SUPREME COURT.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume II, Issue 251, 26 September 1912, Page 3

SUPREME COURT.

NAPIER. CIVII. SESSION. WEDNESDAY. SEPT. 25. (Before His Honour Justice Edwards). MURPHY v. RICHMOND AND WILSON. This was a case in which Paul Murphy, farmer, of Mahora (Hast ings). sued ilham Richmond anc. Christopher Richard 11 ilson. a cw.rm for specific performance of an ‘agree inent and £350 damages it r with holding possession, in the alternative £‘C5'J damages and a furthei sum of £l5O. the difference in tin price of land subject to the agreement and that cf the land which the plaintiff had afterwards to buy: also interest on £lOO d( posit. Mr. Dolan appeared for the plaintin, Mr. Lusk for Wilson, and Mr. E. H. Williams for Richmond. Mr. Dolan said that the plaintiff came to Hastings, saw 11 ilson, a land agent, who took him out to Twyfcrd to look at two sections, the property of Richmond. Murphy bought one section. Later Richmond’s attorney withdrew Wilson’s power to sell. Wilson cabled to Richmond that he'had sold the section and a reply was received confirming the sale. 11 ilson left for Queesnland and took the £lOO de posit. They therefore held Wilson liable for the £lOO and Richmond

for specific performance. Paul Murphy said he had bought the land at £l2 per acre through Wilson, who told him he had powei to sell. Paid a deposit of £lOO about the 23rd April. 1911, and on April 27th received an acknowledgment for that amount. Wilson left for Queensland on September 4th. and witness wrote asking for a return cf his deposit. The present proceedings were subsequent y instituted. Witness waited for ter. months before purchasing anothei property, and was row claiming in respect of rents and profits which would have accrued to him if the Twyford property had been transferred t ohim, and he was basing his claim on the profits he had made on a property at Mahora. Plaintiff interviewed Richmond at Tomcana and asked him what coarse he intended to take. Richmond replied that he could not say for a few days. Plaintiff’s solicitors then wrote to Richmond, whose solicitor’s repnea refusing to transfer the Twyford property. Plaintiff was also claiming the amount cf the difference in the price of the Twyford property and the land he ultimately bought i tPakowhai. Witness did r.ot want specific performance now, bat wanted his £lOO deposit. To Mr. Williams: Witness received a letter from Wilson in Apri. stating that Richmond had withdrawn the property from sale, but he would ask Fearnie to cable Richmond asking him to accept plaintiff as a purchaser. Wilson also asked fur a deposit as something to work on.

Miles Joseph Cassidy gave evidence that the market value of Richmond’s Twyford property was from £55 to £57 per acre. He had recently sold the adjoining property with improvements at about £62 peracre. The unimproved value was £53 or £54 per aero, and ail the land in that loca’ity was increasing in value. Octhcr unimproved properties in the same vicinity were selling at £66 per acre. F. E. Evans ,dairyman, Twyford, gave evidence that his section was half a mile from Richmond’s. He paid £5O an acre for 40 acres, and the present unimproved value was £65 per acre. Richmond's section was very suitable for dairying purposes. An adjoining property was recently sold for £57 an acre.

His Honour : What is the market value of Richmond’s section 1 Witness : £55 per acre. His Honour : How imic-h would you be prepared to give for .it Witness : £5O per acre.

His Honour said the witness wanted to make £5 per acre straight away. The market value was not tlie price a vendor would like to get nor the Governmet valuation. The latter was usually the highest price which had been, obtained for another property about half a mile away. John C. Innis. dairy farmer at Twyford, and holder of the section adjoining Richmond's, said he' held SI acres for which he paid £54 per acre. The unimproved values of his own and Richmond’s properties were practically the same. The market value <.f Richmond's section to-day was from £52 to £.53 per acre. This concluded plaintiff's case. Mr. Williams, for the defence, submitted that there was no case to answer. His Honour said he could not see any, ami asked Mr. Dolan where was the proof of contract to sell. Mr. Dolan said he relied on Exhibit 13. His Honour said there was no J authority to sell in that letter. j Mr. Dolan: In face of what my! client has admitted in the witness box —that he does not want specific performance, but his £lOO back, I would like to confer with counsel for defendant. Mr. Williams said he would prefer; to have judgment entered for de-! fendant. j His Honour said it was perfectly clear all the time that Wilson had 1 no authority to sell. i Judgment was entered up for the i defendant Richmond, with costs as! on a claim for £755. and disburse-: ments on the Court of Commission, at Brisbane where the evidence <f Wilson was taken. 1 In the claim against Wilson,: judgment was given for plaintiff; (Murphy) for £lOO with costs. ; Mr. Lusk submitted that plaintiff was not entitled to costs against Wilson, who was entitled to hold the deposit until the transfer was completed. Mr. Dolan contended that the deposit should have been returned when asked for by Murphy. Wilson knew that Richmond would not complete the transfer.His Honour upheld Mr. Dolan's contention and allwed costs as according to scale.

TINY TOWN.

‘'Quality not quantity.” is a term which very aptly applies to the Tiny Town Company which appeared at the Princess Theatre, Hastings, last evening, and it must be admitted that the entertainment was one of the most interesting seen here for some time. The visit of the midgets to Hastings had long been looked forward to, and last night the Princess Theatre held an audience which I filled every part of the building. The inhabitants of Tiny Town arc not freaks, but perfectly formed miniature people ranging in height from 2 feet 7 inches to 3 feet 10 inches, and in age from 21 to 57. The population of Tiny Town (sometimes referred to as Lilliput. the country created by Dean Swift in "Gulliver’s Travels”), consists of the following:—Mr. Armstrong, a diminutive policeman aged 55. and three i feet in height, preserves law and ! order, moving about with all the dignit.v worthy of his responsible position; Mr. Hnyate, Hassid, who is 57 years of age, is editor of the Tiny Town "Times.” the smallest newspaper in th? world. Mr. Hassid is the smallest man of the company, being only 30 inches high, but despite his smallness in stature, liis fund of knowledge is large and he speaks eight languages. A charming little mite is Miss Hansi Andre, a vaudeville, star, who sells post cards during the interval. Particular interest was centred in the introduction of the newly married couple. | Mr. and Mrs. Arthur, aged 24. and! 34 inches high. -Mr. Alfonzo. aged { 26. and 38 inches high performed al- ’ most incredible feats with bar bells. ! and, in conjunction with Mr. Po'mpeo! (30 years, 35 inches) an exceedingly ; clever jockey, accomplished some rare acrobatic turns, The company also includes Mr. Morello (21 years, 36 inches) a contortionist who twisted himself into all shapes and virtually tied himself in a knot; Mr. Fred (22 years and 42 inches); Miss Isabel (22 years and 31 inches) who dances daintily and is a iso a elevei musician ; Miss Anita (27 years and 30 inches), a plump little maid, who walks on a tight-wire with equanimity ; and Miss Paolo (25 inches anc 31 years), a circus lady who rider gracefully. Mr. Andres Zeynard is ir charge cf the midget circus and fills the position of trainer. The entertainment provided —r. combination of vaudeville and circii; —was an excellent one. The little troupe were first individual.y in trodiu-ed to the public by Mr. Arthur. Miss Hansi Andre sang soubrette items very engagingly, and also took the principal part in a daring wire walking turn with Mis; Isabel, and with Miss Ilonka, she also contributed items on the xylophone. Miss Andre performed a number of jockey acts on a dwari pony, and Jr. Arthur put his twe nonies through a number cf tricks, including the sea-saw act. The re

voiving globe act by Miss Ilonka, the Hungarian dance by the Austrian midgets, the two pony bareback act, the riding act by Miss Ilonka were all items of a very high standard. The performance conclud ed with the Tryolean national dance which was exquisitely executed. The company appear at Napier this evening, and liberal patronage is assured.