Probate Granted

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21979, 14 June 1933, Page 6

Probate Granted

Mr Justice Kennedy has granted probate in the estates of the under-men-tioned persons:—Graham Walter Sharp, of Crookston, farmer; Mary Kezia Jones, of St. Kilda; Cecil Strange Haggitt, ot Dunedin, estate agent, Janet Slawson Butler, of Dunedin; Elizabeth Jenkins, of Oamaru; and Elizabeth Redpath, of Waitahuna. Letters of administration have been granted in the estate of Alexander MacKenzie, of Blue Spur, storekeeper.

An Attempt at Salvage A party of 22 went out to Palliser Bay on Sunday (says, the Evening Post! to salvage the launch Kereru 11, which was driven ashore the previous Sunday. Fourteen members of the party went out to Mr E. Riddiford’s station at Orongorongo by car, and then walked along the beach, and the remainder arrived by launch. Conditions appeared to be favourable early in the day, but later on the wind freshened, and the heavy breakers which came rolling in made it necessary for the attempt at salvage to be postponed. The launch was found to be in good condition, and is hauled up on the beach out of reach of the waves. The launch will be salvaged when conditions are favourable. The four men .who were in the launch when she was driven ashore after being adrift state that they wish to thank all who searched for them, and extended hospitality after they came ashore.

Speed Limit Opposed In a resolution criticising the speed limit of 40 miles an hour on certain sections of the Main North road, the Canterbury Automobile Association states that the North road, from the golf links beyond Kaiapoi right to Ashburton bridge, can be traversed in a highpowered and properly equipped motor car with perfect safety at 45 to 50 miles an hour, provided the driver slows down at the intersections and any other place where caution renders it necessary. With such a car there cannot be danger to the public.

Lady Ranfurly Company The appeal case of Reginald Clive Bell v. James Goodger and the Lady Ranfurly Gold Mining Company (Kawarau), Ltd., again came before Mr Justice Kennedy in the Supreme Court yesterday. The appeal took the form of the rehearing of a case heard in the Warden’s Court, at Cromwell in December. In that case Bell asked that a claim held by the respondent company should be forfeited. The warden, however, decided against that course, but fined the company £25. Bell appealed against the decision, claiming that the area should be forfeited, and the appeal was heard by Mr Justice Kennedy in March. In his judgment his Honor referred to the long neglect of the claim by the holders, adding that no decree for forfeiture could be made by him except with the consent of the Minister of Mines. When the case was called yesterday Mr Adams said that the consent of the Minister had come to hand. His Honor then said the appeal would be allowed, and the decision of the warden reversed, and, in lieu of the fine inflicted by the warden, there would be a decree of forfeiture. The respondent was ordered to pay the costa of the original proceedings before the warden; he was also ordered to pay the appellant £ls 15s, costs of appeal, the disbursements and witnesses’ expenses to .be fixed by the registrar. Mr Adams said he took it the respondent mentioned by his Honor was the Lady Ranfurly Gold Mining Company. His Honor replied in the affirmative, and pointed out that'in the lower court Goodger’a name was struck out. At: the hearing of the appeal Mr F.. B; . Adams appeared for the appellant; Mr A. C. Hanlon, K.C., with Mr J. C. Parcell, for the respondent.

Marking of Ballot Paper* “After a long experience I have decided that the positive method, or, in other words, indicating by an X or some other mark, the names of the candidates desired by the voter, is simpler, more direct, and more likely to be less confusing to many persons than is the method of striking out those names that are not wanted,” stated the returning officer, Mr P. R. Purser, at a meeting of the Hastings Borough Council, when reporting on the repent municipal elections. Theoretically, the principle of having all the elections on the one day was sound, but in practice it was not so satisfactory, said Mr Purser. The multiplication of papers and the numerous names on some of them made it very complex and confusing for a large number of people.

The King and Yachting The pre-eminent place taken by the King in the yachting world was mentioned with satisfaction on Friday evening at the annual prize-giving of the Royal New’ Zealand Yacht Squadron in Auckland at which the Governor-General (Lord Bledisloe) was present. Proposing the health of the Governor-General, the commodore (Mr J. H. Frater) assured his Excellency, as the King’s representative, that the members of the squadron regarded his Majesty as the leader of yachting in the Empire, and, for that matter, in the world, by reason of the skill with which he sailed his famous Britannia. “I appreciate your welcome, if only in my representative capacity.’' said Lord Bledisloe in the course of his reply, “because the King is the very prince of yachtsmen, and at the age of 68 enjoys yachting even more than his many other sporting activities.” After referring to the recent fine record of the Britannia with the King at the helm, his Excellency mentioned that, unfortunately on the last occasion, his Majesty contracted a severe cold, followed by an attack of rheumatism. However, he had thrown this off, and, in spite of • his serious illness of five years ago, was now enjoying as •good health as he had for some 15 or 20 years. Building l£oom at Home

A boom in the building trade in England is being enjoyed at the present time and (says the Southland .Times) it is believed with every confidence by local timber merchants that New Zealand will stand materially to benefit thereby. The boom in the Old Country has assumed such proportions that the merchants there are stated to be almost at their wits’ ends to find the necessary journeymen to execute the orders pouring in. In a letter received on Monday morning by an Invercargill sawmiller from a relative in Yorkshire connected with the building trade, the writer stated: “ Unemployment is still rife in England, yet everyone seems to have something to do. We see no one badly dressed or fed, and our business is really flourishing throughout the country. We have run our staff of about 40 men right through the winter, and are now requiring more employees.” Half-caste Problem g

A definite policy designed to encourage white men in Northern Australia to marry half-castes has been adopted by the Commonwealth Government, with a view of breeding out mixed blood. Marriages between whites and full-blooded aborigines may be prevented by refusing to issue marriage licenses to them. Medical opinion has been given the Government that the black strain may be completely eliminated by this new policy, but that marriages of whites with full blacks will tend to build up a huge half-caste population. £t is stated that it is possible to breed out black blood, but that white blood can never be bred out. The adoption of this attitude by the Federal Government is entirely due to the alarming increase in recent years of the Australian half-caste population.

Detours on South Road

Advice that a portable sign had bee* erected in Balclutha to direct motorist# through to Rae’s Junction, via Greenfield, Waitahuna, and Lawrence, in the case of flooding on the M‘Nab section of the Dunedin-Invercargill main highway was received at the meeting of the General Committee of the Southland Motor Association on Monday night from Mr W. F. Sutton, secretary of the Otago Motor Club. Mr Sutton, in return, requested the association to erect a sign at Gore, directing motorists from Invercargill through Chatton, Waikaka, and Kelso to Rae’a Junction. It was decided to write to the Otago Motor Club stating that the association had directed motorists to branch off at M‘Nab and proceed through Willowbank, Waikoikoi, and Conical Hills. I

Film Publicity Following the success which is reported to have attended the display of Australian films in Great Britain as a means of advertising Australian products, the Commonwealth Department of Commerce has been sending scenic and industrial films to other countries for the purpose-of advertising Australia as a producing nation and a resort for overseas* tourists. It was announced in Melbourne recently that the Minister of Commerce had been advised from Canada thal a number of films prepared by the kinema branch of the department and forwarded to the Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau for distribution had been most favourably received in the sister dominion. These films, which were in silent form, comprised a number of interesting subjects such as Australian animals, surfing, wool industry, station life, arid tropica) Australia. Circulating principally amongst colleges, societies, and other nontheatrical avenues, they had been seen by audiences of from 400 to 1000 persons, and the demand for the pictures indicated that they were amongst the most popular in the film library of the bureau.

Orphans’ Club The fortnightly meeting of the Orphans' Club was held last night, when the vicepresident (Bro. A. Smellie) occupied the chair. The meeting took the form of a social evening, at which the-members of the Social Club of the Blind of Otago and Southland were the guests of the club. Songs were rendered by Bros. W. Ruffell, T. W. Bobbie, C. R, Williamson, A, H. Dale, and T. C. Williams. Bros. T. and N. Bachop sang a duet, and a recitation was given by Bro. H. Wi Hunter, while a xylophone solo by Bro. W, J. Oliver was greatly appreciated. The orchestra, under Bro. A. Frost, presented a number of attractive items. An address on “ Antartica,” by Mr H. Ninnis, who went south with one of Shackleton’s expeditions, was listened to with a great dea.l of interest, and at the conclusion the speaker was accorded a hearty vote of thanks. Japanese Trading Position

Replying to a question yesterday (says a Press Association telegram from Wellington) the Acting Prime Minister (Mr J. G. Coates) said the Government was keeping a very close watch on the Japanese trading position. Up to the present, however, no action had been taken. ...

A Wrong Idea Mr John Brownlee, the singer, speaking at the Goulbum Rotary Club on his return from the Dominion, protested against reports that Australians were not popular in Hew Zealand. "People told us when we went there not to advertise that we were Australians,” he said. “I met New Zealand people on the other side and found them charming. I was on the lookout for displays of, hostility towards Australians. I travelled 6000 miles in New Zealand to 40 concerts, and I met hundreds of people and I had to call for an armistice regarding their hospitality. I heard nothing of the silly idea to which I have alluded.”

Southland Power Board Loans . - On a decision reached at yesterday’s meeting the Southland Electric Power Board will shortly undertake a test case in the King’s Bench Division in .London to ascertain whether it can make interest payments on its London loans in New Zealand currency. In case of the board succeeding (reports our Invercargill correspondent) it will be freed from expense of the present exchange rate of 25 per cent. The legality of such action had been considered by the board previously, and it was at the request of the Minister of Finance (Mr J. 6* Goates) that the decision to undertake the case was reached. The statement of the board’s case has been prepared by the secretary, and it is understood that Sir Gerald Hurst. K.C., M.P., who previously appeared before the Court of Appeal in London in a similar case, will represent the board. It was also decided to request the Government to pay half the costs incurred in undertaking the case.

Repairs to Golden Harvest A complete survey of the damage to the American steamer Golden Harvest was completed in the floating dock at Wellington during the week-end. Specifications of the repairs required are being prepared for submission to the firms tendering for the contract. ’Reports of the damage have been cabled to the owners of the ship, who will decide whether complete or temporary repairs will be carried out at Wellington. It is understood that two sets of specifications are being prepared'for tenders, one covering full and the other temporary repairs. It is estimated that complete repairs to the ship’s hull will cost at least £9OOO and will take four weeks to carry out. Temporary repairs to make the ship seaworthy and enable her to complete her voyage, will, it is stated, cost £I7OO and occupy about two weeks. It is expected (says the Dominion) that there will be very keen competition amongst tenderers to secure the contract for repairs, whether temporary or permanent. In addition to two well-known Wellington firms, it is understood that at least one Auckland firm and one Dunedin firm will tender for the job.

Art Society’s Exhibition The requests received by the Otago Art Society that the exhibition in th'e Pioneer Hall should remain open for a few days longer have been so numerous that it has been decided to extend it until Saturday. Members of the public will, therefore, have till the end of this week in which to view the paintings and crafts work on display. The 'attendances have been exceptionally large, and have actually exceeded .those for the exhibition in November, a fact which is peculiarly gratifying to the society, indicating, as it does, an increase in the interest taken by the public in the work of Otago artists. The school authorities have not been slow to recognise the educational value of a visit to the hall, and yesterday pupils from the Otago Girls and Boys’ High Schools were conducted round the exhibition. The sale was reported yesterday of Miss Winifred Stark’s “Old Cottage."