Untitled

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 197, 19 August 1913, Page 4

The following is Mr. D. C.Bates" wea-' [ther forecast for 24 hours from 0 a.m. [this ila.v :—"Tltc. indications.are for easterly -whirlH. (ip'tiry gale blowing at time« i.iiid backing by "EY to S. with decreasing force: -The weather appears likely to bt .cloudy and .unsettled-and', misty. * Hairi is to be expected. The night"will be- very sold, and then the weather willimprove. The:-, barometer has a rising tendency shortly. . iTides .high. Sea rough ofi coast." _. :•■-.-.-.

Great North Koad, rrom Western Springs to.the Stone Jug, is in such a bad condition that a deputation from the Point Chevalier Road Boards waited upon the Grey Lynn Borough Council last night to ask'for a grant of 100 loads of metal for- the purpose of -putting it in order. The claim "for the'cbncessiori: was that the state- of the road was the result of the heavy carting from the Council's quarry.-Mr.' W. Forrest-'(chairman ofPoint Chevalier -Board) said the real trouble,. was. the road .had no proper bottom. The Mayor of Grey Lynn-said that previously "50 loads of metal bad been- given;ibiit he' ,'ba.tljked when another ,100 .was.' .asked for?;. The reaL trouble was the rpati was- made-quite flat.'. The ,reo,uest was- referred»to -the Streets, Comtp meet .the. Board on. tbe_..groirnd.

At. the Chrat«hurch. Police Court,, mg, /Carnival there; was a'striking example of a generous- action/ Tirfeei men ihad been fined ior drunkenness, but- only, one trad money enough "to pay ijiis.' fine.' Hp, however, .bad several poirnds-.iying.to jhis- credit ■with ■the attthoratieis. The other-men-were unknown to.him,,Jju't he said .he would pay -ttjeir .fiiies, so that t-hey, too, might be free!' The'three •were taken into the w.atcbh-ouse a»nd the transaction between the authorities and' •the payer of 'the fines' With' a word, of thanks from the men and a" few words of good advice •from the watchhouse-keeper, they set, - out ohtheir separate ways. A fourth prisoner then appeared, to pay nis fine and go.He had not offered to pay the fines of ;his companions in misfortune, and as he went he pointed to an unopened' flask •of whisky that bad been previouslytaken from 'him, "Can I have that back?" "Kb', sorry, you can't" .was the Teply, and he "also disappeared i iiitb the - 'street.

"The trouble with straying cattle on the roads of. this district," -said -Mr Coyl.e, Mayor of Mount Albert, at. the meeting of the Borough Council last .-night, '-is that many people regard the poundkeeper's charges as grazing fees',, and pay; them quite willingly. I remember a case' a-little while ago in which a man paid. £1 11/6 to get his stock out of •the pound, where he had allowed them to remain for some days. As soon as be had got charge of them he turned them on to the roadside again." One councillor stated that some of the residents were in the habit of putting rugs" on ■ their horses and turning them -cut '<jn--to tlie roads at night to graze, on the off-chance that the ranger would not- see'-them. They did uot mind having to pay. up, and apparently they forgot how dan.gerous. straying horses were to. traffic at night. The Council .decided to instruct the ranger to keep a diary showing theowners of ail impounded animals, and to prosecute under the borough by-laws in the event of a second offence. It was also decided to put. up a notice to this effect on the public pound.

Captain James Dint, of the Oamaru Hartour Board, who died at Oamaru on Wednesday last, was a witness of the figh'f between' the Merrimac and the Monitor, off Fortress Munro, in .1863, during the American Civil war. The Monitor had just ? come into the James" River in the morning, and a few hours later the Merrimac appeared for the purpose of destroying the'shipping in the port at the' time. Captain Dick-used to relate bow his vessel, which was loaded .with prisoners of war, fell subsequently .into the hands of the.enemy, only to be retaken by the - Northerners', a; few .-days later. At_the_.clas£„Qf .the war Captain Dick came to New Zealand. ■ ■

With the near approaea of spring the lambing season is -already beginning in various parts of . the . country. In the areas, north and south of Waipukurau, TLawke's Bay, and from Napier to Waipukurau, there are to he seen on every hand "newly-born lambs frisking about, and, with few exceptions, every ewe has one or more. From Waipukurau on to -Wellington, via the Gorge, a totally different state of affairs exists. Lambi are few and far between, and although there are inspMices of earfr -lambiirnthey are so scarce that the ordinary traveller would probably never notice them.

_Mr. J. -,H.. Gregory, president, and Mr. P. Salmon, secretary of the Auckland -Last Literary and Debating Society write, stating that Mr. Hall • Skelton's remarks regarding the charge made for the use of .the hall .far public debates were misconstrued through an inadequate report. The Society appreciates the full use of tlie committee room but passed a resolution thanking Mr. Skelton for endeavouring to obtain a reduction in the charge- for the hail.

For the .-first time in the history of Assessment Courts in Southland. the Valuation-Department has received an" objection from a .settler in .Eastern district", to. the valuation placed on an- adjoHHngiarmer's propertj-, his opiaioi, W ing that the assessment is top low It ; s quite competent, for .a ratepayer to tike this course, and, as a Government Gainer informed a reporter, there'is nothing in Uie Act to prevent him from bbieetin-e.vf-n to.th« whole.of .*he-.va.luaajcras-in-hfe '■' Tiding though" suelr-a proceeding was unheard of • The legislature, apparent!v franied the .Jajr, with_?- knowledee that possibly a valuer might be unfit "for his duties and aetets the properties much below their real value, but should a position of the "nature arise it.is probable tfee/.locaJ body, would take the initiative and render individual action unnecessary/ The civil sessions of■ the Auckland Supreme Court-were fixed for resumption before- *tr: vTusttce Edwards thf s mornin" but as the too .cases arranged for hearing werp settled between the parties con" feraed- the. sittings' were again adjourned till to-morrow morning. The two actionsdiscontinued were: Annie Rastie (Mr Devore). v. Josepli Hkstie (Mr T Cotter K.C.), claim £910 15/8. moneys 'alleged to be due; and Ewart Gladstone ParkinSOD J M £ ,? eed ' K - C: yv - • Motes-T-w • T - olhurst BamfordK 'claim ioOO general, damages and £66 10/5 special damages for alleged assault with a counter-claim for £3750 for alleged tres pass. The action set down.for-hearin" tomorrow is. one in which John Fuller, of Auckland, is proceeding against 'tne Tiuad".newspaper .proprietors" for the recovery of £50L.damages for an alleged: libel. ~.,".... . .] Both the €itj.j],n"d'"Ponsonby fire hri-1 gades were, called out at about seveno J clocklast evening to attend an outbreak -of fire in- premises- m-'Picton: Street -oS, Ponsonby Rokd. .The Building,< which is owned by Messrs. Rhodes and. C&, and -opcupied by Messrs, 'Cook and to. as A sssh factory, was a' small -corrugated iron sti-ucture containinw : a l arge amount of inflammable light wood. . The. factory was practically gutted, and- the -contents' were considerably damaged. The contents wereinsured in the South British Office for £110, but the building was uninsured. ; When a letter .was read from Mr \V iUalklate-af the s .(Jrey :hyim . Borough • Gbuncil -last uight : ta;^,the.effect.that the •tram seFwce for that district was not lnterfered-with on Satiirdiy-afternoons/ Mr T. Ij. Thompson remarkedr- : 'Stet it the last big tootbaU match i* over