LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXI, Issue 40, 14 September 1916, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Opening of Fox’s dance series in Hu-. Town Hall this evening. At Durgnville Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, Alfred Gregory, draper, ot Dnrgaville, was fined Co for refusing to place a placard containing a Military Service Act notice in his shop window.

Owing to tlie severity of the gale in Stratford during the morning several gates and fences in the Borough were blown down, but otherwise little damage is reported. Farmers and others interested in the Farmers’ Union are invited to a general meeting to be held in the Stratford A. and P. Office, Broadway, on Saturday, at 2.15. Weather Forecast. —Southerly winds strong to gale. The weather will probably prove squally with heavy showers, and become colder. Bare- ( meter rising.—Pemberton, Wellington. A Pahiatua Press Association gram states :• There was very heavy, rain last night, and owing to the con- [ tinned rough weather, the W ood-j lauds Hunt Club’s races have been postponed till to-morrow. It is expected that the “general ( average” struck in connection with the loss of the Tongariro will reach t to over 90 per cent, of the value ofj the cargo secured from the wreck! (says the Napier “Telegraph”). The loss however, will ultimately fall onj the insurance companies carrying Urn risks, but importers not so covered will have to pay and look pleasant. Up to the present, when a man changed his address his principal; worry, as a rule, was the inconi onience or cost of shifting. The situa-1 tion is very different to-day for men j of military age, when they move from one abode to another. Neglect or de- j lay in sending this important infer-j mation to Hie Government Statistician j may make a. careless or thoughtless i man liable to a charge of desertion, j

Figures relating to marriages have, a peculiar importance now that we havj to think of the human losses through war (writes a Sydney correspondent). A survey of returns issued by the Commonwealth Bureau of Statistics shows that during 1915 there were 45 ( 224 marriages in Australia. The percentage of minors who were joined in wedlock was 11.27. Seven lads of sixteen years were married to girls ol sixteen, eighteen, and nineteen years. The youngest bride was only thirteen years of age. She was a resident of Tasmania. Her husband was twentytwo. Looking at the other end of the scale, one notes that the oldest couple married were two residents of South Australia, which State has always enjoyed a reputation for cautiousness. The man was eighty' and the woman seventy-five years old. Other oddities are the marriage of a girl of fourteen to a man thirty-five years old, and the union of a girl of fourteen to a man of fifty-two. Over 13.000 women were married in their twenty-first, twenty-second, and twenty-third years, but among men tbo twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth years were most popular.

A matter affecting the custody of a leopard, hyena, and other circus animals at present at the Zoo, came before the Supreme Court at Wellington on Tuesday (reports the New Zealand Times),, in the case of William John Baker v. Francis Joseph Worley (known in the theatrical world as Barton). The claim was for possession of the animals and damages for alleged wrongful detention. Mr Jackson appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr O’Leary for the defendant. It was stated by the latter that the defendant was the proprietor of Barton’s Circus, and was at present seriously ill in Auckland with pulmonary tuberculosis. He desired to have his evidence taken there. By arrangement, the animals had been left at the Zoo for safe keeping in 1913, and in 1914 the defendant had communicated with the town clerk, intimating that they belonged to the plaintiff, and'authorising them to bo delivered to him as soon-as they were applied for. An adjournment which was applied for was opposed by Mi Jackson, who said there was reason to believe the defendant was about to leave New Zealand. "While at thol Zoo, it appeared that the leopard had j died. Mr Justice Chapman adjourn-j ed the case sine die to enable the do-' fondant’s evidence to be taken atj Auckland. £2 2. costs being awarded | the plaintiff.

< A caso of considerable interest to , patrons of the totalisator was heard ' at the Magistrates Court, Featherstou, I the other day, before Mr L. G. .Reid, 831. F. J. Franco was charged for ! that on June ■), at Moroa racecourse, | near Grey town, he did record on the j totalisator certain moneys after the ; time notified for the starting of the ! race. Superintendent O’Donovan appeared to prosecute, and Mr Card loi tlie defendant, who pleaded guilty. The explanation advanced was that defendant lias received £-0 to he invested on the totalisator. with the. direction that it was not to be rung on all at once. He had put on £lO before the race started, hut owing to the pressure of work had omitted to put oil the other £lO. When ho rang on the balance lie was ignorant of the fact that the race had started, nor did he know the position of the norses. : When two men who had tickets on the winning horse came along subsequently cm! protested, he instantly rectified the numbers on tlie totalisator 1 1 v putting no a notice that the : CIO had been withdrawn. SuperinI tendent O’Donovan pointed out that j the offence opened the way to the ] widest frauds imaginable in respect of i horseracing. He was satisfied, how--1 ever, that on this occasion there was no fraudulent intention in the mint! of the defendant, who was a man of well-established good character, and ' well known not to he associated with any objectionable elements connected j with racin". Had fb« position been ■ ■•V: ’ •-> he would have pressed for jibe liiglmd penalo-. His Worship } said that, taking all tlie circumstances into consideration, he would impose only a light fine, £2 and costs.,

When the Crown takes a case to Court in the ordinary way, the onus of proof is on the prosecutor. An exception has been made by Parliament for procedure under the Military Service- Act. In every case under this statute the onus of proof is on the defemlaut. If he is to save himself from conviction on a charge brought by the Crown, he has to prove—to the satisfaction of a Court—that his case is not one for a penalty.

Legal expenses of New Zealand’s boroughs during the financial year 1914-15 ranged from nil (in a number of cases) to £670 (Auckland city’s cost). Napier was second to highest with £485; Wanganui third with £383; and Dunedin fourth with £368. Nothing is set against "Wellington city, which has its own solicitor—a municipal officer (state,; the New Zealand Times). Miramar had “law” to the extent of £127. Several boroughs spout £1 each in the twelve months, The total given in the Municipal Handbook is £6303.

The new lift machinery' at the head office of the Commonwealth Bank in Pitt street, Sydney, was originally intended for the battleship Queen Elizabeth. It was obtained for Australia as a result of the direct intervention by the British Government as some slight recognition of the service rendered to the Empire ’>y the Australian cruiser Sydney : n sinking the Gorman raider Emden at Cocos Island. That the machinery is of the most perfect modern type is shown by the fact that on the afternoon and evening of the official opening, the lifts carried 5000 people without the sl’ghtest hitch, and this on the first time ,of asking: the pace at which the cages travelled being probably a record even for an up-to-date city like Sydney.

A meeting of the Stratford Recruiting Committee mus held on Tuesday, when there were present: His Worship the Mayor (Mr J. W. Boon), and Messrs J. Masters, P. Skoglund, C. D. Sole, and J. Smith, representing the Stratford County Council. The Committee has compiled a list ot families who have not sent one meher on active service, and will forward same to the Recruiting Board. The members of such families have the option of offering their services and volunteering now. As soon as the roll arrives, any man whose name does not appear will be sent direct. camp. In the meantime, it is for men to enlist voluntarily, and the name of any man who does so, will be starred in the Gazette to signify that ho has offered his services. No man can enlist for a reinforcement draft for a further period in advance than three months. Any man between tbe age of 20 and 46 years can enlist voluntarily. and any person tempting to influence them from enlisting is liable to a penalty of £SO or six months imprisonment.

The first prosecution in Dunedin under the new Act regarding dazzling lights on motor cars was heard in the Police Court on Friday (states the Otago Daily Times), when Lewis Curtis pleaded not guilty to a charge of failing to take care that the light exhibited on his motor car was not of such dazzling brilliancy a a to affect the vision of drivers of vehicles approaching in the opposite direction. Sergeant Thomson, giving evidence, said that the bulb was a 10-candle power used with a powerful concave reflector, the strongest Fight used on a Buick ear. It was a regular searchlight, quite unsuitable for use in the city, and impossible to face. It was not the power of the globe, but the way it was fitted to throw up the light that caused the trouble. Motorists agreed that it was a useful light on country roads, provided it could be dimmed when traffic was being mot. Evidence for the defence was given by the defendant and Albert Edward Smither, the driver of the car on the night mentioned, both of whom said that the lights were not the strongest in the city and not so dazzling as had been contended. To Sub-inspector Broberg, Smither said he was not under the influence of liquor when spoken to by Sergeant Thomson. He was not aware at the time that there was legal provision against the use of brilliant lights. The Sub-inspector remarked that the

eas<> was one of those in which there would always he a good deal of dispute. Unfortunately, the Act did not provide for the commandeering of the lamps so that they could be exhibite 1 in court. The Magistrate pointed out that the Act provided that tne light should not he of such dazzling brilliancy that it would affect the vision of drivers of vehicles approaching from the opposite direction. Tlie sergeant and constable had placed themselves in the best position to judge of the effect of the lights, and ho did not think their positive evidence was done away with by the statements of the defendants. As this was the first case under the Act, and the provisions might not be very well known. ho would inflict only a small penalty, a fine of os, with costs (7s).