DOMINION ITEMS

Greymouth Evening Star, 22 December 1936, Page 2

DOMINION ITEMS

[PER PRESS ASSOCIATION.] FATAL INJURIES. NELSON, December 22. William Mclvor. who was admitted to the hospital in a critical condition, the result of striking a. telegraph pole while motor cycling on the Waiti Road, early on Sunday morning, died this morning. TIMARU HOSPITAL. TIMARU, December 21. The South Canterbury Hospital Board to-day accepted the tender of A. Kennedy of £’’s.!)f)o tor the erection of a three-storey surgical ward block at the Timaru Hospital. The additions to the Nurses' Home are now nearing completion, and the new block will be started soon, and will take 20 months to build. H.M.S. LEITH. AUCKLAND, December 22. The sloop. Leith, has been recommissioned, and with almost an entirely new complement, arrived from Wellington this morning. The new Commander. Captain Tudway. paid courtesy calls to other ships of the New Zealand Naval Division. CARPENTER DROPS DEAD. CHRISTCHURCH, December 21. A carpenter, Frederick Baldwin, aged 49. married, with three children, who lived' at 17 Rata. Street, St. Martins, dropped dead when lifting some timber at a building in course of erection in King Street. Rangiora, this afternoon. PROBATION GRANTED. WELLINGTON, December 22. George Douglas Knight, 26, was sentenced by the Chief Justice at the Supreme Court to two years’ probation, for an indecent assault on a female, on condition that he stays not less than a hundred miles from Rongotea, where the offence was committed, and pays the costs of the prosecution. RAIN IN SOUTHLAND. INVERCARGILL, December 21. Steady rain has fallen at Invercargill and in most of the. province for more than 24 hours. It began on Sunday night and continued all day; and rain was still falling. At midnight rivers were running high, but no reports have been received of roads being blocked. The weather is also very cold for midsummer. U.S.A. TRAINING SHIP. AUCKLAND. December 22. On her first visit, the American training ship California, arrived last night, from San Francisco via Papeete, and anchored in the stream. She remains hero for a. fortnight, sailing on January 4 for Melbourne. The steamer is 4500 tons gross, and was formerly a freighter. She is commanded by Captain Dwyer, and has 108 cadets. The ship is maintained by the State of California, in conjunction with the Nautical College, San Francisco, for training of deck and engineer officers in the American Mercantile Marine. CHINESE GAMBLERS. AUCKLAND. December 21. Eighteen Chinese were arrested yesterday in a fan-tan raid, and appeared at the Police Court, this morning. Detective-Sergt. McHugh gave evidence that frequent complaints had been received by the police concerning the premises. The basement was in a filthy condition, and was a menace to the city. Sixteen Chinese found on the premises were fined sums ranging from .£1 to £5. Two Chinese who were charged with usng the premise for gambling were remanded to January 22.

; LIQUOR ADVTS. ’ CHRISTCHURCH, December 21. ’ Members of the Christchurch City t Council to-night refrained from dist cussing a request from North Canter- - bury Methodist Synod that public hoardings should not be used for liquor advertisements. Cr. Lyons moved that the resolution t be referred to the advertising com- / panies controlling the hoardings. He 2 said that this would let the companies 2 know that a certain sentiment existed - in a section of the community. “It is s for tlie companies to respect it or 2 not,” he said. “The Council need not 2 take sides." The amendment was lost, and a mo■i lion, previously moved bj r Cr. E. 11. j Andrews, was carried, that the letter i bo referred to the Town Clerk, who ? ordinarily censors hoarding adverf tisements, 1 SAVINGS BANK DEPOSITS. WELLINGTON, December 21. The Postmaster-General (Hon. F. . Jones) said to-day that the people of : the Dominion had been exercising ‘ thrift, to an appreciable extent. The ’ excess of deposits over withdrawals ' in the Post Office Savings Bank during the months April to November ’ amounted to almost £2,000,000. The , individual months all showed excess deposits varying from £444,000 to C 200,000, excepting November, which showed a £33,000 excess o’’ withdrawals. It was anticipated that withdrawals this month for holiday expenditure would bo exceptionally heavy, said Mr Jones, but it should be noted" that thrifty ■ people this year had more money to withdraw. Excess deposits of £2,000,000 to the end of November meant that more New Zealanders this Christmas had the resources to be happier than they had had in the past.