DUNEDIN NOTES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 9308, 7 August 1908, Page 1

DUNEDIN NOTES.

[FkOM OyR COKRESPONDENT.] I 1 DUNEDIN, August G. j } Giving evidence in the Arbitration.- --* Court,' Mr R. Green, general manager r of Freeman's coal-mine, Green Island, i stated that ho had calculated thy 1 average wages df men and youths em- . ' ployed, in B'reeman's mine daring tho past two years. The average wage of \ every man and youth for that timo \ was 10s 5d a day. Eliminating noIcL f . men and boys, the average wage of " men would be lls 3d per day. Mr Widdowson, S.M., gave judgment J to-day of some importance to those "' interested in friendly societies. AVii- \ liam Winter proceeded against Wiifc - Hath Crawford (on behalf of the AntiT doto .of Sons . and daughters ' of Temperance) claiming £10 ' as dv» * to him by that Society. Plaintiff was 7 a member of the Antidote Ifivision ol 3 Sons and Daughters of Temperance. " He married about eight years ago, his 1 wife being then over s< forty years of 1 age He gave the notice required un--3 dfer the rules of the Society for, the purpose of having his marriage regis- ? tered, but the secretary of the Division 7 wrote. to him, under instructions from 1 .the Division, declining to register his r wife on the ground that 6he wap over s -the age. Plaintiff . pointed out that she, ' was his first wife. and. that the a&a' v .' limit for a member's wife did not apply ■ £o.:fttf«|^WJV6^ " ..Be", stated that if the Division ihsistosl * 'upon refusing to recognise his' rights k he* would be", compelled . to. carry »the - matter further Plaintiff's wife died * in .February last, and he made applica- " twin to the Division- for payment of £10 f funeral benefit on. her behalf. The Division refused payment, and the 3 plaintiff took proceedings under Sub- - fi'otion 4of Section 27 of the Friendly ' Societies Act 1882, to have the dispute 5 a« to his right to £10 determined by : the Magistrate's Court. Mr Widdow- * Bon over-ruled objections raised as to 5 his jurisdiction. He held that the ■ plaintiff was entitled to recover on the i ground that . he had dpno everything ■ that the rules of the Society required, > that the rules as to the age of members' wives did not apply to first wives, > that "it wastho duty of the secretary 5 to enter the name and all particulars > in the books of the Society, and that ' the Society could not take advantage ' of the neglect of the secretary to per- ! form that duty. Judgment was given ■ for . the amount claimed^ and costs ' £1 16s. The general opinion, expressed in * Dunedin is that the shortage of butter ■ in Sydney will not seriously affect the Dunedin market; In a very short time 1 there promises to be a plentiful supply, although at the moment there is very little butter in the market. The shorf--1 ..ago, it is expected, will be only temporary. Mr R. Green, general manager of Freeman's colliery, told the Arbitration Court this morning that his company threw away 600 tons of dross per yeaor. The employers had to pay fhf> miners Is 4d per ton for dross.