TELEGRAMS.

Hokitika Guardian, 13 September 1922, Page 3

TELEGRAMS.

BY TELEGRAPH—PRESS ASSN., COPVRIGHI SEEING DOUBLE. AUCKLAND, September 12. ic What were.taken to he distress signals'seen north of Hokianga Saturdaj 0 night are now attributed by shipping oeople to lightning. The captain oi the Manuka says- the lightning on !, Saturday night in that vicinity miglif o easily have given an impression oi rockets bursting. SHEARERS’ DISPUTE. s WELLINGTON, September 12. ' The hearing of the shearers’ dispute ” opened at the Arbitration Court to-day. r The parties expressed agreement as to y the desirability of a Dominion award. The employers’ proposals are for. 20s, a 100 sheep and 17s 6d lambs. Tlie • union’s counter claim is for 30s for either. s W. C. Prime, for tlie employers, strongly opposed the union’s claim, and ; said that the rates should lie propori tionate to the value of wool, which was ’ below a payable price. A pound per 100 plus rations would lie equivalent , to £5 18s per week. He opposed the - 44-hours’ week, which would mean a I longer season and disastrous results ’ • from burrs. He declared that the union ' officials’ action last season had destroy--1 ed ail right to preference and to access to employers’ premises during shearing. | HOKIANGA MYSTERY. AUCKLAND, September 12. Owing to the rough sea, the steamer Oliinenuiri was bar-bound at Whnngape and could not search for the ori- [ gin of the distress signals. . Tlie suggestion, made in Auckland i shipping circles that what tvas seen was lightning is indignantly denied b.v residents of the Northern districts, who adhere to the story that there were four lights, alternately rod and line. 1 One mail says lie saw a star fall, and then the whole tiling burst in a show of bluish white stars. Another resident saw white lights—sometimes one, sometimes two and three at a time a long wav to sea, sometimes coming and going, sometimes stationary for a considerable period. Horsemen are patrolling the bee ' to see if there is any sign of wreckage. SUPREME COURT, j GISBORNE, September 12. I At Hie Supreme Court, the following prisoners appeared for sentence before Justice Chapman. j William Henry Terry (formerly liquidator of the Gisborne Fanners’ C:\1 op.), charged with converting £1(556 to his own use with intent to defraud and in violation of trust. He was sentenced to eighteen months’ hard lnI our. , William Leonard Butler (formerly Deputy Official As signee at Gisborne), appeared on charges of failing to account for money paid to him, and with converting the money to his own use Counsel stated amount involved was about £ 160. Accused, who was 61 years of age, had laid no remuneration j tor seven months. The Judge passed a sentence of six months’ imprison- ! ment. Charles Eric .Spurgeon, for forgery, j tittering, false pretences, and theft, received eighteen months’ imprisonment. •Tames McDonald, for breaking, entering, and theft, at Ruatorea. got six months’ imprison ment. Mi Matahiki pleaded not guilty to a charge of failing to account for £74. belonging to the Tokomaru Bay Native School Committee. The jury returned a verdict of “not guilty.” F rodorick liuscke pleaded not guilty to a charge of having failed, for throe years prior to bankruptcy to keep such books of account as were usual and proper to set forth adequately his financial transactions. After being out over four hours, the j jury stated they could not agree. A retrial was ordered for to-morrow morning. ACTION AGAINST BOROUGH COUNCIL. WELLINGTON, Sent. 11. Some months ago the Lower ITi I t Borough Council reversed its policy under which new gasworks were to he built. The question was intensely clvj hated, and determined the mayoral election. To-day Albert Ford, the consulting engineer, who drew up the scheme for (he work“. pro; ceded "gainst tie Council for £975, an ah I ‘ged n.nil-act, by way of commission oil the works, and (:1 ()()() damages. The defence was that the contract was not binding in law, and that Ford had never prepared complete plans and specifications. Liability was admitted to the extent of £.31)0, which was paid into Court. LADY’S BURSE STOLEN. AUCKLAND. Sept. !i. At the Police C ourt .Erie Unlit rt l.urmdl, a steward on the Athcire, pleaded guilty and was commuted for sentence for the theft ol a purse containing £3O from a lady’s hag at a prayer meeting. V. I).'ENQUIRY. WELLINGTON September 13. Doctor Funk Hay. Inspector-General Mental Hospitals, gave remarkable evi--1 donee to-day at t.*e veneieal diseases | inquiry. He said syphilis, directly or j indirectly, was the cause of a large pitj portion ol mental diseases, and its ave- | rage distribution corresponded more or- : less with the propmtimi of mental disease, hut mental disease lagged ten or fifteen years behind infection. The primary stage in spite of mental stre.-s created rarely caus:d insanity, except' among those inherently unstable. Among these admitted weie some of a, devil-may-care class, v. lit; failed or refused to reeogtiisr the setiousness rf infection. These were a greater danger to the community than the merely ignorant., wdio placed themselves under treatment in the secondary stage. Pro longed mental stress led to a mental breakdown. Hereditary syphilis accounted for 6 to 8 per cent of all the idiots and 'imbeciles. Calculating from a Known number. If) and proportion of 'syphiliticnll.y caused deaths. Dr Hav arrived at 1320 as the annual number • of infections.and assuming the average , duration of life, after infection was 25 . years thifj meant tho number of peo, • pie In New Zealand who bad or lmvo ttyphiH't would bp 33,000 or one in 33,

APPEAL COURT. WELLINGTON, Sept. 13 , The Court of Appeal gave judgment T this morning in an application by J R. Liindon (18th July) for readtnission as barrister and solicitor. London was struck off the ['oils for professional misconduct in December 5- 1917. The. position, said Sir John y Salmond, who delivered tiie judgment g oi' tiie Court, was that a solicitor was r admitted by the Supreme Court but could only lie struck off by the Court n of Appeal. The power of readmission however, lay in the Supreme Court, >f and tlie application should therefore have been made to it, and not to flic Appeal Court. Tlie application must therefore lie dismissed. lint Court also expressed the opinion that Lunden inukl not succeed on tlie merits of 6 his application. It was not sufficient for him to prove he had been a good 0 farmer. That did not prove lie was a ■ fit and proper person to he a solicitor. The application was dismissed with e fifteen guineas costs. '' FOUND DEAD. AUCKLAND. Sept 13, > The dead body of tin elderly man, 1 J. H. Rochford,‘was found in a dinghy - floating in the harbour, with a Voiind s behind the right temple. No firearm r was in the boat.