CHRISTCHURCH NEWS.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 17773, 8 October 1927, Page 8

CHRISTCHURCH NEWS.

(From Our Own Correspondent). CHRISTCHURCH, Oct. 7. DESERTION 1 TOO COMMON. “There has been too much desertion of wives by husbands, and husbands by wives, in Now Zealand,” said Mr E. D/ Mosley, 5.1V1., in the. Magistrate’s Court, to-day. ,“A man must maintain his wife'.”. These remarks were made in ’ the eouysh of the heaving of - ’a, charge; Against George Kenneth : Watson,, of having wilfully and'without sufficient, cause, failed to maintain his wife? . . .. Watson pleaded;.'guilty-/.' • 'find said that he was a farm labourer and .earned £2 a week, and,,found. ITe could afford to. pay perhaps’TO/-’to; wards the maintenance of his wife. The Magistrate: "You can’t pay that much. We’ll make it 15/- a week. : An order'will be made that plaintiff'is'no longer bound to- cohabit with defendant.” Mr Simpson, who appeared for plaintiff, said defendant was married on a Wednesday of last June, and after taking £3 'from- the woman’s purse, he deserted her on the following Friday. The Magistrate said he did not want to inquire of Watson what had happened between the parties, but he would impress on him that a man must maintain the woman he took for his wife. There might be cases of marrying in haste and repenting ■.at leisure. Mr Sampson: “Watson repented iu haste also.”’ . DANCING COMMENDED. Referring to a cable which appeared this morning, stating . that , Sir Harry Verney, M.P., at the Church Congress, had exhorted the Church to encourage dancing, Canon Wilford said: “Dancing, like everything else, is all right if done in the right spirit. It is a 3 old as tho hills. The world has never been without it, as it is a natural expression of human emotion, and a natural outlet for the youthful spirit. It comes under the arts. It interprets music and poetry, and therefore is. a God-given gift, but not to be abused. Classical dancing is a thing of great beauty. Dancing is also extremely healthy when not conducted in over-heated and overcrowded places, but, like everything else, it can be misused.” “I think the statement is quite wise,” said the Rev. J. F. Coursey. “Young people will dance, and it is better for them to dance in good surroundings than in bad. In dancing itself there is nothing sinful, unless it is overdone, as it often is. The church should encourage young people to meet the right kind of friends, and not force them to pick up undesirable companions in public dance halls.” “There is very little one can say about the cable,” said the Rev. Charles Perry. “It seems to me so footling. The Church has always encouraged dancing and still does. We run dances all through the winter, and like them. We do’ not allow drink oil the premises, but we encourage dancing all we can. These cables come out from England to us here, pointing out things that we have known for years. They seem to think that we are benighted. There is no harm iu dancing, .in fact there is much good. It is only the..Puntan element which has crept into the Church in the seventeenin century that looks on dancing as a sin;”

THE ALL-BLACKS. When interviewed to-day, Mr T. Milliken, a member of the New Zealand Selection Committee, endorsed the statement made by Mr E.. McKenzie, chairman of the Selection Committee, that the team is a wellbalanced one with strong forwards and equally strong backs. “There, is a wealth of talent in the Dominion, and I am confident that there are a heap of players left to form an effective combination to meet the New South Wales Rugby team, which visits the Dominion next season,” said Mr Milliken. “The AllBlacks team to play New South Wales iu the test matches should do very well, and should uphold the tradition of former All-Black teams.” Mr Milliken said he thought that the system of selection had been a thorough one, and that every player available had been given a fair opportunity of showing his capabilities. The selectors had been fortunate in that fine weather had been experienced for the trial. The strain of trial matches undoubtedly began to tell on some of the players, several of whom liad had four hard games on end. Uncertainty and doubt as to the selection created a tension which caused further strain on the players.” Regarding the inter-island game, Mr Milliken said that a more exciting or thrilling game could not bo wished for. The game had been brilliant, and full of Incident, and the players never slackened. It had been an ideal game for a trial match. Mr Milliken told a good story of the last trial match. A Wellington man passing a hotel, spoke to the selector. He mentioned that his young son had been to the football match. When he came home in the evening, his father questioned him about the game. The .boy’s reply was short and to the point: “Not bad, but Cooke spoiled it.”