LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XIV, Issue 2992, 6 June 1893, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The monthly and other payments to the Ashburton Permanent Building Society will be received to-night in the new offices of the Society, Tancred Street. The curator of the Canterbury museum has received from the Agent-General a aeries of specimens of carving. Most of them are copies from antique Scandinavian carvings, On Friday the south-wesb window of the vestry at the Asbburton Presbyterian Church was broken, and an opening in the lead lights about eighteen inches square made. The room had evidently been entered and ransacked, but the would-be thieves, if such they were, found nothing in the shape of cash to steal, and Sunday School literature apparently was no temptation to them. The Oamaru " Mail" says that the local agent of the labor bureau (Serefti O'Grady) received a telegram from Mr MacKay on Saturday, asking if any of the unemployed in Oamaru were used to rock-work, and stating that if so a draft of them would be sent te Cheviot in a few days. The Sergeai i replied that the majority of the men are fully competent to do rock-work. The Commissioner of Taxes has issued a memorandum in reference to the assessment of the Income tax, setting forth who are called upon to pay it. There is exemption up to £300, but everyone is expected to. rrake a return of his or her income annually. The time for receiving such returns has been extended to the 14th instant; thereafter the Commissioner may claim penalties for neglect or refusal to supply a statement of income. The memo, may be seen at all postal money order offices. The fiiat of the series of St. Stephen's Church winter entertainments which was postponed from May 24, will take place to-moriow evening. The entertainment will be of a social character, and will serve the twofold object of drawing the parishioners and others together, and of raising funds towards improving the parsonage. Songs, recitations, and pianoforte selections will be rendered during the evening, and some of the ladies of the congregation have kindly promised to provide light refreshments. The dates of the other entertainments have been slightly altered so as to fall on the halfholiday, and will be one day later than previously advertised. The next of bhese will be in aid of raising the choir seats, and the remaining ones in aid of improvements to the parsonage. From the parade state of Colonel Fox's late inspsction of the volunteers of the South Canterbury district, we leirn that the Waimate Rifles had the best muster. This corps had 46 men on parade out of a strength of 49, three men being absent with leave, The Timaru Navals had 53 on parade, 3 absent with leava and 4 without leave, and 1 sick out of a strength of 61; C Battery 45, 5 absent with leave and 1 without, out of 51 • Timaru Rifles 58, 4 absent with leave and' 2 risk, out of 64 ; Temuka 42, 4 absent with 'leave, out of 4.Q; Ashburton 45, 4 absent with leave, out of' 49 j Geraldin^ 3.^ 4 absent with leave and 1 without, out of 43: The total number of men'who'attended parade was 327, 27 were^ absent with leave and 6 without l«aire ? and 3 were sick \ the strength of the corps being 3^3. It is B %t sfactory to learn, that the pofamaudant was on the whole well satisfied with;the way the men turned out, and the condition in which he found all arms, etc. lhe officers of the ; djitwt ihwti * pw»a of tbt mult,

. A four-year-old boy, named Francis Henry Beal, fell from a dray at East Kyreton yesterday, sustaining a fracture of the base of the skull. He died in a few minutes. At the inquest in the afternoon a verdict of accidental death was returned. Iv the Divorce Court at Christchurch yesterday, decrees were made absolute in the cases of Madison v Madison, Meades v Meades, and Brady v Brady, In the case j of Lodge v Lodge, the wife's petition, decree ] nisi was granted. Ihe fall programme of the concert to.be gi\ en by the Musical Society will appear in Thursday's Guardian. The first part wii consist of Bennett's *' May Qaoen, aud the second part will be made up of miscellaneous items. The practice on Monday evening was very satisfactory. Mr George Park, the well-known canoeist, is now living at Mount Somers, and we learn that he intends travelling down the Ashburton as booh as a fresh or flood renders the journey possible. The canoe which has carried him some thousands of miles is expected by the last train irom Cnristchurch this evening. Before Mr J. W. Sawle, J.P., this morning, William O'Brien, an old offender, pleaded guilty to having been drunk and assaulting the police. This was the fourth information of the same nature within six months, and he was sentenced to one month's imprisonment, or a fine of £1, on each charge. The imprisonment to run concurrently. The " Oamaru Times " says:—We are informed that there is an epidemic of strangles amongst horses in the Wairaki district, both < old and young horses being affected. On one estate as many as fifteen are affected by the disease, and on another eight, and so on. The cases are pretty severe ones, although none have yet ended fatally. The disease is disseminated a good deal by horses drinking out of the same trough, and in town this is practically the case. The •• North Otago Daily Times " says :— We have heard of a line of 2000 sacks of wheat—l4oo velvet and 300 each of Tuscan I and red straw—being sold at the siding at I 2s lOd. Another farmer has been offered 2s J 9d at the siding. Both lots, we believe, are for Dunedin. We are not awars of the terms, but we are told a Timaru firm have offered 2s 9d on trucks for certain clasaes of wheat. These figures are much better than anything that could be done by sending the wheat Home. The monthly meeting of the Tinwald School Committee was held on Tuesday, May 30. Present all members. The master's report showed the present roll numbers to be —Boys, 79; girls, 70; total, 149; and the average attendance for past four weeks— * Boys, 66 ; girls, 58 ; total, 124. The Visiting Committee reported having had several necessary repairs done about the school, and drew the attention of the Committee to the unsatisfactory state of the buildings. Aft«c discussion it was decided to put locks on the doors, and draw the caretaker's attention to them. Accounts amounting to £3 3s 3d were passed for payment It was decided to close the school the last week in June for the midwinter holidays. Messrs Lowe and Gudsell were appointed a Visiting Committee for the ensuing month aud authorised to have another swing erected for the girls, door locks provided, and some other work attended to. The whole Committee were, on the motion of Rev T. Far!»y, formed into a Committee to carry on a series of socials similar to those held last winter.