SUPREME COURT.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XCVII, Issue 11210, 6 March 1897, Page 3

SUPREME COURT.

IN CHAMBERS. Friday, March 5. (Before his Honor Mr Justice Denniston.) ELL Y. HARPER. His Honor gave judgment heroin. Ho reviewed the circumstances of the case, and said that the delay since accounts had been taken had been caused by the plaintiff, who from 188 G had beer , appealing, not to the Courts, but to pub 1 meetings, to the Executive and to ,Pa r |j a . ment, and at the end he had mad 0 j n 1896 the exact application whhjh ] ie could and should have made i’j 1886. His Honor said ho , had, course of a very careful exan/jnation 0 f the whole of tho proceedr a g S; found no evidence to support tl* . 0 plaintiffs charges of misconduct again s p u lO officers of the Court. The plaintiff.- g complaints of mistakes on the part of ' c he officers were rnmply allegations of er .- ors 0 f judgment, for which tho rules P rovided the simple remedy of a reference to the .Tudms. It could not, his Honor v entured to think, tend to support the efficif moy of the Convts and respect for the administration o;i justice that a litigant in a suit might substitute for a step in that suit in respect of claims actually pending before the Court, an appeal to. extra-judicial and non-judicial tribunals. It was not, his Honor thought, too much to ask that bfffore such litigant received special investigations and grants of public moneys, it should be asked whether ho had availed himself of his ordinary remedies as a litigant. Had tho question been asked in the present instance it would have been found, as his Honor had said, that the plaintiff had throughout open to him the simple and inexpensive recoi’irse, at which by tho circuitous couvse he (his Honor) had mentioned, ho had ten years afterwards arrived. His Honor referred bo the -delay mainly for the application of tho rule that where delay is imputable to one party, all necessary intendments should be made against such party on any point where it might reasonably bo Suggested that, but for the delay, evidence might have been had to clear up such disputed points. But his Honor had not thought it necessary to apply this principle to any extent. Ho decided on the items referred to him that items G2 and 63, amounting to -8100, be credited to plaintiff, and that the interest on tho item ,£250 bo reduced by .£'so, being interest from August 31, 1870, to Sept. 1, 1872, and that it be remitted to the Registrar and accountant to adjust the certificate accordingly. Both these objections, it was noted, bad been taken after the issue of the original certificate. On the other items referred, his Honor decided that the finding in favour of defendant should not be disturbed. RE EDWARD JONES, DECEASED. Mr Wynn-Williams obtained probate of the will of Edward Jones, deceased. ■ re james Stark, deceased. Mr Bishop applied for order for executors’ commission. Mr M'Connel. said he appeared on behalf of one of the r.esiduary legatees, . His Honor said that it seemed that this application was ex parte, and if so Mr M’Connel. could not appear*. Mr B ishop said that Mr M’Connel, and Mr Hates, representing another party interested, had been served with notice of the application at their request. /The other f/arties had not been served. Mr Longhrey said that the Public Trustee, who represented another residuary legatee, had not been served with notice. Mr M’Connel said that the Court could treat the motion as ex parte or not, and if it was in the interest of the estate that tho parties interested should be represented, could allow them to be so. His Honor said that he saw no reason to depart from the usual practice in this case. He would treat the motion as ex parte, and would make the usual order to refer to the Registrar. RE U. H. RHODES, DECEASED. Mr A. E. G. Rhodes appeared in support of a motion, on, petition, for the appointment of new trustees, and his Honor made the order as. prayed. RE HFjJrv SOMERS COCKS, DECEASED. . Mr H.all obtained letters of administration o2 the estate of Henry Somers Cocks, deceased. RE JOHN BAXTER, DECEASED. . Mr Weston obtained an order confirming the report of the Registrar herein. ORE AND ANOTHER V. STARK AND OTHERS. Mr Bishop appeared on behalf of the plaintiffs, the trustees in the estate of H. J. Stark, deceased, in connection with an originating summons for the vouching of accounts herein. His Honor said that he saw no necessity for the' order. An accounting party had no necessity to apply for an order to vouch his own accounts, hut was only called upon to vouch when challenged to do so by an objecting party. Mr M’Connel, representing one of the defendants, a residuary legatee, said that some of the items of the accounts were objected to. His Honor said that, in that case, it was for the party objecting to challenge the accounts. After some further discussion the application, which it appeared had been made in consequence of the misconstruing of a rule, was allowed to drop, and it was understood that the matter should be brought up again in due form. FLEMING V. ARENAS. Mr Russell, for the plaintiff, asked that this matter might be allowed to stand over, as it was in process of settlement. His Honor said he would do so. BE JAMES EATON, DECEASED. Mr Loughrey, on behalf of the Charitable Aid Board, applied for authority to purchase land under the bequest of James Eaton, deceased. His Honor said he would look into the matter. ,