WARDEN'S COURT.

Inangahua Times, Volume V, Issue 11, 19 December 1877, Page 2

WARDEN'S COURT.

Tuesday, DiseEisnitfa 12tb, 1877. , (Before E. Shaw, Esq., Warden.) Wooiley v. Jacojusen. This was a complaint by G, W. Woolley >,that defendant on the 10th December unlawfully interfered with a business secHyn ih Eeefton. Mr Button With Mr Pitt appeared for complainant, and Mr Guinness and Mr Moss appeared for defendant. '" Defendant entered a general denial of the complaint. TVlr Button, in opening the case for the complainant^ sajd ( that the land in ques« tion was originally taken up as a residence iireaby aMr T. Bnrlcer.^ Subsequently Mr Wooiley purchased the land from Barker's agent, and i aving effected certain improvements upou if; applied for a renewal of the residence area. This application was, however, refused, on the ground that the intention of the Government, was to'tiiiti up the laud into sections and sell it,;- subsequently the defendant jumped the ; jjrp.unri l; at '.the time defendant jumped tlie sections he was uofc the holder of a .business license. G. W. : Wooiley*— l know the scciions, in question. They^r.e numbered 970 and 971 on the map of the town; they form part, of . vrh.nl; . for. years past hns been ; known as Woolley's paddock. I bought Barker's ri^ht' to the ground and paid for it,ih, 1873-,; I continued ia occupntion of the land up to May, 1875 ; I applied to Mr Warden Broad in November to recommend the purchase of the lan. l, and he relused on the ground that there were no buildings erected thereon. Afur that 1 applied to Mr E. J. O'Connor, Provincial Secretary, .on the subject, nihl have not since heard anything about the inatv te'r; subsequently Jacobsen took possession in July of this year; on the 7th September I took out two business ljeen« ses. ,()n Saturday, Blh December, after 2 pan ;il went on to the ground and supers intended James -Liddy in pegging. On the following I ,. Monday, I put Liddy and .Connolly to work on the sections ; about half-past 7 o'clock on the same evening, saw Jacobson near the sections ; I was in the act of nailing a notice on the end of a block of sawn timber on the ground when I saw some of the pegs on the ground ; he afterwards took a tomahawk and smashed the notice board I had put up. A man named P^atis was present at the time ; I have spent money for yf ars past in keeping the fences of the land in repair, and have also paid rates for the ground. On the 10th December gave defendant notice to remove his fences. Cross-exanimed— The land in question is within the town boundary ; never knew that it forms part or was called the Education Reserve ;• the land 'fa'as cleared when i-jßouglifc i'fc from Barker- and also .fenced, but.i.hatf^aiii tprfenew- the fences frequently. ; The fence'was nearly all down in July of this year ; when the application for a renewal of the residence area was refused I took out business licences for 1 the ground v continuously. It would take' five business licenses to hold the grou.nd; did not find anybody in possession of the ground on Saturday ; I knew that Jacobsoia had made an application to pur« ehasp the land.,