TELEGRAMS.

Hokitika Guardian, 4 March 1920, Page 3

TELEGRAMS.

(PEB PBESS ASSOCIATION. —COPYBICIHT.j

NEW MINISTERS. WELLINGTON, This Day. CHRISTCHURCH, March 3. 1 Mr D. G. Sullivan, M.P., Secretary , of the Canterbury Members of Parliament lias sent the following telegram • to Hon Mr Coates, the new Minister of : Public Works:— “The Canterbury members of Parliament Committee congratulate you on your appointment as Minister of Public Works. We trust that you will give Canterbury matters a just share of your attention. We specially commend to your notice the national, as well as the provincial interest there exists in completing the East and West Coast Railway. This work has proceeded at too slow a pace, and the Dominion is losing a thousand pounds a week in interest on the money expended, and not yet re-venue-proceeding. "We -look to you to accelerate the completion of the work. BERTHING OF THE RENOWN AUCKLAND, Feb. 27. Admiral Sir Lionel Halsey has accepted the Auckland Harbour Board’s offer to berth H.M.S. Renown at the Queen’s Wharf on the occasion of the Prince of Wales’s visit. A SALE OF lODINE. ALLEGED BREACH OF PURE FOOD AND DRUGS ACT. MASTERTON, Feb. 27. A somewhat unusual case was heard before Mr S. L. Free, S.M., at the Magistrate’s Court to-day when Edward Stohr, .chemist of Masterton, was charged with committing a breach of the Pure Food and Drugs Act by selling iodine. 1 .

Mr R .R. Burridge appeared for the Crown, and Mr W. Noble for defendant.

Air Burridge said that on November 13th, 1919 the District Health Inspector (Mr J. Cairns) had purchased from defendant one shillings worth of tincture of iodine. The bottle had been sealed and forwarded, together with three other samples of the same drug obtained elsewhere,, to the public department for analysis. The Dominion Analyst had since forwarded a certificate of analysis, which counsel handed to the Magistrate.

James Cairns gave evidence. He said he had specially marked Stohr’s sample for the purpose of easy identification. Stohr had said nothing about the drug being adulterated. Witness had purchased the example in an unofficial capacity ,and Stohr did not know that the drug was to be sent away for analysis. For the defence, Mr Noble contended that the requirements of the Act bad not been complied with when the sample was taken. According to law defendant should have been notified that the drug was being taken for analysis. This had not been done, and counsel sub mitted that the prosecution must therefore fail. Judgment was reserved.

COOK ISLAND AND LIQUOR. WELLINGTON, This Day

In view of the stir caused in Samoa some months ago by proclamation announcing'prohibition of importation, manufacturing or sale of alcoholic liquors, members of the Parliamentary Party on the Mokoia during a lecture aboard, listened with obvious interest to the remarks of F. W. Platts, the Resident Commissioner of Cook Islands, in reference to the position in that group. He said:—“ln Cook Islands there is State Control, but I can--not say that it is a success. No liquor is allowed the natives. It never will be as long as New Zealand lias control but the white community is permitted to obtain it. This gives the natives a grievance. They, complain that the best of their people are not allowed to procure liquor, whilst the worst of the •Europeans can get as much as they like. That a small European community set in the midst of a large native population, should he allowed liquor whilst the natives are prohibited, is wrong in principle. The Administration makes about £4OO • per annum from the sale of liquor. This it would gladly forego if liquor could he cut out altogether. A DOCTOR’S DEATH. WIELLINGTON, This Day. Dr Lake, of the Tofua, was found dead in liis cabin a week before the steamer reached California on the last trip. He had been ailing, and was buried at sea. He was 46 years of a „ e , and left a widow and two children in ’Frisco. FINGER PRINT CLUE. WELLINGTON, March 3. Alfred Alien, a native of Russia, was celuirged before Mr Riddell, S.M., today with breaking and entering the premises of the Colonial Carrying Company and stealing two pairs of boots, the property of Charles Harcourt Turner, and an automatic revolver and a quantity ol choirs and cigarettes valued at £IO belonging to Frank Eward. When the burglary was discovered the police found finger prints on a steel trunk which had lieen broken open. The prints were compared with the impressions made by the alien after arrest, by Plainclothes Constable Tricklebank and found to bear no less than fourteen characteristic points. Accused was committed for trial. THE BROKEN CABLE. WELLINGTON, This Da>\ In connection with repairs to the Pacific cable, the General Post Office has received a wireless at 10.0 a.m. f' Hl the repairing steamer Iris to the cflec that the weather is still too had to pelmit of repairs bong effected, and .t is getting worse.

BAND CONTEST. DUNEDIN, This Day. Tenor Trombone Solo — A. M. A\ ills (Invercargill Hibernian) 43; J. ban (Nelson and Marlborough) 39; AA . Lan. han (Wanganui) 36; b. Timmcl.ffo 3o; IT. 'Stewart 35; S. Trownson 32; R. Goughian 31; C. Obcn 30; R. L. Pettit 25. "

charge dismissed. CHRISTCHURCH, This Day. Charges of negligence against F. .T. Needham and 0. Smellie of the New Zealand Refrigerating Coy., m connection with 'the Tainni disaster, were dismissed by Mr McKean in a reserved judgment to-day. He held that Need, ham had no knowledge of the leaky condition of the petrol cargo and Rmellio thought the matter was the

duty of the Captain or mate. The Magistrate said it was hard to imagine how a careul captain should have accepted such a cargo, but there was no warrant for the suggestion that some limitation had been imposed by the owners on the Captain. The Magistrate .accepted the statement of the Managing Director that no instructions were given to any employee to accept cargo or to hasten loading