NEAR AND FAR.

Evening Star, Issue 14689, 5 October 1911, Page 8

NEAR AND FAR.

A Seattle despatch states that at Kaitag ( Alaska) some masked men "held up" a train on the- Iddarod Eatlway, and robbed it of -£7,000 worth of gold dust. A cable to, tho Australian Press says Ih'tt the mvsterv surrounding the murder of J. M'Knight!" a rich youth who lived at Marigold." Miss., has been cleared up. On the night of the tragedy he was driving back to his home after having visited tho house of his fiancee, when he was fatallv shot. It transpired at the inquest that'M'Knk'ht, drove Miss Foley, hie betrothed, from church that night, and then drove away in the direction of his homo; but at 2 "a.m. next day he returned to the Folevs', and niduced'the girl to acjompany him in his bugtry. The elopement was detected bv Mrs Foley, who followed the pair, and now admits having herself ehofc M"Knight. That the question of occultism is evoking Wfiou? as well as frivolous interest is evidenced 'by a singular advertisement that recently appeared .in one of tho London dailies." Tho sum of £I,OOO is offered therein to anvone who is able to submit KUistaetorv proofs of thought-transference or telepathy. Applicants are warned, how- } ever, that "they will have to submit cvi- j dence which will stand close examination I and cross-examination. i To the visitor from hot climates one of Otago's charms is its exemption from raos- j quitoes and similar annoyances. But it is . not quite exempt. St. Leonards is an excep- j tion. The West Harbor Council received | a letter on Tuesday from a St. Leonards > resident stating that millions of mos- j quitoes frequented St. Leonards in the j warm summer months. The writer stated j that pools ot" stagnant, water on the railway propei-ty were responsible for the [ mosquitoes. "His object in writing was to ; get those water-holes tilled in, so that the mosquitoes might be deprived of a breeding place, and the inhabitants be relieved of their undesirable presence. Two councillors testified to the existence and obnoxious nature of tho St. Leonard mosqm- j toes. The council decided to ask the j Hallway-Department to rill in the pools | alleged to be responsible for the mosqui- j toes at St. Leonards. ; Something of a sensation was caused at j Hamilton on Saturday (wires our Auek- j land ecu-respondent), when a young music j master, as well known in Auckland as fur- j ther south, was administered a public j horsewhipping by an irata father. _ Tho i musician, though a married man, is al- , leged to ha v-,? "written an extraordinary! letter to the mother of a pupil with whom ho had become infatuated. In this letter he declared his love for the daughter. If j by this confession the ardent lover hoped j to gain the assistance of the mother he ; signally failed. The musician later made , indiscreet statements respecting the mother ■ of the lady he professed to adore. These ; alleged reflections in turn reached the ears of her husband, a well-known surveyor, I and a man of impressive, physical propor- i tions. Incensed at what had happened, j and apprised of the nature of the original j confession of love for his daughter by a i married man, the worthy sire armed himself with a raw-hide Whip and sallied ) forth in search of the mnsic master, i Tracing him to a livery stable, he learned : that his quarry' was out driving. A four j hours' wait for the young man's return ; ; only served as further fuel to firo the j ■ paternal wrath. Then the opportunity for punishment came, and the indignant sire took no half measures. Passers-by in the street were treated to the unusual : sight of one full-grown man flogging another. The raw-hide whip was used : unmercifully, and the young man for once ; forgot that he claimed to be a member of I I the profession which has made a science j of harmonica! sounds. Chastisement con- | ; tinued till whipper and whipped were ] tired. Then the music master sought obscurity. < The High Commissioner for the Western ' Pacific arrived at Nukulofa on September . 7 to settle certain difficulties which had arisen between the Kinu of Tonga and the * British Consul. Mr H. N. Moody, of \ Auckland, who has returned from Tonga, , stated to an interviewer that many mat- j ters of grave import to Tonga were settled, the most important being that the right of the King and the Ministers to govern r Tonga without the continual interference , and dictation of the British Agent has been recognised. [ In the Taumarunui Court yesterday W. * Kyan and Bert Nicholson were each fined £SO for sly grog-selling. One of their : a methods adopted for distributing the : r liquor to customers was that which is - i technically known as "dropping'"—that is, 1 depositing it in a quiet spot where the s purchaser may rind it. J The Timaru Presbytery passed a resolu- ] tion favoring religious instruction in State schools on the New South Wales a system by teachers, with the right of the f representatives of the churches to give }. special teaching in a limited period" in s school hours, with a conscience clause for i parents and pupils. \ The mission at the Kew Primitive * Methodist Church was continued last night. Sister Frances giving an impressive ad- * dress on ' The,, Won rids of Jesus.' Mr J. ' Davidson rendered the solo ' Coming * Home.' a a At the monthly meeting of the Sawyers t Bay .School Committee, .Mr E. Laley pre- c siding, the head teacher reported that for a the quarter ended September 1 the average v attendance was 111 out of an average roll t of 125. During the quarter seven pupils t were admitted" and three left, leaving a a roll number of 127. The average attend- fc ance would have been higher had it not f been for the epidemic of" mumps.' The b deposits in the penny savings bank for 1, September amounted to £2 14s, and the p amount lodged in the bank now totalled u £ls. Since the last meeting of the com- t mittee the school cadets had "been supplied 1: with a Hazard target and B.S.A. rifle, s This completed the equipment, and the a boys would now be able to get some prac- e tice in the more interesting department of 1 shooting. The use of the school grounds ] for drill purpo.-es, in accordance with t Major-general Gcdley's application, was' t granted by the committee, y A case of a not uncommon kind came B before the Aucldand Land Board at its sitting on Thursday (reports the ' Star'). s A settler had taken up a section at Whain- a garoa, Te Akau block, in October. 1909, l and should have made his permanent home there within a year. About six months ' ago the board called upon him to fulfil the T residence condition, but received a reply ? to the effect that he had built his house at i Ngaruawhaia, as he could not take his children to a district where there was no f school. The board decided to inform him j that it was the absence of settlers with * families that prevented" the establishment •,, of schools, and that he should have been 0 fully aware of the conditions attaching to r his occupation of the section he had taken ~ up.

Several eases of a formal nature comprised the business before Mr 11. Y. Widdowfon, 5.M., in the Police Court on Tuesday morning. Christina Spence Thomas, a single woman, was charged with failing to pay 3s per week for the maintenance of her child. Tho evidence tendered by Subinspector Cmickshank showed that the arrears totalled £ll ss. and that defendant occasionally passed out of the ken of the police. Nothing had been paid for about 20 months. Defendant said she had been in ill-health for some time, and was now keeping house for a laborer at Musselburgh, receiving £2 a fortnight to keep the house going. His Worship considered that her statement was not satisfactory. The case would be adjourned till October 18. Three more maintenance cases were withdrawn, by consent, it being understood that in respect p£" one (William Porbes Hansen, charged with disobeying an order to support his child in the Burnham Industrial School) a fresh information would be laid. For failing to register dogs, George H. S. Martin was fined 5s and costs (7e) on each of two charges; Johat Archie, who was similarly charged, was dealt with in the came manner; David Wilkio vvaa fined sfi and costs in respect to one dog; and a charge against Hugh S. Valentine, who spoke on his own behalf, was dismissed: Inspector Sim gave evidence in PKs caa%