COMMERCIAL.

MEMORANDA.

MEETINGS. ' . '• This Evening-: .Borough and County Cricket Clubs, in the • County Council offices, at 8 o’clock. •;-V. •• ' auction sales. 1 To-morrow. J. E. Buchanan & Co., at their Itoonaq. j . Havelock street, 12 o’clock—Oats, Ear- ! 7 .niturey ,^ r .. <rCT ,, |

The Ashburton Herald AND Borough and County Advertiser (With Which is incorporated the “Evening Echo”). FRID AY, JANUARY 9, 1880.

' Hu tin ’ the last session of P nvlia m e n t • a .Oovernuient gave .tub colony t» under--; ‘stand’that in the recess they wci*M ,ditec* j • heir attention to the subject o*, desmted. vj wive?, add families, with a vtesp.- to..- mvydj pro-itt" ttr> facilities of the police for a.p-* ;| pveh;..f-i::g and punishing absconding:: 1 *

husbands and fathers. _ Great difficulty attends this question, inasmuch as any fine inflicted, if paid, is only so much money taken out of the pockets of the families already poor enough, and im prisonment of. the unnatural husband and father doe 3 not supply the deserted ones with a breadwinner, while it prevents

them profiting by any possible repentance on the part of the culprit, or willingness to resume his, proper position, until a sentence, more or less severe, according jto the magnitude of his oifence, has been served out. In what direction Government means to work with a view to helping the police there is no indication given, but we hope they will be able to

devise such , measures for' dealing with wife desertion as will have a deterrent effect upon the many cowardly men in this colony who are guilty of it. The question is a larger one than it seems on the surface, for the number of cases that come under the notice of the Magistrate’s Courts, and the various charitable insti tutions throughout the colony, do not by any means show the limit of the number of desertions. Hundreds, if not thou sands, of cases occur of which the public hear nothing as a public, and ihe poor de serted wives and children show more cour-

age and face the world more manfully than the cowardly poltroons who felt the trouble of working for their families’ bread too irksome for thdir precious muscle, and fled to escape a duty they voluntarily assumed, and which the law punishes them for'not fulfilling, but seems powerless to compel them to discharge. Hundreds of cases occur in which the husband and father leaves his wife and family to the tender mercy of the world, and in liis gross selfishness takes it for granted that some means will be found by a charitable public to supply them with bread. Not all these come before the Magistrates or the charities,..the- brave women choos-

ing rather to make a strong effort to earn their own and their childrens’ daily bread, than to depend, on the charity of the public ; and the obseryant man may easily discover instances in which the deserted family have had reason to rejoice over the absconsion of the chicken hearted ninny or the lazy loafer whose position of father was a curse to the children to whom he gave paternity. What Government will mostly have to

consider will be some means of providing for the wives and families left destitute by the desertion of the father. At present when the deserter is caught there are, we should say, ample means for putting him in prison, but none beyond that for making him contribute to his children’s support. It is easy to :put a defaulter in prison, it might be easy also to make it lawful for the magistrate to order the defaulter’s punishment with the lash, and the cat-o’- nine tails perhaps might be as effectual a preventative of wife desertion as it is of garotte robbery, for the brutal and cowardly c&n always be made amenable to reason through their hide. But while the man is in prison his children have to find their living somehow, and ‘if they fail, and they not infrequently do, then they become a burden on public charity. We cannot think of any means of making the man’s labor in prison pro fitable to the children, but when he is able to pay a fine, that might fairly be handed over to them. We fancy it is no use in flicting a fine upon men'of this descrip-’ tion, but perhaps were a plan adopted of giving these characters a chance of going bask honestly to their families on finding security that they would pay a stated sum ■weekly towards their children’s support, and .failing to find 1 theso securities, be liable tto .a ?year or two years in gaol, 1 perhaps .yipfo desertion would be found to decrease to a great extent. It has to be borne in mind that only men commit this crime who are base cowards at heart, and fear of severe punishment always weighs with such worthless people. It is with this in view that we would re ' commend the cat-o’-nine, tails in extreme cases, fully assured that, as soon as pro bable wife deserters knew that they risk the s’krn of their backs by their cowardly hoi tin so soon would they think twice before°they set out on a new single-blessed i»ess of their own.

Auction Sale. Messrs. Edmiston Bros. ,an<f Grnidry held a ,-sale at Mount Corners of the -goods in the estate ©£ the late Mr. Andrew I odd. There was a large attendance, nnd the bidding for the various lots was .-spirited. The property consisted of horses, kUttys, implements, and growing crops, and the . whole of the items changed hands at very; full rates. The draught horses brought j what should he considered very high ' prices, and a field of standing oata ; brought 30s per acre. i A Close Shave. — To-day the intense | heat had the effect of causing a 5-pint j bottle of stron g ammonia in the shop of Mr. Neate, cln imist, Moore street, toburst and fall from a top shelf to the floor. . The powerful gas arising from the ammonia for i si time threaten.! id the inmates of the shop and adjoining .room with asphyxia, but i hey all fortunate ‘ly succeeded in escaping f. :om the premise, ?. Mr. Neate’s family w ere at dinner at .the time, and his two ch iidren were onlj ' rescued in time from gjx -at danger. Whatever farmers think of the fine weather, it ii' not at all profitable to c hemists who requi. re to keep on their prei aises goods of adi ’scription that tfiay at ar ; y time become a dc ’meatus torpedo.

An ' Escapee.— Mr. Ga U, the contractor for t! us Borough scaven* Tering, was ar rested last night for having made the New Year’s holidays lust too long. • After lodg ing at; l -he Queen’s expense ft ' r a night, lie took F rench leave in the morning, and discharg'ecUbiLmself from custody* without consultii ig Sergeant Pratt, or anybody else in au'-thority. He was looked up by Constable- Bonase this afternoon, Rnd dis covered e:ojoying a “ pint ” at Quill’s bar. After his drink he was duly inarcncd back to durance vile.

Trapping the Chinamen. —The _ “ B»- venswood Mining Journal” describes a, curious scene which recently took place j in the Police Court there ; — c * The Court 1 was fail of Chinamen as it could well hold, there being hardly standing room. As soon us the case between Ah Pong and four Chinamen was heard, the doors were closed ; but ail those who had their miners’ rights with them were allowed to go out at a private door ; but those who had none had to fork out I Os. each for miners’ .rights. ’ When the Chinamen found out their little game, some got out of the windows, while others outside lent their miners’ rights to some Inside ; but, nevertheless, the Yfarden succeeded in getting about Llo.” .

This Weather.- — The weather just now is superb for harvesting, and in a few days reaping will have fairly commenced, and become general. To-day the heat Wits intense, and at one o’clock the ther mometer stood at 82deg in the shade.

Underground Streams. —Mr. H. 0. Russell, of the Sydney Observatory, in a letter to the “ Sydney Morning Herald “ On the supply of water to be found in wells- in the interior of the colony, supplies the following interesting informa tion The width of the river at Bourke is only ISO feet, and the banks are steep, butl am not able to state at what height the water overflows the banks ; for my present purpose however, thi3. is not of ,much consequence, because this back water must sink into the ground, or find its way back into the river. And my object is to show that by far the greater part of the Darling River water sinks into the ground and finds its way to the sea below the surface. The figures for the first ten months of this year seem to prove that at least eight times as much water as the Darling carries off must find its way to the sea beneath the surface ; and there is every reason to suppose that this is the abundant source from which the wells derive their supply. It is well known that the Barcoo, a fine river, getting its water from tropical Queensland, Sows out on to a plain and entirely disap pears, and there are several other streams lost in the same way; and when such large quantities of water do certainly flow beneath the surface, it is reasonable to suppose that by far the greater part of the water which should pass through the Dar ling goes in the same way. One striking fact bearing upon this question has come to my knowledge. Several wells have recently been sunk in the Darling district, between Bourke and Wilcannia, and the water ran over the top ; when pipes were connected with one of these wells the water rose 20ft. above the surface ; its temperature was found to be 81deg., and the time was winter. The depth of the well was not given, but said to be moder ate, probably, therefore, less than 100 ft., which is considered a deep well. The height to which this water rose, and its temperature, point to a very distant and tropical source, and suggests so much, that I am sure it would well repay anyone who had time to investigate the cause of these phenomena.”

The Five Million Loan. —The Syd ney “Morning Herald” says regarding this loan :—The New- Zealand loan has been an unexpected success It is true that the terms have been made compara tively easy, and that totake 97 for a 5 per cent stock is a condescension to which none of the other colonies would like to stoop. Still, it is not very many years ago since the best of us would have been glad to get money on such terms, and to New Zealand it is just now much more important to borrow on that-footing than to do without borrowing at all. The tone of the English press has of late been very unfavorable to colonial loans, and it has endeavored to discourage our Govern ments from pressing their claims on the market. But the readiness with which all the money New Zealand wanted was subscribed, and, indeed, twice as much as was wanted, shows that people who did so have not made the complaint. It is quite clear'that, howeler lieAvily (indebted New* Zealand may be, the moneyed people in England regard it as solvent and as free from all taint of repudiation. The Otago Team. —Regarding the 1 Otago team of cricketers chosen to face the eleven from Canterbury, a writer in the “ Otago Daily Times ’’.has the follow ing to say:—“They ought to render, a very fair account of themselves. Otago is, however, lamentably weak in bowling. .There are seven or eight changes of bowling in the team, but not one first class trnndler. There is lots of quantity, but very little quality. McLennan, ,in racing parlance, a strapping colt from the Albion, is to be tried solely for his bowling, and should the ground be any way wet, he will prove difficult to play. Conway bowls fast, but is rather erratic ; Cooke is very promising, and' likely to succeed better. Par am or and Haskell both bowl well on the wicket, the former at times with good judgment. Vernon and Spring can bowl a decent ball. The eleven is tolerably .strong in fielding, and lucky in having such a good wicket keeper as Spring. Their strongest point, how-, ever, is in batting, nearly every one in the team being in fair practice.”

Railway up Vesuvius. —This railway, the last new project in mountain-climbing, fis now finished. It is 900 iretres in length, and will enable tourists to ascend by it to the very edge of the crater. The line has been constructed with great care upon a .solid pavement, and it is believed to be perfectly secure from all in cursions of lava. ' The mode of traction is by two steel ropes put in movement by a steam engine at the foot of the crone. The wheels of the carriages ar.e made so as to b e fre e from any danger of leaving the rails, besides which each carriage is furnished with an exceeingly powerful automatic brake, which, should the rope by any chance break, wifi stop the train almost instantane ously/ One of the chief difficulties of the undertaking was the water supply, but that has been obviated by the formation of two very large reservoirs, one at the station, the other near the observatory.

Life Saving Beds.—A new life saving bed for the use .of passengers on board ship (says “ Cassell’s Magazine) has been recently approved and adopted by the United States Naval Department for use in the American Navy. These matresses possess a remarkable power of buoyancy. They are made of elastic felt, and one measuring six feet six inches long by two feet nine inches wide, and 5 inches thick, of which the entire weight is only 251 bs., floated a man weighing 1501bs, in addition to an iron grate weighing 501_bs. more. To sink it so that its upper surface was level with the water, a dead weight of 3001 b. was required. An average steerage bed of this material would cost only _ 13s, 44> , and would be capable of sustaining 6Jio,, which is equivalent to the weight of three men under water, or mother words, when swimnainv. Several lines of steamers running to the West Indies now employ these buoyant beds, and they wre, we hear, about to be tried for adoption into the Royal N avy. French Railways. —M. de Freyciait’s proposed increase a £ the railway system skeins likely to foe jsoow . A-C. cording to a recent report of the Minister of Public Works, it was decided in the last Parliament to proceed with the con struction bf between 11,000, and 12,wDU

kilometres of new lines, which, roughly speaking, will thus be divided kunong the different systems : -Nord, 796 kilom. ; Eat, 2549 ; Ouest, 2335 ; Orleans, 2341 : Lyons, 1962 ; and Midi, 2126. Traffic between France and other countries is, or will he, abundantly served by 40 inter national lines, of which 29 are already at work and eleven have to be made. When all these lines are finished France will have communication with Belgium at 22 points; with Germany at seven ; with Switzerland at six ; with Italy at three ; and with Spain at two.

TELEGRAPHIC.

TO-DAY’S CABLEGRAMS

AUSTRALIAN.

{Reuters.) Brisbane, Jan. 5. Gold in Queensland. Mulligan, a prospector, lias returned from King and Luekit Reefs. He reports finding gold, but not in payable quan tities.

Sydney, Jan 9. Arrived—Hero, from Auckland.

INTERPROVINCIAL

TO-DAY’S TELEGRAMS

Grahamstown, Jan. 8. Murder and Suicide. Hetera Apiko, a native, jealous of his half-caste wife, knocked her brains out with a tent pole and afterwards hung himself. Some weeks ago she fled from him, and swam the Thames river, since which time her husband had consulted a Maori prophet about his wife’s fidelity, but the revelations were anything but satisfactory, so he killed her. Mine Accident. A man named Wheelan met with an accident this morning in the Alburnia mine, by falling down a winze and break ing his leg. Another Stumping Tour. Sir George Grey intends soon visiting the Thames and opening a lecturing cam paign through the Colony. The G.T. Grand Lodge The Good Templar Grand Lodge closed its session last night, when a tea meeting was held. A Schoolmaster Pined for Beating a . Boy. . John Murray, schoolmaster, Taupo, was fined 10s. and costs, LB, for beating a boy in school. The R.M. censured the School Committee for not enquiring into the matter. i Dunedin, Jan. 9. Out Door Advertising. The City Bench, in committing a woman to gaol for shop lifting, strongly expressed its disapprobation of goods being exposed outside shop windows, thus tempting people in penury to commit theft. The Waimate Bush Fire Cases. The trial of the Waimate bush fire cases las been fixed to take place in Dunedin on March 15th, before special juries. Another Victim' to Drinki A case of suicidebypoisoningoccurredin town yesterday afternoon, the victim being an old pensioner, 57 years of age, named William Esmond. During the past few days he had been drinking, and yesterday procured from the shop of Mr. ISTeil, herbalist, a shilling’s worth of poison, saying he wished io destroy some rats. After taking the poison he was brought to the hospital and died in an hour and a half after admission. He re ceived his last remittance only about a week ago. Some time since he was separated from Ids wife ; from statements made in hospital it appears he was jealous of her. Invercargill, Jan. 9. The Crops South. In many parts of Southland the turnip crop is an absolute failure, owing to the continued drought. Frosts also so damaged the potatoes that the yield cannot be large. Patches of grain, in parts, are so disap pointing that they will seriously lower the large average yield reckoned upon p, few weeks ago. j An unjust Steward. John Harford, late steward ofi the May Queen, was yesterday committed for trial on four charges of larceny! He was remanded on three others, including the possession of h ouse-brea king j tools. In accused’s box were found dark lanterns, files, a “ neddy,” and keys.

BRITISH & FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE

LAST ITIGHT’S CABLEGRAMS.

(Reuter's Telegram.) London, Jan. 7. Three per cent consols, 97f. Adelaide wheat, per 4981b5., ex ware house, 595. Gd. The Board of Trade returns of imports for past month amount to L35,375,Q0Q, showing’ an increase .of L 8,750,000 com pared with last year. The, returns of exports for the past month amount to L 421,250,000, Bhowipg an increase of L 16,500,000 compared with last year. Dublin, Jan. 7. The Irish Government have advanced L250,,000 of Church surplus funds for relief works.

INTERPROVINCIAL

LAST NIGHT'S TELEGRAMS.

Auckland, Jan. 8.

It has transpired that the captain of the Cormorant applied to be taken into dock, but the application had been refused on account of the dock’s limited dimensions.

Mr. Moss, M. 11. R., meets the Parnell electors at the beginning of next week. While engaged in the work of raising the steamer Hannah Mokau at the North Mok&u river, Mr. Hollis discovered the bowsprit (if H. M.S. Orpheus embedded in sand. The sp&r, which measured 34ft. had floated nearly a. hundred miles down the coast. It was cut up and used in raising the steamer. Ml".- O’Rorke has gone to Christchurch to meekhis colleagues of the Commission on Higher Education. Dr. Wallis, who is also a member, do&'i jT.pt intend to go, and gays he will resign his pia.ee, Au accident happened to Mr, Grant, the Line jijjshire delegate. The Attorney- General was driying him in a buggy and

pair, when he Inst hold of the reins. Mr. Grant jumped down, and while endeavor ing to right matters the wheel of the buggy went over him. In the ease Court v. Chiarini, claim LSO damages for being upset from a buggy through the horse taking fright at meeting the zebras of Chiarini’s circus on One hunga road, plaintiff was awarded L3O and Ll2 133. costs, with immediate execution. r lhe schooner Marinion, from Timarn, reports sighting off Kaikoura Peninsula, a conical .red .buoy,., with'block and chain attached. Owing to the fog'and sea she could not recover it.' It is believed to be one of the Cook’s Straits cable buoys.. ... Wellington, Jam 8i v , The prize firing rules for ISBO . are gazetted. - • A man named Crofton, a steerage pas- 1 senger by the Star of the South, from :Lyttelton was lost during the passage here. He was last seen about 10.30 last night, Wlieii he retired to bed, and was then quite sober. At eight o’clock this morn* ing be was missed, and no trace of him could be found. No cause can be attri buted for his disappearance. The Star of the South sighted a steamer, believed to be the Tui, bound for Wanga nui, and to all appearances having broken down.

New Plymouth, Jan. 8.

Mr. Parris left by steamer this morn ing for Wellington, fclpe Go Vein rqent wish ing to-consult him on Native matters con nected with this district.. Timaku, Jan. 8.

The Harbor Board resolved to-day to postpone levying any port duties on ship ping for six months. They also res lved to reduce the rate for shipping wheat from 4s 6d to <*s per ton. The harbor master reported tlnd .two Auckland vessels and one American bad sailed without returning springs, &c.,‘ supplied by the Board, and that a heavy loss must accrue in consequence. The secretary stated that he had communicated with the Collector of Customs at Aucklaud on the matter, requesting 'him not to clear the vessels until the amount was paid. It was resolved in future to make the agents of vessels guarantee the cost of all such appliances before they were supplied. A meeting of burgesses is called for to morrow night, to consider whether a L 68,000 Waterworks Loan should be raised.

Miss Jardine has been appointed Lady Superintendent of Timaru High School, out of twenty-six applicants. Dunedin, Jan. 8.

The remainder of the passengers by the ship Auckland were removed from Quarantine Island this forenoon, and their places occupied by the steerage pas sengers who arrived yesterday by the ship Marlborough. j A deputation waited on Mr. Oliver to day to suggest that annual railway passes should be issued, available over the Middle Island railways, at the rate lot LSO each. Mr Oliver said he would con sider the suggestion, but did not feel very favorably inclined towards it, as facilities for railway travelling were as great as could be expected, and there was a pos sibility that there venue might suffer. . James Taylor, a highly respected and old resident at- Cromwell, committed suicide last night. ,? ;r-

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE’S COURT.

RAKAI A.— I Thursday, Jan. 8.

(Before Mr.(F. Guinness, R.M.) VAGRANCY. Mary Ann .Cook was brought up, charged with having no visible' means of support. Prisoner said she was a respect able married woman. She and j her husband came from.... Leeston on Monday, and had been' tftying to get work in itliis place. She was out walking last night when several men. followed her, ] her husband was at that time standing at; the corner of the hotel. ■.

Peter Cook said he was prisoner’s hus band. He was looking for work* fe <?n Wednesday night. His wife went away from him. She had had/ a glass or two.

His Worship said there was not suffi cient evidence to commit the prisoner bp£ he would caution her that if she is again" brought up he will send her to prison.

CIVIL CASES. M‘Lean v. Lake and Beard—This was a case of disputed account, which was ad journed from last Court-day for the pro duction of defendant’s books and book keeper.

Mr. Purnell for plaintiff. John Miles, sworn, said—l am book keeper to Lake and Beard. I produce the books of the firm. Ido not know what book this is. It is not a ledger. His Worship here examined the book produced, and said “This hook is of no use whatever. There appears to have been at least two erasures. ”

By his Worship—l made this entry since last Court-day. I made the erasure at the time I made the entries.

His Worship again commented on the impropriety of a firm carrying on exten sive works with such irregular books. He would give judgment for plaintiff for Ll 5 16s. Bd. , with costs L 4 2s. O’Connor v. Smithels—Judgment for plaintiff for 17s. 6d., costs ss. Laurie v. W. Byrne—Adjourned till next Court-day. '

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL ASSOCIATION.

A general meeting of the members of the Ashburton Agricultural and Pastoral Association was held on Thursday in the Somerset Hotel. John Grigg, Esq., pre sided in the chair. There was a fair at tendance of members The first business of the meeting on the card was to consider the advisableness of altering No. 4 of the Society’s rules, which provided that the annual general p>e&tjng of the Society should be held on the second Tuesday in September. An alteration was made from the above date to the second Tuesday in April.

A letter was read from Mr. F. B. Pass more, advising that in offering prizes at the annual show for implements it was ad visable to have as many classes as possible. Exhibitors of machinery and implements as a rule did not, care for the money prices offered, being more desirous of having the machines, &c brought under public notice. This would be more effectively done by the award of a greater number of cards of merit ijjan was usually done, thereby drawing attention to machines and implements meritorious in themselves that might otherwise be overlooked. The letter could not be dealt with at that

meeting, which was a special one, but it was filed for future reference and guidance, and the Secretary was ordered to acknowledge Mr. Passmore’s letter with thanks.

It was resolved to bold the reaper and binder contest on the 20th inst. , two offers of grain for cutting -having been, made—one by Mr. Hay T. Smith,-' and the other by Mr. J. Carter. .The selection of the most suitable field wa3 left to the Managing Committee, which was consti tuted as follows : —Messrs. Hay T. Smith, Mayo, Silcock, E. Saunders, and Joseph. Hunt. ..As Judges of the reapers and binders—Messrs. Parsons, Black, Pass more and Cameron, as farmers were ap pointed, And Mr. E. G. Wright as an engineer.''' The alteration of. rule 4 having necessitated an alteration uajrudq.O. the needful change was made! The Chairman 'stated a petition-had been drawn up and extensively signed for 20 acres of a reserve near Saunders’ mill, beiiigTSt" Asi'dritof A'public market/ The, idea off a/public market..was..hit upori, ,ias a .reserve' for'cattle show purposes, having already been granted on the other sidaidf the -river.,-.-it..-might..He difficult to. get a second reserve granted for these purposes. The Chairman had spoken to Mr. Marsh man or. the subject, who had raised .the difficulty of the society not being enrolled, and therefore the land could not- be crown-granted to them. It.was eventually •< resolved—“ That steps be taken for the immediate enrolment of the Society,-and also for having the proposed cattle market invested in the Society.” Mr. Carter wrote, offering a finely fenced paddock of five acres at Tinwald, enclosed in a plantation of. guths, for the use of the Society as a show-yard, at tue rent of lOsan acre, with the reservation that he may graze sheep oh the ground when it was not in use by the Society. The question of holding the annual show on the. Ashburton side of the' river was held over to be Settled at next."meet-.

Mr. Zouch proposed that a Corilmittee, comprising Messrs. Grigg, Carter, and Cox, be appointed to frame a device for a Society medal, which proposition was adopted. On the motion of Mr. Edward Saun ders an extra honorarium of LlO was voted to the Secretary, Mr. Jameson, for his valuable services in connection with the recent, show, and the general busi ness of the Society. The mover, the Chairman, and Mr. Hunt, all spoke highly of Mr. Jameson’s' attention to the Association’s business and .-in terests.

After some other unimportant busi ness the meeting adjourned.

Accident to a Railway Engine.

On Thursday evening the in-train from Oxford to Kaiapoi, on the. Eyreton branch,, due at the.latter station at 6 p.m., did nof arrive till (5.30, the delay of half an-hoiir being accounted for by the break age of a spring under the engine beyond MandCville. The engine was packed up and ran foursome distance, when the pack ing shifted, and slipping down, the iron cow-catcher in front was crumpled up under it like h bird cage. This caused a further delay, and,the train, was brought under eaßy Steam to Kaiapoi, the.' train from Amberly to Christchurch being de tained in order to forward mails and pas sengers. Idle engine was re-packed for the return'journey to Bennett’s junction, and left Kaiapoi about .7 .p.m. with two carriages and guard’s van attached, the engine being driven by <|sVer. Duffey. When hearing the junction.hf the Oxford line with the main line, the North Waunakariri Jiridgejtlie packing again gave, and left the .metals, two wheels goings? l outside-, arid two remaining inside the line.A: all -being buried to. the axles. The carriages, however,' remained.pon the line. There were seven passengers in the train, who were much startled with the shock, but not injured hi'-aiiy way. The accident was -fbrthwitln. reputed, arid a special engine with van was sent —from Christ church, with Mr., Buck, railway manager, Mr. Cuthbert, assistant railway engineer, Mr. Salmcmd, inspector of permanent way for the-northern lm.es, ana Mr. Dickinson, locomotiye|engiiieer; v They at once pro ceeded to jhe, r a gang of. work men and M‘Gi£gor’s men . were taken on at Kaiapoi. r 'Oidtirs were given to clear the line the,.carriages were returned to the shed uninjured, and the workmen. proceeded3s raise the engine—one of the small kind—on, to the 1 - irietals, and place the line, in order for the-midnight train. This was-successfully accomplished. The damaged;erigipe has of late been doing all the work pn -.the West Eyreton line, and running an’ average of U’2 miles per day. No doubt thefe' will be an inquiry held in reference to the accident. The passengers by the ti;<jin returned to Kaiapoi, and then went forward by buggies to their destina tion. . Commendable promptness was shown b@o the? .officials in the matter. (< Press.’A • ■A d li

A Young Hero.

--Wf <■ t The boy who,- at the burning deck whenceoll but -he had fled,” has been justly ..immortalised in song and story, and now another boy, under very different circumstances (says the 1 ‘ Daily Telegraph ”) mutely claims a like reward. No soivefe a warrior sire he —-no inheritornFa proud name which the youngest bparferf is constrained to preserve untarnished,;4mt mechanic’s child, who worked in a faetclity byAhe side of his father. Nobody, we nifty be sure, thought him a heroes in-cap and apVon he trudged to and frombiiis daily labor through the streets of Birmingham, ( but. at that time the opportunity had?., riot come without which the greatest is, in the world’s eye, even as the least. It came, at last, at the very last, poor lad ; for when passing near one of the iron monsters amid whose ruth less shafts and wheels is worked, his apron was caught, and he himself was dravyn through the machinery to certain death. Help quickly arrived, and the poor lad was disentangled from the horrible em brace into which he had fallen. To the surprise of all it was found he still lived and retained his consciousness. And of What floes the pitying reader suppose he thought } Of his own young life so sud denly and mercilessly cut short ? Of his lacerated frame and horrible anguish ? No; rather of the pam it would give his father to see him rent and torn, for as ; gentie hands lifted and bore him away he i was heard to murmur, “ .Don’t let m'y ! father see rae, ” If it be heroic to con

sider others before self even in the direst strait, then .was this Birmingham factory ■fad;a hero, indeed/'

Moving Objects.

Mr. Muybridge’s method of photograph ing horses in rapid motion gave some most startling results. : I have seen a set of 12 photographs of a galloping horse,,' and not ' one. of the. figures would be admitted in any art. gallery, while some would be re garded as utterly ludicrous; yet, of course, every one:.of’ the attitudes is perfectly ' correct. ; The horse really has its legs straight out at one time like so many pokers, and, at another, .all bent in hke„ those. of lamb in the air. Only the eyedoes not recognise*'^^: . these- attitudes, anil so a. picture, present ing them would ' appear 'quits‘irnuatoial. That the attitudes shownrby the '-cii^umstance-that : :.so... soon as- the in rapid siwcessioxi into view, after the manner- -e£~^-zoejicoi&jf. •;w6er i *^iisrpe v galloping in. the most natural manner ,every movement 'being correctly l ’shown/ 1 even to the waving of the tail; nor. \vheh . thus ' -looking at a rapid 'succession!; of?" the pictures severally looking so unnatural,| can any one of the seemingly: unnatural-/ positions be separately. recognised..- ; And now Mr. Muybridge has.extended hist, method to the study'of" huihahVactiph/’' particularly that of when per forming their: various feats. Thus,. an athlete, turning a- back, .somersaultwas pictured in 14 different' positions, all the 14 pictures being obtained during the short inverval (little more than a second of time) occupied by-him in, turning, the somersault. The same man was also photographed while making 'a rrunning higli jump. ? >> Pictures wbr'P;,also takbn of men raising heavy'dumb-bells, but itrijs not easy to understand with what object, seeing that the. eye can recdgnise every position assumed dn sloiv movements suph as these. The pictures- representing. the back somersault and high jump will, how ever, be regarded with extreme interest. I should beTglad to hear that similar, pic tures Jiad. been'taken representing; the positions assumed by a godd • rower ' in' taking a rapid.racing stroke. • - -

The Octapus.

(From the Warnambool' Standard "of 29th

' \" Dec.) 1 Another deyil-fislx £ .ing last, when the tide was very'lowy Ir. Fred.. Lincoln was amusing himself as he could go with safety, by catching what is known as mutton fish- Under the ledge of a rock he saw one of these large shell fish, and with a knife he was laboring hard to get it off the rocks, when Suddenly he felt something grasp him by the; hand. He became alarmed, and. being a stout able fellow he put forth his strongth and quickly got his hand free from the un friendly ('grip of the octopus. Some friends were a short distance away, and he hailed them, after which they examined around the particular rock, with a view of getting a glimpse of the spoiler of their sport. In a little while they saw a part of one of the feelers come out from under the rock. Lincoln, feeling rather annoyed at the un friendly grip he had received, seized the large knife he had been using to detach the shellfish from the rocks, and baring his arm made a dart at the feeler with his weapon. He evidently struck the devil fish, for in Jiff instapt, and almost before Lincoln could recover himself, the ugly monster exhibited three or four arms, each over three feet in length, and appeared bent on laying hold of something. How ever, this Exhibition., on the part of the octopus caused Lincoln and his friends to consider that discretion was the, better part of valor ; and. accordingly they ;; left the.spot |tnd Also their mutton' fish!.# It might have been serious matter had Lincoln bet n alone/if this devil-fish had got a fair hold of him. In an hour or so the tide would have risen, and he would have Ij.een firmly ' held',? pnd of course drowned: They are ugly customers to deal with, especially if they get, holdof one when'-in the watpr. ; ./ A .* ;•

Rainfall.— A correspondent furnishes the following summary of, the rainfall at the Christchurch observatory since 1866: —Rain fell for the last' month to the amount of 2 "22111., making the total rain fall since the beginning of 1879 to the end of last month 23"18in.as compared with 13"54in. duiing the same period in 1878, 23"72in. in 1877, 23"99in. in 1876,32"31in. in 1875, 22"79in. in 1874, 26.33 in. in 1873, 19"71in. in 1872, 27"89in. in 1871, 28 "32in. 1870, 27 "24in. in 1869., 29"96in. in 1868/ 80"00in. in 1867/ 19"40in. in 1866, or an average of 24"31in.

The Sahara Desert Railway.— Since the failure of the canal project the French have been fixing their_ultention upon the proposed railroad across the Desert-nf Sahara. A company has been organised for carrying out this daring en terprise, said to be entirely practicable, and the surveys will begin at ,pi\ee. The French expect that the railway will open up a country inhabited by fifty millions of friendly and intelligent;blacks to the produce of the markets, /fhe Mujiqtpp of Public works takes the warmest interest in the matter,- When one. reflects that winter excursions to the border of the Niger will soon be possible, lid begins , to ap preciate the miraculous nature of our modern civilisation. Paris correspondent N.Y, “ Evening Post,;’,

Nick-names. —Thenicknames of people in'the- different States' are very annisin§7 The inhabitants of - Alabama are called Lizards ; of Arkansas, Tooth picks f of- California, Goldhupterg j qf Colorado,' .vßovers j of : Aponneoticut/ Wooden Nutmegs ; of Delaware, Musk rats; of "/Florida, i'ly-up-the-Cfeeics V of Georgia I ,‘‘Buzzards ; of Illinois, Suckers ; >%£ Indiana, Hbosiers ; of lowa, • Hawke eyes ;of Kansas," Jayhawkers ; of Ken tucky, Corn Crackers; of ■ Lqiqsiqua, Creoles'; of Maine, -Foxes ; of Maryland, Craw Thumpers; of Michigan, Wolven nies ; of Minnesota, Gophers ; of Missis sipi, Tadpolel ; of Missouri, Pukes ; of Nehroska, Bugeaters ; of Key a. 4a, LEeafS • of New Hampshire, Granite Bpysj of New Jersey, Blues* or Clam-catchers ; of New York, Knickerbockers ; of North Carolina, Tar-boilers, or Juckoes; of Ohio, Buckeyes ; of Oregon, Webfoot and Ilardcases ;. of Pennyslvania, Penances aq4 Leatherheads : of Rhode Island. Gun Flints 7 of South Carolina,, Weasels,} of Tennessee, Whelps ; of Texas, Beefheads ; of Vermont, Green Mountain Boys; of Virginia, Beadles'; of Winconsin, Badr gers. ' ’ • ,v • ’ " * '' •

Friday, January 9, 1880."]

THE ASHBURTON HERALD.



ASHBURTON R ET ’AIL LIST. d. s. d. s. ; 1 ’• ;tter, inferior to best !b I 0 to 0 9 0-t 'is, 4/ dozen - t? lb I 2 to 0 0 i l-isrse, prime c : tidily, 0 9 to ■ T 0 'Br. eon. prime m/ linked, l> lb 0 9 to i 0 LI; '.ras it’ cloth. • If ’-b - 1 0 to 1 4 FI pur iu l>"U'S, v •> VP..Ib '4 6 to 0 O Oi itiheal. t? 25 ib - 6 6 to 0 0 [.■ ird, $ It- - • - 0 9 to 0 0



Hew Advertisements. -A Competent Dressmaker. YV Apply at once. T. It. Hodder & 'Co. 920 a W AJ * Tj S D ANTED—A General Servant, Apply to Mbs. Gundry. East Town Belt. . 910 a Ranted- -A First- class Cook. _Apply V} at once, to Hotel, Ashburton. Butler’s Family 905 a TTT ANTED —COOK and NURSE- V\ MAID. Apply to Mbs. Bran son, Aitken street, Ashburton. 890 a good strong BOY, to make himself useful at Westerfield. Apply Herald office. 89Sa ATTANTED, a V V Milk, and as DIS mHS PARTNER'S HIP -hitherto exist ■r|_. ing between the undersigned ■ Barristers and Solicitors is this day ; SOLA 7 ED by mutual consent, Ashburton. January 6th, 1880. ‘ ' F. P. O’REILLY, i)o6a G. W. IRELAND. At At .T OKES! UPLAND DISTRIBUTION of PRIZES will take place on V FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, Jan. 16 and 17, in the Building adjoining Messrs. J. E. Buchanan, and Co. -s Auction Mart, Have lock street. ,



TICKETS ONE SHILLINGnEACH, .to be obtained at the Shop, Baring Square, •.and other agents. EACH TICKET OBTAINS A PRIZE. Prizes varv in value from £3 3s. to 6d, ancl include a Great Variety of articles, Useful', Ornamental, and Comical. / Handsome Pressed Doll ... £3 3s. „ Ladies’ Japanese ....... Cabinet 1 5 ~ Writing Desk ... 115 , Croquet Set ...' 110 Album ... ..: 210 &c., &c,, &c., &c., &c. Doors open from 11 to 5, and from 7 till 9. ' 363g—913a TO BUILDERS. TTIENDERS are' invited for the erection 1 of THREE SHOPS in BRICK in Tancred street, Ashburton. Plans and Specifications may be seen at "the resi dence of the undersigned. Tenders will be received up to 7 ; p.m. on Thursday, the 15th January. The lowest or any tender/not necessarily accepted. JOHN FOWLER, 904 a Street, Ashburton. fpENDERS will be received up to MONDAY, the 12th -JANUARY, for STOCKING 900 acres of WHEAT at Sherwood. ■9o7a F. JB. PASSMORE, Rakaia P. O. MR. C. W. IRELAND having DIS SOLVED PARTNERSHIP with Mr. O’Reilly, will CARRY ON the busi ness by himself for the present. No receipts for money now owing to the late firm of O’Reilly and Ireland ’’ will be recognised, unless signed by both partners. 91 1a F you want a CHEAP ■ SUIT OF CLOTHES go to G. J. F. LUBLOW, TAIL ORI N G DEP OT. Triangle, Ashburton, Between Post Office and Baldwin’s Central Hotel. G. J. F. Lublow, importing his own goods, is enabled thereby to make as Cheap a Suit of Clothes as any tailor in New Zealand, and a First-class FIT is Guaranteed. P ■ ( ■ Terms—Strictly Cash. 5 per.cent. Discount off all Orders Paid IN ADVANCE. 813 a