DISPUTE OVER WAGES

Taranaki Daily News, 14 November 1930, Page 10

DISPUTE OVER WAGES

HAWERA COURT ACTION. MAGISTRATE RESERVES DECISION Decision was reserved by Mr. J. H. Salmon, S.M., in the Hawera Court yesterday when Edgar Willis, labourer of Hawera, proceeded against Nelson Gane, farmer of Inaha, for £72 ss. It was allco-ed that this amount represented i deductions wrongly made from plain- , tiff's wages. Mr. L. A. Taylor appeared for plaintiff and Mr. I’. O'Dea for Gane. Gane, called by Mr. Taylor, said he had two farms, one at Inaha and one on the Cairns Road. He lived on the farm at Inaha and had a share-milker on the other. He had first employed plaintiff six years ago, he being employed for about a season. Willis was paid 30s a week and later £2. Defendant did not keep books; very few farmers did. During' the first period of plaintiff’s employment he had been paid in cash.. Defendant had not started a banking account until July, 1929. He had paid Willis twice by cheque since then. ■ A cheque for £47 3s 3d was a full settlement for Willis and a receipt had been given. Willis had sometimes been paid by cheques received from other people. Articles bought bv plaintiff at the Riverdale factory store had been debited to witness, deductions being made from Willis’ wages. This was done at plaintiff’s request. Willis was paid whenever he required the money. Defendant had offered to finance plaintiff in leasing the Cairns Road property. The negotiations had fallen through, he understood, because plaintiff’s mother had objected to the house. Witness had not charged £2O worth of lucerne seed to plaintiff. The letter written to witness by plaintiff’s mother was b'urnt before it'was half read. He knew that it had been suggested that he had charged plaintiff with the cost of manure. When he had given plaintiff a cheque for £l5- oh account of wa*es he did not ; know how much, he owed Willis; he left it to Willis. When he made the final settlement he asked Willis to make out what wages were due. The relations between plaintiff and defendant had formerly been, very /rood. Plaintiff had not been charged for the machinery, etc.,, for the Cairns Road farm as the negotiations for Willis- to take over the property had failed. . A few days prior to _ giving defendant the £l5 he had given him a milk cheque for about £6.' He had made several gifts to Willis, among other articles a plough and a mowing machine".

Witness admitted burning letters from defendant, defendant’s mother and Mr. Taylor. He said that, when plaintiff had” been injured four years ago, he had been given compensation from the insurance company. .Cross-examined by Mr. O’Dea, Gane said he had employed a number of men and had had no trouble bef° re - When plaintiff left witness’ employ the first time Gane had tried to find him another position. Plaintiff was hot tempered and. had once “gone” for defendant.

Anne Bertha Chequer, mother of Ed' gar Willis, said she had been invited to come from England to New Zealand both by her son and Mrs. Gane. She had had no wish to leave her home. She

had gone to defendant’s place to discuss business but he had refused to talk to her. She had told Gane she was hot satisfied with thq unsatisfactory' business relations between him and her son. Defendant had said: “I have always given him money when he asked for it and. if he says I have not I will knock him down.”

When witness and her son had gone’ to pack' his effects they found some had been, thrown out into a shed. She became dissatisfied with the amount of thp settlement and suggested to her son that she be left to deal with Gane. Her son was by -no means a hot-tempered man.

Answering Mr. O’Dea, witness said she had been opposed to her son taking over the farm because she did not think he had sufficient finance. Her son had not the business ability- to farm 105 acres.

Willis said that during the first term oi his employment he was not paid regularly. Gane had never complained about witness’ work. IVhen he went again to work for Gane he was to be paid £2 a week, but he never received his wages regularly; ' For a good while he kept an account of his wages in a book. He had never seen accounts for clothing bought at the store for him by defendant. About four years ago, while breaking in a horse fqr, defendant, he had broken a leg; Some : wages had been phid him and defendant had taken the compensation money; Gane had suggested he should take , over the Cairns Road farm and get his mother to come out from England. When defendant had been buying a new- cart be had asked witness if Tie would like him to arrange for another one to be used by plaintiff on the Cairns Road property. Witness had replied that his old wagon would do him. Gane had bought a new cart at Okaiawa, witness paying for it. The new cart had been in use 5 two months when defendant had said it was witness’. Witness could not say how the final settlement was arrived at but he had mentioned that the wages owintr amounted to >£lso. Defendant had made deductions for the cart’and plough. The night of the settlement Gane for the first time said that the plough was witness’. Other deductions had been made for -lucerne seed and manure used on the Cairns Road farm, Gane worked out the deductions. Witness did not know how Gane arrived at the amount due. Answering Mr. O’Dea, plaintiff said he had been well treated by the Ganes. Fie would -not have taken ■ this action had it not been, for his mother. Gane was a man of his word. Answering ' the magistrate plaintiff said he' had expected to pay for the lucerne and manure because when he had first thought of taking the property he had agreed to bear the cost. This concluded plaintiff’s case and Mr. O’Dea intimated that he would call no witnesses. GENERAL ITEMS. The children of .Matapu and surrounding district are to be provided with a pleasing entertainment this evening in the form of a faney dress dance. An old-time dance for adults will follow. The proceeds are for the school funds. “Our congratulations are due to Mr.' Wr- A. o’CgUaghan, who has this year been elected president of the North Island (N.Z.) Motor Union,” states Mr. S. C. Tonks, president of the South Taranaki Automobile Association, in his annual report. “Whilst congratulating Mr. O’Callaghan, I think J should say, that this association feels that the motor; union has paid us a very high compliment in electing one of our executive as its president. I am also pleased to record that Mr./O’Callaghan has also been elected a director of our Mutual Insurance Company.” :

A painful accident befcl Mrs. R. G. Williams, Kapuni, on Tuesday. To chase fowls out of the garden she picked up a piece of stick and threw it. Attached to the end of the stick was a fish hook which, caught in . the palm of her hand and became embedded in the flesh; Surgical treatment was necessary, to remove the hook.

NORM AN BY SCHOOL' COMMITTEE SWIMMING 'CLASS NOT POSSIBLEOwing to the lack, of transport the Normanby School Committee has' decided the school cannot participate in the facilities afforded school swimming classes at the Haw-era baths. Members thought the opportunity 'excellent but the distance to Hawera- was the drawback. ' , , '- , ' ' ' ■,: The committee met ■on Wednesday, The new headmaster, Mr. T. Taylor, was welcomed and Mr. W. McCaffery, a committeeman w r ho had been ill, was welcomed back to the committee. The! headmaster reported that on his commencing duties on November 3 he found the “average attendance for the month was 118. Minor repairs were required to the buildings, such as doors, windows and ceilings. The condition of the grounds was satisfactory. Some of the flower .beds would have to be renewed and seeds had been planted for that purpose. A cricket set would be required for the school. It was decided to write to the Education Board drawing attention to the necessary repairs, and to procure a cricket set out of the sports funds. . The school was granted a holiday'for the Haw-era spring show. w 1 - PERSONAL ITEMS. On the motion of the chairman (Mr. E. Long) a vote of sympathy with Mr. J. Leslie in the sad loss of his son was carried at the meeting of the Waimate County Council yesterday. Mt. Leslie replied that he very much appreciated the Sympathy of his fellow councillors.