TEST MATCH TICKETS

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 86, 8 October 1930, Page 19

TEST MATCH TICKETS

♦ CLAIM AGAINST UNION APPLICATION FOR NONSUIT FOR THE PLAINTIFF Aj^tcr the evidence liad been eoneludcitp^iiti. the Magistrate's Court yeste\'ti{|ySMii the case in which Gerald Be!>fcss: >proceeding against the Now ZcaLindN.Offiugby Union, Mr. \\V. Perry, ■who apperi?;ec|.; ~£ov the defcndanl, subniiticd tha.t.'tlie x'laintifl; must be nou-si^it--cd. Mr. E.'-Page, S.M., said hc\ would reserve jiiclgtficnt ou the non-suit question. '•J.li(|' " ■ . "'

Mr. M". R:'Luekie appeared l"6'r the plaintiff. . J?

lv tho statement of claim it was Alleged that owing to the defendant union failing to preserve the priority p"a the queue for tjie.purchaso of tickots for the fourth Rugby Test .match, the plaintiff lost the sale of' 144 tickets, jEvhich he had been commissioned to purKhaso and on Which* he was entitled to ft payment o£.~ls 6d for each, ticket, jtn addition, he had to pay 36 persona .employed by him a total of : i£s4. By I'eason of that he, claimed &54 as paid to his..i:epre§eTita.tives, £10 16s as eo^mmisjdijifc'bn.1 the. tickets, and £20 geneMFjclamages, making a total of £84 165.. 'Jl&was also alleged; that the union liad^ommitted.a-brbach of contract in selling less'thauj the.,1400 tickets it had announced for sale for the match.

' , v ,T4ie" Wellington"''Eugby Union "acted »s\'agOßt, fon the New Ze.aland-Rugby Union." ..■ Tl'iC^ease was continued' after.-"The Post" went to /press. ~*, Cross-examined,' plaintiff.'..said that 3io ticket. .obtained/.by.rhim was sold. for iiij'ore'; thaii Is 6d per ticket profit. He p'ajd asSnu(}h. as" £2 10s for; tickets whichVh.g job'tained through advertisements .jjiserfed in the. newspapers. ■;.: Willitfni Williams said that ho was engaged by the plaintiff, to wait in the queue and ■purchase'tickets. : 'When he arrived afr;Ath|e*tie: Park the queue was partly a.rran*g«l.-Witness's number was', 209, and he ke'ptthat position all night.; Some of the late arrivals did biot. take their proper places in the queue. [Witness did not hear that any "of the plaintiff's men. had sold their places. To Mr. Perry, witness said: he. saw po member of the Rugby Union taking: jeontrol of the queue. .•.',--.; Claud Kay said that ho was placed' B2 in the queue, and retained that position tlie whole time. During the jafIternoon and evening everyone was supplied with refreshments. As far as, he iiould see there was no one" to.t^ke diarge of the queue. Itf\tho early hours of the morning about 40, or; 50 saea gradually pushed th%ir way into' the queue. As a result of that there •was a Huruber of protests from applicants further "back. ■.■.'. Witness said he purchased" Tils "ticket, but although he was numbered>S2| jli the queue, he was beginning tq get [afraid that he would be.shut out. , ... Jack Mounter said tuat : ha was'Jium-' fcered 36 in the queue,; and. was: in charge of a group of M returned soldiers. During the morning,some iDpople arrived and took places at_ the. _head, of the queue. '"."" ',-.•■ ,■ ,:■ Cross-examined, witnes^.said tuat no was trying to keep order;in thp.queUei thiring the afternoon and 'evening Mr.. Mnrphy endeavoured to .control, it-he;| jgxiene. ■. ■'•■■ ■" ■.' ■•'•■: :■■ • | NO BEBACH OF CQNTttACa;.

For the defence, Mr.; Pen-y^ubniit- <&& that the plaintiff -must"fte, nonsuited. Evidence had been culled trom people connected with the theatrical as to the .practice in respect to 'queues. There was a vast aittcrence fietween the theatrical business and an amateur body such as the Kugby. Union. The plaintiff hacLfailed.to pi^vc the (existence of suchf S; custom., "Supi>osfio- H that it vasfan. established cus-. torn I-submit that It doesn't help the plaintiff," said Mr. Perry. Mr.. Perry-■ continued that, assuming that the^Mmtiff had proved that tho umoi, by the. bavertisement, had mado an offer that. Buy member of the public w6uld bo entitled to purchase four tickets, and ;as--tsumiag also that the union was bound to observe the order of arrival m the ■oueue, and also that such -was an established custom, even,that did not help the plaintiff, beca H so tho _ only coii•tract that eoulcl lie read in the advertisement was that the union would Bell up to four tickets. Plamtift had epelled out of a newspaper report thatthere would be 1400. tickets for sale, but it could not be considered that the publication of that report constituted an offer by the union that 1400 tickets would be available _ for sale. That publication was not binding on the union. The fact that the plamtift was commissioned by a number ot people to obtain tickets for them was £0 concern whatever of the union. There was a contract between the .plaintiff and his clients, but the union could not be bound by that. There was no contract or breach of contract between the union and the plaintiff. There was no obligation on the part of the union to form a queue or to gee that individual, places were maintained, said Mr. Perry. The only contract'that could have existed between the.-Waintiff.ana the union was an ofter byfefhe- union ,to sell him.four tickets, aM'the' plaintiff, in his own•■state- ;.&&%, had not applied for four tickets '•m-'for ohe-:ticket.. In.consequence the ■plaji-fitifE- must be sion-suitcd.. ■..■ ii&.Pago said ho would reserve ;iudgWgiii on'the non-suit question, and it lieVeeidediigainst-Mr. Perry he would giv\hint, ,an opportunity of calling fevidsne.e.^ . 1 3K)EEfety LEAGUE •■§■■-. -"■::■■* . — ... WOBK OP COUNCIL 'S^eetnil'o£ the council of thotfew. Kealand' TSoregtry; League was held jast %eek. "Mr; "A; Leigh Hunt presided. ; 1 A committee, consisting ot Messrs. Hunt, P. S'.'-Popp, and-Alfred Atkinson, ■was authorised to .continue negotiations kad to-aetfin regard, to.the beautihcation <tf- part -ofi'the Ngahauranga- Gorge. ' TELaI'chairman reported, .that certain jnemlJersr-offho council7 bad'given evidence before the Lands Committee with referent to the preservation of. a unique, •piece o£ forest at Puketitin and that several representatives had come trom Hawkes Bay to give evidence. . A letter was received from the Undersecretary for Lands stating that a beautifurecenic area near the Makatote Viaduct" was admittedly well worthy ot preservation, but with the lack of funds the Scenery Board could not at present recommend its purchase. _ . A letter was received from the Minister of Lands'statingnu regard to the Government areas on - the Te Whaiti-Waikare-moana road that there would be no danger of any dealings in the land which might" lead "to' its destruction, until the survey's'had 'been completed, and these could,not be .undertaken at present. The iouncil noted with appreciation the report of the bequest made by the late C) Plimmer' for the planting of the Town Belt and other areas in the vicinity ot Wellington/with tree 3, and though it may be many years before the bequest is made available, the council was o£ the opinion that the example might be iolloweil \>y other citizens who had accumulated wealth in the city. In comparison with the City of Auckland, Wollint'lon had nut ben particularly favoured iv tins ir,«pci-t. The council considered tho question 01 ihe control of the national parks and domains, and was strongly of the opinion that there should be some rent ml controlling • authority. Jt was felt, howovcr : ihsk, the timo was inopportune to press Ifiris snattear, and ifc v.'aa decided i<» hold |§~ pxes fe iha meantime.