NEWS AND NOTES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 2472, 26 August 1922, Page 1

NEWS AND NOTES.

Miss G. Rowe, a typiste, about 17 years of ago, met with a serious accident at Wanganui on Saturday. The girl was engaged in a mercantile office, and by some means she fell through a skylight, sustaining severe injuries, and necessitated her immediate removal to the hospital. At the last meeting of the Raglan County Council the clerk reported (hat the new improved valuation of the town district was £44,003 as against £14,024 previously. The declining birthrate is attracting serious attention (according to a cablegram from Pans). The rate of births, over 100 families, is now 166 compared 'with 248 in 1913, _ and 333 in 1865. L’Oeuvrc declares that if this rate of decline continues Franco will bo peopleless in half a century. Many thousands of dead fish are floating in Lake Lubrino, near Naples, spoiling the lake’s valuable fisheries (states a Rome cablegram). It is' believed poisonous gases escaping through the volcanic bed are causing their destruction. Speaking at Bendigo, Mr Hughes (Prime Minister of Australia) said the Government would not lower the wages of sugar workers in order to reduce the price of sugar. He referred to the obstruction the Government had experienced and said that if it was unable to curry out its programme it would go to the country. “I had a big sum of money when I came to New Zealand about eighteen months ago, but I lost more than half of it tlirough passing it over to a man who promised me that he would get me a good return for it within a short space of time, but: the whole lot went,” was what a man said who applied for relief at Auckland. At the Supreme Court at Auckland

Alexander James Churton was sentenced to 12 months' reformative detention for the theft of motor car parts. —Press

Association. The British Association for the Advancement of Science maintains its ban against German scientists attending the forthcoming conference at Hull (states a cablegram from London).

The Assembly by-election for Gippsland South was won by Mr West, a Nationalist, who defeated the Farmers’ and Independent Nationalist candidates (states a message from Sydney). The restoration of the historic church at Russell is to be undertaken shortly. The old church was built 84 years ago, and New Zealand's first Governor, Captain W. Hobson, attended service within its walls. A Government electrical expert is shortly to visit Stratford to consider a hydro-elec-tric scheme submitted to the Power Board, which it is claimed is capable of generating about 4000 h.p. During the month of July 100 building permits were issued by the Christchurch City Council, representing a building value of £48,950. Many tradesmen are. demanding wheat instead of depreciated curlenoy in payment for goods in Budapest. A suit of clothes costs 3301bs of wheat. A Held Testing Association has been formed in the Waikato. A man who could not tell the time, read nor write, was among the wilnesses in a court, ease at New Plymouth last week. A rather curious state of affairs was brought about at the Magistrate’s Court at Christchurch (states the Press) when Chief-Detective A. Cameron asked for a charge to be amended from being “idle and disorderly” to read “rogue and vagabond.” The Magistrate, Mr Wyvern

Wilson, said the information could not he amended as the accused was to be charged with a different offolice. The information would be dismissed for want of prosecution, and a iiew one could be laid. Accused then left the box and walked outside. Some time later counsel for the defene, Mr U. S. Thomas, protested to the Magistrate that the man had been arrested again at,

the door of the Court. “No information has been laid,” he said, “and he has been arrested in the precincts of the Court.” The Magistrate held, however, that he would take no notice of what happened outside the Court and dismissed the protest. Later the man appeared on the amended information.

The opinion that the matriculation examination is available to students of too

tender years was expressed by the Director of Education (Mr J. Caughley) in the course of a lecture at Dunedin. “Take a lad of sixteen years,” said Mr Caughley, “will anyone say that he is sufficiently matured, that his outlook is broad onough, that he has read sufficiently widely and deeply for him to avail himself to the full of the facilities for education —old enough to ensure that he will be able to understand what his professor as a professor should teach? If the matrioulation examination ceased lo be a utility examination, and became the qualification for entrance to the University, as was intended, the age could be raised by one or two years with great advantage.” The cruelty of making sport of tamo animals and birds was stressed by the lion. G. M. Thomson in the Legislative Council in moving the second reading of the Animals Protection and Game Amendment Bill. Tlie matter sought to be prohibited was the shooting ot live pigeons from traps. This, he said, was a survival of barbarous sports such as bull-baiting, badger-baiting, cock-fighting, putting rats and terriers into pits. The hounding by dogs of deer whose horns had been padded was another cruel sport which the speaker had personally witnessed. Such sjxirts merely reflected the leanings of primitive num who delighted in torturing animals, and all of them had been suppressed. An accident which resulted in the death of a returned soldier named John Alexander Stiahan, aged 29 years, occurred at Taradale on Saturday night. Deceased was driving a horse in a spring cart when tin; horse took fright and backed the cart into a ditch in which there was a foot of water. Deceased was thrown out into the ditch and the horse fell on top of him. Several minutes elapsed before the deceased could be extricated and first aid was applied without success.—Press Association.

Letters stating that since the abolition of the position of truunt officer non-attendance at schools had increased were received by the Auckland Education .Board last week front the Headmasters’ Association and from tho Newton School Committee. A member gave notice of motion that the question of the appointment of a truant officer be reconsidered at the board’s next meeting. A controversy is proceeding on the WestCoast respecting the name of the Otira Tunnel. The Canterbury Progress League contends that it should be “Arthur’s Pass, ’ instead of Otira, and in this the league is supported by the Hokitika Progress League. Many residents of Greymouth are against the suggestion, contending that as the tunnel has long been known all over the world as Otira, the change would occasion endless confusion.

Saturday was the tenth anniversary of the death of the late Mr Thomas George Macarthy, whose magnificent bequest to educational and charitable institutions in the provincial district of Wellington is so well known. To date * the institutions referred to have benefited to the extent of £54,922 under the provisions 'of the will. Mr W. N. Grinlinton, who was found severely injured in a gully under Grafton bridge, Auckland, the other evening, and who subsequently died, belonged to Hawera, having arrived at Auckland on Wednesday under engagement to a firm of drapers, lie left a note stating that ill health had caused him to end his life. lie was a married man and his wife resides at Ilawera.

An unusual question cropped up in court at Eltham in a commission case. The negotiations concerning a purchase had been begun in the office of defending counsel, and he wished to cross-examine his chief clerk on the facts. His Worship said there was just a question of legal privilege or right to divulge secrets of the office. He considered that nothing should be divulged without the consent of the principal. The cross-examination was then continued.