JUSTICE AND INJUSTICE.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1526, 1 July 1886, Page 2

JUSTICE AND INJUSTICE.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —There was a case tried in a New Zealand Court of Law the other daj, before four Justices of the Peace and a Magistrate, for damages by way of incpoundage fees and deterioration. The case ran like this:—A lessor rented to a lessee a farm for a term, and it war not agreed who should keep the fences in repair ; consequently the lessee's cattle broke down a gap in the feucfi and got on to tha road, and were impounded. The lessee then sued the lessor for impoundage fees and deterioration. The case was tried in a Court of Law, and judgment given in favor of the lessee for the amount. This certainly must be a new law, and to be ru'ed by it freeholders would do well to sell out and lease the land. If the lessor is bold responsible for the lessee's stock, when the lessse wishes to make a rise be only has to allow tbe fences to become impaired, that his cattle may get out on to the road, and then get a friend to drive them away that he may recover damages from the lessor for less of stock, etc., which could be done according to our Magistrate's oppressive decision, I think the law provides like this :—lf th« lessor is responsible for the fences the lessee should give due notice of such fences being out of repair, and if not repaired in a given time the leasee should repair such fences, and charge the cost to tbe lessor. So the reader can judge for himself the Magistrate's jus tico.—Yourß, etc.,

JrjSTIOB. Geraldine, June 30th, 1886.