NEW ZEALAND TELEGRAMS.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1751, 27 September 1905, Page 56

NEW ZEALAND TELEGRAMS.

AUCKLAND, September 19. A remittance man named Shepherd was burned to death in a whare on Sunday night on the property of Mr W. Hill, storekeeper, at Awhitu. It is supposed the fire was started by a kerosene lamp, and when discovered the flames had so great a hold that nothing could be done to check them. The body of the man was subsequently discovered. AUCKLAND, September 19. The premises of a Chinese boarding-house-keeper, Ah Pee, were unexpectedly visited last night by police on the look-out for opium-smoking. The sequel was heard to-day in the Police Court, when Joe Yen pleaded guilty to having been found smoking opium. He was fined <£lo or fourteen days’ imprisonment. Ah Pee was charged .with having permitted opium-smoking. He denied the offence. A sergeant of police said he found Ah Pee lying in bed with Yen. Both were smoking, but Fee was using tobacco. When the “boss” was inquired for Pee pointed to himself, and said “me.” Three tins and a small pot of opium were found with smoking apparatus, which lay between the two men. Pee declared that the real owner of the house was in gaol, and that he was looking after it tor him. He was fined <£s with costs, or a month’s imprisonment. ; AUCKLAND, September 21. Mr Rosser, secretary of the Auckland Grocers’ Assistants’ Union of Workers, sent the following telegram to the Premier apropos of the amended Shops and Offices Bill I “'Assistants here disgusted with Shops and Offices Bill. Our Hope is in the ‘Lords.’ ” This morning tlie following reply was received from the Premier: —“The shop assistants are somewhat to blame for not communicating with their members. I have been doing my best to regulate their hours, and prevant them being brought back at night. Shopkeepers have been very energetic in placing before Pailiameiit .their side of the question; assistants remain quiescent.” THAMES, September 19. The timber industry, which has been somewhat slack of late, is making rapid recovery, and the local export trade is increasing. Last week the Pelotas left with three hundred thousand feet of white pine, the lima is now loading a similar cargo, and the barque Dumblane is loading half a million feet—all for Australian ports. WANGANUI, 'September 19. The hearing of the case Dr Wall v. Dr Porritt commenced at the Supreme Court yesterday, when plaintiff claimed for a continuance of the partnership between the two parties, together with <£2oo damages, or in the event of a dissolution of partnership <£2ooo damages, including the return of a portion of the premium. Plaintiff’s case lasted all day. On the Court resuming this morning, Mr Skerrett (for defendant) announced that a settlement had been agreed upon as follows: —Dr Porritt to return to plaintiff the £550 premium, half the actual receipts and book debts less £4O; Dr Wall to account to a receiver for his earnings; the partnership to be dissolved, eacli paying his own costs; and the nursing home to go to Dr Wall. WANGANUI, September 21.

At the Supreme Court this morning Richard Daniels, the Town Clerk at Marton, who pleaded guilty to the embezzlement of £7OO of the borough funds, was brought nji for sentence. His counsel stated that he hau been Town Clerk for three years, and came from the South Island, where lie had carried on business as stockbroker. Through the failure of the boom he was left with £6OO or £7OO debts. Accused was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment. CHRISTCHURCH, September 19.

Tie annual meeting of the Children's Aid Society to-night passed a resloution as follows: —“ That this meeting views with grave concern the growing laxity of parental control in the community." The resolution was the outcome of very serious reference in the annual report to this subject, and a lengthy address by the chairman, the Rev A. C. Hoggins, who said the matter was becoming a very grave one in New Zealand, and was one which affected the future existence of the country. CHRISTCHURCH, September 20. A meteing of the executive in connection with the proposed consumptive sanatorium was held this afternoon, when the treasurer reported that =£762 3s 6d had been promised towards the expenses of establishing the sanatorium, and <£ls2 3s 6d paid. Forty horses were entered at the Canterbury A. and P. Association's annual horse parade held in pouring rain to-day. As a class they fell far short of what might have been expected. There was only a small attendance of the public. A discussion took place at a meeting of the Charitable Aid Board to-day on the subject of rebates to old age pensioners who are inmates of the Board's homes. A motion to allow a shilling a week was negatived, and a resolution passed that pensioners be granted their certificates at any time they cared to apply for them during the month. The mover said he did not want the pensioners to go, but if they desired to do so he wanted them to go with some money in their pockets. A petition for presentation to Parliament is being circulated among residents of Little River, pointing out that a site for a village settlement under Government auspices is badly wanted there for casual labourers, such as shearers, graesseedere, and others, who have no chance at present of acquiring a permanent home in a district which affords employment at good wages. Between Okiri river and the Main Coach road to Alcaroa there is, so the petition says, <f a block of sixty acres of native land eminently suitable for village settlement purpQSGS. ’ CHRISTCHURCH, September 21. A a meeting of the Tramway Board today a long legal opinion was read from the board's solicitors regarding the difficulty in Manchester street. The gist of the opinion was that the board would be perfectly justified in covering the side-

channel, and running trams when the work was completed. Mr Pearce moved that the City Council should be asked to pay half the cost of doing the work, and that the board should take responsibility. An amendment that the last clause of the motion should be deleted failed to find a seconder, and the motion was carried w\th 'ooie dissentient. The Mayor complained that the Public Works officials had treated Christchurch differently to other places, and that the department was sticking up the board without rhyme or reason. An application of four Papanui residents for extension of the service for something less than three-quarters of a mile towards Belfast was referred to the Traffic Committee. In regard to the judgment of Mr Justice Williams in connection with Customs duties on points and crossings, it was decided, after hearing the opinion of the Board’s solicitors, to act with the Auckland and Dunedin municipalities in bringing the matter before the Court of Apneal. INVERCARGILL. September 20.

The coastal steamer Rose Casey, formerly well known in the Auckland trade, stranded on Riverton bar last night. When approaching the bar an accident happened to her machinery and she drifted on at 5 o’clock. Two hours later she sprang a leak, and the water rose, extinguishing the furnace fires. The heavy sea carried her about a chain inside the bar, and she lies with about eight feet of water in the hold. There is no possibility of floating her at present. The vessel is owned by a company, and is believed to be insured in Dunedin. She has eight thousand feet of tipi her aboard. The crew is ashore. CHRISTCHURCH, September 19. The attempt to derail 'the second express from Dunedin on Friday, near Chertsey, appears to have resulted in a narrow escape from a serious calamity. Just as the train had passed through the station the passengers experienced a slight jolt. It is understood the driver and guard reported contact about the same time with some foreign object on the line, but it remained for a platelayer to discover on the following morning the real nature of the obstacle. About three-quarters of a mile north of the station he found that four sleepers, weighing ninety pounds each, had been removed from the side of the line where they had been lying with others. Apparently they had been placed across the rails, but fortunately the cowcatcher of the express was running low enough to catch the sleepers, which must have been carried fifty yards, as the permanent way was strewn with splinters, and battered sleepers were also found. No damage was done to the track. The train was heavily freighted and was running about thirty miles an hour at the time of the collision. INVERCARGILL. September 20. C. Rankin, a well-known resident of Stewart Island, was found dead in bed. A pool of blood indicated a broken blood vessel. Deceased, who was married, was forty-eight years of age. __ His family is at present in Christchurch. GISBORNE, September 19. The Royal Humane Society has forwarded an in memoriam certificate for presentation to the next of kin of Maraea Poki,' a native woman, who lost her life in attempting to save Henry Harrison from a burning hut at Jerusalem, Waipiro Bay. BLENHEIM, September 21. At 2 o’clock tnis morning a fire destroyed a six-roomed house occupied by Mr W. McMillan, and owned by Mr W. Heffer. The family escaped in their night clothes, and all their belongings were lost. The building was insured for £2OO in the Neiv Zealand Office. The furniture was insured for a small amount. BLENHEIM, September 20. In the Police Court to-day, Joseph Henry Byrne, a young man, was charged with robbing Patrick O’Driscoll of Is on the night of the 4th inst., and at the same time using personal violence. This is the case in which O’Driscoll was severely wounded in the head and taken to the hospital, where he has been ever since. A stone and a blood-stained handkerchief found on accused were produced in Court, the police theory being that accused used these as a sling to batter O’Driscoll on the head. Accused was committed for trial. The first application in this district for exemption from the street - widening clause of the Public Works Act has been made to the Blenheim Borough Council, and was recommended for approval of the Governor-in-Council. TIMARU, September 20. John Mclntyre, a farmer near Pleasant Point, was found dead at 6 o’clock this morning on the roadside near his home. HOKITIKA, Septeniber 20. A fire broke out last evening in the Town Hall at Kumara. Damage to the amount of £IOO was done before it was extinguished. It is understood that the insurances were allowed to lapse a few days ago.

DUNEDIN, September 19. At the meeting of teachers last night, the following further resolution was carried : —“That this _ meeting thanks the Premier for carrying out his promise to endeavour to abolish the present inequitable method of calculating teachers’ salaries by the introduction of the Education Act Amendment Bill, 1905; that a copy of this resolution be sent to the Premier and to Otago members of ParHeament, and that they be urged to support the bill.” DUNEDIN, September 19. In the Supreme Court to-day the case in which Mrs Martha Frances Weir claimed £350 damages from the Minister of Railways for injuries received by tripping on a loose-fitting brass-plate on the floor of a second-class carriage, was concluded. The special jury, after an hour’s retirement, gave a verdict for £350. _ DUNEDIN, September 19. A strange story was told by William Carveth, who came up for sentence at the Supreme Court to-day oh a charge of perjury. He said his age was seventyfive. (The police guessed it at fifty-six.) He came to the colony in a gunboat in 1848, and met the woman on whose account

he had perjured himself. She was them about sixteen. After living together for about twelve months, his boat was ordered away. He next saw her in Sydney. Born in America, he claims to be a British subject, but when the Civil War wa* raging he took part in it. Returning jx> cue colony in 1863, he met the woman in Nelson and again they lived together for two years. Then ne went to China. When he returned he went to Oamaru, and there married, but his wife died. The woman was then living with a man named Brown, the latter on his deathbed asked him to look after her. Ho agreed, and he had looked after her. When she fell sick some time ago, he was asked why he did not get the old age pension for her, and she applied. The Magistrate asked him why he did not apply himself, and he replied that there were enough people loafing on the Government. He was entitled to the pension, and he took it (that is he swore the woman was his wife to enable her to get it), and that was all. He had been forty years in the British Navy, and had never been brought up for anything except for speaking disrespectfully at Simon’s Bay of the Duke of Edinburgh when he took the throne of Saxe-Coburg Gotha. Mr Justice Williams said it was not a case for probation nor was it a case for a long sentence. Accused ivas sentenced to four months’ imprisonment. DUNEDIN, September SO. Robert Mathie, who last night gave a fire alarm thinking a hotel was on fire, was this morning charged with being a lunatic at large. He was remanded for a week for medical treatment. Francis Smith, a sailor, who recently went amok at Belleknowles with a revolver. pleaded guilty this morning to discharging firearms, and was committed for sentence.