Manawatu Herald. SATURDAY, FEB. 8. 1896. Trespass for Pigs.

Manawatu Herald, 8 February 1896, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. SATURDAY, FEB. 8. 1896. Trespass for Pigs.

Mb Stanford took a solicitor by surprise ac the last sitting of the Magistrate's Court by asking for bin authority to recover damages In destruction committed by the trespass of a pig. The solicitor oon tended that sections 5, 6 and 14 of 11 The Impounding Act 1884 " which are as follows gave him that, pow^r. Seo. 5. Every ocoupier of land trespassed on by cattle may impound the same, but except as hereinafter mentioned in reapect of pigs or goats, no occupier of any unfenced land shall be entitled to demand or r cover any damages whatever by reason of the trespass thtu^on of any catt'e, exo pt fe s foi driving or for giving notice of the detent on of uch oattk-, as provided by the First Schedu'e hereto.

S o 6. Every ocoud r of any fonced land trf spasmed upon by cat* !e may c'aim ; on account of bucli tres as ra'es provi led ; in the Fir t Schedu'e of this Ac , ov he i may claim in any competent Court full j satisfaction for any act ua damage Bust lined ) by him in consequence of such trespass ;

hut in ca=e he Rhall claim such actual damago, a though the catt e commi ting the trespa s may he impounded in a pound, or deal with as provided in sec ions 11 and 12 of this Act, such catt e shall not be d taineil in the pound until payment be made of such actual damage.

Sec. 14. The occupier of any fenced or uiifenc>d land trespass d on by pigs or goats mav recover from the owner of such pigs or goats trespass rates at the rate specified in the First Schedule hereto ; and if any pigs or goats the property of the same owner shall trespass on such land within ho spao ■of hree months after the first trespass, such occupier may rpcover

fi-r.iu the o -i .ner thereof, in v.spe»;t jf every separate lime ihty .vian iu trespass, trespass rates at. double the rale specified in ■he said First Schedule.

'The occupier of any fenced land in artificial grass or under cultivation may destroy any pigs, goats or poultry found trespassing upon such land ; and the occupier so destroying any such animal shall within twenty-four hours send in writing a de°cription of the animal or animals so destroyed, and of the place where destroyed, to the owner thereof, if ho be known and if unknown to the neare t po'ice-sta ion, under a penalty not exceeding tcn> pounds. It shall not be necessary to send such description in the case of wild pigs so destroyed. In case the carcase of any such animal is not claimed and removed by the owner thereof within forty-eight hours after b Iflg destroyed as afore-aid, ihe occupier aforesaid snail bury such carcase, under a penalty not exceeding ten pounds. Pro vided that the last two paragraphs of this sec ion may, by a vote of two- thirds of the members o- a local authority, be d c ared to be not in opera 1 ion in th • district within which the local authori y ha9 jurisdiction.

We have quoted the sections in extemo as the matter is one of much interest to a country community. The Stipendiary Magistrate ruled very firmly that the occupier of land had no redress by way of damages against the owner of any pig, goat or poultry : he had the right to sue for trespass only. He also declared the right method of procedure was that laid down in section 14, viz , to destroy the trespassing animals. This case brought up another point to which we shall refer more fully at another opportunity, and that is the title to occupation held by anyone who has possession of part of a public road. Until such road bfn been conveyed away by the local body in the manner directed by law, every man ha? the direct right to use it ; though in the case under review it was urged that pig-) also had this right. The permission to occupy a road given by a local body to any person is of very little use and of no protection. *

Damages were claimed to the amount of 15s to a bed of tnacrocarpas. The wi ness was asked to specify the damages. H • got out this piece of arithmetic which was accepud by all parties as exo edingly satisfdo ury : — I'here were 100 plants damaged, and he valued them at eigh p»nce per doz n 1 An a fair 100 is not 9 dozen, but calling 'it 9 dozen thia at 8d p-r doz-n would only co.ue to six shillings, the extra nine shillings is stiil unaccounted for.

On Sunday the Rev. G. Aitk-ns will bold divine senior at 3hanmn in this morning, aud at Foxtau in theeveninfl.

No gardener can make sure of his crops, Sttch * lot depends on the seed. A witn 39 th« other day told the Court he hid sown a packet of macrocarpa Bded and had got two plants 1

Mr Hulke is still the headmaster of the Kawtown School. He took the school children to Featherajcm on Thursday.

The (o lowing nominations h ive be >n received for the Chri tchurch seat : — Messrs Charleß Liwis, R. M. Taylor, and 11.I 1 . E. Taylor. The election takes plaoe on Thursday, the 13th in3t.

A new word was coined in the Magistrate's Couit on Thursday. A witness said some man wa3 away " fungu*ing," which apparently meaneih the act of gathering fungus. Who dare say now that we are not a progressive nation ?

First they wou'd and then they wouldn't. We nearly had a visit from the, NewburySpada Concert Company. They had authorised the engagement of the hall and then countermanded it. The final decision is to be regretted as the company is a firao ass one, and would probably have baen well supported.

A witness a little the worse for wear of age and drink wa3 asked how he kn^w a certain thing, by " ocular demonstration " he jerked out, and then fearing ha had got beyond the solicitor's capaoiy h<* exp iiined " by seeing it wiih mine own eyes."

Dignity and Impudeucj. Laad..e«i''* celebrated picture is call, d to mind by the asßenioa of the editor of the N Z Times that Lord Salisbury stands " bef >re the world no better than a paltry huckster." The writer might continue so aa to make his foo'ishness sublime by suggesting that, the Hon. Eichard Srddon should be asked to arbitrate on the Eastern question.

As was to be expected. The property so enticingly drawn attention to as for sale by Mr Edmund Osborne belonging to Mr Petersen, and advertised in our columns, speedily found a buyer, Mr John P<>rreau having secured it. He has a cheap and good investment.

In another column will be found the particu ars of subscriptions paid towards the erection of the Anglican Church at Levin.

Under thip Rystem any of the parcels advertised will be sent to anv address in New Zealand, post fi'ee, the prices charged being exactly the same as those at which the goods are sold over the counter in Wellington. As may be imagiued, however, this liberal offer is only extended to cash oustomers, and all orders for advertised parcels mU9t bo accompanied by cash for the amount, before the order can be executed at Te Aro House, Wellington. In illustration of the system we will give an example. Take for instance No. 7 parcel, which con'aina 7 yards of double width stylish fancy check tweed ; 2 dozen buttons and silk and twist to match ; 2 yards of body Uning and i yards of skirt lining. I'hia "complete parcel witl b« sent, post free, to any address on receipt of 15s 9d, from Te Aro House, Wellington.