COURT OF APPEAL.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 492, 27 April 1909, Page 11

COURT OF APPEAL.

;VfcVyS? -■: / : i ; :H :'/ //./ ; // -£" 1 '■ ii >>' /" i*.'. /- •■- ■ - /,---.- 4'l LIABILITY FOB CHARITABLE AID WP~WJ-■ j''■y.?'/-fr//f;/ tv'•• ; 'i DISPUTE BETWEEN TWO BOARDS .\Yhon.the/sittings 'of;tho Court of Appeal .. ;^i;e.Z;::resumbil/Zyestdrdnyj7/argume ;■ hc|rd in regard: to tho case .between • tlio j :Vp^(irag^3toffi^North , :Hospital; and Charitable vAidV/.Board■'■.(appellants'):;'' versus/ thri /Hawera !:aiirl'Jpfc'aritable. Aid ■ Bbarcl (respond- : :?■ (with him Mr. C. A.' : ■ libiighnan), appeared on behalf. of.tho ap- , .Myers .for .the* respondents, r'yi'his 1 ■p'as- an appeal'. from' ii decision ; given. /byrMr.A. D.' Thomson.S.M.Y at Palmerstou J'-;JSortii.Xlt/'appeared'that'//a, >' mat-. liaised • lM6try .v-.with /:his/-wife and; :■ family,- resided fori more than six' /months/continuously,. .in ■ '/iiiq, /Hawera/board'sdistrict.'/; -//Ho.,ws th'cii ■. ;;6rdered^by: his, ; ni<^ical 1 advisor.;to go to a; ■ ■'/rnbrO ;silitablo district/ ;■ Accordingly) /.'.ion. ?' April 10, '.11)07, he/left Elth'am for.ltongotba,. / where lie stoved'-'for somo/days.:/ On; May 6 . he\itobk a. li'chso, at I'Vildingifor- |iirns'blf and famiiy. The cost incurred by the Palmefston Nojtli Board .in. respcct; to Merry. and., his . ' wife aiid children); from May . 6,'1907, to/May ; . 31',;. 1908, was,- in 'all; £69/ 15s. Cd. This /amount relief; at' 1 .: hospital • "to(Margaret.'Merry, 'from.-April 1003, to May 21, .1903, . A. claim was niado on- the Hawera Board by. the Paimerstoii North .Board for-', this, and it was decided by''tho Hawera Board to pay-the ac- : ./ count for. \ as;, from Slay - 6, 1907 ; the?:;l'aime'rstbn vNorili''/Board ■■ insisted' ' upon payment of .tho'. full amount, tiltiJiagis- . // trate's"Court atlmerstW; Nbrtlr, on July ' Mi;/-1908.;:; 1 Mr;. ; Tlibnisqn;•. ;S:M;i'!.gaVe;:'judgr; ; i merit-./ for/ 1 the' Hawefa;f,Boar3, : , with 'costs'on' '. j;tho,'grounds (.(I)" Thatfeutdbor ; relief , did/'not como .withinxthe.-provisions .of 74 - . Act, .1835, and (2) that tlio j indoor ■' relief ' claimed could' not bo. recovered.' under, tho . .section on' account'of the'interval of time . intervening '..between tbo .departure, ofJterry . ' imel'.'his.'.adioissioii into' the ' Paimerston ; : Frqm/itliat. r/decisiqu .appeal ;'Wa:; l . . ppennig' tho caso.for tho.' appellant, board; !V|' tiiat-t-lio: ;'- : ;qnestioiia' : ; i which'. arose were-' as . undor: ,(1) ./ Whether . £1 Section :74'!was /.'confined ''to 'relief / afforded: in. ///imr/institutionj directly:;/so,:/caUed;'/ i.e.p/an . hospital,:,' 'refuge, or.'home —or did it: ■■■ ■ extern/to outdoor/Teliefj'whether. afforded by" tho board or. by those/controlling a separate institution?'and (2) was.Merr}' resident in /Eltham six months-'next -before the receipt or. relief'or charitable'aid? ..■ .; .. : Vi:;s'Mr;JJust-ice!,t : Williams'"''hGli "that / if' the ■i Paimerston' North Board. could -ehargo. .. the . Hawera Board with tho 'cost of; tho'.mainv liis;r f amliyiv/i-b" y/olild; -//^lyi;/j^:;/by.;virtue:/bf::Sectib 7.4 of the-Hos< "-:pitals'fana:\Gharita,blo:Jnßtitutib 1885. : :[It j that;th& Palmer-V?-"Btqia i^prfch'rEjbard''!shbuld;-'sKow;-elpaTlyj'i i \ipbn\ .^■9/Hawera;\Bqard// ; was,;: ; liabler:^ -'. "institution" was 'ukid in moro .than .one / Miise.in.the. Act-./ It. was used as meaning . hospital, or : asylum, or homo xf 'some kind ■..in' whicli persons' w'erb received; it' was also . used as. meaning a-body, of persons who administered chaxitablo' aid in some form or another. In "in .- .Takirig : the . words of'. tho" ecction,'doU-n as . .far-as'the proviso, it'was clear that the institution could.not be the board, but. meant / an. institution under tho control of; tho . board.. In the present case tlioro was. no //institutionsubordinate v.to i; t/h'e,'/.lkiar(l /yrhose/. ■j.functions - tho' board -hadvtaken' over. f 'Tho nionoy for -outdoor relief :paid to tho-Mcrrys ' was money paid to them by. tho • board .V it-/ ; /i/eelf >in the,:coursb ; iperformahce : of /.the/ functions which tho Act attributed to it. If : onoj .to,tho pioviso,-his. view,.(that. ...tha* word should bo : usedm its narrower senso) becamo more clear.. The words "onteied tho hospital" wore only apt to cover . the case of a man going into a hospital or asylum, or, at any rato, applying for:-assist-' ' . ancerto such an 'institution, so that, 'lie — might bo said to havo entered it. • It might: ; bo. that an outdoor patient might be/said . to: —havG,:ontered - a/./liospital.: /•■/Where' however '/■ Vtho ,;li'a.d''s'imply/.received-gen-. - . eral outdoor:charitable- relief i (not -"from an :/j;/infititutiohr:bf-';:'UiG - ;.kihd ( '/lie/'had mentioned,' /.hut from the general funds), tlio/words .did . f .not ..seem, to. him::to cover, such, a case: .It ' fxxinied to/him tliati: so 1 far as the outdoor relief: was concerned, the Hawora- Board was vriirt iliabloi*Vas "•■■t-ho J section'": 3id j nofc-'-form of. relief. - The only other question was •. * whether the Paimerston North Board was ' entitled xo recover.-'for - the relief given/:to Merry':^whilst ; lie .wis , in /the/hospital. / v Mer'ry •. entered tho hospital on-May 25,-. but .he hqd ; become a bona-lido resident in tho Palmers- . ton North - district .'on May 6. Tho 'section required (in order that- the ■:■■■• Paimerston •North■ Board nugiit recover for his keep in ' the hospitaOvthat/Merry niiist -haye resided : ih : /,tho''Hawera;':district ;at :least :six months ; /, ; noxt; hefore^^/ho/eoitered vtho/^hbspital. • / "Next -¥ .hoforo','. in his opinion meant immediately before, That had; been held in tlio Supremt ... Ckiurt. Ho thought;.therefore,' for.tliose, rea- . sons thafc; ; the, appeal should bo dismissed.;*' . : / Justices: Edwards,'. Cooper, and! Chapman /' came . to. the./same jconclusiou... _ ;.' ./', ; . ; , The. appeal-sva's,. dismissed .ivith' /costs or ./the tcalb as-from a distance. MEANING OF A VERDICT. CONVICTION AFFIRMED. . ■ Argument/was/then heard, ivitli .respect-tt / the'xase oi"iho King versus iindrow.Uodbaz Mr.V-Myers apjwared for tho Crown,, anc Mr. Gilioid Moo re tor the prisoner.- / This caso raised a question reserved fr ;. . Mr; Justice . Chapman lor the opinion -of thi ■.: CourtCj!qdbEizf ; was \tnea': at/i'the i.Fbbruar 1

sittings*at Paliner^n ; :jS'6rth;'Upon; aii.indict-1 merit. him .^vit&vliaviiigassaulted-! Coley 'so,: as to caiiso him W-' tual: bbaily :harm,!and. also,':'on a' • second count, -;with. common-' assault. His Honour told ,tlio, jury that it.'they r accepted generally ' the Accused's evidence, as to the origin 'of tho arid coupled 'it with .that 'of Dr. llartiii;'it would still bo open to/them' •to :conclude, that excessive ::.violcnoe -was, uted He added tliati-th'ey might "think that the serious injuries to tho ribs and cheekbone ■were tno rc3ulfc/of' '' a ';subsequeni' &truggle ) ,whilo,';. ;;i>ho ;; f i : .;iiijuries - toi 'this ■ face' were such "as-'to afford gromife for tho eon-.clusion-that tlifi aohial-asskdt was: so out of proportion; any/provocation : .as : 'to be culpabl6; i;They::fourid ;as/,follows: 'J!The jury :is: of /opinion; thatviho- accused is guilty of conimoii .assault (second count),, as \ve:havo net sufficient' ovidenco who it, struck ', the ', . first blow." Ho directed atyerdict of "guilty" to vbe'. entered ( , on •the :;seooncl postponed sentencing the adcused, ■ reserving! the ;.ql^estiqbi; : »s/jto^^rhßther l y^h'e^ii^lding" :^am6ul^ted' to'a'verdiet- . . ' • . ; V; 'On behalf -of prisoner, ii,. was urged; that the • verdict .capable of itwb meanings—ono favourable to him, ; but ;"the-'other.'.iinlavour- : able.-, If that ,wcro so"prisoner .w : as 'entitled : to the benefit of the doiibi. -... : :• Mr. Justice Williamsjtyias; of opinion that the utmost ■ that - could _be said: in ■ favour of prisoner- was that the. jury: coilsidored ithn- ; material thefjilrst'.blow.': "'Even' if ; -.the'jury: had found that the; prosecutor: had . ■ struck ,tho; first ..blow: it . would :havo'. found - :'pns&er' guilty;;; Thovbrdiict..'was" reillyV an : .expression of .opinion -jaw. tho'part of tho jury ' that it was < immaterial, :whq. struck, the first ; blow;; If ; tho, jury 'had;found':that: prisoner • had'stnick' the first blow no doubt they! would : have -found=hiiri -guilty;,on the first count. As ;it'.wai .not -proved :to. their satisfaction that prisoner had stniek. tlie Tirst .blow'they found , - him-'. guilty.. only -on ' tho.; second-'.'count; treatiijing. it as; immaterial who "struck ' the first blow.'\.:The his opinion, should be affirmed. . _ . . V - A uimilai' vicw was also taken by Justices Edwards,-Cooper, and Chapman. Acnordinalv convictionwas sustained,