SEQUEL TO FIRE

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 25048, 11 November 1944, Page 6

SEQUEL TO FIRE

£3938 DAMAGES AWARD JURY FINDS NEGLIGENCE (0.C.) WANG-ANUI, Friday Af'er a retirement of two hours and fifteen minutes, a jury in the Supreme Court in Wanganui today found that the fire which destroyed a dwelling near tlunterville on March 24 last was caused b.v a match struck by a servant of JLJoracure (N.Z.). Ltd., close by a house which was being sprayed with a highly inflammable solution. The jury also returned a verdict ol negligence in favour of the plaintiff, John Graham Meads, farmer, of Hunterville, and assessed his loss at £1784 for the dwelling and £2154 for its contents Mr McGregor, for the defendant company, intimated that he wished to continue his motion for a nonsuit and asked leave for an extension of time to move for a new trial. Counsel also asked that formal objection be recorded concerning His Honor's direction to the jury regarding damages. Mr Justice Finlay allowed 14 days extension of time to move for a new trial. The question of a nonsuit was adjourned for hearing at a date to be fixed. • . Referring to the valuations stated in the claim, His Honor, summing up, said that the value of the dwelling had scarcely been challenged, but the question of 'chattels gave the jury a wide field. It was material, however, that the values must be fixed at the date of the fire, the plaintiff being entitled to recover their market value at that date. It there was a doubt about any aspect of these values that doubt should be in favour of the plaintiff. "If you decide that defendant company was negligent." said His Honor, "that doubt should be resolved against the wrongdoer, not against the innocent loser. MEN FOR FARMS SOLDIER HARVESTERS COMMENCING ON MONDAY Army harvesting camps will be opened in various Northern Military District centres on Monday. Advance parties went to Ngaruawahia camp yesterday to collect and load equipment for the following camps:— Tamahere, Te Awamutu, Snake Gully, Cambridge, Matamata, Morriusville and Te Aroha. The main body of soldier harvesters will leave Papakura camp on Monday morning, collect motor transport at Ngaruawahia and continue to their respective camps. The men will work daily from these camps, will receive their usual Army pay plus a bonus payment of 6d an hour for eight hours worked between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., and of 2s 6d an hour for work in excess of eight hours, or for work done outside these hours. Men being used for farm work as from Monday-next consist of soldiers already mobilised at Papakura camp in the Expeditionary Force pool, including former Third Division men. Twenty-year-old recruits will he used later, hut 'it is hoped to give them a certain amount of Army training before they are diverted to harvesting. SALES TAX BREACHES MANUFACTURER FINED PENALTIES TOTALLING £IOO Four breaches of the Sales Tax Act were admitted by Duncan Currie Waterson, a manufacturing retailer (Mr North), before Mr J. Morling, S.M., yesterday. Two charges were that erroneous applications were made for exemption from licensing under the Act in the years ended March 31, 1941, and March 31, 1942, when the value of taxable goods manufactured was shown as £397 and £473 respectively, instead of £2400 and £2IOO. The other two charges alleged that erroneous returns were made for the months of December, 1943. and February, 1944, the value of goods being shown as £IOO and £129 respectively, instead of £295 and £250. Mr Rosen, for the Customs Department, said defendant operated a combined funeral directing, furniture manufacturing, and furniture retail business. The sales tax evaded over a period of years was substantial. Defendant went into business without previous experience, said Mr North, and the trouble arose from confusion in costing and accounting. An investigation showed that a loss was made over three years on the conduct of th« manufacturing business, which was the only one subject to sales tax, and also on the funeral directing. In evidence, an accountant confirmed this statement, and said that a small profit had been shown in the retail business. Counsel said that from the £2400 and £2IOO mentioned in the charges about £ISOO was deductable for the value of timber used on which sales tax had already been paid. Tn imposing the minimum fine of £25 on each of the four charges, the magistrate said he was satisfied that the offences arose from muddlement. USES OF PENICILLIN DISCOVERER'S EXPLANATION (P.A.) NELSON, Friday The fact that penicillin was not a cure-all was emphasised by Sir Howard Florey, co-discoverer of the drug, when he delivered the annual Cawthron Institute lecture. Sir Howard said it was now quite well known what diseases the drug was likely to be good for and it was useless for people to ask physicians to use it in treating anything that was not caused by susceptible organisms. Some of the bacteria which Sir Howard described as being highly susceptible to penicillin were those causing pus formation and such diseases as childbed fever, bone diseases, boils, pneumonia, diphtheria, gas gangrene, gonorrhoea, meningitis and tetanus. Some less sensitive were those causing typhoid fever and a form of food poisoning. A great many ailments such as tuberculosis, cholera, dysentery and plague were not affected by the drug. Sir Theodore Rigg, director of the Cawthron Institute, on behalf of the scientific institutions in New Zealand, congratulated Sir Howard and his coworkers on the great work they had carried out so successfully. FARMERS' FEDERATION NORTHERN DAIRYMEN'S VIEW (0.C.) DARGAVILLE, Friday The executive of the North Auckland Dairy Association carried the following resolution dealing with the formation of the proposed United Farmers' Federation:— "That this executive approves of the principle of a United Farmers' Federation which shall consist of representatives of all sections of farmer producers and in which each section of producers shall be enabled to manage its own affairs by means of a complete selfcontained organisation from producers up, and is of the opinion that the present dairy industry organisation, democratically elected by postal vote by dairy farmers, can and should be the authoritative body to represent the dairy industry. "Furthermore, this executive is of the opinion that the Dairy Board should be reconstituted and enlarged so as to be more territorially representative of the industry and so that it can act as the dairy s'ection of the executive and can appoint its own representatives to the united Farmers' Federation." COMBATING TUBERCULOSIS (0.C.) WHANGAREI, Friday The methods to be taken to combat tuberculosis will he discussed at a conference called by the Health Department of the six hospital _ boards in Northland. The conference is to be held 1 in Whangarei on December 5. 1