STACKS BURNED.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19878, 20 February 1920, Page 6

STACKS BURNED.

A CLAIM FOR DAMAGES

As a sequel to a fire in a wheat field at llaugiora, George Bovington, farmer ([Mr F. Wilding), claimed from Joseph '1 odd and Plonta Todd, threshing mill proprietors, Couth's Island‘(Mr M. J. Gresson). tho sum of £142 18s in tho Supreme Court yesterday.

Witnesses for the plaintiff gave evidence in support of counsel’s statement. Herbert Henry Martin, engine driver for' the defendant, said that ho had placed the threshing machine on a. site selected by the plaintiff. As Tlevington wished to have only one stack of straw, tlie machine could not have been placed anywhere else. On the Monday the smoko was blown by the nor’-wester clear of the stack. Had there been a gale work would have had. to stop. Witness had not thought that there'was any risk, and ho would have stopped operations if the plaintiff had asked him to do so. Witness had never seen a spark arrestor used during threshing in Canterbury. To his Honor: Witness had no theory about tbe> tire. He did not think it possible for .it to have been caused by a spark from the engine. To Mr Gresson: Where threshing could be carried out in an open padclock, the engine and combine could he placed in any one of many different positions. hi stack threshing there was hardly any choice. Edward Alexander Ifattray, who had been working on the threshing mill, said that for a spark from the engine to have caused the fire it would have had to travel against the wind. To his Honor; Witness had no theory to account for tho fire. The combine itself had gone up in flames six or seven hours later.

•His Honor said that tho.ro had boon no satisfactory evidence of negligence on the part of Martin, the enginedriver, and judgment would be given For tho defendant with costs on the lowest scale.