LAW QUERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3897, 20 November 1928, Page 48

LAW QUERIES.

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

“ Anxious.” —As the arrangement was verbal only you would have difficulty in succeeding in your claim. A. J. D. asks: “If a person received a legacy of house, and was himself sole heir and executor, would he be obliged to have title of the property put into his own name, or could he sell and make one transfer from deceased person’s name to the purchaser? ” Yes; he could make one transfer to the purchaser. “True Blue” asks: “If a person presents to his family property or money is the gift subject to subsequent death duties or any tax? ” If the donor makes total gifts of over £lOOO in any one year gift duty will require to be paid on a sliding scale. If the donor dies within three years from the time of making the gift the amount of the gift is included in the amount of the donor’s estate for the purpose of assessing estat? duty. “Shareholder” asks: “ (1) Is it legal for a contractor of a company to be a director of that company? (2) Is the business of a company legal when the contractor of the company is a director? (3) Has a limited company power to refuse to post balance sheets to a shareholder?” (1) Yes, if the articles of association of the company do not provide otherwise. (2) Yes, if the articles of association of the company do not provide otherwise. (3) Yes. “Trapped” asks: “An agent wrote out a note to the owner of a house asking if she was prepared to accept a certain figure. He asked the prospective purchaser to sign this note, which was done on the assurance of the agent that it did not in any way bind the party to purchase the property. On inspection it was decided not to purchase, and the agent was so informed. The agent now calls upon the party to complete the purchase although no money was paid over, and the note was neither dated nor stamped.” Under the above circumstances you can refuse to complete the purchase, and resist any claim made against you.

A nasty fracas took place’in an hotel at Lyttelton on Saturday afternoon between a number of firemen and the police. The encounter (says our special correspondent) was a furious one, and the police were cornered. By using their handcuffs on the heads of their opponents they were able to keep them at bay for a while until further police came to their assistance. One man was arrested, but the others escaped. The men implicated are well known in the port. The annual exhibition of practical work, which was concluded at the King Edward Technical College on Saturday evening, attracted a large attendance of parents and others interested in the activities of the students. Including products ranging from the trades to the fine arts, the exhibition was almost bewildering in its variety. From every point of view it was exceptionally successful, and the display gave evidence of much original thought on the part of both the authorities and the pupils.

Five ''unemployed seamen appeared before Mr E. Page, S.M„ at Wellington on Saturday morning charged with drunkenness and the theft of two bottles of liquor and two measures, of a total value of £5, from the Foresters’ Arms Hotel. The story of the licensee (says a Press Association telegram) was that he refused to serve the men. He left the bar, and on returning found one of them behind the counter, and he took a bottle from him. The men left the hotel, and the licensee communicated with the police The five men were arrested in other hotels. The men were:—William Henry Smith, aged 29; James Cope, aged 32; John M'Auley, aged 27; Stephen O’Toole, aged 29; and Michael James Coyne, aged 54. The magistrate said it was clear that Cope and 'M'Auley were guilty of theft, and each was sentenced to 21 days’ imprisonment. There was a doubt about the others, who would be discharged. A Press Association telegram states that it is the intention of Commander Byrd to place a wreath at the foot of the Scott Memorial in Christchurch, as a tribute from himself and the members of the expedition.

There is being assembled at the Wigram Aerodrome (says our special correspondent in Christchurch) an Avro Avian machine imported by Mr K. W. J. Hal], of Ilororata. It will be the first plane in the Dominion with slotted wings. The Cirrus engine from Mr Hall’s Moth, which met with a mishap when landing and was put out of action, will be installed in the new machine. Mr Hall is a captain in the New Zealand Air Force, and since the war has attended refresher courses regularly at Wigram Aerodrome.

Success attended the initial adventure of the Western Fisheries, Ltd., in Dusky Sound. The trawling was carried out by the small vessel Mahoe, the catches being prepared for shipment on the steamer Stella, which occupies permanent moorings in the Sound. The fish was of excellent quality, and all the apparatus worked to every satsfaction. The season having ended, the Mahoe has returned to Dunedin to undergo overhaul in readiness for the next season, which will commence at the end of January. There was one drawback towards the close of the season. The weather was exceptionally rough, and the catches, consequently, were small. In the opinion of Captain Bollons, of the Government seamer Tutanekai, the unfavourable conditions experienced in the Sounds, were due to the submarine disurbances that occurred off he western coast of New Zealand, causing the water to become very dirty. All 'the fish secured by the trawler was shipped to Australia from ' Bluff. The company has now completed arrangements for the sale of next year’s output.

The house, built ->f provision boxes of similar size, bolted together, to be used by members of the Byrd Antarctic Expedition, has been put together and has proved remarkably quick to erect. Given reasonable weather, the base camp should be up and ready in a day or two after arrival. The roofing is of specially-pre-pared panels, ready to bolt together from the inside, with no iron boltheads showing on its out surface. It will be about the height of a wall, or a little more, in length, and when the panels are bolted together will be quite impervious to the weather and the cold. It consists of the better part of a dozen layers of insulated material something like kapoc, with layers of three-ply wood in between, which have been pressed to a homogeneous strength and thickness of some five inches. It is calculated to withstand the heaviest gales, and to bear a considerable amount of frozen snow. The walls also will be insulated, and so it may be readily understood that a party and a stove within will soon raise the temperature. During the course of his remarks in the Arbitration Court on Friday in regard to the postponement of the sittings of the court until after the New Year, Mr P. J. O’Regan said that however gratifying the promotion of Mr Justice Frazer was to the legal profession and to the public, he felt bound to protest against the postponement. Referring to this statement on Saturday, Mr A. Gray, K.C. (president of the New Zealand Law Society), said that Mr O’Regan’s remarks conveyed an implication that the legal profession approved of the appointment. In point of fact, no society or body was authorised to state the views of the legal profession. Neither the New Zealand Law Society nor any district law society had expressed approval of the appointment, temporary though it might be. As a matter of fact the council of the Wellington District Law Society had addressed a letter of protest to the At-torney-general on the subject.

“ Service by post is not very satisfactory so far as the country places are concerned,” said Mr J. S. Barton, S.M., at the Magistrate’s Court at Wanganui, in adjourning a civil action for a week in order that proof of service might be furnished. “It certainly is not proving satisfactory so far as the Natives are concerned,” said Mr Currie. “It has spoilt the whole registered letter system. They won’t take a registered letter." Ihe following letter, received from an enterprising young Canadian stamp collector, caused some amusement at the meeting of the Palmerston North Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday (telegraphs the special correspondent of the Evening Post). “I am a boy living in far away Canada, and I am making a stamp collection. 1 have very few stamps of your country and of the countries which are nearby. I would appreciate it very much if you would save, and send me, all used postage stamps, old and new, which you may come across. In return for your kind aid, I will do you any favour that you may ask of me. If you are unable to help me, please forward this letter to some Boy Scout.” “I move that the letter be forwarded to the Manawatu Philatelic Society,” said Mr L. 11. Collinson. amidst laughter. Mr Collinson's suggestion was adopted.

A telegram from Wellington states that during October the total live births registered for the suburban areas numbered 1145, compared with 1054 in Sc; ’inber, an increase of 91. The deaths in October were 609, a decrease of six as compared with the previous month. Of the total deaths, males contributed 330, and females 279. Sixty-eight of the deaths were of children under five years of age, these being 11.17 per cent, of the whole number. Fifty-eight of these were under one year of age.

Dealing editorially with the question of providing more privacy for patients in hospitals, the Bulletin of the New Zealand Hospital Boards’ Association says:—■ “ Capital cost is commonly regarded as the main stumbling-block in the general adoption of small wards in our public hospitals. From the observation of Dr Hamilton, medical superintendent of the Newcastle (New South Wales) Hospital, it seems, however, that not only can reasonable privacy be achieved at comparatively little extra capital cost, but that, with the screening of patients as described in an article by Dr Hamilton, maximum occupancy of the beds can thus be obtained. This is a most important point. Some of our hospitals have already, to a limited extent, introduced movable partitions. They are a feature of the new wards at the Wellington Hospital, and Dr Ewen, the medical superintendent of that institution, firmly advocates their wider introduction.”

While at Winnipeg recently, a Nelson resident, Mr W. A. Dee. was shown over police headquarters, and was greatly interested in the system of electric appliances installed (says .a northern exchange). Every point of the city is connected, and if a policeman fails to report on his beat within the regulation period, headquarters is aware of the fact within two minutes, and sends out an official to investigate. In Chicago it was remarked that there were 418 shooting cases last year The New Zealand party was within 50 yards of the scene of a shooting affray one afternoon. A large crowd soon assembled. but as' soon as the man was picked up the crowd dispersed and showed little concern for what is practically an everyday occurrence. While driving through the streets with a resident, Mr and Mrs Dee were told by their host that if the car was stopped and they were told to put up their hands, to do so at once, and if they were ordered to give up their money to do so without demur. The advice was given in all seriousness, as such occurrences were quite common. Three or four bays of the new sea wall, which is to enclose the wave-trap at the Gisborne Harbour entrance, have been constructed, and the contractor has his pile frames mounted on the ramps (reports the Gisborne Times). Preparations are almost complete for the continuation of pile-driving with these frames, the initial work in this direction having been carried out by the use of the Harbour Board’s spud pontoon. During recent weeks the weather has been subject to sudden changes, and has hampered the contractor to some extent, but settled conditions should permit of rapid progress.