BUGS N A BOTTLE.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 27 August 1925, Page 7

BUGS N A BOTTLE.

AND THE BOTTLE IN COURT

WANGANUI LANDLADIES AT LAW

Little drops of water; little grains of sand Make the mighty ocean and the pleasant land.

' Likewise <a- single ti iuler-box lu ay have been to blame tor the tire of London.

But all that wia.s written or happened long, long ago. Yet the day of small, causes and mighty ©fleets is not yet part. You, unsophisticated reader, have possibly never met a lady or gentlemian of the family oimex lec-tularius. Sir Robert Stouit biais—but you are not Sir Robert Stout, and, anyway, lie doesn't come into the story yet. Dr. Noah Webster —yo>u will remember him as that eminent American gentleman whose taste in authorship took so extraordinary a, turn—epea.ks somewhere ol cimex lectularii as wangles®, blood-sucking, hemipterous insects. (Lb is to ibe hoped that the crossword enthusiasts are reading this). 1-n other words, the plain, unvarnished, week-day, go-to-b usd ness name of the cimex lectulariuia is—bed-bug. Now you know each other. It remains to be explained how several of these little; fellows with the; imposing label and unpleasant habits came to be in a, bottle —a picklebottle it may assumed, since there was formalin in it too —and liow the bottle cam© to be in the Supreme Court at Wanganui in company with the Chief Justice of the Dominion oai Mondiay and Tuesday. But let the Wanganui Herald take up the tale : The circumstances in connection with the isale of a Wanganui boarding-house occupied the attention of the Court. The plaintiff was Mrs. M. Morgan (Mr. F. C. Spnatt, of Hawera) and the defendant Mrs. Clover (Mr. Brodie). At the outset His Honor said that lie had read the pleadings. It was a very simple case l . The plaintiff would have to prove that there were bugs in the place, and tine defence was that there were no bugs. Mr. Spratt .said that Mrs. Mougan had kept- a. boarding-hou.se at Hawera, where bugs were unknown. She decided .to come to Wanganui, and got in touch with an agent named James. She then got in touch with Mrs. Glover, who had a boarding-house called “Riverview,” on Ta.upo Quay. After inspecting the place, Mrs. Morgan decided to take it. Shortly after she made the complaint. It was a leasehold property owned by the Wanganui Harbour Board, and wais put up at £I2OO or offer. It was sold as a clean place without 'any reference to Dugs. His Honor: Was there any mention of bugs? Mr. Spratt said that ho would conic to that. Mrs. Morgan had a very indefinite idea what bugs were, but she had seen a girl who had been bitten by bugs. He did not think that 1; i'llonor knew what a bug bite was. His Honor said that he had bad a big case about twenty years ago in Wellington, hut it was the only ease he knew of. , Mr. Spratt said that speaking of bug bites, be recently saw a child thatstayed lab the place, it was very badly bitten. A »ug hue was much v.or-o than a bite front a : ea or a mosquito. Bis Honor: How ling was that after the .sale? Mr. Spratt: Two or three weeks. His. Honor: Then they must have been there. Air. Spnatt isaid that Mrs. Morgan could not abide creepy things. There had been a previous case of bugs in a Wanganui boa.rding-h.ouse, and when the inspection was made a young woman with Mrs. Morgan said: “J. don’t suppose that there are any bugs in this house ” Airs. Glover said : “Certainly not.” If the reply had been anv different and Mins. Morga.R had known that there were bugs there she would not 'have taken the place l . Mrs. Morgan simply knew that bugs were bugs and that was all she knew, about them.. Even after the discovery of 'bugs Mrs. Morgan did not realise the full meaning of them. At this .siftage a bottle of bugs were bunded up to Hits Honor, who remarked that he was not acquainted wit them.

Mr. Spi'aiiit: Those are the common hetbbug—cimex lectulariu*. in order to rest they a seen d the walls, and as they drop, upistol's boarders are not likely to get bitten. Proceeding, Mr. Spratt said that it would bo shown thait Airs. Morgan kept a, superior cillaiss of boarder at Hawera, including artisans and law clerk*. When Mrs. Morgan gave evidence, the bottle of bugs was produced. Mr. Spratt: I>i<l you know that there were anv bugs there at rhe time."' —No. ‘ , These in the bottle came Irani the place?—Yes. .Proceeding with her evidence, Airs Alorgan said that when she came to WlanganuL to see the boari 1 ing-house she toayed there two nights. She d.id not notice any hugs, hut was bitten and thought they were sandflies. A Air. Duff lent witness a book, and she saiw a,n insect crawling over it. She did not know then what it was. but on putting her finger on it it left a splodge oil blood from, top to bottom. This happened when she had been in the place only a* few day*. A Miss ten “something cruel.” A lady with a balby came to stay there. _ The baby was very badly bitten. The measles “was nothing to lit. ’ The baby wa.s taken to Air. Kitchen, chemist, land they then found out it was bug bites. Tlie room that Mi sis —— and Alps. —.— (Bind the child had occupied had to be locked up. There were six rooms badly infested. The downstairs rooms wen'e all right. She had lost several hoarders through the bugs. Some of the boarders knew what the insects were. She would not have bought the place if *he had known about the bugs. To Mr. Brodie: Her boarders lat Hawera were bank clerks, sol kiitors clerks, and people of that Class. She knew that .Riiverview was a woikingman’is boarding-house. She had got rid of the old boarders, and was Siting a nice class of boarder in. fehe had thirteen permanent boarders, with a fair amount of “casuals.” it was a big loss to 1 have five rooms locked up. . His Honor remarked that the only claim was In regard to bugs, and it was admitted that there bad been bugs there. . Mr. Brodie said it would be shown that the house had been fumigated. Hits Honor: You cannot suggest that Where there is one bug at shows that it was an orphan. Proceeding, witness said that a man went to bed one night, and when he came down in the manning he isaiici that “the place' was lousy with them. They were trying every day to' get ml of the bugs. . , x i Evidence was given by Leonard Pleasants, city valuer for Wanganui, who stated thait he valued the leasehold of the premises) in Ma.y last, lhe premised Were valued on. the basii'S of a dean house. The valuation Was £ll2lO. There were hugs am the place, and witness considered that in older

to rid the place of the pest it would be necessary to remove the scrim and perhaps the match-lining, and properly fumigate. A place winch had a reputation for being infested with bugs would ib© unsaleable. If the methods suggested by witness were carried out, and the ninsane© got rid of, the prejudice would remain, and affect the value of the business on the market. The evidence ol the defendant was a Hat contradiction of the contentions of plaintiff. Mrs. Glover maintained that she had not, for some two. years, received any complaints from her boarders relative to the bug nuisance. Albert Henry Lawrence, labourer, said that he stayed for years at Rdvervrew, and had occupied an upstairs room. Last .summer 'lie saw some bugs in his bedroom. His Honor: There is no doubt that there were bugs in the house. What is this witness called to prove?

ilr. Brodie : That Mrs. Glover took certain steps to get rid of them. His Honor: But you admit that there were bugs in the house. Air. Bfodie: We admit that there were, but two years before. Witness: I only saw two. His Honor: Very well, he only had two visitors all the time' he was there. Alfred B. Smith, wool-classer, Said that lie had occupied two-thirds of the rooms in the house.

Mr. Spratt: Were you chased round? Air. Birodiie: Did you ever see a bug? Witness.: Never saw one. Hie Honfor: ffhey must have an aversion to certain people. Mr. 'Spratt: I .suppose when you were in ail the bugs' were out. Judgment was reserved.