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Otago Daily Times, Issue 16121, 9 July 1914, Page 6

The English mail which was despatched from Dunedin, via Vancouver and Auckland, on June 3, arrived in London on the 7th inst. —one day late.

At the meeting of the West Harbour Borough Council on Tuesday night, Messrs Aslin and Bedford were appointed solicitors to the council.

Run No. 522, Lake County, containing 15,980 acres, -was submitted at auction at the Crown Lands Office yesterday for a term of lease extending over 14 years. The was a large attendance of bidders. The upset rental was £10 per annum, and the lease realised £61 per annum, at -which figure Mr Joseph C. Fenn, of Arcadia, Paradise, became the lessee.

A requisition, signed ""by a large majority of the Dunedin chemists, has been presented to tho City Council providing for the closing of shops at 6 p.m. on four days of the week, opening from 7 to 8 p.m. on the half-holiday, instead of 7 to 9 p.m. as at present, and closing at 9.30 p.m. on Saturday. Arrangements are being made for the establishment of a central night dispensary, in charge of a registered chemist, for the supply of urgent medicinea after the shops are closed. This arrangement will be more suitable for both doctors and patients, as urgent medicines will then be obtainable at any hour. Schemes s'milar to that proposed in Dunedin have been established in Napier and Tasmania, where they are said to bo working very satisfactorily. V

Given a good cause, the citizens of Dunedin can always be depended upon for a liberal response. It is pleasing to be able to state that, in tho case of the appeal made a few weeks ago by the local branch of the Hibernian Society on behalf of Mr Joseph Fulton, who has been incapacitated for two years, the result is extremely satisfactory. A sum of £51 has just been handed over to the beneficiary, who wishes to express his gratitude to all concerned.

At tho annual meeting of the Hampden branch of the New Zeaiand Farmers' Union, tho following were elected officers for the ensuing year:— Mr James M'Kerrow, president; Mr George Gould, vicepresident; Mr W. D. S. Trotter, treasurer; Mr M'Wiiliam, auditor; Mr R. Walker, secretary. Mr W. Murcott was unanimously elected a life member of the branch. There was a good attendance of members, and evidence of renewed'interesting in the union owing to the many things of importance to farmers being dealt with by it for the benefit of the whole farming community.

Tlie bland naivete of the excuses put forward by defendants •in Police Court prosecutions causes not a little amusement at times, and serves to show the primitive simplicity of even adult human nature when convicted of a fault. Towards the end of last month the representatives of the law succeeded in making quite a

• : haul " of persons riding unlighted bicycles in CVtlc street, and some half-a-dozen of these appeared before Mr H. Y. Widdowson, iS.M., yesterday morning. Each offender admitted ihe justice of the charge, but proffered an explanation of greater or less validity in the hope of mitigating the penalty imposed. The excuse which appealed most strongly to the sense- of humour of the court, and which created a general laugh, was that made by a young man, who seemed to accept the inevitable with a becoming degree of philosophical calm, and remarked, cheerfully: " I was a bit late, eir, and was a trifle unlucky in being caught." His frankness availed him nothing, howover, and along with the other offenders ho was compelled'to enrich the State treasury to the extent of 12s.

At the next meeting of the Mornington Borough Council Cr Moody will mcv-\ in accordance with notico of motion: "That the joint pa* tion of town clerk and engineer, and tramways manager and engineer be abolished forthwith, and that the present holder of these positions be given the three months' notice as allowed for in the agreement between himself and the council," and " That applications be invited for town clerk and engineer at a salary of £250, rising by yearly increments of £15 to ;i maximum of £325, also for a tramway manager and engineer, at a salary of £300, rising by yearly increments of £15 to a maximum of £360."

A meeting of the committee set up in «onneotion with the holding of tho Andrew Jackson Jubilee, was held in tho board room of the Otago Early Settlers Hall last evening. Mr John Watson occupied tho chair. A number of replies wore received from surviving passengers in tho country districts, who intend being present on Monday evening to take part in tho celebrations, among them being tho following:— William Allen, Clyde; David Hannah and brothers, Outram; James Bruce and sisters, Milton; David Kecman and family, Lawrence; Thomas Ramsay, Hyde; J. M. Smith, Palmerston; Mrs Graham, Bannockburn. Mr John Wateon, Port Chalmers, -will fee chairman at the gathering, and with members of tho Reception Committee will be at tho Early Settlers' Hall at 7 p.m. to recoive passengers who have arrived from tho country districts, and others, and give them a welcome on behalf of the oommittee. Mr Androw M'Kinnon and a committee of ladiee will be in charge of the refreshments, while Mr W. R- Don (a descendant) will arrange the musical programme, and Miss Cragio (a descendant) will fill the position of accompanist. The president and committee of the Early Settlors' Association, and Mr John Mill, Port Chalmers, aro invited to be present on the occasion. Tho ceremonial part of the gathering will be held in tho Portrait Gallery of the Early Settlors' Hall, where the/ surroundings will bo in koeping with the object of the gathering.

Tho question of whether or not tho tramway concessions will have to bo reduced in the near future was again mentioned at the meeting of the City Council last night. When the Tramway Committee's report came up for consideration Cr Sinclair asked the chairman (Or Myers) whether, in view of the fact that the committee proposed to raise a loan for extensions and alterations, it had considered its present scale of charges and -whether it had decided to alter it. Cr Myers replied that the committee had gone very carefully into that matter, and it did not think that there waa any occasion to alter the concessions in the meantime. There was no doubt, how■ever, that they would have to be altered in the near future, but until the new regulations were enforoed and they were required to spend additional money, they could manage without making any reduction. He hoped they would be able to continue without any alteration, or, at the worst, with a very slight one.

The success which has attended the introduction of shilling-in-the-slot gas meters was favourably commented on at the meeting of the City Council last night, and Cr Hancock asked if greater facilities could not be given for installing these. There was a big demand for this class of meter, ho stated, and. as the winter was passing the matter should' be pushed forward as fast as possible. In reply Cr Clarke (chairman of the Gas Committee) stated that the committee had already put on' an extra gang of men, and the work was being expedited in every possible manner.

The Wellington police have been informed that a burglary was perpetrated on Tuesday night at the residence of Mr V. S. B. Rogers, Flagstaff Hill, Willis street. It is stated (says a Press Association message) that Mrs Rogers went out at 8 p.m. to call on a neighbour, leaving the doors shut, but not locked. On returning- a couplo of hours later, she found the back door open, and on investigation, it was discovered that £6 in gold had been taken from a bag in a drawer in tho bedroom, and some odd silver .from a bag, which had been hanging on the wall. No jewejlery or other valuables were taken, and nothing was disturbed.

The City Fire Brigade received calls from Maitland and Walker streets last night, both of which proved, on investigation, to be false alarms, the boxes in each having apparently been broken by someone for the want of something better to do. It is well that the .persons guilty of such practices should know that if they are caught committing such acts they will be severely dealt with.

The Minister of Public Works (telegraphs our Wellington correspondent) states tliat every effort will be made to have the Lawrence-Beaumont line'ins such condition that it can be handed over to the Railway Department at the end of October. The question of continuing this xailway beyond Beaumont will b* decided when the Public Works Statement is brought down.

A fire broke out in a tent at Lake Coleridge at 5 p.m. on Sunday, resulting in severe injury to a child and the loss of the occupant's personal effects (says the Christchurch Press). The tent was occupied by Mrs Saxon and her two children. Shortly before 5 p.m. Mrs Saxon took the elder of the two children with her to an adjacent building to prepare tea. The baby was asleep when she left the tent, «nd the fire seemed safe. About 5 p.m. Mr William M'DonnelL who wu6 living in a tent near by, heard the baby screaming, and rushed out and found the tent onveloped in flames. With great presence of mind he dashed a bucket of water into the tent and succeeded in rescuing the child. The prompt action on Mr M'Donnell'e part undoubtedly saved the cßild's life. As it was. the child was severely burned, and had to bo taken to the doctor at Ooalgate for treatment.

In the City Police Court yesterday morning, before Mr H. Y. Widdowsoh, S.M., the hearing of charges of vagrancy and a breach of a prohibition order, against Michael John Sheehan, was continued, it having been adjourned on the previous day to enable witness to_ produce evidence as to his means. Ogier Densem stated that tho man had been casually employed by the New Zealand Express Company, and he had appeared willing to take work when-' ever it was available. George Graham gave evidence as to the defendant having slept in a stable owned by him for several nights. When witness discovered that the police were looking for tho man ho told him be would have to leave the premises. Tho Magistrate remarked that as far as he could see the man had earned only 16s a month during the past five months. Defendant asked his Worship to give him a chance, and said he would go to the country to look for work. He had never been in gaol before. The Magistrate said the defendant seemed to be an idle sort of fellow, who sometimes did a little casual work, but not sufficient to enable him to earn an honest living. Some time ago he had been convicted and ordered to come up for sentence when called upon by Mr Bartholomew, S.M., on a charge of theft. Tiit should have been a lesson.to him, but it did not appear to have had the desired effect On the charge of vagrancy he would be sentenced to one month's imprisonment, with hard labour, and for tho breach of the prohibition order he would be fined 20s, or seven days' imprisonment. On the original charge of theft ho would be remanded to appear before Mr Bartholomew, on Friday morning.

John Seymour, a cock from a station in tho Hay district, came into town—to Sydney—and was having a good time until ho met a young man named Henry Brooks in an hotel at the corner of Hunter and Elizabeth streets (say 3 the Sun). To Brooks he said, "I am Detective Roche. How much money have you got? lam going to have it or I will arrest you." Brooks said, "What authority have you?" The cook from Hay retorted, " I am Detective Roche." Brooks had his doubts, and said, "We will soon see about that I'll get a policeman and he'll soon tell rr.c •whether you are or not." Brooks went away, and when ho came back " Detective Roche" was fleeing in a cab. He was arrested, and at tho Central Police Court he pleaded guilty *fo a charge of assuming to be a member of tho police force. He said he had no recollection of the incident Mr Macfarlane, S.M., said that tho offence was a very serious* ono indeed, and fined Seymour £2, with the alternative of a month's gaoL

The fact that many farmers in tile Ashburton district have decided to go in for sheep-breeding this year, in preference to the less profitable industry of grain-grow-ing, probably accounts for there being fewer farm labourers required at present, who would, in tho ordinary course of events, be employed at ploughing. A Pendarvcs farmer told a Guardian reporter that, while he would at any other time now have five ploughing teams at work, ho had done away with four of his hands sinco taking up fat sheep-breeding.

Punga Punga, a small sawmilling ccntro seven or eight miles from Manunui, has never yet gained any notoriety as a place of sensational happenings. It bears, in fact, says the Taihapo Times, a well-won reputation for peacafulness, and for the exemplary lawfulness of the lew who seek out an existence in thoso parts. At the beginning of this week the monotony of every-day existence at Puiijja Punga was broken by tho occurrence of a "strike" among tho workers at the Potato Timber Company's mill in the vicinity, a strike which had as its sequel the downing of took by upwards of 30 of tho employees, and tho shutting down of the mill for an indefinite period. Tho trouble, it appears, was over the quality of tho food supplied to tho men. Tho complaint was one of long-standing, and more, it is stated, will be heard of the matter.

Mr J. F. Schroder, a prominent resident of Hokitika, says that in his opinion the continued erosion of tho town beach will mako it imperative for Revel street residents and business people to shift. " There are several places," be says, "to which Revel street could bo transferred, but it is positive that unless tho street is shifted complete disaster will overtako tho town. With this in mind, then, townspeople must act unitedly to concentrate a new township. Two alternatives present themselves—to let tho sea complete its work of destruction, or to remove business places to a place of safety. So convinced am I that tho latter one must bo chosen if the safety of the town is to bo consulted, that as a preliminary of shifting I intend soiling off the contents of my warehouse forthwith. Let me urge upon ibueiness men to act energetically and promptly to save tho town from a greater catastrophe. Financial difficulties can be easily overcome. Every delay hastens the danger."

A curious position has arisen on the Mangamahu telephone line (says the correspondent of the Dominion), which is under tho control of the Wanganui County Council. It is complained by nearly all tho settlers that every time they attamnt a telephone conversation they are interrupted by catcalls and other weird noises, which make talking impossible. A certain person is strongly suspected, but he, like all others questioned, stoutly denies causing tho annoyance, and the Oounty Council is rather puzzled to know what to do. At tho meeting of that body on Monday the matter was referred to as having demoralised tho whole line, and become a public scandal. The matter has been placed in tho county chairman's hands to take such steps as he considers necessary.

A regrettable, incident occurred on one of tho Invercargill tramcars on Saturday night (gays the Southland Times), when in the course of their duty two conductors and a motorman were assaulted by two young men who were passengers on tho car. The car left tho Post Office at 10.50 p.m. for South Invercargill, and when nearing the intersection of Conon and Teviot tetreets when the conductor noticed one of the two male passengers, who were under the influence of liquor, vomiting on the floor. The men are said to have been drinking whisky on the car, and when asked by the conductor to alight they both refused. The motorman came to tho aid of the conductor, but tho men set upon him to such purpose that; he received a nasty blow over the right cyo and had some teeth knocked out. In the meantime the conductor also received rather a severe handling, while another conductor, who had just come off duty, and who was aboard tho car hound for home, lent his assistance to his companions, was also assaulted. As the result of tho fracas it is understood that proceedings will be taken against tho two passengers alleged, to have been responsible for the trouble.

After a series of remarkably successful flighfs in his Caudron biplane in Christchurch, Mr J. W. H. Scotland, the young New Zealand aviator, went to Wellington, where ho met with bad luck. In attempting a flight there he encountered very bad air conditions, and had an accident, which resulted in the wrecking of his machine, while he narrowly escaped with his.lifo. iSoon after the accident, it being found that the machine was damaged beyond hope of repair, an order was cabled to England on behalf of Mr Scotland for a new and improved biplane, and on Monday he received a cablo message, dated London, Saturday, stating that the machine had been shipped by the Kaikoura, sailing that day for New Zealand. The Kaikoura (says the Press) is duo at Lyttelton about August 23. Mr Scotland, who is now residing in Christchurch, states that the new machine is a t Caudron biplane, fitted with a 6G horse-power Le Rhone engine. It will be a larger and more powerful machine than the first, and is fitted with seating accommodation for one passenger. A few weeks ago, the French aviator Poulet, on a similar machine, established a world's duration record of 16£ hours' continuous flight. It is Mr Scotland's intention to make a series of flights with his new machine from Ohristchurch.

" Lepers and How to Help Them " is the title of a lantern lecture to be given by the Rev. Frank Oldrieve this evening in the Jubilee Hall of the Moray Place Congregational Church. It will commenoe at 7.30 p.m. Astounding value in second-hand motor cycles, from £20; all in splendid order r.nd condition; terms arranged.—W. Stuart Wilson 'and Co., Bond street. —Advt.

Mollisona are offering girls ready-to-wear felt hats, in tuscan, vioux rose, saxe, and champagne. Usually 9s 6d—now Is lid Advt.

Flatulence, gas in stomach, general misery, are results of Indigestion. An easy, quick! effective cure is "Wahoo." Srjlendid for kidney and liver troubles; 2s 6d bottle.— Advt.

H. Gunthorp. resident dentist, Balclutha visiU Milton, Kaitangata, and Owaka. Teleohone 54 —Advt.

For Influenza take Woods' Great Peppermint Cure. Never fa;!s. Is 6d 2s 6d.— Advt.

"I do like this whisky. What is it?' "Wat6on's No. 10. Far tho best."—Advt.

A. E. J. Blakeley, dentist, Bank of Australasia, corner of Bond and Rattray streets (next Telegraph Office). Telephone 1859 — Advt.

Who is Peter Dick?— The most reliabl-j Watchmaker, Jeweller, and Certificated Con suiting Optician, 490 Moray place (off Princes street), Dunedin. Charges moderate.—Advt