LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 29 May 1942, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Escapees Arrested. After a long and arduous search on horseback over the snow-covered slopes of Raggedy Range, constables who were accompanied by a party of volunteers, arrested two men who, it is alleged, forced an entrance into the Lauder (Otago) railway station on Sunday night. The men had escaped from an institution and will not appear before a Court. Soldier’s Hand Blown Off.

Through an accident caused by an explosion, Sergeant J. S. Stephens, Miramar, Wellington, had his right hand blown off during a military display at Dannevirke to promote the sale of Victory Bonds. He was on top of the De Luxe Theatre at the time of the occurrence, and it is understood he was taking part in the display. He was taken to hospital and is suffering from shock.

Rahotu Shooting Case. On the ground that in his summing up in the Rahotu shooting case in the Supreme Court, Mr Justice Northcroft had misdirected the jury, Mr L. E. Sowry, counsel for prisoner, was granted leave to apply for a new trial. The sentencing of Albert James Cunniffe, who was found guilty of discharging a firearm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, was postponed till after the hearing of the motion.

Fire at School.

Defective brickwork about the furnace of the central heating system of the Kaiwarra School caused an outbreak of fire yesterday. The fire was discovered between the weatherboards and the lining of the building, which is wooden, but it was held in check by the headmaster, Mr F. Rockel, using a garden hose, till the fire brigade arrived. An engine from the Thorndon fire brigade station, arrived, and the firemen, removing some of the boarding, completed the extinction of the fire with bucket pumps.

Sunday Pictures.

Sunday picture entertainment for troops was considered at' a -meeting of the Film Industry Board this week, and the board’s previous attitude that it was opposed to the opening of picture theatres on that day was reaffirmed. It recorded the view, however, that should the authorities consider. war conditions demanded it, the industry was prepared to co-operate in the provision of entertainment under normal conditions in such localities as might be required. The board is representative of all sections of the film industry.

Mr Hislop and the R.S.A. By an overwhelming vote, the annual meeting of the Wellington branch of the Returned Services Association adopted a resolution expressing its absolute confidence in Mr T. C. A. Hislop as vice-president after a motion had been submitted calling upon him to resign from the executive. Mr Hislop made a lengthy explanation of the circumstances which had led up to the matter which was discussed, and at its conclusion was accorded a round of applause. He intimated that, with the president, Mr C. H. Weston, K.C., he was quite prepared to discuss the issue with the president and vicepresident of the Wellington branch of the A.I.F. Association.

Hospital Rating. A meeting of the Wairarapa local body representatives is to be held in Masterton next Tuesday evening with a view to protesting against the hospital rating system. The meeting has been called at the suggestion of the Pahiatua Borough and County councils. Bicycle Fork Breaks. A fourteen-year-old boy, Andrew Scott, of Upper Plain, was admitted to the Masterton Hospital yesterday afternoon with an injured knee. The injury was received when the front fork of a bicycle he . was riding broke. His condition this morning was reported to be comfortable. Naval. Enlistments. The Naval Enlistment Emergency Regulations gazetted last night give the Navy Board discretion to make enlistments for service in the Royal New Zealand Navy for a period ending six months after the final official termination of hostilities or at an earlier date if the Navy Board so determines . Military Defaulters. Defaulters from military service who have been imprisoned because their presence was considered to be prejudicial to the good order and discipline of a detention camp may be transferred back to the camp by the direction of the Minister of National Service. Authority to do this is contained in an amendment to the National Service Emergency Regulations gazetted last night. Army and Accident Claims. I Allegations that the Army was avoiding claims arising from accidents involving its vehicles by invoking an Act which, he claimed, was enacted primarily with other activities in view than the driving of motor-vehicles were made by Mr W. P. Rollings in the Magistrate’s Court, Wellington, yesterday. The occasion was the hearing t(7 Mr A. M. Goulding, S.M., of an application by Lieutenant C. D. Velvin for leave to I defend in a case in which Albert Comfort, accountant, claimed damages from him as the result of an accident involving a car which Velvin was driving in the course of his military duties. The application was necessary because Velvin’s notice of intention to defend was filed late. The magistrate reserved his decision. “A Very Grave Crime.” “That is a very grave crime,” said Mr Justice Northcroft in the New Plymouth Supreme Court yesterday, in sentencing to eighteen months’ hard labour Colin Clifford Taylor, aged 25, for neglect of duty to provide medical attention, thereby endangering the life of his nine-months-old son. “That kind of conduct,” said the Judge, “is sometimes found in native races, but with Europeans, and in your case, it is entirely inexcusable.” His Honour said the evidence showed that two crimes had been committed in the home of the prisoner; one was much the more serious —abominable ill-treatment of the child. He referred to the injuries the child had received, and its wasted condition, the explanation of which had been left a mystery. “For some reason the police did not prosecute you and your wife, who alone had the care of the child. I don’t know, but it may happen that there may yet be a prosecution.”