LATE DOMINION NEWS.

Mataura Ensign, 13 May 1914, Page 3

LATE DOMINION NEWS.

*. * . THE NAPIER FIRE. PBB UNITED PSESS ASSOCIATION. NAPIER, May 12. It is estimated that the total damage caused by last night's fire will reach £30,000, "but the exact details are not available. Messrs Williams and Kettle's total loss reaches approximately £16,500 — £15,000 for destroyed buildings and £ISOO for water damage to No. 1 store. The New Zealand Shipping Company's loss is estimated to reach £7OOO on the

.buildings and plant. The following are the insurances on the Shipping Company's loss: Atlas £630, Northern £SOO, Alliance £SOO, Royal Exchange (which office also carried a large cover on other owners' stock stored in the building) £SOO. North (British and Mercantile £SOO, United £1640. The Atlas OompanK&lse held a £1250 risk oh. DePeli"stock, and the South British £BOO. Mr M. F. Bourke was

' covered by £3600, but the office is unknown) and -Mr S. Wood by £3OOO in ' the British and Dominion. All the above ha 4 "wool and flax stored in the Shipping Company'b stores, all being destroyed. Dalgety's loss is estimated at £IOOO by water. Further insurances are unknown. The damaged property was covered, every office being affected.

LAUD VALUES LEACUE. WELLINGTON, May 12. At a meeting of the local branch of the "Land Values League the chairman (Mr P. J. O'Regan) announced tha.t the Joseph Eels. Fund would be continued and that TVfr Arthur "Withy would be retained in (New Zealand as organiser. LAUNCH PARTY SAFE. WELLINGTON, May 12. | Advioe received late to-night states that the Kapiti launch party reached Paremata safely. No details are known, but it i§ supposed that the launch put back to the island for shelter from the I southerly .sweeping through Cook Strait on Sunday.. The relatives of the men! were arranging to-night for the despatch j of a search steamer from Wellington,! b*t thr receipt of the cheering tidings; put an . ' 1 that.

FOUND DEAD IN BED. KAIKOURA. May 12. Peter Gordon Milne McFarlane was found dead in bed at his residence this morning. Deceased, who was aged 79, was a military pensioner and had served in the Taranaki Militia, for which he obtained: a war medal. He came from Otftgo, and had charge of the Clarence Bridge Aid School for about two years.

ANXIETY FOR A STEAMER. . FOXTON, May 12. Anxiety is being shown in shipping circles regarding the non-arrival of the s.s. WoQtton, .which left Lyttelton for Foxton at midday on Tuesday and should have arrived on Friday morning. Since leaving the steamer has not been sighted by any vessel. It is surmised that the vessel has broken a shaft or had her machinery disabled.

The Marine Department has been advised that the steamer is four days overdue, and all steamers have been warned to keep a sharp lookout. TWO CHILDREN Di.OWNED, AUCKLAND, May 12. Two children named Corban, aged t.'i ut six years, fell into a creek at Grey Lynn and were drowned.

TIMARU CHURCH NEWS. TIMAHTJ, May 12. Rev. A. Macau lay Caldwell, who came Bi Auckland four and a-lialf years pb take charge of Chalmers K«pan Church, has received a call to! Cairns Memorial Church, and the BFytery to-day (approved, with much regret losing ao able a preaiier. The membership of Chalmers increased from 514 to 853 during his term and the communicants from 366 to 459.

The Presbytery also pledged iiteelf to support the Bible-in-Schools League platform. • Another Presbyterian change; is & call to Rev. P. Walson from Anbury to Mayfiejd, Aefcburton, which he has accepted. • Rev. father Smyth, senior curate of the Sacred Heart Church, is being transferred to Horndon, Wellington, •ad ia receiving the cordial though retretful farewells of his various congregations.

SUPREME COURT. WELLINGTON. WELLINGTON. 'May 12. Atl the Supreme Court to-day 'ilhsG. Frederick Everest, charged w.tli theft and receiving stolen goods, wae ordered to come up for senter.ou when, ca led upm. Frajtik Tay'or, on a charga of the t'mft a horse at Marton, was ordered to comj up for sentence when, ca led upon and to refund .£'3 rece ved from the man to whom he oold the animal.

Arthur Ha.rold xVnderson, on a charge of breaking and entering, wag cdmitted to probation for one year. John Taupoki, a Maori youth, to Psatemced to one month's : vnr»xn on, a. charge of assault w'th nten.b to rob.

Albert Carnaiby and WllV.am Parker, two seamen, convicted of corn men assault on a g : rl, were fined £5 co/h, or in default 14 days' imprisonment. 1

OHRISTCHURCH. j CHBISTOTTntOH, May 12. i At the Supreme Court to-day' Robert H. Bentley, convicted of common aspin,lt under piwoeation, was fined £lO.

Anithonv Dean, for the thaft of £lB, was admitted to probation for 12 imorafchs on condition that he repaid the money. Albert Gordon Smith admitted two charges' of breaking and entering and theft, and sentence was deferred to allow of prisoner's ident'ty and past record being cleared up. Charles W. Adam, convicted of common assault, was fined £2O. Arthur King wag sentenced to five years' imprisonment for theft from the parson. DUNEDIN. DUNEDIN, May 12. ' At the Supreme Oouvfc 'crunrnal sitting to-d(ay William James Conn: was found guilty of theft and common assault and/ not guilty of robbery with violence.

Thos, Frederick Sutor was charged with obtaining goods bv false pretences and without having any intention of paying for them. The case for 'the Crown was just -concluded when tlhe court rose. Accused intimated his intention to call evidence toimorrow.

ARBITRATION COURT. SITTING AT DUNEDIN. DUNEDIN, May 12. A sitting of the Arbitration Court was opened! to-diay before Mr Justice Stringer, Messrs Scott and MeCullougih. The recommenidiaitions of the Conciliation Council in the stage hands' dispute, manufacturing jewellers' dispute, ®nd! the Port. ChaLmers -waterside workers' dispute (the Last-naimed with an alteration on one point) were made into awards.

In .the Otago shipwrights' dispute it .was pointed out tßa<i the wages provided for apprentices were lower than in other awards.

Dealing with skilled trades, hie Hon-, or said that the court would probably | make reference to this in a memorandum to the award that would oover the position. An; award wtoukt be made in accordance with the recommendations. When the recommeiida/tion in the St. Bathams duicers' dispute came before the court it was stated that the employers raised l an objection on one or two minor points. The principal of these was double time on 'Sundays. Tlhe employers asked that tlhe 'Sunday rate be time and Mr Davidson (for the employees) said that double time had been the rul© for 14 years. The court decided to take time to oonsideir I the case.

In the glaziers' dispute the employers asked that the award' should not aipply to Shopmen or star emeu on weekly wages, who also act as glaziers. The union was prepared to have shopmen and storemen exempted on condition that such, man were not engaged in glazing except on small odd jobs. The court intimaJbed that it would oonsider the matter.

BOILERMAKERS' DISPUTE. DUNEDIN, May 12. In the Otago boilernuakers' and iron shipbuilders dispute, Which had been referred to the court, Mr Pryor—for the employers— made an application that it should be a Dominion awaxd and tbait the award should not be made in any district until the Auckland dispute ihiad Ibeen heard. The whole engineering industry was under review by the oourt, and they also asked that th« court should not make an award in

the Christchurch metiaiworQcere dispute until the Dunedin dispute was heard. They asked! the oourit not to give a de-cis-on until they had heard the evidence in all the disputes throughout tlbe Domaiiion. Hon. J. E. Jenbin,so'n —for the union • —rar.di thrnt it:> hoar the Auckland. case first would delay the matter for several mon/ths.

The ririesidcmt said ttaaiti the delay wou'ld be a'bout three months, bait that wiaj vary little as compared with the advantage of hearing everybody and then mafcing one award. Mr Jenks'uson addressed the court at cans .dersible length, comtemding that it wa-i not the court's function! to prefect trade audi that "the nauseating whin/ 1 of the enro'oyers of ba'd days should not be allowed' to deny men their due."

Mir Fryer, who oharaoteirised M.r Jeaikitison's fjeech as the most remarkable ever delivered in ani Arbitration Court by a union _ representative, contended thiatt (the .position of the trade was euch that the employers wiikl nat afford to I ; «<y -more wages, and' enlarged on the serious consequences which would errju. on increase.

He culled evidence in support of this and the case was proceeding when the court adjourned.

THE TAKAPAU CAMP.

CHAPLAIN'S CRITICISM. PALMERSTON N., May 12. In the course of his criticism of the recent Takapau camp in the 'Standard' Rev. F. W. Boys (chaplain) says: "Two classes of meii are interested in this movement who need to be closely watched by the public—first, the English Tommy type of permanent man, who all the time forgets that this is a citizen army and can only be irun by I retaining the goodwill of the lads; second, the man who would 'down' . every complaint, deny that anyone ever had a grievance, who yearns to increase 1 the severity of the system, and talks j wildly of excluding reporters from the camp and censoring Dress messages. I Then the young subaltern is a great I problem. I cannot speak too highly of some of them, but others, clothed n 1 a' little brief authority, .simply goad t ie men to rioting, and by their bad ox-| ample when off duty would destroy the' discipline of any camp. They have nei-' ther knowledge of human nature nor a sense of responsibility adequate to their position. Had the non-wmtmiss'ioined officers, who won my admiration } behaved as some subalterns did they would have lost their stripes at once. I 'lh* authorities are face to face with the whole question of Sunday in camp.! Whether the men have a grievance or! liot, I have no hesitation in saying that if Sunday afternoon is used for a football match, with all the attendant excitement, the men will get out of handi and there will be trouble. If I could have transferred the scenes and the language used at Takapau on Sunday afternoon and evening to, say, Lamb'on Quay, Wellington, there are hundr ds of Christian parents who would soo"?r go to prison than have their boys foi\ ;d to spend Sunday under such conditions."

CHRISTCHURCH COMPETITIONS. CHRISTCHURCH, May 12. The are the latest results at the competitions: Vocal Solo (self accompaniment)—Mr A. A. Sootit (Chrisfcdhurdh) 1, Moss M. Carey Wallace (Wellington) 2, Miss E. Foster (Dunedim) 3. Character Recital—P. A. Dale .(Wellington) 1 B. Gladding (Auckland) 2. F. J. McDonald) (Christdhairclh) 3. Scotch Song—Miss E. Croxton (Cbristchurch) 1, Mies A. Yuill (Dumedin) 2, Miss M. Carey Wallace (Wellington) 3. Operatic Solo (mem) —F. J. TTn-nma, (Christohureh) 1, A. A. Soott (Christchuirch) 2, C. H. Tidy (Chrdsfbdhurch) o» I Tiiish Song (men)—A. A. Scott (Chrifitohurch) 1, N. H. Paipaikakur'a (Riverton) 2, A. S. Mitchell (Adding-* ■ ton) 3.