The Evening Mail. TUESDAY, MAY 10, 1876.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 21, 16 May 1876, Page 2

The Evening Mail. TUESDAY, MAY 10, 1876.

Those; persons who peruse the Sjjj|J>reme Court reports of late coultl nut struck with tluv regular appearance in Court of the National Bank of Now Zealand as defendants. These continual actions against a commercial institution of some standing th the country are not calculated to increase puWtc confidence ii»~ \ts jiianagefuent. It is not so long the National had to defend anVaction for £."1,000 damages claimed by a jStrs. Laxo-

l.by» »f Tok»>;iiatiir»». for the illegal seizure «>f liar gwds and chattels, «nd also injury tn. her hotel business. Tlie in.in.iger of the li.titk at Tokomairiro acted, in our in rather a swart manner with Mrs. fiAN'<;r,r:v, and his duties as the bank',3 jwFor this action on the part of Hhe Bank's servant t!i*r Nat tonal had to pay a good round stii» Soon after this the same institution dishonoured « cheque of Mi\ 'Cu.w.i.ks Btat>, when it was proved on evidence that he had funds in the hank. Tlnraiumber of

witnesses examined was inexhaustible, and after the case had ooenpied'the Court some days, the Jury brought in a verdict for the plaintiff. Now we have another action against the National, and the scene is once more laid at Tokomairiro. % The plaintiff is Mr. Josr i'it Ma«kay 7 sole' proprietor of the "Bruce Herald/' The facts of the : case can be easily stated in a few words. ' Mr. thai he had some bills due on a date paid, or rather catisecjL^be paidStohey in to his credit to meet these bills tmen due. The cash having been paid in, the proprietor of the " Bruce Hehdd " troubled hinSS&f no more .about tliele acceptances, but to .his astonishment the bills were returned dishonoured. When the drawers of the bills sued' Mr. 3lackay, the latter gentlemen, whilp confrasalg*fjudgment, entered into a long explanationVas .to fclie 1 manlier ih which" the bank ! hajl^reated.'hini.t? From and from" the evidence given at hearing of the case; we can conic to no other : conclusion, but " that Mr. Mackay has been treated in a most unfair and unbusinesslike way. Any man/ 1 in commerce, knows what a is to have lib paper dishonoured ; in fact}* one may at once be proclaimed insolventas fiave his credit mined by a dishonoured Mr. Mackay is a gentlemtfn* who has spent many years in Tokomairiro, and he has devoted a considerable; portion of Fiis'time to furthering the interests of the distinct. all newspaper proprietors, at times, to ask the bank for ajiittle accomodation, but he always provicifcd substantial'security for the money advanced. During the whole time Mr. Mackay has resided in Milton he has never had a bill dishonoured, but within thb last months tliis satisfactory state of tilings has l»«en_ _ and. the victim has been one- of the most re-

spcctablev Colony. This servant of the'Bmks khew: not Joskph, and did not deem it:!wort&' his while to take into consideration the many that had taken place 'between Mr."'*MI\CKLA% and the sincerely trust that Mr. will push this case on to the bitter end, and thus- prove -to~ the National Bank of New Zealand that it' cannot place men in power simply to vent their private spleen, without having ~to~ pay tlirougli "the nose for the satisfaction afforded. We consider this last actio of the National's as most unsatisfactory, and calculated to shake all confidence in the Bank and the officers in charge- of- itsbranches. We shall look forward anxiously for the resvdt of this trial as one deeply affecting the interests of the commercial body.