LAW AND POLICE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXV, Issue 10836, 20 August 1898, Page 3

LAW AND POLICE.

' ' —: —♦ 'T 'Ov: MAGISTRATE'S COURT.-Fbidat. .;-^ [Before Mr. H. W. Brabant,' S.M.] , • < - "•;}_• JUDGMENT SUMMONSES. - The following orders wero mado on judg- '_■: ment summonses :-rßobert Love (Mr. Burton) v. Daniel Slado, claim £4 4s 9d, ordered to pay within one month; G. H. Gibson (Mr. ..-,,.,.• Brookficld) v. Hobert Roth, claim £16 103 ; :i[ 6d, ordored to pay £4 16a 6d within three • days. . - : .'-V'. ; ;|pf§ comi'axt.v. agent. ' * - * Tho attention of the Court was occupied y : until a late hour hearing tho case North Gor- , ■;•.; man lure Insurance Company v. William ■.'• K. Batchelor (invcrcargill), a claim for £13 15$, ■ ,;• which the company state was collected by. the defendant, and not accounted for, as re- , ; ;:*; quired, within 30 days after the termination .;£j of tho month in which tho money was collected. Mr. J. R. Reed appeared for tho .• plaintiff company, and Mr. Burton for the •."; defendant, who was not present, his evidence X: having been taken at Invcrcargill. Mr. Graham (manager), Mr. Stevenson (accountant), ,i and Mr. Sinclair (solicitor and general agent for the company) gave evidence for the i .\>- .. sedition. Mr. Burton argued that there >v.is no proof that the company was carrying on '.% business in the colony. They woro a foreign / company, but they had not published notices ;|; in the Gazette, in accordance with the requirements of the Foreign Companies Act, :rV 1834. There was, in fact, no company before v; the Court -, it was something " made in Germany." Ho also argued that, as Mr. Graham's evidence was that he had paid all debts ";g due to the company, this was an action by tho company for a debt which had, already :£ been paid. The law was, even if a debt had ■ been paid by a Granger, that the creditor could not bring an action against tho debtor. It would bo a monstrous thing if that could be done. Mr. Reed argued that tho power of attorney was prima facie evidence until re- • butted that tho company existed in New £j Zealand. Mr. Burton was well aware tliift :,■ tho company was registered in the Supreme Court. The case was that Mr. Graham was ;j-j simply suing in the name of the company. His Worship reserved judgment. POLICE COURT NEWS. Messrs. ,T. Callnan and W. Bcehan, J.P.'s, sat on the Bench at the Police Court yesterday. DRUNKENNESS. Kate Hindi, an old offender, was 'ined £2, in default seven days' hard labour, for this offence. DISMISSED. . /•. The case against John Griffiths, in which he was charged, on tho information of K. H. Kccnan, with having stolen 8s 6d, the property of tho informant, was dismissed." ■'.& Dr. Laishloy appeared for the defence, and 'H, pleaded not guilty. It seemed from tho evidence that the accused was a cab-driver in Keenan's employ, and that he had refused to pay over the money that he had made di ling the day in question. THE WRONG SIDE. ' A boy named William Mason, for driving '? on the wrong side of the road, was fined fs, with costs 9s. - ' 's A PAINFUL MISAmiEIIENSION. - p A respectably-dressed woman, answering to the name of Edith Hargreaves, pleaded not guilty to a charge of having stolen an "English illustrated magazine" from tho Public Library, Wcllesley-strcet. The accused was arrested at the instigation of Mr. Sl.'illington, the librarian, on Thursday afterneon, taken to the police station, and charged with the theft of the magazine mentioned. She was then allowed bail in her own recognisance of £20. The accused ex- . r cused her conduct to the Bench by explaining that she thought it was allowable to tare • ' '-a a magazine away, provided that it was safely returned. There was no,felonious intention on her part. The Bench pointed out to the accused that she was liable to a fine of £20, or three months' imprisonment. Books had been repeatedly stolen from the Free Library, and this had been a cause of great anxiety to tho librarian and his assistants; no doubt, however, the accused had also suffered a yood deal from her recent experience. It was possible that she did not know that sho was ' dring what was wrong, and they considered that the ends of justice would be mot by discharging the accused, with a warning not to offend in a similar way again.