The Ashburton Herald AND Borough and County Advertiser (With which is incorporated the “Evening Echo”). MONDAY, MARCH 22, 1880.

The new Registration of Electors Act now in force has given very great facilities to the public in the matter of having their names placed upon the electoral roll. By a recent proclamation his Excellency has ordained the Ist of May next as the date when the rolls under the new Yet will come into force, and meanwhile the registrars are busy with their preparation. In°compiling the rolls, the registrars will follow a course like the following They will transfer to the new lists all names which appear on the old rolls, provided the electors reside in the district, or own a £25 freehold therein. It is to be ob served that payment of rates no longer constitutes a franchise, but residence does, and also the possession of a free hold of £25, -whether the freeholder reside in the district or not. Those persons, therefore, who are simply ratepayers or leaseholders, do not reside in the district, and ow r n no freehold, will be objected to by the registrars, and notices of such ob jection will be sent to them. They will then have an opportunity of correcting any misstatement that may have appeared in the former roll regarding their qualifica tion, and if they can describe it either as a residential or as a freehold qualification, their names will be retained, but failing this, they will be dropped from the list. Persons resident in the district, and not previously on the electoral roll, should make application to the registrar, Mr. 0. Percy Cox, at his office, East street, at once, -where they will receive forms of application.

The Borough Council. —The usual fortnightly meeting of the Borough Coun cil will be held to-night, when the water scheme will be under discussion. Harvest Thanksgiving. —The services of the Presbyterian Church, Rakaia, on Sunday, were conducted by the Rev. Mr. Westbrook, and special thanks w r ere of fered to the Almighty for the harvest.

The Carandinis. —This celebrated com pany perform to-night in the Town Hall, when it is to be hoped a good house will reward their efforts. They give a second entertainment on Tuesday. The Ivess Libel Case. —The evidence in this case, as published in the “ Mail,” has been reprinted in pamphlet form, and circulated amongst the newspapers of the colony. The Mount Somers Railway.—-The Mount Somers railway will be officially opened for traffic to-morrow. The railway officios from Christchurch, comprising Mr. Simpson, and Mr. Cuthbert, engineers, and Mr. F. Back, traffic manager, will arrive by the express train, and the Mount Somers train -will start almost imme diately afterwards from Ashburton, reach ing the Mount Somers end at about one o’clock, and returning after refreshments, in time for the returning express. Unregistered Dogs. —The police have been out on the hunt, and have scented out a considerable number of dogs whose owners have not dubbed up the regulation ten shillings for a stamped collar. The scent is still warm, and many more will be added to the list shortly. The first in stalment of unlawful dog-keepers was dealt with to-day, when the R.M. fined each LI. The names are Turton, Gale, and Pender. No summons had been served on John Graham, and he didn’t appear. Affecting Scene. —It was the some what unusual experience of the Rev. B. J. Westbrooke, on Sunday afternoon, to perform the burial rites over the graves of three infants, at one time, that had all died in one night in the township of Rakaia. The infants were those of Mr. Tucker, Mr. Gaarder, and Mr. Boucher, and the fact of so many families being affected by the several deaths brought a large number of friends to the cemetery. Drunks. —On Saturday the following drunks were disposed of at the Resident Magistrate’s Court : —D. Galbraith, 40s. fine or 48 hours’ imprisonment ; M‘Claf ferty, 10s. fine, or 24 hours’ in gaol; the same for C. Jo!instone ; while a vagrant named J. L. Smith was dismissed with a caution. To-day, W. Jones was fined 20s. for drunkenness, or go to gaol for 48 hours, while Samuel Whiteside, for the same offence was remanded for seven days, to “ suffer a recovery ” from the effects of his boosimr.

Anniversary Sermons were preached on Sunday in connection with the Primitive Methodist Sunday School by the Rev. Thomas Sadler, of Geraldine. The children of the Sunday school sung at intervals several pieces with much spirit, and at the con clusion of the evening sermon several of the juveniles rendered, with evident ac curacy and taste, a selection of recitations. A tea meeting is to be held in the Town Hall on Friday next, to be followed by a public meeting, the chief features of which will, we understand, be the rendering of some choice music, at which the choir and friends have been at persistant practice for a considerable time past. Templar Entertainment.— A meeting of the Star of the East Lodge of Good Templars was held on Saturday night in the Templar Hall, to which the public were invited. Notwithstanding the

threatening character of the weather a very fair audience assembled, and a sur prisingly good programme of vocal music was presented— consisting of solos, duets, and trios, and one or two very well given readings. The duties of Chairman were very happily discharged by Councillor St. Hill, the father of the Lodge, and a short and pithy address on temperance was given by Brother Isaac Scott. It was intimated that during the winter these open meet ings would be frequent, and that arrange ments had been made for a course of public lectures, to be delivered by local gentlemen. Thanksgiving Service. —The threaten ing aspect of the weather yesterday morn ing, no doubt accounted for the rather scanty attendance at the Wesleyan Church yesterday morning, the service at which had previously been announced to be a thankful recognition of the harvest now being gathered in. There was not much display in the shape of cereals, &c., a simple sheaf of grain on either side of the rostrum being the only noticeable feature in that respect. The Rev. W. He all took for his subject the anointing of Mary at the Saviour’s feet with the alabaster box of ointment. The tenor of his remarks was that a recognition of blessings re ceived were justifiable, and thank offer ings for blessings in prospective were also justifiable. Referring to the costliness of Mary’s offering, the preacher remarked that there was a propriety also in the g’fts of the congregation being profuse on ac count of the mercies received from God. In concluding his discourse the rev. gentleman drew attention to the diversity of opinion which existed with reference to these thankofferings. The objections of Judas to the gifts of Mary represented the opinions of a certain class who thought such offerings out of place, but the men who made such objections were generally those who would sweep away the Sabbath, the Bible, and every vestige of religion— even the name of God itself, but yet failed to supply, like Judas, anything in their place.

The Bank of N.Z. —Sir Penrose Julyan has joined the London Directory of the Bank of New Zealand.

Presbyterian. —The Rev. Mr. Bruce, agent of the Presbyterian Church in New Zealand, has resigned.

The Gross Amount collected in Vic toria for the relief of the distress in Ire land has now reached over L 19,000. Stephen Longfellow, nephew of the poet, has been held for trial in Boston for forging the name of the latter to a cheque for 1000 dollars

Bap Grog. —lt is an old saying that drink is a bad thing, especially bad drink, and the especial part of the proverb is believed in by the Maoris, one of whom, at the Orakei Parliament, on Saturday, sa'd Government ought to take steps to save the natives from being poisoned by bad grog.

Shag Point Coal. —A year ago there were only 25 or 30 men employed in the Shag Point Coal Company’s mines. Now there are nearly 90, and there is every in dication that the end of the present year will see a still further increase in the number of hands employed, and a corres ponding increase in the business of the company.

A Bread Row.—lnconsequence of the bread at the Parramatta Gaol being con sidered bad, the prisoners refused to re ceive, it, and several threw it over the walls. All the warders were called together, as a mutiny was expected. Bread and biscuits were obtained from neighboring shops, which quietened the prisoners. Treeless lowa is being transformed into a forest covered country, by a law w liich remits certain taxes for five years on every acre of fruit, and ten years on every acre of forest trees planted and kept alive. Over 75,000 acres of fruit and forest trees have been planted, and 200,000d015. have been remitted in taxes. A “Mystery.” —The Cork police are busy just now investigating a “ mystery.” It appears that on the strand about a mile from Cork there has been found a parcel tied with a piece of rope, and con taining the arm and hand of a man and the hand apparently of a woman. The parcel was weighted with stones. Snake Bite. —A daughter of Mr. Kirby, dairyman, Sydney, aged 10 years, was recently severely bitten by a black snake. The mother immediately sucked the wound, and the father applied some of Underwood’s antidote, when no ill results followed. The same day a valu able foal belonging to Mr. Kirby was bitten, and it died shortly afterwards. Two children in the same family have been bitten, and cured by the same means.

Death of a Wealthy Chief. —Hoterene (Shortland), an influential chief of Grahamstown district, and father of Wi Taipara, the leading chief of Hauraki, died on Saturday morning. He was enormously rich, and leaves LI,OOO to be spent on his tangi. The township of Shortland was named after him, and the deceased chief was one of the Largest land owners of the district. Taipara is his heir. A Good Young Man. —An audacious theft has come to light in Dunedin. A young man (says the “Times”), now in custody on a serious charge, being the possessor of a good voice, favored the choir of a certain church in this city on a recent Sunday evening by his presence and assis tance. Several pieces of sacred music went a missing that evening, only to turn up again in the possession of the young man upon his arrest. To sing in a church choir for the purpose stealing the music is surely the acme of criminal impudence. The Otago Trout Streams. Mr. Dryden Grieve last week took from Upper Taieri streams some splendid trout—one 201 b. in weight, 34 inches in length, and 31 inches in girth. It was taken with a minnow. Another fish turned the scale at 101 b., and several others were between three and six pounds. The capture of the 201 b. fish —the largest, we believe, yet taken in the colony—will no doubt have the effect of turning the attention of sportsmen to the Upper Taieri, where good accommodation can be found at Tannaliill’s Hotel, while Mr. Grieve will be glad to do the honors of the stream. As illustrating the capacities of our rivers in this part of Otago for the breed ing of trout (says the “Bruce Herald”) we are able to state that a male fish, weighing Ilf lb., was taken on Saturday last in Lovell’s Creek, just below the old bi'idge, by Mr. Fraser, the storekeeper. The same party caught, during the pre vious week, two fish of 51b. and 61b. re spectively.

Antimony. The “ Tuapeka Times ” says : —“ A sample of stone from Waipori has been shown to us, exhibiting rich in dications of antimony. We hope to hear soon of that industry becoming a leading one in that quarter. Wakened Up. —A minister named Craig purchased a whistle, and when his hearers went to sleep he emitted from it a very shrill sound. All were awake and stood up to hear him. “ Well,” he said, “ you are smart specimens of humanity,” as he slowly gazed at his wondering people; “When I preach the Gospel you go to sleep; when I play the fool you are awake. ”

Philosophy. —One ought to get <l3 much consolation as possible out of his grievances. We always admired the cheerful and hopeful spirit of the colored man, who, when struck by lightning, simply rubbed the abraded spot of his skull and remarked, ‘ ‘ Dat makes free times I’ve been struck ; now I shouldn’t wonder if it let me alone.”

Drunken Mourners. —A shocking spectacle was witnessed at an interment at Kircaldy, in Scotland, a short time ago. Nearly all the mourners had become so in toxicated that one of them, when lowering the coffin into the grave, staggered forward and fell into the tomb. Ho became jammed between the descending corpse and the side of the grave, and was ex tracted with difficulty.

Russia and the Cotton Trade. — About a dozen of tie most eminent Russian cotton manufacturers lately set out for Egypt with intent to buy enor mous quantities of raw material, and hire all the largest plantations on the banks of Nile. The chief aim, it would seem, of these merchants, who are stated to he conjointly worth about 20,000,000 roubles, is to shake off the yoke of the English and of the Liverpool market.

Choked by a Dead Hog. —John Wilson, of Paris, Ky., tied together the feet of a freshly-dressed hog that he pro posed to steal, and putting his head between the legs, carried the hog on his shoulders. In climbing a fence the hog fell on one side and he on the other, and he was found in the morning dead. The legs of the animal had pressed his throat tight against the fence, and his feet could not touch the ground. He choked to death. The Value of a Good Nose. —The influence of nasal respiration on the ear is illustrated by Mr. George Catlin in his -history of “The North American In dians.” Among 2,000,000 Indians he found not one who was deaf or breathed through the mouth, except three or four deaf mutss ; and in the memory of the chiefs of 150 tribes not one case of deaf ness could be remembered to have oc curred. This is explained by the mother always closing the mouth of the child whenever it attempted to breathe through it. A Very Plucky Policeman.— On Saturday night, shortly after midnight (says the Press), Constable McDonough arrested a man named John Maiden in the act of assaulting another man, whom he had on the ground. Three or four larri kins immediately set on the constable and succeeded in rescuing the man from his custody, and they all got away. Constable McDonough, however, in a very plucky mauner followed them up, and assisted by Sergeant Barlow, managed to arrest all four in a quarter of an hour afterwards in Cathedral square, and took them to the lock-up. Meat Preserving. —The meat preser ving works at Woodlands (says the “Southland Times”) will commence operations within the next few days, when employment will be afforded to a consider able number of hands. We understand that a large number of cattle are expected to be brought forward and disposed of on the terms offered by the Company. It seems that meat in 21b tins is now in great favour in the Home Country, and for the future thi3 size will be mostly pro duced. Arrangements hare been made for sending the meat per steamer from the Invercargill jetty to Port Chalmers, where it is to be shipped to London, the ter minal charges and excessive rates on the railway line to the Bluff having brought about this determination on the part of the managers of the Company.

The Plinet Mars. —Several remark able seas —including inland seas, some of them connected and some not connected by straits with still larger seas—are now definable in the southern hemisphere of the planet Mars, in which, as in the case also with the Earth, water seems to be much more widely spread than in the northern hemisphere. There is, for ex ample, a southern sea exceedingly like the Baltic in shape ; and there is another, and still more remarkable sea, now defined by the observation of' many astronomers — one near the equator, a long straggling arm, twisting almost in the shape of an Salaid on its back, from east to west, at least 1000 miles in length, and 100 miles in breadth.

The Dunedin Murder. —A Dunedin telegram of Saturday’s date says : —One of the detectives this afternoon discovered, in the vicinity of the northern cemetery, a coat, which has been identified as the one usually worn by the prisoner Butler, charged with the murder of the Grant family. In the same neighborhood was found a salmon tin of the same brand as that purchased by the prisoner on the murder. The other clothes belonging to Butler were found in the bush this after noon.

The Octagon Fire.— Ono of the vic tims by the fire at the Octagon, Dunedin, was a man named Swan, who had a wife and family in Scotland. His Worship the Mayor of Dunedin on Wednesday received the following letter from the Provost of Leith, dated January 7th:—“l duly re ceived your letter of November 6th last, with its enclosure, and arranged that the British Linen Company should pay over to Mrs. Swan, 19, Ferriers" street, in small sums, as she nv’ght require them, the amount trans mitted (L 65 10s). She is deeply grateful for this unlooked-for assistance, and de sires me to convey to you and to the sub scribers her heartfelt thanks for the kind consideration shown to her in her forlorn condition. —I am, &c., John Hender son. ”

Nice State of Affairs. —The “ Otago Daily Times” has it, upon the cautious and reliable authority of one who speaks from experience that, omitting altogether the larger retail grocers, drapers, &c., in Dunedin who mix the wholesale in many cases with their retail businesses, the small retailers—a very host, lying thickly along Princes and George streets, and streets

contiguous and suburban—have on their books about an average of from LI,OOO to L 1,500 each, and that the aggregate of book debts cannot be much, if at all, under a sum ranging from L 200,000 to L 003,000, say a quarter of a million sterling, apart entirely from current bills of exchange under discount by the banks.

The Christchurch Review. The number of men likely to take part in the Review, on Easter Monday, now amounts to over 1700 rank and file, the latest ad ditions being a detatchment of over 100 men from Nelson and the Wellington Guards, who expect to receive their new uniforms from England in time for the Hinemoa, which will bring the men from Northern ports. The influx of visitors for two such attractive events as the Review and the races combined should have a de cidedly enlivening effect on the city.— ‘• Press.”

A Chiniquy Incident. —A rather sin gular incident occurred on the arrival of Pastor Chiniquy at the railway station on Saturday evening (says the “Southland News ”). When the train came in the constables on duty formed an opening through the crowd opposite the entrance, so that there should be no hitch or stop page of any kind, and it was naturally ex pected that the pastor would avail himself of this lane. Tt happened, however, that the carriage which he occupied was not quite close to the place, and so the Pastor and those who were with him pushed through the crowd, passed out into the passage, and had entered a cab and were being driven off while the majority of those present were awaiting his appearance. At this stage the Rev. Father Larkin, who had travelled in the same carriage, came through the opening, and the impression became general among those to whom the genial priest was not known that he was Pastor Chiniquy. Any doubt that might have been felt on the point was removed by a railway official, who took in the situation at a glance and wickedly wdiispered, loud enough to be heard by those around, “That’s the man.” And thus it happened that many people left the station without seeing the object of j;their curiosity. It is said that when the circumstance was mentioned to Father Larkin he fully appreciated the joke, goodhumouredly remarking “You see what a fine presence does.”

TELEGRAPHIC.

TO-DAY’3 TELEGRAMS.

INTERPROVINCIAL.

Floods in Marlborough. Blenheim, March 23,

A heavy rain has fallen during the last three days, overflowing the rivers, and flooding the greater part of the town to the depth of several feet. No church services were held yesterday except in the Roman Catholic chapel, and to-day business is almost entirely suspended.

Narrow Escapes. Timaru, March 22.

Narrow escapes from several fatal ac c'dents occured this afternoon. The horses of an express v r aggon bolted down the footpath in the main street. The pas sengers were scattered in every direction, and a child 5 years old was pulled aside just in time to escape being driven over. A boy of 12 fell on the path and missed the wheels by rolling himself over the kirb. A Short Career. The new boat, built for the harbor engineer, was launched on Saturday, and the same night it broke loose, and was smashed amongst the concrete blocks. Another Fire at Guthrie and Larnach’s. Invercargill, March 22. Another destructive tire occurred at Guthrie and Larnach’s mill, which was burned down on the 11th inst. A heap of sawdust which had been smouldering since the last fire, burst out yesterday, and des troyed about 60,000 ft. of sawn timber. The fire is still burning. Diphtheria.

Diphtheria is still prevalent, but it is not spreading. There are only two cases in the hospital.

A Future King.

The English people have but just awakened to the fact that the elder of the two sons of the Prince of Wales is a pro bable heir to the throne, and that he is, as such, an interesting person. At the same time they remember, with a mixture of amusement and amazement, that they know almost nothing about him. In fact, they are rather puzzled when it is neces sary to speak of him, to know how lie is to be called. He is, in full, Prince Albert Victor Christian Edward. He used to be styled Prince Albert Victor of Wales. Popularly he has been known as Prince Victor. When he was studying on board the Britannia he was called Prince Edward. Out of the abundance of titles it is not easy to make a choice, and the British public seem to be as much “at sea,” metaphoi’ically, as the Pi’ince now is literally, in attempting to discover any thing gossipy about one who, if he lives long enough, will be the ruler of a vast empire. The Prince was born at Frog more Lodge, Windsor, on tiie Bth of January, 1864, and has, therefore, nearly completed his sixteenth year. He was born and has lived—-that is all the English people know about him. Occasionally he has accompanied his parents in their travels here and there, and his features have excited some mild interest in the family photographs. But in general his history and person are unknown, and his life has been as obscure as that of any boy in the kingdom. What has now drawn attention to him is his sailing in company with his brother, whom all English folk know as Prince George of Wales, on a voyage round the world. The two Princes have been trained on board the Britannia, and they noxv go as cadet midshipmen on the ship Bacchante, which sailed from Portsmouth harbour on the 18th of September, and proceeded to Portland, whence after a week spent in drill, the ship started for a short cruise in the Mediteranean and is to pass the winter in the West Indies. Of course very little will be heard from the young Princes while they are absent on this voyage, and they will return a year or two hence, tall striplings, one of them just coming into manhood. As they are the only sons of the Prince of Wales, the succession would pass, in case of their death, to the daughters, and once again the British throne would be occupied by a woman.— £f Boston Advertiser. ”

A New Use of Tobacco.

The uses of tobacco (says the “ Globe ”) after having long been supposed by an ignorant world to be limited to the prac tice of smoking, chewing, and snuffing,

have of late years been found much more extensive and various. No one ought any longer to be unaware of the value of a cigar end, which, in the hands of a skilful gardiner, will help to wash or fumigate a whole nursery of rare plants,, and prove destructive to a host of winged and creep ing devastators. The art of fumigating with tobacco seems, indeed, to be still in its infancy, and very possibly at some future time may be capable of effecting wonders in the animal as well as the vegetable world. Unfortunately, the gentleman who is most confident as to the merits of the weed, and who lives at Clamart, in France, has gone a little too fast in his anxiety to turn it to advantage. He has developed a theory that the inhal ation of tobacco smoke by fowls causes their flesh to assume a wonderfully white color and to become very tender at the same time. He accordingls shut up a chicken in his fowl-house, and set fire to a store of “ caporal,” which he left burning in the place. The young fowl, so far from being averse to the odour of the narcotic, was inclined to try its taste as well as its smell, and had in a few days’ time consumed so much “caporal” that its flesh was not only whitened, but abso lutely “ nicotinised ” with poison. To it as it stood—probably in rather a stupid state—upon its perch entered one night an adventurer named Carouge, who, after belonging to a confraternity of profes sional chicken-stealers, had started a business of his own at Clamart. The precious bird was carried off, plucked, cooked, and eaten, and a short time after breakfast the thief was seized with violent and intolerable pains. He rushed to the doo tor, heedless of the necessity which would arise of disclosing his nocturnal escipade. He was found to have been poisoned by the nicotine contained in the flefii of the fowl, and was with some difficulty saved from death. He will be tried for thieving, while the owner of the stolen bird runs some chance of being prosecuted by the Society for the Protection of Animals. This latter gentleman may, however, on the whole, congratulate himself on the ill-success of his intended experiment. Had he 1: een allowed by fate and the thief to cany it to conclusion, he might have eaten the fowl when it had been still more completely nicotinised, and when no doctor could have saved him from the effect of his imprudent meal.

Hints to Unmarried Ladies.

A certain Mr. Finlayson has made out a table showing, to a very fraction, what a woman’s chances of marrying are for every year of her life. This most precious docu ment should be posted, I think, on the doors of all our churches, and if, after such pointed admonition, young girls trifle away their time, the blame is entirely their own. The calculations were made, I understand, upon 876 cases, but for the sake of greater pei’spicuity let us enlarge the denominator to 1000. Of 1000 mar ried women, taken with our selection, it is found that the number married at each age is as below. Or if (by an arithmetical licence) we call a woman’ chances of mar riage in the whole course of her life 1000, her chances in each two years will be shown in the table :

1000 Now this table, it will be seen, tells us that one half of a woman’s chances of marriage are gone when she has completed her twentieth year ; and mind you what the consequence of this is. She must, as seamen say, “ carry less sail,” and shoot at a lower mark. At 23 she ought to be “very reasonable,” for three-fourths of the golden opportunities are gone, never to return. At 26 you will see at a glance that sauciness is out of the question, for your hopes, if the case should be yours, fair reader, will be shrunk to the small fraction of an eighth. Possibly you may think the poor fellows you once despised fine “ catches.” At 31, despair should begin to wrinkle your brow, for -when that age comes, and finds you single, pray re member that if -you have in the circle of you acquaintance forty marrying men (a rare contingency) you have just one solitary chance among them all. When you stand on the dread verge of 36, it is “quite too awfully terrible” to reflect that of the thousand chances with which you started, three only remain—a miserable remnant of three, it is now high time to bespeak lodgings for a single lady, and to procure a couple of cats. Therefore, “carpe diem,” or in plain English, im prove your time. There are plenty of Barkises about.— Cceuebs. Thames, 17th Feb., 1880.

Noiseless Crockery.

Noiseless crockeryware is the latest novelty in Paris. You may lay down your washing basin an the marble slab of the toilette table, and not a sound will be heard ; a careless servant may carry her tea-tray sloping at an angle of 45 degs., and not a cup will slide off. The invention has the great advantage of being simple. It consists in inserting a rim of vulcanised indiarubber into a groove round the bottom of each object. In the case of a cup and saucer, for in stance, there is a band of vulcanite round the cup and round the bottom of the saucer, so that the cup stands as firmly on the saucer as the whole cup and saucer does on the table. Whatever the object, whether it be a washing basin, a clock, or a candlestick, the system is the same—it is the insertion of a band of vulcanised ind’arubber. In making use of the ob jects, you do not perceive anything ; it is only when you lay them down that you are astonished to hear no clattering or grating. The advantage of this noiseless ware for nervous people is obvious. A dining table laid out with a complete dinner service can be tilted suddenly at an angle of 45 degs., and not a plate -will move. Such an angle is rarely obtained in the most violent storm. The British Admiralty, and several passenger steam ship lines, are rapidly adopting this ware, and most of the English yachtsmen have taken advantage of it.

Roadmaking.

The Philosophical Institute possesses a remarkably good president in Mr. Dobson, C.E. His address to his hearers at Christ- . church on the evening of the 18th inst., occupied some hours in delivery, and five and a quarter columns in the local “Times.” The subjects dilated on were various, and showed how versatile a genius the institute possessed in their chairman. All sorts of topics were touched upon, some of which the speaker was evidently well up in, and on others he showed that he only spoke from theory, and without that practical know ledge necessary to give an “ ex cathedra ” opinion, as the President of so important and scientific a body as he addressed the other evening. His address was of so wide spread and voluminous a character that it is difficult to decide upon which subject to tackle him, for he commences with criticisims on the construction of railways, then suddenly floats into irriga tion, from that he goes into geodetic surveys, altitudes, barometic levels, road making, river conservation, sewerage, s tree t-t roan ways, Greek and Latin, Ulysses, Corfu, and gas-lighting, till one gets bewildered at the amount of know- . ledge possessed by one single brain, for like Goldsmith’s schoolmaster, we are lost in awe and admiration. “ For still the wonder grew That one small head could carry all he knew. ” The address is, however, to be admired for the fearlessness with which he attacks all public works which have been carried out in a slovenly or unscientific manner, and Mr. Dobson, from his professional acquirements and extensive local know- q lodge, is perhaps one of the best authorL* ties in the colony on subjects connected n with civil engineering in all its branches. He very properly condemns the alteration of the gauge of the railways in Canter bury, on the ground that the extra cost of maintenance more than absorbs the interest on the cost of construction of the wider and better line, and debars us from ever having the privilege of a high rate of speed. He is very severe on the system of road making as adopted by Road Boards in Canterbury. In a previous issue we quoted his remarks in full upon this subject, and we must say that to some extent they are deserved. There are roads in this county upon which the pub lic funds have been spent which are now far worse, as roads, than they were in the state Nature left them. The design of them was bad, the execution of the work execrable, the main object in view seem ing to be a desire on the part of the various Road Boards to spend their money in utterly useless works. There have been exceptions, and in some districts there are good roads to show for the money spent, but we cannot for one moment admit that the gravel banks and scoured-out ditches about some of the road districts deserve the name of roads. They are as Mr. Dobson says, “shunned by horsemen.” But we cannot endorse all his opinions on the matter of road making, he disapproves of the use of the plough and scoop to form a road, and says that it would be better to put the shingle on the original surface ; there we must disagree with him. The best roads we have areW those which have been formed the whole width of the road, and coated with shingle in the centre. There is then a good sum mer track, easy to travel, on each side of the road, and the centre shingled road for winter use, and a good water table on each side ; whereas Mr. Dobson’s proposed road would have no proper slope for drainage, and the sides would very soon be come ruts. His argument applies to the abortions of roads which are made in some places, only half a chain wide, and with so high a crown in the centre that no teamster ever dares to travel on them, and many miles of this sort are now solely used for the development of thistles of abnor mal growth, bidding defiance to the ap proach of man or beast, but wherever roads have been made the full width and have had a fair share of traffic on them, there will be found good roads, easily kept in repair, and well drained. Another advantage possessed by them is the impossibility of any nuisance arising from the spread of gorse on the sides of roads so noticeable on the narrow formations. Altogether, Mr. Dobson’s contribution to the Institute was a most interesting one, and well worthy of reading and digesting.

Clever Juggling.

The tricks of M. Hermann, the Vien nese conjuror, are amusing the idle part of Paris. M Hermann, unlike the “mediums ” who perform tricks and call them miracles, does miracles and calls them tricks. M. Jules Clare tie is responsible for the ac curacy of the following tale :—Hermann was engaged in the difficult task of amusing that monarch “ who lives the life of a wounded rabbit in a hole ” —the Sultan. The scene xvas a boat moored in the Bosphorus. “ Will you oblige me,” said Hermann to the Grand Vizier, “by throwing your watch overboard ?” The Vizier looked doubtful, but the Sultan nodded, and the watch sank glittering through the sea. “ Now,” said Hermann, “will some one kindly give me a fishing- Spd ?” A red was brought, a line and a hook, which the conjurer baited . before the eyes of the Pidishah, as a Pushtoo contemporary calls the Sultan. He soon had a nibble, struck, and after and exciting in t erval had a fine fish in the landing net. Hermann opened the fish, and took out the Vizier’s watch, still keeping capital time. Hermann can juggle as well for the wily Muscovite as the gallant Turk. While amusing the leisure of the Autocrat of all the Russians he broke a iarge and magnificent mirror. The superstitious potentate winced, for to break a mirror is unlucky, and a curtain was thrown ever the glass. Hermann w r ent on with his tricks for a while, then suddenly ex claimed, “ I forgot the glass ; lcok at it!” The curtain was removed, and there was the mirror, whole and unharmed.

Monday, March 22,-1880.!

THE ASHBURTON HERALD.



AGE. CHANCES. AGE. CHANCES 14-15 — 32 28-29 — 45 16-17 — 101 30-31 — 18 18-19 — 219 32-33 — 15 20-21 — 183 34-35 - 8 22-23 — 165 36-37 — 2 24-25 — 102 38-39 — 1 26-27 — 67 —



New Advertisements. SATURDAY, MARCH 13. OPENING NEW STORE, East Street, Near Bullock, & Co s. JAMES CL ARK Begs to inform the Public of Ashbur ton and**Surrounding Districts that he is commencing business as GENERAL STOREKEEPER, FRUIT ERER, BAKER, &c., And trusts by supplying good quality articles at moderate prices, to share public support. Note the Address — JAMES CLARK, PROSPECT BUILDINGS, East Street, Near Bullock & Co’s., . Ashburton. 163 c NEWS AND MAGAZINE AGENCY, STATIONERY AND FANCY GOODS DEPOT. RE-OPENING. HM. JONES begs to inform his , customers and the public generally that he has re-opened part of the premises, lately occupied by A. Weston and K. Sando and Co. for the sale of Newspapers, Magazinse, Stationery, Fancy goods, Toys, &c. English and Colonial papers. Periodicals, &c., by each mail. Licensed to sell Stamps. Lowest prices—Terms cash. Agent for “ Ashburton Guardian,” “Ashburton Herald,’, “Ashburton Mail,” “Lyttelton Times,” “Canterbury Times,” Daily “Press,” “Weekly Press,” “Otago Witness,” “Australasian,” “Town and County Journal.” Subscribers to “ Canterbury Times and “ Weekly Press” can obtain their copies at the above Establishment. *l2lc Y. R. NEW ZEALAND RAILWAYS. (Christchurch Section.) EASTER HOLIDAYS. ORDINARY Single Fare Tickets issued from any station to any station, from March 25th to March 30th, will be available for return up to and including March 31st. FREDK. BACK, General Manager. General Manager’s Office, Christchurch, March 11th, 1880. 209 c IRISH RELIEF FUND. THOSE gentlemen who received SUB SCRIPTION LISTS from the Com mittee of the above, are requested to re turn them to his Worship the Mayor, Treasurer of the Committee, as soon as possible, together with the amounts col lected. By order, CHARLES BRADDELL, Secretary. Ashburton, 22nd Marcli, 1880. 31-217 c ASHBURTON COUNTY COUNCIL. TENDERS are invited for the follow ing works : 1. Dam and Weir at Pudding Hill. 2. Approaches to Taylor’s stream bridge. Plans and specifications can be seen at the Council’s offices, Ashburton, and- ten ders with a deposit of 5 per cent, to be sent in addressed to the Chairman, not later than 11 o’clock a.m., on WEDNES DAY, 7th April next. By order, WILLIAM BAXTER, County Engineer. 19th March, 1880. 216 c rO LET, the Store and premises (the Pantechnicon) in Havelock street, lent moderate. Apply to, W. R. BOYLE, Moore street. COMFORTABLE BOARD and RE SIDENCE for two single, gentle men, on application at office of this paper. 215 c ' Board ind residence For Two Gentlemen, Bank Clerks or others. Apply Herald Office. 200 c. FIVE SHILLINGS REWARD. LOST —Between Railway Station and Messrs. Robinson Bros. Farm, near Hont’s, a POCKETBOOK, with owner’s name. The above reward will be paid to finder on leaving same at this office. 213 c



EOR SALE, Cheap, Dwelling-house of 7 rooms, situated on the East Belt, near the Parsonage—For particulars apply to T. Bullock. 206 c TO LET. —Dwelling House, opposite “ Mail ” office, now in occupation of Mis 3 Steane as a Private School. Im mediate possession given. T. Bullock. 205 c HEW TAILORING ESTABLISH MENT. CRAIGHEAD & Co., MERCHANT TAILORS, HAVE opened those premises situated in Tancred street adjoining Messrs. Orr and Co’s General Store. A SPLENDID ASSORTMENT OF TWEEDS, FANCY GOODS, &c., &c., JUST ARRIVED. Mr. Craighead’s experience as Head Cutter in connection with First Class Tailoring Establishments in Edinburgh and San Francisco has extended over a period of teii years, and from the immense success which has always attended his efforts to please, he is prepared to’ guarantee a perfect fit in every case. TANCRED STREET, (Next Orr and Cl’s. CRAIGHEAD & CO. 982 a



FjpOWN HALL, ASHBURTON. THIS (Monday) EVENING. Grand Entertainments by the CARANDINI Operatic and Ballad Company. SLENDID PROGRAMME— English, Irish, and Scotch Songs ! Scenes from Grand and Comic Operas, Comic Duets, Trios, Instrumental Solos, and Charming Ballads. Farewell performance, TO-MORROW (Tuesday) EVENING. Admission—First seats, 45.; second, 2s. Commence at 8 o’clock. 175c-603g TR. HODDER AND COMPANY’S , GREAT' CLEARING SALE of Drapery, Clothing, Millinery, Boots, &c., at the LIBERAL DISCOUNT of TWO SHILLINGS and SIXPENCE in the POUND, continues until SATURDAY, March 27th. 193 c



Holloway’s Ointment and Pills. Rheumatic Pains, Tic-Doloreaux.—These dis eases are unfortunately very prevalent in this aountry, and are frequently most distressing, sometimes for years baffling all medical skill to alleviate the sufferings of the victim. Inno case have Holloway’s Ointment and Pills failed to produce a cure. The Ointment produces a peculiar and soothing influence over the nerves and muscles, relaxing spasms and subduing pain. The attack soon becomes milder and the intervals between the paroxysms longer; until they cease altogether. The Pills restore the body from a weak and debilitated condition to a state of health and strength. Persons bedridden for months with rheumatic pains and dwellings, after using the Ointment have been euved in an incredible short period,— Advt,