DOMINION ITEMS

Hokitika Guardian, 20 December 1924, Page 1

DOMINION ITEMS

[bt TELEGItArn— I'ER I'ItESS ASSOCIATION. •POWER lIOCSK FATALITY. KVIDKNCK AT INt.IFKST. PAI.MKILSTON N.. Dee. 1!!. At the inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death on December 10th. at the Public Hospital, of William Russell Mathews, need 2d. who was injured in an accident that day at the Alangahnu electric power-house, evidence was trivial that deceased’s injuries were burns and a fractured base of

the skull, ihe latter causin'; death. Charles Droatl. a representative id tin’ British linn concerned with Alangahao said it had been decided to carry out certain tests with the elei trical equipment at the Power House from 7,:j:i a.m.. and witness’ duty was to make the preparations. Deceaseil and another man. Arthur llnsking, assisted, as they did on previous occasions. When lie examined the apparatus to see that all switches were clear he then instructed the deceaseil and Husking to procure a short circuitin'; bar to lie placed on the isolatin'; switch of No I alternator. Witness had the doubt if a bar could be placed on particular switches and he told his assistants that some other means m i*;l 1 1. he necessary for short circuiting. Defeated mounted the ladder and asked if the busbars were dead. Witness said ”Yes.” as he was sure that they did not carry current. I Inskin*; gn VC deceased a short circuiting bar. Thi* deceased grasped it and turned and was about to place it in position. At that moment a severe are took place across the switch blades of the open switch. Witness tried to catch deceased’s clothing. but failed. Deceased fell heavily to the Hour, a distance of eight feet. BANK OI.KR K RKMANDKI). NEW PLYMOUTH. Dec. I!). .Martin was attain remanded and will appear on Monday to answer the charges of misappropriation of bank funds. It has been ascertained that the alleged defalcations total £I7K(I.

NIFF. NFI’KRSTITroN. AUCKLAND. December l!J. Nothin'; can now induce the Niue watersiders to work a ship on the Sabbath. One Sunday when the now defunct Rama was at the Island, it was required to net her away in a hurry and four fsliintiers were induced to turn to. tumblin'; the cargo out of the vessel. They had not been long at their job belore a quite unexpected violent storm arose, and it rained and thundered, lightning Hashed and four people were struck. Two were killed, the kilter bein'; two of the four men who had bad the temerity to desecrate the Sabbath. Naturally the incident left a very lastin'; impression. On the present visit of the Government steamer Tutauekai it would have iron tly expedited matters if a gang could have been not to work on Sunday. "Eventually the influence brought to bear was sufficient to overcome the impression of the last experience and the deeprooted Island dislike of Sunday work. It was a lovely day and the sub-e----queut happenings were therefore all the more dramatic.

Suddenly from the liori/mi there leaped a hurricane that swept the port of Altli. coeoanuts rained on the corrugated iron roots and the Tutauekai was forced to "pick up” and make her way round to the other side id' the island, not from the living coeoanuts. but from the gale. That was the end of the second attempt to introduce Sunday labour into Niue. Id * nill:-t til*- nil ••ton.i rv pa iI \ i. now absolutely innvincod that Heaven was visiting its wrath on the wrong doers. It is useless to speak of such a thine as a loiniideiue and they now produce positive evidence and while the present generation exists. Sunday work on the waterfront will lie an impossibility.

MILKMAN'S DKATH. AUCKLAND. December 18. Tile Arbitration Court In-day award--0(1 £titPß eonipeiisal ion to I lie widow ol a ■■■ ilk 111:1 n who < li<'il on September I Kll’:’,. his death being duo to heart strain following ;i stuinhlo while dolivering milk. "Cr.OSK SKA.SOX" FOR AIOTITfLUIOILS. XKAV IMA'Alorm. December 18. Until March .‘II next tlioro is n ‘•(•lose season" I'or mortgagors. Their mortgagees oiinnot, taho notion against thorn to soil lluuii up or to recover tho prinoipnl sums undor tlioir mortgages. >Buoh is tho elfeet id' 11n* Mortgages Final Fxloiision ,\ot, 10tU, as inlorprotod in tho Supreme Court at Xow I ’lyin' >ut It to-day. Tliis dooision is tho first siuoo tho Act was passod last .session. Tho question ot tho interpretation ot tho Act was brought hotore tho Court by counsel, who asked Air Justice Afacfiregor. on holialf ot two mortgagees, for leave to exorcise tlioir power under the mortgages they held. The .submission of opposing counsel was that Suh-seclion of Section 10 lor th(> new Act prevented mortgagees from taking any slops undor tlioir

mortgages, except actions to recover interest until March .'ll. 1 til’d. and even then the mortgagee must give three months’ notiee of his intention. Tile only cases under 11111011 leave to take action could lie given under tho sections mentioned were cases where the mortgagee has had to protect iiis security and expend money hy reason of the mortgagor’s default, hut such permission would he witli reference to the covenant thus broken- | His Honor hold that Sub-section it of .Section 10 did not authorise the Court to nice leave to sue for principal moneys or to sell up properties, and he therefore dismissed the applications. Afr Justice Afacfiregor said the Act was full of anomalies, and inquired who drafted it. It practically made a “close season" for mortgagors until ARirrh .‘ll. STFDKXTs' T'IiOTKST. A rCKI.AXP. Dec. IS. The Dental Hospital students’ protest against allegations made at the Hospital Board meeting that they had been playing all sorts of tricks and not attending to their work. They say the amount of work done during the past few months constituted a record in the history of the Dental Hospital.