NEW ZEALAND NEWS ITEMS

Otago Witness, Issue 2840, 19 August 1908, Page 25

NEW ZEALAND NEWS ITEMS

AUCKLAND

It has just been reported that another prisoner escaped from the Waiotapu camp last week. He enjoyed but brief liberty, being arrested at Mamaku two or three days later. At the meeting of the North Canterbury Charitable Aid Board on the 12th it was lesolved to draw the Prime Minister's attention to the case of an old-age pensioner whose certificate had been withheld for several months owing to the registrar deciding to contest the magistrate's decision. It was pointed out that the Prime Minister had stated in Parliament that no such cases had occurred, and it was resolved to draw the attention of SiT Joseph Ward and the Canterbury members to the matter referred to.

At the conclusion of a case at the Police Court on the- 13th inst., in which a young man was charged with the theft of a letter containing two postal notes and 8s in stamps belonging to his late employer, Mr Clayton (one of the presiding justices) commented upon the small salary which the accused had been receiving. Addressing the employer, he remarked : " You employed this young man at £1 per week, expecting him to keep himself respectable and to find himself. The Bench considers that it is not right of a respectable tradesman to employ a young man at such a wage and expect him to be honest. It is out of all reason." • Messrs llassey Bros. (Ltd.) have received an intimation from Mr Ronayne, general manager of New Zealand railways, that their tender of £5692 has been accepted for the steel piers and superstructure of the Manga te Wainui viaduct contract.

James Alwin Smith appeared at the Supreme Court to answer a charge of th© forgery of postal notes. After hearing the evidence for the prosecution, Judge Edwards discounted the evidence of experts as to the handwriting. He eaidjh© would not hang a dog on such evidence. The jury, without retiring, returned a verdict of " Not guilty," and the accused was discharged. A similar case against Wni. Hayward Cummins was also dismissed without hearing the evidence, which was the same ?s in the previous case. The secretary of the Amalgamated Union of Carpenters and Joiners states, with regard to the Labour report, which 6tates that " there are altogether 18 tradesmen, include ing carpenters, bricklayers, plasterers, and/ painters out of work — i.e., union men"; that thero are at present 30 carpenters on! the books of the union out of vrork. He adds: "Our trade in Auckland is in^ a deplorable position at the present time." Interviewed regarding the assertion that in the recent tramway dispute Dr M' Arthur had received instructions from the Government as to what his decision would be before he left Wellington, the Hon. J. A. Millar eaid there was absolutely no foundation for the statement. No Minister would ever dream of interfering with the action of any judge, magistrate, or chairman of a Conciliation Board. The only communication which had taken place between himself and Dr M'Arthur was a telephone message notifying him of his selection and the date of his departure.