NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXIX, Issue 36, 12 February 1940, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY

Chain of Evidence.

The use of thu term "chain of evidence" by counsel was challenged by Mr. Justice Blair in the Supreme Court at Hamilton, states the "New Zealand Herald." His Honour, in addressing the jury in connection with a theft charge, said counsel had argued that a chain was only as strong as its weakest link, and that therefore the Crown case could not stand. His Honour said the expression "chain of evidence" was hardly a correct one, for a case was not a series of links, each wholly dependent on the others. Policemen did not forge evidence or anything else. As applied to evidence, the illustration oi a piece of rope, in which some strands supported the others, would be a better one to quote. Railcar in Mishap. The Christchurch-Greymouth railcar collided with a jigger about 200 yards on the Greymouth side of Aicken's at about 5.30 a.m. on Friday, states a Greymouth correspondent. The jigger was being driven by a surfaceman, Mr. J. Laredo, towards Aicken's on the morning inspection. Mr. Laredo jumped clear and suffered only minor injuries to his legs and no one in the rail-car was injured. The left-hand and centre windscreens in the car were broken and the cow-catcher, grille, and framework on the front of the car were bent. The jigger was much damaged. The rail-car was 50 minutes behind schedule in arriving at Greymouth. It was repaired in time for the return trip to Christchurch in the evening, and the Hokitika service on Friday was maintained by a steam train. Spoils from the Sea. An illustration of the northerly drift of the ocean current along the coast of the South Island is provided by the experience of residents near the beach at Studholme (writes a Waimate correspondent). It is a long way from Bluff to South Canterbury, but lately articles believed to have formed portion of the cargo of the wrecked steamer Waikouaiti have been coming ashore. During the last fortnight or so hardwood posts, cricket bats, and rubber balls have been included in the spoils washed up by the sea, and eager hands have made certain that this treasure trove has been retained. It ''s recalled that following the wreck of a steamer at the Nuggets some years ago, anglers at the mouth of the Waitaki River frequently found crockery bearing the vessel's name washed up by the waves, although, of course, in a broken condition. Digging Their Own. Potatoes reached famine prices last year until the new potatoes came in. But many consumers with a wee bit of ground have since put it down in "spuds." - The result, according to the "Otago Daily Times," is that, in the Dunedin market at any rate, supplies of potatoes are in excess of the demand. The wholesale business continues to be affected by the fact that householders are now digging their requirements from their kitchen gardens, from which excellent returns are. being obtained, and do not need, in the meantime, to buy tubers. Sales are slow at £4 10s to £5 per ton, sacks extra, ex store. The forward position is quiet. Offerings are being made in Canterbury at £4 15s per ton, May to June delivery. Prospects for good returns from the main crop are excellent. New Zealand Prisoner of War. A New Zealand seaman who became a prisoner of war after his ship had been sunk by the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spec is Mr. John McCaffery, son of Mrs. H. MacCaffery, of Westminster Street, St. Albans, Christchurch, states the "StarSun." Mr. McCaffery, according to advice received by Christchurch relatives from his wife, sailed from Cape Town for England on the Ashlea on September 25. On October 9 Mrs McCaffery was advised that the vessel was overdue, and later was advised to apply for a pension as the Admiralty believed that the ship had been torpedoed and sunk by the Admiral Graf Spec, which now lies a scuttled wreck off Montevideo. On December 6 she received further word that her husband was alive and well and was in. captivity as a prisoner of war. It is believed that he has now been taken with other British seamen to a German port. Mr. McCaffery, who was born in Masterton and spent his childhood in Seddonville, West Coast, has been at sea since he was sixteen.

Soldiers' Graves Not Forgotten,

When Mr. J. H. Duncan, of Dunedin, was touring Great Britain last autumn, he paid a visit to the New Zealand soldiers' cemetery at Brockenhurst, and there saw an elderly woman placing flowers on the New Zealanders' graves, states the "Otago Daily Times." She had, she said, carried out this little act for over twenty years. On this occasion she had a large number of flowers, and told Mr. Duncan that a Mr. Thomas Ritchie, of Dunedin, had passed through the cemetery some days previously and he and his party of tourists had subscribed a sum of money to purchase flowers. It was merely a coincidence that Mr. Duncan should be visiting' the cemetery when this Englishwoman, Mrs. Annie Botting, should be carrying out her self-imposed labour of. love, and when he returned to Dunedin he told Mr. Ritchie that she had faithfully carried out the arrangement made with the party of New Zealand tourists. Bag-snatching at Dunedin. Three more cases of bag-snatching or attempted bag-snatching have been reported in Dunedin during the past two days, in two instance.; the young women attacked losing their bags, states the "Otago Daily Times." The first occurred at Anderson's Bay on Wednesday night, ■ when a young woman who was walking along Jeffery Street, past the Anderson's Bay Polic Station, suddenly found a youth at hT side. He made a grab at the bag, which contained a small sum of raon^y, and when the handle broke the woman lost her hold on it and the thief made off with it. The other two cases occurred in the city itself. Late on Thursday night a young woman was walking up Pitt Street when a man whose age she could nut guess, appeared from the shadows and grabbed her bag, snatching it from her and running off. The same night another woman in Albert Street was the victim of a similar attempt, but in this case she managed to keep hold of her bag and the man made off without renewing his efforts to take it from her.