NEW ZEALAND NEWS ITEMS

Otago Witness, Issue 3061, 13 November 1912, Page 67

NEW ZEALAND NEWS ITEMS

AUCKLAND

A meeting of Hamilton business men. on the 4th decided to form a motor transport company with a capital of £SOOO and to institute a motor bus service between Hamilton and Frankton, a distance of one mile, so as to bring Hamilton within easier touch of the Main Trunk train passengers. Ninety-four youths appeared at the City Police Court charged with failing to attend parades. The hearing occupied the magistrate two hours. Several cases, where reasonable excuses were made, were dismissed, and in the other cases fines ranging from Is to £1 were imposed, An old hnan named A. Pollard, a builder, died of heart failure in the detectives' office at the police station on the Bth. With other complainants, he was about to identify some stolen tools, but he died before he could do so. Another Auckland union has seceded from the Federation of Labour. The members of the Auckland Brewery Employees’ Union, who have for some time been considering the advisability of withdrawing from the federation, held a ballot on the question last Wednesday. The result was announced at a meeting on the Bth, the voting being as follows: —In favour of withdrawal from the federation, 57; in favour of remaining in the federation, 23 :—majority for withdrawal, 34.

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a middle-aged man named James Haynes, who, a fortnight ago, undertook to canvass the district for Messrs Murrell, jewellers, Hamilton. He was given a bag containing £4B worth of jewellery, and hired a horse and trap from the local stables, but has not since been heard of, although the horse and trap were found abandoned at Pukekohe.

Detective Hollis, of Auckland, arrested a young man, Ray Oliver Taylor, alias Reginald Taylor, at Frankton on a charge of the theft of a postal packet, the property of Raj' Taylor, of Karaka, near Runciman. Accused was in the employ of a Mr Hall, at Karaka, in January last. A postal packet, registered, was delivered at the house addressed to Roy Taylor. Accused, it is alleged, got possession of this, which contained a bangle, a £1 note, and a letter, which, he said, he retained. He disappeared shortly afterwards, and was arrested after 10 months’ liberty. Accused appeared in court and was remanded to Auckland.

Robert Watson, aged 14, was accidentally shot in the throat at Wailii on the 9th' by a little boy aged six years named Mason. The latter, who was unaware that the pea rifle was loaded, pulled the trigger, and the bullet entered the centre of Watson’s throat, but was successfully extracted. The patient is very little the worse for the misadventure.

“The perjury committed it) this court is getting just as bad at is can be, ’ remarked Mr Kettle, S.M., at the Magistrate's Court on the 11th. Day after day, he added, people came into court and committed perjury. The state of things was getting so bad that he was afraid something serious would happen. Each day he had to listen to perjury. It was wearing him away, and he was afraid it was having a detrimental effect upon him. HAWKE’S BAY. The Dannevirke Territorials were unexpectedly under file on the sth inst. At the weekly parade one of the number, out of curiosity, inserted a dumdum cartridge, a relic of' the South African war, in the barrel of his rifle. Thinking that the shot had been exploded, ho pulled the trigger and the cartridge discharged, occasioning a large hole in the floor of the drill hall. Many of the cadets were in the hall at the time. The offender was severely reprimanded. WELLINGTON. What appears to be a genuine message from one of the crew of the missing dredge Manchester was found in a bottle picked up at Te Kopuru, near Kaipara, on the 3rd. The message was:—“April 20, dredge Manchester, —We shall all be lost if we are not picked up soon.— Lambert.” Lambert was the name of the fireman on the Manchester, and on April 20 the Manchester was 16 days out on her voyage. John Christian, master mariner, who commanded the Kotuku when she waa wrecked at Greymouth, was charged at Wellington on the sth with attempting suicide by taking lysol. It waa stated that the defendant had recovered as a result of treatment at the hospital, and that his friends were prepared to pay the medical costs and get him to his vessel. The magistrate entered a conviction, and discharged him. Trouble has been brewing over the suspension of a nurse at Masterlon Hospital, and also over the administration of matters in connection with the institution for some time. A climax has been reached by Messrs Ewington, Keith, O’Leary, Cameron, and Jackson, members of the Hospital Committee, resigning. Relations among members of the nursing staff and the officers of the hospital are reported to bo strained, and some interesting developments are expected to follow. The Senior Cadets who represented New Zealand at the Toronto Exhibition arrived in Wellington on the sth by the Auckland express. They were met by the Mayor and a large number of representative citizens and welcomed. Headed by the Fifth Regimental Band they marched to Parliament Buildings, where they were entertained by the Hon. Jas. Allen ai afternoon tea. After being put through some drill they were addressed by the Prime Minister, who stated that they had been a credit to themselves, to their country, and to the officer who had trained them. Cheers were then given for the boys. A six-roomed house at Waihakekc, occupied by Mr Albert Udy and owned by his mother, was blown up by the explosion of 201 b of gelignite on the 15th. Every board went skyward*. There was no one in the

house at the time, and nobody was injured. The following have been appointed King's counsel: —Messrs F. Earl and J. R. Reed, of Auckland; and J. W. Salmond (Solicitorgeneral), A. Graj-, and C. Morrison, of Wellington. The following Dunedin passes in the Pharmacy Board examinations are announced : —Section A: N. S. Peacock and R. G. Mackie; section B: J. A. Johns and M. Lory. NELSON. In the Supreme Court on the 7th Victor Laney claimed £SOO from Alexander Brown for unlawful arrest and imprisonment. The Judge hold that the plaintiff had failed to prove what was reasonable and probable, and gave judgment for the defendant, with costs. WEST COAST. Dairying Is now in full swing throughout Westland. The factories at Arahura, Kokatahi, and South Westland have disposed of their output, amounting to 200 tons of butter and 60 tons of cheese, at very satisfactory prices. It is anticipated that the export of butter from this district next season will amount to 300 tons. At the present time there are three new factories in Course of erection, and the outlook for the dairying industry on the West Coast has never been brigliter. At a meeting of the Westland branch of the Reform League on the sth a resolution was passed congratulating the Prime Minister and colleagues upon passing the Public Service Reform Bill, Widows’ Pensions Act Amendment Bill, Land Agents Bill, and other progressive and democratic legislation; also the determination of the Government to maintain law and order at Waihi. CANTERBURY. SOUTHLAND. As the outcome of the recent strike of the Bluff Territorials the defence authorities took action and prosecuted the defaulters. Five Territorials appeared at (ho court at the Bluff on the sth. Two were fined £3 and two others £4, while the fifth was ordered to come up for sentence when called upon. The department intends to prosecute other Southland Territorials who have defaulted.