NEWS NOTES.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 3, Issue 212, 14 July 1914, Page 4

NEWS NOTES.

Th ' Railway Department is discontinuing tha run Ding cf the AicklandThsmes express t.airs aft£r the end of Jane. On and after July Ist passengers to and from the Thames and Cambridge branches will require to travel by the Rotrnia express trains. Connectirg trairs will leave Thames for Morrinavilh at 9.20 am. and Mcrrinsvilie for Thames at 2.35 pm. A connecting trfcir, will leave Cambridge for Ruakura Junction at 12.15 p.m., return'ng from Rußkura Junction ct 2 p.m. Between Auckland and Moriinsvill? the Rotorua expresses will stop at Newmarket, Penrcse, Otahuhu, Drury, Pukekohe, Tuakau, Meicer, Huntly, Ngaruawahis, Franktor, Hamilton ar.d Ruakura.

The jury empanelled to fce.ir a case in a country town in the Auckland province were prevented giving a verdict by a strarga incident. It was late in the afterncon when twelve good men and true retired. All, anticipating an early return home to tea, wera agreed upon the verdict, save one. With thi* one the o:hers argued till the hour ot tea hpd come anl gone. Finally a meal was brought in for the jurors. When the obdurate one saw the f.cd, he raid to the constable, " ftis did not ccme from my place, did itV ' Answered in the negative, he becsrr.e very angiy, and then it was known that he usually catered f r jjrm.ii's meals, and his Eole ct'je t ii folding cut was to secure an order Having missed the order he deteiminel to make the trial inton.l sive, a d, at the expiration of the aliott d time, the jury were c.i charg d and a new trial ordered.

A rn iil-m iking party was at work not 100 milt s from Taumaranui. It was Sunday morning, and the " two up" .'clioi 1 wi.s in progress. One of the men «as going to the creek with his washing contained in a kerosene tin. He was asked to take a hand in the game, but at first declined. Being pressed, however, he put down his tin of washing by the roadside and joined. lie had wonderful luck, and within a few hours had mopped up all the current cash his mates possessed—a sum of £BO. He immediately packed his swag and made for the nearest railway station, whence he took train next morning for Auckland, He spent a six weeks' holiday, which included a visit to Wellington, and then returned to his old camp with nothing left, found his tin of soiled linen where he had left it, took it to the creek as he had intended, washed it out, and dropped into the old existence as if nothing had happened.

Some startling court cases provided the theme for a plain Bpeaking sermon by Ihe Rev. J. J. North at C r.'stchorch on Sunday night on the immorality of the age. "I believe there is a great wave of sensualism at present sweeping over the earth," said Mr North. "The outrageous costumes and dances at pr;sent in vogue are evidences of a great underlying animalism. The couit cases in Christchurch recently ought to make the whole city Btand aghast. 1 refer especially to the inability of the police to cope with the "joy ride" case. Th2 penalty cf twelve months' imprisonment fcr accosting I consider tj be totally inadequate." Speakir:g of the injuiy done to the community by the circulation cf immoral literature, Mr North said: "What is required to do away with the evil is a sort of censorship of books, papers and pictures—net a prudish censorship but a strong: attempt to give young life a chance to develop on wholesome lines." "Bonedust is fortunately diminishing, for there is always the danger of dis.ase beirg imported by it, and it has nj apparent extra benefit except that it contains a percentage of nitrogen up to 4 per cent," remarked Mr J. G. Wilson, president of the New Zealand Farmers' Union, in the course of hi" address on "Phosphates" at the National Dairy Conference at Palmerston North. "Superphosphate has latterly been mostly supplied from Tasmania and Japan. With the shorter sea voyage as compared with London, there is less impaction. Basic slag is increasing in favour according to statistics, as is guano and rock phosphate. We have a small quantity of phosphate rock in New Zealand, near Milburn,' in private hands, who naturally get as much for it as the market permits. They are said to be turning out 8000 tons per annum. From enquiries 1 have made from men most competent to judge, thtre does not teem to be much chance of any large deposits being found; but these should be looked f.r i.. limestone districts."