NEWS IN BRIEF.

Otago Witness, Issue 3511, 28 June 1921, Page 25

NEWS IN BRIEF.

A meeting of shareholders of the Wellington Gas Company to-day carried a proposal to raise a sum not exceeding £550,000. The New Zealand Returned Soldiers’ Association has forwarded a cable conveying the best wishes to the Prince, of Wales on his twenty-seventh birthday. In the claim for £3OOO damages made by the widow of Huskisson, who died as the result of injuries received through the cart in which he was riding being struck by a motor car, owned and driven by Guy Leslie Fulton, the jury returned a verdict for £BSO. Harold John Salmond, a clerk on the Aotea Land Board, pleaded guilty in the Magistrate’s Court to stealing certain sums aggregating £333 13s lid, the property of the Government. It was mentioned that restitution had been made, Salmond was committed to the Supreme Court, for sentence. At a meeting of the Canterbury members of Parliament, representatives of the Progress League, and the Board of Governors of Canterbury College, it was decided to ask Sir Francis Bell to receive a deputation of South Island representatives on the question of the establishment of a School of Forestry in Canterbury. The lion. D. If. Guthrie told a deputation from the Discharged Soldiers’ Settlement at Avonhead that the Government would postpone the payment of rent if each settler who wanted it postponed made application. Rent would be postponed for six or twelve months without interest, and it would apply to back rent. Mr L. I>. Ritchie has been elected treasurer and chairman of the Finance Committee of the Otago University ( 'ouncil. The Acting Prime Minister (Sir Francis Beil) intimated last, week that as a result of a legal interpretation of the Finance Act. no public servant who was actually guilty of misappropriation of public money coukl escape prosecution. The secretary of the New Zealand Miners’ Federation (Mr J. Arbuckle) has received a letter from the Westport district stating that it is absolutely impossible to get accommodation at Miller von, Stockton, or Denniston. Mr Arbuckle has-been advised that the miners should not go to those places, unless they first of all secure a guarantee of accommodation. In answer to an influential deputation of citizens. Mr C. P. Agar definitely gave his assurance that he, would chal’enge Dr Thacker, M.P.. to resign the mayoralty. Mr Agar further stated he would undertake. if Dr Thacker accepted his challenge, to submit the matter to the judgment of the electors, and he would, if defeated, pay the cost of the election out of his own pocket. A collision between the train from Iluntly and a motor car containing Dr M’Dermott, of Huntlv, and another passenger, occurred at the crossing on the 20th inst. When the driver of the engine saw the motor he attempted to avoid a collision by backing the train, but it was too late, and the engine crashed into the car which was damaged, the two passengers having a miraculous escape. A collection of statistics showing the progress made with repatriation up to May 31 last has been issued by the Hon. D. H. Guthrie. A most significant fact in the return is that of the £1,595.947 advanced by the Repatriation Department, more than one-third has been repaid. Ninety per cent of the men are ’’ regular payers,” the majority of the arrears is due to sickness or accident. Repayments now average £35,000 per month. A very successful concert was held at Palmerston on Wednesday evening in aid of the roll of honour for the District High School. The programme comprised songs by Mesdames Andrews, Sutherland, Wedge, Miss Torrance, Messrs Adams, Diaek, Hayes, Roxburgh, and W. Littlestone, a quartet by Messrs Adams, Benson, Diaek, and W. Littlestone, a violin solo by Master Appleby-, and wand drill and club-swing-ing by the school children The annual meeting of the Strath-Taieri Gun Club was well attended by members, who are anxious to make the club a success. Arrangements are being made to hold a shoot once a month. The election of office-bearers for the coming season resulted as follows: —President, Mr R. Leslie; captain, Mr A. Matheson; referee. Mr F. 11. Taplin; committee —Messrs T. M’Rae, R. Gray, F. 11. Taplin. and A. Matheson; hon. secretary, Mr N. Walker. Some alarm was felt in the Picton Road Board district recently by the rapidity with which a plant or weed was establishing itself. A specimen was forwarded to the Department of Agriculture, and intimation lias now been received that the specimen v.as chicory tChieorum intybus), the seeds of which are frequent, impurities in low grade red clover lines. Chicory, which was grown for commercial purposes at Inchclutha for some years, if cut before flowering does not spread. With n, view to promoting ihe greater unity and efficiency of Snndav school enterprise throughout the dominion there has lately- been formed in the North Island an association known as “Tile New Zealand Association of Sunday School Unions.” This body has been formed as a result of the joint action of the Auckland and Wellington Sunday School Unions, and it is naturally anxious to secure the co-operation of organised Sunday school workers in the South Island also. At the Dunedin Police Court last week a man named Henry Rirrett, alias John Barrett, against whom there were several previous convictions, was sentenced to one month’s imprisonment for a particularly mean theft. A man named Watt met accused in the street, took him to his boarding house and gave him a free men! and a bed. In return Barrett stole Watt’s trousers valued at £2. Another month was added for another charge of obtaining goods by false pretences from a woman who keeps a store in South Dunedin. A very pleasant afternoon was spent on Friday last, when a large gathering of •'White Kibboners” and friends assembled, on the invitation of the Dunedin District Women’s Christian Temperance Union, to bid farewell to Mrs A. S. Adams, who has been a member of the W.C.T. U. for about 25 years. At least 12 of those present- had hccii ai live members of the union for from 20 to 50 years. Mrs Iliett presided, and Mesdames Don ami Adams occupied scats on the platform. 111 a happy speech, Mrs A. O. Broad presented to Mrs Adams a gold-mounted umbrella, suitably engraved. As a sequel to the recent dean tanging of tombstones to the extent of about £l5O in Christchurch Cemetery, two boys aged 14 years and eight years respectively appeared before tlie Juvenile Court at Christchurch.

The mother of the younger boy had stYen children to look after and the eldest soy and his parents boarded with her. ’ihe father of the elder boy was ordered to pay £SO to defray the damage done at the rate of £1 monthly, sentence on the boy to be be deferred if he remain in a home fttr a month. The charge against the younger boy was adjourned provided he entered St. Joseph’s Home. lire new professors at the Otago University are feeling the economic pinch, especially the housing problem. This they find much more serious than they anticipated. or were led to expect. The margin of income remaining after the payment of the cost of housing accommodation is quite insufficient to furnish them with a standard of living approximate to that demanded by their position in tile University and community, and their efficiency is thereby impaired in many ways. Professors Bell, Elder, Pringle and Ramsay have therefore asked the University Council to raise their salaries. Their letter has been referred to the Finance Committee for consideration and report. Jn connection with the censorship on telegrams it now appears that there was a recent instance in which the telegraph authorities at Christchurch declined to transmit a telegram reporting seme Ministerial statement until verified by tho Acting Premier. Phis refusal was under a direction given to ihe Post and Telegraph Department in 1916 during the war. That direction continued until terminated automatically when a state of war ceased to exist, but the telegraph authorities had not. appreciated the fact that tire direction had ceased to be effective. When explaining the position recently the Acting Prime Minister was under the impression he was dealing with an abstract question, and was not aware that a ease had actually occurred recently. The Christchurch official had made a mistake, a. very natural one. and the Acting Prime Minister says that personally he wolud not hesitate to amend the Post Office Act so as to authorise by regia tion the re-establish-nu nt of the rule.