MAGISTRATE'S COURT

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 56, 29 November 1917, Page 9

MAGISTRATE'S COURT

THE POLICE LIST

Mr. S. E. M'Carthy held a sitting of tho Magistrate's Court yesterday, and dealt with a lona list of police cases. Leonard Nosoley pleaded guilty to tho theft of £2 belonging to Arthur George Fanlknor. He was remanded till next Wednesday for sentence. Ada d'Beere was convicted of insobriety, and was remanded till to-day. John Slines appeared on six charges of indecent assault on- boys. Ho was committed _to tho Supremo Court for trial. Bail was refused.

Victor kallinikos -was committed for trial on a chargo of indecent assault on a fomale.

William Henry Gardiner was charged with having indecently assaulted a female. Gardiner was arrested late on Tuesday afternoon, and tho polico wcro not prepared to proceed at once, so a remand till December 5 was granted. Ralph WilliapiH was sentenced to throe months' imprisonment for stealing £3 2s. worth of whisky belonging to tho Wellington Harbour Board. Eileen Maud Hodson was acquitted on two charges' of theft (a blouse and a brooch) from Lilian Macluskio. Tho defendant said she borrowed blouse becanso the other girl had givon her permission when they were room-mates to wear some of her clothing. John A. Larkiu was accused of having stolen two flasks of whisky (valued, 9s.j belonging to the Wellington Harbour Board., Tho Magistrate said tho police hnd not proved the case. Larkin was discharged. HUTT RATES CASE. Mr. M'Carthy delivered judgment in the case in which the Hutt River Board claimed from tho Hutt Park Committee the sum of £8 13s. 4d. in respect of rates. In the course of tho judgment. the Magistrate said that one-half of tho amount was in respect of rates for tho year 1915-16, and the other in respect of rates for tho year 3916-17. The rates last-named were admitted. Tho dofenco relied on tho following addition to section 2 of the Rating Act, 190S, viz.* "(k.k.) Land and buildings exclusively used by any local authority for its own business." "Locat authority" means "any council, board, trustees, commissioners, company, body, or persons empowered to mako and levy rates." Paragraph (k.k.) was repealed on October 12, 1915. It was' conceded that if the paragraph quoted governed tho present case tho rate first 'levied was irrevocable, inasmuch as when it was levied the land, the subject of the rates, was not rateable. . . .There were two questions for decision—(a) Is the defendant corarnitteo a local authority? and (b) Aro the lands and buildings thereon vested in it by tho Hutt Park Act, used exclusively by it for its own business? Taking theso questions in their ordor, the judgment preceded: "(a) The defendant committee is not a local authority, inasmuch as it has no power to levy rates. It has been argued because the defendant committee is made up of the appointees of three local authorities it has the samo powers _as thoso conferred on stich authorities. The answer to that is that tho defendant oommittee is a creature of tho statuto creating it, and .that statute expressly negatives the possession of tho committeo of rating powers, and there can bo no local authority without rating powers. (b) With regard to tho second point, it is clear that paragraph (k.k.) is confined in its operation to land and buildings used by some local authority for its own business. It does not apply to land used by a corpora to body not a local authority representing three distinct local authorities, even although that body uses tho land for tho purposes of recreation for tho inhabitants of three distinct incorporated localities. Judgment must bo recorded for the plaintiff for the full amount of the claim with costs.