CLAIM FOR CUSTOMS DUTY.

Mataura Ensign, 16 May 1912, Page 3

CLAIM FOR CUSTOMS DUTY.

AUCKLAND, May 15. The hearing of the suit brought by ,he Minister for Customs against the irVaihi Gold Mining Company for £1067 ;2s 10d, alleged to be clue for Customs luty upon some imported pumps, was :ontinued before Mr Justice Edwards it the Supreme Court. Hon. J. A. role appeared for the Customs Dcpartnent. Mr T. Cotter, K.C., who was u-esent on behalf of the company on ;be previous day, did not appear/ and >vas represented by Mr C. J. Tunks. The cross-examination of Mr Ridings, Collector of Customs, was continued. Be said! that he took no exception to the admission of the goods free of duty jntil the Audit Department queried the matter, and he himself had until then no knowledge of it. Had the Audit Department not drawn attention to it, he would have taken no exception to it at all, because he knew nothing of it. He was instructed by headquarters to secure tho duty, and Mr 3. Rhodes, the local director, refused bo pay it. In answer to Mr Tole, witness said that he knew of no peremptory clause compelling Customs officials to examine all goods. They could not examine all goods. The onus was upon the importers to give information sufficient for the assessment of the duty, and had the Department icnown that the pumps were not sinking pumps the dutv would have been nearly £I2OO instead of £IOO. Thero iad been very many cases of late for the recovery of duty; not;-by action, but under tho penal clause,. Mr Tunks said that defendants ad- « mitted that the Minister had 1 declared the pumps to be not sinking pumps, inii therefore dutiable, thus determining the dispute upon, that point. Mr runks said that he would at this stage move for a non-suit. His grounds ivere, first, that the pumps were admitted free of duty and without any allegation of fraud l or concealment; then or since; that the Collector of | Customs who admitted them had the rlelv-j.Vito'l powers of tho Minister, and that there was no power now to go back and alter the decision of the Col- J lector. Secondly, that there was not a dispute between the Collector and tho company which could be referred to the Minister, and the Minister who gave the decision was not the Minister in office at the time of the importation, and consequently had no right to determine the dispute. His Honor said that he would not grant a non-suit except in very clear cases. It would not be granted in this case; but the right to move later would bo reserved. After a brief opening address, Mr Tunks called Mr Charles Rhodes, attorney to the defendant company, who explained the purpose of the pumps. The pumps were specially designed as sinking pumps for the purpose of unwatcr-: ing the shaft. , His Honor: Unwatering the shaft? What does th?.t mean? If it means pimping the water out of the shaft, why not say so? It seems a ridiculous word 1 . I never heard it before. Witness: It is a perfectly good min- j ing term, your Honor. j Yv'itness, continuing, said that large ; pumps were quite necessary to enable j the sinking to be done, and they were ; now in use. There was never any at- i i tempt on the part of the company to 'escape payment of the duty. The statement of the company, that the pumps were sinking pumps, was then and still was true, and there was no intention of taking advantage of a mistake on the part of the Department. His Honor said the whole question should be settled on a motion for judgment, and the jury should be dis- ! charged. The case could be sent to | the Aopeal Court for a direct settleiment." It was obvious that the full bench of the Supreme Court was the proper tribunal to deal with it. Mr Tunks consulted Mr Rhodes, and agreed? to his Honor's suggestion. The jury was discharged, and his j Honor made an order removing the motion for a non-suit and the motion for judgment to the Court of Appeal. THE SADLER CASE.

OHRISTCHURCH, May 15. The hearing of the Sadler case was ; continued at the Supreme Court this morning. , Summing up, Mr Justice Denniston said there were two issues for the jury —whether accused unlawfully used an instrument or whether he indecently assaulted the girl. The jury retired hefore lunch, and after being absent for nearly three hours returned with a verdict of guilty. Sentence was deferred. LOCAL GOVERNMENT BILL. ! DANNEVIRKE, May 15. ' A meeting to elect a delegate to represent the Waipawa district at the . Local Bodies Conference resulted in Mr F. G. Cowper, chairman of the Dannevirko County Council, being appointed : The following resolution was passed: "That this meeting, while not wishing to tie the bauds of the delegate, considers the Bill in its present form an i unsatisfactory one. .1 jHE WAIROA DEADLOCK. *j DUNEDIN, May 15. 1 Tho deadlock in connection with the 1 steamer "Wairoa still continues. It is j understood that negotiations were in . | progress to-day, and it is expected that i | the vessel will be free to sail in a day !! or two. EARTHQUAKE SHOCKS. b PAT.MERSTON N., May 15. A sharp shock of earthquake was ex- *> porionccd at 11.40 this morning. ]; GISBORNE, May 15. A slight shock of earthquake occur--9 roil at 11.45 a.m. e ORDERED EACK TO LONDON. WELLINGTON, May 15. When about •» week out from l^onclon on tho voyage which ended at Wellingp ton to-day two steerage passengers on nr the Arawa, a married woman and a j young man, developed acute mania and •t had to be placed under restraint. The :t man was very violent, and had to bo <v constantly watched lest he should do , himself an injury. On the arrival of ? the vessel the port health officer rcfused to allow the two unfortunate ■! people to be landed, and ordered them i- to be sent back to England. They will rs he placed on board the Corinthic, which 2 will leave for Ixmdon to-morrow.

DETECTING SLY GROG SELLING. DUNEDIN, May 15. The question of the moans adopted by tho polico in detection of sly-grog selling was referred to in the Supremo Court to-day. In summing up tho ease. nf alleged illicit traffic in liquor Mr Justice Williams said that it was perfectly well recognised that strategy had to bo used in order to catch poople at this business:. It was perl'ietly legitimatc that strategy .should ho used because offenders could not ho caught without it; and it could not he expected that a person who acted as an informer must necessarily he a. very desirable individual. In. the present case the person to whom the liquor was alleged [ to haeo been sold had been actuated in j the matter not by greed for money but [ because ho. had a spito against the a<',cused. That was tho- clement which must ho taken into consideration in deI ciding how far his evidence was crcdj ible.

SUPREME COURTS. DUNEDIN, May 1.",. At the Supreme. Court the jury disagreed in tho oa»?i in which Margaret Parker was charged witli sly-grog selling at St. Kilda. The accused will be retried to-morrow. CHRTSTCHI'RCH, Mav 15. At the criminal sitting of the Supremo Court, Win. F. Tapling and William Davies were acquittal on a charge of carnallv knowing a girl under tlie ago of 1G years. Ernest Edward Needham was convicted of forgery and of uttering a cheque for £5 and was sentenced to IJO months' hard labor. GENERAL CODLEY INJURED. DUNEDIN, May 15. Major-Genoral Godley (Commandant of the Forces) had the misfortune to neet with a slight accident while inspecting the l'Jth Otago Mounted Rifles at Balclutha to-day. His horse fell and rolled on the General's foot, causing a sprained ankle. He camo on to Dunedin by tho evening express, and, as ho is ooniined to his room, his departure will be delayed for a day or so. 1=