THE LATE BUSH FIRES.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXXII, Issue 70, 24 March 1898, Page 2

THE LATE BUSH FIRES.

ANOTHER CLAIM FOR DAMAGES An action by Williani Lines, f armor, of the Sherry, to recover from Peter Taylor, of the Sherry, farmer, and Michael Hickey, of Foxhill, farmer, tho sum of .650, in respect of damages caused by the lato bush fires, was commenced in the Magistrates Court to-day, before Mr Robinson, S.M. The statement of claim set foisth that the defendants, on or about tho 28th of December last, lighted a fire on their bußh land, which spread to the land of tho plaintiff and there destroyed timber, fencing and grass to the value of the amount claimed. . Mr Fell appeaved for the plaintiff, Mr Harley for the defendant Hiokey, and Mr Maginnity for the defendant Taylor. Mv Fell, in opening the case, stated the facts of tho fire, whioh he said Taylor had admitted lighting. . Mr Maginnity raised the point that the damage to the bush, ' fenoing and grass rep peotively should have been specified separately in the statement of claim. Mr Fell said the witness would supply the information needed. He then called evidence as foUows .— ■ William Lines, the plaintiff, deposed that the repairs to the fenoing had cost him 12s. There was other fenoing burnt, which was not yet repaired, bwt 10s or 12s would put this right. He estimated the damage to the bush at 4.1Q,

Fhe serious damage was that to the jrasj, whioh"Was burnt over an extent of iboufc 200 acres. Aboufc 100 acres required to be re-sown, and the cost of the seed would be about 7s an acre, and the lost of sowing about 2s an aero. He had iver 800 sheep, and about 200 of these wonld have to be sold nt a loss of Is or Is 6d eaoh. The remainder had also de teriorated in value through the soaroity ai feed occasioned by the fire. His total, toss was a great deal more than the estimate, which the valuer, Mr Phillips, had made on a specially moderate scale at witness' request. Coming to the circumstances of the fire, he stated tbat the fire started on defendants' land on December 28th. On New Year's Day Taylor sent for witness. Ho went to Taylor s place, and tho latter then said he would rather have lost ,£IOO than that he should have lighted the fire. He produced a match box, and said " This is what did the mischief." Taylor's bouse was then in danger, but a change of wind saved it. .On January 7th, the firo, (which had burnt through Riley's land in the meantime) spread on witness' land and did the damage already detailed. Taylor's fire was the ouly one in the neighborhood at the time. By Mr Maginnity : He could not swear that the damage to the fence did not consist of two posts and 129 palings partly burnt. The wire was not burnt. The ohief damago consisted in the fact that the bush could not now be felled to the same advantage as if the fire had not occuned. If the land were not sown with grass Beed at onco fern and scrub would spring up and render the land useless. There had been a fire burning on his land a few weeks before Talyor lit his fire. He did not say that he wished the fire had burned to the bush in question. Ho could not say how many patches there were in tho 100 acres which required to be re-sown. He had intended to fell and burn the bush at some time. Part of hiß land was overgrown with blackberries. In any case he would have had to sell some sheep, but not so many ns he was now obliged to sell. He did not know that the spread of the fire was caused by some bush being foiled by witness on some Cro wn lands that he was now leasing. It was not true that Taylor's fire was nearly all out on the night of December 29th. There was not much damage to Taylor's house, although a great fuss was made. Witness went to sleep by the roadside that day. Other fires were burning about the same time, but not within two or threo miles of Taylor's. By Mr Harley : The fire had spread from Taylor's and defendant's land across Riley's and Crown lands, and on to witness' land. He had told John Hickey that he would take £25 rather than go to Court. William Henry Phillips, sheep-farmer, residing at tho Sherry, gave evidence as to having made an estimate of the damage. He considered that the damage occasioned by the necessity to re-sow amounted to £33. On being crossexamined as to a fire on Rollet's land, the witness said that had a fire been burning, as was alleged, on a certain part of Rollet's land, it would havo been possible for it to spread to Lines. He thought the 12s charged for repairing tho fence was reasonable. The land was of fair quality, and the area burnt was about 80 aores, 50 acres of which "required to be re-sown. The loss in value of stock would be about £10. Some tdtimate benefit to tbe land would accrue through the burning of logs and Btumps, but he allowed for this. John Riley remembered Taylor lighting the fire in 3pite of an objection by witness. After some days the fire, which he watched like a cat watching a mouse, spread to Lines' land. He thought Mr Phillips' valuation was |a very fair one. Hickey had told him that he had engaged a man to fire his bush nt the samo time as Taylor burned. . (Left Sitting.)