DOMINION ITEMS.

Hokitika Guardian, 10 December 1925, Page 3

DOMINION ITEMS.

[by TKLEOBAPH —PER PRESS ASSOCIATION.] THAMES HOTEL, CASE. AUCKLAND. Dec. 9. AYlicii the Thames Hotel was taken over by the contractors some time ago for demolition, so that a line block of buildings might he built on this valuable corner site, the Hotel did not actually cease business, for a temporary bar was erected right on the corner of Queen Street, and Customs Street. Tn this one bar l>oor was still drawn from the cellar eool until yesterday. Business stopped a six o’clock last night. Early this morning a start was made to demolish the temporary bar. By midday everything that goes to make up a hotel bar was removed, and all that remains now are four walls. The l.i»eusiag Committee on Friday last, when it refused to grant Mr Glesson’s application for the! removal of the license. adjourned the application for the renewal of the license until December Kith. The effect of this decision in reference to the removal of the license will, no doubt, result in' the license lapsing, as the police opposed an adjournment or continuance of license. In regard to lapsed licenses, the haw provides that any vacancies which might arise may he filled up by the Licensing Committee at its annua! meeting in June. This would have tin effect., if the Thames Hotel ILciise latpses. of enabling an application to i«made in respect to any suitable premises which comply with the law, and which arc situated within hall a mile of the present Thames Hotel site.

PUBLIC BEQUESTS. AUCKLAND. Dee. 9. Under the will of the late Mr \\ . .1. Napier, the following bequests have been made Navy League. London £.50. Iloyid Colonial Institute. London. £SO. ' Auckland Branch of the Navy League. £25. Auckland Brand; of the Victoria League. £SO. to he invested and inpri/.e for best school child's essay on the subject: “What Humanity owes to the British Empire.” Tile competition is to he open lo every child under seventeen attending any school in the provincial district of Auckland. The Sisters ol Mercy (Amkland) receive £SO; the Auckland Branch ol Hie pltinket Society for the preservation of child life £SO; the I rosters ol Ur. Barnado's Home for Destitute Children £SO: the Victoria League. London. to he paid to thu Committee of the Fresh Air Fund for giving destitute children a week in Ihe country £SO; Devonport Rugby hall Club (for a trophy) 225: the North Shore Rowing Club (for a trophy) £25; the Salvation Army. Auckland. £SO; the Devonport Borough Council (to plant ilnwers along King Kdward Parade) £25; the Building Fund of All Souls Church. Devonport, £SO: the Dcvoupnrt Borough Council (to provide scats for the public on Nnrruw Neck beach) £25; Takapuna Borough Council (tc. provide seals on Takapuna Luiciij £SO. WASHOUTS AT (HI IIA. PASSENGERS WALK HALE A MILE GREYMOI'TIL Dec. 10. Washouts' have occurred on the railway between Aickens and Dtira. ’1 hey are live chains in extent all ready and arc still slipping. Express passengers will have to leave the train ami walk to Otiro (half it mile). Only hand luggage is accepted on the train. WAjIMA K ARIRI RJYKR RISING. CHRISTCHURCH. Dec. 10. Deports for the I!-nicy tins morning state the Waimakariri is rising and hcavv rain is falling in its upper reach-

A GENEROUS DONOR. Cl I R |ST('ll URC H, December 10. An anonymous donor, who some mouths ago gave £750 to the Canterbury patriotic fund, lias made another donation of £250. The .Patriotic Committee has allocated it to soldiers in hospital' and saiiatoriums. HOSPITAL BOARDS. DOMINION EXECUTIVE WELLINGTON, December 9. The Dominion Executive Committee of the Hospital Board’s Association of N'cw Zealand met to-day. The l nderSeeretary of Immigration attended. The meeting dealt with the cases that had been brought up by the Association nominated immigrants who had come upon the relief list of the Hospital Boards. The Under-Secretary explained Killy the circumstances of the action taken !> v his Department therein. The members of the executive impressed their satisfaction with the efforts of the Department to relieve eases, and further decided to oiler the Boards of the burden ol these their congratulations to the Government upon the relatively few instances ot recent occurrence where failure to make "'oiid had eventuated. “ The Controller of General Prisons notified the Executive that Cabinet had approved of payment for the maintenance and treatment of prisoner patients in hospitals at the ordinary rate of £.’J Us per week, as Horn the Ist April next. For some time past, milv 30s per week had been paid. Ihe Government’s decision will he particularly appreciated by the Boards concerned.

Consideration was given to a nmnl,er of other matters, including hospital Board borrowing, wife desertion and the enforcement of maintenance orders, which will form the subject ~f further representations, or ot a report to the forthcoming eonterence <>! the Association in Dunedin next re iruary. Arrangements for this conference were also put in hand. 92 IN THE SHADE. HOT WEATHER at WaIROA. AYAIROA. Dec. 9. Wairna has been experiencing op- ■ vo-sicc hot weather for the last few da>s. Yesterday the themometer re-t-'islered 92 in tin- shade during the afternoon. A CRUEL HOAX. ALLEGED RIPPLE MESSAGE. AYATROA. Dec. 9. The alleged note from the lost Ripreached Sergt. AA'ade last night, who handed it to the local manager of Richardson and Co. A comparison of the writing with a specimen of Neilson’s. ill the office records, clearly proves the whole thing to he a cruel hoax, a product of a person with a perverted sense of humor. The name is spelt wrongly and the writing is ~uite in character.

THE Tv LAND TRAGEDY. AUCKLAND, December 10. The full horror of the Straits Settlements tragedy on the steamer Kland i s revealed in details received yesterday. A Malay fatally stabbed Captain Murdoch McDonald, who was horn m Auckland and killed seven other persons. Five others were wounded inImlin.r Chief Engineer .AIcAA hilham Rae. Xhe Klaml left Singapore for Pprt Swettenham and Penang on October 31st with about eight European passengers and over 200 deck p.isseu gers. AY lien approaching Tanjong. Pngar. a Malay passenger suddenly ran amok with a knife and stabbed right and left. A panic ensued, deck passengers rushing nil over the upper deck to escape the madman. Eventually the main deck ft fid boat deck on

which the saloon is situated were isolated and the ship was put about and within half an hour, the Malay stabbed thirteen persons. Captain' McDonald left the bridge after the ship had anchored and was fatally stabbed in the abdomen. Dae on coming from the engine room encountered the madman, who stabbed him seriously in the chest. Medical assistance and the police were summoned and two inspectors with S constables, all armed with rifles and bayonets went to the stern of the 1 pper decks where they found the Malay with his back to the second class cabins. After trying for a quarter of an hour to persaude the man to drop his knife. Inspector linstock was forced to disable him with a shot in the leg. .Subsequently C’liiel Officer William Liltkin told the police that the Captain had been killed and he ordered the man to he shot down. The inspectors both fired and the man died on the way to the hospital.

SHOCK AT KLTHAM. ELTHAM, Dec. 10. Three severe earthquakes occurred at Eliham about 1.10 this morning from a westerly direction and created a. general alarm. Houses rocked sickeuitigly. and moveable articles were thrown übnut and clock.- slopped. The shakes la-ted several seconds. No severe damage is reported. TIM Alt U. December 10. An earthquake shock was experienced at 1.1 1 this morning, the direction apparently being west to east. No damage is reported. PRIME MINISTER. ELTHAM. Dee. !0. 'The Prime Minister and Mrs Coates visited Klthatn last evening and presented trophies at the Flower Show before proceeding to New Plymouth to a Reform rally there. INCIPIENT FIRE. ELTHAM. Dec. It). A carelessly dropped cigarette butt is supposed to have been the genesis ot a five minutes sensation when the lire station was discovered alight las! night. The door of a room looked had to he forced no arrival of those summoned by tile alarm hell rung by it private citizen. A few buckets ol water extinguished the blaze.

PRESENTATION TO MR MASTERS. STRATFORD. December Kb A large and enthusiastic gathering of supporters and friends of Robert Masters, late member, "a- held last night, with an attendance ol representatives of all parts of the electorate, and the guest was presented by Mr (!. AY. Forbes (Leader of the Liberal Party) on behalf of the electors with a handsome roll top desk and a stibsianli.il cheque, while Mr- .Masters reiciyed a magnificent canteen of cutlery. The speakers included Messrs Witch Wanganui), Smith lex-niem.ber for Taranakig Corrigan (.ex-member lor I’atea). I.vc iex-nioniher lor Waikato). Rroadfoot (Tc Knit i > and local electors. Many warm tributes were paid to the work Mr Masters had done and much regret was expressed al his defeat. All hoped he would again offer his services. .Mr Masters received an ovation on rising to reply and returned thanks for the honor. He hoped the Government with its huge majority would act wisely and see that no sectional legislation was pasted on the Statute Book. He wj s sorry the Opposition was not stronger. Speaking now as a business man, tint a politician, he could say that the financial outlook called lor the .greatest consideration. It was impossible to increase the indebtedness at the rate it had been done in the last few years, without an increase ol population, so that taxation could he spread more equitably. A country, like a business, could not lie liminced with a view to continuation of prosperity. They must look ahead and in times ot prosperity take cognisance of lean year:’ which always followed.

CLAIM Ft>ll DAMAGES. Palmerston north. Dec. in. In the Supreme Court action hearing. in "Inch J. Andei's'ui enginedriver. and ins wife Emma. Anderson. ( hiini £7911 damages from J. T. Rowley, surgeon dentist, the plaintiffs allege that- defendant extracted two teeth from Mrs Anderson’s lowet; jaw without. her consent, and in doing so lrn<tnred the jaw, necessitating hospital and medical attention. The defence was a general denial and that the teeth wore taken from the jaw by another practitioner al defendant's suggestion. anil if there was any negligence or default, which was denied, the defendant was not responsible. A NARROW ESCAPE. ATM 111. Dee. 10. David- Leach. 91 years, an old resident of AVaihi and a lad, Charles Lawsoil, aged l-l, were reported missing on Monday from llomeunga Bay., a tew miles down tho coast. They left, on Monday forenoon for the fishing grounds a quarter of a mile out. -A strong wind suddenly sprang up and in an attempt to row hack an oar was lost overboard. The trail cralt was practically at the mercy of the wind and waves, and was blown out to sea. 'The wind increased to a gale during tho night, and on ihe morning ot the second 'day the boat was miles from land. At night-fall the heroic efforts of the hid with a single paddle prevented the craft being dashed on the rocks of Mayor Maud. The following afternorm (Wednesday) it was picked up by (!, Tonges launch. Ijeacli’s two sons aoeompanviiig the rescue ) •->i t> - Between Mayor Island and the Alderman, the hay Lawson was lechly paddling ami tlie ohl’Mimn was huddled in the boat in a semi-conscious condition. They Imd been adrift for three days and' two nights without food and water.

COAI AIITTED EOR TRIAL. AUCKLAND. Dee. 10. Philip Mieiiael Sullivan, 19. a trimmer, charged with manslaughter arising out of the death of another trimmer, after a fracas on the steamer lonic on Monday night, was committed for trial. SULPHURIC AC ID WORKS, NEW PLYMOUTH. December 10. The Premier (Hon. J. 0. Coates) opened the acid and fertilizer works established by the New Zealand Farmers’ Fertilizer Company at a large gathering of farmers and townspeople. The winks of the defunct Farmers’ -Aleut Company were purchased and converted and equipped with the most modern plant and the largest sulphuric acid chambers in the world. Hon. AY. Noswortliy was also present and spoke. All- Coates was presented by the director- with nil ink-stand mounted on a greenstone slab, with Ngauau rockphosphate at Hie feet. He will bo entertained at a garden party this niternoon and at a dinner this evening.