STIPENDIARY MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume XXIV, Issue 2059, 5 June 1896, Page 2

STIPENDIARY MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

Akaroa,,Thursday, June ' 4? .- Before A. I. McGregor, -.A. E. West-" kn«a and G. SaxtqK. :EsQ3, J'sP. '■''";CATTLE 'TRESPASS.' ~' ; -'x-A.-D. Foley waa charged with cattle -astray?'' He wrote explaining. The Bench entered

up conviction, font did not fine, ; Foley to pay cost*. 'Joseph Hammond -for mare and 'foil astray, was fined Is andcoats. R. A. Pettigrew for a similar bJSence was fined Is and cott". J. Ryan for cow asmy, was/fined 'la snd coats* A. R. Munro v. Farrell, olaim £4 19j 3d. Judgmeot summons. Mr Orbell for plaintiff, Mr Potts for defendant. Defendant wd be earned £2 per "Weefe, and paid 30s a week ICr his dhildreo'B pupport in Christchurch, 'and 53 a "week rent. Had no other income, Ihe Ber.ch sard tbey did no s see Ihefr way clear to make an order. Before G. Saxton and A. H. WKSTBNttA, ■Esq*. David McGregor v T. H. Oldridge. claim £14 2d 4d. Mr Potts for plainiiS, and Mr Orbell for defendant. Mr Orbell admitted tendering £6 in settlement'of claim.

' H. Elliott, sworn, said—l am a'resident at Le Bon's, living within a mile of plain-* tiffd'. Remember at tbe beginning of the year seeing bale o£ sa6ks on the ">jit*y marked McGregor and took charge 6t" them. Agreed to go down for them oh January 13th to pack them ap, but found b&gs -gone. Met McGregor, and they went to look at the neighbours' for tbe sacks. Took three horses to fetch'the Backs. Sent to the police when tbe sacks could not be found. Spoke -to young Oldridge about the sacks. He said it was not McGregor's sacks tbey had taken as there was no name on bale. He told me he had fc*ken a bale of sacks. Threshed on-tha 14th, 15th, 16 h and 17fch. o6'dridge did on tbe 13th and 14th. McGregor could have threshed same days. Rain came on after the 17th, and lasted several days. Cocksfoot men bad to be kept in wet weather for nothing. McGregor's labor at tnat time might be worth 2s an hour-; he'thought his own was, and paid his men Is 3d per hour.

By Mr Orbell—«Did notirretigate^thetfa

proceedings. The bale vm at "the wbaf'E about 10 days, and bad a ticket on it addressed McGregor that could be easily torn off. Could not tsll if McGregor hid finished. cutting on January 17th. Did not say to Oldridge the sacks were braoded 'McGregor'in red letters. David McGregor, sworn, said—On January 4th he bad some itnrea "from Ljt e l ton. Mr Elliott toll him the jacks had arrived, and he said he. could not go down, and'they arranged to bring the sack* up on-the 13th. Had to hire 'the Wo horses and charged 18s.tor them.. Tjere were no, Backs there, but Barker told bim there bad been a bale "for'him but it was gone. Arranged to send to police and to K«ye and Carter bare of sack** Elliott was sent to steamer on th* -14th io see if socks were there. Went down down on the 19 h and Elliott told him Oldridge had 'the sacks), and -telegraphed to Ci>mtib!& Scully. Piid for wasted day going to police. find' Hue Btcka been there, could h va finisher! throfhing oi. -the 19ih, but aa it was had ■to keep the men another week. toTiich'his charged. Threshed on the 25th, 26th, 27 b, 28b. On 17'.h Wm. Oldridge cam© up and said be believed'l had loft H bate of c eke. "'Ha-'rtid he had seen'a bale tit sacks addressed to ma buthad-ndt taken it- He said he had broken up n bale of sacks on the whurf un'd taken-it Told Oldridge he bad tent to'the'police and Oldridge said he' Would pay 35>ye and Carter for sackß bat witness 'refused, saying the matter waa in the 'hands of the police' By Mr Orbell—Did not -say the 'bale was branded' With ; big red letters. There were no bales unbranded on the whaff. If the bale of sacks had no brand ot ticket on it the ticket must -have 'been torn off. Lost no time when the-second bale of sacks-came down. J. B. Barker, agent-for steamer at La

Bon's, deposed that on the 3rd January a

bare of sacks came for D. H. McGregor .ticketed. J. Truman, S. Crotty and W-. lEloldem also had bales of grass-seed sack ticketed from -Keye and 'Carter. There wero no bales came uubrandeS on that day. Did not recollect seeing any bales on the wharf linbrahded or vtn>. marked. Told 'young Oldriflge there were two bales of sacks for them. Ml found out afterwards they were for <J. H. Oldridge. The boy might have taken the sacks thinking they were his because I told himW. 11. Oldridge deposed he saw four or five bales of saoks on the wbaif early in January. There were none, with our brand, bat saw one bale not branded trad, with no ticket on it. Thought it was ours and took the sacks home. Heard of Mr Scully being in the Bay alter the bale of sacks of McGregor's. -Elliott told me McGregor's name was on the bale in large red letters. . Told him there was no brand on the.bale I had taken. McGregor told me the bale could-not be his when I was sent there, because his bale was branded in red letters. -lofiferea* him for my father any sacks be wanted to go; on with. McGregor said he had. been pat to no inconvenience for want <*F the sacks, because he had several days' more cutting. ... By Mr the 'sacks-'On he wharf, and took them and th^coyer-. ing home. Didnotseeany tieket-cin'bale T.\ H. Oldridge said he serit'fotaacks on 3rd Jan. They'replied on the "Bth saying the. number "of bales were not mentioned. Told his son to ask Barker if thd sticks were there, and he came on ttheHl-JLth and -said they were there. "Did notsfend for them till Monday, because the boys were 'busy cutting. A part of the sacks!were used. Heard McGregor had Jogt sacks, but never -thought tho bale we opened were his till I found out chat j our .sacks could not have possibly come, and then T Writ word to McGregor, and he said they be his because they were not 'branded. Telegraphed to stop any sacks coming down. Had a iriendlyinterview with McGregor bnthe&Hhi "He said he had fewo j>»«

<$} no loss by "being wi tiout the sbc'ks, ■ und I offered to pay for them. Saw •>cully at my home, and told him 1 had ' settled matters with -,&ad he would ndit come down. Was riot gore the sacks were McGregor's. If he had accepted'my difer to pay for the sacks I Should have arranged that if" there were another claimant he wmild have to refund.

By Mr Potts—Did not tell McQre gor'l got np in the night and looked for tbe'brands bycandle'light. •Constable Scally deposed he went to see McGregor about 6ome sacks on January 16th. Believed McGregor told him the sacks were branded in red letters "D. H. McGregor.' Had a telegram ' aaying ryoung Oldridge knew about the Backs. Went to Oldridge, and saw packaged Shed, but saw no brand but J K C'ih' black. Saw what appeared to be ! the OUtside covering of the bale. There -Was*nothing to indicate it was McGregor's 'bale. 'By -Mr ! Potts—l understood that tmatters'hadbeensettiedbetween McGrergorand Oldridge, and Oldridge told me so. A few days after met McGregor, he wauld not settle without 'consulting «ie, and I told Wm there was *no evidence to -prove that the sacks at .' Oldridge's were his. R. H. Barker deposed that Elliott told ?hhn the -sack was branded "'B H. -McGregor" in big red letters. •Jno. Truman deposed his men cut for 'McGregor two days. Did not know if idle then ; for a week. There ■wasnowet to keep men from threshing ■except on one day and a'half. Lent -McGregor his horse to pack sacks, but •never charged for it at all. After addresses from counsel, judg"was given for plaintiff for £9 17s 4d ; and icosts, hire of one hotse and three days' food for grass-seed men being 'neducted.

Rivbb, Wednesday, Jitne 8. Before H, W. Bishop, Esq., S.M. giving two unstamped 'receipts was $ined 10s and: * costs in'each' case. 'CIVIL CAPEP. 'Kissell v Wakrfield, claim '£12 IBs, • r sd. Judgment for amount Claimed and 'costs Same v Soloman, 'claim f l2s '"6d. - Jadgmentby defaulter amount claimed. *and costs. ' ~

-Stanbury v Steven, claim £1* -frndg--1 ment summons*

Ordered to : pay 5s per month, -ij. Stanbury v Poole, claim &B Ss. •Judgment summons. Defendant said ! he had 'not been in a pcsition to pay : -though inconstant wdrk.ashe'had liad. Ho pay ! off previous Was J to;pay jjlpermonthi i 'Ordered to pay £1 per month, jn 'default three weeks* imprisonment. James'Phillips v A. Sunckell, claim 4£M. Mr ? By*tfe for'plaintiff, Mr Potts, 'for defendant. The claim was for two. •cows that had died in defendant's charge. The defendant' bad rented the cows for• 'dairying* with others, and in'the wintered sent'them .to Rhodes Bro'e., ! Flea Bay, where one* had; fallen and broken its 'neck, and another been found dead near a swamp. The cows, were in fair feed, -and all care ; had'bcen'taken, and it was their deaths occurred'owing'to tho severity -of last winter, vi l iiv-h ;proved fatal to. £o many of their kind. Defendant had signed an agreenviii tpromising to take all care of the cattle •and give notice if any were sick. As the -cattle had been bo far away, and he had known nothing of their deaths till some time after the.occnrrence he had failed to fulfil this last A condition. "Very voluminous evidence was taken, -which will appear in 'full next issue. At the conclusion of the case, His Worship said that -he had to decide on "this "casts in accord with the agreement which Sunckell himself "had .'prepared, 'in 'Which he stipulated that'he '"would feed and maintain the cattle in •proper order, and intimate to the plaintiff at any time if any of the cattle ■became sick. The defendant had put it 'out of his own power to fulfil his agreement when he pat/the cattle away at euch a distance. He believed 'that Sunckell had done all he could .'for the cattle, and/ •complimented him on his straightforward •evidence; but he was reluctantly com-, fpelled lo give judgment against him on the strength of the agreement. Judgment would, therefore, be for fhe.plflintiff 'for amount claimed and costs.