THE COURTS.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18242, 28 November 1924, Page 7

THE COURTS.

SUPREME COURT. (Before Bis Honour Mr Justice Adams.) AN APPEAL CASE. An appeal from a decision given in the Magistrate's Court bv Mr H. Y. Widdowson, S.M., waa heard yesterday. The appeal was b.ised on points of law and fact in the case in which C. "S. McCullv and Co., timber merchants, sued William Grand Spiers, baker, for £3f. 3a for work done and materia supplied. In the Lower Court, judgment had been given for the plaintiff for the amount claimed. The defendant appealed on the ground that the plaintiffs were estopped from chiming the sum because they bad sent in a prior account for a leaser sum, on which the defendant had acted.

Mr. J. H. Upbam appeared for the appellant Spiers and Mr M. J. Gresson for the respondent company. The apuellant had' nTranged with a builder named Webb for the building of a house. The respondent company supplied the timber, and the account was rendered. Some time after another account for joinery work was submitted by the company. In the lower Court evidence had been brought to show that this was the custom, rs it was impracticable to combine the joinery account with tho main one. The main account was rendered and paid in sections. The joinery work was the last part of the iob to be completed, and the account was therefore later in beinsr rendered. The claim in the lower Court wn.i for the joinery account. His Honour heard lesral argument on both sides and reserved his decision.

. MAGISTERIAL. THURSDAY. , (Before Mr H. Y. Widd-wson. S.M.) ■ DRUNKENNESS. . , Thomas William Davies, a youn<? man, pleaded guilty to having been found helplessly drunk in a public place. Sergeant C. E. Roach said the man had been medically treated during the week hs had been in custody. Accused was convicted and ordered to pav medical expenses 245, in default seven davs' imprisonment. Florence Emma Emeny, 53 years of %ge, pleaded guilty to a change of having been found in a state of helplrs/i drunkenness.. Accused was remanded for medical treatment.

A first offender for drunkenness was convicted and fined 10s, in default 24 hours' imprisonment. ' MAINTENANCE. Henry Welsh, 48 years old, admitted that he had failed to provide his wife. Emma, Welsh, with adequate maintenance. Defendant was reniand-d to ap irar on Tuesday.

CIVIL BUSINESS. Judgment by default was given for the plaintiff in each of the following cases: Pidgeon and Co.' 'v. F. L. Bush, £8 ss; the Drapery and General Impcrting Co. v. J. Martin, costs • only; 'W. J. McKenzie v. J. Gilray, £6 lis sd; New Zealand Farmers' Co-op. v. W. Ritchie, £9 lis lid; same v. M. J. Rainbow. £lOl 7g 4d; William Baylias and Son v. Vore Buchanpn, ]os: H Mutson and Co. v. Percy N l . Eden, £2 2s fid; John McKie v. George Parker, £lO 9s lOd; Commissioner of Crown Lands v. T. Kennedy, £37 &5 sd; Royds Bros, and Kirk. Ltd.. v. R. Hempseed, £l9; W. Hooker v. Mrs Rosa Grav, £4 8s; J. O. McGill ; vray v. Ar'hur F. Chidgey, £ls 7s lOd; H.M. the King v. E. A. Craighead, 10s costß; the Tropical Products, Ltd., v. E. Ayling, £2 10s. W. H. Ramsay was ordered to pay the sum of £2 13s lid to Mrs A. Hunt, in default three days' imprisonment. DECISION RESERVED.

Jones Bros., Ltd.. cycle agents and manufacturers (Mr W. R. Lascelles), claimed from John Shannon, hot-elkeeper, Hokitika (Mr A. H. Paterson), ths sum of £B9 4s 4d for arrears of hire from February to September, 1923, due under an agreement to bail dated September 13th, 1922, made between •the plaintiff and' defendant in respect of a Harley-Davidson motor-cycle. The case had been partly heard, and after hearing further evidence, the Magistrate reserved his. decision. A PAINTER'S CLAIM.

J. D. Bourk. paintpr, Christchurcja (Mr A. W. Brown), claimed from G. S. Lester, Spreydon (Mr W. F. Tracy), the sum of £l7 Is, for work done and materials supplied- ~ _ After hearing lengthy evidence, ins Worship gave judgment for the plaintiff fol £9 10s 1 'CLAIM FOR COMMISSION. Arnold "W. Cook, land agent, Chriatchyrch (Mr.'A.-W. Brown), claimed from .-Mrs M. A. Thornton, -widow, Christchurch ' (Mr W. F. Tracy), .the . sum of £llß 15a by way of j>r 'alternately, for work done and .services rendered. ~ ' . ' Judgment was given for the. .defendant with coats. ■ COLLISION CASK. , Matthew Park ■ and Co., Ltd., taxi .proprietors, Chrißtehurch. sued John' James Staples, salesman, Riccarton, for the sum of £97 6s Bd, alleged damages on account of' a ; collision between cars driven-by-plain-tiff's servant and defendant, at the corner of Lincoln road and Clarenue, road'. Riccarton, on May 3rd last. The claim was made up as follows: —Repairs to car, £37 6s 8d; depreciation of car, £25; compensation for loss "of five weeks' earnings of car at £7 . a week, £35. Plaintiff alleged that the collision was caused by the defendant's negligent drivitig and in cutting the corner. Defendant counter-claimed for £lO 12s 6d damages, alleging negligence and unskilful management of p'aintiffs' oar and that plaintiffs' - car was driven at an excessive speed and without proper lookout. Evidence was given for plaintiffs by the driver of the car, Robert F. Robinson, Helen B. Thompson, Lincoln road, an eyewitness, and John Smith, Spreydon, also a witness of the accident. After hearing their evidence, the Magistrate adjourned the case till 10.45 o'clock this morning.

IN OTHER PLACES. A.JUDGE'S ADVICE. (PBS33 ASSOCIATION 7ELEGBAU.) NAPIER, November 27. His Honour Mr Justice Reed to-day advised the Crown not to offer further evidence in the incest charge against George David Melville, assuming that the father would still refuse to give evidence which might incriminate himself, and that the girl concerned would probably not remember any better than when before the Lower Court, when she'was threatened with imprisonment if she did not testify.. On the Crown's acceptance of the Judge's advice, his Honour instructed the jury to return a verdict of "Not guilty." This was done.

PRISONERS SENTENCED. (PBBSS A99OCIATION TKLEQBUC.)

NAPIER, November 27. In the Supreme Court, David Cowan, a schoolmaster, was -sentenced to three years' imprisonment, with hard labour, for indecent assault. Thomas Leonard Jordan' was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment, with hard , labour for assault while on the high seas. George Edgar Nasey, for asaault, and David Davis, for asaault, were sentenced to two months and' twelve months' imprisonment respectively. Leslie \\ llford Guildford wrs ordered to be returned to the training farm for breaking and entering. Thomas Charles Williams was sentenced to twelve months' imprisonment,, and declared ea habitual criminal, for false pretences. -

BIGAMY CASE. (PMSS AS9OCUTIOV TELEO&AU.) GISBORNE, November 27. Clarence Tuofield Wright pleaded guilty to having committed bigamy at Thames in 1921, having been married at Mount Albert, Auckland, in 1916, hi 3 wife being still living. He was committed to the Supreme Court for sentence. NUGGET IN COURT. A CONTRACTOR'S CLAIM. (SPECIAL TO "THE PRESS.") BLENHEIM, November 27. The hearing of a case in which Phillip ■Walter Soamea, contractor, of Chrietchurch, sued E. G. Berry, storekeeper, of Picton. for £l7 was concluded here to-day. Plaintiff, whose evidence was taken at Christchurch, stated that on October 21st, 1923, ho telegraphed defendant £ls as security for the loan of a 2Joz gold nugget required" for advertising purposes. The £ls was to be refunded by defendant upon the nugget being, handed over to the Bank of

New Zealand, either for return to defendant or for purchase "by the bank from defendant. Subsequently defendant declined to accept tne nugget or to refund the £ls, alleging that he uad sold the nugget for that mount- to plaintiff. The nugget, plaintiff alleged, \as the properly of one Geoffiev Morion, and was held by defendant as security foi a debt, and plaintiff merely obtained the lean of the uugget until it could be purchised by the bank from its owner for the puioose of paying off his debt to pendant. The plaintiff claimed to recover the -Jo. in addition £'2 as nominal damages lor oieac of agreement-. . The nuscet was produced in directois of the company. Ihej vcie „ to M ° r bt T U E hO M S.M.. asked whether the. directors intended to give the imp - that the nugget came irom .h e com] b . Cl M? 3 Mills replied that, he was that was not their lnte " h °£ ow pro snec:ive their idea was merely to - J ]" u -hich the name of th =0 had been obtained iu tne u hakipawa fields. , directors Defendant gave evidence „h„t of the goldmming CO ™P ac tivitie3 at | andtold tun . & j aU pposed he Cu'llensville. They Morton 300 knew that thev were ginn o t ion of shares in the of the which the} vere: t he dld not nugget were ifving 300 or 3000 & wJto Mr Morton. What ' he wantedwas something paid oS the Annexion wUh which Morton to him. and « correspondhe held the nugget, After .ome =3? The Magistrate said-there was no e.iaence t infract of loan between Berry and Soamea The contract seemed to have been fXSorton, and if plaintiff h,d any remedy against anyone it was against Morton. Judgment was given :or defendant, with costs.

ALLEGED ATTEMPTED MURDER. (PBESS ASSOCIATION? TELEGRAM.) TIMARTT, November 27. At the Magistrate's Court, Before Mr G. Hastie, J.P.,- John Holmes was charged with attempting to murder his wife, Annie Elizabeth Holmes, at Newborough, Oamaru, on November 2nd, by shooting her. He was further charged with Attempting to commit suicide. On the application of the police a remand wa3 granted till December 4th.