MAIL NOTICES.

Mails close at the Ashburton Post Office, s follows : , „. r • , For Christchurch and North at 6 a.m. 9. a.m., and 5 p.m., daily. For Chertsey Rakaia,. &c., at 9 -a.m ---■ and's p.nu daily. For Dunedin, Tinwald, Winslow, Hinds, . Coldstream, Rangitata, Orari, Winchester, and Geraldine, at 10.15 a.m. daily. For Temuka, Timaru,. and South at 6 a.m. and 10.15 a.m. daily. •For Greenstreet, Ashburton Forks, Mount Somers, and Ashburton Gorge, on Tuesdays and Fridays, at 10.30 a m. Ashton, Waterton, and Longbeach, at 3.15 p.m. daily. For Wakanui, Elgin, and Seafield, on Tuesdays and Fridays, at 6 a.m.

Mails arrive at the Ashburton Post Office— From Christchurch at 10.30 a.m,, 4.55. s ; p.m., and 8.15 p.m. daily. . ■ -f< > From Chertsey, Rakaia, &c. at 10.35 a.m. daily. From Dunedin and intermediate places . “at 5.25 p.m. daily. Fr»m Temuka and Timaru at 9.25 a.m. and 5.25 p.m. daily. . From Greenstreet, Ashburton Forks, Mount; ■ Somers, and Ashburton Gorge on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 3 p.m. From Ashton, Waterton, and Long beach at 10 a. m. daily. , .From Wakanui, Elgin, and Seafield on Tuesdays and Fridays at 2.30 p.m.

W. St. G. Douglas, Postmaster.

The Ashburton Herald AND Borough and County Advertiser (With Which is incorporated the “Evening Echo”). FRIDAY, AUGUST 20, 1880.

Coal.—lt ia rumored that a valuable Beam of coal has just been discovered at Gisborne, North Island. Gas. —The Christchurch Gas Company have declared a dividend of 7 per cent, on the half-year. The Governor. —His Excellency and Lady Robinson and suite leave Wellington for Sydney en route for England on Sept. 3rd.

An Illicit Still. —For illicitly distil ing “ blue ruin,” George M‘Gusty and Thomas Taylor have been fined LIOO each, or twelve months’ imprisonment in default, by the Dunedin Court. Still Loyal. —At a Volunteer inspec tion in Nelson on Thui’sday, the various corps in the district decided almost to a man to continue their services, notwith standing the withdrawal of the capitation allowance. The Schoolmaster Willis. —Two or three days ago a schoolmaster named Willis was sentenced to, two months’ hard labor for. assault. He was scarcely in gaol when a deputation, introduced by the Hon. Mr. Bryce, interviewed the Minister of Justice on his behalf. The Minister promised to consider the matter, and see . what could be done to lighten or remit the sentence. On Thursday another deputation besieged Mr. Rolleston, who replied that the matter was under con sideration. The second deputation was headed by Sir Wm, Fitzherbert.

Good Templar Anniversary. — The third anniversary of the Dawn of Peace Lodge of Good Templars was celebrated by a tea meeting in the Town Hall last evening. About 150 people sat'clown to the good tilings provided by Messrs. Marsh and Groves, and by several friends who had contributed trays. The follow ing sisters of the Order presided over the tables : Mesdame3 Poyntz, Manhire, Hefford, and Holmes; Misses Hardley, Davis (2), Andrews (3), Davis, and Mul ford—the two latter attending .the bache lors’ table.. After the hall bad been cleared the Dramatic Society performed + ho now well-known drama “Ten Nights in a Bar Room,” which, is intended to show up in all its horror the terrible evil of intemperance. The leading character, “ Joe Morgan,” was played by Mr. Poyntz; the part of Mrs. Morgan was taken by Mrs. Manhire ; and a young daughter of Mrs. Manhire played the difficult part of Joe Morgan’s child. Simon Slade, the publican,’ was undeiv taken by Mr. Higgins, and Mr. J. Hardley took the character of Frank. Harvey Green, the gambler and rogue, fell to Mr. Jessop’s lot, and the character of Willie Hammond the squire’s son, was allotted to Mr. Fooks. Mr. Romaine, a travel ling philosopher, was entrusted to Mr. Felton, and Miss Hardley took the part of Mrs. Slade. The ( comedian of the com-, pany was disposed of in the character of Sample Switchel, whose sweetheart, Mehitable Cartwright, fond of yellow back novels, found an exponent in Mr 3. Tho'lnpson. All things considered, the piece went smoothly, and some of the scenes' were very well managed indeed. Regarding the effect of the piece, we are afraid it will not be much of a temperance teacher, for, to our seeming, the audience failed altogether to, get into sympathy with the drama. Joe Morgan (Mr, Poyntz) in one scene goe3 into delirium tremens, and Mr. Poyntz did this part of his work very well, but with a very con trary effect upon the audience, who seemed to enjoy each paroxysm of “ the horrors” as an excellent joke, and laughed accordingly., Indeed, most of the pathetic passages throughout the play were received in this way, by a portion of the audience at least. The scenery was all that could be desired—as it must be when Bourk paints ; but wo missed the string band, whose absence left Mr. Gates single-handed at the piano. There was a fair audience last night, and doubtless the

turnout will be better this evening when the drama is to be repeated.

Te Whiti’s Policy. —The New Zealand Times correspondent telegraphed from Pungarahu camp on Thursday : —Te Whiti has determined to send four men per day to prison until the whole have been ar rested, and should the constabulary object to arrest them fourteen will be sent the next day, and in event of those being re jected fifty will be sent the day after. The men are chosen by Te Wliiti and Tohu, two by the former in his whare and two by the latter in his. At first so many volunteered that the chiefs had to adopt the selection system. Te Whiti made a very long speech, of which the following will give you an idea of his tone. .He said, “ all the evils I have stirred up shall not be made clear. Neither of the two races know how I shall finish my work. Taking men to'prison is not good work, when they are taken for nothing. This quarrel shall not be left for Another year to finish. Tt shall be finished this year. ”

Work. —In these, dull times it is satis factory. .to I observe that work ha 3 not altogether ceased. We make this remark because we do not remember seeing in the Christchurch papers so long a list of adver tisements for tenders as 'appears to-day. Three Hundred chains of fencing are wanted done by Mr. G. Pocock, Methven (labor only) ; two cottages at Springston, one at Rakaia (four rooms), a bouse and stable at Philipstown, a house in Armagh street and a cottage in Wilson street (Christchurch), a shop and dwelling at Leeston, alterations and additions to the Temuka Hotel, a Presbyterian manse at Rakaia, four semi-detached villas in Ox ford street (Christchurch), a house at Addington, a factory and shop in Christ church, a two-storey house near the Christchurch racecourse, four cottages in Gloucester street, Christchurch, one on the North Town Belt there, and a cottage in Merivale' are amongst the building works for which tenders are asked.' A road ’from Lake Coleridge to Lake Lyndon, a concrete bridge over the Heathcote, and the re-formation of' the Back Track, Mount Hutt district, will find employment for other kinds of labor.

The Ashburton County Waterworks Bill.

Abridged from the 'Hansard report. Tuesday, 3rd August, 1880. Mr. Wriglit moved, That the amend ments made by the Committe in this Bill be agreed to. Mr. W. J. Hurst rose with considerable reluctance to oppose the motion ; but he entertained the feeling that the House ought to watch with,extreme jealousy the conferring of further borrowing powers upon local bodies during the present finan cial position of tile colony. He admitted that the object of the Bill might bo a desirable one, but at the same time he strongly felt that it was highly inexpedient, that the House should at present grant the borrowing powers asked for on what was merely the rateable power of the dis trict. After referring to the scope of the Bill, Mr. Hurst said'he thought no harm could arise from delaying the passing of this measure for twelve months. The House would then be in a better position for dealing with the matter. He'woukl point out that the security given was not sufficient. He knew that the, answer to that would be that the House bad nothing to do with the question of security ; but the lender of the money relied upon the passing of Bills as being to some extent a security. He did not oppose the Bill on local grounds, but on financial grounds. As a member of the Committee, he felt it his duty to direct the attention of lion, members fairly and frankly to the Bill. A communication had been received by the Premier from the Chairman of a Road Board in the district, covering resolutions condemning the jiroposecl work, and asking for delay in order to receive a ; petition being signed in opposi tion to it. There was ample provision in the Bill for taking a vote of the in habitants of the district on the question, but it‘ seemed to be one on which the inhabitants of the district were not united. The people living in the portion of the district nearest to the hills, and who had

a supply of water, did not-require the Bill,; but the people living on the lower portion of the plain, where they could not get water, desired the passing of the Bill. This district had only been settled for about five years at the outside, and the people who took up land there did so with a perfect knowledge of the difficulty of obtaining a water supply. The B.ouse would not be exercising its functions pro perly if it did not jealously watch the granting of further borrowing powers, as it was a matter in' which the reputation of the colonly was involved. A similar mea sure was passed through’ this House last session, but the Legislative Council ex cised from it the borrowing powers, and he hoped they would do the same thing with this Bill. • This House slionld not leave to the Legislative Council the duty of throwing out these borrowing Bills, but should take its proper share of the duty. Having given expression to his view of the matter, he would accept the decision of hon. members on the voices, and if given against be would not divide the House.

Mr. Hall happened to know something of the district to which this Bill referred, although he did not reside in it ; and per haps tire House would allow him to state the circumstances under which this Bill was brought before the House. It was in troduced as a private Bill, and therefore the fullest notice had to be given with respect to its provisions in the district which -it affected. That had r becn done, meetings of .ratepayers had been held in various parts, of the district, and no doubt the House would hear from the mover that a large majority of the ratepayers had consented to the passing of the 'Bill. The object was to provide the tract of country between the Rakaia and the Ash burton, which at px’esent liad no running water, with water—-to lead the water from the Upper parts .of the district, which were provided, into the lower part, for the use of stock and for cultivating the land. At present no water could be ob tained, except by sinking sometimes to a depth of two hundred feet. It was true that this district had not been largely settled .for any number of years; but that was -no reason why the Assembly should not allow the settlers, who were a hard-working, industrious body of men, to raise, on their own resources, such money as was necessary to bring water to the land.. That was all that was asked for, arid water was as urgently needed'in that district as roads elsewhere. The settlers did not come to the Legis lature and ask for any assistance. They merely asked that they might have per mission, to raise L50,0G0, upon the secur ity of their own rates, for a specific and most useful purpose. It would be a cruel injustice to those., people to refuse them the- rhqtiest they made. Much as he sympathised with, the hon. member for Auckland City West in his desire to pre serve the credit of the colony, he thought hon. members, would be taking a very un statesmanlike view of their duty if they should indiscriminately refuse such appli cations as'this. The Bill had been very carefully considered by the Select Com mittee,f'ivhd had' made alterations in it, and recommended‘thaty-with those altera tions, it should pass, and he trusted the House would not discourage private enter prise by -ref using to pass it. The hon. member for Auckland City West referred to a petition from one part of the district against the passing, of this Bill. Such a petition had no. doubt been sent, and he (Mr. Hall) had received a letter on the but he disagreed with the state ments in ’that letter. The petition came' from a pad -district,near the hills, which was not. now in want of water, but. the settlers djcf '.npt care for their neighbors getting a water supply. This ought not to influence the House in passing the Bill. Mr. W. J. Hurst said that all he asked •for was that some delay should take place, in order ."• that a largely signed petition against the Bill might be presented to the House; - •> -

Mr. Hall could state that the question had been.agitated for two years, so that there had been ample time to oppose the Bill. He. therefore thought the demand for further time unreasonable. The House should help hard-working farmer’s to im prove their 1 properties, when they did not ask for any monetary assistance from the colony... He trusted that the House would agree to the report. Mr. Gisborne asked whether it was usual to introduce a private Bill to amend a public Act, as was done in this case. This private Bill altered the existing pub lic, Act very materially in many respects. That mighti.be a regular course, but was certainly a very inconvenient one. Fur thermore, this Bill, which was called a private one, asked for the authority of the Assembly to enable a body of ratepayers to borrow L 50,000 without any precaution being taken, as in the case of municipal and other bodies, that no claim should be made on the; colony, or that they should not go upon the London money market. Mr. W. J: Hurst explained that pro vision was made in the form of the cou pons that the oolony should not be re sponsible.

Mr. Gisborne said that was all very well, but there was no such provision as proposed by tie Colonial Treasurer in liis Financial Statement with respect to local borrowing, in the Bill. However, what lie wanted particularly to call attention to was that tie Assembly might pass a public Act one session, and next session a private Bill cduld be introduced, which was sent to a private Committee, and there virtually disposed of, without going through the usual course that public Bills had to b$ submitted to.

Mr. Speaker said the course was quite regular, because a private Bill liad to go through a mucl. stricter ordeal than a pub lic Bill. Notico had to be given in the Gazette to all tie parties interested, and a Select Committee had to make careful in quiry into all tin provisions, Mr. Macandrtw thought that one very good- reason why this should be a private Bill was that if t had been a public Bill; there would havt been very little chance* of its passing tlis session or any other session. So wel was the machinery of the . Legislature adapted to the (circum stances of the cobny that the best course for any private number wishing to get a Bill passed was temake it a private Bill, whatever might b< its nature or object. Mr Shephard slid this Bill was very carefully gone tirough by the Select Committee. The borrowing power had been cut down fron LIOO,OOO to L 50.000, and many stringeit provisions had been inserted in the Bil. With regard to the petition referred to by the honorable member for Aucklaid City West, he.might state that it was 11 evidence before the

Committee that it came from persons whe, being already provided, or ,certain ,to be provided, with the water which the Bill would give to the district generally, sought to shut out their neighbours. The evid ence showed that the productive power of the district would be largely increased by giving the people authority to tax them selves for the purpose of raising money to carry out this useful work. It would also be for the benefit of tlie colony at large, by enabling a part of the colony to pro duce a larger amount of revenue by means of direct and indirect taxation than could be got from the land in its present unpro ductive state. He believed the. House would be doing well to grant the moderate borrowing powers which the Bill now con tained; and if this experiment succeeded, as no doubt it would do, it would be well to adopt the same course in regard to other parts of the country, as it would go far to increase the colony’s wealth by giving facilities to settlers to improve their land.

Mr. Wright could confirm wliat liad fallen from the bon. member for Waimea and the Premier. The Bill was intro duced last session, and was assented toby the House, but the borrowing powers were cut out of it when it went to the Legisla tive Council. That necessitated his com ing again to the Assembly. The settlers of the district had been called upon by circulars to express their assent to or dissent from the measure, and of those who returned the circular 106 assented and twenty-six dissented, so that four-fifths of the parties concerned in this water supply scheme were quite willing that the Bill should pass, and that they should pay. for the accommodation which should be afforded. With, reference to the letter from the chairman of the Methven meet ing, referred to by the hon. member for Auckland City West, he might state that it was got up at a meeting at which only eighteen ratepayers attended. Under the powers granted last session the County Council were incurring considerable ex pense in carrying the water-supply to Methven ; and now those generous people, having got all they wanted, sought to prevent their neighbors getting what they required by further burrowing. As to the district being newly settled, he might inform the hon. member for Auck land City West that it sent out nearly 30,000 tons of grain last year, and that the ratepayers proposed to raise a special rate of Gd. per acre to meet the interest and sinking fund of the amount they pro posed to borrow. The Committee, think ing the work of the highest value, gave them power to raise a special rate of 2s. in the pound. The House must recollect that the settlers in these dry plains were not now paying 2s. in the pound, but 20s. in the pound, to get water ; and at best they could only get a much smaller supply than they would if this Bill were passed. Amendments agreed to.

Wednesday, Aug. 4. Mr. Wright moved that this Bill be read a third time. Mr. W. J. Hurst felt bound to repeat the remark he made on the previous day —namely, that this was the beginning of a new borrowing policy, after the House had already realised the financial position , it occupied in the eyes of the world. It Would be remembered by the House that another Bill of a similar character was recently passed ; but the reason for the passing of that Bill was that some L 250,000 had already been expended, and that if the House did not give further borrowing powers the money already spent would be wasted. But this was a first expenditure—a new departure, and it in volved a very sei’ious principle. The Premier said on the previous day that the House would be inflicting a cruel wrong if they did not allow this money to be borrowed; but it appeared to him (Mr. W. J. Hurst) that the colony had come to a sad pass when it was obliged to pledge its credit for the. purpose of im proving land by means of irrigation at this early period of its history. That was the meaning of the Bill; and the import ance of it, to his mind, lay in the fact that this might ultimately become a colonial liability, as it assuredly swelled the ag gregate indebtedness. Sufficient con sideration had not been given to the Bill by the House. It was read a first time and a second time without comment, and was referred to a Committee consisting of five members of the House. And what what was the evidence as to the necessity for this Bill ? Simply the evidence of the mover of the Bill and one other gentle man who happened accidentally to be in Wellington. And what was the effect of that evidence ? That it would be a good thing if this money were borrowed, and that tlie purposes it would serve would be beneficial to the district ; and thejsecu rity they were to give wa3 a certain rate to be levied on this land. But suppose circumstances of depression overtook the district or the colony, he was not sure that’ the security would be at all sufficient ; yet our passing of this Bill would to some ex tent be regarded a 3 a guarantee by the English money-lender, that we had in vestigated the matter carefully, that wo had put our stamp upon it, and that it was a safe thing to invest money in. That was the construction that would be placed on the passing of this Bill, The Colonial Treasurer had brought, down a scheme to give borrowing powers to local bodies, and limiting the borrowing power to the colony ; bub why not allow such bodies to borrow indiscriminately ? If Acts of this kind were to be introduced they ought to be jealously guarded. What was the effect of this Bill ? That this local body could go into the London money market and float debentures to the extent of L 60,000. But had not the colony entered into an undertaking that it would not trouble the London money-market for three years ? If they passed this Bill, giving authority to borrow L 60,000, they might as well go in at once for another three millions. His own opinion was that they ought to stay their hand until they were again in a financially sound condition. With a property tax staring them in the face, increased Customs duties, and further rates for the main tenance of roads and bridges in conse quence of the withdrawal of the subsidies, they ought not to place increased burdens 011 the people by allowing this measure to proceed. A delay of twelve or eighteen months would do no harm, and they .would do no wrong by throwing out the Bill. The Statement of tlie Minister for Public Works, which would probably be delivered that evening, would, be ex pected, show very clearly that the colony was not in a position to enter upon works of this kind. Ho had the utmost confi dence in the future of the colony, but if

ever there was a - time when caution and prudence should bo exercised, that time was the present, and the House would be studying its best interests by preventing the passage of the Bill. He was not op posing it faotiously ; li9 was merely dis charging what he conceived to be a duty to the colonv.

Sir George Grcj’ would like to know whether the Government, having now begun to realise the financial position of the colony, and this being a case in which private persons were anxious to borrow money, had considered the question of introducing a Bill to prevent any private person borrowing money until the finances were in a sound state.

Mr. Hall asked the lion, gentleman what his authority was for saying that the Government had only now begun to realise the financial position of the colony. Sir G. Grey said the speech of the Iron: member for Auckland City West. Mr. Hall said that that hon. gentleman was a worthy and conscientious supporter of the Government, but lie was not the mouthpiece of the Cabinet. But soon after the Colonial Treasurer took office he explained to the House in his Financial Statement that the Government then realised the financial position into which the colony had been brought by their pre decessors, and the cojmtry then became aware of the gulf to the brink of which those gentlemen had brought the colony of .Slew Zealand. The. Government did realise that ; and the country realised the position, and had thoroughly realised who was responsible for that position. That was his answer to the hon. member for the Thames. -

Mr. Wright said the lion, member for Auckland City West had been speaking on a subject with the merits of which he was totally unacquainted, notwithstanding the fact that he was a member of the Com mittee which considered the Bill. The hon. gentleman spoke of the district as a poor district. He (Mr. Wright) would only say that it would have rejoiced him very much if he had found land of the same quality in the Waikato and other parts of the Auckland Province he had recently visited. The hon. gentleman was evidently not acquainted with the nature of the land in the Ashburton District. The lion, member fm-ther abided to the opposition which was shown to the borrow ing powers being granted to the Dunedin Harbor Board. There wa3 no parallel whatever between the two cases. In the case of the Otago Harbor there was a very large sum of money—a quarter of a million —already spent, and with very doubtful results. In this, however, the work was of a totally different* character, and the object of the Bill was to enable a number of industrious settlers to borrow col lectively a certain sum of money with a view of improving their estates, and to that extent to place them ill a much better position to n eet the additional burdens which the State was about to lay upon tliem in the way of taxation. The hon. gentleman also spoke of the want of evi dence before the Committee. How, the strongest evidence they could have of the desirability, of this measure was the fact that four-fifths of the landowners and others who would have to pay the rate had assented to the proposal. When the hon. gentleman skid the Bill had passed through the House rapidly, he overlooked the fact that a Bill pass xl the House last -session with borrowing powers’ for Lloo,ooo— the same. Bill as this one, which sought to obtain borrowing powers for half that amount. Bill read a third time.

The Weather.

During the last day or two the residents in this quarter have been reminded of the spring and summer of 1878, when fierce nor’-westers prevailed, and a calm day was more the exception than the rule. Since the beginning of the week the weather has changed completely from the cold to which we had been pre viously accustomed, and strong winds have blown from the north-west, raising the temperature considerably, and clouds of du3t at the same, razing also not a few outhouses, and staving in several windows, but as yet no very great amount of damage has been done. Last night the gale was very strong, and blew almost a hurricane, and all day to-day it has kept up as if it meant business. The express train was half-an-hour late in ar riving from Christchurch having been de layed by the winds and hindering accidents Christchurch, 2.30.

A strong north-west wind commenced to blow early this morning soon after day light, and increased to a terrific gale. It is the strongest from the north-west ever known at this time of the year. Consider able damage has been done to trees, win dows, and verandahs, one of the latter being entirely destroyed. At Rangiora a stack of chimneys at the Junction Hotel were blown down, doing great damage to the building. At Lyttelton, the shipping have so far escaped damage, but in town a number of doors, windows, and one dial-of the town clock were blown in. Roofs of buildings have been extensively damaged. A serious accident occurred at the gaol. A tempo rary iron roof in the north wing, now under process of construction was blown down, and a prisoner, named Pat rick Moss, who was on the roof at the time, fell to the ground, a distance of thirty feet, sustaining a severe cut on the back of his head and concus sion of the brain. He is now Jn a critical condition. Another prisoner was also injured, but not seriously. The high fence surrounding the quarters of the Maori prisoners was also blown down. A son of Mr. Williams, residing at Bridle Path was blown oft the roof of a house, and sustained severe, but not dangerous wounds. The gale now seems to be moderatinc a little. ° The telegraph lines are all down north of Kaiapoi. . .

Holloway's Ointment and Pills. Diseases of the skin, ringworm, scurvy, jaundice, sciofula or king’s evil,sore heads, and the most inveterate skin disease to which the human fiame is subject, cannot.be treated with a more safe and certain remedy than Holloway’s Ointment and Pills, which act so perculiarly on the constitution and so purify the blood, that these diseases are at once eradicated from the system, and a lasting cure obtained. They are equally efficacious in the cure of turners, burns scalds, glandular swellings, ulcerous wounds’ rheumatism, contracted and stiff joints. These medicines operate mildly and surely. The cures effected by them are not temporary or apparent only, but complete and permanent.

CABLE NEWS.

Latest - from Europe.^ {Per Reuter's Agency.) ‘ i : Wool Sales. London, Aug. 18. A At the wool sales to-day 10,GOO bale* ;' were offered, making a total of 17,500>‘f hales since the opening. The tone of thi'li market showed a better demand aiidfll prices were firmly maintained. 1 Arrived. ; Arrived—Coromandel, from Port Chal-' | mers. • ... ;; j , -- A ■/ v t | Employers Liability Bill. ' -'‘o- In the House of Commons the 'Em ployers Liability Bill has been passed; | vjffcj A Mission to Ireland. The Bight Hon. W.= E. Forster, Chief Secretary for Ireland,' has started . sud-11l denly for Ireland. His.missfdn, howeverjff at present is unknown. ' A ; Dismissed. \ \ Constantinople, Aug. 17.' j\|| Hafiz Pasha has been dismissed. AST ; • ■ ■■ a? m

FLOODWATER DAMAGE.

. (From the Otago Daily Times, Saturday, 14th , August.) , ( The case of Aitchison v. The I County Council, which has just'' been |l heard before Mrs. Justice Williams, is . considerable interest to' local governing > bodies. This was an appeil froin ; cision of- the . Resident. A ' Oainaru. The question at issue was sub stantially this: Are county councils' liable , for the damage done by the flooding of natural watercourses or streams, notbeiijpil navigable, within the county boundariMlf®! The plaintiff was owner of land which had' ( | been damaged by the overflow of a stream' fp !' in the County of Waitaki. For this'll! damage he sought to render thfe defend-(El ; ants liable. The Resident Magistrate de-.Aj cided against him, and an appeal was • made to the Supreme Court, r At the but set it is obvious that the question raises a somewhat important issue. If everyV'i| landowner who happens to be flooded out Ms by the caprice of the weather has a' tight ‘ ’ to demand compensation from the council'll of his county for the loss he has sustained, clearly the financial responsibilities these bodies have received an alarming-: extension. The argument for the plaintiff, on appeal rested mainly on the 165th and.'tS 36Gth sections of “ The Public Works Act, :||| 1870.” The former of these two defines a drain to be “"every passage or A channel on or under ground tlu-ough which ' water flows, except a navigable river.” A ■■■'£ public drain is defined thus “ Any S'; such drain made by the Government, or (A by any public board or before the passing of this Act, or made or.-Ax; declared to be a public drain under this i; Act, or made upon, above, •; or’under any. road or other land vested in the' Crown ; • •?< ■and every natural watercourse, stream, ; J and river not navigable .is. a public drain within the meaning of th,is Act.”. The next section provides that all “ public drains” shall be “ under the control jife and shall be constructed and repaired the County Councils; Mr. Stout, for the plaintiff (appellant), contended that the words of the Act were unequivocal and - ~ conclusive. There was a duty imposed by A the Act upon County Councils—viz., the Jr; keeping in repair of “public, drains,”;.’-:; which included natural watercourses, A They were bound to provide means for ' > carrying off storm-water, and if they, did hot do so were liable for damage A; done. Mr. Smith for the defendants, (respondents), urged that such a con- " struction would saddle his clients with a' liability which was “ absurd and oppressive.” The only responsibility which it was intended to confer upon the defendants related to. -w “ those drains which they n 3a A public body had constructed.” His .; Honor Judge Williams, in afiirming the decision of the Court below, said that the < "> words “construct and repair” incapable of application to the manage--:A ment of natural watercourses, and that the liability of the Council under the 166th' section must be taken to refer speciflcally to artificial drains. There can be hardly a doubt that this is the only satisfactory explanation of the' words of the Act. It seems preposterous to sup pose for a moment that it was the inten tion of the Legislature to render liable those who, under the circumstances of this case, cannot either directly or in directly be considered contributors to the loss of the individual. If; as his Honor said, the Council in any way inter fered with the natural watercourse the whole question would assume a different aspect. But the facts were uncontested, and no attempt was made to seek a remedy outside the provisions of the two sections quoted, the meaning and intent of which may be stated thus :—The 165th section does no more, as far as con cerns the present case, than specify V.:;' “ natural watercourses ” as being one class of public drains. Several other classes ;. ■ are mentioned, viz., those made by the Government prior to the Act; those. AS specially so declared, Ac. The section is then capable of being construed v"' intelligibly. The words “under the Yg control of ” are meant to'apply to “natural 'gf, watercourses,” by which it is probably #1 intended to bring these watercourses under the jurisdiction of the councils ; whilst the words “ construct and repair,” , being utterly senseless if the plaintiff’s con tention were correct, naturally connect themselves with those words in the 165th - A; section which complete the definition of A"■ 7: a public drain ; that is to say, speaking, in general terms, those of artificial' con struction. • -

Gone Bung. The Ellesmere Advcr- 1 User, published by Mr. Joseph Ivees, ~ has hauled down its flag, r and ceases publication after this week. Mr. Sher lock’s paper, the Guardian, will now have the Southbridge field all to itself. Guardian, in a leading article, states that%.vLq it has bought out its rival on liberal ... terms. \ ■ ■• 'VI. Another Fire. —Marlborough is getting together a somewhat fiery blazes in that province having been fre quent of late. A large two-storey build ing at Mount Pleasant was totally ’des troyed by fire on Tuesday night. The ' only person in the house at the time was Agf an old lady, who was not aware that any thing was wrong until the neighbors came :*’A. to extinguish the flames.

THE ASHBURTON HERALD, FRIDAY, AUGUST 20, 1880.



•NOTICE TO ADVERTISERS. All orders for insertion of advertise ’ ments must be Written legibly on the face of the advertisement. When no order is given the. advertisement will be inserted until countermanded, and charged accord inglv. All notices of Births, Marriages, or Deaths must be accompanied by the sig nature of the sender, as a guai'antee of good faith. , All advertisements and business letters to be addressed The Manager ; literary communications should be addressed to The Editor. Amusements. To- To-Niglit! ‘'TOWN HALL. CROWDED HOUSES!! UNBOUNDED APPLAUSE ! ! ! WILL BE REPEATED 'MILLION PRICES. Dress Circle Body of Hall, Front Body of Hall, Back" 2s. Is. 6d. Doors open at 7.30, curtain rise at Bp. nr 779 c OWN HALL, ASHBURTON. MONDAY, AUGUST 23rd, 1880. MONSTER PANORAMA OF NEW • ' V . ZEALAND. Limelight. Exhibition, amazing brilliancy and beauty. The Principal and most Charming Sceneries of the Colony. Cities, Towns, Buildings, Gorges, Waterfalls, Rocks, Landscapes, Harbors, Bays, Bridges, Rivers, Monuments, Hot springs, Boiling Lakes, Gold Mines. First land discovered by Captain Cook. Scene where Cook first unfurled the British flag and claimed New.;Zealand. Panorama of Christchurch in six views, &c., &c. ...... SPECIAL SCENERIES OF AUSTRALIA. Vocal Music—Special attractions. Posters. See . Admission—Dress Circle, 25.; Body of Hall, Is.; Children half price. Commence at B'sharp in order to get through the lengthy programme. Descriptive Lecture ... Mr. R. Bevan Manager Mr. T. Davies 774 c Christchurch. Miscellaneous. FOR SALE. A GOOD FOUR ROOMED HOUSE, A and nearly ONE ACRE of LAND in a first-class position, cheap. 751 c . POYNTZ & CO. PIANOFORTE FOR SALE. A GOOD Strong Cottage Pianoforte for Sale, second hand, price L 35 . cash. Apply office of this paper. 641 c "USIC Folios, with Spring Backs, Concertinas, 20 Keys, from 6b., Mouth Organs, &c. H. M. Jones, Stationery and Fancy Goods Depot, East Street and Baring Square. ’•YXTANTED, those in search of employ- W ment, to call and enter their, names at Herald Registry Office, on pay ment of Ib. -■ , ■ ' (COMPOSITION Dolls, China Dolls, jc .A Wooden Dolls, Rag Dolls, Toys, China Mugs, Balls, &e. H. M. Jones, Stationery and Fancy Goods Depot, East Street and Baring Square. , . /"CASH RECEIPTS, in Books of 103 each, on SALE at the “Herald and Guardian ” office. ; & TTTANTED KNOWN—That Money can VY be saved by purchasing your Sta monery and Account Books, for cash, at the “Herald” and “ Guardian ” Whole tale' Stationery Dep6t, Saunders’ Build ngs, near Station.



Miscellaneous. A DVERTISEMENTS, inserted under J-\ the Shilling rate, must be prepaid. Booked, Is. fid. will be charged. 620 c ANTED- -A' Good GENERAL SERVANT for a Private Family in .town. Apply at once, Herald Registry.. 773 c TV7~ANTED. —The Herald tolls you? " > Wants in 20 words, for 1/ —cash. WANTED— TENDERS for BUILD ING a STABLE. Plans and specifications to be seen at the Somerset Stables. Tenders must be sent in not later than MONDAY NEXT, August 23rd, at 5 p.in. 7S2c F. L. BOSENBERG. £IO,OOO rate of interest. Ashburton. TO LEND, in sums to suit borrowers, at lowest F. P. O’Reilly, Solicitor, 4.24c-835g WASTE PAPER for Sale, 3d. peril)* at the Herald Office. Apply early. 590 T ABOURERS requiring work can § J secure first opening by applying early at Herald Registry Office, on pay ment of Is. HAVE you Lost Anything I— Tell the finder through the Herald for a Shilling. If he is honest he will bring it to you without a reward, but you can bait a finder of shaky morals by a tempting offer of remuneration for his trouble. - AT' or a Shilling cash. JTjl NVELOPES, - NOTEPAPER, EN VELOPES, NOTEPAPER.—The cheapest ever offered in Ashburton, at the Herald Office, Wholesale Stationery Depot, Saunders’ Buildings. ASHBURTON RAGING CLUB. A PUBLIC MEETING of Members and others interested in Sporting Matters will be held at Quill’s Hotel, on SATURDAY, August 21, at 8 p.m. Business —1. To consider the advis ableness or otherwise of holding a Spring Meeting. 2. To consider the question of letting the Course for cropping. JAMES WILKIE, 755c-1270 Hon. Sec. EDUCATIONAL. MISS S. BARRATT, having taught successfully in the colonies for the last four 3 r ears, is anxious to join her sister in establishing a SCHOOL in Ash burton. It is Miss Barratt’s desire to im part to all entrusted to her care a THOROUGHLY GOOD GENERAL EDUCATION. English, one guinea. Extra charges will be made for Music, French, and Drawing. Apply to > MISS BARRATT, 639 c Wills Street. NOTICE THE LONGBEACH COACH will leave Baldwin’s Central Hotel, at 5.45 p.m. on TUESDAY NEXT, August 24, for the Wheatsheaf Hotel, Wheatstone, in order to Convey Passengers from Ash burton to the Supper and Ball. The above coach will return immediately after the Ball for Ashburton. Return Tickets 4s. each. THOMAS COTTON, 776 c Proprietor. BOOTS! BOOTS!! BOOTS!!! THE GOOD TIMES ARE COME AT LAST. G. T E ICKETT intends SELLING CHEAPER than ever— One Month ■ Only. Gents’. Balmorals ... ... 17s. fid. Gents’. Elastic Sides ... ... 17s. fid. Ladies Elastic Sides from ... Bs. fid. Ladies and Gents Slippers ... 4s. fid. All Children’s work equally Cheap. All our OWN MAKE REDUCED in PRICE. THAT’S WHATS THE MATTER. G. T RFC KETT, NEXT ORIi AND CO. ’s. , ASHBURTON. 7SOc