DOMINION ITEMS.

Hokitika Guardian, 13 March 1924, Page 3

DOMINION ITEMS.

[by tklegraph—ran press association - .] WATER SPOUTS. AUCKLAND. March 11. A remarkable phenomenon was witnessed near Blockhouse Bay, Mnnakau, harbour, this afternoon. A waterspout of considerable size, accompanied by at least half a dozen smaller ones, appeared travelling to the westward between two and three miles. During the live minutes they were visible while the huge one remained tit the same height the smaller ones appeared to rise and fall They were blotted out by rain, aeroinpanied by hail, thunder and lightning. The rain is said to be the heaviest experienced in the district. It lasted twenty minutes and Hooded Arondale South school to a depth of •half an inch. DUNEDIN MEDrCAL SCHOOL. WELLINGTON, March 12 The Cabinet to-day granted £35,000 towards the cost of the erection of new laboratories for physiology, anatomy, and other subjects at the Dunedin .Medical School. This sum, ill addition to a grant of £20,000 made last year, gives a total of £55,000 which will enable a tender for the exterior building to be accepted . The interior fittings will require n further expenditure, probably iu about 15 months or two years, when the shell has been completed. Otago University’s application for £30.000 for a new dental school at Dunedin was postponed by Cabinet. The fact that the University Senate will discuss with the Minister of Education proposals that out of the four years’ dental course at Dunedin may he taken at other centres responsible for the delay. If the Senate favours these proposals, less accommodation will he required at Dunedin. waimartxo strike. MEN’S DEMAND CONCEDFjD. CHRISTCHURCH March 12 When the crew of Hie Wnimarino tor!av were being sentenced to seven days imprisonment for refusing to take the vessel in sea, alleging that she was unsea worthy, the Magistrate remarked that if the men changed their minds and decided to take the .ship out. tlm Master could have them placed on boa I'd. Later on in the day the Union Coy., decided to (ill the deep tanks with water, which was what the crew wanted done all along. At 8.40 p.in. to-night, the men were escorted aboard by a small party of police. They were then provided with a hot meal and they turned to. The vessel sailed one hour later. SPECIAL RATING ROWERS. DANNEYIRKE, March 11. The special rating powers conferred upon Electric Rowers Boards by the Amending Act of Inst- session, were discussed by the Dannevirke Chamber of Commerce, ineniU'is taking strong exception to the authority given boards to levy £3O per annum on the owner of each property, within ten chains of the power line, though he does not take current. Though it had been, contended by the chairman of the Dannevirke Rower Board that. the clause was passed at the instigation of Ibo conference ol Rower Boards it did not apply to boroughs.

Tim mooting considered this power too elastic and dangerous anil unanimously decided that the Minister in charge lie written In and the injustice of the present. Act brought before his notice in-so-fnr as that Section I penalises town and country ratepayers and that representations Is l made to have this section repealed. It was also decided to circularise other Chambers of Commerce for support and request the help id the tucnih»r for the district.

PRISONER GUTS HIS THROAT. AVAXGAXUr. March 13. A man liamcil Frank Alexander . Moulin about forty, arrested yesterday charged with setting fire to a , house in Bell St., cut- his throat with a razor at. tin- police station, a lew minutes before the sitting ol the Court, lie wits hospitallcd in a serious condition. The lire superintendent luittid a quantity of waste, soaked in kerosene, stuffed high mi the outside of the building. SUPREME COURT. HAMILTON. March 13. (t the Supreme Court, .lohn Peter Olsen, a law clerk, pleaded guilty to misappropriation ot the funds of his employers, Macßiarmid, Meats and (Lay. Solicitors, a total of C22SS. The evidence showed tin* money was paid in by clients and misappropriated by accused, the misappropriations extendin'' over five years, lie was sentenced i,, Pilin' years reformative treatment. (iItKYMOUTH SENTENCES. G PLYMOUTH. March 13. For theft of postal notes of fifteen mill ten shillings, Francis Roland Mentos, aged 20. formerly a postal olli,.ji,| v.as sentenced by .lustin' Adams to reformative detention not exceeding _ years. In the ease in which George 1 rederick Bottrke. 17, was charged with indeivutlv assaulting his ten year-old cousin the prisoner was admitted to probation for three years and ordered to pay (lie costs of the prosecution. Buev Mary Faulkiner for making a false declaration to a. marriage eertilicate staing she was over 21, was con- . and ordered to come up for sentence within six months. housing census. WELLINGTON. March 11 A preliminary report mi the results of last census showed some months ago that the Dominion's house building activities had failed to keep pace even with the normal increase of population, and that it had made no inroad upon the deficiency in the total number of dwellings required. Additional details now disclose the unsatisfactory metli(„N which have had to he adopted to cope with the shortage in dwellings. One person in every seven in the Dominion is living under conditions of overcrowding which the Board of Health characterises as inimical to the maintenance of a proper standard of health and decency. The ease of Wellington is especially striking, states the* Oovernninct Statistician, while the position of the smaller towns and of the rural districts is markedly less favourable than the urban areas. The healthy limit of occupation is one and a half persons per room. Adopting this standard—which ns the report points out will only bring the position to the margin of the health point—a total of 24,099 additional rooms is needed, equivalent to 4320 five-roomed dwellings.