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Newspaper
Ashburton Guardian
Location
Ashburton, Canterbury, New Zealand
Date
May 12, 1908
Page
2
Moon phase timings for May list New Moon June? first quarter, full moon and last quarter. Apogee and perigee moments are provided with approximate times for each event across the month. The data indicates specific daily moon positions and peak moments for viewing.
The Canterbury Chamber of Commerce adjourned cornsack importers meeting approved 48 by 24. inches sacks while Invercargill and Willowby unions pressed for 46 by 25. An impending Hospital Boards conference and Defence force rules were noted. Obscure bereavement and a New Zealand dining and social scene were also described.
A sharp front brought frost and cold winds across North Canterbury. Hawera chose J Driver as Opposition candidate for Patea. Gilrath visited Fairfield abattoirs with the Mayor. Ashburton sportsmen report good flights at Lake Heron and warn on wild grey duck stocks. Guards elect Tucker captain and plan a uniform fund art union. Arizona sets a sheep shearing record. Beardsley leads with 325 in nine hours. Timaru proposes a £25,000 loan to upgrade water supply with a new reservoir and mains.
Mr T Ronayne of New Zealand Railways informs Ashburton Borough Council that speeding the sports train between Ashburton and Christchurch is impractical without reducing load or adding another train. Crossing Bankside avoided. earlier starts or later arrivals would affect schedules and city time.
At a Monday meeting of the Hakatere Athletic and Social Club a boxing class was proposed with about thirty members signaling intent to join. A committee was appointed to organize weekly entertainments and a reading room with subscriptions to major periodicals. J Clayton named librarian. Cribbage and billiard tournaments with prizes are underway. Five new members were elected.
Greymouth reports that negotiations aim to settle the Blackball coal mine trouble within the week. To meet large orders, the mine may operate two shifts to address the ten hour dispute. A later bulletin from Greymouth states the strike has been definitely settled but no details are yet available for publication.
A draft Civil Service law issued at Pretoria empowers the government to require officials to qualify in Dutch and English within twelve months. The report also notes chess results by Lasker and various international incidents from London Cairo and Stockholm with brief details.
The Ashburton County Racing Club autumn meeting opens tomorrow with high expectations for a record day of sport and attendance. Nominations exceed expectations, boxes and private boxes are filled, grounds have been improved, and new Gaming Act regulations aim to keep the crowd orderly while ladies receive afternoon tea on the grounds. Train arrangements are arranged to handle a large Christchurch turnout.
William Evans faced police court for alleged entry of a hut at Winchmore and theft of 19s. The case centered on a man seen on Oct 11 accompanied by a bicycle rider, with witnesses placing Evans as the likely suspect. Evans pleaded not guilty and was remanded for trial at the Supreme Court session in Christchurch on May 18.
Wellington May 11 Hon R McNab reports rising land demand for settlement with Otago and Gisborne applications outstripping supply. Government recently bought 29,000 acres of the Aurora estate and holds other large properties to meet applicants. He notes native lands and Crown lands being opened, while Culverden and Otekaike prospects loom in weeks.
The Salvation Army in Dunedin plans to open a girls home at Middlemarch by end of May with funds for purchase and equipment to be raised by opening date.
Dunedin May 12 William Moonahan of Middlemarch farmer was fined £10 at the Police Court for sending to Burnside cattleyards two steers very badly affected with tuberculosis.
In Wellington on May 12 before Mr Justice Cooper, Alex McDonald faced theft and forgery charges and received six months. Fredk William Jones, convicted of several forgeries, was sentenced to two years. William George Tustin, breach of bankruptcy law, got six months as of November 18, and classified as a misdemeanant of the first division. Ernest Wehrstedt, convicted of theft, was sentenced to five years.
A trunkful of incriminating letters addressed to victims was discovered at a Laporte farm, according to a Press Association dispatch received May 12. The letters are believed to be linked to a series of murders in Indiana.
The Times notes a surprise fall in the Labour vote while the Chronicle calls the result a blow to tariff reform. The Telegraph cites the final phase as fought on a budget basis. Cheap sugar is seen as a direct bribe to Dundas’s interests, with various papers weighing Liberal and free trade themes. Churchill hails a north thunderbolt for liberal aims.
On May 12 at 9 15 am the Friendly Societies urged Mr Asquith to exclude incomes from Friendly Societies or Trade Unions from pension calculations. Opponents warn that removing the ten shilling limit for one thrift form could set a precedent for others like Savings.
The executive of the United Irish League on May 12 condemns Catholics who back Unionist candidates due to Catholic school interests, claiming they abandon Ireland’s broader nationalist cause.
Vehement opposition to unification grows in Natal as the Natal Mercury declares Natal can stand alone and resists coercion. Pretoria reports a national convention plan with delegates from Cape Colony Transvaal Natal and Orange Free State to decide union after the gathering.
The South African News approves the Pretoria Conference resolutions and favors popular election of delegates. The Cape Times denounces the resolutions arguing that big states can squeeze smaller ones and that the Convention's decisions need popular assent.
Dynamiters attempted to assassinate Gallagher the principal state witness in bribery charges against General Tirer Ford, counsel for the United Railroad Company in San Francisco graft cases. Gallagher's house was wrecked and his wife injured.
Clergy leaders petition the Council of Ministers opposing a bill to grant freedom of conscience arguing it would place the Orthodox Church on equal footing with Judaism paganism and Freemasonry. In Samara one hundred twenty eight political prisoners and five hundred others have begun a five day hunger strike against harsh prison rules.
Simla reports the Ameer has issued strict orders recalling Afghans who crossed the frontier and directed officials to prevent Afghans from aiding tribesmen against the British. The statement comes as tensions along the border with Britain persist.
A Bengali man was arrested at Parhatipur station on May 11 after entering a train with four bombs in his possession. The incident was reported from Calcutta on May 12.
Sydney reports from May 12 note Queensland defeated New South Wales 95 to 89 in the second game. Also in business notes Black Tin Mine half year profits fall to £41,191 lower than the prior period, and Deakin confirms the American fleet will visit Sydney August 20 to 27 then Melbourne. Amalgamation approved linking Mutual Life and Citizens Life. Advertising discussion on subsidising a nationwide Australia advertising edition.
A Chinese coal-trimmer on board the African Monarch, arriving from Sydney, hanged himself in a coal bunker during the voyage. In Auckland, telegraph employee Roland Malcolm fell from a pole at the railway wharf, suffering serious injuries. In Wellington, William Amos died in Queen Street from natural causes after hotel refusals.
The Royal Commission on Native lands, led by Chief Justice Sir Robert Stout, arrived in Auckland after sitting in Tauranga. He reported natives willing to set aside areas for sale or lease, noting industrious farming with 400 milking cows, oats, maize, and some wheat. The commission will move on to Rotorua, Waikato, and Thames districts.
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