LEGAL INQUIRY COLUMN.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 43, 19 February 1908, Page 8

LEGAL INQUIRY COLUMN.

CONDUCTED BT A BAEBISTEH-AT-LAW. Letters of inquiry will be answered every Wednesday in tills column. As far as possible they will be dealt wltli in the order in which they are received, and replies will be inserted with the least possible delay. In order to derive the greatest advantage from this column, correspondents should give full particulars of the facts upon which they desire advice. Whatever tna details supplied, however, no responsibility can be accepted for errors, in whatever way arising, though every effort Jvlll be made to insure accuracy. Answers are based absolutely on tlie information given, and, therefore, in all instances, can only be applied to the specific case dealt wita. Every correspondent must enclose his or her raal name and address, though not, of course, for publication. [Correspondents are reminded that their addresses innst appear on their letters of inquiry, as well as their true names, 'ro address simply "Auckland," is not suflicient.J SHAREHOLDER writes:—"What steps i should I have to take to transfer shares in an English company which I lioid, and wish to sell. Who pays the fees, the buyer or the seller? Also, can 1 ascertain through aay medium in Auckland Uieii , present market value?" IShsreholder sbcraid consult a reliable solicitor with regard to the sale of her' shares. He couid arrange the matter i of a class salable in New Zealand he would I I forward the transfers Home for registration, | if that were necessfiry, as probably it would I be. It all depends on the nature of the! shares themselves. Part o£ the cost of sale and transfer will fall upon the seller and part upon toe purchaser, j PEEPLEXED'S letter is held over for further consideration. J.S. writes:—"l took a contract for a certain time. I worked half of that time. I had a better billet offered mc, and I accepted it. I sold out my share of the contract, and produced to the purchaser the specifications ;ind my books, showing him what I made. H-; paid mc for my share of the tools. ■ We got an agreement signed and witnessed. Money on account of the contract has been due since December 13th. What steps ought I to take?" [J.S. is not sufficiently explicit concerning the money due to him from his former employer. J.S. does not say what the ; wurk w;is. but the general principle underlying contracts is that a person cannot be compelled to accept the performance of his contract from any. party but him he contracted with. In assigning his contract J.S. might have done so without the consent of I the employer,,and so have broken this rule. I ;If that is so the latter may be withholding th,e money by way of protest, or as security for the proper performance of the work.] J. McK. asks: —'"Is it lawful for a borough council to vote £100 as an unauthorised expenditure or not?" [Such a vote may or may not be lawful!? passed according to the particular circumstances of the case. But this correspondent has not supplied enough information. Can he say what the borough's general vote for the year was?" INQUIRER writes:—"My neighbour, after removing the dividing fence, built a honse close up to my boundary line, with a window at the side, overlooking my properly. A protest was made at the time, but no notice was taken. This was more than 20 years agio. It has I been a source of great annoyance to my tenants. Can I put up a boundary fence across the front of that window now? How high can I have it, and how far must it be from the window!" [Assuming that Inquirer's dates are correct (and if not she should write and correct them) there is nothing to prevent her putting up a boundary fence high enough to insure privacy. The proper place to erec! it is on the boundary between the two sections.l ANXIOUS MOTHER writes: "Has a father absolute power over his children? What right has the mother, in case of her wishes regarding them in sickness beinn at variance with those of the father?" [No. A father's control of his children is given to him for their benefit, and the misused his authority to the children's detriment, and against their mother's wishes and protests. It is not easy to say what a mother's rights are within the small compass' available in these replies. I have read the particulars given by "Anxious Mother,'" and 1 do not find it easy to say that the father was wroug. Some mothers are very nervous iii the presence of a little sickness among their children, and iv that condition may wish to take steps involving expense beyond the means of the father. "Anxious Mother" will see that if at such times a wife may ignore her husband's wishes and take steps he opposes, then it is clear that he is not only being coerced, but he is also being forced to pay for his coercion. The true judge in such matters is not law but love. Common sense, tact, and a willingness to respect each other's wishes, and recognise each other's «lllßcnlties, are of infinitely greater value in settling such questions than hard, uuyielding rules of law.] J.D. writes:—"My mother left property, share and share alike to all her children, each to receive their share of the income when they attained the ago of 21 years. My sister married and died intestate, leaving no offspring. Her husband died a year after. Her share is withheld from the other members of the family, and the amount has been accumulating for over forty years. No statement of the matter has been given. What course should I pursue to get information from the trustees, and to discover whether the other members of the family are not entitled to have the [The first thing is to get a copy of the will, in order to see what provision wns made in the case of the death of any of the i mother's i>hll<".r<"i. If .T.D. will pond mc n j copy of the will, with postage for its return, I shall be able to suggest what course he had better take.] A.F. does not set out his facts, and it is impossible to adviss without them. Flis case may give good cause for complaint, but he has not told mc enough about it to enable ice to say. C.P. writes:—"An tram car has the notice board on it, "Symonds-st., Id section," and is travelling towards the Queen-street terminus. If I get in that car before it reaches the outward bound terminus of the Id section, ran I be compelled to pay 2d for my ride into Queen-street terminus, if the car is in Symonds-street when I get on?" [I presume C.P. means if he gets on the car before it reaches the first terminus from town, and rides on past that terminus to the city, is he obliged to pay 2d. In my opinion he is. I do not think he could rely ou escaping because of the notice board. The meaning of the words on it at the best is vague.] ANXIOUS FATHER writes:—"l have a son learning a trade. He was hurt, and laid up for about three weeks. Am I liable for the doctor's bill for about £3. or is the firm or the insurance company?" ["Anxious Father" himself is liable for the doctor's bill, but of course the son can claim the usu.nl allowance from his employer if he was hurt in the ordinary course of his work.]