RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume II, Issue 98, 29 April 1867, Page 2

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

Wednesday, April 24, 1867. [Before J. Potnter, Esq., E.M.] THOMAS MILLS V. JOHN VINE HALL.. This was an action to recover £12 145., the amount of damage done to three cases of glass, forwarded to the plaintiff from Dunedin by the E»mont, of -which the defendant is master. Mr. Pitt appeared for the plaintiff; Mr. Kingdon for the defendant. Thomas Mills, being sworn, said : In January or February last I ordered some glass from Mr. Walden, of Dunedin, with whom I have been in the habit of dealing. On this occasion, I had ordered four cases, and told him to be very particular as to their being in good order, as they were wanted to complete an order. I paid the freight, and the four boxes were sent up to my shop. The cases, which were in good order, were then opened, and I found that in three of them the glass was all broken, though the outer cases were sound. When I saw the condition of the goods, I wrote to Mr. "Walden, who said, in reply, that he had been most particular in this shipment, and that he had sent one of his clerks to ship it. Messrs. Louisson and Clarke saw the glass, and valued the the three cases at £18. I directed no one to bring the cases from " the Wharf. I was not at home when they were left at my house. They were left in an open private passage, between my house and Mr. Waxman's. They were opened the next day, and when the first was opened, I called Mr. Cawthron to see it. The cases looked dry ; the wood inside of the case was sound, except where the two cases met, and there it was damp and mildewed. I believe the outside cases to be the original outside cases. I never told Mr. Cawthron that I had had only one dealing with the same party before, and that then the glass was all broken, although the outside package was quite sound. Re-examined : The outside cases were of American or Baltic pine, similar to that used for packages from England. Stephen Clarke deposed to having taken four cases of glass from the wharf to the plaintiff's house. The goods were not allowed to remain on the platform, and he brought them up carefully. The outside cases were sound, but he noticed the glass jingle in one of them when he took the cases out, as if the contents were broken. The cases were sound when he received them, that is, according to his receipt for goods from the wharf. There were no marks on the outside cases to make one believe they had been roughly used. They were solid cases, boarded and battened outside. It was not possible for the glass to be broken in his dray with the usage the cases received from him. Thomas Brown Louisson stated that he remembered being called in at the end of last January, by the plaintiff, to examine two cases containing four boxes of glass. Three of the boxes contained smashed glass, mostly starred away from the corner. It is possible to break glass in cases without injuring the case. The value of the cases would be about £5 or £6 each, landed here, and all expenses paid. Thomas Cawthron, agent for the Company, said that he remembered about the end of January last, being requested by the plaintiff to look at some glass, about seven or ten days after the casee had been delivered, when he called for the freight. Only one of the cases was then opened, and he pointed out a circle on the outside of the inside box, which appeared as if something round, like a cask, about 2£ feet in diameter, had stood on it for about three or four weeks. That was the only case the plaintiff had then opened. Plaintiff told witness that the glass had been broken in the centre, the inside case was not made of the wood of this country. Was almost sure that the outside case was of New Zealand wood. About six weeks after that time, plaintiff complained of the other two boxes. They examined the outer cases of these on the first occasion, and the plaintiff then said thc-y were in capital order. When the plaintiff showed witness the first case, he most distinctly said that the shipper was quite a new man to him, that he had never had but one transaction with him before, and that then a considerable quantity of glass was broken, for which he never got compensation. There was no rattle in the unopened cases when they tried them at the t time. Ke-examined : The wood of the case is soft, and would show any marks of blows. Judgment for the plaintiff for £7 18s, and costs.

11l the Resident Magistrate's Court, on Saturday last, the following cases, arising out of assaults committing on the evening of the Wakapualca Steeplechase, after the departure of the police, were heard. John Flowers charged with committing an assault on William Ching, pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to one month's imprisonment with hard labor. Henry Flowers, charged wirh an assault on Alexander Wragg, a constable, also pleaded guilty, and received a similar sentence. Thomas Plovers, a brother of the before mentioned prisoners, was also charged with an assault upon Peter, the Maori, and was sentenced to two months' imprisonment with hard labor. Another assault case, George Richardson v. George James Baker, was settled out of Court. Henry Bretholm v. Henry Sylvester Bush. This was an action to recover the value of a sih'er cylinder watch deposited in the hands of the defendant five months ago, as security for a debt of 10s. Mr. Kingdon appeared for the plaintiff. It« appeared from the evidence of the plaintifl that he had repaid, the 10s. lent by the defendant, and when he demanded restitution of his watch, the defendant offered him a German silver watch of inferior value, refusing to return him the watch he had left with him, and which he valued at five guineas. The defendant stated that he had lost the watch in question, which was very much out of order, but expressed his desire to pay the plaintiff the proper value. Verdict for plaintiff, for £1 and costs £1 4s.