A PENALTY SOUGHT

Evening Post, Volume XCVI, Issue 80, 1 October 1918, Page 2

A PENALTY SOUGHT

LOCAL BODIES' RESPONSIBILITIES

ACTION BEFORE THE FULL COURT.

The Full Court had before it. to-day a case in which the Auditor-General (Robert J. Collins) was plaintiff and Arnr old L. Arrowsmith and others were defendants. It was an action in -which penalties were claimed under section 53 of the Local Bodies Loans Act, 1913. ' There were upon the Bench their Honours the Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout); Mr. Justice Cooper, Mr. Justice" Chapman, and Mr; Justice Sim. Sir John Salmond, K.C.,.Solicitov-GenT I era}, appeared for plaintiff, and Mr. C. P. Skerrett, X.0., with' . him ; Mr. 0. Beere, for defendants. . The statement of claim showed that A., J. Arrowsmith was Mayor of Taihape and the other defendants were councillors of that borough. On 2nci March, 1916, the Ta.ihape Borough Council obtained authority to raise a special loan of £3500 for the purpose of procuring a supplementary plant for the water andelectric lighting works of the bqrough. The council borrowed from the Bank of New Zealand the sum of £3373 Ss lOd, repaying to the bank the amount of an overdraft granted by the. bank to one Robert J. Loughnan, such.expenditure being for a purpose other than the purpose for which the, moneys were so boi-rowed, wherefore the plaintiff, in pursuance of section 53 of the Local Bodies Loans Act, 1913, claimed a penalty of £100 'against each of the defendants, severally, with costs. For the defence, the expenditure of £3373 5s lOd was admitted, but the defendants denied that such expenditure was illegal or was for a purpose other than the purpose for' which the moneys were borrowed, and for a further defence the defendants contended that no notice, as required by section 343 of the Mqnjeipal Corporations Act, 1908, was ever given to 4he defendants or any of them, nor. was the action commenced within six months after the' act or thing complained of -was alleged to have been done. . ':" ' ' In opening tie case for plaintiff, Sir John Salmond said the case was one of considerable: importance to members Qf local bodies so fay as the borrowing' of 'moneys and carrying on of public works were concerned. " ; The Court adjourned at. noon until two o'clock this afternoon, to enable." the Judges to attend the public meeting at the Town Hall in celebration of the good ne.ws fronx the front—the. unconditional surrender of Bulgaria.,