THE COURTS.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18507, 8 October 1925, Page 6

THE COURTS.

' SUPREME COURT. (Before Mr Justice MacGregor.) A MOTION REFUSED. Elizabeth Janet Baker, widow, of Eedcliffr-, made atrahcalion for a motion to eet aeido the judgment, of his Honour Mr Justice Beed in the caso of A. F. «. Jones, builder, oi Cr.nstchurcb, against appellant, an action for the rctransfrr of a Ecrtion of land in Cclia street, Ecdcuffs. Mr F. D. Sargent appeared for the defendant, Mra Baker, end Mr E. W. "White represented the plaintiff Jones, in opposition to the. motion. Mr Sargent said tbn.r. his, frm informed Mrs Baker of tho date of tho trial, but F.ho clid rot, receive, the notification until after the. date ci the trial. His firm was instructed at a la to date in fho proceeding?, and bo could not appear at. the trial. ■ Defendant believed she had bousbt en eighth of an acre, but iotuvl that, pirt ci tho area had been taken away. v Mr Whito stated that the by-laws did not. sustain defendant's contention ?s to difficulties in respect to buildin?. His Honour eaid ho was satisfied that tho decision of Mr Justice Reed was tho right one. Tho motion would bo dismissed. QUESTION OF JURISDICTION In a case ill which tho plaintiffs were Peter Jackson, farmer, of Kolleston, and Mary Elizabeth Jackson, his wife, and defendants Howell Young W'iddowaon, S.M., and Leicester Matson, And David Matson, stock and station agents, a. writ was sought prohibiting the Magistrate- from proceeding further upon a judgment given for Mat-r-on and Co. for £6O lf)3 6d against the plaintiffs on June 29th, and upon a distress warrant ifFued on the judgment against the separate estate of Mrs Jackson. Mr A. C. Brassington appeared for the plaintiffs, and Mr M. J. Buxi)3 for the defendants. The motion for the writ of prohibition based on the ground that, in granting the - distress warrant, tho Magistrate exercised a jurisdiction ho was not empowered by the la.w to exercise. Mr BrasGinglon also moved for an order to remove, by certiorari, the action and tho distress warrant into tho Supremo Court to quash tho warrant, on the ground that it was null and void. Judgment was referred. ! PAPAXUI ROAD COLLISION. ! An appeal was heard on questions of law and fact frora a decision by Mr H. Y. "Widdowson, S.M., in the case of Isobel Winifred Best, of Christchurch, v. Alfred William Lawrence, farmer, and Leonard George Checkloy. of Amberley, a claim for £72 0s 2d for damage to plaintiff's motorcar in a collision with thoso of defendants at tho corner of Papanui load and Hcaton street. Mr J. H. Upham appeared for appellant, Mr C. S. Thomas for respondent Lawrence, and Mr Lascollea for C'heckley. In giving judgment in tho lower Court his Worship had held that the accident had been caused by tho negligence of plaintiff, and Lawrence was no.fc guilty of negligence. Mr ITpham submitted that Lawrence's car was not under proper control. Ho had been travelling at an excessive speed, and had swerved to the right. Mr Thomas contended that there had been negligence on tho part of both Miss Best and Lawrence, disqualifying cither from recovering damages. His Honour said ho saw no cause to disagree with tho decision of tho Magistrate. It wae clear that Miss Best h»3 caused the accident by acting- on her opinion that she had the right of way. The appeal was dismissed, with costs £l2 12s.

MAGISTERIAL. WEDNESDAY. (Before Mr Wyvern Wilson, S.lf.) ONE MONTH'S IMPRISONMENT. Sentence of one month's imprisonment with hkrd labuor in the Paparua Prison wan passed on Charles Hamilton Romer, >aged 35 years, for having stolen groceries valued at 12a Sd, tho property of Melbourne 1. Wheelor, Dallington. REMANDED. A remand till Friday was granted in the case in which Will-'.am Mahonoy, aged 65 years, was charged with having used obscene languago in Manchester street and with having been found drunk for tha second timein eis months. CLERK CHARGED. On n charge of having stolen £8 17a 4d, the property of tho New Zealand Farmers' Co-op. Association, a clerk named Albert Edward Thompson, 25 years of age, who was employed by tho Association, was remanded to appear on tho 14th, inflt. Bail was allowed. ' DRUNKENNESS. A labourer, charged with drunkenness for tho first was convicted ajiti fined 10s, in default 48 hours' imprisonment. . "Guilty," pleade'd William Herbert Vincent, aged' 41 years, to a charge of having becu found drunk for the third time in six months. He was -convicted and neiitenccd to s&'ven days' imprisonment. FIVE CHARGES. On five charges of having broken and entered and stolen goods from business places, a youth, Ernest Astrup Guillermo, aged 18 year 3 (Mr W. J. Hunter),, pleaded guilty to two of the charges. Guillermo was charged with having stolen goods from Hastie, Bull, and Pickering, Ltd., Whitcombo and Tombs, Ltd., Armstrong and Farr, Ltd., Barnet. Glass Rubber Co., and tho shop of Philip C. "Wilberg, of a total value of £2)3 53 tid.' t Evidence wiM piven for tho police by ..Detective N. \V. Bayliss, who paid a statement made by accused was to tho effect that ho tad stolen tho good 3. Pleas of not guilty were entered ur> on the charges in respect of Hastie, Bull, and Pickering, Whitcombe and. Tombs, and P. C. Wilboxg's premises, and his Worship committed accused for trial at the Supremo Court in November. On tho other two charges accused pleaded guilty, and was committed for sentence. SHOP CLOSING.

Failure to closo their shop at tho correct hour cost D. Caithness and Son a fine of 10s. A similar penalty was imposed for the firm having 1 employed a shop assistant after hours. WAKDERLNG CATTLE. Richard Tn.tmi.Ti and "William Glceson troro fined 203 for hating allowed cattle to wander in Papanui. Fines of 10a, for similar offences, were inflicted on Edward Moles, Leslie Wilson, and. James Chesney. Walter Payne- was fined 5s on one chars* of hairing allowed cattlo to wander, and ordered to pay costs and expenses on another. NO LICENSE. Chared with having held himself out as a, land agent, ho not being the holder of a. land agent's license, Arnold W. Cook wsa convicted and' fined 20s and costs. SHOPKEEPERS FIXED. A nhopkeeper, E'canor FJanmgan (MrM. I .T. Burn?), pleaded guilty to two rbarges of having kept open her shop, on a Sunday for tho purposo of transacting business, and to two further charges of having exposed goods for salo on a Sunday. "His Worship convicted and ordered the defendant to pay 7s costs on each charge. "Convicted without penalty,'' said the Magistrate when dealing with, tho caso in which Myrtle Victoria Hulston was charged with transactng business on a Sunday. DISMISSED. Tho caso in which Herbert Hancock (Mr C. S. Thomas) pleaded not guilty to two charges of having "aided, assisted, counselled, and procured"' two men to commit the offence of being found on licensed premises rfter hours, was dismissed. STOLEN FLOWERS. On a ciiargo cf having stolen 'is worth of flowers, the property o£ the Christchurch Council, from a flower bed, Robert Samuel Russell was convicted "and fined 20s. CRUELTY TO MARE. "Guilty" pleaded Albert Beaumont to a chargo of having cruelly ill-treated a marc. He was fined 206 and costs. ; •CHARGES DISMISSED. ' (rBESS ASSOCIATION TBLXGRAIt.) WELLINGTON, October ?. ! At the Maeistrate.'s Court to-day a young j teacher, Leonard Arthur Fielder, was charged with wilfully attempting to set fire to tho Clifton terrace school. •-. * Evidence was given that a packet ot pow- | dor with a lighted cord attached, w»b found in a bundle of papers in the male teachers' j room. Tho accused was seen to leave the room just previously. The accused, who was given a good thaxactex bV various witnesses, said he was playing with gunpowder, and lighted the cord. When he heard someone coming he threw it away, thinking his action would seem foolish. Ho denied any intention to damage the school. , The Justices dismissed the case.