DOMINION NEWS

Grey River Argus, 17 December 1943, Page 7

DOMINION NEWS

£15,000 FOR HOUSEKEEPER. P.A. WELLINGTON, Dec. 16. I Chief Justice Myers, in an oral judgment in the Supreme .Court, gave judgment for Mrs. Winifred | Fleming Macfarlane, sole beneficiary and executrix of the will of Charles ; Sidney Brandon, retired solicitor, in i her petition for a decree of probate of the will in solemn form. Testator, aged 82, executed eight days beforej his death a will leaving his entire ( estate of approximately £15,000 to ■ Mrs. Macfarlane, his housekeeper. Granting of probate was opposed by Laetitia Annie Brandon, sister of testator, Percy de Bathe Brandon, accountant, and Alfred de Bathe Brandon, retired solicitor, nephews of testator. ■His Honour said that though he felt himself bound■ to,pronounce for the will the case was a very proper one I to defend. In the circumstances the j costs of the defendants should be al- i lowed out of the estate. All wit- , nesses had given their evidence fair- I ly, and it was clear that the testator j ■was of sound testamentary capacity j when he executed his will and knew his own mind. One could well understand that the relations of an elderly gentleman, even though they had no real need for his bounty, might feel , annoyed to', find when he died that no consideration had been given to relations and .that everything was left, as in this case, to a stranger.

ACCIDENT VICTIM DIES AUCKLAND, December 16. The victim of a motor accident at Takanini on Monday night, Desmond Verner, aged 19, son of Mr T. F. Verner, private trainer for Messrs E. R. Davis and O. Nicholson, d’ed from his injuries at 1 o’clock this morning. AUCKLAND INQUEST AUCKLAND, Dec. 14. An inquest into the death of Captain Neil Melville Louisson, whose body was found below the Huk.a Falls, Taupo, on November 27, was concluded to-day. before Mr J. H. Luxford, S.M. A verdict was returned that Louisson died, on or about November 6, and that the cause of death was drowning. HYDE RAILWAY ACCIDENT WELLINGTON, Dee - Commenting on the E.F.C.A. (Dunedin) resolution criticising him for blaming the train driver for the Hyde railway accident, Mr Semple to-day, expressed surprise at such a resolution in view of the criminal oroceedings and the jury’s finding. Mr Semple stated he had received the report, of the Board of Inquiry which proved conclusively that the engine driver was responsible. “It is hard to believe in face of the finding of the jury and Board that such a resolution should have been sponsored by members of a responsible organisation of railway employees, especially when the Association was represented by counsel of its own selection.’ N.Z. BOWLING TOURNEY DUNEDIN, Dec. 16. The draw for the New Zealand Bowling Tourney was completed last night and the programme should be available for the competitors before Christmas. The index contains 1100 names, 750 being from outside Dunedin and 250 from the North Island. The singles will occupy 19 greens on Wednesday, January 12, and on the Thursday. There will be 972 players in the pairs and 984 in the fours, which will commence on January 17. Even if the weather is perfect the tourney cannot conclude before J'anuary 25. SCHOOL LEAVING AGE WELLINGTON, Dec. 16. Regulations were gazetted to-day to provide for raising the school-leav-ing age from 14 to 15, effective as from February 1 next, but any child who reaches the age of 14 before that date and who desires to leave school may do so. The regulations provide for exemption from enrolment on certain soecjfied grounds, also for the penalty to be imposed on employers who employ children of school age who have not been exempted in accordance with the regulations. GIRL CYCLIST KILLED INVERCARGILL, Dec. 15. The body of a girl who was apparently knocked off her bicycle by a ear ‘'and killed was found about 11 o’clock last night on the north road, near the Karitane Hospital. She was Roberta Fotheringham, aged 17J, a daughter of Mr Robert Fotheringham of Makarewa. The girl suffered severe head injuries, her. legs were. badly broken, and her death is considered to have been instantaneous. Her bicycle was lying a considerable distance away, smashed practically to pieces.