A MINING CASE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVI, Issue 9491, 9 October 1889, Page 5

A MINING CASE.

ACTION FOR PERSONAL INJURIES.

DAMAGES CLAIMED £500. [BY TKIiKOBAPU.— OWN COEUKBPON DENT, ]

Tiumks, Tuesday. A special sitting of the Warden's Court was hold to-day, when the case of A. Sawyer v. the Caledonian Gold Mining Company, being a claim for £600 damages, was hoard. Messrs. Theo. Cooper and Purehas appeared for tho complainant, and Messrs. Button and Miller for the defendant company. Mr. G. Wilson, Mining Inspector, was present to watch the proceedings on behalf of the Government. The plaint set forth (1) that the complainant previously to and at the time hereinafter mentioned was a miner working under an agreement made with the defendant® in a tribute in the Caledonian mine, situated at the Thames, within this district, of which mine tho defendant* wore owners ; (2) that on the 20th day of March, 1889, the complainant/ was lawfully and by invitation of the defendants descending the shaft of tho said mine by means of the cage, for the purpose of working his Paid tribute; (3) that owing to the negligence of the defendants in not having the said shaft securely cased, lined, or otherwise made secure, and also in not complying with tho provisions of subsection 23a of section '207 of the Mining Act, 1886, the cage in which complainant was descending the shaft as aforesaid was stopped in its descent, and then fell a distance of some six feet; (4) that by the said fall the complainant was cut and bruised, and had all the fingers of his right hand crashed between the bonnet and top cross bar of the said cage, and was permanently injured, and in consequence thereof the ooinplainant was twelve weeks ill and suffering, and is now prevented from carrying on his business as a miner as aforesaid, and has incurred medical expenses. It was therefore asked (1) that the defendant company be adjudged to pay to complainant the sum of £500 compensation by way of damages for the injuries above complained of, (2) such further, or other relief as the nuturc of the case may require. Mr. Cooper, in his opening address, said that it hod been arranged with counsel to admit the whole title of the company, while the defendants on their part admitted paragraphs 1 and 2, as set forth in the plaint, and in paragraph 3 tho defendants admitted that they would be liable for any neglect of observing section 207 of The Mining Act, as far as was reasonably practicable. Mr. Cooper then detailod the circumstances of the cage, and said that tho plaintiff had, in consequence of the accident, been incapacitated from work for the past six months, and had /or over lost the use of his hand. The claim was for £500 damages, and to be successful ho must prove neglect on the part of the Caledonian Company. The provisions of the Mining Act in rcspocb of safety cages ! were referred to by Mr. Cooper at some length, and he contended that it was reasonable and practicable to have them made and , brought into use, it being nothing more nor less than a question of expense on tho part of the Company. Several authorities from the Law Reports were quoted by Mr. Cooper, amongst them being that of Kearney v. The London and Brighton Railway Company, which he contended was a similar case to that now before the Court. He further held that the Caledonian Company had beon guilty of most callous disregard for their workmon in neglecting to attend to the repairs of the shaft, the truth of the matter being that a now shaft was really requirod. Under the circumstances of the case he thought it would be impossible for the company to prove contributory negligence on tho part of tho complainant. Evidence for the complainant's case was then taken, the object of which was to prove that great neglect had been shown by the company in not keeping the shaft in proper repair. At four p m., after hearing the evidence of Alfred W. Sawyer, the complainant, and John Johns, James Rowe, John Casley, William Hosking, Henry Corin, and Drs. Kilgour and Williams, the Court adjourned, to allow the Warden and counsel to personally inspoct the shaft. Tho case will be continued at 10.30 tomorrow morning.