SPORTING.

WEIGHTS FOR, THE WELLINGTON. CUP. [By Telegraph.]

CRICKET.

The Association match set down for de cision on Saturday last was an alphabetic one, but owing to an insufficient attend ance, had to be abandoned, and a game was played between sides chosen by Messrs Denshire and S. Saunders. It is very much to be regretted that no more interest is displayed in the support of cricket by a number of gentlemen who can well afford the time, and profess to have the welfare of the game at heart. It was arranged to commence play on Satur day at 1.30 p.m., at which time about half-a-dozen players were on the ground, and by 3 p.m. this number having been only slightly augmented, it was resolved to abandon the original fixture, and play the scratch match already referred to. Saunders winning the toss, elected to take the bat, and after Bruce and Guy had been disposed of, Amos and the Captain treated the fields —of which there was a full eleven—to some rare leather hunting. Amos put together 37 by rather plucky, and not very correct play, but this gentle man’s indefatigable patience will always make him a troublesome opponent. Saunders made 49, not out, in his best style, his score comprising five threes, eleven twos, and singles. The innings closed for 98, Denshire’s side made no stand against the bowling of Bruce and Saunders, the former being in excellent form, and again giving promise of taking a very foremost position amongst our trundlers. E. Fooks, a very young player, showed some power with the bat, and was very useful in the field. The following are the scores : S. Sahnder’s Side. Bruce b A. Fooks 0 Saunders notout 49 Guy b Denshire 1 Amos cE. Fooks b Denshire ... 37 Poyntz c Fowler bA. Fooks ... 0 Grooves b A. Fooks 5 ' Extras 6 98 W. B. Denshire’s Side. Denshire b Saunders 2 A. Fooks b Bruce 0 E. Fooks not out 7 Fowler b Bruce 3 Dixon b Bruce 0 Buxton b Saunders 2 Extras 2

Press Cricket Match. —The staffs of the “ Timaru Herald ” and the Christ church “ Press ” will contend for cricket laurels in our Domain on the 13th Dec.

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE’S COURT.

ASHBURTON. Monday, Nov. 24,1879. (Before Mr. F. Guinness, R.M.) ALLEGED INJURY TO PROPERTY. Thos. Mitchell was charged with this offence. The prosecutor Mr. Phillip Tisch, of Mount Somers, being absent, the ac cused was remanded until to-morrow, Tuesday. ILLEGALLY ON THE PREMISES. Jas. Grant, charged with being illegally on the premises of Mr. Power, Royal Hotel, was sentenced to 12 hours’ im prisonment. The Court then adjourned.

The Old Cable. —Two miles of the old Cook’s Straits cable are to be sent from Wellington, where the old cable is now stored, to Lyttelton, where it will be used for harbor purposes. It will be laid be tween Lyttelton Heads and the Light house. Hansard. —The Debates Committee re commend the payment of £75 bonus to the “ Hansard ” reporters as compensa tion for the length of the session. Poob Sib Geoege !—The “ Post ” refer ring to Sir George Grey says : “It is un derstood that he had a most magnificent oration prepared and already for delivery in anticipation of the reimposition by the Government of the tea and sugar duties ; and, after all, the Government didn’t reimpose them. It was too bad to inflict so cruel a disappointment on that ‘soi disant’ ‘ outcast,’erstwhile ‘ thegreat Pro-Consul.’ No wonder that Sir George Grey was so dreadfully cross and captious during the remainder of the evening, when lie found all the ground thus ruthlessly cut from under his feet !

THE FARMER.

The Kumera or Sweet Potato.

The sweet potato was far better known in Sydney fifty years ago, than it is now. It was, up to about the year 1840 quite a common vegetable in our market, being grown in the gardens, and brought from New Zealand in the trading vessels, along with the fibre of the Phormium Tenax in correctly called “flax,” and sometimes, quite as incorrectly, New Zealand “ Hemp.” In a small work on Horticul ture, by Thomas Shepherd, which was published as early as 1835, this root is mentioned as follows : “ Tre Sweet PoTAxa” —We cultivate two kinds in this country—one is a native of New Zealand, the other of Moreton Bay (Queensland) ; they are both excel lent vegetables. They are generally boiled till they are soft and are eaten with meat. The New Zealanders bake their sweet potatoes, and they are very good ; they also dry them upon a string after being baked, and they will keep good for many months. The sweet potato pro duces large tuberous roots, and its cultiva tion ought to be encouraged as much as possible, as the roots are very nutritious, and produce excellent crops. The sweet potato from Moreton Bay deserves the greatest attention—the tubers are much larger and the crop more abundant, than the sort cultivated in New Zealand. The Maoris are very particular in the culture of their sweet potato ; they generally plant it upon a light sandy loam, in August and September, in rows about eighteen inches apart and about nine inches apart in the rows, and as soon as they have planted a piece of ground they cover the rows over with about two or three inches depth of sea sand, which they say encourages the growth of the tuber, and they afterwards keep the crop perfectly clear from weeds. The Moreton Bay sort will require two feet between the rows. Both sorts are propagated by planting their tubers. Any rich sandy soil, well sheltered from cold winds, upon a northerly aspect, will produce good crops of sweet potatoes, they cannot endure frost.” The author of this book was the founder of the well-known Sydney Nursery the Darling Nursery—now carried on by his sons. He had spent the whole of the year 1826 in New Zealand, being the superintendent of a colonizing expedition consisting of 60 Scotch mechanics and farm labourers, besides the crews of the two vessels, Rosehannah, barque, and Lampton, cutter, which remained with the expedition until they sailed for Sydney in 1827, having abandoned the project of forming a settle ment.

The sweet potato is a native of tropical South America, and had been early brought to Australia and New Zealand by navigators, who, on their way from Eng land, in those days usually touched at Rio in Brazil, to procure fresh provisions, amongst which these tubers were included. The mistake made as to the plant being indigenous to New Zealand and Moreton Bay was very natural, in those early days, especially, as the plants when left in abandoned ground live for many years. They are occasionally met with now in an apparently wild state on the banks of the Hawkesbury River, where they had been cultivated in those old times. The dif ference in the size resulted from the more natural climate of Queensland, other dif ferences are accounted for in the same way while there are many varieties, as with common potato, which, by the way, are known amongst the Islands where both plants are cultivated as the Irish potato, and other plants that have been long in cultivation in various climes.

“ Irapomaea Batatas,” is the name now generally accepted by botanists, though some adhese to “Batatas edulis.” It will not yield such large tubers in our climate, as it does in tropical countries, where tubers 50 lbs. in weight are sometimes produced ; but still it is worth cultivation. Five or six tons to the acre may be har vested from good land, while as many tons of the vine herbage may be utilized as fodder. It is, as a tuber, more nutritious than any other root, and very palatable. Much of the so-called arrowroot brought from the Islands is the produce of this root. The further north we go the better the crops may be expected to lie. The cul ture is exceedingly easy, a few rows of the tubers planted in spring will furnish any amount of young shoots, for making cuttings. These can be pulled off when about six inches long, in moist weather, and planted with a dibber, after the man ner of cabbage plants. These will soon form tubers and produce as good a crop as the plants raised from tubers, a great saving as compared with the culture of the “ Irish ” potato, in which the seed or sets is so heavy an item in the costs. The principal food of the Pitcairn Islanders, at Norfolk Island, is the sweet potato. It is cooked in various ways, but plain boiling is the most common : and, thus, it is placed on the table at every meal, just as bread is with us. Cooked otherwise, it is looked upon as something extra, Cut into very thin slices and baked in a pie dish with a little milk, and whisked eggs it is a favorite dish. Grated down and baked with milk it forms a blanc mange called pilli, which may be kept good for months. The best land for the sweet potato is an alluvial flat with good under drainage. It will not answer on a flat bottom with a cold impervious clay subsoil, but will do well in strong clay soil on a good incline when there is sufficient rain. December and January are the best months to get in the main crop, and the method already explained is the best one to adopt. As soon as the shoots are long enough—they should be just through the soil, the tubers being six inches beneath the surface, and planted in October or November would be all the better, so that the cuttings would be ready in time. If January be dry it will not do to wait for rain—the cuttings must be put in and watered until rain comes, or until they have struck.

Rennets.

In saving rennets people have so many different ways—a few good and a great many bad—that I thought it might not be unwise to give my ideas of saving same. Let the calf suck, the cow regularly until it is at least five days old—a week is still better. Let the calf suck the night before killing, then remove it from the cow and kill it the next day, about nine or ten o’clock a.m. Killing too soon after sucking the cow. leaves the rennet full of curd which should not be saved, and as

the curd has taken up the gastric juice, it weakens it. Keeping the calf too long without milk, previous to killing it, is apt to make the stomach feverish.

See that the calf bleeds well, as the rennet will be dark and bloody if it does not. Keep it as clean as possible in taking it out. Turn it wrong side out and take a dry cloth and wipe off all the dirt, and if any curd is in it—throw it away. Never rinse the rennet in water. Now sprinkle on a handful or two of salt, turn back and salt the outside, and place it on a plate to dry for a few days. Now make a hoop or bow to stretch the rennet. Take a small stick, any wood that will bend, about two and a half feet long ; peel the bark off and bring the ends together and fasten. Now draw the rennet on to the hoop and fasten there with pegs of wood. Hang in a place where it will dry moderately—not where it is hot. When thoroughly dry, put them in paper sacks and tie up tight so that the moths will not injure them. Look at them occasionally to see that no moths disturb them. Age improves them in strength, and makes them milder.

The Number of Eggs in a Hen.

A curious point of inquiry among zoolo gists has been, for a long time, how many eggs there are in the ovaiy of a hen. To determine this a German naturalist, a short time since, instituted some careful investigations, the result of which showed the ovary of a hen to contain about 600 embryo eggs. He also found that some twenty of these are matured the first year, about 120 during the second year, 135 buring the third, 115 during the fourth, and during the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth years the number decreases by twenty annually ; it consequently following that, after the fourth, or at most the fifth year, hens are no longer profitable as layers, unless i( may be in exceptional instances. Some interesting experiments were also made, a short time since, in Germany, i o determine the comparative fecundity of ducks and hens—that is, from which of two the larger number of eggs can be obtained in the same time. For this pur pose, three hens and three ducks were selected, all hatched in February, and nourished with suitable food. The follow autumn, the ducks had laid 325 eggs, while the hens laid none. In the next February the laying season commenced again with the ducks, and continued uninterruptedly till August. They showed no inclination to sit, but became very thin, although they afterwards fattened up somewhat. The total number of eggs laid by the hens amounted to 275, or 93 eggs each ; and and 392, or 131 each, for the ducks. Although the eggs of the ducks were rather smaller than those of the hens, yet they proved to be decidedly superior in nutritive material, so that the superiority in productiveness was decidedly with the ducks.

In regard to the means or possibility of deciding the sex of eggs, much difference of opinion exists. But M. Genin, in a communication to the French Academy of Sciences, on th s subject, states that he is now able, after having investigated the matter carefully for several years, to state that all eggs containing the germ of males have wrinkles on their smaller ends, while female eggs are smooth »t the ex tremities.

Late Chickens the Best Layers.— After repeated experiments during the last twenty years in hatching chickens, I am fully convinced that fowls hatched in the month of January, make far better layers than those born at any other season of the year. Early hatched chickens com mence laying in April and continue until cold July weather, when they discontinue until spring, on the other hand when hatched in January or February, they begin laying in August and continue until April. I find that January chickens will average from fifty to seventy-five more eggs yearly, than those hatched in August. My method, therefore, is, to hatch 100 chickens in January for my own use, as soon as the cocks can be selected from the pullets, they are placed by themselves until sufficiently large for use, giving the pullets all the room. The pullets are well fed and cared for and are soon large enough to care for themselves.

The Camorra at Naples.

(Pall Mall Gazette.)

Italy seems to be more distinguished for its natural beauties than for its morals, as the following will prove. It has often been said that such countries, though drenched with churchism, have little or no religion and less morality : —The following episode (says our Roman correspondent) affords some slight idea of the state of morals in Naples and the tardiness of the administration of justice. Two years since, a former Camoristi, Yincenso Borelli, sold his service to the police as a spy. His former companions piccrotti— the last grade but one to which the Camo risti attain by dint of some “ special act of courage” or of some “ deed useful” to the corporation—decided on his death; cast lots, and the lot lell on Rafaele Esporito. At 8 p.m. he met his victim, fired, and mortally wounded him Borelli only having time to say, “Thou has received the mandate from the Camorra, or thou wouldst not have done this thing,” and to the bystanders, “Arrest him! arrest him !” Some soldiers, in fact, arrested the murderer, but he was literally torn from their grasp, and they themselves nearly murdered. Borelli died ; Esporito escaped for the time. Such was the enthusiasm created by his crime in the minds of the demoralised populace, that collections were set on foot and a large sum was presented to him. Moreover, the infuriated mob, chiefly composed of women, went in procession to the old cemetery, tore the body from the guardians, and inflicted nameless horrors on the corpse. Some days later Esporito signified his intention of giving himself up to justice, and was escorted to prison by an immense crowd, showering cigars and flowers on their hero. A year since, visit ing the prison, Esporito was pointed out. He then maintained that he had no man date, no accomplices; and the governor assured me that, do what they would, it was impossible to prevent letters, food, and presents of all descriptions from reach ing him, such is the organisation or the Camorra even among gaolers and guardians. For two years he has been allowed the pleasant prison life of Naples, but in the end seems to have tired of “ heroism,” and revealed his accomplices, who now sit beside him at the bar. The trial commenced yesterday. Of course the hall is crowded. President Salvati,

who directs the case, has excluded women from the tribunal, and has made no provi sion for the press, but the trial raises a perfect fury of excitement. If it be proved that the criminal has betrayed his accom plices, he will, by the rules of the Camorra, be dealt with as he dealt with Borelli.

CHISPA’S LETTER,

(From the Ashburton Herald, November 22.) “ I am not yet so bald that you can see my brains. ” — LONGFELLOW.

The governing powers in the country have got the right measure of the bow wows, and it is evident that a census has been taken of all the stock of that descrip tion in the county, no matter whether they be of high or low degree. The County Council want some saddler, or other tradesman in the leather line, to give in a price for 1250 dog collars for next year. I can’t make out how they got so close to it ; because I sometimes see some of the dog fanciers with one animal “following,” and a day or so afterwards they have a flock of all sorts and condi tions ; and I have been looking out for an advertisement in your columns for shearers for the animals, as this is about the season when the fleece should be taken off. Any how, I suppose that when the County Council sell the 1256 collars next year I will be perfectly safe in speculating in a dog of some sort, as in these hard times it would be very convenient to have one who knew how to go to Digby’s shop and nego tiate the loan of a leg of mutton. I mean to patent this.

I was a good deal taken up at the races with the number of applications I received for a ‘ ‘ pipe of ’bacca ” and I shelled out as far as my pocketful would go. A shil line's worth of u cut up ” and a stick and a half of nailroad were converted into smoke at a most alarming rate ; and on reaching home the wife of my bosom saluted me with, “ Chispa, you’ll have to give up that smoking j tobacco is a shil ling a pound dearer, and you get through a pound a week, and whiskey is two shil lings a gallon more, so go to Worthy Chief St. Hill, and join the Good Tem plars, for your model, .Johnny Hall, has raised the duties. ” And then the mystery of the rush on my tobacco was made clear, and I silently wiped a tear from my eye, and vowed that I would for the future stick to sheepwash, and gingerbeer.

Bill-sticking is an easy sort of a job, and I should think it didn’t require a great deal of learning, nor avast amount of talent to sling a white-wash brush oyer a hoarding. But some artists in this line of business in Ashburton are evidently troubled with an obliquity of vision, as some of their bill-sticking attempts show an amount of crookedness only to be ac counted for by that cause. There is another thing in bill-sticking, too, which the artist ought to watch, and that is not to stick his bills so that the new ones and the old ones will get mixed in the reading. I noticed a case to-day where, in reading straight across the page, or hoarding, a statement to the following effect was made :—MR. JOSEPH JVESS will ad dres the TWO BARMAIDS and the BRIDE OF ABYDOS at the Town Hall on Tuesday. Admission —front seats 35., back seats 25.” I don’t consider it a cor rect thing, you know, for our future Mayor to go in for this kind of thing. I could forgive an interview, and a drink on the quiet with one barmaid, but when he goes for two, and Byron's hei’oine into the bargain, he is monoplising the fair sex rather too much, you know.

My friends the carriers were got at on the course the other day. After the the racing was over they went for a shy round the track, for a five shilling sweep, on their own hook, and persuaded a good natured official to stop to see fair play. Five of them went for the event, and the stakes, 255., were handed to the official, who acted as stakeholder, judge, and so forth. The race was won by a horse which, accompanied by his rider, is in the habit of making early journeys in the morning with a view of preventing other horses and cattle getting lost, and of putting them in a place where their owners can find them for a Price. After the event was over, the twenty-five shillings were demanded ; but the stake holder informed the winner that as there was a pound to be deducted for the use of the course, he could only pay over five shil lings, which the youth naturally didn’t see ; and the matter was made right at the “ settling,” when the treasurer was authorised to cash up the sweep, but to caution carriers that the Racecourse was not to be used by all and sundry, with out permission of and payment to the duly constituted authorities.

Your paragraph about “judging but ter” has “ fetched ” me. I never was a butter judge, but it has been my mis fortune on one or two occasions to “ do ” a cattle show—speaking as a newspaper reporter would. I did a show of this kind once too often. It was in Scotland. I had gone all round the sheep pens, and the cattle stalls, and half a dozen times through the butter pavilion. Igushed like a fountain of poetry over every item in my departments of the Show that met my approbation, and specially did I praise the prize-takers in the blitter list. Had I foreseen the consequences of that ill-advised piece of flattery I should have “shut up’’long before I did. But I have no gift of second sight. The paper appeared, and the flattered ones were doubtless pleased with th 'ir flattery. But three months afterwards I had occasion to journey through the district, of which the show was the annual event. Passing a farmhouse, a great big, hearty looking wench called out “ Hi, chappie.” I hied to her. She asked— “ Could you come in a minute?” I came in. “Sit doom” I sat “doom” Open ing a drawer, she drew forth a well worn copy of the “ buster.” It was a copy with my Show report in it. “ Did you write that?” “Aye.” “Do you think Janet Grant can mak’ better butter than me ?” I saw that Janet Grant had second prize, while the “ Duke’s ” dairy maid had first. I expressed my belief that both prize specimens were superior. If you ask me why I do not enter as I used to in my young days for the annual sports, you will find sufficient reason if you examine the calves of my legs—for that sturdy wench’s broom handle , but why dwell on a painful scene ? I shall never again report on butter, unless the show happens the day before my previously arranged emigration to the other side of | the world. Chispa.

A DREAM.

Metholight I stood upon a rock-bound shore ; The sky was gathering blackness over head, I listened to the breakers’ sullen roar, And saw the angry sea before me spread. The mountain waves like monsters of the deep, Came rushing onward in their giant might; As if to battle with the rocky steep Which frowned defiantly as black as night. Then, suddenly burst forth the howling storm : The wind like fifty thousand great guns blew. I wished that I were housed, and snug and warm : Spell-bound I stood, and knew not what to do. Thus fiercely raged the elemental war, The prospect dreadful in the failing light ; And fairly terrified, I gazed afar, But not a place of shelter was in sight. Methought I shouted, but my voice was lost Amid the uproar of the raging sea ; And thus unsheltered all, and tempest toss’d, I felt indeed as bad as bad could be. The billows dashed, The lightning flashed,

The thunder crashed, The rain came down in torrents pouring; Just then I woke, The spell was broke (It was no joke), I jumped right out of bed upon the floor ing ! The dream was caused by dear Rebecca snoring ! Rakaia J. C.

The Railway Telegraph Line Struck By Lightning.

Mr. W. H. Floyd, Superintendent o: the Railway Telegraph, writes ;

On the afternoon of Nov. 11 a violent thunderstorm was experienced on the Malvern Branch Railway, which caused considerable damage to the telegraph line between Darfield Junction and Hawkins’ stations. Repairs were made early on the following day, when it was found that nine telegraph poles had been more or less damaged by electricity. Six of the poles were so badly shattered as to be fit for nothing but firewood ; the remainingthree, although considerably splintered, were good enough to be re-fitted and continued in use. The damage to the poles ex tended over a straight line of three quarters of a mile in length, but all the poles in that length were not injured. Commencing three-quarters of a mile from Darfield junction, the first pole was badly shattered, and only about a third of it left standing; the other two-thirds being split up into small fragments, and scattered about. The next pole, towards Hawkins’ Station, was perfectly safe. The third was as badly injured as the first, but the fourth and fifth were uninjured. The sixth, seventh, and eighth were badly shattered, and splintered from their tops to the ground-line. Between the seventh and eighth poles, at about the centre of the span, and also at about midway be tween the first and the last pole injured, the telegraph wire of No. 8 gauge was fused and parted, and over the whole of the 21 feet distances between the line of wire and the railway metals, the ground showed signs of disturbance. Three of the railway sleepers were shattered, and between one of them and the line of wire there were two strongly marked paths, re sulting from electrical disturbance, of which lightning is commonly one of the evidences. These paths were partly tun nelled at a depth of fi om 12 to 15 inches underground, and to a diameter of about five inches, and partly cut to a depth of from four to five inches from the surface. The earth thrown up at the sides of the cuttings exhibited in patches a greyish color, that suggested the idea of its hav ing been under the influence of fire. There was only one path at the shattered sleeper referred to, but a little way from it the path divided, and the two branches remained distinctly separate until they ceased altogether—six feet apart directly under the line of telegraph—as though each path had terminated in a separate end of the fused wire.

The ninth pole had only a piece of its top splintered off, and could be refitted. Between this pole and the railway metal there was a single path, partly tunnelled and partly cut, from the surface as pre viously described. In both cases the dis turbance of the ground was greatest near the railway metals, and gradually de creased until it ceased altogether at the line of wire.

The tenth pole was only slightly broken at about a foot above the ground line. The eleventh had a slice two inches thick cleanly taken off one side, from top to ground line, and the slice was split up into matchwood.

The next three poles were uninjured, and the signs of damage ceased altogether at the fifteenth pole, which was badly shattered.

In the Darfield Junction Telegraph Office the station master and telegraphist were seated at work during the storm, when they saw a bright light apparently leap from one of the instruments to the floor of the office and heard a noise like the report of a fowling piece. That no damage was done to the instruments there, is probably due to the fact that the office is fitted with lightning guards of a very effective pattern.

A Foolhabdy Passenger.— A man named Breen, residing at Tiuwald, took his passage in the 11 o’clock express train from Ashburton on Friday, instead of the ordinary, and on finding that it did not pull up where he wished to alight he jumped off, the express travelling at the rate of 25 miles an hour at the time. He was picked up by Mr. W. Bennison and others in an insensible condition, but with the exception of a few cuts about his head is not seriously hurt. The Timber Trade.— The Sawmills at Pelorus Sound (says a Wellington paper) have resumed operations and are again in full swing. Notwithstanding the numer ous brick buildings which are being erected in this city, the demand for timber has not very much abated, the saw mill pro prietors affirming that their orders have not relaxed to any great extent. During the past two days, four vessels, timber laden, arrived from the Sound with cargoes representing an aggregate of about IG,OOO feet

Forty Hours Underground.

The NTeillsville (Wis.) “Republican” says.:—Last Friday, at nomi, a well being dug at the fair grounds caved in at the bottom after it had reached a depth of 116 feet, burying William Selves, a workman, under about thirteen feet of sand, measur ing from his head while he was in a nearly upright position. The well had reached a depth of 100 feet when a stratum of loose, white sand was reached, which made curb ing necessary. An upright curbing in sections four feet long was used. While putting in the fourth section the caving of the well took place, first crushing in the lower section not yet finished, and pinning Selves in solid sand nearly to the armpits. It was instantly followed by the throe sections above, whichwerecrushed into the centre, leaving a vacuum there. On see ing it start Selves had instinctively raised a section of the curbing over his head, bending backwards, face up, with the arm supporting the piece of curbing stretched above his head. In this position the sand settled about him, completely binding him except his head and one arm, which he could move at that time. The section curbing which he had raised above his head created a vacuum which for a short time communicated with the vacuum through the centre of the well made by the coming together of the barrel-like curbing. As soon as possible a gas pipe for the pur pose of pumping air to him, was inserted through the opening, Selves, who then had one arm at liberty, placing it as near his mouth as the boards over him would permit. Soon after tlrs was accomplished the sand settled solidly above him, leaving only the vacuum under the board, which soon filled so close as to im prison the arm that had been at liberty, and to also render his head unmovable. In this situation, plainly depicted by him self in sepulchral tones through the air tube, and perfectly audible at the top of the well, William Selves, then six hours without food and cramped and chilled by the cold sand, said he would hold on to life if there were brave hearts enough above him to undertake his release, know ing full well the danger to those who might attempt it in a hurry. The task was to remove from thirteen to eighteen feet of sand from the bottom of a well 116 feet deep, by puttting in a new curbing while taking out the sand and debris of the old curbing, and to do it all so care fully as not to fill the little vacuum above his face. Coupled with this task was the appall ing danger to the workmen of a fresh caving in of the well, now more imminent than the first, for above the ominous vacuum made by the caving of the sand, hung the hundred feet of clay wall, with no support but its own adhesion, its natural foundation of sand being gone. The bore through the clay being but twenty-seven inches in diameter, could not, for lack of time and space, be curbed. In the face of these discouragements, there were brave hearts enough found to work night and day, never slackening, ex cept for a short time on Saturday morn ing, when for a time further attempts seemed suicidal by reason of the caving in of a small portion of the clay wall. But soon new precautions were devised, and the almost hopeless 'work went on to its practical conclusion at one o’clock this (Sunday) morning, when a friendly hand raised the plank and brushed the sand from tho now nearly unconscious face. He had retained his mind perfectly up to a few moments before, when the tenderly cautious hand above him, in spite of their care, had so disturbed the sand as to cover his face and to interrupt the supply of air from the tube. He returned to perfect consciousness in a few moments, and, his head released, the work went rapidly on, he himself helping materially after his arms were released. At 3.30 o’clock, nearly thirty hours after his incarcera tion, William Selves stepped firmly from the mouth of his living grave, and was received into the arms of his young wife amid the glad shouts of the throng who had so long shared his sus pense. His exertions in assisting to free himself had given him the use of his limbs again, and when he reached the surface about all he seemed to need was nourish ment, which he had not had since the Friday morning before, nearly two days.

The State of the Army,

A military correspondent of the “ Times,” writing on the above subject, says that though exception may be taken to the assertion that the army is in a state of collapse, the following facts clearly prove that the term is no exaggeration. On the Ist of this month the total number of soldiers above three months service in 55 battalions of the line in the United Kingdom and Ireland .amounted to 21,950. The 18 battalions of the line which stand first on the roster for foreign service number but 10,421 men, and of these 6082 are under two years service. These battalions are 2413 beneath their peace complement, and to bring them up to a war footing would require 9579 transfers. Even the five battalions at the head of the roll for active service are 886 under their peace establishment. The five battalions which recently embarked for South Africa were high on the roster for foreign duty, and presumably were in a fit condition to embark; yet, owing to one cause or another, upwards of 1000 from these five battalions were rejected on'the regiments being detailed for embarkation. We may assume that the rest of the army is in a like condition. Consequently, deducting 200 men from each corps as unfit, we find there are about 11,000 efficient soldiers of over three months’ service in the infantry of the lino. It is not in point of numbers that the regiments are practically ineffi cient, but also in discipline. It is well known that non-commissioned officers are the backbone of the army. With good non-commissioned officers a colonel may take his battalion any where ; with bad non commissioned officers the battalion has no motive power. The one great cry through out the service is the want of non-com missioned officers. Owing to the short service system, smart young fellows are passed rapidly through the ranks and pro moted in the hope that they will turn out well. Often, too often, they are untried men—men with little self-restraint. Instead of bearing with the hasty recruit, they needlessly harass the men, and petty acts of insubordination are the result. In subordination increases, courts-martial are of common occurrence, and a general tone of unhappiness pervades a corps thus cursed. In one regiment that embarked for South Africa there were no fewer than 32 men in prison, in two others 15; another corps, now at homo, which a few years

ago stood almost unequalled for the absence of crime, has had, during the last 12 months, 27 courts-martial, and five sergeants within a few weeks have been reduced for drunkenness on duty—in olden times an almost unheard of offence. The linked battalion system, too, lias con fessedly broken down. The object sought to be obtained by this arrangement is tiiAt the battalion at home may serve as a feeder for the supply of casualties in the twin battalion of the same district serving abroad. This, we are assured by Lord Cardwell, would be comparatively simple as regards the double battalion regiments. Yet, at the present moment, instead of 71 battalions being at home to 70" abroad, wo have but 55 in England to 86 on foreign service ; and of the double batta lion corps, the Ist Royal Scots, 3rd Bulls, 4th King’s Own, Gth Royals, 13th Light Infantry, 21st Royal Scots Fusiliers, 14th, 17th, and 24th Regiments have all their battalions abroad. Not only has the scheme failed to work well, but it is ex-. ceedingly unpopular among officers and men. So unpopular is the scheme of compulsory transfer on reduction that the officers of 40 regiments in the ariny have absolutely declined to accept even promotion out of their corps. Officers of the 38th elect to abide by the Ist Staffordshire rather .- than be turned over to the 80th, the 2nd Staffordshire. Indeed, sc strong-is the feeling of this point that, pending the. decision of the Committee oh Army Organisation, all transfers will, pended in the case of officers who objectiff ', to the step. If the linked battahtyhL system has broken down,„go, too, the Reserves proved a failure. It is true that last year, when they were mobilised, the men came up readily for re-enrollment, about three per cent only being absentees, but in point of numbers-they fall far short of what was anticipated. In March, 1871, the Secretary of State for War stated that in seven years the Army Reserve would amount to 81,811 men ; on l ithe Ist of June, 1879, it numbered 16,949,.a grave error in calculation.

Burns’s Monument.

On the 10th of August the long*talked of monument of Burns was unveiled at Kilmarnock in the Kay Park, which was thrown open to the publican- the same day. About 50,000 persons were present, and it is stated that such a demonstration has not been witnessed in Ayrshire since the Burns Festival in 1844, when the monument on the banks of the Doon was inaugurated. In spite of the running of special trains the pressure on the jail way was so great that it was -ultimately found necessary to refuse to issue tickets to any one save those who could prove that they were going to walk in the procession. Every hamlet in Ayrshire was represented, and thousands came not only from the counties of Renfrew, Lanark, and Dum fries, but even from Edinburgh and other parts of the east coast. The procession met in the Recreation grounds, road, and was of a most interesting and amusing character, the various trades being represented by working models, &c., of their crafts. One hundred and eleven carters, mounted on powerful Clydes dales, led the way, and forced a passage, for the procession through the densely crowded streets, the horses being gaily decorated with ribbons and flowers. Music was provided by about 20 different bands. The park in which the monument stands is about 41 acres in extent, but only half of that area has been laid out in the meantime. The land was bought for £9OOO from the Duke of Portland,, the money being bequeathed for the purpose bv Mr. Alexander Kay, a native of Kil marnock who made a fortune in Glasgow as an insurance broker, and died in 1866. The monument consists of a building 80 feet high, in the Scottish baronial style, con taining a large room for a museum of Burns y s relics, and accommodation for the keeper. In an alcove is placed the statue of the poet, by Mr. W. G. Stevenson, of Edinburgh. It is cut from a block of Sicilian marble, and with its base is about 9 feet high: The poet is represented holding a note-book in which he is about to indite some verses, the book resting On a broken stump, at the foot of which a daisy nestles. In the head and costume., the well known portrait by Nasmyth has been closely followed. The ceremony of unveiling the statue was peformed by Colonel Alexander, M.P., whose speech was received with great enthusiasm, not withstanding that not a twentieth part of the assemblage could hear it, and that the bands on the outskirts of the crowds kept bursting in with music at inopportune points. In the evening a public dinner was held in the George Hotel, Provost Sturrock occupying the chair, in the un avoidable absence of Colonel Alexander. The total amount of the subscriptions re ceived for the monument is £2488, but about £250 is still required to defray all expenses in connection with the matter.

Bank Swindles Made Easy.

(Manchester Guirdian.) An audacious mode of swindling' has just been brought to light. A man of respectable appearance called at one of the banks in Manchester, and representing himself as a newly-appointed agent of a firm of provision merchants in Cork, said that he wished to open an account because of the greater convenience he would thereby have in making his remittances. Strange to say, the authorities at the bank, without requiring any proof of the bona fide of the applicant, allowed him to deposit a sum of money, along with a cheque for £SB 10s., payable on a bank at Garston, near Liverpool. They at the same time supplied him with a cheque book in the customary manner. The cheque was forwarded to Garston in due course, but on Monday morning before a reply could be received, the man presented a cheque from the book which had been issued to him on the Saturday for pretty nearly the whole amount that he had de posited, inclusive of the £SB 10s. The cheque was cashed, and next day that which had been drawn upon the Garston Bank was returned with the endorsement —“No effects. ” It was evident the Man* cheater bank had been swindled of nearly £SB, and inquiries which were made con firmed this view. It was also found that cheques-books had been obtained in a similar manner from the bank at Garston, and from banks in Runcorn and elsewhere. The name given at Manchester was “ Frederick Lees at Garston it was “ James Lyons and Brothers.”

4

THE ASHBURTON GUARDIAN

j Tuesday. November 25. T 879



Wellington, Nov. 24. st. lb. Fishhook ... 9 7 Tempelton 9 5 Mata ... 9 5 Mari tana 8 10 Natator 8 G Foul Play 8 4 Chancellor ... 7 13 Pinfire 7 12 Hornby 7 10 Betrayer 7 10 Camballo 7 7 Volunteer 7 7 Resolution 7 7 Titania 7 6 Hippocampus... 7 5 Grip 7 4 Sinking Fund... 7 3 Maid of Honor 7 3 Otawa 7 0 Foam ... 7 0 Hailstorm G 10 Lara G 8 York G 8 Repudiator .. G 8 Norseman 6 8 Leita ... 6 7 Comus... 6 7 Merlin. 6 6 Tera 6 5 Magnolia 6 5 Rata 6 5 Grand Duchess 6 5 Soukar 6 4 Luna 6 4 Repo 6 3 King Quail 6 2 Libeller 6 0 Loch Lomond 6 0 Laertes 6 0 Vampire 5 12 On Dit ... 5 12 Balmoral 6 12 Wilberforce .. 5 12 H. P. Lance, Handicapper.