RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 9511, 20 August 1892, Page 5 (Supplement)

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

• ■■"':' ' '...Thursday, August 18. . ; , ": (Before Messrs Walter H. Pearson and Adam ". ■ : : , ...■•■■■■;'Nichol, J.Fs.) .' .' ;";; : .■,.;.':■; Judgment for the plaintiff, with cost?, was :giveninthe follewing undefended cases:—Otagb" 1 Daily-Times and Witnpss Company v. Patrick j - \ Kussell .(Waikaiii), claim LI 19s b'd, subscriptions, due; same v., James M'lntojh, claim L 5 16'sSd, am'ountdue for advertising; l'hojnix Company v. -A; J. Stafford.(.Wellington), claim LI Ss Bd, goods supplied ; Thomas B.u liiby v. \V. Leslie (Welling-ton),-claim L4155,-money lent and interest duo (Mr Thornton appeared for plaintiff). ■...*■: •-.'■■ 1 A M.: Lpisby.v. D. M'Arthur.-Claim Llol6s 9d, on a judgment summons. —Mr Thornton;, appeared fpr.plaintilf, and defendant, who did not appear, was1 ordered to pay_ tho amount claimed, • with costs, on"August 31; in default, seven days imprisonment.'..- . ■ . ": W. Haslic v.,,G. Wallace-Claim LlO 2s (id, on a judgment, summons.—Mr -I). D. Macdonald: appeared for the plaintiff.—This case had come onfor hearing on Thursday, August 11, but had been : adjourned for a week in order to allow the parties . to arrive at a: settlement, No satisfactory com-'. promise being effected, defendant was now ordered to pay the.amount still duo (L 9 14s 6d), with costs,; by instalments of lOd a week, the first payment to be on Thursday, Vsth inst.; in default,seven da.m' imprisonment. * .-.'•.■■ ;. D. D. Miicdonald v. Thomas-Laffen.—Claim, L 2.. 12s CJ,>on:a judgment summons.—Defendant/,, who did not-appear,- was ordered to pay the ontountclaimed, with costs, forthwith ; in default,I. four days'impriscnmoDt. ; . .';.::: •'.-■ '■•■'■ ':■■■■ Friday, August 19. ■■'.'; ■:- :i; ' ' ■■:■■' '■'■;•. (BeforeMr 15. H. Carew, E.M.) ; -

'. Francis Meeimn y. Ah Wah.—Claim L 2 2s Gd, rent due.—Judgment was given for. the amount: claimed, with costs, by default. ' ■:• . Margaret: Johnston v. Henry Johnston.—Claim L 7, amount due under a deed dated May 12,15U2, by which the defendant agreed to pay Lb a nion'li to plaintiffs—Mr FraEer, who appeared for plaintiff, said that L 5 had been, paid; and judgment \\'as therefore given for the amount remain; ing, witli costs. .? : ■'■ -'■■';' '-.":■ ■'■■-*"■■'."' v 1 Matilda Alvesv. George Ernest A. Green.— Claim LIOO, damages alleged to have been done by. defendant to the. property of plaintiff in Kaikorai Valley.-Jn this case, which had already been .partly heard, fuither evidence was now called.—G. M. Barr and John Ilobortson having* given evidence,..the ca-io for the plaintiff Avas closed.—Mr Haggitt said that on Aug :st 12 of last year the house was runted by Mr Green from Mrs Alves, for a.term of two years, at a rental of L2O. a year, payable monthly. He submitted that the ■ rental .was a; very good test of what the value of the place was. But his Worship was asked to decide that this place, which was rented fora 'term of two years at a rental of LSO a year, was damaged by the defendaut to the extent of LIOO or Llsoin an honest attempt to effect an 'improve-1 ment. The only way to meet such evidence was,': first, to ridicule it; and, secondly, to call.evidenco to prove to the contrary. Counsel contended that it;was an.insult to the intelligence of his Worship: to ask him to believe that a place rented atL2O a year could be damaged to such an extent iirthe manner stated. He would call a half-dozen witnesses, skilled men, who would prove that it was impossible to .injure the place to the extent/of LIOO. The house, he would prove, was not worth more than L2OO. ..He would prove this by the evidence of gentlemen such as Messrs Hislop,.MJNee,' Moodie.ahd others, whose daily business it was to let and sell houses, and who would tender different evidence tp that given, by Mr: Barr, who was a civil eugiaecr. The former gentlemen'went over.the place lately, and they: would tell'his Worship that instead of it being damaged to tho; extent of. L 159,: it"was improved in value froni L4O to LOO, so that, not only was the claim a ndi-; culous one but was capable of being answered by expert witnesses. l Then he had other witnesses.: 'who'had:reatl the- evidence1 as- reported in;the; papers, and who,came forward voluntarily to say that what had. been stated was. not in : acc6rd-: auce with fant; These witnesses lived in the district and could spsak from, personal experience.^-; Benjamin" Calverley, James Durston, Thomas; Eason, W. M'Adara, James M'Larei), Mary Harness, .Bernard. Harness, John Huddard, John; Jones, G." Ward, Henry, Matthews, - and James Pryor gave evidence.—William M'Nee, property agent and valuator, said that tho property:was worth, in his opinion, about L 250. It was better' now than some two,years ago.—Cross-examined : Ho was riot surprised to hear the house'was insured for L 315. He knew of a house valued at LOGO insured'for L 1500.— Walter Hislop, land and estate agent, gave evidence that such tenants as Mr Green were uncommon. The tendency of the generality of tenants was to let the property fall into disrepair. The outside value of the property was from L 225 to L2so.—Cross-examined : If the macrocarpas grew tip they would make a good hedge and improve the property.—Thomas Moodio gave evidence that the outside value of the property was IBDO.—This concluded the case.—After counsel had referred briefly to the legal aspect of the case his Worship intimated that he would reserve his decision. : : :;

.■-."".: PORT CHALMERS. " .' Friday, August 19. , . ; v:; (Before Messrs A. Thomson and J. Morgan, ; . ' J.P'S.) Larceny.—Louis Le France was charged, on remand, with stealing two cases of whisky, valued at L 4 10s, from a railway truck on the export pier on the 12th inst.—Mr Platts, who defended, asked that the case might be dealt with summarily.— Evidence was given that the two empty cases found on the platform at the back _ of, accused's' house were the cases missing from a-consignment of 26 cases of whiskymarked "E. and: Co." discharged from tho, Rangatira, which were placed in a truck on the' export pier awaiting transhipment to Napier.—air Platts urged that the police had not proved that accused, who had been a resident at the Port for the last 20 years, had stolen the two cases. He had-made a mistake, after finding them,, in attempting to dispose of them. Accused sworo that on the day of his arrest he was engaged mending his nets and cleaning his boat. About 0 p m., as was the custom amongst the fishermen, he went to the railway pier to get some empty casks he expected ; but there being none he leftto return home. • When rowing past one of the hulks he saw-two cases in the water, and he took them, into his boat. While doing so another boat passed, and one of the men called out to him: f'What have you got; some- empties?1 ...He; replied : "No ; I have got some full ones.this time." After he got home he took the contents out of the cases.-Mr Platts having called witnesses as to character, their Worships said they were perfectly satisfied that accused was guilty, the evidence being-conclusive. They sentenced him to six months' imprisonment with hard labour. '■■-.. ■ _ '■ ' :-