INTERPROVINCIAL NEWS.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVI, Issue 10065, 5 February 1909, Page 4

INTERPROVINCIAL NEWS.

(Per Pbess Association.) WELLINGTON. February 4. At the Supreme Court to-day, Jeffries George Kenneth Murfitt was found guilty on one charge of forgery at Napier, and not guilty on another similar charge. He was lilso convicted of obtaining money by means of a forged endorsement. He was remanded till .Monday for sentence. A young-looking woman named May Tanner was charged with breaking into a house in Wellington and stealing cutlery and other articles. Edward John Searl, well known as formerly lessee of Searl's Hotel now the Hotel Cecil, in Wellington, and latterly as a restaurant proprietor, was found guilty of forging the name of W. T. Gil&rt ("his brother-in-law) to a cheque for £/. Searl said that Mr Gilbert had on three occasions assisted him financially, and had 6aid Searl could draw on him if necessity arose. That was why he drew the cheque. Searl was remanded till tomorrow for sentence.

The president of the New Zealand Institute was able to inform members today that something definite is at last being done to recognise the value of the scientific work done by the late Sir James Hector. ilr Thomson said that the Memorial Committee of the Institute had been reconstructed, and was in correspondence with the other bodies which were acting in the interests of the movement. The amount collected by the committee so far was unfortunately too small for the end in view. The main Hector Memorial Committee, at the instance of the Standing Committee of the Board of Governors, had therefore suggested to the Memorial Committee of the Institute and to the allied committees in Auckland. Wellington, Christchurch, and IJunedin, that a joint circular should be issued signed by representatives of all the committees, appealing for further subscriptions Ito the fund. This suggestion had been adopted, and the wording of the circular was now under consideration. A vigorous effort would be made by all the committees to raise a sum of money for the establishment of a worthy memorial. At the meeting of the Trades and Labor Council a warm discussion took place on the following motion: '"That owing to the continued number of men holding permanent positions on the Trade Councils of the Dominion accepting positions with the Government, this Council is of opinion that it is inimical to the best interests of organised labor." The motion was lost by" IS votes to 5, and a resolution was adopted congratulating a member of the Council on his appointment to a position in the- Labor Department. In the betting case of John Kemp and Percy Maxwell Cameron v. George Owler for the recovery of the sum of £sl, a decision was given by I)r M'Arthur, S.M., to-day. The plaintiffs' claim was that they "had given? defendant £1 to invest for them on the totalisator at the New Zealand Cit[> meeting at Christchurch. Defendant, they alleged, was charged with certain itu-tractions whereby he should have- returned them the sum of £ll2. Defendant, who only accounted to the plaintiffs for the sum or £62 15s. denied he was found down by instructions as to the speculation. Commenting on the claim ins Worship said that section 70 of the Gaming Act, 1903, was in his opinion conclusive a.s to plaintiffs" right of action. It provided that ""no action shall be brought or maintained to recover any sum ot m»>ni_-y won. lost, or staked in any betting transaction whatever." What, he remarked, could be plainer or more comprehensive'i It young men or old ones for that matter entrusted a companion with a sum of money to invest- on the totalisator. then no instructions given to him would render him legally liable to repay any dividend he might receive; at least that was his opinion" of the Gaming Act, 13C8. Those who give- money for investment mn.-l rely not on the law for veeovery but on the honor of the person to whom the money was given. Judgment must be for the defendant, but no costs would be allowed. The visit to New Zealand of Tommy ' Burns, the ex-champion boxer, which the Wellinston Boxing Association was endeavoring to arrange, lias been abandoned. There were several difficulties in the way, the chief among them being the impossibilitv of obtaining suitable dates.

A "not ice in to-night's Gazette proliibits the importation of concentrated iluid preparations of opium. I>r M-Arthtir. S.M.. heard further cases •it i>r■.aches of indti.-trint awards to-day. Mrs M. Nathan, hotel proprietress, was I fined £5 for a breach of the preference j t'.' unionists" clause in the cooks" and waiters" award. For failing to pay an j cmplovee overtime rates Dickenson Bros., I.iiteh-.rs. v.vre fined £2. ! To-day the head-office ••: the Amalga- | mated Society of Uailway Servants Te--1 ceiivd tiie following telegram from the Minister: ""In reply to your telegram re- • warding the order of reference in connection v.ith th- proposed Addington iiiijitiry. your .> presentations 'already published) will re-.-eive consideration, but t!ie inquiry will not be widened to 50 outside of the je-nerat administration in regard to the workshops. I see no necessity to havecounsel or outside representatives appearing before the proposed commission, which will consist of persons outside the railway service, but having a practical knowledge of engineering, and who will therefore 60 well qualified" to obtain a!! the evidence necessary. In these circumstances I regret that I cannot agree to counsel being admitted, as neither" the officers nor the men will be represented by anyone." DO." EDEN. February 4. "Hie Arbitration Court was asked to-day t» decide nil appeal by John Wilson a-.Mtn.-t the .i.-cision of Mr M'Ennis, S.M., in a case under the provisions of the Workers' Compensation for Accidents Art, I9CS- in which .John Henry Me-rvyn claimed to recover from John Wilson £2OO as compensation for injury sustained by being frostbitten whilst snowraking on appellant"-, farm at kinder on July 11th. The magistrate decided that the injury sustained was an accident, and awarded £l5O compensation. The appeal was based on the ground that the injury sustained was not an accident. The Court reserved its decision. CEIPvISTGHUEGH. February 4. Dr C'apra, of Milan, who is on an official mission on behaii" of the Italian Government to investigate the agricultural resources of the Dominion and the openings for Italian immigrants, has arrive<l here, and was to-day shown over a portion of the district by the Inspector of Stock. He will visit "the Ashburton district tomorrow, and on Tuesdav leaves for the West Coast. AUCKLAND. February 4. P.urglars visited the premises of Chas. Shalloon, jeweller, of Victoria street, last trisht, and got away with jewellery valued at £2O. Several boardinghouses were also entered, and varions articles stolen. Dr Findlay. Attorney - Genera! and Minister of Justice, visited the Mount Eden Gaol, yesterday afternoon, and this morning left for Pakatoa Island, the Salvation Army inebriates' home. He will ■_'o or. to liotorua to-morrow, but has not definitely fixed his plans further ahead. There" is now quite a large congregation 01 Mormons in Auckland, and a rtiapel and dwelling house have just been erected in Upper Queen street at a total cost of £3300, the money having been sent o:t by the authorities" of the Church in Sait City. The Mormons are holding a bit; conference of Maori adherents at Huntiy. commencing to-mor-row.

At a meeting of the committee of the Auckland Rowing Association to-night a letter was received from the secretary of a local club asking permission for a crew to pace K. Arnst". the world's champion in an exhibition scull on the harbor on Saturday. Arnst had approached the club officially, and they wrote to get an expression of opinion on the point- as to whether an amateur crew could assist in a professional exhibition. A lengthy discussion took place, at the conclusion of which the following motion was carried : "That in the opinion of the Auckland Rowing Association such an exhibition is contrary to the spirit of the clause denning amateur according to New Zealand Amateur Rowing Association rules. The Association therefore cannot approve of any c!nb affiliated, with it assisting a professional exhibition." THAMES. February 4. The second ballot in connection with the Thames bye-election took place to-day, and excited "considerable interest. The two candidates are both supporters of the Government. Mr E. H. Taylor, who topl>ed the poll at the first- ballot, leads by 518 against Mr W. H. Lucas, second on the list. The complete returns are not- to

hand. Eight returns, have still to come, bu* the result cannot be affected. The totals so far are: Taylor 2188, Lucas 1669. PALMERSTON NORTH..,, February 4. Mr Seifert, a well-known flaxmiller, interviewed by a Manawatu Times, reporter on the subject of the flax employees' request for a commission.into the subject of royalties, points out that; while Mr Robinson used his name with reference to the statement made with respect to flaxmil! workers, this statement was culled from an article appearing in an Auckland weekly, and written by him for the express purpose of showing, amongst other things, that flax land • proprietors now have • to get, at a moderate valuation, 10s per ton royalty- in order to return a little over 5 per cent, on the investment. In the polo match Hawke's Bay defeated Manawatu by 8 goals to 5. GORE. February 4. The first of sixteen charges against five persons consequent upon the recent liquor raids was heard to-day, when Mary Jane Thurton was fined £4O for selling, this being her first offence. A second charge was "withdrawn. In giving judgment Mr Kenrick, S.M., refeiTed to the objections frequently urged against the methods adopted "by the police to secure convictions. Personally he did not like them, but he realised that they were necessary in order to bring the offenders to book, otherwise the law would be a dead-letter. The police should, however, not endeavor to make purchases of persons merely for the sake of testing them.. Reasonable grounds for suspecting illicit trading should exist for taking such a step.