NEW ZEALAND NEWS ITEMS

Otago Witness, Issue 2689, 27 September 1905, Page 49

NEW ZEALAND NEWS ITEMS

AUCKLAND

At a meeting of the Board of Education the Chief Inspector (Mr Petrie) advised' that one advanced high school would be more valuable than two district high schools, and he suggested the boa id should consider the question before the coming visit of the Inspector-general. A committee was appointed to consider the matter and report. At a, well-attended and representative meeting, presided over by the Mayor, it was unanimously resolved to urge upon the Government the need for the complete duplication of the railway between Auckland and Penrosc, and stating that the of £30,000 for the North Auckland trunk line was quite inadequate. A vote of £100,000 was asked for, it being considered that this line should be placed on the same footing as the Otago Central and Midland.

NELSON. Potato blight (Phytophthora infestans) has appeared in the police garden at Nelson. Samples sent to Mr Kirk have been officially identified as diseased, and an application of the Bordeaux mixture is urged. The presence of the disease in oiher districts is suspected.

CANTERBURY,

The attempt to derail the second express from Dunedin on Friday near Chertsey appears to have resulted in a narrow escape from serious calamity. Just as the train had passed through the station, the passengers experienced a slight jolt. It is understood that the driver and guard reported the contact with some foreign object on the line, but ifc remained for a platalayer to discover the following morning the real nature of the obstacle. About three-quarters of a mile north of the station he found that four sleepers, weighing 901b each, had been removed from the side of the line- where they had been lying with others. They Lad apparently been placed aoross the raila. Fortunately the cowcatcher of the express was running low enough to catch the sleepers, which must have been carried 50 yards, as the permanent way was strewn with splinters, and battered sleepers were found where they had evidently been eventually thrown off. No damage was done to the track. The train was heavily freighted, and was running about 30 miles an hour at the time of the collision. The matter has been placed in the hands of the Ashburton police. <• An "At home,' 1 held on the 19th inst. lo celebrate the anniversary of the conferment of the franchise on women, was attended by 150 women. Addresses were given by Mis 3 Roberts. Mrs Sheppaid. and others, and resolutions were unanimously carried appreciative of the work of Sir John Hall and Mr Alfred Saunder s in bringing- about the conferment of the franchise, and urging the substitution of an elective Executive for the present system of party government, and the removal o f all disabilities preventing women sitting as members of the House of Representatives or being elected to any public office in the colony.

At the Christchurch S.M. Court on the 19th two Natives (Marakaia Hape Uru and Raita Naihua) were charged with committing a breach of the Deceased Persons' Estates Duties Ac), by failing to file with the Deputy-commissioner of Stamps accounts in an estate in respect of which they were executors. Counsel for defendants stated that a great rn>any Natives interested under wills never troubled to file accounts. The Natives were endeavouring to obtain an amendment of the law relating to duties on Native estates. Cases had arisen where duties had been paid by persons whose titles were afterwards upset t>y the Native Land Court. The defendants were fined £1 each.

On the ] 9th Jos Illingworth was fined £5, H. W. Knott £2, and Annie Heyden £1 for Felling for human consumption milk wihie-h was not pure milk. Hugh M'Caw was fined £2 for using a milkcan for the purpose of. carrying decayed vegetable and animal matter. The cass against James Nicol of selling milk -which was not pure milk was dismissed, the analyst's report stating that the milk showed a larger proportion of butter-fat than the minimum fixed by the act. The magistrate refused to admit evidence showing the proportion of butter-fat in the milk immediately after it had been taken from the defendant's herd. The Dairy Inspector proposes to appeal against the decision. A meeting of the executive in connection with the proposed consumptive sanatorium was held on Wednesday, when the treasurer reported that £762 3s 6d had been promised towards the expenses of establishing a sanatorium, and £152 5s 6d paid.

Forty horses were entered at the Canterbury A. and P. Association's annual horse parad-e, held in pouring ram on the 20th. As a cia«9, they foil far short of what might have been expected. There was only a small attendance of the public.

SOUTHLAND.

Charles Auaust Thomson, of Waimumu, pleaded guilty on the 20th and was committed to the Supreme Court for sentence for in October, 1904, making a false statement to <he registrar regarding the birth of a child which he had stated to be Us legitimate offspring; aiso givins? a fali-.o name as £hat of the mother. Thomson's wife has been in an asylum for some years, and the mother of the infant is a single woman

Soven youths were before the court on a charge of using- behaviour calculated to create a breach of the peace on a recent Sunday. The facts were that ,->. young man was out walking with a lady, when the accused squirted water on them from a toy pistol, and on remonstrance twice knocked tho man down. One of the defendants was discharged, but regarding tin* other six the magistrate (Mr S. E. M'Carthy) said they were acting in conceit, and all were icsponsible for the acts of particular members. The attack on Mr (ilc-vor. who «a=! escorting a younsr lady, was unpardonable, cowardly, and brutal, ami mu->t be taken to nut a stop to conduct of this outrageous sort. The defendants were sons of respectable parents, but did no( know how i-o behave thom&clvb3. and ho r>roprs A rl to aho them somo iiiduoemput to behave bettor in future. Each defendant was fined £5, and ordered

f to find sureties for £50 to keep the peao» for 12 months. Application was made to the Licensing Committes on Thursday under section 53 of '•Tho Licensing Act, '904." to allow a licensee, n. Jew, to close the bar of his hotel on , certain Jewish holidays. The Chairman said he could not advise the committee t-' grant permission to close the hotel altogether on the days specified, for the licensee might turn out all his boarders. The committee granted permission to close the bar on tho days mentioned. The lnvereargill Chamber of Commerce on Friday decided to again aoproach tha Australian Governments and Chambers of Commerce, also the New Zealand Govern^ ' ment, re the provision of a lighthouse oii the Snares. It was urged that such a, light' was of greater value to Australian shipping than to New Zealand. After considering the Trades Monopolies Prevention Bill, if was resolved that, in the opinion of thi3 chamber, the bill will unduly and unnecessarily harass the legitimate efforts o£ trader? of all classes in the colony, and! will fail to adequately deal with the'operations of large outside trusts and combinations. The now municipal theatre is making good pi-ogres'. The Borough Council hag accepted tenders for electric li"-htin<r- at a total cost of £1115.