Mail Notices.

Mails olosa for the following places as ander, subject to the necessary alterations (TUESDAY, MARCH 19 For Northern Ports and Weitporn, per Rototnahana, at 630 p m { lata feo lattsn, guard's van, express train WEDNBSDAY, March 30 For Northern Ports and Westpor»> 8 also Samoa, Hawaii, Philippines Japan, United Spates, Canada, etc, Unified Kingdom and Continent of Earope (due London April 20,) via San Francisco, per Waikare, at 630 p m, hto fe« Setters, guard's van, exprtou twin, money orders 2.30 pm, registered article* and parcels for United States, spm From 3 p m on Mot day, March 13, post*! and telephone business at Stunner will be carried on In the Government buildingc The office will transact tnoney order sarings b>nk and postal oofce brisiness.

EPHEMERIS

Phases o! Moon fos February

SON.

Commercial.

L< stdon, March 17 The wool catalogued op to date ia 51,647 b%\ni Of this, 47,98^ bales have been cold. There it still ft brisk tale, the Continent buying freely. Scoured merinos chow a slight! advance on opening rates, and all other classes are vary firm Clips-—Te Mat a 654, D Blackhead 6|4, Mangatoro Sf d! New Z-sUrni beef, 1801 b to 220! b, fair average quality ox, hind*, 3Jd ; the rest unchanged.

ASHBURTON GRAIN MARKET.

The Aahburton Agenoy of the New Zealand Farmers' Cooperative Association of Canter bary, Ltd, quota a» follows on Marsh 18, 1901:— Wheat- Prime milling Pearl ~ 2s 2i t , „ Tueoan.. 2s 2£d  „ Hunter's 2a Id New Oats-Duns Is 2i to Is'^d tt Danish 1« 2d to Is 2|d „ Sparrowbills Is 3d „ Canadian 1« 4d Barley—Malting, prime 2a Inferior la 61 Peas—Partridge, 2a 3d OhftS—Good oataheaf 37s 6d Qrass Seed—New Is to la 6d The above are prices current paid to ar tners on t»nckn «& Ashbiarton.

ASHBURTON STOCK MARKET

The weakly sale was held ab the Asbburtoo yards today, before a good attendance* The medium entrj of oaffcle for butchers' par posei brought good competition tnd satis* faatsory tales % sfcose coris being negieoted, Messrs Friedlfeader Bros «old fat sows JB7 Si, heifer* £5 15s, «pringers £s"tnU and £3 IS', dry oows£2loj, Mr David Thosiai—Steers £6 16i, $• 6d, £4 10«, two cows eaoh £B 12a 6d, springe,B 52s 6d, dry cow 42s 6d. The total sheep entries made up about 12,000, the butchers' psns »U being filled, and considering the quality of the latter, rttdy sales ab good rates were made. In fftt orowbred ew«» D Thomas told pees at 14i 4d, 13s 6d, 14s, two tooth 16i lid. For merino ewes pen, 9s Sd to 10s, crossbred iambi 12« 4d. 10s 9d. Frledlaoder Bros' sads* were—Pen of crossbred wethers Its, 3 pens of bmtUjq »»«■ %%» 6d, ogoHbud

ewes Us sd, 13s 9d, £0s 3d, 90 at 12*, 59 at 16st The Farmers' Coop sod a pen of merino ewes at 9i 94, 40 at is 2d, 30 at 8i Id The entry of freezing lambs was anuller fehatt csuftl, And competition was not strong. Mesari Friedlaadsr Bros cold at 13* 4<?, and passed a good line of 445 at 14a Id. Mr D Thomas' sales ware 76 at 14s 81, and a tmall pen at 14i 9<L

Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 1901.

We are p'eased to notice that one of the Borough Councillors mode a sug gestion at last evening's meeting that the Postmaster General should ba again urged to make the Ashburton Post Office a chief office. It will doubtless be remembered that on tbe occasion of his laying the foundation stone of the new building, Mr Ward promised that if possible, the status of the local office should be raised. We trust that • the member for Ashburton will do his best to see that this promise id kept. Ash burton is rapidlj going ahead, and its claims cannot be denied. We have a diatrtot about 40 square miles m extent, and it is ridiculous that tbe ■lightest alteration m mail route* ■bould have to be first of all submitted to Ohristchurch. Then, again, under ; existing arrangements a saving's bank depositor wishing to withdraw a few poundi has to give a day's written notice m order that the mattar may go before the chief office m Ohristohureh. This is certainly a farcical business. If a man resides m fimarn, Oamaru, Hokitika,etc, he can withdraw money from his savings bank on demand, Why not if he lives m Ashburton? We want a local chief office where the circumstan ceR and wants of the county are known, and will be attended to. Another phase of this subject is presented by the question often asked, where is the Deputy Registrar of Stamps for this district? The answer is m Ohristchurcb, Why should our deedt?,etc,all have to be submitted to agents inOhristchnrch when the business could be done locally. With the advent of the new regime no doubt the local chief postmaster would be appointed Deputy Registrar of Stamps, There are a good many other matters m connection with postal and telegraphic conveniences which we should like to bring under the notice of the Postmaster General. In Mr Ward we have the right man m the right place, and many anomalies of a few years ago havo entire ly disappeared under his administration of tho department, Nevertheless there are a few remaining still There are the excessive charges for Money order telegrams, which are out of all propor tion to the service rendered' It actually costs 3s 6d to wire £10 to any part of New Zealand. As the ocst of the tele gram is 6d, 3s is charged for the service. Why there should be a charge of 3s instead of Is, the cost of sending tho same sum by post is an anomaly "no fellah can ur.dfrstnod. " Aooth<?f point that seems to have been overlooked by the department is the loss of revenue result ing from the neglect of places now out side the poles of the telegraphic service of this county. If a telephone office can be carried on at a profit at May field, why cannot tsimilar offices he maintained at Longbeacb, much more closely settled disticts, and Stavaly, gpringburn, and many other pUcv? No people m New Zealand are worse served te'e^rapbically than the residents towards the hills; and as for Longbaach and the adjacent [ district, which is little more than | seven miles from Winslow, the cost of I a telephone wouid foon be returned m profit. It is surprising, considering the importance of this county, and the great strides it has made' during the past few years, that its interests have not received more consideration from tbe Government. It took a good deal of hard work to induce the authorities to grant the telephone exchange. i What has been the result? The guar-' antee number originally stood at 50 ! about four years ago; and to-day our list shows 104, having more than doubled m the four years. We trust Mr Ward will see his way to give effect to tbe wishes of the residents of this county by making Ashburton a chief post office, and. by favorably considering the question of telegraphic and telephonic extension. I

Local and General.

Bed Oaibaoi—lt 1» nob a common thing to see a red cabbage weighing over seven ponnds, yet Mr John Stac, of Trevorton, can show several exceeding that limit 1, A Famous Romancer—Louis Da Rouge iroot, the famous romancer, attempted to tell Bomo thrilling adventuns at the B jon, Melbourne, or Saturday, bet the audience made things too hot Id the first three minutes, and he retires!. F.OSjPITAIi DKAfNAjSB -At the meeting of the Borough Council last evening it was resolved, on the motion of fir Willi?, seconded by Or Jonec, that the resolution of the Council, passed on February JB, grant-1 ing permreeion for the Hi BpiUl drainage to j be carried into the Htrftet ebanneld, should ; '■ be rescinded. The motioa was disposed of m a little under three minute?, New Pia Mabkrt—An opening m South Africa for fr'zn pork ii likely to oocur very shortly, for Messrs Yecht and S'ookvis, who are establishing a bacon factory m Bouth Africa, under contract with the De Beoni ! Company, expect to purchase part of the raw product m the colonfcs. It is propound at i Br«t to take gs> pigs per week, and ,tb ia I expected that, the demand will increase to 1000 pigs per week. The ptgs will be slaughtered and partly cared, then frozen , and despatched m that state to South Africa I for mild omlng.—Tmt/i. A shbcrton Poultry Society—The annual general meeticg of the Ashburton PonHry ooiety was held last evening ; Mr H G Berryman was m the chair. The last year's balance sheet showed a credit of £12 The following office re were elected ?-—President —G A M Buckley ; joint hon. treasurer and aacn-fttftry—R B Restel! and A 0 Hardy ; auditor—S E JLeohuer; committee—The old committee was re-elected, with additions. The next show was fxed for f uly 26 and 27, and It was decided to hold an art union* Seven sub-oommittees were appointed £0 attend to the various matters m connection with the show arrangement!: Lftsb year's judges (Messrs Daore and Palmer) were asked to officiate. A.O.F.— The quarterly meeting of Court AshburtoDj A.O.F, was held last evening In the Arc*de Chambers, Bio Amos, O.R, 1b the ohair. There waa a large attendance of jpembeta. The finances of tho Court were sivowc to be ia a satisfactory uqndition, and over £40 w«# ?/saelved daring the evening. Bro. Heford «ru ei^oted delegate to the forthcoming District meetipg, scfajgh will be held m Ashburton on April jii* k» apcs^l Was made on behalf of three lifeboats which the Executive Council of thg order propose to equip, and m response thereto » scespeofe able amount was contributed by those present. Tntres' candidate* were propoaod for membership. Aftejr the transaction of farther routine buaineaa tiie £?purti was oloied 1» df?e form at 9,50* <

An Enslish Mail—The Auckland And I southern portion of the English mail have \ been sent by tho Mokoia from Sydney. Magistbkiai^-A first offtnder wt» convicted of dtunkanness and discharged by Mr R Alcony J.P, this morning. Matfhxd Stokts —The annual sports at Mayfleld will be held ou Easter Mon day, April 8 h Tm» Jwbt List—A meeting of the Justices to ravine the Jary list for the district will be held at th* Ocarthoase on Saturday, Kfttll 6'h,at 11 a m. Piano TTOiiw-Mr T. W«bf»y, of tht I firm of Webiey and Son*, Ghristobarob, Is at | present m Ashburton, and is prepared bo I carry on order* In the town and district for pianoforte and organ tuning. Aixbnton School— A. meeting of the residents of Allenton has been convened for Friday nighc at the house of Mr Preftton to consider the advisability of Applying to the North Canterbury Board of Education for to raise the status of the school to a Mala school. CoußiiNO—Coursing men and others are reminded that the annual meeting of the AFhbnrton Coursing OJub takes place this evenlrg at the Commercial Hotel. As the coming season promises to see a great re?Wai of this favourite sport, there should be a good attendance. Moss Tutors Wa»m»~There have teen a good many complaints from far mers m the Bakaia—Methven line of late about the shortage of trucks for tho carriage 'f grain and of no tarpaulins being at the loadirg batiks to cov.r tho trucks with when loaded. As the grain carrying season has hardiy commenced yec there la no good reason for this state of affairs existing. Abhbuktok Liedbrkrank —A. speoial general meeting of the Ashburton Liederkraoss wias held on Friday J&sfc for the purpose of winding up the Society. The secretary reported that all the liAbilitien bad been paid and there was a good credit balance. It. was resolved to wind up the Society and hand the surplus funds to the secretary In recognition of ffelb iwvlotfl. Pigkon Rack—The result of the pigeon flying race from Auhburton to O.inaru ia now to hand, and is a record one for the Oamaru Club, the winning bird doing the distance m 1 hour 38 mm., or over a mile a minute. The following ia the time of the first four birds; —R Ireland's Com modore, lhr 38mln ISseo, 1797 yds per minute ; R Morton's Scottie. lhr 40min 12iec, 1760 yds per minute ; T Mghtin gale's Kxcellsior, lhr 42min 40aeo, 1725 yards per minoif-e ; C Brown's Navy Blaa, lbr 44min 46sec ; 1692 yds per minute. The JSforth Otago Pigeon Flying Club, under whose auspices tha race was flown, heartily thank Mr J H Stephens for liberating tha birds at Ashburton. We may state that Mr Stephens devoted three hours to the task, there being 18 sets of birds to liberate, with an interval of ten minutes between each bird. Fanbsr A Sons' Eucalypti Extract— Under tha distinguished patronage of His Majesty the King of Italy, awarded Diploma at the International Exhibitions Amsterdam, Acknowledged by .Medical Clinics and Uni versities all over the globe. That tbe crude, resinous oils, which are now foisted upon the public nnder the name of Eucalyp. Extracts, may not be* mistaken for Sander & Sons' Pure Volatile Eucalyp' i Extrao^ we state :—lt is proved by tesca made by the Medioa? Clinics of the Universities at Bonn and GHefawaU! (Prussia), thai only products that are saturated with oxygen and freed o acids, resinous and other substances adherent to primary distillation, will develop the curative properties possessed by the plant To avoid tbe appalling consequences result ing from the appiicaton of substitutes, etc., ia croup, bronchitis, diphtheria,dysentery, internal Inflammation, etc., insist; 'n getting Sander and f-oKS 1 Ftraß Voiatinb EtCA LTFTr Extract, and be safe. ••

Smallpox in Australia

Uoitefl Props Association- B* Electric Telegraph—Copyright

Sydney, March 19 A man nuttned Tbynne, living at Leichbardt, was found to be Buffering from smallpox m a mild form, He came from Calcutta by the Fnryilue, the same steamer which brought the M -Ibouroe patient.

Interprovincial.

United Prang Association—By Electric Telegraph Chbxstohitboh, March 18 4 nine roomed house m Chester street, owned by Mrs Stephens, and occupied by O. J. Ward, w*a destroyed by fire this afternoon. Tho insurances on the house are not yet known, but the fnrnifcnre was insured for £450 m the New Zealand Office. Welmwosoh, March 18 The National Dairy Association is pro moting a large Winter exhibition of dairy product! and machinery, to be held under the auspices of the Manawatu A. and F. Association ia July. An important condition, and one new to the colony, will be imported into the competitions, namely—that) In place of the factory manager being able to make the entry when he please*, *nd of specially prepared butter, the competing butter U to be taken from the Homo consignment of the factory's produce as it lies m the ooid storage at the port) of shipment, the boxes being selected ac the time balog unknown to the factory management, by a epeoial oomtn:ttee.

The Mounted Rifles' Expedition

The following details of the manoeuvres have been supplied by oar special reporter— The A«shl>urtoa Mounted R fl»e were o»lled to form camp at Lapmhor to take part m three dayir Held manoevures by their commandinj; c^cer, Captain Buckley, on Friday at•? p.m, three oncers and thirty men answering the call, Lieutenant Walker (3rd N.Z.R.K,) goipg'iofco camp with the corps for itistruotioß»l purposes. The men, bringing their own plate, knife and fork, ab 7 p.m. were served with tea, their quarters being the loft over the stables at Lagmhor, officers and men faring the same, and all took it cheerfully. At eight o'clock, the men fell m, and marched to the hall on the estate, where the commanding officer explained to the men the rules of the war game, under which rules the manoeuvres were to be carried out. From the start the men were very keen t and gave Ceptain Buckley one or two clever queries to answer, bub for each query there waa a satisfactory reply. The were laid down with the object of giving men »s near an approach to antive service work as is possible to make peace manoeuvres, Thia is too long a subjacfe to go into here, bat m a short time Captain Buckley hopes to be able to place before those interested, the complete rules and instructions, «te. t of this most valuable form of training* Ib is decidtdly a step m the right director. I will hark baok to the hall at Lagmhor. The general plan of operations was read and explained by Lieutenant Walker for the first day'a work. The lecture closed ab 9.16, leaving the officers m poaaeasion of the hall arranging their coining" operations on the maps of the country te be traysraed. On 'first poab' sounding, the men fell m, the number Answering the roll oall now being lupreajed to 35 ofioera and men; fcbe horses were picketed for the night and all the men turned m. AH hands were carrying service conditions out to the letter, one blanket and overcoat! on a heap of atraw being all tfaay had. On 'lights oub" Bounding, profound silence reigned, this discipline and keeneaa of the men being already apparent. The orders for the morrow were—reveille, 5 am ; roll call, 515 am; immediately after roll call, ?r.en wili get their homes m from gr»jdng, pic^tiwg them Id the stable yard, horsee to he f6.4' as goon as picketed ; boob and aaddle, 545; breakfast, jo; dresi for parade, 6 45; march off, 7. ' • Saturday morning broke with a dull driEj&le and heavy looking weather all round. Up feo toe every officer and man wai m hit

place, transport wagon and oooks' wagon ready to move off, bub the dnezla continued. The work before the corps was roughly this: ■—A. northern force driven from its position, east of and near Ashburton, by a southern force, has retired m a N. *V. direction. Information received states the retreating force hat crossed the south branch of the I Athburton River at Valetta ford, and have j entered Ashburton Gorge, camping at the 1 entrance. There are, however, small parties lof the enemy collecting supplies from tho farmers m the districts, bounded on east by north branch Aahburton River, on the west by Mount Somers tramway reserve. Further reliable infoimation abates they are not south of Alford House, These small foraging parties are supported by a small force on the line between Buooleuoh-Spring bum railway station. The Boathem pursuing force have halted »t Lagmhor for a day's rest In camp. The officer commanding the southern force is anxious that these foraging parties should b* driven into the Anhburten Gorge, and deipitohes a small force with that object. Lientenant Fnoka, wibh Liea tenaat Studholme and ten men, left Lagmhor at 7 a.m. with a view to taking up the position as the foraging parties of the northern force. At 9 a.m. Captain Baokiey, with Lleatenanb McLean and twenty men, moved out), representing the small foroe sent out by the southern army. The com missariat wagons, were neutral, leaving shortly after nine o'clock tor Alford homestead, the bivoaao for th%t night Litutenant Walker was also neutral, acting as umpire, and wore a distinguishing white badge. Lieutenant Fooks" men wore red puggaries, Captain Buckley's men blue. la accordance with the rules of the game, the attacking force mast be twice the number of the defending, it being considered one man m ambash or position is superior to two m the open, or attaoking force, hence the rates of the different sidea—Lieutenant Fooks 10; Captain Buckley, the attacking tide, 20. Hostilities commenced at 10 30, when Captain Buckley was nob to be north of Valetta homestead, or Lituttnant Feoks touth of Alford House. Half past ten saw both forces at these points, the boundaries of the groand allotted then*. Still mining very steadily, everyone was peering through the mist as eagerly as though every place of Hkaly cover left unscouted held one of the enemy. Captain Juckley moving off well to time, made a feiot before Alford Hocte, taking hia main body m an easterly direction, and succeeded m gebting rouni the enemy's left fiink, obtaining pou sobs Son of Springhurn station, but meeting with slight opposition at Buooleuoh. So many prisoners having been taken on either side, it waa decided not to watte any time, and j* fresh plan of operations was decided upon Captain Buckley, with eight men, fought » rearguard action on the way home to bivouac at Alford, the assembly being called on nearing the sta tion. Mr Herring had kindly placed the com* modiona woolshed at ihe troops disposal, providing straw for bedding, the mens' sleeping quarters being the loft above the pens, the officers sleeping on the shearing board, and the commanding officer taking a f tncy to a classing pen for a bunk. Horses were picketed m the yards and made as comfortable as pos&ible for the night. Though the day had been web from dawn, tbemen showed admirable spirit throughout, singing choruses of popular songs on the march m, and all joining m good natured chaff during stablas. At 530 the trumpet announced meis, and the men sat down to a well earned meal, the officers partaking of the same fare, making ass of the fleece table, whilst the men had the shearers' cook bouse ~a glorious log Ore making matters very cheerful, and assisting to dry the men's clothing. Roll call at 8 30, last post 915, lights out 930, and shortly after lights out sounded every man was fact asleep oojoying a well earned rent. Orders for next day were—Revti'le, 535; roll eail, 545; feed, 6 ; breakfaßC, 7. At reveille it was still raining hard, arrt after breakfast the men were divided into Fquads, each being taken by the tJScers, Captain Buckley, Lieutenants Fookp, S'ud holme and McLean, who put them through the manual exercises, some useful work being done—dismiss sounding at 9 20. The marching out ration waa now served out, consisting of three ship biicuits and a small tin of potted meat per man, also ammunition The ccrpa fell m and heard the plan of operations for the day A patrol of the scu hern force had been besieged at Lagmhor, and a small relief force with ammunition wagon is being sent to their relief. A large patrol of the northern forces observe this body of reinforcements going south, '.hey were seen to cross the south branch of the Ashbiirton above Valetta, bub were there lost sight of. The northern army'ts patrol pushes on and endeavours to head the southern free with cenvoy, bafore it readies Lagmhor to relieve the besieged, Captain Buckley with eight men and an imaginary wagon left Alford at li£o, with the under standing 'hat he was allowed to travel at his best pace for 35 minutes, at the lapse of this time the Trumpet Major, who represented a bullock waggon, was obliged to walk and io keep that pace for the remainder of the journey. Lieutenant Fooks, with Lieu* tenants Stndholme and McLean and 18 men started—their start w*s a sight worth remembering. The sky had brightened a little and rain had ceased, as ab 1220 Lieutenants Fooks' men Hoed up outside the Alford Estate woolsbad, all eyes turned on the umpire, watch m hand, waiting for time to cry go. The tension ran high as the officers bade their host (Mr Herring) good boye. 'You may go sir/ said the umpire. The words bareiy uttered as the stentorian voice of she commander gave the order— ' walk, march '—quickly followed by the command—■'b rr rot. 1 Once dear of the farmyard they quickened into a gallop, across ths south branch at Valetta, with a slight check ab the far side for fear of ambush. Soon the scouts' signals were seen —all clear. A flanking parby with Lieu tenants Stndholme and McLean went along the Fo; ksroad, Lieutenant Fooke' main body baking the Valetta'Lagmhor road. The enemy had been tracked into the riverbed and had proceeded down ib m the direction of Wester Said. The pursuers object waa to get round on either fl nk with the hope of dropping on to the convoy at Westerfield foid. From Valetta homestead to Wester field woolshed, taking ths turn from the main road at the sohoolhouse. This movement was carried out by Lieutenant Fooks m a very masterly imnner, meeting his other finking party ab Western* Id woolshed. The force having completed tie movements of getting between the convey and their objective, now placed a line of patrols from the sehonlhouse on Valetta* L'igmhor road through Westerfield sheep yards to the river, with eoouta oat to the north, the main foroe be:ng kept m readiness to reinforce any threatened point ab the woolshed, The troopi sow being enabled to take off their overaoatrf, the value of the khaki Boon beo*tne apparent, men at 500 yds seem to melt away as ib were, and one had bo wait till a moving horse or beast got opposite a dark background f o tell whether ib had & rider or not. ' Hul'o ! What's up ! Here comes one of our tcouts from the north.' 'Tis coon unfolded, for away m the distance cats be (seen the enemy trekking away towards the Valebta road. They had left the riverbed Just above the big plantation at WeeterSeld homestead. Commandant Fooks at once recognised that his enemy were making for the Taletta road, which he had just left. Down the line from the direotiou of the schoolhouee comes the signal ' Enemy m sight; huge numbers.' Away go four men under Lieutenant Mo Lean to reinforce the threatened post. This parby had started but few minutes when from the same direction came the signal needed.' The main body set off only to pull up short before a mile had been covered. The commander's face changes rapidly, ' Something has gone wrong,' he mutters. 'My men are retiring/ The relief had been intercepted by a very smart move on the part of Captain Baokiey, He had left hia convoy with a small escort, and pushing across country, succeeded m catphing the reinforcements, and now pro oeeded to turn out three men In ambash at the sohoolhouse, and so clear bhg way for bis ammunition waggon, which was slowly travelling along the Valetta-'Lagmhor road, The men m hiding showed great coolness, allowing Captain Buckley's advance scout to pan close by them. His one sklo would not satisfy these three, the advancing force was their object, aod as the party entered ihe piMcribed 20Oyds range pop, pop, pop, the rifles rang out. 'What's up/ they »li, exclaim, as one of the party advances under the cover of a"white flag, Three have fired on »even, So by the rules of tha game after all the]? ooplneM they must clear out, receiving five minxes? graced Captain Buckley olwrly showed hia knowledge p{

tactics, Hi* road to Lagmhor how Open, hi convoy within half a mile of the goal, be puchpd on, leaving three men with his convoy to secure an entrance into the prescribed bouacUry. Thi» move was almost frustrated by Lieutenant Fouki sendiDg four men across country to inkeroept himi They anfortß nately lost the gallop by a very thort dittanoe and fell a prey to Captain Buok ley's men. Lienteaant Fooks now tamed i hit attention to harrasstng the convoy and auooeeded m capturing the imaginary wagon, together with the escort, 'This completed, the operations for the day, and oa Lagmhor being reached, the mnaio of the Aehborton Band considerably brightened up the tired men. After the hornet had been attended to, and tea parr&k«aof by the men, uho company went through some foot drill, accompanied by the band, and afterwards, msrvioo at Laemhor Church, at which Rev. W Skinner cifi )i»ted. The orders orders lot Saturday night being repeated. Monday morning broke fine, and the troops moved oat from biroaao at 8 30, a similar plan of operations being arranged at on the preoeding day, the r>t j°ot btlog to convey supplies to a beii. h^ < force m Aahburton; This part of the opeiation was andert»ken by Captain Buckley, with eight men; Lieutenants Fooks, Stodholme, and McLean, endeavouring to intercept the convoy before reaching the town. A short bat exciting engagement at Digby's Bridge, resulted m both commanding oficvrt being captured, bat the convoy succeeded m ultimately reaohing Ashbarton. together with four members of the escort under Sorgt Major Gibson. The oorpt now assem bled at the west belt, and moved into Aihbnrton, lining up at the Pesb Ofice, whore the commanding officer thanked the men for their willing support during the whole movement and expressed great satisfaction at the roles and expedition m general, I Lieutenant Walker alto addressed the I corps m very flattering terms, stating that' the work done by the corps daring the three days was as clotsly allied to the actual Warfare being carried out at present m South Africa at was possible, and he expressed himself confident that the rales adopted by the AMR will be sought after and made one of far beyond New Zealand among Tolunteer corps. Three cheers were given for the officers, and the men were dismissed.

Geraldine St. Patrick's Sports.

The annnal meeting of the St. Patrick's Sports Association was held yesterday In -the Geraldlne Domain The weather was showery, and owing to the condition of the track two of th« bicycle events had to be deleted from the programme. Following are the results : — lOOYds Maiden Handicap- J Jo« 1, McAuliffe 2, Bennett 3 Time-11 g One Mile Maiden Bioyoib Handicap —G- Winter 1, F. Brenton 2, lOOYds Handicap-J. Dean 1. T, Nolan 2 A. M, Murray 3 Tims, lOfsec Haxk Milb Bioycios Handicap—H. Brenton 1, W. Clarksoa 2- Time—l. 15| 440rDs FomooLßOYs Belay Bace~ Tiraara Main School 1, Tlmaru Marist Brothers School 2, Geraldina Public School 3, 440 Yds Flat Handicap—A. M, Mas ray 1, E. McFadden 2 J. Deaa3. Time. I2g-ecß, 880 Yds Fiat Handicap—E. McFadden 1, H. McKenz'e 2, J J Dwyer 3. Time, 2min 6sßec. 1^ Miles Bicycle Handicap—A R Barker 1, G Metcalfe 2, A Hasten 3. Time-55 One Mile Flat Handicap—S DonnL thorne 1 J Fechney 2, E McFadden 3. Time—4.4o 22OYds Handicap—J Davidson 1, 1 Nolan ?■, J Fechney 3. Time, 22gs«cs One Mile Bicxcle Handicap —U Met» calf 1, E C Wood 2 Time. 32| | 220 Yds HtrRDTES~W Haeton 1, E MoFadden 2, G Blissett 3. Time-3ljaec. After the sports a trost eucce-sfal concert and ranee wan held m the Volunteer Hall, when among other Items the farce " Box and Cox" was very creditably perfotmed.

SHOCKING TRAGEDY.

United Press Association—Ry Elocfcrlo Telegraph-—Oopyrighb Received March IB,'II 31 p m Sydney, March 18 { A young man named Eiwny Kichardg, son of a well known squatter near Forbes, shot his father and mother as they lay m bed, and next attempted to shoot hia sister. Finally he shot himself dead. The weapon used was a shot gun. The father is dead and the mother is desperately wounded. (Received 9.58 * mj March 19 The man named Richards, blew the top of his father's head off. The mother jumped out of bed and ran away, but he shot her iv the back. The sister escaped through the gun missing fire. Money matters and & love affair are fche supposed cause.

THE CRISIS IN CHINA

United Press Association—>by Electric Telegraph—Copyright THE GERMAN TOTE.

(Received March 18, 8 20 p m) Bebmn, March 17 The Reichstag has voted 123 million marks for proceedings m China. Baron Qoseler announced that Count Walder see commanded 64,000 Allies, including 17,760 Germans and 12.850 British.

T HE AUSTRALIAN CON TINGENT.

SERIOUS COMPLAINTS.

(Received March 18, 9.12 p m) Sydney, March 18 Six members of the Australian Contingent m China have returned invalided. One complains of harsh treatment because he growled at the arduous work. He says that the officers are not treating the men properly. For thus speaking dis respectfully of the officers he received ninety days' hard labor m Hongkong Gaol. He complains thai; he was dressed m convict garb and herded with murderers and felons.

THE SIDING AFFAIR.

FRENCH ROWDIES

(deceived March 18, 1140 pm . London, March IS The guards at Knider's siding have been reduced to twenty-seven each side during the negotiations for an adjustment of the difficulty. Owing to the French soldiers I creating continuous rowdyism they have been forbidden to cater the British concessions at Tientsin unless on duty. Mocklor, a British divisional staff officer, was aeaulted m the French concessions yetteiday.

Sporting.

United Press Association--By ttieotrlo • Teleg aph—Copyright

Wbllinston, March 18 Mr Oiark, the secretary of the ReeUeu Racino; Oi«b, has been appointed scoretary of the Wellington Baoing OJab, bsinc selected out of aboat fifty tpphoants from all parts of the colony.

HAWKE'S BAY RACES.

SECOND DAY.

Hastings Baoecocsb, March li Burke Memorial—Mat^oa 1, Palaver 2, Battle»x 3 All started^ W»a bard held by three lengths Dividend— £3 8« Juvenile— Menttm 1, Bare 2, TawahaS. Dividend -£5 17s. Coriuthiak Hakdioap—Paesios Fruit 1, Autaia 2, R»gs 3, Dividtod—£4 2s Farewell—The Shannon 1, Kiettnary 3, Bonnie D'Eaa 3. Dividend—£2 2s

WAIMATE RACES.

Waimase, Maroh 18 The races today were well attended. £ISQ3 pitied throagh the machine, »g»init £799 last year. Results :— Sxudxolmk Stakes—Sfe Denlt 1, FighMnc Mao 2, Paliiser 3. Dividend—£l 7i Sx Patbiok's Bahdicaf — TetrUsa I, Belligerent) 2, Vanilla 3. Dirldead~£2 U Two Mils Tr«t—Bumper 1, Dai*y 8, Mist 3 Dividend—£S lit Flying-Sb Denis 1, Vanilla 2, Lady cl the Like 3. Dividend—£s It Welteb—Tzsritea 1, Proposal 2, Fighting Mao 3 Pividend -£1 12s \\ Mils TKor-Misfc 1. Daisy 2, Lady Texas 3. Dividend—£ls 16« Habtbss Handicap—Belligerent 1, Wild Lily 2. Diridend—2l It

ASHBURTON TROTTING CLUB.

The following handicaps have been dtaJtni for thsAutamn Matting of the Aiitfeartofl Trotting Club:— Maiden Hankcap, of 20 sou} two miles— Silvermark sot, Lignite Mr, Nan* Sim, Madora 2sac, Diploma 2seo, H M Stanley Saee. Groesm lice. BisraiCTjHANmeAP. of 20 iotij two milas— | Katipo 6cr, Gambler 2seo, 3trnan3ste» Wharf dale Bsee, Seotthh Lvi lOsee, Stand By If leo. Lakghmo*Hanmvaf, o! 50 son; twentitai -^General Grigg sor, St Simon 3we, Wit* Poole 6eee, Traoy Belle Iseo, Billy Wilson 9ißf, BojalwoodlSfleo Modest j 17fee, Linwood ISaee, Irene I9eec, Wairaaa SOaee WIKCMMOBJB HANDICAP, o! 25 IOTB; CBt miles—Valonr sor, Major Hopetoao 9=et Son 21feo, Katipo Slseo, Fannywood 27see f Madora 39«ee, Diploma 80see. As«*ortom Hasdioap, of 60 sots} two miles—General Grigg tor, Nantes 2seo t Hon our 9seo, Sydney llsee, Modesty 17»tc, Miss Wilkin 20seoi Faibmeld Handicap, of 60 boys; one milt and % half—Bl Simon ecr, Wild Poole Ssee, Slrathmore 9seo, Linwood 12seo, Danby 17 I see, Whaifdale 27sec, Balmoral 30seo, Myrtle P. 30h«q, Bolderwood 32see, Lignite, Slsea, Icglewood 35»ee. Dash Handicap, of 25 sots; one mile— Tftlour cor, Ciifton isee, Honoai ICiec Aantie 13see, Mies Wilkin 16sec, General Power If see, Gambler 2lseo, Fannywood 26«e»

Sydney Regatta.

United Press Association—By Eltetrio Telegraph—Copyright

(Received March 18, 11,55 pm) Sydnkt, March IS The anniversary regatta, postponed from January, was brought off to-day m fine weather. The yacht race for thirty rating class wag won by San beam, with Janet second and Magic third.

BOROUGH COUNCIL.

The ordinary meeting of the Borough Council was held Jaat evening,—Present-- Messrs H Fqedlandfir, (Msyor), H Davis, 1 Scaly, J W Timmins, G Andrew?, Hlf Jones, B Clark, and H Willie. An apology I was read from Cr Davison on Recount of a family bereavement, and leave of absence was granted. The oredib balance a£ the Bank was re- I ported as £170 li M, and £74 11* 5-1 had | been reoeived since last meeting inoluding I £4113« 3d rents of reserves. The Engineer forwarded tax apology for absence owing to ill-health! and the same was duly acoepted. COSKES^OSDIXCI ", Correspondence was read as follows :— From Paymaster General, remitting float to the credit of the Ooanoil £3 se«—Re ceived $ From the Minister of Railways, r$ additional accommodation at the railway station, stating that plans wen being pre* pared for improvements,—AcknowledgedJ From the General Manager Hew Zealand Railways, stating th»iM*srs W HGoIUbi * Go, had been given notice to remove their coal and timber site from the reserve frost ing Salt Street—Received and acknow ledged with thanks. From the Secre tary jfor Education re subsidy to Lib* rary.—Received • From Paymaster General, remitting library eubsidy, £10 10s—Re* ceived ; From the Secretary of Department of Agriculture re establishment of abattoirs, Intimating that theie had to be established where the population exceeded 3000. The Mayor pointed ont that Mat last oeatus the population of Aihbnrtoa did not quite reach 2069, it was for the Connotl to decide whether- they would wait for next census. Meantime, they could arrange with some Company perhaps to carry cut slaughtering. He favoured the matter being referred to the Works Committee. Or Scaly urged that the eubjeot was ene which required attention; Or Davis moved that a special committee be appointed comprising Ore Andrews, Timmins, Willis, and mover Cra Timmjns and Clark were m favour tf holding over a deoision until after next election to Council Or Willis said that no work the Gonßott should tightly undertake should be put of until the new Council was elected, but should be done at once and not be handed over m this fashion ( It was ultimately decided to refer to the Works Committee FromDr Mason, chief Health Ofioer, r§ prevention of plague and urging that prompt steps be taken m the destruction" of rate'snd that all precautions be 'taken to keep out this dreadful scourge.—Received Or Scaly thought there w»a no' danger. In fact Ashburton was the cleanest borough m New Zealand The Mayor thought they should continue to purchase rats CtrSeafysaid rats formerly procured fend brought to the Council had not yet been paid for The Mayor said they could only pay f»r borough and not oountry rats It. was decided to advertise that the Council were to resume the parohaie of rodents ' •- From the Secretary of the Post Office Department!, stating that the Ash burton telephone hours had been extended to l@pjn but regretting Telegraph ftffoe hours ooola not be extended at present.—Reoelved The Mayor considered if they could not obtain an extension, that at least the hours be extended on the three sights the tele graph was uted by the Mail Olioe. Id was decided to apply for an extension for the three nights suggested, a reply to be sect on these terms and copy to be forwarded to the member for the district, Or Willis suggested that the Postmaster General be reminded ef his promise to raise the status of the Ashburton ©floe to a chief Post Offioe •'!■■ From the Olerk of the Bsunpstead Town Bo>rd recommending the Council to accept tender far section l % B.IS. Town Belt. Or Davis was of opinion the wrong portion of the Belt was thus to be formed Cr Scaly said the worst portion should be dona fir«b, and not the section recommended by the Hampatead Board Or Andrews whil&ti axious tn see the whole belt formed, thought there were bad places la the present formation, and he supported the Htmpatead Board i On a vote being taken it was decided te 'awryoanbe work recommended by the

THE ASHBUBTGfI GrOABDIAfI: TUESDAY, MARCH 19, Idol



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CONSULTING OPTICIAN MrErneib M Sandetein, DBOAi, FR MO, who has lately returned after' six years' Bpecial study ia England and Coa tiuent, thay be oostealted on ail cues of defective eyesight. Daylighb rsot necessary artificial light being used. Doctors' pre soriptlon* prepared. Fees moderate. Con suiting rooms, Cashel Street W;, over M Bandstetn, jeweller, Chriitohun*. 9tol g to64»Uy



ANDREW ORR. TMMENBE AR RI VA LS OF New Autumn Goods. NEW JACKETS, NEW MANTLE*, NEW CORSETS, NEW DRESS GOODS, NKW SILKS, NEW MILLINERY, j NEW FEATHERS, NEW RIBBONS, NEW MACINTOSHES, NEWFLANNBLS HEALTH FLANNELS, NEW BLANKETS NEW OARPErS, NEW LINOLEUMS, NEW GOODS. IST EVERY DEPARTMENT. ,NEW TAILORING DEPABTMISNT* BEST SOOTCH, IRISH, & ENGLISH BUITI MADE KIIOM FIT AMD STTLB*PBBFItT. DBESBMAKING DEPAETMBNT, Giving the utmost natisfaction, Obdbrk Turmiii Out With Dbipatoh ANDREW ORR. THE ABHBUUTON TRAIN SERVICES Trains e&ve Aahburton daily for— OHRIBTUHURCH—at 720 am, 11 ft to 3.15 p m, 7 5 p m (expreti) TIMARU-»t 1055 a ra, 3.50 pm DDNEDIN—at 12.54 pm (express) SPRINGBURN—ab 4.25 |» m Trains arrive daUy »t Ashbartoo from— OHKISTOHUROH—ab 10.45 %m, 12.48 p m (express), 8 pm" TIMARD—at 10.35 am,255 pm DUNEDIN—at 6.57 p m (express) SPRINGBURN-aK 9.45 a m



NEW ZEALAND INitJBANCE COMPANY. FIRE ft MARINE. 11/i"ESSRS MCOLL BROS, having been I appointed Sole Ages* for this Company for | AMibarbon »nd Soretmodißg DSitelotß, Polioy Holders will m future kindly pay PremSums to them. Messrs Nicoll Bbos. will be pleased to supply all oeossiary Information to latendißg issacers, A W PARSONS, Manager 1 Chrlatohttrob, 11th M«roh, 1901 3 121 ~™lfTss cakbonT" MUSIC TEAOEER, Oorner Wills and William Streets, i qabd. F. N, WhItOOMBB, Q UROEOH DENTIST, i Banoders's Buildiega, AshbutioD. 1 Tbbus Modbeate- I Boons or Attksdancb : 9 a m till 1 !> m ; Bad from 2pm till 6 pm. 1201 | FOR HOUSE ■DMN'H*CG« ©USE XAINTING, SIGN WRITING, T7ITO, TONWRITING, HiTO, TR3T ,7 JL. IiICS-CHS,



McDonald & ooy tTAILOR* 3, Barnett Btre«6. TN Gonsequ mcß of having comparatively »O BAD DEBTS I A «S| |A NO OLD STOCK I 4-i 111 NO MIBB FITS I .otflliU :WB ©an offer you a Splendid Salt at the above figure. 3 106 BRASS AND ENAMISL PRESERVING PANS MAISON'S FBDIT JABS A the Preserving S6%sgq| la now JjL I well advanced we have reduced tbe' price 'of these Hoes about TWENII? PEE OENT to dear. GET OUR QUOTATIONS, AS THEY WILL ASTONISH YOU Johfi Gnr &_^Co, SALE — ■ Facoy Woik, Silks* Amene> Perlineß, Canvas, Berlin Wools, Linena »nd Stamped work generally, ail reduced chmogMttS AtCQßw's Hale 4 Cough Cure, Wahoo, Koombah and Banjamio Qnm go to Ashedrton Dbv Qt EI& &UkK you "ask for the RapW Shirfc OSosa, and take no other, AH leading Grows «



AHEAD OF THEM ALL. ALL PBACfICAL AND EXPJBKIBNOED BIDEKS ABE THEIR FAVOBITES. Thej'Wt %h% beet that money o&n bny They $,x$ the cheapest m th» long ran Thef art thoroughly up to data Tbpy are good, honest raacbitiet PBIOE-—B2I. Oall and Inspect for yoorie!!. We will gnaraiatee to ple&ta and «uit you, OATES, LOWRY AND CO., &»landla Oyclfl Werks, BURNETT STREET, ASHBUBTON. MITCHELL AND TURNER j WALL P_A PER S. ¥I[TE HATE TO HAKD per the last Home boat—-29 Bales of the very atest ARTISTIC PAPEBHANGIN6S, the Coloarmgß and Deaigns o which are decided works of art. Included. In the shipment are Besotifn "Fnezcß and Borders to match the Papers. I hold the largeet stock of "WALL PAPERS m loulb Oanterbcry Cliccte can therefore rely uponh ing a large variety of each respective sorl to choose from. J _._._- p, r\"VT HOUSE DECORATOR AND SIGN m If XXJKJV*-Ll* Baroett Street. P O Box 16. Telephotse h. r/, CLOTH ING FACTORY. WE have jußt conoluded our HALF-YEARLY STOCKTAKING and have thrown out a Dumber of odd lineß, which we have marked at prices that will effect a apeedy clearance. —SEE THEM AT DOOR.=: MEB'S HABD AFD SOFT HATS AT la EACH. MEN'S SOFT SHIRTS. A lABGR VABHfI V OF-TEES, ALL REDUCED TO U& li Man's Leather Shoes 6s 6d, Men's Kid Shoes 10a 6d Women's Oanvan Shoes 3s 6d, Children 1* 2s 6d Men's Tan Shoes 6s 6d, Men'B Tan Boots 15i. K.Z. CLOTHING FACTORY.