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King Country Chronicle, Volume XXV, Issue 3374, 6 October 1931, Page 7

“Whether there are three different kinds of degrees of negligenceordinary, gross and slight, has been the subject of conflicting opinions expressed by judges,” said Mr. Justice Reed in the Supreme Court at Wellington in the course of a reserved judgment. His Honor said he accepted the statement of the law as laid down in “Salmond on Torts,” which said: “The law does not recognise different degrees of negligence in different classes of cases. The sole standard is the care that would be shown in the circumstances by a reasonably careful man, and the sole form of negligence is a failure to use this amount of care.” “If the area of certain uninhabited outlying islands be omitted, the total area of the Dominion proper is 103,415 square miles,” states the annual statistical report on population. “On this basis the density of population may be quoted as 13.95 persons to the square mile. This area, however, includes the total land mass and inland waters, and if the approximate area not available for occupation be considered as comprising the higher portions of the mountain ranges, the area occupied by roads, rivers, lakes and State forests, the extreme area capable of occupation is reduced to about 84,500 square miles, with the density of approximately 17.08 persons to the square mile, or if the the Maoris be included, 17.89 persons to the square mile.”