RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3135, 15 July 1881, Page 3

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT

FRIDAY, JULY 15. (Before H. Eyre Kenny, Esq., 8.M.) 'larceny. Maria Brunskill was charged with the larceny of a quantity of wearing apparel, and pleading guilty was sentenced to three months imprisonment with hard labor. E__l3 V. THE UNION S.S. COMPANY. This was a claim for £27 lis 6d, the amount of damage sustained by goods belonging to the plaintiff m consequence of the collision between the Boojum and the Sir Donald. Mr Lee and Mr Cornford appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr Lascelles for defendants. In answer to the first count the defendants pleaded (l) a general denial; (2) the goods were carried under special contract: (3) a denial of negligance. In answer to a second count they pleaded (1) that the goods were in the custody of plaintiff; (2) a denial of negligance. Mr Cornford put in a certiScate of the incorporation of the company. Mr Lascelles objected to the certificate because it had not the seal of the Registrar of Seals upon it. The Court took a note of the objection. Mr Lascelles put in a warrant to »d signed by three directors of tbe n Company under the company's George Ellis sworn and examined by Mr Lee said : In May last he was the owner of certain goods in Auckland. They were pictures. He purchased them in Auckland. They cost £32 19.. Mr Lascelles said they were prepared to admit the value of the goods, and that they were put on board the Ringarooma. Examination continued: The goods arrived in Napier. He first saw the , goods at Kinross's store after they were -'•taken out of the Sir Donald. They were damaged by sea water. The goods •were saturated. Mr Lascelles would admit that the goods were on board the Sir Donald; that they were damaged, and that they sold for tbe amount stated in the declaration, £27 lis 6d.

Examination continued : He paid the amount of freight as stated on the'note produced. He had the goods surveyed, and paid the amount of survey. He never had charge of the goods in any way, neither on their way from Auckland, nor in the port. Cross-examined by Mr Lascelles : He never saw tbe goods between the time they were in Isaac's store till he saw them in Kinross's.

Re-examined : The goods he saw at Kinross's were the same he saw put into the case at Isaac's.

John Quinlan, examined by Mr Lee: He was master of the Sir Donald, and was so on the 7th May last. He was lighteriti£;-4iie Ringarooma on that day Jqt the Union Company. The Boojum Bp-i_to the Sir Donald on that day. There were about 45 tons on board the Sir Donald.

Mr Lascelles would admit that the goods were damaged in consequence of the collision with the Boojum. Examination continued : The Boojum ran into the Sir Donald. He left the Ringarooma shortly after eleven in the morning, and proceeded into the heads. It was an hour before high water. The channel was clear. The current was running between six and seven knots. He was going about ten knots in the current. He entered about mid-channel, a little to the westward. He was at the wheel. He saw the Boojum leave the cattle wharf.

Mr Lascelles said he proposed to call some expert evidence, some men who were well acquainted with the harbor and the set of the tides, and to aak them if they thought that, under the circumstances, the captain of the Boojum used proper discretion. He asked that these witnesses he allowed to be in Court and hear the evidence. The Court allowed this. The Court suggested that the newspaper report of the enquiry into the collision should be read to the witnesses. Mr Lascelles objected, and the examination of the witness was continued, the evidence elicited being identical with that given at the enquiry. John Fraser, examined by Mr Lee: He was engineer of the Sir Donald. This witness also repeated evidence as to the collision previously given at the ecquiry, •"•l Peter Peterson, called, gave evidence ;as to having told a seaman on board the Boojum that the Sir Donald was coming in. W. C. McCormick and J. B. Gleadow repeated the evidence they previously gave. Thia concluded the evidence for plaintiff. Mr Lascelles was opening the case for •jphe defendants wbeu onr reporter left.