NEWS IN BRIEF.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume III, Issue 882, 7 December 1916, Page 10

NEWS IN BRIEF.

The receipts from the recent Rose Fete have now reached the sum of £llOO, while there are still some large amounts to come in. A brass memorial tablet is being unveiled this afternoon at the Boys' High School to the memory of the late Mr T. 11. .Jackson, forinerlv one of the masters of the school. The following notice has been receive! from the Telegraph Office: '•Persons intending Mending Christmas greetings per cubic messages to soldiers for delivery in England or in France should lodge their messages not later than 12th lust." Perry's Private Band will play the following programme at Victoria Square rotunda this evening:—March, "New Colonial''' (Hal!); overture, Morning, Noon, and Night" (Suppe), by request; valse, "Nights of Gladness" (Ancliffe); Scotch Symphony ( Mendelssohn) ; Evening Bel's, "Angelus" (Lotter); selection, "The Girl iu the Taxi" (Gilbert*; Veil Dance. "Mystic Beauty" (Finck): inarch, "Midnight Special" (Lincoln." "The New Zealand Free Lance Christmas Annual" for !!*!>> has been issued, and sustains its reputation as-a bright and entertaining publication. ft con tains cartoons by half a dozen of the leading artists of the Dominion and verse and stories by over a dozen able writers. A feature of the pictorial part. is the three coloured presentation plate, "The Machine-Gunner." from the graphic pen of the well-known artist, Mr W. A. Bowring. The annual is a 52-page publication. A delightful little example of the curious way in which the feminine mind works at times was experienced by a Christehureh man yesterday. He was summoned to the telephone to converse with a lady on a business matter. When the lady explained her business, he replied, "Oh, well, you had better come to see me personally about that. That would be more satisfactory than a discussion through the telephone." Then quoth the lady, "I am sorry I cannot. Our house is isolated because of an outbreak of scarlet fever, and 1 am ringing up from the telephone booth at the corner of the street." That incident points to the need of some measures to safeguard the health of other people who use the public telephones. The people of the Gisborne district have lately been canvassed for support for a project having as its object daylight saving by putting the clock on one hour from November to March in each year without reference to what the rest of the Dominion may do. The proposal, which originated' with the School Committees' Association, has received the general support of sports bodies, public societies, etc., and has been affirmed by the Borough Council, and steps are to be taken to set the scheme in motion. If the Government raises insuperable barriers, it will be contended that Gisborne 's isolated position and climate renders the district peculiarly suitable for the experiment. An alteration of the dock there would not affect the rest of the Dominion. ' In dealing this morning with a man of dull intellect, who had been convicted of perjury, his Honour Mr Justice Denniston was in something of a quundarv. The prisoner was described by his own counsel as being particularly stupid, while the police designated him as being "soft," and subject to mental lapses. He had a wife and five young children, the family being in very poor circumstances. His Honour said that perjury was becoming a painfully common offence, the sanctity which was attached to an oath showing a gradual tendency to diminish. .The offence was a most serious one, and he was determined to impose substantial punishments in the future. In this case, however, the circumstances were exceptional, and he did not think that the prisoner was a fit subject to bear the burden of the sins of society. In ordering him to come up for sentence when called upon, his Hon our said that he wished it to be distinctly understood that it was only the extremely exceptional circumstances that prompted him to deal so leniently with the prisoner on this occasion.

SECOND-HAND MOTOR CYCLES. We have in Stock at present several good Motors, taken in part payment for Harley Davidsons, which we are prepared to sell at reasonable prices for quick sale. Call and inspect, or write for full particulars.—JONES BROS., Ltd., ]22 Manchester Street. Sole Agents for King Dick ami Harley Davidson Motor Cvcles.