NEWS IN BRIEF.

Otago Witness, Issue 2817, 11 March 1908, Page 52

NEWS IN BRIEF.

Two men were stunned 'at Richmond (New Sooth Wales) by lumps- of ice which fell during a hail storm. j The Sydney brewer* propose to advance the price of ale and stout. j The income last year of the Sydney j City Council was £18,677 in excess of its expenditure. r— \ An old couple named Turner were burned to death at Lookhart. The report that the Rev. Stanley Howard, of the Melandajan Mission, was missing, having presumably been drowned at the New Hebrides, turns out to be quite unfounded. The New South Wales National Rifle Association will invite teams of the Empire to compete at the jubilee meeting next year. * Dr Forbes (Winelow), the English lunacy expert, b*s been fined £50 for lodging a lunatio in an unlicensed house. Major Wardill, secretary of the MclDourne Crioket Ciub, fell from a tramcar and was severely injured. Cbloael Otter, of Canada, has declined the offer of the command of an infantry brigade at Aldershot. Tom Burrows swung clubs at Sydney for 61 hours and 41 minutes, thus breaking his own record by a minute. A London cablegram announces the death in childbirth of Mrs Guedella, better known as Lily Hanbury, an actress, who appeared in London in several important parts. The death is announced from Sydney, ol Mr George Miller, ex-general manager of the Bank of New South Wales, aged 7fi years. From Auckland' the death is reported of the Rev,- Father Peter Neale, aged Zf year*. At the motor races on Florida Beach, America, Bernin drove a 60 h.p. Renault car 100 miles in 72min 57sec— the world's record,. _ A oyolone at Beulah (Victoria) wrecked! a number of nouses and shops, ana damaged many others. Several families are homeless. A South Atlantic trading company, with a capital of £100,000, ha 6 been formed to acquire Thomas Caradoc Kerry's licensee to work the guano on Gough, Inaccessible, and Nightingale Islands, and generally to trade in the Pacific. The quantity of wheat and flour afloat for the United Kingdom i« 4,670,000 quarteis, and for the Continent 2,805,000 quarters. The Atlantic shipments were 106,000 quarters, and the Pacific 80,000 quarters. The Newcastle (New South Wales) miners' lodges are taking a fresh ballot on the question of the taking of evidence in camera. There is reason to believe, in view of tn« firm stand taken by the .president of the Special Mining Court, that the result will be favourable to the court being left untrammelled in the taking of evidence. At the express command of the Pope the Congregation of the Inde^ have sentenced Abbl Loiay, whp Is prominently identified with tnq Modernist movement in the Chdrolj, to tfre greater excomfnunication. £ correspondent of recognised, authority, |n the oottbe & * letter to Tho Tim&, ©wiles &*i Lftd Twtedmouth sen* the KaWf aq adv&noe oopy Of ttie Navy Eat;* ttitkW before their pr&entofcidji id Parlia&em 14 4jta ffcx&i of Comtnottf Mi Asquith, fenlying; td Mr Balfour, aald that Lord TweeamQwh, before replying to it, showßd the Kaisers letter to Sir Edward , Grey, who agreed that ft was noi an official ■

letter, and should be treated as confidential. Chief Justice Kenny states that there is not a scintilla of evidence against Lord Ashtown in connection with the Glenahiry outrage. He severely condemns Inspector Preston for signing, under the orders of the Inspector-general of Constabulary, a report charging Lord Aehtown with being privy to the outrage, when he did not intend to make th© iharge himself. His Honor believes that Inspector Preston's original report had been altered in Dublin Castle either by Sir Neville Chamberlain (Inspector-general of the Royal Irish Constabulary) or by the Under-secretary (Sir Antony Macdonnell). He confirms the County Court's award of damages in the case; The Hon. G. Fowlds," Minister of Education, informed an Auckland deputation that he would bring before the Cabinet the ri letter of sending Colour-sergeant Friar, of the Onehunga Cadets, to England to shoot at Bisley for the Lady Guinness trophy. At the Police Oourt, Dunedin, on March 10, Mr Widdoweon, S.M., dismissed a charge of sly prog-selling against Annie Stentiford, proprietress of the Albion boardinghouse, on the ground that the evidence of the constable was not corroborated. The constable's evidence was to the effect that he bought a bottle of beer from Mrs Stenfci•ford, paying Is 6d for' it. He afterwards went to the houso with another constable, but failed to induce Mrs Stentiford to sell him any liquor. At the Supreme Court, Dunedin, on March 10, Alexander Stewart, who had pleaded " Guilty " on a charpr« of assaulting George Tregear by throwi Z. m a glass in the latter's face, was sentenced to four months' hard labour. George Cook, who had come to Dunedin from the Lumsden district and got on the spree, stole a silver watch and chain from a dwelling. Having pleaded " Guilty " to the offence, he was admitted to probation on condition that he went into the country, abstained from intoxicating drink, and paid within three months £3 Is 6d. In the Supreme Court (Gieborne) the libel action of Sadie Watson v. Joseph Burk, a claim of £499, was concluded on the 10th. Plaintiff was barmaid for defendant, and left his employ and gave evidence against him in certain police proceedings. It was alleged '.hat defendant returned to her the photograph she had given to his wife, having written thereon words implying that she was of immoral character. Mr Bell, K.C., appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr Lusk for tbe defendant. The iurv found for the plaintiff, and gave £125 damages.