Mail Notices.

Mails close for the following places as under, aubjectto the necessary alterations : — WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20. For Northern Ports, Samoa, Sandwich Islands, also Unibed States, C.nada, West Indies, United Kingdom and Continent of Europe (via San Francisco), per Takapuua, ab 6.15 p.m. Money orders, 3 p.m ; registered letters 5 p.m. Mail due London, February 24th.

Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 1897. THE MOTOR CAR.

Our reader® will doubtless have noted, in the course oi their perusal of the current news of th© dsy, the marked progress that has been mad# of late years in the construction of what has been called the motor car, to distin guish it from what we know here as the traction engine. For the last thirty years there have been people studying the question cf the best method of constructing carriages jto be driven on common roads by steam .ojr other motive power. The late Duke of Sutherland bad this hobby, and for a time H.R.H, the Prince of Wales shared it with him. The development of electricity as a motive pover; the wonderful advance of mechanics which can provide an engine small enough to be used as a toy yet sufficiently power ful to work a sewing machine j the application of gas and paraffin to the purposes of steam production ; and a hundred other steps of advancement have all tended to make tjho realisation | of tbe old Duke's dream of a horftelpsP (carriage possible. And hundred* oi I inventive genius^ have been at work trying to bring about .ifci- realisation. But just as in tho past legislation bss frequently hindered the progress of great movements, so legislation stood ' greatly iv fci»e way oi the lavter m»

iThe law—and we are not prepared to impugn its justice or its wisdom in this matter — refused to recognise any | vehicle impelled on the common roads jby any but horse or man power as other than a traction engine, and only on veiy stringent conditions were these allowed to travel, and then only at a' snail's pace. The progress the inven-1 I tors had made with the motor car waß, however, so marked, that the possibili-, ties of the machine could no longer be 1 denied, and at last Parliament had to ■ j consent, as it had to do before in the case of George Stephenson's railways, and in the more recent case of the street tramways, to the running of motor cars of light weight on the public roads. This consent was given in the form of an Act which came into force in November last, and the event was celebrated with great rejoic ings on the part of those interested in these vehicles. They organised a great procession of motor cars, many of which—electrically driven—showed how possible it was for such vehicles to move safely along at fair speed among the miscellaneous traffic of a crowded city, and out in the open to obtain a speed of fifteen miles an hour. Some of these vehicles experienced no difficulty in the ascent or descent of hills, and all were shown to be more thoroughly under the control of the steersman than is any other vehicle and in this respect were only equalled by the perfect steering power of the bicycle. Evidently the motor car has started on a career similar to that of the "bike," and it is stated that capital amounting to several million pounds has been invested in companies promoted for the manufacture of these machines, and it will not take long, now that the public streets and roads of Britain are thrown open to them, to make them as common as the farmer's gig or the doctor's brougham. Having overrun Great Britain they will soon reach this colony, and it is not diffi cult to foresee that they will cause quite a revolution in the road traffic of the flat country in Canterbury. The motors are, of course, still in their infancy, and no one can foretell just how long the process of evolution will take to bring them to the degree of perfection the makers of bicycles have reached with their machines. But that the process will be rapid goes without saying, and as it goes on, the motor will be making headway ia public favor. The adoption of the mo for in Canterbury will be governed by the simple question of cheapness. If the machine be found to be at all within the means of the people, Dobbin will almost disappear from the road, and the boundary fences of the farm will mark the sphere of his labors. Ib has been said that a motor car that will do the work of a good buggy horse and buggy can be bought at little more than the price of a good reaper aticl binder, and that its maintenance is less expensive than the keep of a horse. If this be so, then the victory of the motor is certain. The Americans already boast of being able to sell " canned electricity " as they sell tinned salmon or preserved aprico's and peaches, and the owner of a motor car would have to supply himself with a store of this just as he supplies himself with tea and sugar. He would have to keep the working parts of his motor clean, and his machinery always in working order, just as his liorse has to be stabled, groomed and _«.rl, vi.d his buggy looked after. But the labor on the motor would be reduced to a minimum, and to start oo a journey of _ * Ashburfcon to Ohristchurch uT k * —*■* Of putting One's would be but a m__. -*\. in % Q greatcoat aboard, jumping . motor, pressing the button and away. Four hours would land the traveller under the shadow of the Cathedral, and to reach that sacred pile the passenger by the slow train finds that he has just been four hours on the journey. One could dream away for a column or two on this subject, but the dreaming would not be profitable and so we awake—but the consciousness of great possibilities before the motor car is still present with us.

Current Topics.

Our esteemed contemporary, the Lyttelton Times, declines to accept our

hypothesis that tbe Seddon pigeon,aboub which so much has

THAT PIGEON STORY AGAIN.

been written, found its way to its erstwhile home in Australia underthe guidanceof instinct. In the first instance, we ask "Is the return of the pigeon a fact V If not, then there is no need of any hypothesis whatever to account for ib. But if it be a fact—and for the purposes of the argument we assume that it is—bow is that fact to be accounted for? The editor of the Times has clearly indica ted that if compelled to accept the fact his explanatory hypothesis would be that the pigeon rose high enough to surmount the difficulty of the rotundity of the earth, and must have then seen its way home by recognising the coast of Australia 1500 miles distant. He says that our instinct theory imposes too great a strain on his credulity. Our answer is that his theory wouid impose a still greater strain on ours. To do him justice, however, he raises a power ful objection to the theory of instinct in this case by pointing out that only pigeons of a particular breed are cap able of finding there way home over long distances, and adds that they cannot do this except in daylight. Well, if that be true, (ib may be mentioned,that the Seddon pigeon was, if we mistake not, of the breed known as the homing or carriei? pigeon) then it only demonstrates that certain birds do find their way long distances by sight, but does not account for the fact o,_ a bird finding its way under circumstances wiisrs guidance by sight was impossible. There is the admitted fact that some birds other than pigeons, j find their way long distances by. instinct, and, if so, it does not seem in the nature of thing? impossible that an exceptional member of 'another race of; birds should possess a similar instinct tp that possessed by whole tribes of its' ffathered congeners. The case is a remarkable one, no^oubt.and reminds ni of the story told bf 8. sextain monarch, who propounded for thej solution pf his wise men the question' " Why does ft, bo^i p| water in which are goldfish weigh the same when the fish have been taken out ?" They gave it up paly to find afterwards by experi B?M that fchey M bm "'M " 7 bia

jocose majesty, tbe test of weighing the bowl with md without the fish proving that the fact (?) for which they were asked to account was not a fact at all. Perhaps it may be so in the case of the pigeon story.

The following paragraph, relating to the G.O.M. of New Zealand, will be

read with a melan choly interest by

SIR GEORGE GREY

his many friends, as it plainly shows that his powers are on the wane. It is from the London correspondent of the Otago Daily Times who writes :—lt is rumoured in Lon don that earnest efforts are again being made to bring about a rapprochement between Sir George and Lady Grey i Hopes are entertained by their friends i that the long estrangement miy at last I be ended. I hear that Lady Grey's spiritual advisers have urged her strongly to seek a reconciliation with her husband, I am at present unable to learn whether the desired rapproche ment is likely to be brought about. A friend of mine who was calling on Sit George today found, much to his surprise, a Lady Grey present who was sitting knitting, and seemed quite at home. My friend was painfully Struck with tbe change for the worse in bir George Grey's appearance. He looked very feeble. He wished to send me a message about something he was going to send as a gift to Auckland, but after many painful efforts he was wholly unable to recollsct what it was, and at last had to abandon the attempt.

It is not often that debtors take so much trouble to discharge their just debts as did Mr

PERMISSION TO PAY.

McNab, M.H.R., for Mataura, the

other day. That gentleman, on Friday last (says the Southland Times in its record of the proceedings of the local court), after making a solemn affidavit of the bona fides of his position before the pre siding justices, prayed that he might be allowed to pay half a crown he owed to a debtor. According to the Corrupt Practices Act, all expenses in curred in connection with an election have to be paid within a month after the polling day, after which time the sanction of a magisterial bench is re quired to place the candidate outside tbe penalties of the Act, Mr McNab had done all that lay in his power to get his accounts in and paid within the statutory time, but a few small items came in late, the 2s 6d being one of them. His petition was granted, and the *ex-M.H.R. is now searching for his creditor to pay the munificent sum. This having been accomplished, he, will no doubt leave Invercargill on bis trip to tbe old country with the clear conscience any man is entitled to who has striven so hard to be permitted to pay his just debts.

Local and General.

Some of the stars move wibh a velociby of nearly fifty miles a second. A Timaru resident has sent home '.for a four horse-power motor car. No British sovereign ha? voted a Parlia mentary bill during the past 135 years.

Interprovincial news and a report of the

I Lismore school treat appear on fourth page. Commandanb Herbert Booth, of the Salva tion Army, visits the colony early in Feb ruary. Mother—"Do you think baby will ever balk '{" Father—" Good gracious, of course. It's a girl."

The fate Mr George Dv Maurier, the author of " Trilby " left personal estate of . the value of £47,380.

Three sisters, daughters of a settler near Auckland, were all married ab the. same time lasb Christinas Day,

i "* fcbree months of 1996 the Knap- In bhe las., -»-_ e| purchased the large dale Road Board {\j.~ a p number of 56,612 birds' eggs. Major Goring, who retires from the Defence Force through failing eyesight, is going in for orange growing at Whangarei. Mr W. H. Collier, " The Corner," ad vertises in another column a sale of his surplus stock of drapery, clothing, and boots.

Pheasants are aaid«to be so plentiful in the Pongaroa district that they are causing serious damage to the potato crops in the vicinity. A whirlwind was experienced in Master ton last week. During the disturbance a horse and trap was raised bodily off the ground and nearly upset. The prison population of India, large as ib is, is only thirby-eighb per 100,000 inhabi banbs, or less b han half bhe proporbion bhab prevails in Greab Britain. Ib is stated that Mr Fish, M.H.R., will be unable to take his seat in bhe House, as he is suffering from what is supposed to be cancer in the throat.

Fully two thousand pounds says the Mayor of Maßterton, will be required bo give immediate relief to the sufferers by the bush fires in that district.

Lady Lytton and Lady Loch, bwiu sisters, have been celebrating bheir birbhday. Tho ladies are so much alike that a suitor once made an offer of marriage to the wrong one.

Says the North. Otago Times, the clips of wool from the back country stations are very satisfactory this year. There is a large in crease in the clip, and the quality of the wool is much better than lasb year. It must be understood that the previous year's storm made a difference to last year's clip, but the stations appear to have worked up to their former carrying capacity.

A neighbor of Mr Lincoln was called to the door one day by hearing a great noise of children crying, and there was Mr Lincoln striding by with bwo boys, bobh of whom were wailing aloud. " Why, Mr Lincoln, wh.t's the matter wibh the boys 2" he asked. " Jusb what's the matter with the whole world," Lincoln replied. " I've got three walnuts, aud each wants two."

The Tapanui Courier says :—•• Railway offici tls assure us that there are more in ebriated travellers on the railway than prior to uo license. Carrying bottles of grog, especially on holiday occasions, is a regular thing, and men who hitherto were content wi;h an occasional "nip" at an hotel now drink to excess out of a botble. Our own observations confirm the report of the rail way people."

The North Otago 7wies says that some of the Maerewhenua settlers, who have begun to cut their wheat, are thoroughly satisfied with their prospects. A visitor desoribes the heads as six inches long, and well filled for bhe whole lengbh. One sebbler estimabes that he has five years' rent of his section in his crop. The crops on the plain, however, are nob expecbed bo biarn oub so good as those on the hills. Trie heSds ars nob so j large, nor are they so well filled.

I lb will be intereabing newa bo bhe world in I general, and bo bemperance people in ' particular l?ays bhe Daily Mail), bhab the Queen is a total aba^inor from alcoholic liquors, and has been suabTfoi? at Igaot J^ree years. Her Majesby's reasons for ceasing to take bhe small quantity of alcoholic drink to which she had been accuabomed were nob a_cVa_e*ited oth0 th the intenae pain in the legs and knees front wbicji she suffers. Whether the result has'beeti beneficial or i otherwise will probably remain a matter of opinion, lb is entirely certain, however, 1 that the Queen .is s«,tjij£ed with the experi ment-a fact which''temperance lecturers willnadoubbjai/»i*^*u»«i«^' '

Mr Seddon starts OU Thursday for flobarb to attend the Conference of Premiers. He will be attended by his private secretaries, Measrs Hamer and Crow.

It will be seen by an announcement in our advertising columns that bhe annual congre gational meeting of the Ashburton Presby terian Church is appointed for to-morrow evening. One of the strongest women of the d»y is the Archduchess Maria Theresa, of Austria, who can lift an average-siaed man with one hand. She is by no means a sbrong-lookiug woman.

Notwithstanding the dry weather some of the farmers are getting some good yields. Mr Gill of Chertsey having bhreshed ouba sixty acre paddock which wenb forby bushels bo bhe acre.

An Irishman who entered the bar of an hotel where there is a fountain, the basin of which contains gold fish, exclamed— " Bedad, this is the first time I ever saw red herringa alive, an' so it is."

A reporber, in describing the murder of a man named Jorkin, said : " The murderer was evidently in quest of money, but luckily Mr Jorkin had deposited all his funds in the bank bhe day before, so that he lost nothing but his life."

Sometime during lasb Friday night or early on Saturday morning the shop of Mr Priestnall, tobacconist, High street, Christchurch, was broken into, and goods bo bhe value of over £20 were stolen.

A special meeting of the Allenton Lawn Tennis Club took place last evening, the ohief business being to make arrangements for the match wibh the Hampstead Club on Thursday next. Mr G. T. Hardley presided. A little excitement took place in Easb street early this morning. A rat was seen coming through a hole in the asphalt pave ment and a lively chase ensued, the rodent eventually meeting its fate by coming inbo contacb with somebody's hobnail boot.

A petition having, ib is undersbood, been forwarded to the Colonial Secretary in favor of granting a license to the railway ref ret ti n-eat room at Clinton, in the Clutha districb, a counber representation has been forwarded by bhe officers of the Clutha llectoral Prohibition League.

The Hmaru Herald says bhab since the change of weather, Ashing in the upper reaches of the Opihi has improved. Near the junction of the Opihi and Tengawai, Mr James Orr and a companion landed 34 fish, ecaling 921bs ; and Messrs Orr and Feilden, wibh bhree obher rods, book 48 fish, averaging nearly 31bs.

The Dunstan Times, referring bo the crop prospects, says there is no doubb bub bhab there will be greab scarcity of grain and chaff all through Central Otago this season. The fruit season has so far been fan ly good, strawberries and cherries being plentiful. Peaches are also coming well forward, but the apricots as a rule have been spoilt by late frosts.

Major Sommerville has received informa bion from the Defence Department thab Vicborian ammunition will be issued for the Auckland Rifle Meeting the same as used in the Teams Match ab Oamaru. Arrangements are being made for the issue of railway passes and sbeamer fares, New Plymoubh to Onehunga, and when completed these will be wired.

There was only a small abtendance of buyers at the Ashburton yards to-day and the limited entry of bobh sheep and oabble proved more bhan sufficient for the demand. In the bubchers' pens a prime line of eross breds in bhe wool febohed 10a; good mixed lines of ewes and wethers, shorn erossbreds, from 9a 4d bo 9a 7d ; inferior sorbs, shorn, 4a 4d bo 6s lOd. In cabbie, fab sbeers ranged from £3 10a bo £5 lbi, and heifers from £4 4s downwards, mosb lines hard to quit.

Mr J. D. Ritchie, Secretary of the Depart ment of Agriculture, who has been visiting the experimental farm ab Momihaki, has reburned bo Wellington. Ho reports that the orchard is doing well. The grape v;nes imported from Australia last year are thriv ing, as are also a number of fruit trees which the department obtained from various parbs of bhe colony. The vines, bogether wish those fruib bree3 which are found bo bear well, will be distribubed amongsb setblers bhroughoub bhe colony.

The strong northerly gale to-day, scorch inglyhot, is bound to tell its bale upon all whibe crop that ia still standing, and we expect to hear that a good deal of grain has been shaken. Harvest, however, is fa;riy general, and the reapers are at work early and late, so that a good deal is in stook. The crop generally is light, and is going down before the reaper knives very fast. Forking will be no great trial to the work men in consequence of the light sheaves, and, of course, the thresher's tale of bricks will also be light, but trie expected high price of wheat ia trusted to to compensate the farmers fop the light yield, which will be much lighter than the average.

««jj ow W o £ofc pur Bible" will be the subject of a lantern iecbU.. by the Rev G. B. Inglis, on March 18, bhe evening on which will be held bhe annual meeting of bhe local branch of the Bible Society. The local Committee met in the Presbyterian Church yesterday evening, and among obher items of business appointed the Rev T. A» Hamil ton, president of the local branch, vice Mr Twentyman, whose resignation was received wibh regreb. After fixing the date aboye mentioned for bhe annual meebing, and de ciding upon bhe form bhab meebing should bake, Mr Inglis exhibited by lanbern a few of bhe slides l>e has imporbed from England, illuabrabive of bhe lecture he purposes de livering. To describe these ab length would be to unfairly forestall Mr Inglis, bub ib may be allowed bo enumerabe some of them wibh oub brenching upon his lecture. Excellent photographs were exhibited of the old Egyptian papyrus writing; the Moabite stone; the silver case of the Samaritan Pentateuch, with its beautifully embossed plan of the temple; the Grand Hall of the Vatican Library, in which is preserved the Codex Vaticanus, one of the three oldest manuscripts of the whole or nearly the whole Bible that exist, and which, curiously enough, are in the hands of the three great branches of the Christian church—one being in bhe Vabican, as above mentioned; anobher, bhe Codex Sinaiticus, ab Sb Peters burg, and the third bhe Codex Alexandnnut in bhe Bribish Museum; copies of Syriao manusoripb ; a page of Jerome's Vulgabe ; examples of bhe old Latin monks' decorative art; the Venerable Bede's tomb in Durham Cathedral; King Alfred's statue ; and a long list of admirable pictures illustrative of the Bible Society's work, all of which, with Mr Iqglis' well-known ability as a lecturer, should go to make up a' most interesting lecture.

CHERTSEY.

from Oux Own Correspondent.

Last evening a meeting was held in the Chertsey schoolroom for bhe purpose of elecbing a school committee. Owing to the formation of the new school diatrictof O^er dile this was rendered necessary. Con sidering the busy season there was a fair attendance. Mr George Scarlett was voted to the chair and carried out the election. Messrs Todd and A. Ironside acbed as scrutineers. The following were elected :-— Meaars J. gbripgfellow senr., 15, George Scarlebb 18, J. Ironside U, W. Ealhim 14, B. Stewart 13, J. Downie 11, and G. Camp bell 9. At the subsequent meeting Mr George Scarlett was elected chairman, and ; Rf essrs Stewart and Ironside were appointed bo stgn _heq&ee »i£h hira. Ib was decided , bo repair the'swings, ouli'and grub jbhi gorse j and attend to one or two ' other masters, I Messrs Ironside and Stewart being appointed I a visiting cowmisut, |

COMMERCIAL.

THE FROZEN MEAT MARKET.

Nelson Bros, have received the following] cable from London :—Future outlook of the \ frozen meat market very bid, to-day's quo j ta.ions—best Canterbury mutton 3jd, beet j Dunedin 3d, besb Napier and North Island ' 2fJ.

TIMARU MARKETS.

The Canterbury i-armers' Co-operative Association, Limited, report as follows:™ Wheat. —Very little has been done in this cereal during the past week. A few small lines have changed hands at from 4s Id to 48 2d, on trucks Timaru, for Tuscan and red chaff, while prime velvet has been sold at 4s 4d.

Oats.—There is enquiry for good Danish ab Is 9d to ls lOd, f.o.b.i; a line of Tartars changed hands ab ls 10_d, f.0.b., bub obher sorbs are somewhat neglected. A few samples of the new season o crop have been shown, but so far no business has resulted.

OAMARU MARKETS.

The North Otago Times, under date Satur. day, reports:—

■ The mosb noteworthy event of the past week for the farming community has been Wednesday's fall of rain, which, if nob copious, did many crops (both cereal and root) and bhe grass much good. The effect has nob of course been felt in the commercial market, bub a lot of good has been done. Ib is quite impossible to quote prices, though we have heard of a small line of velvet wheat which changed hands at 4s 7_d. The butter market continues weak, and eggs bring the same figure as last week. New wheat may be expected in the market within a fortnighb.

OAMARU HORSE SALES.

Big prices were going at Messrs Fleming I and Hqdley's horse sale on Saturday, and it ia many years since there was such a demand for horses, and the prices were so good. There was a yard full of buyers, and conse quently no time was wasted in looking for bids. As a result forty-two horses were put through in a little over an hour and a half. Awamoa is, par excellence, the place for draught stock, and the announcement that twelve three-year old geldings from that estate would be offered drew together a large attendance. The horses were brought oub in bhe pink of condition, and their quality is indicated by bhe fact that they are by Crown Prince oub of Awamoa mares. The highest price realised was £42, and bhe lowest £30. It is a long time since geldings, even good geldings, fetched prices like these, and we hope thab bhe price of grain, which to a great exbenb regulates bhe price of draughb stock, will be sufficiently good bo keep bhe figures for horses ab a price corres ponding wibh those of Saburday.

ANOTHER GRASS FIRE NEAR CHERTSEY.

From Our Own Correspondent

Just before one o'clock to-day (Monday) a fire sprang up on the north-west side cf the railway line, about a mile and a half on the sou'h side of Chertsey. Ib was first dis covered by Mrs T. Ward, who gob bhe assistance of Mrs Horsnell and Mrs George Campbell, and first made the attempt to stop its progress. Othi rs soon arrived on the scene, including the railway surfacemen, who travelled rapidly from Dromore. Mr A. A. Fooks, captain of your brigade, happened to be driving through Chertsey, and like tbe old warhorse he is, sniffing the battle afar, was scon on the spot. " Your own" arrived almost immediately after wards, and the combined efforts of all were directed towards keeping the fire out of the County Council s planbabion. The onward progress of bhe flames was arrested by the cutting out of three or four yards of a gorse fence, and shortly afterwards the remains of the fire were beaten out. The damage fortunately was confined to about seven chains of fencing, and soma grass, but had assistance not been forth coming, the splendid plantation of the County Oounoil would have been devastated, and in all probability the <ire would have crossed the line, in which case it would have swept miles of country, doing almost irrepar able damage. About bhe same time a fire sp. ang up on the north-east side of Chertsey, bub as ib was some miles away, I could nob locate its exact position. Fortunately, it had been got under before we were at liberty to get to it, so I did not go. Chertsey, January 18

How Hooley Made His Millions.

A few weeks ago a cablegram was pub lished in these columns announcing that Mr Ernest Terah Hooley was about to present a gold service of plate to Sb Paul's Cathedral in commemoration of the completion of the 60th year of Her Majesty's reign. The Daily Mail has had an iuberview wibh Mr Hooley, ( who is a cycle, land, and bovril magnate. "I am a countryman," he declared. "I habc bown life and I hate town sharks with their tricks and wiles. I stay in London aa little as I can, and get out of ib as soon as I aui able, and but for the fact that I have to be on the spot to manage my affairs you would very seldom see me here. I am, I suppose, the largest sheep farmer iv Eng land, and I know every one of my 300 horses by sight. •' Tell me, Mr Hooley, how did you be come a millionaire? How have you con trived to jump in two years from poverty to ,great wealth!" "Poverty?" Mr Hooley 'queried. "I cannot say that I was ever what you would cill a poor man. Some people, I know, have an idea that I was one month in a back street, arid the next in a palace. That is altogether wrong. I come from a family of Nottingham lace manufac turers, and when I was twenty-two my mother left me £35,000. Since then I have lived at the rate of nob leas bhan bhree thou sand a year, whioh could hardly be called poverty. "I started business as a stockbroker in Nottingham, and for some time made £20,000 a year As stockbroker I got into touch with a large connection of very rich people j I secured their confi lence, and they have beeu the great factors in bhe success of the big schemes I have since carried through. W hen I issue a company, I do not rely a'together on the outside public; my own cirole controls between £15,000,000 and £20,000,000, and its support insures a thing j going. It is a fact of which I make no secret, thab these friends get a share of my profits. I " While in Nottingham 1 had to do wibh the initial steps of starting some companies, and I saw thab the promoters made great 'profits. 1 asked myself why I should not do this work. Then a friend brought to my notice Humber shares, which at that time { were despised ab s£. I looked into them, was satisfied thab they had a future, and bought largely till the shares we_'b up to 24J. Then J reconstructed the' pompr)ny, making £365,000 out of the deal. Ot'er cycling schemes followed, the biggest being the Dunlop tyre deal, I bought Dunlops outright for three millions, sold them to the I present company for five, and now they are ! worth seven." f

"On what principle do you go in financ ing f* "In the first place I have no secrets. Had I, I should wanb a staff of 200 clerks to keep my books. I have never yet been able to keep a secret, and never will. I say that bhe promoter ia as much entitled bo his pro fit, and his money |s as honestly earned, as that of any other man. When a farmer buys a cow off me, cuts it up and resells aba higher rate than he bought, he ia entibled to make what he can ; so am I when I buy and sell a company. I buy, say, for two millions, and sell for two and a half, and I tell the pub lic straight out that | am going to make something for myself • oub" of the deal. I make ib an absolute rule only to take up one concern at a time, and never to leave it till it is really on its legs lam able to point baofe; to all the things I have been associated with and say that i)her_ ia _gb qjie of them bub today is in a sound state." ' i

KASPAR'S WALLET.

Many years ago, I, Kaspar, while on the staff of an Otago paper, was wont to con tribute to its columns a budget of pars on current topics, somewhat after the fashion followed by "Civis " of the Witness, and the "Bohemian," who edits the Searchlights column of the Press, and if the Edibor of the Mail and Guardian cares to publish them I propose to look up my wallet again, and to forward its contents for that purpose. Wibh a view thereto, I shall be glad to receive, ad dressed to "Kispar,"a_y notes of interesting happenings, amusing quips and oranks, racy extracts, short anecdotes, literary ourios, etc., etc., which may serve as a text for readable notes—always premising that everything likely to be offensive to anyone will be scrupulously rejecbed.

"Go from home to hear news "is aa old saying, and when one follows the advice o&4 sometimes obtains the news—although it is not always reliable. For instance, the other day the Hawke's Bay Herald published a par of a highly novelesque sort. It told how a young lady was married on the day before Christmas day to a gentleman in Ash burton, the bridegroom being represented as at the time lying dangerously ill of brain fever, and the ceremony being per. formed at whab was considered a death bed. Luokily, it adds, a change for the better resulted, and the bridegroom is recovering. Well, lam very glad to hear it. It shows that matrimony m not always a failure. But though the names of the parties are given by the newspaper in ques tion, I can't find out anything abont any such t romantic wedding having taken place. If i it did, and wibh such nappy results, well then so muoh the better. "

Bythe-by*. talking of illness, reminds me that there is otgood deal of it in Ashburton just now, there being a great many oases of typhoid, though the faot has been kept as quiet as possible. \ Ib does _b do, however, like the ostrich that buries its head in the sand, to hide our eyes when danger is abont. It is far bebber to recognise it, and take steps bo ward,it off. And if we would ward off the danger of the diseases whioh the poet tells us are always "lurking round* to " hurry mortals to the tomb," we Ashbur ton folk shall have to see to ib that We observe all due sanitary precautions. Are we doing this ? I trow not. Visit some of the backyards and the olfactory nerve wfll give unmistakeable evidence to the contrary. And what about the streeb channels ♦ Those that are concreted and regularly flushed with waber are passably clean perhaps, bub there are others thab are nob concrebed and are never flushed, and some of these certainly require abtention. Will Messieurs, our City Fathers kindly make a note of this.

Hot ? Yes it has been outrageously hot lately. Wonder if it has anything to do with sunspots. Quien sal>e. Perhaps the astronomers can tell us. Bub whatever the cause, the fact is patent enough when it comes to cooking fruit on the trees, and many an orchard now is full of baked apples, cooked in more senses than one. Indeed it seems pretty certain that there will be a scarcity of fruit this season as a consequence of bhe almosb unprecedented spell of torrid weather which we have been and still era experiencing, and if rain does not come soon there wid also be a serious shortage of feed for stock during next winter.

While on the subject of fruit I am re minded to notice the sad havoc which is being played this year by the blackbirds and thiushes. These birds have become almost incredibly numerous, and it will scarcely be believed that in a garden in Ashburton the other day over twenty black birds were counted in one tree. One gentle man who bad a tree carrying at least 20lba of cherries gathered three cherries only— bhe birds had all the rest, and a* to currant bushes, these in many gardens were literally stripped. Some people imagine that how ever bad the blackbirds may be the thrashes are comparatively harmless. This, however. lam assured is an error. A friend of mine who has a thrush's nest in his garden haa watched the old birds gathering currant* by bunches systematically and carrying them off—he supposes for the nestlinot If so, and seeing that thrushes are now so numerous, they ought surely no longer to be protected. I know one orohardwt anyhow who declines to protect them—on the con trary has found oub and put in practice a very ingenious and effectual way of reducina the number of these fruit robbers. He select, some of the ripest apples he ©»_ find on his trees, and boring a small hole in them he introduces a little stryohnine, and then plugs the hole in the apple with the place taken out. The strychnine is taken up by the juices of the fruit, and in a few minutet permeates it with an effect how deadly may be judged from the fact that in i recent instance, within an hour after doctor ing an apple, no less than four blackbirds and three thrushes were found dead lying under the tree on which it grew. It should be added that for safety's sake eaoh apple so treated is marked by tying a piece of rag round the twig, so as to prevent its being gathered and consumed by unfeathered bipeds.

The hot dry weather is ripening the crone fast—in some cases prematurely, with the result that in those cases the " berry " will be small and the yield light; but on the heavier lands, down Wakanui way for In* stance, there are Borne splendid paddocks of grain in fine conditio^ the wheat being hard and shotty and a first-class sample. But there is, or was, a day or two ago grain standing dead ripe that ought to have been in stook or in stack, and whioh would be beaten out terribly by a nor'wester. Seeing that wheat it good for 4s a bushel or thereabouts, it is ;M, thousand pities to 'see such a tempting of Providence, aud the farmer who, by delay of this sorb, runs' such risks, sins not only against himself, but against the whole community.

Not a bad yarn was told me the other day apropos to the recent general election. It seems that in a certain districb one of the candidates was a native of New Zealand nod another a Highlander. Both turned up at a Caledonian gathering held during tbe electoral campaign, the latter in a brand new suit of tartan, kilt, plaid, sporran. bonnet and all. The New Zealander, look' ing upon hia gorgeous friend surrounded by an admiring crowd of fellow-Scotties, felt that ap advantage had been snored against him, and remarked, " Weil if I had known he was going to cub me oub like that, hanged if I wouldn't have come in a Maori mat to show my nationality."

The sea-serpenb again! Well, why not? There's plenby of room in the sea anyhow for any number of sea-serpents. Thia time, however, we are asked to believe in one only a hundred yards long ! And it'e not an American yarn either, bub comes from that very respectable authority the Westminster Gazette. Here's the story for what it is worth:—"Some Lowesboft fishermen have related a remarkable bale. They allege that they saw a sea-serpent off the coast list eveniogl The monster' was observed a few miles off, aad all who sighted ~ it' a^reef ia their description of it. The closest view was obtained by the lugger Conquest, heloneina to Banff. While all the Yew Tt eight members were on the deck, shortly after six o'clock, they heard on the lee quarter a loud noise, resembling a bis; steamer cutting her way through the Water. Looking in that direction, they saw a huge serpent, only twenty yards distant. They cUte that the monster was fuiiy 300 feet long, and moved at about eight miles an hour. It resembled three enormous half-circles in line, each being 50 feet long and 10 feet high, and there was room between eaoh of them for the lugger > to: have passed. Still making fba same noise ib passed close under the boat's stern. All the men watched it, and it i^ae in sight for fully a quarter of an hour. They desoribed it as like a fishing-boat, turned upside down, and' equally large in girth." Now, as I have observed, there's plenty oF room in the sea for sea-serpents, ever, serpents 100 yards long, bub then it itfon record that men have (=een shakes before now^ bo; h on land and sea, when there were>_q snakes aboub, excepb such as are the imagi. iwy product of a whisky bi,bHe. Perhaps bhe'enake seen od thia booaston waa a rum snake—anyway the yarn ta a rum tone. - th Kaspab.

THB ASBBCRTON GUARDIANS TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 189?



. Buslne s Notices ■ GOOD WASHING PRINT, 3|d. WHITE Mt TSLIN, 3a lid per doz AT (jT. Je _N_b-li-ii-J fee A BEAUTIFUL SUMMER DRESS FOR 6s lid AT *TkX™_~^TT ¥" ?0 (jT # J . JM J__l_Ll_i be Flannelettes 3_d yard. The Best Turkish TOWELS in Ashburton are at— (jr. J. JNJCiX-Li-L. fe« BO_S' Navy Blue Sailor Suits 4a lid, Men's Tweed Trousers 5a lid, Men* Heavy Colonial Tweed Suits 25s 6d, at G*. J. JNJcjIijJL b. Ladies Lace Shoes, 4s lid. Ladies' two-strap Shoes, 4s lid. AT , G. J. NEILL'S. Ladles', Maids', and Children's TAN SHOES of Every Description, at Very Low Prices, AT G. J. NEILL'S, FRIEDLANDER'S CORNER, EAST STREET.



BOOM IN DRAPERY. CROWDS ON SATURDAY. HOST COMING BACK TO SALE AT MITCHELL & TURNER'S.



NEW FIRM -:- -:- -: -:- -:- -:- NEW FIRM SAVE MONEY BY DEALING WITH MITCHELL & BRODRIBB NO BAD DEBTS. NO OLD STOCK THAT ACCUMULATES BY YEARS of BUSINESS THE Public should only consider what they can save by dealing with a Cash Firm, where they do not have to pay for the great losses that are occasioned by Bad Debts. MITCHELL & BRODRIBB BUY AND SELL FOR CASH, * THffitBFORH THEY ARE ABLE TO GIVE BETTER VALUE THAN ANY OTHER PLACE IN ASHBURTON. — A Few Quotations will be Convincing — Brown Ribbed Pants (heavy) Is 6d -worth Ladies' Hose, fast colors, plain and ribbed Is lid 6d Pair Men's Socks 61—worth 9d White and Brown Turkish Towels, only 6d Harvester Hats BW—worth ls White Calico, grand value, at 2s lid—l2yds Blucher Boots 4s lid—grand value The Best Value for Flannelettes n Heavy Shooters 9* lid-worth 12s 6d Ashburton. Ladies' Gem .Shoes, Special, 4s lid—worth Heavy Twill, 4s lid dozen-worth 7d a yd g,, 6d A Splendid Line of Corsets, all sizes, at Hairline Tweed Trousers 8a 6d—cheap at Is lid 10a 6d he Beßt Assortment of Sunshades in town, Men's Felb Hats from 2a 61 J r?. m £■ We have the Choicest Assortment of Hats Ladies' bailor btraws, all shades and shapes, in towtl . from 9d eacn—Pick your own shape 12yd* Strong Print for 3i lid—Cheap at 6s and trimming, and have your A Beautiful Summer Tweed ls Id, double Millinery done Free of Charge. widt _ FULL RANGES OF KAIAPOI AND MOSGIEL CLOTHING. MEASURED GARMENTS A SPECIALTY. 4 #"_<_, /* r_ FULL SUIT FROM AQq (\t_ _\_U® \>® FULL SUIT FROM *L&b Oil MITCHELL & BRODRIBB, EAST .WBMTO



Business Notices. r 5 s■ • » tf_ o _ Hasa I £ § gH| 83 T S i § S S Q § j So - g R 8 .3 O % 1 P3 pa __



TEIV E»OTJNX>» . TRIAD Q (T« Pound) £\Q g 5 COMPETITION. S o - < Q< m HIS MONTH the TRIAD X offers a prize of £10 to the C one who selects from the under- _ mentioned list of novels the six C •w most popular books. Thiscompebi- h bion will be decided by the compe- * rA titors themselves. The person £ who votes for the six books which * £4 the majority vote for will receive j| the £10 ; or, should there be two or more voters lor the same six that the majority vote for, the money will be divided equally among them. The conditions are as under:— 1. Write down on paper the titles of what you consider the six mosb popular books in the follow liat: Westward Ho ! Pickwick Papers, Trilby, We Two, Lady Audley'a Secret, My Novo!, Haody Andy, Bleak House, Kenilworth, She, Va'entine Vox, East Lynne, Charles O'Maliey, The Heavenly f. Twins, Adam Bede, John Halifax, * Gen-lemaD, Vanity Fair, Ivanhoe, " A J Monte Christo, Woman in White, b M Tom Browp's Schooldays, The L g Yellow Aster, Gleg Kelly, The J Wooing O't. U 2. Purchase 5* worth, or more, _. of anything you may require, V from one of the fjrms below, and w * get a receipt, and post receipt and * your list of six bo the Manager, £ TRIAD, Dunedin. If you enclose receipt for iOs or over you may _ ' «-. two lists % if for 15s, three « E atas m_nd.: ottfwwwy6,Wottil d rm purchased. (■ fi Ashburton Drapery Co, ". Gates, Horace <* Music Ware- „ ™ house (agent for Teiad). * T_B_N V _?OUINJL»H



Church Services. QT. STEPHEN'S CHURCH, 0 Aahburbon. Tuesday—Teachers' Meebing, 7.30 p.m. Wednesday—Brobherhood of Sb. Andrew, 7.30 p.m. 1 hursday— Meetings of Newly "J Confirmed for In-1 Greenatreet, 3.30 p.m. sbruobion in Holy j Ashburton, 7.30 p.m. Communion ...J Friday—Short Service, 7.30 p.m. Choir Practice, 8 p.m. SUND_Y~SERVIOES. 8.30.—H01y Communion. 11 a.m.—Morning Prayer. 3 p.m.— SEAFIELD. 6.30 p.m.—Evening Prayer, REV. T. A. HAMILTON.



Hollo way's' Pills and Ointment—The attention of all sufferers is drawn to these well-known remedies, for they possess con spicuous advantage as a safe and reliable aid in all those emergencieß to which travellers, emigrants, and sailors are so especially liable. They haye been largely patronised by wayfarers by land and sea, and, 1 in fact, by all classes of the community, to their very gyeab advantage. The Pilla are beyond all doubt one of the moßt effective remedies ever discovered for cases of abstinate constipation, confirmed indigestion and colic, complaints which are engendered by exposure and irregu lar feeding. The Ointment will be found of the very greatest service in cases of piles, abscesses, erysipelas, and all kinds of local, j ulcerations.



Chamberlain s Cough Remedy euros colds, croup and whopping cough. Ib is pleasant, safe and reliable. For 'sale by Ashbvswon PRPG COWFAHtT. v ' *■'■''"■-



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