DISTRICT COURT REEFTON.

Inangahua Times, Issue 22, 22 November 1878, Page 2

DISTRICT COURT REEFTON.

Ti/ihday, 10rn Notkmbkr, 1878. (Before His Honor Judg'o Woston.) Bnowar v. Vuican Company. I This was an action to recover tho sum of £600 damage for alleged breoah of oontract. Mr Guinnoss appoarod for tho plaintiff, nnJ Mr Pitt for the defendant. | His Honor inquired whothor it wns tho wish of counsel that ho should rend over the evidence given at a former hoaring of the enso. Mr Pitt said it would grontly shorten and simplify mnttorti if an arrangement ware entered into for both sido £o accept tlio case stated for tho Supromo Court as tho eviience in this onso, A for some argument thi« course was agreed (o, each side re»orving the right to call Mippiomontary evidence Mr Pitt tbea proceeded to ad dross tho Court upon the {declaration fllod in tho enso. Ho contouded that tho agroomont was void for uncertainty, and that if tho Court fixed terms op meaning to it, it would be to make a liability upon defon* dants wliioh was never ngrood to and never tjon'emplatod under the ngroomont. Mr Guinness repliod at sorao length. G, W. Brown— l am a miner. I pointod out to Mr Butler tho spot I had renolied when I stopppjtf. The company have sinco driven 'within 60'fost of tho boundary, and I consider the lonpjth about 60 feet from tho point where I discontinued i I did not sco whether they had driven any in tho mnin tunnel s Iho distunoo from whero I loft off in tlio mnin tunnel would bo 505 I feet according to tho surveyor's measure* monl,and from tho point where I stopped .in the western, 129 foefc 6 inchotf to the 'western boundary ; I was to get £2 a Ifb^t Ihnveboon 40 years mmmg j the jcoiir would bo 12 i o foot is soft— and if linrcl, £1 H«— -that vu what it cost aftor intersecting the hard bar; I hnd gone through a good bit of the hard bar : I qnahot oatimnto how muoli bar would bo mot with in tho distanco wont. Tho hard Ur Was only mot with in Ihe main tunnel I drove through H3 fc*t in maia tunnol total of about 170, but I cannot Swear that I was driving iv hard stuff tjrbon knocked ofT. The oounttw- was changing a little ; I wnn gotlinjj 40s extra for hard stuff; there was a roof known to exist in (he ground at a highor levol, from which 8 1 0 J tons had boen crushed. The rtoffrom whioh I' hnd lomovod the stone fi|om upper lovol *ai the roof I contractor to! driro to intorscot undor tho conlraot in the western drivo. The contract spoaki of two bodies of stono. Wo werosupposod to cut the Wealth of Nations roef which wna supposed to run into tho company's ground.' Between tlio contract price and tho cost of putiing in tho drives to tho boundary would bo my loan, and tho dnningrs. pdwarJ W, Butlor— l am n oivil ohginoor. Tin's is tho plan prop:»rod by rn<il of the workings in tho Vulcan mino. BrWn showed mo drives ho hnd boen WoVklng in on tlie Bth Janunry, 1878. In the main tunnel ho had driven 729 foot 'acoiordinu to what Brown said. Tho distanoe to tho compuny'i boundary easterly woild bo 605 fact from Brown's leaying off point. In tho main tunnol work hod. boon djrio. About 60 foot. or •o. 1 cacnot say definitely. It's so long 'ago 4 In the westerly drivo Brown had bo&kod off himiol fhe said. Ho show) mo ,whero he knocked off, thut was 111 foot j 4 inchoa in from main tunnol oontro, and|6sß f»et from tho mouth of tho n.ain tnntjel. Prom that to the houndnry of the (Wealth of Nations, westerly of the luuriol contracted, would be 128 Gout 0 inches. I made * survoy of tlio reef in tho Westorly drive from the mam tunnel. I knew then that tho roof oxisted in tho westerly drive, hooauao I aaw it in tho ffloo at Lho end of the 111 foot. I found tho roof from lho intersection. Assuming the drivos wero put in to inlorsoottbo two bodies of atono suppoiod to oxiat in tho oompnny had thoso two bodies boen cut, Robert Evans Gu'lino—l am a raino ownor residing in Eoofton. t was a diroctor of tho Vulcan Company on tho 28th Novombof. T wont wikh the directors to wink© measurements. I havo novor bpon nitioo. I ennnot »ny whether nny work hnfl boon dono in the mino sinoo. Brown w«a continuing the mnin tunnel under contract when stopped. Tito

westerly drive hnd been stopped t«un« pornrily at the ins anoe of tho company. Tlio driven wore not stopped bocnuso the bodi«B of tho atouo had nol boon ranched, Tito bodies of stono with tho gold in — i.e., payable bodios of stono had not boen reached • Louis Davios— l was ft diroctor of the Vulcan Company. I did not sanction tho giving of tho notioo. Tho direotors did not sanction it. Thoro was a division among tho directors. Timothy MMJaughlin— Tho mnin drivo has not been oztcndod a foot. Patrick Brennnn—-I produce tho plan of tho underground workings oi tho Vulcan Company's mine. To tho host of my opinion tho mnin (unncl has not been extended at all sinco Brown was knocked off. JNo work at all has boen done there to my knowledge. Tho westorly drivo has boon oxtonded about 84 feet. I am poflitivo that no work at all has been dono in tho main drive, Tharo wns nobody working in tho westorly drivo when I wan thcro n fortnight bro. I ennnot sny whether tho work in that drivo has or hns not been permanently discontinued. Timothy M'Loughlin—l am not awnro I whether I wns a director when Brown's oontnetwas terminated. I have been in tho main drive sinco, No work has boon dono in tho main drivo sinco Brown loft. Some work has bcon dono in lha westerly drivo. Qunrta bus been struck in tho westerly drivo, but whothor it is payable or not I CRn't say. Mr Guinnoss addreosod tho Court at sonio length upon tho enso. Mr Pitt having replied fully to tho arguments adduced by Mr Guinness, His Honor said ho had given tho enso great considorntion, and ho folt doubiy anxious boonuso tho Supremo Court hnd , cast upon him, though not unwilingly. the responn bility of dociding fit* insu*. Undor these circumstances then ho did ] not nee that any good could be dono by ronorving jtuWent, nnd kooping tho unities in suspeti '. Tho contract was uncertain to a degree, and ho was afraid its uncertainty would prevent him from awarding damnaos nt all. As he already hnd decided tho oontraotor was by tho agreement to extend tho drivos until ho had intersected two bodies of slono supposed to «xist in tho company's mino. Whero tho stono was, was morcly a mutter of conjecture. There wns, howo< or, evidence of a ccrtnitt qtinnti'y of work having boon do»o by tho company in tho drive, which work at till events had proved tho ground to bo so fur barren ; tho question thon nmao what measure of damages was pluintifF entitled to. Tho chnrnctcr of tho country pnssc<l through was left wholly in doubt. Thoro wns ovidonoi) that nt tho distance of 111 foot the ground was soft, and thero was no npponrnnoo of a change, but ho would nssumo that tho country wnw not alto* gothor soft or altogether hard , ho would tlioroforo, nllow tho plninliff tho sum of £84 damages being a protit of 20h per foot on tho 84 foot driven by the com puny sinco tho Contract hnd been determined by thorn. In giving tlmt nmo .nt ho wns hot quito' clear that plnititilF was entitled to it, though ho had attroiiß feeling that ho wits correct in awnrding thnt sum, Should tho defendant*, however, dosiro to carry the question to appoul it was open for them to do so, Gouts, £25, wo.o also allowod. CttOOKRH V. DAVT3ON. Ilis Honor in giving judgment «nid the jury w mid bavo to find first whether there wits a contract, and if so, was it I Token or nnnullcd ; if thoro wne n contrnot and it had boon broken then what amount of damage* wan tho plaintiff* onlitlod to receive. Ho thon procerded to roviow tho rvidonco tmnutrly, pointing out tho material facts and disoropanoies. A good donl of vnr'nnco he mi.l existed ns l <0 whothor tho contract sum entered in the Rgroomont was £1450 or £1550, and it was tev tho jury (o woigh tlio evidence on tint point and soy which, in thoir opinion wm the sum ontnred in tho ngroomont. If the ngrcomont had boen improporly drawn it wits for a Court of Kqu'ty nlono to sot it BBido, unloss thoy allegad fraud, which '.hey hnd not dono, and thereforo as tho document hnd bcon pro* pared it wrts to bo road by tho jur.v. Ho dircotod ihe jury to find first whether tho con* tmet sum entered in tho ngrroment wns £1460 or £1550. and upon that finding ho would direct thorn ns to tho assessment of damages, but they woro not to find vindiotivo duiuagrs. After a short deliberation tho jury returned with a verdict on tho oontrnot for £1550. Verdict, for plaintiff damngos £108 in. Counsel's foes nnd costs of Court, £13 17s.— Total, £122 Is.