DOMINION ITEMS

Greymouth Evening Star, 30 April 1925, Page 2

DOMINION ITEMS

(Per Press Association.) % ■ INFANTILE PARALYSIS 1 WELLINGTON, April 30. The Health Department received the following notification of cases-' of infantile paralysis for the ? 24. hours ending 9 a,ip« to-day: Auckland City, Oruanui (East Taupo) and Palmerston North one each. ‘" THIEVES SENTENCED. . AUCKLAND, April 30. At the Police Court, William Rennie (26) and Eric Malcolm Biel (30), for converting to their own use a car, valued at £l5O, the property- of V. Pollard,, and the theft of a .magneto valued at £5, were sentenced to three months’ gaol on the first offence and three years’ reformative detention for the theft of the magneto. Mr Poynfon, S.M.; said the accused had a bad record. Neither was fit to be afT large to prey upon the comunity. , / PRISONER’S APPEAL. WELLINGTON; April 28. The Court of Appeal heard the appeal in the case Rex v. Hayden, a prisoner who, not represented by counsel, was found guilty of criminal assault on a boy and indecent assault on a man, and was sentenced by Air Justice AfacGregor to ten years’ imprisonment on the first charge, and five years on the second, the terms to be cumulative. As the , assault was on a grqwn man, apd- Hayden was under the influence of liquor at the time, the Court held that this sentence should be reduce’d to one year, to be served concurrently with the ten-year period.

CHRYSANTHEMUM SHOW NELSON, April 30( The Nelson Horticultural Society’s Chrysanthemum Show has upwards of five hundred specimen blooms staged, which’is claimed a record for New Zealand and Australian. High quality prevails throughout. Mr. G. A. Green, secretary of the Nurserymen’s Assqciation, attended the Show and ’said that it was easily thd largest display ‘he ;had ever seen and • the quality would do credit to anywhe/e }u Australia or New Zealand. A boom in chrysanthemums has followed on the formation of a Chrysanthemum Club. HIKURANGI DISPUTE: WHANGARET, April 30. In consequence of three truckers be- ’ iiig put on to hew coal at Wilson’s,’ mine, Hikurahgi, the afternoon shift refused to turn to unless three men were replaced by hewers out of employment. The demand was refused and. a hundred and fifty miners downed tools. A meeting of the miners 1 union, last night, decided .. against working at Wilson’s Colliery until a solution is obtained, after a conference with the directors'. It is expected that an adjustment will be reached soon.

. APPEAL COURT. WELLINGTON, April 30. _ In the Appeal Court, Rex versus Benzina, heard on March 17, the Court holds that Justice Herdman mis. directed the Jury, and the verdict ought to be set aside and''accused discharged. At the trial, Air Justice Herdman held against the contention that there vyas no offence, as there had been no attempt on the part of the accused to extort anything for herself. The Court held that the term “gain anything” from any person, means “gain anyfor the offender himself, but “extort anything” is different in meaning a person may be guilty under section 269, although his only intetest was to extort something for 1 another without gain, for himself. In this case all the accused demanded was tha't the tea set should be returned to the 'iMangajvai Hall Committee, the donor of the’ prize. Such llemand does not come withiii the section,„and is not in tlffi' natuift) There was no evidence oil which a jury, if th 9 . question- jiad beeit;' left to it, would have been justified in finding intent to extort anything honi Nitz. • The decision in the case of Rex ver- • sus Shortland, argued oii April'24, is that the sentence by Justice Herdman, of fifteen years and a Hogging for rape, is excessive. The sentence is reduced to five years’ imprisonment, and the flogging is remitted. Sir R. Stout dissented regarding a reduction of the sentence.