LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 14463, 30 November 1914, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

To-day was St. Andrew’s Day and was celebrated as' a holiday by banks and Government offices. The polling places for the Wanganui electorate are advertised in another column of this issue. A gift sale will be held after the Horticultural Show, on Wednesday, at the Drill Hall, in aid of the Belgian Food Fund. The sale will be conducted by Mr John Coull. A small pair of children’s slices were handed to Mr Coull at his auction on Saturday to bo sold for the Belgian Food Fund. Those were sold, and resold to several buyers who had no use for them. The result, however, was £2 handed to the fund. When driving from Feilding to Wanganui on-Saturday evening, a motor car, driven by J. Simon, collided with a horse on the No. 1 Line near Putiki. The horse, which was straying on the road, had a leg broken and was subsequently destroyed. A paragraph in Thursday’s issue stated that the Ghurka soldiers fighting in Europe had been said to cut off the cars of the Germans and wear them as buttonholes. An officer residing in Wellington, who has been in command of Oluirka regiments, has told a Times reporter that the reported practice was, entirely foreign to the nature of the Indian hill-soldier. The Ghurka would no more think of wearing portions of his enemy’s anatomy than would a white mam The story, according to this officer, must be a Gorman fabrication. Several hundred third-class passengers will be coming to New Zealand by the steamers Mamari and Somerset, which have replaced the Arawa and Kuapehn respectively. The assisted immigrants will comprise 22 domestic servants, 12 farm labourers, and 99 separated relatives, who are being brought out by tho ■Mamari, nud 13 domestic servants, 9 farm labourers, and 42 separated relatives, who are coming by the Somerset. The number of farm labourers included among the immigrants shows a big falling-off, undoubtedly due to the progress of enlistment for service at the front. ' Although the breeze was stiff, and a little keen, there was a very good attendance of spectators and members at the .beach on Saturday afternoon, when tho Castlccliff Surf Club officially opened their season. Owing to the roughness of the sea, some of the water events had to be cancelled, but the rest of the programme went off very well, especially the boys’ and girls’ races, and, judging by their pleased expressions, the youngsters had a good time. Afternoon tea was handed round by the members of the ladies’ branch, and was most acceptable and enjoyable. Mr Nixon ’ vice-president of the club, officially opened the season and wished the club a successful year. In the Supreme. Court at Wellington on lliursday morning, his Honor the Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout) delivered reserved judgment in the Wanganui case of George William McCaul v. Donald Fraser, an action concerning the will of tho late Duncan Fraser, farmer, formerly of Rangitikei. The plaintiff in the action is a son of the late Catherine McGregor, who was a daughter of Dnncan Fraser, and the defendant is a son of the latter. Duncan Fraser died in August, 1879, and left a will cf which the defendant (Donald Fraser) was executor and trustee. In December. 1901. the late Catherine McGregor received ,£IOO and signed a deed releasing the defendant (Donald Fraser) fromfurtli:r liability in his nosition as trustee. Plaintiff now alleged that this deed was signed without full knowledo-c of the fac*s, and nrayed that it should be declared void.' He further asked tho Court to rcmoVc the defendant from tho position of trustee, to appoint the Public Trustee in his p’ace. and to order that accounts be taken and the estate of Duncan Fraser administered nu l er dccroojof the Supreme Court. The defence set oiit that the duties of trustee bad b-en faithfully carried out and that tho will of Duncan Fraser had been read over to tho late Catherine McGregor l oft re she became rarty to the deed of December, 1901. His Honor, in the course of his judgment, expressed tho opinion that, in Co case of this kind, whore neither fraud nor mistake had been proved, no Court of Equity could set aside a family agreement after such a great lapse of time. Plaintiff must fail in the suit, and judgment would bo given for tho defendant with cqsti (as on a claim for £600) according to scale, £ls 15s a day for second counsel for two days, together with witnesses’ cx--1 pomes, disbursements, and interlocutory cos's. At the hearing Sir John Findlay, K.C., with him Mr C. B. Collins, of Wnn-c-anni, appeared for the plaintiff; -while Mr H. D. Bell. K.C., with him Mr W. J. Treadwell, of Wanganui, appeared for the defendant.