Ashburton Guardian Megna est Veritas et Prævalebit. THURSDAY. JANUARY 11, 1894. THE BIRD PEST.

Once again the experience of the harvest season bears eloquent testimony to the mischievous results of the fatal blunder which was committed by who ever is or was responsible for the in troduction into this country of the übiquitous house-sparrow. By-the-bye the rery name is now a misnomer, for the little winged pest has a great deal more to do with fields than houses in his new habitat, and for many days | past and for weeks to come countless thousands of these winged thieves have been and will be busy carrying the farmers' corn—that is carrying it away. There are indeed such myriads of them that they rise in clouds from the wheat, oats, and barley when dis turbed by passers-by, and so serious are their depredations in some parts of this provincial district—as we learn from a Clu'istchurch exchange—that in some instances the crops have been stripped to the extent of 75 per cent, while a case is mentioned in which a 50-acre paddock of wheat has been so shelled out as to be not worth reaping, From Tiinaru comes similar complaint. At a meeting of the Levels Road Board on Tuesday last one of the members, Mr Mcc, sa?*d the damage done by the birds this year was terrible, lamentable, worse than ever, in spite of all the poisoning. The birds came down in flocks from the hills, the air was black with them. Paddocks were being completely stripped by them. He did not believe that the poisoning killed so many as was declared. One man he knew put on two men on horseback with clappers to keep the birds off a field of early oats, and they could not keep them off. In some parts of the Ashburton district there are similar experiences to record—'indeed we know of one paddock near the town which is not worth the cost of reaping owing to the work of the sparrows, though we believe that in other parts, as for in stance Longbeach, much less damage has been done this year than in former 1 years—thanks to systematic poisoning during the winter months and the active bird-nesting carried on by the boys in the spring for the inducement of the egg-money paid by the County Council and Road Boards. But throughout Canterbury generally, and in this county among others, some more stringent measures require to be taken to deal with the pest. The Geraldin Council and the Levels Road Board have, we see, with this view deter mined upon increasing the price paid for eggs and heads and to appoint more buyers, and it would, we think, pay our own County Council and Road Boards to follow suit. For we look upon the sparrow as an unmitigated curse, and don't attach a bit of credence to the theory <af his usefulness in keep ing down insect pests. Certainly he will eat a grub or two on oc casion, but not when he can get his greedy maw filled with corn, and it is not a little amusing to see the theory advanced that the fact that the bot-fly is less troublesome this year is because the sparrows are more numer ous, the suggestion being that the birds have feasted on the larva, Mr W. W. Smith will perhaps correct us if we are wrong, but we had a notion that the bot-fly was a quasi-parasitical insect—that is to say, that it was dependent for the hatching of its eggs upon their being taken into the stomach of the horse, and that at any rate, even if the larva can be hatched out by the heat of decaying vegetable matter, even in that case they would be so located as to be almost beyond the reach of the sparrow, But this en passant. To revert to our more immediate theme, the necessity for vigorously dealing with the bird nuisance is generally admitted, and the question is what is best to be done, I Well, in addition to paying for eggs j and heads at a rate which will ensure I their active collection, there should be some organised effort made at poison ing during the winter months—that is '■ to say, there should be concurrent action by farmers and governing bodies all throughout the county, and in order to do this it may perhaps be necessary to amend the law so as to give the County j Council power to enforce this being done simultaneously by all land owners, or failing any of them doing the work at the proper time, to enable the Council to cause it to be done at the expense of the defaulters. The matter is one which may well be considered by the Council and by the Road Boards, with a view to "pointing out what legislation, if any, is required, or whether effectual measures can be taken under the law as at present existing.

STATE SOCIALISM.

At a recent meeting of the Colonial Institute, the Earl of Onalow delivered a very interesting paper on the colonies. It was an able paper, and showed that our ex-Governor has been at pains to keep himself well posted up in what is going on on this side of the globe. It may be honestly said that Lord Onslow was one of the best Governors we have ever had ia I^ew Zealand, and it was matter for regret that he deemed it necessary to vacate the office before his time had expired and return to the Mother Country. Still, while he was with us, he wa3 painstaking to a fauit in making himself acquainted with the whole ciroumsfcattooi of the colony, I

with her resources, her industries exist ing and possible, with her natural beauties, her fauna, flora, and geology, with her social life and her political condition. But he came to us with the instincts of the caste to which he belongs alive and in lusty activity, and it was hardly to be expected that he | would be in touch at once and alto gether with th 9 ideas political of the vast majority of the people of this colony, so widely apart as they are from the Jingoism of the followers of Salisbury, the tenets of the Primrose League. Nor was it to be looked for that the legislation ©f the past year or two would be wholly after his own heart, Still, in the paper which he has delivered to the Colonial Insti tute, he classes the whole Hemisphere as being socialistic in tendency and does it sweepingly, and with the im pression unmistakeably left on the mind of the reader that the Austral asian colonies are ultra-Socialistic, and that in the worst sense. We think this charge is wholly uncalled for, and comes with a bad grace from one who sooner or later, as his merits deserve, will hold the portfolio of the Colonies in the British Government, under a party which, when in power, and driven to it by the pressure of a strong Op position, has initiated more "socialistic" legislationthanany Liberal Government that has yet held the reins. If New Zealand has any tendency to socialism she inherits It from the Mother Country and shares it with her today. The Prince of Wales himself, no pur blind observer of men and things, is credited with having once said " We are all Socialists in these days." May we ask if New Zealand was the initiator of the Factory Acts, or did she but follow in the wake of the British Parliament who first passed them into law, and if there is not a smack of socialism in these laws? If we are told that women's suffrage is socialistic, then we poiat to Mr Balfour and a dozen others of the Conservative party, who are suffering from a desire to see the measure law in England, or at any rate recognise both the justice of the franchise and its practicability in Britain, and who believe that its introduction would be beneficial to the country. If the Labor Bills are socialistic, every principle of them will be found having advocates of more or less note in the House of Commons, and the principle of employers' liability has been taken to the bosoms of Mr Gladstone and Lord Salisbury with equal fervor, and both Lords and Commons recognise its justice. And Mr Mundella, the great Arlstarchus, after John Bright, of the Board of Trade, looks with no cold eye upon a Labor Department for Gieat Britain, If then New Zealand is socialistic in the sense implied by these measures, so, to be sure, is Great Britain. On the subject of land, too, who will say that Gr°at Britain's dense population would not be a thousandfold more socialistic than New Zealand's is, but for the fact that all the land in Great Britain has already passed—centuries ago—-into private hands. The Land for Settlement Act of last session is in principle no new thing. The idea is embodied in the legislation that was considered neces&ary in dealing with the Irish question; the County Councils of Great Britain have the power of purchase of land which the owner must sell to them under the compulsory clauses of the Act that called those Councils into existence. The Pariah Councils Bill has just passed the House of Commons, and will almost certainly "pass the Lords. This measure also confers on the bodies it is calling into existence power t©- acquire land by compulsory sale. So that if the State itself does not take power to buy back land that has been alienated from the Crown it is giving that power to local bodies, to be used for local purposes. And as the power is conferred with bufc mild restrictions, who can say that some thing like our village settlements will not be found springing, up in the vicinity of many of the great cities and towns of the Old Country 1 And with regard to capital, our Governments, both past and present, have emphati cally disavowed any intention of doing anything inimical to the in terests of capitalists who have invested their wealth in this colony. True, a project has been mooted by the Premier of borrowing money in the English market and lending it to farmers at a rate of interest below the rates now paid to money lending com panies ; but even this is not without precedent in the Old Country, and if the Government of New Zealand owns the post and telegraph systems of the colony, so also does the Imperial Government own the kindred systems in Britain. New Zealand's railways are the property of the people, she has a life assurance property of her own, and runs a post office savings bank. Great Britain has a post office savings, brnk, and the appropriation by her of the railways and the insurance systems is only a question of time. Such ques tions as the nationalisation of the land, the mines, the canals, the lines of railway, and the ooastal steam lines are far more strenuously advocated at Home, and in higher places, too, than they ever have been here. In fact these questions were originated at Home, and are wholly importations to this colony from the Mother Country, So that it is unfair on the part of Lord Onslow to brand the colony as •' Socialistic " in the way he has done in his paper. There can be no doubt as to how he felt in regard to the « socialism " he was speaking of, tThe

■ feeling was not sympathetic, and it was the speech of a man wno waß anxious to appear impartial. In this connection Lord Hosebery said of the t speaker that he was " dancing suc -1 cessf ally among burning ploughshares " —but it seems easy enough to us to distinguish a tone of dissent, if not contempt, in Lord Onslow's accusation | of "Socialistic" against the political tendencies of Australasia. His 1 ord ships well known and sustained in terest in the colony must be gratifying | to all New Zealanders, but there is just the suspicion that not a few of his no doubt well meant remarks may tend to the creation and maintenance of a ieeling of distrust in Home bosoms towards the colony \vho3e best interests we all believe Lord Onslow has at heart.

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The pupils of Mrs A. 0. Claridge are notified that the new term begins on Monday next. William Bourke, licensee of the Lincoln Hotel, was fined £5 for supplying liquor to a boy under thirteen years of age. Dr. Moran, Roman Catholic Bishop of Dunedin, ia again in a critical state of health. The annual general meeting of the Ash burton Rifle Volunteers will be held in the Orderly Room, a*> the Drill Shed, immedi ately after parade on Tuesday next, Jan. 16. The young man Bezar was discharged from the Wellington hospital yesterday, and was immediately arrested on a charge of having attempted to commit suicide. At the Christchurh R.M. Court on Wednesday a number of employers were fined for breaches of the Factory Act by' employing young persons on Saturday afternoon. Mr Mundella advises consumers to prose cute tradesmen who sell colonial as Scotch mutton, and in the event of any difficulty he promises that the Board of Trade will intervene. In tke Ofcaki child murder case the jury could not agree, and a verdict of four was taken to the effect that the child had lived, but the cause of its death could not be proved. There were marks about the head and arms. A. man named George King, between sixty five and seventy years of age, formerly a carter, and an old Nelson resident, com mitted suicide on Tuesday night by hanging himself in his own stable at Nelson. He was discovered by his wife, who had missed him for about an hour. A Committee meeting of the Ashburton Swimming Club was held on Tuesday even jng. A letter was read from the manager of the local branch of the Dresden Piano Company, giving a donation of half a guinea for a prize to the junior swimmer scoring most points in club races during the season. The following races were fixed for Wednes day, January 31—220 yds handicap, seniors ; 75yds juniors. Other routine business was transacted and the Committee adjourned. A uovel school was epened at Whittlesey* in Cambridgeshire, recently, under the auspice? of the Isle of Ely County Council. The subjects to be taught will be confined entirely to poultry keeping, and it ia said to be the only school of the kind in the United Kingdom. The rural population of Cambridgeshire are to be taught how to keep, breed, select, house, hatch, fatten and kill, in a scientific manner, the various birds included in the general term of poul try. * Lands in the Kapua settlement, part of the Waimate estate, Wj|l be opened for appli cation utf«Jer the in perpetuity system on and after the 24tn inst. The new settle ment is on the Waihao Forks railway line, about five milea from Waimate, and the 12 allotments range from 37 to 60 acres at rentals of from 7s 5e to Us 7d per acre. The land has been acquired and is affered, for i the purpose of enabling working men, ] gardeners, and others to obtain homestead I allotments of suitable size and character. With reference to New Zealand, the j " Exeter Gazette " says :—" We never could understand the rush of immigration to such countries aa Brazil, the Argentine Fepublic, etc, when Englishmen can easily find a home within our own dominions where they can speak the language, and where they may live under an enlightened and just local government, and ever be certain of a regular and abundant supply of good food. As for clothes, well, Mr Harris, of Helwill Manor, is wearing a suit of clothes which he bought for 25s in New Zealand. The colony is a long way off, but it seems to be a good place when you get there." The municipal authorities of Northamp- j ton, England, having a large reservoir some ' seven miles from the town, stocked it wUh , trout. This season fishing tickets were sold ' at five shillings per day. So eagerly were the permits applied for—the number per day being limited — that bookings took place | weeks in advance. No fisherman was allowed to kill more than a certain weight, but despite this precaution 1313 fish were caught, their weight being 1 ton 1 cwt 1 qr 23Jlb. The amount received for ticket* was £175 ss, so that the average cost of each fish to the ticket-holders was a Bhade under 3s 6d, or Is o|d per lb. The fish aveiaged cloee upon 2£!b, and so satisfied are the members of the Water Committee that steps are being taken to expend another £60 in fish culture. On Wednesday afternoon a young son of Mr Marsden, of the railway bookstall, met with an accident which will probably have the effect of impressing upon him the neces sity of exercising care in the handling of loaded firearms. He had loaded a small " rook " rifle—of the kind u^ed by shooting gallery men—and was standing with it at what military men would call the " order," only he foolishly held the palm of his hand over the muzzle. The little four-year-old son of a neighbor having seen the trigger used before, thought he would have a try, and stooping down made a very successful attempt to work the discharging machinery. The result was that young Marsden received the slug in his hand, No permanent injury to the hand is feared, but the wound Is sufficiently severe to require Dr Hunter's special attention, The yacht Vigilant is owned by a New York synd:catg. How racing yachts come to cost so much may be easf ly discovered by an examination of their accounts. The hull and spars of the Vigilant are said to have cost £7000 ; the bronze bottom £2000; the sails, which are of a new, strong, and light material,£2Boo. Then she carries a orew of 50 men, so that the total outlay on the pay roll will not be less than £2000. The syndi cate is composed of men of wealth who can afford to throw away a few tbopajHfe for glory. At the end of the season they will be out of pocket £20,000, and will have nothing to show for it kufc * vessel which ia useless for every other purpose except racing, and would aot sell for over £3000 or £4000, To turn her into account, she would have to be remodelled, and converted into ft schooner— a tact, rebuilt. ,

Sward and Track,

(By Mk&cuby.) I have been silent of late. The worry and bustle of the past few weeks, scarcely one of them without its athletic gathering, has been essentially a time for action, not for talking—or writing, which amounts to the same thing. But N«w Year's Day and the day following saw the last of these sports for some time to come, and now one has time to look round, reflect on the past holidays, and discuss the present situation. Whether such reflection will be satisfactory or not depends on how these holidays have been spent, and there is one thing to be said in favor of the encouragement of athletics* that in holiday time, when there are so many attractions and temptations to wean our youths from the paths of rectitude, if they wish to have the slightest chance of excelling in any of the various games at these sports they must religiously abstain from all excesses, which under other circum stances would be their method of patting in a "good old time." As regards our own track, since last iwriting there have been the Friendly Societies' and the Caledonian sports. Both of these were well attended alt though the two meetings were held within ten days of each other, thus displaying the enthusiasm of the Ashburton public in the matter of athletics. The Friendly Societies sports were practically inaugurated on An« niversary Day, and their success reflected great credit on the committee in working them up. Although the Christchurch cyclists were unable to compete, owing to their meet* ing being held on the same date, the entries were swelled by a Urge number of riders from Longbeach and Waterfcon. As a con sequence thece were Urge entries in each of the cycling events' and these were the most popular items on the programme. Uafor tunately another, collision, which brought half a dozen cyclists to grief and mixed them up with each other and their machines in * most extraordinary fashion, again demon* strated that our track, though good, is far from what it should be. The accident took place on the same side of the track and near the same place as the collision at the Ariel meeting. The track just there is too narrow, but that is not fche whole fault. For several yards within its limit it has not been fit to ride on at any of the meeting!. Naturally each competitor endeavors to ap propriate the very limited available riding space on the inside and when there are several together, ea«h with the same good intentions, a collision is inevitable. How*. ever, the Association have already com* menned one very important reform on the track, and doubtless tho fault alluded to above will also be remedied, especially as it would require only a little labor to do so. The work just referred to as having been commenced is the banking Tup of the track at the corner leading into the straight. Me Fooks, the Domain Board's engineer, has taken the measurements, and acting on his instructions the Council labor gang- have carted loads of clay t-o the sports ground, so that all the Association's caretaker has to do is to break it up, level and roll it. The work will therefore be completed by the end of this week or the beginning of next. Judging by present appearances the bank ing up will make the last and consequently the most important corner of the'track a perfect one. Then, with the remainder of the track in good order, there will be noth ing to prevent riders like Lewis and Wil mot reeling off their mile in 2.26, and such performances are worth going a long way to see, and are sufficient recompense for the trouble bestowed. Our track can with a little care be made as fast as the Lancaster Park track. Ashburfcon is well represented in jumping over the hurdles, but Anniversary l)ay showed that she also has an able represen tative in the high jump. On that day Jack Jamieson at the Friendly Societies' sports cleared sft 7£in 9 a really splendid perfor mance, and one which very few in New Zealand, or even in other places, can beat. In cycling, though doing nothing bril liant, th« local riders have held their own fairly well with the cracks from outside places Clarkson appears to have had rather bad luck throughout. At the Ariel meeting whon he received third place in the five mi'e championship he was at a great disadvantage in having to ride a racer for the first time on that day. On Anniversary Day his riding at the Friendly Societies' sports wan marred by tha fact that the dread fiend—influenis,—attacked him on that very day; also his machine broke at the com* mencement of the five mile race. On Boxing Day, though he rode well, the effects of the influenza were still there, and he had to take second place to A. ft. Bark r of Christ church, present holder of the quarter mile record of New Zeaiond. A week later, how ever, in Oamaru he received satisfaction by beating Barker in several races, and by more than six inches. He also won the three mile, with sixty yards start from Lewis and Boyd on the first day of the Oamaru Cale donian Society's sports; but misfortune still pursued him, and while winning the three mile on the second day from the thirty-five yards mark he fell, and received a nasty Spill. A. J. Daly has acquitted himself fairly well, and is an excellent example of the benefit of judicious training, At the begin* ning of the season to use a vulgar phrase "he could not ride as fait as one could kick his hat," bub that re* mark would certainly not apply to his recent performances, At Timaru on Anniversary Day he secured two seconds. At Christchurch on Boxing Day he made 1 foolish mistake in changing the gear of his machine and did not get placed. It the Timaru Caledonian Sports be secured second place in the three mile on New Year's Day, and on the following day won the mile race 1 and looked a winner in the three mile, until be unfortunately came to grief. R. Shearman, like Clarkson, caught the prevailing epidemic, influenza, but unlike the Ariel member he elected to keep off the tra< k until he had recovered. He made his only appearance at the Timaru Caledonian meeting, and was second both in the one and a half mile and the two mile races. W. Shearman rode a good race in Christ* church on Boxing Day, and secured second place in the three mile roadster handicap. Amongst outside riders the most notice* able performances hare been those of Ken Lewis at the Christchurbh Cycling Club's meeting on Anniversary Day, anil of Wil', mot at Rangiora on New Year's Day. Both these riders have shown themselves to be head and shoulders above the other mem* bers of their Clubs, and it is a pity that the present division amonget cyclists prevents these two riders racing together. A half or a one mile race between two who are un doubtedly the most brilliant riders who have ever been in New Zealand would be worth going miles to see, and it ia to be hoped that Wilmott will reconsider* hia decision to retire from the path. In the avenb of his doing so he would probably compete at the amateur meeting here at Easter? The road race from Ashburton toLagmhor and back for a five guinea trophy given by that friend of athletes, Mr G. A. M. Buckley, ia exciting considerable interest, and there will probably be a large number of startersnext Wednesday. Theroad is in fair order; racing machines are to be used by some rideis, and Mr Buckley will doubtless see good time recorded. Messrs Landells and Preston have shown commendable enterprise in being the first firm in New Zealand to import the famous Helical tube machines. The helical tubing of which the frames are composed have in my opinion a great future before them, as lightness and strength, are combined in a remarkable degree, and the racers are the most rigid I have seen. In most racing machines lightnes3 means a sacrifice et rigidity, but the helical tubing hppears to solve the difficulty. The next cycling meetings will be held—< The Dunedin Amateur Cycling Club's meet* ing on January 27 ; the North Otago Cycling j Club's (cash) meeting at Ownaru on February < 22; the Ashburton amateur meeting ia the Domain at Easter. There is some talk of the Ariels and ths Ashburton Cricket Club uniting foreclose day at an early date, and if SO jfc. *fity doubtless be well lupnoried.,

THE ASHOTRTOK GOARPIAff ; '-THURSDAY, JAHtIARY It 1864.



Very Sorry, Alas, too true ! ARE VERY SHORT OF CASH, AND WE MUST HAVE SOME. NOW IS A GOOD CHANGE. G. J. NBILL and Co: Good Washing Muslin'Sa lid dozen Good Washing Prints 2s lid dozen Strong Cotton Shirting 3s lid dozen N**w Dress Goods, double width, 10|d White Calico 2s lid dozen White Doable Bed Sheeting Bsd CLOTHING- CLOTHING- Men's Colonial Tweed Suits 19d 6d, guaranteed atl WuOL Men's Tweed Suita 16s 6d Boys' Tweed Suits 4a lid Men's Straw Hats 6d Men's Strong Cotton Shirts Is 9d Men s Woollen Sox B£d BOOTS- BOOTS. BOOTS. Our Boats are all Guaranteed to give Satisfaction or we will replace them. Men's Colonial Nailed Shooters 7« Hd Men's Bluchers 4s lid Women's Strong Leather Shoes 6a 9d, reduced to.Ss lid Women's Strong Elastic Sides 8s lid, reduced to 5s lid Woman's and Children's Tan, Leather, and Canvas Shoes jn.alljslzes Call and Ser our Window. Gall and See our prices. No one pressed to Buy, q. i'TeYCCIs go., tRIEDLANDES'S CORNER, Be The Assigned Estate of Messes Hardley Bkos 1 ■■! 0 —'—■ Qm the Value in Our PRINTS REDUCED to HA.LF PRIOE WASHING DBILLET3 REDUCED FROM 9Jd to 6|d. AH Itrcss Materials REDUCED TO NEARLY HALF THE FORMER PRIUES, FOR INSTANCE PL&ISCASSMEaE3, REDUCED FROM 16£ d TO9o. STKIP& AND CHECK ALL WOOL DRESS TWEED REDCJCED FROM Ud TO 80, AND ALL OTHER DRESS MATERIALS EQUALLY REDUCED. CftKCK GINGHAMS REDUCED FROM lOJd TO 6£d, ALL MANCHESTER GOOD* SUCH AS CALICOES, STOCFINGS, FLANNELS, BLANKETS, HOLLANDS, TICKING, SHIRTINGS, SELSEIAS, FLOOR-CLOTHS, ETC., REDUCED TO COST PRICE. MEN'S SHIUTS, HATS, SOCKS, TIES, Etc, REDUCED TO COST PRICE, AND IN MANY CASES VERY MUCH UNDER COST. Men's and Boys* Clothing. SEE OUR MEN'S ALL WOOL COLONIAL SUITS AT 329 6d AND 35s 6d, NOT TO BE BEATEN IN THE COLONY. TBIS HOUSE JHAS ALWAWS BEEN NOTED FOR THE VERY BIST VALUE IN BOOTS BUT NOW COME AND SEE. '■■. Si'ENm. ARCADE ASHBURT 0 N



| For fliri*tm^s & Mew Year €Jifts, j PAY A VISIT TO THE JEWELLERY ESTABLISHMENT OF £§. SAIjEIE, PRAOTIOAL WATCHMAKER, MANUFACTURING JEWELLER, AND OOULTST-OPTICIAN. SO Is now showing the Largest and Choicest Stock of High-class lO* Goods in Gold and Silver Jewellery, Silver and Electro-plated Ware ever seen in the district, and very suitable for Christmas & few Yew I*re*eiits, WEDDING PRESENTS, BIRTHDAY PRESENTS, AND PRESENTATIONS. Special attention is drawn to the Magnificent Stock of Indies' Rings & Gtold Brooches. These are in plain gold and sot with diamonds, rubies, pearls, sapphires, etc., At prices ranging for GOLD BROOCHES from 12s 6d upwards, RINGS from a guinea upwards. The Stock of ENGAGEMENT RtNQS is very choice. PLEASB NOTE—Goods are now marked in plain figures, at prices that compare favorably with Christchurch, No necessity now to go to Ohristchurch, when at 1. SAIjEK'S You can set such a Large and Choice Selection of High-class Goods at REASONABLE PRICES. s. "saiTek, WATCHMAKER AND JEWELLER. AGENT FOR LAZARUS'~" SPBOIALITE " SPECTACLES, And System of Sight Testing, Ensuring Comfort; and Correct Sight. THE WATCH, CLOCK, AND JEWELLERY REPAIRING DEPARTMENT is very complete in its arrangements, and every description of work ia turned out only.ln a First-class manner, at charges as low as is consistent with. SOUND AND KELIABLE WORKMANSHIP. 8. SALEK, EAST STREET. __ -___ - Wantea



WANTED pupils for pianoforte. Quarter commenoea at pupil's convenience. Moderate terms. Miss M. A. Mckinkon, Peter street. I^4o GOOD Kidney Potatoes, by sack or cwt., for sale cheap.—Apply, A. W. Randell, Ashburton. 1 47 '« TTTANTED, a respectable Girl to assist W in housework and mind children. Apply Mrs William Bryant, Wills street, Ashburton. 1 57 MRS~JAMES has Removed into East Street, next to Miss Adams. Cole man's Buildings. Raspberries at 5d per lb n any qnantity. 12 41 ™RS~~ALCORN has on sale for the Holidays vaiied assortment of Toys, Dolls, Prams, Fancy Goo Is and Christmas Presents. Saundera 1 Buildings. GO to Mrs Whittington's for Mar malade. Half a dozen Bottles for 4a 6d. W"~ ANTED Known —That you can buy Good Slippers for children from Is a pair ; Women's, allaizes, Is9d. —MircHELL & Turner. fTTANTED Known —Spectacles, eye W protectors, Gosrg^s, Folders, and everything in the optical line at S, Salek's, Optician. ■ fi^H^T which brings most light and J- hope to poorest homes is Titan Soap^ _ 11 183 IF yot. want fii at. class fruit go to AdaMS' for Fiji, Tahiti, Auckland and Sydney Oranges, Citrons, Lemons, j etc. ; I WANTED Known—Now offering Men's Leather Shirts, 2s 9d ; Men's All-wool Suits, 25a 6d ; Men s Heavy Merino Pants, 2s lid.—Mitchell and Turner. MEDIOAL Coils made and repaired on the shortest notice at easy prices at A. J. Walker's, Old Kinder garten. WANTED Known~6o Pieces Fashion able Prints at 4£d ; 50 dozen Towels from 4&d ; White Counterpanes, 30 per cent under usual price.—Andrew Obr. 1H74 RAILWAY Book Stall. — Country Libraries supplied at cost price. Parcels of cheap reading made up to order. —John Marspen. _ DON'T wash yourself. Titan Soap does the work. No rubbing. No machines. H I®* "ANTED Known-Colonial Tweeds at very low prices ; Colonial Tweed ! Trousers, all Men's Sizes, three pairs for £I.—Mitchell and Turner. TIT ANTED Known.—To make room W for Spring Boots I will give ten per cent for cash. Repairs done at once cheaper than ever to stay bad times over afc J. Moison, Premier Bootmaker. 8 18 WANTED Known—"The Corner" is showing a magnificent Now Stock of Drapery and Clothing.-W. H. Collier. ___ WANTED Known -W. H. Collier's noted four-clasp Kid Gloves, 2s 6d, have just arrived in all sizes^ WTNTED Known—That A. J. Walker repairs Bicycle?, Sewing ■Machines, Lawn Mowers, Medical Coils, and all descriptions of light machinery. WANTED Known -A manufacturer's Stock of Shot Silk black and colored Sunshades and Umbrellas at half price.— akj»rbw Orr. 11 17* ANTED Known~6o Pieces black and colored French Merinos and Cashmeres at Is 4|d to Is 6d.-A«ri)»isw Okk. WANTED, Everybody to use Titan Soap, greatest marvel of the age. H. Zander, Sole Agent, 11 181 W"~ ANTED Known—For Election Week, 100 Pairs Boots, 2s 6d per pair.—Andrew Orr. 1* 177 OOK^ — Picture Books in graat variety. Books suitable for presents. Great Reduction in Prices.—Railway and Arcdda Bookstalls. I T-^oTcE Ornaments, Folding Screens, \j Own make in ladies' and children s I underclothing, Aprons and Pinafores. Mrs Alcorn, Saunders Building. icUfA /SALE, of Books, Stationery O FaW Gopds, Music, etc., lire Screens, Picture.3, tflass Ornaments, CShristmas Cards, Cricket spd Lawn Tennis Material, Photo Albums and _ i Frames. a»d hundreds of other articles , are to be sold if a great sacrifice for Cash ; during this raontk only, ab J* *. . Andrewes & Co. Stationer sU^ > :



SUITS to measure, during tho sale, 49s 555, 60a, 70s, and 755. Fit and workmanship guaranteed.—R. Axcorn, i Saundere' Buildings. WANTED, all Farmers to reduce Hardi/ey's Large Stock of this j Season's Oil, which he is selling at his < t usual ridiculous low price by the Gallon or Case. WANTED Known.-Melford House cheapest chap in town, extra value in presents now being given to each purchaser till further notice.— H. 0. &EGEES. WANTED Known—All Accounts due to S. W. Alcorn & Co. mast be Paid on or before December 30. 12 181 WANTED Known—loo Ladies Fashionable Sunshades at Akdrbw Obr's. 11 172 O/ ANTED Known—Forfars,4£d ;Tick- IV ings, 4£d ; Brown Hollands, 4M.— Andrew Oer. 11175 DON'T Forgec to send your Bicycles along to the Old Kindergarten to oe repaired, at moderate rates. O OMBRSET Meat Mart. The oldest O the largest, tha best, m>A the cheap est Small Goods a specialty. Full weights guaranteed. A trial solicited* -W, J. SILOOOK. \l7 ANTED Known.—Extra value in VV presents now being given away for Christmas and New Year. Cheapest House in Town.—H C. Segeks, Melford House. WANTED, th 3 Public to know that Ha tujpy's Tanks arfi giving univer sal satisf iction. Testimonials if required. Fow is the time for Baths and Tanks, from 30a upwards. WANTED all and sundry to know that Hakdley is still to the front with all classes of Tinware. Repairs promptly executed. Spouting and Ridging made and fixed at unheard of rates. WANTED Known.—Half as much again in presents given to each purchaser during Christmas and New Year. H C. Skcers, Melford House. GRAPHIC Xmas No., Pears' Annual, and Lady's Pictorial—all with beau tiful colored supplements. New vols. of Sunday at Home, Leisure Hour, Bo Peep, Little Dots, and others. New Books for Prizes and Presentation. —L F. A mwbwes & Co., Stationers' Hall. NEW ZEALAND CLOTIIIK& Factory. SEASONABLE GOODS. FOR HARVESTSG, Men's Gambroon Trousers Men's Duck Overalls and Jackets Men's Harvesting Straw Hats Is —Also- New Ties New Silk Handkerchiefs New Studs Bathing Pants—Towels and Running Pants New shapes in Hard Hats—brown, black and drab. The new Soft Hat—Land and Water Tennis Hats—aH shades A good holiday Hat for Is lid THE LARGEST STOCK OF HATS IN ASHBURTOS TO CHOOSE FROM. Tennie Shirts in silk, cr^pe and cash mere Bojs" Washing Suits from is 9d. I Boys' and I'ouths' Summer coats 2a (Sd, Men's Summer Coats in silk, alpaca and sateen BOOTS EOOTS !! BOOTS !!! Canvas Shoes for Men Canvas Shoes for Women Canvas Shoes for Children Just opened this week, 18 paira Women's Calf Shoes for 6s 6d. Wonderfu value. NEW ZEALAND CLOTHING FACTORY HALLENSTEIN BIOS., ALEX. HENDRY, Manager TIN WAL D. — Cheap Property, 1 Centrally situated, being not far from the KaiW< o y Station T.S. 150, contain in<y 1 rood (J perches with well-built four roomed cottage thereon. Must be sold. £. xJUJjJUU.O^i..