DOMINION ITEMS.

Hokitika Guardian, 21 February 1927, Page 1

DOMINION ITEMS.

[BT TELEGRAPH I’ER Pr.ESS ASSOCIATION.]

REY/ANUI MINE. DISPUTE WITH MANAGEMENT. GREYMOUTH, February 21. Last Thursday week a fan stopped working in the Middle Brake section of Rewanui State mine, causing the men to lose one hour. Pay for the lost time was deducted by the management and the men protested on the ground that the stoppage was no fault of their own. Under the eireumstancces they contended that a deduction from the pay was a breach of the agreement, and they sent a deputation to the management, with a request for a refund. This was refused and at a stopwork meeting this morning, the minors resolved to cease work until their request. was granted. The men in No. I. section also ceased work in sympathy.

TRAM CONDUCTOR’S DEATH. AUCKLAND, Feb. 19

An inquest touching the death of .lames M. Slater, tramway conductor, who met with a tragic death in Anzac Avenue on the evening of February 11th. was concluded by Coroner McKean this morning. The evidence of the motor man was that when lie stoppl'd the car at the usual stopping place lie found deceased missing. Men later reported that the conductor was lying on the road further hack. Slater was unconscious and he died before admission to the hospital. No one saw the conductor fall from the ear. A verdict of accidental death was returned.

WATERSIDER’S COLLAPSE. DUNEDIN, Feb. 20

Air J. R. Bartholomew, S.M., held an inquest yesterday at Port Chalmers, touching the death yesterday of George Frederick Robinson, a waterside worker, aged 37. The deceased was a returned soldier, and ho suffered from the effects of gassing. On Friday he was working at the steamer Canadian Explorer, at Port Chalmers, and when ho went to the pay office to receive his wages ,hc foil down at the door and expired, despite restorative measures by a doctor and other men. After hearing the evidence, the Coroner decided to order a post-mortem examination, as the question of strain at work, might he raised in connection with compensation. The inquest was accordingly adjourned. FOUND DROWNED. NAPIER, Feb. 19. An inquest was opened this morning on the- body of a man who was found drowned on the beach at Petnne on Wednesday. It was adjourned till March 7th. for further inquiries, as the man is still unidentified.

VALUELESS CHEQUES. HASTINGS, Feb. 19,

Henry Arthur Cooper (aged 23) representing himself as a Flight Commander of the Royal Air Force and a. garage proprietor of Christchurch, attempted to obtain a Crossley car from D. Baker Ga.hh, of Hastings, by paying a deposit of £2OO with a cheque on the Bank of New South Wales at Christchurch, with which ho had no account. He appeared before two Justices of the Peace this morning and was charged with false pretences, and he pleaded guilty. He was committed to the Supreme Court for sentence. In a signed statement to the police the accused admitted that ho was not an officer of the Air Force nor a garage proprietor. On the second charge of obtaining £ls from the Fanners’ Trading Co. at Tauranga, l>y means of a valueless, cheque. Cooper was remanded till February 25th. BURGLARS’ RAID. DUNEDIN, Feb. 20. A call was received at 5.45 o’clock this morning to Murray Roberts and Coy’s buildings in Liverpool Street, where it was found that three bales of wool and several sacks of wheat were on fire. The brigade extinguished the blaze and returned to headquarters, but at 7.19 a.m. another call was received to the same building, whore a fire had broken out in a different part of the stores, near the liquor bond. After the quelling of this outbreak it was discovered that the building had been fired in four places, and that burglars' had made a hole in a nine-inch wall, and had gained admittance to the bond. The intruders also ripped a large number of sacks containing com, doing considerable damage. WANGANUI SENTENCES. WANGANUI, Fob. 19. At the Supremo Court tin’s niormVbefore Mr Justice McGregor. Tommy Taurn. on charges of forgery at Rnotihi, was sentenced to a term of reformative treatment, not exceeding 12 months on each charge, the sentences to ho concurrent.