PILLAGING GOODS

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 10086, 27 September 1918, Page 7

PILLAGING GOODS

INTERESTING CIVIL ACTION

RESPONSIBILITY OF A shipping Company. .*

An, interesting civil action) brought with h view to obtaining a ruling m regard to a new aspect of the responsibility of shipping companies, was heard in the Magistrate s Court yesterday, before Mr W. G. Riddell, S.M. The plaintiffs were Laery, Beveridge and Co., Ltd., e P re ' sented by Sir F. E. Ward, and the defendants the New Zealand Shipping Company, for which Mr A. W. Blair appeared.'■ L 11 In 'opening; Mr Ward said that the cUaiml concerned considerably more than the recovery of the awmnt set out, for it involved a principle as.to whether' the shipping company, ny means of a rubber stamp placed on their hills of lading, could escape payment with regard to pillaged goods. The plaintiffs had imported 75 cases ot brandy, - 50 of “one star” and 25 or “three star.” "When the cases were examined it was found that 12 bottles of both classes of brandy had been broken, and that one bottle of one star” and two bottles of “three star had been pillaged. No claim was made iff the broken bottles,. Ine shipping company bad issued'a bill ■ot lading containing the word s Snipped in apparent good order and condition. Ati thaJbottpra, stamped with a rubber. stamp, - but pot, printed, were the words,:“Ship not responsible for quantity of contents.” It was contended by the plaintiffs that the hill of lading was-conclusive proof that 75 cases had- been -received, _ .and that the shipping company was responsible for that amount. „ u j.i. + For the defence, Mr Blair held that the plaintiffs could not succeedf as i had not been shown by them that the goods arrived in Wellington m other than apparent good order and condition. Until that was done no onus wna cast upon the defendants. Counsel called evidence to show that apparently. the case s , were in good condition when received in, Wellington, but when-weighed were found to be underweight. These cases were examined for marks which would show that the pillagers had been at work, but evidently these were past-masters intheir nefarious act. ' ,_ Mr Riddell reserved big decision.