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Otago Daily Times, Issue 20789, 7 August 1929, Page 8

A short break in the electric power supply to the" city occurred at about 7 last evening,: causing some inconvenience to electric light users and people on their way to town; The lights all over the, city were out, and the tram services were suspended, but the break-down was only of a few minutes’ duration, a normal supply of power being available again by five minutes past the hour. In the City Police Court yesterday morning, before Mr J. R. Bartholomew, S.H., Selina May Calder pleaded guilty to a charge of having, on or about July 20, with intend to defraud, obtained goods to the value of £2 4s 3d from tW - Drapery Supply Association by falsely representing that she was Mrs B. Smart, of Glenelg street, Kaikorai, who- had an account there. —Chief Detective Cameron conducted the case for the police.—The defendant was. convicted and ordered'to conle up for sentence if called upon within six months, and an order was made for the payment of the value of the goods. The special meeting of the Otago Harbour Board, at which its policy will be considered, has been fixed for Tuesday night next. Shipping people were complaining yesterday of a shortage ‘of berthage at Port Chalmers. A big collier was under orders to shift from one of the “ handy ” berths at the George street wharf to one regarded as' less suitable' at the Bowen pier. One of the alleged handicaps at the latter wharf is inadequate lighting when overtime is being worked at night. The berth to be vacated at the George street wharf is required for the oversea steamer Kai Ora, which is due this morning from Timaru to load frozen meat. The wharf will be washed down for the removal of coal duet before the loading of meat begins, that being one of the .precautions observed in connection with;the handling of foodstuffs.

A clause in the inspector’s report submitted to last night’s meeting of the West Harbour Borough Council, dealt with what he termed the unsatisfactory position as regards the petroltax. The council could not claim a share of the tax as the population was too small. He thought it was unfair that small boroughs could not receive a portion of the tax, as they had to contribute their share for the upkeep of the roads. Motorists resided in the borough 'paid motor petrol tax, and they were entitled'to consideration by having some of their money spent on the roads. The inspector suggested that the council should ask the Government to grant boroughs such concessions similar to those granted to more responsible city' governing bodies. The council decided to give'every support to the inspector’s suggestion, and an appeal will, therefore, be made to the Government in due course. The Southland Presbytery yesterday adopted the following resolution (says a Press Association telegram from Invercargill):—“•'That this presbytery is of the opinion that the sentences imposed by the magistrate (Mr ,F. K. Hunt) on the young men, Richards and Miller, are,, in view of the question, of -conscience involved, ’ The' presbytery therefore gives its hearty support to the', action of the Assembly’s Public Questions Committee in requesting that the sentences be reviewed.” »

• A surprising discovery was made by the police when they investigated the circumstances of an aged man living in an. old, disused flour mill at near Napier (says a. Press Association telegram). The man was existing under deplorable conditions. He appeared to bo poverty stricken, and had been given help by sympathetic residents. When; he fell ill a .doctor was called in, and he ordered Irni, to hospital., The old’ man took with him a sugar sack, which he was. reluctant to part with. When the sack was opened it was found to'contain £360- in notes of various denominations up to £SO. ' A search of the dwelling place resulted in'.a further discovery of £0 stowed in tins. The,police have deposited the money in the bank;

; A circular was received at a meeting of the executive of the Maiiawatu branch' of the Dominion Farmers’ Union last week indicating that proposals have been made for the organisation of a; tour of Great Britain in 1930 by farmers of the Dominion, and that if the trip eventuates membership of the party would be limited exclusively to New Zealanders interested in agricultural pursuits and. their wives and families. The tour, it is staled, will be specially arranged to cover the principal agricultural districts of Great Britain and Ireland, embracing visits’ to dairy farms, pedigree, herds, agricultural shows, markets, storage plants, agricultural colleges, etc., 7 ■while the royal farm at. Windsor will also probably be included. The cooperation and assistance'of British dairy farmers and kindred associations is to s bc enlisted. The party will be able to See fori itself the manner in which New Zealand products, are put before the British ,public. A short tour of‘the Continent' is included in the itinerary in order that members of the party may observe the. methods, of. European suppliers to the ■British market: The party, it'is proposed,will leave Sydney on May 10. The ■ six weeks' tour in Great Britain and Trei land will include visits to Cambridge, Ipswich, King’s Lynn,- Spalding, Peterborough,. Nottingham, Leeds, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Belfast, Dublin, Southern Ireland, Bath, Exeter, Dubstapale, Yeovil,; London,; 'Jersey, and Guernsey. The' four weeks’ tour of. the Continent null enable-- the party ■to see France, Belgium, Switzerland, Holland, and Denmark;, .

Comparatively few applications for exemption from jury service have been made since the quarterly sessions;• of the Wellington'Supreme Court commenced ‘ : last week. Three applications came before the Chief, Justice (Mr . Justice' Myers) bn Monday and’’all were' successful, but his Honor mid 6 iFcleat'that; exemption would ■ be granted only ; in,. ebses- in which real hardship could be proved. Service on; a jury- is'not only' a duty, but it is a privi-, lego of citizenship, and I want to see it so regarded,” he remarked, .to one. applicant. -.“But one docs;not .want to carry that to the extent of injuring a, person dn lijis business,.- if it can be', avoided^-and as we have a fairly large panel, I think you may on this occasion be -excused.” ,

. The difficulty., of obtaining labour for farms at a time •when unemployment is rife was theisubjeet of-a discussion by the South Taranakr Farmers’ Union 'Executive meeting ; at Haivera' on ; Friday. The subject was introduced by; Mr J. P. Mart,. who referred to the unsatisfactory position created by the wages paid on relief works.' He said that if-the position was acute early in the season, it would undoubtedly be worse later. It, was almost impossible- t? get men to work ion farms. Most men would not leave the cities for work, and would rather'earn any wage in towns than go to the country. He knew two good farmers who advertised for a fortnight without success. They could get neither men nor boys. The position was becoming serious, and Should be Quickly remedied. Mr W. E: Carter-said it was a regrettable fact that some farmers were leaving farms and engaging. in relief work,, where they had less to do and received better wages. He knew , instances where these men were proceeding to relief works in the earthquake area. Several speakers expressed similar opinions, hut no resolution was recorded.

To show his colleagues how well-off they would be under their new working agreement one of the .old-timers present at a waterside workers’ meeting in Auckland on Friday morning told a good story of the .way things- were done-years ago in Wcllington. In those days the hours" of call extended over the whole 24 hours, seven days a week. One Sunday afternoon, the men gathered on the wharf for the call heard thatia ■well-known employer had died the previous day,'and would he buried that-.afternoon. Not expecting that any call wpuld be made, the men all went to the cemetery to see the funeral. They stood silent as the cqffln Was lowered into thevgrave, but ae the clods of earth were shovelled into the hole the raucous voice of the deceased employer’s successor was heard, asking for a gang .to start on a steamer at 6 a.m. on Monday. Haying seen the group of waterside workers amongst the mourners, he had decided to save himself a trip,to the waterfront by engaging them on the spot, and while the earth rattled down oh the coffin, in the grave the employer appointed his gangs and noted their names in his hook.

Indications point to, a good yield of strawberries in the coming season,, which will commepee about October (states the New Zealand Herald).. The plants are stated to be well forward .and thriving, the recent wet anti cold weather in .most cases not having retarded their, growth. Their resistance to the inclement weather is attributed to the favourable conditions prevailing in the .planting'season-;in' May and June last,'- The' period of''planting was stated by one grower- to' have i been the best for 20 years. So far the plants have been free from blight, and in the Birkdale district unaffected by-root disease, which has proved troublesome in that locality in the past; Last year , the prices realised for strawberries were the lowest obtained, since the Great War, the low values being due, to a, greater yield of fruit in proportion to the nuniber of plants. Giyen warm.and-fine weather, another prolific yield is expected this year. It is estimated that about 3,500,000 plant's are being cultivated this, season in the districts of Northcote, Birkdale, Glenfield, and Avondale South. The largest beds are at Birkdale, The number of growers, as compared with last year, is. slightly’increased, the area of the plots having been in some cases reduced. The cultivation of this variety of fruit necessitates a-large amount 6f care and attention, four dressings of manure having to be applied. A common enemy of the strawberry plant grower is swamp or water grass, a weed that Vapidly grows’and chokes the younc nlante.

Referring to the new cathedra] is .Nelson when addressing the Nelson- Synod last week, Bishop Sadlier said: “The erection of the first portion of the new cathedral has proceeded steadily during the year and you are now able to, see something of its beauty. The progress ■ made has not been as quick as we anticipated, and there is no hope now of its being ready for opening in 1931. It ia probable that its completion will take a year or. two longer. We must not be too anxious .to reach finality,' and risk the possibility, of inferior work. As 1 anticipated, there is every likelihood of the last . contract being'the most difficult of all. Two years ago.in my address to the synod I said the fluctuations,in the trade and the consequent uncertain monetary con* ditions of the country would affect the immediate inflow of the contributions to the cathedral building fund. That is only to be expected. At such times os these the faint iu heart are afflicted with a tendency to panic, ..forgetting that very often God’s way is to bestow His gifts wrapped up in a ‘textufe*of faith’ whose web and woof he has already proved fit by sore trial and perplexity to contain them.” . ■ ' j ■ :

; “ It was a- fearfully . mean theft,” said Chief Detective Hammond in ; the Auckland Police ■ Court on Fridav, when - Iris. Evelyn Blucher, jiged 25, married, was charged with.-the theft of £lO 3s fid- in money, a cheque, ahd a puree, valued at 7s, fid, the-property of Alice Ida Wagener. The offence was committed at Pukenuii North Auckland, on July 9, The accused, had already pleaded guilty, Mr Hammond said. She had been working on the gumfields with her husband, and, went to Pukenui to catch a steamer on her way to. Auckland.-' Staying the night with ■ the local ■ shipping agent, she stole the money and the purse, both of which belonged- to the agent's daughter. In the purse was a monthly pay cheque belonging to the daughter, who was a school teacher. Accused threw the purse and cheque overboard from the steamer. The probation officer, Major Aimie Gordon, said that it wm one of the meanest and most contemptible thefts which had come under her notice. Ordering r accused to ■ make- restitution, the magistrate, Mr P. K. Hunt: placed her on probation'for 12 months. "t The'good. name of the'port of Lyttelton has come into prominence , recently, and I wjsh to correct, a published statement, Mr "H. Holland, M.F.^ : chairman of the Harbour Board, said at the meet* iug bn Monday (reports the. Christchurch Press), The statement is: “In Wellington a big ship frequently berths, in from 15 to 20 minutes, or, at the outside,'half an hour, without danger or inconvenience, yhereas. in Lyttelton the delicate, operation frequently takes over an hour.” Mr Holland said that the’ harbour master'liad informed him that at ..Wellington pilots boarded vessels about four cables’ length from the wharf and at Lyttelton pilots boarded vessels'ojt the-Heads, four miles and a-half awayi 1 From the Heads a vessel should be alongside the wharf in: 40 to 50 minptes^.depending .bn the: class of' vessel, w-ind, etc., - From..four cables off the berthing ..time was from 15 to 25 minutes. He mentioned this in justice to th,e harbour staff'and. because’’it; showed ;how the reputation of a porrmight be damaged unqualified. statement*. Lyttclton, in. his. opinion, was one of the safest and best ports in the Dominion. 1

Alpine’ climbing on the ' Franz’ Josef Glacier will be’ undertaken with much greater comfort in the future! as a Result of the erection of a large, new..’ hut to take the placi of the AJmer bivouac near the hbad of the glacier. Thi6 hut, whicb consists of ''two compartments . each containing sis bunks,- was officially- opened bn Sunday (says the Greymouth, corresponnt_°f. the .Press)). Representatives of 1 . .™®. Tounst Department and several keen alpinists from tbbk part' in the ceremony: ; .The ;new hilt ’ hat been erected alongside the bivouac, which has done duty, since. 1915,. ini’, which his proved to be totally inadequate ddrang the pa ®,*./ e F rJaige rock a short' distance f abovb'ihe 'junction of the Aimer anil Franz Josef Glaciers at a height of about 6500 feet above sea level,.and is just .below the.anowfields. ht the head of - the glaciers. The new ‘hut is on the main climbing route befween the Glacier Hotel and the Hermitage,, via 1 Graham’s Saddle, arid it takes about seven hours, to reach it from Waiho.‘ Alpinists crossing Graham’s - Saddle in jfuture will spend k night in the hut, -Which" will also be in demand- as a base for' climbing trips..:, , • *

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