CHRISTCHURCH NEWS.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 17869, 31 January 1928, Page 2

CHRISTCHURCH NEWS.

(From Our Own Correspondent.) OHRISTCHURCH, Jan. 30. THE WEATHER. The weather to-day has been very hot, but there were signs of a change to-night. A few showers would do good, but fanners are not anxious for heavy prolonged rains owing to the imminence of harvesting. SCHOOL HOLIDAYS. State schools in the city and suburbs will re-open on Wednesday, after a summer vacation of six weeks. Some schools which have what are known as “harvest holidays” have already resumed, and will close again during the period of harvest. In other cases local circumstances have necessitated special arrangements being made. The school at liook will re-open on February 7, the delay being caused by the raspberry picking season. The Waitohi Flat School resumed on ■January 9, and Otaio and Morven schools on January 16. They will close again when harvest begins. SCARLET FEVER. When asked this morning if there was any possibility of schools being kept closed on account of prevalence of scarlet fever, Colonel W. Dawson, acting Medical Officer of Health, stated that ns the outbreak was now definitely on the wane, there was no necessity to keep the schools closed. The increase in the number of cases of scarlet fever was due to winter having hung on longer than usual. Now that the weather conditions had improved to such a great extent, fewer cases of scarlet fever were being reported. During the year ended December* 31, 448 cases were reported in the' Canterbury - Westland district, compared with 406 in the previous year. Last week, 23 new cases were notified. “IN THE NECK.” If Leonard Hampton Duffield trespasses on the property of his wife during the next six months, he will get it “in the neck.” •

Mr E. D. Mosley, S.M., told Him so this morning in the Magistrate’s Court. Duffield, who admitted trespassing on his wife’s property during the currency of a separation order, said, that he had gone to see his children, who were not treated well by their mother. Sergeant Almond said that on Saturday night at 8 o’clock Constable Henderson arrested the man at New Brighton. He had just come out of gaol. “What did you go to the house for?” asked the Magistrate. “To see how the children were getting on,” replied accused. The Bench: “You don’t want to spend half your life in gaol?” Accused: “She is a very cruel woman to the children, but she’s had a very nice tongue for outsiders.” The Bench: “And you are a cruel man towards women, eh?” Accused: “Never m my life.” Tne Bench: “A Magistrate made a reparation order against you.” Accused: “I never appeared against her.”- -xx ' The Bench: “Are you going to trespass on your wife’s property again? Accused : “She has had little children of eight years old sleeping out all night.” , . ' The Bench: “Well, put the facts before the Court. Apply for the custody of the children if you have a good case.” Accused: “I should have been five minutes in gaol. I was there five times last, year.” The Bench “Do you want to go hack again for trespassing?”, . Accused: “I don’t want to see her, but the children.” . Sergeant Almond: “He is not paying maintenance, and hasn’t any for over a year. He is all talk. The Bench: “You will be treated leniently on the understanding that you keep away.” Accused: “Thanks.’' . The Magistrate: “You will be convicted and ordered to come up for sentence when called upon within six months. Go there again, and you will “get it right in l the neck.

POISON SERUM. The possibility 1 of New Zealand children being poisoned as a result ot inoculation to provide immunity against diphtheria, such as has occurred in Queensland, is regarded by Colonel Dawson, acting Medical Officer of Health, as extremely remote. Colonel Dawson stated that all serum used by the New Zealand Health Department was subjected to exhaustive tests, and every precaution was taken to guard against poisoning when children were inoculated at schools. Injections weie carried out by school medical ofticers under proper conditions. Nothing or the kind reported from Queensland bad ever occurred in New. Zealand, and m view of the precautions that were observed, it was extremely unlikely that it would oocur. . Dr R. B. Phillips, one of the school special officers for Canterbury District, said that he had not personally carried opt any inoculations against diphtheria, but a little had been done in this district. There was absolutely no compulsion about the matter, and under no circumstances were children treated with injections unless the consent of parents or guardians had been obtained. When it proposed the iwe ot preventive treatment, said Di Phillips, the practice of the Department was o communicate with, parents or £ m V' dl in Writing, explaining the benefits or the treatment. The .letter cone hided as follows:—“If you wish. your children to benefit by this protective please sign attached, form and i 4 to the school medical oftcei, t<ue ot the head, teacher of your local school. GALLANT RESCUE. Carried out by the c,un ' eut ' bathing at New Brighton on Bunda> H Unwin, a young man living at Addington, was rescued by Alec. Stokes, the well-known long-distance summer, who had just returned fiom the New Zealand swimming championships * Dunedin. When-the alarm bell was rung at the Surf Club’s pavilion Unwin had sunk three times. Stokes battled his way out to the drownn g nian after a hard tussle with the oh, sea F S. Taylor, club captain of tlio New Brighton Surf Club, followed Stokes with the belt, wdnle N. Smith and B. Goodland, two other mombois of the same club, operated the hi e and reel respectively. Unwin was n - conscious wffien brought s\fhol . suscitation efforts were nnnedmtoD begun but it was over half an hour before the patient showed any signs of regaining consciousness. fc I ALL OVER BANK Suffering from the shock of a tall down a steep bank, Mrs J i! i- q H , enn ’ s l f ’ a Lytte’ton woman, aged 73, la> on the rocks 600 yards from the Dm illo d. I-lnrbour jetty from about 0.30 on Friday evening until 1 o clock on Saturday morning, while senreli paitn-s scoured the neighbourhood. ~ Mrs Hempstnlk spent too afternoon at Diamond Harbour with her daupb-ter-in-law, Mrs R. Hempstnlk, and in her nnxietv not to miss the on J Inuneh to Lyttelton at 5.30 p.m., m elder woman was burning along some distance in front of the younger, bho got off the beaten track, and, slipping: on pine-needles, fell over a steep hank, receiving cuts and bruises. The shock w as so groat as to render her incnpablo of calling for help. AVhen the younger woman reached the jetty, she was surprised to find that Mrs Hempstnlk was missing She ran bark to look lor her, but nil hour's search was fruitless, and by this time the boat had left lor Lyttelton. A search over a radius of a mile or more failed to find the missing woman, and she was not discovered until 1 o'clock, when Mr Paine Inund her lying on the rocks about 100 yards from the jetty.