LAST NIGHT'S NEW ZEALAND NEWS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10960, 1 May 1907, Page 1

LAST NIGHT'S NEW ZEALAND NEWS

(Per Pre3i Association.)

AUCKLAND, last night. The Auckland Harbor Board has resolved to consider the question of taking steps to acquire control of Manukau harbor. In criticising the present method of management by the Marine Department, one member of the Board said nothing had been done to the Onehunga wharf for 15 years.

The s.s, Suffolk, wliich arrived this morning, has on board 115 third-class passengere— 3s for Auckland, 30 for Well ington, 25 for Lytteltou, and 16 for Port Chalmers. The immigrants all appear to be of a very good class. They were received by Mr J. E. March, of the Immigration Department. A five-roomed house at Kingsland, owned by Mr Charles Kayes and occupied .by an alien named Paul Rooch, was gutted by fire early this morning. Rooch lost all liis effects, including £50 m bank notes. The insurances were £150 m tlie Royal on" the house and«£26o m the National, on the contents. Tlie occupiers had some little difficulty m making their escape, Rooch having to carry out his wife, who is a cripple. " Owing to the continued indisposition of the Chief Justice, the King Country sittings of tlie Native Land Commission have been adjourned for several weeks. Messrs Ngata and A. L. D. Fraser, M"s.H.R., have been m Auckland for several days collecting information regarding the cases to be dealt with within the area affected, which covers quite a million acres. Mr Skerrett, who with Mr Fraser- is engaged 4 on behalf of the natives, has also arrived in-Auckland.

Cable advice has been received of the death at Hobart to-day of Mr E. B. Heriot, formerly headmaster of the Remuera public schooL Deceased retired from the headmastership of the'Remuera school under the teachers' superannuation Scheme about; twelve months ago. He took a leading part m the Education Institute and Anglican Church work. ! Tlie Very Rev. Father Gillan, VicarGeneral of the Auckland Roman Catholic diocese, met with a trap accident to-day. He was driving round a corner m Upper Queen street, when he was thrown out of the trap, and fell on his head. When picked up he was unconscious. He sustained very severe wounds on the forehead and scalp, with linear fracture of the skull. In addition, his face and lips were badly cut. He was taken to a private hospital. Dr. Porter, who attended him, does not think the accident will lead to anything of a serious nature. The Customs duties collected at Auckland for April totalled £72,914, as com-: pared with £49,100 for the corresponding period last year, showing an increase of £23,814. The beer duty amounted to £2044. as against £1326 for April, 1906. Tlie export of gold -shows a decrease m tlie quantity exported, being this month 11,7880zs 17dwt, as against ,19,5690zs lOdwt for April last year. Tlie butter exported this month was 4767cwt, of a value %of : £23,890, as against 2244cwt, valued at £11,340, m April.. 1906. A.t a _ meeting of the Harbor Board to-day, it was stated that during the "past quarter the revenue of the Board had shown an increase of £3045, which was a record.

Judgment was given by Mr Justice Cooper this afternoon m the appeal case of Brown v. Ambury, m which the point involved was the interpretation of tlie regulations .under "The Dairy Industry Act, 1898." Appellant is a dairy inspepr tor, and respondent a dairyman, who was charged with a breach of the regulations by failing to cleanse, within a. period of four hours of use, milk cans iiised m or about his dairy. Tlie case had been dismissed by the magistrate on the ground that.-; the. facts did not show" that Ambury was tlie responsible party.' His Honor remarked that as respondent was m possession of the cans from .6.30 m the evening until 9 o'clock next morning the regulations would 'be a deadi letter if he was not the person to be held responsible for the cleansing of the cans. He allowed the appeal^with £7 7s costs, ordering a reference back to the Magistrate, with a direction that a breach of the regulations had been committed. As the conviction carried with it the cancellation of the respondent's license, and the respondent had acted honestly m Contesting the regulations, he suggested that afresh license should- be granted to him or the infonfi'ation -.Withdrawn. .

* Judgment, was given by Mr Justice Cooper this' afternoon m an interesting will-case. The deceased, John Coles, who prepared his own will, bequeathed £260 each to his brother and sister, and the rest of the property to his wife and children. There were no children of the marriage, but deceased was father of three illegitimate children, all of whom were born before his marriage. His widow was not the mother of any of these childiren, but tw 0 of them continued to reside with him and his wife after their marriage. It had been held by the Commissioner that the three children were the children intended to be benefited under the will, an 1 that they shared equally with tire widow m the residue ot the estate, and he assessed the duty accordingly. Tliis assessment was appeal" ed against. His Honor held that tnere was, nothing m the will or the circumstances which was inconsistent with tlie •'wilL.df the testator to benefit the children of Aiis marriage if any were bom alter the date of the will, i'he appeal was allowed, with £7 7s costs, aud it was ordered that the final bondage of the es tate be assessed pn the understanding that the illegitimate children did noi benefit under the will. „ • A large number of cases' ill connection with the illicit liquor trade m the King Country were belore Mr Northcroit, S.M., at last week. The police during December and January last bought several samples of liquor sold as "hop beer," and had it analysed by Mr J. A. Pond, colonial analyst. The result was that with one exception the liquor was found to contain alcohol m proportions ranging from four to seventeen per cent., tlie standard percentage for hop beer being 2£ per cent. As a result of the' prosecutions, Stephen McGrath, William Pollard; George Murdoch, William and Fred Brinson and Jolm Bath were each convicted and fined £1 and £4 costs on charges of brewing without a license. Moore and Crump, Thomas Day and Jolm Bailey were each fined £Htud costs for selling over-proof hop beer, whilst McDonald Bros, were trued £2 for a similar offence. Innes and Co., brewers, of Hamilton, pleaded guilty to sending over-proof hop beer to tlie King Country, and were fined £4. with costs £8 10s. A. Hyde, of Te Awanuihi, on a similar charge, was .fined £1 and costs £4. John Nicholls, for selling .liquor within a prohibited area, Was sentenced to three months' hard labor. Frank Rhodes and J. M. Singleton, first offenders, were fined £1 and 5s respectively for introducing' liquor into the Native kainga of TaumarunU'i. William Blair was convicted on a charge of keeping for sale nine bottles of whisky, and was fined £5 and costs £4 9s. NEW PLYMOUTH, last night. Before Mr Riddell, S.M., to-day, R. F. Roebuck was fined £10 and costs for having sold goods by auction, he being unlicensed. Defendant officiated as auctioneer m disposing of thank offerings at a Methodist harvest festival m the country,, and pleaded that the offence was committed m ignorance. The Magistrate said he could not inflict a lesser fine than £10, but on the suggestion of defendant's counsel agreed to make representations to the Department asking that the penalty be remitted and only a nominal flue imposed. WANGANUI, last night Tho Borough Council hav,e appointed Mr Charles* Cowdery, C.E., of Christchurch, to be tramways construction engineer. -'•».■"" WELLINGTON, last night. The writ .for the Taranaki by-election was issued to-day. It is expected the election will be held on May 14th. A conference of insurance managers doing business m the colony met this morning, and subsequently a deputation waited on Dr Findlay to discuss tlie Fire Brigades Act. The proceedings were of a private nature.

At v meeting of the Seddon Memorial Committee this evening, it was decided to continue the canvass for subscriptions towards a national memorial, and to cable to Sir Joseph Ward with reference to securing donations from colonials m London, t It is anticipated that "Miramar will be connected with the city tramway system by the middle of May. Cabinet has accepted the tender of N. Trayne. *_ivercurgill, for alterations to Parliamentary Buildings. Cheap grapes for at least tlie lower part of New Zealand are likely to be an established institution next summer. Mr Scott, Commissioner for South Australia at the New Zealand Exhibition, said to a Post representative that he hoped to return to thLs country and supply delicious muscatel grapes to retailers at 4d per pound, and they could profitably pass them on to the public at 6d. Tlie fruit could -be sold at that cost m Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin.

Speaking m connection .with the Exhibition. Mr Scott, Commissioner for South Australia, states that the expenditure will probably pan out nearer £100.000 tluui £50,000; but. at the same time, New Zealand has got over £100,000 of benefit m ircreased Customs dues, railways, post and telegraph, and other items. There could be no doubt that the expenditure was amply j_tified^ny|^^;l?e_eflts acnairad. __*&W*i_mli&S&r f .-. : C^..-^_' l. t .> .

I Recently the Lower Hutt Borough Council decided to take a poll as to converting the borough into a fire district under the Fire Brigades Act, but it was discovered that a certain provision of the Act (sec. 31) would have a. very detrimental effect, inasmuch as on the creation of a fire district all lands and buildings occupied by a brigade become vested m the Board, which has to pay to the local authority a rental of 4^ per cent' on tlie capital value of all land and buildings so vested m the Board. This would have been a serious matter for the Council, as the land m question is worth anything irp to £2500. Accordingly the poll was indefinitely postponed.- It is believed that many other boroughs are m a similar position, v ' . .

I The Hon. Dr. Findlay, under whose department the administration of the Fire Brigades Act comes, says he has to consider if the section of the Act referred to (and he did not think it did) admitted of the meaning attributed to it by the Mayor of Lower Hutt. "I admit," he said, ' "that the section is badly worded, but. j don't think it can be construed so as tS> vest m/ the Board any greater interest 'than*^ is vested m a fire brigade. It is clearly j not intended to transfer m fee" simple, i for the section provides for a rental to ' be paid to "the owners of land," nor can I it be, m my opinion, the intention of the ! Act to give to the Board a lease m perpetuity. I think- the Act does not do ! more than effect a transfer from' the Brigade to the Board of the Brigade estate and its interest m lands occupied by it. If the Brigade is a mere tenant at will of tlie Borough Council, there is nothing m the Act . winch prevents the Council from determining the tenancy at any time, notwitlistanding the creation of a Fire Board

GREYMOUTH, last night. Oil' Friday the Hon. A. .-R,'-. Guinnes* cabled to Sir J.'-G. Ward stating that the people expected him to-rffdvocate at the Conferejice for the Admiralty to make a harbor at Point Elizabeth, and urged the sending out of an engineer to report. This afternoon the following reply was received: "I have dealt with defence matters generally at th c Conference. I will bring the Point Elizabeth matter under the special notice of the Admiralty.— Ward." At the Harbor Board meeting to-day" the' engineer was instructed to prepare plans for lagoon docks, and the Government will' be asked to give authority for the commencement of the work at once.

John Galbraith, chief engineer of the s.s. Kotuku, died yesterday after a painful illness. The vessels m port had their flags at half-mabt. ," '.

_ TIMARU, last night. Considerable, uneasiness has been caused here by the distribution of a circular by tlie Labor Department demanding compliance with the Factories Act, 1901, requiring women and boys under 18 employed m factories to be given a weekly halfholiday on Saturday. Hitherto they have been given Thursday, the same afternoon as shops, and drapers .who" employ tailoresses, dressmakers, and milliners, and their country customers will be greatly inconvenienced, as Saturday is recognised as market day by country people. The subject was brought up at the annual meeting of tli© Chamber of Commerce this evening, and a resolution was passed requesting tlie Minister of Labor to allow the Act v tb remain suspended as heretofore until Parliament meets, ,and a deputation was appointed to wait on the Hon. W. Hall-Jones on his visit this week.

OAMAR'U, last night. . At a meeting of ;he Employers' Association to-night it was decided to emphatically protest against tli© action of the Laibor Department m withdrawing tlie permission to close factories on the same day as the local half -Holiday for shops and substituting Saturday instead. The resolution.-, is^ to be 'forwarded to the Minister for Labor.

DUNEDIN, last night. , . A case against the Invercargill Shipping Company, for not reporting to the Marine Department an accident oh- the steamer Invercargill at Waikawa on March 14th, wa s heard before Mr Widdowson, S.M., to-day. The point at issue was whether the "vessel had been so materially damaged by going on a rock as to seriously affect her seaworthiness". The Magistrate's opinion was that the damage was not sufficient' to materially affect the seaworthiness of. the vessel, and the case was dismissed. The directors of 'the National Fire and Marine Insurance Company have declared an interim divjdend of 9d per. share for the lialf-yearended. 3lst March last. Tlie dividend wul be payable on 'the 16th inst.. '..■'• 3N.VERCARGILL, last night. The total Customs duties collected here m April amounted to £6815, as against £6749 last April. The beer duty was £150, compared with £108, spirits £2184 (£2307), wines £60 (£100), and imported ales and beer £4 (£11). The liquor duties therefore show a decrease of £116 as compared with last April. Tlie vital statistics for the month show that the births were 33, deaths 23. and marriages 51, as compared with 3?, 14, and 31 for the same month last year.'