SOUTHERN NEWS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 80, 2 April 1908, Page 6

SOUTHERN NEWS.

(By Telegraph.—Press Association.) CAPTAIN COOK MEMORIAL. ' BLENHEIM, this day. At a meeting of the Captain Cook Memorial Committee it was decided to invite' competitive designs throughout New Zealand for the monument- to be placed on Cook's landing-place at Ship Cove, Queen Charlotte Sound, at a cost of from £200 to £500. An offer was received from- the Admiralty of an old cannon, to be placed on the monument, and this was accepted. It was decided to ask the Minister for Lanas to suggest a suitable emblem to typify the scientific side of Cook's character. It was agreed to extend the movement beyond the bounds of Marlborough, and the secretary is to write to the editors of the leading newspapers throughout NewZealand, asking them to treat the subject as a national one, and inviting them to join the committee, and assist its aim. A FARMER KILLED. GORE, Wednesday. John Burke, a farmer residing at Kaiwera, near Gore, met with a fatal accident at Gore this evening. When riding over an asphalt footpath, his horsje slipped and fell, throwing Burke to the ground with considerable violence. He was picked up unconscious, his skull ' being fractured, and he died in a few hours. He was an old resident of the district.

ATLANTIC SALMON OVA.

WELLINGTON, Wednesday. One hundred thousand American Atlantic salmon ova arrived from. Canada by the Warrimoo to-day for the Fisheries Department. This is the first importation of American Atlantic salmon ova, and. although the Government ordered half-a-million ova only a-fifth of the number could be supplied. The Government previously obtained a consignment of Atlantic salmon ova from England.

DUNEDIN CITY LOANS.

DUNEDIN, Wednesday. City loans amounting to £435,806 fell due to-day, and of this amount £312,200 carried sinking fund. The sinking fund commissioners estimated the amount applicable to these loans at £197,000 approximately. They lodged with the Bank of New Zealand, to the credit of the city's redemption loan account, a sum of £183,619, and expect to pay the balance wifliin the next few days. Of the total amount which fell due, £314,----200 is payable in London, and the balance in New Zealand.

CAPTAIN CHARGED WITH CRUELTY

" CHRISTCHURCH, Wednesday. An information has been laid against the captain of "the steamer Ripple, charging liim with cruelty to animals. ' The Ripple arrived at Lyttelton from tire Chatham Islands on March 21, after a rough passage, with a load of sheep. Between 60 and 79 of the animals were lost, some on the passage and some after they were landed. It is alleged they were overcrowded, and not provided with sufficient food. The case -will be heard at Lyttelton on April 15.

ALLEGED JEWELLERY THEFT.

' WELLINGTON, Wednesday., Thomas George, alias McGuire, and William Johnson were charged at the Magistrate's Court to-day with stealing a travelling trunk and jewellery valued at £101 1/, the property of Mrs. May Stanley, of St. John's Wood, London. It is alleged that the goods were taken from the hall of the New Zealander Hotel. Johnson pleaded guilty, and' was committed to the Supreme Court for sentence, and George, who pleaded not guilty, was committed for trial.

SHEARERS AND SHEEPOWNKRS.

CHJttSTCHURCH, Wednesday. A conference between representatives of the Canterbury Sheepowners' Union and the Canterbury Shearers' Union was held at Christehurch yesterday, and a lengthy discussion took place on the conditions of labour submitted to the meeting by the respective parties. After the confeence had lasted some three hours, it was decided, as there seemed no chance of coming to an agreement on several important points, to bring the proceedings to a close, and to refer the whole conditions of labour to the Arbitration Court for settlement. "TWO-UP" CASE. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) CHRISTCHURCH, Wednesday. Matthew Walters, Andrew Miller, Chas. Walters, Fritz Sutherland, and Kdward Erskine were placed in the dock at the Police Court , to-day, charged with playing a game of chancc,to wit,"two-up," at Islington. The charge against Krskinc was withdrawn at the request of Sergeant Johnston, who asked for a remand till Saturdaj'. Mr. Donnelly, who appeared for the four accused, asked that bail be fixed, as it was absurd to make the young men go to gaol for three days just because they had played the "atrocious " game of pitch and-toss after their day's work was done. He thought they be liberated on their own recognisances, and he protested against the police not proceeding with the case instead of remanding it. The Bench remanded accused till Saturday, fixing bail in £20 in each case, and a surety of £20. It appears to be a common experience in our police courts (says the "Dunedin Star'") in the cases of wives applying f O r prohibition orders against their husbands, that the husband objects, and the wife fails to appear to support her application. The consequence is that the order is not granted, and the inference naturally drawn is that the wife has been prevented by her husband from attending. This deduction was obviously correct in at least one recent instance, in which a wife on three successive occasions took the initial steps towards having a prohibition order issued, but on each occasion failed to appear, wherefore the husband's objection was upheld and the case struck out for lack of evidence. It was probably with a view to preventing an occurrence of this kind that the presiding justices at the Port Chalmers Court this forenoon asked the objector why his wife was not there to support her application. He said he did not know. Messrs. Thomson and Watson were on the bench. The former said there were other means of getting the order issued. If on inquiry the police found that there was anything in the nature of intimidation, and had reason to believe the order was necessary, they would take the case up. The case would be struck out meanwhile.