INTERPROVINCIAL.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14848, 27 February 1919, Page 3

INTERPROVINCIAL.

(Per Pi'ess Association.) AUCKLAND, this day: In the action for slander between Thomas Best, contractor, of Maungarangai, nnd Owwald Orr, a farmer, of PaTengarua-, at the Supreme Court, the jury awarded £200 damages. Iv the case" of Stephen Airy, charged with embezzling £95 form the Hikuranga Dairy Company, tho jury found a verdict of not guilty.

WELLINGTON, this day. The Zealandic's troops will not disem bark until Friday.

After two conferences between representatives of the New Zealand Typo- \ graphical Federation and the executive of the Newspaper Proprietors' Association and Master Printers' Federation a settlement has been arrived at on the men's demands for an alteration of thc hours and wages under the War Regulations Act. The conference resulted m a reduction of 48 to 45 hours per week as from the Ist of January next. j Mr. Riddell, S.M., to-day gave judgment m a case brought by the Inspector of Awards to decide the question as to the liability of an employer to pay wages during the influenza epidemic. The defendant is licensee of the Grand Hotel and the inspector asked to recoyer a penalty for breach of the Hotel workers' Award m that he failed to pay wages to a cook and barmaid. The Magistrate said that to relieve himsos from liability the defendant would require to have, on the closing of his premises, terminated the engagement of his employees m a proper manner, a breach of the award had been committed, and judgment would be for the plaintiff. It ,is officialy announced that the Hororata, with the Main Body draf t aboard, will make Wellington about the j 15th of March. The contingent, officially known as returning draft No. 221, comprises 1503 officers and other ranks. The Hororata left the United Kingdom on Ist February, and is coming via Panama. DUNEDIN, this day. Thei Conciliation Council yesterday heard a dispute between the Otago flour mills employees and employers. The principal matter m dispute were wages, an increase of about 5d per hour on the average being asked, and fixing the hours starting and leaving work. After discussion it was decided to adjourn the dispute until another conference is held m Christchurch, on the understanding that any agree ment reached m Christchurch will apply to the whole Dominion. The. dispute was adjourned till March 11 tc. enable the union to appoint assessors to represent Dunedin, Oamaru, and Canterbury at the Christchurch conference. A statement by the Minister of Agriculture relating to the export of skins and hides formed the subject of a meeting at Rurnside stock sales. The following motion was carried unanimously : "This meeting of farmers, graziers, butchers, etc., views with alarm the proposal by the Government to prohibit the export of skins and hides from New Zealand except by consent of the Minister of Customs. We also declare such action to be inimical H the country's best interests; that it will foster exploitation, to avoid which we respectfully ask for a free and open market. We further pledge ourselves to take action to prevent the Government from carrying out the proposed embargo. Other centres are nts^s^ to take similar action." (Snccinl to ihe Herald * CHRISTCHURCH, this day. Mr. Maurice Richmond, who dropped dead last night, was a nephew of the late Judge Richmond', of Wellington. He was eddfcated m England, France, and Germany, and was afterwards surveying with his father m Ale-eria. He took up law when he returned to New Zealand", and was for many years a partner m the Wellington legal firm of Mrtin and Richmond. He was editor of the New Zealand Law Reports and law lecturer to the Victoria College. For past years he had been a partner m the Christchurch legal firm of Duncan, Cottfill and Co. His eldest son. Major M. Richmond', New Zealand Artillery, was killed on the Western front just before the armistice.