CHRISTCHURCH NEWS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXIX, Issue 20074, 3 April 1935, Page 4

CHRISTCHURCH NEWS

ITEMS FROM THE CITY CHRISTCHURCH. April 2. Personal: Mr W. F. Herrick, general secretary of the New Zealand Commercial Travellers’ and Warehousemen’s Association, left to-night for Auckland to attend the annual conference of the association. Mr C. S. Thomas and Dr A. L. Haslam returned from the north this morning. Mr A. E. M’Phail is in Lewisham Hospital, having undergone an operation. He is progressing favourably. Mr H. D. Acland, who is at present a patient in Lewisham Hospital, is reported to be making a good recovery. He spent a comfortable night and his condition is stated to be satisfactory. Mr H. J. Otley, who has been ill in the North Island for some time past, has made almost a complete recovery, and will return to Christchurch at the end of this week. Arson Charges: Because the detective who was handling the case was suffering from influenza, Chief-Detective W. H. Dunlop applied to Mr E. D. Mosley, S.M., in the Magistrate’s Court to-day. for a remand in the hearing of two charges of arson against Chanel Patrick Murphy, 22, a labourer, of Ely Street. Murphy was charged with wilfully setting fire to a haystack valued at £l2O, the property of William Rogers, and to a stack of vegetable produce and one of hay valued at £125, the property of Terra Ernest Raphael Jones. Both offences were alleged to have been committed on March 20. A remand was granted until April 9. Thieves at Public Library: Petty thieving of books and periodicals at the Public Library is becoming such a nuisance that, in the opinion of the librarian (Mr E. J. Bell), the day does not seem far distant when the library will be forced to revert to the practice of 30 or 40 years ago, and keep all books under lock and key. He said that in the reference library it was becoming really difficult to keep the stock of medical, engineering, and radio publications up-to-date, so regularly were new books stolen, while in the circulating library yachting and

other magazines had had to be removed from the tables and only issued on demand at the office. Preparing for Elections: The closing date for the supplementary roll for the municipal elections will be extended automatically through the amendment in the legislation postponing the election for a week. The law provides that the supplementary roll must close four weeks before the date of the election, so that the last day for enrolment will now be April 10. The supplementary roll is expected to be an exceptionally large one this year, despite the fact that the main roll is already larger than the main roll and the supplementary roll for the last election put together. Both the Citizens Associations and the Labour Party are actively canvassing for enrolments. Surprise was expressed to-day by one experienced election campaigner at the number of persons who were entitled to vote but were not on the roll and had not been for many years. Air Force Recruits: A special refresher course for pilots recruited on probation to the New Zealand Territorial Air Force began to-day at Wigram Aerodrome. The pilots have been selected from the various aero clubs, and will be put through special training with a view to inclusion in the squadrons. The following are attending the course: A. C. Cullen (Auckland), E. A. Barker 'Hawke’s Bay), A. Calvert (Southland), I. C. Neale (Nelson), A. Crighton (Otago), H. P. B. Dive (Wellington), A. B. Greenaway (Auckland), M. R. Green - slade (Otago), E. A. Moen (Otago), R. Morphy (Wellington), J. V. Reid (Wairarapa), K. G. Smith (Wellington), R. W. Stewart (Southland), H. C. Wiles (Blenheim). Theft of Onions: “If you get into trouble again you’ll get it,” said Mr E. D. Mosley, S.M., in the Police Court this morning, when ordering Geoffrey Crawford Turnbull, a labourer, 28 years of age, of Marshlands Road, to come up for sentence if called on within two years on a charge of stealing six bags of onions valued at £2 ss, the property of Frederick Arps. On a charge of stealing two sacks of onions from the same source, Lawrence Weaver, a labourer, 28 years of age, was ordered to come up for sentence if called on within twelve months. Conversion of Car: Charges of theft and of the conversion of a motor-car were preferred

against Edward Joseph Foley, a married man, 28 years of age, and James Duncan Eathorne, a labourer, 22 years of age, when they appeared before Mr E. D. Mosley, S.M., in the Police Court this morning. Both accused pleaded guilty to all charges. Foley, was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment on one charge and to three months’ on each of three other charges. For the conversion of a motor-car, he was also sentenced to three months’ imprisonment. Eathorne, for conversion of the motor-car was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment and on two charges of theft he was sentenced to one month’s imprisonment. Proposed Memorial: Consideration is to be given by the Canterbury Pilgrims’ Association to a proposal put before it at a meeting that the establishment of a settlement at Peraki by a whaling skipper, Captain George Hempleman, supposedly in 1835, should be marked this year by some permanent memorial at The chairman (Mr E. R. Webb) said that it had been established that Captain Hempleman claimed to have purchased the whole of the Peninsula from the Maoris for twelve muskets, but the date was not verified. Quoting Jacobson’s “Tales of Banks Peninsula,” Mr J. O. Jameson said that various dates were given in that book, and while reference was made to Captain Hempleman being at Peraki in November, 1835, it seemed that the settlement was not established until 1836. Captain Hempleman. in his petition to Parliament for recognition of his purchase of the Peninsula, had referred to 1837. After further discussion, the committee decided to make investigations into the date of Captain Hempleman’s first settlement and report to a later meeting. Lewis Pass Road: Plans have yet to be prepared for the bridging work entailed in the further improvement of the Lewis Pass Road, but the task should not cause much delay. In the near future, test piles will be driven in the beds of both the Hope and Boyle Rivers to determine the type of bridges needed. These are the only two large bridges that will be necessary to construct on the route, and they should not present any great engineering difficulty. It is thought possible that this work wall be given early attention, as a bridge across the Hope River is essential if the road formation work on the West Coast side of it is to be pushed ahead expeditiously. The Public Works Department had a camp established beyond this point at the Poplars, but largely owing to the fact that the men were liable to be isolated by a sudden rise in the river for weeks on end, it was decided to close it down and concentrate on improving the road between its turnoff from the main road to Hanmer and the river boundary. Much good work has been done in widening the road and rounding off difficult corners.