HUTT COMPENSATION CASE.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXV, Issue 5007, 3 July 1903, Page 7

HUTT COMPENSATION CASE.

£260 AWARDED, Yesterday judgment was given by the 'Compensation Court, consisting of tho Chief Justice, sitting with tho Hon T. K. Macdonald and G, H. Scales, which investigated the claim brought by James Kyle, farmer, Lower Hutt, against the Lower Hutt River Board and John Jones, contractor, to recover £ISOO for damage caused to his land by reason of certain works erected by the respondents. The Court by a majority, Mr Macdonald dissenting, awarded £260 compensation, from which the sum of £32 9s was to bo deducted for costs paid on an adjournment. Each party was to pay its own costs and assessor’s fees, which wore fixed at £3l each. In announcing the decision of the Court, the Chief Justice expressed the opinion that the law required to bo amended in the direction that a man should not be bound te bring his claim before he was damaged. In the present caso as tho law stood they had to give judgment although they had no actual proof of tho injury, sustained by ! the • claimant; it was merely a matter of speculation. In his opinion, if tho further deepening of the river was carried out it would bo a benefit to the island rather than an injury. Certainly so far as tho claimant’s period of the lease to run, seven years, was concerned, if the protection agreed upon the previous day was erected, he considered the island would not he damaged at all by flood during that time, or probably afterwards. Dr Findlay appeared for the claimant, and Messrs Bell and Bunny for the respondents.