DOMINION NEWS

Grey River Argus, 6 April 1943, Page 6

DOMINION NEWS

escapees charged. PA AUCKLAND, 'April 5. ’ Two Maori prisoners who recently escaped from Auckland prison, were this morning charged with_ thefts from three awe! lings, m addition to offences arising from gaol breaking. They were Hugh Simons<» and Sam R The justices were told the story of how they jumped over a fence at the gaol quarry into the Grammar School grounds, and made their way bv a side street to a house where thev stole clothing, and left their prison clothes behind. Later, at Panmure they entered another house, and took more clothing. From there they went to a third place, a Chinese market gardener’,s, where Simons took a suit of clothes and a Chinese ten dollar note and £3. They intended to make a way to Waikato, but as Otahuhu was entered, they were picked up by the police. Both prisoneis were committed to the Supreme Court lor sentence.

SLY GROG CASES P.A. AUCKLAND, April 5. One month’s imprisonment with hard labour, was imposed by the Magistrate (Mr Luxford) this mornin each of two cases associated vith sly-grogging. A Maori, Ranga J Heka a returned soldier in tins war, admitted selling a bottle of wine to a Serviceman in the street tor 15s Heka was described by the police as a “dropper,” and he had r.'wo other bottles of wine in his possession when caught. Heka had been working as a wharf labourer, earning an average of £9 weekly. Mary Ross,, married, admitted selling liquor without a license. According to the police, evidence was obtained of the sale of a bottle of wine by Ross to a Serviceipan, and when a raid was made on her home in the city about 30 Servicemen were found on the premises. Concealed in the house were sixty bottles of wine, onlv six of which were labelled; also fifl’v bottles of beer, and part of a bottle of brandy. Drinking was in progress. BOY KILLED. P ’ DANNEVIRKE, April 5. • Leslie David Pearson, 15, while riding on the tray of a motor truck on Saturday afternoon, was pushed from the vehicle by a heavy benzine drum. As the truck turned a corner, the drum fell on Pearson’s head, which was severely crushed, and travelled end over end a distance of 42 feet, taking with it the boy’s body before coming to rest. Pearson was killed instantly. The truck driver was William C. Carson, bridge builder. LINSEED OIL FACTORY. P.A. DUNEDIN, April 5. Opening a linseed oil factory. at Dunedin on Saturday, the Minister of Supply (Hon. D. G. Sullivan), said that in 1940 New Zealand imported 962,000 gallons of oil valued at £259;000. This year New Zealand had 4,000 tons of seed from the flax crop and the estimated oil yield was 350,000 gallons, or one-third of the Dominion’s requirements. An important by-product would be cattlecake, a valuable concentrate for increasing the production of all stock. Reviewing industrial progress over the last seven years, Mr Sullivan said the Dominion had established an average of thrge new factories a week. , ■

YOUTH CONVERTED CARS. P.A. AUCKLAND, April 5. An 18-year-old youth, Lance Matthew Dunn, pleaded guilty, before the Magistrate (Mr Luxford) to-day, and was sentenced to 18 months’ reformative detention, on eight charges of converting cars. An 18-year-old girl, Betty Frances Whitlock, who was jointly charged with .Dunn in four cases, pleaded not guilty. Evidence on her statement was that she was in company with Dunn and a younger youth, and that Dunn suggested taking a car and going for a ride. She walked on with the other boy till picked up each time. In committing her to probation, Mr Luxford said he considered it was a proper procedure that the girl was charged, and he had no doubt of her guilt. Young women should know they were equally guilty of conversion when they went out in a car, knowing it was converted. * WATERSIDERS RESUME. P.A. ' AUCKLAND,' April 5. After a day’s lay-off of members of the Auckland Waterside Workers’ Union for stoppages on account of rain while working on American ships, work was reported on Saturday morning to be proceeding normally on all ships in port. With a view to settling differences., which had arisen between the union and the American Transport Service, a conference was opened on Saturday afternoon, and it was continued today. .

N.Z. MUNITIONS. P.A. WELLINGTON, April 5. Satisfaction with the development of the New Zealand munitions programme was expressed by two English authorities who have been on a tour of inspection in the Dominion, Mr L. Cairns, Chairman of the Eastern Group Requirements Commission, London, and Mr H. J. Hewlett, officer in charge of machine tools allocation of the Eastern Group Requirements Commission, London.