FLEETWING v. REGATTA COMMITTEE.

Evening Post, Volume XXI, Issue 23, 29 January 1881, Page 2

FLEETWING v. REGATTA COMMITTEE.

? Evidence in the civil action instituted by Captain Bradley, master of the schooner Fleetwing, to recover from Mr. S S. Downes, the treasurer of the Wellington Regatta, the prize-money and trophy offered to the winner of the coasters' race, was being taken before Mr. Shaw, R.M., as we went to press yesterday afternoon. In opening the case for the plaintiff, Mr. Forwood narrated the oiroumstances under which the face camo off. It would be shown, he said, that at a point near the Headß a vessel called the Maori was anchored, while another vessel, named the Hope, was moored off Ngahauranga. Bound these two vessels the competitors in the race, after paying their entrance money, were directed to take their course. The whole of the coasters taking part in the race— the Fleetwing among the rest— duly rounded the Maori and Hope, and the Fleetwing was successful in reaching the winning post in advance of her rivals, and by the advertised judges was declared (by means of the firing of a gun) to be the winner. One of the competitors— the Star of the Sea — included in her course another point, of which all the other competitors were entirely ignorant. After the race, the master of this vessel entered a protest against the othsr competitors, alleging that none of them had followed the proper course. The protest was entertained by a number of gentlemen styling themselves a committee, who, ultimately, declined to hand over to the Fleetwing the 6takes and trophy, and declared the Star of the Sea to be the only rightful claimant thereto. Now, Mr. For* wood disputed the anthority of these gentlemen to come to any such decision, contending that whatever they did was riltra vires. Mr. Quick, the counsel for the defence, here interposed with an objection. According to the 17th clause of the rules and regulations all disputes, he pointed out, wera to be finally settled by a committee elected for the purpose, therefore the plaintiff was estopped from coming to a Court of law to dispute the matter, unless he could attach fraud to the proceedings. The objection, however, was over-ruled, as being premature, and Mr. Forwood then proceeded to adduce evidence in support of the plaintiff's claim. The witnesses examined up till a quarter to six o'clock, when the Court adjourned till ton o'clock this morning, were Captains Bradley and Callow, W. R. Waters, John Holliday, C. Kohn, T. E. Simons, and Charles Pressman. From their evidence it appeared that the Maori was to be moored off the Pinnacle Rock, and the Hope off the Korokoro, but the pilot dropped a smaller buoy-boat where the Hope was to have been taken, and| the Hope he placed at a point to mark the course for the second-class yachts. The competitors were told to " round the Maori and Hope, which would be placed at the extremities of the course," and hence the mistake. Some discussion arose regarding the existence of the committee. His Worship said the position of the committee — if there were any — was somewhat analagous to that of the stewards of a race meeting, and in England, Victoria, and elsewhere it had been held that the determination of the stewards must be one in accordance with law and equity, and was liable to be reviewed by any competent tribunal ; so that, assuming there was a committee who had final power to deal with such disputes, they were bound to exercise their power according to equity, and r.ot according to their own whim. Mr. Quick mentioned that one special defence _to the action was that there had been a fouling between the Fleetwing and the Star of the Sea, and the rules in such cases disqualified the boat adjudged culpable— in this instance, the Fleetwing.