MAIL NOTICES.

Mails cloeo for the following places as under, subject to the necessary altera tions :— WEDNESDAY, JULY 20. For Northern Ports and Fiji, Hawaiian Islands, British Columbia, C mada, United States, etc. ; also United Kingdom, Conti nent of Europe, via Vancouver, per , will close H8 follows :— Money orders, 3 p.m. ; registered letter's, 5 p.m. ; newspapers and books, 630 p.m. ; letters, 630 p.m. Due Vancouver August 11th, and due London August 24bb.

Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. TUESDAY, JULY 19, 1898. RABBITS.

There are many thousands of acres of land m this colony wholly given over to rabbits, and on some runs, so great did the pest become that the proprietor ov legsge had simply to leave and give up the property to bunny. Sheep were supplanted by the rodent, as the latter like a plague of locusts swarmed up and devoured the pasture. The Legis lature Btppped m, and made stringent laws for the suppression of bunny, and the prayer of every pastoralist was that he might be speadily exterminated. Those districts which had not yet been cursed with his preaenoe m numbers, put up rabbit proof fences, so that the pest should be kept out, and vigorous measures were taken to get rid of any individuals that may have come as a sort of advanced guard of the invading horde. But bunny is still alive, and likely to live. While the whole colony was, 00 to speak, sitting m sackcloth and ashet over the pecfc that was literally devouring what bad been good sheep country, it was left to to our Otago neighbors to turn the pest to good account. Some canny-headed ones thought that, if it were possible to send to the Home mark9t our mutton m a frozen condition, it might be equally possible to send bunny. It was known that m England the rabbit is a popular article of food, and if rabbits could be sent there m anything like decent condition they would find a ready sale. The experiment was tried, and tbe results were sufficiently satis factory to induce a vigorous prosecution of the tradp, and the export of rabbits has now become an important industry, An Oamaru contemporary says that during the comparatively short time the industry has been m existence, about 590,000 rabbits have been sent away from Oaraaru alone. The same paper adds that previous to the open ing of the export season there must have been as many rabbits as sheep m the district ; but from the accounts that reach us from the country there are fewer rabbits now than there has been for years. Places that knew bunny m myriads pow knonr very little of him j he has been shipped Home to feed the other myriads of human j beings who have to look to outside j sources for their food supplies, and to j whom these colonies have been as a j providential dispensation, cheapening ' the cost of living by the abundance of ] fchfir productions. The fofoltiy givf* ,

employment to a large number of J trappers, and on this subject, the  North Ofcago Daily Times has been at pains to gather detailed informa tion. Our contemporary aays that to the New Zealand trapper each pair of rabbits is worth about sd, und at this figure there would be a rot urn to the men following the occupation m the Oamaru district (nupposiug that all the rabbits exported from Oamaru had been trapped m the' distric')' of a little over £12,000. The writer is unable to say how many men and boys are engaged m trapping, as they are scattered all over the district ; but the sum is large, and represents the earnings of only the trapping season, which is short, so that a goodly number must be engaged m the work m the district, The wages earned by the trappers are sufficiently good to impel them to keep worrying the Hon. John McKenzie to postpone the poisoning of rabbits for a time, so that the trappers may have a longer season m which to work than is now allowed to them. The industry is no doubt a good one for those men, and and should also be a good one for the country, as any industry must be that brings a substantial money return, But experienoe has to be gained m thin trade, just as the exporters of frozen mutton had to gain experience. Frequently m the early history of the , trade the exporters encountered | difficulties that were only surmounted after loss, and sometimes great loss, had been sustained. But patience and perseverance overcame all the difficulties met with, and m the end the industry triumphed. The rabbit exporters are but yet m the A.8.0 of their trade, and will have to learn a good deal, for though the experience of the mutton freezers must be of value to them, and they no doubt profit by it, rabbits are not mutton and must receive treatment special to themselves. That the treatment has not been all it ought to be is proved by the report on the shipment by the Perthshire, made to the Agent-General by Mr H, 0. Cameron, inspector of produce. Re ferring to the rabbits by the Perth shire, Mr Cameron says : — " All the cases have been seized by the health officer of the port of London. They have all been placed m cold store, and are to be overhauled before being passed. There were so many bad crates that without making a thorough examination of all it was impossible to say which which were fit for food and which were unfit. I have seen several cases opened, and some of them were very bad. T understand that the insurance companies are inclined to resist payment of the insurance upon them on the ground that the rabbits had not been properly cooled and packed before freezing. They contend that the damage must have occurred before the rabbits were frozen. The rabbits are certainly not well packed, being pressed so closely together that when the cases are opened it is almost impoFsible to separate them without breaking them, and they are ail misshapen. A previous shipm- nt of rabbits that had been received from New Zealand this season was found on opening to be full of flyblows and maggots, and was promptly condemned. These must certainly have been m the rabbits before they were frozen ; they could not have got there afterwards. So that the prospects for the season for New Zealand rabbits is not pro mising." This is rather discouraging reading, but to the rabbit exporters it ought to be a lesson. Doubtless it will be, and haste will bs made to prevent a recurrence of similar disas trous results. Our contemporary accounts for the flyblows by saying that at the beginning of the trapping season ths weather is often very warm, and after a day or two m the sun, if ex pedition is not used m getting the rabbits into the freezing works, some of them will get flyblown. But surely men whose daily work is to freeze meat for export ought to know whether it is sound or not. As for the tight packing there is really no excuse, Mr Cameron's report has had the effect of calling attention, not only to the defects of this shipment, but to the importance of the industry, and there is every likelihood that its development will be at such a rapid rate that poisoning will of necessity cease, and bunny, kept within reasonable bounds i by an army of trappers, will cease to be looked upon »3 a pest.

Local and General.

Ellbsmere Show. —The date of the Elleßmere Show haa been fixed for Thursday, October 20th next. Items from Highbank re postal arrange ments and correspondence appear on the first page j and on , the fourth page will be found a budget of commercial news. Cahterbury A. an# P. Association.— The sum of £10 IDs has been given by Mr A. E. Q. Rhodes, vice-president of the Canterbury A. and P. Association, for priz.e m the carrier Glasses at the society's metro politan show. Technioal Classes,— lt will be seen on reference to our advertising columns that the new term for the oooking classes commences at the Borough School on Satur day, gSrd jnst. It' is to be hoped the public will support this very useful institution. Unemployed Clerks. — A correspondent of a northern newspaper reports that Wel» iington is overrun with clerks out of employ ment, and members and Ministers are besieged with piteous appeals. A week ago about thirty temporary clerks were dismissed from the Government Valuation of Land Department, the work on which they were engaged being completed. From the Dee^.— The heavy storm of a fortnight ago (says the papier 7*ele%raph) must have had the effect of disturbing the ropoße of the s.s. Tasmania at the bottom of the sea, for some wreckage, including two casks of spirits, one of which was appropri ated by the Maoris, came ashore ab the Mahia last week, A Chance fob Match Makers;. —The Belgian Government are offering a prize, open to all-comers, for the invention of a match paste without white phosphor, and able to be lighted on all kinds of material. Communications and specimens will be received at the Department of Industry and Labor, at Brussels, till January 1, 1899. A reward of 50,000 francs (£2000) will be granted to the inventor. The Printing Trade.— The half-yearly report of the Wellington Typographical Union says:— "The inadvisablenesa of putting boys to the printing trade is now more apparent than ever. Before the type- Betting or type-c&Bting maohines had been perfected, the production of journeymen printers ali over the Australian colonies had been 'far id excess of the demand, j^ub at the present time \i is' a positive' Waste of any youth's early life to b 6 bound by his parents ar guardian* to a trade at which he qan have rery little opportune of finding employ ttenb when bit apprenticeship J 8 oompletpd 194 blf 'qw«^ii «(iMßtdt"

Windsor Magazine.-- We have received from Mr H M. Jones, of Ashburton, a copy of the Windsor Magazine for June. It is quite up to its usual excellent style. We shall refer to it more fully i a ft i A ter issue. "Tote" SHOPS.-At Wellington yester day the tote ' shop keeping charges pre ferred against Robert Pateraon aud Thomas ONeill wore dismissed. Mr Kenny, S.M, said the prosecution had had very great difficulties to contend with, but the case must be tried as an ordinary criminal case, and if no proof was forthcoming there was only one course to be adopted, and he must dismiss all the cases. Mistook the Letter Box. — Whilst dusting abont the Gisborne Post Office the other morning one of the letter-carriers found three letters, which had evidently been posted by some person m 1895, who had mistaken a ventilator m the wall for the opening to a letter-box The other venti lators were then examined, and m one of them one letter and two letter cards were found. They had alao, apparently, been poßted by one person, but a year later than | the previous lot. ( Captain Russell, M.H.R. — Captain Russell received a hearty welcome from his constituents m Napier on Saturday night, on the oooasion of a flying visit from Welling ton, the first since his return from England. In the course of his reply to addresses of welcome, m referring to matters political, Captain Rußsell said that the Opposition had boen for a long time like men trying to roll a big stone to the top of a hill and he believed the top of the hill was nearly reached. When the triennial scrimmage came on h believed that they would be successful. The Maoris. —-The liberated Maoris arrived at Parlhaka on Thursday last, and entered the village m procession, accom panied by two bands. Ihey were met by the women and ohildren with a song of welcome and addresses by the chiefs, who extolled the bravery and martyrdom of the ) ploughmen, some of whom responded, say iDg that they would, if necessary, williDgly submit to double the punishment they had received. Te Whiti was present, but did nob make a speech. The Plumbers.— A Press Association wire from Wellington Bays the Conciliation Board gave its award m the plumbing dispute on the same lines as the schedule drawn up by the representatives of both sides, except m regard to wages, m which the award was that the rate of pay be Is 4d per hour for competent workmen. Men who are considered to be unable to earn that wage, shall be paid such lobs sum (if any) as shall be fixed by a committee, consisting of two persons nominated by the employers, and two by the union ; and if they cannot agree, the chairman of the Board of Con ciliation shall be referee. The Raid m the Kino Country.— Inspector Cullen has written to the Police Commission m reference to certain evidence which has been published concerning the raid he made on sly-grog sellers m the King , Country. The Inspector complains that people may be under the impression thafc he went into the witnesß box and deliberately told lies for the purpose of securing con , viotions. Inspector Cullen states the persons he obtained evidence against all went into the box and pleaded guilty, and thab he was nob called upon to give any evidence against them, and further, the i Inspector says, he was duly authoiised to canvass as an insurance agent, and was to receive commission on any business secured, and was duly supplied with the usual forms, I pamphlets, &0., carried by canvassing , agents. Suicides.— At the inquest yesterday a i young man, giving evidence as to finding deceased's body suspended from the rafter of his hut, said he was frightened, and without touching the body m any way at once went i for the police. The Coroner remarked that ; a very common but mistaken notion was that a person finding a dead body should ' refrain from interfering with it until the arrival of the police. This idea was the ! result of gross ignorance, as m such a case as that with which the jury and the Coroner were dealing the witnesa had no idea of ho"v long ' the man had been suspended, and only 1 judged from his appearance thab he was dead at all. He might have been hanging only a i Bhort time, and it was the duty of the person , first discovering any case of this kind to at once cub the body down. There was no saying bub thab life might still be m a man who had attempted his life by hanging, and if . cut down at once he might come round. The r sooner people gob rid of the notion* that the 1 first to handle a body found must be the 1 police^ no matter how far off the police may • be, the better it would be for all concerned. 1 The great relinquishing sale of boots and Bhoea now going on at McDonald and McDiarmids is without parallel m the annala of boofc sales m Asnburton. Their stock is particularly heavy m gentlemen's boots and shoes, and the fact thab they are being sold at marvellously low prices should be a great inducsmenb to purchasers to buy while the Btock ia rich m first-class goods.

FOOTBALL.

— ■» . -. Tennis Club v. Ashtarton.

By the Dreamer. The football match of '98— the loca l Waterloo— Was fought on our own Oval, between gallant boys and true. 'Twaa a sight to be remembered ! For the aim of every soul — Each warrior decked m warpaint — was to storm the othera' goal. Physician Maude, m Bplendid form, waß kicking m the scrim ; His side the Tennis Club, all fib, and neat, and trig, and trim. See Salmond, Hobba, and Upton ! Bert Fooks, the doctor too ! AH straining every tight strung nerve to get the leather through, And gain a try for Tennia. And quick Salmond, nimble-toed, He scored the try so ooveted, with the aid of Or Maude. For Hub's side, Ernie Purchase played a rattling, brilliant game, And Jim McTeague and Norman Orr main tained their well-earned fame. Heavy were the forwards, and the game was fiendish fast, While Willis, Seymour, Hepburn, all were shinning those who passed. But the Tennis had some rough ones to kick as well as they, And it fairly made the Doctor grin, to see auoh splendid play. Fr|edl tinder takes the ball well, and a good man he should make ; But, for individual excellence, Mr Gustav *? take 3 the cake." He follows up the ball well, and collars by the leg, ' And fairly " brought the house down " when he upset Jim MoTeague. The play was sure the roughest that our ground has ever known, The •• slaughter yard," and all around, with hair and Bkin were strown. And when the game waß over, the "butcher's bill" was read- Jack Rickman had a broken arm, and must peeds get to bed. ; Fooks tripped McTeague and hurt his lee • alas, for Salmond's nose ; , To save the blush of Norman Orr his com rades round him close. The rents were wide and very long, and ghastly to the sight, But a pair of fresh •• uuspeakables" put all these matters right. Poor Wilkie's arm waa twisted, the keen pain made him fquirm, But ho gamely marphed payilionwards with steady step and firm. Pilbrow'a kick, for days at least, forbids him sitting down— v But «M^Tu nD \ g ° 6 a , b °»'i"g: Ashburton "did them brown," And when the match was ended, and stakes all paid. O then ! O many a man was ruined who had backed the Tennis men. " '' won thS g£ ,1 " ye "?' ! ***«••«*

A TRIP TO BARRYTOWN.

[By Hugo Frikdlander.] 1 .-»— —^ i BarrytowD, July 11, 1898. t You were good enough to give a local some ( days ago suiting that Mr David Thomas and ! myself had gone to B*rryto\vn. Ac many of my .dshburton friends are more cr less pecuuiarily interested m this alluvial gold- ' field, and are uo doubt anxiously looking out ' for news respecting the place, you wi 1, lam ' sure, not be averse to publish a few lines ' from me. Let me, however, begin from the ' start. ftlessra David Thomas, Andrew McFarlane (of Alford Forest), and myself, left Ash burton on Thursday, the 30*h ult , andafer staying at Ohristchurch overnigbb, reached Springfield the following day about noon. The heavy rain we had m Canterbury just previously had made the rivers and roads almost impassable, and we were obliged to remain till Saturday moroing. About eight o'clock of that day we made a fresh start, but on account, of the bad state of the roads we did nob get to the Bealy till nearly six o'clock m the evening. Our old friend, ex trooper O'Malley, is proprietor of the Bealy Hotel. He makes a really good host, and the house is superior to what we expected to find. We were made very comfortable, and after giving our sore bones a chorough good rest another start was made on Sun day morning, and shortly after eight o'clock saw us ocosaiog the river Waimakariri. Arthur's pass. The grand scenery from this point to Kuroara, over Arthur's Pass, the boundary between Canterbury and West. land, has been so many times described, and by far more able writers than I am, that I shall not attempt it, but pass it with the remark that I shall never forget the grandeur and the variety of the scenery of the whole road, with its gigantic mountains, ita towering black birch, white and red pine trees all covered with snow, all solemn and majestic, rising over the surrounding an felled eorub. INCESSANT RAIF. Kumara was reached on Sunday after noon, and the next day landed us at) Grey mouth. From this out to the time of writing these lines, we had incessant rain. Such weather we could have enjoyed m our City of the Plains, but here ib was to us anything but pleasure. When ib rains here, it does so evidently m real earnest, and never m my life, and I have been out m my numerous travels m all sorts and conditions of weather, have I experienced such a downpour as over took ns on the road from Grey mouth to Barrytown. I started from the former at 11 o'clock on Thursday forenoon, the 7th msb , having been delayed there by the wet since the previous Monday, and before reaching what is going to be the great "Klondyke" of New Zealand, I had to face the worst road I ever travelled over dnring the whole of my existence, and the heaviest rain I ever felt or even heard. A NOVEL EXPERIENCE. A somewhat novel experience was mine before reaching Barrytown. After getting to the seventeen-mile bluff, which is a distance of that number of miles north of Greymoutb, I was obliged to leave my carriage (a tip dray), and I was ab my wits' ends how to negotiate the narrow pass over a high hill, a distance of nearly three miles. My driver had arranged for a pack saddle, bub this was found impracticable for various reasons. Ib was then suggested to tackle the track on *' Shanks' pony," but this I was unable to do. As a last and welcome resource a good Samaritan offered to carry me over the '* bluff," or sledge me over. I accepted the latter with many thanks. All this time ib was raining m torrents, it would have made a splendid picture, I think — me sitting on the sledge, holding on by flax and rope with all my might, so as nob to slide off, and " Mac " (a real good old sort) steadying with a rope m one hand and lantern m the other the pieces of timber I was on, so that they couldn't shoot over the cliff. At last we gob over, and eventually reached the hotel ab about half-past tei> o'clock m the evening. It thus took 11£ hours to get over a distance of about twenty miles This speaks for itself. The trip will ever remain mmy memory. Nothing could have possibly surpas ed the wretched ness of this day's travel. However, all is well bhafc ends well, and after a change of clothes, a good wholesome tea and many kind attentions from Me and Mrs Burns, the owners of the Barrytown hostelry, I made my reappearance, nothing the worse for my long and tedious journey. BARRYTOWN FLAT. I get up rather early the next morning, boing anxious to see what sorb of a place Barrytown was. 1 waa not disappointed, as this was nob the first time that I had been on the goldfields, having travelled among them m Victoria. A few badly kept houses and hubs represented the place. Bub this did not concern me, as I had not come to see what was above the ground, bub what was below it. Barrytown consists of a flit, ex tending from the seventeen-mile bluff for a distance of ten miles m a northerly direction. Ib has a width of nearly a mile from the beach to the foot of the terraces, or an area of over 6000 acres. Both the Ashburton claims are on this flat, and both of them hold valuable water rights, which again command a very, very large portion of the flit. Should the ground turn out as expected, the claims will through these water rights become of very great value, and give a long and prosperous life to these two companies — •« Barrytown No. 1 and No. 2." THE PROSPECT OF GOLD. The entire flat consists of a gold bearing drift, supplied from the rich terraces on the east, and also probably on the west from the gold bearing sand of the beach, packed m by bides. The terraces or spurs have already yielded some 80,000 ounces of gold since 1866, and there is nofr an acre of this flat which does not give a good prospecb, and the deeper one tries the richer gets the ground. Every miner one meets and speaks to tells the same story —Plenty of gold, but the ground can't be worked m its present waterlogged slate. 7'lie -Mater drowns us out. There are hundreds of miners who have worked here and would only be too glad to return if they heard of a drainage race being cub through the ' flab. I have personally satisfied myself that all the flab is more or less gold- I bearing. I had the ground taken up by the I two Ashburton companions thoroughly I tested, as far as ib could be done, and the I work was highly satisfactory. J THE WORKS. ' I The very complete, extensive, and modern I plant erected by the No 1 Company is ex- I )eoted to commence work m a day or two. I Operations were delayed through the bad I weather. In all probability, though, before I this reaches you, the telegraph wires will I have told you if the "blow-up prooess " is I able to overcome this great water difficulty. I I feel sure ib will. I feel also confident— if I appearances, or the gold indications of the I ground, the actual satisfactory tests made m I one's presence, the highly paying results I from working the ground during the past I thirty years, and the practical experience of I men who have been mining here for almpst a I lifetime are worth anything at all — that the I investors m both the Ashburton claims I have unquestionably a golden harvest before I them, and will be indeed well rewarded for I their enterprise. ] David's bream. I Before concluding, I must tell you of the I dream dreamed by our friend Mr Thomas. I It is too amusing to be omitted. The Bteep I and dangerously narrow winding cutting I of Arthur's Pass on the Westland side, is I well known, and there are some places I which the coach has to pass over which made ] more than one traveller over this road wish } they were elsewhere. The slightest mistake } by qne of the coach horses or the driver, and I everybody and everything m the coach go I down, down, down, never to be seen again. I Our friend the auctioneer would impress on j our modest Alford Forest friend (of course j after the ooich had safely reached the { bottom, of the cutting) that he could and j would safely negotiate this dangerous road, ( if he ♦' Mao " would trust himself into his I oare. The plain outspoken Scottie, however, j deglined m language more forcible than polite. The Ashburton Jehu's kind invita tion reminded him at the same time of Mr David's recent mishap on the Ashburton traffic bridge, on which occasion be was thrown out of his trap. "How could I," said the wily Soottio, "trust myself to your driving when you oannot manage the ribbons on a level piece of planking." This David took greatly to heirb. He grieved seriously over ib, and the result was the following dream bY our humorous friend, while sleep, ing »fc Kumar*, vhiqbga'ye to thaaolony the grtftt Pick Be4<to» }—" Aft«.y * g«od fa\ g? .

persuasion, and seeing that D.T. got low m jpirits, and refused to drink anything bub mi k and leomanade, and would be skin and bone by the time he returned to his family, the good natured "Mac" consented at last to he an eye-witness to the great capabilities of t his modern Jehu. They were descending rapidly Arthur's Pass, D T- driving four-in hand, and the timid "Mac" sitting m the back of the waggon, holding on for all he was worth. As they were neariug one of those narrow places, which scarcely allowed sufficient room for the vehicle to pass with safety, " Mac" became uneasy and pale, and cried tut to our friend the diiver"Look out.' With thie, the great Jehu whipped up his near side hordes, but, aias, the jerk sent the anxious passenger m the back head over heels out of the waggon, and as he waa descending the deep, deep unknown, with his long arms aud longer legs flying and fighting m the air, poor "Mao" sang out " I told you so. I told you so." l

INQUEST.

Mr R. Alcorn, acting aa coroner, held an inquest yesterday afternoon at the Hospital on ihe body of John Henry Allan, whose remains were found suspended from the rafters of a portable whare at Conolly'e farm, Forks, on Sunday lasU Mr Ernest Purchase ' waa foreman of the jury. William Allan, father of the deceased, said his son was twenty-seven years of age, and witness last saw him alive on Tuesday last, July 12. Witness drove him over from the Tinwald saleyards to ABhborton. Ha then appeared to be m his uiual health and spirits, and talked about his ordinary work. On a previous occasion — a fortnight before— when witness waa m conversation with him, deceased aaid that he had been working on an iron vessel, at Wellington, and the sound of the rivetting, at which he with others had been engaged, had affeoted his head. He had also sold some land recently because, he said, he objected to live alose. He appeared to have a fear of living alone, fancying that by doing so he would ulti mately become silly. He regretted having sold the land, because he thought he had parted with it at too low a figure. By the police— Be had sold the land before last Tuesday. Deceased waa a total abstainer and had been so all his life. Had no idea that deceased's mind was affected, but took note of his fear of living alone, and hia desire to have company. Two letters were put m by the police, both of which gave evidence that deceased premeditated suicide. Both expressed hia regret at having Bold his land at a loss of £50, and m one he enumerated debts that were owing to him, and left all his property to a female friend. George Aston, farmer, Willowby, said he knew the deceased. He was engaged to be married to witness's daughter. He was at witness's place last Tuesday evening, and stayed till the following day. He appeared to be more cheerful than he had been on former occasions. The selling of the land had been frequently the theme of conver sation, and he seemed to be much put ont about it at first, having been told that the land was better than he had believed it to be. He thought be had sold it too cheaply, but on Tuesday last he appeared to have got over the sale, and was cheerful again. By the police — Nothing m hia conduct or appearance on Wednesday indicated any weakness of mind. He was nteady and sober, and as good a lad as was m Canter bury. Did not believe he knew the taste of liquor. There was no quarrel between deceased and any member of witness's family, and he was m the habit of making witness's house his home when he came that way. One of the letters produced was addressed to witness's daughter, and was m deceased's handwriting. Mrs Harriett Sntton, said she lived on Winchmore Road. She knew deceased, who had owned some land near her home. Saw him on Wednesday, July 13, and had a conversation with him about noon. He then appeared to be perfectly rational, and more cheerful than usual. Previously he had seemed to bs low-spirited about having sold hia land, but on Wednesday he was m better spirits. His manner would not have led witness to fear that he had any suicidal intention. Teceased was m the habit of visiting their house every night — m face, it was about the only place he did visit. Aa deceased did not come to church on Sunday, witness sent her son up to deceased's hut to see whether he was ill or not. He was ex pected on Sunday and did not come. He was on friendly terms with everybody. George Sutton, son of the previous wit ness, said that he lived on Winchmore road. Kaew deceased intimately, who was a con stant visitor at witness's father's house. Had never received any impression from de ceased's manner that there was anything wrong with him mentally. Went to de ceased's hut on Sunday afternoon at about two o'clock. The door of the hut was about halt open. Looked into the hut, and not seeing him m hia bunk looked further, and a*w hi 3 body hanging from the rafter. Did not go m, but saw by the appearance of hia face that he was dead. Witness felt frightened, and did not cut him down, but went immediately for the police. Knew of no one with whom deceased had any quarrel. Constable Eade gave evidence as to find ing the body m the whare at Winchmore, aa described by the previous witness. De ceased waa dressed m shirt and trousers and socks. His head was within three inches of the rafter and his feet within six inches of the fl.oor. The rope used was a plough line. He had evidently stood on some bags of chaff to secure a drop, and from what he saw, witness was of opinion that he could easily have regained a foothold had he wished after he swung. The hands were hanging quite loosely. The place was m a litter, but there was no sign of any struggle. Cut the body down and brought it into Ash burton. It had evidently been hanging m the whare for some days, as it was stiff and rigid. Found the letters produced m de ceased's bunk, where his clothes were also found. Brought these and such valuables ag were there (including £3 4a 5d m money) down to Aahburton. There had been no at tempt apparently on the part of anyone to interfere with the whure.. A dray loaded with chaff, and ready for a journey stood beside the whare. The jury returned a verdict of suicide while temporarily of unsound m,ind. L i

SMALL DEBT COURT REFORM.

T . United Press Association — By Eleofcrio Telegraph. Wellington, July 19 A deputation from the Wellington Workers' Union interviewed the Premier and urged the necessity of making certain amendments m the law relating to the administration of the Magistrates Court. They asked that a Court of Conciliation be set up to deal with small debt cises, and that no lawyers beallowed to appear m them, Mr Seddop said he believed it would be a, very good thing if small debt cases were heard m camera, as it would probably lead to mmy cases being adjusted without recourse to extreme measures. He would introduce a Bill to prevent debt collecting agencies issuing judgment summonses. He also thought it would be a good thing to establish works such as the Union Co operative Store m Wellington. He would go as far as public opinion would carry him to prevent the people being sent tp gaoj foy

THE ASHBtiß'fOfl «HjAKI)iAH : TtTESDA*, JIiLT 19, Uj6.



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When You Slave a. Bad Uolrt You waat the best medicine that can be obtained, and that) is Chamberlain's. Couch Remedy, ° . You wanb a remedy that will nob only Rive quick relief bub effect a permanent cure. You want a remedy that will relieve the lungs and keep expectoration easy. Y.ou want a remedy that will counteract any tendency toward pneumonia. You want a remedy that ia pleasant and Bate to take. Chamberlain's Cough Remedy is the only medicine m use that meets all of these re. quiretnenta. Thi 8 remedy ia famous for ita cures of bad colds throughout the United ocates and m many foreign countries. It has many rivals, but, for the speedy and per- manent cure of bad colds, stands without a peer and its splendid qualitiea are every, wnere admired and praised. For sale by , tbe ASHBURION DRUG COMPANY. . Smoke {Jew Vtoa^



Public Notices. NEW ZEALAND CLOTHING FACTORY. rpHS LEADING JSTABLISHMENtI FJB FASHION ABLE CLOTHING, HATS AND CAPS, TIES, COLLARS, GLOVES, ETC. f A. 6. BARTON, MANAGER* UHUROH SERVICES. tT STEPHEN'S CHUROfI. Aahburton. Wednesday " G.FS. " 7.30 p m. Friday, Short Bervice 7.30 p.m. „ Choir Practice 8 p.m. SUNDAY SERVICES. (24th July.) 8.30. — Holy Communion. 11 a.m. — Morning Prayer. 3 p.m. — Seafield, Rev. T. A. Hamilton. 6.30 — Evening Prayer. REV. T. A. HAMILTON. nmmMmM iQoaofteDersf/dcfecfto »[ 7/?s/sS on mvjng. \ S CfrMf '&Jtß££fflfp ] f£M\ \ " eXtOer/enee can £%?



Public Notices, GREAT GASH BJOT SaLE STILL TO THK FRONT WITH PRICES - AND FASHION. (Nexb Door to The Bank of New Zealand), trader the management of FRED NOKES. fTIHE PROPRIETORS OF THIS CASH X BOOT SHOP, have pleasure m an- nouncing that they have just opened up another large assortment of FASHIONABLE BOOTS AND SHOES, Whioh will be sold at Prices never before heard of m Ashburton. Men's Balmorals from 9a 6d. Girls' Strong School Boots from 5a Evening Shoeß from 2s lid Best Sewn Cookhama from 14a 6d , Best Watertights 12s 6d LOOK AT OUR WINDOW— One of the Grandest Displays that could tempt the eye t fit the foot, and suit the pooket. EVERYTHING GENUINE ! EVERYTHING CHEAP ! EVERYTHING GOOD 8000~PAIR8 OF BOOTS, SHOES, SLIPPERS AND GAIUERB to seleob from. Inipeob our Stoak before Purchasing else- where as we simply defy competition. REPAIRS NEATLY EXECUTED. DON'T FORGET CASH BOOT SHOP, Under the Management of FRED NOKES. NEXT BANK NEW ZEALAND. 6 142 MONSTER SALE OF WINTER STOCK NOW ON. QTRONG Winter Dresa Tweeds 73d, ll&d, and la per yard, worth| double. ALL WOOL HENRIETTA SERGES Maroon and Nary Is 6d, were 2s 3d. Fur Trimmings, various shades, 9Jd, reduced to 6£d, LADIES' CORSETS, Good Quality, 2s lid. Sale Price 2s 3d. FLANNELETTES, Plain, Stripes, Checks, Tartans, & Floral patterns, all at greatly reduced prices BLANKETS & FLANNELLS, Large Stock — Great Bargains, Linen TabliDg 1& 3d for'lOJd. MEN'S & BOYS' CLOTHING Maciutoshes and Overcoats, Mercery, Hats and Capes. All at specially low prices for the Sales. remnantsTremnants. Hundreds of Remnants must be cleared. A. P. Williamson, CASH DRAPER & CLOTHIER, Tancred Street. Bazaar Livery Stables. T HAVE PLEASURE m notifying the Public of Ashburton that I have taken over. THE BAZAAR STABLES, Burnett Street, from Mb S. Tbevorza, and truat that I may receive a fair share of patronage of the general public. CABS MEET ALL. TRAINS. Saddle Horses, Traps, and Buggies on hire at all hours, and at reasonable charges. GOOD STABLING* JAMES McCOBMICK. 6 16 UNPARALLELED CHEAP SALE DRAPERY, CLOTHING, AND . BOOTS, i FOR ONE MONTH. EVERY ARTICLE MARKED IS GREATLY REDUCED. ANDREW ORB.



INDrANA BICYCLE COMPANY. Indianapolis, Ind. U.S.A. PAID IN OAIttTAL-OJNE MILLION T>Olsla/LR». — TN lha construction of our machines three prime factors have been con- uidered throughout, simplicity, universality, and strength. Subordinate to these we have giren careful attention to lightness, grace and modern ideas, ani wv cordially invite the most oritical attention to onr new models, every feature of whioh has been submitted to exhaustive tests to demonstrate its practicability before adoption. FRAMES. TSE snceesa of the tubing used m '97 Waverleya has been amply demons rated by its record during the season past. The fact thab not a single Waverky frame ha 9 broken during the entire year speaks volumes for Its quality, and we continae the «ac of the heat grade of high-carbon Albany weldless steel tubing m Waverley frames for 1898 with flash joints of drop forged steel throughout, prefcmnc to place iw depandence upon th'a more expensive BUT ONL2" PROPER CONSTRUCTION FOR BICYCLES of the highest standard, rather than to use the substitutes now commonly resorted to by many makers who have aimed to roluca costs at the expense of quality, In our Ladies' frame we have used spacial lahing of 16 gauge at the loop where the strain is greatest, drawn down to 22 i?-ug« at the head, thus combining the maximum of strength with the minimum of weight. FORKS. OQR new fork v constructed of the same tubing as that used m the frame, with a forged steel arched crown hollowed oub for lightnesss. It was designed and perfected m our own factory, and we claim for it not only graceful appearance and lightness, but it is the strongest fork crovrn ever made. BEARINGS, ESPECIAL attention has been given to the bearings of our 1898 machine;, with thy result thab we hive secured great simplicity, perfect interchangeabilily, parfecb alignment, perfect concentricity, ani perfect protection from dust. la fu-ther developing the principle adopted by m last year for adjusting by sidi- ng instead of by threaded cones, we have devised a universal cone, fitting either a\Je of tho front or rear wheel, and having a double face with two ball races. It can ba put on tho machine m tight different places or ways, thus making ib impossible to assemble the bearings incorrectly. The cones are prevented from turning on the axles by contact between their knurled faces and the knurled surfaces of the nuts which adjust them. Especial attention is 3alled to the dusb proof qualities of all the bearings on the machine as being the most effes' ive protection yet applied to bicycle construction. They have surpassed any ideal and are as potent as they are evident. The balla rell on the inner face of the cove, while large felt washers, held m place by dusb o ips, have a long bearing rest on the outside raca, thus forming a valve seat Dust or water coming against this washer only tends to press it more tightly against the raca, closing the bearings more effectively against its entrance. AH the bearings throughout the entire bicycle are ball retaining, and the axles and all beariog parts are large, strong, and constructed of special stock. CRANK HANGER. THE principle of the bearings In Ibis part of the machine is exactly the same as m the hubs. The ad justment is entirely on the left hand side, and is made positive by a plunger inserted m the crank, which engages one of a circle of • mail holes m the face of the sleeve. The adjustment of these bearings Is very delicate, the distance between the holes representing 1-2000 of an inch. SPROCKETS. DURING the past year we have spent much time and money npon the Improve* menfc of the sprocket tooth form, and have finally arrived at perfection never before accomplished. It will be noticed that m engaging the sprocket, our chain does not slide into its seat by the aid of a guide roller either on the chain or the sprocket, bub simply takes its exact place. In other words, it walks m and walks out of the sprocket m the same manner as a man puts his foot down and lifts ib from the ground. In consequence of this no friction is caused, and each link of the chain pulls on the sprocket tooth only a part of the load, while with less perfect construction the link slides into place, carrying alone all the load during the time ie takes for this action, tending thus to stretch the chain unduly. This small stretch at each joint is continually adding to the total length of the chain amil finally Its pitch and the pitch of the sprocket are so different that the ohain oin only run on the points of the teeth, grinding and cutting until both chain and sprocket are useless. A practical illustration of the perfection of our chains and sprockets may be found m the appearance of a sprockeb after it has been running several months, a layer of dust will always be found from the pitch line to the top of each tooth, showing conclusively the absence of grinding aobion usually present m chain transmission. — — x— — TO the production of our new models we have unstlntingly devoted oar besb efforts and ripest ideas. In its construction we have especially avoided freak mechanism for the purpose of obtaining novelties without practical value, and while it presents many new features m keeping wiih the progress of the cycle building *rr, these have all been submitted to the most rigid practical tests, f ulJy establish- ing their excellence and superiority. IT is designed for all round hard work and wear, combining with its elegance and lightness sufficient strength and durability for good service under bhe mosb trying conditions. PRACTICAL Novelties, self evident advantages, and manifeab simplicity combine with strength and beauty to constitute our '98 Waverley the best machine that we, or, so far as we know, any other maker, have ever placed upon the market r? any price, and we claim for Waverley Bicycles full equality with any bicycles buile m the world. WE HAVE APPOINTED JOHN ORR & CO., ASUBCKTON, tftle'agente for the silo en our mvhlaea m the South Island of New Zealand. INDIANA BICYCLE COMPANY. INDIANAPOLIS, U.S.A.