NEWS FROM NEAR AND FAR

Evening Star, Issue 12943, 5 May 1908, Page 8

NEWS FROM NEAR AND FAR

At the meeting of creditors at Wellington yesterday in the estate of A. C. Elliott, in which tlie deficiency was over £IO.OOO, a statement was submitted by an accountant, in whicli it was stated : “ Ko valuations of the assets set out in the statements have been made, and the figures shown aret merely a rough estimate (more or less guesswork), and no account has been taken of accrued or overdue interest. It is quite impossible to draw up an accurate statement of the position unless all claims against the debtor aie disclosed and a proper valuation of all aisets is made. I have reason to believe that the list supplied by Elliott did not disclose the total liabilities.” A lengthy discussion took place. The question of .iPogwl fraudulent preferences granted by- the bankrupt was raised, and the Official Afrsigr.ee (Mr Simpson) undertook to have a. thorough investigation made into the matter. In regard to bankrupt's departure from the Dominion, the Assignee said that no information had been supplied to the police on which they could have been expected to act, and as to bringing Elliott Kick. Mr Simpson pointed out that the Government refused to bring back absconding bankrupts. There should he a guarantee of expenses given him by the creditors before he. moved. Eventually it was decided to leave the whole matter open, the Official Assignee to do an he deemed best. Apparently the financial credit of the Borough of Ashburton stands high in certain quarters,” says the Ashburton ‘Guardian of Saturday. " for to-day an application was made for particulars of the loan of £15,000, sanctioned by the ratepayers yesterday, for a high-pressure water supply. Ihe inquiry wan made by the representative of the Temperance- and General Life Artsuranee Society of Victoria, and we understand that the eocicty is prepared to find the amount of the loan in instalments as required by the Borough Council, at the rate of 4J- per cent. Interest, free- of exchange.”

Burglars were at work in Palmerston on Sunday night. In each place the cracksmen refrained from taking anything but money, and their total haul amounted to only a few shillings. The premises entered were Collinson and Cunrunghame’s, drapers ; G. H. Bennett's, stationer; and thn renidences of Messrs Cook and Pringle in Broad .street.

Tlie Appeal Court gave judgment yesterday in the case of Donnelly and Meinerfzhagen, an appeal from the” decision of Mr Justice Edwards, who had granted the respondent an injunction to occupv certain amis in Hawke’s Bay to the exclusion of the appellant. 'The appeal was allowed and the injunction dissolved. CVun.-el for respondent applied for leave to appeal to the Privy Council. Mr Justice Williams intimated thatj the app?i(«lon was one of the most audacious that had ever come before tlie Court. 'Pile application was refused.

Gratitude is not one of the most pronounced features of Chinese character. Wellington. Chinese, however, have manifested its possession in a somewhat manner in connection with the death of Mr Wong, the Chinese Anglican missioner. The ‘Host ’ savs that they subscribed nearly £IOO towards Mr Wong's medical expenses, they guaranteed his luncral expenses when he died, they have not forgotten Iris widow in, her affliction, and they have undertaken to keep his grave green and well tended; and very few of them were straight-out Christians”, they dosed up their places of amusement in™ dle<1 > an<l thc - v attended his funeral 200 strong. The spiritual side of the ~'; S k ef)fc by -Mr Dai Chum, ami Mrs Wong is still devoting all her time to visiting the sick and needy, ami assisting at the evening classes ; hut a successor to -Mr Wong is needed to curry on the burden. The position regarding tho Blackball strike is unchanged. It has not yet been decided if the union will be represented at the sitting of tho Arbitration Court at Auckland. A large number of the wharf laliorers at Grcymouth are refusing to pay the levy in aid’ of the strikers, and it i's more than likely that the union will withdraw altogether. The Advisory Board of the New Zealand Employers’” Federation decided to write to tho Minister of Labor strongly urging that proceedings be immediately instituted against all unions which have offended by in any way aiding and abetting tho Blackball strikers, so that the position may bo ascertained and made perfectly clear. If the Act in its present form is found to be ineffective in this respect, then the Minister is urged to bring down efficient amending legislation during the coming session of Parliament. At the close of the Native Land Commission’s sitting at Kaikoho (savs the ‘Dominion’), Mr Hone Hekc, M!p., on behalf of the Maoris, presented to Sir Robert Stout, chairman of the Commission, a walking stick that had been presented by King William IV. in the early thirties to a Maori chief who was in England. Sir Robert at first refused the gift, and asked tho Maoris to keep it as a heirloom, hut on being pressed, he said that ho would keep it, and afterwards hand it over to some public museum. Sir Robert addressed tho Maori chiefs at some length on their outlook, and the Maori chiefs, in reply, said that the contrast between the courteous manner in wliich they were treated by the Commission compared with some native land courts was very grea.t. and if the Commission could only come and settle all their titles and difficulties they would leave everything to them. Even when the Commissiom did not agree with them, tho Commission stated the position so clearly that they were bound to agree with the Commission’s opinions. The chiefs said that they were beginning' to see the need of higher education for* the Maoris, and they were sorry that they were too poor to send their children to schools to tit them for the university. 'They were only allowed to spend two years a'b St. Stephens, which was too short to get them an entrance into higher schools, and their distance from Auckland and from other pilaees handicapped them. Several speeches were made to show that they were anxiously beginning farming work. A St. Petersburg court-martial has concluded the trial of twenty-two members of the army organisation of the Revolutionary party, principally soldiers belonging to tlw Guard Artillery Brigade. Seven of the prisoners, including a girl, were sentenced to eight years’ hard labor, and others to various terms of hard labor or deportation. When the Thesident of tho Court pronounced sentence, the girl shouted : “ Comrades, tear off your epaulettes.” The men obeyed, throwing in the air the ,-varlet epaulettes which are worn by regiments of the Guard. The convicted prisoners include tho daughter of a lieutenant-colonel. She was sentenced to two years’ detention in a fortrees.

Prom Ceccano and Frosinonc, near Rome, come descriptions of the incredible fanaticism aroused by tho preaching of a monk at the Jjontea services. The other evening (says the ‘Daily Telegraph’s’ correspondent). in the Church of St. John the Baptist, which was crowded by worshippers the women, excited by the preacher, began to howl as though they liad suddenly gone mad. At one moment the preacher, carried away by the fire of his eloquence, drew from his pocket some pieces of sharpened iron, and began to Lacerate his face with them until he was bathed in blood. The fearful scene only ended when a courageous person mounted the pulpit and took from the priest his instruments of torture, while the madly-excited women rushed in the greatest disorder out of the building.