APPEAL COURT.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LIII, 11 April 1908, Page 8

APPEAL COURT.

the power oe SCHOOL COMMITTEES. (Special lo Wellington Post.) • WELLINGTON, April 10. This . afternoon the Court ol Appeal (Judges -Williams, Denniston, Edwards, and 1 Chapman) commenced the hearing oi the case Bruce and others v. the Wanganui. Education Board and another. The appellants were a school committee in the Wanganui school district, and respondents were the Wanganui Education Board and Henry Marriott Bayno, jufad' teacher of the Queen’s Park School, .a public school within the district. The school ; hours fixed by the respondent Board were five hours a day for five days in the week. Appellants on. the 11th November last passed a resolution that the school -hours in the district should be five‘hours on four days of the week and four and' a half on the' fifth day. They instructed respondent Payne to carry out this resolution and notified the respondent Board of their action. Their object in -passing the resolution was to allow half on. hour a week in all the Wanganui schools for religious instruction, and 1 the use or schools for this purpose was granted to the Ministers’ Association for half an hour taken out of school hours. Respondent Payne forwarded the resolution to the Education Board, who instructed him not to obey it, and then notified appellants that they would not allow the alteration in school hours. Plaintiffs then commenced an action in the Supreme Court at Wanganui, claiming an injunction to restrain the respondent Board from over-ruling its decision and a writ of mandamus to compel respondent Payne to carry out their instructions. Judge Cooper, who had heard the action, held that by section 120 of the Education Act, 1904, the committee were subject to the control of the Board, and dismissed the action with £lO 10s costs. The committee then brought this appeal. Mr Myers appeared for appellants, and Mr Skerrett, K.C., and Mr Hutton for respondents. Mr Myers, on behalf of appellants, contended that the committee had power to fix the school hours, and the Education Board had no controlling power in this matter. The case was not concluded when the Court adjourned till Monday.

MINUTE TECHNICALITY. WELLINGTON, April 10. In the Appeal Court, the case of the Crown versus Martin- Johnson was argued: Johnson- was tried -before Judge Cooper and a jury at Napier.o-n a charge of setting fire to premises known as the “Silver Grid.” Counsel for the Crown omitted to prove that the building was fixed to the soil, and at the conclusion of the Crown’s evidence counsel for prisoner contended that without this evidence there was not sufficient evidence to go to the jury and 1 that -they should be directed to acquit accused. His Honor held that there was sufficient evidence, and so directed the jury, who convicted the accused. The Judge, however, reserved for the opinion of the Court of Appeal the questions of whether his direction was right. The Court, without calling upon the Crown to reply, derived oral judgment affirming the con victipn.