RESIDENT MAGISTRATE’S COURT.

Evening Star, Issue 4138, 1 June 1876, Page 2

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE’S COURT.

The vital statistics for the Dunedin district for May are :—Births, 159; deaths, 49 ; marriages, 38. Mr Keogh took a benefit at the Queen’s Theatre last evening, when there was a capital downstairs attendance. “The Heart of Midlothian ” was well played.

The Carnival Football Match between the Union and Dunedin Clubs takes place on the Southern Oval on Thursday week. There will be fifteen men a-sido, and the Rugby Union rules will bo played. The' next inward English mail will be brought by the City of Sydney to Kandavu, and thence to New Zealand by the City of New York, which will take this month’s outward mail from Sydney to Kandavu, for transhipment into the Australia (which goes through to Sau Francisco), and will convey the outward June mail from New Zealand.''

The cable between Penang and Madras has been repaired, and is now workable. The company’s steamer will now be available for repairing the cable between Port Darwin and Java. As it has been ascertained that the break is only thirty-six miles from Port Darwin, it is probable that communication with England will speedily be restored.

The telegraph runners in the principal towns of the Colony are to be provided with a uniform hat and a waterproof cape or coat, for protection against the winter weather. The Wellington * Argus ’ says the hat is very neat, with a red cord round the top, which gives it official distinction. The General Manager is entitled to credit for providing the boys with tho winter clothing, which, though it adds about LSOO a-year to the expenses of the, department, mil afford the boys warmth and comfort.

The Invercargill Ohaimberof Commerce naturally supports v£r£ h&rtily the movement for the eatablishMehi of a -Harbor Board for the Bluff; Ah'endowment of ten thousand acres is modestly -dsked for.

The following are the names of the candidates proposed this morning-for members of tty Half-way Bush Road BoardMr 11. Rossbotham, Mr J. M‘Kenzie, and Mr Jehp Bigger. The election takes place on Monday next.

A case of a very painful nature, according to the evidence adduced, was heard in the Resident Magistrate’s Court this morning. An elderly man named Donald Ross was suedfor andhas to pay the valuwof a promissory note ter LI 00, which he imagined was destroyed, as the money for which he signed it was never advanced. The full particulars of- the case appear in another column.

The weekly meeting of the All Saints’ Young Men’s Association was held in the School-room last evening. In the absdhce of the President and vice-President, Mr Day was voted .to the chair. Mr M-Garthy. gave a recitation, “Nothing to Wear,” widen was well received. The debate, “ Are reSressiye measures of any service in stopping runkenness,” was, after a lively discussion, adjourned until Wednesday evening next. The committee have made arrangements for one of their popular entertainments, to take place on the 15th inst.

A new quartz reef has been discovered at Table Hill. Trom the * Tuapeka Times : ’ we learn that a party of men named Joseph Higgins, John Lanigan, Alexander Gillies, and Mark Higgins, have applied to the Warden at Lawrence, for a prospecting claim on a new quartz reef discovered by them on block 5, Table Hill district. The lode is situated three-quarters of a mile from any known line of reef, and the discovery is, therefore, of importance. The application will be heard at the Warden’s Court, Havelock, on the Bth June.

The Harbor Board have taken at leant one very practical step. On the recommendation of the Harbor Master, they to-day decided to apprentice for five years Mr Arthur Daniel (son of Mr Daniel, M.P.C. for RiverIon), who for some months past has been employed in connection, and is desirous of continuing with the pilot service at the Heads. This is, in some measure, giving effect to the suggestion of Mr J. L. Gillies and others who so strongly urged last session the placing of the school at the Heads on a proper footing. If the master of that school were qualified to teach navigation, in addition to imparting an ordinary edueation, .we see no reason why the nucleus of a school of navigation could not be established there at once.

At the Resident Magistrate’s .Court, Port Chalmers, this morning, before Mr T. A., Mansford, R.M., and Dr. Drysdale, .1.P., a* well-known character named John Gillison, alias Simple' Johnny, and George Angel, were charged with stealing twenty coppers, of the value of Is Bd, from the Port Chalmers Hotel. From the statement of Ser gcant Morkane, it seems the prisoners were in a back room of the hotel on Tuesday evening, and Angel went to the bar and called for drinks, tendering the coppers in payment. The barman, recognising them as belonging to MrThomaa Dodson, went to the room where the prisoners had been sitting, and discovered that a desk had been broken open, from which the coppers had been taken. In defence, Angel stated that he had taken the coins, and that Gillison was innocent: Gillison pleaded not guilty, and at the request of Sergeant Morkane the case was adjourned till to-morrow in order that Mr Dodson might be present. The station-holders in the Upper Waitaki I complain very much of the freight charges now levied on the railway, as they find that these considerably exceed the cost of forwarding by waggon. An instance in point has been supplied to the ‘North Otago Times.’ A gentleman resident in the district named found that the rail charges for scoured wool delivered in Oamaru amounted to L2 per ton, and effected a considerable saving by entering into an agreement with a waggoner who took the contract for its delivery at LI 6s per ton, showing a saving over sending it by rail of 40 per cent. In this case the rail charges include cost of conveyance to and from the line, it being 16s per ton cheaper to load it on to a road waggon, which delivers it at the store in town, than to dray it to the line, send it by rail to Oamaru, and dray it from the railway stationjto the’store. This is no supposititious case, the* station-holder in question having, after corresponding With the Railway Traffic Manager, and finding that the charges could not be reduced, entered into a contract on the terms stated for the conveyance of his wool by road waggon. The following items are from yesterday’s ‘North Otago Times’:—Mr John Orr, who was injured by the late boiler' explosion, has greatly improved, and 'strong hope is now entertained of his eventual complete recovery. It is expected that, when the canvass is completed, the town contributions for the sufferers will reach between L3OO and L4OO, end it is hoped that this will be supplemented by from LIOO to L2OO by the country districts.—At the Resident Magistrate’s Court, Hampden, yesterday, Charles Mains will be brought up, charged with stabbing his wife on the 24th inst. The case is not a serious one; indeed, it seems to have been only an aggravated matrimonial squabble, as Mrs Mains is quite well enough to appear in Court to give evidence in the case. On inquiry of Dr Wait late last night, we find that little hope is entertained of the recovery of Noah Page, who recently underwent an operation (amputation of the right leg below the knee) in consequence of the injuries sustained through the late accident on the Waiareka Railway. The wheels of the tracks passed over the unfortunate man’s right foot and ancle, and diagonally up the inside of the right leg and over the thigh, fracturing the pelvis. Mr Hesketh, Immigration Officer, informs us that Page arrived in the Colony in 1876 per the ship James Nicol Fleming, and since commencing work has been continuously employed by Morrison and Co. He has a wife and one child, and is said to be a hardworking, steady, industrious mau. —The girl Ross (aged eight, years), whose clothes caught fire while playing in a field at Reidstown on Monday afternoon, was, with the exception of her face and feet, actually roasted, all her limbs and body being burnt brown, and the skin indurated. She was almost in a comatose state when found. Ihe St. Paul’s Church Choir w ill meet f r practice this evening at eight o’clock, instead of Saturday, as previously stated. The monthly meeting of the Union of Ota o Temple, 1,0.G.T,wi1l le held in tin Tem perance ball to-nloirow (Friday) evening, at 7.30.

We understand that a sale of the surplus stocktaken overby the Albion' Brewing and Malting Company will take place in the yards of the company at 2 p.m. to-morrow. The we. kly meeting of Lodge Pride of Dunedin took place on Wednesday n’g t. Bro. M'Gregor tendered his resignation as \V. 0. iV, Bro. Wakefield, jun , being elected to fill his place.

The ‘ Illustrated New Zealand Herald ’ for this month is fully np to the mark, the illustratiocs being well executed, and tho letterp.ess a good s lection of. the m :nth's eveuts v ; ihe frontispiece is the entrance to the Grey Eiver.

Thursday, June 1. (Before J. Bathgate, Esq.,B. &&) Judgment was given for plaint! fault, in the following cases Moore; iv. Brown, claim L 52 11s lid, for goods'|npplied and cash advanced to meet" hj bill; Haggi’it and Co. v. A. Duncan, L 9 2s 5d on a dishonored promissory note; Kirkpatrick, Glendining, and Co. v. Bennett, L 5, for a suit of clothes ; Baker v. J. Aldridge, LI 6s 3d, for meat supplied. Spt dling v. Ross.—Claim, LIOO, on a missory note. The amount.' was reduced from LlO3 2s, to bring the case within the jurisdiction of the Court. Mr W. D. Stewart. appeared,.for plaintiff:; jMr.S|out .for defendant, who pleaded a genem denial.—--Donald Ross, of the Kaikorai, proved his signature to the note.—D. M. Spedding said he discounted the note, which was endorsed by Messrs Reith and Wilkie. —Cross-examined & Witness thought he got the nbte about the middle of February, He believed he made an agreement with Reith and Co to sue Ross if the note , wad"; dishonored when due. .Nothing was said about the bill at the time it was discounted, but -witness thought the Donald Ross was a man who used to keep a toll-bar. —For the defence John Reith stated that he got the bill from Basch, formerly secretary of the Colonial Building Society, who asked him to discount it, saying he had sold some property to Ross and received the bill. Witness did not ask Basch to sign it. Witness agreed with Spedding that ' the latter should sue Ross' u the bill was dishonored, and witness would pay the costs. At the time witness received the bill Basch was owing him money,— Donald Ross said he signed the bill produced, but he owed Basch nothing at the time.—His Worship said nothing of that sort could affect third parties, such as Reith or Spedding.—Mr Stout contended that he could show that there was fraud in the transaction.—Donald Ross continued that he: went to Basch to borrow LIOO from, the Colonial Building Society, for twelvemonths. Basch told him he would have to sigh four bills at three, six, nine, and twelve months, for LIOO each—every one being a renewal of the previous One. WitnCssdid so; but a lew days after Basch told him that the. bank had refused to negotiate the bills, and consequently they had better be torn up. Witness assented, whereupon Basch produced what appeared to be the four bills and tore them up. A week or two afterwards witness met >pedding, who, said he had discounted a bill of his, showing him the one produced in Court. Witness said it must be a forgery, for there was no bill signed by him then in existence.—Mr. ‘ Stout said it was beyond doubt that'Reith'’ and Sodding knew of the fraudulent manner in which tbebill had been obtained, 6r Reith would not have taken it from Basch without an endorsement, and it would not hj aye been arranged that Spedding should sno Ross If the bill was dishonored.—Mr Stewart protested against, such ‘ insinuations being thrown Honor said the. case was one of those distressing ones in which innocent persons have to suffer—he must give judgment for plaintiffs for the 'amount claimed, with costs.

Neill and Boyd v. Maitland, —Claim L 66 Bs, for goods supplied. . Mr Stout appeared for plaintiff, Mr Smith for defendant. • Judgment was given for plaintiffs for the amount claimed, with costs. [Left sitting.] •*