LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Star, Issue 15477, 27 April 1914, Page 5

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Consternation was caused at a marriage service held recently in St. Matthew's i Church, Auckland. An excited individual got upon his feet and, protesting against the ceremony, forbade the banns. It subsequently transpired that the man was drunk, and had no motive for his proI testations. As a sequel' to his "joke," Arthur Postlewaight was charged in the Police Court with having interfered with the orderly conduct of a religious service. The Rev. W. E. Gillam said that the man had apologised for his conduct, which was the result of drink- As the accused was out,.of work and had no money, the vicar asked the magistrate to let him off with the issue of a prohibition order. This Mr F. V. Fraser, • 8.M., agreed to do. . • •., ■ Commonwealth officials in the Northern Territory are very hopeful that the Territory will take a permanent place as a metal producer. So far (says a Melbourne paper), minerals.to the value of £2,800)000 have been won by a comparatively small number of miners, working under great difficulties. Past efforts to establish large permanent payable mines have been unsuccessful, but the failure is ascribed by Dr Jensen, Government Geologist and Director of Mines, and others. as due chiefly to mismanagement and to the scarcity "and unreliability of labor. Most of the work now in progress is performed by Chinese, pi whom 542 .are engaged in the Darwin distrist, as against only 84 whites. Dr Jensen states that tho companies which were engaged in mining in the Territory some years ago had unfortunately expended laTge sums in ' very extensive improvements on the surface in the shape of houses, smelters, and machinery, not to speak of tennis courts and hospitals, before they really •knew what was underground, and that one of these mines was closed down, although still on payable ore. ' No shaft was put down by the companies to a greater depth than 200 ft. Recent borings by the Government to 500 ft and 600 ft show that the lodes continue to much greater depths. Cantain T. B. Bax, who broke the world's club record bv swinging a pair of clubs for over 145 hours at Napier a few months ago, hns been challenged bv the amateur champion of the world, Mr 0. Bucketfc, of Christchurch, to compote in a match of 60 hours : if both competitors are still swinging at the expiration of that time, the winner to be declared on points eiyen for variety, speed, and style. Mr Bax has taken lip the challenge, and the contest will probably take place in Christchurch in a few months' time. The match will be for £25 a side, and by participation in it Mr Buckett will lose his amateur status. / The vice-regal railway carriage has been placed at the" disposal 'of Sir lan Hamilton while he is in the Dominion. As the Governor will not be actually using the ■carriage the ■ royal arms have been obscured bv a board which bears the cypher of the New Zealand Government Railways. , . . . The police authorities are searching for a voung man who. it is alleged, has been gn'iltv of a theft of a most impudent character (savs a recent Melbourne 'Argus'). A girl named Alice Oatby, residing at Merri street, Brunswick, was sent to a hank in Sydnev road to cash a cheque for £B. After transacting this business she walked along Sydnev road until reaching the intersection* of Merri street, when a voung man. who had been riding a bicycle along" the main street, dismounted and sooke to her. He had evidently watched the girl go to the bank, as he questioned her about the cheque. He finally told her that the cheque she had presented was a forgerv. and that she was wanted by the authorities at the bank. He thereupon took the bag containing the money from the girl and extracted the cash. Without saying anything further he mounted the bicycle and rode away. It was ascertained subsequently that the cheque bad not been questioned. A wedding arranged for Wednesday in Timaru .did not take place (says ,the 'Herald,') owing to • the mysterious disappearance of the groom on Monday last. No cause whatever can be assigned for his absence, and all attempts to trace him have been futile. As there is no account of any accident or mishap having befallen him, "indignation at. his action is widespread in the town, and the deepest sympathy is expressed for the much-respected relatives of the young lady. Fictitious "editors" are regular members of the staff of many Russian newspaper?. Last month the so-called " responsible editor" of a Labor journal was charged in the St. Petersburg courts of justice under a statute relating to the incitement of class enmity. He" pleaded not guilty, and it turned out that he could not even read, and could only write his own name with much difficulty. He had been promised £3 monthly for giving his name as responsible editor of the paper, and had received 28s on account. Whereas the journal was issued in St. Petersburg, the "editor" worked in Riga as a factory hand, and was actually serving a sentence for robbery when the present charge was brought against him. Many political memories will be stirred when it becomes known that "66 Bourlw street" has changed hands, and is no longer occupied by Mr Samuel Mauger (says the . Melbourne 'Age'). There was a time when " Bourko street" was mors heard cf in the Federd and State Parliaments than any other place of business in Melbourne. "it was the butt of tiki cheapest of Tory wit for years. In a long, narrow room over the shop on the ground floor many emergency movements connected with Victorian Radicalism had their birth, flourished, languished—and sometimes died. Here tho lions of the Victorian Protectionist Association met and sowed seed, the fruit of which the Australian working man reaps to-day. Hero, under the presidency of the venerable Professor Gosinan and under the stimulus of Mr Mauger himself, men and women, of all classes, creeds, and political views met for close upon 18 years as members of the National Anti-sweating League. They championed the cause of the weak, and* helpless, the sweated and ths underpaid, when some member's of the present State Labor partr were learning arithmetic at the State school. In this room Liberal committees of all kinds have assembled, and .political journalists have compiled manifestos, leaflets, and pamphlets which circulated by tens of thousands. If walls could speak, those surrounding the apartment could recite many a chapter of Federal and Victorian history. And now. owing to one o? those fluctuations which occur in the fortunes of business quarter'-, of all large cities. "66 Bourke stre.H " ceases to have a dual life. It assumes a strictly utilitarian aspect, and snaps thf. ties which once, by association, linked ii up with the chain of contemporary history. Its old tenant migrates westwards, and the shop and the long narrow room find new occupants. j

In 1895 a. cricket team, comprising •eight Europeans and six Natives from the Cook. Islands, visited X-?w Zealand and played eight matches agonist provincial elevens. The- visitors won four matches, lost. two. and drew two. Ati echo of this visit was heard at a meeting. :;f the Management Committee of the New Zealand Cricket Council, held at Chiistcburch on Thursday night, -when a letl-tr was received from the secretary of tho Suva Cricket Cluh. asking whether c. Team, comprised of Europeans, with the exception of one or two educated. Natives, could reasonably expect to make a. successful tour of the principal cities of New Zealand. The writer asked for information regarding the most opportune time for such a visit, the expenses of such a team per month, the estimated average attendance at matches, and what percentage, either of -frross or net takings. would be paid to thft visiting team. It was decided to reply that the council would advise the Suva Club later if they could make arrangements for the propose! visit, explaining at the same time that the council were at present in communication with the Queensland nnd South Australian Associations, regaining, visits of teams from these States.

Before Mr J. R. Bartholomew, S.M., in the Police Court on Friday afternoon Mary Elizabeth. Walters applied for a separation, maintenance, and guardianship order against her husband, Charles Walters, a waterside worker, on the ground of alleged persistent ill-treatment. ■ Mr W. L. Moore appeared for complainant, and Mr C.. N. Scurr for defendant. It TM* stated that the jwwiis; .»w»«Diea.

in Marcli, 1903, and that there were eight children, seven being alive, their ages ranging from eight months to nine years. Concerning ill-treatment, it was alleged that the defendant had threatened to shoot her with a revolver, which he had carried about with him, during the strike, had cut her face with a razor, and had thrown a kettle and dishes at the complainant. The defendant denied the allegations as to cruelty. After hearing evidence His Worship said' he believed that the wife had considerably exaggerated her evidence. There was no evidence to show that defendant had been, guilty of persistant cruelty. The instances where cruelty was alleged were spread over a long period of time, and did not, in His Worship's opinion, constitute persistent cruelty. As to failing to provide adequate maintenance, he was not satisfied as to the correctness of the allegation. Defendant had sworn that he had handed over all his money to his wife, and it seemed quite likely that he had done so. He (Mr Bartholomew) failed to see how so many children could be so well provided for if defendant had not handed over his money to his wife. He thought the couple should make matters up. The present information would be dismissed. Striking statements with regard to the origin and nature of helium, one of the five- rare, gases at present known to exist in the earth's atmosphere, have been made by Professor Mourea, of Paris. . He has demonstrated that very large proportions of helium are contained, along with other rare gases, in firedamp, and that, for instance, the Frenkenholz mine, in Westphalia, emits annually into the atmosphere some 4.000 cubic metres of helium. Coal, however,- contains only infinitesimal quantities of radium and thorium, insufficient to explain the production of so much helium. Professor Mourea therefore thinks it beyond doubt that the helium which abounds in firedamp is chiefly '' fossil" helium, dating back to the carboniferous period, and is thus,from 50 to 100 million years old! Circumstances of mora than usual interest attach to the bequest, officially announced recently, of £SOO to the* National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies by the late Mr Edward R. M. Wright, who was a student at Trinity College, Dublin, and died as the result of an accident while cleaning his revolver. He was the son of Sir Almroth Wright, eminent alike as a specialist and an anti-suffragist. This is the second legacy the National Union has received within the last two years from members of Lady Wright's family, the first being from her sister. Miss Dupre Wilson, in 1912.