LAW REPORTS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 593, 23 August 1909, Page 11

LAW REPORTS.

SUPREME COURT, THE CRIMINAL SESSIONS. MAORI MARRIAGE CUSTOMS. ■Wiremn /Kingi, an Otaki Maori, was charged on Friday, before his Honour Mr. Justieo Chapman, and' a jurj, with having ctiatnitted a serious offence • Mr. Mj'ers piosccutcd on behalf .of the Cr»r», and Mr. Wilford appealed for tlio defence.' Evidence for the prosecution " waß concluded "at noon on' Saturday, and tho jury, without waiting to hear the defence, intimated that they 'had unanimously decided that the accused had rCasonablo grounds to think .that tho ,girl was o\or age when ho took her to bo his wife. The verdict was, therefore, one of not guilty. His Honour remaiked on the fact that anyone might have been inistakon as to tho ages of soino of the Maori witnesses. CASES FOR TO-DAY. Tho charges which will be heard to-day are as follow:—John Tancrcd, breaking and entering, with intent to commit a crime; Peter Williamson Tail, retrial on a charge of assaulE, w'ith intent to causo actual -bodily harm; Edgar.John U. Clough, theft. STREET-WIDENING IN MASTERTON. . RESERVED. JUDGMENT GIVEN. His Honour, Mr. Justice Cooper, gave his • reserved judgment on Saturday with regard to two appeals concerning the awarding of betterment for increased laud values brought about by the widening of Masterton streets. Under the Mastciton Borough Betterment Act, 1902, the Borough Council widened Cross Street, and £122 betterment was awarded against May' Sullivan and Cecilia Sullivan. In respect to widening m Dixon Street,' tho borough was awarded £39 betterment against 1 the Commercial and Farmers' Club Tho propoi ty-boldcrs appealed against tlieso awards on tho ground that the claim had not been made within twelve months of tho , widening being carried out Mr. M. Chapman, KC , with, him, Mr D K. Logan (of Masterton), appeared for tho appellants, and Mi. 0 A. Pownall (of Masterton) for the respondent borough. In giving judgment in the caso brought bv May and Cecilia Sullivan, his Honour said that tho two questions which had been argued upon the motion were - Whcthci the Compensation Court having decided that tho claim was made within tho required tnno its decision was final, and (2) if its decision could bo reviewed/ was the claim filed witlnn the time. On the first point, his' Honour ruled as follows —"The Compensation Cmnt is a Couit of limited jurisdiction Its decision is final on all mattois lawfuly coming before it It is a general rule,that no Court of limited jurisdiction can .give itself jnnsdicI tion by a wiong decision on a point collateral to the merits of the caso upon which tho limit to its jurisdiction depends, atld, howevor final its decision may DC on all particu- • larSj making up together that subject mattor, which, if true, is within its jmisdiction, and however necessary it may bo for it to make a pieliminaij inquiry, whether snmo collateral matter be oi bo not within tho limits, yet upon this preliminary questioh its decision must always be open for inquiry in the Snpenor Court." Tho Act of 1902 was very badly drawn. Its lii--1 terpretation clause contained no definition of " street-widening works, _ oi "execution of tho woik," or of "worl " It is, in my opinion, clear," went on his Honour, "that the meie taking of land for the purpose of widening a sticet, cannot bo called 'tho execution of tho work of widening the street' It ia the taking of land for 'tho purpose of widening the street, but that is gives nso to the chum of the corporation for betterment It is tho 'eSecutien' of such work' winch is, under Section 68-of tho~l'ublic Works Act, of 1894, the, foundation for a for Jjottorment from the claim of tho owners whose land on tho opposite side of the street had been taken for street-widening purposes " Ho held that the street-widening was completed as Boon as the frontages were set back to tho boundary of the additional width, and as soon • as tho physical obstruction were removed The local Act gave no definition of the various phrases used, but he construed them all as meaning tho one thin", tho work of "widening" the .street, which did not include the "i formation of the street when "widened "In his opinion, therefore, as tho woik of widening, in the sense in which he construed the xict, nas completed before September 16, 1907, tho claim made on September 7, 1908, was out of time, and' the Condensation Court had no power to make an aw aid Ho was of opinion Jliat thc_ aw. aid-must bo set aside, with £10 10s costs In the case brought by tho Commercial and Farmers' Club, a similar decision was given on tho same ground, and \also on additional gidund tint the club aequued tho land socio months'after even the formation of the road -was completed CHAMBERS SITTING. A sitting in Chambers was held by Mr Justieo Cooper on Saturday 'morning In tho case" of the Law Practitioners Act and re Powler, summons for taxation (Mr Guy), his' Honour made an older for taxation, leserving to the other side, who were not represented, the right to apply within k seven days t6 rescind it Orders for administration were granted in the estates of>T. Morrison, deceased (Pnbhc Trustee), and „\. Thompson, deceased (Public Tnisteo). Probate was granted in the estates of M 31' Joso (deceased), and A. Thompson (deceased), the Public Trustee being tho applicant m.each case His Honour granted a petition put forwaid by Mr Bell, to change the name of the Fraser Light Plating Company, to i Clarke's Electro-Plato Works Company.