Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, JULY 2, 1896. The Fencing Act.

Manawatu Herald, 2 July 1896, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, JULY 2, 1896. The Fencing Act.

We commend to the attention of landowners " The Fencing Act 1895." It is most important that its provisions should ba studied by those contemplating the erection of a boundary fence. The matter haa been brought very prominently before the public by the collapse of a case heard at Gore lately. The plaintiff sought to compel the defendant to erect his portion of a boundary fence, under section 86 of the Fencing Act. His Worship decided that as formal notice had not been given under section 11, the jurisdiction of the court was not founded. Any prior verbal agreement between the parties took the jurisdiction out of court. The first proceeding to entitle the owner to sue is set out in section 11 which is as follows :.— " (1) Any person desiring to compel any other person to contribute to the erection of a fence under this Act must serve on him a notice to fence. (2) Suoh notice shall be in the form or to the effect numbered one in the Schedule G hereto, and shall specify the boundary to be fenced, and the kind of fence proposed to be ereoted. (8) If any person erects a fence without serving notice as aforesaid, the oc» cupier of the contiguous land shall not be liable to pay any portion of the cost of ereoting such fence, but shall not thereby be relieved from liability to pay half the cost of repairs." •" Section 12 recites : — 11 (1) If the receiver of a notice to fence objects to any of the proposals therein contained* he may, within 21 days .after the service of such notice, serve on the giver a cross notice signifying suoh objection and making counter proposals to fence. (2) Such cross notice shall be in the form or to the effect numbered 2 in Schedule 0 hereto. (8) If he fails 1o Berve such cross notice within the said period of 21 days he shall be deemed to have agreed to the proposals contained in the notice served on him." Any question of difference is to be determined by a Magistrate. It will thus be seen that to recover the cost it is most necessary that a proper start be made.