DEATH.

Hahby.— April 9, at the residence of her daughter, Mrs Herbert Alington, Wills Street, Annh Helen, widow of the late John Hardy, 0.E., of Helensbrook, Otago.

Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 1898.

It seems almost incredible that at the close of the nineteenth

one of the beat "LESE educated and most MAJESTE." enlightened of European nations should have had to record that m the last five years 1239 persons have been sentenced to terms of imprisonment — aggregating 2250 years — for offending the Emperor of Germany. The Review of Reviews says that the majority of the offenders are workmen. The following story told m that paper is m general circulation, and doubtless if the Kaiser could got any one of those who are laughing at it into his power, it would be very bad for that one. An American hearing of some freaks of the Emperor, exclaimed on the street m Berlin — " The Emperor is a blanky fool. 1" A detective understanding English, stepped up, tapped him c on the shoulder and said — " I arrest you. You morst komm wit me." " Why,? " asked the American. i( You have insulted His Majesty the Emperor." " I was talk ing about the Russian Emperor " said the American. " No, Sir ! That will not do " said the detective. " There is no Emperor a blanky fool but Bis Majesty the German Emperor."

Local and General.

The San Francisco Mail arrived at Auckland at eleven to-day. The Penguin will probably arrive at Wellington to-mor row with the Southern mail which will be taken on to Lyttelton two hours later by the Rotomahana,

Accident to Colonel Moore. — Colonel Moore was run over by a cab at Chriatohureh when returning from camp last night. He was found to be extensively bruiaed, but not seriously injured. He came on with the late train last night. On the first pago to-day will be found articles headed " The Unemployed," " Fire on the Tekoa," also cable news ; on the fourth page a report of the Longbeach Road Board meeting, eportjng, and further particulars of the wreck of the China. The Gramophone.— The nsw talking machine, the gramophone, will be the chief attraction at the Wesieyan social m the church on Thursday, but there will be many other attractions beside?, with, as the Americans gay, '* something good to eat. 9 ' Smart Work.— The result of the first four races, including the Great Easter Handicap, was posted up on the telegraph board on the sports ground on the Ashburton Domain yesterday afternoon immediately after the last eyent, having been received by the Guardian pigeop express at 3.45, the bird having been liberated at the Riccarton racecourse at 2 40 '* Good bye, Olp Chap."— When Lord Ranfur'.'y left the Club Hotel after his visit of last week (reports the Masterton 7i/nes), a settler standing OH the verandah said sotto voce, v Good byi, old ohap.' ; The quick ear of the Governor caught) the adieu, and, turning round, Lord Ran fur ly — who possesses a sense of humour — replied, " Yes, I'm off ! Good bye < " and offered his hand to the settler, who felt as if he would have liked to have been a thousand miles away.

European Prisoners m the Soudan.— Trustworthy private letters written m September from Bedjaf on the Upper Nile, recently occupied by Congo troops, says that a body of Dervishes on a reconnoitring ec pedition lately approached the town. They retired, but ten Europeans m chains were seen amongst them. As it is impossible that the prisoners can be Belgians or British, it is believed that they belong to one of the French expeditions, and it iB thought pos sible that it is Marchand's.

A Duststohm at BEA.-~Sn extraordinary experience befel the Cape mail steamer Roalin CasMe during her voyage from the South African port to Plymouth. She encountered from latitude lSdeg north to Madeira a dense dust storm, and the speed of the engines had m consequence to be reduced for 900 miles. The captain of the Roalin Caatle states that it was a dense red sandstorm from the Sahara that delayed her. Further misfortune was m store for the Casjtlo liner before reaching Plymouth. When .catering that port ah© collided with the naval jrejiaej traveller, and slightly damaged her.

Tins Nkw Stamps— From Wellington by a Vvaes Association telegram we learn that there has been an excep tionally heavy <Jeajsn4 /or the new stamps, the penny and two peo^e h.qJf-penny being the most m request, and it is esfcim. aterl (hat within forty-eight houra of being placed OQ sale 100,000 will be sold through out the colony. The shipment received con sisted of only 300,000. Other consignments are expected to-day or tormorroW. ft is expected that the combined envelope and form to be used by the telegraph department for received messages will j^s brought into operation next month. Under the amended method the operator will both receive the message and address it, thus reducing the risk of blunder to a minimum. The system finds favor with commetoial men, whose advice was sought,

In order to make room for the builders to complete the alterations va have resolved to greatly reduae our stock. Wo have therefore culled a large quantity of our Tweeds and Worsteds, eto. t to clear at the following reductions :— Men's suits to measure, usual price 90a, now 70a ; Men's trousers, usual prioe 25b, now 15s 6d ; eto. We have also pleasure m notifying that we haye iuob been appointed agents for the famous "British Monarch ' " Wayerley " and Ectfpse-Humber Bicycles (both gente' and ladies'), which we are now selling wjth a n the " up-to-date " improvements »b php lowest cash prices, or on the moßfc liberal £erms to suit) the convenience of our Aygtopapfg. (Every machine guaranteed).— Cbaigpp^ ak» £jsßßyman, the leading Tutors and O»tstt.er|, B

THE HOLIDAY.

2'hs A. A C and AC. Sports Meeting.

The local Amateur Cycling and Athletic Club haß had for some years the worst possible luck m the matter of weather-for | their annual sports, the result of which was that a big leeway m gate deficiency had to be made up. Pluckily the oommittee, backed by the members, stuck to the work of paying all the back scores, and this year, I being m the happy position of " owing no man anything," their righteousness has had I more than its own reward Favored by such weather as even their own order could not have bettered for a sports day, they held their annual meeting before a great crowd, whose individual contributions at the gate left to the treasurer the satisfactory sum of £559 Is 9d. The fielda m the various events were large, so far as entries went, though when the starter cams to be faoed they were considerably reduced by the defections of many who had no desire to tun what mast have been with many of them a stern chase. " A stern chase is a long chase " says an old sailor proverb, but m the old days, though long, the stern chase often ended m success for the chaser. In too many cases of the defaulting entrants success would have been hopeless. Bub there were plenty left m throughout the events to leave grand racing to be witnessed by the onlookers. The committee and officers worked admirably. There was not a moment's unnecessary de lay, and the events were brought off, one after the other, like clockwork. The only thing that marred for a little the enjoyment was an acccident m the three-mile bicycle race, m wbioh Hall and Aker came down, but after a short rest on the award and the attention of Dr Leahy at the pavilion, the men were soon all right again, though they were bruised a bit) and had lost a little skin. Mrs Primmer had a booth on the ground m which she fed many of the hungry and dis pensed the cup that cheers, etc. The Ash burton Brass Band was also on the ground. The following are the results of the different events : — Half-mile Bicycle Handicap— First heat- Truman, 60yds, 1 ; W R Lane, 10yds, 2. Time, 1.75. here were seven m the race, but Truman led all the way, and Lane made a good Beoond. Second heat— Six started, and after Hall, scratch, and Thompson, 35yds, had cut down all m front they came m m that order. Time, I.BJ. Third heat — This brought out the veteran Hayward and the popular Akers, with Wynn. Williams and Walter Purchase. Williams and Aker soon showed that the heat was theirs, and they led m m that order with Hayward third, but out of the final. Time, 1.7. When the heat winners met m the final, Wynn-Williams 1, Truman 2, showed the others home, Time, 1.7 J. 100 yds Flat Handioapi— The heavy entries necessitated the running of the event m four heats. First Heat — Six ran. R A Gray, 7yde, come home fairly easily, with J L Smith, scratch, behind him. Time, 10|3eo. Second Heat — A spirited sprint and a close finish, Houlb, 7yds, coming m first and Davidson, scratch, second, with hardly day light between them. Time, 10*29 c. Third Heat— A well run spin and a close finish, Hiorns, 6yds, beating Killner, 7yds, m the good time of 10£. Fourth Heat— J T Purchase, 7yds, got home an easy first with Baigent, 7yds, a fair second. Time, 10£aeo. Final—Gray 1, Hiorns 2. Time, lO^ssc. The running m the final was very good, and the judges had some difficulty m separating the planed men. Two Mile Roadster Handicap.— Out of eighteen entries eight faced Mr Thomas's starting shot. F Taylor the local rider had the race almost as a gift. 180 yards is a loDg gap to leave between a well set up sturdy youog fellow with fair practice, and ' scratch men with no more stamina, though their experience and training may be greater. Taylor won easily, with Aker, the Bcratch man, second, and Burmeister 110 yds third. Time, 4.55g. 120 yds Hurdles.— This was ruu m two heats. First Heat— Four started, Chol mondeley, owing 15yds, J McTigue, syds, O L H Hiorns, 4yds, and R A Gray, scratch. McTeague led for a good part of the way, but Cholmondejey ap,d Hiorns cloeed on him at the last hurdle. He managed, however, to scramble home sufficiently m front to catoh the judges' eye, and first place was awarded . to him, though Hiorns felo inc'ined to con test the decision, Cholmondeley, who had run a magnsficent race getting Becond place. Be it noted that the jumping was clean and ne!»t bub the hurdles were only 3ft. Time, 18seo. fcJenopd Heat— For this only three started, Cotterill. owing 9yds, Baigent, 6yds, and Shallard syds. "pottprilL pame home an ea&y first "with Baigenb aecond. Timei 193ec. Final— This was done m better time and the men were on their metal. Cholmondsley jumped grandly all through, as did also MeTeague. The latter led for a hard Je or two and he looked like beating Cholmondejey for a time, bub at the list hurdle the two were together and Cholmondeley making good use of bis turn of pace on the flab between the last hurdle and the tape, came home the winner, Cot terill third and Baigent a good fourth. Time, I7aec ? 75yds Flat Handicap (ClubJ.-^This event was fairly entered for and a good many toed the mark. First Heat— o A Friedlander, syds I ; if Dayison, scratch 2. Close finish m 8)t8eo. Second Heat— W J Smith, 7ydß, 1{ J E Purchase, 4yds, g. Won m Saeo. The final was a most interesting pontest. Friedlander and Smith ran a dead jieab, with Purchase just enough behind them fco swear by. The judges ordered the dead heat couple to run again, which they did atter , getting their wind, and again a dead heat resulted. This was gensidered plenty, and the two divided honor*. One-and-a-half-mile Bicyole Handicap (Ladies' Bracelet).— First Heat— Five stood out of thia heat and seven came to the marks. The time was the good one of 3.30g. J W Jones scratch, J Orr 55yds. and W M Hall scratch, were the placed men, which was a good race. Second Heat Six out of twelye entrants came to the track. The heat was run out to the end, all meaning it, and resulted— W ft Lane, 40yds, 1 ° F H Symonds, 180 yds, 2jHW Aker, 55yds, 3. Time, 3.33|. Final Heat— Symonds 1, Jones g, Hall 3. Symonds. on his "Rambler" dodftsrt aiong gamely and the cracks wsre unable to out him down, his Ramem as and his 180 yards being too much for them. Time, 3 34£. , Boys' Bicyple Handicap, half-a r mile— Eight promising lads came ouj; at ths sound of the bell, Claude Willie and" Nolan scratch, Berg and Fowke 10yds, Bell 15yds, R Davis 15yds, Heselbme 25yds, MpDonald 45yds. Willis sailed away through his boys and over his half mile easily m 1.21 — fairly good time for a lad — and Fowke came m a good second, with Bell a fair third. 880 yds Handicap Fiat. — There were seven teen entries of aniatei^r gads for this, bub four did not come to the mark*, and after ihe lot had been gob away the race narrowed itself very soon to a limited number indeed. Threlkeld, 40yds, drew away from the bunch who lasted but, and raced home with Penticoab, scratch, who fr'ojb'h stayed well and showed pace, C E Smith 30yds challeng ing the leader, and A H Joseph 16yds, ' wanting also to have a say m the trip. This was the brde? m vvhiph the men came home ' and the time was 2. 35. !

Three Mile Roadster Bicyole Handicap. — Nineteen entered, but the bell was not able

to call out anything like that number. Charlie Willis was give? a handicap of 230 yards, altogether too much, as his jfiise riding sfeojped, as at one period he had nearly lapped the OQratch man, but eventually slowed down, owning m f#ljy 200 yds ahead of the field. H 0 Thompson, 100 yds, made a spurt lor second place, and F Taylor 190 yds followed for third, Time, 7133g. 440 Yards Hurdle Bace— Seven out of the eleven nominations came up at the call of time. It was rather a ragged start, and Ifcigent fell at the first hurdle, but gamely picked himself up and followed m the chase, | MoTeague led "tilji jbalf pound the course where Cholmondeley overhauled him. When two-thirds of the course had been covered Ernje Matapn looked like coming to the front, b,ur his superabundance of flesh cold against ' hi'iDj, tfnd he threw up the sponge ac the second 'last bundle, and let Joseph to the front, who challenged the i leaders. Cholmondeley passed McTeagu*, and Joseph soon did the same, but could not foliar VJholmondeley who came m first, Joseph and &£cTeague good aeooud and bhird. Time,oJ|Be^

Three-mile First-class Bicycle Handicap— lhis was an unfortunate race, inasmuch as coming into the straight m the last l.p Mall* (scratoh) machine skidded, and he came down heavily, Aker (70yds) coming with a crash on top of him, and both were laid hsrs de combat, much shaken, and a good deal oruiaed. They were both likely winners at the time, bufc the accident let Jones and Hayward run easily into first and second place, with Orr (80yde) third. The real racing for the public was all done m the last two laps, though the riders left had been working hard right through, the out paced men dropping out one by one. Time, 7.30.

220 Yards Flat Handicap— First heat — Biorns, 11yds, I;JL Smith, Bcratch, 2. Time, 24f3ecs. Second heat— R A Gray, 10yds, 1 ; J H Mackay, 14yds, 2. Time, 24aecs. Fmal-Hiorna 1, Mackay 2, Smith 3 Time, 24secs. All interesting itemß. Two Mile Club Bioyole Race. — The mistake m under-rating Charlie Willis, who had a handicap of 200 yds, robbed this race of much of its interest, although we under stand that he expressed his willingness to be re handioapped if it were so desired. Only five started. Willis romped home his handi cap intact. Symons, 80yds, second, rode a fine race, notwithstanding the hopeless chase, and promises to be a creditable addition to our local cyclists. Time— 4.4BJ. Five-mile Bicycle— Twenty-fa've entered, but only eight ran, and as the laps were covered it was soon seen who had a show. Jones, scratch, wore his men down steadily, Hayward retiring about the thirteenth lap, having evidently had enough of it. The accident to Hail and Aker m a previous event had taken them out of the contest alto gether, and Hayward's retirement narrowed things down a good deal, as some of those who might have had a chance gave m after being paiaed. Orr and Symons, however, hung on to Jones, and a fine struggle took pace rounding the home turn, Jonea winning by a bare length ; Orr second, Symons third. Time, 12.29 2-sfch. Jones was " chaired " and cheered on finishing. 440 Yards Flat Handicap— There were twenty-eight entries for this event, but only sixteen came out. The long run Boon found the weak points of wind and •• wait " of most of the sixteen, and a good race m the straight resulted m C Threlkeld, 25yde, ooming m first, the grand stayer Joseph, llydß, well up to him, and J T Birch a good third. Time— s3 2-sth.

CANDLELIGHT NOTES.

[By Jaques ]

"I must have liberty withal, us large a charter as tne wind, to flow on whom I please."— As You like it.

In my Notes last week I referred to some idiotic customs m connection with weddings. I might have added thab the " April fool " business is one of the most ridiculous and senseless pieces of tomfoolery tolerated at the present day. Ib is surely time that ao silly a practice wbb entirely blotted out, even amongst very little children. Youpg people old enough to understand that to con vey a false idea to a man, woman or child, which would require action — sometimes sudden and prompt— is foolish,' nob to Bay wicked, ought to have the foolishness and the wickedness of the thing impressed upon them. I have often thought that when a grown person, or one arrived at an age when common sense should be the guide of one's actions, tells another a lie to extract " fun " from the complications and annoyance cau&ed by the resultant mistake, the fool is the former, and not the latter. Here, m Ash burton, April the first is, m a getieral way, only celebrated by very young children, but m some places m New SJoaland grown per sons are not ashamed to make fools of them selves, as, for example, m Temuka, where last Saturday some idiot caused a great waste of time to the business men of the place. The Teinnka Leader thus reports his proceed ings i— "He was up betimes, and proceeded to make April fools of all and sundry. He told a hotelkoeper that a man had been arrested who had Btated m the Court that he had got drink at his house at two o'clock thab morning. The hotelkeeper rushed to the Court, to find thab the police knew nothing at all about the matter. A grave and reverend citizen was on his way to the Post Office, when he wae excitedly asked to come into a hotel as the hotelkeepor had taken a fib of apoplexy. On arriving at the hotel the hoteljbeper stood m the doorway aa hale and hearty as ever he was m all his born day. A storekeeper was senb with a parcel of goods to another, and a travelling bookseller was sent to where he could sell a large number of books. Another citizen received a letter from a lady stating thab her husband had absented himself from home, and that she was anxious about him. And another got a letter asking him to go to the Court to bail out a friend of his who had been run m." Very funny for a half-witted fool with nothing to do, but what about the busy men who were victimised ?

I suppose the School Committee elections will soon engage the attention of house holders. It may not be out of place here and now to &sk y?hy ib is that m some dis tricts—Ashbur ton, for example— oujy some half-dozen persons take any interest m educational matters ? Various reasons have been advanced m explanation of th ; a. None that I have heard, however, seem satisfao faptory. The e^ucatjon of our children is surely a matter of more importance than many other matters which suffice to draw a good meeting at any time. And yet what dp we find? We find our best men speaking when they haye popasipn to speak m public' of the excellence of our system of education phe benefits to the people that low from it, the grand gommunity of Uew Zealanders living under free i»stitutions, ' and ths glorious future m atore for people so en lightened and so free. But how many of those speakers exhibit any proof of their appreciation of this state of things by taking any active part m the School Com mittee work of their districts 1 I have heard it remarked thai} the larger centres have a better olasa of men educationally and intellectually on the school committees ; and m a general way this may be true. But if we are to judge from what comes often under our immediate notice, I ahoujd be inclined to demur $o the proposition. We §«d plenty of men ready to take office as municipal councillors and members of other Boards, but when the time comes round— as it will agaiD on the 25th of this month —for the householders to elect men to look after educational matters m Ashb,urton and elsewhere, there are seldom more than the same old ci^wd present and the same committ'eemen nominated. This is not because everybody is satisfied, as these siiekcru W°ty*d have us believe. The dis satisfaction whiph has been freely expressed during the past year, and tl|e occurrences almost amounting to scandals, dispose of that. Why then do the moat suitable men generally stand aloof from School Committees 1 Are those who aspire to municipal honors too great men altogether to stoop to such work as looking after the educational interests of th? .children ? And is the work of a kind that^he word ff gtpop" should be applied to it ? Surely it has noo come to this ? I con sider ib a high honor to be entrusted with the educational affairs of a district, and therefore the best services of our best men should be given to it. But it is a question for the hoj+sehslders as well, and they should see to io that the Beat men to jba procured are those they select for Committeemen, and they should now begin to oast round for such men, so that when the election comes off they shouidJjaye their candidates ready, and be themselves pn the spot to vote for them.

The English, American, and Australian Press arp much more ready to take advan tage of the undoubted talent of the feminine portion of the community than their con frerea m N.Z. This is the more surprising as the lady students of the colony Have especially distinguished themselves, clearly showing that they'are fluito the equals of the maeouline portion of the community, ijiifi while this oannot be denied, it is a mood point whether the directness of the feminine mind would not be found inoonvenienb m this country, where the appearance of pro* prjety is a feature pf the national morality. Woe that I would Euggeat for a, moment that the woman would be Inclined the other w&y. Far be it from me to hint at such a possi bility. But women are not so much disposed to favor humbug as men are, and I think jb'faey are generally found calling a spade a spade, I think, therefore, ib would be a decided advantage to' New Zealand journal* Urn if the talents of our cultured ; women were more generally taken advantage of by the Press of tho colony,

Apropos of this quality of directness m ] the female character is an incident that] recently occurred at an afternoon tea m this town of Ashburton. My informant is one of those highly favored beings who has been admitted within the gates of Ashburton '• sassiety." I will call her Mrs T, and her visitor Mra A. Now Mrs T. is an elderly lady of the old school m dress and deport ment. Mrs A. had become a convert to the new style of dress, and was discussing that portion of female attire which has formed such a bountiful theme for controversy. Mrs A. pointed out that it was necessary to be measured for the bifurcated article, and m connection with her own experience m this matter she added that the dressmaker had, after taking the measurements, told her that her (Mrs A/a) leg was the exaofc standard of symmetry. And after a pause the latter lady euquited, " What does your leg measure, Mrs T. ?" " Then," said Mrs T., " I arose m my wrath, and I looked at her, and I said, ' What my leg measures is my own business ?' "

Writing of afternoon teas reminds me of something near akin to them — the "aaesiety" dance. I had something to do recently m connection with one of these functions, something very humble, as I can scarcely claim to be a " toff." Bub I chanced to overhear a conversation between two of the promoters— the "Invitation" Committee they called themselves. I will not Bay whether these were of the male or the female persuasion. The question under consideration waa the seleotion of the guests for the coming hop. I may jusb add that the committee were employees reoeiving something less than £100 a year, bnt it must not be inferred that I suggest they. were at all underpaid. The name of one of Ashbur ton's most respected and cultured citizens was on the list, and on coming to it one of the aforesaid committee remarked with decision, " I don't know them at all, and they are not m our set ?" and so they were not, on that occasion, admitted to Ashbur ton society. Providence ia said to temper the wind to the shorn lamb, and doubtless these poor people were mercifully Bpared the knowledge of what they really lost by not being m " our set," and being excluded from that fashionable frolic.

The recent brilliant doings of our gallant countrymen m India, the numerous cases of individual heroism, taken m conjunction with the rumours of impending war, have focuased public attention upon everything connected with our army, navy, and volun teers. Under these circumstances one would suppose that the ocoasion of the recent volunteer display at Sumner would be taken advantage of by the authorities to re-assure the people of these islands thab our local protectors are fully alive to the responsibil ities resting upon them at a time when the war scare is liable at any moment to discuib the public peace. I cannot say, however, that what 1 saw on the Auhburton railway station when the Southern contingent for tne encampment passed through heie was cat enated to make the public feel confident that our proteotion — should danger arise— is m quite the best hands. At anyrate, it was the subject of general remark that although some few volunteers returning from an encampment have occasionally conducted themselves m an unbecoming manner whilst passing through Athburton — never before had there been such a rowdy demonstration on the way to an encampment as that which took place on the station on Thursday even ing. Job's remark about " the thunder of the captains, and the shouting " was realised m the uproar created by the volunteers on that occasion, and that uproar waa something to be remembered. Certainly no one present on the occasion could ever forget the hullabulloo. I have not heard that the alterations which of late years have taken place m military taotios inolude a return to the custom of Ethiopian and other savage nations of terrifying the enemy by yelling and making as fearful a display as possible. If this kind of thing is to be included In the training of the warrior of the future, then indeed our Southern defenders promise to be invinoible, - But, assuming that the motto of the soldiers of the empire is to remain "Silent, steady and stern," it is to be hoped that the volunteers who made such an exhibition of themselves on Thursday evening will mend their manners.

Sad Accident.

— —» — Press Association—By Eleotrio Telegraph

WESTroBT, April 12 When the Tutanekai was leaving last night with the Nelson and Marlborough volunteers a dreadful accident happened. Mr Hunter, ohief officer of the steamer, waa attending to a rope at the bow of the vessel when he got his left leg entangled m the coil, and when the strain was put on it, the leg wag taken off Just above the ankle. The steamer returned to the staiths and Mr Hunter was taken to the hospital. He is easier this morning.

THE REVIEW OF REVIEWS.

The March number of the Review of Bevieivs ia to hand. It is more than usually interesting, as might have been expected m view of the events that had transpired during the month. Amongst the artioles is one by Sir Robert Stout— "The drift of politics m New Zealand," apropos to which there ia a cartoon from the **■ Hew Zealand Graphic " representing Sir Robert emerging from the sea of politics m the ape^ of 4 waterspout, and, disappearing beyond the far horizon, is shown a doleful looking globe labelled (f Prohibition,'* the sketch being entitled *' A political waterspout.'' Prince Ran jit ainhji contributes a,n article, on "The last test match," and there are some very interesting items under the " Topics of tho month," first amongst which is the now famous Zola business. A character sketch of " John Burns," whose name has become so famous m English politics, as one of the greatest labour statesmen m the world also appears. The month's caricatures are amusing, some of them clever, bb for instance one from Puck New York, presenting as ''The advance agent of civilisation " an army with an immense cgnnon m the centre of it, which, m thp light of recent events exhibits some grim humour. ' 3?be besb reading m tbe Revieio of Reviews is generally to be found under the head of the leading articles m the Reviews, which m this number are especially interesting.

THE DUNEDIN MURDER.

Execution of Clements.

Press Association— By Electrio Telegraph

Dunbdin, April 11 Charles Clements, found guilty of wife murder, will be executed to-morrow morn ing. The scaffold has been erected m a portion of the yard surrounded by high wall 8, and cannot be overlooked. The con demned mac has been receiving the minis trations 6i Arohdeaoon Bobinsoa, He has been somewhat' violent m his pehaViour, and has evinced no concern respecting his position. ' April 12. Clements was executed this morning, death being instantaneous. He made v, statement, which will be forwarded to the government, but it is not available for the Press meanwhile. The condemned man showed no aigne of penitence, and iip till the last seemed absolutely indifferent to his fate.

CORRESPONDENCE.

(We do not hold ourselves responrib'e for tba opinions expressed by our correspondents)

GOVERNMENT FIRE INSURANCE.

TO TBfe EDITOB

Sin,— l observe from your report of its last meeting that our Borough Oounoil baa followed the lead of the Timaru Council, and passed a resolution m favor of " State Fire Insurance," or, to put it less grandiloquently, of a Government Fire Insurance Department. Looking at the magnitude of the subject, the discussion m our Council was of a very sl.ght character, and the resolution seems rather to have been intended as a protest against the unjust action of the Fire Insur ance Companies m declining to make a proper contribution towards the support of our local Fire Brigade than as a genuine expression of opinion that the Government ought, m addition to. its present numerous trading undertakings, to engage m the risky business of fire insurance. " When, however, a public body passes a retolution upon any subject, the resolution is apt to be looked at, and not the reasons which prompted it, and we N ehall doubtless be told, m due season, that tile people of ABbbnrton are m favor of "Stkte Fire Insuranoe." .Now, I do not believe *hat the majority of the burgeßses hold any such views; or, indeed, that they have thought much about the matter. . What is meant by "State Fire Insuranoe V Is it meant that private insurance offices are henceforth to be prohibited from doing business m the colony, and that the Govern. me v V 8 « en J oy a monopoly of taking fire risks? If bo, is every owner of a building to be compelled to insure and the Govern* ment to accept a risk over every building, even if the risk be so bad that no private insurance office would undertake it? Or is the Government officer m charge to be able arbitrarily to say whether he will insure a building or other property or not ; and if he does agree to insure, to fix the sum for which it shall be insured ! If the latter course were adopted, I am afraid that, nndec the present regime at all events, it would be a bad look out for property holders who did not happen to be of the "right colour, 11 some of whom might find themselves un insured, or insured to only half the amount which they are able to effect under present) circumstances. If the former oonrie were taken, how long would the Government insurance Department be likely to remain solvent? In either case, the Government) would be able to fix its own premiums. Nor could the municipal Counoila expeot to be better off than they are now* They might have a sop thrown to them at the start, bub as soon as the Government got into fioanoial straits, the Boroughs would be told to pro vide for the Bupport of their own Fire Brigades, and the law amended so as to com' pel them to maintain the Brigades m au efficient state, with the view of savins the Fire Insurance Department from lost, If, on the other hand, the Government if ire Insurance Department is to be merely introduced as an additional fire insuranoe office, of what value would it be ? If it was to be made to pay, its business mast be conducted upon similar lines to paying private offices, or else, as many fire insurance companies have done, it would come to financial grief. Surely the Government are engaged m enough trading undertakings already, with out plunging into more. They are railway, telegraph, telephone, and newspaper pro pnetors, money lenders, and bankers ; they do an extensive business as life insurers and they undertake the management of trust estates ; they are printers and experimental farmers and fowl breeders, and goodnesa knows what all. They are-ia addition land lords upon a gigantic scale, and very bard landlords too. It may safely be averred that none of these Government trading con cerns are better managed than private trading ocncerns of a similar eharaoter, while some are decidedly worse managed : and, as I pointed out m a letter to the Christchuroh Pi ess some time ago, throughout all these departments there is a general tendency to reduce salaries and wages, whilenone of those pecuniary rewards which are often held oufe to superior ability m private trading establishments are attainable m the Govern ment service. A striking illustration of this fact waa given a few yeara ago. when the Government of the colony vainly sought to induce gome competent man m England to undertake the management of our railways at the highest Balary which the House of Representatives could be induced to vote. The Government are gradually blocking all the avenues to business success with the result that numbers of our moat able and enterprising young men are scatter ing themselves over the surface of the globe — Borne even wending their way to over orowded England— looking for those ohancei which the colony denies them. Another mischievous effect of this perpetual Govern, menb invasion of the sphere of private enter prise is, that persons who have saved money are debarred from many kinds of investment which are available to them m other civilised countries. Surely it is a sign of feeble mindedneta for us to invoke the interference of the Government whenever a little business diffi oulty arises. The Fire Insurance Association declines to contribute a small sum towards the maintenance of certain fire brigade* • whereupon a large Government Dopartmenft must be summoned into existence. It is like proposing to rebuild the entire house because the hinges of a door want oiling. If it be right that' the Fire Insurance Com panies should contribute towards the sup< port of fire brigades, and that sooh contribu tion be made compulsory, the simplest plan would be to pass a short Aot of Parliament compelling them to do so. Where is this sort of thing to end ? Every now and again indignant heads of families write to the newspapers complaining of the excessive prices charged for meat and bread by the butchers and bakers* Why not have Government butcheries and bakeries 2 What do we want with half a dozen auctioneers m a small town like Ashburton * Gould not the whole business be done m.nob! better and cheaper by one Government auctioneer of the right color, with perhapa the aid of an assistant whose qualification for the office oonsisted of the help whioh he had afforded to the Ministerial candidate at an election ? Thia demand for •♦ State Fire Insurance " originally emanated from the Socialistic Association! m the large towns, very few of whose members possess any insurable pro. perfcy of their own, and who consequently itch to meddle with other people's property. The Ministry have taken np the measure simply for the purpose of oatohing the votes of these Associations.— l am, etc, April 10, 1898.

Serious Bush Fires

Presa Association— By Electrio Telegraph,— Wellington, April 11 Serious fires have occurred m the Master* ton district since Friday. At Weraite and Rangitumau, Mr O E Daniella? mills w«ra m great danger and were saved With diffi. culty, firemen from Masterton going" to "the assistance of the mill hands. The settlers m the neighborhood left their house.B. The extent qf the damage is nob known yet, bub Mr Daniells' loss, so far, muat be about £1000. At Fernridge, another fire caught 8> large heap of fjrewood, belonging tq Mr A Stetnpa, and spread to his slaughterhouse, stables, «sfcc., totally destroying them. A man, named Peter Jorgensen, was very aeriously injured m fighting the fire.

Famished. Maorig.

Presa Aaßooiation— By Electric Telegraph^. Auqslanp, April ll The Ureweras at Galatea and its vicinity are badly off for food, owiag to the ctmmlotn failure of the potato and maize crops. Many have migrated to Ruatoki and Wakakaune. a^d at one of the achools the teacher, Mr Wyhe, had been giving the children a dinner of boiled rioe daily. The Premier has riven instruction* fqs- "some. ! riee, potatota, 9 sad flour-to wmv mmovkmi^i m atart some road works, «« that men may earn sufficient to keep their peopla during the winter. It seems the frottt Ha« destroyed everything and they wo liviiia on roota and buds, •• ■ ,9

THE ASHBUETOJN GUARDIAN; TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 1898.



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RHEUMATISM CUBED. My wife' haß used Chamberlain's Pain Balm for rheumatism with great relief, and I can recommend it as a splendid liniment for yheupatiam p,nd other household use for which We have found; id va^abW»i-W. 3. Ou¥M?r, Red, Creek, K.Xi 1



I was reading an advertisement of Cham- berlain's Colic, Cholera and Diarrhoea Rem- edy m the Worcester Enterprise recently, which leads me to write this. J. can truth, fully say Ineyer used any remedy equal to it for colio and diarrhea. J have never bad to use more than one or two dogea to pure the worst case with myself or children. —- W. A. Stroud, Popomoke City, Md, For sale by Ashburton Drug Company. Mr Cuyler ia one of the leading merchants of this village and one of the moat prominent men }a this vioinity.—W. G. Phippin, Edi- tor Jsed" 'Creek 1 Heialil* ' ' E'jr sale- fry Ash- burton Drug CloinpaHy,



KOZIE rriZA I* Superb



Business Notices. ASHBURTON PUBLISHING COMPANY, Ltd., (m liquidation ) JN CONSEQUENCE of the Mail and Guardian Newspapers having been leased to MR HENRY WILLIS, . ALL DEBTS due to the above Company up to the 21st day of March, 1898, MUST BE DISCHARGED DELAY. ACCOUNTS will be rendered forthwith, and may be paid at the Offices, Burnett Street, to Mr Henry Willis. Wm. JUKES STEWARD, Manager of Ashburton Publishing Co., Ltd.



F. FERE IMA N. ] FOR SALE- A SPLENDID OPPORTUNITY FOR A PERSON WITH SMALL CAPITAL. X HAVE been instructed by Mb) V. Rouse to sell by Private Treaty hia well known and Commodious BOARDING j HOUSE, Bituated m oloae proximity to the Methven Railway Station, containing W Rooms and Scullery, together with £ acre of land. As Mb Rouse has determined to sell on account of his wife's ill-health, the above should command the attention of anyone m t, learoh of a profitable and increasing buaineßa m the centre of a large and riling diatrioti F. FERRIMAN. FOR SALE. WAKANUI iROAD. WITHIN A FEW MINUTES WALK OF POST OFFICE. . A Comfortable Dwelling Houbc, contain- ) ing 8 rooms, Bathroom and Soullery, to- gether with one acre of land, fronting on Wakanui Road and Cambridge Street. The above is for absolute sale, and from ta close proximity to town should call for epeoial attention from those||in |aearoh of a good suburban residence. F. FERRIMAN. 3 FOR SALE. LEASE IN PERPETUITY of 10 Acres of Land at Lismore, subdivided into four paddocks, with an abundant eupply of water m each. 20 acres are m English grasses, 35 m fallow, and 45 are m the native abate, upon which there is good feed. Upon the property there is a comfortable five-roomed house, a well planted garden, three-stalled [stable, piggeries and sheep yards. As this farm is within three milesi of J|a Public School, anyone m search of a property afc a small rental would do well to givej^this an inspection. . F. FERRIMAN. FOR SALE, I HAVE FOR SALE a good second hand FARM DRAY, 1 DOUBLE-FURROW PLOUGH, and second hand DRILL. F. FERRIMAN. FOB SALE, LEASE OF 600*AORB8'OF LAND AT WESTERFIED. 100 acres Perpetual Lease, 999 years, equal to freehold; 500 acres under lease for 7 years, upon which are erected a four-roomed cottage, stable and chaffhouso, etc., situated m close proximity to a public school. 40 acres are sown down m English grasses, 550 are m tussock, and 10 are m fallow. Anyone m search of a good sheep farm cannot do better than give this their atten. tion. Full Jp wtieulara on|application . F. FERRIMAN. TO LET, William Street, off Wakanui Road. A house of seven rooms. TO LET, Wakanui Road, a" comfortablej'house Jojf six rooma and soullery. ' F. FERRIMAN, I Ovya/ry of/fie f/n/fafio/ts* 1 7/iey are pi/re d/ii/moksome I & /Ae&esfmofieyaffsf .& I exper/ence c£p is(y. uJfo\M^l&\\ grocers {i i j PHASES OF THE MOON. April, d h m Full moon „ ~ 7 550 am Last quarter ... ... 14 Isg ft m New moon 21 9ft ?m Vint q«WtW «« „, 29 jl 35 pm



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