LAW QUERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3831, 16 August 1927, Page 48

LAW QUERIES.

(Aruwored by n eolicitor of th* Supreme Oort •I New Zealand. Letter* and Telegrams muet be addreaaed to “LEX,” e/o Editor, Otago Wituoe, Dunedin.] “ Legis,” Dunedin.—Received too late for reply this week. “ Argument ” asks if a pastrycook’s apprentice who has been away from work for one week through illness can compel his employer to pay him for the time so lost. Yes. “ Progressive ” asks: “Is it lawful for a public body to hold euchre tournaments charging admission and issuing prizes, or to hold tournaments and not issue prizes?” lt is not lawful for a public body to hold such tournaments, but individuals are at liberty to follow their own inclinations in the matter. “Inquirer,” Southland, asks: “Can I compel my' neighbour to top or cut down trees the trunks of which are on his side of the fence, and which are keeping my premises damp?” If the branches of the trees are overlapping your property you can cut off the branches. If the trees were planted since 1896 without the written consent of yourself or your predecessor in title you can compel him to cut down the tree. R. T. M. asks: “ I sold half of my section 12 months ago, and a modern house has been erected on it. The rates on the remaining property have not been reduced, and I have complained to the Valuation Department here without success. Is the decision of the department final, or have I any redress?” Notice of valuation of the property will be sent to you in January next, and you can then raise your objection to the valuation in the Assessment Court. "Inquirer” asks: “A man dies leaving a wife and two children, and leaves no will. In his estate there is a farm with a few buildings in a very bad state of repair, and which it is necessary' to repair at once. (1) Does the mother if she now spends, say, .£2OOO on new buildings get the benefit of the amount spent when the youngest child is 21 if she still carries on the farm, and do the children get just two-thirds of the value of the farm at the time of their father's death?” (1) Before any new buildings are erected the Supreme Court must first sanction such expenditure. The widow gets onethird of the estate, and the children twothirds of the estate. G. L. asks: “ (1) A buys a propertv from B ; part payment is made in cash, and the balance remains on mortgage for a term of years. A finds that his returns are not paying him, and explains to B that he wishes to give up the property. If B refuses what is A’s best course? (2) Can B force A into bankruptcy if he is otherwise solvent? (3) A has other property in partnership with C, but this property is run entirely separate from the property in question. Will the partnership property be in jeopardy?” (1) A should endeavour to sell the property at a price to relieve himself of his liability. (2) Yes. (3) A’s interest in the partnership property is in jeopardy.

Some interesting conclusions have been reached by a committee of teachers engaged in producing the statistics of the attainment tests held in Taranaki early in the year. One teacher read to a recent meeting notes of his observations on the voting for popular and unpopular subjects among the children. History and composition came under the latter heading. Was this, he asked, tho result of the examination system? Handwork subjects and reading were very popular, tho result of the voting for reading probably being due to the interesting modern methods and tho number of delightful books now available to pupils. During tho discussion which followed, the suggestion was pin forward that the popularity of a given subject no doubt indicated good teaching; unpopularity, inferior teaching. Failure of interest in composition might mean that tho teacher expected too much from tho immature mind, and offered destructive and not constructive criticism. Distaste of history might result from an overdose of mero facts, too much reliance on textbooks, and insufficient historical literature. Statistics supplied to the meeting showed that tho Maori child appeared to score higher than tho European, but tho explanation to this was that Maori children wore on the average approximately a year older for their standards than white pupils. Allowing for this, the Maori child appeared to be at least as good as his white contemporary in number work. In a country whoso oldest settlements wore very few 100 years ago, tlse attainment of a seventy-fifth anniversary must bo an event of some importance, and in the newspaper world such an achievement is worthy of congratulation. Tho Taranaki Herald last week published its seventy-fifth anniversary number, a copy of which has been received in this office. Wo tender our heartiest good wishes to the northern journal, which enjoys the distinction of being tho third oldest newspaper in the Dominion. The Lyttelton Times is the oldest, and the first publication of the Otago Witness preceded that of tho Taranaki Herald by a little over a year, the first issue appearing on February 8, 1851. M ith justifiable pride the Taranaki Herald Company claims that its subscribers have never been disappointed at any time during the 75 years, tho paper having appeared regularly on tho due date. It is now 50 years since daily publication was commenced. The souvenir issue contains a great deal of information about tho early days in Taranaki, and tho pioneer operations of the company, which, though purely local, make interesting reading for all those who have followed tho growth of tho newspaper in New Zealand. Tho sido-leaf method of flax-cutting was strongly condemned at a meeting of the Northern Flaxmillers’ Association recently. In submitting a report upon his experience of sido-leaf cutting, Mr C. W. Ingram, of Kaihere, said that during tho last three years it had cost him over £l5OO more to cut by tho side-leaf method than it would have done by hook-cutting, and the plants had deteriorated. When ho commenced tho sido-leaf cutting they had been Bft to 12ft high, while now they were only sft to 6ft, and tho constant bleeding of tho plants had resulted in a weakening in tho quality of tho fibre. In addition tho side-leaf method gave the seedling plants no chance to replenish the swamps as they •were trampled upon when the cutters passed through them every nine months. Under the old method cutting had been done every four years, and tho interval had allowed tho seedlings to become largo enough to escape destruction. Mr Ingram drew tho attention of the chief Government grader, Mr W. Petrie, to the fact that a condition of the lease of Government flax areas was that th© side-leaf method should be used. If it was enforced it would lead to abandonment of the leases.

An amusing incident occurred in hakatanc tho other day. A well-known business man was observed by two Maori boys to pick up a woman’s purse from the footpath. He immediately proceeded to an adjoining shop, where a woman identifier! tho purso as that of another woman who had “just gone up tho street.” Ho then jumped on his bicycle, overtook and restored the purse to its owner. Shortly after ho returned to his premises a Maori woman entered, and declared in a noticeably affected manner that she had lost her purse. The hero of tho little incident was rather nonplussed, thinking he mayhave handed the purse to the wrong person, but was seized with the inspiration to inquire whether the purso the Maori woman had lost was a black or blue one. The reply was quite reassuring, for the woman said: “Blue, I think.” Prior to the establishment of the postal agency at Pitcairn Island, an announcement in respect to which was made by the Postmaster-general last week, the islanders had only very primitive postal facilities. Having no post office or postage stamps, they were in the habit of handing their mail matter without postage to captains of passing steamers. Some countries, however, declined to admit such letters .free of charge, and addressees were accordingly called upon to pay double postage. The establishment of an office at Pitcairn Island was urgently needed, but it was a little difficult at first to decide by whom it should be set up. The island is under the jurisdiction of the High Commissioner for the Western Pacific, and it was by arrangement with him that New Zealand established an agency. The postmaster is Mr Christian, the chief magistrate of the island.

A world’s record mako shark was captured. off Cape Brett last season by Mr F. B. Lewis, of Norfolk, England. Mr Lewis was a guest of tho Zane Grey Sporting Club, Russell, and has won the trophy, valued at £5O, presented by the club. The malto caught by Mr Lewis weighed 5911 b, its length was 10ft 2in, and its girth 4ft Sin.

During the winter months returned soldiers in the country have been sending gifts | of foodstuffs to the Returned Soldiers’ Association for distribution among ex-servioemen in distress in the city. Several of the contributions have taken the form of consignments of hares, but not all of the hares forwarded have reached homes affected by unemployment. Tho secretary of the association reported to the executive last week that about 50 hares in one consignment had been stolen from tho club rooms. It was stated that discrimination was used in distributing the gifts, and that nothing was known of the methods employed by the thief or thieves in making the haul.

Apparently there is at present at large somewhere in New Zealand a mysterious soldier, who, according to his own statements, has had more than his fair share of the horrors of war. Moreover, he is evidently determined that the country shall recompense him for all he is supposed to have gone through, and to this end has been making a practice of seeking admission to hospitals throughout New Zealand. At Tuesday’s meeting of the South Otago Hospital Board, a letter was received from the Pensions Department which would appear to indicate that this “ Captain King,” as he terms himself, should be watched carefully by hospital authorities, and that his statements should be. taken with a grain of salt. Supporting tho letter from the department was one from the clerk of the court at Oamaru, which shed a little more light on King’s history. At Oamaru, ho had asserted that he was in the late war in France, that he blew up Messines Ridge, that he was a captain in the Black Watch, and that he had served in the Boer war. Tho clerk pointed out that King was 28 years of age, so that he must have commenced his soldiering career at the early age of two years.

In the minutes of the previous meeting which were read at the South Otago Hospital Board’s meeting on Tuesday, it was stated that the medical officer in charge of Milton Hospital (Dr Edgar) had refused to allow a specialist to attend a patient who had boon sent to the institution by Dr Stewart. Mr J. Christie asked on what authority such a refusal was given. “ I consider it out of all reason,” ho said, “ that any patient in any hospital should not be allowed to have a specialist attend him if ho wishes it.” " This arises out of an old trouble,” said Mr T. D. Pearson.

“ and I think wo would bo wise in proceeding no further with the matter.” Mr Pearson wont on to say that they did not know tho facts of the case, and that it would, in his opinion, bo advisable to have the medical superintendent (Dr Biggs) submit a report to the next meeting of tho board. Mr Christie: The man might be dead by then. A brief discussion ensued, and as no one seemed to know who had asked for the specialist—Dr Edgar, Dr Stewart, or the patient, it was decided to ask4?Dr Biggs to report to tho next meeting, and to postpone further discussion until then.

In common with some other credit-giving traders, drapers are at a loss to know how best to deal with the problem of long overdue accounts. It has been proposed that legislation should be sought to enable interest to bo collected on such accounts. The Advisory Board of the New Zealand Federation of Drapers, Clothiers, and Boot Retailers brought the matter under tho notice of tho Associated Chambers of Commerce, but that body has now informed the federation that the matter should be a matter of individual arrangement between the parties at the time, and that tho statutory right to charge interest would rather tend to a general lengthening of tho already long terms of payment, which aro allowed in a good many cases. I* ifty years ago last Saturday the Queen Bee, a full-rigged ship of 726 tons, one of the earliest vessels to bring out settlers to New Zealand, became a total wreck off Capo Farewell, when on a voyage from London to Nelson in 1877. Two lifeboats from the wreck, with many on board, were missing for several days, and great concern was felt for the safety of fhe occupants. They, however, were found to be safe, the last boat being found by the Nelson Naval Brigade in their cutter Aurora. Several well-known Nelson families were on board the missing boats (says the Nelson correspondent of the Dominion). Included in the passengers was Mr R. W. Gibbs, chairman of the Bank of New Zealand, Wellington. The Maoris ■'also picked up a number of passengers and landed them at Nelson, and the late Bishop Suter, in a letter addressed to Rene Hoitioi and the Maoris of Rangitoto Island (D’Urville Island) paid a tribute to their hospitality.

Two New Zealand delegates to the Conference of the Institute of Pacific Relations at Honolulu returned to Auckland by tho Aorangi. They were Mr W. Nish (Wellington) and Mr W. 11. Croker (Auckland). ’they expressed themselves as very satisfied with the educational work achieved by the conference in promoting a better understanding of the Pacific problems. Ihe standing of the men representing the principal nations at the conference indicated the importance attached to the gathering by the” various nations. The Australian delegates to the conference were also on board the Aorangi. Professor G. H. Blakeslee, a leading American authority on United States foreign affairs, who also attended the conference, arrived by the Aorangi on a tour of New Zealand and Australia. He will speak in the main centres of New Zealand.

An interesting ceremony will take place at Nelson this afternoon, when a section of stone which formed part of the Canterbury Cathedral for some ccn furies, and which was recently received from England, will be placed i’4 position in one of the walls of the new Nelson Cathedral, now in course of erection. The ceremony will be performed by Archbishop Averill.

l.nere is a good deal of confusion in cl.uich peoples minds about the position of the Maori Bishopric scheme. Liio Church News says:—“The south real'y. knows very little about it. The present position is briefly that the idea of a full-' blow n Maori Bishopric is to be superseded by an Archbishop’s Suffragan Bishop wh<> or may not be a Maori, but who will preside over a Maori Synod, which will" legislate for all Maori affairs exactly as a pakoha diocesan synod does in a terri-’ torial dideese. The doubtful point may. bo practically settled by the meeting ofthe bishops in Wellington— namely, whether, the suffragan is to be a Maori or a pakeha. Ihe Maoris v ish for a Maori, but were’ supposed to have agreed that an acceptable European would be advisable as the first holder of the position. There can bo no doubt that if the right Maori can be found, the Church at large will be delighted to see the Maoris have as their; episcopal head one of their own race.” Ten bankruptcies, equally divided lie-, tween the two islands, wore notified iq last week’s issue of the New Zealand Gazette. 1

Except for a small vent in the centre, thq crater lake on the summit of Ruapehu has been frozen over of late, an unusual occur; rence, as, despite the high altitude amf surrounding snowfields, tho lake is usually, warm, and occasionally boiling in places. It is not generally known that ice-skating is at times possible in the North IslancC A*’, , a lower level in the National Park is Tama Lake, where in very cold weather the surface freezes, and ico 22in in thick; ness has been known. On the other hand lama Lake is at all times cold waterj without any trace of thermal connection. A relic of Nelson’s warship Victory H going to Hokitika, having been secured by Mr 11. MxCoulson for tho local museum. It is a , piece of the deck of the ship. Mr Coulson says: “ I can vouch for ilq being genuine, for I was at Portsmouth on June 11, and, with a friend, was showq ■all over tho ship by one of the stationed on board her. She is now in a special dock built for her in the Nava} Dockyard, and is being restored. In order to take the weight off the hull for whero she is to remain permanently they are putting in supports for the masts, which will rest on the floor of the dock. To dq this they were cutting a hole in the deck, and seeing that some of the pieces, hail been taken out I asked for some and got them.”

A consignment of American owls has jusfc left San Diego, California, for Lord Howe Island, off Australia, where they will bq used to exterminate tho plague of rats which threaten to ruin local crops. Lord Howe Island has a population of 111 persons, whose principal occupation is th© production of palm seeds. The rats, which now swarm over tho island, aro believed to have come frem visiting steamers. Th© rodents have multiplied so rapidly that they now threaten to destroy the palm tree? on the island. Attempts wero made to combat ;he pests by the use of,cats. The cuts were a failure, and the owls have novy been called into service.

Observing that commercial interests wero pushing for economic exploitation of tho South Pacific, Mr W. 11. Cocker, of Auckland, in an address to the recent conference at Honolulu, of the Institute of Pacific Relations, stressed tho point that much depended upon what policy was to bo adopted in tho next few years. “ New Zealand’s experience with the Maoris, he said, “ has given it some qualification for the more difficult task which has been assigned to it in the administration of other native populations in the Pacific, As early as 1901 it assumed control of the Cook Islands, with a present population of nearly 14,000, and since the war it, has been entrusted with tho mandate for Weslent Samoa. Here, again, it may confidently lie -asserted that the sincere aim of New Zealand is to administer these islands in the best interests of the natives. It has consulted their welfare even at tho risk of antagonising, in some degree, European residents. Native institutions and customs have been respected, and, so far as possible, the natives have been allowed tho management of their own affairs, and encouraged to work out their own destiny. It may be that New Zealand is destined to play an important part in the protection and advancement of the Polynesian peoples of the South Pacific.”

Our special correspondent in Wanganui telegraphs stating that an extraordinary case of a dumb man’s speech being restored Is reported. A young Maori man who has been dumb for years was attending a football match contested between a Maori team and a Wanganui side. During an exciting movement in the course of the game, the young man became so enthusiastic that he suddenly let out a yell. He then found that his speech had completely returned to him. ’The incident has created a great deal of interest locallv.

John Berryman, licensee of the Pier Hotel in Wellington, was on Friday lined £25 for having used a whisky bottle of a recognised brand in which to bottle draught whisky without destroying the original label.

An interesting development in motor transport was seen in Gisborne recently, in the form of two large motor lorries equipped with accommodation for five racehorses. Tho lorries are employed in tho conveyance of racehorses to and from various centres. Th© vehicles arrived from Hastings with seven horses to compete at the gallops, and the animals did not suffer in any respect as the result of their long journey, which, on account of the state of the road, occupied two days instead of one. Th© five stalls on each lorry are of ingenious design, and every possible provision has been made for the safety and comfort of the horses. The stalls arc of just sufficient length and breadth to prevent the horses falling in consequence of the swaying of the lorries, and padded walls back and front of the stalls obviate the danger of any injury to the animals. Each door is fitted with a safety catch, so that the horses can be quickly removed in the event of a mishap.