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Otago Daily Times, Issue 18787, 14 February 1923, Page 6

The postal authorities advise that_ four bags of Australian mail ex the Mangarat ta, from Newcastle, via Auckland, will arrive hero to-night and will be delivered to-morrow.

Harold Livingstone Taplcy was fined £5 by his Honor the Chief Justice in the Supreme Court yesterday morning for failing to answer his name when the grand jury for the criminal sittings of the court was being empanelled. The missing juror put in au appearance a little later and tendered an explanation of his absence which was accepted by his Honor, who remitted the fine.

A week or two ago there was a shortage of men for liarvesting work in Canterbury, but inquiries made yesterday showed that tliia shortage had now been overcome v says a Press Association wire from Christchurch). In fact, there are now more men looking for harvesting work than work can be iounu for. rhe manager of one of the labour exchanges in the city stated that there were more men engaged in harvesting in Canterbury this year than in any of the past six years. He had to get a good many men from the North Island to fill vacancies. Mr Fielden, officer in charge of tne Labour Department in Christchurch, stated that he was still receiving.applications for harvesting work from men in the North Island. Men living as far away as Auckland were applying. However, ho was unable to find work for these men, as most of the farmers had now engaged all the hands they wanted. The criminal sittings of the Supremo Court were commenced yesterday before the Cmef Justice (isir Robert Stout). William

Jolm who pleaued guilty to a charge of ionoery, and Cyril Fu*m Shirley, who pioaued guilty to tnett, were both remanded tor sentence. Bertie liedgland Banter pleaded not guilty to a charge of carnal knowledge of a girl aged la years at Hinahinu, mu tlio jury, alter a short retirement, brougtit jn a verdict of guilty, and sentence was deferred. In the case of -Herbert Maurice Flynn and Ihos. M'Farlane, who were charged with breaking and entering and theft hisf- Honor was'informed tnat a plea of guilty would be entered, aim ,-,o case will bo disposed of this morning. The remaining case for trial is a charge of perjury against George Long, and tins will be heard to-day.

There is no doubt that the repeated breaks in tlio rope on lire iloslyn line have caused a feeling of uneasiness in the minds of those who travel on the hill tram. It is alleged, moreover, that the purchase of s€oofl of rope from Melbourne with which to splice the present rope cannot possibly make the puli as safe as it shoula he. A resident on the hill informed a Daily limes reporter yesterday that he saw no reason why the Corporation should not take advantage of tne oiler made by • the Kaikorai 'tramway Company to sell or lend its rope for use on the Itoslyn line, lie pointed out that the Kaikorai Company hud a new rope 13,1-fiOtt long, and that the rope used on the itoslyn line was ,15,650 ft long. The new rope to be secured from .Melbourne could be spliced in to make the Kaikorai Company’s new rope up to the full length required for Itoslyn. Ihe hill resident udmined that he was interested to a certain extent in the Kaikorai Company, but urged that the conditional offer made to tile Corporation was a perfectly fair one. • Tor meeting the Corporation as was proposed, all the Kaikorai Company asked was the reinsertion of a clause which appeared in its previous lease from the Corporation and which was in the old Itoslyn Company’s lease. At the expiry of

(he first 21 years’ lease granted to the Kaikorai Company the Corporation had the option of taking over the Kaikorai line at valuation. Tne Corporation did not avail itself of that right, and the Kaikorai Company had been granted a further 21 years' lease. That lease had not yet been fully ratified, as the Corporation was framing new cpnditions. Under the new lease to the Kaikorai Company the Corporation was laying it down that at its expiry the streets, and probably the line, should revert to the Corporation. The plant could remain in the possession of the Kaikorai Company. Could anything be more Gilbertian? asked the hill resident. What was the good of one without the other? He maintained that

the Kaikorai Company would never have built its line had TSTknown that such an injustice was going to be placed on it, and that if it was a fair thing that the right to valuation should be given at Hie end of the first 21 years, it was just as fair a proposition that it should be included in (bo second lease. He held that the im-

position which the Corporation proposed (; place on (lie shareholders of the Kaikorai Company was unmoral and (hat he did not think (hat the people of Dunedin would allow the City Council to carry out its intention, 'the Kaikorai Company shareholders were just as interested in the safety and weltare of the public as anyone else, and they wore prepared to help the city out of its present difficulty, but on the other hand they also demanded justice and a fair deal from the City Council. In conclusion the hill resident said that if there were any valid reasons why the Kaikorai Company shareholders should not have their original lease renewed city councillors should tell (lie public of Dunedin what they were. "Can you tell mo what would have happened had a lire broken out in my property during the past few days';’’ was the query put by a leading Crawiord street merchant

to a Daily 'limes reporter yesterday, “It is bad enough to have the water cut off from all the conveniences in the buildings round about here, but had a tire broken out I do not know what would have happened. in my opinion the corporation offi-

cials count have used much greater expedition in repairing the break in the i2in main which, I understand, runs right along Cumberland street to the Anderson’s Bay road.’’ It should be explained that the

break in the main occurred at the corner of Rattray and Crawford streets and that a considerable part of the newly-laid concrete street had to be broken tip to got at the main. Our reporter then interviewed .Superintendent Napier to ascertain where ho would have had to tap the mains had a tire occurred in this particular locality. Superintendent Napier stated that the firemen would have had to connect their hoses to mams m the side streets between Vogel and Bond streets, that considerable lengths of hose would have had to be used, and that the firemen would have had to work under a disadvantage. The result of further inquiries by our reporter and an inspection of the work gave him the impression that the main should have been mended in quicker time. The men were still working at it yesterday.

The following are the returns of infectious diseases in Dunedin and Fever Hospitals for iiic week ending Monday, February 12: — Diphtheria : Admitted one, discharged one, died none, remaining two. Scarlet fever: Admitted none, discharged none, died none, remaining one. Total remaining, three. An interesting record was submitted to the Dunedin presbytery by the clerk, the Kev. ,1. Kilpatrick, yesterday in the form of an extract minute from the records of me Free Presbytery of Irvine recording tne trials and ordination of the Kev. William Will at Irvine on September 6, 1853, to the work of tiie ministry on the Taieri Plains, nir Kilpatrick, who read the dignified, old-fashioned, ecclesiastical phraseology of the document, stated that it had been given to the Presbytery by Dr Will from among his father’s papers. It was decided to thank Dr "Will for In's gift and to hold it in re tends.

Tne commercial travellers are a section of the community particularly disappointed that the Railway Department has seen fit to reinstate the pre-holiday ChristchurchInvercargill train service. With only three through trains a week the travellers are reduced to travelling facilities that they do not consider sufficient for the speedy and convenient covering of the territories, especially those in the south, and a good deal of grumbling was to be heard yesterday, uther sections of the business people in town also do not appear to look upon the reversion with favour, and the attitude of tlie business community in the south is decidedly unlikely to be favourable to the change.

in answer's* to allegations of excessive charges tor binder twine, Mr J. W. Collins, secretary of the Department of Industries and Commerce, has written Mr Hugh Mitchell, secretary of the Otago Provincial Council of the Farmers’ Union, stating liiat a full investigation has been made mio the cost of the production of binder rwine by the principal companies manufacturing that commodity in the dominion, Ihia investigation has shown conclusively tnat the rale of profit being obtained by manufacturers and distributors on the output tor the 1&22-1923 season is not in any way unreasonable. There is little likelihood, Mr Collins states, of a reduction in Uie price of binder twine at present, particularly in view of the state of the market

lor New Zealand hemp, which at present is steady, but owing to disease in growing flax and other causes there is a pendency for an advance in price. Further, tha price of Manila hemp, which indirectly affects the price of New Zealand fibre, has advanced considerably during the last year, '■the average price paid for fibre used in the output of binder twine is approximately £33 10s per ton. - In the Magistrate’s Court yesterday judgment was given for the plaintiff in eaeji of the following undefended Ases:—Taylor and Lancaster v. Kate Birchell, for £6

19s, maintenance in the Stafford Hospital, and costs (£1 10s fid); Kate Kirby and outers v. Adelaide Margery Saunders, for £43 12s, rfint for a messuage situate at 52 Broughton street, Dunedin, and possession thereof, with costs (£4 2s fid); xleid and Gray (Ltd.) v. Guy W. B. Ward, for £ll 4s Id, account stated, and costs (£3 I9s); W. Aitken and Son v. William Hampstead, Hillgrove, for £8 15s, account staled* and costs (£1 10s fid). On a judgment summons in favour of Charles Hinchcliff (Mr Irwin), against Richard Creed, for whom Mr ixiusley appeared, the defendant was sentenced, by consent, to 14 days’ imprisonment in default of his paying £l2 9s and costs (£1 3s), the warrant to be suspended until March 3.

Richard James Fogarty, who admitted having been drunk and disorderly in a puhlio place on the previous day, was fined 10s by Mr J. R. Bartholomew, S.M., yesterday, with the alternative of 24 hours' imprisonment.

A grammatical error, all too common, is the misuse of the verb “can” when “may” ;s intended. An instance occurs in a letter written to the Wellington Post, wherein the writer asks; “Supposing a wicketkeeper catches the ball in his right hand, can ha knock the bails off with his left hand—that is, the hand which is not holding the ball? Can the bowler or any of the field do likewise?” uf course, says the editor, it "can” be done, but it is not in accordance with the rules relating to the dismissal of a Batsman. In order to have the batsman stumped or run out the lifting of ■ the bail must be done with the hand holding the ball. Should the bails be off the removal of a stump must also be done with the hand holding the ball. Otherwise the correct decision is “not out.”

An effort to widen the scop® of an officer’s fitness to proceed to a position of control in the postal service is made by an amending regulation issued by gazette. Hunerto an officer, say, a telegraphist, who had been stationed for a period of years at Auckland, had to qualify by examination in subjects pertaining to the work in his own particular department. Under thf new regulation he may proceed to an examination, the questions of which are designed to test his detailed knowledge ol the duties of the branch in which he seeks promotion, and his general knowledge of the activities of the rest of the postal service.

The elephant donated by Mr John Court to the city zoological gardens* will reach Auckland in April, arrangements having been made to ship it from its present home at the Alipore Zoo, India, in March (says the Auckland Star), In his donation Mr Court has had a careful selection made, and Jamuna, as the elephant has been christened, is a young female which is thoroughly tame, and has been accustomed to carrying children on its back. The purchase price and all expenses of landing the elephant at its new home in Grey Lynn will run to about £450, and Mr Court has stipulated that for the first year rides on the back of Jamuna shall be free to children.

Ladies, girls, boys, business men’s, and seniors’ physical gymnastic and recreation classes will recommence shortly at the Y.M.C.A. under the direction of Mr J. V. Hanna, physical director. The name of George Campbell Abernethy was inserted in yesterday’s issue as the defendant in a separation and maintenance case. This was an error, the name of the defendant being Gordon Campbell Abernethy. Secure your Harley-Davidson 1923 model Motor Cycle, £75, balance terms. All machines fitted Goodyear tyres, lamp, horn, carriers complete. Good value at new reduced prices.—W. A. Justice and Co., Imperial Garage, Princes street, Dunedin.— Advt.

We advise all marriageable girls to sing plenty, especially while “No-Rubbing” Laundry Help is doing the weekly family washing.—Dunedin Industrial Co-op., agent for “No-Rubbing.”—Advt. You want nothing but the best of workmanship in your suit or costume, at prices you can afford to pay. Quality not sacrificed for price—G. S. Roberts, tailor, Stock Exchange Buildings.—Advt. Mollisou’s great, summer sale is an unqualified success from the customer’s point of view. Bargains abound in ©very section. Mollisons (Ltd.). —Advt. Try Watson’s No. 10 in hot milk for nightcap. Induces sound, refreshing sleep. Ureal whisky.—Advt.

A. E. J. Blakeley, dentist, Bank cf Australasia, corner of Bond and Kattrsy streets (next Telegraph Office). Telephone R 559. -• Advt.

Choice Jewellery.—Just landed, large selection diamond rings, watches, brooches, pendants. and silver ware. Compare values.— Peter Dick, Jewellers, 490 Moray place.— Aclvt.