MR JAMES SINCLAIR AND THE BOROUGH COUNCIL.

Marlborough Daily Times, Volume II, Issue 181, 14 December 1880, Page 3

MR JAMES SINCLAIR AND THE BOROUGH COUNCIL.

: Tor fallowing is a copy of the letter hr-- , ; wav.'- by Mr Sinclair to the Borough) 1 j Council, and read at the last meeting • i'j “Blenheim, December 7th, ISSO. ! “To His Worship the Mayor, j “Sir—- “ The Corporation of Blenheim v. Myself arid thi? Bank of New Zealand [ '• ■ J have to explain of the grossly unfair 1 way in which you the Borough Council | are dealing with me With regard to an ; action which you have 1 been pleased to begin against me in the SuprtWß Court. , “ Your Worship thought fit So lodge a caveat against a certain piece of #*7 j being brought under the Lallu rnns ei j Act. 'This you did without the anth<?n > i of the Council and without even consulting* j it, although there was ample time to allow 1 of your having done so. 11 Subsequently you obtained from the Council a ratification of your peculiar action ; Councillors Fell and Robinson being the parties who l took an active part in according you such ratification. “On the 20th August last you began i your action against me. My pleas were delivered on the 22nd September. Nothing j further was done by your Worship, or the ; Council, or your solicitor until the - November, a period of 2 months and * days.- | “On that day your solicitor putin a i replication and stated that you proposed to go to trial at the next sittings of the Supreme Court here, which will take place on the 14th instant. My solicitor stated I was ready and willing to go trial at onev and lie instructed Mr Travers bv telegram | on that day to see Mr Cordon, of V ellington, and have the issues settled so that the ; trial might take place at the earliest oppor- | tunity, . . , j “A day or two ago your solicitor stated ; that you could not go to trial on the 14th | instant as a witness who resides at Auckland aMr Hull, could not attend at that I times so to suit Mr Hull’s convenience j this matter, which is one of importance, is I to he hung tip for another six months. “ It would luiVe been well if your \\ oi* ship had displayed as much zeal and energy in prosecuting your action a» you did incommencing it. “ You have had over two months to consider what should have been your next step and you ought to have known long ago whether Mr Hull was a necessary witness or not, and if he were, you have had ample time to subpiuna him. If tin's bad been done his convenience would not have had to he consulted. As it was, there was »ufb' cieut time when your solicitor spoke of not going to trial (because it would not suit Mr Hu if to come down) to have scuta subpoena to that witness and compelled his attendance. , , „ “ I consider that I have been badly trtated by your Worship throughout this* affair and that you have not displayed that regard for my interests and the interests of my fellow citizens which it was your bounden duty to have done. .... “ With regard firstly, to my individual interests, I say it was your duty to hate seen that the action was tried at the next sittings of the Supreme Court, as you were and are, perfectly well aware that it is detrimental to me to have the matter kept in suspense. il With regard, secondly, to the interests of my fellow citizens who will have to pay the costs of this action if your Worship loses it, I assert that your Worship has acted imprudently inasmuch as you lodged your caveat and began your action without consulting the Council and without adequate legal advice. “ I am aware that it suits certain persons to say that Mr Travers had advised the Corporation upon the point, but I am also aware that Mr Travers says the matter was never mentioned to him and that he never advised upon it. “But even supposing Mr Travers had advised, where is the record of the case and his opinion ? If facts are incorrectly stated an opinion based thereon is of course worse than valueless —it is mis-

chievous. “ If Mr A.B. had a conversation with Mr Travers, what guarantee has your Worship got that the case was fairly stated to him, or that Mr A.B.’s memory is to be trusted as to the opinion given ?

“ I say that before instituting an expensive and vexatious lawsuit your Worship should have obtained a written opinion from some eminent (counsel as to whether it was advisable to go to law or not. I think that everyone will admit that such a course ought to have been pursued. “ I have every respect for the counsel you have engaged (Mr Gordou Allan), and his ability is undoubted, but it must lie borne in mind that Mr Allan was not asked to advise whether the action should be brought, but was instructed to commence it. “ If I had intended to make a gift of the strip of land to the Borough I would have done so in an unmistakeable manner.—l am, &c., “ James Sinclair.”