The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 1891. LOCAL AND GENERAL

Tenders are called for building additions to the A*hl)urfcoti Primitive Methodist Church. Nominations of candidates for the Borough Licensing Committee must be made to the Town Clerk before noon to-morrow. The following advertisement appeared m a French paper :—" The owner of n tot of 3,000 dozen collars and cuffs of line linen.,, valued at 13,000f. would exchange them for a country housa m the neighbourhood of Paris." At the WYineanui Caledonian Sports, last week, A. McKay, Lagmhor, won the second prize for pibrochs, anil second f:>r the sword dance, and third m another event. The first prize winner m most of the Highland dancing was Macdonald, of Dunedin. Archbishop Carr, of Melbourne, cabled to Bishop Morgan on Monday night, stating that he was to leave for New Zealand on the following day, accompanied by Bishop Moore, of Ballarat, and Dr Higgins, auxiliary Bishop of Sydney, The "Figaro" states that the secret o* photographing colors, has been discovered by a Japanese savant named Aruzina Ryochi Nichoine Sanjukanbey Kis Bashi Ku. The journal adds that it is to be hoped that the process will not like that of the Daguerreo type, be named after its inventor. The rabbit pest m New Zealand is nothing compared with what it is m New South Wales. The " Sydney Mail" publishes a letter from a baker at Whitton, who says that they come into the town and burrow under the houses. He shot ten from his bedroom window m less than an hour. Mr Wrignt is moving the House m a rather amusing matter. It sceins that at the Ash burton election the £10 deposits of each of the four candidates were inadvertently sealed up along with the books and papers by the Returning Officer. To open this parcel and get back the money Mr Wright has to move the House for permission, and he lias given notice of a motion to that effect. In reference to the late fire at South Dunedin and the many disputes which have arisen between the {councils of Caversham j and South Dunedin, the Mayor of the latter borough informs the "Times" that he has communicated verbally with a number of leading gentlemen with respect to.the amalga mation of the various boroughs surrounding the city. These gentlemen all expressed themselves as being very favourable to the proposal, and consequently Mr Wardrop in tends to call a meeting of the Mayors of the boroughs of St. Kilda, Caversharn, Roslyn, Mornington, Maori Hill, and South Dunodin, with a view of discussing the matter. A point of some importance was raised m the R.M. Court, Lawrence, on Monday last says the "Otago Daily Times." An action was brought to recover £99, balance of account, after giving credit for £50, paid by the defendant. Mr Hanlon, who appeared for the defendant, denied the payment of the £50 by his client, and then argued that as the credit item had not been settled with, or admitted by the defendant, I he magistrate ' would be involved m the trial of an action for £149, which amount was beyond his jurisdiction. Counsel cited a recent decision of Mr Justice Richmond m support of his contention, and the Magistrate then held that his jurisdiction was ousted, nnd struck out the case. Yesterday Mr R. Beetham, R. M. Christ church, gave judgment m the case of Message, charged with distributing an indecent print, describing the contents of a book. Mr Beetham said :— "The'subjects treated of m the pamphlet—love, marriage, and other cognate subjects—render it mmy opinion an indecent publication or print, when distributed to all and sundry at street comers, even though the book itself may not be obscene or indecent. If defendant is prepared to stop this practice the Court will unly niftier, a nominal punishment; if he m disposed to continue the practice which, m my opinion as a magistrate, is inimical to public morality and decency, let him seek the imprimatur of the Supreme Court. I will lend ever}' facility for doing so." Mr Stringer, who appeared for Message, said his client would probably appeal, and obtained a remand to Monday. The return cricket match, Ashburton v Ashburton Wesleyans, was played m tiie Domain yesterday, and resulted m a win for the Ashburton Club, the Wealeyans m their first innings touching only the half century, all told, ami the Club m their first innings getting 75. Tlie Wesltyaus began a second innings, and fjr the loss of one wicket had got together 46 runs. Of these G. W. Andrews contributed 24, and C. Field 19. In the Wesleyans' first innings A. Buchanan's score of 17 was the only double figure, and the Club's first innings produced Simpson 17, Cuthbertson 11, and Davis 10. The match was decided on the first innings. During the game several ladies, owning allegiance to the Ashburton Club, enter tained the players to very welcome refresh ments. It is understood that the conquering match will be played on Wednesday week. Our Paris correspondent writes :—The Protectionist movement m France is gaining strength every day, and will probably lead to some strange results. Already a pro minent Protectionist organ of moderate Republican politics, calls upon the agricul tural classes to return m future Protec tionist deputies only, no matter what may be their political opinions, and it holds up to the admiration of French farmers the recent exploits of the American Fanners' Alliance. One may therefore shortly expect an agita tion for increased duties on Agricultural products, and perhaps there may be a recon ciliation between moderate Republicans and Reactionaries on the basis of protection. There can be no doubt of the great strength of the French agricultural interest, but there will be some difficulty m grouping it together. Nevertheless the movement is one which may be expected m the near future. The following letter was read at a meeting of the Chester Board of Guardians :—" My dear Sir,- —I hope that you will excuse me for taking the liberty of writing to you, sir, but owin to me bein a widder, and havin no one to look after me or my to children, witch is turned 11 and 13 years of age, I have been perswaded to aply to you, as I may find a suitable wife m your establishment, and as I wish to marry again again I aply to you, sir. My dear sir, I ham well known to one of the guardians father, Mr Coppask, and own my age is 42 years, and, my dear sir, if you can assist me m that way 1 should be very glad to take one burden of the sup porters of your establishment, and, dear sir, if you will kindly answer this letter I will come to your place benny time that you menshen. I can assure you that the person will have a good home.-^Fpom your humble . and obedient servant, Tiios. Bamford, Nino Houses, Shotten, near Connah's Quay, North Wales." Mr Gilbert proposed that the com mission be handed over to Mr Coppack. (Laughter.) Mr Jackson: Pick a good wife. Mr Browne : One who can make good butter. No action was taken by the Board. The "Home News" makes tho following editorial comment:—Mr H. Marks, the editor and chief proprietor of the " Financial News," has failed to convince a jury that he was grossly libelled m the pamphlet which <\lr Buttei'fiold wrote and published about him a considerable time ago. Such an array of iniqufi-ies as Mr Butteriield made against Mr Marks bus seldom been urged against a public man. He was charged with buying a farm for £10,300 and offering it to the public for £50,000 as a gold and diamond ticiirbuf pvopcHy, although neither gold nor diamond Vffts ever found on it, with puffing !he concern Hi tfte "Financial News" and I his shares U, the public, who believed m the morality of his journal, with living with a woman named Kappo! {widow of a newspaper proprietor) m New York, with deserting her after she had had a child, with appropriating her jewellery, and with locking her tip (Mi a'toaatic. Mr Marks employed tine ablest .fsiw&Ml lawyer and the ablest counsel, and' tij<> Judge summed up strongly m hid I'i.vov, birt the juryjnea h#d formed their own opinion, with the result thajb Mr Marks Mil his paptsr have received a blow which all friends of financial and commercial, I to s;iy nothing of private n*GraJjty, will I wm |f f*os p»s w-Jjit top ssverGf

The editor of an Anisraan nsajauzliiG has asked Ml-William Waldorf Astor \.o write a story, for which lie offered the arch-million aire remuneration afc tiie rate of twopence half penny per word. Timtale was to contain 12,000 words ; and Mr Astor, so the paper ' says, has accepted ,the proposal. Baron de Lutz, who lately died, was at one time Prime Minister to Louis II of Bavaria, and a man peculiar and fond of ; mystery. Once, being seriously wounded m I both legs, he employed a separate surgeon for each, and compared their respective methods of trea ment. The number of letters dispatched from I New Zealand by the last San Francisco mail —the first since the introduction of the 2Jd letter rate —was 33,301. The numbers for the four previous months were :—December, 22,710; November, 27,106 ; October, 24,048"? September, 23,228. The increase at the reduced rate is considered very satisfactory, but the =uiu!,li number posted m December is attributed to the holidays, and thnt. correspondence was delayed m" order to take advantage of the cheap rate. The annual report of the Collector of Customs for Lytteltoti shews that during 1800 the Customs revenue collected there was £220,249 ; primage duty, £72 )G; beer duty, .£11,172. The value of the imports for the year was £1,174,370, or £94,286 less than 1889. The exports were £2,251,412, or £230,187 more than 1889. The vessels inwards (foreign) numbered 75, and outwards 98. The vessels registered at Lyttelton numbered 47, representing a tonnage of 361 The London correspondent of the Melbourne " Argus " says:- " City brokers acknowledge a marked and sustained improvement m the quality of the butter shipments fiom Aus tralia and New Zealand. They say, at the same time, that finality m the matter of im provement haß'not been reached. In the ease of isolated samples of which they com plain they declare that the quailty is variable and that there is a want of uniformity m grading. False packing is also complained of. An Anniston, Ala., Chinaman the other j day handed a local druggist the following' prescription to be filled out: " Pickled lizards, two pairs; Corca ginseng root, one-half ounce ; willow cricked skins, half a dozen ; rattlesnake tail, one-fourth ounce; sweet potato vine, one ounce; black dates, two ounces ; red bark, one and a half ounces ; devil-fish suckers, three ounces ; reindeer's horn (ground), one-halt ounce; bird's claws, one-fourth ounce; lotus leaves, one half ounce; white nuts, one ounce ; diied ginger oue-fourth ounce ; coffin nails (old ones), live ounces. Boil the whole m two quarts of water, drink Mvo spoonsfuls a day and make paste with the solution and powered rats' ilftsh and apply to the sore." A novel system of matrimonial advertise ment was revealed recently at Eastbourde. A wholesale fruiterer, on opening a barrel of apples which he had received direct from' Nova Scotia, found one particularly fine specimen near the centre, wrapped up m paper, on which was written the following words : '* If any young lady who chances to eat this apple is desirous of matrimony, she will please correspond with H M— —, Falkland Ridg'j, Annapolis, Novia Scotia." It should be added that this charmingly naive invitation, from an unknown gentle man to an unknown lady, was pencilled on the leaf of a diary of 1885. The "Daily Telegraph " suggested that if since that time he lias been distributing apples m this fashion, one or other may have found its Eve. The monthly meeting of the Tinwald School Committee was held on January 26th. Present—Messrs Gudsell (chairman), J. R. Corrigan, S. Corrigan, Gates, Smith, Low, and Redmayne. The Master's report showed —Number on the roll, boys, 01; girls, o5; totol, 116; average attendance for last week, boys, 46; girls, 43; total, 89. Miss Bishop was absent through slight illness, and Miss A. Mdiarry had been appointed temporarily to till the vacancy. The Inspector s report was laid on the table, and it was very satis factory ; a vote recognising the succe?3 of the teachers was unanimously passed. The Chairman moved a resolution of regret at losing the Rervi'-es of Mr Kees Williams a.3 a teacher, and wishing him success m his career at the Training College and m the further pursuit of his profession. Rev Mr Blake was granted the use of the school rooir. for the distribution of Sunday School prizes, but it was resolved that the room should not be let m future for any purpose whatever. Mr John Lewis was selected for the post of pupil teacher. The following story is, believes the " Evening News and Post," an absolute fact. A city iran met a friend near the Exchange, and m the course of conversation he learned to his astoniuh incut that the friend m question was on his way to the Bank of England to cash un order lor £10 made ovit by the first Duke of Wellington m favor of a man named Collins, whereupon the said city man ottered then and there to purchase the said order for its full value—viz., £10. The offer was accepted, and he hastened to the Bank of England and tendered the note across the counter, m order to test its genuineness, and, doubtless somewhat to his surprise, found that this order was still keeping open the Iron Duke's account at the bank. Elated with what he considered his undoubted bargain, he sallied forth to Roths child's and offered to dispose of the order for a "modest thou." The proposal was not entertained, and our city man undaunted by his want of success, forthwith communicated with the Baroness Bnrdett-Coutts, offering to dispose of the interesting document for a thousand or so. Up to the present time no reply has reached him. Before the Imperial troops were removed from the colonies every regiment, says a writer m the Sydney "Morning Herald," contained a few ladies, who, when their husbands got into trouble, did not think twice about leaving the laundry without turning down their sleeves, and calling on the commanding officer to tell him their private opinion of him and of the service m general. This opinion was usually delivered without prevarication, and m a manner so clear and concise that none could affect to misunderstand it. In New Zealand for, instance, at i camp called Otahuhu, no one who saw a dame of the 56th Regiment send a stone through the colonel's window and ventilate her grievances through the fracture, while the officer was prudently up the chimney, would Cross the street to witness a performance by Rachel, Ristori, or Bern hardt. It was when the officer of the day, frequently a callow ensign, entered the laundry m the course of his rounds to see how things were conducted, that these Amazons, having previously bolted the door, allowed him the choice of indignity or of supplying table beer for their approaching dinner.

TELEGRAPHIC.

HOME AND FIREIGN.

[per pke^s association]

London, January 27 and 28. The House of Commons has unani mously expunged the motion forbidding Mr Bradlaugh to ■'take the oath. Mr Gosehen will introduce the Trust Funds Bill again this session. • The trial of the Zolinski dynamite gun ?it Shoeburyness was a. success. A train conveying seventy cavalry men who had distinguished themselves ■m the recent fighting with the Indians, collided with an express m Kansas. Both trains were wrecked with great loss of life. The amalgamated railway unions have formulated demands for a reduc tion of hours on the English lines after Easter. The lonic will collect a crew at an outport. Free sailors are easily avail able. German steamers are m the Thames trying to secure the trade. A Bill, inti*oduced by Mr Abraham, prohibits miners being obliged to work underground beyond eight hours under a penalty of 40s. The Caledonian Company refuses to re-engage stokei's m consequence of their lawless conduct while the men were out. The railway men are providing against the seizure of their funds. The Press is unanimous m praise of Lord CarringtoiVs paper. The Duke of Fife and Sir W. Jervois were among those present. Lord Knutsford will consider the precedence claimed over colonial Go vernors by Admiral Scott. The Emigration Committee of the Housp of Commons has been re-ap pointed. Mr Bradlactgh has suffered a re lapse. Sir H. Nomian, Governor of Queens land, according to the ' World," is about to retire. Sir H. Noraftan is conferring with Lord Knutsfovcl respecting separation of Northern Queensland. He denies that he intends to retire. The "Times" announces thafc the Victorian lo an will be placed on the market at the beginning of March.- The "Tr'imes" states a South Aus tralian 31- per cent, loan will be issued a fortnight before the Victorian loan. A band of strikers seized the loco motive sited at Strathaven, illtreated the empJ oyees, and disabled an engine. In sora»3 place the rails have been soaped. Lord Salisbury denies that he has sanctioned the occupation of Salonica by Austria.- T'lve mortality m London owing to tha recent fogs and frost was three th.ou.sand beyond the average. Mrs O'Shea is seriously ill. Mr Baldwin, of Wellington, is First Class Scholar m the Middle Temple. Valparaiso, January 27. The rebels have captured Limaroch, m Quillotta, and are bombarding Coquimbo. Fongoy and Torborallis are blockaded. Pabis, January 28. Sardou's play, " Therrcjidor," has been prohibited owing to the Radicals j objecting to the oriticisims m it on [ Bobtsspierre. Suakim, January 28. A smart engagement has taken place with the Dervishes outside the town. The English troops have occupied i Hnndoub. ■ I Washington", January 28. Fifty miners were killed by a;.colliery explosion m Pennsylvania. The Senate of Texas have passed a Bill declaring prize fighting felony. Buenos Ayres, January 28. The Argentine Parliament has passed a tax of 2 per cent, on Bank deposits, and 10 on Bank profits.

AUSTRALIAN.

Thursday Island. Januavy 28. Ncvws from the East reports there "was terrible loss of life on the steamer Shanghai, which was burned on Christ mas Day, principally due to the panic. Native villagers harrassed the sur vivors m every possible way. The steamer was m . the river Yang-tse- Kiang at the time, and 200 perished m the disaster.

INTERPROVINCIAL.

Dunedin, January 28. In Atkinson v Atkinson, Judge Williams dismissed with costs the motion for a new trial of the suit for judicial separation. The Judge further de creed petitioner was entitled to judicial separation, the respondent to pay "her an annual sum for maintenance of herself and children.

MAGISTERIAL

ASHBURTON—THURSDAY, (Before Mr C. A. Wray, R.M.) Drunkenness.—Frank Short, who was dealt with for drunkenness only a month ago, was sent; to gaol for forty-eight hours m default of a fire of 20s for having been drunk the previous day. Civil Cases R. Alcorn v Adam Stephenson, £3 17s 6d ; E. Gates v J. R. Corrigan, £33 on a dishonored promissory note; W. Zander vC. Jephson, Bs.— Judgment m each case for plaintiff by default. In the interpleader case heard last week —m which Nicholas Welsh claimed property m a racing mare seized by Primmer m satisfaction of a judgment obtained by him against W. J. Welsh, son of the clamiant Nicholas Welsh—His Worship gave judgment far the claimant Welsh without costs. The Court then rose.

THE POSITION OF PARTIES.

The result of the general election did not leave the slightest doubt that the Atkinson Ministry could no longer command the confidence of the majo rity of the electors; but the relative strength of the two contending parties could not be determined until the first battle of the session had taken place. That battle has now been fought. It was sharp, short, and decisive; and now we are able to clearly see the exact position of affairs. The defeat of Sir Maurice O'Rorke left the Speak ership of the House of Representatives vacant, and it was well known that the first division on this question would j determine the position of parties. The result was that Major Steward was chosen by a majority of seven over the nominee of the late Ministry, the Hon. Mv Ilolleston It would however-, be

misleading to say. that the Government can only depend upon that majority, as, although the Speakership division was on the whole carried out on party lines, two members of the Opposition, namely, Mr T. Kennedy McDonald i and Mr'Saunders, voted for Mr Holies- i ton on personal grounds, while Mr O'Conor, an Atkitfsonian, seconded the nomination of Major Steward. This increases the majority on the Govern-! ment side, on an ordinary division to nine ; but since the division referred to was taken, it has been reported on good authority that there have been two defections from the Opposition side of the House, Mr T. Mackenzie and Mr Carroll having gone : over. This means an increase of four votes to Mr Ballance, and there is still the place of Sydney Taiwhanga to be tilled. /Then, again, the-right of Mr Allan to the Te Aroha seat has been challenged, and should the petition result m the unseating of that. member, Colonel Fraser would be another addition to the Ministerial ranks. To sura up, therefore, Mr Ballance has a compact majority of thirteen at his back, with the possibility of this being further augmented by two ; so that he has entered into office under specially favorable conditions. The victory of the Liberal Party has indeed exceeded the most sanguine anticipations, and it now remains to be seen how Mr Bal lance will use his advantage. "From past experience of the Premier, there can be little doubt that he will acquit; himself satisfactorily. He has long since served his apprenticeship to official life, and both as a member of the Stout-Vogel Government, and last session as the leader of the Opposition, he showed himself full of resource and tact. At the same time it must be admitted the present party, consisting as it does of a large number of men new to political life, will "be by no means easy to handle — even at this early period of the session an event has occurred which appears to show that there is "a little rift within the lute." Two candidates have been put forward by the Minis terial party for the Chairmanship of Committees—Mr W. C. Smith and Mr Geo. Fisher ; and it is generally under stood that the Government favored the latter. The party itself, however, re fused to accept the member for Wel lington, and it is not difficult to under stand the reasons which' govern them. Mr Fisher, although now on the side of Mr Ballance, was at one time a member of the Atkinson Ministry, and the new members may be forgiven if they look somewhat askance at him. At the same time, it is not a good thing to have the party out of accord with' their leader, although m this instance it is not likely that any serious harm has been effected. The point is that Liberalism has gained the day, and Mr Ballance's good sense may be depended upon to prevent the majority now behind him from going astray. For our own part we feel certain that the colony will benefit from the change of Ministry, and that the new men will soon be able to adapt themselves to their surroundings.

Addington Stock Market.

CiiuiSTCttuucH, January 28. With the exception of the sheep and pig sections, the market was very small. Stokb Sheep.—There was an entry of about 2500, and a much better demand existed for good sorts m small lots. Every line was cleared as under : Cross bred two-tooths, mixed sexes, brought 7s 4d, Bs, 9s Bd, and 10s 3d ; dry cross bred ewes 5s 6:1. Two l:nes of lambs realised 5s 6d and 7s 6d. Merino wethers sold at from Is lOd to 3s Bd. Fat Lambs. — One thousand three hundred lambs were yarded, and mot with a slightly improved market from last week, though not quite equal to former sales, and as a result a good few were withdrawn. Prime freezers brought from lls 9d to 13s lOd ; ordinary sorts from 7s to 10s 6d. Fat Sheep.—Over 6000 were m the, sale pens. A fair demand existed, particularly for lines of prime crossbred wethers for freezing. The first of these sold from 13s 8d to 14s 6d, and some other heavy weight wethers realised a similar price; ordinary sorts of crossbred ewes brought from 9s to 12s, according to weight, and some merino wethers also sold well. Fat Cattle. — Only a hundred and seven head of beef were yarded, and prices advanced a trifle on last quotations, recent markets having been glutted. Nearly every beast was sold. Best bullocks brought up to £6 12s 6d ; and heifers £5 15s, equal to nearly £1 per 1001 b; inferior quality sold at from 12s 6d upwards. Store Cattle.—Only sixty head were yarded, including dairy cows. The demand for old cows has not been affected ( by the change m the weathev, as only a few changed hands. Good milkers sold at from £3 10s to £6 2s (kl. Pigs.—There were about two hundred entered, which included a large number of stubblers, a good few porkers, and some light baconers. Stubblers fetched very good prices, and ware eagerly snapped up at from 5s 6d to 8s for weaners, and from 13s to 18s for three months old. Porkers realised an average of 3ad per lb, and m some prime cases a trifle over.

CORRESPONDENCE.

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

IRRIGATION.

TO THE EDITOR. " Shovel " writes :— "Mr Colyer ssys 350 men were employed distributing water on 15,000 acres, and the cost was about 4^d per acre. What wages did the men receive ?"—The reporter who interviewed Mr Colyer omitted to state that it was the actual distribution of the water and the maintenance of the supply after the land was put m order that cost 4kl an acre. The men employed, Mr Colyer tells us, were mostly tenant farmers of Mr Haggin, with their employees, and were only directly occupied m the irrigation work for a few days m the year.

PARLIAMENTARY.

(from our own correspondent.) Wellington, January 28. Among the forty-three motions and questions of which notice was given on Tuesday were the following :—Mr Rees to move "(l)That, m the opinion of this House, the ceaseless conflicts between capital and labor arising m all civilised communities are full of danger to the peace of society. (2) That the time has come when a solution, should be found for j the difficult economic questions now j existing. (3) That to this end the IVew Zealand House of Representatives shou d suggest to the Representative Assemblies of the British colonies, the House of Qonwwns, Ijlie Representative Houses q|

the various American-States, and tha ; Representative House at Washington, the propriety of appointing cloU-gates to a conference to bo held m London or Washington on the relations now sub sisting between capital and labor, and of possible remedies thereto and alterations therein." Mr Fish, to ask the Premier if he will, when the next census is taken, cause voting paper.s to be circulated so as to enable the women of the colony of 21 years and upwards to vote as to whether they desire the franchise extended lo them or not. Mr o'Conor, to move that the mainten-! -.nice of hospitals and charitable institu tions should be provided for by special taxation derived from wealth, and not as at present, principally from the people, through local taxation and the consoli dated fund. Mr Saunders, to ask if it is them ten- ; tention of the Government to propose any legislation with a view to the better regulation of the debates m the House so as to prevent the growing practice known as stonewalling, to limit the time that any one member shall be allowed to occupy m addressing the House, and thus not only to facilitate the despatch of business, but also to promote a more equal .distribution, of practical representa tion between the various constituencies of this colony. Mr T. Thompson, to ask if it is the intention of Government to introduce a Bill to repeal the Property Tax, and if so when. The Shop Hours Bill is again to be introduced by Mr Joyce. The Interests of Labor Bill, of which Mr R, M. Taylor gave notice to-day, is a similar measure to that introduced by Sir George Grey a few sessions ago. The measure provides tfiafc eight hours shall constitute a day's work and 48 hours a week's work ; that to prevent the grave scandal of sweating taking place, m Government and municipal contracts pro vision shall be made for the payment of the local rate of wages ; that leases of mines shall not be" granted by the Government; that when noting oppor tunities offer the Government shall pur chase the coal mines and work them. The bill also makes provision for injured miners or families of miners killed or injured. Considerable sensation Ay as created by Mr Fergus .giving notice of motion for leave to introduce a bill providing that any person who had been guilty of accept ing a bribe while holding any public position shall be permanently excluded from the House, such measure to be called the Purity of Parliaments Bill. Ministers expect to be able to submit their policy m April. The Premier has stated to some of his supporters his approval of the idea of re pealing the Property Tax and substi tuting a Land and Income Tax. -h The Akaroa election inquiry takes place on Friday. Sir It. Stout appears for Mr Joyce and Mr J. B. Fisher for the peti tioner, Mr McGregor. Government have been urged to bring m a Bill validating the election, seeing that the mistake m the hour of closing the poll was that of the returning officer, and not of the candi dates. They seem, however, disinclined to interfere. Mr W. F. Bucldand proposes to intro duce a Bill reducing the Speaker's salary to £400, that of the Clerk of the House to £400, and the Chairman of Committees to £50 "ver and above his honorarium. Mr Cadman has accepted a seat m the Cabinet, and will have the portfolio of Native Minister.

JANUARY 28. On Mr Wrights motion to withdraw from sale all insufficiently gammed stamps, the Hon J. Ward said the question was warranted by the state of- the postage stamps, but it would be exceedingly in convenient to withdraw stamps. Instruc tions had been sent, however, to all post masters to have the stamps re-gummed, He should therefore ask the hon gentle man to withdraw his motion. Mr Wright concurred, and the motion was with drawn. At an Executive Council meeting yesterday two rims m the Waitaki dis trict, one m the Shag Valley, two m Rox burgh, and one m Cheviot, advertised for sale fora term of years by the late Govern ment, were withdrawn, as the Govern ment propose to offer part of them m small grazing runs, and the remainder under settlement conditions. Mr Meredith proposes to amend the Brands and Barnding Act and the Sheep Act by compelling dealers or others buy ing or exposing sheep for sale at public sale yards to brand all such sheep with their own wool brand immediately-preced ing or immediately after such sale, and that freezing companies be called upon to keep a register of wool brands of all sheep slaughtered upon their respective pre mises, with a view of discouraging and preventing sheep stealing. A return has been presented to Parlia ment showing the number of votes polled m the late general election for each can didate m every district; also the totals recorded. The number of votes recorded for members elected was 88,150, as againsi 65,052 m 1887, and 42,408 m 1884 ; for candidates defeated, 61,875 m 1890, as against 51,859 m 1887, and 32,264 m 1884. The total votes recorded were 150,025 m 1890, 111,911 m 1887, and 74,672 m 1884. The total number of electors was 183,171 m 1890, 175,410 m 1887, 137,688 m 1884, Mr Rhodes has given notice to ask the Minister of Agriculture—(l) Whether he will at once institute inquiries as to the be.sfc means of immigrating the small birds nuisance, and it necessary, introduce a Bill dealing with the same j (2) and whether he will provide farmers with powder and shot for the destruction of small birds at cost price, or introduce amendments of the Customs Duties Act to enable farmers to buy powder and shot j for the above purpose duty free. Mr Valentine gave notice of a Bill to amend the Small Birds Nuisance Act, 1882-83.

Land and Money.

THE LAND QUESTION AND A STATE BANK. ■

The Hon. G. W. Cotton, M.L.0., of Adelaide, delivered an address at Christ church on Tuesday night, under the auspices of the Trades and Labor Council, on the subject of a State Bank and the .Land. The chair was occupied by Mr Parker, President of the Trades and Labor Coun cil, and there was a very good attendance. The Chairman briefly introduced the speaker, and paid that the question of the land was one of the principal subjects dealt with during the recent election. Hon. G. W. Cotton said that he had m the Legislative Council m Adelaide, of which he was a member, induced legisla tion m the direction of working men ob taining blocks of land not exceeding twenty acres on easy terms. In their fruit pro ducing country twenty acres was sufficient. In the Lower House, however, th,e. measure was not carried, but m 1884 when a new Government came m it was adopted. In 1886 the idea was embodied m the Land Bill, and ajbout 2000 blocks had been taken up. So far as he could ascertain they m New Zealand were too prone to deal out their small blocks homoepafchically. He had read his paper on this subject befo,re the Association for the Advancement of Science m Melbourne, but they only printed the title of his paper. He looked upon bringing the questions of the Laud and a State Bank befof« aN,ew Zealand public a^BQ£newh,at lifc<}

bringing \ coals to Newcastle, list he knew of Messrs Rollesion, Balance, and Styut as champions of the settlement of , the poc'ple on the land, and Mr Verral i and the late Hon. John B.uhgate as ad- I vocating the iftate Bank. i\ow, from the manner m which the subject of small holdings of land had beeii received by the Association for the Advancement of Science atMelbourne and m Christcliurch, i ir, seemed to him that the wealthier elasse.s intended to let the masses work i out the subject for themselves without j their assistance. Hence he had appealed | to the masses of the working men who had the political power. Mr Cotton then i went on to advocate the pushing forward by the working classes m every possible way, by meetings m private houses, m the open air, m Town Halls, and everywhere and anywhere. He further urged that the Government should introduce into theii 1 common, schools the teaching of the sciences of agriculture and horticulture, so as to enable those who were ready and willing to take up smallholdings to cul tivate them with profit to themselves and the country. He urged that this was not a matter m which j;arty politics should enter, but that all should join together to carry out what was a simple truth, that every man was entitled to be able to earn his daily bread. He had drafted a Bill with this view, which he had sent over to England, and which was supported by all the leaders of the different parties. The speaker then went on to refer to the utility which would result from the appli cation of the system to New Zealand, and urged that land should be taken compul sorily and paid for undor State bonds, for the use of the working man. He then went on to explain how this was done m Italy, Germany, and other countries, and shewed that the two questions of small holdings for the working men and that of a State Bank were intimately connected. It was pointed out that the English County Councils had had some such system before them, and expressed the hope that ere long the scheme would become a fact. Mr Cotton then went on to advocate the sj'stem of a w tate Bank, quoting from various authorities on the matter, including McLeod and others, m support of his arguments. He asked the working men of New Zealand and Aus tralia whether they intended to allow the present system of bloodsucking by the Banks to continue ? Their news paper?, public and business men were too much m the power of the Banks to attempt to remove this state of things. In South Australia, he might say, the advocates of a State Bank and blocks , of land for working men had a charter of six points. They were strongly opposed to any ■■legislation enabling those having large areas ot land already to snap- up these. In their last election they had framed a set of questions which were put to all the candidates, and the main point of these was the advancing of the requi site amount of money to purchase the land, subject to a certain amount of im provement , to be repaid, with a small interest, at a period not less than four years. Then 1 they proposed to have a steward of these blocks, who himself should be a block-holder, whose' duty should be to teach the holders of blocks the best kind of trees to plant, and gene rally give them useful advice as to the profitable working of their blocks of land. His idea m belonging to the Homestead League m South Australia was .to help every man, woman, and uhild. Another point was the taking of land with com pensation if required. They m South Australia had resolved to try the; system practically. They had voted £20,000 for the purchase of the land for the system to be tried upon. This had been done m Germany, and the land given to, the workr mg classes, because they wan feed soldiers. He much regretted that m these peace loving times they did not care so much for their less fortunate brothers and sisters as these Kings of Prussia did "for the provision of food for powder. One point about the block system was, that it was a reservoir for labor,; as the holders of blocks were available for labor when it was to be had, and m times of scaroity of employment they could cultivate their own land and so add to the general pro sperity. Mr Cotton went on to account for the scarcity of population m the colo nies from the fact that the control of the money was m the hands of the people who had only their own interest m view and not that of the public. Thus it seemed to him that they had not sufficient money to keep pace with the expansion of their trade. This would not be remedied until the money power was removed from the private individuals and placed m the hands of the State. Mr Cotton then went on to read extracts from his presi dential address to Section F, Economical Science, at the annual sossion of the Asso ciation for the Advancement of Science, advocating a numerary currency. Messrs A. Joyce and Verrall having spoken m commendatory terms of Mr Cotton's address, Mr J. W. Sawle, of Ashburton, pro posed a vote of thanks to Mr Cotton for his address. He referred to the import ance of the land question. There was an estate comprising 40,000 acres m the neighbourhood of A shburton. Ie ordin arily employed about a dozen men, and hundreds of acres of land of the best quality were growing nothing but gorse. Numbers of men—the Colony's capital were leaving the country because they could not get land, yet the people who urged that this unused land should be put. to a profitable purpose were called thieves and robbers, The motion was carried unanimously. At the request of the meeting, Hon. Mr, Cotton consented to allow his address to be published under the auspices of the Trades and Labor Council.

PARLIAMENTARY.

% __ ■ [PER PRESS ASSOCIATION.]

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

Wellington. January 28. The Council met at 2.30 p.m. THE PARLIAMENTARY LIBRARY. Mr Pharazyn gave notice to move that the Government be asked to put the sum of £10,000 on the Estimates, to provide brick buildings far the Parliamentary ■ Library. CHAIRMANSHIP OF COMMITTEES. Mr Buckley moved that Captain Ba|Hi© be appointed Chairman of Committees. The motion was carried. THE ADDRESS IN REPLY. Dr Grace moved the Address m Reply. He congratulated Sir Harry Atkinson' on his election to the Speakership, and said that the policy disclosed m, the Speech was admirable. Mr F/ra,ser seconded the motion. Mr Scotland deprecated a moribund Government making additions to the Council. Mr Sheppard and Mr Pharazyn de fended the appointments, which were necessary to enable the Council to carrf out the work committed to them. The motion was agreed t.o on the voices. The Council adjourned at 3.20 p.m.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

The House met at 2 pm,, •Mr Buekland gave notice to, moye that the ballot be substitute.^ for divisions* t^ the House TII9 Speaker ruled. Mr- Fish's motion censuring the, Governor (of which notjoo I was given yesterday) out of order, oi* the ground that the Governor was responsible for. his acts to the Siivereijsjn ntqne and nofc to. the colony. If o!i|oo-Uon were taken tso his proceedings, appeal could always be made to the Crown fehrcmgh fche Secretary <rfSt*te, * , ,-.)f.:- • ]

Mr Rolluston asked rho Prumi :• v'...t L live coiuss of business was io !,v, and. ■ whether they contemplated uroiogau mor I adjournment of the House." I Tiie Premier said that ho hoped to finish by the end of nest v.vek, buh is would Urgely depend upon member:* themselves. The Government did nor intend to intto duce any extraordinary legislation. The iou«e would probably m eet again some! ime - m May, and the Government believed it would he more convenient co have t\ pro- . rotation than a lon-r adjournment. In reply to Mr Macarthur, the Premier said that Ihe honorarium w.is provided for by Act. Members would get half t,ho honorarium for the .second sassion. He' went 011 to say that the present Govern ment was not responsible for this session ; m fact, they had provide:! against it by a specific agreement that the Ministry should resign, if defeated at the election without; calling the House toother. It was not his fruit that this had not been done. In answer to questions, it was state! that arrangements would be made to have New Zealand represented at the Federal Convention ; that it was proposed to give . due consideration to the propriety of calling another Native member to the Upper House; that an effort would be made by the Government to effect a reconciliation be tween the late employees and the Railway Commissioners; that each application for increased pay and promotion should be dealt with on its merits, and the Govern ment would do its *esf to promote, har mony between the employees find the Commissioners; that the Government would endeavour to get the terminal point m New Zealand of the proposed Canadian-Pacific cable. Mr It. Thompson moved for a bopy of a letter addressed by the late Premier to Mi- Mair on December 10th. He charac terised ..thestatem'enta therein asslanderous innuendos, and asserted that" he had tiied without avail t<> yet the late Government to hold.an inquiry into his charges against jthe late Property Tax Commissioner, and would have proved what he alleged. He was proceeding to describe Sir Harry Atkinson's conduct as cowardly and un manly, but was checked by the Speaker. Captain Russell said that the attack made on an absent man would recoil on the head of the assailant. He strongly reprehended Mr Thompson's behaviour, and twitted him with avoiding an oppor tunity which Mr Sperre/s relations were ready to give him m a court of law of trying to prove his accusations. He spoke m strong terms of Mr Sperrey's honor. The Premier said that the letter had , notyefc been found m the official records. The motion was not agreed to. .NEW PLYMTOT^TH HARBOR BOARD, A Select Committee was appointed to enquire into and report m three weeks on the present position of the Now Plymouth Harbour Board,, SIR GEORGE GRBY. Mr Rees moved that this House desires to place on record its deep regret at the enforced retirement from public life of Sir George Grey, and to convey to him an assurance of its high appreciation of that long, illustrious, and beneficent career which has been devoted to the best in terests of New Zealand and other portions of the Empire. Mr Rees paid a high tribute to the abilities and career of Sir George. The Premier supported the motion. As an old colleague of Sir George Grey he concurred m the admiration of his charac ter. Though sometimes it was necessary to differ from him, it was recognised that his motives were always pure. He said that m a bhort time a biography of Sir Goorj;o Grey would appear from the pen of Mr Rees. Mr Rollcston said that the general ver dict about Sir Geovgo Grey, whatever differences of opinion people might have had with him, was that he always bad at heart the greatest good of the greatest number. He was a man of culture, who had made his name m many ways, and he (Mr Rollcston) desired, on an occasion like this, to add his testimony to the general respect felt for a man like Sir George Grey, who was retiring from public life. Mr SedJon, Mr Scobie McKenzie, Mr W. Hutchison, Mr Smith, Mr J. W. Thompson, Mr Saundors, Mr Shera, Mr C. Mills, Mr Pinkerton, and Mr Buick, also spoke briefly m testimony of their appreciation of Sir George Grey. The moti»n was carried with acclama tion, and the Speaker was directed to have the resolution engrossed and forwarded to Sir George Grey. THE CHAIRMANSHIP OF COMMITTBEa. The Premier moved that Mr W. C. Smith be appointed Chairman of. Com mittees. Mr Palmer, as an independent member moved that the position be not filled up till next session. The amendment was lost by 31 to 29. ■ Allowing is the division on Mr tallance s motion that the original words, stand part of the question :— Ayes; 31.—Messrs Ballance, Buick, Cadman, Carncross, Dawson, Duncan Earnshaw, Fish, Guinness, Hall-Jones! Houston, Hutchison (Waitotara), Hutchi son (City of Dunedin), Joyce, Kelly (East Coast) McDonald Mclntosh, MeKeime (Waitaki), Mills (Waimea-Pictoin), Pants. Puikerton, Rees, Reeves (InangahuaX, Reeves (City of Chmtohurch), Seddon! Shera, Smith (New PJymouth), Tanner. Taylor, Ward. Noes, 29. -Messrs Bryce, Buchanan, Buckland, Carroll, Duthie, Fisher, Goldie Hall, Harkness, Lawry, Macarthuj,. Mac kenzie (Mount Ida), Mackenzie (Clutha) Meredith, Mitchelson, Moore, Palmer Rhodes, Richardson, Rolleston, Russell Saunders, Swan, Taipaa, Thompson (Marsden), Thompson (City of Auckland) Thomson (Bruce), Valentine, Wright. Paiks, Ayes—Perceval, Blake. Noes— Fergus, Mills, J". The matter was interrupted by the 5.30 adjournment* The House resumed at J. 30 p.m. THE ADDRESS IS" REPLY. The House resumed at 7.30 p.nu Mr Jackson Palmer moved the Address m Reply, and *aid that if the Government developed a policy m accordance with the Governor s speech, they would obtain the supporc of many members, who, like him self, were independent. Referring to re trenchment, he wft a Royal Commission should be appointed to inquire into the Civil ftervnoe throughout the colony. The Government m dealing with the land laws should see that the. native lands wer« taxed, and that these were opened up He alluded to the repeal of the property tax, and. said that if the Government could preyei.t a conflict between, labor and capital, they would deserve the well wishes of the colony. Mr Pinkerfen, m seconding the motion, ustihe.4 the recess asked for by the Government. He hoped that the Govern ment m dealing with the land laws would consider the small farmers. As a means of overcoming the unemployed difficulty every encouragement should be <ri ven to the forming interests. The property tax he thought, fell heavily ol the smart farmers, ana ho would favor repeal He commended the Government for establish-! "$ -w Ag™,"l^™l DePartment. F e attributed the labor struggle to the r jrc . valence of cheap labor, and said th*; t this would have to be remedied before the difliculty was solved. The Government would have Ins hearty support, m devising a scheme of settlement between labor and capitiai, Dr Newman commended the Govern ment f or the i briefness of the Speech an<fc said it would be better if theybxouX™ down no speech, as it only led tcvTi!' necessary wangling. He drew tion of the Government to ths monopolr ot cofti, which increased tho, price of ih*r. article He thought Sir-'H. Atkinson, would have be.su vsr to have resigned

THE ASHBTTBTON (HTABDIAST, THtTBSDAT. JANUABY 29, 1891.



We clip the following important testimo nial from the " Illawarra Mercury " (N.S.W ) of the 30th March. It needs no comment:— 'Mr John Loveday, of the Bulli Mountaino writes to us that after suffering for four years with acute gravel, he has experienced almost complete relief by using Sander and Sons' Eucalyptic Extract. He says :—" Seeing the said Extract advertised m the ' Illawarra Mercury,' his intense suffering induced him to obtain a bottle of the medicine from Mr Hosking, chemist, of this town, and that the uso of it gave him great relief at once. He states that between 10th March inst., when he obtained the first bottle of the extract, and the 19th, the use of that medicine continued to afford him relief, to which he had been a stranger for four years. Mr Loveday writes also that he has found the Eucalypti Extract -\ cure for rheumatism as well as gravel. Ho requests us to publish this information .through the' Mercury.' We have much pleasure m complying with Mr Loveday's request, whose word cannot be doubted, and who can have no object m view other than a pure desire to benefit suffering humanity. "—(Advt.) 2 Holloway's Ointment and Pills. — Travellers to and from distant climes would do well to bear m mind that these changes and the altered diet and surroundings of their lives entail manifold risks to health. Occasions are sure to arise m which they will need a remedy such as these renowned pills and ointment, add no traveller by land or sea should ever fail to have a supply at hand. Then lie may truly be said to have a pysieiau always at his call for the various emergencies of tiuvel. Chills and fevers should be promptly treated, and the printed directions should be carefully studied at the comnience niont of'any illness, for Hollowuy'a remedies caw be sa&ly'iwed m o,\\ giimat^s,



ASHBURTON HIGH SCHOOL. FIRST TERM, 1891. PUPILS will re-asaemble on MON DAY, the 2nd February, at 9.30 a.m. The Master will be glad to receive names of intending pupils a few days before the commencement of the term. JOHN EDGAR BUCHANAN, Ashburton, January 19, 1891. I 109 MONEY TO LEND. TiTONEY to Lend at LOW RATES OF INTEREST, on Mortgage of FREE HOLD PROPERTY, m sums of JBIOO to_£sooo For further particulars apply to the Postmaster, Ashburton, or to J. C. PRUDHOE, District Agent, Government Insurance Oflice, Chriatchuich. WITH TEETU A:tHCti'T 'fiXTrt CHRIS L'UHGROH DENTAL .SURGERY. Corner of Cashel and High streets B. M™ AND Co BURGEON DENTIST And at Dunedin and Westport WE have gained the FIRST AWARD '" the Dunedin Exhibition for Artificial Dentures and llechanical Appli ances for the Mouth, and it is with the greatest confidence that ye guarantee the highest class work and perfect lit at the most moderate cos r , 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 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 FoJt* one Month. N E \V Z E A T A N D ' CLOTHING FACTORY *HeT)t for the Wonderful Wortheim j tie win.; Machines' W. H. WIWBfcR . ' Maaasjei'



Wanted i CASH Ad erfciseuv.ru< under this heading not exceeding SIXTEEN WORDS 1/-. Addresses mny be Vffcat this Offin« MRS F. MAKEIG, Wakanui Road West, Resumes Lessons m Piano forte and Singing, on MONDAY, Feb. 23rd. ltl6G il7 ANTED, Private Board and »'» Lodging by single gentleman. Apply, " A.8." Mail Office. 1 167 TRY the Great Drapery Sale now on at H., C. Seoers. :pRESENTS.—AIt holders of Tickets JL will oblige by bringing them mas «oon as possible. - H. C. Seoers, Melford House. /^OOLTNG and invigorating Ice Cream \..J. as made by H. G. Flower, Con fectioner, East Street. WANTED Known — Some special lines m choice Dress Goods tit very low prices showing at " The Corner." "\T7 ANTED Known—The " Sfcrong- V V wear " Boot is the best for Mens ftadiea and Children.—W. H. Collier. STEPHENS' BROS.' Market House,' J have secured for this district the s«le right of selling the Kangra Valley Company's Tea. 1 166 QEGERS' Clearing Sale m all Depart C* ments now on. One trial solicited. •-Melford House. .' ANTKD KNOWN.—Misses Morri son and Holloway't workrooms will be closed until the 9th February. Any orders left at Mbs McGregors, Tancred Street, will be attended to. 1157 WANTED Known — The Cheapest Shop to buy Tinware and Gal vanis,ed Iron goods m Ashburton, is at W. F. Hannaford's, Burnett Street. A arge stock kept on hand. Tin andiron ware goods made and repaired with des atcrt. WANTED every man m the County to have a suit of the Ashburfcon T woods.—Robkiit AiiCORN, Ashburton Clothing Mart, Saunder's Buildings. B "OOTS, 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.