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Greymouth Evening Star, 26 February 1927, Page 11

Suggestions that it should enter upon a scheme for growing its own poles are to be acted upon by the Hawke's Bay Electric Power Board up to. a certain degree. The matter was discussed at a meeting of the board in Napier, when advice was received that a nursery had been established at Waikoau. An offer was made to supply and plant gum trees for poles on any area acquired by the board. Mr D. Kettle said that the time was a long way off before they would require poles again, and they had no guarantee that /in twenty-five years they would be still using poles to carry lines. Two large plantations had recently been established near Napier, and if the board wanted poles in the future they could be purchased from these. It would be a costly business for the board to purchase 500 acres and grow trees successfully, particularly considering the fire menace. Other members were of the opinion that it would be a pity if the board did not take some steps to assure poles being procured in the future. It was finally decided that tfie possibility of the board acquiring its own plantation area to be further investigated, particularly in regard to cost.

The duty of persons witnessing signatures to documents was referred to at the Supreme Court at Blenheim by Mr Justice Alpers. His Honor had before him as a witness in a civil action arising out of. a recent forgery case a young man who had appended his name as “.witness” to the signature “F. Jackson” on a deed of mortgage, which was subsequently proved to be a forgery. The young man explained that he had not actually seen the document signed, but he had no reason to suspect any trickery and believed that the document had just been signed by a person in the next room, whom he took to be Mr Jackson. His Honor pointed out to the witness that it was only his culpable neglect of duty which had made the fraud posisble. “I presume,” he said, “that you have received a reasonable education. What do you think is the meaning of witnessing a signature?” The witness: “Signing one’s name as a witness.” His Honor: “But you must know that the word 'witness’ means seeing, so that the expression ‘witnessing a signature’ means seeing it made. Apparently you think n means writing

your name underneath You must learn that dealing in land is a serious business—much more serious than selling a pound of tea, or selling marbles—because the documents which you handle are bound to affect many people, and, if anything is wrong, will inevitably upset their security and happiness—perhaps wreck their whoh future. I hope you will realise the seriousness of the matter for the future.”