Supreme Court.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 1477, 21 November 1872, Page 3

Supreme Court.

NfSI TPEIUS. Wednesday, Nov.. 20. (Before Mr- Justice Q-ressoa, and a Special Jury.) His Honor took his seat on thp Bench at 10 o'clock. LEX T. BBOWN AND ANOMEB. Thp hearing of thia eaeo was resumed. Thomas Richardson^ examined by Mr Gtarrwk: I am a farmpr residing at Moeraki J^owns. I remember the Ist of February last. I remember seeing a large firo that day in tho scrub. I was then in Mr Brown's hut, on the banks of the Eyro. I saw tho flro about ton o'clock in the morning. Chartress was not there at that time ; he came about three o'clock. There appeared to be two fires — ono seemed to be on Mr Brown's run, and the other on Mr Murphy's. I know Burnt Hill Creek. Tho fires were a good bit up Mr Brown's and Mr Murphy's ruus. I don't expect it was near Burnt Hill Creek when I saw the fire first ; it was a good distance away. The wind was blowing north-west at the time very strong. That would bring the fire pretty well south-east, in the direction of the Waimakariri. We remained in the hut tal 3 o'clock. James Boss was with me. Wo had a good few looks at tho fire through the day. I had been afc work a little in the morning. I discontinued work on account of tho north-west wind being so strong. Afc three o'clock we wont to put tho fire out. Chartress came to tho hut, and we left together. Voss was with us. Most of the fire had got done. I wont to put tho tussocks out on the lower end of Mr Brown's run, veiy near to Dixon's wire fence. Tho wind whipped round about 4 o'clock to the south-west. •Wo put the fire out completely close to Dixon's boundary. The fire

had burnt "down to Bum **HilS"'Creek-when-;we went to put it out. Th' asmoke was then coming from the norfch-wes k At; times there is water in Burnt Hill Cre ©k. The fall is down to Mr Brown's. There -vras- a^ good piece of scrub completely destr ©red onMr Murphy's run; it was very bin c£, I have seen the dividing line between ; , Brown and Murphy. There is a little pate' i- 0 f green scrub on Mr Brown's side. The 1 fa burnt from Murphy to Brown m a good r i tt ny places. ' Cross-examined b rMr Williams : I could not from the hut tc U where the fires exactly were. I did'nt kn 6w the boundaries of the runs from the hut. , I could not swear that no fire bad been li jht e d on Brown's run. The fire was in the scr- j.b when I saw it first. The tire had passed the south-east corner of Murphy's run r £ 4 o'clock, when we got down. The fire was burning pretty well east. Richard Evan &j examined by Mr Garrick : I am a farmer, .residing at Rangiora. I was formerly in Mr Brown's employment. I know Mr Brown's r an. j was there shepherding. , , ff t i e ' /oundaries between Mr Brown and Mr Mur pby. I know the eastern boundary. I rev iembcr the fence on the southern boundary b irng placed there by Voss and Chartress. There was formorly a manuka f eneo, whic a waa taken down and burnt. The fire burnt f Ol . about five chains on to Mr Brown's r> xn i n places. John J ,d; a j ne Donald and Henry Mayne Donald g iVe evidence as to the locus in quo of the fiie. '£he i atter deposed tbat on the Ist Februar y he saw two distinct fires — one on Mr B .owns run aud the other on Mr Murpb y' a run qijj 0 f^.g w ere fi. oni a milo to a mile aild a j ia if apart 1 rard Pester gave corroborative evidence. Do ncan M'Kenzio was also examined, but his c' was immaterial. „ *V'd Chartress, recalled and examined by "± T i G-nrrick : I did not say to Mr M. Dixon tha ■■ I had lighted the scrub between 7 and 8 9 c lock on tho morning of the fire. Cross-examined by Mr Williams : When I ™ ent down with Mr Brown and others, I took *• hem to big lump§ of scrub, and showed them /ghero the wind had driven the flame on the «fe side of tho tussocks and bushes. I said, ■ " You can see for yourselves." I shewed them the direction the fire came from Murphy's to Brown's. I was at John M'Donald's at 8 o'clock on the Thursday morning. I don't remember telling him that I lighted fires between 8 and 9 o'clock. To tho best of my recollection I did not tell him that. Donald is wrong if he said ao. I lighted the fires after I left fche hut. I left about 9 o'clock as near as I can judge. John Evans Brown, examined by Mr Garrick : I am one of the defendants in this action. I recollect the morning of the Ist of February. I was at Swananoa, which is about 7 miles from where the fire took place. I know the dividing line between my run and Murphy's. About the last week in December last, the fence through the manuka scrub was torn down, and the stakes tbat composed tho fence wero thrown on to our sido and burnt. 'A wire fence with stakes was put there instead. 1 saw the placo on Friday, the 2nd February. The wires and a few of the straining posts were down. The fire, in some places, had gone half a mile and in others three-quarters of a mile towards the Waimakariri. I followod it in some places to its extremity. I was on horseback. There was none alight then. I then went across to Murphy's run to examine the direction from which the fire had come. I was certainly under the impression that the fire came from that direction on to my run. About a mile up Murphy's run from tho eastern boundary, all tho grass in a northerly direction was burnt up. That indicated to mo that tho fire had been driven in that direction by a southerly breeze. All the scrub on Murphy's run had been burned. The Court adjourned until 10 o'clock next morning.