MAGISTRATE’S COURT.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 15 August 1928, Page 7

MAGISTRATE’S COURT.

SITTING AT ELTHAM. At the Eltham Magistrate’s Court yesterday before Mr R. W. late, KM., judgment tor plaintiff by derault was ouven in the following undefended civil cases: —Taranaki Trade Asociation v. L C. Brown, £8 2s; same v. G. bieeman, £1 12s 9d; same v. B. A. Martin £1 17s 3d ; same v. R. McKenzie, £4 On the information of Cecil P. Smith, inspector of Factories, Ernest C. Cbrnerer, contractor, of Eltham, was charged with failing to keep a wage® and overtime book on June 20, as aeouired by the Labour Department. The inspector said that in consequence of complaints; received he visited defendant’ll residence on June 20. He was accompanied by Inspector Berryman. In -reply’ to a request for hiis waig-Bs 'book, defendant said] it was at Kapuni. but later admitted that he did not keep one. He. said h© paid has men by cheque. O'ne lorry driver (L. M. Hewitt) was paid £5 pV week. Three four-horse drivers, Edgecombe, Neilisen and Andersen, received 2s per hour. Another emoloyee, Julian, who had been cooking at Kapuni, was kept on at £3 per week instead of being discharged. Defendant said Hewitt worked a little, overtime, ' but if he wanted anv more than £5 he would discharge him as he considered this amount, the award rate for the driver of ardj-ton truck was .sufficient. To Mr T. B. Crump who appeared for defendant, jthe witness' said the latter told him he had some timesheets. If the small boobs, produced were kept rested they would! comply with the Act. . William John Berryman, inspector olfactories New Plymouth, corroborated the evidence of the previous witness. Iu defence. Mr Crump said the form in which the wages book should be kept was l not defined by law, and called evidence to explain witiy there was a blank in the entries. . . , Defendant, in evidence, said lie kept wages boobs covering periods from 1906 to 1928. He never kept timesheets', but posted his books from odd pieces of paper. He ‘load crashing plants at Eltham and Kapuni,. Hewitt did not work on wet days, and hus idle days were off-set by overtime.. \Vitli the exception of three months when h,e neglected to procure a. new book to replace the co m pelted one, he had; always kept his book written up. Julian got £3 ner week and k«? lceip, which was better than 2s per hour. In convicting and fining defendant OQs with 10s costs, the magistrate remarked that at the time,the department’s officers called upon defendant, he was not keeping the wages _ book, there was also a. ga,r> in the entries. Jr tlie book as produced had been shown to the in,spec-tor it would no doubt have satisfied him.