor and people in their relationships one to the other, and gave good counsel to both. The 1 off^tory w»3 in aid.QjE the sii'i and needy i fund.