THE COURTS.-TO-DAY.

Evening Star, Issue 11693, 26 September 1902, Page 4

THE COURTS.-TO-DAY.

SUPREME COURT.—CIVIL SITTINGS. ‘.Before His Honor Mr Justice Williams.) PHASER V. GIRLIES. Action to recover £l5O 13s lOd, balance of account for goods supplied and work done in the leadlights of the Law Courts. Mr Solomon for plaintiff, Robert Fraser; Mr Sim for defendant, Alexander Gillies.’ The witnesses called by Mr Solomon yesterday were the plaintiff. F. W. Petre, D. Scott, P. S. Omand, J. Annand, and J. A. Burnside, and this morning George Ether was examined. Mr Sim then opened the defence. The case, he said, illustrated the observation made by His Honor in another matter recently before him to the effect that it was extremely desirable that business men ■hould reduce their contracts to writing. The parties to this case would have saved much trouble if they had done so. As the muddle had been made, the question for the Court was on which side the mistake lay, and he (Mr Sim) thought he would be able to satisfy the Court that on a balance of the probabilities the inference was in favor of the defendant. Mr Gili’, es . himself would say in the witness-box that Mr Fraser contracted to do the work for the sum mentioned—namely, £172 • and his evidence on that point’would be corroborated by Mr Peter Duncan, who would depose that during an interview at which Fraser arranged to obtain an advance Fraser stated, in answer to a questhe amount of the contract was if’ r l6 ? P art . v aUe § ed a "Pecific contract, and, that being so, the evidence called by the plaintiff had no direct bearing on the question really at issue, and was only of assistaaice to the Court as in dicat in <r the probabilities of the matter. Defendant also proposed to call evidence in support of his own, and this would go to show that there was nothing improbable in plaintiff making an agreement such as that which the defendant alleged was made The witnesses called by Mr Si m up to 5.30 p m. were Alexander Gillies (defendant), Peter Duncan. George William Gough. J' r Smith ' Joba Morgan TavW (Lanst church) —the last-named witness U—mg that he put in a price for the work at 3s per foot overall, blowing os per panel in the domes for fxra Isb'ir— and John Wilson (accountant for Andrew l.ees). The case was proceeding when we went to press. Cirr POLICE COURT. (Before C. C. Graham, Esq., S.M.) Drunkenness.—George Piggott and a first offender, who did not appear, were each fined 10s or forty-eight hours’ imprisonment William Kennedy, charged with being guilty of disorderly behaviour whi'e drunk, was mulcted in the sum of 20s or three days. ’ Obscene _ Language.—Matthew Murray pleaded guilty to using obscene language in Princes street or. the 25th inst., and'was fined 20s, or three days’ imprisonment. Bicyclists in Trouble.—For riding a bicycle on a footpath Robert Brown, Ida Hamer, John Brown, and John Capstick were each fined ss.—His Worship remarked that if there were any more of this class of cases he would increase the fines in future. By-law Cases.—Albert Youngman, for driving a VMiicle without a light, was disci arged with a caution. Alfred Bastings (for whom Mr Irwin appeared) pleaded guilty to depositing live ashes in a wooden receptacle outside a building and less than 10ft from such buiidinm—Fined ss. For trespassing on the railway line at Ravensbourne David Robert Russell was mulcted in the sum of 20s. Stealing Fowls.—Henry Withey and Herbert Joseph Read were charged with, on the 23rd inst., stealing forty-four fowls, valued at £lO, from" the fowlhouse of James Gray, at Anderson Bay.—On the application of Mr Hay (instructed by Mr Solomon), who appeared for the accused, a remand was granted until Monday, bail being allowed each man in his own recognisance of £SO and two sureties of £25 each. Assault.—Patrick Keogh pleaded not guilty to assaulting Joseph Keogh, who asked that the defendant should be bound ever to keep the peace. Mr Hay appeared for the complainant. Owing to the conduct of the defendant during his crossexamination of ihe complainant His Worship remarked that ha was perfectly satisfied that it was not safe for the man to be at large, and without allowing Ihe case to proceed any further he made an order that the defendant be bound over in two sureties of £25 each to keep the peace for six months. The defendant was unable to find bondsmen, and was removed to the lock-up.