VARIOUS DOMINION ITEMS.

Hokitika Guardian, 24 February 1921, Page 4

VARIOUS DOMINION ITEMS.

TELEGRAMS.

BY TELEGRAPH —PER PRESS ASSOCIATION] PRISONERS SENTENCED. SPEARPOINT AND NEEDHAM.

AUCKLAND, Feb. 19 Prisoners were sentenced at the Supreme Court to-day. Alfred George . England was sentenced to five years, ( and Wenzed Joseph Schiska to three years jfor an indecent offence. The two , accused were the steward and captain respectively on a coastal boat. The judge characterised the offence as an abominable one. Patrick M’Ribbon, for forgery and false pretences, who had previously committed offences at Christchurch, Dunedin and Auckland, was sentenced to two years’ reformative detention. .Tliomas Needham, who killed his son with a broom, and Frederick Speaipoint, who killed his mother with an axe, came up for sentence. In respect i to Needham, his Honor said that though the jury were right in not accepting te plea of insanity, it was shown that accused was ol an excitable mental equilibrium. If he was capable of ordinary human feeling, his remorse for having, in a lit of savage passion, destroyed the life of his own sou would be a greater punishment than any sentence the Court could inflict. He thought he was giving full effect to the jury’s recommendation in sentencing the'accused to five years’ imprisonment. . In Spearpoint’s case, his Honor said that there were some mitigating cncumstanees. Owing to prisonei s illhealth and other conditions, lie probably acted on the impulse of the moment when he committed the awful crime of killing Ids own mother. Accused would be imprisoned for four years.

OBITUARY. CARTERTON, Feb. 23. The death occurred at 1.30 to-day of John Thomas Marryatt Hornsby, cxM.P., for Wairarapa. The deceased lias been seriously ill for a long time, and has been unconscious since Monday. knocking off before time. WELLINGTON, Feb. 19 The employers of waterside labour in Wellington have informed the union that on and after Monday next waterside workers will be required to continue work until a whistle indicates that knocking off time has arrived. The men, in other words, will be required to work all the time for which they are paid. It has been the custom of the wntersiders to stop from ten to twenty minutes before the proper time, and the employers in the past have protested in vain against this practice.

The men, in stopping work before the proper time, have been taking ailvant “age of • clause 22 of the agreement, which reads:

“Except as provided by clause 13 (dealing with meal hours), men shall be paid for ea>ch fraction of half an hour as if it were a full half-hour.” This clause was intended to cover cases where the employer required the men to continue work into a new halfhour. But the agreement did not contemplate that men engaged for eight hours’ work would cut the time bv working only part of the last half-hour in the morning and the afternoon. The employers stale now that any man who stops work before the signal is given will lie docked half an hour’s pay. The watersiders arc to work the full time for which they are engaged. The employers .have been pressing this point unsuccessfully for the better part of a year. DISORDERLY ORICKETERS. DUNEDIN, Feb. 19.' At the Police Court, at Opliir, yesterday, seven members of the Chatto Creek Cricket Club were mulcted in heavy fines and costs for being drunk and disorderly on licensed premises, and refusing to quit; also on further charges of lieing on licensed premises after hours. On the first charge each defendant was fined €5, and on the second 10s. The evidence showed that the men, after returning from a cricket match, entered the Chatto Creek Hotel and refused to leave. All the windows in the front of the building were broken.

HOUSE OF LORDS. LONDON, Feb. 22. The House of Lords after Lord Buckmaster, the Bishop of Winchester, and others had supported the Archbishop of Canterbury’s motion, the Lord Chancellor wound up the debate. He admitted the public were entitled to early, complete information regarding Irish affairs, but revolutions sopietimes endangered the lives of individuals. Lord Canterbury withdrew the motion. INSURANCE OFFICERS’ FEDERATION. WELLINGTON, February 23. The Insurance Office Guild concluded the first annual Dominion conference. Mr E. E. Hammond presided and delegates from the four centres were present. Mr Hammond referred to the progress of the guild, inclusive of members of the lire, marine and accident, fit,tiffs Hope was expressed that the life section would join.

The conference resolved heartily tv support a movement for the federation of the guilds. Considerable time was devoted to the education.'! aspect of the guild movement. A committee was appointed to confer with other guilds in reference to a scheme of commercial education cooperating with the university. The elections resulted as follows: President, Mr E. E. Hammond, Wellington; vice-presidents, H. C. Layend, C. H. S. Stonze (Christchurch), G. T. Dawson (Dunedin). Mr H. P. Mam-ant was reappointed general secretary.