LAW QUERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2928, 27 April 1910, Page 51

LAW QUERIES.

[Amwsreil by a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of New Zealand. Letters and Telegrams must be addrcased to ' Li!X," c/o Editor, Otago Witness, Duaodin.J

Back-blocks.—A's action is lawful, for the reason that no provision has been made in the Stock Act to stop such a proceed-

Anxious.—By placing the money in the children's names you have made gifts of it to thiem. The members who have already received their share have no claim to the money so placed, and you may destroy the will. J- 1}—(1) If the owner has e'vid-ence to proive that the goods were negligently stored at too low a. level, he may claim damages fr.om the Minister of Eaihvays. (2) ile may also claim the cost of labour, if. on the advent of the flood, res<= --able and proper measures for saving the •■*«, or part of them, were not taken. Subscriber asks: —(1) Suppose A owes B a sum of rconey and gives B an order on his employer for the money to come off his wages, can the emplyer. refuse to pay the money to B ? (2) Is an order so given ■and stamped a legal tender? (3) Does a receipt given for wages received require to be stamped?——Answers: (1) >and (2) The- employer is bound to pay the order if he has funds to meet it. An order is not " tender " in the- legal acceptation of the term. (3] Ko.

J. S. T. writes: —A traveller called soliciting orders for photo enlargements, offering to do them free provided I paid for the frame. He showed samples of frames. I picked a beautiful green and gold moulding, but what they put cm the picture was a common gilt frame painted with green sticky paint. I want to know if. lam bound to pay for it when it is hot what I ordered? Answer: No. Saidie asks: If an employee while working horses for an employer gets run over by the said horses becoming unmanageable, and has his leg broken, can he claim wages while unable to work for his employer, or does the said employer pay all expenses ? Answer: If the injury by accident was not due to serious and.' wilful misconduct on the part of the employee he may claim half-pay while incapacitated. Subscriber. —I have a man who wa3 told to clean up rubbish round a straw stack and burn only if the wind was blowing away from the stack, and watch the fire tili burnt out. There were 12 sacks of wheat at the stack. He set fire to the straw, went away, left it t,o burn, and while away the stack and wheat were burnt. Can I claim from hiirn the price of the wheat? Answer: Yeis. Buggy and Pair writes: —lf I engage ia buggy and pair ana jjay for the hire before starting on my journey, and on that journey I had a smash-up, am I liable fox the damage done? If I engage same and do not pay for hire till I return and a smash-up occurs am T liable then? I do not think I am liable if I pay- before starting." Answer: If the " smash-up" was due to want of ordinary care on your part you are liable in any event.

Interested asks: Can a police officer enter a man's paddock where he is working a team of horses, and, having inspected them, order them to be unyoked and turned out if they are suffering from sore shoulder? (2) Can he arrest the man that is working the horses without a warrant and take him straight away from the team to the lock-up ? (3) Is the owner of the team liable as well as the man who was driving them when stopped by the police ? (4) Is it part of the police duties to go round inspecting horses? Answers: (1), (2), (3), and (4), Yes,. Inquirer writes: —I was working for a man and he refused to pay me my wages, so I put the matter in the hands of a solicitor and got judgment.for the amount sued for at a Magistrate's Court. Then the solicitor dropped the case and 3a.id it was useless to take any further proceedings against the debtor. A few days afterwards the solicitor sent me an account for £1 13s for costs of case. Am I supposed to pay the said l costs or the man who • was sued foi the wages ? Answer: You are liable for the costs. Farmer asks: —(1) Are hares, protected in South Otago, on east side of Mataura River? (2) If so, can I destroy them on my own property without a license? (3) Can a ranger of the Acclimatisation Society come on to my property without my permission ? Answers: fa) If the area is within the Otago Acclimatisation District. (2) You cannot destroy them without a license if they ar>e protected. (3) Yes, if armed with a warrant from a justice of the peace. Nemo asks: —(1) What amount of annuity weekly would £6OO purchase at, say, 63 years of age, and where would I have to apply? (2) Say a man had £7OO at 34 per cent, bank interest, how much old-age pension would the holder be entitled to? (3) Suppose the recipient of ,an olct-age pension went home to Scotland, would the pension be payable there? (1) For the sum mentioned you can buy an annuity of £OB 6s, payable in two equal half-yearly instalments. That works out .at £1 2s 5d per week. Apply to the Manager, Government Life Insurance Department, Dunedin. (2) No pension at all. (3) No. Optic writes: —lf a ccalminer meets with an accident to one of his eyes by being struck by a piece of coal, and, as a coiir sequence, he .lost more than half the sight of sarnie, or, in other words, he could not read ordinary print without the aid of the undamaged eye, has he got a claim for compensation ? (2) If so, what amount can he claim? (3) Is there any given time within which he must make his claim? Aniswers: (1) Yes, if the injury was caused by an accident arising out of and in the course of the' employment, and not attributable to serious and wilful aiisconduct on the part of the coal miner. (2) He may claim half-pay during incapacity. (3) Yes. An action for the recovery of compensation should be commienced within 3ix months after the date of the accident. S. writes:—"The instructions issued by the Education Beard say that written nominations for school committee elections must be in the hands of the chairman A the school committee on Monday, 18th April. Can the chairman of the householders' meeting accept a nomination at said meeting, the nominee being absent, but having ' giver his consent, after the 18th April?"— Answer: Yes.