DISTRICT COURT.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 18, Issue 1139, 6 October 1871, Page 2

DISTRICT COURT.

Tareha and others v. Cashmore. [CONTINUED FROM WEDNESDAY’S TIMES.] On the Court resuming at 2 p.m., Paora Torotoro was examined by Mr Wilson, and deposed : £ told Mr Cashmore to desist from catting timber in the bush. I own an equal ninth share in the block. I asked him to cease cutting the timber the first time I saw him at work. He has been at work there two-and-a-half years. I remember his putting up the saw mill. In the year 1870, Mr Sutton supplied me with eight flasks of powder, four boxes of caps, and one bag of shot. When I asked Mr Sutton for the ammunition, he wrote a note to the Custom House, which Hohepa delivered, and I then went to Mr Beyer, on the Spit, and he gave me the ammunition. Mr Beyer gave it into my own hands. Mr Sutton has not asked me for the money. Ido not owe Mr Sutton money for the-am-munition, as I consider it part payment of the £3OO due to me for fhe laud.

Waka Kawatini, sworn, deposed : I am one of the plaintiffs in this action. I belong to the Ngaiikahungunu tribe, ajid have an interest in the Mangateretere West Block. 1 know Sutton and Cash more, i never turned my land over to Sutton; Sutton wanted my land, but I would not agree to let him have it; I wished to keep it. I mortgaged my land to Sutton. We had some sugar and dour, and £5 in cash. I don’t know the document produced. [The paper was an agreement purporting to be signed by the witness’s mark, giving Cashmorc permission to cut timber on the land for three years.] I never signed the paper. I did not make that mark or touch the pen. After Mr Cashmore returned from England, I spoke to him about a thrashing machine, which he was to give me in exchange for the timber he was cutting. He did not give me any money. He afterwards told me that he heard Waka had sold his share in the land for £SOO to Mr Sutton and that therefore he would not give me the machine. I have repeatedly told Cashmore to desist from cutting rny timber. By Mr Wilson : I have never signed any conveyance or mortgage, and knownothing of the documents produced in this ease, t know Maney. I never gave him an order for £250 on Mr Sutton. [Order produced by Mr Wilson, who pointed out to the Court that the witness’s mark was duly attested by Mr M. Hamlin, the interpreter in the present case.] That paper is their ow'ii; I never signed it, and know nothing of it. AH the standing timber in that bush belongs to me. I have an equal share with the other principal owners, and the portion wheie the bush stands is my own. I don’t know whether Tareha ever gave Cashmore permission to cut timber on the block. I never told any other native that 1 had sold my interest to Sutton.' I have never sold any land, I have never parted with any of my land except by way of mortgage. I never sold any of my Heivtaunga land. I have sold the Ohikakarewa block, for which 1 have only received two cases of spirits and two cases of biscuit. I was to have received £BOO for that land, I was to have received £IOO for it, Maney still Qw-es me that money. I never received any money for ffereta mga. [Mr Stedman objected to the witness being questioned about any other land than the Maugateretere. —Mr Wilson said he was merely putting these questions co show what amount of credence might be attached to the witness’s statements. He was prepared to show by documentary and other evidence that the whole of the statements the Court had just heard were untrue. —His Honor said that in his opinion Mr Wilson was adopting a very legitimate method of testing the credibility of the witness. He would, however*, note Mr Stedman’s objection ] I never sold my interest in the Betane block. Wiry should 1 1 I should only have got rum for it. T did sign some paper 1 about the Petane bloc]?, but I was drunk at the time I never received any money, though I was to have got £530 for it. I was to have got £550 for it. Mr Stedrnan, on the evidence now before the Court, asked for the rule. He applied for a provisional injunction until ft could be made absolute. His Honor could not receive such an application without hearing the other t •

side. He was sorry that Mr Gash more had stopped work on receiving the notice issued on Monday. Such had not been the intention of the Court; in fact it was not competent: for him as judge to issue an injunction without having given the defendant an opportunity to show cause why it should not be issued.

Mr Wilson said that tlie terms of the rule—which he maintained had been improperly issued-—were such that he had advised his client at once to suspend his work upon its receipt. He would bare a claim for damages upon this at a later period. Robert Cash more, sworn, deposed : 1 began to cut timber in the Big Bush in February, 1867, under an agreement with Karaitiana, Henare, and Manama, by which they received 1,000 feet of timber out of every 5,0Q0 feet cut. I worked for a year on those terms, and in 1808 made a fresh arrangement with the? same parties, by which T paid £4OO per annum for the right of cutting the timber. At that time the parties who now object used to deal with me for timber, but they never raised any objection then. This agreement remained in force until February, 1869, when I purchased the right to cut the remaining timber from Messrs Maney and Peacock. Tareha told me he had sold all his interest in the block to Maney and Peacock. He told me this the last time I saw him— about two months ago. I never had any notice whatever from Tareha that he objected to my cutting the timber. My first intimation of anything of the kind was the affidavit read in this Court on Monday, Waka has objected to my cutting timber, and tried to stop mo by main force. He said he had not been paid by Sutton, and that he was drunk when he signed the deed. I cannot tell the exact value of the timber now standing in the bush. I would not give more than £250 for the right to cut what remains, I have no idea of the value of the land.

By Mr Steelman : There was a written agreement between Karaitiana and myself. I have it at home, i had a written agreement with Maney and Peacock, and still more recently with Mr Sutton. The latter is dated Jane 15, 1871. [Mr Stedman read portions of the agreement, which was for two years, and pointed out that it contained an express provision that Mr Sutton should not be held answerable if other parties should succeed in outsing Mr Cashmorc from the land ] Karaitiana never told me he would stop me; he said he would not do so. When I went to England I told W aka 1 would bring him out a thrashing machine on certain conditions; but I never made any arrangement with him on the subject. He never objected to the timber being cut before 1 letc, but while I vyas away he raised objections. He pulled up the tramway, and tried to stop the work. I brought a thrashing machine out with me, but I never offered it to him. 1 sold tt to other parties I did not see him until after it was sold. Neither Tareha nor Puora ever told me they woujd proceed against me. I did not pay Karaitiana anything before he went* to Wellington ; I have pot paid him anything since the termination of the agreement for <£4oo per annum. The part of the bush already cut belonged to Karaitiana. ETe asked me for payment about 2 months ago, but did not say anything about taking proceedings. Waka has never pointed out any particular part of the bush as being his; he lays claim to it all.

By Mr Wilson ; Karaiiiana is largely indebted to me—to the extent, par haps, of .£SOO. B, D. Maney, sworn, deposed: I know Tareha, and had a transaction with him in May, 1869, when, conjointly with Mr Peacock, I purchased his interest in the Pakiaka Bush, for £BOO. We each agreed to pay £4OO. The document produced is the agreement. It is signed by Tareha, to whom its provisions were fully explained. The money has all been paid. According to the agreement one-half was to go to the payment of Karauria’s debts, and it lias been so applied. I accompanied Tareha to the bush to mark otf the boundaries and arrange with the other natives. This was done. We went to Paora Toro tore’s house,

where Tareha explained the matter to the natives present, including Waka, Paora Torotorq, and others. They all gave their consent. The natives present assisted us in marking off the land, after which ve went to Cashmore’s house, where the deed vas drawn up and signed. [Deed of agreement pro* duced. Mr Steelman objected to the reception of the document, on the ground that the stamps were insufficiently cancelled, the natives having signed with crosses instead of initials. —His Honor overruled the objection, but on the application of Mr Stedmau, he made a note oi it.] I know Waka, and have spoken to him about the block. When the agreement vas made he said he had a claim to the lower end of the bush, but that all that was . marked off belonged to Tareha and Karauria. He told me that he. had mortgaged his land to Sutton, and wished to dispose of it to M‘Lean and Williams, and had agreed to do so if M‘Lean would pay off Sutton’s claim against him. Waka was then owing me money, and knowing from the deeds in the Eegistiy office that Sutton had bought his share in the Mangateretere Bush, I asked him to give me an order on Sutton foi £250, as a special charge on the purchase money. He thoroughly understood the matter, and agreed to do so He signed the document produced (order on Mr Sutton for £25 0) and Mr Sutton paid me the money. I have since heard hin\ say he never sold the land, and I asked him how he could say so when he paid, me <£2so of the purchase money. 1 know Paora, and was with him in Mr Worgan’s office when Mr Sutton was endeavoring to purchase his i terest in Mangai ere tore. Paora was quite willing to sell, and it was a mere question of price. Paora wanted <£6oo, and MrSutton was not willing to give so much. Paora afterwards told me that a price had been fixed, and Ihe agreement com? pleted. I have had to do with the Pe tane block, i bought Waka’s interest in it, for which I paid <£2oo. I Sftw him sign the deed. I also purchased Waka’s interest in the Ohikakarewa block, for £l2O. I saw him sign the deed, and I [laid him the money. [Mr Sled man objected to evidence relating co deeds unless the deeds themselves were produced His Honor took a note of the objection.] Mqrtln Hamlin deposed; I know Paora, and have spoken to him about Mangateretere. He always led me to belie\ e that he had parted with his interest to Mr Sutton. I believe the. signature to the conveyance to be in Paora’s writing.

F. Sutton deposed ; I purchased, Paora’s share in the Mangatereteie block in 1869. Hegoeiations had been pending for some time, in consequence of which on an appointed day I went to his house, accompanied by Mr Worgan. A bargain was then made that I should have Paora’s interest in the land for £SOO, £2OO of which wss to go to Cashmore to settle a claim lie had against Paora, and the remaining £3OO to be paid to him. Paora then said he did not know the exact amount of Cash mo re’s claim, it might exceed £2OO, when I agreed to pay him £3oo* irrespective of Caslmioro’s claim, which I undertook to settle myself. Paora signed the deed in the piesenee of Worgan, myself, and a native named Waka, whose signature as a witness appears on the document. Paora was perfectly sober at the time. The purchase money was paid partly in caffi and partly in goods. I paid over £l5O in cash. Paora never questioned the transaction before the time his affidavit was signed. He has raised a question about ten acres near the Boiling-down establishment, which he, thought were not included in the Crown Grant. He never got am--numition through me in any way. A note from me would be no use in the Custom-house ; he would have to get a permit from die Superintendent or Mr Locke. Waka executed a mortgage of his interest, and subseqently a conveyance to me, which was signed in niy own establishment I paid £SOO, £250 being paid to Maney, on Waka’s order.. The balance—with the exception of £2O or £3O still owing—was paid in good*. He can have the balance whenever he applies for it. About four months aftersigning the conveyance, be repudiated the transaction, and said he had n^ver

signed anything. The land in the Jjangateretere block might average J 64 on acre in value; some of it is worth jg 9 and some no more than 10s. There is not much valuable timber now froCornelius Tuely, deposed to seeing the natives signatures appended to the .deed in Cashmore's house. They up peared to understand the transaction, Martin Hamlin deposed: On the 31st May, 1869, I interpreted the deed produced to the natives in Cashmore's house. Waka made no objection, and he .signed the document. I have heard Jbhn repudiate his .signature. He swore to-day that he did not sign. T repeat that 1 saw him do so. I have heard him say that he never sold the land Cornelius Tuely (recalled by Mr Stedman): f saw Waka sign the deed. He -was perfectly sober at the time. John Robinson deposed : J. am a sawyer. In May 1869 I assisted to cut two boundary lines through the bush. There was a dispute between Maney and Waka about the lower jhoundarjr, which was known as the Akitarewa line. The Court then (6 p.ni) adjourned,. His Honor gave judgment at 2 p m. yesterday. After carefully considering the evidence, and reading all the .documents put in, he considered he would not be justified in refusing the application for an injunction. The application was therefore granted, the injunction to remain in force until the suit now pending in the Supreme Court came on for hearing. As the mill had .already unnecessarily stopped for two days, he would direct that the injunc- . rtion should not issue till Monday. ] Mr Wilson applied (1) that a time might be fixed for a motion to discharge " the injunction ; and (2) that the 4efen-; d;mt, on providing appro> ed security for the value of the remaining timber,. might be allowed to continue his work. The stoppage of the work was a very great matter to the defendant; while the plaintiftV interest in the property was at best very remote, being nothing hut a dry equity of redemption on pro- j nerty encumbered to its full vjdue, This J was not an ordinary trespass, the mat Iter had b<*en going on for year.? ; the pluintifts had seen the defendant erect machinery and enter into engagements which rendered this matter of the last importance to hiin. No other Court, be was convinced, for the sake of an interest so infinitesimal and so long neglected, would have allowed summary proceedings by injunction to be taken. His Honor looked upon the case as one of disputed title, and could not admit Mr Wilson's second application. The first he would grant, and appoint this day week for the purpose. Newton v. M'Kenzie. Claim of .£4B 14s 9d.—Judgment by default for amount claimed and «£4 10s costs. M rStedman applied for extra costs for adjournment, which his Honor refused.