The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1891. THE LATE SIR WILLIAM FITZ HERBERT.

The death of Sir William Fitzhorbert has removed one of tho most distin guished of the men v/ho guided the colony of New Zealand from its infancy into robust manhood. In many re spects, indeed, he was the most re markable of the whole band of early colonists. Most of those who came to the colony forty to fifty years ago— and it is nearly forty-nine years since Sir William arrived at Wellington were men who either sought m the freedom of a new country relief from the irksome trammels of old-world social and commercial rule ; or seeing all avenues to independence or even existence closed to them by the crowded state of every department of occupation ventured all to try and hew out here homes for them selves and their families. William Fitzherbert was none of these, and still less was he one of those "failures of civilisation " with so many of whom j the colonies have been inflicted. He was even at tqe early age at whioh he left England already an ornament to society, and had attained eminence m the intellectual world. He was a Brown's University Medallist, a Fellow of Queen's College and M.A., Cam bridge, and M.D., London, and had practised his profession t for some time m London. The manner of his self expatriation partook of the nature of adventure, .and was characterised by all the spirit of self-reliance which subsequently proved of such signal benefit to the colony. He fitted out an expedition of his own, buying a ship—the Lady Leigh—and freighting her with material for whaling or sett ling, as well as with merchandise. He landed on practically unbroken country. Governor Hobson was en gaged m organising the government of the country, and would gladly have availed himself of the talents of the new comer; but beyond allowing him self to be placed at the head of the list of Magistrates, Sir William declined any participation m public affairs until he had made himself acquainted with' the colony and its inhabitants. Trading and whaling engaged, his energies for some time, and bis first prominent appearance m the political sphere was as an active member of the Association formed to obtain a Constitution for New Zealand. After the proclamation of the Constitution m 1853 he entered the Wellington Provincial Council, and soon became its leader. His oppo sition to the Abolition of Provinces Bill brought out the full strength of his character and abilities, and though the fight went against him he estab lished his reputation as the foremost politician of the Colony, and he was not of the disposition to sulk under defeat. He was elected to the House of Representatives and was as devoted to the interests of the Colony as he hai been to those of his Province. He was chiefly instrumental m bringing about the removal of the seat of government from Auckland to Wellington ; but his greatest public service, and one for which his name should ever be held m remembrance, was his extrication of the Colony from the overwhelming financial difficulties into which it had been plunged by the Maori War. These troubles culminated at the time of his being Colonial Treasurer m the Weld Ministry, by the Home Government claiming some three quarters of a million sterling as pay ment of the cost incurred by the em ployment of British troops m quelling the Native' rising. A remission of. the c'aim appeared hopeless, and as a last resort Sir William Fitzherbert was entrusted with a special mission to the Imperial Government on the subject. His negotiations were long and diffi cult, but were at last crowned with success, the whole amount, being re mitted. Relieved from this incubus the various New Zealand Loans wer<* consolidated on favourable terras, and the finances of the Colony restored to solvency and order. Sir William was Speaker of the House of Representa tives from 1876 to 1879, during which period he was knighted. On resigning that office he was appointed to the Speakership of the Legislative Council, which he held until the close of the last Parliament. Such is a brief history of the man to whom above all others New Zealand is indebted for its bresent position. Of his personal characteristics his long public life leaves little need to write. His talents were not buried, but were displayed m his able services to the state. He was a kindly, charitable, talented, upright, gentleman.

LOCAL AND GENERAL

I Total weight of bullets tired at targets during the late New Zealand Rifle Assooia i tion meeting, 2 tons 2 cwt. lOlbs. At the Harwood Distillery, at Maclean, N.S.W., 197,648 gallons of proof spirits were made during last year, 1890, for which the duty paid was £138,357. The average price per bale of colonial wool sold m London this year shows a serious decline when compared with the figures for 1889, being £14 15s as against £15 10s. An Auckland telegram says that the dead bodies of two children, victims of the Taiu wera eruption, the son and daughter of a chief named Puetio, have been discovered at Watvoa, near Rotorua. The .Samoa correspondent of the "New Zealand Herald" states that Mr Shirley W. Iliker, late Premier of Tonga, left here ' (luiptfx )>y t!ie lttS* An Frallcisw> 11Klil i steamer for f-Uo United States, At the recent examinations of pupil teachers all the condidates from the Ashlmr tou HowmtflJ School succeeded m passing, ( -jkl two «rf tUmn obtained places among the : di»ti;i"iii:-hf(i iuv/ who passed ni the lirst class of timk ¥*W, 'A'o lieofl-maßter is to be }>■.-. congratuliited.tm tyU litfhly satisfactory result. The Wellington "Post," dwiglifc the K-itflifc of absurdity had been readied jjj Cit^<M«s interpretation when a distinction w;.i« mwhl to be drawn between hogslan mid pi£j<kfo, bi« ay importer m this town Ins dr.wn our artasnfciwu m an even greater jJiwiuvMty. Such fancy Wii4(^ as plusli ewfeffcd toilet \va<tch stands a#d*lA&«W»met.er \ aVvmhi ii't'C" ttow classified and charged n*»(^" . • UexMm ";AlJpiW.cl ii s iid ,ready;ma' lc i , • --w tfw C^^yp* Iwldiug that (is the: «*■•*'»«..,. -^Uii»# jtWK^te which: covering male ■ .^ aj^u-rd, jt^B , miglit bo used io. > -^ t^. »n't' come under the heading,. "; -^#?-)y,v«ld of t!)e human form divine the Cu. "**%%{# || y > cloth-:!, v,c do not know, but if the -**t | i i'-ei.';;i;etcr would apparel himself m a, b, of such articles there would certainly be no I .difficulty m classifying him aa a curiosity. '

George Petrie, a young man, son of Daniel Pofcrie, of Sonthbridge, wa* drowned on Monday afternoon while bathing at "Rakaia. Ho was seized with cramp, and washed into ! a hole. The body has been recovered. The H.M.B. Arawa, from London, arrived at Hobart at five o'clock on Saturday after neon, and sailed at noon on Sunday for New Zealand. She brought thirty-three passengers for Australian ports, and has scventy-foiu 1 for New Zealand. In time.of serious war Great Britain could put .'$,01)0,000 of men ii\ the field within a month. There is no country except the United States which lias anything like the warlike resources that we have. The stand ing army is a mere nucleus, like that of thu United States. Messrs W. Ferryman and R. Westrcna were on Monday re-elected members of the Lyttelton Harbour Board by the Selwyn County Council. Mr Isaac Gibbs, of the New Zealand Shipping Company was electc 1, and the Hon. J. T. Peacock re-elected to represent the Chamber of Commerce on the Board. At the Police Court this morning, before Mr R. Alcorn, J.P., a first offender was fined os and coats for drunkenness. Patrick Cashan was fined 5s and costs, or 24 hours, for drunkenness, and for resisting the police he was committed for 24 hours without the option of a fine. Messrs Miles and Co., Christehuich, have received a cable stating that the barque Mikado, from New York to Dunedin and Lytteltou, had put into Paranagua m distress, having jettisoned part of her cargo, and that she was unlikely to proceed. The manifest of the vessel shows that a large portion of her cargo is for Lyttelton. Mr James Brown, of Netherby, member of the County Council, intends to give a series of addresses m the country districts explaining the system of irrigation and the benefits to be derived therefrom. Mr Brown has made a study of the question, and his public spirit m seeking to making his fellow fArmers equally well informed is worthy of praise. For downright candor it is hard to beat the language m which a Manchester draper bade good-bye to the object of his recent adoration. "I thought ie best to discon tinue our correspondence altogether, as our letters of late have been more bother to me than all the other work put together, although (this is yet more cruel) they have been few and far between;" The outraged feelings of the lady were comforted with damages to the amount of £80. j At Mr Knott's meeting last night there was again a large attendance. Mr Knott illustrated the " Powers of Habit" m little things, and instanced chewing tobacco ; he then went on to the habit of moderate drink ing, and its consequent bad example to the young. After these preliminaries, he gave a dramatic rendering, of one of Gough's orations, which could scarcely be surpassed even by a Charles Clark. Mr Knott rivetted the attention of his audience, from beginning to end. In closing, Mr Knott said that on ' Friday he would give J. B. Gough's greatest oration "Man and his Master." To-night M' 1 Knott will lecture, on the " Crying evil." "We have received from the Registrar- General a handy little volume entitled' a " report on the Statistics of New Zealand for 1889" on the lines of the celebrated Haytcr's Victorian Year-book. From this book the public can obtain m an attractive and readily-understood form an excellent idea of the general statistics of the colony and their comparisons with those of other parts of the world, while for strangers then; are very succinct descriptions of the physical feature of New Zealand, its Customs tariff, &c, an outline of the colony's history, reports on the thermal springs district, with map«, &c. It is not often that statistics are made into srch interesting reading matter as m the ease under notice.. The book is admir ably printed at the Government Pointing Office. The poll m the election of five gentlemen to form a Licensing Committee for the Borough of Ashburton took place yesterday. About seven o'clock Mr Fooks, the Return ing Officer, declared the result of the polling as^follows :—Mtssrs D. Thomas, 104; Joseph Scaly, 102; T. Bullock, 102; Donald McLean, 97; Alfred Harrison, 82; Robert Alcorn, «l ; J. W. Sawlc, 58; R. S. Bean, 40: IT. M. Jones, 49; and John Orr, 43. Four informal votes were recorded, and m all 15!) voters came to the poll. Both sides worked hard on foot and with vehicles to bring their respective partisans to the Borough Council Chambers, where the polling booth w;is situated. It will bo seen that none of the New Zealand Alliance candidates suc ceeded m gaining a seat. The monthly meeting of the Ashburton School Committee was held on Monday evening. Present Messra Bean, Baker, and Craighead. After correspondence had been read Messrs Silcock and Paul took their seats. The head master's report showed the follow ing attendance : —On the roll, Hoys 20 i, girls 215, total, 479 ; strict average attendance, boys 204, girls 67, total, 371. Highest attendance, boys, 218 ; girls,'lß3; total, 401. The Committee learning that numbers of/, children were habitually absent from school without reason, intend to take action under the com pulsory clauses of the Act. A vote of thanks was passed to the donors of special prizes and subscriptions to the prize fund. The concert Committee reported the Odd fellows' Hall had been engaged for the school concert on February 24. Messrs Silcock and Paul were appointed visiting Committee for the ensuing month. A prize of ten shill ings was voted from the prize fund for a swimming competition amongst the scholars. It was resolved that the Committee approve of the chairman's suggestion to encourage an exhibition of industrial work among the children and that the master be conferred with on the subject. It was decided to vote for Messrs W. C. Walker and E. G. Wright to fill the vacancies on the Board of Educa tion.

On the irrigation question Mr E. F. Wright writes to a contemporary as follows : —" We had an irrigation farm carried on by the Ashburton County Council, but beyond showing iis that water made grass, roots, etc., grow —which we all knew before—l don't think we are any wiser, although a large sum of money was spent to show us this. What the farmers should do now is to form a small company, lease one hundred acres of land on some main race, get the County Council to enlarge the race to enable them to have plenty of water, divide the one hundred acresinto two blocks, divide each block again into four, and sow them with wheat, Dats, turnips, and clover. Irrigate four of the blocks, but m every other respect let the, one hundred acres be treated the same. Keep an account of every gallon of water that is used for irrigation, a time sheet of how every shilling is expended, particularly of the time spent on irrigating m every detail; also, an exact return of the yield of each piece of ground. Then, m lifteen months from the time of starting the experiment, farmers would know to a penny all particulars. It would also be necessary to have the wheat made into Hour off the two pieces of land, so as to test more par ticularly the quality of the grain grown where it had been irrigated. Putting on one side the cost of enlarging the race, the increased yield should pay all the other expenses. If it does not, I should think there was nob much hope for irrigation."

COUNTY COUNCIL.

The following concludes our report of yesterday's meeting : — DEPUTATION. Mr James Croy waited upon tho Coun cil with tho objocc of obtninittg Ntmolion for deviating a water nice on his property a fow chains, l.'lie Engineer Maid llioro was no objection to tho deviation, which was granted. j* Mr Croy also naked liberty Co niako certain explanations to tho Council, m re gard to t!io charge laid against Hut of irrigating his wheat crop with fcho Coun cil's water race. It was deckled that Mr Croy state his case m writing for consideration by the Council nt its next- meeting. MR (UMtDON HOLMES* WATER KUITLY. Mr Gordon D. Holmes wrote asking for sanction of Council to his use of a windmill to supply a house service of water filtered from tho race. The appli cation was granted. THE TAMPERING CAKES. The County Solicitor reported on the recent cases of tampering heard m Court, and suggested fcho withdrawal of two un heard, as ib would be difficult to get a magistrate to convict upon the cvidenco likely to be adduced. The report and suggestion were adopted, NOTICE OF MOTION. Mr Harper's and Mr Friedlander's motions given notice of at lasb meeting were postponed. Mr Friedlander gave notice as follows: —" That the Governments be asked to communicate with the Victorian Govern ment with a view to obtaining for the benefit of the colonies the services of an engineer of practical experience m irriga tion works m India to report on the schemes and prospects of success of irri gation m both colonies, before incurring greater responsibilities." Mr Brown to move—"That 4s 2d per 100 be paid for full grown small birds heads." "That, for the purpose of thoroughly suppressing the small birds' nuisance, it would be advisable to intro duce the sparrow hawk into the colony, and that the native hawks should be under the protection of the law." Mr Wright to move—"That the Council request the Minister of Lands to pay over to this Council, under the authority given him by section 23 of the Land Act Amendment Acfc, 1887, the moneys re ceived from the deferred payment settlers within the count}', m order that such moneys may be applied to supplying those settlers with water." PAYMENTS. The usual monthly accounts were passed for payment. RACE OBSTRUCTION. Mr Wright drew attention to the fact that, although a resolution was on the records of the Council instructing the rangers to hand m monthly a list of all obstructions to races find overflows ob served by them during the month, the resolution had not been attended to. The Engineer explained that there had been a misunderstanding of the terms of the resolution, and only cases of tamper ing had been recorded. ASHBURTON POUND, The title of the Ashburton Pound was ordered to transferred to the Ashbur ton Borough Council- ASIICURTON SWIMMING CLUB. The Ashbuvton Swimming Club wrote asking for a'donation of waste timber for staging purposes. The application was not considered, but an invitation to the Council to patronise the annual meeting on 11th March was ordered to be acknow ledged. There was not a quorum at 4.15 and the business ceased.

IRRIGATION.

Ab the meeting of the County Council yesterday, Mr Wright's motion, given notice of at the previous meeting, came on for discussion. Mr Wright moved, il That the Engineer ibe instructed to proceed to Victoria and inspect: the principal works of irrigation m that colony before drawing up his report on the cost of irrigating the district between the Aslilmrton and the Rakaia." In doing so, Mr Wright said he wished to, put himself right with the Council and with the ratepayers. He had been asked to move m this matter by a large number of ratepayers m the County who favored the institution of a scheme of irrigation on these plains. On the other hand there was a large section of the settlers who did not believe m irrigation as applied to the district between Ashburtou and Rakaia. His own o] union was that the cost of an irrigation scheme would be largely m excess of the benefit to be derived. ; but he would not hastily condemn the matter, and preferred to do what he could to put the ratepayers m a position to judge for themselves. As a means to an end he now mo/ed to send the County Engineer to Victoria, so that he could be put m the best position, from the information he would acquire by actual observation, to advise the rate payers and the Council. Our rainfall was fairly abundant and our climate was fairly temperate. If the rainfall of last and the preceding year were to be taken as an average of the rainfall of the county, he would have no hesitation m lending his assistance to the very widest system of irrigation, but our average, rainfall was far larger than those years indicated, and very largely m excess of America and the other places where irrigation was prac tised. Throughout what was known as the arid region of America, rppresenting 1000 miles square, the rainfall was small and under twenty inches. Last year there was a rainfall here of twenty inches, and m those districts where irrigation wan most practised the rainfall was from ren to twelve inches, and m some parts of California as low as four. If our rainfall were as low as those figures represented, there could be no question about the wisdom of going m for irrigation. He did not wish to prejudge the matter, and therefore he wished the Council and the ratepayers to be m possession of the fullest information that was to be obtained. So long as the question was one confined to the irrigation of small areas, they could afford to be content with such knowledge as they could glean here, and what experiment might give them ; but when they attempted the irrigation of 300.000 acres they essayed an undertak ing of proportions too large to enter upon without the fullest preparation. It would not be out of place at this juncture to place before them a few facts and figures m regard to irrigation m America, which he.had culled from a report sub-' nutted to the American Congress by a leading engineer, who had been commis sioned by the Bureau of Agriculture to prepare a report on irrigation m the States. From that report he found that one-third of the total territory of the United States was insufficiently watered. The greatest distance east to west; was 1300 ~ miles, and north to south 1000 miles. The district was of irregular configuration, but it might be. set down at 1000 miles square. This district included Utah, which had a mean rainfall of 17 "68 and a mean temperature of 52° for an average of twenty years. In 1875 irriga ■ tion was represented by 2095 miles of primary canals, costing $1,918,174 ; and 4888 miles of secondary canals, costinp $505,320—inu11, $2,421,491. The culti vated area was 302,7G(J acres within reach of water, but of this 100,184 acres did not require water, so that 200,000 acres were irrigated at an oxpenditurp of $12 per acre. The allowance of water was one cubic foot per second for each 100 acres. In fcolorada ? where the climate is less warm, t)ie allowance was one cubic foot pur second for every 65 acres watered, and tliQ annual cogb pey acfe was yqni

.IM'fiO to $3. For tho irrigation of portions of Now Mexico, with a popula tion of 1/J 0,000, there were works m use equal m oxbonl; f;o thos-j of Utah, and the rainf'tli was twolvo to sixteen inches. Tho Jvansaa (.Jardon City Ditcli —main . cMiiiil only- cost only f500.000 for the Hvipply of 000,000 acres. This was the <jh<'itp(!Hb of all tho systems employed. rriio arid area included all lauds where the vaintall was under ttvonty inches pur lunmm. Tho belt worn irritation was chiefly developed had little, more than half that limit, or ton to twelve inches only, while ia the tlo.softs of Southern California tho rainfall was as low as four ittcluw por annum. In tho city of Mexico tho rainfall over seven years averaged 23*2 inches, and at Ayuas Caliento.s over fifteen years the average was 19*70 inches. In Fresno County, California, what was called tho 7(> Canal Enterprise supplied wat:er to 30,000 acres of land. The Com pany sold water rights at $5 per acre, and 1 fur maintenance purposes there was an annual assessment of $>0"50 per acre per annum. The canal is J.OOft wide at the bottom, carries. a .stream 4tt. deep, its side slopes 3 to 1, and its 18 inches to the mile. Its cost was §380,000, and its length was 200 miles (main caiwl and laterals). The capacity was 180,560 miner's indies, and the allowance was one miner's inch per acre, On the Merced plains, the estimated cost to irrigate 350,000 acres was $1,500,000 or roundly £1 per acre. James A. McG-ee, of Cald well, a grape growing district, supplied some interesting information that would be encouraging to the advocates of irriga tion. The original value of the land was $1 P25 per acre. The present value since the institution of an irrigation system was from $10 to $60 per acre. The charge for water was $1 per acre per annum rental, but a perpetual right could be bought for isß per acre. At Rossi and Washoe, the rainfall was eight to fourteen inches per annum and the supply one cubic inch per acre, running two feet per second. The temperature was—average winter, 25°; lowest winter 20* below zero; highest winter, 60° ; average summer, 80°; highest summer, 110°. In Kern County, the district more parti cularly dealt with by Mr Colyer m his recent letters to the papers, the cost of preparing land for flooding was set down m the report he (Mr Wright) quoted from at $2*50 per acre ; each irrigation, and there were more than one required m a season, cost 5 cents per acre. Another method cost $15 to §25 per acre, prepara tion, and 25 to 40cents per irrigation. The rainfall m the valley was about four inches per annum, and the interesting informa tion was added that of the water used 50 percent was consumed by growing vegeta tion and evaporation, and 50 per cent, disappeared downwards. The information he had given was necessarily brief and fragmentary, and he had given the figures merely to impx*ess upon the Council the importance of a proposal to irrigate the county, and m view of the enormous undertaking such a work would be, he thought it would be money well spent to send Mr Baxter to Victoria to see the works carried on by the Chaffey Bros, at Mildura. No doubt the Council would be able to get by correspondence plenty of statistics, but he deemed it best to send the Engineer to actually see for himself and draw his own conclusions. He would, by his presence on the scene of the work, be better able to take into con sideration such factors as climate, soil, and fall, and see how they affected matters there, and he ought to make this visit before 3i3 reported to the Council on any scheme for this district. He (Mr Wright) had not gone into the cost of this journey—it would probably take two or three months of Mr Baxter's full time, and funds to defray the cost of the journey and remunerate Mr Baxter at full time rates would have to be provided. But the cost was a mere bag-itello when the very largo question was considered that Mr Baxter would have to treat. The Engineer whose duty it whs to advise the Council, and who had charge of their work, ought to have every opportunity given him to prolit by the experience of districts where irrigation had been practised. Mr Friedlander seconded the motion pro forma. " Mr James Brown was generally of the same opinion as Mr Wright, but on this i occasion ha found ib necessary to differ from him. The irrigation works m Victoria were different to begin with from | any works that were likely to be estab i lished here. All the irrigation water used m Victoria was pumped from the rivers, and while their supply was intermittent ours was permanent, and it was now intended by the Victorians to erect a reservoir of eleven square miles m extent. Mr Baxter was not lively to obtain from Victoria .any real helpful information ; it would be better te send him to California, where he might be able to learn something that would be of real value. He (Mr Brown) had before him a work by Mr Walter F. Bell, (a gentleman at the head of his profession as an engineer) and written only last year. In that work all the information that was to be obtained m Australia was given m a compact form, all the different modes of working and all necessary details being given. In this work were also given all the figures and details of the various Californiau schemes and the cost per acre. The quantity of water necessary was set down at one cubic foot per minute for two acres. In Spain tha land was of little value without water, and there it was sold to the settlers every morning per "hila"—that was, the quota of what was then running m the stream. Getting down to the practical value of the thing, he was sure the people of the countries where irrigation was m use would be surprised to see the opportunities we had here, and which we so foolishly neglected to take advantage of. He believed Mr Baxter's time would be far better spent if, instead of going over to Victoria ho went up the Rakaia and reported upon the best means of sending the water over the plains, for nothing could be gained by the proposed visit to Australia—the soil was different, so was the climate—and the farmers here had common sense enough to know how best to distribute the water if it were once brought m. He wanted the Engineer to get out his report as soon as possible on the best place and the best means to tap the Rakaia with a view to sending its water over the plains. Mr Brown was proceeding to speak generally on the subject of irrigation, whea be was interrupted by the Chairman and reminded that to be m order he must confine himself to the motion, which was simply the question of sending Mr Baxter to Victoria. Mr Friedlander, m speaking to the motion which he had seconded pro forma, asked —Had irrigation reached a stage m Victoria likely to supply Mr Baxter with such information as would be beneficial 1 Neither Mr Wright nor Mr Brown had shown that the work done m Victoria had been beneficial. Mr Wright's figures as regarded California were valuable, but he had omitted altogether to speak of Vic toria. He (Mr Friedlander) had watched the movement on the other side, where the Chaffey Bros; had initiated a scheme which was nothing more then the irriga tion of small gardens. We wanted more than that here, and if the Council wished to solid their Engineer to learn about irrigation they ought to send, him to countries like 'California or India. A member qf the .legislative Council of Victoria had been sent to India to see what irrigation meant there, and having made that visit and inspected the systems m use there, and made comparison be tween them and what he said m Victoria, had reported adversely upon the financial aspect of the irrigation question m the colony l»e had left. If Mr Wright would,

alter his motion fco send Mr Baxter to I California he would support it heartily, i but he saw no benefit to be derived from sending Mr Baxter to Victoria. Mr Coster was sure that the project to tap the llakaia would be rejected by the j ratepayers by a large majority, and he saw no reawon for sending Mr Baxter to Victoria. Mr Walker twitted Mr Wright about his sudden conversion to 'irrigation, but Mr Wright referred him to what he had wild m proposing the 'motion, and Mr Walker went on to say that he was not disposed to deny the statement -so often made that there was a great future for irrigation. He had been m countries where it was practiced,'" and he was not inclined to look upon it m the same rosy light that many others did. Farmers were the most difficult people m the world to persuade to go into debt, either public or private, unless there was a certainty of a return. He would rather see a district of small area set aside for , experiment. Let it have a large supply of water, so that the farmers could irrigate as they" chose, and let a loan chargeable to that district be raised, letting the farmers m that district have the right to sell their surplus water to fanners below them who were outside of the experi mental district; and he knew there were many who would be glad to buy. In this way they would be training up men who could teach others out of their own. ex perience what was necessary Ix>'be done to successfully -carry on irrigation. He too, was one,of those who failed to see the necessity of sending Mr Baxter to Victoria. Mr Cameron thought that for fifteen miles down from the mountains the people;would vote against any system of irrigation. Sending the Engineer to Victoria he would oppose. It would be better to send him to India or California. Mr McMillan thought that Mr Wright's proposal indicated that the mover under valued Mr Baxter's ability. Mr Wright; m replying, said it A\ras no reflection at all on Mr Baxter's ability, and Mr Baxter he was sure did not take it as such, to suggest sending him to see all that was to be seen of a department of engineering m which he was not fully up. No engineer was fully up m. every department. If this had not been the case there would have been no 'necessity for sending home for Sir J oh" Coode to report on harbor matters, and well it would have been for some harbor districts had Sir John's advice been taken. He only wanted Mr Baxter to see what to avoid and what to adopt. The discussion had brought out an expression of opinion that would go far to satisfy the public mind. Mr Wright shortly touched upon Mr Walker's and Mr' Brown's criticism, and went on to express his readiness to substitute California for Victoria, as sug gested by Mr Friedlander—a proposal he Avould have made at first, but was deterred by the attendant expense. Mr Walker's proposal for an experimental area would be a means of educating the people m irrigation. He had no idea that his motion would be carried, but he thought the sending;of Mr Baxter to California and tlie voting of £500 for his expenses would be money well spent. The motion was not altered and was negatived on the voices.

MEAT EXPORT.

It would be a truism to say that upon the frozen meat trade of the colony we shall hare mainly to depend for our future prosperity. Although the industry is, comparatively speaking, a recent one, it has during the past few years shewn a truly marvellous progress of development. In proof of this we may be permitted to quote a few figures. There are at present established m the colony no less than fifteen freezing works, of which ten are m the North Island and five m the 'South. During the year 1890, the former prepared 820,376 carcases for the English market, and the latter 553,315, making a total of 1,673,691. The discrepancy m these figures, which give that part of the colony m which there are fewe works some 30,000 more carcases than v the North Island, is easily to be accounted for, on the ground that three establishments — namely, those at Waitara, Wanganui, and Longburn— whose total estimated output forthe pre sent year is 210,000, have not yet got into properworking order. The next twelve months will no doubt tell a dif ferent tale. There is, however, another matter m this connection which is to be taken into account, and that is that the past season m the south has been very dry, and the supply of stock has consequently been reduced. But what we wish particularly to impress upon our readers is that the number of sheep frozen last year is far below the full capacity of the works; only 1,673,691 were exported, whereas 3,665,000 could have been so prepared had the stock been forthcoming and the neces sary shipping accommodation provided. There can be no doubt that the absence of sufficient means of transport was a serious difficulty to be sur mounted when the trade was m its infancy, but there is little reason to complain on that score at the present time. The various shipping companies trading to this colony are not only continuing to add to their fleets, but steamers are chartered to increase the facilities of transport. This m itself is satisfactory evidence that the trade is capable of very wide development, and our sheep farmers ' can confidently increase their stock, so long as they take the precaution of keeping the quality up to a high standard. The initial difficulty was to overcome a strong prejudice on the part of the Home consumer against colonial mutton. This, however, has been accomplished, and the butcher has now no reason to resort to the, to him, | profitable deception of palming off New Zealand meat as " prime Scotch." A ll that is now required to make the industry an entire success is to abolish the middleman, who has m the past probably made more money than either the producer or the freezing companies. We are glad to see that during the past year a decided step m this direction has been taken. Messrs Nelson Brothers, undoubtedly the most energetic and enterprising firm m the frozen meat trade, are erecting very large buildings m London for storage, so that they may be practically inde pendent of the market should prices be low at the time of the arrival of the produce. This manifestly gives the firm an advantage, which may ulti mately develop a monopoly a most, undesirable state of tilings. The' remedy, however, is not far to seek. The other freezing companies can follow the excellent example shown to them, and can erect similar establish ments. If this, is not clone it naturally follows that they will be outstripped m the race. Already the freezing capacity of Nelson Bros.' works (700,000 sheep) is far beyond that of any other company, although the Canterbury Frozen Meati Company •

sent out more carcass last year.^ Taking all th» circumstances into 'consideration, there is no reason to complain of the progress the industry has made during the past twelve | months. Not only has the output largely increased, ard the price of mutton been well maintained, but it i.-* estimated that during the present year * 480.000 more sheep will be sent out of the colony than was the cn.se m 1890. There need be no fear of the demand filling off, and the only thing our sheep-farmers have to do is to keep up the supply both m quality and | quantity. As. it is clearly to their : interest to do this, we can confidently look forward to the most sanguine hopes being realised.

SPORTING.

THE DUNEDIN MEETING.

[PEU PRESS ASSOCIATION, |

1 Dunej)lN, February 10. At Forbury this morning, Wolverine galloped two miles pretty fast, with Way land and Dormeur. Occident was sent a mile and a half at about the same pace, helped by Tempest and Mariner. Hilda and Cissy did a mile together, this being the best gallop of the morning. The others working early included Lady Mab, Don Caesar, Blizzard, Trimolite, Waitangi, j Pique, Mon Loup, ar.d Garibaldi.

Modern Chinese Fiction

The philosophers of China have been emulating our own m running amok (or a muck) against modern fiction. They i declare that their modern novels are as bad as bad can be, and very different from the five old stories of no date m particular. The same kind of rubbish has, doubtless, been shot m all ages' and all countries ; but that of the disciples of Confucius has some, peculiarities. One Chien (a philosophical dog) commenced a crusade, against novels m the last century ! m the interests of classical literature — " the Hundred Book^" He complained that fiction had become so prevalent ai "to amount to a fourth estate m the realms of teaching," the other three being the Confucian, the Budd hist and the Taoist literatures. Tho Taoist indeed is now nowhere. The num ber of persons '' who adopt a robber's career (this seems to be a plagiarism taken slap out of our own police reports) is solely due to novel reading." When youths of 14 cut off other youths' pigtails; they say to the mandarin, " Please., sir, ie was all along of the Boys of China, a cheap weekly periodical." This reformer was followed by another philosopher, with a name more modest than his pretensions, Shih, who declared war against; novelists generally. His mode of going to work was much more admirable than that of oiir phil osophers at homeland is worthy of all imi tation. He set up" a paper burning urn m his family court" into which all the fic tion went he could lay his hands upon! In order to procure funds to buy it up, he '' collected subscriptions from the serious minded, sold his clothes, and even his wife's ornaments." Notwithstanding this drastic remedy, the editions of novels, strange to say, went off more quickly than ever. At the present moment we are told, "there is a flood of them." Shutting their eyes to the universal bribery of the Chinese officials, to the brutal cruelty of tho laws of their country, and to the total disregard of-human life and happiness m its rulers, the philosophers of China have come, to the conclusion that " the national conscience would testify with unfaltering voice to the duty of everyone co be moral, just, and humane," if it were not for the Chinese novelist.

TELEGRAPHIC.

XXQMI3 AJSD FOREIG-TS. [PEK I'KESS ASSOCIATION.] London, February 8. In the event of a struggle at Hull, the seamen and dockers will appeal to the Continent, America, and Australia for assistance. The railway men at Cardiff, have decided to remain neutral. The imports into the United King dom for January show a decrease of £4,400,000, and the exports a de crease of £1,750,000 compared with January last. A Conference between" the United States and Canada on the subject of reciprocal trade relations will be held m March. Lord Salisbury has thanked Signor Crispi, ex-Premier of Italy, for the friendship he showed towards Great, Britain. feignor Itudini's programme includes the improvement of relations with France. Sir William Cumming, who was alleged to have been detected m cheat ing the Prince of Wales at cards,' has issued five writs for slander. Sir C. Russell has been retained for the pro -secution. His Royal Highness has been subpoenaed as a witness. TioME, February 9. Rudini, the new Premier, adheres to the Triple Alliance. i Rome, February 8,. : Tho Pope intends to issue an encyclical letter advising French Catholics to adhere to the Republic. Ottawa. February 9. Sir J. Macclonald has issued a mani festo that declaring the Government will develop the resources of Canada as an integral part of the Empire, and that unrestricted reciprocity is veiled treason. Washington, February 8. A Russian Jews Colonising Society has been formed m San Francisco, for the purpose of bringing over men to engage m agriculture. Washington, February 9. Twelve thousand coke men m Pennsylvania threaten to strike. Eighty thousand colliers will be affected by their action. Berlin, February 8. Madame Adelina Patti has been arrested here for breach of contract to sing [-m St. Petersburg. She was admitted to bail. Berlin, February 9. Patti's jewels were seized when she was arrested and the prima donna, had to deposit the amount of the claim to get them back.

AUSTRALIAN.

Sydney, February 9. The Intercolonial Labor Conference has opened its sittings here. Victoria, New Zealand and Tasmania are not represented. A scheme is being drafted for Australasian federation of labor, which will be submitted to i another confeiviic.".) ah Rallarat m April. The sclu'iuo provides that each union shall retain .self-government of its own particular affairs, and federate m, order to facilitate mutual co-opera*

tion where necessary for the common we] fare. Melbourne, February 9. Nine of the crew of the Orion, from Glasgow, have been landed suffering from lead poisoning. The metal is supposed to have been contained in sular supplied to the ship. One man has since died.

INTERPROVINCIAL.

Auckland, February 9. A conference between delegates' fr<au tlrs Employers' Association, the Tr.ules and Labor Council, and the Auckland Branch of the Knights of Labor, was heJd to-nighl t;<; consider the cstablish nient of a Board of Conciliation for avert ing of strikes and tho settlement of trade disputes. It wa.s decided to form the Board, but a discussion tlicn arose as to whether both the Trades and Labor Council and the Knights of Labor, two distinct bodies, should be represented on I the Board. Eventually consideration of the subject was adjourned for a week, the delegates to consult their various bodies m the meantime. During the discussion ifcwas pointed out that several Unions m Auckland were affiliated to the Maritime Council, which, ought, therefore, also to be represented on the Board. It was suggested by one speaker that two Boards should be established, one comprising employers and delegates from the Trades and tabor Council and the Maritime Council, and the other the employers and delegates from the Knights of Labor. The discovery of an outcrop of coal m the Puhipuhi forest by two gum diggers is reported. A thunderstorm and heavy fall of rain took place on Saturday m the Waikato district. Considerable damage has been done to the harvest; there. A severe thunderstorm is reported as having occurred at Suva, Fiji, on the 23rd January. Several houses were blown down, and some people were injured, but none of them seriously. James Black, who iilcd his petition of insolvency, m a statement of his affairs before the Official Assignee, said that he came to the colony with £18,000 which he invested m various ways. His losses approximately during the last three years have amounteJl to £12,430 annually. Brunnebton, February 9. At a meeting of the Miners' Association to-day the lease of Jones' Mokau Mine to the Association was submitted, and favor ably received, and a, Committee was ap pointed to draw out a prospectus, and urge certain amendments m the draft lease. These alterations refer principally to surface rights. ■ There seems to be an idea that, with a full annual output of 6b,000 tons, at one shilling royalty. per ton, equal to £2500 yearly, the Company should have the right of pasturage, and be better pfotec ted m timber rights. The Committee have met, and, m conjunction with Mr Guinness, the solicitor acting for them, will communicate with the lessors. The prospectus will be issued on an early date. Woodville, February 9, The Horticultural Society has decided to support the action of. the Canterbury Fruit Growers' Association m asking the Minister for Agriculture to take steps to prevent the importation of, fruit from colonies or districts infected with the codlin moth into clean districts, of which. , this is one. Wellington, February SL The looalities of the volunteer encaxnp ■■ ments for next Easter are now decided upon. That for the North Island will be, at Palmerston North, and for the South , Island at Oamaru. No restriction will be placed on the participation of corps, but the cost will be limited to the amount of last year. Lieutenant Colonel Stapp will have charge of the camp at Palmerston North. Hokitika, February 9. The Hon. W Copley, Commissioner of Lands m Soxith Australia, arrived by ■ coach from Chrisfcchurch on Saturday. To-day he visited the Crown Lands Ofhce; obtaining data, and inspected the home stead settlement at Kokotahi m the after noon. He leaves for Greymouth to morrow, j - •;■•■-■ .■ , ■: ; ' ; ■; :-,-;»■

British Agriculture in 1890.

(The agricultural statistics for the United Kingdom for 1890 were issued m Decem ber. They are primarily compiled for Great Britain, but the department, m order to extend the survey, incorporate tables {referring to Ireland" the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man. One feature observable is that grass is gradu ally encroaching upon cultivation. "If we take the entire of the area we find that the total of arable land has decreased during the year by 184,743 acres, re presenting a proportionate falling off m produce, But on the other hand there are increases of 19,525 m horses, 517,094 m cattle, 2,182,421 m sheep and 456,175 m pigs—an adequate compensation from the monetary point of view. Still the coun-. try is further than ever from meeting its op wanfcs. The. diminution of wheat culture has rendered us more dependent upon imported bread staffs. During the last three years the wheat derived from abroad equalled an average of 1651bs per head per annum; m addition to which flour entered our ports to the amount of 481bs per head per annum. In spite of the en larging surface given over to pasture, the dead meat trade has maintained a steady growth. Up to the end of 1875 the arrivals of fresh beef,. mutton, , and pork  . did not exceed a single pound per head per annum; but they have since been, augmenting, and last year had attained a total of over 301bs per head. Then the live cattle landed have to be reckoned as well, and there were no fewer of them than 555,000 head m 1889. If anyone ' has doubts about the advantages of Free Trade, these statistics ought to dissipate them conclusively.—" Liverpool. Mer cury." ■ . . ■,,'

THE CROPS.

From Ashburton southward alonj? the main road towards Winslow, the crops are very light and not of any great extent, most of the land m this locality < being under grass, and this not showing to ad- j vantage after the long continuance of dry and windy weather. A similar state of things exist on towards the Hinds where. , : ■. the wheat crops will only average a return of about ten or twelve bushels to the acre on the dry land, but there are some patches of wheat and oats harvested on the.Village Settlement that may go a few bushels more ; one paddock there of eixrly oats having threshed out more than 20 bushels good grain, and some late wheat looking quite equal to thi3 return, Mr Stanton has a paddock of early sown turnips that have made a very excellent growth, and bid fair to beat anything m turnips m the locality. The Coldstream paddocks m crop below the Hinds town • ship have some fine stacks of grain m them, and they should give a return satis factory to their owners at, threshing,' though not' equalling the results of last year. On the reclaimed swamp below this land Messrs Holmes and Ellis have, some remarkable yields for this season. Their wheat and oat stqoks thickly studded on the stubble are a pleasant sight, and if they thresh according to appearance from fifty to sixty bushels per acre should be secured from these crops. Mr Chisnall has a block of similar land on the opposite side of. the road—this is an educational ; reserve taken some three years ago on a twenty-one years' lease, and at that time ' simply an unreclaimed swamp, but by considerable hard . work and expemUcure on .clearing and drtuuiu"

THI ASHBURTON GUARDIAN, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1891



The best medicine known is SANDER and SONS' EUCALYPTI EXTRACT. Test its eminent powerful effects m coughs, colds influenza, etc.—tjie relief is instantaneous. Thousands give the most gratifying tcsti mony. His Majesty the King of Italy, and medical syndicates all over the globe are its patrons, head the official reports that accom pany each bottle. Mosler, M.1)., Professor University, Grief swald, reports : — The Eucalypti Extract proved magnificently suc cepst'ii'i m very severe contusions, bruises, spiiiiiu.,■■wound*?) scaldings, broken ribs, and limbs. ("Medical Journal," Nov., 1881. In diseases of jblie kidn,eys, ejtber active con gestion or suppression, (urcuniai) or albumi, nuria, dropsy, litbargy, nothing will eqjja m its action Eucalypti Extract. Doses j'i'ye to six drops. Mqsler, M.D., Professor, tJnivwsjty, Griefswaldj reports :—Diphtjie ria. Towfits (j^tijjuaHy coherent presenting ulcers with white'(;xu(ia±.'|. Cured m four teen days. Surgical Clinic of 'tfrof. M'lniyre, .C^ljego of Physicians and Surgepiis, Mt. Louijji —isf/^'rhus of Breast—Excision "Knca jyvii Kxt^ffit employed. No swelling, licafc, %smmiWti<i!h: PV^ W ffurt?eu days. ■■..,..> ■ 4 I ..



WilH.Tf ETW AiiHDUT 'TLLftt CHBIsrOHLROH DENTAL SURGERY. Corner of Caahel and High streets S M YEI^ AND Co SURGKON DENTIST And at Dunedin -md Westport {TTE have gained Uu 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 tit at the most moderate cos A Single Artificial Tooth, 10s. Cotnple Set —Upper and Lower temporary and permanent, £10 10s. Natural, Durable, Comfortable Artificial Teeth Replaced Temporarily al most immediately after the extraction j of decayed teeth or stumps without extra i cc or charge. Arrangements can be made for part or monthly payments. ADMINISTERING NITROUS OXIDE CtAS 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 Gd. Artificial Teeth and Dentures made by other dentists repaired or remodelled at small cost



STOCK-TAKING. REDUCTIONS IN ALL DEPARTMENTS For one Month. NX V 7 HAI A JSI D CLOTHING FACTORY ,j; W ,t f,>r the Wo-.r.ler.f;il Wcrtlmhn Swing Mfichiuw' #. H. •.VNMJKjr MiiiHii;;:-



O EGERS' Clearing Sale m all Depart O merits now on. One trial solicited. — Melford House. WANTED every man m the County to have a suit of the Ashburton Tweeds.—Robert Ai-cokn, Ashburton Clothing Mart, Saunder's Buildings. 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 Alcorit, Ashbur ton. Y\7 ANTED Known —The Cheapest VV Shop to buy Tinware and Gal vanised 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 with des atcn. TTALENTINES ! VALENTINES ! at V L. F. Andrewes & Co. Just opened up a Large and Varied Assort nient to suit everybody. Sale of Surplus Stock shortly when Books, Stationery, Fancy Goods, <fee, &c, will be offered at GREAT REDUCTIONS. L F. ANDREWES & Co. ■Vf ONEY to Lend at LOW RATES OF INTEREST, on Mortgage of FREE HOLD PROPERTY, m sums of £100 To___<£sooo For further particulars apply to the Postmaster, Ashburton, or to J. C. PRUDHOE, District Agent, Government Insurance Office. Christchursh.



Wimtecl CASH. Advertisement 1* under this heading not exceeding SIXTEEN WORDS 1/-. Addresses may be left at this OtfWi Wp rp T" J Ma, J. Knott *\J, JL *LJ .will address a meeting for Women on Wednesday After noon at. 3 o'clock, m the Oddfellows' Hall. 2 50 UJ ANT&D by a steady working man Board and Lodgings iti a priv&te family. Apply, stating terms, C. T. , 2 41 WANTED Known that I have some good Ryograss for sale.—F. ! Makeig. 2 39 j TRY the Groat Drapery Sale now on i at H. C. Seder*. P" RESENTS.—AII holders of Tickets will oblige by bringing them m as soon nsi possible. - H. C. Segers, Melford House. . /""lOGLING and invigorating Ice Cream \J as made by 11. G. Flower, Con fectioner, East Street. \ IfANTED Known—Some special V V lines m choice Dress Goods at very low prices showing at " The Corner." "VT7 ANTED Known—Tho " Strong- VV wear " Boot is the best for Mens ladies and Children.—W. H. Collier.