SERIOUS CHARGES

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 11190, 21 April 1922, Page 4

SERIOUS CHARGES

SIX MONTHS’ GAOL FOR OFFENDER.

“There are too many of these oases,” said Mr F- K. Hunt, S.M., yesterday when entering a conviction against Charles Edward Smith, who was charged with committing obscene exposure at the beach, Worscr Bay, on April 16tli, On the testimony of two little girls lie’ was convicted and sentenced to six months’ imprisonment. “Little girls will never forget a thing like that, remarked Ohief-Detective Kemp, who conducted the prosecution. “If there was , anything known against him I’d give him twelve months,” said the magistrate-

A parsnip weighing 61bs. and having a circumference of Ilf inenea, is being exhibited in a Pahiatua shop window.

A schnappcr weighing about 25 pounds was obtained b.v a launch party at New Plymouth on Monday.

When the Prime Minister suggested, during the reception to Paddon, that New Zealand would produce another sculling champion to send to Australia to bring back the title, someone in the crowd called' out, “Make a pool of it. Bill!”

“Does this infer that I am on. the scrap heap?” asked Mr T. Moss, at the Ekotanuna Farmers’ Union meeting, when a resolution was put through constituting him a life meinher of the union. Mr Moss intimated that he did not intend to take advantage of his honorary status and would still continue to pay his subscription.

As evidence of the slackness in the building trade in the Wairarapa, it may be mentioned (says the “Age”) that ope, Masterton firm hat recently tendered successfully for contracts in Palmerston North and in the south of Nelson province; while another tendered for new buildings for the Westland Hospital at Hokitika.

Recently the unemployed of Glasgow tried to rush the Guardians’ offices. but were driven back by the police, although railings were torn up and used as weapons. A few shop windows were broken. Batons were Used' on, one section of the crowd, which was quickly dispersed. Xhreo policemen were slightly hurt. Half a dozen arrests were ».

Dr P. W. Elridge-Green. of tlio Board of Tvade, who lectured at the College of burgeons last mouth on “Now Researches in’ Colour Vision,” told a .London reporter that ho know of a Royal Academician who could recognise only two colours The artist painted the faces in a portrait green, and had to ask his wife to select the colours for his pictures. A person with very acute colour "vision could distinguish seven colours.

“After every slump there comes a boom,” eaid Mr J. Graham, speaking at the annual meeting of the Builders’ and Contrabtors’ Association at Christchurch. The speaker was optimistic about the future of the trado in New Zealand, stating that an indication was afforded in Auckland, where- one drapery firm was spending hundreds of thousadßs of pounds -in Christchurch, he eaid, was'the manufacturing centre of the Dominion, and would ever be so.

The Swedish steamer Lygnem, which arrived at Auckand this week, is the first steamer that has reached Auckand from Germany since the war. She brought 10OG tons of cargo for New Zealand, but it was all loaded at Scandinavian ports and Italy. The German portion of her cargo was discharged at Batavia en route to Australia. Included in her cargo for Brisbane and Sydnoy was a quantity of outgo which was from neutral States and had passed through Germany to be -shipped at Hamburg.

A baby had a ride in a flying boat on Tuesday. Mr C, E. Blayney, who was spending a holiday at Whangfiparoa, fouridT it necessary to return to Auckland quickly, and telephoned to Walsh Bros.’ flying school: The super-marine flying bout was/ sent, -and Mr Blayney, nis wife, ami son,' aged 13 months, with their luggage, wore safely landed at the Man o! War Steps at 11 a.m. —20 minutes after leaving Whangaparoa. The. baby went calmly off to sleep shortly after entering the machine, and remained wrapped in peaceful slumber until the end of the journey.

A thrust at the regulation which provides that schools should provide 12ft of floor space for eaoh child was delivered by/Mr R. Harrison, in addressing members of the Auckland branch of the Educational Institute. ‘‘lt is considered to be' ample, because it is greater than that allowed in Australia,” ho said. “I made inquiry from the Department of Agriculture recently as to how much floor space must be allowed in a fowl yard, anil was told it was four square feet for each bird. I deduce from tjiia that we will have to introduce a now table into our schools—‘three chickens equal one child!’ ”

The, finiiih has come to an experiment which was undertaken a while ago the Otago Acclimatisation Society i it seat to India for males and females ,of the game bird, of Xl pper India known as the chikor. Twenty-four were ordered. Half the number polished on the voyage. The - survivors did not. fare well after landing. Ono bv one they died off, in spite of aJJ the care bestowed by Mr R. Conn, who undertook personal custody and attention, in tho society’* Interest. During: the summer just departed, onlv ono bird was left, a lovely' cock, and ho was prospering, and was intended to bo mated with chikor bena that wero imported to Auckland; but a few days ago a ferret got into the roost, and tftat was /tho end of it. If Otago is to have the chikor they will have to b© reintroduced.

In recognition of “an extraordinary engineering achievement with great public service,” the American Society of Meohanical Engineers has conferred the highest honour. it can bestow—its gold medal—on Hjalmar C. . Carlson, a sheet metal worker, of Worcester (Mass.). During the war the War Department -was worried by the problem of getting out in sufficient quantity drawn steel “booster casings.” A booster casing gets its name from being a casing tor the “booster,” or primary detonating charge in a shell. Carlson’s invention made it possible to turn out 50,000,000 shells with a capital expenditure of only £IO,OOO, and the employment of only 300 men, when large manufacturers, each with a staff of many,hundreds of men, wero occupied in Franco in producing the same quantity of shells in the same period of time.

A strange phenomenon was seen not far from Hie sloping lands adjacent to Shoal Bay, Devonport (says the Auckland “Star”). The tide was an usually high one, and for some reason hundreds of young eels swam sear the edge of the water, swimming above land that, as a rule, is not covered by the tide. After high water, when the tide commenced to recede, they did not want to go out with it, and scores of them commenced to wriggle about in the coarse sea grass, and made their way inland for fully six or seven yards. Whether they were after food or whether they had completely lost their bearing it would be hard to tell. Stories have been told how eels will travel overland' for over a mile to get from one stretch of water to another, and the young eels on Wednesday proved that they were good land travellers. Had they not been discovered and killed by a large number of seae gulls, it would have been interesting Vo find out how far they would have really travelled and what theif object Was. Tho seagulls attacked them at the head, and it was only after they had dispatched them in this way that they commenced in a leisurely way to devour them. The cels were about three or four inches in length.