LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 18 February 1926, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Miss if. Tarry, of the Inglewood School, furnished a most interesting report. on teachers’ summer instruction classes at Cambridge to the Taranaki Education Board yesterday. A resolution was passed thanking Miss Tarry for the report.

“That was, a nice little lot of sheep you sold on Thursday,’’ said one tanner to another at Te Kuiti, the Chronicle says: “Yes, nice little black faces, weren’t they? You know, I had them on I(K) acres of ragwort, and now there isn’t a. flower left. And some fellows talk about noxious weeds. Half of them don’t try to keep ’em down. Never saw sheep better than those that came off that patch.”

The Taranaki Education Board yesterday passed a resolution of congratulation to the New Plymouth Technical School on winning the Imperial Challenge Shield, Jellicoe Bowl and other trophies at the recent shooting competitions. It was also decided to congratulate the school’s coach, Air Collins.

When the Tainui arrived at Lyttelton yesterday it was reported that there had been considerable hooliganism on hoard during the voyage from London, caused by members of the exvolunteer crew (says a Christchurch Press Association telegram). They said the company owed them a bonus, and because it was refused it is alleged that they threw the ship’s furniture overboard, smashed the crockery, strewed the decks with foodstuffs and assaulted an officer.

At the meeting of tlic Taranaki Hospital Board on Tuesday tlic Opunakc cottage hospital was reported upon by the medical officer (Dr J. S. Church) and the matron. Figures were as follow:—In hospital four, admitted eight, discharged eight, transferred one, died one, remaining one, confinements five. The attention of the board was drawn to the exceedingly fine showing made by Sister Beswick in the State maternity examination, in which she obtained over 90 per cent., and was among the first four in New Zealand. Fees collected and banked amounted to £33 17s. —Herald.

A ooronial inquiry was held yesterday at Palmerston North into the death of an unnamed child, whose dead body was allegedly found on January 21 in a suitcase carried by Hazel McNamara, a single woman aged 23, a domestic servant The police gave evidence that the girl was arrested just as she was leaving for Auckland, and at the police station admitted having given birth to a child two days previously, which had lived. The medical evidence was that the child had lived, but had been dead a day or two. Death was probably clue to haemorrhage resulting from nonattention. There were no marks of violence. A verdict was returned that the child died from the lack of proper attention. McNamara was then charged that on or about January 19 she did kill her infant daughter. The evidence was similar to the inquest, and slie was committed for trial at the next local sitting of the Supreme Court. The accused made no statement. —Press Assn

Judgment was given at the Supreme Court at Wellington yesterday by Mr. Justice Alpers in a civil action brought by John Reginald Santos against his wife, Elsie May Santos, asking for the definition of plaintiff’s interest in properties standing in his wife’s name. In the course of his judgment Judge Alpers said that both parties worked, the wife keeping a number of hoarders. The husband was an honest, hard worker and a fair-minded man. Apparently the pair could not agree. In view of all the circumstances the husband was entitled to a declaration that he has an interest in properties standing in his wife’s name. He lived cheaply on account of the number of boarders, and something must have been saved out of his salary of £5 weekly. “Justice will be done if I make’a declaration that the properties standing in the wife’s name be held in trust by her for herself and her husband, and that the husband’s interest be £250. The wife might find it advisable to raise tbe money by mortgage and quit the whole business.”

A young steward named Charles Edward Brooks appeared at the Magistrate’s Court at Wellington yesterday to answer charges of using insulting language and assaulting young .Women on their way to work. He pleaded guilty to three charges of using insulting language and to two charges of Using obscene language, but denied three charges of assaulting young girls. The three girls concerned gave evidence of being accosted. Brooks said he had ho recollection of the assaults though he remembered the language. The Sub-Inspector stated that numerous complaints had been received from all over Wellington, hut the eomplaintants refused to come to court to give evidence. Brooks received two years’ reformative detention at Invercargill in 1922 for aggravated assault on females. The Salvation Army officer said that the accused suffered from lapses of memory during . liich he was addicted to these offences. The magistrate, Mr. Page, remarked that Brooks was not normal. He would he committed to the Borstal Institution at Waikarei for three years on the charge of using obscene language. On the other charges he was convicted and ordered to come lip for sentence when called ujion.—Press Association.

An unusual situation arose in an appeal case which came before Mr. Justice Herdnian in the Supreme Court at Auckland, the Magistrate, Mr. J. W. Poynton, whose decision was appealed against, having lost his notes of the evidence taken at the hearing. After argument His Honour referred the case back to the Magistrate for the evidence. Counsel: “If he still cannot find it, I suppose he will have to recall the witnesses.” His Honour: “I suprose he will.”

Entries for the Jubilee Show of the Taranaki Agricultural Society close tomorrow (Friday) with the secretary, Mr W. P. Okey, Box 18, New Plymouth. The telephone number is 87, New Plymouth.

On Sunday afternoon, Gertrude Agnes Errington, of Sawyer’s Arms road, Papanui, Christchurch, died after drinking a fruit-spraying fluid. She was a married woman, 25 years of age. Mrs Errington’s husband said that he would take her for a motor run, but while he was away, making preparations for the outing she drank the poison, and was dead in an hour. — Press Association.

During the hearing of a divorce petition at Dunedin the petitioner stated that lie had married the respondent twice, first under the name of his stepfather and later under his own name. He stated that he was under the impression that the first marriage was invalid. He had communicated with the Registrar-General on the point, and decided to go through the ceremony anew. Mr Justice Sim stated that the first marriage appeared valid, and for dissolution proceedings to succeed it would be necessary to show that the parties were actually married on the first occasion.

A young Jewish man named Israel Reznik has arrived at Auckland from Australia to renew acquaintance with New Zealand soldiers -who befriended him in Palestine. He and his parents were victims of persecution by the Turk, and as a ragged and starving boy Reznik found his way into the New Zealand lines, being well cared for. He was subsequently taken to Australia by the West Australian Brigade. He is particularly anxious to sec the ser-geant-major who bound a wound in his foot. This sergeant-major is now an Auckland resident and returns to-day from a holiday.

A brother and sister of Christchurch are sharing a double misfortune. Each is separated from his and her spouse; the wife of the brother living with the husband of the sister. These facts were mentioned during the hearing of a divorce case in the Supreme Court yesterday at Christchurch, says a Press Association message, when the brother obtained a decree nisi. Misconduct was admitted by the respondent and corespondent. Mr F. D. Sargeant said the respondent and co-respondent admitted that they had been living together as man and wife for the last twelve months. He intimated that the parties had agreed to £2OO damages, and in addition £SO costs. His Honour made a decree nisi, to be made absolute in three months. Damages as agreed upon were entered.

Mr John W. MacDougall, a member of the British bowling team, is so favourably impressed with the prospects of New Zealand that he hag undertaken to interview crofter families from the North and West of Scotland who contemplate emigrating from the Old Country, on behalf of the Dominion, as he feels sure they are exactly the type of hardy folk who would do well in the backbloeks here. “There are plenty of families of crofters,” said Mr MacDougall, “with four or five fine lusty sons, and. sometimes as many daughters, who would make nothing of the hard work entailed in breaking-in a bush section in this country. They are used to bad weather and poor faring, and from what I have seen of life out here, it would be a great improvement in their lot in more ways than one. They are sturdy folk, and even the young women, who are just as used to roughing it as the. men, would think nothing of a day in the bush with the axe. What I am going to do is to see if any of them would like to come to New Zealand to settle, and to do what I can to put them in the way of doing it. with the assistance of the authorities hero. They would make braw settlers, I’m thinking.”—Dominion.