IN TOWN AND OUT

Southland Times, Issue 20932, 15 November 1929, Page 6

IN TOWN AND OUT

NEWS OF THE DAY. Encroaching of Deer. According to a statement at the Acclimatization Society last night, deer are seriously affecting at least 17 settlers at Lowburn. It was decided that farmers affected should be provided with free ammunition for combating the menace, but the secretary was instructed to get adequate tallies of deer shot from the settlers. * * * * “Actuary” Defined. Mr Cecil Gostlelow, Government Actuary, in reply to the Crown Prosecutor (Mr H. J. Macalistcr) in the Supreme Court yesterday, gave it as his opinion that “an.actuary is practically an expert who applies the principles of higher mathematics to the problems of finance or to any problems dealing with the contingencies of human life.” » « » * A Dead Letter. The problem of unemployment locally is evidently a dead letter, for those connected with the placing of labour state that all men willing to go to work have been placed. ’ A number of married men who considered that they would be as well off | on casual employment as on relief works | at a distance did not accept the employment offered, but all cases of hardship and ,distress are evidently eliminated. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ Scouts Under Canvas. A week-end under canvas will be spent by members of the St. John’s troop of Boy Scouts who will go into camp at Otatara to the west of the Rifle Range to-morrow. About 30 boys, including one or two from district, troops, who will attend by invitation will be in camp which will be under the charge of Scoutmaster A. Smellie. Visitors are invited to attend on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. The Lane of Evidence. In the Supreme Court yesterday, a witness was proceeding to draw deductions from certain facts, when counsel for the defence objected to the tendering of such evidence. His Honour Mr Justice Kennedy sustained the objection, and gently advised the witness: “Y’our counsel may lead you down a particular lane, and should you desire to follow same, you may do so, but. you must not go down the particular lane you are at present following yourself.” ♦ ♦ * The Quintessence of Frankness! During the hearing in the Supreme Court yesterday of charges against a man of false pretences, a remark,-uttered in all innocence by a female witness, caused some amusement to the Court. In evidence the fact bad been elicited that the accused, though engaged for the most part in the endeavouring to induce persons to become depositors in certain companies, was also a traveller for Bibles. The witness in her Court examination remarked: “I think accused also said he was selling Bibles, but I was not interested in that.” ♦ * ♦ * Scooped the Pool. Local dog fanciers and others interested will be pleased to hear of the remarkable successes of the Invercargill-owned Pomeranian, “Southland’s Pride,” at the dog fanciers’ show at Christchurch this week. The property of Mr Harold Blee, this dog annexed the Pomeranian Cup (all classes), the gold medal championship and five firsts, literally scooping the pool in all events in which prize dogs from all over New Zealand were being shown. It is worthy of mention that at this show last year Mr Blee succeeded in securing several firsts in the Pomeranian classes. * * » * A Graceful Tribute. Mr Justice Kennedy, when presiding at the criminal sessions at the Supreme Court yesterday, had occasion to request counsel to impress upon the witnesses the necessity of their giving their evidence distinctly and in such a sufficiently audible manner that not only he (the judge) and the jury, but also everyone in the Court, might hear. The Crown Prosecutor, Mr 11. J. Macalister, later called as a witness a young lady, who was an adherent of the Salvation Army. At the outset her testimony could scarcely be heard until Mr Macalister, paying a most graceful tribute to General Higgins’s organization, asked, in the following polite strain, the witness to speak louder: “I know you are a member of the Salvation Army, so I want you just to imagine you are with the Army and raise your voice.”