DEATH.

At Chmtchurch, on Bt,h September, Oatheine, widow of the late William . Richardson Boyle, and only surviving sister of Colonel Thomas Simpson, ox Bally ards, Armagh.

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna et Veritas et Prævalebit. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 1890.

Our Parliamentary correspondent wires that a rumor is current m Wel lington that provision will be made m the Supplementary Estimates for the reinstatement of salaries of heads of department lately reduced m Commit tee of Supply. We are not at all sur prised to hear this. The Ministry have all along been the special champions of the Civil Service, and the reductions effected by the House were wrung from an unwilling Cabinet. It is little wonder, then, that the Cabinet should make a final effort on behalf of their portege\s, and seek to reinstate their salaries. The Civil Service As sociation, formed to protect its own interests, has the ear of the Ministry, and the ratepayers' pockets have be come a secondary consideration. Weeks have been passed by the House, and all-night sittings have been held, while the Estimates were being carefully and thoughtfully considered. The result of all this deliberation has been the cutting clown of the public expendi ture, with the object of reducing taxa tion. Now, m a moment, and by a side-wind, the Ministry, who went into office on the Retrenchment ticket, pro pose to undo all this valuable work for no other earthly object that we can conceive than to curry favor with over paid and under-worked heads of depart ment m the Civil Service. Of course it is only a rumor that the Government will thus endeavor to stultify the action of the majority of members of the House; but we are afraid the rumor is only too well-founded. Dur ing the discussions m Committee of Supply mysterious hints fell from the Minister m charge that the members " were only wasting their time," and " supplementary estimates" were darkly hinted at. These shadows now begin to assume definite form; and when members are thoroughly weary and th'ed after a long session's work, Government propose to bring down the Estimates again m their original form. It is notlikely that members, at this late hour of the day, will again contest the items one by one, and by a mild form of " stone-wall" compel the Ministry either to resign or give effect to the wishes of the House. Therefore, should the Government, as rumored, bring down m the supplementary esti mates a proposal to undo all the useful work m cutting down the estimates, the chances are greatly .m favor of the Cabinet carrying the day. It is too late m the session to debate a no-con fidence motion. Already members arc leaving Wellington for their homes, and the Supplementary Estimate;-; will be presented to a thin and half-hearted House. Under such circumstances it will be little wonder if they are adopted without debate. But the country's attention has been thoroughly aroused on this matter, and should the Govern ment carry out their rumored inten tion, the coming elections, we have no doubt, will teach a lesson not likely to be soon forgotten.

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The Duke of Devonshire has spent £320,000 on railways m the south of Ire land. It is estimated that at least £100,000 has been expended m unsuccessful efforts to strike mineral oil springs m the Poverty Bay district. A Hungarian paper announces the death of a veteran of Waterloo, aged one hundred and five years, m his native village,Hatazeg, m Transylvania. Mr P. H. Cox, lately accountant of the Bank of Australasia, Invercargill, has been appointed Manager of the Bank at Ash burton, Mr J. Jamison, from Ashburton, going to Invercargill. It is said that ot the 5000 clubs and societies m New York nearly 4500 are distinctively German. The tendency of a German to form a society could not be more forcibly illustrated than by these figures. According to the returns for 1889, the total Catholic population m Scotland num bers 338,643—220,000 m Glasgow archdiocese —while there are 348 priests, 332 churches, chapels, and stations, and 31(i departments of day schools. Windmills have been utilised m Europe for producing the electric light. One has been m successful operation for some time at the northernmost lighthouse at Cape de la Hogue, where it drives two dynamos sup plying accumulators. The Education department at St Peters burg lias just published statistics, according to which only 12 per cent, of the population of Russia can read and write. The number of primary schools is 38,000 for a population of 100,000,000. In China eight varieties of leprosy are recognised, and the disease is considered contagious, infections, and hereditary, but | m said to disappear m four generations. There are leper villages, to which all suffer ing from the disease are sent. At a public meeting held at the Thames on Tuesday night it was decided to form a branch there of the London Society for the Abolition of Compulsory Vaccination, and endeavour to obtain the co-operation of other anti-vaceinationists throughout New Zealand. 'The correctness of the statement cabled from %djjey to the New Zealand Press that the Urokeu Hill minors would contribute £10,000 per week was questioned, but it ap pears from the " Sydney Morning Herald" that.£lo,ooo was the correct amount, and not £1000, as supposed. The paper quoted says thft men had expressed their willingness to give Half their wages weekly. An interesting uvent took place on the Clyde the other day m th# bunching of a Japanese steel-plated war vosael. She is 300 feet m length, by 42 feet m breadth, and 24 ! feet m depth. Her tonnage is 2450 ; she has twin screws and three masts with military ] tops. She carries 27 guns and three torpe does, and is manned by a crew of 300. Vis countess Ko.wase, a Japanese lady, christened 1 i))n (ship Chiyoda. 'llje flowing are the handicaps for the pigeon match, Ui come off m Messrs Hunt's puTldock on Thursday next:— Mr "Ley," two nominations, 28yds; Mjt Tl. J. Whittle, sen.. 28yds; Mr C. Williams, asfyijs ; Mr 'S, Hayes, 26yds ; Mr J. Hayes, 2<jyds ; Ha \\\ Hurcombe, 25yds ; Mr J. Thomson, <>3yds< ifr J- Q»iUie> 23y<i8; Mr R- J- Whittle, jn«., 22yds; Mr J. Moftatt, 22yds; Mr M. Fried-Uuudt;*-, >22yds. Alen ffthy discussion -tonkplac* ill the House of ftepvesentativesj at Wellington, oji Satur day mi thu Australasian Federation question. Tlie speakers w* t:'apt Russell, and Messrs BalliMiw, J'H-yee, WwA Iffldgkinson, Taylor, Siiinideru Moss, Hobbs, Jketljam/faiwapgi, ;i nd .Sir George Uvey, '^^ ao ai ie debate was against New Zealand affiliating with the other colonies. The de)»ate was not concluded at a late hour ou Satni'da-y night, and was adjourned,

Messrs Friedlander Bros., of Ashburton, have an advertisement m another column for men to assist m loading a vessel at Lyttel ton. A Avell-known lawyer was charged at Napier kst week with supplying liquor to an engine driver on duty, and was fined £15 and costs, and the driver £10 and costs. Meenister: "James, I grieve to say a sovereign is missing from the missionary box." John (strongly suspected): " Eh, sir, but ye dinua say so." The Meenister (impressively): "Jnines, you and I alone had access to that box." James: "Veryweel, sir, I'll pit a half-a-souvreign, and ye pit auithcr, and we'll say na mair aboob it." The local Justices of the Peace are no* finding their Magisterial duties very onerous just now. Since last Saturday only two cases have been heard, both first offenders one on Saturday morning and the other to-day—and m each instance there was no no fine, so that the town and district are at present exceptionally sober. There was a much better attendance at the Rink last evening then on Saturday. To-night being the closing night of the Rink season, will be the last opportunity of seeing Professor Manola m his wonderful exhibition of legerdemain and clever acrobatic per fonnanceß. During intervals m the perform ance and at its conclusion the Rink will be m full swing. An eminent physician says:—"The Best remedy for bleeding at the nose is a vigorous motion of the jaws, as if m the act of mas tication. In the case of a child, a wad of paper should be placed m its mouth, and the child instructed to chew it hard. It is the motion of the jaws that stops the flow of blood. " This remedy "he says "is so ex tremely simple, that many will feel inclined to laugh at it; bnt it has never been known to fail, even m severe cases.' The usual weekly session of the Dawn of Peace Lodge was held m the Templar Hall on Thursday last. One candidate was initiated into the Order. The usual routine business having been transacted, the Lodge went into harmony, when Sister Leitch, Bros Pearson, Fowke, and Pollock con tributed songs, and Sister Kerr, and Bros Marsden, jun., and Kilworth recitations. A feature of the evening was a selection of music by Bro Marsden, sen., on the flageo let. The Lodge was closed by Bro Rooke, .C.T., at 9.40 p.m. We are requested to remind our readers J of the clearing sale, to be held on Friday next, at WVsterfield. The sale is one of the largest that has been held m the district for j some years, and includes everything required on a well-ordered estate. The lots to be offered number 630, and catalogues will be obtainable from the Auctioneer (Mr D. Thomas) m the course of a day or two. Short particulars of the sale are given m an advertisement elsewhere. The sale com mences at 10.30 a.m. on Friday, and a coach will leave Ashburton for Westerfield on the arrival of the early trains from Timaru and Chriatchurch. On the occasion of the distribution of I prizes to school children at Greennock, as the result of competition m recital of the poetry •f Burns, Professor Blackie, who is a great champion of Scotland, gave the opinion, derived from forty years' experience as an educationalist, that the people were m danger of losing their nationality. He believed that Edinburgh was the least Scottish of Scotch cities through been given to the worship of London fashions and London ways. He thought there was more real Scottisli feeling m ("ireenock, Paisley, and Glasgow. He could not too highly commend the action of the Greenock Burns' club m promoting such competitions, sincenothing could so well foster the national spirit as acquaintance Avith the writings of Burns and Scott, who had taught the world to respect Scotchmen. The Hokianga (Auckland) district was recently visited by a severe electric storm, which caused considerable damage to the telegraph lines and instruments. The telephone at Kohukohu was destroyed by lightning, and communication was com pletely interrupted between the head oitice at Rawena and other stations. Two large poles at the junction of the Omunaia and One rivers were shattered to atoms. The head of one, eight inches square, was shot off and carried to a distance of 100 yards. Another pole, 50 feet m height, was splintered into matchwood, and portions were carried 30 yards away. Numbers of other pole 3 were splintered and insulators broken. There was one long span about one-third of a mile, stretching from hill to hill, whore the line crosses the Omanaia river. The whole of the wire m this span was molted, and fell down m little pieces, varying from one to three inches m length. Messrs Mitchell and Turner have made a large addition to their premises m Tailored street. By five erection of a brick lean-to at the back they have been able to so re arrange the whole premises as to virtually incrtjuae their aecomoilation by about one half, making a convenient and handy shop out of what before was not ho, and to obtain a goo I light m every part of the building. The old iean-to has been thrown into the main building by the cutting of two wide and lofty archways m the back wall, thus greatly adding to the floor room of the main shop ; and by the removal to the back of the staircase to the upper rooms, the space formerly occupied by the staircase has been thrown into the main building. The re arrangement of the premises will save the staff man} a trying climb to the upper storey for goods more inimediatey m demand, but for which there was no storage place below, and customers will find advantage from the increased convenience. The removal of the staircase to the rear of the building has also materially added to the convenience of the upstairs arrangements, and the firm will now be able to store m the building a very much larger stock of goods. The Rev Mr Walker, of the New Zealand Alliance, speaking recently at his Good Templar Lodge upon the Government's Pro hibition Bill at present before the House of Representatives, said :—"ln round numbers our New Zealand public debt amounts to thirty-seven and a quarter millions, and the annual intereat to one and a half millions. During the last twenty-five years our annual drink bill has averaged two and a half millions, or a million more annually than the interest on the public debt, or for the whole twenty-five years about sixty-two and a half millions. If the sixty-two and a half millions had been a sinking fund instead of a drink ing f uud we could, without counting Interest, have spent our thirty-seven millions on government, public works, etc., and had a national credit, balance to-day of twenty-five millions, instead of a burdensome debt. Our public and private indebtedness combined reaches roundly ninety millions, and the annual interest four millions. Add to the direct cost of drink the cost of crime, pauperism, and diminished production which have resulted from it, and the interest which would have accrued from all that has thus been lost, and the public and private in debtedness together would have been more than cancelled by the country's savings if absolute prohibition had prevailed during the past twenty-five years. If it be said that the money which would have been thus saved would not have gone into the par ticular channels named, the fact remains that it would have increased the riches of the country m some way to the extent in dicated, and have made this fair Jam! to-day the most 'prosperous aiul attractive under |the sun."

THE DAIRY INDUSTRY.

The report upon this industry just presented to the House by the Select Committee charged with the duty of making enquiry into its position and pospects is a really valuable document. The Committee has gone into the sub ject con amove, and conducted what may fairly be termed an exhaustive enquiry, the result being that it has collated a very large amount of in formation which cannot fail to be of great service. That the industry is a growing one, and likely at no distant date to assume the most important dimensions, will be seen when it is stated that, whereas the export of butter m 1880 amounted to 2717 cwt., of the value of .£8135, and of cheese to 717 cwt., of the value of £1983, the figures for 1884 were respectively, butter 15,766 cwt., value £66,593, •heese 10,342 cwt., value £25,074 ; for 1889, butter, 37,955 cwt., value £146,840, cheese 26,558 cwt., value £67105 ; while for the first six months only of the current year the figures were—butter 24021 cwt., value £83,799, cheese 26,663 cwt., value £57,642. The Committee therefore report that the industry is undergoing rapid development, and state that the expert evidence laid before them shows 1 that much of the butter and cheese produced m New Zealand is quite equal m . quality to that produced m any part of the world. They, however, go on to say that the \ export butter trade is m an unsatis factory state, the cause being (a) that butter is frequently made m a faulty manner, and therefore will not keep long, even under favorable conditions ; (b) that butter m every way good Avlien originally made, is spoiled m transit through defective carrying and tran shipping arrangements, or the use of unsuitable packages. For the improve ment of the butter export trade they make several recommendations. The chief of these are that associations should be formed to study the best methodspractically, and compare notes, their funds to come from the Treasury m the shape of grants-in-aid ; that two experts (Danish if possible) should be engaged to give instructions. For the rest the Committee have gone very deeply into the subject, touching upon a variety of details, such as the use of separators, the lowering of freights, the provision of refrigerating cars, the establishment of cold storage at the ports of shipment, and the regular dispatcli of vessels. They, moreover, recommend experiments of packages, with the view of discovering the most suitable woods. As regards cheese, the report says :—"With respect to cheese, your Committee find that, while the quality of that produced by some factories is such as to command prices equal to best American, yet m many cases the quality is inferior, owing to faulty methods of manufacture, with, of course, correspondingly losv values. Whereas, as your Committee arc. ot! opinion that New Zealand presents all the conditions which should enable the colony to produce cheese equal not only to best American, but the best English Cheddar, Government, as sisted by such associations as above referred to, should continue to give attention to fostering of this branch of the dairying industry, with a view to further improving the quality of manu facture." The recommendations are sound and sensible, and we hope that the Committee's report, with the evidence taken, will be issued by the Government m pamphlet form, and extensively circulated.

TELEGRAPHIC

HOME AND FOREIGN.

[PKK PItKSS ASSOCIATION.] London, September 7. Particulars of the destruction of Salonica show that the tire burned for fully twenty-four hours. It was caused by the bursting of a spirit still. A mosque, containing priceless records, was burned. Eighteen thousand people are homeless and destitute. The Greek Goverinent is assisting to relieve the sufferers. The damage is estimated at £2,000,000 Paris, September 8. Boulanger repudiates the assertions that he undertook to place the Comte de Paris on the throne of France upon condition that he was subsidised and appointed to the command of the army, or that lie agreed to imprison Rocha fort and other partisans if they proved hostile to the scheme. Since these revelations the collapse of Boulangerism is regarded as complete. Ottawa. September 8. Some exitement has been caused m Canada by Cardinal Taschereau absent ing himself from the banquet to Prince George of Wales, because the Admiral and General commanding refused to concede him precedence next to the Prince.

AUSTRALIAN

Sydney, September 8. The London Chartered Bank has sued the Governmentfor£6ooo, amount of overdraft occasioned by Hicldleston's frauds. The verdict was m favor of Government. The Court said it was inconceivable why the Bank allowed the overdraft to grow without inquiry. The Customs authorities have finally decided to impose a duty on hydraulic lime.

INTERPROVINCIAL

Nawek, September 8. Willoughby Brassey, a solicitor, was to=day charged with obtaining money under false pretences from Percy &. Herman, The case was remanded, Brassey being released on bail, Wanuanui, September 8. A man named Thorbum is misaing since Friday from his sister's house at Upoken garo. He was suffering from a relapse of la grippe, and was very despondent. Fears are entertained of his safety. Invercargill, September 8. A meeting of the creditors of J. D. Moore, sawmiller, now cleric, formerly of Hokifcika, was held to-day, bub none j attended. The statement showed the liabilities to be £115, assets £10 worth of furniture. The debtor attributed his position to the expense of removals, loss by the mill at Hokitika, and travelling for a firm on insufficient expenses. The Deputy-Assignee expressed the opiniqn that a man earning £'£} a week shoujd not pome to the Court seeking relief from small liabilities to tradesmen. The debtor said he had paic| off £20 during the past year, but his creditors would not wnjt,

PARLIAMENTARY

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

AFTERNOON SITTING. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8. TIIE LATE MEMBER FOR lIEATHCOTE. Ou the House meeting at 2.30 p.m., Mr Mitchelson said it was with great regret he had to announce to the House lint since it last met Mr Jones, the mem ber for Heathcote, had died at his resi dence m Christchurch. He said the deceased gentleman was one of those un-1 assuming men who had earned the respect of every member of the House, and during the time he had sat m Parliament lie had greatly assisted m the progress of business through the House. Mr Jones's loss would be keenly felt m Canterbury i m consequence of the deep interest he had always taken m *he questions of local government and charitable aid. He moved—"That the House adjourn till half-past seven, as a tribute of respect to the deceased member." Hr Bailance seconded the motion, and m doing so he wished to re-echo every word } hat had been said by the acting- Premier. He felt sure that the House had lost by Mr Jones's death one of ifcs most conscientious and industrious mem bers. The motion was agreed to, and the House rose at 2.40 p.m.

EVENING SITTING.

The House resumed at 7-30 p.m. THE FEDEKATION RESOLUTIONS. Mr Hobbs resumed the debate on the federation resolutions. He considered they were decidedly non-committal m their character, and he thought they should agree to send delegates to represent this colony at the Convention. Mr Mackenzie (Mount Ida) expressed his strong dissatisfaction with the whole of these resolutions, and he should pro , pose an amendment as follows:—"(1) That this House, whilst expressing much interest m, and great sympathy with the aspirations of the inhabitants of the Aus tralian continent for a federal constitution, considers that it would be unfair to Aus tralia that New Zealand should send dele gates to take part m arranging a constitu tion for a federation which it has no present intention of joining. (2) That, provided that it would not be inconsistent with the interests of the Australian colo nies, this House would view with satis faction the adoption of a federal constitu tion such as would provide for the admission of this or any other colony at some future time. (3) That the foregoing resolutions be conveyed to the Premiers , of the various colonies by one delegate from New Zealand." After a lengthy discussion the debate was adjourned till next day. POSTAL AND TELEGRAPH CLASSIFICATION. The Post and Telegraph Classification and Regulation Bill was committed, and passed without amendment. Mr Mitchelson, m reply to Mr Walker, said that the Colonial Treasurer had esti mated the total increase m salaries within the next five years at £19,000, but the officers of the Department informed him that the amount w^uld not exceed £15,000 for the same period. Replying to Mr Ward. The Postmaster-General said he con sidered three weeks' holiday m a year to each officer of the Department was ample. Mr Ward moved new clause as follows: —" Every officer of the Department who shall be required to perform more than eight hours' w»rk within 24 hours sbj'ill be paid overtime for every hour or part of an hour m excess of eight hours, at a rate to be iixed by a scale m propor tion to the salary or wages of such officer, and every officer who .shall be required to perform duty on any Sunday or a holiday (saving as regards one Sunday m every four).' The clause was ruled out of order on the ground that it was an appropriation clause. Mr Reeves (St Alb ms) moved a nev clause to reduce the percentage to form a compensation fund, from 5 per cent, to 2i- per cent m the case of salaries of £100 and under. Mr Mitchelson agreed to accept this on the schedule being reached. Mr Ballance moved—"That the maxi mum salary of the Superintendent, £800, be reduced by £100." Mr Fish said the Secretary w»s a hard working official, who really did all the work, while the Superintendent was a purely ornamental officer. If justice was done as regards the work done m the department, the salaries of Mr Gray and Dr Lemon should be reversed. Sir John Hall recognised that Mr Gray was a valuable and hardworking officer, who deserved a larger salary than he received, but to say he was of more value that Dr Lemon was an absurdity. He pointed out that Dr Lemon had twenty-five years ago re-organised the whole Department. In reply to some remarks from Mr Fish as to Dr Lemon's travelling expenses, he (Sirf.lohn Hall) resented the imputation, made by the member fjr Dunedin South merely on hearsay, that Dr Lemon had improperly charged for expenses, and he challenged Mr Fish to move for a return showing the amount of expenses charged by that officer. Mr Fish said he was quite willing to do so provided that the Government undertook to furnish the return before the session closed. He did not wish to withdraw a single word he uttered. Mr Mitchelsou defended the vote, and said Dr. Lemon had saved the amount of his salary many times over. Mr Bailance did not wish to underrate Dr. Lemon's abilities, but he considered thnfc £700 was quite sufficient for that officer. Mr Marchaut would support the reduc tion, but he regretted that Mr Fish's re marks would make it appear that Mr Fish should draw officers before the House m this manner. It was the office they should look at, and not the capa bility of a man to fill it. Would anyone say that £800 was too much for the organiser of a vast institution like the post and telegraph ? The reduction was carried by 26 to 20. Mr Bailance then moved that the maxi mum salary of the Secretary, £750, be reduced by £100. Agreed to. The remainder of the schedule passed without alteration. The Bill was re ported, read a third time and passed. The House rose at 1.35 a.m.

Parliamentary Gossip.

[by telegram from our owx: correspondent,] Wellington, September 8, It is understood that Government intend to ask the House to renew both the fortnightly direct and monthly San Francisco mail services, but with much re duced subsidies, and a 2-kl rate of postage. The Imperial Post authorities have met Government very liberally m regard to terms on which mails will be "carried between London and San Francisco. Direct mails will be carried Try vessels of the Shaw-Savill and New Zealand Shipping Jonipanies alternately. Rumor has it that provision will be made m the Supplementary Estimates for a Technical College at Wellington, Auck -1 land, Christchurch, and Dunedin, also for reinstatement of the sum which was struck off the vote for salaries of the Audit Department, and replacing sums whioh were docked off heads of some departments while the retrenchment fever wm at its height,

Superphosphates for Roots.

During the next two or three months an immense amount of superphosphate will be used to promote rapid growth m the early stages of various root crops; an* call it what we like, "jumping powder," or artificial, or any more or less depre ciatory name, it has now so far justified itself that the proportion of root- growers who are opposed to it is very" small, although there are probably .some who oppose it because they have bought inferior stuff, and are only entitled to give an opinion on an article which shrewder men would not have bought. One of the largest and most successful potato-growers m Lincolnshire recently remarked to us that " he always put on half a ton to the acre, and he would make ifc a ton if he could afford it." For root-growing such large quantities are not required except for special purposes, but if for no other reason 2cwt or 3cwt should always be applied to hasten the germination and early growth of roots. Of course there are mixtures sold under the name of superphosphate which have really very little claim to the title, and there are special preparations—generally with a smell to them—as earnest of the good properties which are not there—with high-sounding names and other induce ments to tempt the unwary purchaser, which are proved to be of very little value at all; and because these do not give the expected increase they cause many genuine articles to suffer. There are firms which may be relied upon to supply a sound and genuine article, and unless business is done with these sound firms it is most unbusinesslike to pur chase without a guarantee, and a guaran tee is of small use unless the bulk is tested, which is unfortunately a state of things which is very commdn. Mineral superphosphate is the most common of the phosphatic manures, and should never be bought under 26 to 28 per cent guaranteed soluble phosphate, and according to recent quotations should cost slightly under 2s 6d per unit m London, and still less m Liverpool. It is not sufficient that a manure should analyse up to guarantee, for condition is a very im portant matter —m fact, we have seen manures sent out by firms of good repute, which, though the analyses were the same, we would have given preference to some to the extent of several shillings on the point of condition. When a manure is dry it is so much more easy to distribute, and there is not the danger of the phosphate becoming retrograde or insoluble, for it must have been made some time, and the change will most pro bably have taken place. Superphosphates from English coprolites are less liable to go back, as they as a rule contain less iron than the foreign. The sulphuric acid, too, will most likely be converted and will not effect the soil injuriously. If a superphosphate will cake when pressed m the hand, the condition is bod, and as a rule the dark-coloured manures Are moist while the grey are dry,—" Mark Lane Express."

Origin of Dominoes.

Two monks who had been committed to a lengthy seclusion, contrived to be guile the dreary hours of their confine ment without breaking the rule of silence, by showing each other small flat stones marked with black dots. By a preconcer ted arrangement, the winner would inform the other player of his victory by repeat ing m an undertone the first line of the vesper prayer. In process of time the two monks managed to complete th& set of stones and to perfect the rules of the game, so that when their term of incar ceration had expired, the game was generally adopted by all the inmates of the convemt as a lawful pastime. It very soon spread from town to town, and be came popular m Italy ; and the first line of the vespers was reduced to the single word Domino, by which the game has since been known.

The Bank of New Zealand.

THE ESTATES COMPANY. The following appears m the com mercial column of the "Melbourne Argus " of September 1:— " By the last mail we have received a copy of the prospectus of the Bank of New Zealand Estates Company, Limited, which has been formed to take over the globo assets of the Bank of New Zealand. The plan adopted is at once ingenious and simple, and practically amounts to giving a mortgage over the properties. The capital of the Company is fixed at £2,000,000 m 75,000 6 per cent cumula tive preference shares of £10 each, and 125,000 ordinary shares of £10 each. With the exception of 15,000 preference shares (which are not to be issued at present) all the shares have been allotted as fully paid up, m part payment of the purchase money to the Bank of New Zealand upon the share capital of the Company. Power was taken to issue to the public £1,500,000 5k per cent deben tures at £95, and the cash obtained from the sale of these debentures completes the purchase money payable to the Bank. The Bank of New Zealand therefore gets for its ghho assets :—• (1) 60,000 6 per cent preference shares at £10 each, £600,000.| (2) 125,000 ordinary shares at £10, £1,250,000. (3) Proceeds of £1,500,000 debentures at £95, £1,425,000. Total, £3,275,000. From this have to be deducted, first the formation expenses, and secondly a provision for redeeming the debentures at £103 m 1910, the total" difference m the price of issue and the redemption value being £120,000. As to the ghho assets themselves, they stood m the books of the Bank originally at £4,250,269, and they have been valued recently by Mr Hean at £3,107,993, so that on this showing there is an ascertained loss of £1,142,276. The revenue from these assets for the year ended 31st March last was £117,075 netfc, which is equivalent to about 2| per cent on the original value, and about 3f per cent on Mr Hean's valuation,. Supposing the debenture issue and the preference shares to be placed with the public the bank will have to pay m interest annually £118,500, so that the out look is that for the present nothing will accrue to the bank itself from the qhbo assets, but the sale of the debentures and the preference shares will give it the command of something like two millions sterling, a provision which is considered ample for the paying of the British depositors if they should desire it, while leaving the Bank free to fully employ its other resources. That the Bank should have lost the large sum we have stated is a grave reflection upon its past manage ment, but with the writing down of its capital and the rather unique scheme for obtaining funds which we have described it should now be quite safe. It is also entitled to look for an improvement m the value of a considerable portion of the globo assets as time goes on,

The " British Mecical Journal" states, as the result of a considerable series of analyses carried out on its behalf, that there is no reason to believe that any extensive system of adulteration of spirits is carried on, but, that the extensive evils accruing from the sale of cheap spirits, apart from the terrible evils inherent m the ordinary practice of spirit drinking, arise from the sale of raw and immature spirits, containing fusel oil and other poisonous products of distillation. Ihe only adulteration of spirits by the pub lican is watering, which from a temperance point of view, is a, good rather than an evil

Labor Questions

[PBR PKESS ASSOCIATION.] Bklsbane, September 8 Three hundred Unionists attacked a party of non-union laborers this morn ing. A general mcl.cc ensued. One Unionist was arrested and rescued by his comrades. A force of a hundred police then put m an appearance and six rioters were arrested. Melbourne, September 8. Sailed—Te Anau. The Government are chartering steamers to bring coal for the railways. The vessels will be manned by officers and men m the service of Govern ment, and it is anticipated there will be no difficulty m getting coal at New castle on condition it is only used for railway purposes. London, September 8. The Trades Congress has decided to boycott firms employing blacklegs and dealing unfairly. Birthwhistle and others consider that Unionism has been ruined by decisions of the Congress. Sixty-thousand took part m a trades procession at Liverpool. The celebra tion was a great success.

Wellington, September 8. The Premier has forwarded the follow ing letter to Mr D. P. Fisher, Secretary of the Trades and Labor Council: —6th September, 1890. Sir, —With reference to matters brought before me by a deputa tion from the Trades and Labor Unions at our interviews on Ist and 4th inst, and m fulfilment of my promise that I would give you a reply m writing, I have now the honor to inform you of the decision Government have arrived at. I desire, m the first place, to express my satisfaction at the very reasonable tone m which the deputation put their views and wishes before me, and to state that Government would be glad to do anything m their power to bring the present deplorable strike to an end. I have carefully con sidered all the arguments the deputation urged, and have, with regret, come to the conclusion that any interference on the part of Government by way of mediation at the present time would entirely fail to be productive of satisfactory results ; and I feel assured that, until the leading authorities of Unionism have considered and determined upon what basis they would be prepared to negotiate for settle ment of the dispute, satisfactory results cannot be expected. I therefore think that it would be very desirable for the deputation to urge the views they have ex pressed to me at our interview on the authorities m Dunedin, where no doubt they would receivefavorable consideration, —which, m my opinion, they {deserve— and, I confidently hope, result m some pro posals being made which might form the basis of permanent settlement of the prenent difference. I was particularly pleased with the emphatic declaration of the deputation that what they desired on the part of Government was impartial administration of the law during the present difficulty, and I now repeat the assurance that I gave that Government will see the law strictly enforced m all respects. I trust also m the assurance given me by yourselves that you will sup port the Government loyally m assisting them to put down any demonstration which might excite ill-feeling, and possibly lead to a breach of the peace. I shall be very happy to receive repre sentatives of any of the Unions if at any time they thought my advice would be serviceable.— I have, etc., H. A. Atkin son. I It is stated the Premier has received a telegram from Sir .Robert Stout, m Dunedirv stating that efforts made by Mr Justice Williams, the Mayor, and himself to bring about reconciliation be tween parties to the present dispute had entirely failed. Mr McLean states the Union Company intend to lay up several of the Colonial steamers until the summer months. At an employers' meeting to-day the following resolution was passed:—" (1) That this meeting pledges itself to retain the free labor now employed by those present, and that, as regards vacancies m their establishments, they will employ such labor as they require, without regard to its being Unionist or free ; (2) that as soon as the Committee has considered a scheme on the lines of that promulgated m Napier, a meeting shall be called by advertisement of all employers of labor." A young man named Moorhouse, engaged on board the steamer Penguin, was jostled on the wharf to-day, and had to return to shore. He threatens to take action for assault. Among those who went to Dunedin by the Penguin this afternoon were Captain Highman and a number of officers who had come from the north. It is intended to hold a conference of officers at Dunedin. The Customs authorities have ascer tained that the Moa, which was stated to have left Westporfc undermanned, had four hands on board. The general impression here is that there will not be a railway strike. Christchukgh, September 8. I It is stated that since the beginning of the strike non-Union. labor m Lyttelton has loaded some 4500 tons of cargo, and discharged over 1500 tons. At the Agricultural and Pastoral Association's committee meeting to-day, Mr John Anderson, junr.. president, referred to the present labor difficulty m New Zealand as follows :—"The whole trouble has arisen through the affiliation of Unions, the result being alike disastrous to the country and to the working man. I feel as certain as one can be certain of things m this world that time, the great solver of all problems, will put this matter on a fair and equitable basis. In the meantime much damage is being done, and it behoves us as a com munity to do everything m our power to lessen the injury, and I think the thanks of this Association are due to Messrs Stead and Turnbull, together with the young men from both town and country, who have so vigorously and successfully carried on the work of the port." This afternoon some non-Unionist laborers, attempting to cross the hills into Lyttelton were met on the bridle path by a party of men who turned them back after a scuffle. A few non-unionist laborers returning from Lyttelton by the 5.15 p.m. train got out at Wilson's Road, and were assaulted by a faw young men who had apparently been lying m wait at the cross road. They got away, but one fell on-the kerbing of the footpath, and is said to have hurt himself badly. At Lyttelton yesterday the non-Union laborers were attacked by young men. Details of the disturbance are as follows : A gang of non-Union laborers, while being conducted by P. Cameron from the Is ew Zealand Shipping Company's shed to work on the Northern Monarch, were attacked by a score of young men near No. 5 shed. They made no fight, and some wero knocked down. Extra police were sent to Lyttelton from Christchurch m consequence. It is said the dis turbances were all caused by young men not connected with the strikers.

THE SITUATION IN LYTTELTON.

Charterers and shippers have been making efforts to have the Home ships loaded with Union labor, but the Execu tive say they cann6t fall m with the re quest until Lhe present dispute is settled, their orders being to block all work m the Port. ' Everything last night was very quiet, i

■——, ——■■*>. i and as the non-Unionists proceeded to town by the 5.15 train, there were groans from some striker?. A Junior was current yesterday that there was a chance of a conference being held m Australia to agree to terms of conciUiiiKiHi.

THE RAILWAY SERVANTS.

At a mass meeting of Unionists m Dunedin last night, at which Sir Bobert Stout was m the chair, Mr Newton, the Secretary of the local branch of the Rail way Servants' Society, stated that the Maritime Council did not intend to call out the railway servants, as it would in convenience the public. The "OtagoD'ily Times" states that the Railway Commissioners have issued ballot papers among the employees with the view of v cortaining who will adhere to them m the case of a general strike being proclaimed by the Executive Of the Railway Servants' Union. The Executive have issued instructions to all branches that, before..an answer can be given to such a request, all the men already sus pended must be first reinstated.

STOPPAGE OF FACTORIES.

Killing at Islington Works, Temple ton, will be stopped on Friday. The Directors have been reluctantly compelled to take this step, because there appears to be no immediate prospect of coal being obtained for the direct steamers. Dunedin, September 8. Scoullar and Chisholmhave closed their furniture factory, throwing sixty hands out of work, as during the present struggle they are noc inclined to go ■on making a stock. Findlay and Co. have also closed their woodware factory, owing to the carters' strike.

SCENE IN A CHURCH.

Auckland, September 8. A. scene took place on Sunday evening at the Baptist Tabernacle. Pastor Birch preached on the labor question, when he justified the conduct of ths strikers m the present difficulty. He said the working men were now educated, and could treat their employers simply as equals and brothers. The barricades on the wharves were a libel on the working-man, and if he was Mayor or Chairman of the Harbor Board he would not let one hour pass till he had them down. Mr Birch attacked the merchants, and asked what they owed to them m the past. He said the mer chants of the city had misled the public by stating that there were food supplies for only a few days, whilst there were at least supplies for two month's. During the discourse some of the church officers and members left the building. Mr Birch, seeing Mr John Abbott m the building, asked him to speak. Mr Abbott went on to recite poetry, but hundreds of the con gregation left whilst he waa speaking, and he thereupon retired. A meeting of the church officers has been called to consider the occurrence. '

Latest Telegrams.

(Received Sept. 9, 10.50 a.m.) Sydney, September S. Several officer have offered to return to their ships unconditionally. A number of brutal assaults on non union laborers are recorded. Melbourne September 9. There is a growing feeling among Unionists that the Trades Hall com mitted a grave mistake m calling the men out. Mr H. H. Campion, English labor advocate, contributes an article to the " Age," m which he lays down ; the following principles :—That no Trade Unionist should claim the right to dictate to an employer who he should employ > and should not claim the right to demand that the employer, before taking on a man, should ask if he be longs to a Union ; that a non-Unionist has a right to take work wherever he can get it; that no Trade Union claims the right to apply force, threat^ or any form of persuasion other than than that permitted by law to non unionists. To the Marine Officers he gives the following Council:—"Write to the Trades Hall,; asking tha|> body to allow you to waive the right to combine with them, and write to your employers saying you. have done this. Trust to their honor to meet you m confidence and treat you fairly, and tell them you are willing to trust them ' to the extent of going back m ships on the old terms, while considering griev ances, and so give them a chance of delaying a settlement, and tricking you if they care to descend to such tactics." London, Septembers. A sixpenny levy on gasworkerg 1 for assistance of the Australian strikers will realise £1500. An Association of employers of workmen m Bristol Channel and! the- Docks is being established for the purpose of promoting harmony for freedom of contract and general co operation for interests of all. Birthwhistle, Secretary of the Texile Trades Unions, has seceded from the Congress movement for com pulsory eight hours, as he fears that if it is carried Lancashire will be unable to compete with the Eastern manufac turers. The " Standard" anticipates a disruption among Trade Unionists. The " Times," m the course of an article, says that Australia has fur nished Burns with a text for a dis course that it is the duty of workman to wreck machines unless labor de mands are conceded, but it considers that the strikers will not have it all [ their own way. | At the Trades Congress, Benjamin; Tillet moved a resolution that employ ment should only be accepted on railway, river, and ocean-going steamers whose companies were giving the best wages. This was carried,' and he also suggested that all goods manufactured by Trade Unionists should bear a stamp. Tillet was also m favor of hereafter excluding from Congress re porters of non-Unionist newspapers.

Auckland, September 9. Things are quiet to-day on the wharves. The Carrie L. Tyler started discharging this morning with non-unionist labor.* A private syndicate at Kamo, Whanga rei, undertakes to supply the If orthern Steamship Company with coal from. Hikurangi field, seven miles distant. All the available drays m the district will fee* put into requisition. The Kamo station railway hand's wilß probably "go out." The Unionists- are quite certain they will stop coal reaching ! Whangarei. Pickets from the Union are out onPuhipuhiand gumfields dissuading non-union Jabor from taking work. There is great excitement m the Whangarel dis trict, over local developments m the present dispute. The Kauri Timber Company's Mills at Kirikiri and, Shortland, Thames, will shut down to-morrow through the present la.bor difficulties and inability to obtain vessels to ship timber away to Australia*

The Morris Safety Target.

The adoption of smokeless, powder by the chief armies of Europe renders it more than ever necessary thai the ind>

TITE ASHBTJRTON GUARDIAN, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 1890.



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