DEATH.

Whitefoori).—On the 13th inst. (at the residence of his brother-in-law, Charles Chamberlain, Esq., Dunedin), Caleb Whitefoord, R.M., Kaiapoi, eldest son of John Whitefoord, Esq., late Recorder of Launcesron, Tasmania, and ■ cousin of Mrs VV. J. Steward.

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1891. THE FEDERATION CON FERENCE.

There are a good many people—of the intensely practical sort—who can not see why New Zealand should take any notice of the movement which is going on m the other Australasian colonies m the direction of Federation. Our position m reference to the move ment haa been so far strictly non committal, and wliy, they ask, should we change it until we can clearly see that it is to our positive advantage to join m. These arguments have one characteristic—selfishness, and this is no less a vice m a nation than m an individual. We by no means wish t& imply that New Zealand should at once and on any conditions unite m federa tion with our neighbors ; but it is our duty to take part m shaping the course of this great scheme, and this duty will be well discharged by the able politi cians who have been delegated to re present us at the Sydney Conference. Sir George Grey, Sir Harry Atkinson, and Captain Russell may be trusted to maintain with dignity the position which Parliament has decided to take, without discouraging Australian pro gress towards the desired end. Sir George Grey m particular, as one who has participated m " nation making," cannot but regard with the deepest sympathy the as pirations towards an Australian | nationship, and even Sir Henry Parkes, the apostle of Federation, will welcome New Zealand's veteran states man as a leader rather than a follower or neutral onlooker m the proceedings of the Conference. Our representor tives have a delicate, difficult, and m some, respects ungrateful mission, but they may be trusted to fulfil it without causing any estrangement with the federating colonies; indeed we may hope that the mutual feelings of sympathy and respect which have subsisted during the last few years will be widened and strengthened by New Zealand's participation m the coming momentous deliberations. "We must recognise that though circumstances prevent our giving our present adhesion to the Federation, we must at no far distant future have intimate relations and ultimately participation with it, and with this m view we cannot now take up the undignified and dangerous position of selfish isolation.

LOCAL AND GENERAL

A first offender, who was found drunk m East stieet last evening, was dealt with m the usual way at the Court this morning. Plans have been prepared for a new Roman Catholic Cathedral at Invercargill estimated to cost £6000. The following are the returns of the Ash" burton Hospital for the month of January : —In Hospital on January Ist, 6; admitted during the month, 18; discharged, 11 ; died, 1; remaining on February Ist, 12. The Arawa from London, December 27th and Plymouth, December 30th arrived at Wellington at seven o'clock on Thursday evening, but was not visited by the health officer until this morning. She had fine weather on the passage, and her passengers are m excellent health. The Master of the Ashburton Hospital wishes to acknowledge, with thanks, the following:—Linen from Mrs Dr Leahy, linen and shirts from Mrs Walker (Valetta), papers from Miss Bishop, flowers and fruit from Mrs Lea, Mr G. Smith, Mr Greenslade, Mr Dowding, and Mr Brownfield for use of inmates. Wanganui is only a small town, but it has earned a good deal of distinction. Three times it has been represented by the Premier of the colony—first by Sir William Fox, then by Sir Julius Yogel, and now by Mr Ballance. Four times it has produced the champion riffc shot of the colony—Lieutenant Owen m 1863, Private Churton m 1884, Sergeant Remmington m 1886, and Private Kruse m 1891. The "Scientific American" gives this recipe for diphtheria, which all the world should know : —"At the first indication of diphtheria m the throat of a child make the room close, then take a tin cup and pour into it a quantity of tar and turpentine, equal parts, then hold the cup over the fire so as to fill the air with the fumes. The little patient, on inhaling the fumes, will cough up and spit out all the membraneous matter, and the diphtheria will pass out. The fumes of the tar and turpentine loosen the matter it the throat, and thus afford the relief that has baffled the skill of the physicians." The other day whilst engaged m discharg ing the cargo of a timber ship at a port m the south of Ireland, the men struck for higher wages, which the owners of the cargo conceded. Later m the day a member of the firm went down to the ship to* see how matters stood. He found the work going on all right, but failed to recognise the faces of the men. On inquiry it turned out that the gang who had struck and got the advance re-let the job to other men at the old rate, and then retired to a neighbouring public- ' house to liquidate the unearned increment. Ah ingenious way of scaring off small birds has been tlayised by a farmer m the Oamaru j district. Raijfotys are plentiful along the hedges, and he shoots a few of the rodents, j j-t.ni] tios them to the tops mi poles among his ero^**, The hawks come dbojut, a«d sail ing artmiirf, If.nep all the small birds m the neighbourhood «jwter coyer of the hedges. trees., etc. The fame** /ijnds this a capital plan, and although it is'uovy father late m <f.Ji>« Miificw (to'put it m practice, i*i wight not be«, i>a4 i^lu-li &>r tho«e afllicted by au^all bifd« to UAUw _»iijle next' .year's' crop is ripening. Eafobitg w« not plentiful m the Ashburton district, imp jtw will do quite as well. In Christmas week the >'•' Paljl Mall Gazette" wrote .-—"Australia, is ju & fccfflft condition juat now. It hits exceileijt <V&aw;i?#rs, but no Governors' wives, and m *he AmmMiiiw colonies ' Her Excellency ' is. quite as iiH-juMrtyflJl a personage has 'His Excellency/ Larty Hopetoun (V.) is m London ; so k L-uly Jersey,, ft'ho is now con vit.lesccut from her serious tf-Uw&a; Lady j itiu-MMj (S.A.) is now returning by w*./ r/f ; Anu.'iWi,, ifj-1 will be m London m a few ', diiyri: Lady 3£«>mi«.» (Q-) =« "<lso on ller way HYi.w; with Sir !i<Wj/ on holiday leave ; and, linally, Lady llobi^,. f.W.A.) is also absent from the post of duty. )% Empire will never be kept together at this ?■ss J?j i

The s.s. Monowai with the English mails of 24th January left San Francisco for Auck land two days late. The services m the Ashburton Presbyte rian Church on Sunday, next, will be con conducted by the RevT. Nome both morn ing and evening, The preacher is from an Auckland, church, and is at present m Oh rist church, attending sittings of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church. Mr J. Knott addressed a meeting m con nection .with the Women's Christian Tem perance Union on Wednesday afternoon. There was a good attendance, and at the close of the address several of those present joined the Union. Mrs H. M. Jones presided at the harmonium, Miss Savage,- an old Ash burton favorite, assisting with her violin. An old Volunteer hi Ashburton, who takes an interest m shooting, has presented a valuable nickel silver inkstand, having a pair of beautifully cut ink bottles, to be shot for hy any of the Ashburton Rifles and the Rifle Club. The shooting will take place next Wednesday morning at five o'clock, the conditions being ten shots standing at 200 yards. The trophy is on view m I. Salek and Co.'s window. The Postmaster-General has arranged that the first San Francisco mail, under the accelerated system shall leave Auckland by the R.M.S. Mariposa on the 28th instant, instead of the 23rd as set down m the original time-table. As regards future sailing dates nothing will be definitely fixed until Government receives an answer from the Direct Shipping Company as to whether they are prepared to alter their time. In the annual report of the Depart ment of Agriculture m the province of Quebec, just issued, it is stated that no fewer than 1006 fathers have applied for the 100 acres of Crown land offered for every fanuly of 12 living children, and that 12,447 children altogether are represented by these appli cants. The new land owners are to be collected m groups, which may form parishes later on. In future an applicant will not have to produce a certificate of birth for each child, as that involves an expenditure some times reaching £10. An English paper states that Mr Leopold de Rothschild has just received as a present from Mr J B. Haggin, the largest and most successful breeder of thoroughbred stock m California, who is on a visit to England, two colts, viz., Eugineer, by Darebin—Tulara, by Monarchist (son of Lexington), and Nubbin gala, by St. Modred (son of Traducer, by The Libel), out of Typhoon, by King Alplionso (sire of Foxhall. Australians will watch the career of these young ones with interest. The Waikato correspondent of the Auck land "Herald" writes:—A curious case showing the peculiarities of the native character occurred. A native lad came to the Hospital with a leg dreadfully injured through a fall. Bone disease hadsupervened, and it was thought necessary to amputate the limb, it being impossible to save it. The boy had been brought down by some friends from Waotu, and they had promised to look after him. When his old father, a Maori of ' th« '' real old sort," heard of the proposed am - initation, he said, "No; you took my boy away to your medicine man with two legs on ; yon must bring him back with two legs." .And., consequently the man. m charge has taken hitn home again. The youngster, how ever, declares he will comeback again on his own account and have his leg off. If; he does not he will certainly die." " The " Report of the Statistics of New Zea land " just published by the Government says:—The ages at which persons may con tract binding marriages m the colony are the same as m England, viz. :—Twelve years for females and fourteen for males. Marriages may be contracted at earlier ages than those stated, but they would be voidable at the discretion of either of the parties upon reaching the age of twelve or fourteen as the case may be, and without the necessity of proceedings m Court. For the period of 1874-89 inclusive, twelve females under four teen years of age have married. Of these one was only eleven years old. During the same time only three males under seventeen have married ; these have all reached sixteen years of age. The average age of the males m the colony who married, m 1889 was 29"9 years, and of the females 24 (i years.

The " Southland News" records an incident that occured just before the depar ture of the missing steamer on her unfortu nate voyage that is worthy of mention. A member of a well-known firm of auctioneers was exceedingly anxious to aeeompanj the vessel to obtain some curios from the Islands and enjoy what he anticipated would be a very pleasant trip. Ho made application to Mr A. B. Campbell, local manager for the Company, for a berth, but that gentleman informed him that his express instructions from the Government were not to take any person beyond the crew, and that he could not break through his orders. Not to be beaten, the wielder of the hammer tele graphed to Wellington to the Colonial Secretary for the necessary permission ; but he was doomed to disappointment, for the reply came m the form of a refusal. At the time he was not a little disconsolate at being deprived of his holiday trip; but it is need leas to say that he now regards himself as a very lucky man. The historical Agnews have been distin guishing themselves again. At St. Bathaus they were charged with placing an obstruc tion on the road. The defendant (says (he " Mount Ida Chronicle") maile a long rambling statement, irrelevant to the point at issue, dwelling particularly on the great injustice inflicted on him and his wife by the world at large during the last ten years. The magistrate, m giving judgment for the plaintiff county, said the defendant was a disgrace to the district and an annoyance to the neighborhood, and he would impose a penalty of £1 and order him to remove the fence within a week. The proceedings all through were exceedingly lively. Both Agnew and his wife frequently interfered with counsel and witnesses during the hear ing of the case. The female was forcibly expelled by the constable, and at the conclu sion Mr Agnew vowed he would not remove the obstruction " for all the magistrates, for the King, nor even for her Majesty," and that he would keep to the same determi nation. Mr Labouchere, m " Truth,"hasa "note " on " Geographical Snobbery." He wants to know why all the mountains, lakes, and rivei-s m Africa and New Guinea should be named after British royalties or nobodies. He says :—" A gentleman of the name of M'Gregor—Sir W M'Gregor—l find, has ' been over there making a perfect burlesque of the local nomenclature. Here is an abridged list of the mountains (very fine mountains, I am given to understand, before they were re-christened). The names, it is only fair to say, are not quite all the M'Gregor's. Here and there he mentions a peak which had suffered at the hands of a previous "Any.' But here is the list: The ' Owen Stanley range," Mount Victoria," Huxley's Pinnacle,'' Mount Musgrave,' Mount Knuts f ord,'' Mount Henry Forbes.' 'Mount Albert Edward, 1 Mounts ' Seratchley,' 'Gillies,' 'Cameron,' 'Douglas,' 'Forbes,' 'Parker,' and ' Jack Tanna.' Some of these mountains are over ll,OOOft high. Is not that rather big for the gentlemen whose names are tacked on to them ? ' Who tied Dolabella to that sword?' Will not posterity a'few hundred years hence be asking some such impertinent question with regard to Messers Husley and Henry Forbes ?"

The Markets.

[per press association.]

London, February 11. Wool is firm. The present series closes on February 26th. The Silberhorn's cargo of wheat from Lyfctelton was sold at 36s 7|d. The American visible supply of wheat has de clined half ft million bushels.

TELEGRAPHIC.

HOME AND FOREIGN

[PER PRESS iMSSOOIATION.]

London, February 11 and 12. Mr Balfour received a remarkable ovation at "Dublin on the occasion of the ceremony of conferring on him the honorary degree of Doctor of La*v. Mr Morley's motion censuring the Executive for their action at Tipperary will be discussed on Monday. The cruiser Karrakatta will be placed m reserze immediately on her arrival m Australia. The Deceased Wife's Sister Bill has passed its second reading m the House of Commons by a majority of 49. Sir ■W. Cumming has resigned his commission m the Guards pending the result of his action for slander respect ing the allegation against him of cheating at cards. , Baron Nordenskj old's son accom panies the Antarctic expedition. Mr Parnell has withdrawn to Boulogne, and declared war to the knife against the seceders. He intends to resume his political campaign, and is arranging for meetings at Manchester and other places m England. It is reported that Messrs Dillon and O'Brien will come over to Folkestone to-day and surrender themselves to the authorities. A strike at all ports is regarded as inevitable. A conference of members of the older "Unions at Cardiff 1 passed resolu tions opposing the claims of the seamen and dockers to monopolise work, and declaring the animosity of the firemen contrary to the principles of Unionism. The strikers are confident that they will crush the Shipping Federation. Lord Dunraven has" given notice to move that the colonies should be invited to send delegates to a Confer ence at London to consider measures affecting trade and defence. The Chinese loan will probably be m gold, not silver. H.M.S. Curagoa has been recommis sioned for Australia. St. Petersburg:, February 12. All Jews engaged,in commerce have been expelled from Nizni Novgorod. Berlin, February 12. • Dr. Koch's lymph has been officially named tuberculine, and is now being publicly sold. Suakim, February 12. j An expedition of 1200 Egyptian troops has sailed from Saukim for Trin kitat, and will advance upon Tokar. Sofia, February 11. A plot has been discovered to over throw Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria. Washington, February 11. General Sherman is m a precarious condition. The dispute between the United States and Newfoundland over the fisheries has been settled oa a reciprocal basis.

AUSTRALIAN.

Sydney, February 12. The Ctiptain sued the crew of the Deveron for combining to disobey Law ful commands, but the case was dis missed, the Captain admitting the men's action was justifiable. They contended they only took action m order to clearly define their position m the eyes of the owner,? and charterers. Meluourne, Febmary 12. A bush fire is raging near Sand hurst, which has devastated twenty miles of country, and is still unchecked.

INTERPROVINCIAL.

Auckland, February 12. It is proposed to give a citizens' ball m honor of his Excellency the Governor and the Countess of Onslow on their arrival m Auckland. The Huntley mining cases arestill being heard, a large amount of evidence having now been taken m support of the charge that the dip was not properly timbered. Some of the witnesses deposed that the ground was treacherous. The case for the defence will probably be opened to morrow. Sir George Grey lias returned from Rotorua. His health appears to be almost entirely recovered. Wanganui, February 11. The Girls' College was opened to-day by the Hon. W. P. Reeves, Minister for Education. The Premier and Messrs T. EL. McDonald and Bryce, M.H.R's., were also present. Mr Gilbert Carson, Chair man of the Board of Governors, presided. There was a large concourse of people, notwithstanding the bad weather. The Ram Fair was concluded to-day. The total entries were 1165. The bidding was brisk, the highest prices being 27gs, 25gs, 20gs, and 12gs. Very few lots were passed m. The fair was altogether a great success. Woodville, February 12. The heavy rain, which set m last night has brought down a large slip on the Gorge line this morning. It is stated that this slip will delay the opening of the line for a month. Wellington, February 12. A fire broke out this evening m the engine room of Waddell and McLeod's sawmills m the centre of the town, find ! got a good hold, but was suppressed befoi • much damage had been don*. The Premier and Minister of Education left for Wanganui this morning. Dunedin, February 12. At a meeting of the Kakanui Relief Committee subscriptions to the amount of £65 were reported.

Supreme Court.

[PBK PRESS ASSOCIATION.]

! Timaku, February 12. ' At the Supreme Court, after a trial last ing nearly two days, the charge against John Campbell ot stealing ninety sheep from his next door neighbor, T. P. Wood ing, resulted m an acquittal. This con cludes the criminal business. One civil case has to be heard. Wellington, February 12. The Chief Justice quashed the ponvic tion entered by the Magistrate against John McDennott. During the strike Mcbermott was charged with, assault ing a free laborer, and sentenced to two months' hard labor on each ot three charges, tho sentences to be cumulative. McDermotb has served one sentence, and it wasfroin theothershe, appealed, His Honor ruling that tljo verdict was, against tlje weight of evidence.

Telegrams from New Plymouth, Wood villc, and Wangauui report that the heaviest flood ever known m the Central and West Coast districts of the North Island has been experienced tQ'd»Yt

TO-DAY'S TELEGRAMS

[PER PRB3B ASSOCIATION.] Tim rzi<f»*«n <»f T* Arolia. , Wellington, February 13. Mr.W. S. Allen, who was returned for Te Arolia scab afc the general election, arrived from England wifch his family by the Arawa this morning.

Corn Exchange Report.

The following is the Corn Exchange re port for the weekcndingFriday, February 12th :- The weather has been exceedingly favorable to the ingathering of the crops, and a large quantity is already m stack. Samples of the new grain have been offer ing during.the week, and so far the cereals fchafc have suffered mos'c from the dry weather have been, oats and barley, the latter more parfciculary. Grass Seed — Rye is selling at Extreme rates ; the Irish price ruling will probably affect the de mand as afc present prices, rye grass is an expensive factor m laying down to pas ture. The following are our quotations:— Wheat (new) —.Tuscan, 3s 4d ; Pearl, 3s 3d; Hunters, 3s 2d.—Oats (new).— Milling, Is 8d ; short feed, Is 6d to Is 7d ; long sorts and faulty, Is 4d to Is sd. —Barley,—Prime malting, 3s 6d; second quality malting, 3s to 3s 3d feed, Is 6d to Is 9d —Peas.—Blue Prussians, 3s 3d.- Rye Grass.—Town machine dressed, 5s bo 5s 3d ; farmers' parcels, according to quality.—Cocksfoot.- -Machine dressed, 4£d to 4|d. —Dairy Produce. —Butter, factory made, 8d ; farmers' keg, 7d. The above prices are those paid to farmers for delivery f.o.b. Lyttelfcon. Sacks extra.

"Behind the Scenes."

Mr James Knott delivered a temper ance lecture last night entitled "Behind the Scenes." There wai» a fair attendance, and Mr H. M. Carson presided. The j united choir, aided by the harmonium, j and the' valuable help of Miss Savage's violin, rendered some of the earlier, best known, and perhaps most effective num bers of Sankey's collection. The lecturer, after » few introductory remarks, stated that about nine-tenths of the people who owned hotels m this colony were large brewers and spirit and wine merchants—men who lived m large cities, held positions m the Church m many cases, and sat on the Magisterial bench, aria even were sent to Parliament, Those owners let their houses to men who were possessed of a few hundreds of pounds, and wanted to make a living. The actual seller of the liquor had only a percentage of the profit. Mr Knott quoted the evidence, given to- himself, of an Auckland betel keeper to indicate that the bulk of the profit went) to the owner of the house and not to the licensee, and then went on to show how much misery and sorrow were often m: the hearts and homes of the men who engaged m the traffic, telling several interestinganecdotes m illustration of this fact, He then weric on to describe a visit he paid to the " dives " and " retreats " that are to be found m connection with several of the Ohristchurch hotels. These " dives " or ''retreats" are really the cellars of the buildings—at least are built under ground, and are reached by stairways leading down from the footpaths of the main streets. Ons of these dives the lecturer described as having no furniture of any kind—only two rows of barrels set on end doing duty as the bar counter. In that dive, drinking and smoking, were twenty-eight young men and three boys. Two of the boy.s were selling the evening papers, and the third was apparently keeping the other two company. Those children were there hearing the filthy and profane language of the crowd of men who were drinking at the barrels. Leaving the dive he ascended to the upper bar of the same hotel, and here he found twelve other men busy with their glasses, which were being charged as required by a young lady, finely dressed, who apparently exhibited no repugnance to the conversation these men were carry ing (n. In another hotel he found thirty six men m the dive and fourteen men m the upper bar. Across the street he found m another dive thirty-four men, and on ascending to the street, he and the friend who was with him met a stream of men coming down. He and his friend stood opposite for fifteen minutes and, watch m hand, counted the number of men who during that short time filed into the dive. No less than fifty-one went down, or at the rate of 200 an hour. If this rate kept up from nine o'clock till twelve, six hundred men would have gone down. Among the crowd, was a lad who could not have been over fourteen years of age ; but he had his glass of beer and was smoking his cigarette with the re&t of them. In the billiard room of the same hotel there were forty men —some play ing billiards and others playing cards. The lecturer then went on to describe how, on entering another hotel, he was I seized by the arms by two young women who were drinking m the passage way at a half-door that opened upon it, and his opinion of that, house was not by any means of a high character But for the fact that Mr Knott was describing his own experience it is difficult to believe that a hotel of such a character exists m the City of the Plains. On the street he met a constable and called his attention to the stream of people still filing down the dive (it was then past eleven); but the constable said the police were powerless, and from the difficulty they had m obtaining a conviction—there was so much required to be proved—they had given up interfering m the matter. Besides there were only three night watchmen on duty for the whole city. j Giving another glimpse " Behind the Scenes" as t* the qiuality of the liquor sold, he quoted several of the formulas from Lacour's recipes for making wine and spirits without distillation, and enu merated the appalling ingredients used. In the course of his remarks on this subject he said he did not believe there was a pint of pure liquor imported, and was prepared to pay £5 if half a pint of pure brandy, gin, whisky, rum, or wine could be produced by the importers, making a pointed reference to a well known local importing firm. He was quite certain that there was not a hotel m the colony m which the liquor sold was absolutely free from adulteration of one kind or another. After the usual vote of thanks the meeting closed with the Benediction.

Presbyterian Assembly.

[per press association,)

Christchuroh, February 12, This morning Rev J. Treadwell sub mitted tho report of tho Committee on schemes of studies for students for the ministry, which provides for new students a missionary course and a full subject course, mathemetics however being ex cluded. Dr Elinslie moved an amend ment to the effect chat the report be not adopted, on the ground that even if successful it would end m a brief period of time m a lower educational standing of the ministry, without any compensation m the direction of spiritual excellence and ministerial efficiency. The educational difficulty was most likely to be overcome by the foundation of theological scholar ships, and the securing of all the benefits of a theological hall m the colony. The re port gave rise to an animated debate, which was adjourned till the afternoon,

At the Dunedin Harbor Board meeting on Thursday, it was mentioned that the knoll which it was found necessary to dredge m the harbor were composed principally of Bea. anemones.

RIFLE MATCH.

ASHBURTOtf RIFLES v. RIFLE CLUJB.

The match between a beam of ten men of the Ashburton Rifles and a similar team of the, Rifle Club was fired on Thurs day morning and Friday morning—five men from each team firing on the res pec rive days The weather on both mornings favored the shooting, which was an im provement on that for the Riflo Club's Cup, which" came offin weather loss favor able to firing than'that enjoyed by the teams m this match. The Rifles won by eleven points. The following are the de tailed scores :—

Ashburton Rifle Volunteers. '

Ashburton Rifle Club.

SOUTH RAKAIA.

■:■ .:.:'. fire. . ; On Tuesday morning,during threshing .operations by Mr W, Harrison on the Acton estate one of the stacks was dis covered to be on fire. The traction engine was at once coupled bo the combine to draw her out, but .unfortunately she jammed on the lock and caused some delay, the result being damage to combine of about; £5, and almost the total destruc tion of the elevators. The damage to plant is estimated afc £45, and is covered m the New Zealand Office. One stack and a portion of another of wheat were dcs fcroyed, and a number of bags of threshed wheat, covered by insurance m a Dunedin office. Thera seems to' be no certainty as to how the fire originated.' The men state there was no smokmg, and the fire started on the opposite side of the stack to where the engine stood, Fortunately for Mr Harrison and his staff they were able to | borrow another set" of elevators, so there was but little delay. THE LIBRARY. An adjourned meeting of the Library Committee was held on Wednesday. Present—Messrs W. B. Dixon (acting chairman),, Oxley, Gee, Liddy, and W. Dixon. Considerable discussion took place as fco allowing the rooms bo be used as meeting places for: all purposes, and it was decided thafc m future the book room be neither let nor lent for meetings, bufc that the large room could be obtained on reasonable tetms. on the consent of the chairman and any one member. It was decided to invite tenders for repairs to the office on the section. It; was resolved to have an entertainment and dance m aic of the book fund m the Town Hall on Friday, \pril 24th. Messrs W. B. Dixon and Oxley were appointed a" sub-Commit tee to attend fco the repairs required. '' '

Public Works Contracts.

THE MIMSTERINTERVIEWED. The Minister o£ Public Works 'having ordered that no sub-contracts are to be permitted m futureGovernmenf contracts, a "Post" reporter has obtained from him thefollowingexplanationof tliereasohs for the new departure :— \ Reporter—The introduction of such a condition is new, and will cause consider able comment. Minister—The scope and tenor of the general conditions have always been against piece work and sub-letting,, but the eva sion has been winked at, and now it has almost been recognised. For instance, a large contract was let recently, and after the contractor signed the contract he ad veriised nearly the whole work for letting under sub-contracts. Reporter—What difference does it make to the Government whether the work is done by sub-contractors or by wages men ? Minister—The cost of supervision is much greater. The work is not nearly so well done ; and m lieu of having the con tractor solely to deal with, the several ■üb-contractors each, from time to time, require particulars and details, and their work requires to be passed by the omcer m charge before the contractor pays them. Reporter-—That only means extra work for the Clerk of Works. Minister—lt means much more. The sub-contractors generally take the work at such low rates chat slumming is inevitable. Then they get behind m time, and the work is delayed. If the principle were sound, the State should let all contracts m small sub-divisions. Take, for instance, the Porirua Asylum concract. The earth works and foundations one contract; the building another; the fittings another; and the painting the fourth. Reporter—Are there any other im portant objections to the practice of sub-letting ? Minister—lt is wiong for the State to encourage, the sweating system, which, by pitting the artizans and laboring men one against the other, is bound to ensue. The condition of each not being equal, a man that is hard-up and suffering extreme poverty will take work at any price. In regard to factories and with private persons employing labor, the State with a firm hand puts down the sweating system ; yet, m times past, m regard to Govern ment works, it has been the greatest offender. Again, tradespeople who supply food, tools, &c, make serious losses, and , the construction of a public work, which should prove a benefit to a locality, only entails loss and injury, the only one who really benefits being the contractor. Reporter—By adopting this system will not the cost of the work to the State be increased ? Minister—No, it will not increase the cost of the works, Recently the experi ment has been tried, and the Mokihinui railway formation was divided into small sections, which were let* separately, no deposit or tenders even being required, the result being that several" substantial contracting firms, who invariably do their work by employing wages men only, secured some of the sections, whilst three sections which were tendered for by working men have been thrown up, the contractors refusing to sign the contract agreement This entails a loss on the State by having to call fresh tenders, besides delaying the works. Had the Mokihinui railway been tendered for as a whole, I feel satisfied it would have been taken at a lower rate than as now divided, and that the works would have been done by employing men on day wages, which would have been much better for the men than working, as they will be, for them selves at lower rates, owing to their want of knowledge and capital.

The Premier at Wanganui

THE GOVERNMENT POLICY.

[?KIl PRESS ASSOCIATION.] Wanganui, February 12. The Hon. J. Ballanoe, the Premier, was received to-day at the railway station, where an address was read, by fclio Mayor.

A.i the banquet to Mr Ballanca at the Theatre m the evening the Mayor was m •■ho ch.-.ir, and tliere was a large attendance of. representative man of the constituency. The lions. W. P. Roeves and John MackeuzieandMrG. Hutchison, M.H.R.'s wero amongst those present. Apologies were read from the Governor, several Minister.-!, and others. ■ Mr Parsons, late- Mnyor of Waiiganui, proposed the toast of the evening, and ill bho co-irse of his remarks congratulated Mr Ballanco on having attained the position he was well qualified to fill and likely to adorn, and he trusted and be lieved that the Government would be; marked by a manly and brilliant ad .^ui£fti'fttioiii:'iir'(Hthy''''xif'stateßn):en i>*of'';tli i 6' > ' loftiest standard. ' Mr .Ballance was splendidly received. After thanking the company for tho man ner m which the toast had been received,' he proceeded to speak with regard to ihe intentions of the Government, but pre faced his remarks by saying he was called upon to say a few words as to what had taken place within the last few weeks with regard to the action of the Governor. thh; legislative council -, appointments. It was held' that the Governor .was to blame for the appointments to the Legis lative Council. Mr Ballance declared that during the whole of the late crisis the Governor m his opinion pursued a perfectly constitutional line of action, quite m keeping with the spirit of re sponsible Government, which gave to the I people and the representatives of the people the power to work out their own I destiny. (Applause.) It was that feeling which led the Governor to take the advice of the late Ministry, by whom he was assured that they still possessed the con fidence of the country, and still repre sented a majority of the House of Repre sentatives. He was perfectly convinced that if there was any censure or blame to be cast on this matter, it should fall on the Government,'and the party that supported the Government, that gave that advice, and not upon the Governor. (Cheers.) The Ministry assured him that they possessed a majority m a newly-elected House, and the Governor had no means of ascertain ing the contrary, and so was bound to ace upon their representation. As to'the late session of Parliament it had been said that it was a. mercenary session, m which the representatives of the people took money that did not properly belong to them. He would point out that the present Government were not responsible for the session. It was called by the late Ministry, m «onse quence, not of advice tendered by the present Government, but contrary to that advice, for he himself had argued the question m sn interview, and m a memo which he sent to the Governor, and main tained that there was no necessity for a session. He based his argument upon the fact that there was a written agree ment, signed by the Prime Miinister of the colony m the previous session, m .whjich lie deliberately agreed that if the Government were found m a minority as a result of the elections, he would retire without calling Parliament together, which agreement, let him say, was signed m order to avoid the expense of an addi bipnal session. But m defiance of that, and without any excuse, the Government still claimed that they represented a majority, and a session of Parliament was called. An Act was deliberately passed years ago by the late Government or the party to which they belong, providing, where two sessions were held m one year that for the second session a member should receive only half the honorarium. There was a clear and distinct contract, and he saw no reason why they should avoid that con tract. The adjournment was impossr ble on moral grounds, and it would have been dishonest to endeavor to evade payment of the honorarium to members to which they were jiotly entitled. And who were the people who moved m the matter 1 The gentleman who moved the resolution came up to Parliament hot for the Speakership, with £600 a year, anA another gentleman spoke of expenditure as criminal. The purists who stood up and made the proposal'in order to place a stigma upon what were called and known as Labor represen tatives were themselves men of immense fortune, and yet they came forward and wished to deprive the poorer members of that to which they were entitled by Act of Parliament. All those gentlemen who supported the motion drew every single penny of the honorarium which they objected to ; indeed, the very gentleman who proposed the motion—the great purist who wanted £600 a-j ear with the Speakership—was the first to draw the honorarium, while the gentleman who declared it was a criminal act was the second or third to draw his honorarium, so that they must come to the conclusion that this gentleman was a self-styled criminal of the deepest dye, TAXATION. Last session, m the House, certain people were exceedingly anxious to ascer tain what was Ministers' intention m re gard to this important subject. At the time it was premature on the part of the Government to speak on the subject, and even now, as the financial year had not terminated, he was not prepared to.state the particulars and details of the measures which would be introduced next session ; but he might say this, that proposals for a change—for a radical change—m the incidence of taxation would be made by the Government m the ensuing session, and the direction which that change would take would be to relieve people who were now bearing unjustly an undue pro portion of the burden of the property tax, and to place it upon broader shoulders which would be better able to bear it. The Government hoped to be able to relieve somewhat the industrial classes. They hoped to be able to take some of the weight off the farmers and manufacturers, and to place a fair share of the burdens upon those who had acquired wealth m the colony and w ere able to pay additional taxation.. He could only lay down gene rally the principles the Government would adopt, but the country might depend upon it that the Government would adhere to the principles he had laid down. He did not say exactly what the nature o£ the proposals would be, but he had given them the spirit of them, and it would be for them to draw their own inferences as to the direction m which these changes would be irade. (Applause.) PUBLIC LANDS. He alluded to the presence of the Minister of Lards that evening, and said they had at last the right man m the right place at the head of the Lands Depart ment, Dummyism and dummies would not exist long under his administration, and they might depend on it that pro'] posals would be made by the Minister of Lands m the ensuing session to stamp out dummyism. Alluding to the unsold public lands of the colony he, said some people said we had large quantities of land still unalienated, that we had alien ated only 18,000,000 acres, and had -still 38,000,000 acres m our possession, but 1 this was a delusive statement, for they Jiad nothing like that. A, statement prepared by the Surveyor-General the other day, showed that of pastoral and agricultural l<>nds—and by pastoral landahe j meant fairly situated lands and not hill tops—there are now available for settle ment 2,850,000. They would thus see the absolute necessity for a wise and prudent policy m connection with the land, and for taking care that it should nob Be alienated to speculators and dum mies, but.conserved for the purposes of j real hona fide settlement. (Applause). The Government believed that the time had come when, there should be purchased by the State at a fair and; reasonable price some of the arable and valuable land fib for small farm settlements, now m the hands oi private individuals. The Gq.

vernment also believed that without op posing the sentiments and traditions and feelings of the Katies, thoy could ini.ro duce a system which would'enable Native lands to be let on perpetual lease. '■ ■ LABOR QUESTIONS. The Government thought it was very desirable by legislation of a prudent; character to bring labor and capital to gether, to reconcile them, and to place as it were, both parties m annotation, so as lo avoide strikes m future,' find they were not without hopu thai, they would be able to introduce measures which would tend to effect a lasting and permanent recon ciliation between labor and capital. lie believed it was the earnest desire of the gentlemen-who 1 were called ,Labor repre sentatives to be known ,md desig nated as Liberal members, rather than as Labor members. He eulo»iscd these gentlemen as being of great intelli gence, and said that m the* range of his experience.no more capable men had b -en elected to the House. Mr Ballance went ' on to say that he felt .that great honor and great responsibility had been placed upon him m representing such a party as this. He was proud of the party, and proud of the members of that party, and he hoped that m the future they would be able to achieve some great and solid advantages for the people of the colony, BORROWING. He had come to the conclusion, and so had his colleagues, that borrowing m the English market must be discontinued m the interests of the colony. (Applause.) The colony must; run no risk of rebuffs or humiliations such as had. been ex perienced by some of the [Australian colonies lately. It "must be self con tained^. It must i realise this great fcict that it had already encumbered and mortgaged its income, ion «Oany>year« to come, and that the enormous demand for interest was draining the life-blood of the people of the colony. £1,800,000 per year was being taken from us :*o> pay interest upon the foreign debt, and we must take care ti see that the amount of that interest so sent out was not increased ..in,the future. (Applause). If they had to borrow within the colony, it must only be for ;carrying on the work of colonisa tion, making roads and opening up the country. .:.,-.... YOUNG NEW ZEALAND. " He alluded to the fact that year by year they saw a larger number of the represen tatives of phe people m the Parliament being chosen fromthn young men who had been,born m the colony. In another ten or twenty years very few of those who came from the; Old Country would be left, and most of the future governors of the people of this country' WjOujd be chosen from tluse who had been born m the colony, cf. New Zealand. Her therefore appealed to young New Zealand to come forward,; to the young men of the colony to take an interest m public affairs, to show themselves capably * of taking upon themselves some of the burdens of the Government.. ■ -^ , .• , . ,,-.■. ■■■:, -*, ; . , CONCLUSION. . He had,attempted to do ,no more than outline the policy the Government in tended to pursue, and had,qnly mentioned certain Liberal principles which Would be followed, and which would underlie the measures that the Government intended to submit to Parliament this ensuing session. The Government would be able to meet; the House with a, strong, consoli dated party, with a broad and liberal policy, and with proposals which ,would commend themselves to the judgment of die people of the Colony—noc to any particular class, but to the people gener ally—the great mass of the people. (Applause). It would be the effort of the Government, by their land laws and land administration, to bring back some of the population that had left the Colony's shores during the past four or five years. There were none of those who had gone away who would not be glad to return if they saw hope for them selves again. In the New Zealand of the future, if we were to progress we must retain our population, and especially we must make the colony attractive to our young men. The colony must take care that the lands were retained for the small farmers and settlers, instead of being held m large grazing areas, so as to retain and give employment to the popula tion. That would be the policy, and would be the hope of the Government. (Applause) The other speakers were the Hons. W. P, Reeves and J. M'Kenzie, Mr Hutchi son and Mr Macdonald, of Wellington,

OBITUARY

CALEB WHITEFOORD, R.M.

[per press association.]

Dunedin, February 13. Caleb Whitefoord, Resident Magis trate for the Kaiapoi District, died Here at two o'clock this morning, f rpni apoplexy.

Very general regret will be felt through out the colony, . and especially m Canterbury and Westland where he was best known, at the news which appears m this issue of the sudden death of Mr Caleb Whitefoord, : R.M., from au apoplectic seizure. It will be remembered that about two months ago, while attending a special meeting cf Synod, Mr Whifcefoord was taken suddenly ill, as it proved from a like cause, and though he recovered from the attack, he was evidently greatly shaken thereby, so much >o that under the advice of his medical attendants he applied for and obtained six months, leave of absence, and w*» staying with Mrs. Whitefoord at ths residence of his sister, Mrs Chamber lain (wife of Charles Chamberlain Esq., M. H. Customs, Dunedin) en route to visit his parents m Tasmania, when the second &nd fatal attack occurred. He passed away peacefully this morning m the presence of his wife and sister. Mr Whitefoord was a direct; descendant of Sir Adam Whitefoord, Barfc, of Blairquhan, Ayrshire, and a great-grandson of Colonel Charles Whitefoord, his grandfather being; the Caleb Whitefoord who was Secretary to the British Embassy m Paris from 178? to 1792, and who m his day was cele brated as a wit and litterateur, and whos<* virtues are recounted- m the epitaph written by Oliver Goldsmith. Mr WJute foord's father, who was the third surviving son of the Caleb Whitefoord referred to, was for more than thirty years Recorder of Launoeston, Tasmania, and a year or. two ago retired from active duty on a pension voted to him by Parliament, with the thanks, of the colony. Mr Whitefoard himself was born m .Tas mania, and was educated at the Launceston Grammar School and sub , sequently at a College m London. As a young man he was appointed to a Police Magistracy m "Victoria,, and subsequently Came to New Zealand, being appointed a Goldnelds Warden at Ahaura on the West Coast mor about the year 1871. He was transferred about, four years later to thfe Resident Magistracy of Kaiapoi which appointment he held until the time of his death. As a Magistrate he was highly esteemed* his decisions! being regarded as sound, and his integrity and uprightness being univctrsally recognised. He was a devoufc Churchman, and foj? s many yea^ a lay-reader and member of the Synod. Of late years he had also taken great interest m volunteering, and -,■ was captain of the Kaiapoi Company of Rifles, beirtg exceedingly popular mtk hk officers, and men. Mr Whitefoord married about twenty years ago Miss Willis, eldest daughter of R. Harper Wilhs, Esq. 4 then of LaiiHceston, but now and for some years past resident m! Christchurch, who survives him. Then* Me QQllPwu] ■-■;/■

THI ASHBURTON GTTABPIAN, FBIPAY, FEBBTJARY 13, 1891



yds. yds. yds. Tobal 3fce. S. Salek ... 29 19 17 65 "■ B. Baker ... 26 25 13 64, rlon. Mem Mr Rule 26 20 14 60 ?te. J. W. Bakor 25 20 12 5? „ W. Hefford ... 28 19 8 56 Jorpl. McDonald... 16 19 14 49 ?te. Constable ...-20 13 12 45 3uglar Burfoob ... 21 12 12 45 30rp1..G. Hefford... 21 10 11 42 ?fce. Hill ... ... 20 14 6 4Q



Mr It. Morrison .. 27 21 24  Jas. Leitch ... 24 17 15 „ Jas. Baker ... 27 19 7 „A. McKay ... 26 14 12 „ Rooke ... ... 23 12 U „W. Pearson ... 22 16 10 „D, Leitch ... 25 13 9 „ Jas. Keir ... 18 17 11 „C. Chapman ... 23 9 13 „ Dorm 23 10 11

72 56 53 52 49 4S 47 46 45 44 512



SANDER AND SONS' EUCALYPTI EXTRACT.—In protection of the world wide fame our manufacture has acquired all ovet? the globe, we publish the following : Hazard, M.D., Professor of General Patho logy and Diseases of the Mind and Nervous System, says m an editorial published m the "Clinical Record ":—'■' We have examined half-a-dozen specimens of different manufac tures; tke preparation of Sander and Sons was the only one that proved to be reliable and corresponding to scientific tests." Another coneoctiqij called "Refined Extract of Eucalyptus" has made its appearance aijjLCig. This product stands, according to Dr Ihvcu, fcfveuiost' "> causing injurious effects That genfcien*w cqnnnunicates, at a meeting of the Medical So«jeiy of Victoria, that a child living at Fitzroy ueeame most seriously indisposed through its use. In another case a lady states on the strength of statutory declaration that she suffered cruelly from 4,!j£ effects of the same concoction. To guard ho ingrti imputation of our manufacture we eel warranted m expo ing the above facts, and desires the public to exercise care and precaution when buying," SANDER and BOifS^Advt.) 7



money to Lend." "jl/TONEY to Lend afc LOW RATES OF INTEREST, on Mortgage of FREE HOLD PROPERTY, m suras of £100 to^^sooo For further particulars apply to the Postmaster, Ashburton, or to J. C. PRUDHOE, District Agent. Government Insurance Office. Christ-church.



WITH T£ET»J AV-HOJT TCLTH CHRTSrCHCRCH DENTAL SURGERY. Corner of Cashel and High utroefcs S. M™*® AND Co SURGEON DENTIST And at Dunedin md Westport (TTE have gained ilu FIRST AWARD VV *" the Dunedin Exhibition for Artificial Dentures and Mechanical Appli ances for the Mouth, and it is with the greatest confidence that ye 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. Natural, Durable, Comfortable Artificial Teeth Replaced Temporarily al most immediately after the extraction of decayed teeth or stumps without extra cc or charge. Arrangements can be made for part or monthly payments. ADMINISTERING NITROUS OXIDE 3AS several times daily for the past ten years, we fearlessly assert that extraction j of teeth under its influence is perfectly' painless and posi lively safe Fee for Administration, ss. Extraction, 2s Od. Artificial Teeth and Dentures made by other dentists repaired or remodelled at j small cost j



Wanted CASH Advertisements under this heading not exceeding SIXTEEN WORDS 1/-. Addresses may be Vffcafc thi* Off.™ HjIRY the Groat Drapery Sale now on X at H. 0. Segkrs. *Tl7 ANTED—A Good. General Servant. VV Apply, Mrs \V. Smncb, Tancred Bfcreet. 2 75 C~ "HEAP READING—Where and luiw to bo obtained 1 By joining my cir culating Library, 33 6d per quarter.—H. M Jones. PRESENTS.— All holders of Tickets will oblige by bringing them m as soon as possible. - H. C. Segers, Melford House. "AIT" ANTED, a situation fora Boy aged VV 14. Can milk and make himself generally useful. Apply " Mail" Office. 2 73 /^OOLING and invigorating Ie« Cream \y as made by H. G. Flower, Con* fectioner, East Street. '* (~] IVING AWAY VALENTINES vT (Boxed &c.), at Great Red uctions to clear but stock, afc L. F. Andrewbb & Co., Stationers' Hall. 2 67 "TT7 ANTED" Known—W. O. D4Vis VV has a large stock of Patent Screw Top Bottles and Jam Jars, all sizes. Fruit exchanged for the above if desired. Fruifc for perserving very cheap, afc Davis' Bazaar. 2 76 THE Public are cautioned against cashing a cheque drawn by Mr Purnell m favor of stamps for £'J, dabed 6fch February, 1891; the same having been lost.—H. M. Jonks. WANTED Known —Some special lines m choice Dress Goods at very low prices showing afc " The Corner." ANTED~Known—The " Strong wear " Boot is the best for Mens ladies and Children.—W. H. Collier. QEGERS' Clearing Sale m all Depart O menfcs now on. One trial solicited. -- Melford House. WANTED every man m the County to have a suit of the Ashburfcon Tweeds.—Robert Alcorn, Ashburton Clothing Mart, Saunder's Buildings. MO-NIGHT-MR KNOTT will «ivS JL., Gough's Greatest Oration to young people, entitled "Man and his Master." Chair taken at 8 by Mr Twentyman. Admission, Is. 2. 74 BOOTS, BOOTS'. "Keep you< feet Dry and save Doctor's Bills, have a splendid Stock m now. Try my Double-soled Shooters. Every pair Guaranteed. Robert Alcorn, Ashbur ton. *TT7 ANTED~Kiiown ■—The Cheapest V V Shop to buy Tinwaro and Gal vaniscd Iron goods m Ashbarton, is at W. F. Hannaford's, Burnett Street. A arge stock kept on hand. Tin and Iron ware goods made and repaired wifch des atca. T7TALENTINES ! VALENTINES ! afc V L. F. Andkewks & Co. Jusfc opened up a Large and Varied Assort ment to suit everybody. Sale of Surplus Stock shortly when Books, Stationery, Fancy Goods, &c., &c, will be offered afc GREAT REDUCTIONS. L F. ANDRE WES & Co.



f^\ ENTLEMEN requiring the very \J latest fashion m FLEXIBLE HATS (all colors) will find a choice stock at the New Zealand Clothing Factory. WHITE and Fancy Scarfs, White and Striped Vests, Tennis Shirks, buttoned and laced fronts, all colors, at the New Zealand Clothing Factory. SUMMER Merino and Gauze Merino Undershirts, with long or short sleeves, at the New Zealand Clothing Factory. WASHING Derby Ties 6d each, six for 2s Gd. Increasing demand for these at the New Zealand Clothing Factory. BOYS' School Suits, well fitting, durable, and moderate m price at the New Zealand Clothing Factory. XT E w ZEALAND CLOTHING JJN FACTORY, the leading Hut, Cap, aud. Clothing Manufacturers, BAST STREET, J>, SHBUBTOIT. , I Asi-tn. €«r Ilia Wonderful W«rfclieim Reiving Machin <'. W. 11. .VKUKKT!,