HAWKE’S BAY SHEEP-DIP CASE.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2192, 23 September 1907, Page 2

HAWKE’S BAY SHEEP-DIP CASE.

WATSON v. WHITE. ' JUDGMENT FOR DEFENDANT.

The Waipawa correspondent of the Napier Daily Telegraph wrote as follows under date Friday last: At the Court yesterday Mr. Cutten, S.M., delivered his reserved judgment in the case in which H. N. Watson, sheepfarmer, of Onga Onga, sued W. White for £IOO damages for loss alleged to be sustained by him through using a sheep dip manufactured by the defendant. The judgment traversed the evidence at considerable length. The Magistrate held that defendant’s reply to plaintiff’s letter did not amount to a warranty. Continuing, Mr. Cutten said:—“As to the main question whether any of the loss arose from defective dip, I find the weight of evidence is altogether in defendant’s favor. To deal first with the loss of lambs. Mr. Watson dipped about 2300 lambs. He lost about 50. As Mr. Lee contended, with respeot to the loss both in lambs and rams, the losses are too patchy to be due to any defect in the dip. True, Mr. Watson says that in addition to the lambs killed, numbers of others were injured, but it seems to me quite clear that if the loss had been due to defective dip, there would have been a very much larger proportion of deaths. This is made the more clear when the evidence given is fully considered. The same mixture, in fact a mixture weaker than the majority of the lambs were put through, seriously injured a number of grown rams with three months’ wool on them that were put through it a fortnight later. Some other explanation tha’ii defective dip must therefore be looked for.' There was evidence that Mr. Watson had a very good lambing with a fairly-large proportion of twins. Some evidence was also given thfft Mr. Watson was somewhat severe ill his treatment of his lambs. Mr. Watson, however, denies this, and he is supported by Mr. Carver in his statement that he was extremely particular in his care of them. This much, however, is admitted. 51 r. Watson was dipping his weaned lambs off the shears, he was short-handed, and lambs were often dipped well on towards the evening, and, on one occasion at least, a. mob was dipped too late to be put into the paddocks, and they were kept in the yards all night. It was in this mob that Air. Watson first noticed deaths. Judging from the evidence the bulk of opinion among sheepfar--ners is against dipping lambs off the -hears.” In conclusion, the Magistrate found that “the plaintiff has no complaint whatever against the defendant. The one or two instances given in the evidence for' the plain-

-iff of injury from the dip are,clearly shown to be due to a want of proper care in using it. The rest of the evidence upon, the point in the case is a tribute to" the good results obtained from defendant’s dip. Judgment for the defendant with costs.” Mr.' Lnslc appeared for the plaintiff and Mr. E. Ef. Lee for the defendant.