DOMINION ITEMS.

Hokitika Guardian, 24 September 1926, Page 4

DOMINION ITEMS.

[BY TELEGRAPH—PEB PRESS ASSOCIATION.] MINISTER OF HEALTH. WAIEUKUIIAU, September 23. The .Minister of Health paid his first official visit to Pukeroa Sanatorium yesterday afternoon* following his arrival by the express from Wellington when he addressed the patients. In the evening it became necessary for him to enter the Waipukurau Hospital to undergo a slight operation arising front a chill. A visit to Pahiatua arranged for the day was cancelled and his place taken by Dr Watt. It is not expected he will be more than a few days in effecting a recovery. A FIRE. WAIPUKURAU, September 23. A- fire at mid-night gutted the furniture factory of R. Staines and Sou. The building was about sixty years’ old and insured for £l5O in the Allianceoffice and owned by J. Harding, .Mount Vermin. A small insurance oil machinery of Cl 10 and on stock £llO, mostly destroyed or seriously damaged considerably. Inspector Hugo was in town and sounded a practice alarm earlier in the evening. The Brigade were promptly outlie scene and sixty pounds ■pressure was the maximum available. SOLICITOR'S GUILT. AUCKLAND, September ,23. Henry Karo Emanuel, aged 25, who, until last month, practised as a. solicitor in Auckland, pleaded guilty this morning to stealing various sums, totalling £5,b30, between October, 1025. and August, 1926. He was committed for sentence. • HIGH JERSEY VALUES. HAMILTON, Sept. 23. Sent from America, solely for sale, a blue-blooded young Jersey bull realised 30!) guineas at the National Jersey sale conducted by Wright Stephenson and Coy. The purchaser was a. Wailoto breeder, Fred Phillips, of OLorohanga. A lopallv bred bull awarded the Wright Stephenson' Cup for show champion, before the sale on account of J. Ryder, of Ohaupa, was sold to J. Pettigrew, Pihania, (Taranaki), for 217 guineas. The .offering of bulls on behalf ol other breeds averaged. H. Solway, (Bell Block) 571 guineas; T. Church, (Tempo) 50 guineas; A. E. Watkin, (Takanini) 49 guineas; W. Mills (Hamilton) 44 guineas. Top price for heifers 107 guineas, was paid by W. Saxby (Cambridge) for a youngster owned by Mrs B. Donald, of Westmere. FIJI FRUIT. A SHIPMENT REFUSED. DUNEDIN, Sept 22. An effort was recently made by n Dunedin company to get a. shipment ol bananas brought by a steamer that was coming direct from Suva to this port. It was not successful. The answer cabled from the ship’s people at Suva was that they could not take the loading. No explanation was given, nor is any yet to hand. It cannot l>e a question as to the price or terms. Dunedin was ready to do business in the ordinary way, and its credits arc as sound as those of any place in the world. Wlmt is the hindering influence? The importers concerned have some right to know, and the community "at large is vitally interested as to the probing of tho problem, since it is not only a. matter of procuring fresh fruit of tile best quality, but there is behind it a general question ns to shipping policy arid custom. Dunedin is not likely to accept with complacency tlio position of being the last to be served from overseas. DUNEDIN FIB E LOSS. DUNEDIN, Sept. 22. Tlic city fire loss for the year ended June 30th. was the highest since .the inception of the Fire Board in 1907, being £59,631. POISONED IN HOSPITAL. TIMARII, Sept. 22. Patrick M’Cann, labourer, aged 43, who was sent to Timaru Hospital on .Monday last to he X-rayed, died on Tuesday morning. At an inquest tonight a verdict was returned that death was due to collapse, and heart failure caused by his having been accidentally poisoned. While in the hospital, deceased was ordered a barium meal, and had been given a meal of 'Jo/,, of barium carbonate instead of barium sulphate. N.Z. COASTAL SURVF.y/ ' DUNEDIN, Sept. 23. Bon G. J. Anderson informed an “Otago Daily Times” reporter to-night that liis Department had considered that there was a necessity for a coastal survey of' New Zealand. As a consequence the Hon J. (I. Coates would interview the Admiralty when he arrived in England on the best way of carrying out this work, whether by the Admiralty or by , the New Zealand j Government, with officers trained by the Admiralty. It was hoped that the ' natter would be finally decided by the Prime Minister in conference with the Admiralty authorities, and once tho do arils were completed, the work would re put in hand as soon as possible. HASTENED BY FALL. HOSPITAL PATIENT’S DEATH. CHRISTCHURCH, September 15. Ail accidental fall from the balcony of a ward at Christchurch Hospital on August 31st hastened the death of W illiam M. Grey. Evidence at the inquest this morning sltfrwed that lie l | would have died 24 hours later, as he I ' was suffering from severe heart trouble -The inquest was concluded before the coroner, .Mr H. Y. Widdowson. -Madge Murphy, sister on the nursing staff, said that Grey was a patient in her ward, which was on the first floor of the Chalmers' block. There was a balcony round the building. Grey might have gone out on to the balcony for air. He was always craving for more air. There were dirty marks oil the soles of his feet, and lie could not get that through walking on a polished floor. Grey was seriously ill. It was •lot his first visit to the hospital. He was in a side room of tho ward, and this led on to the balcony. Witness say Grey at 11.15 o’clock on the morning of August 31st; he was then in bed in the side room ; lie was very quiet as a rule. After Grey’was (omul witness noticed that the window was open. She did not notice that the ■asp of the window was missing. There was a staircase near the window ending to the ground. M itness felt sure Grey knew he was lying, as the day before the accident ic had asked about his will. Dr A. A. King said that Grey was eriously ill. He would have died in 4. hours. He experienced difficulty in rentliing. but lie had never spoken of uieide. At times oxygen was adminisered. Witness did not think Grey ad sufficient breath to negotiate the airease but lie might have fallen from I le top of the stairs. It* was possible l Lis distress that Grey pushed the indow open, and then leaned out and 41, but it would take an effort to do

Leslie Austin, a porter, found Grey lying on the asphalt below the balcony. He was alive then, and appeared tq be conscious. Witness found an iron catcli from the window lying under the body.

The catch came from the Window above which was open. Grey’s clothing was badly torn. In his summing up, the coroner said that everything pointed to Grey’s having gone through the window. Dr King’s evidence was most feasible. A 1 verdict was returned that death was due to heart failure, and haemorrhage into the spinal canal, brought about by an accidental fall. OVER-ZEALOUS LAND AGENT. APOLOGY NOT ACCEPTED. CHRISTCHURCH, September 1.3. Zeal for business lias cost I'. V . ' Whitta, formerly a Christchurch land agent, £5 and sundry other disbursements in the way of costs as the lesult of his entering the house of J. Vincent, a staff sergeant-major employed by the Defence Department. In the Magistrate’s Court, before M,r H. Y. Widdowson. S.AL, Vincent claimed £SO damages from V liitta for - alleged trespass. In evidence lie stated ; that he was often ordered away from ‘ home to attend camp, and during his absence his wife went.to stay with hoi ' people in Fendaltoii. As his house 1 was in St. Albans he and his wife ' deemed it wise to sell their home and buy another nearer the relatives’ * home iii Fendaltoii. To do this the house was placed in the hands of various land agents in the city. Whitta had somehow or other got a hoy and taken some people through the house •• while it was unoccupied. Mr Lascclles,, who appeared for \ in--5 cent, said it was a case for exemplary , damages. , The magistrate then asked Vincent - if he would not be satisfied with an apology from Whitt a. j “No,” replied Vincent, “1 do not think so.” The magistrate remarked that he i did not think it a case for exemplary - punishment. He had expected that ■ Vincent would accept Whitta’s ■ apology, as it was only through Ids '< business acal that he had entered the f house.' i Judgment was given for the plain- ; tiff for £5 and costs. | FOREMAN STRIKES WORKER. ‘ | , | A FINE IMPOSED. I CHRhSTCHURCH, Setpeinber 15. j Thomas Tomlinson appeared before , Messrs J. K. Archer and A. 11. Chris--1 tian. J.P.’s, in the Magistrate's Court | tnis morning, on a charge that he asi saulted George Robert Stribling, a car- ' politer, who was working at the new j wireless station in Gloucester street. • | Tciplinsoii was the foreman of the ■ ' job. Mr Ha shun; for Stribling, said that the information for assault Imd boon brought by a carpenter against his foreman. Both were engaged on tile same work. On September Ist Tomlinson was overlooking the work, and made the remark that Stribling was j not getting on fast enough. Stribling ' made some excuse, but Tomlinson j finally discharged him. Stribling bent down to pick up. bis tools, and Toinlin- ! son “cracked him oyer the ear.” Stribi ling fell down, and when he got lip ‘ again 'e told Tomlinson that the only ! recourse he had was to take the matter to law. Tomlinson then caught , hold of Stribling, and threw him down on to a pile of timber. Defendant said that after lie had sacked Stribling for loafing on the job. Stribling called him something three times. The third time witness went up to him. and told him that unless lie moderated his words witness would not moderate his actions. Then Stribling turned his jaw to witness, and invited him to hit it. Witness could not resist the temptation. I Stribling then said: “Now I’ve got you! i’ll put the law on you!” He offered the other cheek. When witness threw him down, Stribling fell on to ; the pile of wood, and witness aecount- | cd for the injury to Strihling’s ear by | a pinch-bar which Stribling held up in his hand as ho fell. Stribling was one of the “ meek and lowly kind.” ! The bene' 1 !, in giving judgment, said that they found defendant guilty, if there had been nnv provocation with regard to loafing on the job there were other ways of dealing with it. Defen- ■ daiit had lost ! '• is temper, and handled 1 Stribling in a way that should not he allowed on any job. j Tomlinson was lined C 5 and costs. I MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE. | AF( ELAND, • September £3. I An Auckland hairdresser, Mr T. AlcM 'memy was to-day reported to lie missing, and the police are endeavouring to' trace him. The matter came \ under official notice in consequence of 'a letter received by a friend of Alc ; [ Menomy. who reported the nature of the contents. At one time McMenemy was employed at his trade on hoard one of the ships in the Canard 1 Line, lie had beqn in buskiess for some time in Upper Queen Street, but recently lie took new premises at the junction pf High and Shortland Streets. These premises are at present being fitted up in anticipation of a shop bej ing opened next Monday. DAIRY BOARD ELECTION. WELLINGTON, September £3. The preliminary count of votes to fill tbe vacancies on the Dairy Board is in favour of Messrs Corrigan and Tempauy. The disparity in each case is so great that the final count is not likely to affect the result. Ah- lorns (Pahiatua) is elected for No 6 Ward unopposed. For the third vacancy Mr Corrigan has 359} votes. AI r Dnlrvniple £531, Mr Tim ban v 19H and Air Fisher so;.