SALE OF TIMBER

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVI, Issue 168, 17 June 1936, Page 2

SALE OF TIMBER

CLAIM FAILS. Arising out of an agreement for the sale of a block of trees at Linton, Thomas Fraser Nolan took proceedings against Alessrs Currie Bros., Ltd., of Ashhurst, in the Alagistrate’s Court, yesterday, before Air J. L. Stout, S.AI., claiming £52 18s. Air H. R. Cooper appeared for plaintiff and Air A. :\I. Ongley for the defendant company. Air Cooper said that plaintiff-had two blocks of trees on his farm at Linton. He had sold one lot to Alessrs Currie Bros, und the other to Messrs Lewis and Coutts. The trees sold to Messrs Currie Bros, had been shown as producing an average of 355 superficial feet of board timber each. The other block of trees had produced 994 feet of timber each, on the average, and the claim was for the estimated balance at 2s 9d per 100 feet. Evidence would be brought to show that the trees were very similar in size. Evidence was given by plaintiff that Mr C. F. Currie had inspected the trees, which were p.nus insignis, and had estimated that they would produce 1000 feet of timber each. Witness estimated that they were 75 to 80 feet tail. Mr Currie had wished to purchase the trees at so much for each tree, taking each one as being of 1000 feet, but it had eventually been decided that he should pay 2s 9d per 100 superficial feet, sawn measurement. Witness did not take a tally of the trees, but had endeavoured to get the tallies of the sawn timber. Witness had received a cheque covering 27,200 ieet. The second block of trees had been sold to Alessis Lewis and Coutts and they had averaged 994 feet each. These trees had been comparable in size with the others. ~ W. A. Collier, of Palmerston berth, a timber contractor, who had felled all the trees, said the trees had been sold to Alessrs Currie Bros, at 2s Ju pe ] 100 feet, sawn measurement. Air G. F Currie had said that the Dee® should cut out 50,000 to 70.000 feet ol timber and witness had thought that, too, when the trees had been inspected in the paddock. Although requests had been made, witness had not re celled the dockets for the sale of the tree to the sawmiller who had nulled them. It was a safe estimate to say that the trees should have produced 06,000 feet The other trees had been sold on a o measurement basis and had to just under 1000 feet each on the average. One hundred feet ol pmus i signis in log measurement was estimated to produce about 04 teet oi sawn Henry Lewis, who had wricked with the previous witness in foil* - the trees, 'said lie had approached Alessrs Currie Bros, and also tlie null who had sawn the trees, but had not been -able to secure the details ol th timber produced by them. Leonard Douglas Simmonds, manager of the Tiratu Sawmilling Company, gave evidence that lie had recently counted tlie stumps of the two blocks of trees. Those of the <6 trees in om. group averaged Ift 104 m diamctei, and witness thought that the minimum amount of sawn tunber from these trees should have been 66,000 feet. Wilfred Benjamin Coutts of Lewis and Coutts, stated in ev'denec that the 35 trees he had bought foi firm had cut out 34,797 feet, log meaThat closed the case lor the plamtlfAJr Ongley submitted that the defondant company had paid tor the lull amount of timber the trees produced, 27,000 feet. , , Harold Cyril Foot, who had nulled the timber from Alessrs Currie Bros., said he had given them the tallies and they had carted the sawn timber away. There were many logs which had been small and 22 in one load had cut only 1300 feet of timber; also they had all tapered. He had paid Aressrs Currie Bros, vs per 100 feet for the logs to be delivered at the mill and for the sawn timber to be delivered at Feikling. Charles Frederick Currie, who was a director of Currie Bros., Ltd., at the time of the transactions said that he had remarked to plaintiff that the trees would cut out 1000 feet per tree log measurement. Trees were very deceptive as to the amount oi saw'n timber they would produce. He had not offered to buy the trees on a basis of 1000 feet in each. He had not counted the logs or measured them, relying on the miller’s tallies. that closed the case for the defence. In giving his judgment, the Magistrate said there was no evidence that the logs had not been definitely marked or that payment all through had not been made on Foot’s tallies. It appeared that there was no evidence before the Court to. enable him to dispute those tallies. It had been the duty of Currie Bros, to produce tlie tallies. That failure would affect the matter of costs. Judgment would he for defendant, hut in view of tlie failure to supply the tallies no costs would be allowed. Judgment was entered accordingly