WARDEN'S COURT.

Thames Star, Volume III, Issue 1667, 22 April 1874, Page 2

WARDEN'S COURT.

THIS My. (Before W. Fbasib, Big., Wardta.) ■ -/r:SKi»tf;;y;"_«|Qia*'"'ixp othkbs. - ■ ' j F'i %* e& Mr Myers for the defendants; Mr. Macdonald with Mr. Tyler for the plaintiffs, r ; This case was adjourned from the last sitting of the Court, the action it will bo rjemembered having arisen from an alleged breach of contract between the Queen of Beauty shareholders and the plaintiff, a tributer. • •■-:• : ; The complainant, G. Smith,; sworn, eramined by Mr. Ma«donald—Some of the mek: ■'! employed > said they did. not want any Christmas holidays, and I told them they could go on filling in the old stopes. Afterwards 7 the men told me they had done soi This was done, to keep the ground open. In reference to the candle mark made on the timber, McDonald told me. it was not the right one--it was further vup the driye. v x first mark when my attention-had been drawn to it by some of the men. I never, during the time I was working in the George Stephenson; went to the Queen of Beauty mine in the day time. I had a conTersation with John McCabe in Grahamstown, by one of the banks. I cannot retollecfc the day—l think it was last Monday. Also at the Tacific some time previously, on one occasion, I said to him, "vvVjell, John, I did not think you would say' what you; did yesterday. He said he could not go! against his own mate —they,had combined altogether J :n'Ow. if!oMcCJabe th6n veixt away., One man' of the name of J6hn Grpenwjispreseh't;'" , :-^s.^iv.: :i -a-.'c

, Cross-examined by; Mr Hesketh—l have had a conversation with Thoinag relative to the action, but did not speak to him about it more than to others., The &nly~3iMe€l£ref6rredv toi ifci^s- v^jeni J Vent to his house with Billings. If I met him afterwards tne-conrersation was general. Thomas never disclosed the nature of the shareholders' meetings to inc. I have npt been, to Thomas', house relative to this matter but once. I know :'T:^^['Me^:^kxt" she knew about the matter from a^mannatned Thackery, who told me the oommenif the madeV I was not in ihe; room when the paper waf read. The agreement pro-' duced is the one I signed. It was pot read over to me, neither did I, ask fpr.it 'po-;.&ififfii%®iSk docjain^,?f|Sriili.to mis. I relied on what O'Brien previously {said to me—that the document was all right, land contained the three known leaders, jln what I have sud,,tbat Jabout O'Brien !there was something about him that I did not > like, ihe was a? man I did not care [about having anything to do with. I made my. objections to the agreements that had been read tome because they 'have not contained the clauses I wanted. !I signed the last one because I relied on 'the; correctness of the representations mad*. After a meeting of the shareholders, I told O'Brien that I wiihed to ;withdraw my tender. He told to think' better of it. I was down' the mine with O'Brien before the agreement wai signed. I have no alteration to make in my cvi* idence, other thin that I have /given. ■ [O'Brien only'asked me to sign an agree* ; iment the night before I^igned the one I ?did sign. 1 did not take notice of the jcolor of the paper that th« agreement had (been written on. If I had known that (it was to come to ; this, perhaps I jmight. 1 said that I wouldhave nothing (to do with the matttr, unless I (was allowed to work the Bright JSmile end. This was on the occasion of one of the agreemeqits being, read, most, of the shareholders were, present. ■ That was the ; time. when Thomas said that he would be £500 'security for me. I heard him make idle oll'er. The same night I told thorn I •would make them ; another offer. I understood^,my,last offer was the one I signed for. When I signed the final ;agreement : I swear there was no one [present but O'Brien. Hays was outside, it do not remember the day the shaft contrapt was signed. I do not think the shaft, agreement, was ever jread' to, .me-; r i therewas to have been a; i£s deposit, but ;O'Brien;Bwd he,did not want.that ,pt jne. I had some candles of O'Brien the morn-

ing I cjMnijjjenced working the tribute. There wejre iv* shareholders present when we agreed oji the hourg for hauling stuff. Court adjourned till two o'clock. On re-assembling, the witness Smith was again placed in the box for reexamination.