DOMINION ITEMS

Greymouth Evening Star, 25 May 1925, Page 2

DOMINION ITEMS

(Per Press Assoeiation.'

SUDDEN DEATH. TAUMARUNUI, May 22. William Frankland, a member of the butchering firm of Frankland, Ltd., dropped dead suddenly this afternoon.

SLY-GROGGER fiN GAOL. WAIHI, May 23. 1 Peter McCormick, with many aliases, who ten years ago was convicted of slygrog selling at Waihi Court, was this week arrested at Napier, and is now .serving a sentence of imprisonment imposed on him on August 4, 1915.

CHARGE AGAINST K.C. CHRISTCHURCH, May 23. The hearing was concluded this morning of the stamp duty case in which the defendant is Frederick Wilding, K - C - e J 4> After Royddii Grainger, defendant s chief clerk, had given evidence, the Magistrate reserved judgment.

INJURED BY EXPLOSION. WAIHI, May 23. As the result of the explosion of a detondtor, three members of Mr Janies Kemp’s family were injured. When on his way home from work at the Waihi G.M. Company’s smithy, Kemp, jun., picked up a detonator, and he decided that it might be fised for his bicycle lamp. To fit it, he commenced beating it out, and an explosion followed. His finger was blown off, and he was peppered on the chest with flying metal. His two sisters, aged 18 and 11, were close by, and they were the other victims, the elder sister receiving wouqds in the sides and on the arms, while the other girl had her eye badly injured.

DIPHTHERIC SEAMEN. DUNEDIN, May 24.

The fumigation of the Union Company’s steamer Wanaka was carried cut‘yesterday and to-day by the officers‘o; the Health Department. Ine crew’s quarters received attention yes. terdav, and the vessel was expected to sail at 10 a.m. for Bluff, but the officials Of Jhe Seamen’s Union insisted on Die officers’ quarters being also fumigated. The Union Company agreed to carry this out, and the Wanaka was consequently delayed in port until this evening, when she/cleared lor Bluff. The Health Department found, as a result of tho swabbing of the crews’ throats, that there were five diphtheria carriers among them. These men were immediately brought ashore and isolated.

CONFESS lON REP U DIA'I’EI). NEW PLYMOUTH, May 22. The unusual position of an accused person repudiating in its entirety a signed concession made t'b the police, cropped up in the Supreme Court today, when David George Stella, aged twenty, was found’\guilty of having assaulted a married woman on a country road near Kaponqa, and acquitted on a charge of indecent assault. • The principal witness for the Crown said that accused caught her by the throat, and there was aj struggle till soineone came on the seelie and accused ran away. At the Police Stat-on the accused made a statement admitting that he assaulted the woman. In the witness box in trie Supreme Court to-day, the accused denied making the statement, and repudiated his signature to it. Sentence was postponed. MAIN HIGHWAYS BOARD. WELLINGTON, May 22. The Main Highways Board held its monthly meeting on Thursday and yesterday. Mr.- F. W. Furkett presided. The matter of the apportionment of funds from motor taxation between the North and South Islands came up for discussion, after which the following resolutions were passed:— (1) That under section 21 of the Act, the apportionment of tyre duty and license fees in each island be made in proportion to the number of motor vehicles registered iri each island on March 31st., 1925, and in subsequent years on the basis of the respective registrations in each . island on March 31st. of each year. (2) That interest and sinking fund on moneys borrowed for construction work by the Board in each island I shall be charged against the proportion of the allocation under Clause 1.

Regarding plant, the Board decid-

ed to assist certain local authorities in the purchase of plant for carrying out programmes of highway construction.