SHIPPING.

PORT 'OF LYTTELTON. , , Arrived. Yesterday. Pet, barque, from Hobart. To-dat. Wanaka, from Wellington. Sailed. Yesterday. Robin Hood, brig, for Cape Town. To-day. Otaki, ship, for London. Pleiades, ship, for London. SHIPPING TELEGRAMS. Auckland, Yesterday. S a q e d—Margaret Galbraith, forTimaru; Albion, for the South. Wellington, Yesterday. Arrived —Wanaka, from the North. Sailed—Penguin, forPicton and Nelson. Port Chalmers, Yesterday. Arrived —Hawea, from the North. London, Feb. 24. Arrived —Opawa, ship, from Lyttelton.

DAILY MEMORANDA.

AUCTION SALES. Saturday, March 12. Mr. w. J. G. Bluett, at J. T. Ford and Co.’s Salerooms —That valuable landed property, known as Elgin. At 2 o’clock. MEETINGS, AMUSEMENTS, &c. Monday, February 28. Anniversary Concert, Loyal Ashburton Lodge, I 0.0. F., Town Hall, 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 2. County Council, at the County Council - Chambers, at 11 o’clock.

NOTICE TO ADVERTISERS.

' All orders for insertion of advertise* ments must be written legibly on the face of the advertisement. When no order is given the advertisement will be inserted until countermanded, and charged accord* ingly. All notices of Births, Marriages, or Deaths must be accompanied by the sig nature of the sender, as a guarantee of good faith. • All advertisements and business letters to be addressed The Manager ; literary communications should be addressed to The Editok.

DEATH.

Black. —On February 25th, at Tinwald, Thomas Black, Agricultural Manager, ' Longbeach Station, aged S 8 years.

The Ashburton Guardian. SATURDAY FEBRURAY, 2 6, 1881. The Heat Question.

TOWN EDITION. [lssued at 6 p.m.]

Since the first mooting of the Strath leven experiment there has been an ever-increasing interest attaching to the subject of exporting frozen meat from / the Australian colonies and New Zea.

land to Great Britain. When it was first suggested to send meat Home by the Bell-Coleman process, farmers in dulged in much the same sort of smile that crosses their countenances when they read a “ steep ” American yarn; but as the Strathleven experiment took shape, the smile toned down, and finally disappeared before the pro nounced success that experiment ulti timately became. The prices real ised for the Strathleven beef and mutton ranged from rod to per lb, and the average prices were per lb for mutton, and 5d for beef. The shipment consisted of 36,459 lbs weight of beef, and 19,635 lbs weight of mutton. Of this quantity 25 sheep carcases were distributed in London as presents, also 926 lbs of beef. Then there was a very large quantity too that was used on the voyage—more, however, for testing the meat’s condition than otherwise—and when all this is taken into consideration it will be easily seen that, the machinery once provided, a large margin of profit would be left to shippers, after

bearing all expenses. There was a deficiency of only Ll 5 17s. 3d. on the whole Strathleven experiment, and this with die large quantity of gift meat, and the heavy preliminary expenses, that would not occur in a second shipment, would very soon turn into a handsome surplus. We thought for a time that the meat export question was to be allowed to lie dormant, as nobody seemed to care to take direct action. It seemed as if those most interested in taking advan tage of the knowledge supplied by the Strathleven venture had become so glamored and paralysed by its great ness that they were unable to turn it to practical use, but sat down viewing its grandeur with rapt but purposeless admiration. We are glad to be dis abused of this idea, and to notice that New Zealand means to put on her working apron in earnest. From enter prising Dunedin we used to hear now and again the boom of what was to be done —and Canterbury made some stir at her meetings of farmers—but nothing resulted. Now, however, Oamaru means business and has begun. A company is in course of formation there to send frozen meat to the great London markets. Their operations will not be on the most extensive scale, but it will be sufficient, we think to draw off as much meat as the district can spare for the next year or so, and until stock raising can be more extensively engaged in than it is. The capital will be only —the half of which will be con tributed in cash, the remainder in stock by the members of the Associa tion. Suitable freezing accommoda tion will be provided at the Oamaru wharf, and the meat is proposed to be killed on the stations and sent in car cases to the port. The company means to procure machinery in London, and an expert to manage the concern, opening proceedings by utilising sailing vessels instead of large steamers. W r e wish the under taking the success we feel confident it will command, and we only wish that similar companies were at work in every agricultural centre. At present we fear stock-raising has not been engaged in sufficiently to supply a company in every county; but the farmers are everywhere taking stock raising in hand far more than they used to do, and with the advan tages that we now possess, and which will, before the year is out, be very largely increased, there is every proba bility, should a regular trade in frozen meat be established, that the supply will keep up to the demand. The millions of mouths to fill in England will always afford a market for our meat, and we have no idea that the trade would ever prove an unprofitable one. Besides the trade need not be limited to meat alone—the Protos experiment, tried since the Strathleven’s success, shows that butter and other dairy produce can be carried with equal safety and profit; but to this phase of the question of export we will return on a future occasion.

Borough Assessment Court. —It will be seen from an advertisement elsewhere, that the Borough Assessment Court is to sit on the 24th of March. Tinwalb School. —Owing to the ill ness of Mr Robson, master of the Tin wald school, teaching will not be resumed until the 7th March. The Property Tax. —As was advertised by Mr Commissioner Sperrey, in the Guardian of 21st February, the first in stalment of the Property Tax is payable on Bth March, and the second on the 22nd. Presbyterian Gift Auction. The Presbyterians intend holding a gift auction in aid of the funds of the church, on the 15th April. The sale will take place in the Town Hall—Mr Bullock being the auctioneer. “Fun and Farce.” —We would again draw attention to the Oddfellows’ anni versary concert which comes off on Monday next, the programme for which has been ex tensively circulated. The singers, dancers, reciters, instrumentalists, and funny men include most of our best local talent, and an enjoyable evening is looked forward to. Obituary. —ln Mr T. Black, the agri cultural manager on the Longbeach estate, the prevalent disease, dysentery, claimed another victim yesterday. Mr Black was a man in the full prime of life, having only reached his 38th year. He had been fifteen years on the Longbeach estate, dur ing which time he had secured for himself the kindly feelings of many friends, who heard of his death yesterday with deep regret. The funeral will leave Tinwald at half-past one to-morrow. Tinwald Sports. —At the meeting of the Tinwald Sports Committee, and others interested, last night, at the Tinwald Hotel, there was a fair attendance. It was decided to advertise the sports in the Guardian and the other journal; and the Secretary stated that some LSO had been promised in subscriptions. Mr Mark Scott, who presided, said about Ll 5 had been added to his sheet since last meeting. Messrs Jacobson and Eyton presented the Committee with 100 subscription lists. It was resolved to draw up a programme on the lines of the Winslow Sports Meet ing, opening the course to the public without admission fee, but offering the privileges to public tender—a meeting to be held next Friday to consider a pro gramme. The following officers were elected :—President, Mr D. McLean ; Vice-President, Mr. Joseph Clark ; Judge for Horse-racing, Mr M. Stitt; Starter, Mr. James Scott; Clerk of the Course, Mr Harry Fowler : Clerk of the Scales, Mr John Walker; Judge for Athletic Sports, Mr George James ; Stewards, Messrs Furneaux, Biggs, Mcßae, and William Fraser ; Starter for Athletic Sports, Mr Lewis. After a vote of thanks to Mr Scott for presiding, the meeting , adjourned.

Bargains.—Orr & Co. come out to night with a special thing in boots. The Tk Aboha Murder. —After the medical evidence, yesterday, the magis terial enquiry into the murder of the young Maori, at Te Aroha. was adjourned till Thursday next. The Transvaal. —The Fall Mall Gazette says :—There is not a single man now under arms in the Transvaal against the British Government who has ever directly or indirectly acknowledged the Queen’s sovereignty in the country. A Prospector —Says a Taranaki item : —“ It is reported that Mr Barry, the gold prospector, has gone on to Tonga poutu, with a view of crossing at the head of the Mokau River. The natives are very much enraged at his going on after they had warned him back, and an armed party has gone up the Mokaa to stop him and bring him back by fore. ;.”

A Valuable Site. —A block in Collins street, Melbourne, at the corner of quieen street, was sold on the 3rd inst., •;> the National Mutual Life Association o' Aus tralia, 50ft frontage, for a total of I/J.5,000 purchase money. The above company, with the Oriental Bank of Australia, the Chartered Bank, and Bank of Australasia, willnow occupy four opposite corners. This land was originally bought for “an old song. ” Tarred. —An amorous benedict of Waipawa, who pestered a fair rnaider. with his attentions, met with proper retribu tion the other day. The young lady sent him a billet doux inviting him to meet her. When he arrived on the spot, just as the shades of night were closing iu, he was met, not by the lady, but by half a dozen of her wicked male friends, who stized him, stripped him, and submitted him to the agreeable operation known as “tarring and feathering.” What Next ? A watchmaker at Copenhagen, of the name of fcSonder berg, is reported to have made a watch which requires no winding up, ina; much as it performs that work itself by means of an electric current. An electric magnet fixed inside the watch keeps the spring perpetually in a state of tension. All that is required to keep the watch going is to preserve the battery in proper working order, for which purpose one or two inspections in a twelvemonth are said to be sufficient. Yankee to the Fore. —ln an article upon the subject of exporting meat under the freezing system, the Queenslander publishes extracts from a letter recently received from a gentleman of considerate influence in London. In these it is stated that a Chicago house seriously contem plates establishing a branch in Australia, with a view of extensively exporting meat, the project being to ship the more valuable portions of the carcasses of beef in a frozen state, and to tin the coarse parts under the compressed system.

A New Use for Burglars. —Most people, and especially the ladies, have a horror of burglars, but it would appear that they are not an unmitigated evil after all. A case is reported of a gang who broke into a house in the north-east part of London recently, the sole occupant at the time being a youth of weak intellect. One of the men seized the lad and flourished the poker over his head to frighten him, and the boy, who for years before this had been unable to speak, called out for mercy. The burglars, in fact, frightened speech back to him, and the lad can now speak as well as his father. The Lost Tribes. —Another clue to the lost ten tribes of Israel has turned up in a recent work, published by a Russian journalist and traveller, giving an account of his journeyings in the Caucasus. He states that he has discovered a tribe on the high lands of Daghestan, who have been settled there for thousands of years, and that, though they resemble the Cossacks in appearance, they are in reality Jews. They follow the Mosaic law in the Bibli cal interpretation of it, retain the old Jewish names in use in the days of the wanderings and the first kings, and ad here strictly Lo the Mosaic law that a man must marry his deceased brother’s wife. So far they appear to have altogether es caped the notice of ethnographers.

CABLE NEWS.

LATEST FROM EUROPE.

(Per Reuter's Agency.) The Bank Reserve. London, Feb. 24. The total reserve in notes and bullion in the Bank of England is Lx7,375. 00 °- Hides and Wool. The demand for best sides of Aus tralian hides is limited, and prices are is 4d lower. At the wool sales to-day 9,600 bales were offered. The tone of the bidding was quiet. The number of bales with drawn from sale since the opening is 7,000, out of a total of 72,000 cata logued. The Accident to Mr Gladstone. Mr Gladstone’s physicians report that he is in no danger from the wound he received, but he requires complete rest. Shifting their Headquarters. The headquarters of the Irish Land League have been transferred to Paris, and Mr Parnell has again gone on a visit to that city. Sailing under False Colors. Capetown, Feb. 24. Telegrams have been received to-day from Sir George Colley announcing that he had reconnoitered the enemy’s posi tion as a preparatory movement to an advance against the Boers in force. The news to hand from Natal states that it has been ascertained that a number of Dutch colonists who have up to the present time been deemed loyal, have been secretly assisting the Transvaal Boers in their operations against the British.

AUSTRALIAN.

{Per Reuter's Agency.) Exhibition Awards. Melbourne, Feb. 25. The following further Exhibition awards were published to-day ;—Frst, Woollen Factory Company, Limited, Mosgiel, for tweed ; Liardet, Welling ton, for specimens of furriers’ work. Third order of merit, Wm. Harris, Christchurch, boots and shoes; W. Nichols and Son, Christchurch, boots and shoes. Fourth order of merit, John Lumsden, Dunedin, samples of uppers and boot closing. Fifth order of merit, E. Potts, Christchurch, table cover fringe, &a; Mr Thomas Marriott, Wellington, for lace back bonnet. The Taniwha. Melbourne, To-day. The Auckland yacht Taniwha has been sold here. The S. A. Ministry. Adelaide, To-day. It is expected that the reconstruction of the South Australian! Ministry will shortly take place. Mr Mann, the Treasurer, is expected to resign his portfolio.

Commercial. Sydney, Feb. 25. Hennessy’s brandy, case, 37s fid ; bulk quarters, 12s; kerosene, Devoe’s is gd ; Patna rice, per ton, L 22 ; maize, 2s qd; tobacco, Raven’s twist, is 3d ; candles, D.R.J., D.R.O., B^d. Adelaide, Feb. 25. Wheat, 4s 2d to 4s 3d, with nothing doing.

NEW ZEALAND

(Per Press Association.) The Albion Collision Inquiry. At the Albion inquiry, the captain and mate of the Isabella Pratt, both swore that the lights on the schooner were burn ing up to the time of 1 the collision. The mate said he examined them after the steamer came in sight. What His Better-Half thinks of Him. Auckland, To-day. Garrard, the unemployed agitator, charged bis wife at the Police Court to day with ill-using him, and threatening to poison him. Mrs Garrard said her hus band was a loafer. He would talk, but he would not work. The Magistrate dis missed the case, ad rising them to settle their domestic differences amicably. A Legal Opinion. Mr Singleton Rochfort, a barrister, has advised Taiaroa that ho is still a member of the Legislative Council, and therefore ineligible to hold a seat, if elected, for the Maori electoral district in the House of Representatives. The Late Cab Accident. Dunedin, To-day. Mr. Mayo died this morning and Mr. Lloyd is still in a dangerous condition. Coursing Matters. A meeting of coursing delegates agreed to the following fixtures : —May 5, June 1, and July 6, Oamaru; May 11, June 8, and July 13, Christchurch ; May 18, June 15, and July 20, South Canterbury ; May 25, June 21, and July 27, Invercar gill. The Waterloo Cup will be run at Invercargill on June 21. Mr Wise was appointed judge at the previous salary, each club contributing L6O. Pire. A fire last night destroyed two shops in the North-east Valley occupied by Heniy Miller, chemist, and Henry Bloxham, painter. There was a great scarcity of water, and considerable difficulty was experienced in preventing the flames spreading to the Cattle Market and hotel. Bloxham’s stock was insured in the Trans atlantic Office for L 125, and his furniture for L 125 in the North British, but he estimates his loss at LIOO above that. Miller was uninsured, but saved all his stock and effect s.

SPORTING.

DUNEDIN JOCKEY CLUB ANNUAL MEETING. [By Telegraph.] Second Day—Friday, Feb. 25. [The result of the following events came to hand too late for insertion in our yester day’s issue] ; Dunedin Jockey Club Handicap, of 200 sovs, with a sweep of 5 sovs each. miles. Hon. W. Robinson’s ch h Natator, 5 yrs, Bst 111 b ... ... ... ... 1 MrH. Prince’s br c Hilarious, 3 yrs, 7st ’ 2 Sir H. Robinson’s br f Lady Emma, 3 yrs, 7st 21b ... ... ... ... 3 Mr. H. Horsford’s ch c The Governor, 7st 21b ... 0 Betting—3 to 2 on Natator, 2 to 1 against Hilarious, 4to 1 Lady Emma, 6 to 1 The Governor.

Natator got all the best of the start, but The Governor and Hilarious rushed to the front in the first hundred yards, and led past the stand a length before Lady Emma, Natator coming last. At a mile Hilarious went up alongside the Governor, followed almost immediately by Natator and Lady Emma, all passing Mr Hors ford’s colt. Natator soon got on terms with Hilarious, and passing him before entering the straight, came away and won with a good deal in hand by a length. Lady Emma was a good third, and Go vernor was last. Time, 3min 20secs. There was LBOB in the totalisator, of which L 382 was on Natator. Private Trotting Match, for L2OO a-side. Three miles. Our Pony, five secs start ... 1. . Native Cat, scratch 2 Betting—2 to lon Native Cat. Native Oat broke repeatedly, and Our Pony won by 250 yards. Time, Bmin 39secs. Bail way Plate of 60 sovs, the gift of Mr David Proudtoot. Three-quarters of a mile. Weight for age. Hon. R. Campbell’s b c Sir Modred— -3 yrs, Bst 71b 1 Mr G. M'Lean’s br f Ledgerdemain, 2 yrs, 7st ... 2 Mr T. George’s ch f Nautilus, 3 yrs, Bst 71b 3 Betting—3 to lon Sir Modred. Won hands down. Time, Imin 20secs. To-day’s Racing. Handicap Steeplechase. The Agent 1 Sailor Boy ... ... ... 2 Carrigheen ... ... ... 3 Time—6mins 36secs.

CRICKET.

The Interprovincial Cricket Match. Otago Beaten by an Innings and 230. Yesterday, when time was called, Otago had only been able to get to gether 77 in their first innings, and 46 for the loss of three wickets in their second. They had a big score in 381 to creep up to, and but little hope of doing it. Christchurch, To-day. The match came to a sudden con clusion at 1.20 to-day. Spring and Paramor added 13 to the score and the former was bowled by Fuller. C. Frith and Ashby made two wonderful single-handed catches, which disposed of Paramor and Collinson, and the last five men made only five runs. Paramor made 37 and Spring 15. C. Frith got 7 wickets for 25 runs, and Fuller 3 for 10.

CHISPA’S LETTER.

44 1 am not yet so bald that you can see my brains. ” — Longfellow. There’s a hotelkeeper not very far off who is as fat and jolly as an old skipper— has been a skipper for aught I knew—and every time I go into his establishment I am forcibly reminded of the saloon of a Cunard liner. All his fixings have a “ship” sort of look about them, and there is ono room in partictlar in which I always feel myself, when I sit down, doing an inclination for’ard or aft, in expectation of the lurch of a vessel. There was a time when we didn’t have a a water supply in Ashburton, and our Fire Brigade was not the “golupsius” organisation it now is. This old skipper, in those prehistoric times, made arrange ments of his own, so that when the fire came it would find him prepared. There were double force pumps rigged—lengths of hose innumerable coiled themselves up

everywhere, like snakes in hibernation — and from a low verandah at the back of the house hung some twenty or thirty buckets. Those buckets hang still, and they present the appearance of a thing umbob of a poop, with the name of the craft painted on each bucket. Then they hang low ; no ladders required to climb up to those buckets when you Hear the loud alarum bells. Brazen bells. What a tale of terror now Their turbulency tells. In the startled ear of night. How they scream out their affright ; Too much horrified to speak, They can only shdek, shriek. Out of tune ; In a clamorous appealing To the mercy of the fire Those buckets just hang clear and no more of a middle-sized man’s head, and if you have a hat on—well, if you don’t look uut, why you kick the bucket. Old Jimmy Ducks keeps the buckets half full of water to prevent shrinkage, and when I have told you all this you will be able to follow the yarn lam about to tell you, A burly resident in that hotel found it necessary, for reasons best known to himself, to come down stairs a night or two ago. Ho took his bedroom candle with him, and he wore his hat. Bashing oat at the back door, his hat caught one of the buckets aforesaid, his body caught a drenching, and his candle got extinguished. He bounced back to the verandah and indulged copiously in that refined English for which he is noted. Thinking he had been “had” from a window above, he ad dressed himself to the supposed practical joker, and working himself into a sublime passion—which ever rose above boiling point as the belief strengthened in his mind that the joker had gone—he vowed terrible vengeance, and breathed brim stone and sulphuric acid. After a calm he made another bounce off the vsrandah. This time he took another bucket and another drenching. His yells were fearful and his anger terrific. Out came the night porter with aympathj’’, a light, an explana tion, and a grin. If you ever during the next fortnight go into that hotel be parti cularly careful to avoid all reference to the word bucket if you value your skin, for a man lives there who is ready to fight at the bare mention of the word. But the most wonderful thing of the whole yarn is, that those pressing reasons that induced the hurried rush out were com pletely forgotten in the sublime excess of feeling, and the drenched one retired again to his virtuous couch with his mission unfulfilled.

I paid for my dog this year. When I pay again—you tell me, just. I hence forth am an applicant for tho position of dog registrar at each annual appointment. Of course the yarn I am now to relate didn’t occur in Ashburton. I don’t want any one to be apprehended. The story is good enough for me, and the lesson it conveys is valuable. Along comes a policeman looking for collarless dogs. Along ’tother way comes a gentleman with a leather satchel ‘by his side, and a big black retriever at his heels, awfully like the ono John Carter made a rug of. Policeman stops the gentleman and wants to know if he has a collar for that dog. “ Oh, yes !” was the ready answer, “ here it is and he pulled out a quite new collar from the leather satchel. How many more collars he had beside I can’t say. But he was a dog registrar, and the keen eyed policeman was had.

Constable Smart is a very ’cute bobby. But a girl got him last week. He went up to her dwelling last week and enquired if she had a collar for the poodle that was en joying the sunshine on the inside window sill. It was a good chance for the con stable to get a smile, and it came most divinely, accompanied by an earnest as surance that the collar was there. The assurance and the smile were enough for the constable, and he went away perfectly satisfied. The same evening he heard a joke cracked at his expense, by a young spark, on the subject of this collar, which was a toy garter, beautifully got up, but a little too weak in the springs, and so relegated to the humbler duty of encircl ing Tray’s neck. The ’cute constable said nothing but waited his chance. It came right enough, and he paid another visit to the dog’s domicile when the swell was about. The swell claimed the dog of course. He couldn’t let Angelina be let in, and so a sacrifice to love and to a joke at the constable’s expense will soon be made in the R. M. Court.

It’s dangerous to keep dogs without a collar, and it’s a bad precedent to trust to officials. A mighty man in many ways had trusted to an edict of the Council being published, and so delayed the pur chase of a collar. He was mistaken in his confidence. No edict was published, but a bobby published himself and his mission at the mighty man’s door, and took the bones of a paragraph for a Court • eport. It is in vain that the M.M. says the registrar wanted no prosecution just yet, and that the raid was too soon. I reckon he’ll pay—and the fine.

Those footpaths are an institution—and a grand one. Jim Bradley stowed his tar bucket in a certain lobby in East street one night last week. In the same lobby three loafers stowed themselves for the night. Groping in the dark, on all fours, for the softest plank, they upset the said tar bucket. They found it ad visable to shift quarters because of the smell. As the story of the upset tar bucket got abroad next day the loafers found it advisable to clear out. The pro perty man with a change of suit was not handy, and they did not care about walk ing through the town with the tar marks of “free quarters ” on their costume.

I picked a drunk out of the gutter shortly since. He wasn’t drunk, not he. He could walk on a chalked line with any man ; but he had been out driving with a celebrated Ashburton alderman, who would persist in using square wheels instead of round ones, and so the machine was upset, and the man that was not drunk was thrown out and seriously injured. That was why he couldn’t walk. Commend me to a skinful of liquor for arousing the imagination. Chista.

FIJI NEWS.

[By Telegraph.] Auckland, To-day. The s.s. Southern Cross has arrived from Levuka. The details of the gale show the previous reports of the damage to have been greatly exaggerated. The steamers Go-Ahead and Phoenix, [which were sunk alongside the wharf, have since been raised. The schooner Tasman was also wrecked alongside the wharf, and several cutters were stranded. The damage ashore was not serious. With the exception of the unroofing of Judge Gaines’ house, the injuries were confined to a few verandahs.

A Deceptive Planet.

If we may credit the astronomers, Jupiter is once more behaving in a highly mysterious and reprehensible manner. So long as he confined him self to exhibiting one unsightly red spot upon his face, no one complained very bitterly. It was generally hoped that, in course of time, this much-respected orb would see the error of his ways, and cease to assume the appearance of an inebriated planet. Sad to relate, however, he has gone from bad to worse, and is just now showing, side by side with the red spot complained of, a number of white ones, which give to his countenance an appearance sad to behold. No wonder that quiet, staid astronomers, who, as all the world knows, are quite averse to joking, stand aghast at such an exhibition. For many years Jupiter has held a deservedly high place in their estimation, and they had come to regard him as a globe of such regular habits that he might be depended upon in any emergency. They had long ago declared him to be as “ cool as a cucumber,” and were half inclined to allot both atmosphere and inhabitants to him, when he breaks out in this unexpected way. All their calculations are constantly upset He may be in a boiling heat for all we know, a deceptive planet who has attempted to look calm and cold, while all the time he has been a state of furious conflagration. This teaches astronomers to be chary in future of giving a good character to any heavenly body. If Jupiter be so bad as this, what may be expected of stars that have no reputation to lose.—London Teleg) aph.

Idolatry in Georgia.

(Americits, Ga. , Recorder.) A phase of hero worship has de veloped, or rather cropped out among the negroes of a certain portion of Lee county, which is singularly peculiar and at the same time very suggestive of an interesting chain of ethnological points. Lewis Barber, a colored preacher, had in his charge a member ship numbering, perhaps, 3,000, mak ing up his four churches. He was a typical specimen of the negro clergy, and wielded an almost, absolute power, body and soul over his large congrega tion. “ Brudder Barber’s” word was law and gospel unto his followers, and none dared to question his authority or his sway. Vehement, magnetic and power ful, one swing from his long arms and a chant from his strangely musical voice would set a hundred sisters sway ing their bodies to and fro, and as many brothers keeping time to the weird ry thm with beating feet; in awful interest the sermon would grow a med ley of declamation and recitative, until one wild deafening cry brings to a climax the ecstatic joy in shouts, trances, and meanings. Last summer the preacher died, and his friends and followers refused to be comforted. He was honored with burial rites without precedent, and such a funeral was indeed seldom seen. The deeds and memory left by the good pastor were not sufficient for his members, and, not comforted with these, they have set up a sort of graven image, so to speak, of Barber, which is placed above the pulpit of his principal church. The image itself is a work of the crudest art, made of white and black cotton cloth, stuffed with straw, and painted with charcoal.- To an unbiassed critic it looks more like a scarecrow set up to frighten hawks than anything else; but a devout member informed the writer that it was a very striking like ness of the deceased. We marvelled somewhat at the strange thing with another brother of this church, and asked him its object. He gave us to understand it was a remembrancer of the beloved deceased, and said, “although brother Barber is gone, we still has de shapes of him wid us.”

Attempted Murder in a Diving Bell.

A rather good hint for novelists of the Jules Verne type (observes the Globe ) was provided recently by an incident which occurred on the Seine near Choisy-le-Roi. The river is here to be crossed by the new strategical railway destined to run through the environs of Paris and connect the outlying forts, and workmen are being busily employed in sinking the founda tions of the new bridge. Amongst the men enrolled for service are a number of ill-conditioned vagabonds of Italian nationality, and it was a band of these last which was engaged in the escapade in question. Five of them were sent down in a diving bell under the command of an inspector of works, who, after a while, found it necessary to object strongly to the style in which his subordinates did their work. These men, however, instead of attending to the observations made to them, took it into their heads to resent all such ad vice, and bethinking themselves that the time and place were favorable, suddenly formed a design of making away with the obnoxious inspector. They attacked him accordingly with their knives, but met with a strenuous resistance, and apparently showed as much cowardice as could well he expected from any five men, even in a diving-bell. The in spector, having discomfited them in their first onset, managed to make good his escape from the scene of the con flict, and getting hold of the chain at tached to the bell, climbed up to the surface of the water, where he shouted for assistance, and was soon gratified by the sight of a boat pulling off to his aid. On getting to shore he naturally sent for the police, who arrived in due course, and secured the five unsuccess ful desperadoes as they came out from the bell when it was hauled up. They had probably been counting upon the certain death of their intended victim, and congratulating themselves upon having got rid of him without the necessity of more violent proceedings; and they, therefore, were somewhat disagreeably surprised to see him alive and well, with the policemen at his back. As for the inspector, the mas terly manner in which he effected a difficult retreating movement, and turned the table upon his adversaries, seems to show that the contractors knew pretty well what they were about when they appointed him to superin tend works of a strategical nature.

CORRESPONDENCE.

We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions expressed by our correspondents.

OUR R.M. COURT.

To the Editor. Sir, —I beg to call your attention to a case of assault heard yesterday, Auberg v. Corsbie. I have read the report as it appears in your issue of same date, and can find no evidence that Corsbie was pro voked, and, even if I did, is it any reason why he should take the law into his own hands and assault plaintiff as he did '? If so, it is not the law I have been accustomed to see administered.—l am, &c., Benefactor. [There was evidence of provocation though, as our correspondent might gather from the way “disgusting language” is spoken of in the report. The Magistrate might perhaps have given damages against Mr Corsbie for kicking a man who came to the verandah of his dwelling-house and used, in hearing of the family, language the reverse of polite and had such damages been imposed, Mr Wood would not have overstepped the law ; but we think, from our own impression of the case as we heard it, that justice did not miscarry, and had the most severe magistrate in jSew Zealand sat on the Bench, it is our opinion he would have given only nomi nal damages. As it was, a guinea costa were allowed, —and our correspondent will, perhaps, remember that the case was a civil and not a criminal action— Ed. A.G.]

THE ASHBURTON GUARDIAN, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1881.



Special Advertisements. tmportot notice. O R R c 0., Having just concluded the the purchase of the balance of an importer’s stock of LADIES’ & CHILDREN’S BOOTS AT HALF PRICE, Will offer them during this week at the following Low Prices: — Ladies’ Boots, well made, 4s lid, worth 8s 6d Ladies’ Boots, different styles, 5s lid, worth 9s 6d Ladies’ Boots, best quality, 7s 6d, worth 12s 6d Girls’ Boots, real Morocco, 5s 6d worth 8s 6d Girls’ Kid Boots, best, ss, worth 7a 9d A few dozen of Children’s Overshoot, Is per pair, to clear Men’s Boots at 4s lid, former price 12s 6d Men’s Collars at 6d per box Men’s Hats at 3s 6d each. CHEAP SALE ON FOR TWENIY ONE DAYS. ORR & CO., IMPORTERS, Ashburton. Feb. 26th, 1881. The best value FOR READY MONEY IS THE MEN’S AND BOYS’ CLOTHING MANUFACTURED BY THE NEW ZEALAND Clothing Factory, Which can be purchased at their Retail Prynches, all over New Zealand. A SINGLE GARMENT AT THE WHOLESALE PRICE. Thousands of the discerning customers testify that the New Zealand Clothing Factory’s Garments are the Very Best Yalue for Ready Money. Ashburton Branch EAST STREET. WM. SPARROW, 761* Manager. O. Carstens & Co. (Late Weston’s), PROSPECT BUILDINGS, Tobacconist, fancy goods, AND STATIONERY. Meerschaum Pipes, G.B.D. Pipes Nailrod, Twist, and Vanity Fair Tobacco Musical Instruments, etc., etc. Haircutting, Sharing and Shampooing. EAST STREET, ASHBURTON. 520* ANOTHER YEAR OF SUCCESS another COMMERCIAL AND FANCY STATIONERY. The Undersigned has opened up a NEW j ASSORTMENT of the above. Cream, Blue, and Hand - made Notepapers; Ruled, Plain, Fancy, and Repp ditto. Good Business Envelopes, No. 7, Court, Albert, Queen, Tinted, Repp, and others. Pens Gillott’s, Mitchell’s, Brandauer and Co.’s Inks—Stephen’s Blue Black, Walkden’s Black and Colored, Antonine, Copying, &c. Workboxes, Albums, Books, &c. h. m. Tones, STATIONERY AND FANCY GOODS DEPOT, East Street and Baring Square. ' 710 MORGAN and HIBBS, General Store keepers, Methven, are authorisep Agents for the Ashburton Guardian. Subscribers will please get their papers from the agents in future. Orders en trusted to them will receive prompt attention.



Holloway’s Ointment and Pills. — Multitudes suffering under a complication of disorders might obtain relief through these healing and purifying remedies, which should be employed without a day’s delay. When the weather is variaule and co'ds and influenzas are prevalent, this Ointment, well rubbed upon the throat and chest, gives the greatest ease, and checks all tendency to inflamation in the lungs and other organs. The Pills assist the curatiye action of the Ointment, inasmuch as they purify the blood and so quicken its circu lation that congestion is rendered almost im possible. Holloway’s treatment deals most successfully, too, with that very troublesome and often tedious aliment, indigestion, which is the bane of thousands from overwork and fast living in the present day,—Advt.



The Baroness Bukdett Coutts, in ameliorating the condition of the poor and deserving fishermen of the United King dom, has expended LIOO,OOO.



Sudden Death. —A man named W. Smythe, the night warder at the Auckland Hospital, was found dead in bed yester day, from heart disease. To Newspaper Correspondents.— Here are some words of sarcastic advice from Mark Twain which are often put into an editor’s head by matters not wholy unconnected with the contents of his letter-box : “ Don’t write too plainly ; it is a sign of plebeian origin. Scrawl your articles with your eyes shut, and make every word as illegible as you can. Avoid all painstaking with proper names. We know the full name of every man, woman, and child in the United States, and the merest hint at the name is suffi cient. For instance, if you write a character something like a drunken figure 8, and then draw a wave line, we know at once what you mean. How we do love to get hold of articles written in this style ’. and how we should like to get hold of the man that sends them—just for ten minutes —alone—in the woods—with a revolver in our hip-pocket! Revenge is sweet; yum, yum, yum ! ”



Wanted. WANTED —A GIRL, to make herself generally useful. Apply, Office of this paper. 176 a WANTED —A Steady MAN, who can Plough, and make himself useful. Steady job. Apply, Office of this Paper. 179 a WANTED— A Family’s WASHING. Apply, Office of this paper. 178 a TTTANTED to take charge of, one or yV two CHILDREN. To anyone with children wishing to take a situation this would afford an opportunity for doing so. A comfortable home with moderate terms. Apply, by letter, to “A. 8.,” Office of this Paper. 129 a RACING CLUB. APPLICATIONS for the office of SECRETARY, addressed to the Com mittee, Box 12, Ashburton, will be re ceived up to 28th instant. Particulars of duties and salary may be obtained on ap plication to the undersigned. S. SAUNDERS, 138 a Secretary, pro tem. WANTED TO SELL Twenty-five SECTIONS, Wakanui Road. Apply to Patching, Tent-maker, East Street. 898 WANTED KNOWN, That HENRY’S PORTRAIT ROOMS, Saunders’ Buildings, East street, Ash burton, are Open DAILY, from 9 a.m. till 5 p.m. Portraits taken in any weather. Great Reduction in Price. 101 a ANTED TO SELL —PIANOS. H. J. WEEKS, Teacher of Music, Tuner, &c., has for sale the following Secondhand Piano fortes :—1 full-sized Brinsmead, £45 ; 1 ditto Mornington, £4O ; 1 Cottage, Chal len and Hodgson, £3B ; Bord, £25; Broad wood, £26 ; also, American Organ, 5 stops, £3O; 1 Church Harmonium, 14 stops, £3O, a bargain. Address; Cameron st. west. 86a WANTED KNOWN—The Largest and Best Stock of Saddlery is to be found at the shop of S. STEPHENS, Tinwald. Good strong Cart Collars from 135.; Cart Winkers, Bs. 6d.; Plough Back-bands, 6s. cash; Cart Saddles and Breechens, from 505.; Reaping Machine Pole Straps, 2s. Farmers will make a great saving by buying of S. Stephens, Saddler, Tinwald.



TTTANTED KNOWN. Ashburton V\ REGISTRY OFFICE for Male and Female Servants.—L. F. Andrewes begs to inform the public of Ashburton and surrounding districts that he has opened the above. Male and Female Servants of all classes provided. Em ployers requiring servants, and all persons with good recommendations, who are in want of situations, are requested to apply to L. F. Andrewes, Labor Agent, Book seller, and Stationer, East street, South. WANTED KNOWN—That a Church of England minister’s wife writes that she saves Ten Shillings a Fortnight by using Harper Twelvetrees’ Villa Washer, Wringer, and Mangier, com bined ; and, although she permits no rubbing, the clothes are beautifully white, and much cleaner than when done by hand, while the saving in mending has been astonishing. Sold by J. HERN, Range Maker and Importer, corner of Manchester and Tuam streets, Christ church ; Price—£9 10s. 700 WANTED KNOWN. SOMERSET LIVERY AND BAIT STABLES. JW. M‘RAE begs to inform the , public that he has taken the above Stables from Mr. Bossenberg, and is making extensive repairs. Buggies and saddle horses on hire. Lowest prices and best attention. 852 Meetings. RACING CLUB, A GENERAL MEETING of members will be held at Quill’s Hotel on TUES DAY, Ist March, at 4 p.m. Business ; Election of Secretary, etc. S. SAUNDERS, 183 a Secretary, pro tem. Found. O U N D.' Saturday, Feb. 26, in Cross street, a RIDING SADDLE. Owner can have same by paying expenses. Apply, C. Rtel, second house in Cross street, Alford Forest road. 182 a FUN AND FARCE I TssSHtJtS*



Amusements. J O. O. F., M. U. LOYAL ASHBURTON LODGE, No. 6003. GRAND ANNIVERSARY Concert Of Vocal and Instrumental Music, Dances, and Comic Sketches, in the TOWN HALL, ASHBURTON, ON MONDAY EVENING, FEB. 28. The Loyal Ashhurtori Lodge, No. 6003, purpose celebrating their Anniversary with a Concert on the above date, when an ex cellent programme will be presented. A BALL will take place immediately after the Concert. Doors open at half-past seven; concert at eight prompt. JOSHUA TUCKER, N.G. 76a R. MINNIS, Secretary. To Let. TO LET, a well-finished HOUSE of Four Rooms, on East Town Belt. Apply, Mitchell and Turner. 148 a Funeral Notices. Jjl UNE RA L NOT IC R The Friends of the late Mr. THOMAS BLACK are reminded that his remains will leave Tinwald at L3O o’clock TO MORROW. •' GEORGE PARKIN, 4 175 a Undertaker. Public Notices. PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. ASHBURTON. It is proposed to hold a Gift Auction IN THE TOWN HALL, On WEDNESDAY, April 13th, In aid of the Funds of the above Church. Mr. T. Bullock has kindly consented to be the Auctioneer. The following gentlemen, with the ; Auctioneer, will receive Goods up io the date of Sale Mr. Andrew Orr, Mr. G. Kidd, Mr. G. M. Robinson, and Mr. D. Williamson.



COUNTY COUNCIL. THE SOUTH RAKATA PLAINS : WATER SUPPLY. The County Council begs to draw the attention of Landowners in the- South Rakaia Plains, and others, to ClausedjUJ and 25 of “ The Ashburton County Council Waterworks Act, 1879, Amendment Act, 1880,” which are as follows : ~ ' 18. It shall not be lawful, without the consent of the Council, or of some person appointed by the Council, to take or divert any water from such works ; and any person, who, without such consent as aforesaid, does or causes to be done any act whereby the water in any such works is drawn off or diminished in quantity, or polluted or dirtied, shall be liable to a penalty of not more than ten pounds for every day during which the supply of any such water is so drawn off, diminished, polluted or dirtied ; and the Council shall be entitled to recover from such person or persons, in any Court of competent jurisdiction, the amount of damages sustained by reason of taking, diverting, polluting, or dirtying such water. 25. If any person wilfully or maliciously destroys or does any damage to the works, or if any person permits his cattle to trespass on the works, and thereby any damage is done to the works, such person shall be liable to a penalty of not exceeding fifty pounds, and in addition to pay the whole cost of restoring such damage. By order, F. MAINWARING, Clerk. Ashburton, February 21, 1881 180 a [card.] - - ! - rjIHEODORE B. JACOBSEN, ARCHITECT. Note office— HEREFORD STREET, WEST, Christchurch 571 Grain Season, 1881. WE are prepared to make LIBERAL CASH ADVANCES against ship ments placed in our hands. We have Brokers of the highest standing in Mark Lane, who will give every attention to Grain consigned through us, and - obtain the extreme price for all shipments Farmers may intrust to our care. We have also established Agencies in Liver pool, Glasgow, Hull, Dublin, and Antwerp, and we can ship to any of these markets if so required. Our charges are regulated at the lowest rates. P. CUNNINGHAM & CO., 13a Christchurch. OTICE TO FARMERS., The undersigned are PURCHASERS of all descriptions of GRAIN delivered at their warehouses in Lyttelton, Timaru, Oatnaru and Ashburton, or at any other railway station. P. CUNNINGHAM & CO., 14a Christchurch. tuport of grain. SEASON 1881. SPECIAL NOTICE TO FARMERS, I THE NEW ZEALAND LOAN AND MERCANTILE AGENCY COMPANY (Limited.) Is prepared to make Liberal Cash Advances On GRAIN entrusted to its care for shipment to, and sale in the London, Australian, and New Zealand markets. The Company does not purchase on its own account, but acts solely as Agent, and as moreover all sales by its Mark Labe Brokers are carefully supervised by an experienced staff, constituents may rest assured that their interests will be; care-. fully conserved, and full market values, obtained. ’ Freight to England by first-class iron vessels has been arranged, at .Fifty Shil lings per Ton. ‘ .. • . _ T Cornsacks supplied, if desired, at lowest ruling prices. . . - f Full information respecting terms, etdj may be obtained at the Company’s Offices, Cathedral Sqnare, Christchurch., JOHN COOKE, 2a Manager.