CURIOUS DISPUTED PROPERTY CASE.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7718, 15 April 1887, Page 3

CURIOUS DISPUTED PROPERTY CASE.

In the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday John Kelly was charged on remand with damaging a fence the property of John Gibson Kinross, to the value of 10s. Mr Logan, with Mr Cavlile, appeared to prosecute ; Mr Cornford, instructed by Mr Sheath, represented defendant. The prisoner having btfen arrested at Mr Kinross's orders, without any information being laid, Mr Cornford objected, and ■demandetl that an information should be laid. This was done, but caused sonic •delay. John Gibson Kinross said heiaiew town ••section 524 at the ■Spit. There was a fence between that and 'the adjoining section, except a small gap, alongside which was a cottage. Witness put up the fence in 1885. On tho evening of the 7th inst. ho saw defendant cutting down the fence. He told defendant to desist, but as he tofused witness brought a constable and had him arrested. The fenoj and the land, belonged to witness. _^iVlr Cornford, in cross-examination, asked whether the witness had the title to the land, but Mr Logan objected that a question of title was not involved, In answer to further frustums the witness said Mv Cavlile had the title-deeds, but he (witness) did not know the contents of , the deeds. The land was originally Daniel Munn's, but was conveyed to witness and his then partner, Mr J. M. Stuart, on trust for sale fov the benefit ■of Mnnn's creditors. It was sold by them in 1859 to Mv Tiffen, who again soid it to Mr Brooking, ami witness obtained it from Mr Brooking. A man named G. H. Stewart occupied a cottage on the land. Witness would be surprised to learn that Stewart had paid any rates for the section. There was some excitement at the Spit whea the fence was cut. Witness had fouv men assisting him, and he might hp.ve told them if any one attempted to ■cut the fence to hit him on the head., but lie did not think he told them to cijt anyone's fingers off. When witness "brought a constable lie arrested defendant wh'iih ordered to do so by witness 0$ a Justice of the Peace. To Mr Logan : Defenda-jt was cutting the fence when arrested. Constable Harvey <jaid he knew the ■section in question, and on the evening of April 7th lie saw defendant hammering away at the fence, Mr Kinross was inside the .fence,, and warned him not to interfere with-it. He persisted, when Mr Kim-oss said.', " I give this man in Charge as a Justice of the Peace." As defendant went on-hammering at the fence witness arrested him. Cross-examined by Mr Cornford : There was a building on the section, and StWeart had lived in it for 11 or 12 years to witness's knowledge. A man named Mcrritt also lived m another cottage on the samo section for the last four or five snonths. Merritt's cottage was there liefore the fence was erected. He heard ■

Mr Kinross say, "If anyone touches the fence hit him on the head," and afterwards, " If anyone touches the fence cut liis fingers off." Mr Kinross had four men assisting him. Witness only arrested defendant when Mr Kinross ordered him to do so as a Justice of the Peace.

Consjable Shaiinahan gave corroborative evidence. . For the defence James Heron deposed , that lie claimed part of the section in .' •question, which he had bought from Stewart. - Kelly aud some other- men were ; /authorised by him to remove a cottage 1 'and place it on this section. About 9 o'clock that evening they came to him and said the house was lying on the 1 section, all broken up., He told the men to knock down the fence to get the house on the. ground, but to put np the fence again afterwards. When he purchased the ground he did not know that Mr Kinross had any claim on it. Michael Thompson, who assisted defendant in removing the cottage, said MiHeron told them to put up the fence again after the cottage was placed on the ground. ' ' . The case was dismissed, on the ground that a question of title was involved, which placed it outside the jurisdiction of the Resident Magistrate's Court.