ACTION FOR ALLEGED TRESPASS.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 10707, 13 July 1900, Page 6

ACTION FOR ALLEGED TRESPASS.

Judge Ward was occupied all day in the District Court in Timaru hearing a case in which the Canterbury Land Board sued an Albury settler, D. Angland, for alleged trespass upon an adjoining lot, and removing some crop therefrom at last harvest. Tho cat* for the Crown was that Greaney, lessee of lot 47, lease in perpetuity, allowed Angland the crop on part of this lot: that Greaney, not having complied with the residence condition, the Beard forfeited his lease last March, and the Crown Land Ranger went up and took possession when there was 57 acres crop uncut, and he claimed to take possession of this. Angland refused to surrender the crop, liarvestcd it, and stacked it on his adjoining lot of land. The Board sued him for £100 for the value of the crop, and damages for trespass. The defence raised non-suit points as follows : —(1) That there had been no valid forfeiture of tho lease, section 50 of the Land Act providing that inquiry shall be held before forfeiture on such grounds; no enquiry was held. (2) That the lessc-e's title, being registered under the Land Transfer Act, the registration must b= cancelled to extinguish his title, and that had not been done even yet. (3) That the reliance of plaintiff on the apparent saving clauses 100 and 101 fails if there had been irregularities preceding the "Gazette" notice of forfeiture. (4) That the crops do not pass to the Land Board even in cases of properly-effected forfeiture. (5) The jurisdiction of the Court was ouestionod as the title to land was involved. Judge .Ward intimated .that he concurred with the defence on other points, but he struck the case out on the question of jurisdiction. Costs were allowed the defendant.