LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XIV, Issue 2927, 20 March 1893, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The production of Root's cantata " The Haymakers" by the Wealeyan choir has been postponed till Friday, April 7, owing, we understand, to illness of leading singers. We regret to hear of the death of Mrs Aitken, wife of Mr William Altken, of Willowby, who died on Sunday after a lingering and painful illness. Messrs Stephens Bros, announce the opening of their shipment of new goods for the shooting season, and invite the attention of sportsmen to the stock. Holders of tiekecs for the Convent Cor ceq are rcqu«-sted to send in returns at once to ! Father ODonnell; and all accounts against the Committee should be rendered to Mr VV. Adams, hon secretary, before March 30. Before Messrs W. G. Rees and J. W. Swale, J P.'a, this morning a prohibition order was granted against Henry Dalley, to be in force for twelve months in the borough and county of Ashburton. The Rev T. J Bob Johns, of the British and I'oreign Bible Society, conducted the morning service at the Primitive Methodist Church, on Sunday, and the evening service at the Presbyterian Church. There wee large congregations at each service. To-night,' thi annual meeting of the local branch of : the $cciety will be held in the Primitive Methodist Church', at half-past geypn. A meeting of the Cpmmittee cf theAshburtou VoQtbali Q\ub was Md on Saturday evening, when business of importance was gone through. Correspondence was read from the secretaries of the North fjauterbury and Union Football iilnba re m#tch pn Easter Saturday. It was decided to reply that bo teams would be available for that day. The Domain Board's terms for use of ground was accepted. It was decided to UgU the iormal opening day on Wednesday, April 3, aiid a committee was appointed to get the ground m"'btder, The matter of foining the North or- South" Canterbury Bugby Union was held over pending receipt of correspondence. It was decided to hold a speaiijj general ipeetiitgpn Saturday, April S for reyisijon of rules and other ma.tjters. It was also decided Ihafr. a ball shpuld be placed at the disposal of members who wish to play during the evenings. t* KEATING'B , POWDER " destrays BUGS, JTLEAS, MOTHS, BEETLES, and all other insßota, whilst quite harmless to domestic animate. In exteirainating Beetles the success of this powder is extraordiaai-y. TJ is Berfeetly clean in application. See the artK you purchase is as imitations are noxious and ineffectual, bold in. Tifes, ijd, !8 f _wid ?fl 6* each, by all •pbemiift,!?./ ;•; yx *■ -

The Tekoa, from Lyttelton January 25, , arrived at London on Saturday. The vesting in the County Council for plantation purposes of Reserve 1832, Alford Suivey district, 2O& acres, it gazetted. Last week Mrs Henry Hunt showed us and afterwards placed in Mr W. C. Davis shop for exhibition the finest Lilium Auratum we have ever seen. The spike had when perfect exactly fifty blooms, but got knocked about by the high wind and when exhibited had only 36 blooms. It was grown entirely in the open air. Two suicides are reported by the " Timaru Herald." One «ccurred on Friday evening at Pleasant Valley, when a farmer named John Wallace, twenty-eight years of age, hanged himself on a tree. He lived alone on his farm, and was of quiet habits and was held in high respect by his neighbors. At the inquest a verdict of " temporary insanity caused by injuries on the head received by falls from a horse, was returned." Another occurred on Sunday night, when the body of a swagger (unknown) was found hanging to the Opihi bridge, opposite the Raincliff road. The swagger had torn his shirt into strips, joinsd them together, tied one end of the tope thus made to a pile of the bridge, and put the other round his neck and then threw himself into the water. A general meeting of the Ashburton County Polo Club was held in Henry's Hotel, on Saturday evening. There was a full attendance of members, and Mr G. A. M. Buckley presided. Arrangements weie completed for the polo sports on Wednesday afternoon. It was decided to make no extra charge for horses or vehicles. Nominations of local riders for the several events, were closed. A polo ball race was added to the programme, which now comprises eight items. The following officers for the meeting were appointed :—Judge, Mr M. Stitt; starter, Dr Leahy ; clerk of course, Mr H. McLean; clerk of scales, Mr R. Friedlander. It is said that Alexander M'Naught, who was committed to Dunedin Gaol for refusing to answer questions put him in the Oamaru District Court when undergoing examination in bankruptcy proceedings, now declines to work, and on rare occasions i speaks. He is not compelled to work, but at first he found relief in this, to him, wholesome form of employment. We ("North Otogo Times") believe he is under under the impression that he should be brought before the District Court on every occasion on which it Bits. It is unnecessary to say that it would be worse than useless to bring this unfortunate and stubborn specimen of humanity before the court unless he conforms to the provisions ot the law which deals with cases such as his. What the end of this peculiar affair will be is a puzzle. Here is a man who can regain his liberty if he will only answer the questions put him in court, and he prefers to remain in prison sooner than do so. The reports that visitors to the Chicago | exhibition would be the victims of extor-1 tionate hotel charges are contradicted. The btg hotels in the heart of the city have already announced their intention to adhere to tneir usual rates. These rates will vary from two dollars to five dollars a day on the American plan, and includes board and lodging. Im addition to the regular hotels there will be plenty of accommodation in die shape of furnished rooms in private houses, and reasonable board and lodging will be obtainable by everyone. Moreover, in the vicinity of Jackson park, the site of the Exhibition, there has sprung into existence a city of hotels capable of providing entertainment iorat least 100,000 persons. One of these new establishments alone covers teu acres, and will contain 6iOO rooms, being, in fact, a succession of big hotels uuilt in parallel lines, and connected b/ a gre it central corridor. This giant caravandery is intended to accommodate cheap excutsiouists, and will be known as the " dollar (i day " house. Among the^nany stories of the late Sir Richard Owen^wntes the correspondent of a Home contemporary,) which since his death have found their way into print, I have not seen one doing justice to his skill in iudentifying the bones of animals. One was recently told to me in which Lord John Russell also figures. The statesman and the professor were near neighbours at dheen, and on one occasion a letter was sent to the latter enclosiug Lord John's compliments and a bone on which he was desirous of having Professor Owen's opinion. The professor quickly pronounced it to be the numerus ot a pig. Lord John afterwards, satisfied the professor's natural curiosity as to why it had been submitted to him. It seems that President Buchanan had sent trom America to the English statesman the present of •• a choice bear's %im," and the family had breakfast off it several times with much enjoyment. Somehow or other, however, suspicion was aroused, and the bone was sent to their scientific neighbour, with the result stated. The following is the text of the women's franchise petition to be presented to.Parliament next session ;—" The petition of the undersigned women, of the age of twenty-one years and upwards, resident in the colony of Hew Zealand humbly sboweth:— That large numbers of women in the colony have for several yeais petitioned Parliament to extend the franchise to them. That the justice of the claim and the expendiency of granting it was, during the last sessiou of Parliament, affirmed by both Houses; but, that for reasons not affecting the principle of women's franchise, its exercise has not yet been provided for. That if such provision is not made before the next general election, your petitioners will, for several years, be denied the enjoyment of what has been admitted by Parliamant to be a just right, and will suffer a. grievous wrong. They therefore earnestly pray your honourable House to adopt such measures as will enable women to record their votes for members of the House of Representatives at the ensuing general election. They further pray that your honourable House will pass no Electoral Bill which shall fail to secure to women this privilege." mmmmm _