FEILDING S.M. COURT.

Feilding Star, Volume I, Issue 290, 13 June 1907, Page 4

FEILDING S.M. COURT.

Adam v. Mcelroy. The hearing of this case, a claim for £50 value of a horse killed, was continued, before the S.M. yester- { day. j Mr Jessop being further cross-ex- • amincd stated that he was uot a J friend of Adams; he was not aware of any drop in tho price of horses during the last twelve months. The I wheel mark that he saw was about half a chain from the water and 7 or 8 yards away from the engine. Mr Mangham was next called, cross-examined by Mr Graham, he stated that he had driven the mare in question for about 6 years, and he had always found her thoroughly staunch. He thought the mare was eleven years old, and was worth about £4 6s. His father bought the mare about seven years ago from Mr Riddiford, of the Lower Hutt. He had been working horses for about twelve years. He did not consider it to be the act of a careful driver to drive where this driver did, he would not do so himself. Cross-examined by Mr Sandilands, he stated he considered Mr Ichler was a careful driver. A waggon would be easier to take over the road in question, than a dray. The dray used was a large sized farm dray. He thought that a horse would be in its prime at 14 years of age. The distance from the leaders to the back of the dray would be about 22. feet, and he did not think it was possible to turn them in a gradual curve under the conditions at the time. Mr Adams, Snr., was next called, and stated in examination that he thought Mr McElroy was prepared to replace the horse if there had been no insurance on it. Mr McElroy was, as far as he knew, a man of integrity. Mr McElroy was next placed in the box. Cross-examined by Mr Sandilands for the defence, he stated that he had been in the district for about 27 years, and had driven horses for a number of years. He produced a map of the scene of the accident, showing that there was a distance of 24 feet between the wood and the engine. He considered the road over which the dray was taken, as quite safe, and there was ample room to turn, he would not hesitate to drive there himself. The dray was a farm dray, and it would not hold a cord and a half; the wood is stacked as it is split, perhaps in stacks of half of a cord, a quarter of a cord, or a full cord, as the case might be. He had known Langdon some six or seven years. In his estimation the mare was only worth about £23. He had never said that he was willing to replace the horse, but had informed young Adams that if the mare was insured he had better inform the mortgagee of the accident, in order to claim the money. The driver was a careful man, and would not have been kept, had he been otherwise Cross-examined by Mr Graham, he said that the horses did not break into a trot going down the hill opposite the cook house. If the team had gone over the side of the bridge at the foot of the hill there would have been a smash. He had made the plan about a month after the accident. He arrived on the scene the Sunday after the accident. The wood has been stacked nearer, than 24 feet from the mill, sometimes right against the mill. They used three horses abreast of each other to pull the mare out of the creek and had plenty of room to spare. He knew the course the driver took from the position of the dray in the creek. He could not see any tracks as there were so many chips that the wheels would not sink in. The ground was dry and hard at the time of the accident. He was not prepared to say how many drays went in with wood in the course of a week. Sometimes the wood has been stacked on the edge of the bank by the.engineer. He could buy a horse at the present time for £25, and might get a better \>ne than the one killed. He would not swear as to what he had said with reference to making good the value ! of the mare to Mr Adams. The mare j had a good footing on the chips from j the wood when she started to slip. ! There was only a distance of 3 or 4ft j from the bank of the creek where ; there were no chips. The chips were ' movable, but presented a good footing for a horse. Mr Rassmus Neilson was called j next, and stated that he had been carting during the last thirty years for nearly every day. Mr McElroy j showed him where the dray went j -into the creek, and he aud Mr Ichlor j measured the distance from wood to , the engine, which was 22ft from the level of the formation to the edge ' of the bank. He had seen Langdon on the day of the accident, and considered him a careful driver and . would have done the same as the driver had done if necessary. He considered the value of the mare to I be about £20, and could have bought ' as a mare for less money. He ' thought the driver took the leaders ; out because he wanted to turn roui d short. He did not know how big a load the driver had on. \ John Langdon, the driver of the team, was next called, and stated , that he took three loads on the day of the accident, and for his last had about lof a cord. He took the leaders off and started with the ; shafter, but she stopped and he hitched the leaders on again and when he started, Struck a stick which caused the dray toxapsize, the ground was hard. There was no reason why the mare should not have pulled the load by herself. The accident happened about 5 o'clock iv the ii'icrnoon. Cross-examined by Mr Graham, he said that he had never taken n ore than a cord of wood on >ne load, and he considered that it was to go the . way he did with the small lead. He took the leaders out because it vas "knocking off" time. He hud not gone that way before, but considered that the dray ran back because the . mare wouldn't pull. He had plenty of room to take the leaders ■tui'd, j and had been driving for Mr Mc- ' Elroy for seven weeks. He had lot i known the horse to refuse to pull he- I fore, and he had not told Mr Adams ' it was his fault the accident happened. He had been dri7Jug l r .r i seventeen years, and bad oc.ly had ! one accident previous to this • , re I The boy did not see him finish l.» d- ' ing. t . Mr Ichler was called next and stat- ; ed that he saw nothing risky in go- j ing' that way, and that he considered the mare in question to be worth '■ only about £20. i Mr Whisker was called next, and j he had worked with horses ever since he was a boy. He considered there j was no danger in going where the i driver went, as there was plenty of room to turn. The mare's sale yard value would be about £25. Mr T. Morton, the next witness called, stated that he had driven on the same road on 8 or 9 different occasions, and considered it quite safe. Frederick Price, farmer, stated that he had had some years' experience with horses. He considered the road was quite safe. His Worship reserved his judgment. The case of Beaze v. Hutton was adjourned till next Court day.