YESTERDAY’S TELEGRAMS.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2241, 19 November 1907, Page 1

YESTERDAY’S TELEGRAMS.

Press Association. AUCKLAND

Au Auckland merchant, Mr G. W. S. Patterson, who has-just reitunioct from a foreign tour, discussing tho relations botweon Japan and .Russia, quite confidently predicted that in six or seven years tlieso tiro nations must once more meet in war. Both nations are awaro that this is ahead of them, Russia is actively engaged in preparing for it, concentrating troops in Northern Manchuria anti populating the great traus-B iikal country. On the other hand Mr Patterson points out Japan as in a somewhat i»arJous plight. Her people aro crying out bitterly against the taxation that tho late war has brought upon them and aro u a willing to populato Mlanduman territory as Japan because they ■must figjhit for every’ inch of that country. Mr Patterson speaks of tho improved demeanor on the part of China towards the .foreigner, but expresses the opinion thar none tiie less the 'Chinese ‘ are working ior Girina for the Chinese. A fire’at Karangah.ake,iP.earWaihi, destroyed four shops, a stable, and buggy-shed .used by Robertson and Co., grocers, as a temporary storeroom and stiablo. iTtbo tiro spread to a billiard-room tenanted by Hawker and to., premises recently opened as ah agency of tilio National Bunkhere. The brigade arrested tho blaze, saving tho rest of the block of wood-en shops. The promises destroyed were partly insured. In the Supremo Court Alexander McOallum, charged with breaking and entering and theft, was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment.

Tho Austrians who were the cause of tiie strike on the Main Trunk Railway works near Riaaireanu, were again sent out to-day. Mr. Kell’ar, .representing tho Public Works Department, intimated that any of the original gang employed on that cutting who refused to work with tho Austrians would bo paid off. All the men - employed ill tho cutting left with the exception of six. The matter is to form the subject of a petition to the Minister for Public Works and member for the district. ASHBURTON.

Charles Edward Eooks, who has .acted as clerk and engineer to the Ashburton Borough Council for a largo number -of years, died ait his residence after a short illness yesterday. Deceased relinquished the clerkship in 1901, but' was retained as engineer until tho time of his death. He was 78 years of age, and arrived in tho Dominion in the Steadfast in 1851, and for some time practised as surveyor or architect in Christchurch, and was also in tho Survey Office of the Canterbury Association, and engineered a number of chief public works in Canterbury on behalf of the Government. Mr Fooks arrived in Ashburton in 1871, and was subsequently appointed clerk of the first country controlling body, tho Ashburton Road Board. He carried out extensive drainage works at XJongbeiach on behalf of John Gr.igg and Mr Russell, and engineered tho first open waiter race in the country.

CHRISTCHURCH. At tho Supreme Court, Martha Tainui, a young Maori woman, was charged with being an habitual criminal. There were 37 convictions for theft, forgery, and false pretences against her. She was sent to a reformatory under Itho Habitual Criminals Act. Leonard Burke, 17 years old, considered to he mont'ally defectivo, was sentenced to three montlis’ imprisonment for theft, and' ordered to he kept apart from other prisoners. William Allison, for breaking and entering and attempted rape, was sentenced to five years’ hard labor.

A report is to bo submitted to tlie City Council this evening on an offer by the Bank of No\v Zealand to sell the land necessary to widen Colombo street, at the bank corner, for £13,000. The ratepayers previously rejected a proposal to buy the land when it was offered for £12,500. Values have risen considerably since, •but eight or ton years ago the Council was offered 2} acres on the north side of Worcester street, between Cathedral Square and Manchester street., for the purposes of a central yard for £BOOO. Tho ratepayers rejected this also, Recently the Council were offered three-eights of an aero in the same block for £IO,OOO. Oil tho eleven sections comprising Christchurch tramway system, there were carried during October 768,636 passengers. Tlio largest return was Tap an u i 161,870, the Cashmere Hills and Linwood-Woolston coming next •with 143,640 and 113,603 respectively. The show and races during carnival week considerably added to the Addington and Riccarton returns. The criminal. sittings of the tsupremo Count opened to-day. Seven criminal - charges wore preferred against ten persons, throe prisoners coming up for sentence. -Mr Justice Chapman, in charging tho grand jury, said ho was pleased that its duties _ would bo light, there being only eight indictable cases, only one of which would givo the jury much trouble. (He was pleased to" notice the practical absence of serious sexual crime, not that thero had been very marked ■ reason to complain in the past in Canterbury, but in some portions of tho Dominion it had becomo quite criminal calendars. The promptitude with which this class of crime had been dealt with in recent years seemed now to be now telling,' and he thought it might be becoming ap-parent-that there would be less of it now than in. tho past. Ono case oil the calendar, however, approximated that class of crime, tho caso of a. young mail, unlawfully entering a house with the object of committing crime, in which there was some suggestion that tho act pointed to his •intention, or partly formed' intention, of some act of immorality. His Honor dealt shortly with other cases for hearing.

■DUNEDIN. In tho Divorce Court, in tlhe case of Porteous v. Porteous, wife’s petition for restitution of conjugal! rights, an undefended case, an order was made, with costs, against co-respond-ent. In Dix v. Dix, the wife’s petition for dissolution of marriage on tho ground of desertion, a decree nisi .was granted, to be made absolute in three months. In Wiilsdn v. Wilson, also the wife’s petition, on the ground of desertion, a similar order was made

HAWERA. To Wliiti, tho celebrated Maori chief died at PJariliaka this morning, aged 68. Ho had been ailing for some time

NEW PLYMOUUITI. Tho oxecutivo of the Now Plymouth Employers’ Association passed tho following resolutions to-day: “This mooting strongly protests against Mr. Miller’s proposal to insert a clause in tho Shops and Offices Act to submit tho question of tho weekly half-holi-day to a voto of municipal electors; it also urges tho Minister to give power to municipalities and town boards throughout the provincial districts to meet in conference and fix a uniform holiday for-'factories and shops for tho whole province. NAPIER.

A firo at Takapau yesterday destroyed tho Lakes hot-01, Neilson's cycle shop, Bank of Now Zealand, and Hausen’s drapery store. There was no viator supply. Tlio insurances aro: Hotel and bank (owned by tho Napier Brewery Company),- £1750 in the Norwich Union and £740 in tho Australian Allianco; tho contents of tho ho.tol £OOO and of the hank £IOO, both in tho Norwich Union; cycle and drapery shops, £250 in tho New Zealand; Hansen’s stock, £550 in the Norwich Union. WELLINGTON.

Tho voting pallors in connection with tho election of workers’ representative on the Arbitration Court show that Mr. McCullough, who was until recently ia tinsmith at tho Addington workshops, has secured fifteen or sixteeu more votes than Mr. Slater, the sitting membe’;. Mr. S. Brown has boon re-olectod ’employers’ 'representative, and Mr. IV. Pryor, secretary of tlio New Zealand Employers’ Federation, has been elected his deputy. Tlio criminal sessions of the Supreme Court opened to-day. The calendar consists of twenty-two cases against twenty-four prisoners. Tho Judge, in charging tlio Grand Jury, said la. good, many of tho charges wore from districts remote from Wellington. So far as tlio city and suburbs of Wellington were concerned, ho saw nothing abnormal in tlio number of charges, though they were more numerous than ho would have liked to see. The list ranged from a charge of attempted -murder to ouo of profane language.