RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT. This Day.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume II, Issue 82, 8 April 1867, Page 2

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT. This Day.

[Before J. Poynter, Esq., R.M.] I HARVEY V. HAKVKY. Mr. Kcon applied for a re-hcariug of j this case, which was decided on the 18th March last. It was a claim of Hannah Harvey, daughter, against Isaec Harvey, her father, for sGIOO, for the value of three horses, eight cows, three h«ifers, five steers, two boxes of clothes, a saddle and bridle, and £12 cash lent. The amount was reduced to £100 to bring the case within the jurisdiction of the court. When the case was heard before, the defeudant was absent, and judgment was given for plain tiff for £100, the defendant to return the goods in a month, or execution to issue. It was pleaded this morning- in defence that on the loth March plaintiff entered into an agreement to stay proceedings on condition that her clothes were returned to her. Mr. Keon said he had suggested to Mr. Adams that the case should he settled, to "which Mr. Adams replied he had no objection, but he could not agree J to the terms. ! The Magistrate": It was by no means a satisfactory case. Mr. Iveon : It was a. very novel one and one that should not have been brought into court. The plaintiff" left her home against the wish of her parents. Mr. Sharp : She is of age. Mr. Keon : She was about to contract au imprudent marriage, Mr. Sharp : Yes, but she was of age. Mr. Keon : We object to her claim on the cattle, she has no claim whatever and we have witnesses to prove it. Mr. Adams : There are no grounds for a new trial. The defendant had time to appear, and did not. I see no grounds fo-re-hearing the case. The Magistrate : lam glad the application has been made. It was a most unsatisfactory case to me, one-sided in the extreme. Mr. Adams : I see no grounds for rehearing it, and if it is re-heard, the defendant should pay the costs. The Magistrate : It is but fair he should pay the costs of the first hearing. Mr. Keon : A letter was sent to de feudant, offering to. compromise the matter, two days before the hearing of the case. Mr. Adams : I deny that I sent a letter or know anyone that did. The following evidence was taken : — Isaac Harvey : I am a farmer, and father of the plaintiff. She left my house on the 11th February last, because I objected to her marrying young Turner. She is 22 years of age. I have not consented to the marriage, and I know not if it has taken place. I have no property belonging to my daughter. The reason I . did not attend the first hearing was that I

i had only two days notice, and I saw the j plaintiff and made it up with her. I received a letter now produced. I was present when it was written iu Mr. M'Gec's. I received it before the last hearing of the. cope and after the summons was served, j Mr. James King wrote it in my presence. James Martin and his wife were present. My daughter held the pen, and King wrote it. It was written with her consent. She hud no cattle or horses on my land, unless what I chose to give her. She has no property whatever. She never lent me any money. I never paid her wages, or promised to do so. I have no objection to return her clothes. 1 purchased the whole of the stock on the farm, and can identify the brands on ihem. I never made her a present of any cattle or horses. To Mr. Adams : I first saw the paper on the 15th, Martin, my daughter, and King being present. My daughter told King what to write. She told him the exact words, — rather King said what he was writing, and she agreed to it. 1 signed nothing. King signed Hannah Harvey, while she held the pen. She cannot read. My daughter did not refuse to sign it. Martin kept the paper. She has been working for me till she left. I never gave her wages, or promised her a, cow or calf. She never sold or bought cattle. She sold pigs with my consent. I never said the pigs belonged to her. I might have requested a man named Max to go to her. I gave her pigs to buy clothes with, as I did all my children. The Magistrate : If she was under age and he gave the pigs he had a right to take them agaiu, but not after she came of age. Mr. Adams : A child can contract to work for a parent or anyone else. In this case the father gave her goods as wages. If a child works under promise of cattle, the party promising is bound by the promise. Mr. Keou : There was no delivery and consequently it was a mere nudumpac- ■ turn. Witness : My daughter never lent me money. Her mother never gave me any for it. When I bought some land my wife did not give me £12 to pay for it. I never exchanged a horse with my daughter. I never talked about such an exchange to her. The horse referred to in the memoraudum. I promised to give her on'condition it should not go into Turner's family. lam now willing to give her the horse and clothes. The Magistrate : If I decide the case now, the clothes must be valued. James Martin, of Wakapuaka, was examined. Pie said : I was present at the I writing of the letter and signed it. I saw Mr. King write it. Miss Harvey was present, and held the pen "while King wrote it. I sold a horse to Harvey, who paid my wife for it, about four years ago, the horse alluded to in the paper. To Mr. Adams : I was outside the door when King wrote the letter. I saw him write it. I don't know who told King what to write. I heard him read it over, aod Hannah Harvey said she agreed to it. She held the pen when. King wrote it. She did not refuse to sigu it. I dou't know if she has horses or cattle. She has not exchanged any with me. My wife sold Harvey a horse for £23 when I was at Wellington, four years ago. Hannah did not give me a horse to break in ; Harvey did. Mr. Adams said he had witnesses to prove that Harvey had given his daughter cattle. The Magistrate : I dou'.t see that it matters. The better plan is to set a value on the clothes and horse mentioned in the agreement, and take a verdict for the amount. Harvey was re-called. He stated his willingness to give a saddle in addition to the horse and clothes. His Worship said these things must be delivered up, including the horse, or judgment would be given for the value of the property. Mr. Keon said he would recommend the daughter to return to her father. Judgment for £50 and costs ; execution to issue in a month, unless the goods be delivered up. John Kain, charged by Constable Flett with being drunk and disorderly outside the gate of his garden, in Collingwoodstreet, was fined 10s. and costs. SergeantMajor Edwards said he had to protect the defendant's wife against his violence, on Friday "night last, by taking her to the lock-up. The Magistrate said the de- . feudant had better take care what he was about.

We arc disappointed in not being able to publish tli is afternoon, the. report of Mcs°rs. Groom and Jones, of tlie result of their exploration of the Kararaea district. Wo are informed ou the authority of the Provincial Engineer, that the report confirms the report of three previous explorers, Messrs. Koch fort, Skeate, and Connor, as to the existence of a practicable route, but the explorers have not. seeu the pass which Mr. Hough claims the merit of having discovered. Possibly " the discrepancies between the account furnished by Mr. Hough and others may yet be removed, as it is not impossible some misunderstanding has arisen in examining so difficult a country. One advantage has, howpver, arisen from this difference of opinion, that a road to the Karamea will be laid open, and as mining operations will uot be affected by the winter, we think there can be little doubt that Nelson will greatly benefit by a gold-field close at hand. On Friday last as a man named James Hagau, of Spring Grove, was feeding a chaff machine, aud in the act of removing a piece of flax from it, his hand was caught in the machinery, and cut off just about the wrist. On medical aid being fui'nished, it was found necessary to have recourse to amputation a little higher up. The patieut is getting on fairly. Latest advices are from Melburue to 23rd March. Wheat was 4£d. per bushel, aud flour £10 to £11 per ton. We (Grey River Argus) see that Mr. Commissioner Kynnersley has authorised the cutting of a channel or canal from the end of the Cobden wharf to the tidal creek on the south side of the township. This * will have the effect of affording a channel deep enough at low tide for boats to land their passengers with comfort. The work is being done by prison labor. The population of the Nelson South West Gold Fields is estimated by Mr. Warden Kynnersley at 10,000, distributed as follows : — Pakihi with Charleston, 3400 ; Fox's with Brighton, 2800 ; Canoe Creek and 17 mile Beach, 1700; Buller and north, 900 ; Upper Grey, 800 ; Cobden and North Beach, 400— total, 10,000. A miner named Robert Templetou Grange was accidentally killed in a drive at the North Beach, Grey River, on the 10th ultimo. The Warden of the Duustan gold-field, Otago, in his monthly report from the Duustan, under date February 28, says : — The Chinese continue to spread themselves over the gold-field, and are now to be found in the most out-of-the-way places, working away with that slow, steady determination which is the special characteristic of the Chinaman. They are evidently able to make a living, for the storekeepers say they pay their accounts. The West Coast Times says that the other day some cases contaiuing some unclaimed goods were disposed of by Mr. Binney, and knocked down to a bidder for £6. On the cases being opened, they were found to contain a billiard table aud all the necessary appliances. The lucky owner was at once offered £50 for his bargain, which he deciiued to accept. We extract the following from a Wanganui Chronicle Extra of the 25th ult. : — A fearful event, attended with the loss of two lives, occurred about three miles off the Patea Heads on board the cutter • .Midge, which left this port on Friday night. The cutter was manned by three men, Captain Duncan, the mate (a Frenchman), aud another. It appears that the mate and captain were not on very friendly terms, and a quarrel took place on Saturday between them, which shortly led to blows. During the scuffle on deck both men fell overboard, and the remaining man did his utmost to save them by throwing oars, ropes, aud every available thing withiu reach to them, and as soon as he possibly could launched the boat, but it immediately swamped, leaving all hope of rescue by this means impossible. All this time the unfortunate men were "sinking, aud at last met with a watery grave. The man then signalled the Ben Nevis, schooner, which was about a mile off, who advised him to cut the boat adrift, as the sea was running very high, and as they had ouly two men on board, could render no help. The sailor then did his utmost to reach Patea himself, and by the help of a fair wind succeeded in getting into the Patea river. Captain Duncan leaves a wife in Wangauui to mourn his untimely end. Edward Augustus Braithwaite, Esq., is gazetted Deputy-Registrar of marriages, and of Births, Deaths, and marriages, for the District of Aucklaud,