NEW ZEALAND NEWS ITEMS

Otago Witness, Issue 2372, 17 August 1899, Page 40

NEW ZEALAND NEWS ITEMS

AUCKLAND. At the Charitable Aid Board Messrs Clayton and Mahoney, solicitors, waited upon the board to consult them with regard to an inmate of the Co&tley Home, who it was discovered had £40 jn the Savings Bank. This sum the board intended to recover, as the man had been an inmate for 10 years, and Mr Mahoney asked on his behalf that some portion of the amount be allowed him. It was pointed out that the man had cost in board £158 10s, and inmates were- required, to hand over any personal property to the institution. Mr Warren suggested that a gratuity of £10 be allowed. The board resolved to adhere to its former resolution, and take proceedings to recover the sum. The discoveiy was made through the man applying for an old-age pension. Tuesday Ist, was pay day for the oldage pensioners, and some of them celebrated the event by indulging in the cup that oheen and inebriates, with a painful sequel for four worthy pioneers, who had ied blameless and reputable lives up to 65 years of age, appeared at the Police Court on charges of drunkenness. In the case of one man, however, it was merely the anticipation of drawing his monthly payment that proved so destructive to his moral character He was at the Charitable Aid Board on the 3rd U get back into the Costley Hone, of which he had been an inmate. iifrs Ksmp. of Kerikeri, Bay of Islands, lias presented tc the Auckland Free Public Library through the Rev. Canon Walsh, a my fer.e copy oi the Holy Bible, calf gib loyal folio, and printed by John Field, London; in 1659-60. The Bible was used in the church of Kerikeri. built in 1819-20, which was the first permanent structure of the Church Missior. Society in New ZeaOana. The book bears the monogram of " C. M. S ", stamped in gold on the cover. There is no record of how the society became possessed of the volume, but probably it was donated from some well-wisher to the mission — perhaps a descendant of Joseph Smith, whose name appears at the beginning of the book, and there are certificatee of the baptisms of some of his jai!dren on tile back of the tit-la page of the New Testament. Lownrte.s, in hit ' Bibliographers' Manual," saya -a\s edition, vrhich may be considered (?s .«n in.-.-Vparied specimen of the press of , that ima va,s severely censured by Bishop 1 Wetrrthoi ir. "Scripture Authentic, and Faith Ortais*" 1 1686 In Acts vi, 3, the wort: ' ye" rat, substituted for "we." J<fan Fieid ,vas printer to Oliver Cromwell, elm '-vJlJctlemiss very old New ZeaUzne. identity, lias dice', a. Mercury Bay, at 'ilttt '*ge of 89. He went to ?eo at he age >'J \4 «nd fira' .anded dl the Bay of Uslantfc id 1832 from the barque Admiral Cockburn. Aft<sr mailing one more trip he settiefc In \\ T tw Zealand in 1834 and for •aoaih -~i*l'l vas engaged ir Hialmg and in trading oe the East CVast with the Maoris. A sword which belonged to a naval oificGr A-ho fell in the northern war (Hone Heke's) in 1845 has been placed in the <Aiic!ciai.d Art Gallery by the Rev, Canon Walsh ci Waimate Bay of Islands,

As a result of the police raid on the Chinese gaming-house. Ah Shek, the keeper of the house, was fined £25, four others £2 each, and 17 others £1 each. The banker, who escaped at the raid, is still missing. Areas . of Crown lands totalling 5745 acres were disposed of to settlers at the Axickland Crown Lands Office on Friday. Cecil Dudley, a son of Archdeacon Dudley, was found at Harkell Bay, Whangaroa, by Mr Harkell, a settler,* on Monday, 17th. He was out three days and three nights, and wandered as far north as Orewai, and then turned back, -getting into a lonely isolated district. Had Mr Harkell not discovered him he would probably have perished." He could give no accoimt of himself, and has lost the use of his hands. He had to be hand-fed on the steamer to Auckland. Harry Charles William Wrigg was arrested on the 9th on a charge of being a lunatic wandering at large. He had 14oz of chlorodyne on him, and was endeavouring to procure more at a chemist's when arrested. He had threatened to commit suicide. TARANAKI. A female teacher of a small school near Stratford was sued on the Ist lor illegally assaulting a scholar, a boy nine years of age, by giving him a couple of cuts on the hand with a stiok. The stipendiary magistrate dismissed the case, which he .termed a disgraceful one, the outcome of spite. The. teacher had done her duty, and left the court without a stain on her character. At a public meeting under the auspices of the Auckland branch of the New Zealand Natives' Association to discuss the federation question, the following resolution was carried on the motion of Mr C. E. Button, president of the Federation League : — "That the question of federation being one of paramount importance to this colony, this meeting considers active steps should foe taken by the delivery of lectures and the distribution of literature to place the matter in all its bearings before the public ; that this resolution be specially commended to the conoideration of all candidates for parliamentary hoj:o",:rs." An amendment was rejected. HAWKE'S BAY. There is further evidence to show that an experienced gang of burglars are at work in the district. On Monday it was found that the Stratford Lodge Hotel, near Hastings, had been burglariously entered and the safe removed. The latter was found in a paddock adjoining. It had been forced open with an axe, and the contents, amounting to £40, abstracted. The police are investigating, but so far have no clue to the perpetrators. Two men named Cousins and Adams have been arrested at Waipukurau on suspicion of being connected with the Hastings robbery. j WELLINGTON. The remaining charges arising out of the Haining street gambling raid were heard on the 2nd. The Englishman (Oliver) who was found among the fan tan school was fined £1. Ming Shing, the keeper of the house in which the packapoo school were playing, was fined £25. Counsel for the defence contended that packapoo was a game of skill, but Mr Haselden ruled it was an unlawful game. A further batch of six Chinamen were fined £1 and costs, making a dozen in all. This completes the cases, as a number of others could not be served for want of identification. The Council of the Evangelical Churches in the city have affirmed the principle of providing counter attractions to hotels by establishing public temperance clubs for the healthy, social recreation of the masses. They have also asked the associated churches to instruct their members to strike out the " top line " at the coming local option poll. Some burglars entered the Longburn railway station on the night of the 2nd, but, finding the safe securely built-in, they saw it was useless to attempt to open it : so they left o note raying they would call again. A plucky rescue was made by Oonstable Ayan at Wellington od the night of the 2nd. A man fell off the wharf and was drowning, when Ryan plunged into the icy-cold watei and without hesitating even to take off his heavy overcoat, managed to effect the man's rescue. To prevent any chance of scaly blight and moth-eaten fruit, imported from Australia and Tasmania, infecting. New Zealand orchards, the Agricultural department is erecting depots at each of the principal ports in the colony in which fruit pronounced to be unclean, is to be thoroughly fumigated before being distributed for consumption. The court has refused leave to appeal to the Privy Council in the case of the General Exploration Company v. Edward Purser. In the case of M'William v. M' William, Judge Edwards refused to interfere with the magistrate's decision to cancel an' order for the appellant's (the wife's) maintenance. The ground upon which the magistrate had cancelled the order was that the appellant had been sentenced to imprisonment for seven years, and was now undergoing that sentence. In the Divorce Court Mr Justice Edwards granted a decree nisi in the case in which Mrs F-lorence Levy applied for a dissolution of the marriage with Frederick Arthur Levy, of Sydney. At the first, hearing his Honor said it appeared that the husband was domiciled in Melbourne, and it was doubtful whether he had jurisdiction, but to-day he said he was satisfied he had jurisdiction. At the inquest on Mrs Watson a large amount of very contradictory evidence was given as to the pace at which the 'bus was driven, and scarcely any two witnesses agreed, except on the one fact that it ,vas more than a walk. The jury returned a verdict that Mj - s Watson was -accidentally killed by a vehicle driven round a corner by Walter Harris otherwise than at a walking pace, and that the accident might have been averted if the city by-law regulating the speed round corners had been observed. Harris was at once aire&ted on a, charge i

of manslaughter, and bailed out, himself in a recognisance of £25 and one surety of £50. The Commissioner of Police is bringing under the, notice of the New Zealand Humane Society the bravery of Constable Ryan in rescuing a man who fell off the Queen's wharf a few nights ago. This is the second time that Ryan has distinguished himself in a similar way. Mr M. P. Cameron, a brother-in-law of the Hon. John M'Kenzie, who has purchased the ironworks at Onehunga, has received an offer for it from a. firm which is anxious to re-erect it in 'the south. If a sale is not effected Mr Cameron intends to remove the plant to Wellington, with the object of working up scrap iron into a marketable commodity. Mr Cameron is a member of the local firm of Cameron and Christie, • ironmongers. The Standard says that in the Greytown Old-age Pensions Court, an old Maori hobbled lip before the stipendiary magistrate and made a claim for a pension. He knew that he was 65 because his teeth were falling out and his Kair turning grey. As" to the question of property, it was eventually .'elicited that he owned over 500 acres, .of land in the Wairarapa, valued at several thousand pounds, and thought he could obtain the pension because he was getting old. The claim was crossed off. There has been a deplorable destruction of timber. in the Wellington province, and now the- sawmills -are busy clearing out what is left. It is expected that the whole of the timber 'in the -Eketahuna County will cut out within the next five years. Private. letters received at Wellington from the Waikare at- Fiji state that Mr Reid, of Motutapu,- who- died on the voyage shortly after leaving Samoa, met his death through blood poisoning. He slept one night in' a Samoan house, and was badly bitten by mosquitos, which probably cqnveyed the poison from the sores of a child who was badly affected. The National Dairy Association has practically closed with the offer made by the New Zealand Shipping Company and the Shaw, Savill, and Albion Company for the carriage of -dairy produce on the terms already mentioned. The association has received the support of most of the dairy factories in the North Island, and the contract with the shipping companies»will ex- | tend over a period of three years. Under the new arrangement the companies provide a fortnightly service, and will en- j deavour to observe regularity in the ar- i rival of vessels at the London docks. Michael Higgins, bookmaker, wat- fined (.615 under the City Loitering Act. The i other charges against him and D. Ross (who j was fined last week) were withdrawn, in order to see whether they give up the ; practice. A number of other cases were I adjourned. Mr Haselden, S.M., in giving judgment re Mr Wilford's' application to be put on the electoral- roll, s*id that the judges hud deliberately limited Mr Wilford's incapacity i to his being 1 elected for or sitting in the \ i House of Representatives for three years j I from December 4, 1896, and therefore no I other incapacity could be inflicted on him. r The registrar must enrol him. He was i doubtful whether he had the power to allow | costs, but he assessed them at £5 ss, and said they ought to be paid. A league has been formed for the purpose of furthering the present agitation for straightening the Hutt road and railway line. Mr J. M. Butt, assistant general mana : ger of the Bank of New Zealand, has retired from the service of the bank, with which he has been connected for 37 years. The office of assistant general manager will probably be abolished, but it is intended that the duties heretofore discharged by Mr Butt shall be performed by Mr B. M. Linhfiekl, of the inspecting, staff. A case of considerable public importance has been decided by the Chief Justice. It wao one in which Messrs Turnbull and Watkins, as trustees in the estate of a Maori named Raumewai Te Rango, sought to ascertain if they had power under the terms of the trust deed which was created under " The Native Lands Act Amendment Act 1897," to pay the debts of the Native out of the moneys raised by them on mortgage under the trust deed, or whether the power to mortgage was restricted in the manner provided in the act in question. His Honor held that the power to mortgage was not re- , stricted by the provisions of the act. The girj, Hansen, whose pranks were recorded in. the Auckland telegrams some weeks ago, has been breaking out again. She left her home, and was found after a search in the Botanical Gardens, thinly clad, wet through, and suffering from exposure. A bottle marked "poison " was by her side, but empty, and on examination at 'the hospital she appeared to be suffering from a fit, and subsequent exposure, but there were no traces of poison. WEST COAST. Fine weather prevailed for the fifth Hoklbika poultry show. The attendance is good and increasing, a large number of. visitors from the country being present. Mr Dacre s of Christchurch, is judge. Entries were • received from all parts of the West Coast, and several prizes were secured by Nelson, Westport, and Greymouth exhibitors.. A concert on the 2nd in connection with the show drew a large attendance. Herr Julius Xtemmer, of Sydney, has just been appointed principal of the Nelson School of Music. CANTERBURY. The Royal Humane Society of Australasia has awarded its certificate to Master Robert Ronayne (son of the general manager of railways) for his bravery in jumping into the water at Day's Bay on January 26 and rescuing another boy who fell off t .he wharf while witnessing a swimming match. During the past month Messrs Stringer and Cressjvell, acting for the Railway de-partment,-have settled amicably claims for damages to persons injured in the Rakaia railway accident amounting to about £10,000 for £2500. Mr J. T." W. Wilkin died on Thursday, aged 87 He is the father of Messrs J. C. Wilkin (manager of the Lyttelton Times), J. W.

Wijkin, (-chief postmaster at Invercargill),and G. R. Wilkin (f<jr some time with thd' Loan and Mercantile, but now in business in Auckland). . ' Price, the half back picked to play, against Wellington, on Saturday, had his jaw broken on the night of the Ist at prac* tice. An old-age pensioner was convicted of drunkenness on Thursday and the bench' recommended the police to take out a prq4 hibition order against him. Mr John Ballantyne, late head of the firm of Ballantyne and Co., drapers, aged 74 years, is dead. Deceased arrived iiif Chnstchurch in 1872, and of late years devoted himself to farming at Ruapuna-j - Mount Peel. • -, An inquest was held at Timaru on Monday on a prematurely-born infant exhumed by the police in the garden of its mother's house. The mother was a single woman; but has since married. On the medical cvi* dence a verdict that the child was stillborn was returned. ' The mother and her husband were then arrested on a. charge of concealment of birth. • The Kahu which , arrived at Lyttelton on Friday' brought the body of H. Taiaroa, son of the Hon. H. K. Taiaroa, who met his death by gunshot wound at • the Chatham' Islands. The body was taken to Southbridge this morning for in- ' terment.. The .party anticipated some op- ' position to the exhumation' of the body at the islands, but got every assistance from the Natives there, and all suspicions of foul play have been removed. Dr Gabites, at present in Scotland, has been appointed resident surgeon at the Timaru Hospital. The Timaru Harbour Board have received the report of the Royal Commission on Mr Maxwell's scheme for extending the harbour works at a cost of £100,000. The commission approve of the scheme if larger rubble is used, but add that the result will probably be disappointing in regard to the range in the harbour, unless a second wall be added, at a cost of, say, £45,000. SOUTHLAND. Peter M'Dermid won the Southland Ploughing Championship on the 2nd. In former years he was very successful on the smgle-furrow class, and last year was first in double- furrow, class B.- The competition was made interesting by the presence of comnetilors from Canterbury and the Taieri, but none were placed, all admitting themselves fairly beaten. The day was fine, and the field in good condition for the work. At Ir.vercargill on Satui'day Agnes Watt, domestic servant, and single, was charged with the murder of her infant in May, 1898. The body was found in a water hole near Gore in August last, and at the inquest a verdict of murder was returned against some person unknown. Recent information supplied to the police led to Watt's arrest, She was remanded till the 9th.