MAGISTRATE’S COURT

Southland Times, Issue 22361, 28 June 1934, Page 4

MAGISTRATE’S COURT

SITTING AT GORE.

At a silting of the Gore Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday afternoon before Mr H. J. Dixon, S.M., an involved civil action was heard in which F. W. Edge and R. W. McCreath, as trustee for the estate of the late Mr A. A. Edge, for whom Mr W. B. Johnston appeared, proceeded against A. H. Edge, of Waikaka, farmer, for whom Mr J. L. O. Arthur (Tapanui) appeared, for royalties at 5/- per ton on coal taken from the defendant’s property. The claim was made under a registered security over the land given defendant to the deceased providing for the payment of 5/- royalty on all coal or lignite won from the land, and further that not more than 20 tons should be taken in

one year. It was contended for the plaintiffs that the security was given with the intention of restraining the defendant from working the coal and lignite on his property in competition with the coalmining business which the deceased with his family had for many years carried on on his property byMr Arthur admitted the encumbrance on which the action was brought; also the amount of coal on which royalty was claimed. The extent of the royalty was in dispute. He would bring evidence to show that there was a later document signed by the deceased reducing the royalty from 5/- to 2/6, and revoking the limitation as to the amount of coal which might be mined. It was explained by Mr Johnston that the action was brought by the plaintiffs in order to test the validity of this alleged document. The plaintiffs claimed that the document was legally defective in several respects. After evidence had been given and legal argument heard, the magistrate reserved his decision.

Ownership of a Dog.

A dispute concerning the ownership of a dog occupied the attention of a sitting of the Gore Magistrate’s Court before Mr H. J. Dixon, S.M., yesterday. Lengthy evidence was heard and after a full day’s hearing the Magistrate reserved his judgment.

The parties were James J. Crawford, of Gore, butcher, for whom Mr O. J. Howells appeared, plaintiff, and John Bernard Wilson and George Wilson, of Mataura, fruit vendors, who were represented by Mr A. Smyth, defendants.

The statement of the claim set out: The plaintiff claims from the defendants a black and white collie, aged about 18 months of the value of £lO, the property of the plaintiff and detained by the defendants until the date of the entering of the plaint, and the plaintiff says that before the entering of the said plaint on March 17, 1934, the plaintiff demanded the said dog from the defendants, but the latter refused to deliver it. The plaintiff claims possession of the dog and £5 damages for its detention, or, in case possession cannot be had, the sum of £lO, the value of the dog, and £5 damages for its detention.

Evidence was given by the plaintiff and other witnesses that the dog was born in January 1933 and was brought to plaintiff when about seven months old. Plaintiff in turn passed it on to a Mr Ritchie of Gore, to look after. In March of this year the dog disappeared at a Gore stock sale. It was subsequently advertised for and the defendants called to see Mr Ritchie about the matter. They claimed that the dog was theirs, having belonged to them for four years, but that it had gone missing some months previously. One of the defendants had claimed that he recognized the dog at the Gore saleyards and had taken possession of it. Plaintiff claimed that the dog was the one he had given into the keeping of Mr Ritchie and that the dog was less than two years old. For the defence it was claimed that the plaintiff had made a mistake about the dog. Numerous witnesses were called to identify the dog as the one owned by the defendants.

A feature of the case was the number of veterinary surgeons called during the hearing to identify the dog and its age. Expert witnesses were called by each side to prove (for the plaintiff) that the dog was less than two years old and (for the defendant) that the dog was at least two years old.