DOMINION NEWS.

Hokitika Guardian, 18 May 1928, Page 4

DOMINION NEWS.

(By Telegraph—Per' Tress Association.)

FLOOD DAMAGE. AVHANGAREI, May 17

Sensational reports of flooding come from Afangakahia district. Between three o’clock and daybreak on Monday rain descended in such a torrential fashion as to convince evervono that a cloudburst occurred in the vicinity. Very soon a wall of water, the highest since the eventful flood of 1917, was sweeping down the valley from the direction of three bridges. Miles of fencing was swept, away and in places 1(5 feet under water. Several settlers are heavy losers, one having 500 sheep drowned and total damage of twelve hundred sterling. Another lost 32 head of cattle, just ready for the market.

BAD POTATOES. DANNEYIRKE, Afa.v 15

A subject of interest to South Pilaud potato-growers was ventilated at a meeting of the Dnnnovirke Chamber of Commerce by Air D. Fraser manager of a local mercantile firm, who said that local shop-keepers were complaining of the unsatisfactory condition in which potatoes arrived from the south. He had shown some samples to the secretary of the chamber, which the speaker said, were ‘‘damned rotten.”

The secretary: Your language does not describe wha/t I saw. Mr Fraser said that there was something wrong with tho Government grading, and on his motion it- was decided to bring the matter under the notfee of., the Government authorities and the Canterbury Chamber of Com-

merce. UNEMPLOYAIEN'I PROBLEM. COMPARISON WITH OTHER. COUNTRIES!. WELLINGTON, May ]f>. Speaking at the National Industrial Conference to-day, the Hon Afr Shader AVeston, president of the Now Zealand Employers’ Federation, soul that many of the statements made regarding unemployment in Now Zealand were exaggerated. "When they compared the position in New Zealand with that in other countries it was found that New Zealand was not CD badly off after all. Before they endeavoured to arrive at any solution of the problem they should ascertain the exact, facts.

Air AVeston proceeded to quote figures comparing New Zealand with America and England, ‘laking the outside estimate of umUi{ployed in New Zealand at 10,000--that was the workers’ estimate—and taking the adult working population, male ami female, at 435,000, the proportion of unemployed was one in 13.5. In America the number of unemployed had been variously estimated at between 4,000,000 and 8,000.000. The. number of actual workers was given at 35,000,000 and the proportion of unemployed was one in 8.55. England with a population of 45.000.000 had 13.125.000 male and female workers, and the number of unemployed was estimated at just over a million. That made the proportion of unemployed ono in 11.94. It would thus lie seen, that other countries were in a far worse position than A.civ Zealand,

SCHOOL BUILDINGS.

GUEST lON OF INSURANCE

AUCKLAND. May I<>.

The que-Aion of responsibility in case of lire in school buildings; used for other than school purposes was discussed at a meeting of the Auckland Education Board. The Pnkctaha School Committee wrote asking whether the Board required insurance on. buildings so used, particularly for church services. The chairman (Air A. Burns) said the Education Department bad called upon the Board to have the buildings insured under such circumstnees.

Afr King; There must be hundreds of cases in the country where schools arc required for church services. -V\ e do not want to handicap the church people by requiring them to insure the building. AYo should ask Ihe Department whether it insists on insurance.

Ah Burns said the Board would not require, buildings to he insured if services were held in the daytime.

The fiuostion of who iv:is to p;iy for the ,insurance was raised 1 y Afr R. Hoc. He considered it possible for the committee to make a small charge to cover it. At present members of the committees thought they either had to pay the insurance or ho personally responsible in case of fire.

It was decided to refer the matter to,the Department for a ruling.

TIIE GOVERNOII-OENERAL. AUCKLAND, May 10

The Governor-General, Sir Charles Fergusson, and Lady Alice Fcrgusson will remain in Auckland until June 7th when they will make a tour of Taranaki and Hawke's Rav districts. Their Excellencies will attend the -Manawatu Show at, Palmerston North on .Tune 21st. and will then proceed to Wellington for the Parliamentary session.

HOSPITAL FEES. AUCKLAND, May 10. “One has only to attend these meeting's, analyse the cases, and crossexamine some of the debtors, to fully

realise the extent of the poverty in

the city, due mainly to unemployment.” This statement was contained in a. report furnished by the Fees y Committee to the Auckland Hospital i Board. The report stated that single men again predominated among, the debtors, many of them having their parents dependent on them and being unable to meet their debts. Hundreds of letters were sent to the Board expressing regret for inability to settle accounts, the causes generally being unemployment and sickness. A summary of the foes collected during the past year compared with the previous year showed that last year there uas an increase- in collection from in-patients of £1709. Fees from in-patients amounting to £46,038 were written off last year, compared with j •628.365 during the previous year. A number of accounts ranging from £IOO to £llBB are included in these figures. Tlio largest accounts are in respect of two patients who have been bed-rid-den for a number of years. One patient owes £llBB and the. other £SOO. In neither of these cases was it possible to collect a penny.

The Fees Committee has some unusual experiences. The report stated that a foreigner who was 15 days in the hospital on October last paid £3 in reduction of his account of £7 4s Gd. He was not heard of again, but last week n, draft for the balance was received direct from him, and issued through a bank in Germany.

BOWSER STATIONS. EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN. AUCKLAND, May 15. Giving his reserved judgment in the Arbitration Court on whether females can bo employed at bowser stations, his Honour Air Justice Frazer said that females may he employed at work coining within the scope of clause 7 of the Motor Mechanics’ Award, at the rate of wages prescribed. The hours of work, however,' vrfrf limlt-

od by statutory restrictions. Much of the work set out in the other clauses was unsuitable for females and “referred specially to men. In tlioso cases the Court was of the opinion that the provisions of the award and the amending order indicated that females were not to be employed. If “the worker” provided for in elanse 7 were employed more than 50 hours in ono week, he must he paid on appropriate rate of wages, and overtime for that week.

TIMBER GRADING. WELLINGTON. -May 1G

Arrangements are now in train for the- series of conferences which must be called to approve the proposals for the new national timber grades prepared by the committee appointed by the Alinister for Industries and Commerce (Hon. Air Al< Lead) and the first meeting of timber merchants will be held within a fortnight. Following this comes a, succo-sion of provincial meetings of the -rawmillers, associated aigl iion-associated, each of whi h will have to confirm the proposals.

Conditions in the lumber industry, it is considered, can grow no worse. Depression has reached its lowest, and whatever comes can be cn’y in the nature of an improvement.

BULLET UNDER HEART. AVELIINGTOn'. May 17

At Blenheim Harold It hind, a wellknown Picton business man. was admitted to the Picton Hospital this morning, suffering from a builet wound in the body. Rliind was under-stood-to have left Oxley’s Hotel, where he was a guest, and gone to his office in High Street this morning, between eight- and nine o’clock. He was .subsequently found in a pool of blood, with a bullet wound under tno heart and a, .22 calibre rifle lying alongside him. He has been suffering from poor health for some time past.

OVERDOSE OF BROAHDTA. CHRISTCHURCH, Afav 17

Robert Dorrans, 40, widower, draper’ assistant, committed suicide yesterday by taking an overdose of bromidin. Dorrans obtained the poison in the legal way by presenting a doctor’s prescription afc the chemist’s. The mixture was poisonous, hut safe in the prescribed doses. lie procured four bottles, it is believed, and drank all the contents. He died an hour lifter.

Dorrans rang up a Iriend that he intended to take poison, and the friend later received a message lrom Dorian’s landlady that he was actually taking it. The friend hurried to the house, and there found Dorrans, who filled a glass of water from the bathroom, drank it calmly, lay down on his lied, said goodbye to his friend, and went io sleep. 11 is breathing became stertorous and medical aid was summoned hut Dorrans was dead before the doctor arrived. At the inquest to-day. a verdict was returned that Dorrans committed suicide while in a state nl extreme mental depression, .

A lAN FOUND .RIOT. AUCKLAND .May 17

The body of a nan. believed L> be George Theobald Day. of Tauninrunui, was found by some children in Kauri Gully. Nortbfote, thi; evening. A service revolver was i]ivovercd in the vicinity of the dead limit, tie had been staying at a hotel in the city for about a week.

DRAIN PIPES TRUST. CHRISTCHURCH. Mum 17 Following the publication of I

text of the trade agreement of the three drain pipe mainifatlurers of Christchurch at the Drainage Hoard meeting on Tuesday night, the Proprietor of the Homcbush Pipe Coy.. Mr P. All-Skimming, has addressed a letter to the Chairman of the Board repudiating the suggestion that ihe agreement was for the purpose of exploiting 'the Beard or the public. Tie contends that the agreement was lienecessary 1 -cause no single works in Christchurch can simply all the pipes required, and only by the works concentrating on certain sizes can the output bo sustained. In proof of bis statement, that no undue profits are ■being made. Mr MrSkimming oilers to produce his account hooks, and further offers to sell his work’s to the Drainage Board at the price which he paid for them.

CLAIM AGAINST UNION. AVELLINGTON. Afay 17

Archibald John Bryant, a steward, sued the Federated Cooks’ and Stewards’ Union for £25 damages, before Mr P age, S.AI., alleging that lie had been victimised, and so prevented from obtaining employment. Counsel, tolling his story, indicated that plaintill had served a term of gaol for thefts, and when he afterwards approached the Union Secretary about a job on the Tahiti, the Secretary replied: “I have seen the steward, and you are not going to get the job. We don't want crooks and criminals in the Union.” The Chief Steward had refused plaintiff a job, and later the Union Secretary repeated the remark, and handed plaintiff back £2 paid as Union dues, saying: “Here is a present from the Union.” A meeting of the Union resolved to .readmit the plaintiff, and By rant had since offered to pay all the dues owing, but the Secretary had refused to discuss the matter.

When later, counsel said that it would not he denied that there wore a number of ex-criniinals in the -Union, Air P. J.. O’Rogan said: “We deny that emphatically!” ATr O'Regan said that there was nothing personal in the matter. He later applied for a non-suit, on the ground that plaintiff had not estabIsilied his suit. The Afagistrate reserved his decision oil the non-suit point.

THEFT OF £4lO. WELLINGTON, A fay 17

Found guilty yesterday on thirteen counts involving thefts of sums amounting to about £l4O, Joseph Henry Pike came before Judge Smith to-dav for sentence.

His Honour said that had the jury known tlio prisoner had received sentences of three and five years’ reformative detention for theft, on previous occasions, they would not perhaps have recommended mercy. He thought lie would be giving due weight to the circumstances of accused’s employment and the jury's recommendation with a sentence of n year’s imprisonment, to ho followed j by not more than a year’s reformative detention,

DAMAGES AWARDED. CHRISTCHURCH, May 17. ' Judgment against tlio Christchurch I Tramways Board for £516 16s was given by Air Justice Adams on the finding of a jury at the Supreme Court to-day in a. ease in which an Invercargill resident. Daniel Petrie Walker, a railway employee, sued tlio Tramway Board and the Inter-City Alotor Service Company for damages of £559 18s for injuries received in a collision between n tramcar and a bus at a street intersection. The jury found the accident was due to negligence cn the part of a tramway motorman.