LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 9319, 20 August 1908, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

' There was .almost a clean chargesheet at the Magistrate's Court this morning; one first offender for drunkenness supplying the only business. -:"-<•)■ A Frees Association telegram from Auckland says that counterfeit halfsovereigns have been circulated in Auckland. Theyvare perfect imitations of the genuine article, though, easily detected if tested by ringing. A Press Association message from Dunedin stages that the Operative But-. cherts' Association and, the Grocers' Assistants' Association have decided that they could not adopt the motion remitted by the Trades and Labour Conference regarding no-license, as the question was one for individual action. In connection with Canada's appeal to the History Penny Fund the schools of the dominion aro responding well. The Education Board is anxious that headteachers of schools in this district should close their subscription lists promptly and send iv the amounts receivea to the Board. There are about fifty schools in the North Canterbury district responding to the appeal. At the Supreme Court this morning, during the hearing of charges «of robbery under arms against Johnston, Bolton and Keegan, one of the accused, Johnston, indignantly drew hie Honor's attention to the fact that one of the witnesses, Dearsley, had told the Tobbers he was "only a poor snob, toiling for a crust," and it now appeared he was a builder. If a man would lie on one occasion', he would lie on another. ,His Honor said that Johnston had settled a question of ethics that had been worrying the world for ages — whether it was wrong to lie under any circumstances. Johnston was evidently joking, however, when he suggested, that because a man made a " poor mouth ,'.'• when bailed up by a robber he was likely to corao into Court and cdmmit perjury, The cc time payment " system cropped up at a meeting of tho Wellington Benevolent Trustees on Tuesday., There was the man who had " purchased " a piano and had paid a few pounds on it, and also there was the sewing machine that would belong th this man's wife — some day. Work fail-, ed, the man 'had to go away ; and so did the piano.' Another man had furnished lavishly on the "time payment system, 17a 6d a week out of a total wage of 30s weekly.. The almost inevitable occurred; the lavish furniture departed, together with the deposit. The "New Zealand Times" save thai the Trustees' meet so much of this sort oftEing that they refuse to be angry ; they_are merely sorry and mildly dubious about the hire system. "The Maoris are not clean. They are afflicted with skin diseases, and if they are continually in the close neighbourhood of Europeans they are liable to carry these diseases to white people/ Thus spoke Mr G. Edgecombe in advocating the erection of a separate school for Europeans at Taumaranui at yesterday's meeting of the Auckland Education Board. "If it is not provided,?' continued Mr Edgecombe, ' r a number of the children in Taumaranui will not have the benefits of a public school education." Taumaranui was referred to as a growing and important centre, and several members expressed the opinion that the existing state cf affairs was very undesirable. THt Board's architect will shortly furnisi a report on the matter, and the Boarc will, if necessary, make application, foi a grant. The "New Zealand Times" states that many inventors arej puzzling orei the probjem of preventing the spread of disease\ through telephone transmitters, as they recognise that telephone users do riot want to take unnecessary ri9ks.< Specimens of the latest produc* tidn are now in the hands of tiie Department for experimental parpoe«v but they are not altogether a success* They have the transmitter and receive* all in- one piece, with a cornet-shapedl attachment to catch the sound, inter which it is not necessary to epeak directly. The instrument, which is hold to the ear in' the ordinary way, li«c along the cheek, the opening coming about level with the chro. But it is feared that it would not be of much us© to people speaking over long lines, as even over short ones the voice gets rather indistinct. Apparently for many a day the old style will have to be used, especially for long-distance work, "and subscribers will just- have to continue taking risks.

Aii adjourned meeting of creditors in 16 bankrupt estate of J. W. Tant was sld at the office of the Official Assignee joterday afternoon. A report was reeved regarding the accounts in the tate, and the meeting was further adurned. At the Hastings Magistrate's Court toty, says a Press Association telegram, harles Tipping, a labourer, was comiited for trial on a charge of assaultig a woman by striking Tier on tho sad with a spade. Bail was allowed, reused for £100 and two sureties of 50 each. There has been a considerable influx sheep into the Auckland district durig the winter, the largest number beig drafted into the Waikato. Since the leep. census closed iv 4P r^ no fe wer lan 40,000 wethrfrs have been brought rerland, generally froni the southern istricts of Taranaki and portions of awke's Bay and "Wellington, into the foikato. Although there was a very reat influx two years ago to ail parts 1 the province, the sheep , immigration > the Waikato this. "winter is unpreklented in the history of Auckland as sheep-grazing district. These figures low, of course : , that the frozen meat idustry and the Auckland meat trade re both increasing, and that land is aing steadily settled. The mixture of New Zealand butter ith margarine in a large margarine ictory near London formed an intersting feature of a visit of inspection >cently paid to the premises by a resismt of Wellington. Choicest " Kakaimea," " Thames Valley," and other ew Zealand brandy/ were on view, and ere being used for blending purges. The English Act allows the use : 10 per cent of primo butter in the anufacture of margarine. "It is a >lend idly fitted up factory," remarked i informant in , conversation with a New Zealand Times" reporter, "and nploys about 700 hands. The output ' margarine is 700 jtons per week, just ton for every employee. This firm is an immense connection in all paints England, and the best quality of its argarine is so much like butter that it almost impossible to distinguish the fference." Many people will be interested to am from a case than was tip in the ourt of Session recently (says the lasgow " Herald ") that there are ill four English Episcopal cbngregaons in Scotland having no connection • fellowship with the Scotch Episcopal hurch with its hierarchy of bishops, rinius, etc. The remnant are St hoinas's, Edinburgh; St Silas's, Glasaw; St Peter's, Montrose; and Lord lverclyde's ohapel at AVemyss Bay. hey are all Low Church, which is perips a sufficient reason for their mainlining their separateness. It appears jw, however, that these English Episipalians are minded to come into what ord Halsbury would call a kind of mnection with the Scotch Episcopal hurch. They are asking the Court for aye, inter alia, to devote part of leir funds to the payment of a subiription to the augmentation fund of ly bishop of the Episcopal Church in cotland exercising episcopal functions >r any of their congregations. Th© jealousy with which .the Farers' Union guards some of its affairs om the public eye was evidenced b yesterday's meeting of the North anterbury branch, when Mr G. W. eadley was reporting on the colonial >nference of the Union. The oonferlce, Mr Leadley said, had received a sputation from the manufacturers and aders in regard to the Arbitration ct ? but it appeared that the two >dies were not at. all of the same tind. At this stage there was a warnig whistle from Mr R. Evans, who Bgged Mr Leadley not to " give away ny cabinet secrets." Mr Leadley relied that he would not do so. The Tbitration Act was of some service to le manufacturers, because it prevent--1 any of them from playing "beggar iv neighbour." Each employer knew hat he had to pay hitmen,' "and that, l his opinion, was the only redfieniing >ature in the whole business, for the lanufacturers could not cut each thers' throats. Mr D. Jones interosed thafcthey cut the farmer's, throat. Lr Leadley went on to say that the >nference had pointed out to the deutation that they could pass the ex■a cost on to the consumer, but the irmers could not do so. The deputaion had grasped the seriousness of the osition as it related to farmers.