Supreme Court, Wellington.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume XIX, Issue 1786, 25 January 1886, Page 3

Supreme Court, Wellington.

The Evening News Newspaper Company (Napier), bssobtained judgment against the Wsipawa Mail for libel, the damages being assessed at £l5O. The case Hawkins v. Waipawa Mail (or libel was settled out of court, the defendant paying £IOO without costs. svASNutae and others t. bell and OTHERS. This was an action in which the plaintiffs were Hans Hansen Svanniuge, Tbos Bought I'ailisoo, John Hong, and Joseph Bridgement Boots, and the defendants Alexander Bell, Coleman Phillips, Henry Howell Spratt, and George Wyatt. The claim was fixed at £IO,OOO. The case for the plaintiffs was that they were aawmillers, carrying on business in Feilding under the style of Roots & Co. On the Ist of May. 1879, they entered into an agreement with the defendant Spratt, whereby they were to be allowed to erect a tramway over bis land in the Manchester block and remove certain trees. At the time the agreement was made they had partially erected a sawmill on land of their own. W hen the agreement was made with Spratt the sawmill was completed and a tramway laid down, so as to connect the mill with the lush. They then proceeded to cut the timber, paying Spratt a royalty on each tree. Sabseqnentlv Spratt transferred his interest in the bush to Phillips * Wyatt, who in turn made over their interest to the defendant Bell. Ihe plaintiffs were ejected from the land, and their mill and tramway were rendered useless, wherefore they prayed the Court to award the £IO,OOO as damages.