DOMINION ITEMS.

Hokitika Guardian, 29 January 1927, Page 3

DOMINION ITEMS.

[IIV TELEGRAPH —FER PRESS AHHOCIATIOfi

DANGEROUS SPEEDING. AUCKLAND, January 20. A well-known Auckland young lady, Miss Joyce Stevenson, was charged in the Police Court to-day with dangerous driving, s.v did not appear, her father, 1 -ion I J. P. Stevenson, explaining in.. she had sprained her ankle. "Wha. is the speed alleged,” asked the -Magistrate, Mr McKean. “ Forty miles an hour over a measured 440 yards,” said Traffic Officer McDonald. “ Forty miles, eh! This was not the occasion on which the young lady sprained her ankle, I suppose?” queried the Magistrate. Colonel Stevenson assured him that it was not. “ She will he doing still more serious damage if she travels at this speed,” remarked Mr McKean drily. The Traffic Officer said that Miss Stevenson crossed Rnnfurly road intersection without sounding the horn or slackening speed. Colonel Stevenson’s excuse for his daughter was that she was taking some ladies to King’s College, and. being late, was trying to make up time. A fine of 24 and costs was imposed. Mr McKean saying that it it had not been for the fact that it was her first offence he would have suspended the license.

ENDORSEMENT OF LICENSES. There was little public interest in other similar cases heard, but in the course of one of them the Magistrate referred to the question of endorsement of licenses. “In New Zealand,’’ he said, “a license is only endorsed after conviction for a serious offence. But I sometimes wonder whether it would not be advisable to adopt the English system of endorsing in every case. The license would then ho a record of the motorist’s driving period.”

FINED £25. DUNEDIN, Jan. 28. John Paul Barnes was lined £25 for using a billiard saloon as a common gaming house. O SCHOOLING. DUNEDIN, Jan. 28. An almost incredible state of affairs, was how the school attendance officer described a case in the police court. He stated the farther had two boys, one 10) years and the other 9.) years. He had never sent them to school; while a sister aged 12 and 8 months had not been to school for a year. Ihe children were strong, healthy and vigorous and lived wjt.hiu five minutes walk of a school. The charge against the father of failing to enroll his children was adjourned.

SIR J. ROSS’ ESTATE. DUNEDIN, Jan. 28. Sir John Ross’s estate has been sworn at £280,000. DISPUTED SHARE. "WELLINGTON. January 28. Judgment for the Wellington Bowl mg Chib Company was given to-day m the reserved judgment of the Chief Justice, Sir Charles Skerrett, in tile case in which James Dickson Sievwright sought to have a share in the company by reason of ari alleged contract made to him. The Chief Justice said that proceedings were taken in 1921 to expel Sievwright and the forfeit share was taken on the assumption that Sievwright was a shareholder. The Company, however, had over-issued capital and although Sievwrighl’s name was on the register lie 'could not become a legal shareholder and there was now no obligation on the Company to issue a share to him, the original contract being wholly void.

EIRE BOARD ANOMALY. PAHIATUA, January 28,

A new clause was inserted in the Consolidating Act last Session providing that no representative or agent of an insurance office can act as a Government representative on a- Fire Board. Mr .T. D. Wilson, Government representative of the local Board, has drawn the attention of the Department to the clause as he is the agent for the State Office. He has advised the Department that in view of the provisions of the Act he cannot continue to act as Government representative on the Board. EFFECT OE THE MORTGAGE HOLD WELLINGTON. .launary 28. In tileopinion of Charles Burdon Buxton, a farmer, of Wellington, in explaining to his creditor the cause of his bankruptcy, there is no reasonable possibility of the country land values for years getting hack to a. point where the properties in the estate would realise more than the outstanding, liabilities.

“ Tt is useless,” he said. “ to shut one’s eyes to facts, and it is a fact that these securities, in common with many hundred farm properties, to-day are not worth the amount of the first mortgage lent on them ten or twelve years ago, and which, at that time, showed at least a forty per cent, margin on the valuations made by the most prudent trustee available.” Mr Boxtnii added that ninety per cent, of the farmers of the Dominion were bankrupt if they only knew it.

NEW SLEEPING CAR. WELLINGTON. Jan. 29

A new sleeping car for use on the special train conveying the Duke and Duchess of York through the North Island which 'has just been completed tit Petone railway workshops had a trial run into town yesterday and was inspected by several departmental heads. The ear, which has been built to the design of J. S. Lyiulo (chief meehanidi] engineer of the New Zealand Railways) is an improvement on that of the de luxe sleeper which was nut on the road during last winter. It is considered by several gentlemen with oversease experience tbit the call's quite up to the best standard to be found on British railways, when consideration is given to the fact that there is a difference of 1 foot 21 inches in the gauge to the advantage of Home designers. FATAL FALL. AUCKLAND, January 28. An Inquest was held this morning before Mr F. K. Hunt. S.M.. Coroner, concerning the death of Ivy Jane Smith, aged 10 years, who died at the Auckland Hospital from injuries sustained through falling over a cliff near the Shelly Beach baths last Sunday morning. A Ponsonhy resident said he was sitting on the bench and saw the child fall over the cliff. It was a terribly slippery place at the top with a shiny surface of pine needles. The girl seemed to lose her balance. Mr Hunt: “Don’t you think it would be a good thing if a place like that were fenced off? ” Witness: “I think that all tracks there should he fenced off as children are always playing round the top of the cliff. Tt is a very dangerous place and there have lieen accidents before.” In returning a verdict of accidental death Mr Hunt said that it would he well to draw the attention of the authorities to the desirability of fenc-

ing the locality so that such an unfortunate accident would not happen again. The Coroner extended his sympathy to the deceased’s father.

TO START -MANUFACTURING. • WELLINGTON. January 23. H was reported to-day that an America n syndicate is endeavouring to acquire an extensive area of land at Lower Hutt Valley with a view to erecting manufacturing works. The price is fifty thousand pounds cash. the unemployed. AUCKLAND, January 28. I lie Auckland Unemployment Committee. appointed last winter, is being called together again on Monday, owing to the serious state of unemployment in the city.

MAGISTRATE'S COAIAIENT. WELLINGTON. Jan. 2G

“I resent tho amount of time. lost, in defending such a ease. I suppose counsel has to act if called upon, but defendant himself must know he has no defence whatever to the charge. It is absurd, on tho face of the evidence, for him to come along and tell me he was not exceeding 20 miles an hour, and I question if the man is fit to have a license to drive a car.” Such was the comment of Air J. IT. Salmon. S.M., in a protracted case in which William Alexander Matthews, who was defended by Air .T. A. Scott, was charged with driving in a manner dangerous to the public.

Evidence was given that in trying to avoid two ladies in Constable Street, the car skidded 150 feet, and then turned completely round.

The magistrate said ho could not understand why some offenders earne to Court and defended cases they had no possible chance of winning. There was no clause in tho section under which Afattliews was charged whereby ho could cancel his license, hut he would impose an exemplary sentence. Ho fined defendant £5 land ordered him to pay the costs of the Court and five witnesses.

LICENSE GRANTED C.J.C. WELLINGTON, .Tan. 28.

The President of the N.Z. Racing Conference approved the alteration of the date of the Canterbury Jockey Club meeting from February 19 to Ajfareh 15. Air Bollard to-ila.v issued tote licenses, for which date the Now Brighton Trotting Club had already been granted a license. lie trusted however that wiser counsels would prevail and an amicjihle arrangement come to between the two clubs.