RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

Timaru Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 2826, 13 October 1883, Page 3

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

TlMAßU— Fbidat, Oct. 12th. m (Before J. Begwick, E?q., R.M.) di VACCINATION. Three informations against Charles Tapp, Pareora, of neglecting to havo children &] vaccinated, which were adjourned from the P previous Friday, were now struck out, neither the prosecutor, tho Registrar, nor the defendant appearing. - CIVIL CASKS. W. C. Fendall v. W. Ogilvie— Claim, £71 8s 6i, damages for breach of agreement to thresh grain. Mr Tosswill for plaintiff, Mr Perry for de- , fendant. j This case, which had already occupied part of two previous aittinge, was resumed, Mr v Perry continuing tho case for the defence. v A witness who had been employed by r plaintiff during the harvest, stated that tho n plaintiff's grain was all more or less damaged by t weather before it was stacked, the wheat t especially. t W. Johnson, engine driver with Mr Jef- a conti's machine, Bhowed that, acting under 1 instructions, he had refused to throsh for j plaintiff except by the hour, the lot being t small and the sample bad. The plaintiff m , hia evidence said that if the top of a etsck >_ was badly damaged by wet, damaged grain j would infallibly work its way down among ( the good below, as the stack was taken down, and spoil the sample. This witness denied . that the bulk of the Btack would be affected by tubbieh from the top if proper caru was taken. ' W. Campbell, steam thresher, wai called with Bpeciol reference to this point- If a top ' was wet the wet corn would not descend : more than a couple of rows of sheaves if the < forking wero properly done. He had been asked to threih this lot, but bis terms, 6d a i buahel and coal and oil, were not accepted. These were about equal to the 7d per bushel paid by plaintiff for the work. J. Benson, feeder of defendant's machine, was called to show how the machine was employed from the time the alleged agreement wa* made by the defendant to tbfesh plaintiff's stuff, to the date of the Qood rains. He made cvi that they could r.ot have dono more than simply get to plaintiff's placo before the rain came on, even if they could have finished the work mentioned by defendant to plaintiff, as requiring to be done before going to plaintiff's.

Counsel then addressed the court, Mr Ferry

m his address pointed out that tha case wax an important one, as there were numerous cases of the saino kind last season, ]>r bably somo every season, but few were brought beforo tho Courts. Mr Tosswill remarked on this that several cases had been brought before the Court ut Chrislchurch, and sometimes heavy damages had boon awrrded. Mr Perry's chief points were that tho agreement waa an imperfect one, and with defendant conditional on his going to Raincliff which bo did net do ; that tho true measure of damages would bo the extra amount paid to another person for threshing the stuff, defendant not being liable for damage arising from the stacks being unthatched, and placed where flood waters could reach them, — circumstancrs of whioli he was not made aware by the plaintiff; and that the damiige, m considerable degree, nt any rate, had ncorued before tho alleged ngre"mrnt was made. His Worship reserved his decision.