LAW QUERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3882, 7 August 1928, Page 48

LAW QUERIES.

[Answered by a solicitor of the Supreme Court of New Zealand. Letters and Telegrams must be addressed to " LEX,” c/o Editor, Otago Witness. Dunedin.] »

“Inquiry” asks: “To whom does one apply for a permit to remove a person’s remains from one part of a cemetery to another part? ” The Minister of Health. Worker ” asks: “ A, who is under 21, has taken one share in New Zealand Perpetual Forests, Ltd., and has paid 255. Can the company sue and claim the balance owing? ’’ No. A. H. B. asks. I own a block of land containing three-quarters of an acre. I purpose selling half an acre of this land. Will it be necessary for me to get a fresh title for the portion that I retain? ” If the title to your land is held under the land transfer system you will need to obtain a balance title for the land retained by you. “Hotel ” asks: “ (1) If a person is in the private parlour of an hotel can a policeman have that person arrested forbeing on licensed premises after hours? (2) What part of an hotel is private for entertaining guests? ” (1) Yes. if he is not a bona fide lodger. (2) The policema cannot be excluded from any part of the hotel. “Interested” asks: “(1) Can a trustee sell a farm within two years of deceased’s death if the beneficiaries are against it? (2) What is the time after which a debt cannot be claimed? (3) Is it le<ral to give a share out of a deceased’s farm before it is sold? ” (1) Yes, if the ■will gives power to the trustees to sell. (2) Six years. (3) Yes, provided the terms of the will are complied with. Scotty” asks: “ (.1) What io the motherhood endowment relic:? (2) How much do you receive? (3) Who is entitled 4 ) Where do you applj’ for ’t- There is no motherhood endowment relief. The Pensions Act provides a pension for widows with one or more children under the age of 15 years. If you write the registrar of pensions. Wellington, he will supply you with full particulars.' Subscriber ' asks: “ I purchased an . area of ground, and’ when the former owner made roads through the property the County Council would not allow him to open a gravel pit on the property, but compelled him to take gravel from the river, and the consequence was that the gravel was full of gorse seed, and now I have a splendid crop of gorse. There is no gorse on the property except on the roads where the gravel was put. This property has of late years been brought into the Borough Council. Have I any power to compel the Borough Council" to clear the gorse or claim compensation for depreciation of property? ” No. “Not Understood” asks: “(1) Must a lady who breaks off an engagement, and becomes engaged to another man immediately afterwards, return the engagement ring, presents given, photos, and letters written to her by the man to whom she was engaged? (2) Can the man who is returning all presents given to him, also photos and letters written by the, lady, claim his by law in return?’ (1) and (2) A man who •has become engaged to a lady, and is afterwards rejected by her, can recover presents of any considerable .value which he has made to her or tlmm value; but cannot recover any that he may have given to . introduce himself to her acquaintance and gain her favour. Photos and letters cannot be recovered. “Security” asks: “ A firm of lawyers wound un the estate for a widow on the death of her husband. The principal of the firm said he would invest her money at 5$ per cent, in freehold mortgage, to which the widow, ignorant of current rates of interest, verbally consented. On the maturing of a mortgage recently she sought the advice of a friend to inquire into the nature of the security. In his investigations he discovered that the lawyer had the widow’s money invested for about nine years at 64 per cent. Despite the fact that the widow’s name appeared in the mortgages she only received 54 per cent, during that nine years, the lawyer keeping about 1.7 per cent, of her meagre interest on which she had to live and' support her two small boys. If the mortgage shows the mortgagor covenants to pay 64 per cent, to the mortgagee has the solicitor a right to deduct £1 of it? ” The solicitor, of course, has no right to de-

duct 1 per cent, of the interest. If the conditions of the mortgage are read by you more carefully it is more than probable that you will find that 6J per cent, is the penal rate of interest, and the real rate of interest on the mort-' gage is 5£ per cent.

Following the recently-announced reduction in the wholesale price of sugar, local grocers have reduced the .price of this commodity to 3d per lb. A clause in the report of the Finance Committee of the City Council states that the date for taking the Royal Arcade loan poll has been fixed for Tuesday, September 4. Arrangements are being made for holding a public meeting in the Council Chambers bn Tuesday, August 28, tor the purpose of explaining the proposal to the ratepayers.

A further payment of £1771 6s has been received from the Public Works Department as the City Council’s share of t’’e petrol tax for the period extending from April till June. With the previous sum of £lO6O 16s, the total amount received for the period ended June 30, is £2832 2s. The matter of allocating the expenditure of the money has been referred to the Works Committee. “As a number of the relief works authorised by the City Council are approaching completion it appears necessary,” states a clause in the report of the Finance Committee of the City Council, “ to authorise a further relief vote in order to avoid discharging labour.” The committee’s recommendation is that a further vote of £lOOO be authorised for expenditure on relief works..

A conference between the Akarana Maori Association and Archdeacon Hawkins, of the Maori Anglican Mission, was held recently in regard to the ineligibility- of members of the Maori race for the Royal Navy. This is a question (says our Auckland correspondent) that has been discussed in association circles for some time past, and after correspondence with the Naval Office in Wellington it was suggested that Archdeacon Hawkins, who had interested himself in the same matter, should confer with the association. It was made quite clear in the course of the discussion that there was no regulation in existence which debarred Maoris or any other native-born British people from entering the navy. On the other hand, the traditional policy of the navy was to keep the personnel aonfined to men of British parentage. It was even suggested that Englishmen were preferred. Recruiting from the extreme North of Scotland and the Highlands, for instance, was not even encouraged. The secretary was requested again to communicate with the Naval Office and ask for further particulars. It was suggested, incidentally, that this traditional ban might not apply to men of Maori descent, even if it did to actual Maoris and half-castes. The attitude of the Labour Department in reference to the proposal to introduce daylight saving in various parts of the O—’inion is announced by Mr Waite, officer in chhrge of the Wellington district of the Labour Office ( says a telegram from Wellington). The department is willing to . assist any •ucu .sc.ie.iics as are proposed by regarding arrangements that might be agreed upon between the parties as compliance with 'he various awards.

The question whether full harbour dues shall be paid by the Government motor ship Mauri Pomare is still under consideration. At its meeting on Tuesday the Auckland Harbour Board received a letter from the

■.at am i-.ptira:.. id, staling that it had already been decided that the ship should pay goods wharfage, harbour improvement rate, and the board’s .actual out-of-pocket expenses. The Wellington Harbour Board had asked that the matter of paying shipping dues be reconsidered, but the department could not give a definite answer at present. Mr H. B. Burnett, secretary of the board, remarked that the vessel was required by the Harbours Act to pay the dues which the department had offered to pay, so there was no concession on the Government’s part. Mr M. H Wynyard, acting chairman, said he had discussed the matter with the secretary of the Wellington Board, and had offered the Auckland Board’s co-operation. The 'etter was received.

Mr E. Vaile (Auckland) had an interesting tour through the United States (says our London correspondent, writing on June 27). At Banff he visited an Indian reservation, and saw a large school for Indian children run by the United Church of Canada. At Chicago he went over some of the meat works, and at Detroit he saw the Ford car through all its stages of manufacture. Throughout America, where he was treated with the greatest courtesy, Mr Vaile made extensive inquiries into the question of unemployment. There seems to be about 2.000.000 people wholly without work, besides those working on part time. There is no movement or suggestion to introduce a State unemployment insurance or any kind of dole. In Wisconsin only has an attempt been made to introduce, such a scheme, but always the State legislature has thrown out the Bill. Many trade unions and employers’ associations have private schemes, but they are run entirety without State assistance. After three months in England Mr Vaile will go to the Continent. Our London correspondent writes on June 29 that at the Woking carnival and exhibition this month a di ' Zealand apples on a lorry, shown by Mr W. E. Wadley, wholesale i.u....... . Woking, won the second prize in the local pageant. The first prize represented a Japanese scene. The New Zealand lorry was tastefully decorated by material supplied by the High Commissioner’s publicity section.

An extraordinary series of coincidences was revealed in the Supreme Court at Wellington on Wednesday (says the Evening Post). Two of the petitioners for divorce advanced the same ground in support of their petitions, and it was stated that both were involved in an accident last year as a result of which they suffered similar injuries. They occupied adjacent beds in the hospital, and were each awarded the same amount of damages in the civil action which followed their discharge. Each separated from his wife in the same month. In addition, both were represented by the same counsel in the several court proceedings. The Duke of York, in response to a request from Mr Tyndall, of Hobart, that he should buy a dairy farm in Tasmania, one reason put forward being that “ such an enterprise would increase the affectionate devotion of the people in the State to the Royal House,” has written through his secretary declining (reports the News). The letter said: — “ The question of the purchase of a farm in Australia has already been considered, and his Royal Highness has decided, with much regret, that it cannot be arranged. For one thing, the Duke is strongly opposed in principle to the idea of absentee landlords.”

There was a fall of three inches of snow at the “ Hermitage,” Mount Cook, on Wednesday, and' latest reports were to the effect that it was still snowing heavily. Ibis fall at the Hermitage means that there will be a very heavy fall on the glaciers. The season has been remarkable tor its lack of snow, and this fall will considerably improve conditions for winter sports.

The annual meeting of the Dunedin Rotary Club was held on Thursday evening, Mr J. B. Waters (retiring president) occupying the chair. The following officebearers were appointed for the ensuing year: —President, Dr G. E. Thompson; vice-president, Mr H. J. Guthrie; directors Messrs A. Martin, J. H. Stewart, G. Simpson, jun., and W. A. Fla veil; hon. treasurer, Mr H. H. Henderson; secretary, Mr W. R. Brown.

The summing up of Lloyd’s concerning the mishap to the Norwegian whaling vessel C. A. Larsen, at the entrance to Paterson’s Inlet in February last, is contained in a letter received by Messrs T. Brodrick and Co., the Invercargill agents. The letter states:—“ The case appears to have been handled very ably, and it is a matter for congratulation that the loss is less serious than the first reports regarding the casualty appeared to indicate." The letter states, further, that the motor ship Spinanger has delivered at Pensacola, Gulf of Mexico, the 9860 tons of oil taken from the Larsen. With regard to the Larsen itself the letter states that the temporary repairs effected at Port Chalmers proved satisfactory, and that the vessel is on its way to Newcastle-on-Tyne for permanent repairs, the costs of taking the vessel Home and chartering the Spinanger being very heavy. The work at Stewart Island in connection with the floating of the vessel cost in all £26,500, while the temporary repairs at Port Chalmers necessitated an expenditure of from £15,000 to £16,000, bringing the total up to about £42,000 fo? the work done in New Zealand.

The body of F. Liewendahi, a seaman on the wrecked schooner Isabella de Fraine, has been recovered several miles north of the wreck (says our Auckland correspondent). At the request of his friends at Kohukohu, the body will be interred in the local cemetery. This makes the filth body recovered.

Mr Hickey, of the executive of the master builders, Sydney, who is just completing a three months’ tour of New Zealand, returned last week from the Hermitage, Mount Cock. Mr Hickey speaks very highly of New Zealand scenery, stating that it had proved far more wonderful than he had expected it to be. He had thoroughly “ done ” the North Island, and was amazed at the wonders of the thermal regions of Rotorua. Speaking of Mount Cook, Mr Hickey said that he thought the scenery was unrivalled in Australia or New Zealand. The appointments and service at the Hermitage left nothing to be desired, while an excellent motor service made the journey from Timaru extremely pleasant. He regretted very much that he was unable to make the trip to the Southern Lakes on account of road being closed for the winter. The climate in New Zealand was an ideal one, being much milder than that of his own country. He was agreeably surprised to find how warm it was at Mount Cook, and how invigorating was the atmosphere. Mr Hickey was

.ery impressed with the New Zealand towns, which he thought were extremely pretty. “ You are very fortunate in having such a wealth of beautiful scenery at such close quarters,” said Mr Hickey. “ You have in New Zealand an amount of scenery which is readily accessible, while to see the same amount of scenery in Australia would take at least 12 months.” Mr Hickey added that altogether he had had a wonderful trip, and was going home to recommend a New Zealand holiday to all his friends.

An Auckland resident who moved into a new house a few days ago had a rather unnerving experience (says the Auckland Star). Exploring the basement, where he intended to store wood and coal, he was horrified to see what looked like a row of human figures. The dim light disclosed the fact that one had lost its head, the other was minus an arm, and the third was legless. The “ tragedy ” '--as soon explained, for the new owner recalled that the house had previously been i <• upied by a maker of wax figures. The “ bodies ” were relics of his craft, and their damaged condition was the reason for their presence in the basement.