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Star (Christchurch), Issue 12776, 21 October 1919, Page 7

In the case P, Cairns v. Matson and Co., heard in tho Magistrate’s'Court yesterday, a claim for £l3, the purchase money of a horse, the Magistrate held that it had not been proved that a guarantee had been givon. He adjourned the case till Thursday week, to give the plaintiff an opportunity of finding the man whom he had asked for a trial. At tho meeting of the Tramway Board yesterday Mr S. _A. Staples asked uliat was tho position in regard to the merging of the Riocarton Tine. The chairman (the Hon J. Barr) stated the procedure, wliioh, he said, culminated in a resolution by a public meeting of a particular district confirming tho action of tho board for merging in the general area. A poll would have to be taken subsequently. Mr Staples asked, in tho event of the poll being taken, and the proposal being lost who would have to pav. The chairman replied that in that case tho legal position was that the board would have to pay. Later Mr Pearce asked as to the racecourse fares to Riccarton, and the Hon J. Barr said that tho whole position as to that suburb would have to be reviewed, if they wore not willing to assist. Riccarton was being more liberally treated at the present time than there was any justification tor. "here was also the very important question in the event of an accident on the line as to who was responsible. Mr StaplesT-emarkcd that they had had that risk all the time. The Hon J. Barr replied that risks bad not been appreciated in their full value proviously, but the full seriousness of such had been brought homo since the unxortunato accident at Heathcote, No news lias been received in Christchurch regarding tho movements of the Cope Antarctic Expedition, which is expected to start from South Africa to explore the regions to the southward. A very good idea of the work that lies before tho expedition may ba obtained from the excellent map of the southern regions, prepared and published by tho JSew Zealand Institute in 1909, just after Shackleton’s dash to within one hundred miles of tho Pole. This map shows that the principal islands directly I south of Africa are the Crozets, Marion Island and Prince Edward Island, which are about half-way between tho Cape and the South Pole. Dr Chilton, who has been actively interested in the collections from various other points ol the Antarctic region, which have been much more fully explored, says that there are no collections from this group, and much useful work lies before the expedition, not only there, buVat Kemp Land and Enderby Land. This is the region in which the least exploring has been done, and it is possible that land will be found west of Enderby Land. There is one very interesting island m that region—Bouret Islandon which a landing has never been made, and although discovered a very long tube ago, Cook was unable to find it, and several others also failed to find it, owing to faulty charting. A landing by the Cope expedition, therefore, would bo very great interest.