DOMINION ITEMS.

Hokitika Guardian, 16 February 1925, Page 4

DOMINION ITEMS.

[llV TKLEGHAI’It —I’lill Pit ESS ASSOCIATION.] REHEARING GRANTED. AUCKLAND, Fob. IT 1 A re-hearing was granted in the ease iu which Claude Oswald Ah Cully was yesterday lined £2O or a month in gaol, lor trespassing on a racecourse. A mistake w its made owing to noises outside the court. Air Boynton S.M. and two Justices understood that accused had previously been lined lor a similar offence. THE RAILWAYS. ' , NEW TAR lEE ON ABRIL 1. DUNEDIN. February 13. In the course of a speech at Arrowtown, the lion. J. G. Coates. (.Minister of Railways) announced that Air If. 11. Sterling, who has been an acting member of the Railways Hoard, had been permanently appointed In the position.

The Minister also mentioned that the question of freights was now being investigated thoroughly. He hoped to bring the new tariff and the now tem of accounting into operation on April Ist.

As far as possible. Air Coates added, the Department was trying to coordinate a number of motor services with the railways, so that people living iu places not served by the railway could hook stuff through to its destination.

EXCURSION TRAIN'S. ; DEPARTMENT’S NEW POLICY. WELLINGTON, February PL A new policy has been adopted by the Railway Department in regard to the running ol excursion trains on Sunday-;, and is now being practised between llclcnsville and Auckland, Dunelin and Palmerston South, Invercargill and liluir. and the Riverton lines oil which no train service was previously run on Sundays. The policy in the past had been to reduce Sundav working to a minimum, hut the Department has decided that ( the time has arrived when the railways should embark upon the running of Sunday excursion trains to meet the public need. This decision has been promoted largely through the increasing patronage accorded on the Sabbath to j motor-luises, ferry steamers, etc., by. excursionists. Xo extra Sunday trains j have been arranged as lar as Welling- i ton is concerned, as it is felt the pres- . cut services are adequate. The idea is j to run trains where previously the service lias been suspended on Sundays. Sf-MPKIN C'OX n C'TED. | AUCKLAND. February M. , Manslaughter was tlie verdict return-, ed by the jury after an hour and forty minutes’ retirement in the case of j James Simpkin charged with murdering] his wife by cutting her throat with a razor. Sentence was del erred until . Monday. S ' '.Utl |

A plea put forward for the prisoner by his counsel (Mr Friday) was that. Simpkin at the time of the tragedy was suffering from petit mnl, and was incapable. of knowing the quality and nature of his net. The Crown repudiated this.

The Judge, summing up. said: “On the evidence of friends and of doctors, which points to the accused being eccentric, if you come to tbe conclusion that accused was .suffering at the time from a disease of the mind, and was incapable of knowing the quality and nature of his act. then you will acquit him ; but if you think the Crown has satisfied you that this man was not suffering from a malady—that he did know right from wrong-then, no matter how painful it he. it is your duty to bring in a verdict of guilty.” The jury, after a retirement of an hour ami forty minutes, returned a vedict of manslaughter.

Tlie prisoner nodded his thanks to the jury as lie left the dock.