SOUTH CANTERBURY.

Press, Volume LIX, Issue 17808, 6 July 1923, Page 15

SOUTH CANTERBURY.

TIMARU. Social and Personal. Mica Monica Hamilton (Chris tgjiurch) is staying with Mrs F. A. he Cren (Seaview terrace). Miss Amy Oliver (Surrey Hills) is the guest of Mrs W. Raymond (Nile street). ' Mr and Mrß "Walter Baxter (Jackson have returned from Christchurch. Mr and Mrs J. Mackenzie (Churcli street) are spending a few days in Waimate. .Mr J. P- Murphy and Miss Mary Murphy left Timaru yesterday in order to attend the Wellington races. Miss Erica Westmacott (Nile street) i 8 spending a few days with Mrs Herbert Elworthy (Craigmore). Magistrate's Court. Yesterday another "batch" of lampleas cyclists appeared before Mr E. £). Mosley, B.M. Tho following were eonvicted and fined 10s and coßts for cycling at night without a light:— Charles.G. Baker, John Butland, Flora Cowles, Clarence Rawston, John Joseph Byder, Chas. Shalos, Claude Harold Johnston, and Arthur "Wilson. The following were convicted and ordered to pay costs:—Oliver Day, May Hardingf Eileen Tasker, and Catherine WilflOTT* ' ■ For driving motor vehicles at an exeossive speed, Robert Hugh Bissett, Thomas Daly, Harold J. Muchmoro, and 4aß, Stickings were each fined 20s and €oßt9< ; Walter Hamilton Collett and Wm. A. Scott were each fined 10s and costs for carrying a passenger on the back of motor-cycles. " Michael John Murphy was fined 20s ond'.costs for driving a horse and cart without a light. When a constable spoke to him -about the matter the defendant, told him "to go to " and drove, on. This, judging by the fine, cost him an extra 10s. E, W. Mason was charged with failing to attend drill. Lieut. Clemens appeared for the Defence Department. Hlfl Worship said that, according to the defence officer's report, the de-

fendant's conduct had been anything but good. Ho would be convicted and fined 10s and costs. For entering licensed premises during the currency of a prohibition order, Alexander Bain was convicted and fined £2 and costs. After Hours. At the Timaru Magistrate's Court yesterday, before Mr E. D. Moslev, S.M., four men were charged with being found on the premises of the Masonic Hotel at St. Andrew's after hours. Their names were Edward Hoskin, Sealey Arthur Hoskin, Martin Sullivan, and Spencer Winchester. Mr W. D. Campbell appeared for the first two defendants, and the case against them was taken first. A plea of not. guilty was entered. Constable Hammond outlined the case for the police. Sullivan gave evidence that he had intended to stay at the hotel for the purpose of attending church on the following morning. He had gone into the sitting-room, and was waiting there when the two Hoskins arrived. They had come to get £2 which Sealey had given him to put on a horse at the Ashburton races that day. To the Senior-Sergeant: Ho went to church every Sunday, but did not al : ways come into St. Andrew's the night before. He lived over, two miles away.

The Senior-Sergeant: Eleven o'clock is a peculiar hour to go looking for a room.

Sealey Hoskin stated that he merely went to the hotel to get the £2 from. Sullivan, as he had been told that he had not been to the races. His Worship convicted and fined each of the defendants £2 and costs. "I plead guilty., I was there," was the frank admission made by Winchester. Ho stated that he had gone up to see a friend, but was unable to find him, and met the-constable when he was returning. The Magistrate convicted and fined him £2 and costs. Acclimatisation Matters. A meeting of the council of the South Canterbury Acclimatisation Society was held in Timaru yesterday. Present —Messrs L. B. James (chairman), 0. S. Young, E. Hardcastle, F. Adams, T. E. McKay, W. Grant, E. Mac Donald, W. E. Boys, J. E. Piggott, and B. C. May. i reported in detail on work carried out during the month. The treasurer reported that the Society, had £2OOJn the Post Office, and that in addition the Society had a credit balance of £143. The Weather. The last two nights have been very mild, and no frost has been registered. At the Park yesterday morning sjpoints of rain were recorded for the previous 24 hours. 'Conditions are unsettled, with signs of stormy weather. The atmosphere has also become colder. Conciliation Council. . Two agreements were reached at the Timaru sitting of the .Conciliation Council. One dispute ' was held over for the Arbitration Court. .The first dispute heard, was .between ..the General Labourers'. Union and- the Building Association' of South Canterbury'. • The union was « represented by Messrs H; Wof rail, J. K. Snedden, and S. Lang, and the Association by Messrs W. J. Harding, li. Shillito, and A. Kennedy. Complete agreement was reached on all points.' The rate of wages showed an increase of ljd, the minimums being:—Tunnel men at clay tunnelling work, timber work, or sinking shafts over 10 feet, and men in chnrge of derricks or scaffolding, 2s Id per hour; all other classes of labour Is lOd per hour.

' There is little difference, in conditions, from the old award, except the addition of a claim that a modern first aid emergency case, fully equipped, is to be kept by the employer in a convenient place; workers employed in a dirty place shall be paid Is per day extra. A dirty place is demolishing old buildings .or chimneys,; assisting to take out or re-set ranges, etc., repairing! or\ altering' old sewers or drains. , When men are working in foul air,' six-hours'shall constitute a day's work. . When gum boots are necessary, they •will be supplied by, the employer. v The scope of the award is limited to that part of the industrial district lying south of the Eangitata River, and shall operate from August Ist, 1923, to July 31st, 1924. The dispute between the General Labourers' Union (Borough Council employees) and the Borough Councils in South Canterbury was also heard. The Council representatives were Messrs K. Orwin, J. H. Howitt, and J. Cartwright, and the union was represented -by Messrs Worrall, Snedden, and R. Middlemiss.

After a short sitting complete agreement was reached. On the question of wages, the minimum rate agreed on was Is lOd per hour, an increase of 2}d, with additional allowances. / New clauses cover provisions for accommodation and sanitation, notification, when requested, of the union.secretary of men employed, and for a first aid emergency case. The County Councils were .represented by Messrs C. E. Bremuer, J. K. L. Banks, and J. McLauchlan. No agreement was reached, however, and _ the dispute will be taken to the Arbitration Court. Women Citisens' Association. On Wednesday evening Mesdames H. P. Herbert (Christchurch) and B. H. Low, M.A. (Timaru) addressed a meeting of the Timaru Women Citizens' Association. The president, Mrs C. A. Paterson, occupied the chair. Mrs Low spoke on educational matters, chiefly referring to the High Schools' Board. Military training, she stated, was the law of the lau-1, and neither the High School Board nor the High School teachers had power to veto it, even if they wished to do go. In any case, the military training at the High School was not given in school' hours; Mrs Low did notthink that co-education would come about for many years, if it ever did S °Mrs Herbert dealt with social problems, and the legislation necessary to deal with them. Speaking of the problem of deserted wives, she suggested that New Zealand should follow Belgium's example and send such deserters to gaol, making them work, while in custody, the pay earned to be handed over to their wives. Mrs Herbert spoke also of a half-way house for mental degenerates. Sucli an institution was most necessary. She instanced a case in which a degenerate husband and his wife and large SLily had cost the State £IO,OOO. The proposals of Dr. Fenwick regarding sterilisation were also dealt with bv the speaker, who stated that such had been endorsed by every Hospital Board in New Zealand, with only two exceptions. At present the authorities were awajting the arrival of an official publication from America dealVith the results of 4000 casea

which had been surgically treated there. The need for further legislation regarding venereal disease was also referred to, and the hope was expressed that Parliament would move in the matter.

It was announced, in connexion vrith to-day's High School Board election, that the Board controls both schools, and consists of 13 members —all men. [ Mrs Low i 3 one of the candidates for ! a seat on the Board. Port of Timara Shipping movements at the Sort of Timaru will be found in the shipping columns. / ~ TEMUKA. On 'Wednesday a meeting of ratepayers was held in the Council Chambers, Tcmuka, to discuss a proposal to raise a loan of £SOOO for street improvements. The meeting was presided over by the Mayor,) and all the Councillors and about 28 ratepayers were present. Cr. Cartwright, chairman of the Works Committee, stated that the interest and sinking fund on the loan would amount to £5 12s 6d per cent. He also read a list of proposed works and the estimated cost of each. Cr. Evans pointed out that the rate necessaiy lo cover payment of intere«.«uu BiUKiiiji lunu would amount to t-62a in tue £ on present rateable values, inis woulu woiii out at is IUU per £iOU. in u.s opinion it would be necessary to collect tue rate ior at least a lew years. A uumoer ot questions were aaued by rateyayeis, and replied to oy lue. .mayor ana Councillors. Ilie majority ui ratepayers present exprussuu tneinaeives in luvour of the proposed loan. A vote ol tnunss to tue jxuyor and Council lor the trouuie tney nad gone to in getting tne information to bring betoie the ' raLepavers, Drought tne meeting to a close. ine Temuka Miniature Rifle Club held its weekly snoot oil iuttuay mgnt. Eigut members were f m the shoot-off, and C Taylor proved the winner with 69 off tne riMe. The following are the highest scores:—O. Taylor l>t/, J. Ueddis 68, J. Cam 67, A. nope 6<, i\l. Cameron 66, T. Greeiish 6b, \V. Carpenter 66, I>. Cain 66. The monthly meeting of the iSoard of ■ managers ■of .the technical School was held on Tuesday evening. Present: Messrs Geo. B. Cartwright (chairman), U. ihomson, F. Banders, M. H. McLeod, and W. G. Armitage, and Mr.J. T. Smart (Director). Tne chairman m his opening statement reported that Miss Ciniith, dressmaking instructress, had been ill with an attack of influenza. The Clandeboye agricultural class had been re-established. Mr Paterson (T'lmaruy, Mr Biallanityne (Temuka), Mr H. F. Ward (Agricultural Departhiey, Cliristchurch), and Mr G. 8. Eia (.Timaru), had been doing the won-, of lecturing and demonstrating. The cooking room had been finished in a satisfactory manner by Messrs Bates and Co., and a price for now benches witkout vyces had been ob.tairied. It wa decided to leave the acceptance of a tender for the now carpentry benches in abevance until prices for vyces were obtained. This matter was left to the chairman to attend to.. A letter was read from Mr R. Grant, Supervisor of Technical Schools, regarding the annual election of members of the Board. Messrs McLeod and Thomson, the retiring members, will bo eligible for reelection. A telegram from the Education Department stated that Temuka would be a centre for teachers' examinations this year. On the motion of Messrs Armitage and McLeod a hearty vote 6f" tfrSnks was passed to the Director ■ for the efforts, ho had made in bringing this about. A letter was received from Mr W. S. Latrobe, for Director of Education, regarding the British Empire Exhibition, which opens in London in April, 1924. Arrangements were being made to send a representative exhibit or work done by pupils in New Zealand schools to the New Zealand section of the Exhibition. The chairman said he had been asked to bring before the Board the desirability of arranging for a lecture on the top-dressing of pastures with lime andfertilisers. It was left to>the Director to arrange a lecture. The many friends of Mr Chas. Bates, who is now in the Queen Mary Hosp'ital at Hanmer, will be glad to know that his health is much improved. At the Magistrates Court, Temuka, on Wednesday, Frederick Simpson Thompson and William George Pollock appeared before Mr W. F. Evans, J.P., and Mr H. E. Gappe, J.P., charged with the theft of, tools valued at 10s, the t'foperty of William Goodman, one roll of bacon, some mutton, and a knife, valued at 25s 6d, the property of J. F. Wright, and Sib cheese, the property of the Temuka Dairy Company, Ltd. Booth pleaded guilty. Sergeant Dwan stated that the men were sheep drovers from the/South, and Pollock had stated that he had got through £27 in one and a-half days in Timaru. They came to Temuka on Saturday morning, moneyless, and as the morning was wet they went into a shed nt the back of the Presbyterian Sunday School for shelter, and on leaving had taken the tools and sold them in town. Later on the men visited Mr Wright's hut and took the bacon from there, and also disposed of it in the town. That night they were allowed to sleep in the boiler-room at the Cooperative cheese factory, and they took the cheese from there. Thompson had previous convictions for theft, but nothing was known about Pollock. In answer to the Bench, Pollock stated that they had spent the money obtained for the articles, on food and drink. They were sentenced to one month's imprisonment on each charge, the sentences to run concurrently.