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Otago Daily Times, Issue 21103, 13 August 1930, Page 8

Mr Justice Kennedy has granted probate in tbe estates of Jane Braid, of Dunedin (Mr P. Lemon), and Peter FraSer, of Peebles (Mr"A. Hamilton).

No settlement has been reached in the dispute ;between the Dunedin Waterside Workers’ Union and the Otago Harbour Board regarding the working of cargo from ships by the board’s two new electric cranes. A meeting of the Waterside Workers’ Disputes Committee was held yesterday morning, when the whole position was discussed. Officials from the union will meet the chairman of the Harbour Board in conference to-day, when it is hoped that ah amicable settlement of the dispute will be the outcome.

John Morrison Clark appeared before Mr J. R. Bartholomew, SM;, in the City Police Court yesterday morning charged with trespassing on the property and in the house occupied by his wife while a separation order existed between them. He pleaded guilty. Mr Irwin, who represented the informant, Mary Ann Elizabeth Clark, said that for some time Clark had been annoying his wife. On Saturday he went to the house and stated his intention of committing suicide and be also spoke of killing his daughter. It was a serious matter, and it was only as a last resort that. Mrs Clark had decided to take proceedings against him. Clark stated that he had never threatened to shoot anyone in his life, and signified his willingness to go away to the North Island if given a chance. Tbe magistrate, remarking that he could remedy the matter by sending him to gaol for a long period, said he would -give him a chance to go away. He would be convicted and ordered to come up for sentence if called upon within 12 months.

Shipping firms will be interested to learn that the speed of tbe Commonwealth and Dominion Line steamer Port Bowen, now discharging Liverpool cargo at the Victoria wharf, has been increased since she last visited the port. About 18 months ago the Port Bowen had new turbines installed by the Wallsend Shipbuilding Company at Newcastle-on-Tyne. The turbines are of the latest type, and the Port Bowen’s speed has been increased by two knots. She can now maintain a speed of 15 knots under normal conditions. On her recent voyage from Liverpool to Auckland the Port Bowen’s average speed was over 14 knots.

Mr John Prouse, the well-known baritone singer, who died in Wellington a few days ago, was a man of very unassum-r ing manner and charming disposition. When Santley was in New Zealand over 40 years ago, he “ discovered " Mr Prouse, and advised him to go Home to study under some of the best masters. He was about 36 years of age when he decided to go, and took passage in the first Tongariro, in June, 1890, with his wife and young family. The Tongariro was m charge of Captain J. Bone, afterwards superintendent for the New Zealand Shipping Company in New Zealand. She was a clipper-rigged steamer of greyhound build, which enabled her to make fast trips around the Horn, as she used both sail and steam, and on the occasion mentioned the trip from Lyttelton to London was made in 39 days. The trip as far as Cape Horn was a very rough one, buckets being used to bail out the water in the cabins the day the Cape was rounded, while icebergs floated all around. At the Blenheim Magistrate’s Court lust Wednesday, William Henry Francis Parrish pleaded guilty to a charge of attempting to commit suicide by drowning at White’s Bay by rushing into the sea. Sergeant Petersen, for the pplice, said the defendant was of unexceptional character and had lived in Blenheim all his life. He was probably one of the most highly respected men in the town, and it appeared to be a case of nervous depression after ill-health and of a sudden uncontrollable impulse. Mr A. C, Nathan, who represented the defendant, said he had been in ill-health and suffering from sleeplessness. Hie doctor had recommended a long holiday, and a complete change', and the defendant had arranged, when opportunity offered, to visit rela- ] tives in the North Island. Counsel added that he had satisfied himself that a repetition of the offence was not at all likely. The magistrate ordered the defendant to come up for sentence if called on at any period within six months.

The statement in the annual report of the Defence Department that trouble had been experienced with Fairey machines at the Hobsonville air base owing to the bursting of petrol tanks while in flight was referred to the officer in charge of the base (our special correspondent in Auckland reports). It was stated that the matter had been investigated by a representative of the Fairey Company, and the defect had been remedied. Adjustments had been made without the use of new parts.

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Federation conferred recently regarding a unity of interests and aims (says our special correspondent in Wellington). No finality on amalgamation has yet been reached. The Associated Chambers of Commerce have decided to appoint an organising secretary to undertake the work “ of protecting the community from harassing legislation, taxation, and interference in business matters,”

Readers of the Spectator have voted George Bernard Shaw the “best brain” in the country. The journal circulates among a thoughtful class whose opinions of mental ability are regarded as worth considering. Results of a popular vote were:—Bernard, Shaw, 214; Sir Oliver Lodge, 183; Lord Birkenhead, 162; Winston Churchill,'9s; Dean Inge, 91;‘H. G. Wells, 86; Lord Melchett, 62; David Lloyd George, 60; Philip Snowden, 48; Sir John Simon, 45, Ramsay MacDonald, Prime Minister, received not a single vote. Stanley Baldwin 1 gets 13. Dr Lang, Archbishop of Canterbury,, shares the Prime Minister’s obscurity, but b;s colleague, Dr Temple, Archbishop of York, has 32 votes. Lord Reading is supported by 35, Sir James M. Barrie, playwright, has IS, G. K, Chestereton has 17. No woman received a vote.

“Mercantile law is important, because modern business relationships are based essentially upon contract,” said Dr H. Belshaw in an address to the Auckland Chamber, of- Commerce. It was by .contract, he said, that the, various dealings of everyday commercial life were constituted and defined. It was by contract also that the activities of the business man were restricted. It was vital, therefore, that members of the commercial community should have an .understanding and an appreciation of the essential features underlying the creation, operation, and termination of contracts. Mercantile law aimed at'supplying this need, and, in fact, it went further. It sobght to provide instruction in those more specialised forms of contract which were of most frequent use in commercial life, namely, agency, partnership, and bills of exchange.

An increase of 405 in the number of factories registered in New Zealand is recorded in the annual report of the Department of Labour which was presented to the House of Representatives on Thursday. This was due, according to the report, to the fact that many small factories (such as home-made cake,, manufacturing establishments, etc.) were registered during the year. The total number of factories was 17,082, and the number of workers involved 104,448, an increase of 1653. The only districts which showed any marked reduction in the number of employees in factories were Auckland and Wanganui, and only in the case of the Auckland district was there an increase in the number of factories regie-. tered, and in the number 'of working occupiers. Large increases in the number of the factories were recorded in Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin districts, and in several of the secondary districts, the most noticeable increases being observed in the motor and freezing industries and in .the engineering industry in one district. , A scheme for the erection of a hostel at Arthur’s Pass on the lines of the Chateau Tongariro, was considered at a meeting of the Arthur’s Pass National Park Board of Control on Friday, when it was decided to seek legislation autho-. rity empowering the board to raise the necessary loan with the Government’s approval * and from one of the Government’s leading - institutions, such as' the Public Trust Office. The board, it. is emphasised, does not by this move commit itself to any one man dr to any group of persons proposing to erect the' hostel (says the Press). It is open to consider any scheme that may be put before it, but a grant will be made only, on condition that' an equal sum is offered by the promoters. The board was formerly asked to advance a larger proportion than half of the cost of'the hostel. The amount previously asked of the Government has been considerably reduced since the board considers that the proposal, at the start, should be more simple. This opinion, however, does not oppose the addition of further accommodation when that is required..

Although the actual management of the whaling industry is in the hands of Scan: dinavian owners, the ships are for the most part built in British yards, and : as regards those operating in the Antarctic, are based largely, on British possessions down south (says the Shipping World), the whalers themselves being laid up in the off season in New Zealand ports and at Capetown. Orders have now been placed by Norwegian owners for two new 21,500-ton dead-weight depot ships with the Furness Shipbuilding Company, Ltd., of Hayerton, Hill-on-Tees. They will be very similar to the Sir James Clark Ross, of 10,500 tons, launched by these builders in April. This vessel is the biggest ship over launched on the Tees, being 550 ft in length, by 74ft in breadth, by 48ft in depth. Directly and indirectly, these vessels will provide work for several months. In the .building of the Sir James Clark Ross, for example, 8000 tons of Cleveland steel were used, which means something between 30,000 and 35,000 tons of coal. While it is possible that relief from the shadow overhanging the shipbuilding industry may be found in the placing of further orders for liners and other specialised vessels, the outlook for the yards specialising in tramp tonnage is at present discouraging. The new Methodist Memorial Church which was opened last week at Port Chalmers, is directly linked with the earliest missionary enterprise in Otago, and the new place of worship has an interesting historical background. The original church was built of raupo, and it was in the fifties that the first structure was superseded by a wooden building. The early church records are extremely interesting. The register of births, deaths, and marriages was commenced in 1840 by the. Rev. Mr Watkin, and in that year he baptised a European child whose father was superintendent of a whaling station at Otakou. The register also records a baptism by Mr Watkin on Ruapake Island. Mr Watkin was superseded by the Rev. Mr Creed, who acted for a time as hia assistant; The first baptism conducted by Mr Creed, was that of a son of Mr Watkin, who was named John Wesley Watkin. The baptism of the great Maori Chief, Taiaroa, also appears in the register, but that was after Mr Watkin’s time.

A demonstration of cookery and jam making by the Erto method will be given at the City Gas Department’s showrooms in Anderson’s Bay road to-morrow afternoon at 2.30.

W. V. Sturmer, G.A.0.C., D. 5.0.1., optician. Consulting roorn, 2 Octagon, Dunedin. Most' modern scientific equipment for sight testing.—Advt. A. E. J. Blakeley and W. E. Bagley, dentists. Bank of Australasia, corner of Bond and Rattray streets (next Telegraph Office L Telephone 12-369.—Advt. Your eyes! It will pay you to take care of them. Why not call now and learn their true condition? I will not suggest glasses unless absolutely necessary.—S. E. Ferguson, optician, 45 George street.— Advt.

To see, well, see us. Peter Dick, watchmakers, ' jewellers, and opticians, 490 Moray place, Dunedin.—Advt.