DOMINION ITEMS.

Hokitika Guardian, 12 May 1927, Page 4

DOMINION ITEMS.

[nr TELEGRAPH-—PER PP.F.SS ASSOCIATION.]

YOUNG .MAX IX TROUBLE. WELLINGTON. May 10

An appeal from ilia (lock tor lollioik y was niailo liy William Victor Haslain. lifted twenty, when appearing for sentence on tliree charges of breaking, entering and theft. He said that lie came from the Old Country twelve months ago. Jfe had been employed in a legal office at Home, and had tried to obtain work of a similar nature here, hut without success. He then went on a farm and stayed nearly twelve months, an.l ultimately arrived at Palmerston North.

“| had no cobbers. ' he said, ‘‘and have only been in two places ol amusement since arrival. The way 1 hate had to work. I have had a pretty hard , ime, I have Ivon reading ‘blood and \ thunder son ol stuff. and got the ini- . pulse to do this sort of thing. I gave the police every assistance, and all the - stolen property has been recovered." “The police regard this man as the makings of a very cunning and dangerous criminal,’’ stated Mr I’. K. S. Maeassey. Crown Prosecutor. “When arrested he had in liis possession a complete kit of housebreaking instruments ami twenty-three detonators. He was convicted of similar offences .ill England. and was warned to give up the reading.’’ His Honor Mr dust ice Alacgregor observed that the prisoner had been probation before leaving Eng-

land for several offences. It was at the time when he had been reading literature of a criminal type, and his mind seemed to have been poisoned. Probation was out of the i|UCstinn. Ilaslam v.as ordered to he detained at a Borstal Institution for a period not exceeding three years. FIXED CM HI. PA EM KivSTOX X.. May 10. The re-trial of John Drummond, retired ironmonger. Daunevirke. aged seventy-three, charged with negligently driving a motor-ear on tin* V ondvilloPahiatun Hoad on November 111 last, thereby causing the death ol lleorgo Vinton, a flock House trainee. was held to-day.

The jury returned a verdict id guilty, with a recommendation that a law should he framed compelling pedestrians on highways where there are no footpaths to keep to tin right, so as to lace oncoming i rathe. Mr Justice AI per* imposed a line ol £llOO. and ordered Drummond !•> pay £3O toward the i«Ms of the two trials, and cancelled his driver’s license lor four years.

“Had there been the slightest suggestion of joy-riding or drunkenness, stated his Honor, addressing accused, “then in spite of your years it would he my duty to send yen to prism. Volt are over-rontidout id your powers as a. driver. lon have lived an honourable lile. and although litis is a grave olfeueo, I cannot bring myself to (ontemplatc inlliitiug a punishment which will hear hardly on a man in vour state of health.’’

UNUSUAL COI.EI.SB'X. .MISHAP AT LEVEE CROSSING. A I’CK I .AXI). May 10. As the outward-bound Mhaugarci express was due at Mount Albert station this morning a heavy steam roller was endeavouring to cross the railway line at the Gladstone road level crossing. Jt had been stuck there for a (|Uarter of an hour, and a man hud Loon sent towards the approaching express to warn the engine crew ol gie danger. The express, however, came on, hut before reaching Pm crossing the engine-driver realised the danger and c mmeiiced l i pull Ins train up. As it was slowing down the engine trashed into tile roller and carried it fully eight .loot.

Although the engine sustained i damage the road roller, whie'a v.i

struck lair in the middle, lied its line'-' front w heel w renched completely elf. Some spokes in one ol tnc hack wheels were also broken.

The i xjircss was delayed lor over an hour, and it took another road i oiler and a three ton motor lorry to clear ti e line.

The damaged toad roller was owned |,v W. Ilothery. a contractor, anti was leased to the Mi.mil AlO rt iioro t :!i Council.

I’asse ll tiers on the train leit only a slight himiji when the collision occurred.

'I he driver of the roller had left it when he saw the train approaching, lie states lie was on the line some time before the level cros.-ing wigwag signal commenced to operate. R-epairs to the roller will cast approximately £3OO. .METHODS AT ('AWTIiROX INSTITUTE. WKIJJ NGTOX, May 10. In the course of his first quarterly report to the Department of Scientiiic and Industrial Research, Dr It. JTillyard gives the interesting partieiilars of the methods adopted to receive- at the Cawthron Institute insects intended for experiments in combatting our noxious weeds. AVhen a cage or box is taken out of cool store in Nelson it is transferred to the biological laboratory, where it is opened and examined. All diseased material is immediately destroyed. Pupre are placed in specially prepared cages on sand or cotton wool, hibernating larva' or adults are earelullv sorted out, the dead or sickly ones placed at once on their natural food plant in cages. In the ease of pup;e all emerging parasites arc collected and killed daily and a complete record of parasitism is made. I

In the ease of hibernating larva l or adults, parasites may lie present, and therefore steps have also to he taken to eliminate these by starting a secon:! brood in an entirely separate insectarv from fresh eggs obtained from the imported insects. No impre are allowed to lie about in the insoctnrios. hutall are collected daily as the pupio arc placed in special eases.

NEW STEAMER FOR RAROTONGA Aft KEANU. May 10.

The Union Company steamer \\ aipalii. which has been speciallv fitted out for the Cook Islands I mil trade, left Auckland on her first trio to Rarotonga to-night. To celebrate the event the company entertained a number of fruit importers on hoard this afternoon.

RUTTER PRICKS RISE. AUCKLAND. May 10.

An increase of one penny per pound in the price of butter on the Auckland market is announced l>y the New /calami Co-operative Dairy Company. The new price will he Is 7d tor superfine. Is Gd for first, and Is fid for second grade. Other brands will probably be raised in price also. NEWSPAPER COMPETITION. AUCKLAND. May 11. At the annual meeting of the Erett Printing and Publishing Company, a dividend of ten per cent, and a bonus of if} per cent were deflated. The Directors’ report stated that additions to plant, of which an octuple Hoe printing press was the principal, represented an expenditure of over forty thousand pounds, and apart from that an enlargement, and reconstruction <>f the premises was in progress. ! Air- W- ; (’£;•[! (tNoiifomn jif

Directors) said the shareholders would no doubt expert to hear something of the effect that the advent of an opposition evening journal had upon the "Star.” Over the period during which it had been possible to make a comparison, the circulation had declined onlv 0.72 per cent., or in other words, fur every <30,000 papers the Company sold a. year ago, it was now selling -!!),(>If), a difference of TOO in <50,000. Another satisfactory feature was that each day showed a further improvement in the position of the advertising. The revenue for April last increased 0.22 per cent, compared with the same month in 1020.

X.z. FARMERS’ UNION. MASTER TON, May II

Following a statement by the Provincial President, the annual meeting of the Farmers’ Union. to-day passed the following resolution: “That the Wairarapa Provincial Executive learn with regret of the possibility of Mr AY.'.T. Poison resigning the Dominion Presidency of the Farmers’ Union and expresses its confidence in him and its hearty appreciation of his ability and performances on our behalf and hopes that he will see his way to again fill the position.

CARPENTERS AND COMMUNISTS WELLINGTON. May 11.

The Wellington Branch of the Carpenters' ami Joiners’ Union unanimously resolved—That any official of this organisation shall not attend a Communist Conference or meetings of the Communist Party, and that hianches of thiorganisation shall not affiliate with bodies maintaining relations with any Communist organisation.-. That this meeting also puts on record the fact that membership ol the Communist Party is not consistent with loyal attachment to the union, otto any organisation affiliated to the Labour Party, and we respectfully request therefore that those bodies replace as delegates anyone whom they think comes within the meaning of the resolution, either directly or indirectly.