SOUTH OTAGO

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23365, 3 December 1937, Page 12

SOUTH OTAGO

BALCLUTHA Welcome Rain- - Bounteous rain fell on Wednesday night and again yesterday, gladdening the hearts of local and district farmers, whose crops and fields were suffering from the effects of the prolonged dry spell. Rainfall Last Month Only I.2in of rain fell locally in November, compared with 3.65 in for No- - vember of last year. Rain, fell on six days, the heaviest fall (43 points) oo* curring on the 18th. Vital Statistics Registrations in Balclutha for November were: Births 13, deaths 16, marriages 3. Personal » Mr and Mrs Thomas Espie, who wcr# for some 30 years in the drapery business at Kaitangata, have taken over the management of the Leviathan Private Hotel, Dunedin, as from Wednesday last. Scottish Society The local Scottish Society hdld it# last concert of the season on Thursday night in the Britannia Theatre, in celebration of St. Andrew’s Day. Mr D. M. Henderson presided over a good attendance, and associated with him in the chairmanship were Chief Simon Wright and Chieftain P. A. Watt (Warepa). The concert programme opened with a community sing, led by Mr W. Bell, assisted by Mrs Bowcptt and Mr L. Bowcott. Those contribut- , ing to. the programme were:— Farquhar and Matheson (piano duet), Messrs B. Gold, Jones, and D. Miller (songs), Miss Phyllis Kerwood (tap dance). Misses Ada Aitcheson and Wil- ~ son (songs), Messrs B. Gold and Miller (duet), Misses Thelma Sinclair and Esme Aitcheson (piano duet), band , quartet (Messrs Maker, Deaker, Cochrane, and Scott), Mr W. Sutherland, (humorous Scottish recitations). The chairman, in the course of the proceedings, referred to the departure of Chief Simon Wright from the district, and said his resignation had been accepted with regret by the society. Chieftain,!. A. Watt spoke in similar strain, and said that in the work of forming the society Mr Wright had ' taken an active part, and had fully justified his selection as the society’s first chief. The usual supper and dance followed the concert ' MILTON Tar-sealing Footpaths Full advantage is being taken by the Milton Borough Council of the present spell of hot and dry Weather for giving a second coat of tar-sealing to several of the recently-formed footpaths within the borough. Laaour under the No. 5 scheme is being utilised Thrown From'Horse Mr Roger Grey, a farmer, of the Milton district, has been admitted to the Balclutha Hospital suffering from a fractured pelvis through being thrown from a horse which he was riding on his farm property. ! v ' Sale of Farm . Another farm property in the Gienledi district will change, ownership at: the end of the month, Messrs McElrea Bros., of Kiness, Milton, having purchased from Mr Donald Waters his farming property, comprising about 140 acres. Mr and Mrs Waters, who have lived on the farm for about 40 years, intend to take up their residence at Milton. School Sports - ‘ A novelty sports meeting for pupils attending the local Dominican Convent School, organised and conducted by members of the Toko Harrier and Amateur. Athletic. Club,. in aid of the school h, library funds, proved, highly success-, ful, and the events on the varied pro- , gramme were keenly contested by the : juveniles. The winners of the aggregate points were:—A. Dillon . (12J points) in the girls’ events, with M. Sidon (10 points) second. J. Hand (17 points) was first in the boys’ events, with J. Lillicrapp (10 points) second. A number of events were held by ■ members of the Amateur Athletic Club. Intoxicated Motorist At a special sitting of the Milton , Police Court on Tuesday, before Messrs D. M. Mawson and W.. H. Hitchon, justices of the peace, Andrew Mackie (Balclutha) was charged with.being in charge of a motor car on November 28 whilst in a state of intoxication. Constable A. Kerse, who prosecuted, stated that about 10 minutes after midnight on Saturday Traffic Inspector McDowell, when in the vicinity of Henley, noticed that the accused’s car was without a tail light. The inspector , accosted Mackie and pointed out the defect, when he noticed that Mackie, who was accompanied by other passengers, was intoxicated. ‘He was token to the Milton Police Station, where he was examined by Dr Edgar, who gave a certificate as to Mackie’s insobriety. Mr W. H. Carson (Dunedin), who appeared for the accused and entered 1 a plea of guilty, said that Mackie had considered that he was in a reasonably fit state to drive, although he admitted having drunk a certain amount of liquor. The accused was foreman of a motor garage at Balclutha, where he had been employed by the firm for over 16 years. He realised the seriousness of the offence, and had learnt a lesson. Counsel suggested that if the court decided on cancellation of Mackie’s driving licence it should grant him permission to drive outside the boundaries of licensed areas, and also. to test motor vehicles for warrants of fitness. , i-

Mr Mawson, emphasising the seriousness of the offence, said the accused would be convicted and fined £ls, with court costs (10s), and doctor’s fee (£1 10s). His driver’s licence was cancelled for three months. Two months was allowed for payment of the fine.