CIVIL CASES.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume I, Issue 91, 20 June 1866, Page 3

CIVIL CASES.

Stanton v. Marsden. Claim, £74 7s. Bd. for goods and the amount of a. bill of exchange. Judgment by default, for plaintiff. De Carle v. Thorburn. Claim, £4 on a promissory note, amongst the assets of Langford's estate. Judgment by default, for plaintiff. Moore v. Birrell. Claim, £29 for two horses at £15 and £14, of which £10 had been paid. Judgment by default, for plaintiff for £19. George Cowardj v. Allen. Claim, £10 for three months' rent of a house. Mr. Kingdon acted as agent. Judgment, for plaintiff. W. C. Hodgson v. Wyergang. This Avas a postponed case. A certificate was read from defendant, of his inability to attend. The claim Avas £7 lis. 3d., for advertising property in the local papers at the defendant's request. Judgment by default, for plaintiff. Owners of Airedale, s,, v. De Carle — Claim £19 45., for carriage of 56 packages of goods from Port Chalmers to Nelson. Defendant pleaded a set-off. Mr. CaAvthron said: In December last I received and delivered 56 packages that were addressed to defendant, per Airedale, from Otas-o. No hills of lading Avere issued. The measurement was sent to me in the manifest, from Dunedin. At the time a draft copy of the bill of lading was attached to the manifest. The captain refused to sign the bill of lading, because there Avas no bill of particulars, and the goods Avers much damaged. The wharfinger's receipt Avas produced. To Mr. Pitt : The shipper employs the lighterman. I lent the document produced to defendant. It is a form of a bill of lading signed by initials. It came with the manifest. The initials are those of one of the clerks or the purser's. When defendant was applied to for the freight he said some of the goods Avere in bad order, and he would see to it. Last Tuesday he said a keg of butter was short, Mr. Langford said the goods Avere correct as to the packages, biit in bad order. He refused to pay the freight, as they Avere Mr. De Carle's private property. Captain Meikleham : In December last I brought fifty-six packages of goods for Mr. De Carle from Port Chalmers to Nelson. I was asked to sign bills of lading, and refused, because tlie things were in such bad order and quite unfit to be shipped. Had I known it I would not have.* taken them at all. Defendant was a passenger, and said he would look after them himself. To Mr Pitt: I generally sign the bill of lading on the ship. Shippers put goods on board at their own expense, passengers at the company's expense. I did not give as a reason for not signing that the goods came on board so late. The receipts put in are from Marsh and Mumford in Dunedin. The company have nothing to do Avith them. William Flamstead, second officer of the Airedale in December last, said the 56 packages Avere put on board, at Port Chalmers, in bad condition; the cases broken. They Avere delivered to the wharfinger at Nelson, Avhose receipt is produced. William Scott: I Avas clerk to Mr. Gibbons in December last, and received 56 packages from the Airedale, for Mr. De Carle, and delivered them to his drayman. There Avas no complaint till a Aveek ago, when Mr. Langford said there Avas a keg of butter short. His worship remarked it was strange that so long a time Avas suffered to elapse without a complaint being made. William Cooksey : In December I was authorised to receive for Mr. De" Carle all goods addressed to him from the ship. I delivered to him all that were given to me by the wharfinger. I cannot say how many. I gave a receipt. No complaint Avas m-ide of missing packages. The goods were in very indiferent condition. Mr. Kingdon said he Avas prepared" to produce all tlie receipts. Mr. Pitt submitted that the goods were not legally delivered to the consignee, the delivery to the Avharfinger Avas not sufficient. Mr. JohnDe Carle said: On shipping the fifty-six packages I do not recollect the captain calling my attention to them. I never saw the goods on board. I knew nothing of their condition. A keg of butter was deficient Avhen the goods Avere delivered. I discovered this in March last. In January I told Mr. Cawthron some goods Avere deficient. I Avas applied to for the freight in January, when 1 told Mr. Cawthron the goods Avere not all delivered. He next applied in the month of April, when I said there were goods missing; the matter should be seen into; and I believed there was money due to me. The keg of butter was Avorth about £16. To Mr. Kingdon: As near^is I can recollect I told Mr. Cawthron in April that a keg of butter was missing. I first missed it in returning from Dunedin. It Avas not about a fortnight ago that I first told Mr. Cawthron of the missing keg. I generally give an order to receive the goods, but not addressed to any particular person. Mr. Cooksey Avas recalled. He said he delivered the goods at Mr. Langford's store. When he got an order he gave it to Mr. Gibbons. J. A. Langford said : In December last, I received some goods from the last Avitness. I don't know the number of packages. A. keg of butter was missing. I never told Mx. CaAvthron the goods Avere all ■received, to my knowledge. He asked me to give liim a receipt, which I refused. Wc_ could not tell the number of packages as we received no bill of lading. I got no shipping note from the clerk in Dunedin. I missed the keg of butter, on getting the account of the goods. Cooksey has not been paid

yet (laughter). I can't say if I told Mr. Cawthron of the keg of butter. Mr: Kingdon having replied on the facts of the case, judgment was given for plaintiff, for the full amount claimed. The Resident Magistrate's Court was crowded all this morning by persons anxious to hear the examination of the three men who are in custody, on suspicion of being connected with the murder at the Maungatapu. The Court was occupied till a quarter to 3 o'clock with hearing civil cases, only a portion of which we have room to publish to-day. The suspected men were then brought up. Mr. Shallcrass said he had evidence to prove that they left Canvastown on Tuesday last. The Magistrate said he should remand them till Saturday as they were fully identified. One of the prisoners asked the Magistrate Avhat authority he had to remand him. He replied, he was not bound to show it. Another asked if he might consult his legal adviser, and was told he might. Great disappointment was felt by the crowd Avhen the Magistrate remanded the prisoners. Suspicion is strong against them, as they make no attempt to account for the large sum of money or the clothes found in their possession. So many parties are now engaged in searching for the missing men, that some information ought soon to be conveyed to Nelson respecting them, if their remains are at all within reasonable distance of the supposed murder. In our advertising columns Mr. Thomas Kempthorne offers a reAvard of £200 for the recovery of the body of his brother, dead or alive, avlio has been missing for eight days, aud who is supposed to have been murdered between the Deep Creek and Nelson. Mr. John Kempthorne was one of the party who left the Deep Creek on the 11th inst. Every effort is being made by the police and the friends of the missing men to discover them or their remains, the country being searched in every direction. We hope the painful mystery Avill soon be solved. Intelligence was received in Nelson, last evening that Robert Stone, one of the escapees from Cobden Gaol, and for whose apprehension the Government had offered an increased reward of £300, had been taken in Dunedin, aud Avas on his way to Nelson, in the steamer Taranaki. Ii appears from the Daily Southern Cross that the prohibition by ReAvi of all communication betAveen the district Avhere his followers reside and the rest of the colony, seems to have been effectual so far — at least, this Aveek there is but scant neAVS from the interior. Missionaries from Taranaki appear to be travelling from settlement to settlement, spreading the neAV faith of Taikomako, and letters telling of the Avondrous strength of the ne\v god, and how he will aid against the pakehas, are circulating through the country. It is to be hoped that this smothered agitation Avill not break out in some shocking act of violence. We find, from our Waikato correspondence, that the natives about Hangatiki are suffering severely from fever. It is greatly to be regretted that these infatuated men have draAvn a line, over which they forbid Avhite men to pass, because they lose the services of properly qualified medical practitioners, Avho would in some degree be able to ameliorate their sufferings. The foiloAving is from the Wellington Advertiser : — " The .Commissioners for allocating the three million loan have sent in their report for the provinces of Auckland aud Taranaki, in which the sums allocated do not materially differ from those already named in the Act of last session, Avhich Avere £186,708 16s. Bd. and £39,979 lis. 3d. respectively. The Commissioners have uoav proceeded to HaAvke's Bay, to examine aud report as to the allocation to that province. We learn from the Wangauui Times that Te Ua, the Hau-hau prophet, arrived per Storm Bird, from Wellington, en route for Taranaki. He is in charge of Mr. Halse, who, Aye believe, is to hand him over to Mr. Parris, at Taranaki, but whether to be detained as a prisoner or not, we are not prophet enough to divine. The best custodians of that customer would be the Native Contingent at Putiki. We (Daily Southern Cross) have received a paper from Mr. Luke Nafctrass, of Nelson,

being reprints of letters which appeared in the Nelson papers of 1864. It is intended to show that that gentleman had hit upon the plan of boiling Ne\v Zealand flax in chemicals, and then cleaning the .fibre by passing the leaves between rollers. The article was worth £21 per ton, he says ; but none of the Nelson capitalists Avould assist him. Mr. Nattrass says it is an "absurd notion that New Zealand flax would generally come into successful competition Avith European flax and hemp ;" but then he had only seen his own samples, and must not therefore conclude that a better article could not be produced. The Dunedin Saturday RevieAV says : — With Wellington as a capital, terminus, and seat of power, Aye cannot hope that either Dunedin or Auckland will make any very rapid strides in colonization and commerce. We have no great expectations of these evils being remedied at the next Assembly : Aye have no great faith in its personnel or even in its constitution. But time will prove Avhether we are right or wrong in this opinion. MeauAvhile we can only express our indignation at the Governor's persistent ignoring of Dunedin, and our sorrow at the recent tampering Avith the arrangements of the Panama steamers in respect of departure aud arrival. Originally the fares were too high, and would mar the success of the enterprise to a very considerable extent; but this last arrangement we regard as the crowning act of folly and madness, and as decidedly a very bad omen. On the 23rd of this month departs the first mail steamer to Panama under the most disadvantageous conditions and the most disastrous auspices. A few days ago the Right Rev. the Bishop of Wellington entertained the men engaged in the erection of the Cathedral at Thorndon at dinner laid out in the Diocesan rooms. His Excellency the Governor was present. The Daily Southern Cross says, as a proof of the profitable character of tillage farming in this province, we may state a fact, which is not generally known. Mr. T. Williams sold a farm of 79 acres last year near Otahuhu in small farms of 5 acres and upwards, which fetched £30 per acre. In several instances the buyers planted potatoes, and the result has been that the yield of the first crop paid the whole of the* purchase money. A stupid person one day, seeing a man of learning enjoying the pleasures of the table, said, 'So, Sir, philosophers, I see, can indulge in the greatest delicacies.' 'Why not ? rejoined the other. Do you think Providence intended all the good things for fools?