SUPREME COURT.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 209, 30 August 1873, Page 2

SUPREME COUR T .

CIVIL SITTINGS. [Before his Honor Mr. Justice Richmond.] Eyes v. Henderson- < Yesterday. The jury retired at six o'clock yesterday even- " ing, and returned at eight o'clock, with a verdict for the defendant on all the issues. > ' ' This Dat. Thomas v. Edwards, This was an action to recover the sum of £137, the claim having arisen out of a sheep transaction. A special jury was sworn consisting of the following gentleman :— Messrs. Canning, M Eae, Darnell, Cawthron, Talbot, H. Martin, Sellon, Lines, Buckeridge, Woolley, Turner, and Pierson (foreman:) ■ • ...•.,.. Mr Conolly ard Mr Pitt appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr Travers and Mr ActoA Adams for the defendant. Mr Conolly having opened the case for the : plaintiff, called ;: ■,■..■ ; . Edmund Walter Thomas, wtiosaid, I am one ■of the plaintiffs. Previous toMarch 1869 we had a num er ofniheep on" Mr Pike's run, which we. ( aold to him, security for the purchase . money being given over 1,500 sheep, branded, with the letter, Fon the rjght side of the face. They were on the Tarndale run, in Mr Pike's charge. I branded them. I did not observe any face branded ' sheep in * the flock at, ,|he time.: I ' -doij't think I- could have branded Bheep on the pff face without noticing that there Was a previous brand. Mr Pike kept tally. The first bill of exchange has not yet been paid by Mr Pike. In May, 1870, there was due on the .first bill £418. . About April I saw Mr Edwards and had several conversations with him. I offered to sell the 1500 sheep to him. There was some difficulty about the price, and I said I would go to see if the country was in-va fit state to muster. He agreed,, and gave me a letter .to. .Mr Kerr, and told me there was to be a muster 'soon, I started on the 29th, but was detained at Wakefleld by the rain until the 2nd May. On- David Kerr's Hill, I met Mr John Kerr, whom I understood, to, be manager of Tarndale. I gave him the letter He read it, and asked me where I was going. I said to look after my slieep at' Tarndale. He prohibited my going on the run, and j suggested that I. should' return and- try. to arrange with Mr Edwards. He gave no reason but simply said he would not allow '< me to go on the run. I returned and . saw '! Mr Edwards on the 3rd.' We .could not agree as regards price. Next day. I Vent to Mr Pike. He gave me a letter renouncing all: claim on the branded sheep on Tarndale, and; authorising irie to make good all deficiencies out of the Tarndale sheep. I showed the letter to Mr Edwards, and we ultimately made an agreement. At the time of signing the agreement Mr Edwards asked me to give him the original of Mr Pike's letter, but Jh refused. I gave him a copy written by myself. . It was verbally agreed between us that Mr Pike's . letter should be acted upon at the first general muster. Mr Edwards did not claim the unbranded sheep as his. ; I did not hear of <a muster. : I went to the woolshed, about twenty miles from the station, in November. The sheep were then in the yard. I saw Mr Kerr who said he had sold some of his sheep to a man named Dick, and that fifteen of mine were among them. I ran thejn through the yard, and ,found twenty. The sheep in the yards were those that I considered we were to make up our deficiencies from. I told Mr Kerr that I had a claim over tlio Tarndale ear-marked sheep. He said they had a prior claim. (The following letter from Mr Kerr to Mr Edwards was put in and read)— '""''"' November 28^ 1870. } My Dear Sir, , We have just. passed all the sheep through the yards and they are as follows :— 859, Renwick; Thomas, 425; our own, 383 un- sbranded, 938. Of course we will keep every uribranded sheep to makeup our numbers, and I think perhaos it would be as well if you see Pike to get it in writing. We ate .totake; be careful not to commit yourself, for I am pretty sure there will be a barney about the sheep before it is settled, for Thomas wants to divide the, uubratided sheep. He never asked me to do' bo,; but by bis manner I know; what he- means.

: Tjioma§Xand I settled i^eryfting v Mifi^qgimott< ! . ."^ell, fltfdihe went away ts§i%fftpil- pp|^ea;^rith ' me. lican find out ftjm hjgh he *eveft'|hew 'when,.' fee 5 branded his fstieepMhat slieep' ibranded or anyone epe, and^theM^ave| branded our sheep ov^rJSiin^and I pqinteq^ioutfe VtoSChomas, but I expefttWo 1 Be/down sop'ri; and 'then I will tell you all particulars. I only send you this if you have not secured the unbrauded sheep lo do do quietly before anyone else does. Of course we have got possession, but the sheep branded, is worth donbtoothe money the sheep iis|left; pmhho ruo. fTjiefe^ust jiave been isdfme "great rbguery eoiDg 6n sibceT branded them, biit I suppose it will be better to take the cheep that is left, but if Pike was worth money, we would be better without them. So -hoping all is well, I remain, yours truly, John Kbbr. .BJr.Kerr tried , to^prov.e ( t.o,,>me that I had "branded shfeep •' that ! liad beeh branded before, but I could not see it. After Mr Kerr's refusal I left the Btation.. . I went to Tarndale again in January, 1871. I was" there before the muster began. There were 506 Bheep brought in off Tarndale, and 40 from the Kainbow. I offered the sheep to Mr Kerr to make good any deficiency. He said aguin they had a prior claim and refused. The resnlt was that I delivered 553^ At the date j of the agreement Mr Edwards paid me on account .£2OO, a,nd H has not since pai^l any^more> I saw Mk~ Edwards ti|uesf after, jmd.nn 1871 I ; had communication witlfhfs solicitors " Cross-fxamined : After the first negotiation w ; itfr Mr Edwards I went to Mr Pike. After getting the document from him, I remained in Nelson several days. I wrote home. I gave only „ one copy of Mr Pike's letter -to Mr Edwards. .1, don/tiknowj. whether jmyj father, sent him another. ; Xhe conversation about supplementing the deficiencies took place at the time of Mr Edwards:" signing/the/* 'agreement. OC can'tj i&y~ whether" iit -flr'as T %ef6ro o^Vr after the^gning. 'I dpn'tiremem^er, Mr sa^ing!;tfla.t a>. the •sheep were-iHcluued'iii'aftiortgage" he" should 're- " quire some document from Mr Pyke authorising me to deal with them. I told him I had Pike's letter as a guarantee, and he received it as such. I knew Mr Edwards had a mortgage over the run, and 1800 branded sheep. He did not ...tell, ;* me-, then jthatj > hfe; expected his sh^ep to be' made good but of the flock. A mass of correspondence was here put, in and read, and the Court then adjourn^d'iunt^jfopdayi at 10 a.m.