The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1891. THE BANKS PETITION.

The decision of the Judges in the petition against tlio return of Mr Joyce for the Banks electorate is based upon a perfectly clear reading of the electoral law, governed as it is by English decisions in parallell cases. In fact the whole case restsd upon whether "a majority of the electors have been, or that there is reasonable ground to believe that a majority may have been, by .misconduct or error of the presiding officers, prevented from recording their rotes with effect." Leaving the legal aspects of the case to the opposing Counsel and the Judges we will glance at the case on its merits. Firstly, we have the fact that of 2043 names on the electoral roll for the district, no fewer than 1544 votes were polled, or al most exactly thiee-fourths of the number on the roll. In Ashburton, a much less scattered county than the Peninsula, the votes polled numbered very little more than one-half of the number of names on the roll; while in the whole colony 150,025 votes were recorded of 183,171 names on the rolls, the proportion polled being thus slightly over four-fifths. It is there fore evident that great interest was taken in the election and that almost every available vote was recorded. Indeed the petitioner's case shewed that this was so, for he was only able to produce three electors, all members of one family, who had been prevented from voting by the premature clos ing of the polling booths. Mr McGregor must have polled 107 votes more to have tied with Mr Joyce, and instead of 107 only these three voters could be found who would presumably have voted for Mr McGregor if the booths had remained open till 7 p.m. As their Honors say in their exhaustive judgment:—" Had the majority in favor of the successful candidate been small, it may well be that without any evidence on the part of the petitioner, the possibility of such cases having occurred would have in duced such an amount of reasonable doubt as to their possible effect on the result of the election as would have made it necessary for the respondent to give evidence. Iri that case if he failed ih showing facts negativing the reasonable possibility of the re sult having been affected, the Court might have felt compelled to hold the election void. But the ma jority in the present case is 107. Sitting as judges of facts, and apply ing, in the words of one of the English Judges, one's common sense to the circumstances of the case, it does not appear to us, on the petitioner's case, to be reasonably possible than that number, or anything remotely ap proaching that number of voters could have been prevented from recording their votes by the irregularity com plained of." In fact the Judges have given effect to the wishes expressed at the poll by the majority of the electors ' qualified and able to vote on the day of the election, and all who believe in the voice of a constituency being given effect to will rejoice at the decision.

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The estimated population of Sydney and anburbs at the end of las1; year was 383,000. In the Geraldine district on Sunday evening there was a splendid fall of rain of several hours' duration. Amongst the passengers to Auckland by the Mariposa was Mr C. A. Longfellow, a son of the poet Longfellow. He is on a pleasure tour of the colonies. The Ashburton Rifle Club hold thoir shooting competition to-morrow, when the Cup and Championship matches will be fired, the shooting is at 5 a.m. and 2 p.m. on the Ashburton range. At South Rakaia, to-day, before Messrs C. A. C. Hardy and L. Oxley, J.Ps. Michael Sheehan was charged with indecency in a public place, and there being some twenty or more convictions against him he was sentenced to one month's hard labor* On Saturday, some evil disposed persons broke nearly all the vases on the graves in the English portion of the Christchui-ch Public Cemetery. It is to be hoped the offenders will be caught and severely dealt with. Four splendid trout were exhibited in j Ashburton on Monday, caught by a local angler at the mouth of the Rangitata, and weighed 13£, 10J 10, and 51bs respectively. The Rangitata is still thick, but fish are plentiftil. It is reported that Mr Owen, who was dis missed by the railway authorities during the strike at Lyttelton, has been reinstated on the Palmerston North section. He made application in the usual way to the Com missioners, to whom he has surrendered his allegiance. At next general election the Queensland Labor party count on returning from twelve to fifteen candidates, which if it happens, will create a great rout in the old Conservative Camp. Teetotalism is a leading character istic of the Queensland Labor leaders. The six foremost figures—Hinchcliffe, Casey, Mabbott, Seymour, Turley, and Bowman— all eschew strong drink, aa does also the editor of the " Worker," Mr Lane. On Saturday afternoon a four-roomed hous e at Southbridge belonging to Mr H. Paddyi and occupied by Mr H. "Buach, was totally wrecked by fire, only a portion of the furni ture being saved by a few willing hands who happened to be near the place at the time. The origin of the fire is unknown. As far as can be ascertained there is no insurance. Mr Paddy's lose is estimated at about £100 The reason for the interest taken by Mr Buick in the housing of shearers and station hands is that i» the course of his canvass of the pastoral portions of the Wairau electo rate, he was struck with the wretchedness of the accommodation set apart for the laborers and station hands on the large runs. It was, he says, neither more nor less than scandalous, and in many cases the men pro vided themselves with tents rather than avail themselves of the wretched huts.

The Ashburton Cricket Clnb will play an alphabetical scr. match to-morrow (Wednes day) afternoon, A to L r«i« M to Z, sides will be chosen on the ground, play to start at three o'clock sharp. In the Christchnrch R.M. Court yesterday Henry Message, who was convicted last week of distributing indecent literature, elected not to appeal, and undertook to discontinue the practice. Mr Beetham, R.M., ordered him to be imprisoned till the rising of the Court and to pay costs. It has transpired that am%n answering the description of Bennett, the defaulting bank manager, Sydney, was n, passenger by the 5.3 Moaowai, from Sydney, booked for San Francisco. He represented himself as a sportsman, and proceeding to San Fran cisco to meet Mr Thompson, with a view of arranging for laying out a racecourse near that city. As one indication of the improved slate of affairs in Auckland it is stated that the number of hotuses unoccupied are less by one half than they were at this time last year. In a great many cases improvements, have been made and the premises repainted. The number of depositors and amount of de positors are steadily increasing also at the Auckland Savings Bank, a fact which tells its own tale. The Taranaki " Herald " says:—The fre quetit and heavy rains which are being ex perienced in this district this summer are doing damage to the grain and seed crops. It is reported that rust is appearing in the wheat, and that considerable damage has been done to the grass seed, which cannot be cropped, on account of the wet weather. On the other hand, the grass this year is in abundance. In fact, it has never been so luxuriant in summer within the recollection of the oldest inhabitants of the district. The season, too, has been, so old settlers aver, the wettest that thej . have ever knowm. On Saturday afternoon, a lad named John Sale, the second son of Pro. fessor Sale, Dunedin, while out shoot ing with three or four companions, met with a nasty accident, owing to the accidental discharge of a pea-rifle, with which one of the party was armed. The rifle was loaded with ball, and Sale received the charge in one of his elbows, which was shattered by it. Drs Hocken and Maunsell were soon in attendance, and extracted the bullet, and removed from the arm a piece of broken bone, and the lad is now progressing very favourably, and no serious results are apprehended. All master bakers,of Vienna recently com bined together to form a '' ring " with a view to increase the price of bread in that city, especially the price of fancy kinds, like the "Kinfel" and " Kaiser-semmel." An old statute, however, which has never been re pealed, forbids the formation of any trade combinations aiming at making the people's food dearer; and accordingly the Vienna Town Council, through their Executive Committee have taken legal proceedings with a view to break up the new combination among the ' bakers. The Ashburton Primitive Church officers have just accepted the tender of Mr Joseph Legget for the enlargement of the present church to more then double its present size. The cost,|inchiding seats, will be £200. The Rev Mr Cocker, who arrived only a few months ago from England, has bsen very acceptable in the pastorate of the church, and every Sunday evening there are some that cannot get admission to the present building. The enlargements are to be com pleted for Easter Sunday, and the week following a monster bazaar will be held. The members and friends are working hard to open the new part free of debt. Prebendary Earl Wilmot, in a sermon delivered recently in England on the healing of the infirm man at the Pool of Bethesda, said he had just heard from a friend in the East of the discovery of this-said pool at Jerusalem, with its five porches. That in sinking down the explorers came upon a church, St Mark's, which church was built over the spot in the sixth century. That on the walls were paintings descriptive of the Pool, with its live porches, and of the infirm waiting to be healed, -md the angel trou bling the Pool. And in sinking down further that they came upon the Pool itself, with its five porches. In Smith's "Dictionary of the Bible" there is a pool mentioned, named Birket-Israil, which has been supposed to. have been the pool, but the " Speaker's Commentary " says it does not answer tn the conditions of the pool, as also this pool is not mentioned by any Jewish writers. Two lads, named Samuel Mardon and Jas. Evans, aged 20 and 14 respectively, were drowned yesterday through a canoe capsiz ing in the dam at Mardon's flax mill, Upper Riccarton. No one witnessed the accident, but a lad passing saw the boat upset, and one of the lads' arms in the wator, and gave r.n alarm. The employee* at the mill used every effort to recover the bodies. Mar don's father let off the water from the dam, soon after which the bodies were recovered. Eugene Frawley, aged thirty, lately bav man at Barritt's hotel, Christchurcb, met with a serious accident by removing the blinkers from a horse in a dray to feed him, at noon yesterday. The horse bolted, knocked Frawley down, trod on his chest, and the wheel of the dray also went over him, breaking several ribs, and completely crush ing his lungs. Dr Ovenden was quickly in attendance, but Frawley was not expected to live through the night. Six weeks ago two. boxes of butter from the Tai Tapu factory were placed in the Islington freezing works to test the relative merits of placing butter in the freezing cr the cool chambers of steamers. The period of test was that taken by steamers to perform the voyage, from the colony to England. Yesterday morning the boxes were opened for inspection by Mr M. Murphy, Secretary of the Canterbury A. and P. Association, Mr Muunings, and the" Directors of the Tai Tapu Dairy Factory. The test was not quite so satisfactory as could have been wished, for two reasons; one was that owing to alterations, etc., being carried on at Islington the tempera ture in the cool chamber got as low as freezing point, so that the butter was actually frozen for a time; the other was that there was an unequal quantity of salt in the two parcels of butter. Another experiment will be held consequently. A most important experhmnt has lately been made by the London Omnibus Comp pany, who are owners of 6000 horses, on the subject of crushed v. whole food. One half of the horses were confined to one kind of feeding—viz., that of bruised oats and cut hay and straw, and the other half to whole oats and hay. The ration allowed per day to each horse, according to the one system, was :—Bruised oats, 161bs ; cut bay, 7^lbs; cut straw, 2{rlbs. The quantity allowed, according to the old system, was : Unbruised oats, 191bs; uncut hay, lSlbs. There is thus a saving of 61bs on the feeding of each horse, and this saving is not merely in the quantity, but in the value of the articles employed, for straw in the former case was substituted for hay in the latter. The advantage of one kind of feeding over the other was far more apparent when re duced to money value. The saving by using the bruised oats and cut hay is nearly 2id per day for each horse, which is equal to £62 103 per day for the 6000 horses. And it is said this saving was accomplished with out any sacrifice whatever, for all the drivers and those having charge of the horses agreed that the difference in the condition of the horses was decidedly in favour of those fed on bruised oats and cut hay and straw. The ration of cut and bruised stuff seems small. The Sydney 'Bus Company feed their 1000 horses with bruised corn, oats &c,, and oaton hay chaff, of which about 15|lbs of each per horse are given each day. Hojxoway's Oixtmext axd Pruj?. — The combined ill effects of over-crowding, sedentary occupations, and monotony of life are only too well known to thoso vho have to paat tljo best part of their lives laboring in factories and crowded workrooms. The compulsory confinement weakens the general health and induces chronic constipation, indigestion, and various forms of skin diseases. Hqlloway's remedies are of price less value to persons of this class, for they can be used without entailing loss of work, being purely vegetable in their composition, and consequently act ■without harshness on the most delicate system. The experience of more than forty years proves that no means surpass Holloway Js remedies foil en ring i bad _legs, bad breasts, piles, and woum\s of f

THE POLITICAL SITUATION.

It has become a commonplace to say at the close of each session that the time has been wasted, but this would certainly not apply to the one which has just closed, although for brevity it has beaten the record in this colony. Parliament has been prorogued after having sat-for five days, but that; short time has been sufficient for us to divide the sheep from the goats. We have been made acquainted with the relative strength of parties, and there can be no doubt that the Liberals have gained the victory, and that there is not the slightest chance of thepres.ent Opposition ousting them from their seats. The absence of Sir Harry Atkinson from the House deprives the party of their main strength, as the rest of the late Ministry are altogether too weak to make it possible that they will be able to obtain any substantial support. The Continuous Ministry has, indeed, become a thing of the past, and the colony is to be congratu lated upon having sounded its death knell at the general election At the same time, the Government should not feel itself too safe. The party is mainly composed of men who ai*e new to Parliamentary life ; and it is quite possible that they will be made the victims of intrigue. The principal difficulty Avill be to keep them well together during the recess, so that when the House re-assembles they will know upon which side it is expedient to vote, in. order to keep their election pledges. For our own part, we do not feel the slighest apprehension on this point. A man new to political life may be inveigled into entering the wrong lobby when a crucial point is at stake ; but it will be far more difficult to deal with a compact party in this way. So long as they adhere to their liberal professions made on the hust ings, they may rely on the support of their constituents, and we anticipate no difficulty on that score. The recent debate on the want of confidence motion brought forward by Mr Rollestoii showed that in the ranks of the labor party are to be found many men of more than average ability, and we should not be astonished to find that next session the pages of " Hansard" will not contain many speeches below the average. Another point "that was raised during the leite session was whether the fulllionorarium should, be paid for such a short period ; but, so far as the present law goes, there can be no doubt that members are entitled to it. The chief point to be considered is that the late Govern ment is solely and entirely responsible for a wasted session so far as legislation is concerned. If Sir Harry Atkinson had carried out his pledge to resign should the elections prove that his party were in minority, there would not have been the slightest necessity for Parliament assembling before a new Ministry had been formed. The late Government is in fact distinctly responsible for the expense that has been incurred, and it is simply ridiculous for them to attempt to place the burden on the others. As we have said, the session, short as it has been, will not be wasted when Parliament meets for the carrying out of the business of the country. The position of parties will be clearly defined, the one side will know exactly what it desires to do, and the other side will know what it has to oppose. That the Opposition is strong is matter for congratulation, as a fair, honest, and straightforward criticism is what is absolutely necessary for the good government of the colony. Taking all the circumstances into consideration, the outlook of political affairs is exceptionally favorable, and we have not the slightest doubt that the present Government will not only hold its own against its opponents, but that it will carry out its work to the satisfaction of the colony as a whole. There are, of course, certain pitfalls in the road of a new administration, however able the members may be; but Avith a strong majority at their backs, so long as-extreme measures are not resorted to there is no reason to fear that they will do anything to interfere with the progress oi New Zealand.

The Weather.

CHERTSEY. Temperature and rainfall ab Cherbsey for January, 1891 :—

TELEGRAPHIC.

HOME AND FOREIGN. [fek press association.] London, February 1. The steamer Hulbock, for Mel bourne, was stoned when leaving the clocks, and several of her crew, shipped by the Federation, were prevented from going on board. Mr Fitzgerald, the Australian labor delegate, received an ovation on his departui'e. A launch containing the Labor Council, representing twenty two Unions, followed the Ormuz to Tilbury. Sir C. Dilke is mentioned as a can didate for Northampton in Mr Brad laugh's place. The Australian cruiser Tauranga leaves for the colonies in a fortnight The plan of campaign is collapsing through failure of funds. The Land Purchase Committee begin work on Thursday next. Bombay, January 30. The rumor of the death of the Ameer of Afghanistan is denied, i -Brussels, February 1. The Belgians had an engagement with slavers on the Congo, killed thirty, and released a thousand slaves. Washington, February 1. | Major , McKinley succeeds Mr > Wndora as Secretary of the Treasury,

INTERPROVINCIAL.

Russetx, February 2. The Russell whale rock buoy has been ascertained by the harbormaster to be ninety fathom? outside the rock, being thirty fathoms further out than gazetted in 1883. Auckland, January 2. The Auckland Liberal Association passed a resolution to night, expressing surprise and regret " that his Excellency the Governor practically ignored the petition forwarded praying him not to appoint members of the Legislative Coun cil until Parliament met." l The steamer Rotomahana, trading be j tween Auckland aiid Thames, and belong ing to th(» Northern Steamship Company, was disabled on her trip to the Thames yesterday, her crank shaft breaking. Four boys arrested last night pleaded guilty to-day to stealing a quantity of biscuits and some bottles, the' property of a baker in Ponsonby. The .two eldest lads, sixteen and eleven years, were fined 10s each, and the other two, eight and nine years, ■ were ordered to receive six strokes with the birch. At the half-yearly meeting of the Islands Coal Company the Directors de clared a dividend of 10s per share, or 5 per cent, for the half year on the original capital. The profit and loss account balance stands at £1744. Gisborne, February 2. Edward Davis suddenly left the farm where he was working on the evening of January 23rd, and lias not since been heard of. He had with him a cheque for £12 10s, which has not since been cashed. He left at the homestead all his personal effects, also wages to the amount of £3. There is no accounting for the mysterious disappearance. Napier, February 2. An unoocupied storey on the Spit, for merly the Union Bank premises, adjoin ing the extensive stores and bond of Messrs Robjohns and Co.. was destroyed by fire at an early hour this morning. By the exertions of the Brigade the fire was confined to the building, but considerable damage was done to Robjohns' premises. The origin of the fire is unknown. The insurance was £6000 in the Standard i Office. News from Wairoa states that Mr Car roll's wool-shed, with twenty-eight bales of wool, was destroyed by fire. Wellington, February 2, It is understood that the appointment of Dr Giles, R.M., and Dr Hassell, medi cal superintendent of the asylum, as com missioners of the Auckland hospital en quiry, will be revoked, and that gentle men from another district will be ap pointed. Argument in the Whitaker-Hutchison libel action will be heard before the Chief Justice on Wadne-sd^y. Heavy rains have injured the crops in the.Wairarapa district. At the annual meeting of the Gas Com pany, the Chairman stated that the Com-* pany had been seriously affected by the strike, and it had been driven to^the extremity of obtaining coal from New castle, which, for gas making purposes, was inferior to the West Coast coal. The usual dividend was declared, but the Company w;»s not in a position to carry any+hmg forward. In the Banco Court, before the Chief Justice, Mr Chapman moved for a decree that Retimor-a'Ngamate, an aborignal native, should convey to Captain Meikle a piece of land iiji the Chatham Islands, in accordance with the purchasing clause made in 1872. ) There was no appearance of the defendant and the decree was made with costs on the lowest scale, the amount to be deducted from the purchase money. The amount of Customs revenue col lected during fche past month was £115,044 lls 4d, the contributions of the principal centres beihg as follows :■ —Auckland, £25 7U5 (is od\; Wellington, £22,886 3s 4d; Christchurch,j £19,435 3s '3d ; Dunedin* £28,617. During December, 1890, £131,734 13s lOd was collected, and for January, 1890, the total was £132,883 Is lOd. The amount oii revenue received during tho past 1, ten months exceeds the estimate by £U3,871 17s Bd. The beer duty collected' during the past month amounted to £4840 15s 7d, Auckland contributing £1053 18s 3d ; Wellington, £429 3a 2d ; Christchurch, £931 3s ; Dunedin, £1003 6s 4d. For December, 1890, the total; was £732?. 4s Bd, and for January, 1890,! £5108 10s. The estimate tor the ten mjonths ending January was £45,000, but /the amount of duty col lected during that period was £47,944 13s 9d—leaving a/surplus of £2944 13s 9d. 4 nautical enquiry was held to-day into the steamer .Pukaki's striking a rock in Ohau Bay oii the morning of January 17, while on a voyage from Westport to Wellington. The evidence showed that the Pukaki was coming into the bay for shelter, the weather being very stormy. The Court held that Captain Oliver should have used more precautions to ascertain his position than he did, and that had the log been used it would have been apparent that the vessel was nearer Ohau Bay than indicated by the bearings. The captain also erred in not heaving the lead. His certificate was returned, but he was ordered .to pay the costs of the en quiry. Messrs W. L. Rees and J. Carroll, M.H.R.'s, were to-day chosen by the Cabinet as Commissioners to enquire into the law relating to titles to Native lands throughout the colony. The Com missioners will spend at least two months in instituting their enquiries with regard to Native titles in the North Island. Arrived—The New Zealand Shipping Company's new steamer Pakeha, from London, via Sydney. Hokitika, February 2. Latest news from the rush on Saturday evening states that Hayes and party cradled two and three-quarter loads with a return of 2oz of gold ; wash four feet thick. Hughes and party also had four feet of wash, and cradled a load for Bdwt. S. Stewart and party washed thirty loads, their return giving an average of sdwt to the load. Several parties struck wash during the week, averaging two to three grains, to the dish for four feet of wash. OAmaru. February 2. The express train in coming into the station struck a dray at a level crossing. Two boys were in the dray, v and both were thrown out. Onp escaped unhurt, but the'other, named Reid, was badlyinjured ; his left thigh was broken, and he received a wound on the head. He is unconscious, and it is not known whether his skull is fractured or not. Invbrcargill, February 2. Edward Sutton, of Drummond, one of a family of well-known farmers m the district, was found dead this morning in circumstances indicating that he had committed suicide. Sutton, who was a single man, had been from home all day Sunday, returning about ten o'clock at night, and about an hour afterwards a, man heard the sound of a gunshot from the direction of Sutton's house. This morning as he did not appear the door was forced, and Sutton was found dead in a pool o rbloorl, with a discharged gun close at hand. A box had been drawn across the door, evidently, to prevent admission. No cause is yet assigned for the deed. Benjamin Bowen, station cook at Wairaki, was charged with harboring John Henry Lewis, a prisoner escaped from Milford, and was remanded. Bowen had served seven years for arson and met Lewis in Lyttelton gaol. The accused's counsel said Lewis had a sheath knife in his possession and Bowen was afraid of his life if he informed the police. Archbishop Carr pf Melbourne, Bishop Moore of Ballarafc, and Dr Higgins, auxiliary Bishop of Sydney, arrived by the ManapQuri. On, Arrival at Invercax

gill they were met by Bishop Moran and a large number, of. Catholics, who cheered as the dignitaries drove oft.

THE SAN FRANCISCO MAIL.

[fer pre&s association.] Auckland, February 2.' The Mariposa, from Sun Francisco, ar rived at 11.30 to-day. Hei passengers for New Zealand are—Messrs C. Sisseny and wife, C. Wild, F. Merrie, C. Longfellow, M. Green, J. Desborough and wife, D. Wilkinson, G. Cooke, Rev Mr Silver, Mrs Davis, and eleven steerage. The steamer had splendid weather on her pas sage. At Samoa she landed Dr Filip Hampberg, Secretary to Chief Justice Cederkrantz. On 24th ult, Arnold Durer, a steerage passenger, a Swiss, died of acute , rheumatism, and was buried at sea.

GENERAL SUMMARY.

Russia will establish diplomatic rela tions with Mexico. The Java coffee crop is an almost total failure, Charles Keene, the. well-known Lon don '' Punch " caricaturist is dead. A strike of the London postal clerks has been decided on. ; Germany's policy is stated to be to thoroughly explore and carefully colonise Africa. Baron von Issing, of Bavaria, has com mitted suicide at Monte Carlo. The French Grand Orient has declined the proposal of co-operation of ;the German freemasons. Medical circles are much'irritated at the free traffic in the privileges in con nection with Dr Koch's lymph. Forfcy miners were killed by an accident at Trinity mine, Ostian, Poland. General Booth is called an egotisc land purtoiner of Heberb Mills' theories. ! Work on the Russian railway, through Siberia to the Pacific, begins in the spring. At the celebration of the eighty-first birthday of Mr Gladstone, telegrams with congratulations and numerous presents arrived from all parts of the kingdom, also cable congratulations from America. A memorial fountain was> unveiled at Ha warden in. commemoration of his golden wedding with Mrs Gladbtone. Soldiers quartered in Berlin have been interdicted from visiting ninety-seven restaurants, because they were conducted by Socialists. Mr Parnell has decided to publish , his side of the O'SheW story. He claims to be thoroughly able to; vindicate himself. A number of lives! have been lost by the burning of the steamship Shanghai off the China coast, over 200 in a11,..by drowning. lie-election to the Presidency of the Republic of Mexico is now permitted, by law., ■ •■ ■ . i , ■ , ; ;" ■ ' .. Mrs John W. McKay, of San Fran cisco, paid seventy thousand for Sanford House, London. A serious outbreak of smallpox has occurred at the German seaport of Hader sheener. "La Liberte" thinks that Emperor William would be playing with fire to go to Paris. Padlawsky, the murderer of General Scleinisky at Paris, is believed to have gone to New York. The Russian Government has ordered the expulsion of eleven thousand Germans and Austrian^, the latter mainly Gallician Poles. Laguerrc, one of the Boulanger leaders, states that Boulanger is dead politicallv. The Spanish Minister of Finance has declared that Spain must follow the pro tection, movements o£ America and Europe. It is a very hard winter in England and teivible weather ou the Continent. The severe weather has caused acute distress among the English poor. All outdoor trades have been suspended in London for seven weeks\ A man was frozen to death at Preston. There has been an immense fall of snow at Berlin. People have been frozen to death in the streets of Paris. Ships are icebound in the Elbe, and the crews have suffered priva tions through lack of provisions. Several wrecks are reported ou the Spanish coast. The rate of mortality in England is un usually high. The German and Belgian) harbors are icebound. Dynamite' has been used at Copenhagen to extricate ships from the ice. All Bavaria and northern Italy were covered by snow, and many persons perished. Violent snow storms took place in Algiers. The rivers Thames and Seine were frozen over. Thousands of the poor in the midlands of England are in a condition of semi-star vation. The Pope has "finished a draft encyclical on social questions at which he has been working for a year. He says restoration of justice is needed to prevent the misery of sweating and the tyranny of riches. He is convinced that the policy of Bth4" church should be to lead the present social democratic movement. The Pope is still in robust health. The steamers Britannia and Bear collided in the Firth of Forth on January 11th. The Bear sank and twelve of her crew were drowned. The Britannia was taken in tow, but soon sank also; all her crew were saved. Mr Parnell's friends turned out in force at Limerick on January 11th tp hear his speech. He blamed Mr Gladstone for causing the split in the Nationalist party. As soon as the future of the Irish question was secured ha- would cheerfully retire from the Irish leadership, and the future would vindicate him fully. Cardinal Manning, in explaining his position re Socialism, said the whole of our Legislation was essentially social. The claim of Socialism to supreme power, to change, reform, and even create the principles of society, was essentially de structive and revolutionary. Pasteur thinks Koch may cure, but liis treatment will preventconsumption. There have been ten deaths of persons treated with Koch lymph. No women are now employed at night in any German factory. The Chinese Government are making! a new accurate survey of all the provinces. The Empress Eugenie is a heavy loser by the recent depreciation of South American securities. The cold was so intense in Montor, France, that hungry wolves appeared in flocks in the suburbs. The faction quarrels in Ireland have caused much distress in evicted families, because of the uncertain authority over the funds. It is reported that Gladstone says that he fears his end has come in public life and politics. A dissolution of the British Parliament i is expected in the spring. The Government of Brazil has issued a decree offering great inducements to immigrants.

AMERICAN SUMMARY.

i The Spanish vessel Angeline was cap tured off Florida by the United States Revenue steamer McLane, Avithout papers or charter. This being suspicious, a prize crew went aboard the vessel to take her to port. The Spanish captain showed, fight, but was sent aboard the McLane. The business section of Sail Antonio, Texas, was burned on Christmas Day. The "New York Herald " feasted two thousand news boys on Christmas Day. ' The Michagan law, providing for cumu lative voting, has been declared illegal by! the Supreme Court. Miss Whitbeck, actress, sues Bhkes Lee, of Chicago, for twenty thousand dollars for breach of promise,

The New Kngland" organ company's fac tory has been burnt ; loss 200,000 dollars., A. fight in a negro church ,at Oniano, Alabama, on Christmas eve, resulted in one death and many injuries. Manuel Garcia ' still keeps: Cuba in terror, though a reward of ten thousand dollars is offered for his capture. , An English corporation, with a capital of twenty-five million dollars, will estab lish twenty agricultural settlements in thvizil. "' '. Four hundred Italians landed at, New- York recently were destitute. They will be returned to their country. • A submarine boat to stay twenty-four hours under water with men is being built at Detroit. Mr Gladstone in. a letter to Sir Fur ness, the Liberal candidate for Hwtle pool, s;iys :—" i'he Irish* Parliamentary party vindicated itself by putting an end to the leadership of Mr Parnell, and has left'us prepared to pursue as heretofore our duty in denouncing the unequal laws and obvious system- cf coercion adopted by the Government as a permanent law. The Liberal gains of seats in the Com mons, constantly repeated during the last four years, mean much more than success, they mean that the party has declined, that a union has for the first time been effected between British and Irish, and shows that the people aim to close the controversy our opponents seek to inde finitely prolong. The people of Ire land have put their trust in the people of Great Britain to deliver them from bad law, made worse by a harsh and insulting administration. It rests on each con stituency, as occasion offers, for us to show our sister nation that her confidence is not in vain." The Japanese ironclad which brought home to Turkey the survivors of the foundered Turkish Frigate Erfcogroul was not allowed a pass through' the Dar deaelles, there being a standing prohibi tion against foreign war vessels ccmiing through the Straits) ■ Her commander was enraged at the refusal, and at once started.to return to Japan. The Turkish Imperial yacht went after the Japanese vessel, which was overtaken at Smyrna, and the Sultan's representative tendered apologies to the Japanese commander, which were accepted, and the survivors were transferred to the yacht* 'There is amusement in diplomatic circles over the incident. An interesting relic of the Sampan disaster, in the shape of a propeller of the Nipsic, is soon to be placed on exhibition at Washington. It is now at Mare Island Navy yard, having been taken there from Honolulu, where it was taken from the Nipsic. When the American ships were driven on the coral reef at Samoa the Nipsic's engines were going at full speed, 'and she was making frantic efforts to get to sea. The propellor was pounded on rocks, and its blades stuck hard in the coral. At every revolution iihey were twisted and curled up out of all resem blance to their former shape, but remained unbroken, showing the wonderful tensile strength of the material. Tn regard to the failure of Kean's Bank, Chicago, a petition was presented in Court on the 16th, to the effect that the missionary Bishop, William Taylor, of the Church, during his last year'a tour in th* United States, raised about 12,000d01s for his Congo mission. These he deposited with Kean in > November. He took a draft on London for: 3000dols. of this amount, and left for the scene of his labors. The remaining 9000dols was still in the Bank when it failed, and perhaps the 3000dols also, as it is not known whether the draft was cashed before the failure. Taylor sets forth that the money was a trust fund, and should be made good out cf the assets. That, relying on this fund, Bishop' Taylor hired a lot of mis sionaries to go to Africa, whose trans portation cannot now be secured, and bought a lot of supplies in New York, which cannot now be paid for. The i Court took the matter under advisement.

THE INDIAN RISING.

i It is stated that the battle at Wounded Knee on December 21 was a blood-thirsty encounter. The military approached the lnsbiles in line of battle. The Indian chief. Big Foot, surrendered, and the rebels were surrounded. There were 150 Indians, all well armed, and 250 squaws, against 250 soldiers under Major White side. As the Indians were being dis armed, all of a sudden they whipped their blankets to the ground, seized their rifles, and began shooting at the troopers not twenty feet away. The soldiers were afraid to shoot for fear of hitting their comrades, and the Indians all ran to the battery firing rapidly as they run.. Soon the mounted troops were after them, shooting them down on all hands. Fifty Indians were shot down. The engage ment lasted an hour and a half. Many took refuge in a ravine, and the soldiers shot them down wherever found. It was a scene of great confusion. Captain Wallace was killed with a tomahawk^ and Father Graft, Catholic misis^nary, was shot. Thirty soldiers were wounded and several killed. When the news reached Pine Ridge Agency pandemonium broke loose amongst the Indians there, 5000 in all. Large numbers broke away. The friendly Indians joined General Brooke, including Red Cloud. A friendly Indian village was burnt, and efforts were made to burn the Agency but failed. The Indians refused to treat with General Wales, and said "We wanfc no treaty, we are here to fight." Fire arrows were thrown" at the Agency, but fell short. Another engagement took( placel at Wounded Knee on January 6th. A wagon train with supplies was besieged by a hundred Jndianso One soldier^and seven Indians were killed. After three hours fighting troops came to the rescue. Two hundred Indians in Idaho took to the mountains armed, causing great excite ment. Lieutentant Casey, of the 23rd Infantry, was killed by a, Bruta Indian while watching the rebel camp. Aserioius skirmish occurred at Fish Lake, near Manitoba, between Canadians and police Indians. Three Indians and one wh^te were killed, ■

THE DISTRESS IN IRELAND.

The Earl of Zetland, Viceroy of Ire land, and the Chief Secretary, Mr Bal f our, sign a declaration, which has been issued, on the con&itiofe'of the poor/in the western part of Ireland. The declaration says :—"The poverty which is chronic in some districts will, if the people are not aided, reach the state of acute distress during the winter and spring. There is neither a residential party nor a sub stantial middle class to give employment, nor are there proper organisations to aid those who are unable to aid themselvek- Outdoor relief, except in cases of emer gency cannot be legally administered ex cept to persons holding over a quarter of an acre of land. Although no one ac quainted with the history of the Irish Poor Law would regard relaxing this clause as other than a public calamity, its maintenance undoubtedly limits the capacity to deal with cases of exceptional distress. The provision thus created leaves part of the social organism, sick at all times, stricken with disease, from which, without extraneous help, it has no power to rally." In regard to the failure of the potato crop, the declaration sa y S : _." The small occupiers in the West seem at first sight all to live much in the same way. They are lodged in small cabins, cultivate the same kind of- soil, and are clothed with the same kind of dress. It would he natural to conclude that in all phoes where the failure of the crop is the sime the distress in the same, but buch is not t'lo 0.-i*e, In no district does the bulk tf tlvj community live wholly upon potatoes. Every district has means of livelihood indepsndent < f the cultivation ot potatoes. The degree of

] the failure of the potato crop in tlv.;n> f■re in itself a misleading guido to the people. Other elements in finding the , position of the people are the amount of their savings and their debts and their credit with local tradesmen. Furthermore, in the organisation of any plan of gratuitous assistanca caution is necessary in order that it shall not inter fere with the system of railway relief works. Several thousands have already been distributed in the districts most in need. The conclusions we come to may bo confined, first to families win; are in serious want, and who having no able bodied person among them cannot derive benefit from public relief works ; second, to provide meals in schools for children attending them, and third fco supply clothing for children unable to procure it elsewhere." .-..•■

DR KOCH'S CONSUMPTION CURE.

The following is from Barlm, January 3rd :-—-Professor Koch is in ill humor over the increasing severity of professional criticisms. It is understood that he asked the Minister, Von Gossler, to relieve him from his pledge to surrender fco the State his right to the discovery. Von Gossler was opposed to publishing the composition of the remedy until foreign governments had been communicated with astp the precaution necessary to secure the produc tion of genuine lymph. When the Land tag resumes its sitting a declaration will be made repudiating the charges of a j desire on the part of the Government to retain any advantage through the produc tion of the lymph, and expressing readi ness to communicate the process through other Governments able to guarantee against the abuse of it. In the meantime the anger of medical circles, arising from privileged traffic in the lymph, is growing in warmth. !

LEON SAYE ON AMERICA.

Le"on Saye t ; the / French writer on political economy, in an aricle in the ''Journal der D^bajbs," severely criticises the McKinley Tariff and the American Farmers' Alliance. He declares that America, notwithstanding .its immense wealth, cannot carry on its'industrial, commercial, and agricultural enterprises without European capital, and continues, '• and the fact of .the situation is that they have destroyed their credit by abusing it, by maladministration of their transport enterprise, and by their even worse ad ministration of their local funds. , Unless a reaction occurs in public morals, Ameri can credit cannot recover from its abase ment, and its agricutural, like its other industries, will remain a prey to successive convulsions, for which transient remedies ! will be sought by the adoption of experi ments certain to fail, continually leaving j the country to graver crises. It is astonish j ing in a country of business men that they have brought themselves to believe there are no limits to the money circula tion. If America turns its mines into coin and issues paper currency in accord ance with the ideas of the Farmers' . Alliance, no agreement will be possible i with Europe on the monetary question. Europe would be foolish to transfer her capital to America in exchange for an. absolutely useless ma ss of silver.

THE U.S. COINAGE LAWS.

An interesting test of the silver law took place at Philadelphia on January 3rd. Judge Harley and Geo. H. Merrick, of Denver, called at the U.S. mint with a brick or silver weighing 5140z, presented it to the weighing clerk, and demanded that .it be coined into money. Upon their demand being refused they waited upon the Superintendent of the mint; and made the J&me demand, but he refused to accept the brick for private coinage, and they then' presented a formal demand in writing. 1 After pre senting the demand Merrick asked the Superintendent to give them a certificate or letter certifying that he and Morse had offered them silver for coinage and that it had been refused by him, «o they will be fcaved the trouble of jjrovicSing that or proving that fact in Court, where they propose to test the right of the Govern ment to refuse bullion. Colonel Bolysted having written a refusal to receive, their bullion, the two gentlemen wrapped up their brick and departed. The ground on which Messrs Morse and Merrick base their demand isj they claim, a constitu tioaai one, and it denies the right of the Government to make what is known as "Seignorage." At present the market value of silver bullion is 103^ cents per ounce, five and 371J grains, while the actual value of. an ounce when coined into silver dollars 129.2. It; pays the market bullion price and makes a difference which is seignorage between that price and" the legal tender value.

POLITICAL.

Among the notices of questions during the tecettt session, Vere the following by Mr Wright, which the speedy termi nation of the session prevented being •sked : —To ask the Minister of Lands, Whether he will stop the distribution of the moneys !(being one-thirds) accruing from the deferred-payment settlers in the County of Ashburton, under " The Land Act, 1885," and Amendment Act, 1887, and hitherto paid over to the Road Boards, until the County Council have considered the expediency of expending suoh moneys in supplying water to the settlers, as pro vided for by clause 27 of the Act of 1887 ? —To askthePostmastor-General, Whether he will join with the Railway Commis sioners in defraying the cost of providing telephonic communication between Ash burton and Mount Somers ?

Latest Cable News

HOME AND FOREIGN

[per press .association.] (Received February 3, 10.15 a m FEW OPERA. ' London, February. 2. Sir A. Sullivan's grand opera " Ivan hoe " has been produced at the English opera house with great success.

LABOR TROUBLES.

Pig iron is falling owing to the collapse of the railway strike. It is expected that the terms qf Settlement will be disputed by the Scotch furnace men. •■■■■:?

HOME RULE.

Mr. Parnell, speaking at' Ennis, said that in a few days; they would know that he had secured a really indepen dent Parliament for Ireland, having power to settle the land question, and full control of the police. (Received February 3, 10.40 a.:n ) THE OPORTO RISING. tk r* L Lisbon, February' 2. Lhe Oporto rebels numbered 600. chiefly infantry, headed .by their officers. They broke out from their barracks, at four in the morning and marched to the police and telegraph offices. The municipal guard of cavity and infantry, who remained loyal, in tercepted them, whereupon ftfay re treated to the Town Hall, and nomtt nated a Republican directorate. Desultory fighting went on till two p.m., when the Town Hall was captured at the point of the bayonet, Toree. hundred solars and civilian^

THB ASHBUBTOK GTTABDIiLy, TUESDAY, ifEBBITAEftT 3, 1891



Max. Min. 1 58 50 2 63 50 3 73 44 4 71 47 5 77 57 0 95 64 7 67 48 8 78 45 9 90 62 .0 89 47 .1 64 47 .2 68 4.6 .3 76 63 .4 81 47 .5 58 41 .6 66 48

Kain fall. 0.38 0.10 0.07 0.03 0.06 0.26 0.05

Rain- Max. Min. fall. 17 73 53 18 76 53 19 78 55 20 58 47 0.03 21 74 50 22 68 54 0.09 23 87 54 0.03 24 88 49 25 80 55 26 58 48 0.50 27 67 53 28 82 52 29 75 48 .30 78 52 31 69 52 Total rainfall, 1.60



Certainly the Most lgfffwtlYe MEDICINE n the world is SANDER and SONS EUCALYPTI EXTRACT. Test its eminent powerful effects in Coughs, Colds, Influen?fit etc, ; the relief is instantaneous. Thousands gave the most gratifying testimony. Read this certificate;-^''?^ April, 1885 — Messrs Sander and Sons,—lt is with *he greatest of pleasure that I testify to the excellence of your Eucalypti Extract. Having bad inflammation of the bone of the leg, which came on after a severe attack of low fever, I was attended by Dr J. Boyd, who had made strenuous QfJty'tß to save my leg, but without success. Ho founr^ it necessary to amputate my limb. Having heard in the Jijeanttinc of the wonderful cures worked by the Eucalypti Extract, I obtained a bottle, and the extract had not been applied more than an hour when I began to feel greatly relieved, After applying the extract every four hours for nine ov ten doys it was out of all danger, I would persu?»<2< , all who may be effected with any such I disease to give the Eucalypti Extract a trial and I am convhicsd that they will find it the most wonderful of medicines.—Yours, etc., K. J. Cijr.vow, Wattle »tjf&at, Sand^ writ — (A<M 9



STOCK-TAKING. REDUCTIONS IN ALL DEPARTMENTS For one Month. NET'/ Z EA T AJN I) CLOTHING FACTORY »»jri'j)t for the Vt Tondorful VVerthcim Sewing Machine"* vV. H. WEBB-ffiH" Manager



MONEY TO LEND. "VTONEY to Lend at LOW RATES OF INTEREST, on Mortgage of FREE HOLD PROPERTY, , in sums of £100 TO_^sooo For further particulars apply to the Postmaster, Ashburton, or to J. C. PRUDHOE, District Agent. Government Insurance Office. Christchurch. WJTM.TEEtS AUHOIIT TCELTrt cHiusrcncßDH dental SURGERY. Corner of Oashel and High streets S. M"' 1^ AND Co " " SURGEON HENTIST And at Dunedin and Westport 4TTE have gained the FIRST AWARD VV "* the Dunedin Exhibition for Artificial Dentures and Mechanical Appli ances for the Mouth, and it is with the greatest confidence that v:e guarantee the highest class work and perfect fit at the most moderate cos A Single Artificial Tooth, 10s. Comple Set — Upper and Lower— temporary and permanent, £10 10s. j Natural, Durable, Comfortable Artificial Teeth Replaced Temporarily al most immediately after the extraction j of decayed teeth or stumps without extra ee or charge. Arrangements can be made for part or monthly payments. ADMINISTERING NITROUS OXIDE SAS several times daily for the past ten years, we fearlessly assert that extraction of teeth under its influence is perfectly painless and positively safe • Fee for Administration, ss. Extraction, 2s Od. Artificial Teeth and Dentures, made by other dentists repaired or remodelled at small cost



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