MAGISTRATES' COURT.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VI, Issue 26, 31 January 1871, Page 2

MAGISTRATES' COURT.

o (Before the Hon. T. Renwick, T. Brunner, A. J. Richmond, J. Shephard, and A. Sclanders Es<_s., J.J.P. This Day. Nathan v. Harley. Charles Harley was charged on the information of Hyam Nathao with having been guilty of perjury in a case recently heard in the Magistrate's Court, in which Harley sued Nathan aod obtained judgment for £6 for damages done by the defendant to the premises which he had leased from the plaintiff. Mr. Fell appeared for the complainant, and Mr. Acton Adams and Mr. Kingdon for Mr. Harley. Mr. Fell, in opening the case, said that Mr. Harley had sworn to haviDg seen a bookcase in one of Nathan's rooms on a date on which an agreement had been entered into relative to certain effects tbat were to be handed over to Harley, but that he should prove that the bookcase was not there at the time. John Sharp : I remember trying a case last week in which C. Harley was plaintiff and H. Nathan was defendant. I remember au agreement being produced under which I held that plaintiff could only recover for fixtures that were on the. premises at the time of the signing of the agreement. Harley was duly sworn. The evidence he gave relative to the bookcase was as follows : — " I found that the bookcase was gone." In cross-examination he said : — " The bookcase was fixed by the side of the chimney, it was there when Gore was there. I thought it was a fixture. It was apparently fixed in its place. It had glass doors above, and doors beneath. It was a sort of chiffonier. I took the list of fixtures from Mr. Gore." I did not take down the whole of the crossexamination. Cross examined : I remember Harley stating that he would not sign the agreement until a door which was wanting had been replaced. I did not pay so much attention to what Harley said as to what fell from , Scott and Gore. Harley appeared to me to know very liltle about it. Until Harley had concluded his evidence, no assertion was made by Nathan about a bookcase having been removed and another placed there. Nathan gave no evidence to the effect that he pointed out the article of furniture in the corner to Harley. There was no evidence given of Harley having been in the room prior to that date, so as to know exactly what was there. By the Bench : Ifi was never pointed out to Harley by Nathan that the bookcase was not there. He was not challenged or cautioned with- reference to it in any way whatever, Hyam Nathan : lam complainant in this case and was defendant in the late action Harley v. Nathan. I remember Harley being questioned as to his visit to tbe premises with Scott. He said he went into the room at that time, and he described a piece of furniture he saw in the room and called it a bookcase. He said it had doors at the top and doors at the bottom. He said there was glass iv the top doors, and something red at the bottom. He was pressed on this point, and said decidedly it was a bookcase and not a chiffonier. He said it had no back or sides. He came into the room and remained sufficient time to examine the contents. Tbe bookcase that was originally there . was just such a one as described by Harley as having been there at tbe time of his visit with Scott. The piece of furniture that was there at that time was a cedar sideboard ;of entirely different shape and size, to the bookcase. There was no mistaking one fbr the other. Some time after this Mr. Harley threatened .that he would have another slap at me and would ruin me yet. Cross examined : Prior to Harley's visit with Scott be bad been in the room once. The bookcase I believe was there then. At the time he came with Scott fee did not seem to .me to take particular , notice of the jpiece of furniture. My impre.sibn is that Harley said he had got Gore to make oat his bill of particulars. By the Bench : Harley was particularly questioned as to the bookcase, Wrid he said he saw it there, and described it. Harley could not possibly have mistaken one piece of furniture for the other. It was owing to Harley's having threatened me that I suspected he was not telling the « truth the other day. ~ Morris Levy : I remember Harley being examined. He said he visited Nathan's premises with Scott, and that-the case was there then. i:\ . r ;H»H%soribed; ; the fpieceiof fur n iture he saw,. ofl being pressed. r Has_id heygot^his; iyjaibatioii; frlom- Gore, and also the descr^ "'7 $. \j&J, Campbell : ite mlCbbrtthk^ ; :-afc;;.lt_rVß'^^ Scptfc Hei described it minutely; 7 y Ir £now the

bookcase was removed some time before Harley visited the place with Scott. Jacob Nathan proved that Harley bad threatened to havo another slap at his father. Charles Y. Fell : — I conducted Nathan's case in the action Harley v. Nathan. I remember his describing his visit with Scott. To tbe best of my belief Harley said the bookcase w. s on the premises when he visited them with Scott. I pressed him closely as to the bookcase, and he reiterated his. description of it. He distinctly stated it was not a chiffonier. To the best of my recollection he said he got the particulars generally of the articles sued for from Gore. Cross-examined : In cross-examining, I did not call Harley's attenion to a chiffonier having been substituted, but I asked him whether it was a chiffonier and he said not. I pressed . him closely as to the bookcase , and got a very definite description. He did not allude particularly to the bookcase as having been described to himiy Gore. fIL~ ' By the Bench : I did not caution Wna in any way whatever. lam sure Harley heard every question put to him. It is very likely he might have described the piece of furniture from his previous knowledge . of it. I did , not challenge , him. I did not think it my duty to do so : to a gentleman in his position, having at the time no reason to doubt his word. This closed the case for the complainant. The Court then adjourned for half-au-hour, and upon meeting again the Bench called upon the defendant to step forward, and addressing him', said, that they had' carefully considered the evidence, and had come to the conclusion that there was no occasion to call upon him for a defence, as in their opinion no case had been made out against him. Mr Fell, the council for the complainant, i said that in justice to himself he felt bound • to state that the course Mr. Nathan had <- thought fit to pursue, had been taken entirely on his own responsibility, and i without previously consulting his solicitor.