DOMINION ITEMS

Greymouth Evening Star, 22 July 1927, Page 2

DOMINION ITEMS

(Per Preßß Association.)

DEATH AT CHEMIST’S. GISBORNE, July 22. George Bolton, retired schoolmaster, collapsed on the threshold of a chemist’s shop to-day, and succumbed. COUNCIL OF EDUCATION. NAPIER, July 22. The Hawke’s Bay Education Board this morning decided to support the suggestion that the Council of Education be done away with. Mr J. A. Kirk, a member of the Council, urged that that body had done good work. DAIRY PRODUCE AWARDS. AUCKLAND, July 21. The Auckland Winter Exhibition was opened to-day by Sir Thomas MacKenzie. The silver cup for the highest aggregate in butter classes was won by the Golden Bay Dairy Company. The points prize in the cheese section was won by the Lowgartli Dairy Company. Taranaki. HOUSE ON FIRE NEW PLYMOUTH, July 22. An eight-roomed house near Inglewood, owned and occupied by Joseph Diggins, was destroyed by fire last night. The occupants, absent all day, returned to find the house in flames. T*ie cause is unexplained. The house was insured for £BOO, and the furniture £l5O in the State Office. LAND SETTLEMENT. AUCKLAND, July 22. The annual meeting of the New Zealand Land Settlement League passed a resolution expressing deep regret that the Government had taken no steps to ascertain the cause of the stagnation in the Dominion’s agricultural and land settlement, and urged a board of enquiry to inquire into the question of immigration and its relation to land settlement. POULTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS. NELSON, July 21. The following New Zealand championships have been awarded at the Nelson Poultry Show American Leghorn, Hockey Bros. (Nelson) ; Hamburgs, W. J. Phillips (Nelson) ; Rocks (fancy), SW. A. Sowman (Blenheim); Japanese Bantams. Major N. L. I). Smith (Wellington) ; Pigeons (owls), E. D. Barry, Nelson; Leghorns (Utility), Miss M. Chapman (Blenlieim); Rocks (Utility), W. A. Sowman (Blenheim). ISLAND FRUIT. AUCKLAND. July 21. With less than half her full capacity of fruit, the steamer Waipaki returned to Auckland from the Cook Islands. The light shipment is said to be partly due to the fact that the growers at Mauke, one of the outlying islands of the group, were not advised of the vessel’s movements, and in consequence did not have any cargo ready. The shipment consists chiefly of oranges, but there are also a number of cases of tomatoes and bananas.

SUICIDE IN TANK. CHRISTCHURCH, .July 21. An inquest into the death of William Rennie, aged 70, was held before Mr Young, S.M., to-day. The body was found yesterday in a receiving tank at Lyttelton Borough Waterworks, at Heathcote. There was a piece of iron, weighing between fifty and sixty pounds, tied to the body. Rennie had lived in a hut on the Waterworks Reserve, and in his hut was found a note, giving directions as to the disposal of his property, including £5B in cash. The verdict was suicide by drowning. McGRUER’S ESTATE. WELLINGTON, July 21. The Appeal Court to-day notified that their judgment in the case of McGruer v. Gresham, had been prepared, but as it was a very lengthy one, they would not read it, but make a copy available for counsel as soon as possible. The Court was asked to determine the amount of the estate of the late John Duncan McGruer, valued at about £95,000, and after payment of duties and legacies, what is to be given to charitable institutions in accordance with the will. The testator provided for the distribution of any surplus income among charitable institutions in New Zealand, the Salvation Army to receive a larger proportion than any other. , RURAL BONDS ISSUE. WELLINGTON, July 21. In the House, Mr Downie Stewart said the Treasury was on the point of issuing a prospectus in respect of a bond issue under the Rural Advances scheme. If the bonds were found to be a successful means of raising money for farmers, there would be far more money available for housing. The suggestion had been made that the rate of interest on Government debentures should be raised in order to draw money into Government investments. He did not, however, favour this until it could be seen whether the issue of bonds under the rural credits scheme was a success. In view of the proposed issue of bonds, he had not felt justified in informing applicants for loans for housing that there was no hope of their applications being considered for an indefinite term.

RAILWAY CLERK’S THEFT

WANGANUI, July 20. Gilbert Michael Joseph McGrath, an ex-senior railway clerk at Ohakune, pleaded guilty in the Court to-day to the theft of £126/3/11, while in the employ of the Railway Department. Accused was in the District Engineer’s office, and the money was stolen at various periods between December, 1924, and July, 1926. The method was to fake time-sheets, pay-sheets, etc., and to draw wages purporting to be for casual workers employed on the Ohakune section. The defalcations were discovered by some officers from Wellington who were enquiring into another affair. Accused exonerated other railway servants from blame, and said the reason he stole was because he was short of money at the time. He was committed to the Wanganui Supreme Court for sentence.